Hmm... Off Track?

Well okay... I guess I'm a little off-track. I didn't run yesterday because I was totally occupied with class and studying for my exams... Now today I didn't run because I barely had half an hour to sit on my ass! 'Til now HA.

Sooo .... basically, because I'm feeling good and confident -- I'm gunna say screw the plan again for the next two days. That's right! I'm gunna one-up it ;)

I am in the mood to run. So I think I'll run 4 miles tomorrow.... and then on Saturday I will run for 45 minutes and see how far I get.

Sunday is going to be a cross-training day (and I plan on being hungover from Saturday night lol ). Then Monday I'll get back on track with my Hal Higdon plan. I am liking the sounds of this. It's called improvisation!

“If you want to become the best runner you can be, start now. Don't spend the rest of your life wondering if you can do it.”

CMaritz1978 Priscilla Welch quotes

xo

e

Keeping with it

I read somewhere yesterday that 65% of people who start training for a marathon drop out after the first 4 weeks. Well, I'm not training for a full marathon... just a half, but this has happened to me for the last two years. This year, it's not going to happen - you know why? Because I'm already signed up! Haha. And the best part is that my boyfriend paid my registration fee - so I really can't bail because there would be all that guilt of wasting his money....

I think it's a lot easier to stick with the program once you're already signed up. I was hesitant about signing up at first - because that made it real. My bf convinced me though... we had a nice chat about motivation and how we would train together (even thought it's a long distance relationship lol). And our chat ended with his credit card number being entered on the ottawa marathon website!

Now it's a serious commitment for me and I'm happy about that. No flaking. This is going to be part of who I am in the next few months. I will become a runner... I've always been super athletic. I'm a strong, determined person, but I've never been "a runner". I hope to regain my athleticism in the next few weeks...

So far, I've kept a calendar on my wall and it's filled in with my training plan. Everday when I've followed my plan I get a big green check mark. Right now my calendar is allllll green check marks. Today might be the first X. I have an exam early tomorrow and I need to study, so I'm swapping my rest day with today's workout. oh well. That's better that skipping out all together!

Gotta study... can't wait til this is over :)

Motivation

For Christmas this year, my boyfriend got me the Nike+ ipod attachment - and I am absolutely loving it right now. I plug a sensor into my ipod nano, and then I bought a cheap little pouch that attaches to my shoe laces and that's where the sensor goes. It keeps track of my pace as I run, and sends me messages as I run, such as how far I've run, how many calories I've burned, my pace, etc.

But my favorite part about it is that all my data gets sent to the Nike+ website, so I can keep track of all my runs in really unique ways. I don't want to get into to much detail about it, but I find it rewarding to plug in my info after a run and see that I just ran my fastest mile yet. Being involved in challenges with other runners all over the world motivates me to keep running everyday! It is fabulous.

Looking forward to my next run... 4 miles on Sunday! Tomorrow I will be cross-training on the bike for 30 minutes.

-E

Day 1: Running Alone

Well it didn't go as well as I had hoped - but at least I got my 3 miles done for today. It was only the third time I've run this month, so I guess I should have expected to be pretty sluggish. I also had major cramps half way through - I think it's because I had coffee an hour before my run. I haven't been drinking coffee in the past couple of months, so the coffee made my tummy cinch up. Yuck, not a pleasant feeling.

I also noticed that I am way less motivated or in the "zone" when I'm running alone. I'm such a competitive spirit that I think I need people around so that I can feed off their energy. When I'm running alone, I get caught up in my thoughts and it's a lot easier to get discouraged. When other people are around, I find I think less and just run. It motivates me that someone else is there, working just as hard, going through the same pain. These thoughts help me push myself.

Today I was running on the treadmill in my apartment's tiny gym... I was alone and feeling miserable, but with one mile to go in my run somebody else came in to workout. It's like a was reborn! I finished my run at a much better pace and the cramps just disappeared. Funny how that is.

Also, an hour before my run I had coffee and a bowl of Quaker instant oatmeal. I don't think there was enough to that breakfast. I think I need to add half a banana to it next time.

Tomorrow, I am running 3 miles again and doing strength training along with it.... hope I can push through. The first few weeks will be the hardest....

Half-Marathon Training

I am now officially signed up for the Ottawa Half-Marathon on May 29th! That day also happens to be my 22nd birthday... once I'm done the race I'm definitely going to have a lot to celebrate :)

I have never run a half marathon race before. I am not in the greatest shape of life right now. I am in moderate shape. I am going to follow Hal Higdon's Novice Training Plan in the next weeks to get myself race day ready. We'll see how it goes!

Running a half marathon is something I've wanted to do for the past three years, but I always manage to chicken out. Sometimes I start training, but I get intimidated when it comes time to actually sign up for the race. Well, now there's no backing out because I've already paid the $70 registration fee!

I am excited to start training and get in what is likely to be the greatest shape of my life. My training officially starts tomorrow. I'm going to run 3 miles in the morning........ catch me if you can!

-E