Premature progress

I wasn't supposed to get to a mile and a half till the middle of June to stay on schedule for my goal, but I won't complain. I'm enjoying my afterglow because the actual running was pain-o-riffic.

View 5-31-11 in a larger map

This map actually doubles over itself. I ran a dorky circle around the lightpole at 33rd and Superior, then kept going till 32nd street.

I ran with my husband tonight. Last time we ran together, I got to half a mile and just about collapsed. Maybe in a month my 1.5 miles will sound silly, but I'm pretty proud of it tonight.

Goal One: Check!

Why am I awake?

To stay on schedule for my 1/2 marathon goal next May, I need to be able to run a mile without stopping by June 1.

This morning I woke up at 6 and laid in bed for an hour. We had to be somewhere by 8, so I decided to try to run before the day got too busy.

Woot! 1.2 miles, no stopping!

This was not a normal day.

Here are the out of the ordinary factors that I think helped me:

• It was cool out, and sprinkling.
• I didn't have a day's worth of food and water gurgling around in my stomach.
• It was still early, but I'd been awake for an hour.
• I didn't have any side stitch whatsoever. This is a first.
• I had a feeling of URGENCY to make this goal. We have a busy weekend planned, and today felt like my last chance to get this done.

Can I double?

My new goal is to go 2 miles without stopping by July 1. There's a nearby loop that is 1.68 miles, so if I can find a way to extend that by .32 I won't have to walk so far home. I believe that my running class will help; I need all the help I can get!

Afterglow

I HATE RUNNING.

I've been wanting to say that for a while, because I've been feeling it since April 31 when I took my first "leap of faith" run. I hate feeling like my body is a loosely packed sack of guts that gets all tangled up and twisted when I run. I hate feeling broken and defeated when I have to start walking because I can't take the pain. Why can't I be more like the heros on The Biggest Loser who run through the pain?

An hour later…

After my "what the heck am I doing" cry in the shower, I felt better. I took my dog out for her bedtime walk and when I looked down the street, I couldn't see the place where I started my walk of shame, 0.6 miles away and around the corner. It felt good know that I can run past what I can see. Also my legs feel a little stronger. I like that too.

Is anyone listening?

I told the Big Guy Upstairs "I want to like running. I want it to feel good and I want to crave it. But right now what I want the most is a really good excuse to give up."

Afterglow

That's when it got clear. Right now, running will NOT be pleasurable until afterwards. It's like eating; eat something healthy instead of my preferred chips & dip so that I'll feel good in an hour. Thanks Big Guy.

But someday shredded wheat and running will be good in the moment too, right?

Promise?

After I cross the finish line for the half marathon next May I'm going to feel incredible for a month.

Malodorous Possum Guts

I'm well on my way to getting to my nonstop mile by the end of the month. The blue line here was my route tonight, and the blue marker is the small culdesac that I walked around because I was being a wimp. Hopefully by the end of this month I can make it all the way.


View 5-23-11 in a larger map

Walk of Shame

It's awesome that I got so far, but by the time I slapped the lightpole in front of the gas station (12 minutes after taking my first stride) I was heaving and seeing spots. So I walked most of the way back home. And just when I was starting to catch my breath and breathe deep, I passed a rotting possum on the road. And then another one.

Who wants chowder?

My Google Map Is Screwing With Me

View Running in a larger map

My map can't be right because if it is, that means I ran 1.68 miles tonight, and I know I can't run that far.

I did walk the distance between two lightpoles when I was on Folkways Blvd so that must explain the mix-up.

Back to School

The night before Jeremy and the guys ran the marathon, we attended the RWAR spaghetti dinner. That's where I heard about Beginner's Luck.

June 8, 2011

Beginner's Luck is a running class here in Lincoln for beginners. In 7 weeks, they say, I'll be able to run a 5K. School starts June 8.

Ben Does Life

This is the guy who is going to be the speaker at the first night of class. Looking forward to learning from him.

Inspiring stuff on his website too.

Progress

I found my groove last night! I got in a breathing rhythm that worked for me, and I didn't feel like dropping dead. I was proud of my sweaty t-shirt; this was the first time I ran long enough to sweat without having to stop and catch my breath.

New Google Toy for Running

I ran the green line, then walked to HyVee to buy stamps. Then I walked to the blue line and ran it home.

It felt way longer.

View Running 3-16-11 in a larger map
Google My Maps. Kinda cool!

Poke and Blow

Yep, it is an actual remedy for what I was feeling on my run last night, but I don't think it works.

I was hoping that my appendix had burst so I could take a break, but no.

We Miss You Jon

Background

I started working at STI in February 2008. The tech support department is organized by teams of 3-5 reps, each captained by a supervisor. Jon Peters was a supervisor.

In May 2008 Jon married his college sweetheart. They have a 6 year old son and a second baby due in August. Tech support supervisor salaries don't play nice with growing families, so Jon was in school to become a line technician - the guy who climbs telephone poles to fix whatever happens when the lights go out.

March 19, 2011

Jon fell 27 feet off of a training pole and died from blunt force trauma. It was a training accident, and there was no net and no one to catch him. He was 31 years old and only a couple months from graduating.

Unfinished Business

Jon was signed up to run the Lincoln half marathon and nagged my husband Jeremy to run with him. After Jon died, Jeremy talked to the marathon officials and they said it would be fine to have up to 5 people run in Jon's place, each team member running a section of the race. Jeremy got 4 other guys to run it with him, so they each ran 2.5 miles. Jon's son Greyson crossed the finish line on the 50 yard line of Memorial Stadium to finish his dad's race. Greyson is a fast runner.

Can I send you a press release?

I was obsessed with publicizing the story about what our guys were doing for Jon. I flexed my wee little PR muscle, and the guys wound up on a couple of our local news stations, in two newspapers, and in a video podcast. I will admit I got a bit of a high from hearing snippets of my press release on the evening news. And maybe my ego inflated a tiny bit when we topped 200% of our fundraising goal.

Runners With A Reason

We buddied up with Runners With A Reason to raise a few bucks for Jon's wife & kids. The night before the race, they had a spaghetti dinner for the runners and their families. All of Team Jon was there, along with Jon's wife, son, parents, and sisters. During the program, we heard countless stories of people who "couldn't run" who just decided they were going to do it, and wound up running the half marathon - some of them ran the full marathon. Too many stories.

May 1, 2011

Race day was busy and emotional. Team Jon ran a great race, Greyson crossed the line, and we all missed Jon a little more that day.

My Turn

So now I'm pretty locked in to it. I don't have any good reasons not to at least try. Tonight I made it half way to my goal destination before I had to walk, but after I got there I ran all the way home!

Ice, Ice, Baby

Running tip: When it's hot outside, wear 2 sports bras and stick some ice in between them and wear a loose t-shirt so your lumps aren't too obvious.

Mean People Suck

When the teacher is a bully…

When I was in jr. high, we had a pretty sophisticated PE program that I hated. When the teacher is a former military man who enjoys throwing insults, the non-jocks were miserable. Next time Mr. Woodcock is on TV, watch for about 5 minutes and you'll get it.

Mean girls

I'm not saying that all of the athletic girls were mean, but all the girls who bullied me were athletic, which meant they were my team captains in PE. There was one who would take every opportunity to tell me how much I sucked while her disciples giggled and high-fived each other.

STFU

When I was running this morning I thought about those people, and felt the incapability all over again.

Wake up

Running tip from Jeremy: Let yourself wake up before you go running; don't hop right out of bed and hit the road.

Maybe that was my problem. I'll try to want to try again.

Ok, here we go.

One year from today is the Lincoln Marathon and Half Marathon. I plan to run the half. One small problem...I can't finish a mile without gasping for air like a dying fish.

Why run?

I'm inspired to run because of our friend Jon Peters. Jon was a co-worker who tried to get people to sign up and run with him, but then he died on March 19. So a group of guys from work ran the half as a relay, letting Jon's 6 year old son cross the line for his dad. It was sweet. Being around the runners 24/7 (I live with one of them, and I work with the rest of them) picked on my inner wimp, so I'm going to go for it. I'll do a post about Jon soon.

How's it going, you ask?

I consider it great progress that I was able to run far enough last night that I almost threw up. In related news, tacos are not the greatest pre-run dinner.

What's the next step?

My first 5K is on June 25, and by the end of this month I want to be able to run a mile without stopping.

What did I get myself into?