Chambersburg Half 2010 (Old Race Report #3)

As I mentioned in the post about my first 15K, I signed up for a half marathon the following weekend. It was a very last minute decision. It was the last day before the prices went up and I figured "Why not?". I knew I'd be able to finish even if I had to walk part of it and figured I'd regret it if I didn't try. It's a small event, in the town where I live and would be five minutes from my house.

I barely ran during the week leading up to it, recovering from the previous weekend. As Saturday approached, I was growing more and more nervous. I didn't feel prepared and as I stalked the forecast each day, I started to wonder what I got myself into. But, I had two goals. First, just finish the 13.1 miles. Second, be able to run the whole thing and not have to walk.

Friday afternoon, I checked the forecast and it was for temperatures in the 40's, rain and high winds...great!! I don't own any rain gear so I started searching the house. Found a freebie baseball cap from a non-profit organization...that'll work. Found a really, really old pullover windbreaker, not water proof, but thought it might help. Lastly, got the high tech plastic bag out to waterproof the iPod.

Saturday morning I was about as nervous as could be. I was going to this one by myself. My husband had to go to work for a little bit but he said he'd meet me at the finish line. I drove over early because I'm super early for everything. Hung out at the middle school, hit the bathrooms multiply times and just tried to stay dry. It was raining all morning.

Closer to the time of the start, I noticed a lady standing next to me and thought she looked familiar and realized she lives a few houses down from me, so we chatted a bit at the start line. Soon, we were off. It rained the entire race. If that wasn't bad enough, the wind was terrible. There were several gusts that actually pushed me sideways. My hat flew off once despite just trying to hunker down and push through it. The rain was blowing sideways and I was drenched all the way through. This was far more tough mentally than it was physcially.

I kept hearing people talk about how hard this course was because of the hills, but they were nothing compared to that monster from the previous race. The hills seem to be where I can pass people because they all start walking. This was the first time I ever attempted to drink anything during a race. I slowed down at the water stops, grabbed some Gatorade and proceeded to splash it pretty much all over myself. I managed to swallow a little bit of it!

The actual running never felt hard, it was just the elements I had to push through. I tried to keep it slow throughout the early stages because I didn't want to bomb. I think around mile 9 or so I realized I'd be able to finish and picked it up...but just slightly, it certainly wasn't easy. I remember getting to the point where there was only 1 mile left. A guy directing traffic told me 1 more mile and I responded 'Good'. I just kept my eyes on a girl just a little in front of me and tried to stay as close as I could to her. I was definitely happy to see the finish line.

I didn't have the slightest clue how long it would take me to finish this. The longest training run was 8 miles. The weekend before, I managed the 15K, but that was the extent of my long distances. I think I told my husband that my guess would be 2:15 - 2:30 but I really didn't know. He was waiting for me as I crossed the finish line at 2:09:48 and I was thrilled. I finished it and I was able to run the whole thing without walking - both goals completed!!

My legs were a little wobbly at the end and I remember going straight to the car to try to put on some warm, dry clothes. Then, I was all about searching for some food and finding a medal. Luckily, I found both inside the warm, dry school! After settling down for a few minutes, I started to shiver and wanted to get home. My husband drove me across the street (literally) to get my car. Apparently, I looked a little out of it and he wasn't sure I should drive home. I told him I was fine, just cold. The minute I got home, I proceeded into the shower where I took the longest, hottest shower ever. A hot shower never felt so good. Then, I proceeded to eat practically everything in the house. I was sooo hungry after the race.

I recovered pretty well. I was sore for a day or two, but given that I was a bit unprepared for it, I think it went really well. Although the weather was terrible, in a way, it almost made it more fun. I certainly remember it and I realized I was tough enough to get through it. The next half I signed up for was in one more month!

Run for the Plunge (Old Race Report #2)

After the Snowflake in January, I was hooked. The next race I signed up for was the Run for the Plunge 15K held at Rocky Gap State Park in early March. My sister's training advice was to get to the point where running 5-6 miles felt easy and I should be fine. Sounded good to me, so I set out on that path. I think I ran 8 miles two separate times but race day was going to be the first time going 9.3 miles. I seem to be setting a trend for not running the full distance of any race I decide to do it for the first time.

The morning of the race came around. My husband and one of his friends were going to do the 5K. We got up early and headed to Rocky Gap. It was COLD...really cold. Knowing that I get really hot while running, I opted for a long sleeve tech shirt and some running capris (which look like full length pants on me since I'm so short). I was shivering so bad until a few miles into it.


The area had been hit with a snowstorm shortly before this race so there was still snow on the ground. We were told minutes before we started that we'd be going through a short trail section and while he (race director) started shoveling it, he didn't finish. What?!?

We headed off on what seemed like a round about course. I think they had to make some changes to it last minute because the mile markers were completely off (like when I saw mile 5, I was actually at 6.5 or so...talk about a blow to the ego when I thought I was only at 5) and there were some odd run up to here, then back down to here and then go over here sections. I have no idea how long the course actually was.



My sister and I were together until we hit the previously mentioned trail section. Apparently I need to practice a bit on trails, mud and snow. I was just tip-toeing through it and trying not to fall. My sister decides to pop up in front of me thinking it'll be easier for me just to follow her. She was off like a shot and that was the last time I saw her. Trails are much more her thing. Here I am stumbling out of the trail section. Hopefully this will improve with practice.

The next couple of miles were just fine. Went up and down some rolling hills but all like I was used to. Then, probably about mile 7-8 or so, we hit it. The monster hill. It seemed like we were going straight up. This is the furthest I'd ever run plus one hell of a hill. At one point, we went around a curve and I figured that would be the end of the hill...wrong! Kept going up. At that point, I said 'You've got to be kidding'...I think I even said it out loud and started walking. There was this old guy who started walking at this point so my plan was just to kind of stick around with him. We finally made it to the top. Then, guess what? That trail section, had to go through it again to finalize our loop. I lost the old guy during the trail, he's quite good on muddy, snowy trails too.

From there, everything was great until the finish and I made it there in 1:28:31. Who knows if it's accurate but I think it was close. I forgot to stop my watch at the end but when I did, it was at 1:30 so that sounds about right. I was thrilled with the time. What I hadn't really disclosed to anyone was that I had signed up for a half-marathon the next weekend. I did it just a few days before this race because it was in my town, the prices were about to go up and I figured I'd regret it if I didn't try.

After the race, my quads were killing me and I spent the week thinking about how bad of a decision it probably was to sign up for the half marathon next week...but, we'll get to that shortly!

More Miles Makes Me Happy

I needed the longer runs this week. I was very happy with my 6.1 miles on Saturday and then 11 on Sunday. I needed those...mentally.

The previous week just didn't seem like I was doing enough and when I ran 4.5 miles and that felt hard, I already started having doubts about the marathon...it's way too early for that! I had started to think I'd like to go back to the way it was a couple months ago where I basically just winged it every time. I almost feel like I've read too much about running at this point.

But, this weekend's runs were great. I was up and out the door by 6:30 each morning and was able to beat the heat. It was certainly warming up but still manageable. About 7 or 8 miles into the 11 miler was when I started feeling really good. I was in a groove where I felt like I could just keep going and going...love that!!

By the time I was back home, I still had the whole day in front of me. Yesterday was exceptionally good...went out to breakfast after the long run. Then, came home, cleaned the house and mid afternoon drove out to the state park to take the dogs on a hike. They get so excited when they know they are going. Of course, today, when I went to take the dogs on their daily neighborhood walk, Kasey, the beagle wouldn't even come downstairs. So, I took the other dog and just left her here. I guess the heat and the fact that's it's just the boring neighborhood walk aren't enough to motivate her! She's been getting more and more that way lately but I usually drag her along anyway. Guess I'll just leave it up to her each day!

Food Post

Yesterday's run was much better, I started out a little later and it was a bit cooler. I'll just keep experimenting in the heat.

I think I'll try the format of one food post per week. This week, I cooked the following for dinners:

First, Romano Basil Turkey Breast and roasted potatoes on the grill. My potatoes turned out great, but nothing special with those. Cut them up, thew on some seasonings and cook them in foil packs on the grill. I wouldn't make the turkey again. It didn't finish cooking all the way through on the grill so I had to throw it in the oven and then it was just so-so. None of the flavors went through to the turkey so it was just boring turkey.

Next up. Portobello Mushroom, mozzarella and tomato paninis and Microwave Potato Chips. The sandwiches were great but nothing special with those either. Marinated the mushrooms in a little balsamic vinegar, assembled the sandwiches with freh mozzarela, fresh basil and tomatoes and threw on the Cuisinart Griddler. The chips were kind of pain to deal with and weren't very good. Wouldn't make those again either. I'm striking out so far on the recipes.

Final meal cooked was Next Day Primavera. This is one I've made several times. It's quick and easy. The recipe calls for leftover chopped turkey or chicken. I used leftover ham I had in the freezer from Easter. It would be easy to just leave out the meat and add some other veggies. I'm still trying to limit the amount of meat but I had it in the freezer already.

Last night it was just leftovers and salads. The garden is overflowing with lettuce...must start eat lots and lots of lettuce!

It's Getting Hot In Here

Yesterday's run was terrible. I had planned on doing six miles but was completely depleted after 4.5 - even with a walk break and also having plenty of water with me. In fact, about 3 miles into it, all I wanted to do was make sure I made it home without collapsing on the side of the road. OK, perhaps that is a little dramatic, but yeah, I didn't deal well with yesterday's heat. As soon as I hit the front door, I tried getting my drench-covered tank off and got stuck in it. I had on one of those racer-back tanks with built in sports-bra with another sports bra underneath. Had it half-way over my head and couldn't break out of it. After I finally did, it was time to just hit the floor and relax before stretching out.

My schedule is a little weird...start work really early which means weekday morning runs don't really work, unless I get up at 3:30 or so and would be out the door running by 4 AM. The schedule also makes it hard for evening runs since I'm often sound asleep pretty early and I think a late run would wire me and make it difficult to relax. I'm usually much more energetic after a run and would take awhile to unwind. So, that leaves me running late afternoon, when the sun is still shining and the heat is bad.

I don't have a gym membership and our treadmill is currently out of commission. See? All those parts on the floor, they belong on the treadmill (can you see the back end of a beagle in that picture?). Treadmills aren't exactly cheap so we figured we'd try to fix that one before investing in another one. Plus, the only good part about running on a treadmill in an unfinished basement is having the TV available, otherwise, it pretty much sucks all around.

Guess I'll just have to start experimenting with the other options...I'm sure it's only going to get worse from here. When I got back from the run yesterday, the temperature was 92 degrees. We'll definitely have more of that!!

Snowflake Chase (Old Race Report #1)

Last week, I mentioned wanting to to recaps of the few races I've completed in the past months, before blogging. What better way to start than with one that took place in January, when it was cold, snowy and icy. Those days, I couldn't wait for warm weather. Now that it's hot, I just want it to go away.

The Snowflake Chase is a 5-mile run. It was the first time I'd ever run 5 miles outside before and it's what got me hooked on starting to run longer, and longer distances. My first official race (I don't count the one I blogged about here) was a Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot 5K in 2009. I walked/ran it with my husband. That one made me realize that running a race was fun and a race is a good way to push myself to do something more than pound out a few miles on the treadmill.

On Christmas Day, I remember mentioning to my family that we were interested in finding another 5K to run, but hadn't found too much coming up soon. They quickly suggested the Snowflake Chase, since they run it every year. My husband said he wasn't ready for a 5-miler but I figured I could tackle it so I went ahead and signed up. After signing up, my sister informed me that it wasn't an easy course. Guess they wanted to save that tidbit until after I sent in my registration form and money!

I drove up and stayed with my sister the night before since it's not that close to my house. My mom did the walk while my sister, brother-in-law and a bunch of people they know ran the 5 miles. Since my sister doesn't care much about times or being competitive these days, she stuck with slow-poke me for the whole race. I dressed WAY too warm for this and had layers everywhere and was a sweaty mess at the end due to this. It was actually warm for January day up there. They had just come out of foot after foot of bad snow-storms and were experiencing a lull in the snow and bad weather.

It was an out and back course and wasn't as bad as I had envisioned, just a little hilly but nothing outrageous. I felt good for the first half but about mile 4, I was ready for it to be over. My mom was utterly shocked when she saw us coming down toward the finish. This whole running thing completely amazes her since I'd never wanted anything to do with it in the past. Crossed the finish line in 49:40. Certainly not speedy but I was thrilled since I hadn't run that far outside before and I was happy with the time. This was before I owned a watch, a Garmin or anything else related to running. Just me and a pair of shoes.

Post race is held at an Uno's restaurant where there was lots of free yummy pizza. We enjoyed that and were for the awards. I won myself a water bottle for 2nd place in my age group...who cares if there were only 3 people in my age group...haha!!

The next day, I get an e-mail asking me if I wanted to do a 15K in March and a half marathon in April. I replied and said, sure, because actually, I had already looked into signing up for a half marathon in March. I figured the one in March was a little too soon but April sounded feasible.

Thus began my new obsession!

Glee

I love the show Glee. It's pretty much the only show I watch regularly. After seeing it advertised for the first time, I anxiously awaited to watch the pilot episode on Hulu. It lived up to my expectations and I've watched all the episodes since (thank goodness we switched our cable package and now have a DVR! - hubby isn't quite the fan).

Knowing how much I love the show, my husband did think of me last year when he found out he needed to attend a benefit dinner and the cast of Glee would be there. Normally, I wouldn't go to those types of things because he just needs to go to represent his company and I get all nervous and feel awkward in any sort of big, formal, fancy events. But, it sounded like a good time and I definitely agreed to go to that one. I must say, however, that the cast of Glee was overshadowed by the fact that President Obama was also there and spoke.

But, anyway, I love the show and have lots of the songs on my MP3 player. I find they are great for running because they just make me happy and feel light on my feet! Other people, such as my husband, might disagree.

Here are a few that I enjoy for running:

"Taking Chances"

"Somebody to Love"

"Safety Dance"

"Rehab"

"Mercy"

"Loser"

"Gives Me Hell"

"Jump"

"Alone"

Anyone else like these songs for running?

Forgotten First Race

Although I'm pretty new to world of running, it's certainly not a foreign concept to me. My older sister has run for 15+ years and has completed every distance from 5K-100K. She's pretty much always runs but like anyone, goes in cycles of how dedicated she is to it. My mom took a stint at running a few years back too. I remember being in middle school or high school and traveling to Cleveland for my sister's first marathon...I was less than thrilled. I honestly never paid much attention to anything either of them were doing relating to running because I wasn't the least bit interested. If I only knew then what I know now!!

Several years ago when I started exercising, I would work out on an elliptical and 'run' on a treadmill. At some point, I figured my running on the treadmill meant I could easily run outside. There was a dog jog my sister wanted to do and since she had two dogs, she needed a partner. This must have been 5 or 6 years ago, I can't really remember but I don't think I had either of my dogs at this time which is why I agreed to do it and take one of hers.

If I remember correctly, it was supposed to be a 5K trail run. It didn't go well! We started out and I tried jogging. It was going OK, but we were probably only a quarter mile or so into it when we thought we heard someone crying. We look back and there is a little girl with her white dog. We stop and have her catch up with us. I guess her parents just let her loose on this course but when the run started, all the runners just took off and this little girl had no idea where to go. So, we ended up having to walk the first loop with this little girl, she didn't want to jog and was very upset the whole time. It was a two loop course, so once finished the first loop, she ran off with her parents.

Since the first loop took so long, I figured we'd just stop, but my sister wanted to at least get in 3 miles, one way or another. So, I agree and we start jogging the second loop. I couldn't do it, I kept having to walk. It was a bit of a mental blow to me because at this point, I think I thought I was in shape and thought I could run. By the time we finished, the whole event was pretty much wrapped up. For exercise, I went back to the treadmill and didn't really try running outside much more after that...until last year.

While looking through old pictures, I found this picture of us during this dog jog. I had pretty much forgotten all about it!

The Blog: It's a Keeper

First, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who commented on the post about fuel for long runs. I'll begin experimenting soon.


Second, since it sounds like there are lots of strawberry lovers, I had to share yesterday's bounty. They are so yummy! Too bad it's the end of strawberry season!






So, I've concluded I enjoy blogging and it's going to stick around! I've been reading lots of blogs for several years. The first series were weight loss/fitness type blogs. Next, I added in some knitting/craft blogs. Then food/cooking and most recently: RUNNING! I was never one to comment on posts, I just enjoyed reading them for information, motivation or enjoyment. I started searching running blogs for music playlists and quickly kept adding different blogs to my Google Reader. I really enjoyed reading race recaps and hearing about how people were training. So, eventually, I thought, what the hell, I'll sign up for account, it should be good motivation.

Now that I actually starting commenting on people's blogs - it's even more fun to read them! I never thought I'd really have anything interesting to say on a blog, but figured I'd give it a shot. What I've discovered is I just enjoy doing it for myself. I started a list (have I mentioned I like lists?) of all kinds of posts that will be upcoming...Don't know that they will be very interesting to anyone else, but writing the posts will be a great way to document the memories for myself.

Coming soon, look for posts about my previous races (who cares if it's a race recap a few months after the fact), my history with running (from long before I ever thought I'd be participating), my forgotten first race from a few years ago, some music posts and lots of other random stuff.

For today, I'm glad it's Friday, my rest day. I have a tight left quad muscle (too many squats in the strawberry patch?) and don't think a run would be enjoyable. Hopefully a day of rest is all it needs!

Strawberries & Sunshine

Yesterday I had a 5 mile run scheduled. It was another good afternoon run! It boosted my energy right up and made me want to be productive in the evening. I'm happy to report the garden and flower beds have been thoroughly weeded...which will last about a day.

So, after my run, took a quick shower and made a quick dinner. I was running a little behind schedule due to a late conference call, so I decided it needed to be a quick one. Fish sandwiches made with fish my parents caught on their vacation a month or two ago. My parents love to fish and take several vacations a year to fish. Sometimes the fish is a little too strong (especially since I get it when it's been frozen), but I am happy to report that these were very good and mild. I just lightly coated them in a little panko bread crumb mixture I made up and did a light pan-fry on them.

It's a gorgeous day outside. I've already decided that post-work, I'm going strawberry picking. I called over to the strawberry place to make sure they'd be open and they are. Excellent!

Fueling

Question for anyone reading: What do you use for fuel on long runs and races?

I've never needed anything before but know I'll want to figure out a plan for the marathon over the long runs I'll be doing in the next few months. In the first half marathon I ran, I drank a little bit of Gatorade at two different stops. I chose the Gatorade simply because it was the first thing I saw. On the second half marathon, I grabbed water twice, but that was it. I usually don't drink much, but did get a water bottle belt last month. I've used it twice on days where it was really hot out and my runs were longer than 8 miles.

All the gels and other products kind of intimidate me for some reason so I've never bought anything and don't really even know what to try first. I'm thinking I might just be the type of person to carry some candy but would love to hear what works for everyone.

Yesterday's short run was wonderful! There was a very light mist in the air and it actually felt cool. I checked the thermometer when I got back and it said 74.5 degrees. That's definitely the coolest it's been on one of my runs for awhile...of course, I was only scheduled for 3 miles yesterday and stopped at 3.75.

Last night's dinner - not too exciting. Stir-fried veggies over bean thread/cellophane noodles, but tasted good. Missed lots of veggies while on vacation.

Back on the Wagon

Time to start eating healthier again! I stepped on the scale yesterday and realized vacation took its toll. Way too much candy and ice cream apparently. Actually, I don't think it was all vacation. I believe it started back at the end of April when I was in Chicago for work. A week of eating in restaurants is never good and then it seemed like May was a busy month.

At the end of May, about the time I decided I try blogging, I made a list of goals. I'm a list person. I love having something to hold me accountable and love crossing things off a list. I think this blog is basically that as well, mostly for me, to hold myself accountable and track things.

Anyway, one of my goals was to make sure I cooked at least 3 healthy meals during the work week and try to eat out less, especially on the weekends. This means to actually cook something other than grill a few chicken breasts, grab tortillas and a bag of salad out of the refrigerator and say we're having chicken wraps again for dinner. It seems like there have been a lot of chicken wrap nights lately because it's quick, easy and always something that works. I'm also going to try to incorporate more fish/seafood and try more vegetarian meals.

Throughout most of high school and all of college, I was a vegetarian, but was very unhealthy about it. I lived off of baked ziti, macaroni and cheese, red bean & rice and pizza. I still don't eat that much meat, but did start again after meeting my husband. During these eight years, I've also discovered that I'm no longer allergic to any fish or seafood. I grew up my whole life not having any since very young because I was allergic to it when I was young. I still don't cook much at home because I not real good at cooking with it yet.

There have been many, many times when I feel very guilty about eating meat, especially beef and pork and somewhat on chicken and turkey. I don't think I'd ever touched raw meat until I moved in with Kevin. But, I started cooking dinners and often made things with meat or poultry because those meals usually turned out and were edible. I seem to have bad luck with non-meat dishes.

I followed a trailer with cattle for several miles through town a couple of years ago and decided then that I wouldn't buy meat in the regular grocery store but would try a local butcher shop, hoping that a more local source is better. Can't say that it is, but I try to at least think so. Then, a month ago, I had to take my desktop computer in for a repair. To get to the place, I have to drive by a livestock auction. At the time I drove by, there was an area filled in with cattle. It got to me and I haven't had any beef since then. I'm not going to say I'm going to become a vegetarian again, but I'm going to try to make better decisions and just eat less meat.

I love to cook, but often it falls by the wayside when I get busy. Two years ago, I worked for a year on a cookbook as a gift for all our family members. I spent a year cooking, tracking, photographing and working on the book. I used Blurb to create it, which I highly recommend. I've done other photo books with it too. My book was titled Second Helpings. I loved that process and it made me cook and try lots of new things. I'm a very average cook, and lots of my recipes are just out of Taste of Home, which is simple, everyday kind of food. So, I'm thinking I can extend that and start trying to cook more again. I still want this blog to be for tracking my running but eating healthy goes along with that and can use this to extend new things I've tried cooking.

At least that's the idea, we'll see how it goes. Well, after that long post, you'd think I would have made some exotic meal yesterday. It was anything but, however, what I love is the season for fresh produce! Last night was salads, grilled chicken, rice and asparagus, with strawberries for dessert. The lettuce was out of our own garden, and the asparagus and strawberries were local. Much more local produce to come and can't wait for more to start growing in our garden!

Yesterday was my cross-training day, so I just did 30 Day Shred and have a short, easy run on tap for this afternoon.

First Training Week

I'm back from a wonderful vacation at the Outer Banks. Pretty much the only thing accomplished on the trip was officially kicking off week one of the marathon training schedule. Well, that and watching sunsets like the one above, lounging by the pool and the ocean. We did have a kayak for the week so I guess I got in some upper body exercise a few days too. It was great, just the kind of vacation I needed. Normally, I like to jam pack vacations with activities but I was quite content just to get away and relax on this one - it had been awhile.

First thing each morning, I woke up and ran the planned mileage for the day. My longest run was 8 miles while the others were all scheduled between 3-5. There were days I wanted to go longer, but I am trying to stick to the plan. The strange thing? I'm so glad to be back in PA where there are hills to run. All that flat terrain was boring after awhile. Yesterday's run was 9 miles and it felt better than those on vacation and I really think it was the up and down of hills.

Vacation

I'm counting down the hours until I leave work for the day and officially start vacation. There's still lots to do this afternoon and evening but once I finish tying up the loose ends at work, that's all I'm worried about. Next week will be awesome due to the following:

• No work for a week. Going to try to not think about it and will keep e-mail checking at a minimum.
• No work means morning runs are possible. Much, much better than the hot, hot, hot afternoon runs I've been suffering through lately.
• R-E-L-A-X-A-T-I-O-N

I'll probably be quiet next week!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Anniversary

Today is our 2-year wedding anniversary!

Two years ago we were at the Outer Banks getting married. Three years ago, we got engaged there. Four years ago, we adopted the dogs (although almost a year apart). Five years ago, we bought our first house. Eight years ago, we met each other. I'm sure the upcoming years will provide many, many more great times!!

Calling Myself a 'Runner'

Before signing up for that first 5K, I never really thought a race would be for me. I thought they'd always be for the serious runners. I don't consider myself a competitive person, and I probably had a bit of fear that I'd be the last one to cross the finish line. Once I did one, I realized they were for everyone and it really didn't matter where I finished among everyone else. I could care less about competiting against someone else but the excitement I got out of competing against myself was something I never realized I had in me.

For the first few, I still didn't really feel like I belonged because I still didn't consider myself a 'runner', even though I did feel a high at the finish line. I find myself in the middle of the pack but still wasn't sure I'd hit the point where I was an official runner because I didn't believe it yet. Even after doing two half marathons, the idea sounded so foreign to me. I even went out of my way not to look too 'into' it by carefully choosing my outfit. I've gotten over that now and after the 5K I ran this weekend, I feel like I runner.

This past Saturday, I ran a 5K at Antietam Battlefield. I signed up for it last minute because I'm already starting to freak out about the marathon I'm signed up for in October. Everything I've read indicates the course is hard. One of the harder sections is Antietam Battlefield due to the hills so I thought I'd run this 5K to get a feel for the area and see the roads I'm going to be hitting 20 miles into the marathon.

I went to the 5K alone and got there plenty early. It was starting to get very humid by the race start. I started in the middle of the group and started slow. I always start slow, which is good, but since most of my last races have been longer distances I didn't even have a clue how to start out on this. I was trying to keep it conservative but also kept thinking, this is only 3 miles, this is nothing and started moving up shortly into it. Passed mile two and decided to keep passing people, I was feeling good. We rounded a turn and I could see we were coming back to the area where we started and I was still feeling good. I hit the finish line at 25:30. I honestly couldn't believe it. I never run fast in any of my runs since I've been training for distance but will occasionally throw in some quicker segments. I guess this training stuff pays off because that's faster than I've ever run 3.1 miles. I even high-fived some guy at the end and that is out of character for me...I'm typically very reserved and don't show a lot of excitement in public. Immediately at the end, I thought I could definitely do that faster with a little bit of work.

That's not the kind of time that's going to win me any awards, but that doesn't matter. What matters is seeing how much I've progressed in just 5 months.

I'm a runner and I finally feel like it!

My Story

Becoming a runner is by far the last thing I thought would happen to me. If we back up years ago, I was overweight and not interested in many sports or active activities. Watching a musical or finding new indie music were more up my alley. But, funny how just growing up makes you change in drastic ways.

In high school, I played tennis but loathed any running we had to do. I also distinctly remember failing my phys. ed. final of running the mile. I think it took 16 minutes or so. Things pretty much continued the same way in college. Despite my university having a huge recreation center that was for student use only (no classes), I never once stepped in it. Fear of not knowing the procedures and looking out of place kept me away. Instead, I stayed holed up in my dorm room. For a long, long time, I had about as low self-confidence/self-esteem anyone could have coupled with being very shy with social anxiety. It wasn't a good mix...

But, things started to change post-college. I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do with my life at this point, so I moved back to my hometown and started my first post-college job. It was going to be temporary until I figured out what to do with myself. There, I met my now husband. We were working together and he kept trying to break me out of my shell. Apparently, me constantly rejecting him made him try harder. Little did he know my rejecting him was more out of my own fear and had absolutely nothing to do with rejecting him as a person. Either way, it worked out!

About a year later, we were living together in a new town. By this point, although I started to have more confidence in myself, physically I was heavier than ever and not happy with myself. But then, I had my moment. I was shopping for new bras and becoming frustrated. At that moment, I decided it was time to lose weight and get healthy. Which, I did and haven't looked back. I lost 50+ pounds mostly by using workout videos and just eating better.

After we bought our first house, we got a treadmill and I used to continue to stay in shape but that was the only purpose. Just get my 30 minutes in a day, either by the treadmill or some other exercise. Every once in awhile, I'd run outside, but rarely.

But, then, last year my husband wanted a goal to get on his own healthy kick and somehow we decided to sign up for a 5K. That was on Thanksgiving 2009. I walked/ran it with him and something in me clicked. I knew I would have been able to run the whole thing and suddenly the idea of 'training' for something was totally appealing. So, since that first 5K, I've done another 5K, a 5 miler, 15K, 2 half marathons and another half and a full marathon scheduled...guess I got hooked. Seeing my progress has been extremely exciting for me!