And how long can I use having triplets as an excuse?
After a five month hiatus, I decided it was high time to start running again. That was during December but there were too many excuses - vacation, holiday parties, Christmas shopping - for me to actually do it. I finally gave myself a date. January 1st. And if you know me, you know that I usually do not make resolutions. But I needed a date and that seemed like a good one. I also thought that it would help if I gave myself a big goal. I'm still determined to one day run a half marathon (and finish in under 2:15) so I immediately thought of the Wine and Dine Half Marathon at WDW in the fall. Not that I could possibly be ready for a half in time for 2013 but future year dreams were flying around in my mind until I remembered that that particular race begins at 10:00 PM. Ten years ago = sure. Now = boo.
Starting back up again is always difficult for me because I just can't pick up where I left off in terms of mileage and time. For my first run, I had planned to alternate walking and running in one quarter mile segments with a total running distance of one mile. So walk/run/walk/run/etc - each change would occur after I had completed a quarter mile. Well, after doing that for five segments, I just ran the last half mile.
For my second run, I simply ran a mile at a slower pace, around a 12 minute mile.
My problem is that I like to challenge and push my running so instead of maintaining some easy runs, every run turned into a tempo run. I kept bumping up the speed on the treadmill during each run while also increasing my mileage (which was still tiny) each week. After 5-6 weeks, I had made it up to a long run of 2.5 miles. I never ran more than three times a week though so I was giving myself some recovery time.
You know where this is all going. Right? About 2-3 weeks ago, my old, old, old "injury" reappeared. It's that muscle pulling thing that happens behind my right knee. It's frustrating and the whole thing was exasperated by the fact that I have scar tissue in there. Ack! So I backed off but I should have seen the warning signs and backed off sooner. Anyway, after over a week of not running, I did fit one run in before norovirus invaded our home.
I had to take it easy this week (sick recovery) so no running yet for me. I really just started eating somewhat normal meals again yesterday and I'm finally not as tired. Going to bed early has helped with that. I'll be back soon enough.
So I do have a short term goal. Rich and I will be running a 5K in May and my goal is to finish in under 30 minutes. I've done it before and I'm sure I can do it again. I'll end by saying that following other runners on twitter has been extremely inspirational.
11 comments:
That's so so awesome! Good for you. I hope you crush your race goals.
And if you're super bored and need more run people to follow on twitter, I'm RunNiki. I only have twins though. :)
sounds great to me! I'm doing a 5K in Braintree in April. This is my year to run it without walking. I want to do Finish at the 50 at Gillette Stadium again too.
I love that you're doing this! I think that this quote totally goes along with your new goals:
"Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it's all about."
-PattiSue Plumer, U.S. Olympian
enjoy!
You sound just like me. I was doing a couple 5ks a week and got the crazy idea last fall to train for a marathon. Apparently I pushed too hard in my training and I broke my hip (stress fracture)! I was out of commission for 3 months and I just started back a few weeks ago. I am strictly following a C25K program now so I dont over do it. I am currently up to 6 minute runs with minimal pain.
I too used to run and just started back up again. I began running in 2010 and got up to 5 miles, then we found out we were expecting and stopped running. After we had our son I ran once every 4-6 weeks. I just started running in January and did my first 5k in two years at the beginning of February. I haven't been able to run farther than a 5k though. I'm kind of stuck there right now. I tried pushing myself a few weeks ago but injured my ankle :( So, I'm back up and trying to push myself...again. I'm hoping for a 10k by October! Good luck at your 5k!! I'm positive you'll get under 30:00 min mark :)
Good for you for starting back up!
Keep up the great work. I've never run, and my goal is to run a 5k this year. I'm not sure, between a back injury and iffy lungs, if I'll ever be able to run, but I'm going to give it a go!
RunNiki - I found you on twitter!
Christi - I just looked up the Gillette Stadium race. It's the one on July 3rd, right? We've talked about doing that one before but it was on July 4th - which never worked out. They don't allow strollers though :(
letstakeabreak - I like that quote.
Raenstoirm - I'm actually thinking of doing a few very easy weeks to start back up and then picking up the C25K around week 4. Good luck to you!
M+W - that's how I felt last year. It's so easy to get stuck at one distance. And it's very frustrating when that happens. I want to do a 10K by the end of 2013 too.
Eileen - good luck! Take it easy and do the best you can do. Anything is better than nothing.
Great goals! I need to start running again!
Sarah, I am pretty sure I saw some strollers last year on the course.
Or your family can be inside the stadium waiting to see you cross the finish line.
We're going to "tailgate" in the parking lot while waiting for the fireworks. Definitely pack snacks/supper because the lines at the restaurants was crazy last year. We ended up going to the Chieftain for dinner after last year.
Christi - Thanks for the tip re: the restaurants. I wouldn't have thought of that and my kids need to eat every 2 hours - haha. We still don't know what we are doing for the 3rd/4th this year but we've put this on our maybe list.
Post a Comment