Put One Foot in Front of the Other!

 "Ugh, already?" I say to myself as my alarm goes off at 2:00am Saturday morning. Not that I wasn't already wide awake, though. I was too antsy, too excited to sleep! I probably got about two hours of sleep total that night. Oh well! I got up and got dressed, got all my gear together, packed a couple of bagels and some water and got ready to go. I kissed my husband goodbye and set out to the Provo Towne Center where buses would take us to the starting line for the Utah Valley Half Marathon!

The day has finally come! This is the event I've spent six months training for! All of the sweat, sore joints and muscles, blisters, and the occasional tears from either frustration or uncertainty of whether I could ever be ready for this day; it all boiled down to this morning. I was a bit nervous about how I would do, because the longest I had run up to this point was still only about 8 miles, but I tried not to worry myself about it too much. All that mattered now, was that I did the best I could.

I had gotten to the mall fairly early, only a few other cars were parked and waiting just yet. But that's okay. I didn't mind hanging out for a while. Since this was my first time doing a race where you have to take a bus, as opposed to meeting right at the starting location, I figure it's just as well to be early and maybe beat any craziness! I munched on one of my bagels, and mingled with some of the other runners as we waited. It wasn't long before the crowd started to grow, and soon after that, the buses arrived. I boarded one of the first buses and we were on our way!

Within about a half hour, we pulled up to our meeting spot up Provo Canyon. I was surprised to see several fire pits set up along the hillside, they looked like floating fireballs in the dark. I was soon grateful for them, though! It was still dark and pretty chilly. I parked it near one of the dozens of firepits and got comfortable. It was only 4am and the race didn't start till six, so I had some time to kill! After a little snoozing, goofing around on my phone, and playing with a ladybug that landed on my arm, dawn had broken, and it was almost time to start! Volunteers started to shoo the crowd (which had grown to several thousand!) toward the official starting line, just down the hill from where the buses dropped us off to check our gear bags, and get lined up. Before I knew it, they were counting down to the start of the race, and we were off!

This was it! I'm finally doing it! As excited as I was, I kept an even pace. It's easy to get caught up in the moment and want to push myself faster than I should, but I've learned in past races that only tires me out way too early, and I had a long way to go! I settled into a good pace, comfortable, but not too slow, either, and I started to enjoy the view! It was beautiful! Sunny day, perfect temperatures, and the mountains at every angle! I've driven the canyon about umpteen times, but it's somehow different when you're running it. More time to look at everything around you! I could see bikers up different parts of the canyon, hikers, incredible views of Bridal Veil Falls, and the many rock formations throughout the canyon. Looking at the highway ahead of me and behind was one of the coolest things, because it was FULL of runners! This race was huge!

So many people were there cheering the runners on! Every volunteer at the aid stations gave words of encouragement. Family members and friends waited along the road to cheer. There was one guy who would drive down the canyon to each parking area he could stop at to take pictures of whoever it was that he knew that was running. I don't know who it was, but they were pretty close to me throughout the race, because I passed the photographer each time he was taking pictures! It was great! Motorists would honk and cheer for us, and people had signs set up ahead of time to their friends and family!

As pretty as the canyon is, you don't realize just how long it is until you're running through it! I mean, when you drive, it just seems like, after you go around say, two bends in the road, and you're out of the canyon. When you're running it, it's like "okay, just past this next bend!" but then there's another one once you round that one, "okay, it's this next bend then!" I said to myself. Nope, that canyon just kept on going! That's okay. I didn't really feel tired... yet.

Each aid station had several restrooms, and there was an aid station every two miles. This was great. The restrooms at the earlier stations all had lines, and since I didn't really need to go earlier on, I held off. At about mile 10, I finally decided to stop for a bathroom break. This worked out pretty well, because there wasn't a line at these restrooms, so I didn't have to wait! Less time that I was losing by stopping! I wasn't too terribly worried about losing time though. I mean, when you gotta go, you gotta go! However, the drawback of the bathroom break was the fact that I obviously had to stop running. Totally lost my... momentum, I guess? Rhythm? Whatever you call it, stopping even for just those couple of minutes gave my body the chance to start to feel that fatigue set in.

Oh boy, it was hard to get going again! I started to get scared that it was finally catching up to me. That I may have to walk the rest. Then I remembered something my husband told me about a month earlier. I had a bit of a breakdown because I was having trouble with my knee. I was frustrated and scared that I wouldn't be able to keep training, or even do the race. He reassured me that it would be okay, then he looked at me and said "Buck up Cowgirl. You can do this!" I repeated that phrase to myself, cranked up my ipod a little higher, and dug in!

Around this time, Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" came on... A little ironic. Here I am, my legs feel like lead, my arms are chafing, I have this huge blister reforming on my right foot (so much for moleskin!) and this song is going on about "feeling alive," and "having such a good time!" ...I wanted to tell Freddie Mercury to shut the hell up! ...I kid, Queen, I love that song! It was actually a great pick me up. I soon was back in my groove, more or less, the crowds along University Avenue were getting bigger, and the finish line was finally visible! Visible, of course, doesn't necessarily mean close. I still had about two and a half miles to go, and when you've been running for over two hours, that feels like an eternity! I got passed by the top three marathoners... That's marathoners, as in, they ran twice the distance I was running, in less than half the time! ...Sick... and by sick of course, I mean awesome. :) I was still running, but the finish line didn't seem to be getting any closer! I kept repeating to myself, "you got this, you got this!" I probably sounded like a looney to anyone that could hear me, but since I had my headphones on, I couldn't even hear myself, so I didn't really care. ^_^

I was finally down to the last half mile. Other finishers were cheering those on that were still running. One guy was pumping his fists in the air with me! As exhausted as I was, I could feel myself pick up in speed, that high was kicking in, the best part of the race! At long last, I was sprinting thru the gates leading to the finish line, I started to scan the crowd lined up, looking for my husband and parents. It didn't take me long to find them! I half pointed, half waved at them, and tried to cheer, but I was running so hard, that I couldn't really catch my breath to do it. So I just kind of made a weird face at them instead. I think they knew what I meant!

I crossed the finish line strong, at two hours, thirty-nine minutes, and six seconds! I did it! I finished, and except for walking a few steps at a time at water stations, I ran the whole thing! My first half marathon was a success! It was one physically one of the hardest things I've done, but I had so much fun doing it! Not just the race itself, but the training as well. It was a fun journey!

I've people tell me that they could never do what I did. They've asked me how I did it. I'm not really an expert, so I'm not going to try to give expert advice. I would suggest however, to start small. If you're not used to running, try going for smaller distances, or short periods of time. Like, running a mile at a time, or fifteen minutes at a time, and build from there. There are a lot of good books about running, I like The Complete Idiot's Guide to Running, lots of good pointers for runners of all levels! :) Most importantly, have fun doing it! Set realistic goals for yourself. Do it one step at a time. Put One Foot in Front of the Other... and soon you'll be crossing the finish line!

T'was the Butt Crack of Dawn Before...

This is a quick one before I head out. Holy crap! It's the morning of the race! Two fifteen in the morning, to be precise! I can't believe the day is already here! The past six months have flown by! I'm as ready as I'm going to be, and I can't wait to run this race and see how I do! The weather is going to be perfect, and I'm feeling great (though sleep deprived)! I'll tell you all about how I do after the race, but right now, I have to get going! See ya at the finish line!!!

Running on Empty... Sort of...

Oh my! I've gone a month without updating on my progress! Sorry folks! I've been making pretty decent progress. My knee is behaving better, although I have been giving it more TLC than before. I wear a brace when I run, and I make it a point to ice it as soon as I finish, even if it isn't hurting. That seems to be working pretty well, and like I said, my knee joint has been feeling a lot better! For the past few weeks, I realized that I had been in a bit of a rut. I hadn't run much longer than about 6.5 miles, and I have less than a month to go! Yikes! So I decided to go for an 8 mile run yesterday to kick it into gear! I geared up with my new running shoes, my hydration belt thingy (whatever those are called), and my trusty ipod, and set out! I completed the full 8 miles! Woohoo! This is officially the longest I've ever run! It was hard though. It was a pretty warm day, about mid 80's, I carried plenty of water with me, but I didn't bring anything else with me to fuel myself as I was on the go. On my shorter runs, I can get by just fine, but yesterday, I noticed a difference, and I could tell I was running out of gas. I got through my workout pretty well, but I felt drained the rest of the night and into the following morning. The worst part, was that my appetite right after was shot! I knew I needed to eat something to recover, but it was all I could to choke down what little I could! I pushed myself too hard last night, but I know what to do to hopefully avoid that happening again. I'll need to be sure to not only bring fluids, but something small to eat on my long runs to give me an extra boost of carbs so I don't completely crash! It'll probably do some good to eat a little something even before I go running. Not a huge meal, obviously, but a little snack between my lunch and running so I'm not running on nothing! I hope this works! I'm down to crunch time, and I have quite a bit more distance to work up to within just a few weeks!

Strong Will, Weak Body?

Over the past few weeks, I've had some ups and downs. I came down with a chest cold, so I took it easy for about a week and a half while it cleared up, so I wouldn't make it any worse. As I recovered, I got back into the groove for about a week, starting with some shorter runs and walks, then building back up to the distances I was running before I got sick. All was going great, till last Tuesday. I went on a long run of about 6.5 miles. The weather was beautiful, and I felt great, but then, my left knee started to freak out on me. I've never had any major knee problems, and almost never experienced any significant knee pain before. The weird thing is, is that my knee didn't hurt as much while I was running, as it did when I slowed down to walk. It really got bad after resting for a while. It got better after that first day, but it hasn't completely disappeared. It doesn't hurt to put my weight on it, it just hurts when I extend my leg. I've borrowed a couple of knee braces from my sister, and they do help, but I'm afraid I could make it worse by pushing too hard. What worries me more, is my half marathon is than two months away! I'm afraid of losing ground in my training, but then, if I push myself too hard too soon, it may get bad enough to not be able to race at all... Ugh, why is this happening now?

Mixing It Up a Bit

So this past week, I've done some different stuff. I got a 3.5 mile run in last Monday. Wednesday evening was kind of busy, so I wasn't able to get out before it got dark. So I hopped on the exercise bike for about 45 minutes. I have no idea what milage that comes out to because I don't know how to get the little timer thingy on it to work! I worked up a good sweat though, and my legs felt well worked, so it counts! I didn't get any other "formal" workouts done the rest of last week; however, my family and I went to two different malls this weekend and were walking all over the place! Yay for shopping!

Starting off a new week, and with less than three months to go before race day, I decided to do some basic measurements to post on here. I should have done this months ago, but better late than never! I'll take new measurements every month to see how I progress. All I'm putting on here is my weight, waist, hip, and chest circumferences. I wish I had a way to measure my fat percentage, but I don't have any of the measurement tools handy for that. Anywho, here they are!

Weight: 152 lbs. Up about 4 pounds from the lowest I got it when I was doing P90X. I can live with that, it could definitely be worse!
Waist: 32 inches
Hips: 41.5 inches
Chest: 38 inches
Just a little note: I compared these measurements with those from last year before I started P90X, and my waist is still an inch smaller than last year, and my hips are one half inch smaller! Not too shabby! My chest is the same... but my chest doesn't have to shrink ;) TMI? Okay sorry...

I started my week with a good workout as well. No run today, but one hour on the bike, then alternating sets of different types of push ups (regular, on knees, incline, staggered hands, etc.) with sets of different crunches/ab exercises. 6 sets of 10 push ups and 7 sets of 20 ab reps. I kind of played it by ear, but I feel like I worked my core and arms pretty well. I have the day off work tomorrow, so that will be a great chance to get out for a good run. I'm aiming for a long run of six miles this week. If not tomorrow, hopefully by Thursday evening.

 I try to get a majority of my workouts done during the week, as opposed to putting them off till the weekend to get them in, because for some reason, I struggle to do them on Saturdays or Sundays. Weekends are a great time to workout, though, because I have the most spare time then... it just gets taken up doing other things with my family and such! I'll try harder!

Time To Get Serious

My race is now less than three months away, and I'm only getting one run per week in on average... Needless to say my little goal of scheduling my workouts like appointments didn't exactly work this past week. I've gotta step it up if I'm going make it! On the bright side, I've been getting 5 miles on the past few runs I've done, I need to keep building on that. With daylight savings time starting up, it should be easier to fit running in after work without being out in the dark. That will be a big plus! I wonder if it will work better for me to list each run/workout that I complete each, instead of ahead of time? Make a little reward system for myself somehow...

Little catch up...

Oh wow, I didn't realize how long since I last wrote! Well, I've gotten some five mile runs in, and started back up on a little bit of strength training (Key words: a little, heheh)... My husband and I bought a used recumbent exercise bike for $35! It's not fancy, but it works, and it was $35! It has come in very handy when it's already too dark to go out running, or if I don't feel like going to the gym. Last weekend, I ran in a 5k that my friend's sister put on for her birthday. Like, that was her birthday party! It was awesome! She just got the word out to all of her friends and family, marked off a route through a nearby neighborhood and had us all meet at a park to run (or walk, bike, cartwheel, whatever)! The best part? It was free! I might steal this idea for my next birthday... I would just need to convince everyone that it's not scary to run in the cold since my birthday is in January (it really isn't folks!)... I was set back slightly because I got a nasty cough this last week. I still got a decent amount of walking in though through shopping, and a trip to Vegas! I also used the bike a bit at home. I think it's pretty much cleared up, so I should be good to go again. I have the day off work tomorrow, and I'm excited to go for a good long run! Maybe I can work myself up to six miles... it'll be my first time running that long since July!

Hmm, bright idea that I just came up with: each time I blog, I'll list a couple of goals that I will try and do this coming week or two, or whatever (Dammit, I do this at my work)... So to inaugurate this new practice, my first goal for the week will be to do at least two strength training workouts. My second goal (and this one will be more ongoing) is to actually make the time for my workouts. Try to schedule them like an appointment, and freakin' KEEP them! I'll report next week...

Step by Step

Well, I'm slowly making some progress. I've gotten only four runs in the past couple of weeks, but it's better than nothing, right? :P I'm getting about four miles per workout, which is right around where I want to be, according to the training schedule I have. I need to work harder at getting at least three runs per week. The next coming week will have me doing some speed work, which I've never done before. It'll be interesting to see how I do with that! 

In addition to learning to run on a regular basis, I'm trying (once again) to watch what I eat. My husband and I are trying to cut way back on meat and junk food. I'm not shooting for strictly vegetarian because, well, I know I just don't have the will power to give up meat completely! I figure, though, if I can cut my meat intake to only two, maybe three servings per week (as opposed to per day, haha!) that could mean a good boost to my weight loss... hopefully. Of course, I also need to learn to snack healthier, try and limit the sugary crap, that sort of thing. I do better with it some days than others, but I'm trying to take it a day at a time, one step at a time. 

And I Thought Running Was Hard...

I didn't get as many workouts in as I was hoping to this week. My family took a last minute weekend trip to my grandparents' to visit. Sadly, My grandpa doesn't have very long, so this was a chance to see him one last time before he goes Home. Our family had a really good visit, we shared some good memories, told some jokes (Grandpa always has a joke to tell!), and said our goodbyes. He has lived a very full happy life, and while it's hard to let go, I know this parting won't be forever. We'll see him again someday!

Over that same weekend, I had also started to feel like I was getting a cold, so I didn't want to overdo it and have it get worse and get set back even farther. Plus, one of our cars decided to take a dump, and with my husband working nights in Salt Lake, it's hard for me to get to the gym in the evenings when I usually do. If it were spring or summertime, that wouldn't be a problem, but in the wintertime, it's already totally dark by the time I'm off work, and I don't run in the dark, because I don't want to get pillaged! Anyway, to make a long story short (too late, I know), I finally got a decent workout in today. I decided to do the one P90X workout that I hadn't tried yet: Plyometrics *cue doomsday type music* When I did the full P90X program last year, I did the P90X Lean, and that version doesn't include the full Plyo workout. I figured this workout would be a decent substitute for running... I'm afraid I was right. That workout is a beast! It doesn't help, of course, that I haven't done any of the P90X stuff since, what... last March I think? Maybe April? Yeah, it has been a long time! I had already broken a sweat after the warm up, and my legs were Jello by the end of the first set of moves! Holy crap! I got through it though, more or less, and I do feel good getting a good workout done. I want to at least incorporate some of the P90X workouts with my training for my race. It's always good to supplement running with strength training, right? And if P90X isn't strength training, I don't know what is!

Awwww here it goes!

I had the day off work today, so after getting a rather large amount of laundry done, I went for a three-mile jog... and really started to wonder just what I'm getting myself into... While I have run this distance plenty of times in the past (3 miles, I mean, not 13.1), I haven't been out for a good run since *cough* Thanksgiving *cough* ...So I slacked off through most of the holiday season... don't judge me... Okay, judge me, whatever. Anyway, it's been a month and a half since my last run, so of course it's going to be hard, but I wasn't expecting this! I had slowed down to grrannnyyy pace by about a mile and half! I was pretty sure I could have walked faster than I was running! If I can barely make it through three miles, how am I supposed to add ten to that?! I was really starting to second guess my choice for a bit. But I remembered that thankfully, this race I'm doing isn't, like, tomorrow. It's not till June. I have plenty of time to get in shape and prepare for this. It'll be okay! I can do it! However, this really woke me up to the fact that I will really need to stick with it and train regularly if I'm going to finish this thing without being completely miserable!

Hello, is there anybody in there?

Happy New Year! As you can see, I haven't updated this blog in practically forever. I have been exercising, but not as often as I was and should be. I plan to change that! Here's the deal, I signed up for the Utah Valley half marathon coming up this June. The longest race I've run yet is only a 10K... and that was six months ago. So I have six months to train and get ready to run a race that's more than twice that long!

That's my New Year's resolution. Be ready to run a half marathon... without dying. Can I do it? Yeah, I think so. Am I going to need to work hard at it starting, like, now? Yeah, just lot. Am I excited? H-YES! I will resume my blog to track my progress/show some accountability/chart my descent into insanity.

Since I've never done a race this long, I've never really done any super-organized training. So half the battle/fun is going to be figuring out some good training routines to work up to the length of the race. I've done some reading and will use some of the pointers I've found, and any advice you readers may have (I know there's only, like, 5 of you out there, but that's because you're awesome!) is welcome. Or if you just want to point and laugh at me via blog comments for subjecting myself to the pain and hardship that I'm bound to experience, you can do that too. But you're sooo not invited to my I Just Ran a Half Marathon Without Dying party that I may or may not host after I run the half marathon without dying.

Anyway, I think that's all I've got for now. I really have signed up, so there is no turning back (unless I'm okay with wasting over 60 dollars, which I'm not). So, let the... craziness...begin!

This should be good.