I want to run again.....

I have not been running for about 3 months. If you have been reading my blog for a while then you probably have read about my running journey. For those of you that do not know let me give you a very brief but hopefully informative summary.


My running began because I knew I had to get a grip on my health. I was basically close to 100 lbs over weight and miserable physically. I hated the way I looked and felt. I could still play my favorite sports and did on occasion but they were very few and far between. I knew I could not let that ability to play sports fool me any longer into thinking there was no problem. I knew from past experiences that just starting a hardcore gym routine  was not going to last because I had tried and stopped so many times. I knew I needed something to entice my competitive nature. So what a better way then to start running. It was something that I did not need anyone else to do with me and yet there could be standards and goals I could set out to beat. Mostly competing with myself, but that was great because I do this with almost everything I do anyway whether it be a record I had set on Nintendo Wii or just other random things. So I thought to myself "running" what a perfect way to challenge myself and get active. So i began my journey. It was really really harder then I thought and I faced walls from cardio endurance walls to joint pain walls to waking up sick on an important running day walls, but I pretty much dug deeper then I had at anytime in my life and broke through all of those. I was very proud at that point in my journey.


(You can read the whole journey here "A Run for my Life") 


Even though I worked very hard and was consistent the weight was not coming off the way I had hoped. Diet played a part but my body adapting to the same routine  played a bigger part. I had reached a place in running where I was not progressing and I was very discouraged. I had come a long way but to not progress was driving me crazy and discouraging me. I decided to focus on weight loss in general. I began to educate myself and immerse myself into the nutrition and exercise world, learning all I could from any source I could find. I was successful and I am down 33 pounds since that plateau where running was not getting the weight off, however as I lost the weight and began other forms of training and exercise, I had lost my time to run and a little of my zeal to run as well. I have run a couple times in the last 3 months but only as a warm up for a class I attend that a friend teaches and so it was like a half mile or so run but nothing that pushed me all that much.. Well the way I felt running just that scared me because I felt like my running endurance had decreased how ever my cardio during aerobic sessions felt increased.  I was perplexed yet to afraid to start running again for the fear of being back to square 1.  Well over the last couple of weeks I have just been craving a run. I have procrastinated because if I could not run even the distance I did before it would really discourage me but finally this week I gave it a go. I ran on Tuesday and actually because of poor planning only had time to run 1 mile at most but I forced myself to do it anyway just to feel that start feeling again. I knew the longer I put it off the harder it would be to start. So off I went to run this mile on Tuesday, however first let me say that when I stopped running 3 months ago my average pace was about a 12 minute mile sometimes 11:30 if I was focused or at a race,  but once running I did feel lighter on my feet and I was like "wow I can feel that 33 lbs gone".  I also noticed that my pace felt swifter. I use my phone to track my runs with GPS and so I glaced at it and it said I was around a 10 min pace. I could not believe it. So I finished that mile looked down and it said I completed it in 9 min 34 sec. I was stoked and in that moment I was reminded of a dream I had just had that night before. I honestly in the dream I had just ran a mile at that time. So that was a pretty freaky feeling. Well today I set out to run 2 miles and I knew that I could not keep my new pace for the whole two miles because I would tire quickly but I was excited to see what it be for the whole 2 miles. I pushed myself pretty hard to keep a decent pace and when I finished today my pace for 2 miles was 9:39 per mile ..... I am so elated with this. I am pretty sure I could not have gone a 3rd but for day 2 after not running for a while I am very ENCOURAGED verses discouraged as I thought I would be. I am so glad to be back running again. There is just an indescribable feeling running gives me. Its a natural high and sense of accomplishment nothing else gives me.  Thanks for sharing this with me by reading my blog. Be blessed everyone.

Obstacles... Obstacles... Obstacles....

I honestly feel like that is all I deal with. I am determined to not give up. I had some injuries and back situations in December and into January. I recovered and started back at it and then ran my fastest 5k in March. Right after that I began to have pain in my lift shin. It felt like a shin splint and everything I have read says to not run through the pain.


I had been reading as well about the new barefoot running craze and it seems to make so much sense. I read how it began to eliminate pain and injury that running shoes can actually cause. Of course my sensitive feet are not about go barefoot anywhere so I began to search for a minimal shoe solution. I had tried Vibram five fingers before and they were just not a good fit for me. So this weekend I picked up some New Balance Minimus Trail shoes. I love the way they fit and feel. It HIGHLY cautions you about how to introduce them into your routine because it completely changes the mechanics of how you run and the muscles you use. So I started yesterday running only half a mile with them at the gym on the treadmill and the remainder of my workout was on the elliptical. I really hope this helps with my shin. They sure are fun to wear. I cannot wait to see how it goes.


Check it out. You can click on the shoe for more information.

Whooped

Well today I thought I would see if I could run my first mile a little faster than normal. I did but boy did it kick my tale. So the rest of the run was pretty miserable. I had thoughts today like this one: " I think I hate running" and some were like this: " hhhmmmm this is pretty stupid why does anyone run on purpose "  .... LOL ... but of course now after my endorphins have kicked in I am ready for self abuse again Wednesday .

Endomondo Running Workout: "Ran 2.01 miles in 23m:10s using Endomondo."

Endomondo Running Workout

Endomondo Running Workout: "was out running 2.07 miles in 24m:31s using Endomondo."

This is a different place...

So experiencing some things in my life right now that are interesting. I am not sure I know how to explain it really. When you decide to let God have control of something whether you verbally speak it or release it in your mind and spirit, its amazing how you release His power to work. Things start to come to fruition in front of you. Its really a peaceful neat feeling to just let go and watch God work. The most important thing I am learning is I have to let go of what I think should happen or what I wish would happen and during that time if God instructs me to do something I have to be obedient. As I'm obedient it is amazing how good it feels to be in His plan even if what I had planned is not even happening or ever will. Now to all you Christians that have it all together and think this is so elementary well just be glad I am finally learning ... lol. Just kidding there but all kidding aside its not as if I did not know this principle but its because I am walking it out in a different way then before. I have never really faced a time in my life where I did not know where to start and solely relied on God to just show me a step and then I take it and so on. Usually I know what specific instruction from the Word needs to be walked out for Gods promise or protection to be fulfilled. In this new place in my life its not really laid out I just feel God moving me in different ways and speaking to me in different ways. I am beginning to learn to just listen and move and listen and move. Its a new place for me but it feels good.

So as I stated before momentum is hard to get back. Since my running had been non-existent for a month or 2 I thought I needed to start back a little slow and run 5 or so minutes and walk and run again and within a week or two I would be back on track . Well that was not the case. The 5 minute intervals were just not a good goal. I was ready to stop at 5 minutes for sure but soon found out out of pure laziness. So started fooling myself that this was going to be harder then I thought. Well after a couple weeks of weak running/walking intervals I realized that is not pushing me back into running like I thought. It was too easy to just keep doing that and when I tried to increase my run intervals when it got a little tough it was easy to make excuses. So this week on Monday I said to myself I think I forgot what pushing through a wall and pushing my body really feels like. I had learned so well during the couch to 5k program that it was tough sometimes to meet the goal and I had to just break through walls sometimes. So Monday I ran 20 minutes on the treadmill to remind meof what it felt like to really push myself again. It was tough but I did it.

I have really hated running on the treadmill during this winter but today I was like 32 degrees will just have to be warm enough because I was determined to hit the streets again. So today I ran in downtown Forest City and the plan was to run 20 minutes again, but when I neared that 2 mile point I had to keep going. So pushed a little harder and completed 2 miles today. Only 2 1/2 weeks til I run my next 5k and I feel really behind in my training but I think I can do it.

Shout out to Amanda King who re-inspired me to get my rear in gear. :)

You can view my run here:
Endomondo Running Workout: "was out running 2.05 miles in 25m:03s using Endomondo."

Momentum is powerful...

Wow I lost my momentum in December with foot and back issues and I have to say it has been insanely hard to get it back. I have got to get some motivation and goals set. If anyone has an encouraging word I am game for some advice. I was running a 5k every month for 3 months then the injuries side tracked me and now I am running 3 times a week but not getting the mileage I was, and the motivation to push is not like it was when I was following the couch to 5k program. Those workouts and having them planned really made a difference. New week starts tomorrow and I need some accountability. So you guys that are reading this leave me some comments and come back next week and check in on me. I need some help.

Be blessed everyone.