It's All I Seem to do These Days...

Here I am updating you on yet another run...and I've been trying not to bore you with more posts about my progress, but today is a big one for me.  I'm a little proud.

About one year ago I wrote an entry about my first season of CT5K progress.  And it included my first experience of running longer than 4 minutes at one time.  I also mentioned the day that I ran 2 miles without stopping for the first time--26:07 was my time.  I am proud to be slow, by the way.

This year I'm training for the 7 mile Survivor Harbor race coming up in a couple weeks and then the Half Marathon in October.  In my last entry I shared my first 6 mile training run experience & since then have actually completed a 7 mile training run at 3/1 intervals.  Yes, that cute boy of mine suggested I just go for it, so I did.  Just happens that at the 6.5 mark, I was this close to calling it a night--I had finished a personal longest run, it was dinner time & I was TAPPED out on energy.  But, as I rounded that last 1/2 mile loop & started to walk for my cool down, my iPod began playing Martina McBride's I'm Gonna Love You Through It.

Well, dammit.  I took the hint.  Seven miles done with 3/1 intervals in about 1:31.  So now I know I CAN do it!  (AND I was even able to get out of bed the next day!)

Today, I decided on a shorter distance but with no intervals.  I just popped in to note that I finished my first 2 miles today with no intervals in 23:25, one year after doing 2 miles for the first time in 26:07.  It's not record breaking, but it's exciting to me!  

Don't worry--this race is in just about 3 weeks so after that you'll get a break on my running reports.  But, if you're interested in supporting Team Fight and all that they do for young adults & their families during & following a cancer diagnosis, please consider making a donation to me at my website.  If you have any questions about the Ulman Cancer Fund & where the money raised is spent, feel free to give me a call!  This is an amazing organization & I am beyond honored to be representing them on June 10!

I'll take it...

I turned 36 yesterday.  I'm not hung up on age.  You're only as old as you feel right?  Well, honestly, some days I feel 150.  But not today.  After my family spoiled me with gifts last night, I decided today was the day to push my running to the next step & go for 6 miles.  As I was getting ready to leave the house, I mentioned this goal to my ever-positive-and-overly-optimistic-but-completely-adorable hubby.  Today was sunny & beautiful and I had the time to do a long run....BUT....I don't like setting myself up for failure so I mentioned that I didn't know if I'd be able to make it the full 6 miles without getting a drink of water.  No, seriously, I'm such a slow runner that I get thirsty quickly!   He said, "After everything I've watched you go through, I'm certain you can make it an hour with no water. Go run your 6 miles.  You can do it."

This amazing man DOES.NOT.EVER.talk about the things I've gone through. The fact that those words slipped past his lips is all it took.

6.12 miles done.  Time?  Yeah, it took a long time.  But it's the longest distance to date.  And I know that it was his words that gave me what I needed to get it done.

Oh, and the adorable, green iPod Nano he got me as a birthday gift & loaded with my favorite songs last night might have helped too.

Running...

I love Forrest Gump.  It's one of my all time favorite movies.  And it has a special place in my heart because if you knew me before 1994, you only knew me as Jennifer.  But...this one time...at band camp...this cute boy called me Jen-nay (just like Forrest Gump) and it stuck.  Five years later, I married that boy.  And today...I just felt like running.  

I got off track with my training for my upcoming Survivor Harbor 7 miler next month.  A couple weeks ago I was plain ol' laid out with vertigo--seriously!  When I asked the doctor why I got it, his only answer was, "I guess you needed to add one more thing to your list?"  Great.

I didn't decide to go running until about 7:30 tonight.  First I said to that cute boy sitting on my bed, "I think I'm gonna go run."  He said "Ok, have fun!"  I said, "What?  You're not gonna try to talk me out of it?  You don't want me to just sit & hang with you for a bit?"  He said, "No, I know you want to run.  I'm not gonna try to talk you out of doing something you want to do."

Crap.  I really had to go run at that point.  

As I was walking out the door I said, "My goal is 5 miles tonight."  Side note--it's been awhile since I got a full 5 miles in thanks to the vertigo & just plain bein' busy!  This was gonna be a challenge, so I said it with a little snicker.  To which my sometimes annoyingly optimistic hubby said, "Good!  I know you can do it!"  Grr.

I'm an interval runner for now.  And I'm training that way because I'm running a longer distance on my next race than I've ever run before.  The walking part of my interval gives me something to look forward to--it's like my reward every 3 minutes and it makes me happy.  What I'm saying here is that I'm not a fast runner, which is okay by me.  I'm working on my endurance & while I've run 5 miles a few times over the past few months, it's been about 2 weeks.  And it was getting dark.  And my street has no lights.  So, it was also kinda creepy.  And I started making up excuses to stop in my head.  

I ran 3 miles on Sunday, so 4 miles today is good enough. 

It's getting dark & dangerous out here--I'm sure Joey is worried about me.

I can run 5 miles on Thursday--never mind that I have a field trip all day with Josie & a doctor appointment with Jackie after school...I'll fit it in, I'm sure!

It's getting really close to time for me to be online for my webcast appointment--even if C is there to get us started.

When I hit 4 miles, I decided to just do one more 1/2 mile loop & call it a night.  Four & 1/2 miles was a great way to end the night.  

And as I neared the end of that last 1/2 mile loop on my 4.5 miles, I approached my house.  In the dark, I saw a silhouette on my front porch--just the outline against the light from inside the house.  Honestly, it was a little creepy.  And I said so from the street--"Dude,  that's a little creepy.  How long you been sittin' there?"  

He'd just been there a couple minutes & he said, "How much more you got?"  

I was just 30 seconds from the end of my loop--the loop where I was gonna call 4.5 miles the end of my run.  And before I even could think about it I said "I have just one more loop!"  

Crap.

There's something about that cute boy.  I told him I was gonna do 5.  I talked MYSELF out of the full 5.  He comes outside for 5 minutes & I end up running the full 5.  

I'm glad that I just felt like running & I'm even more glad that cute boy was there to hold me to it!