I ran 5k!!!

I ran 3.11 miles today. Ran the whole thing!!! I can do a 5k. =) I am slow. It took me 43:44. But I have 29 days to get faster.

My initial goal was to do it in under 40, then I changed it to less than 35 minutes. That seems like a lot. But when I consider that 1 month ago I was so excited that I ran for 10 minutes straight, it doesn't seem beyond reality.

Goal met!!!!

I ran 2 miles straight today! Actually I ran farther than that (2.25m) as I ran for a total of 30 minutes!

Yesterday I finished my new runner training. It was so great to go out and just run today. I did want to run 30 minutes so I set my timer when I started running. But my goal was to run 2 miles or more so I was running "to" somewhere instead of just for an amount of time. Granted my running to somewhere ended up being where I started from. But instead of checking my watch to make sure to take my required walk break, I was only occasionally looking at my watch to check my pace. So much fun to move from "how much longer before I have to walk?" to "how far/fast am I running?" I feel like a real runner!

When I started this "I'm going to get healthy" journey on June 14th, I never imagined that on August 14th I would be running more than 2 miles. I feel like I have given myself this wonderful gift. Actually, I feel that God has given me a wonderful gift. I never before kept up w/ exercise consistently for 2 months in my life (I don't think I ever even pulled off 1 month.) But I never found something I enjoyed as much as running before either, something that adds to my identity. Although part of me wants to qualify it - "I am slow", "I am new", "I don't go very far" - I realize those things don't matter because they are relative and/or temporary. Instead I am now delighted to say with conviction:

I am a runner.

Plan for 8/16-9/18

I am working on my plan for next week, and the next month. I need a plan so I have an assignment to complete. I want to run 4 days per week. I hoping to start at 30 and work my way up to 45 minutes 3 days a week. Then one day I want to work on running faster. I am so not a competitive person, I really need to pay attention to challenge myself to run faster. So using the treadmill or taking the GPS I want to try to pick up the pace a little. Maybe not run quite so long, but try to get a feel for a faster pace. Of course I am shooting for somewhere between 11 and 12 minute miles here, so it is not like I will be doing "speed drills." Plus I want to keep up my pilates and upperbody workout. So the plan for 8/16 through 9/18:

1. Run 30-45 minutes 3 days/wk
2. Run "faster" 1 day per week
3. Pilates DVD 3 days/week
4. upper body workout (here), 2 days/wk

Plus on off running day I may throw in some bike rides. It helps to keep getting up and getting out there at the crack of dawn. I don't want to get used to sleeping in again.

Seeing Results !!!

OK big happy dance for running 20 minutes twice separated by 4.5 minutes of walking!!! Seeing the progress in my running is amazing! It really thrills me, and makes me curious to see where I can go with it all. However it is the progress I note in my every day life that makes me determined to continue running/exercising a very long time. Some of the rewards:

• My posture is so improved! As a PT I know the importance of good posture for all our body systems. And I can feel my improved posture. I can tell I am standing taller, and I feel confident and look better.
• I can run when necessary! I noticed this at the fair this weekend. On Saturday I needed to get some paperwork from one side of the parking lot to another. The faster it got there the better. I suddenly thought, "I'll just jog down there." So I jogged down and wasn't even slightly puffed (last yr I wouldn't have even considered running the length of the parking lot) Similarly on Sunday I jogged the length of the exhibit hall several different times when helping clean up.
• Muscle control! Ok I have an advantage here. I know (or at least used to know ;) where every muscle in the body is and what it does. But now I can actually feel the muscles in my body and make them work. Especially in my upper back, abs, and hips (the core). So lifting and toting is so much easier especially my kids and all that stuff at the fair. And proper muscle control means less soreness and injury.
• I don't feel "fat" anymore. I have only lost 8 lbs. (Or I have lost 8 lbs!) But I have toned up so much that I just don't feel like I look heavy anymore. I am still 8 lbs over my max healthy weight, but in the right clothes I don't look heavy. I wore a skirt yesterday I haven't been able to wear for years! (A classic wrap around I love to wear.)

I can't attribute all of this to running. I have been toning 3-4 times a week. But I know running works my core as well. In fact running 20 minutes I can tell. At about 15 minutes I start to get challenged. My legs and lungs are doing fine, but my middle (abs/hips) starts to struggle to keep decent form. So I decided to get back to my pilates DVD, since it is so core focused. What was really cool is that I am so much better at pilates now. I have done this DVD for several brief stints in the past. It is a beginners program, but has 2 different levels for beginners. Usually I was doing the easier level. Now, w/ the exception of teasers, I can do the harder versions of all the exercises even though I haven't specifically done pilates in a long time. I was just delighted, singing to myself "I can do the seal, woo woo woo."

Looking ahead, while looking back

I will be done with my training schedule in the next 2 weeks. I want to keep running. I think one of the things I really love about running is the progress I make. I ran for 16 minutes twice. I ran a mile and more TWICE in less than an hour. My mile times (I timed the first mile of the 16 minutes) were less than 13 minutes!! My mile last week was 13:30.

To look back and remember how I was dreading 6 minutes just a few weeks ago, makes me wonder what I can actual do next.

• My initial running goal was to be able to run 2 miles straight. Then I felt like that would be too easy. (I still haven't done it, but within 2 weeks that goal should be accomplished)
• Then I decided I wanted to do a 5k in less than 40 minutes. Well I am not there yet, but I frequently interval a 5k in about 42 minutes.

I am planning on doing a 5k on September 18th. (A nearby one raising money for autism research/services) That is well over a month away. So I want to make a new goal. I want to do it in less than 35 minutes. Maybe that goal isn't tough enough. But it seems huge to me. That would be a sub 12 min/mile pace.

So now I need to come up with a training plan to get faster. ???? I have between now and August 23rd to figure it out. I know I will do better if I have a plan written down. It is easier to drag myself out of bed at 6am or earlier when I have an "assignment"