I'm a baby runner

Saturday I did my 3rd session. My sister and bro-in-law were in visiting, and at Saturday morning at 3 am as we finished up our last round of Farkle (we are wild and crazy folks, I'm telling you!) I decided I was not going to go running at 6am. lol So that afternoon, we were going to all walk to the park and I was going to get my run/walk on. I'd asked my sister if she wanted to run/walk with me (since I'm in the very beginning and she's been working out lately, so she's in pretty good shape) and she said it sounded like fun! Then she realized that she forgot to pack her tennis shoes and all she had were flops and sandals...not conducive to running on a gravel path. And I have wimpy 6 1/2 -7 size feet compared to her 8 1/2 ones. :( The old me would have felt bad for doing something without her since she was here to visit ME this weekend, but she seemed ok with me ditching her for a short 45-60 minutes, so she, her husband and my sweet husband played soccer and dug in the dirt with our 4 kids while I :
Session 3 (40 minutes) Run 30 seconds. Walk 4 minutes and 30 seconds. Do this 8 times.
Done and done. I walked/ran a little over 6 miles total this week!!! And I remembered why I run in the mornings....yuck. I was so sweaty AND it was so humid because we actually have some rain going on in west Texas!! There was some really pretty lightning going on later that night!

It had been raining off and on last night, and I have never ran (on purpose) in the rain before, and I decided that a sleepy 6am wet run was not in the cards this morning. So, I went this afternoon and sweated my hiney off. I did about 2 1/2 miles!! Yay, me!! lol
Session 1 (45 minutes) Run 1 minute. Walk 4 minutes. Do this 9 times.
Done and Done.
I really wanted to quit about time 7. Really, really wanted to. Had all kinds of excuses going through my head. Daniel was at home with the two girls, and he was tired and grumpy when I left, so I thought it might be best for all of us if I just went home to take over/help out. I was hurting in my ankles/calves bad. I started to get kind of fuzzy feeling in my head. (not breathing right/enough oxygen?? Is that what a "runner's high" really is?? jk) Daniel and I haven't gotten to spend much time together lately; maybe I should cut it short and go home...
But I really wanted to do this. People decide to do harder and more trying things than this every day....I can finish walking/running for 45 minutes. And I did!!! Woot! I feel like such a baby sometimes when I look at how whiny I am about training...but I AM a "baby runner." Now, if I"m still like this in 3 months, somebody should tell me to put my big girl panties on...but for now...I think it's normal to be a "baby" SOMETIMES.
4 more days with my nephew and neice, and then this weekend we bring our kiddos to my parents house for 3 WEEKS! 3 WEEKS people!! Alas, this 3 weeks is not to be spent in Italy like I've been day dreaming about...but rather with teenagers. 1 week getting ready for the next two weeks; 1 week with smelly teenagers as we paint houses, mow yards, roof houses, etc. And 1 week with teenagers at camp playing silly games and figuring out life. I love this time with our students/teenagers, but I miss my kids! I'm also trying to figure out ways to incorporate running into the schedule for those weeks of madness...it'll work somehow, right?!?

Impatient Me

Week 1
Session 2 (40 minutes) Run 30 seconds. Walk 4 minutes and 30 seconds. Do this 8 times.
Done and Done.

I am thankful for legs that hurt at the end of 2 1/4 miles, because that means that they work and walk and run when I have the notion.

I am thankful for lungs that feel as though they might explode because they are not used to having to work this hard- but can.

I am thankful for a red face (why does it do that after running?!) that can respond when my wonderful husband asks how my run was in the morning.

...I am a very impatient person. I know that I have several talents and abilities, but I seldom try new things because I want to be "good" at whatever it is immediately. This is completely unrealistic, I understand and acknowledge that; but it just makes "working up to something" even harder for me!! :) I want to be able to run well, and I want to be able to do it now (after only 2 days...lol) *sigh* but this too shall take time. And it will be well worth it. I hope in about a month I can look back at this post and smile because I've improved so much! That pacing myself and working hard and consistently will have made a difference.

Next week is the week of 4 children. My neice and nephew (2 and 8) are staying with us for a week....we get to be the "cool aunt and uncle" who show them an amazing time in west Texas! (As compared to the "exhausted aunt and uncle who put all children to bed an hour earlier for sanity's sake" lol) Happy Friday to you and yours!

Training-Day 1

Session 1 (35 minutes) Run 30 seconds. Walk 4 minutes and 30 seconds. Do this 7 times.

Done and done.
:)
I can't remember the last time I was sweating this much...but I feel SO good!! How can feeling this gross feel so good?!? lol I went out at 6:15, and according to Daniel; "the sun wasn't really up yet." But I like going out this early, it's so much cooler and most other (sane) people are still sleeping since it's summer!! I had just gotten started and over my shoulder I saw this huge animal coming up beside me about 300 feet away...at first I thought it was a dog, and I was like what the crap?!? because I have nothing on me to repel dogs or creepers (which I need to remedy!!!) So I freeze and turn to look at it and then it freezes and I realize that it's a deer!!! (hey, it was still dark!) I started walking again and it ran into the woods ahead of me...cool!! I really like being the only one at the track when I go. Is that weird??

Well, I walked/ran a little over 2 miles today! yay, go me! 2 more x this week to kick off the first week!!!

My New Best Friends

I'd like to introduce my new best friends for the week:

and

I didn't start my training yesterday and at first I was really mad at myself. I wondered if I was just being a wimp and should have got out there anyway. I didn't want to just push myself back another week, because that's what I've always done. "I'll just do it later" has been my mantra for most of my life...not just about laundry or cleaning house, but also about making friends (or deeper friendships) and publishing some of the things I've written. I felt like I was throwing my hands up in defeat before I'd even started.

But then my Daniel reassured me that pushing back a week does not mean that I've given up. I've never run before AND I'm still recovering from surgery; I need to make sure I'm listening to my body and giving it what it needs: sometimes that's rest and then there will be times that my body will be ready and needing exercising; and I'll have to listen then too.

I'm just so ready, emotionally/mentally anyway, to start learning/training how to run. I was so set on starting; that to wait feels like stopping or giving up. But I'm not. I've told many friends that I want to run a 5k and hopefully a 10k by Christmas...hopefully that means that there is someone out there to hold me accountable. Isn't that what most of us lack the most? No matter what are goals are, if we don't have accountability it's 100x easier to quit. Or never start.

My brother is dating an amazing girl that I hope will someday soon become my sister. Annie is amazing in so many ways. She's a dancer, she loves the beach and New York, she wants to be a teacher and is a REAL Christian without being a weirdo. (you know what I mean) Annie also has lupus in her kidney. She's gone through chemo treatments that, at this point, have put her lupus now into an "inactive" stage!!! But, she has also lost her hair, has been VERY sick and weak at times, and can't be in the sun anymore. She is a fighter and her body is catching that spirit too!

I have another friend who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She has a wonderful husband and 3 great kids. She, also, has gone through chemo and is still fighting. She, also, has lost her hair and has been VERY sick and weak at times. She is a fighter and her body is catching that spirit too!

I CAN run. I CAN be healthy. I have no reason NOT to be. I am perfectly capable. If I have friends who can go through hell on earth and yet be amazing people; let alone get out bed, I can learn to run. So, when my drainage returns to a mostly normal color and I stop coughing long enough to breathe and sleep for decent amounts at a time....I will run. (and walk...lol) And it will be amazing!

Big Baby

<---- That's kind of sad and disgusting...but that's how I feel today. Like a big, fat baby. I hurt pretty darn bad, but not like in a good way; not in a "muscles rebuilding because you accomplished a feat" kind of way. I hurt in a "I'm still healing from a hysterectomy" kind of way. Things hurt in places that I haven't hurt in for awhile now. This seems so unfair! I behaved (mostly) and the doctor said that it should be fine for me to run, and I ran/walked even, so why do I hurt worse than I did before I ran/walked??? I'm still really glad I had the surgery, but I hate that it takes soooo long to fully recover. I took Extra Strength Tylenol last night because it hurt enough that I worried it might keep me up. Maybe I'll take some more tonight too. I still plan on starting my training schedule on Monday, I may have to repeat some weeks twice in order to make sure I'm taking it a little slower if I HAVE to. I don't want to wimp out, but I don't want to be stupid and injure myself internally either. *sigh* Any runner out there have a hysterectomy in your past??? And my allergies have started acting up. At least I think it's allergies and not a cold. Me and the kiddos all have drainage and coughing; we're big snotty family!! (you don't really want a picture of that, do you?!?) I took some benadryll earlier and ended up with an unexpected nap this afternoon...which is always nice! It was a lazy day for me, but poor hardworking husband worked his cute behind off today: doing dishes, laundry and getting as much stuff done around here before he leaves on Monday so that there's less hassle for me this week. Isn't he sweet?? So, I've also been looking at local races around here. And, since I live out in the sticks of west Texas, local apparently means at least 3 hours away. I still have more time to look, but so far the closest "marathon" is

Saturday, Nov. 13

Buffalo Wallow Half Marathon & 2-Mile Run

Lubbock, TX

Yeah, don't exactly see myself being ready for a half-marathon by then, but who knows, anything is possible, right?? But I better be able to run 2 miles by then!! :) I know a few people from Big Lake who ran that last year (I've recently learned) so that would be fun to run it together, but we'll see. (they did the half-marathon) So, I'll see how the next 2 months go and will keep looking for closer (distance wise) Runs / 5k's. How long was your first race???

Hey, I can run! (a little....)

I'm free!! Free to do whatever I want! (well, relatively speaking...lol) And this has made me pause to think about a lot of things...if I'm *free* (medically, physically) unlike so many other people I know, to do whatever I want....What should I want to be doing? My brother says, "If you're going to wrestle a bear, it might as well be a grizzly!" So...more on that later!

I went for a "run" this morning!! It wasn't exactly the first day of my training plan because I didn't have quite that much time this morning...but here's what I did:
'
Warm-up walk: 5 min
Run for 30 seconds and then walk for 4 1/2 minutes (x2)
Run for 45 seconds and then walk for 4 minutes (x3)
Cool down walk: 5 min

I realized that I could run for more than 30 seconds, so I decided to try it for more...after 45 seconds I realized I could probably run a little more, but I also wanted to do it at least 2 more times. If I'd had time, I'd try for more...but THAT, my friends, will happen on Monday! By the way, there is an awesome book I really, really want that the girls at She Runs Like a Girl are giving away, go check it out if you haven't already!!
Daniel will be gone all next week, bummer, but I've asked a neighbor girl to come watch the kids on Monday and Thursday night so I can get in 2 of my 3 weekly runs...

All this talk of runs has me having to go to the bathroom...(jk)

Well, I'm off to the last day of VBS and then to relax with my hubbin' before he ditches me on Monday! :)

I smell it...

FREEDOM! (what were YOU thinking of?!?)

I go to my (hopefully) final doctor's appointment tomorrow, where they can exam me in all kinds of awkward and personal ways to see if I've recovered well from surgery!! And if I have, which I should be because I've been mostly a good girl; then I am released and can begin to start training!!! *confetti falls*

Today I rested, no exercise for this girl! However, I am still exhausted because I lead VBS with 117 kids today, and then had our students (30ish) crammed into my living room for several hours again tonight! It was a really, really great day, but I am exhausted!!! Off to veg with my hottie of a husband and then S-L-E-E-P (because a double shot espresso did NOT help this morning, therefore I hold no ideal for it tomorrow morning)

Day 4

Ugh...for so many reasons:

1. It's humid. This is NOT east Texas...the is WEST Texas: home of the nothing and baby mountains! And 106 degree temperatures! Where did moisture in the air come from! Is this one of the signs of the end of the age? Maybe I should go check Revelation again....


2. Rattlesnakes. That *sweet* old lady that lives on my street also goes to my church, and you know what that *helpful* lady said yesterday??? "Dear, you DO know there are rattlesnakes out at the track, right? I've killed several myself." Um, no...I actually hadn't thought about rattlesnakes! I thought passing out or weird creepers were going to be my only worries. So, I said, "I have no idea how I'd even kill one if I saw it!" And she smiled and said, "Well, let's just hope you can run away!" ah, thanks. lol Thankfully, they just mowed the Field of Snakes I have to walk through...maybe they chopped them all up and won't come back. For precaution's sake, I did take my i-pod buds out while I walked through the FoS.

3. Ground squirrels. Oh, they look cute and cuddly, like someone should computer-animate them and make a killing off of naive young children. But, don't let that fool you...They create a mine-field in open spaces. It was earlier than normal when I set out this morning, so it was dark when I got to the FoS and had to dodge the dumb squirrels' holes so as not to break my ankle. At least, I hope all those holes were squirrels and not rattlesnake homes???

4. I got up at 6am today. Why, if God is good am I up at 6am? Well, it is a many layered answer, my friends...First, it is Vacation Bible School this week: I am leading Missions this week and taking my children to attend, so we have to be there at 8:30. Showered, dress, fed. Also, we are picking up several youth who need a ride to said Vacation Bible School so that they can volunteer their help. C; our car has to go into the shop this morning to get the AC fixed. It's been out for over a week now (see list number 1 above for motivation) And 4-I looked at my training schedule, which I've now decided to up to training for a 10k, and sometime much later in the schedule, it will take 65 minutes to complete the training for that day. So, I thought I'd just get into the habit now of getting up earlier.

And now I'm off to eat, shower and dress for a VERY LONG day. I survived the rattlesnakes and squirrels; I should be good, right??

Day of Rest

Well, I decided not to walk or exercise today and instead rest, rest, rest! I had a hysterectomy back on May 10th, and have been feeling perfectly fine lately. So "normal" in fact that I began to do things I knew I wasn't supposed to do. (like lifting heavy things like my daughter, etc) Some I did knowing full well I wasn't supposed to, and sometimes I just forgot. Regardless, I had some spotting yesterday morning after my walk, and so I called the doctor, got a short but sweet lecture about taking it easy and not lifting or pushing myself too hard. So, I'm taking it very easy today! I have a very busy summer schedule and need to be in good health, so I will do whatever it takes (resting mixed with pushing when appropriate!) to stay in good health!

I finally figured my watch out (mostly...lol) so that I can use it to time myself when the time comes that I'll need it! Need to rework my playlist on my i-pod; some songs aren't quite as upbeat/fast as I thought they would be. I'm taking my son walking with me on Monday if he's up...I doubt he'll walk the whole time, but maybe he'd have fun playing while I walked...we'll see!

Day 3

I have a few questions and realizations:

Question: Should I be eating breakfast or a snack before I run?
My head started hurting pretty bad in the last 5 minutes, I wonder why? (cold, need more oxygen, hungry?)


Realizations: I walked a mile in about 20 minutes today...vs...by the time I run the 5k I want to do it in about 30 minutes....so I'm going to go from walking 1 mile in 20 minutes to running 3.2 miles in 30 minutes!! Whew...there is going to be some work going on here!!! :)

I took a break yesterday and didn't walk; man, today I felt even more exhausted! I also went to bed late last night...ugh. Training to do this is sure going to help me try to live a more balanced life! Because I think that's the only way I'm going to be able to pull this off well!

I don't want to just finish a 5k. I want to do it well. I want to do it "easy", graceful. :)

My son gets up when I'm putting on my shoes now. He comes into the living room and tells me to have fun! I love that kid! Maybe I'll take him with me sometimes...
I decided that I like my old pair of New Balance shoes to walk in better than my new pair...not sure why, but they aren't as tight or hurt. (my new ones don't hurt my feet when I wear them just to wear them, only when I REALLY walk in them, weird.)

Day 2

I got up earlier today, 6:30am, and out the door by 6:44; so I think I did pretty good!! It was much cooler, even by the time I was finished it was still fairly cool and it's supposed to be 95 today with storms. It was a little humid, but I spent many great years in east Texas so this was nothing!! :)

Being in west Texas, it's more windy here than I'm used to; and walking into the wind seemed to slow my pace down some (or maybe it was just mental, does anyone know?) so I wonder if it will be that way when I run?

Speaking of running, there were a few more people at the track this morning and I had the thought that I'm going to be trying to run in front of a group of strangers...ugh. I'm already trying to psyche myself up...I want to run gracefully, but that will take time, unless I am a natural runner all of a sudden after having surgery...lol. I'm sure I'm not the only novice who's had this thought/fear, so I'm perfectly capable of pushing past it and doing what I need to do!

The training program I'm on is a timed running/walking program (run for certain time/walk for certain time; repeat 7 times) And I need to figure my watch out better so that I can actually time myself like I'm supposed to. :)

Time to go feed hungry people and get ready for Chaz's friend to come over today!!

Day 1

I'm training for a 5k, but I won't start the first "official" week of training until I've been released by my doctor after having surgery. (I have that appt scheduled for next Wednesday, June 9th)

It's hard to believe that 3 weeks ago yesterday, I was getting ready to go get cut open...lol. I feel so much better after having my hysterectomy, but after my adventure this morning, I'm finding out that even though I sometimes forget that I've just had major surgery, my BODY does NOT. :)

Until my medical release happens, I will be walking 30 minutes every day, and exercising for 30 minutes in the afternoon for 5 days of the week.

Sooooo, here's how the first day went:
I got up at 7am, which I have not been up that early since the surgery!! Plus, we have been going to bed late, especially since our youth ministry event, Final Fling, kept me up till 4 am Monday morning...but I woke up pretty much right away. It took me 15 minutes to get ready to be out the door. Things to remember: 1)Change the time on my watch to the correct hour. (not detrimental, just annoying when I want to know the time!) 2) I didn't use the i-pod today, and I'd really like to, because I couldn't find the ear plugs and didn't want to waste time looking now. 3) I DID not like the water bottle I used today...it was the first one I grabbed because my favorite one was dirty, but it's metal and it makes the water taste weird.

4) This change must happen because it took me 15 minutes to get to the track this morning after leaving my house.

It only took me 5 minutes to get home...the difference? On the way to the track this morning, a sweet neighbor, a loving and friendly lady from our church was watering her flowers this morning...(she has a beautiful yard!!) BUT, I stopped to say hi and ended up talking for 10 minutes. lol She is a great lady, and I love to hear her stories, she has been so thoughtful to us since we've moved here; but I didn't plan on spending that much time just to get to the track, because I expected to be back at 7:45 to blog and make breakfast for my family...15 minutes isn't much when I think about the relationship that I'm building with this sweet lady, but maybe I need to leave a little bit earlier so that I can PLAN on talking with her for a bit every morning if she's out there??

Physically, it felt good but exhausting!! The weather was nice, but getting warmer, so maybe I SHOULD get out there a little earlier since I didn't grow up in this west Texas sun!! :) I only walked 1 mile today, but that's more than I've walked since having surgery, so I see this as a small accomplishment! My middle back was beginning to hurt half way through, and I'm not sure why...maybe my posture? I've read that you have to consciously stick your chest out more when you're tired to maintain good posture while running, so maybe it's true for walking too? I used my New Balance shoes this morning to walk in, to see if they're the pair I want to run in too...not sure. They are "running shoes"...bought in the running shoes section at Academy anyway...lol. But I bought them because I liked the colors, that was my only qualification at the time...ah, me. I'm buying a few more comfy shorts today, so I can add that to my wardrobe, yay!

Well, for today, that's all! Going to go down some more water and have my breakfast!! Cheers to new beginnings!!