May 31st, 2019
Well, here we go. Honestly the only thing that got me to actually start training for this half marathon I’ve been talking about was just waking up and going without thinking through anything (probably not the best plan). I am planning on specifically writing out a plan, but I’m waiting a few weeks to do that so I can assess my starting point. And right now, that starting point feels very, very low.
Growing up, I swam competitively and played tennis but never participated in any kind of intense cardio workouts… unless you count middle school track and cross-country where I without fail came in last place every single race. Long distance running is something I’ve always been terrified of. I think people who love running are a strange breed, but I’m trying my best to become one of them.
I know attitude is everything in this process, and that has been my biggest focus. This past week has been a challenge. Three of the seven days I woke up at 6:00am to get my run in because I worked during the day, and the other four days I still tried to get the run in before 9:30am so I couldn’t make excuses. I’m starting from square one and struggle to run a mile without walking right now, but I’m still getting out there.
Here’s what I did this week:
SATURDAY, MAY 25TH
Well I figured out on day one that the idea of running seems a lot easier in my head than when I’m actually doing it. A friend of mine took me to a park where three laps equal one mile to try out my first run. I got through about a lap and a half before I needed to start walking. I didn’t let that get me down though, and finished at about 1.3 miles switching off between walking and running. My mile time was 14:04, so I’m calling that my starting point.
SUNDAY, MAY 26TH
Day two I was determined to at least make it further than I did the day before. I felt pretty good about this run, and did a 1.5 mile loop around my neighborhood. This time, I made it .75 miles before having to walk, and then walked .25 after that to get to a 13:20 mile time. I was happy that I beat my time from the day before, and walked about half of the final .5 miles.
MONDAY, MAY 27TH
Day three I went back to the same park as day one to try and get some more small victories. It was 85 degrees out and the run was really hard, but I felt so determined to get to 1 mile without walking at all. After two of the three laps my body was begging me to stop and walk but I pushed through and made it to 1 mile. I felt so proud of myself after this small victory, even if someone else may not think it’s a big deal. Now, I know I can do it if I just push myself.
TUESDAY, MAY 28TH
Day four was the first day where I woke up at 6:00am to run. Waking up sucked but I liked how when I started my heart rate felt very low and I was relaxed. I did the same 1.5 mile loop as I did on day two because I wanted to see if I could improve on that same course. I couldn’t get myself to do the full mile without walking so I walked for .1 miles after the first .75, but I did get my time down from day two.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 29TH
Day five was really hard for some reason. I woke up again at 6:00 to do this run but really wasn’t feeling it when I woke up. I forced myself to get out there in the rainy weather regardless. I just did a quick 1 mile loop around my neighborhood that felt okay but not great. I think my problem was that I started off going to fast for my pace and got burnt out quickly. I walked a little during the mile but overall wasn’t happy with the run.
THURSDAY, MAY 30TH
Day six felt great. I went a bit longer than planned because I picked up my dog after 1.5 miles and walked/ran with her for about one more mile. Running with my dog was kind of difficult because I wasn’t able to set my pace as well, but I still liked it. My first mile was 11:17, my best time yet.
FRIDAY, MAY 31ST
I decided to take my dog with me again on Friday, which was a little more challenging than the day before. I was still able to make mile one in 13:39, a time I was happy with but I know I can do better. I went just about two miles, and about .75 was walking. My biggest goal for the next week is to run 1.5 miles without walking at all.