I'm not a runner. That's been my stance my whole life. I'm really bad at running. My feet and legs aren't cut out for it. My right leg is at least two inches shorter than my left and my right foot is two sizes smaller than my left. This naturally causes some physical issues with running. Because of that, I see running as a challenge.
February this year my friend, Kristin, and I ran in the Race for Literacy. It is a 5 mile course through Balboa Park and Downtown San Diego. I remember being nervous about the run and thinking "how in the world will I run 5 miles?" The most I had ever run was a 5k. My goal that day was to run the whole thing. My pace and finish time didn't matter to me. It was pouring rain on race day and we were drenched, which I think was a distraction from running. We did it! We finished those 5 miles without stopping to walk and I was so proud of myself. Even did a happy dance at the finish line.
After that race, Kristin and I were talking and somehow she convinced me to train for and run in the Rock and Roll (RnR) Half Marathon which was in June. Running a half marathon was never a goal of mine. There was never an interest in running 13.1 miles. But once I agreed to try it, I was consumed with the training schedule and also with finding the right equipment, gadgets, GU, menus, clothes, etc. We did Shoe Dog at RoadRunner. We ran in a couple running groups. We researched things online. We read running magazines. I bought all kinds of running socks and running shoes. Preparing for the RnR took over my life. I told myself once this was over, I would be proud of myself for the accomplishment and then move on with my life. NO MORE HALF MARATHONS! So, the RnR came around. Ran most and walked some. Had horrible blisters. But overall, the run was good. I was disappointed with my time and thought "I can do better." Must have been the next day when I said I wanted to try another half marathon. What was I thinking????
Having heard that the Silver Strand Half Marathon is a nice flat run, we decided that was the half marathon for us. The run is November 14th and two of my bestest friends are signed up to run it too. You will see their names a lot throughout this journey; Kristin and Christine. This will be Christine's first half marathon and I'm excited to train with her.
This time my training will be different. I'm not going to let it consume me or at least that's my goal. Many of the books and magazines suggest journaling your runs so I thought why not try it this time around. Whenever I'm out running, I learn something new about people or myself and I see and hear funny things along the way. Rather than post a status update on Facebook, I thought this would be a more productive outlet and it would be a way for me to go back and see what worked for a particularly good run and what I was feeling on the days that my runs weren't so good. Wanna come on the journey with me?
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