13.Fun!

Good Morning Fellow New Runners!!

Source: http://www.motherrunnerstore.com

**Yes, I am aware I “borrowed” my headline from the amazing ladies at Another Mother Runner.  Click on the link to see what you are missing…it is a website chock full of great stories, tips and links to their hilarious and amazing books. 

Well, I did it.  My first ever 13.1 mile training run.  It took longer than I wanted and I certainly ached more than I expected during it, but I can no longer ask myself “if” I can complete a half marathon.  Now I know I can.  

4:30am wake up call on Saturday? Must be a runner!

VERY early (5:15am) last Saturday morning,  I met up with my running partner and we headed off on long run.  Neither of us had a good running week the prior week.  We were both battling sickness, me a nasty head cold/chest congestion/sore throat thing and she a stomach virus.  So neither of us completed our weekday training runs like we should have.  But, like the troupers all us runners are, we set off on Saturday morning determined to at least get some miles in.

The first couple of miles weren’t hard, but it was darn hot out so we stopped for water breaks almost every mile.  My running partner had more stomach issues during the run so we kept walking for longer than either of us wanted.  With the walk breaks, our legs and feet started aching.  However, that eternal struggle that all distance runners know made us keep going.  We had to get back to where we parked our cars.  So, the last 3 miles we put our headphones in and trudged through.  I kept going until my Garmin read 13.10.  Man oh man was I excited to see that!  Even though my running partner has completed quite a few half marathons and is currently training for a marathon, this was her first 13.1 training run as well.  

We had to get to our cars to take us home…to the food!!

Source: Runners World

Once we got back to our cars, the aches and pains subsided into joyous elation that we had done it!  We downed a bottle of water each (we had both gone through the 4 8oz water bottles on our hydration belts during our run, summer running in Florida is fun!) and headed home, she munching on a banana, me on my protein shake.  What a way to start the day.

Enjoy the Run!

Yvonne

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Down for the count

Good Morning Fellow New Runners!

It has been over a week since my last blog post!  Holy Cow!!  I went out for my six mile run last Saturday and found it was more difficult than I expected.  Got home and immediately knew I was coming down with something, I started taking airborne and loading up on the water.  It was too late.  By Sunday I had a terrible head cold/sinus thingy that kept me in bed all day.  In fact, I didn’t start feeling better until Wednesday afternoon and it wasn’t until Thursday I felt good enough to run again!

I have read that if your illness is below the neck, experts say you can still go out for your daily run or workout, as this article in Runner’s World explains.  However, that just isn’t me.  I didn’t even want to get out of bed, let alone do any sort of physical activity.  In fact Monday night I put my running clothes out, hoping to find the energy to use them.  I didn’t find that energy until Thursday and boy oh boy was that run sloooooowwww.

As running is often times a solitary exercise and those of us who take up running in adulthood must frequently do our own research on running do’s and don’ts.  It is easy to just do whatever the expert tell us.  Which would have meant me doing a five mile run on Tuesday.  However, it is important that we listen to our bodies and rest when we must.  Every person is different and every situation, unique.  While those professional runners would probably have gone for that run on Tuesday, I knew I couldn’t do it.  And that is OK!  Instead of having a “pesky cold” stick around for 2-3 weeks, I am now almost back to 100%!  Instead of needing 2-3 hour naps and feeling terrible, I was able to function throughout the day and run after a 2 year old.

If you feel as though your run will make you feel better when you are sick, by all means do it!  However if you are like me and need to take a few days off, there is no harm or shame in it!  Rest, relax and get yourself back on your feet as soon as your body allows!

Enjoy the Run!

Yvonne