So this guy showed up in my inbox yesterday, which is really awesome! I entered a random lottery draw to participate in the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in April, in large part because I was intrigued by the Tiffany & Co necklace I’d be receiving at the end (yes, their oriented-to-females marketing TOTALLY sucked me in), and it looks like I’ll be running it! I entered with my friend Bettina, so we’ll be chugging along together on the course. This will be her second half, and my first (obviously), and hopefully being surrounded by 14,998 other ladies will feel super empowering. Part of me is legitimately concerned that instead, I’ll just be hyper-aware of those chicks who are in way better shape and briskly running through the whole thing with a song and a whistle, BUT I’m trying to shake those fears and instead just be pumped for this next goal.
I took a solid, hardcore eight days off from any kind of fitness whatsoever following the Tough Mudder, and I also drank either beer or wine every single night during that week too. My body is kind of hating me for it right now, and it’s too damn cold out to run (I know I wrote about wearing winter-friendly running clothes just the other day, but let’s be real, it sucks), so I’ve been really struggling with getting back into a rhythm. Also my immune system has decided that it’s not really up to the task anymore, and I’ve been sick more often than not the past month or so, and I’m claiming that as a legitimate excuse for how lazy I’ve been.
Now, if I could have found something like this to participate in, maybe I would have gotten my butt off the couch this past week:
Alas.
At the beginning of 2012, I penned a rather long list of philosophical/mental/emotional life goals that I stuck on my fridge, and over the course of the year, the ink on the piece of paper has faded and I’m down to the wire on the number of days left before I need to take it down and replace with a new list for 2013. One of those goals I wrote, somewhere right between “Forgive more quickly” and “Eat chocolate whenever you please” was “Learn how to run.” I’d like to say that, one year later, I still suck at running, I still don’t like it a whole lot, I still have absolutely NO CLUE what this whole “runner’s high” thing is that everyone goes on about, but I kind of, sort of, learned how to do it this year. Even if I’m terrible.
Now I just need to amend that a little bit — “Learn how to run 13.1 miles.” There. That looks about right.
Do you listen to music when you run?
Weirdly, I’m one of those people who doesn’t really like to listen to music when I run. I find that it distracts me and that I can never really get the right gait, mostly because of the changing tempo. I do listen to music on short runs (like 2-3 miles) where I need some oomph, but on long runs it’s pure silence.
It’s been well over a year since I’ve ran over 4 miles at any given time, I think, but you can definitely do 13.1. You just did a Tough Mudder! I have faith. It looks like perfect timing since I’ve just started going to the gym (thanks to new job, and new gym membership), and I need to get started training for my May 4th half soon. We should chat training plans soon.
Hope all is well!
I am definitely a music listener, but I don’t listen to the typical running playlists — I actually like kind of slower stuff, like Alicia Keys, because it makes me feel graceful! Which is, of course, all in my head, as I probably look like a lopsided antelope when I run.
That’s great that you’re training for a half as well! I know you used to work with that non-profit for girls that involved quite a bit of running, so I’m sure you’ll snap right back to that level again quickly. I’d love to know how you plan to train — every plan I find online is different, so it’s impossible to know what really “works.”
Haha, nice. I love Alicia Keys!
Yup, I still work with Girls on the Run, though my role as a working board member has me in meetings more than outdoors running with the girls! It really just takes a lot of motivation. I’m focusing on running 1-2 times per week right now, with more strength training to help build my core. Starting in mid-January I’ll be ramping it up slowly, and I”ll most likely use the Hal Higdon plans; they’re excellent for 10Ks too!