Monday, June 23, 2008

light at the end of the tunnel

There it is!!...a tiny speck, but its there. I'm really starting to feel as though i have the self-motivation to push myself to finish this marathon and i'm loving every second of it. I'm actually excited to get out there and get my runs in on the days i've planned, and although i'm still nowhere close to the ultimate goal of 26.2 miles (10 miles is still a long stretch for me), i made it through my first set of step 7 of my preliminary training (15 min run/5 min walk 2x's)...its a MIRACLE!

I don't really have a route that i stick and i like it that way. I just start running until its time to stop (at least until i actually have to start tracking mileage) because to be honest, knowing i have to run to a certain point and back puts a strain on my run and then i get bored. Not to mention i've finally gotten some good music to run to and instead of counting down the minutes until i get to walk i just concentrate on what's blaring through those headphones.

Today's run felt pretty easy, at least the first stretch of 15 min, which really surprised me. I thought i would be dying, but lil ol' me was able to keep up. I didn't even make it to my max RPE until the second stretch of 15 minutes...and then i got those dang cramps in my side. I think one even managed to creep up into my collar-bone area?? Aside from concentrating on breathing, how else can you get rid of cramps? Well anyways, looks like my muscular and skeletal systems are on their way to keepin' up (oh thanks to the informational value of "The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer").

2 comments:

Kaity Mackenzie said...

Yeah, I love that book! I'm so proud of you! You are doing a great job. I've been feeling incredibly optimistic about the marathon too! Nonetheless, I am scared that if I get too optimistic I won't work hard enough. That's why I have to serve myself a heaping helping of reality... 26.2 miles is forever long! We can do it though. Just have to keep working hard!

jenna said...

proud of you, girlfriend! :)