First Long Run

Ok, guys, it's Monday and you know what that means! I made it through the "long" Saturday run! Hooray! First milestone is over and done with. Ok, so it was only five miles, you gotta start somewhere! :) I woke up on Saturday morning at about 7 to go running. The weatherman said it was supposed to snow from 6 AM to 7 AM and then rain from 7-8 or something and then just be cold. Well guess what? He was WRONG! It was so wonderful! I ran in a long sleeved shirt (that's actually about 3/4 sleeve on me) and I was just fine. I actually got a little hot towards the end.

So anyway, I was supposed to maybe try and go running with my sister Nicole, but she wasn't feeling well and was going to wait a little longer to see if she started to feel a little better. I wanted to wait, but I had work that morning too, so I had to get started. Matt would have gone with me, but he was still "hungover" from the MCAT the previous morning (talk about mentally EXHAUSTING!), so I let him sleep in and I headed out by myself. That was the first thing I was so proud of myself for. I used to HATE running by myself. I would start out too fast, I couldn't pace myself, and I wouldn't push myself as hard as I could have because I could stop and walk without holding anyone back. Man, I don't realize what a headcase I am until I write it all out... But anyway, I went by myself..

So I started out and I had Matt's watch to try to pace myself a little better and Matt had already plotted out a 5 mile route for me to run. (Ok, so maybe I still couldn't have done it without my wonderful husband, but at least I ran it alone, right??) About 2 miles into it, I checked my watch and realized I wasn't running as fast as I would have liked to or even as fast as I thought I was, so I was a little bummed and thought I wouldn't be able to finish in my goal time (I was hoping to finish in 50 minutes). But nonetheless, I kept running. I felt surprisingly good though! My one mistake is that about the first half of my run was flat or downhill which meant...? The second half would be flat or uphill... YIPPEE! My legs felt good, I was running a good pace, my foot wasn't hurting at all, and that helped make me mentally strong. Then I turned the corner of 1000 N. and 600 E. and started heading up 10th towards Aggie Village. (The locations and coordinates are for those of you familiar with Logan and its setup) Well from 600-800 E. is a slight incline and then from 800-1000 E is a STEEP hill. HOLY. CRAP. Ok, I was feeling good, but that hill murdered me. Haha I mastered what my husband likes to call the "survival shuffle". It is when you are basically barely moving but you are still in running form and bouncing up and down as if you're running. I made it, I did the survival shuffle until I recovered and then I got back up to pace and finished my run strong.

I was so excited when I finished and didn't feel like I was going to die (anymore). I was even happier when I looked down at my watch and I had finished it in 47 minutes! Ok, for those of you who are runners, I know that's not ALL that great, but I felt accomplished. Let me put it into perspective for you:

Before I met Matthew, I had barely run more than like 2 miles I think. Last year (I don't remember if we were just dating or engaged at this point) Matt and I went for a run together. We said we would go for like half an hour because I was terrified of running with him and that we would go at "my pace". Well... that run turned into 5 miles and I'm pretty sure we were barely running above a walking pace. When we got home from that run, Matthew told me how proud he was of me and I was pretty stoked myself because that was the farthest I had EVER run. In my entire life. I asked Matt how long we had been running for and he said "It only took us like... 50 minutes or something like that!" Oh... my cute boyfriend/fiancee told me a lie to make me feel better... Haha he tells me now that it took us about an hour if not a little more. So anyway, I tell that story because in just one year I took almost 15 minutes off my 5 mile time! I was really excited about that. This was the first time I actually saw the improvements I've made because they were significant enough to see!

Anyway, let's wrap this up... Haha Long story short, I think I am becoming addicted to running. I love the way it makes me feel about myself. I have found that I have a ton more energy throughout the day (most days, some days I'm just a lost cause regardless) and I am not as concerned about my weight or other trivial things. I finally understood the advice about how "weight is just a number, you need to focus on other things like how you feel and how your clothes fit". Yes, Matthew, you are right and you have been all along. Anyway, I guess my "advice" for this post (even if it's just to myself) is... Get out and do something! Even if you can't run and you can't do this or that or whatever else, get out and do something you CAN. If you find yourself in a rut like I've been in for the past little while, get out and try something new and active. It makes you feel better about yourself and it helps blow off a little steam. The past little while, life has been stressful and monotonous all at the same time, but training for this half is the best decision I made. It has brought some excitement back into my life. I am doing better at living day to day rather than waiting for the future to come. My "I'll be happy when..." attitude is almost completely gone and I am happy with my life right here, right now. :) BTW I'm sorry these past few posts have been pictureless and are super lame. I will try to get more pictures up, but there's nothing to take pictures of when you're running alone! Until next time. :)

P.S. I ran 4 miles today and felt great. Tomorrow is the dreaded interval day. Let's pray I survive. :)