Nikki
Over the past week I decided to slow my pace down to prevent further injury by running a couple miles a few times in the past week and adding other exercises to my work-out regimen. Every Tuesday and Thursday morning, I attempt to get myself up at 5:10 am to attend a Core strengthening class. Some mornings are easier to get up than others, but when I do get up I feel great the rest of the day. I was able to attend my first Group River Run on Saturday. The weather was great and it was great to see the turn out of runners that showed up. I only had 30 minutes to run before I had to go to work, but it was motivating having other runners run along side you with the same goal in mind. It was difficult getting up early to run on a Saturday but when I left that morning I felt great and ready to get the rest of my day going. I look forward to my run next weekend with my fellow River Runners.
Lori
So, here we are on week two. Made it through run walk but very obvious I really need to keep to a weekly training schedule. And that has been the toughest part. I only got three days of training in, not the recommended 5 and it showed. I did some weight training and treadmill/bike but my endurance is lacking. My life isn’t totally crazy in the after work sense, just me and three cats (don’t judge) but I do have a very active grandson who I love dearly and spend as much time with him as I can so I need to step up and train either early morning or later evening. And that’s the next part. It’s SOOO easy to just say “I’ll do it later or catch up this weekend” but that time never comes. I need to discipline myself to making this a regular part of my life. Not just the occasional marathon but to actually do this as a life choice, part of my day, part of my routine. This is going to be a crazy week, (tag teaming grandson due to one parent out of town) so it will be a bit more difficult to get to the gym but not impossible. Time to buck up, stop whining and get going!
Katie – Dairy Queen Dreams
Saturday morning, 6:00am, my alarm goes off. I hop out of bed and start getting ready for my first training; I grab my freshly washed yogas from the dryer and lace up my shoes. I grab my headphones, stuff a water bottle into my fanny pack and head out the door. “I am READY, this is going to be a great run,” I think to myself.
Fast forward to 7:00am, as all the runners take off. I see everyone ahead of me keeping a good pace, and I decided to start out with a brisk walk. I slowly start drifting to the back of the crowd…so I pick up my pace and begin to run. I feel the burn in my lungs and my heart feels as though it is pounding out of my chest. I see a Dairy Queen up ahead and decide to make that my goal; “Just get to the Dairy Queen, you can do it” I tell myself. Once I arrive, I check to see how far I’ve made it—a whole TWO BLOCKS. My family likes to tell me that I’m overdramatic, but I am not kidding when I say that I at this point, I am huffing and puffing and ready to fall over. I’m ashamed to say that the thought of an Oreo Blizzard may have inspired me to run a little faster to my goal, but hey, at least I made it, right?
It’s safe to say that I power-walked the rest of the training course.
I made it to the end (again, passing that dang Dairy Queen, dreaming of Oreo Blizzards) and I actually felt pretty good. That feeling, however, did not last long. As the hours passed, my legs began to grow increasingly sore. It still feels as though my body is screaming at me for putting it through such agony. I spent the rest of the weekend recovering from my very short, 1.5-mile training (I may have had a beer or two to help ease the pain).
I’m not going to lie, I definitely underestimated how far I have to go to prepare for the River Run. But I’m not ready to throw in the towel! I will not be giving up, and I will not be giving in to any Oreo Blizzards. I plan to hit the gym hard this week—preparing for my next training, which will be double the length of this one. I also plan to spend many of my evenings watching inspirational YouTube videos and soaking my sore muscles in plenty of bubble baths.
Ruth – River Run – Week 2
The only to have accountability for this training process, is to be completely honest.
Complete honesty, folks…this week was a bust for me. All my well laid plans kinda few out the window.
I did make it to Taekwondo early in the week, and practiced at home on Thursday. This week Saturday & Sunday were most the productive. Saturday I did the my first River Run Training run. A mile and a half…I was actually pretty pleased with myself. Between walking and running I finished in about 25 minutes. Not so bad for a first go, I was pretty exhausted the rest of the day. Sunday my son wanted to run with me. I had told him he could train with me as much a possible and after much protest (by me not my kiddo) we ran our drive way. Which, by the way, turns out is no joke. It may not look like much, but it’s tough for a novice runner.
A little background on Taekwondo; My son has been taking classes since he was 3 ½ years old and just turned 8….so most of his life. I started taking classes in May 2014 with a friend of mine. There are days I love it and days I want to cry because my body won’t do what I want it to do. I can see exactly what is supposed to happen in my head, but there seems to be a disconnect from brain to body. The days I feel like Michelle Yeoh are the best, there are days when it feels and looks right. Those are the days that have kept me motivated the last (almost) 3 years. Those are the days that keep pushing me to my goal of a 1st Degree Black Belt. Topping it off, getting to share this journey with my son.
Those days that kept me moving towards my goal in Taekwondo are what I am looking for in the River Run. Those are the days I want to focus on, the days that I feel like Joan Benoit (Olympic Marathon Runner), the days that it feels right and looks right.
