So hardcore!

Totally planned on running on the treadmill at the Y today, but had no idea the Y closes at 4pm on Sundays.  Whoops!  That really does seem ridiculously early for a weekend day though...  I was quite in the thick of doing chores and lost track of time (although I really thought I had even more time to lose track of!)  So when the reality of an outdoor run in 20deg. temps and wind hit me, I decided to just jump right in or risk wimping out.  I got myself all decked out in appropriate cold weather running attire - running tights AND sweats, a L/S running shirt, my awesome new running pullover (it even has the thumbhole things on the sleeves!  I don't think I even mentioned that awesome feature when I was originally raving about it!), a soft-shell jacket, 2 pairs of gloves (my touch-screen running gloves - Agloves.com - LOVE THEM! just weren't quite enough, so I had to double up on gloves), fleece headband, and fleece neck-warmer thing that I usually wear for skiing/snowboarding.  Oh and just to make the hubs happy, I wore my day-glo neon yellow YOU CAN'T MISS ME vest.  He usually wants me to wear it even if it's bright and sunny out (really?) so I figured I should make him happy since it was getting dark soon-ish.  This is AWESOME me:

Yup, seriously awesome.  I feel like I kind of look like a running ninja.  Except I think the point of ninjas is to sneak up on you and attack when you least expect it, right?  So I guess I'd only be able to be a running ninja in a sea of hyper color t-shirts at an 80s themed party...hmmmmm.

So today was my 3mi day on my new run/walk interval training program, so I had to run 3mins/walk 2mins continuously until I reached 3 miles.  SHOCKINGLY, even in the cold and wind, I felt pretty darn good!  I was quite psyched about that, especially after my horrible run last weekend.  It puts you in such a different mental space than after a bad run.  So now I'm all jazzed!  Whooooo-hooooo!!  If I am going to run tomorrow though, which I am technically supposed to on my current 4 runs/week training plan (which might have to drop to 3 runs/week depending on my schedule), it will sadly have to be a treadmill run.  Clearly I run so much better outside seeing as yesterday it was a time goal of 35 mins (I went for 40 though including warmup and cool down) and didn't even make 3 miles.  Today I completed the 3mi distance goal in under 35mins!  (Did I mention it was 20deg out?!?! - yeah, I'm bragging.)  Am I starting to enjoy this??  No, can't be, this MUST be a fluke.  (please don't be a fluke, please don't be a fluke!)

Anyway, the hubs has been snoring like a chainsaw since 8:30pm and I still need to put a small dent in The Help on my Kindle since I only get to "borrow" it for 2 weeks, and I was just told it's really long.  Guess I should get a'readin!

Back on the horse

Ugh.  After my horrible run yesterday, the last thing I wanted to do was get back out there and torture myself again, but I knew if I didn't at least do something I would be mad at myself and feel like crap about it all week.  My friends offered up some pretty good advice after yesterday, and reminded me that I don't have to aim for a victory with every run.  Getting out even for a short jog or walk is better than sitting on your butt at home!  Point taken.  However, I still tried to come up with every chore that needed to be done before I could go run.  I also had never figured out what I was going to do with my blister, so that was almost going to be a deal breaker, but I found these giant square gauze pads with adhesive in the bathroom cabinet and they worked ok.  (Dang!  My last excuse foiled!)  I finally went out a little after 5pm (after making chili to eat for the Super Bowl - my last chore before I couldn't put it off any longer), and it was already quite dark and super cold ~25deg.

I decided to warm up by walking around the circle (about a half mile) and then trying to run it as fast as I could, and then walk again.  When it was time to start running, my knees hurt so bad every time my feet hit the pavement, but after a little while they finally stopped.  My lungs ached from the cold air, and my "fast run" was beyond pathetic, especially considering my circle isn't even a full half mile.  I am glad I got back out there, but I'm still pretty disappointed with myself.  Just felt really crappy this weekend, and the half marathon is really freaking me out!

First Road Run

Ugh.  I decided to move off the trail and go for a real road run.  About 4 miles.  It SUCKED.  No ifs, ands, or buts about it.  I hated every step and I never want to do it again.  <sigh>.  I have to do it again, I signed up for a freaking MARATHON!  Really, what was I thinking?  No seriously, what the F-#-*-K was I thinking?

I actually think I'm even more freaked out about the half marathon because a) it's a lot sooner (and now I legitimately don't think I'll be fully ready for it come May 6th), and b) I'm pretty sure I'll be running by myself.  I do have a good friend running it too, but her pace is probably close to twice as fast as mine, so I don't think I'll even be running in her dust because her dust will have already settled!  Also, at least at the marathon, my peeps will be there, and it will be a truly emotional experience.  I'm pretty sure we'll all stay together (or at least I hope we will!) no matter how long it takes us and cross the finish line together.

I haven't yet actually addressed the reason for running the marathon in this blog, so I guess I probably should.    It's actually been something that's always been on my "bucket list" (man I hate that phrase!), but the catalyst for doing it now was the death of one of my best friends, Jill, one of my peeps, from breast cancer this past November.  The Susan G. Komen Foundation (an organization that had a huge impact on Jill's life, the lives of members of her family, and one that we'd participated in fundraising events in the past) had chosen the 2012 Chicago Marathon to be one of its Marathons for the Cure this year.  Jill ran the Chicago Marathon with our friend, Becky, in 2003, and before she got really sick again, we had actually discussed running it together (possibly this year).  So, essentially, it was a no brainer.  A really great way to honor the memory of an amazing friend, a fundraising event for a great charity, and hopefully a way to grieve productively by giving us something to focus on...or at least give us a reason to pound out anger and frustration over miles of pavement!

Anyway, it was suggested to me today that I had perhaps pushed myself too far, too fast in my training because I essentially went from no running to 4 miles in a very short amount of time.  I had over-credited myself as being ready for that from having done bootcamp 2x/week for the last 9 months, but I think that was definitely wrong.  Running shouldn't suck this much.  I just have a hard time feeling like I'm going "backward" and once I make a certain distance (like the 4 miles I achieved last week), I feel like I'm not working hard enough if I don't run AT LEAST that far from now on.  I know, I know, I need to seriously change that attitude or I risk failure.  I think that tomorrow, provided I can find a way to buffer the awful blister I got today, I will try some interval training.  I'm afraid if I take tomorrow off from running, I may never go back!!