Great run

Last night I did my 4 mile conditioning run, and it was the best run of my life, the weather was beautiful and I had nothing but energy, I started out running and other than at a stop-light I didnt' stop running till I got home, it was so invigorating.

18 miler

2 days ago I ran my long run 18 miles with my sister Mandy. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful run to start with, the first 12 miles were a joy we talked a little but mostly listened to our music and ran, (we talked on our walk breaks). We stopped for a potty break then headed out on our last six miles. it was harder than the first part but we had each other to boost us up. Mandy was doing 16 miles so we geared up and ran up a hill then she was done. It was invigorating to be able to make it up the hill running the whole way. then I was on my own for the last 2 miles. I did ok. Mostly I can say that when your body wants to shut down your will and heart have to take over and that is a neat experience, you will probably hear more of that from me, but that has been the neatest part of this whole training experience. It is amazing what your body is capable of if you believe you can do it and push yourself. I ran the best I could till the end and I tried to push it across that 18 mile mark and I have to say that I am darn proud of myself.

Lace 'em up...

So to start running I am so glad that I took my sister Mandy's advice and got a good pair of shoes. I've been able to bypass probably several injuries just by doing that. To find a good shoe I went to several different running shoe stores and had them do a test on my running to see what sort of shoe I needed, then we started to try em on. I picked 1 or 2 that I liked the best and ran around in them to make sure they were suitable for me then I did the same thing at other stores. Luckily no matter what store I was at, I always came back to the same brand of shoe, so that made my decision easy. I paid about$75 for my shoes (that was the cheapest-and actually a really good deal, normally they were about $95-$120). Thanks to my sweet husband for trying to understand why it was important to spend that much money on a pair of shoes, and thanks to him for being so supportive.

I began with a really slow program also to help prevent injuries. It was an 8 week program to begin with then you can move on to the training portion. ( I will post the program later) but the program consists of a walk-run training method. Jeff Galloway wrote a book that is called "Marathon-you can do it" and that is the guideline that I have been following. Thanks again to my sister Mandy for introducing me to it all, she uses the same program.

When I first began I remember feeling so excited that I could run a 1/2 a mile, then a mile....I tell you what, that was big for me cuz remember, I've never run. Then 3 miles was huge, I was and still am super slow but when you run at your own pace with no time limits or pressure you can run for fun, that opened a door for me. Running has become a hobby, a stress reliever, a natural and drug free form of antidepressants, it also is a time to get any aggression out, or a time to spiritually reflect. I can see now why those runners in the st. George marathon had smiles on their faces.

Some of the things I have struggled with from the beginning and even now, are side aches, at first they would come and not leave until the next day, but I have gotten to the point where I can keep them under control when they come on. For me I have to breathe every last oz of air that is is me out and do it a few times and that keeps it under control. Another thing i do is (this might sound weird) tell the side aches that they aren't my side aches I think of literally removing them and giving them to a tree or a plant, that helps too. I've notices that running has a lot to do with mind control and kind of an inner talk, so that's been fun to get in touch with my body.
So there's a little background but I'll try to get caught up at least on the more interesting runs and thoughts I've had.