Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Pushing Forward One Minute at a Time

I just got back from walking. Tonight Jim came with. I'm glad he did. He pushed me to keep going during the run portions. I actually made it to 4 minutes tonight. I still walked the majority of the time but interspersed more 1-minute runs throughout. I figure that on Friday I'll be doing the full 5 minutes at a time.

My initial problem is that I have this mental block. I don't feel like I'm running when I'm going pathetically slow. It was good that Jim was there to keep reminding me to slow down, conserve energy, push toward the five minutes and move ----s-l-o-w-l-y! Jeff (#3 son) also reminded me to keep movement fairly limited and relaxed. Maybe these things come naturally to most but I am not self-aware in the least when it comes to athletics. I do all sorts of bonehead things, like running on my toes instead of landing on my heels first. So when I say I'm starting from zero, I mean it. I don't know how to run. I'm learning........and enjoying the process.

I looked at a few brochures from Running Fit. There are races all summer long in every distance. There's a 10-mile run in the middle of August which is exactly the mileage I'll need at that point. It goes right through Hell, MI......so I suppose you can guess the name of the race. Should I manage to complete the run (of COURSE I will...I'm a marathoner, remember???) I will get a lame t-shirt with a lame play on the name of the town. I kind of wish there was another race of that distance around here but the next best thing I could find around that weekend was a half-marathon in Chicago. That means staying in a hotel with crowds, eating out a lot, etc. I just want to worry about the running at that point. We'll see.

2 comments:

Chris said...

It sounds like you are improving. Keep in mind, errors in running can be corrected. As I recall, the latest issue of Runner's World talks about a couple of common running mistakes and tells you how to correct them. You might want to pick that up. Actually, I recommend you subscribe. I love that magazine!

Have you considered doing a half marathon first before you go for the full? That might give you a little more time to get your basics down and get moving toward your goal. Just a thought...

Sis. Julie said...

You're so blessed to have your hubby going with you. Mine can't hardly walk when he gets home from work from being so exhausted and in so much pain. So I have to do my exercise on my own. That is hard to do as well. I really need to get motivated....which I just am not. But I know the Lord can get me there if I'll just let Him help me with it.

Keep up the good work.