I Think I Can

ignore the creepy clown sitting on the back of the Little Engine

Loooooong day. Lots of running around. It's also been a heck of a day in terms of donations to my race! A bunch of my facebook friends have skyrocketed my donations in the stratosphere! I am so blessed to have you wonderful, generous people as my friends. I am looking forward to making every penny count. And thanks to Dina, I'm wearing a purple wig on race day!!! WOOOOT!!!

I had another personal best on the treadmill today, despite being tired!

Stats:
Total time: 30:00
distance: 2.31 miles

YEAH!! I'm thinking with improvements like this, I might be able to run this race somewhere around the 35 min mark!! I just gotta keep chugging along!

The Few, The Proud, The Plodding

I am reading an absolutely remarkable book. It's this one:



Do yourself a favor and pick it up. You don't have to be a runner. You don't have to be an athlete. This book gives you tools that you can use - in any field, be it business, or athletics, or personal - to transform your life.

You will LAUGH so hard. Aside from being a totally life-affirming book, it is full of humor and wit. The pages fly by.

The author, a frequent contributor to Runner's World magazine, describes how he transformed his sedentary life into the life of a runner. He explains how 40 years of inactivity can be reversed. He describes the exhilaration of just being able to jog to the end of the driveway at first, then moving up, slowly but surely, to jogging around the block, jogging a mile, doing a 5K, half marathons and then full marathons.

The thing I love about this book is that it is for EVERYONE. The author was 100 lbs overweight when he first started to run. He gives you permission to be slow. He gives you permission to fail, as long as you pick yourself up and KEEP MOVING.

If you need inspiration to change, this is the book to read. I LOVE it, and I'm buying it for a bunch of people I know.

Best Run Ever!

if fist pumping were an Olympic sport, Tiger would take home the gold

Wow! Who would have thunk that I was injured last week? Who would have thought that I'd clock my best time ever after being up until 1am the night before assembling an audition packet?

I climbed on that treadmill thinking tonight would be a night where I could give myself a little break - I was still supposed to be easing back into the routine, and I was pretty tired. But I didn't need to! From the very first foot strike, things were easy, fluid, and my body wasn't fighting me at all! I kept the pace high, and even added a 1:30 sprint at the end! What an exhilarating feeling!

I even did a little fist pump as I got off the machine, which quickly morphed into a "I was only really reaching up to scratch the top of my head" when I noticed a guy on an elliptical machine chuckling at me.

Stats:
Total Time: 30:00
Distance: 2.27 miles (best yet to date!)

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Ah, changes are taking the pace I'm going through...


I've had that David Bowie song "Changes" in my head all day, and I think it's pretty a propos. For the past few days, things are different, body-wise. I've made a deal with my vanity NOT to weigh myself until after the race. This isn't about weight loss. This is about becoming better, stronger, faster (now I've got the theme to "Bionic Man" in my head!).

But four weeks in, things are definitely changing. For instance, my legs feel weird. Not a bad weird. It's like the muscles and joints are rearranging themselves to be more efficient. It's as if they've had a conference and said "ok, she's been at this 4 weeks now, we might as well stop fighting her and do what she wants." They feel more fluid. They feel...looser, I guess. I'm also noticing that I'm starting to crave the run. I'm starting to look forward to getting my heart rate up. I don't tire as easily. I sleep better. My mind feels sharper. My mood is better.

And I think I might be getting a waist again. I don't want to say that too loud, in case I jinx it, but things are definitely fitting more loosely.

Back on Track!!

After a week of forced inactivity, I was worried. I was worried about entropy. I was worried about motivation. I was worried about losing training ground. I was worried about re-injuring myself.

I wasn't exactly a bundle of nerves when I climbed on the treadmill tonight, but I wasn't carefree either. I know how I get when I lose focus. I knew I could get through a training run ok, I was worried most of all that my heart wouldn't be in it.

I needn't have worried.

The calves responded well to the week of rest. I found the distance intervals to be pretty manageable, although I did run them slower to ease back into the training regime.

And my heart is still in this - thanks to you wonderful folks who have donated to the LLS. I'm so grateful for you support - you made the 2.10 miles fly by!

Stats:
total time: 30:00
total distance: 2.10 miles

Not too bad for the first day back!