Week Two

Well, Week Two of my half marathon training is in the books! I completed three short runs (three miles, two miles and three miles, respectively) and one long run on Saturday (five miles). I have increased my pace to a ten minute mile on all the runs. I had previously been leaving a goo trail when I ran at a 10:54 pace, but I am proud of my accomplishments so far. Today I ran three miles and it was a challenge for me for two reasons. First of all, I was looking forward to running for the first time probably since I've started. My three mile runs have become a piece of cake; they don't even phase me anymore. Three miles? No problemo!! I had a friend post a status update on facebook this morning about how she was thinking the gym would be really packed. We belong to different gyms, but it hit me: it was JUST January 1st and everyone and their mother makes the New Year's resolution to lose weight. So of course I get there and it is packed. Not to be mean, but I am looking forward to when people start slacking off again and the gym is less crowded! There wasn't a free treadmill to be had and I began to panic slightly. I hopped on the elliptical but wasn't even paying attention to what I was doing as I was just scanning the treadmills waiting for someone to get off. Not two minutes into my elliptical training I got lucky and someone departed their treadmill; score!! Unfortunately this was the treadmill with the broken TV. So that was my first challenge I would need to overcome. We all know running on a treadmill can be incredibly boring and although I have my trusty iPod I like to have something on the TV screen to stare at too. However the only thing I could do today was stare at a blank screen and watch the numbers tick by on the treadmill display.

I thought up excuses and gave myself permission to just do two miles today. But the problem was, I was feeling good and after one mile I had hardly broken a sweat. I pushed my pace up and ran the rest of the time between a 6.5-7mph pace (which is somewhere between 8:45-9:35 mile pace, I can't remember). I not only completed the three miles, but I did it in my fastest time yet. This run did make me realize how easy the three mile runs have become for me. Tomorrow is my two mile run day and I always struggle with it. I want to go longer, but I don't want to push myself too hard and be too tired for the long run at the end of the week. I think instead of focusing on the short distance, I will try and push my pace up and run the whole thing at a 6.5 mph pace.

Last Saturday I completed my second long run of the training. I was only supposed to do four miles, but oddly enough, I was feeling really good that day. I had a cold and before I even started I figured I would be dead tired at the end of the run. But surprisingly, the run made me feel great! I ran at a faster pace than I had run my previous long run and was very proud of myself for finishing five miles in fifty minutes. I love it when I feel so good about running; it really makes me want to keep at it.

Now I have entered two short races to prepare me for my half in April. I entered a four mile run on February 6th. It's called the Stock Show Stampede or something like that and is for that rodeo that comes to town. I am excited about this one because I have no doubt that I'll be able to do it. It's a distance I have run many times and I am comfortable with. The second race I entered has me a bit more concerned, although I know I will be ready when the time comes. This one is on February 28th and is an eight mile race. I was drawn to this one because after the run there is a free buffet at an Italian restaurant here. I love free food!! Both these races correspond with the days in my training that I am supposed to do races, so it seems like they were meant to be (I had trouble finding many races in town). The training has me doing a 5k and 10k, but I feel better doing the slightly longer distances. I think they will better prepare me.

I am starting to feel more and more like a runner and it's exciting.