Press "B" to Run

There are a lot of really great things I could say about running that explain why I do it.  I could tell you that it makes me feel energized for the rest of the day, which is true.  I could also tell you that it is a great way to get in shape and shed some weight, which again is true.  Or I could tell you that it feeds my competitive nature and that passing just one more person keeps me going in a race, so very true.  Except that isn't what I am going to focus on at all.  Here is the silliest reason of all I run, especially on trails, and sometimes even enjoy it: Video games.  And yes, I am serious.

I grew up in a household with two older brothers, which meant for me that no one played Barbies or Dress-up(not that anyone could get me in a dress back then).  Instead I played video games with my big brothers, when I was allowed to, and got my butt handed to me time and again.  We played any game really, but my favorites were the role-playing games like Final Fantasy.  Now part of the reason I liked these so much is because there was no competition and so I couldn't lose to my siblings, and I was a sore loser to be sure.  So what does this have to do with running?  Everything.

Running on a trail is a lot like running in a game like Oblivion, you want to get to point "B" from point "A" but you can't just drive a car, and you are far too broke to buy that horse you want.  So what do you do to get to there?  You run, for as long as you can and as far as you can.  Then when you can run no longer you are forced to walk until you regain some stamina.  I should mention this isn't the case in Skyrim where like most games you can run forever.  So for me this is a lot like my running routine.  I go out and run as far as I can, always a little further than the last time, and when I just don't have anything left to give I walk.  This repeats over and over again and eventually I look back at my first time out and realize just how far I have come.

That is what happened this past weekend for me.  I ran in my first ever Half-Marathon and never once stopped.  So here is what that means.  My first run of this year was late March(I believe) where mom and I went out and managed a while 1 mile in about 14 minutes.  As a runner I can tell you - that is slow.  As of this last weekend I ran 13.1 miles in just under 2 hours and 45 minutes, a HUGE improvement from the start.  Now as silly as it is, when I am running along I sometimes imagine I am a character from Oblivion running to increase my endurance just one more level.  I can't say my level is maxed out yet - but I can say I have definitely been leveling up!  

So, what level are you today?

The Many Things I Do

Oh. My. Goodness.

My plate is so full that if this where a balancing act I could be center-stage.  I love it!  That probably sounds crazy, loving when life is so full that it feels like you are going 80 mph and everyone else is only going 60?  But it is so very true.  Here is a list of all the things I'm up to lately:

• School - nearing the end of my second class.
• Running - half marathon in September!
• Promotion at work - Yay!
• Wedding Planning - So much fun!

I'm sure there are more things I am involved in as well, but those are the big ones of the moment.  Now we can touch on a few lovely details.  Starting of course with the most exciting.  

I'm getting married!  

I've got the the perfect guy, the perfect ring, and in the works is the perfect wedding.  Of course the story of the how's and all the fun stuff going forward is coming soon.  The wedding website is in the works and as soon as it is finished you can follow all of my wedding planning there!  

Now onto a few other less exciting news.  School is going along at a nice even pace and I am nearing the end of my very long second class.  Now anyone who has asked knows well - I have not enjoyed this class!  Literature arts and the humanities has been tedious and dull, but at least it is almost over.  Only 13 weeks left in my term so I better stick to my schedule if I want to finish on time!

I also got a promotion at work, assuming I pass my test at the end of the upcoming training, and will be a manager.  This of course comes with a nice boost to my ego.  Wish me luck in the following weeks, that will make for two tests I have to pass.

Finally on to running, which has not gone as planned.  There was only one thing to keep us from running, an injury.  Unfortunately, it happened.  Luckily though it happened to the one person I know who won't let anything keep her down.  Not me of course - that would have been my ticket to be lazy.  Mom was struck by a stress fracture that caused her to be in crutches for an entire month and not be able to run at all for a total of 6 weeks!  Luckily that is all behind us now and she has healed up wonderfully.  We are back at running again, trying to prepare for the half marathon.  I've never know anyone as determined as my mom.  We are back up to four miles again, with the hopes of running five miles this Saturday.  In an attempt to get my stamina back(because when she couldn't run I didn't) I have been running at least 5 days a week.  I try to do six but usually I talk myself out of at least one of them.  We're both very determined the do the half marathon still, and it shows when we go out running.  

I guess we will just have to see how everything plays out in the upcoming weeks.

When Life Gives You Humidity...

You run anyway.

 The summer is arguably both the best and worst times to be running. It is great because it is beautiful outside, the flowers are blooming, and the sky is usually clear. The downside however is the heat waves and the humidity. The current solution? Run earlier! Of course when you are already waking up a 5 to run the idea of getting up any earlier is almost unreasonable. So instead of getting up at say 4:30, we just push through whatever comes our way. Even when the weather outside makes the runs feel like swims we still manage to get through a 4 mile run!

 The best feeling though, no matter how the weather plays out, are the Saturday long runs. Every week we try to add another half mile of distance in order to meet our goal of a half-marathon(recently I was informed that I should not call it a mini). This distance addition is only part of the story though, we also try to hit a hill or two on our runs to better prepare for whatever may be thrown at us. As of last Saturday we reached our target of 7 miles, the first 2.5 of which was mostly uphill! Of course, my personal favorite part of the long-run days is going to the farmers market and lunch after. I love getting my weeks worth of fresh vegetables then having lunch with my favorite running partner.

 Of course my life is more than just running, there is also all of the school work I have on my plate. Currently I am working through one class at a time with the current selection being Organizational Behavior and Leadership. As of right now the plan is to be completely finished with the first class by the first week of July. That means finishing two chapters each week over this week and next then passing a pre-assessment to determine if I am ready. Upon a passing grade of the pre-assessment I will be able to schedule out the full assessment. While this first class isn't anything spectacular and fun the next two classes will be covering various aspects of Literature, Arts, and the Humanities - and I am looking forward to that quite a bit.

 Now, I would like to leave you with a nice quote about running that I can relate to on most mornings:

 "The trouble with jogging is that by the time you realize you're not in shape for it, it's too far to walk back."
 -Franklin Jones

When I am not running I...

Am working towards a major life goal - my Bachelors Degree!  As of June 1st I will be officially enrolled in my first term at Western Governors University(WGU) in the Accounting program.  I have been debating returning to school after my job search with an associates degree resulted in no-where jobs.  Like many people I have talked to I had some reservations: Money, time, motivation, etc.  However, when my mom told me I should look into WGU, I was very surprised!  Here is what I learned about my new school:

WGU is entirely online, so I study and do the work on my time instead of on my professors.  They do not give out grades instead you either pass or fail the class.  You choose your own pace as to how fast or slow you want to work toward graduating.  You can take as many classes as you are able to in one term at a flat rate and all resources are provided.  The only catch?  The resources are only available online, if you want hard copies you have to buy them out of pocket.  All together, for someone who wants to work full-time and still be working towards a better future, WGU is(in my opinion) the way to go.

So I don't start until June 1st but...

I still get to get a head start early!  As of today I have begun the first chapter of my first class and am hoping to have gotten through three chapters before the actual start date.  Since everything is available online the only thing I can't get a head start on is the assessments.  The hope is that by getting off to a running start I will be able to finish strong, just like in my runs!

Speaking of which, I am still training for that marathon with my mom.  This last week has been much harder on me than I would have liked.  I have felt unmotivated and unhappy with my progress, mostly because there has been no real progress.  I have felt running has been extremely difficult this week with little to show for it, but my main motivator helps me to keep positive.  My mom is always there to push me to keep going, even when I want to quit more than anything.

Story Time!

Saturdays are our "long-run days" which is basically: Run as far as you can and don't worry so much about pace.  Our goal was 4-4.5 miles on the trails.  It was a muggy and rainy day already so my mood was just not there, but I knew that if I did the run I got to go to the farmers market as well as get breakfast.  Obviously I was going to run.  Things started out as usual with light conversation and fun music, but they turned near mile 2.  Cramps set in and they refused to let up.  Mom pushed me through this and got me to keep running, at this point I dropped my goal down to a 5k for the day.  Now, later when we approach what should be the 3 mile mark my mom decides she is going to pick up her pace to get a bit more distance in.  She tells me to keep running and not stop until she gets back, I can do that right?  Well I did.  When we catch back up I am exhausted and want to quit, and hate running.  She tells me only 6/10ths of a mile to go, and I say something like, "Is that all?  I can do that!" I'm suddenly invigorated and ready to run like never before.  A mere tenth of a mile later though I am asking how much farther.  As it turns out, 6/10ths of a mile is in fact just over a half mile!  My general math knowledge had apparently been thrown out the window in order to keep my feet moving.  I wanted to quit.  I wanted to stop right there in the middle of the trail and never move again.  I would have too, if it weren't for my mom.  She always pushes me to be better than what I think I am.  She somehow kept me going and I did it!  I finished my 4 mile run and she got in 4.5 miles.

Since then she has been pushing me to work through this rut of mine, and while we haven't made it past it yet I know we can.  After All, my trainer is the best there is.

So We Have This Goal...

Run.

That is all that my mom and I have to do to meet our goals.  It sounds so simple, so easy, I mean children do this on a daily basis.  So why would we make something so simple our big goal?  It is simple: Run.  A half-marathon this September with family and friends cheering you on.  Maybe it was a crazy dream goal we both wanted to reach for at one point, but the moment the fees were paid the deadline was suddenly set in stone.  So now all that is left is to get out there and do it.

Now this isn't day one of running or some spur of the moment decision.  This began when we both decided it was time to get healthy and get active.  We have been at it for a little while now, and I would love to share how we are doing.

When we first started we were only running one mile and it was SLOW.  Our first run was just over a mile and just under 14 minutes for an average pace.  We probably could have walked just barely slower than we "ran" to be honest.  But we did it, we got out and we ran and that was something that made us both proud.  Since this first day we have been running anywhere from three to four days a week for nearly two months!  Now we are running between 3 to 4.5 miles and our pace sits in the 11 minute per mile range.

One of the fun things we have taken to doing has been to track our running progress.  Mom uses an amazing watch that times us, tells our pace, our distance, and calories burned. It is a very cool piece of technology, after so many runs she will upload this information and send it to me to mess around with.  Since I am going for a degree in Business I thought this information would be a great way to practice with Microsoft Excel.  I keep track of our distance and average pace on a graph so we can watch our progress as it unfolds.  On top of this I have it set up to give the average pace, average distance, and total distance over all of our runs.  It is always motivating to see the week to week progress and know just how far we have come since that first run!