Runners are Nice People

Runners are nice people. So if the professor I was working with yesterday is a runner, I retract this statement. ;)

Yesterday was one of the craziest days of dental school. After a professor made me and other students feel like the scum of the earth, I decided to stand up for myself, and I told him I never wanted to work with him again and no one should EVER make me feel like he did. I'll end this story here, since this is a public blog. lol.

Needless to say, I wanted to go for a run BADLY when I got home. I had a lot of stress built up. I waited and waited for the rain to stop....but when it did, it was night time. I SHOULD have gone to the gym but Ashley sold me out (yes, I'm calling you out Ashley!). That's not an excuse, but I'll make it one.

Anyways, at 12:30 at night (while I'm sleeping), my patient decides to call me and cancel our 9am appointment. The first thing I thought, "Great! Now I get to go on a morning run." And I did.

I started my run around 7:20. The weather was gorgeous. It was still kinda quiet out. The best part of my run was the people I saw along the way. All of them, women. I realized that boaters and runners are kinda the same...when you pass by them, you smile and wave hello. Everyone is out there, sweating and feeling good. I always wonder what mile they are on. One lady wore a half marathon shirt,  I wondered how many she'd done. Either way, I realized that I've never came across an angry runner. No matter how much you are struggling during your run, you find the time to smile and say hello to the runner passing you by. It's a good feeling.

However, I don't think treadmill runners are the same. There will be 10 treadmills lined up together and you never feel as if you're a team, but if you run with a group of people on the street, you feel it. I dont know why that is.

This was during the half marathon. I think around mile 5.
You see that guy on the right with the peace sign? We don't know him.
Hence, runners are nice people :)

Run Slow

Last week was a great training week. Just three, 30 minute runs. None of them exhausted me, and I've been feeling really good. I got a BUNCH of music from Jeff over the weekend- actually 4.5 hours worth of music. I'm pretty excited to put them in my iPod and run!

In school, I got to meet 2 people that have ran multiple marathons. One was a friend's patient and the other was a resident. I loved talking to them because they understood the craziness. They didn't even know my athletic ability, yet they know that because I WANTED to run a marathon, that I WOULD run a marathon. They made me believe it was possible.

I asked them for one bit of advice. The girl said, "Run slow and enjoy it, because it is such an amazing experience". There is no doubt that I'll be running slow. That's the only way I know how to run. lol. After having my 5k race and half marathon running times, it's estimated that I'll finish the marathon in around 5 hours and 45 minutes. That's kinda scary to think about. That's longer than a road trip to Tampa!!!
What am I thinking?! hahahaha....

Join Me (at least part of the way...)

The people who joined me on my first half marathon: Harold (brother in law), Nancy (sister), and Timmy (cousin). WE LOVED OUR MEDALS!

Hiii :)

So today was another 30 minute run. My legs were a little sore from my run on Monday but nothing horrible.

I've had a lot of people tell me they want to run a half marathon. If the thought has every crossed your mind, do it! It's easy to sit back and say you can't do it, but what fun is that?

Here's the link to the half marathon training program that I used when I ran in January. I didn't follow it precisely. My longest run was 8 miles on land and 9 miles on a treadmill....and I was still able to run the whole thing (just walking for water).
http://www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon/novice.htm

If you run the ING Miami Half marathon on January 30, you'd have to start this program November 8. It starts at 3 miles, so make sure you can do that comfortably before you start the program.

Here is the website for the half marathon:
http://www.ingmiamimarathon.com/Home.htm

It's $65. I would love to have your around for the first 13 miles. It's a lot of fun to run with people, and I promise you you'll think it's one of the coolest experiences ever!

Hope you join me!

xoxo

My First Run

Today, I started training.

I ran 30 minutes and did 2.7 miles. I'm not the fastest of runners but I'm not looking for speed. I'm looking for endurance. When I got to 2 miles I thought, "Great...now I just gotta do this 13 more times".

The run wasnt too bad for not running since...hmmm...maybe a month ago? I just kept a steady pace. By the end, my quads started cramping up, but that's about it. I have to stretch a little better before my runs.

According to the training schedule, I'll be doing this 3 times a week for the next 7 weeks gradually running up to 40 minutes. I guess they want me to feel as if running 40 minutes is a walk in the park before the intense training begins.

I realized quickly into my run that I need good music. I haven't updated my iPod in a really long time so I'm excited to steal music from Jeff this weekend and jam out to new songs next week!

That's all for now :)

Why am I do this?

So why am I going to run a marathon? Well....why not?

I can definitely list 1,000 reasons why running a marathon is a stupid idea. Some of those reasons include:
1. It's crazy
2. I'm too busy
3. I might hurt myself while training
3. It's not physically possible for the human body to run that far.
4. I am setting myself up for failure if I don't complete it.
5. I'll get bored of running
6. I don't have the body of a runner
and did I mention, it's crazy?!

Of course, I've thought about each one of these things....but then I have that little voice in my head that says, "but just imagine actually doing it...running 26.2 miles...saying I ran a marathon". Then, I kind of just forget everything else.

My dad has been running for awhile now and has run around 7 marathons. I always thought he was nuts and a total extremist but at the same time, I found him inspirational.

I started running for exercise about 6 years ago, and in 2005, after hearing all my dad's stories, I wanted to run a half marathon. I signed up for the Disney Half. I started training for it, but then quickly gave up after I had knee issues every time I hit the 6 mile mark. I told myself, I'd never be able to do it. For the next couple years, I stuck to 2-3 miles a few times a week, and that's pretty much how I stayed in shape.

Late 2009, Key Largo started it's 1st annual Key Largo Bridge Run. I signed up for my first 5k, but my dad, sister, brother-in-law and friend signed up for the half marathon. The 5k was amazing. I was pumped up and wanted to run more. I remember sitting there waiting as everyone who ran the half marathon came through the finish line, and I cried for almost each and every person. So many people from different walks of life, young and old, were able to run 13.1 miles. I was impressed. When I saw my sister complete the race, my jaw just dropped. I was in shock that she had the strength to do it. At that moment, I realized, if my sister and dad can do this, so can I.

I signed up for the ING Miami Half Marathon (13.1 miles) and trained for it in 1.5 months. I ran it with Nancy (my sister) and Harold (my brother-in-law). I finished it in 2 hours and 38 minutes. It tops as one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and I realized at that moment, that if I say I can do something, then I probably can. It doesn't mean the race was easy by any means. It was hard. My body hurt, my stomach cramped, and my toenail was bruised for a couple months. Could I have kept running the entire distance one more time? Who knows! That's what I'm trying to figure out.

So I'm starting this blog so that all of you can join me on what I know will be one of the hardest goals I have yet to reach. I'm going to need all the encouragement and motivation I can get, so comments will be much appreciated.

I also want to be held accountable. Now that everyone knows I'll be running a marathon, I don't want to back down. I've come to realize that this goal may not work out for me. I may have to change plans, push it back, or try again next year. Whatever it takes, I don't want to give up. I read a quote today that said, "The miracle isn't finishing the marathon, it's having the courage to start". So that's exactly what I'll be doing. If race day comes and my body shuts down on me on mile 17 and I have to have a bus drive me to the end, I'll be disappointed, and I'll probably try again next year, but hey, I tried!

My training starts tomorrow. I'm pretty much just going to start 30 minute jogs until I can work my way to around 5 miles easily. In about a 1.5 months we'll start the intense training, where we have long runs on the weekend which increase about 2 miles every week.

The ING Miami Marathon is January 30, 2011. 5 months away. I get nervous every time I think about it. I just pray that my body is strong and my mind even stronger.

Let's see how this goes...