a month later and yes I still love running!

This past month has been a whirlwind of changes to my routine. With trips and Jeremiah home all the time it seems running took a back seat.. but my heart still loves it. I have done a few runs each week. Basically outisde when the weather is nice. It really has been amazing running weather. I am doing runs no longer than hour- but I am still " killing it" with a quick pace and great breathing. If anything I feel my rest days are beneficial and I am enjoying food a lot more! It feels nice to be out of " endurance training" but I also miss the intesity to it and I am learning to adjust. Last Saturday I sat home all day taking care of Jeremiah, drove to get pizza and movie and thats it. I have not had a day like in quite some time. I have been able to run with my friend kelly more and I really enjoy being able to watch someone grow and belive in themselves. I am thinking we should sign up for a late fall race... maybe a 10k or 8k? Something fun and something to do together as friends.

How has my fall been? Amazing. I have really enjoyed all the time with Jeremiah, friends, trips, good food, reading, and I am about to go on our yearly fall get-a-way trip. We will not be hiking and running, more just playing games by the fire. It will be good to getaway and have quiet alone time.

Lazy fall?

It is now 2 weeks since I completed my race, and I am officially losing motivation in running. Fall is here, J is on a new work schedule so he has weekends off and the yankees are in playoffs. I have true distractions from letting me run, but its my heart that is wanting it less and less. I have a few good workouts and I am a lot more random. J and I went for an hour walk on Wednesday and it was very strange to be walking on my running path. I ran a few miles on the treadmill and it just wasn't the same... its like running for short miles is not worth it to me. I am enjoying this new season but I have this fear when it comes time to train for a race I will be back at square one. Or will my body just bounce back and endurance take over again? I just love fall- cozy candles, home cooked meals, rainy days, dark afternoons and baseball playoffs. I am grateful I don't have weight to lose or cholesterol to lower but its hard to not feel lazy when in fact you are lazy. Is being lazy now working out 6 days a week as oppose to 7? What is lazy... gosh I need balance. The way I look at is I love spending time with Jeremiah more than anything and I should just enjoy it while I have it- even if he is my distraction I wouldn't want to spend fall with just my treadmill, the husband is way more interesting.

The change up

Well it has been about 10 days since I ran my race, and it feels physically like it never happened. I would say on Tuesday was when I had this moment of freedom from training. That Monday the day after, I did my rowing machine and 90 minute yoga- so my body was still being worked, but Tuesday I decided not to run and instead ate two brownies and get a 60 minute massage. Wow that was quite a change in my routine! I felt free from my training and I am trying to stay focused on the big picture now. The training can bring out a little bit of my obsessive’s and desire to be the "best" , when I am just enjoying life its harder for me to decide " when should I run?, when should I rest? when should I ..." I refuse to let this laid back time confuse me. My goal of this time has been to learn to be more flexible and enjoy life. I do not want to say " I can't do that I HAVE to run 2 hours today" because I do not HAVE to do anything.. and its back to that moment where I am doing what I want, its hard figuring out what I want.
. I have a bike now, and I hope to just go for bike rides when I want, I joined a yoga studio, have a tennis date pending, I can run with friends more often now that I am not training and I can go on walks, or kayaking with my husband. I also joined another gym for 30 days where I can take different work out classes and learn to break out of my routine. I find that being in a routine is very safe place for me, but it also isn't the most enjoyable place. I was able to enjoy a weekend of a few runs and it felt amazing. I felt like I ran when I wanted to and I just felt free. I could not believe how I was very fast and had great pace- under 9 min avg. However I think it was just doing it on my own time that kept me smiling.
Let’s not be confused- I cannot wait to train for another half ( hopefully with Jeremiah this time- there is a Half in march in dc) but I want to just not be so obsessed with my running.. cause even if its a good healthy habit I can get obsessed and let it take me away from other parts of life that give me pleasure. They say people have a hard time when they are not training for a race... so far this is true but I am really focusing on enjoy it for what it is- so no complaints yet!

Joy and killing it!

Yes I killed it and yes I am glowing and still full of joy hours after. I am proud of myself and still in awe while realizing I am a changed person now. I feel you really can do more than you think you can, and I can do a lot physically- thus I have come a far way! I realized family love and support means the world to me and that I have an amazing family. I also have the best husband who is always full of encouragement and support and when he told me he got emotional during my race, I knew it was real for others and not just me.
Race weekend began with lots of anxiety, moods, excitement and loss of appetite. No sleep either. I woke up Saturday with a fast 20 minute run with the sun rising and thought " I can do this, and I will do this, look how far I have come and now its time to celebrate!". The family was up in Philly and ready to celebrate and it was quite the celebration. We got to have a birthday party, and I got my appetite back for dinner. I ate well and felt so good that I could finally calm down and eat. I also got in bed at 10pm witch was the goal. I woke up at 4:30am bouncing off the walls and ready to go ( I didn't have to get up till 5:30 but I just bounced out of bed). Jeremiah helped me with all me gear and I had this moment of realizing this is my race and I am a runner. Out in the morning it was cold but I knew I would warm up, at least I hoped. We stood in front of the famous rocky steps while listing to some Rock N' Roll and taking it all in. Then it was time to get in the Corral- I felt excited and nerves went away. When the horn went over I think I could have cried of joy but I just smiled and ran and gave my parents high fives. I was on full adrenaline for the first 5 miles. I saw the family at mile 4.5 and knew I had a killer pace. I was so ready.. then it got a little tougher when we were removed and not so many crowds. Lots of people were walking and I felt so far away. I told myself I have done this before I know I can do it, and I can REST later- pain is temporary. But I didn't really feel pain till after the race ( to be expected). I grabbed some "GU" a gel of calories, carbs and sugar at mile 8.5 and by mile 10 I was killing it. I was so ready to finish as I felt strong and fast. Mile 13 came fast and of course I sprinted to the finish! I saw the barricades of people and felt so much emotion as I  ran fast to the " RUN BOO RUN" side the family held the whole race and got quite some play from the DJ as well. I felt I just did this and I still feel great! I had great breathing, great control and great weather. I could not have been more prepared. I had good nutrition and really trained hard. This was a goal I made believing I could do it- and I showed myself that trusting yourself can be hard during such intense training but in the end its that belief I made 2 months ago to sign up that drove me through the race. I knew I could do it 2 months ago- a lot less physically prepared why would I not do it now. I would and I did. Slash I killed it with joy!

Just one 20 minute run between me and race day

Crazy I have not ran just 20 minutes in a long time.. maybe since February? I can't even picture it. Running this week as been very strange, feeling excited/nervous/moody/food confusion all week. I am so off my rocker. Not quite what I pictured feeling- but I guess its hard to have expectations for something you never did before? Last week I finished strong, which was my goal and this week I am trying to stay strong mentally and emotionally as I know that’s what really will get me through the race.
With a few short runs this week, no music and drinks I increased my average pace to 9:30. This scares me because I am afraid I may go to fast at the beginning of the race and break down.. I guess that is my big fear right? Fear of failure!!! Yea I don't have that issue with fear of success just of failure. Here I go to Philly to prove my fear wrong. I hope to just sit back and let my body do its magic while I enjoy the accomplishment of completing my goal. I hope to enjoy my family’s support and be grateful for them. I hope to be healthy and strong. I hope to not freak out about the crowds of people I understand myself centered fear is not a reality. I hope hope hope to kill it at the race, and I hope to have fun!

Hello race week

Last week I treated my runs as a " back to basics" week. I had 4 runs with only a 90 minute run as my long run. This felt so manageable compared to running over 2 hours for the last few weeks. being relaxed and motivated by already succeeding my 13.1 mile mark the previous week really drove my confidence. Tuesday I ran without my running belt ( this means no drink and no music) just me and the watch. I felt very good and got back to using running as a resting place. A time to be meditative and relaxed, this was very nice to clear my head before race week. After being in Boston and around friends and family all weekend I needed some time to myself. My weekend runs were amazing. I ran over the monuments on my 90 minute run and felt no pain and enjoyed the beautiful day. And then last night I ran in dusk over the memorial bridge with the full moon- very amazing. I ran by about 20 cops with bomb sniffing dogs and helicopters as it was 9/11 and the threat level is still there. I had to stay focused but I felt somewhat distracted- then I ran on this path in Georgetown that has no lights- I panicked and got very scared I ran very fast. Speeding with concern of those runners who get attacked and what not. It honestly showed me the strength I have to run fast when I am scared. Happiness returned when I got to the top of the hill where there was a light. While my run may have had some fear elements in it I felt it only prepared me for mix of emotions on race day. Waking up this morning I felt relived it is race week and happy my body and mind are in great shape. I also had 2 softball games yesterday which I say is not a workout.. but it is it does take some out of you. Tonight I will relax in my 90 min yoga tonight and open up some joints while thinking " I really am running my first half marathon this weekend".

Did I already run my half marathon?

Feeling very different this week. Last week I had a pretty up and down week with my running. Tuesdays 50 minute run was difficult in the first 10 minutes.. and never really got easier. My gps watch that tracks my pace, mileage, time and has become my running bestie died. I forgot to charge it and it’s my fault but it made me hate the world. I felt so frustrated that I had to guess my running intervals with music and assume time- luckily I had my phone so I was sure I ran the exact 50 minutes- but I felt inconsistent and almost like a failure. as I got up a partial hill I saw an overweight mailman struggling to walk and I felt his pain.. I felt " why am I doing this when I don't feel up for it" ..He just looked like he did not want to walk and I felt like I did not want to run. It was like parking far away in a mall parking lot- just painful for no real reason... eventually I finished and I felt a little bit better. After my immediate debrief with Jeremiah he told me not every run when training is amazing and sometimes it just sucks- people who race all the time, sometimes not all races are amazing. So I dealt with acceptance and honored my body for doing what my mind was not able to do at the time.
The other difference this week was I choose to run Thursday instead of Friday because I have been running 3 days in a row and sandwiching my longest runs.. I felt I should be true to the training plan for now on and only run Thursday and not Friday- so I run Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. It made a big difference and I felt like I had a redemption run on Thursday. I ran the same route I did Tuesday but with smiles and attitude. I also worked on slowing down- they say runners have a hard time slowing down when a training day requires it and I have not been true to that either. I get so competitive with myself and sometimes just want to do above and beyond what is asked.. not thinking those experts know something I don't. Doing the run at a slightly slower pace felt amazing and humble. It also really let my body chill out for my max run of 2 hours and 25 minute run on Saturday.
And now we know almost why I feel like I already ran my Half Marathon- I ran 13.75 miles on Saturday in 2 hours and 25 minutes. I hit the half marathon at 2 hours 17 minutes. I had quite the experience. Especially after a change up in my training- this was my longest, most enduring and most accomplished run yet. But I feel strange that I ran further than I will in 2 weeks on race day. The confidence that I know I physically can run a half marathon is overwhelming. I woke up at 4:30am on Saturday because we had to fly out to Boston for my nieces birth- and I could hardly sleep as I was told my sister in law was in labor as I went to bed. I started my run when the sun came out at 7am and ran the path parallel to the Potomac on the Virginia side. Amazing scenery and felt such gratitude for life with the beauty and the excitement of meeting my niece. After 40 minutes I ran into new territory on the path. I had done part of the path before with Jeremiah, but I wanted to do my run on new territory so I could be more prepared for the race. I only had Vitamin water on me and no power carbs/sugar.. I didn't think it would be an issue since I ran 2 hours the week before without that... well it was an issue. After 2 hours I felt it- I felt it in my legs and just wanted it to be over. I felt overwhelmed about my recovery walk and wanted to just stop and lay down.. but I didn’t' I ran all the way and then did my recovery walk. The walk was the hardest part. I physically could not walk straight and I felt sick and dizzy. I got home and Jeremiah made me the most amazing protein shake of my life. I absorbed it like a cactus and rain... I felt like a new person. Jeremiah reminded me that runners need carbs WHILE they run such long distances.. they need to give it to their body for performance. I think knowing this lesson now will prepare for race day and gives me 2 weeks to play more with some refueling while performing. In the end I felt wait.. if I can run almost 14 miles.. why am I doing the race? The answer is clear- because its not about doing something once and being done with it, its following through and the journey to get to such a point of celebration. My goal is to run better – not necessarily time, but that would be nice, but to really have strong energy and such joy in my run. So maybe I ran over 13.1 miles but I am up for the challenge again and this time in an official race with thousands of others going through the same journey.

Me, My Run, and Irene

Irene madness had my running at " prepare for flooding" - this meant prepare to run my longest run inside for 2 hours. Well I believed I could beat out the rain so I woke up early Saturday morning to out run Irene in my longest mileage run yet- 11.05 miles.
Last week was hard training with lots of excitement. I felt ready to run those 2 hours and after two 50 minute runs earlier that week I felt very prepared. I am using a drink for refueling instead of a gel which really is helpful. Having a nice sports drink during my run feels like I am resting when I am far from it. I really learned what my body really is made of-and I felt more than ever I am ready for this race. The feelings I felt when I came home just as it started to drizzle and tell my husband I just completed my longest run yet were pure enjoyment of my fitness level physically and mentally. To endure 2 hours of run run run is not easy, but it was so much fun! I did my favorite run to the memorial bridge- then down the Mall to the Capitol and added some laps. I shared smiles with other runners out before the big storm and concerned faces when we saw huge clouds and wind. The wind was tricky to run against but it offered a cool breeze. After my first hour I was on fire and nothing could stop me. While I did feel slightly depleted post run I had nowhere to be so I could just rest and recover. What did I do before big Irene showed her face- I ran 11.05 miles and it felt good to sit and watch TV all night.

Caffine Crash

Less than 4 weeks till race day. Last week I had some amazing runs with lots of power and confidence. I felt like yup I really am a strong runner, and it almost felt too natural. I felt excited about all my runs before, during and after.. all except that Saturday run...
It was my "recovery" week where I get to do easy 45 minute runs and then 1 long 90 minute run. I am working on my re-fueling strategy for the race and thought I would try a gel packet ( I have tried them before but not before a 90 minute run). Well I had this while tying up my laces- sugar & carbs great except this packet had caffeine. I have espresso or coffee everyday and I usually run no earlier than 2 hours post- caffeine. Rumor has it NEVER have caffeine on race day or right before a run- it will make you crash, thirsty and really throw you off balance. I of course thought what’s the worst  that could happen I bet I will be super wired and fast. Wrong. After the first 45 minutes I was done, I was so thirsty but had to conserve my water, my head was weak , my legs were over it.. I kept running and didn't stop but I learned my lesson. I was sad because I wanted to kill the run and what I thought would give me more energy just made me week. I now understand why professionals know more than me .. ha blow to the ego. No caffeine right before the run, maybe hours before or none at all.

However I did travel far in that run. I went over the Memorial bridge, into the Arlington Cemetery and up to Rosslyn and back down and then all the way home. It was 8.22 miles- not my best time.. last night I did 5.24 miles in 50 minutes.. so it has a lot to do with the heat, refueling and how my body is prepared. That is what I have really been working on in my runs, is preparing it- loving it- feeding it- drinking lots of water etc. I have to be ready to run for over 2 hours without stopping. I get a preview this Saturday with a 2 hour run. Hopefully the rain/winds and hurricane Irene won't get in my way. I have been doing 3 intense runs in a row- which might not be the “best” for me but this is so I can keep my core and hip-hop class in my workouts. I think I may have to really only run a week or 2 before the race so I can just focus on that. I also want to try to sleep more, Jeremiah and I stay up late.. Glee and Checkers might have to be saved for date nights only, not midnight social hour.

75 minutes of happy run

Saturday- a day to sleep in, watch some E news, have a long lazy breakfast and gear up for an endurance run. Usually Jeremiah and I have Saturday morning together, but he was in court so I had some good motivation to get out and running while he was at court. I decided to run down to constitution pond on the mall because I was a part of an elaborate engagement plan for my good friend from Boston later that day. So I went down to the mall for my run to scope out some engagement spots. I had a 75 minute run with sprints- which was a little treat for my excitement! I love sprints when they are combined with endurance runs, they are like little tests to your legs but then you can settle right back into pace. The wind was blowing, I had my jams and the scenery made me so grateful for where I live in DC and that I can just hop out my door and run to all of this. I felt so overwhelmed with excitement for my friend it was great to channel that all into my run. It left me feeling that my happiness does translate into my run and that it can truly be amazing. This was hands down one of my best runs.
Finishing off last week I did 20 miles- that feels good and now I am into recovery week. Ahhh nothing says recovery like a 90 minute run haha- but my other runs are only 45 minutes so it will feel nice. I am really connecting with the cycle of training. Recovery week comes and you just let your body recover as you know you have weeks more ahead and you have to, and you reward yourself.. I treated my body to a great yoga class last night, felt so nice. Soon I will be 1 month away to race day- doubts yes, fears yes, but I have a lot of encouragement from what I have done in training so far. So I need to continue to trust my training, my body and get over it and run. Not all runs are happy runs the whole way through, lots are happy for me after the first 2 miles.. but when you get a happy run you just remember why you run in the first place.

like Magic

I ran almost 18 miles last week- 17.75 to be exact, let’s not start lying. I was really proud of myself, running 3 days in a row can be more stressful thinking about then actually doing it. When you are done with the run it is like magic. I feel accomplished, proud and complete. Excited to enjoy resting my body after such intensity. I had a great weekend filled with runs and eating lots of food! Always having a large appetite is a part of who I am , but now I am really eating a lot more. I have to make sure not to eat too much before a run, because it turns out it makes my belly feel like a big water balloon- ( half a large watermelon on Saturday before my run). Anyway food fuel and running has been quite enjoyable. I am eating more protein right after my runs for recovery but I am not hungry "right after" so sometimes it feels just like pure food recovery. Its eating a nice hot meal that feels soooo good. Anyway I think last week taught me alot about trusting my body and fueling body. I had a lot of connection with my body and it lead to having more control with my running. Sometimes its a battle- the run is in control or I control the run, this week so far I have controlled the run. When I am feeling weak, lazy, distracted, irritated, that run controls me - when I am fueled up, motivated and happy I kill that run. I love that word kill when it comes to running, Jeremiah laughs but its a good one. I feel like I put on my shoes ready for battle. I beat down the pavement or treadmill and conqueror all. I kill that run, and I am not afraid to self motivate with the saying " go hard or go home" cause I do and I love it. I also love saying “brooke you have done this before you can do it again" or " Legs, feet lets do this" - I think if running was just for the run it would be boring- its the battle that makes it fun! Its ending up feeling like magic just happened when you did something you were afraid of but did it anyway.

moment of fear

Fear fear fear! That’s what keeps me from doing things and that’s what I am feeling right now about my running plan! I am afraid it won't work, I am afraid I can't run 13.1 miles and I knew I would be afraid but sometimes I walk through fear and I feel so much better, but that doesn't always mean the fear is gone huh? Well true story I am afraid of running. I am running on Friday instead of Thursday because I want to run with my friend, this means 3 days of running- 2 are 45 min runs, and 1 is an hour run.. so afraid!! I shouldn't be because supposedly I am going to be running 2 plus hours in the race, its just hard to vision.. I drove today from Falls Church, VA to DC- that is 9 miles, and I was thinking no way could I run this. I guess I have to trust trust trust. You can't really call it paralyzing fear if you don't let it control you. Instead its just a moment of fear hopefully taken over by faith! This happens often right? haha

Loving that training plan

End of week 8 of the training ( also week 1) if you look at it that way, but I am working backwards for whatever reason I prefer to count down the “8 weeks of training”. I tried to keep my usual workouts in plus my 4 runs of training, all while adding a camping trip that involved a 7 mile hike. This deserves a day of rest today, but I may hit up a new yoga class because I could use some good opening of those hips!
I ran 3 of the 4 runs outside. 2 in the morning, very early and they were amazing. They were hard to get out of bed but once I was out there I felt so glad I finished strong. Thursday morning I ran out by the monuments and saw all the other " morning serious hard core runners" I have issues comparing myself to them but I have to remember its not about them its about me and my run.. jezz I wonder how I will feel on race day when I am around tons of serious runners! Friday morning I opted to stay clear form those runners and ran up my street where it was much quieter and more focused on my run. Both runs had speed intervals which also felt great and I was able to do 15.5 total miles this week. The worst run was yesterday on the treadmill in the afternoon after my suppose to be "rest day" which ended up being a great 7 mile hike with my husband and friends. Lucky for me I got to see the last 45 min of the movie “ stick it” and it kept me motivated, and gave me a desire to do gymnastics haha.
I think a big change in this week has been the power of  having a training plan. Thursday and Friday morning I would not have gotten out of bed to run if I was not on a training plan.. and a plan not to lose weight or look good but to race. Race feels so powerful and strong that I like that word to motivate me. I like feeling like I am an athlete and I tapped into what training really means. It’s easy to run when you want to run, but it takes strength to run when you don't want to. It’s funny I had a lot of thoughts about running and love this week because it reminded me of that. Loving someone is easy when they are easy to love and are lovable- but loving someone when they aren’t lovable is true true love. I have been feeling this lately with various things such as friendships, working, and running. I also read some stuff recently that reminded me of the Gods will and Love. I think what I gained this week is being strong in my actions to love others, because it is not always easy. Love thy Neighbor etc.. its very hard I tend to love those who love me... that’s easy right? Loving my husband tremendously because he loves me.. but loving that co-worker or that morning run.. hmm not the easiest. But we do things out of our comfort zone because they make us stronger. I guess that’s why my goals after each run this week were to stay strong because I feel like I need strength when I am outside of my comfort zone- running or in life. Well, and God is always present and trusting him and his will for me always provide strength outside of my comfort zone. I think that’s how I feel like my relationship to my training plan is – trusting it and I will be able to do this race if I keep with the plan provided. Let’s see!

Bumps, burns, brusies and broken headphones

All is well with my running but not with my body. At my first attempt to ride a bike in 20 years I bruised my shin. No big pain just the ugly green yellow bruise. I also have some weird bumps on my belly.. too confusing to tell what they are but I am not enjoying the looks of them either. The burn is on my wrist from the steam of the rice cooker- this hurts! The worst is that my bose headphones aren't working and I wanted to scream when I had to run to the music at the gym. However despite my tragic life style, last week I completed my goal of running 4 times a week.
All of my runs felt great and I was able to modify the first week of training runs a little but still keep the speed work in. I managed to run about a little more than 14 miles. With the heat wave in dc I had to run inside on the treadmill. While my runs may have been brutal on the treadmill with my glasses flying off, earphones breaking and a fun burn on my wrist I felt I had great strides and breathing. I felt after each run I killed it and I had tons of energy. I kept thinking I really can do this and felt encouraged about finally making the decision to do it. Sometimes for me it’s the decision process is harder than making the actual decision. Its funny to me it took me this long to enjoy running but a friend of mine who runs marathons told me she didn't start running till her mid 30s. It feels good that I don't feel to old before I start. I think I do this a lot I think at 27 I am already too old for things. Funny to amuse myself with those thoughts.
This week  is week 8 of my 8 week training to the race! I treated my body to a massage and a shopping spree to prepare. I am thrilled to rock my new lululemon shorts, hat, running belt and shirt. I also got a hot new gym bag and earphones . Everything is bright pink, purple or yellow of course. I love the lululemon shorts they really are amazing. Last night I did my first 30 min Easy/Moderate run last outside and I did 3 miles. I felt good with my pace and my body felt at ease. Tomorrow I will do my 45 minute speed interval run in the morning outside, hopefully this will be nice and not super hot. Ahh the heat wave not sure if the heat or people talking about the heat is more annoying. Either way walking around in the air that feels like hot soup all day is not the end of the world.  Jeremiah and I are going camping this weekend so I will have to run Friday morning since we will be hiking Saturday and I have no desire to hike and run on the same day in the campground! My goal is to feel just as positive and energetic as last week. I just hope my body holds up and next week I am not complaining about tons of mosquito bites!

Preparing for training week and enjoy last week of unofficial training

Unofficial training this week is taking it easy but learning to increase my runs to 4 days a week. It is a big shake up in my routine as I need to keep at least 1 day of no activity and true recovery. I love my yoga, hip hop, weight class and softball so it is going to be an adjustment having to put all of my focus on my running. My 8 week plan is divided into 4 runs a week. 2 endurance runs and 2 speed runs. Very detailed and thankfully Jeremiah printed it all out and put it on the calendar/fridge for me to see.

Yesterday Jeremiah took me to get fitted for running shoes. After an hour of talking to the sales person about my high arches and all the differences between my feet and Jeremiahs I found a pair. They say your shoes get around 300-500 miles till they really start to break down. I was in need of a new pair as my last pair was bought 2 years ago. I also learned some running lingo while in the store. Apparently runners call half marathons " half"- so I should say " Yea I am running a half" . Also it was brought to my attention that I am a recreational runner. I guess runners feel the need to clarify they are not competitors if they don't run to win. Well good to know- I will now go forward telling people I am a recreational runner training for my first half.
I went for a run after 8pm in the heat weave last night with my new shoes. It was the first run I did since I signed up for the half, and first run outside in a month. The heat has kept me bolted to the treadmill. I felt great, I felt I had lots of energy as it was only a 30 minute run, but I had to remember my body is going to endure lots of pain so such enjoy it when its easier.
My biggest issue is having to get more running socks, as the sock genie stole mine, a visor as I sweat way to much and can't see, a running belt that fits me ( Jeremiah's is way to big), more summer running clothes and I need some more jams to run to as well. I think this can all be solved with a shopping spree this weekend.

Really a race?

Simply put my athletic skills have increased dramatically since moving to DC. I have always enjoyed the gym, yoga, pilates, boxing, rowing, and my hip hop dance. But training and running have been a very different experience. College is the time I would say I actually started to care about my health and weight. I had access to the gym and went with my roommates, had fun it was never anything I felt I had to do but I simply just had fun, and it also became much easier to work out when I quit smoking. During my engagement was about the time I actually would run a mile as I was unemployed and didn't always have access to a gym. Running at that time did great things for my body and I think I looked great on my wedding day but it wasn't something that brought joy,pain and endurance. I remember Jeremiah was living in Laural and I would do sprints with him on the hot suburban streets of maryland and I wanted to die. It was a constant struggle. I felt like I kept saying " what is the point of running or working out its just something to do to get by and stay healthy". Of course I have stayed active and Jeremiah and I would run around our house.. but always no more than 2 miles. The reason I never did more than 2 is because I didn't think I could, but my desire to do more was.
 Being in DC and living near the Mall you see runners non-stop all day long. The first week we moved here I kept saying " lets run to the monuments!" forgetting thats not possible .. but the desire was there. After Jeremiahs summer of injury where we did lots of nature walks around our house, he choose to train for his triathlon. I thought since we have ran many times together and I want to be able to run to the monuments I should just train with him and see what I am made of. I ran every mile with him side by side until his race day. We would run along the potomac up the canal and we also ran to the monuments. The first time we ran to the memorial bridge we watched the sunset and ran down the steps we both felt in awe. We knew this was my goal and I had completed it. We ran to the Washington monument right before our 2 year wedding anniversary and that felt like we had completed this other goal, of running further and further down the mall. Our longest run in the training was in Virginia along the Potomac down to the 14th street bridge. It was beating hot and we were out there for an hour and a half but we did it. At that moment I said I believe I can run a race. We did squeeze in a a 5K, but I felt like it wasn't that big of a deal because at the time I was running 10-12 miles a week. It was more exciting to just run a race and know that I could run a longer one. My fear was running with tons of people, but I was able to just focus on myself as a runner should. Training with Jeremiah taught me running for endurance is really running endurance. I had to train myself to start slow, keep the pace, breathe right, have the correct posture and most importantly I met brooke the athlete. I pushed myself beyond my mental capacity and really focused on my athletic skill rather then how I looked. I had to learn to fuel my body before during and after my run. I had to learn to have active recovery days and not overwork my body. I learned to see what my body was made of.
Knowing about this half marathon has been the running chatter for the last month. I have been thinking I am keeping my endurance up but I want to celebrate in a run. A run of my accomplishment of how far I have come since Febuary, and even those college gym days. I feel I can do many things now. They say when you train for a race it transpires into other parts of your life. I have seen that in the last 7 months and I am proud to say this is my race now. I really am running a race. Scared Brooke who in kindergarten cried herself off the soccer team because she didn't want to sweat, is running a race.

First a runner and now a blogger?

Yup I am blogging. I thought this would be a good way for me to document my journey into the "running world" as I am training for my first half marathon in less than 9 weeks. Blogging may be just be a keepsake, a joke, a simple log of events in training or something inspirational to others. I hardly read let alone write. I am also not known for my spelling and grammar skills, yet I have a voice and feel inspired to share my experience.
The title running chatter speaks to the long conversations I have with myself while running.  Chatter that motivates me, stresses me, encourages me, and even walks me through fears. I guess that is why I have such clairity in my long runs, as I feel I experienced lots of chatter between myself and at some point it all comes to an end. Sure there is the physical relief but for me it really has been a time of getting to know myself in a way I never knew. I have always enjoyed my "alone time" and being outside on a long run pushing myself and being comfortable in my own skin is a feeling that simply keeps me running.
  I can say that running has provided for me an outlet of competiveness within myself that has changed my self image forever. Believing in yourself and doing something you thought you could never do will always change you forever. It’s hard not to share your excitement with others when you experience such a physical and mental break- through. I should know as my husband trained for his first 2 triathlons in the last 7 months. I heard his chatter oh his excitement often.Watching my husband complete his goal while pushing himself physically and mentally has been very moving for me. I started his official training with him February 2nd and we ran for 5 months together. Our lives are forever changed as we have high hopes of racing for a while. On the other hand I never wanted to blog, and don't understand why people do. Then again a few years ago I didn’t understand why anyone would run more than 3 miles. I guess I am a true first time runner and a first time blogger.