August 2012 Run Recap

I feel good about August! Last month I only ran 6 times with a total distance of 16.17 miles.
August was 10 runs with a total distance of 28.08 miles!
I hope to increase my number of runs in September. I want to run more often but I'm not focusing on the mileage. I  think as long as I run at least 2 miles per time I'll be good. And as long as my shin holds up I'll be happy!
Here's to September!

see July's recap here

July 2012 Run Recap

So...not my best month but better than June!
Only 6 runs is pretty pathetic though. I was out of town for 3 days (could have run anyway), Brett worked 14 hour days for a week straight (could have pushed the stroller and at least got out there!)...those are all of my excuses.
Honestly, I started to feel lazy and unmotivated. I was eating poorly and although I've maintained my weight I felt gross. I hate being a sloth.
So today is August 4th and I've already run twice. That's a good start! I am only doing small runs again this month until I feel less scared about my shin.
I think that my goal will be 4 miles during the week then 6 miles on Sundays (or Saturdays...whatever day it happens to land on).
The run I did yesterday was 3 miles but I felt every single step of it. I ate oatmeal and a peach before I went and I think that is why I was even able to last 3 miles.
It's really crazy how much an injury can mess you up mentally. Ugh.
Oh well! I'm not injured any more and I'm moving on up!
August's recap will be more green and high mileage!


see June's recap here.

June 2012 Run Recap

This month was a bust! I can't believe I only ran 4 times. It's so incredibly ironic that the day after I posted my last running blog (found here) I got injured. You can click the pic above to see the info in more detail. I'm not going to break it down here because with only 4 runs who cares?
I was really upset about it and discouraged but now I figure that if I can be inspiring by running 6.5 miles after not ever going past 3, then I can be inspiring getting my legs back after injury.
Unfortunately I think that all of my previous mental blocks were a lot easier to overcome than these shin splints will be.
I've been trying to pump myself up mentally and give myself pep talks and what I've decided is that I will run with my shin splint compression wrap until I feel like I don't need to, then I will run several more times with it. I will run slower and less distances and listen to my body. My body and mind are crying out for an actual run (instead of this 2 mile nonsense) but I need to listen to my shin.
I want to be smarter about running this time because I want this to be a consistent life-long thing and not something that I do in spurts.
Not running is horrible and frustrating but here's to patience!

Last night I found a great blog and pinned tons of her recipes. She lost something like 80lbs by diet alone. Her recipes seem simple and delicious so I'm really excited.
At least I can make a huge effort to eat well while I can't really exercise much!
Find her blog here.

Running

I just want to take this moment to be proud of myself!
I am turning into a runner. I'm still not amazing at it, my average pace isn't very fast, but I have finally conquered the mental beast.
If you know me, you know that running has long been an issue with me.
I have desired to love running but couldn't.
In April a few of us ran a 5k. Up until that point I had never ran 3 miles without stopping, much less 3.1 miles.
The week before the 5k I was nervous because I could only run 2.5 without wanting to die.
The day of the 5k came and I was pumped up! I was determined and excited.
There is something about running in a large group of people that makes it easier to keep going.
I finished the race, happy but not really that proud of myself because after all, it was only 3.1 miles.
The next day I went running again, this time going 3.25 miles.
And that's when I realized my mental block, the one that had been plaguing me for years, was gone! Well, not entirely gone but greatly diminished.
Since then, every time I have gone running, I have set small goals and have met them.
The only time I haven't increased either pace or mileage is when I have had my shin splint flare up.

For fun, here is my mileage from May 2011:

I ran 6 times for a total of 15.41 miles. My average pace was 13'37"/mile.

May 2012:

I ran 10 times for a total of 43.62 miles. My average pace was 10'35"/mile.

When I first saw these charts today I was blown away! How encouraging!

This shows that so far in 2012, my farthest run was 6.55 miles (I ran that yesterday) and above you can see my fastest.
Last year I had never even attempted a 5k so this information was nonexistent!

I think I have cracked my personal running code, I have finally figured out what it takes for me to run far and faster and I feel GREAT!!!

I will be blogging in the future about the mental side of things because that was the thing that always confused and discouraged me.

If nothing else, as I blog my running progress I hope to encourage at least one person that you can start running and you can run far!

31|Thirty-One|week 1

---

How did you do this week? Were you able to get any miles in? Even if you start slow there is always time to catch up! Don't let apathy set in, get out there and pound the pavement (or treadmill). Your body will thank you at the end of these 31 miles!

My week wasn't the greatest running week I've ever had. I am developing a shin splint from running on the sidewalk so much. Concrete is really bad for our legs! I thought I was going to only be able to do 2 miles total but Thursday I made myself go for a run with Neely around 6pm. I felt SO good afterward and was SO proud of myself.
The way I'm doing the mileage is this.
The challenge is supposed to be running miles only so when I have to stop and walk, I pause my Nike+GPS app. I allow myself to walk for 1 minute and then continue my run. I walked only about 3 minutes total Thursday and I was pleased with that!
Here are my runs (5 miles total) for the week (click to make bigger):

31|Thirty-One

This month has 31 days.
This month I will turn 31.
In celebration of that (because I am truly excited to be 31), I will be doing a few 31ish things.

First up, 31 miles in 31 Days.
I did a 30 miles in 30 days challenge for my friend's 30th birthday in September but a lot of those miles were walking (which was fine according to the rules). This month I am challenging myself to run 31 miles. I will not be counting any miles that are walking.
If you want to join my challenge on nikerunning.com, click the link.

Next I will be doing 31 days of deliberate eating. So often this past month I have just snacked on whatever, whenever. I don't want my body to be a trash can. I want to fuel it and feed it and make it as healthy as possible. Also I would like to get back to 105lbs. I'm less than 10lbs from that so it's do-able. I just need to stop talking about it and live it. I'm so sick of my excuses and everyone's excuses. Everyone has a few minutes per day to work out. Everyone has the ability to make good choices. Buy dried fruit to snack on instead of chips. Pack your lunch instead of eating out. I'm telling myself these things too because I've been so lazy about eating. And remember:

---

If you'd like to join me in these,  and you're serious about it, please let me know and I'll make a button we can display on our blogs. Maybe we'll do a weekly check in. For the running one we can do a weekly screen shot from nikerunning.com. I would love someone to join me to keep me accountable and to keep me motivated.

---

UPDATE: You can now find info and a button for your blog (because we all know I am obsessed with making buttons) for the 31 Miles in 31 Days Challenge on it's very own page! CLICK HERE
If you don't have an iPhone and can't do the Nikerunning.com thing, please use mapmyrun.com, it's really great and accurate!