Frustrations.....and....Success

Hi!

Remembering that this is a blog to record our training experiences for the half-marathon in November, I decided that this week's experiences were worthy of noting.

Beev and I worked on a new training schedule to move our 'long' run day to Wednesday after work. We have gotten to a distance that takes us too much time to run during work hours.

Anyway, this past Wednesday we were scheduled to run 4.5 miles - 0.5 miles farther than we've ever gone before. I felt good - well-rested, properly hydrated, no aches or pains, no calf problems. We were ready to go. To end mile 2 we have to run up a big hill. This hill has always been a challenge for me. This day was no different. However, usually when we get to the top and turn around for the start of mile 3, I catch my breath on the way back down the hill. BUT for some reason I could not catch my breath and I got some weird cramp in my side. So I had to stop. FRUSTRATING!!!! I was so looking forward to completing 4.5 miles. We walked for a bit and then tried to run again, but I had mentally already given up so I couldn't go very far. We ended up walking the last 2 miles.

One thing that I should mention is that Wednesday was by far the hottest day we have ever tried to run and we were running at 4pm. It was hot and humid. I'm sure that didn't help. I talked with friends who are runners and they all said the same thing - sometimes you just have days like that - everything seems ok, you've done everything right, but your body just won't do it. Ok, fine....but that's FRUSTRATING!!!

Well, Beev and I were both determined to hit 4.5 miles, but we couldn't find another time during the week when we could run together. Beev completed her 4.5 miles on Thursday - YEAH BEEV!!!! I planned to make my 2nd attempt on Friday. The weather was fantastic - cool and sunny. I was a little nervous because I'd be running without Beev - how was I going to keep my mind distracted by myself? Well, I bought a little iPod shuffle that clips onto my shirt. I loaded it up with great Christian music and hit the trail. It wasn't easy, but I did it - without stopping! Success!!! 4.5 miles.

So one day I'm down in the dumps and two days later celebrating! Running is weird sometimes! This coming week we try 4.5 miles again and then bump it up to 5 the following week. Slowly but surely we're approaching the 13.1 miles we'll need to run the half-marathon. Yikes! That seems so far.... One mile at a time, Turtles!