Well I just finished my 8 mile run, the longest I've ever run so far. And it feels amaaaaaaaaaazing! I never thought I could run 8 miles, then again I never thought I could run 4 miles. The longest I have ever really ran was a 5k which is 3.1 miles. I ran two of those and thought they were the biggest deal and the first one I ran with friends sounded so glamorous and fun and I wanted to be cool with all my friends who were really good runners. Unfortunately, I wet my pants during the last part of the race as I crossed the finish line, I really didn't train at all. I had to sit on a towel the whole ride home. :) The second one I ran with my wonderful husband and we ran hard but then went to a breakfast place and ordered an entire table full of food and then slept the day away, we were also in the bottom 1/4 of times for all racers. Both of those things are not the way to do it I have learned. I am not usually someone who likes to practice very much but I am really trying to practice and build up to a larger goal this time. Hopefully I will be able to keep all body fluids and food intake in control. The first "long run" I did was 4 miles and after that I thought I could never do 5. But then I tried 5 the next week and did it and was very surprised but again thought I will never be able to do 6. Then I ran 7 miles about as fast as the 6 so I felt super empowered... and then I did 8 today and it took way longer than I anticipated. I just have to stick with it, and I plan to! The other good thing about treadmill running is getting to see your calories being calculated. I know its not 100% accurate but I am a sucker for stats and it always motivates me. I burned 918 calories and that was the best feeling of all. I was all like "well I just cancelled out my breakfast and lunch, lets eat a big fatty dinner!" Luckily my husband was around and encouraged me to not spend all the calories I just earned back in one sitting. I really think anyone could do this plan even if you just start by walking and sprinkling in jogging when you can. I also started bring a snack to eat (I started this with my 7 mile run) to eat part way through so I had the energy to keep going. Last week it was a 90 calorie bar and today it was two bites of some weird Kashi brownie, but I wasn't feeling in the mood to eat it so I didn't get very far. It is amazing how much farther I was able to push myself just by taking a few bites of something.
Other good stuff:
* I had lunch with a new friend and she is awesome, it is amazing to me how God can connect you with others at the right place and time to help one another through life.
* A friend from church passed along an extra toaster oven they received for Christmas. It was so thoughtful and sweet.
* My sis came over and we are making duct tape dress forms to help sew clothing! I will share more when they are done.
Happy Weekend!
I'm so proud of you! If I could run a half, I'm convinced anyone can. You just have to stick with it and take it one step at a time. And after my long runs I was always exhausted and wanted to eat a ton. You need the energy :)
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should sign up for the Flying Pig and come race in Cinci!