Maybe I really am a morning person. Who knew?

Remember last week when I complained about waking up on the weekend at the same time I usually get up for work? Well, what happens when it's hot out during the week and the only time it's cool enough to run is in the morning? I'll tell you what happens: I have to get up earlier than I usually do for work!

This week was a hot and humid one, so Tuesday-Thursday I wanted to do my running before work because it was still going to be hot after work. Personally, I cannot run on an empty stomach, and I also cannot run immediately after eating. So, what does this mean? It means I not only have to get up early enough to give myself enough time to run, but also to eat, digest, and then run. Despite the ridiculous time that my alarm was set for on Tuesday morning, I managed to get up, eat, pack my lunch while I was digesting, and run. It was actually kind of refreshing to be up so early and get so much accomplished before I felt like my day had even started. I even ended up getting to work earlier than I usually do!

Wednesday was not the same story. I don't know if it was the fact that I had done a longer run the previous weekend and then a "longer than usual" Tuesday run, or the fact that I had gotten up so early the day before, or the fact that I knew in the back of my mind it wasn't going to be as hot that day, or a combination of all of those, but I could not drag myself out of bed when my alarm went off ridiculously early. Luckily the temperature was below 80 by the time I got home from work that day, and I was able to run then.

Comparing these two days, I must say that as much as I hate waking up to an alarm and getting up earlier than necessary, I would much rather run early in the morning than later in the day. It is always so much easier because I don't feel like I'm carrying around the food that I've been eating all day, and my body isn't tired from managing 24 third graders all day. Not to mention the peaceful quiet and getting to watch the sunrise! It's also a great feeling to have a big item on the day's "to-do list" checked off so early in the day. Obviously now that school is out I won't have to get up quite as early during the week to run, but when school starts again in the fall, this may become my new routine!

Miles this week: 12 miles
Weeks of training finished: 11 weeks
Total miles of training: 117 miles

A Taste of Summer

I have had a pretty interesting week of running! Ran with a student, reached the point of being 1/3 of the way through my training, got a taste of what summer will be like, and reached a new distance. Not bad for just another week of training!

Yes, that's right, 1/3 of the way done! I know the real tough stuff hasn't started yet, and my mileage isn't very high yet, but a milestone is a milestone. I think the fact that I've stuck with it for 10 weeks says a lot! My long run this week was 5.5 miles, which is only 1/2 mile longer than I've done before, but it's still a new personal high for mileage!

My shorter runs during the week are usually pretty "blah" because they're short, and therefore I just run in our neighborhood. My three mile run was exciting this week though because I got to run with one of my students! Last year my school became a site for a program called Girls on the Run. Girls on the Run is a program that helps pre-teen girls build self-esteem and confidence while training for a 5k race. Each girl has a running buddy that runs with her during the final race for encouragement. I was planning on volunteering to be a running buddy this year anyway when one of the girls in my class who was participating in GOTR asked me out of the blue if I would run the race with her! How could I say no to that??

This week was the "practice 5k", so all of the running buddies had to attend practice and run with their girl. Ok, so my three mile run wasn't as fast as I would train on my own, and we didn't run the whole time because she needed to take walking breaks, but how awesome to be able to run and bond with one of my students! (I know, cheesy teacher moment...) I think my favorite part of the whole run was when she was telling me a story and then, mid-sentence, punched me in the arm and said, "White one!" I was completely caught off-guard and confused as to why my sweet little student just hit me, and then I saw the white VW Beetle drive by...slug bug! I couldn't help but laugh. :)

This morning I had a somewhat rude awakening as to what training in the summer is going to be like. I decided to do my long run on Sunday this weekend instead of Saturday, and the high for Sunday was supposed to be almost 90 degrees. Not exactly running weather in my mind. I realized that on hot days, I would need to get up early and run before the temperature started to climb. So, that's exactly what I did! With an early bed time on Saturday and an alarm set for the same time I usually get up for work (ugh), I was able to get up and run my 5.5 miles before the thermometer read 70 degrees. Thankfully I was able to drag my trooper of a husband/water boy out of bed early too so that he could ride his bike with me while I ran. :) I suppose my beloved "no-alarm Sundays/Saturdays" may be few and far between this summer...

Miles this week: 13 miles
Weeks of training finished: 10 weeks
Total miles of training: 105 miles

The road to 26.2... so far

Since my training actually began about two months ago, I thought I would bring you up to date on what I’ve done so far.

I suppose my training actually began when I was getting ready for the Shamrock Shuffle. Once I made the decision to run the marathon, it was suggested that I sign up for the Shamrock Shuffle 8k. It’s a scaled down version of the marathon, but it has the same start and finish line, and it’s a large race with tens of thousands of participants, like the marathon. I had about two months to get from my three mile point to five miles, and I was able to reach that goal about two weeks before the race.

Running the Shamrock Shuffle was a lot of fun! My friend Natalie and I ran it together, and I was very proud of the fact that I not only finished easily, but was able to chat the entire race. That was something I could NEVER have done while running a year ago. It was the first actual race I had ever run, so there were a lot of new experiences that went along with it. I found that even though I had gotten to the point where I actually enjoyed running, running in a race with that many people through the streets of an amazing city like Chicago was even more of a thrill. It really got me excited for my marathon training!

There are many, many marathon training plans out there, even for first time, non-runners. Many of the plans that I looked at though were only 12, 16, or 18 weeks. I felt that I wanted something longer in order to give me more time to build up not only my endurance, but my confidence. I decided to go with Hal Higdon’s Novice Supreme program. It is actually designed to start the week of the Shamrock Shuffle and end with the Chicago Marathon! I also liked it because it was 30 weeks long, and the longest run in the first week was only three miles. I figured that would be a nice confidence builder after running five miles in the Shuffle.

So, I began my actual marathon training right after the Shamrock Shuffle. It has been easy so far, but I have felt like I was in a holding pattern for the past few weeks. I finally went back up to five miles on my long run last weekend, and this coming weekend it will be 5.5 miles. I finally feel like I’m moving forward again. I’m glad that I chose a plan that started off so low, but I’m glad that the mileage is finally starting to climb again!

It’s been a bit of a challenge at times trying to fit in my runs between work and social commitments, but so far I’ve been able to make it work. I even was able to take one of my runs along U.S. 1 in Key Largo while we were there for a friend’s wedding! The Race to Wrigley 5k also fit nicely into my training schedule, so I can’t really complain when I get to start one of my runs hearing Ernie Banks say, “On your mark, get set, go!”, and end it by running through the concourse of Wrigley Field. :)

Miles this week: 10.5 miles

Weeks of training finished: 9 weeks

Total miles of training: 92 miles

Natalie and I running the Shamrock Shuffle

Getting ready to run the Race to Wrigley

Am I crazy?

So, I’ve decided that I’m going to run the 2010 Chicago Marathon. Yes, you read that right: me, the non-runner, running 26.2 miles less than 5 months from now.

Many that know me know that running has always been incredibly hard for me. I have always dreaded it. Throughout elementary, middle, and high school, I hated nothing more than the day we had to run the mile in P.E. class. I could never finish without walking half of it. Forget any Presidential Fitness awards! Despite all this dread, I have always wished I was better at running. I wanted to be able to run, it just seemed like every time I ran for more than 3 minutes, I was doubled over with a cramp in my side and gasping for breath.

A couple of years ago I decided to give running a try. I found the couch to 5k running schedule and was encouraged that to start, I only needed to run for 60 seconds at a time. I gave the plan a try a couple of times, but it seemed like every time I got to week 5, I would hit a wall and not be able to complete the runs. I would always get discouraged and go back to some other form of exercise.

Then last spring, I decided I was going to conquer this running thing and not give up. My goal to start was to be able to run 2 miles without walking. I made myself stick to it, and although there were some weeks that I had to spend more time on before I completed the runs, I did reach my goal. It may have been only 2 miles, but I’m pretty sure at that point it was the furthest I had ever run in my life. I realized that running was something I could conquer, I just had to train and stick with it. At this point, the marathon started to creep into my mind.

I had always thought of a marathon as something that only highly trained, Olympic level athletes can do. Over the past few years though, I have seen several friends and acquaintances train for and complete marathons. This planted the seed in the back of my mind that a marathon was something I could maybe complete someday. Someday.

I began to think more seriously about running the 2010 Chicago Marathon last fall. I was slowly (very slowly) adding distance onto my 2 miles. I decided that if I could get myself to run 3 miles easily, I would commit to training for the marathon. I got there before registration for the marathon opened in February, and managed to not talk myself out of it before I registered.

There it is: how I came to the crazy decision to run a marathon. I decided to start this blog as a way for family and friends to keep up with my training. I know we’re all busy, so I honestly will not be offended if no one ends up reading this, but I figure that if I’m at least under the illusion (delusion?) that someone is reading it, it will keep me accountable for my training. :) (And I promise every entry won’t be this long…)