It's all about the shoes....running shoes!

So, it's going to take me forever to try to backtrack my initial running, though I'm truly still in my initial stages. So here's the brief attempt:

• 5 weeks ago, started running. Couldn't run 2 full miles. But went out and got fancy "the real deal" running shoes. They even analyzed my feet & and I tried them on a treadmill in the store. Ok, so I have to stop here and expound some more b/c it was hilarious. I'm running...on a treadmill....in the middle of a store....in my jeans & cute tshirt! So she says "how do they feel?" And I'm like "compared to what?" She: "do they work well?" Me "I don't know, I don't know how they are supposed to work." She "Are they comfortable and do they stabalize your running?" Me: "I'm in a store on a treadmill in my jeans, and I'm not a runner, I couldn't begin to tell if they are remotely doing what they are supposed to be doing." I bought the shoes!
• First 2-3 times out, ran until I felt like I was going to die....about 1/2 mile. Walked a bit, ran a bit, walked a bit...liked the shoes. Note on long-term running....definitely get the motivation of cool gear like nice shoes.
  
• Accountability is good. Ran with family a few times, that pushed me...especially when Delphie is biking beside me. Frankly, it's a pain, but whenever we were going uphill, she would get "too tired" to bike up the hill, so even though I'm sucking in air like I'm buried in the sand, I'd get behind her and run while pushing her bike. Building endurance....building endurance!
• That worked. Finally about 2.5 weeks in, went for a run by myself with the old ipod set to my energetic playlist so cleverly named "Exercise," and ran the two miles on my own without stopping or walking! Success. It felt good, I felt proud. I could see the long-term goal ahead, could feel the endorphins flowing, maybe I'll end up loving this running thing afterall.
  
• Later that week, met my friend at the track to run together, again, had a good run. But as we were walking our cool down, we both looked at each other and said....great 2 miles, but really....13? No way.
  
• Been doing that 2 miles a bit now, feeling pretty good. Time to push myself up to 3. Got a head cold this week though, and my first attempt to run with it killed me. Didn't make it. Ugh. WWRRD? (What Would a Real Runner Do? in case you were wondering)
  

Haha. Thank God it's not until November. We'll see. Might have to get a new pair of shoes. I had totally underestimated the value of a woman's love for shoes in this running equation.

Too tired to blog about anything tonight, my running over the past three weeks, or my current thoughts on running, or life at all...so, I'll just say that I did get up today to meet friends at the track at 9:00am to run, and I did it, 2 solid miles. I'm telling you...I think aliens have kidnapped me and replaced me with a robot. Watch for other strange behaviors, and if necessary, please intervene for my rescue.

From that day on...I was runnin'.

Ok, so I've decided I don't really have a focus of anything to blog about. I'm not into using my blog as a journal of my life, that's what my journal is for, and I'm not trying to share all that with anyone and everyone. So far, I've just been really random. I really like blogs where there is a particular focus, someone trying to accomplish something and documenting it along the way. I'm sure there are tons or real "runners' blogs," and I'm not a real runner, at least not yet, but here goes. I'm going to blog about my attempt at running a half marathon.

And I'll still throw in some random movie reviews or other life stories along the way, but I'm going to document this interesting twist in my life.

So here's my back story. I HATE running. Always have. Have done it occasionally throughout my life for either exercise or weight loss, but never more than 2 miles, and never really on my own, always because someone else was trying to get me to do it.

But I'm surrounded in life by people that love to run, my husband, my best friend, other friends. Ugh. They've all done small races, 5ks, 10ks, some of them have even done half-marathons & full marathons. But I've no desire, really none. I don't even want to go for a jog.

Don't get me wrong I love to exercise. I love the painful stuff, weights, squats. I'll do 100 squats til I can't walk for a week, and love "the burn." But get me running 1/4 of a mile, and the cramp in my side will shut me down. I feel like I can't get enough oxygen in, my breaths are like last attempts to suck in air in a trapped coffin. Ok, so I exaggerate, but this has been the depth of my hatred for running.

So for several months now, my crew has been talking about running the half-marathon in November.....and how I'm going to do it with them. Whatev. I ignored, and ignored. No desire, I told them, just not interested. And then one day...out of the blue....I said Ok, let's do it. What? What did you just say (to myself)? Are you out of your mind (also to myself)? I just agreed.

I think there are several reasons for this. I know I can do it, I know I can do anything that I decide to do and put my mind to, and I can do anything I train for. I know this already about myself, but I think I was tired of other people thinking I didn't know it. Stop telling me "you can do it", I know I can, I have no personal doubts about my capabilities. So I think I just decided to finally do it, really to get them all off my back. Good motivation, right.

Also, I think I want to see what the hype is all about, then be done with it, and not have to do it again. Everyone says, oh no, you'll be addicted when you're done. I actually don't think that is going to happen to me, but we'll see. I want to go ahead and do it, it's a whopping 5 month commitment out of my life, and then move on. And of course, I'm really hoping the bikini-body comes as the bonus result...but trust me, it's all psychological for me.

So, we're doing it...ups, downs, highs & lows, we're doing it. And I'm going to keep you posted on the process...all 2 of you who will keep reading my blog after this entry.

(Note: now that you've read this, we actually started running two weeks ago. I've been out 5 times since deciding to start, but I didn't want to overbore you the first time, so I'll highlight some of those trials in the next blog or two and get it all caught up)