The Training Blog of newbierunner

Well, this is a development I wasn’t expecting. My eight year old daughter wants to run a race with Mommy! How proud am I!! She continues to surprise me with her athletics…though she is a *lot* like I was at that age, I was too shy to pursue any kind of sports. She has gotten a taste of cheerleading, soccer, t-ball, taekwondo, and now running. I wanted to make a point of keeping it fun for her, so I searched the event websites and found one that looks ideal for her. I normally wouldn’t bother to drive almost 90 minutes to participate in a one mile race, but this one gives medals to every kid who finishes. A little recognition would be a big deal to her, so off we will go! I have to say, I am looking forward to seeing the sparkle in her eye when she crosses the finish line. Hopefully she won’t work her aging mama too hard, hehehehe.

Well, so things are plugging along. I’ve survived blog entry #1, as well as race #3. It’s neat to see a growing number of people stopping by to read my yakkings. Oohhh, and a comment! Thanks, Michelle!
I guess I’ll talk about my second and third races. I really dove in feet first, signing up for more running so quick. Three weekends in a row! Well, the second race was much closer, and a bit smaller….and shorter. It was a choice between a 20K (ahem..maybe next year) and a 2 mile. After an 8K, I figured two miles would be pretty easily managed, right? I forgot one critical point…this is Minnesota, and it’s only April. Snow, icy wind, and open fields on either side of the route can tip things a bit! Go on, have a laugh, I sure did! But it’s all good, I learned a couple things..
1) Have some kind of hat or earmuffs for occasions like this.
2) It’s ok to want to grab your t-shirt and sneak away…but get to the starting line and do it anyway.
3) Even sneakers with good tread have limitations on a slick road. I managed to not wipe out, but it was a near thing…
I also learned just what a beginner I am. Out of the 20 people who finished before me, almost a dozen were pre-teenage kids! What a hoot it was to watch those squirts, with their spidery little legs cranking along. Tomorrow’s marathon runners? I bet there were a few there.
I met a nice lady at the finish line. I’d seen her during the run, and she had a smile on her face, despite the cold and wind. That smile was still there when we dug into the free Propel and Clif bars that awaited us, and it wasn’t long before we were making small talk. That day was her first race. Her sister had long been an avid runner, and had tried to get her to come along for years, to no avail. Three months prior to our race, that sister had been killed in a car wreck. Now she was running for her sister’s memory. I bet that sister is smiling down and saying “I finally got you out there!” I suppose it’s a reminder to never assume that we always have tomorrow, cause you never know… I didn’t find out the woman’s name, but I’m sure I won’t forget her. Hopefully we’ll meet at another race soon…
My third run was just this past weekend, April 19. My co-workers were good enough to let me leave a few minutes early to get to the park where the run was to start in just a short time. I had just worked a 12 hour shift, so they did think I was off my kicker for doing it (no arguments from me!) This was to be a 5K, with proceeds going to support the local youth orchestra. There was a little havoc just before the start, as my number bib had been misplaced, but that was soon sorted out. While it was pretty wet and chilly, there was no snow on the ground this time, so my feet stayed where I put them, and my dignity stayed more or less intact. Oh, and I learned yet another practical and handy tip…pace yourself!

(I will now pause for a moment so that other runners can slap my forehead and say DUH!)

It really made a difference! I think that in the first and second race, I had been exceeding my training pace, so I would fizzle out and have to walk for short stretches. This time, I had a better feel for what I could maintain. I was able to run the whole 5K without walking breaks, and shaved about 25 seconds off my one-mile pace, though I was striving for a slower speed.
While I didn’t meet any new people or hear any life stories this time, it was another fun race, and I walked away with a door prize. A one day pass for the athletic club! While I enjoy the more *affordable* gym that I’m in, this place is fairly spendy and fancypants, so I’m looking forward to the visit.
No race this weekend coming up…I think a trip to the park with the rugrats is in order. The following weekend is the Spring Classic, and I’m going to try and shave a few more seconds off my pace. We’ll see what happens!

Well, it’s a whole slug of firsts this month! My first running race was just three weeks ago, my first *attempt* at running any sort of distance was just a week before that, this is my first running forum, and my first attempt at any sort of blogging activity. I fear my head might just cave in from all the confusion!
Anyway, where to start my ramblings…I guess I’ll go back to that first day when the article caught my eye…
The Source is a publication sent out by the hospital where I work. It’s a nice perk, just a bunch of tidbits about what’s going on in and around town, and where employees can get discounts at this or that. I flip through it on occasion, but that is sporadic at best. It’s in the Source that I noticed an ad for the Fool’s Five race in Lewiston, just a week hence. It was an 8K race, which is respectable for someone who barely runs a mile or so in a given workout (usually for warmup). Up until that point, I’d have scoffed at the idea of such a run, but for some reason, I felt compelled to read the whole article.
Some people say that we really have very little choice in the paths our lives take, that some unseen hand guides where we go and the choices we make. While I tend to believe more in free will, it was as though someone else was steering my thoughts about that run. I began wondering if I could actually finish an 8K, how long it would take, how would I fare? The next day I went two miles on the treadmill, and managed it fairly well. On my next workout, I did three miles. Hmmm…
As one might have guessed by now, I signed up for the race. My husband, Jim, was a bit surprised, but willing enough to come along and snap some pictures (for the scrapbook, of course!) I began working harder at boosting my distance, finally managing an 8K run at the gym just two days before the race. As the Fool’s Five is a fundraising event for cancer research, I sent an email to my co workers, nudging them for pledges. That turnout was as positive as was the running! Nearly a dozen people came to me with a donation and well wishes, and that with just a few day’s notice. It was fast becoming a huge reality for me…I was really going to run a race! Then came the setback that nearly kaboshed the whole thing…
Since Jim was coming with me to the race, my mom was going to watch our four kids. They are all young, and one is disabled, so finding child care can be tricky. Mom is able and almost always willing, but less than 48 hours before the race, she called me, her voice wracked with excruciating pain. A trip to the ER revealed a kidney stone. I brought her back home with a bottle of oxycodone and instructions to flush her system with gallons of fluid. Fortunately this was a problem that would pass for Mom. What stood in question was the race? How could she watch our tribe of rugrats when she is taking painkillers that make her loopy? How could she watch them without taking the pills? Anyone reading this who has had a kidney stone knows about pain! It may sound odd, but it really weighed on me. Some of the people who had donated for the race were telling me about people they knew who had died of cancer, some of them very recently. The stories were so sad…it’s not as though my humble effort was going to save the world, but I felt I owed it to my co-workers to do my part. Sure enough…a couple phone calls secured alternate daycare for the monkeys, and at 1:00 on Saturday, April 6, I was at the starting line, questioning my sanity!
It’s really something to be in a race that is for a cause, the way this one was. Runners who were cancer survivors were in abundance. They were acknowledged by the announcer, while the rest of us took a knee and applauded them. A local schoolteacher had apparently made a wager with his crew of fourth graders..if they raised a certain amount of pledges, he would show up at the race in a wedding dress. Those kids must have come through…how painfully hilarious to see this burly, rugged looking man, strolling around in a dainty frock! Imagine a slightly older Vin Disel all in lacy white…
As all things must, the race came to pass, and I managed to drag my sweaty, whimpering carcass across the finish in a little under 55 minutes. Not a horrible pace, but one that I’ll try and improve on as the fair weather wears on. I think I would like to take on a half marathon, but not until I get a little proper training under my belt!

I’m a woman from Pine Island MN USA, born in 1970.

My favorite sports include: running cycling swimming walking

My goals are: Run my first half marathon in 2009.

My other favorite activities include: martial arts, weightlifting.

This is my training blog which I am using to keep track of my fitness progress.

Please come by and read my blog. It will help me stay motivated and keep me on track as I achieve my fitness goals!