So far, our training schedule has consisted of 30 minute runs on Mondays and Wednesdays and long runs every other saturday (on the off saturday we do 3 miles). Mom also does a power walk on Thursdays. Although, we have had some small set backs since we started (mom has bad knees, we found out crafty sister is flat footed, and I had a small pulled muscle in my right foot), we have not suffered any big injuries and we are very very thankful for that! Disney requires us to have at least a 16 minute mile pace (or else we get picked up by the goofy mobile..OH NO!!) So far we are sticking to about a 14 minute pace (I know this might sound really slow but to a non runner this is awesome). Our goal is to finish the half marathon so every mile farther we go than the last week is really encouraging to us and its really fun to be able to say "I ran __ miles today" something many people can't say.
Since none of us have participated in any sort of running event before we have had to build up our inventory worth of running things which has been fun. This past week mom brought a running belt and we tested it out on our long run. The week before we brought energy blocks, gu and gels to taste test. Before that it got cold and so we all went out and got cold weather running gear and before that we bought running shoes.
This past Saturday Team MNM went out for our 8 mile long run. I was pretty nervous for this run because the past two weeks I have been trying to stay off of my right foot so I skipped out on a few monday/wednesday runs. It was really cold! We got out on our normal saturday trail at about 8am and it was in the upper 30s (yes that says 30s!) BRR! Have I mentioned how much I hate the cold... well I do! I discovered on this run however, that I would much rather run in the cold than in the hot humid weather. Eventually it gets warm (although this saturday it took me to about 3 miles before I felt warmed up). Man oh man the first three miles were painful. Everything in my body felt so stiff (especially my calfs). Around mile 4 (which happened to be the turn around point) I started to feel really great though. The sun was shining, the air was cool and crisp, pandora radio was playing great songs and my endorphins were kicking in. There is not a more natural high than the one I get on these long runs with my mom and sister. My brain goes crazy with all the different sensory information coming in. We run past amazing smells like fresh cut grass, houses burning wood in their chimneys and breakfast cooking and then bad smells like asphalt and dog poo. I mentioned the music... lately I have been listening to pandora's "I gotta feeling" radio which plays anywhere from black eyed peas to lady gaga to blink 182. An AWESOME station!! It never fails to pick me up and keep me distracted from the pain in my legs. My newest project is to create a play list we can all listen to the day of the half marathon which will include a mixture of oldies, newbies and disney songs (if you have any suggestions please send them to me!!). There are lots of different sights along the way as well. We run on a trail with lots of woods and houses and shops and roads but its also fun to people watch as we go. We run past lots of different types of people: people we know, other people like us that are training for events, dog people, old people, teenagers, mothers running with babies, walkers, bikers.. etc. Oh! and It has also been fun to see all the Christmas decorations on our night runs!
Anyway, all of this has again made me feel very thankful for my heath and my supportive family. Without those things I could not be doing this. Although I consider myself to be a non-runner I have discovered its not so bad in good company.
Until next time,
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