Training: Weeks 6-8

I am officially a Couch-to-5k graduate!!

The last three weeks flew by.  My body became used to running and it wasn't even something I was apprehensive about by the end.  It became part of life.  Something I'm used to.  Who would have ever thought I would say that about running?  "Yeah, I can go out and run three miles regularly and it's not really a big deal.  I'm not even that tired when I finish."  I have a new respect for putting in training.  It takes dedication and time and effort, but if you do it the way you should you will always be ready for the next step.

Near the end of my training when I was running 2-3 miles every time I started realizing that I am not ready to move onto 10k training as of now.  3 miles is a nice distance, and as of right now I don't feel the need to go farther.  Another part of it is that I live in a small town and I feel like I have explored every crevice of it.  I'm getting a little bored of running the same streets over and over.  I started to listen to a book on tape while I was running - "Divergent".  That made my runs a little more interesting, but I still have no desire to go farther.  

I'm really looking forward to running my first race on November 3rd.  It will be so fun to see all of my work put into action.  I have been waiting 8 weeks to be ready for this, so it is really exciting to know I am ready for it.  Also, I am looking forward to running with other people instead of all by my lonesome.  

You may or may not know that I am a racquetball player.  Luke and I do a few tournaments a year and they are SO FUN.  Make fun all you want, but it is a blast.  I didn't realize until after I registered and paid for my 5k that our favorite tournament is the same weekend.  So I will be playing a racquetball tournament on Friday and Saturday, followed by my first 5k on Sunday morning, and if I'm still in it more racquetball after the 5k.  A very athletic weekend.  I am bound to be very sore.   

Wish me luck!

tatuesday

Look what I did today.

What do you guys think?  Honestly I am feeling very self-conscious about it so far.  It's something I've thought about for a long time.  I never knew if I'd ever actually get a tattoo.  I decided to go for it.  Those are my babies birthdays in case you were wondering.  It's strategically placed so that I can wear my hair down and cover it up if I decide I don't want it showing in certain situations.  I know that I will get used to it, but for now I am still in tattoo-shock.

Training: Weeks 4 & 5

      I'm having a hard time differentiating the individual weeks at this point because it just seems like I'm constantly running and progressing.  But I do know that I just finished week 5, and tomorrow I start week 6.  

      I would say that week 4 was a turning point for me.  When I have run in the past I am literally in this state of dread with each step that I take.  The whole time I'm thinking, "I'm running.  This sucks.  My legs hurt.  Oh no, a 5 minute run is coming up.  Not looking forward to that.  When will this be over?!"  I have taken a turn and now it is kind of like I am in a state of zen as I run.  I'm thinking about the lyrics to the song I'm listening to and enjoying a little free time away from my crazy wonderful kids.  

      My younger sister, Chelsea, and I are doing this training together so it's fun to be able to call or text her later that day and say, "I ran.  It was _____ (insert: awesome, terrible, exhausting, etc.).  How did yours go?"  The first few weeks my response was usually along the lines of "tiring" or "really challenging", but the last few times I have said something like "Great!".  That right there is progress.  There is nothing like the feeling of seeing your body do things you didn't know it could do.  I am NOT a runner.  I think I will maintain that for a long time.  But I am becoming one.  I am becoming somebody who ENJOYS running.  I am becoming somebody who says things like, "I'm really looking forward to my run tomorrow."  I never knew that Courtney existed.  

      My most recent workout was one that my sister and I had been dreading.  Before it had always been intervals.  An example would be: 5 minute jog, 3 minute walk, 5 minute jog, 3 minute walk, 5 minute jog.  The longest we had run would have been for 8 minutes at a time.  But this most recent workout simply stated, "Run for 20 minutes.  No walking."  That was scary to me.  That seemed like a big jump to me.  But I got out there and did it.  And my text to Chelsea was (word for word), "It was awesome, Chels!  I wasn't even tired!"  

      I am so looking forward to my training this week.  It has cooled down quite a bit and I really enjoy running in the cool weather.  It really almost makes me giddy to talk about.  We even registered for our 5k on November 3rd, so it's official.  I am actually enjoying my training so much that I am going to continue training for a 10k.  My friend, Hannah, has agreed to do that with me, which is another thing that has me so fired up.  

      Never in a million years did I think that I would be saying these things to you.  Anybody can run a 5k.  If you've been wanting to do it, I urge you to train.  It is so fulfilling.  I love it.