Big Day Today!!
This is a long one, but I had to get my thoughts out! LOL
Today was a pretty big day. My best friend officially registered for her first 10K which is one of the races also taking place at Whistlestop in October and the farthest race she has ever run. And I mailed out my application and transfer forms for the half marathon today. I'm officially a registered runner of the 2012 Whistlestop Half Marathon on October 13th!
I'm actually feeling pretty confident about my decision to run. Okay, I'll be honest and say that my heart was racing and my stomach felt a little queasy as I dropped my envelope into the mailbox. Darn self-doubt!! LOL But I have a lot of support as I train for this race. My parents have been awesome about sacrificing their time to watch my girls so I can get out for a run. My friends are constantly telling me that they know I can do it and that I'll be just fine when I start to let my worry show. My running buddies and I are constantly cheering each other on. And several people on Facebook are following my training progress which holds me accountable. I'm one very lucky girl!! :)
Speaking of training progress... I am making progress!! I have to admit to those who don't know me that well... I'm a highly competitive person. I grew up playing every sport my parents would allow me to play and I insisted on being the best. I've quickly learned that I am ANYTHING but the best runner! LOL But I'm still highly competitive with myself. I always want to beat my old times, push just a little farther, etc. The only problem with that is that I have to reign myself in from time to time so I don't do anything stupid and end up on the sidelines in October cheering everyone else on.
With that said, last Friday was my last long run and I had an absolute BLAST! It was an awful day! Everything that could have gone wrong did. I hit my breaking point twice in less than 4 hours and I was just beyond stressed out. My spirits were lifted at a fun photo shoot with three adorable return clients, but my mind was still so unsettled. Too much going on upstairs and I could feel the stress through my entire body. I left the photo shoot and went directly home. I was on a mission. I put on my running clothes, grabbed my shoes and headed for the corridor (much like the one I'll be running on in October). I was on a mission. The one thing I have found that clears my head better than anything else is running... okay, and hockey! LOL But running alone allows me to just let it all roll through my head over and over until it is solved, discarded or a plan is made.
I was so overwhelmed when I hit the trail that night (a day early by the way). Divorce isn't easy and anyone who has or is going through it can attest to that. I'm lucky I don't have more issues than I do, but every once in a while some surface. I was also beyond stressed about shooting my first wedding the next morning. Would I be able to do it? I was terrified of ruining this great couple's precious memories. Not to mention all the typical daily life things... kids fighting, toddler flooding the bathroom, older child sobbing because she can't find her favorite hairbrush... just life!
I ran farther and faster than I ever have that night! I was supposed to run 5 miles. At the 2 1/2 mile point I decided to push it to 3. On my way back I couldn't believe I surpassed the 4 mile mark and still hadn't walked. I continued to push and think while I listened to my music and felt my feet hit the ground in a steady rhythm. The last mile was rough. I started to doubt myself. Maybe I should have turned around at 2.5 afterall. Am I going to make it? It's getting dark... please don't let me run across a bear! Or a crazy man! Holy crap, I still have 1/2 mile left?!?! Maybe I should just start walking now. I let myself get out of my groove and into the self-doubt mode that lingers on the side of all those thoughts I was processing right after I hit the 5 mile mark. OOPS!! LOL
But I made it! I hit "end run" on my wonderful Nike+ app and was instantly rewarded. It starts to tell me, "Congratulations, you just ran your fastest 1K time... Great job, you just ran your fastest 5K time... Good for you, you just ran your farthest run, keep up the great work!" Okay, I'll admit that when they said it the first time I was panting so hard and so beyond listening to them babble in my ear that I didn't catch any of it until I went back to see how I did. Holy crap!!! I was moving that fast? Did I really run the ENTIRE six miles?? I was in shock that I beat my previous 5K race time by over a minute! I was pumped!!!! You couldn't beat the smile off my face. My stress was gone, my thoughts were in order, I was in a good place about my skills for the wedding the next day, and I was beyond proud of my run.
Almost half way there with 10 weeks to go... I've got this!
Today was a pretty big day. My best friend officially registered for her first 10K which is one of the races also taking place at Whistlestop in October and the farthest race she has ever run. And I mailed out my application and transfer forms for the half marathon today. I'm officially a registered runner of the 2012 Whistlestop Half Marathon on October 13th!
I'm actually feeling pretty confident about my decision to run. Okay, I'll be honest and say that my heart was racing and my stomach felt a little queasy as I dropped my envelope into the mailbox. Darn self-doubt!! LOL But I have a lot of support as I train for this race. My parents have been awesome about sacrificing their time to watch my girls so I can get out for a run. My friends are constantly telling me that they know I can do it and that I'll be just fine when I start to let my worry show. My running buddies and I are constantly cheering each other on. And several people on Facebook are following my training progress which holds me accountable. I'm one very lucky girl!! :)
Speaking of training progress... I am making progress!! I have to admit to those who don't know me that well... I'm a highly competitive person. I grew up playing every sport my parents would allow me to play and I insisted on being the best. I've quickly learned that I am ANYTHING but the best runner! LOL But I'm still highly competitive with myself. I always want to beat my old times, push just a little farther, etc. The only problem with that is that I have to reign myself in from time to time so I don't do anything stupid and end up on the sidelines in October cheering everyone else on.
With that said, last Friday was my last long run and I had an absolute BLAST! It was an awful day! Everything that could have gone wrong did. I hit my breaking point twice in less than 4 hours and I was just beyond stressed out. My spirits were lifted at a fun photo shoot with three adorable return clients, but my mind was still so unsettled. Too much going on upstairs and I could feel the stress through my entire body. I left the photo shoot and went directly home. I was on a mission. I put on my running clothes, grabbed my shoes and headed for the corridor (much like the one I'll be running on in October). I was on a mission. The one thing I have found that clears my head better than anything else is running... okay, and hockey! LOL But running alone allows me to just let it all roll through my head over and over until it is solved, discarded or a plan is made.
I was so overwhelmed when I hit the trail that night (a day early by the way). Divorce isn't easy and anyone who has or is going through it can attest to that. I'm lucky I don't have more issues than I do, but every once in a while some surface. I was also beyond stressed about shooting my first wedding the next morning. Would I be able to do it? I was terrified of ruining this great couple's precious memories. Not to mention all the typical daily life things... kids fighting, toddler flooding the bathroom, older child sobbing because she can't find her favorite hairbrush... just life!
I ran farther and faster than I ever have that night! I was supposed to run 5 miles. At the 2 1/2 mile point I decided to push it to 3. On my way back I couldn't believe I surpassed the 4 mile mark and still hadn't walked. I continued to push and think while I listened to my music and felt my feet hit the ground in a steady rhythm. The last mile was rough. I started to doubt myself. Maybe I should have turned around at 2.5 afterall. Am I going to make it? It's getting dark... please don't let me run across a bear! Or a crazy man! Holy crap, I still have 1/2 mile left?!?! Maybe I should just start walking now. I let myself get out of my groove and into the self-doubt mode that lingers on the side of all those thoughts I was processing right after I hit the 5 mile mark. OOPS!! LOL
But I made it! I hit "end run" on my wonderful Nike+ app and was instantly rewarded. It starts to tell me, "Congratulations, you just ran your fastest 1K time... Great job, you just ran your fastest 5K time... Good for you, you just ran your farthest run, keep up the great work!" Okay, I'll admit that when they said it the first time I was panting so hard and so beyond listening to them babble in my ear that I didn't catch any of it until I went back to see how I did. Holy crap!!! I was moving that fast? Did I really run the ENTIRE six miles?? I was in shock that I beat my previous 5K race time by over a minute! I was pumped!!!! You couldn't beat the smile off my face. My stress was gone, my thoughts were in order, I was in a good place about my skills for the wedding the next day, and I was beyond proud of my run.
Almost half way there with 10 weeks to go... I've got this!
Comments
Post a Comment