Looking back - Reflections on my training

I started running with FleetFeet Tulsa's No Boundaries I program at the beginning of February.  This program is a Couch to 5K training program through our local FleetFeet store.  The I class gets you to a 5K through run/walking and possibly running the entire 5K.  The II class builds on getting to running the entire 5K and building your speed/time. 

No Boundaries Information

I've been thinking back to that first week.  Running a full minute was brutal!  I couldn't believe that I had let myself get so out of shape.  I can remember the humiliation I felt when struggling to get that minute in.  I actually told one of the coaches that I was worried that I had signed up for more than I could handle.  I thought very long and hard about stepping back down to the WalkFit programs.  I'll never forget my coach and I don't think she'll ever know how much her motivation has meant to me.  She looked at me and said, "I know you can do this.  I started way later than you did.  Just show up and run with us and you'll be able to do it."

I showed back up.  I was scared.  I've thought about backing out more than once.  I've stuck with it though.  Last week, we did our first run 3/walk 3 interval.  I missed Tuesday due to illness but tonight we are running 3/walking 2.  We are getting there.

I'm amazed at how far I have come.  I might be in the slowest pace group and I might be bringing up the rear but I'm there.  I'm putting the work in.  Finishing is what matters.  What is even more cool is that I am finally starting to think of myself as a runner.

So for those that are thinking about starting a Couch to 5K, GO FOR IT!  I'm not going to lie.  It's not easy.  To quote Ralph Marston, Life is not always easy. And that is a major reason why it is so precious. Many of life’s best rewards are possible only because you must work your way through difficult challenges to get to them. If everything in life were easy, there would be no opportunity for real fulfillment.”

I'll also admit that I have this hate/love relationship with training.  I hate it when I'm out there, but I love the feeling of pride that I have in myself when I finish for the night.  So if this mid-30s, overweight, out of shape, overscheduled mom can do this, you got this as well.  As Nike would say, JUST DO IT!

An unplanned week off...

So last week, I knew that I was going to miss Thursday as I was attending a funeral for a friend that lost her baby at 36 weeks.  I fully intended to run that night.

So Tuesday morning, I woke up with a horrid migraine.

I was in full-on vampire mode that day.  My hope was that I would be able to just rest for half the day and come into work and then go run that afternoon.  I should have known better.  While my headache did go away that evening, when I woke from the migraine recovery, my allergies had kicked in full force.  Just fabulous!!  I sat in the living room and tried to watch TV with itchy, watery eyes and sneezed like crazy.

I came into work Wednesday even though I didn't feel any better and ended up having to get a steriod shot. 
I still really didn't recover from the allergies until Friday.  By then, I ended up NOT running because I was scheduled to run the "Shamrock the 'Ville."  I'm not going to lie, I ended up walking most of it because I was still having trouble breathing.  I also didn't get a DTag, but I know I finished right around 52 minutes which considering that I hadn't trained all week and I felt like crap, I'm pretty happy with that.

My daughter and I before the race