First "Out of Town on School Trip" Run!

I am so encouraged! This morning I got up and sought out a running track on the college campus where I was attending a conference. This goes SO against my grain! I knew, however, that if I didn't run this morning that I would worry all day about breaking my routine. It was a nice trail(see above picture) populated with walking groups and lone joggers. I just kept saying"You are a penguin runner,it does not matter that these are in shape college kids flying by you,you are a penguin runner, slow and steady,the tortoise and the hare, you are the tortoise, but the tortoise wins in the long run."
Thanks to all that offer encouraging words. They really help.
Week 9: 7 minute run/2minute walk 3x with a 3 minute run at the end.

My BABIES! My first REAL pair of running shoes!!

It's a beautiful thing, buying real running shoes!Pictured are my Asics GT-2130 stability/motion control shoes coupled with my Wigwam Ironman Flash Pro socks. Eight weeks I've been running on, I'm embarassed to say, Reebok walking shoes of some sort. I have diligently researched my shoe choice, clutching my ragged page from Runner's World magazine as I walked into a running store this afternoon. It was a rough start, the store being filled with young thin people who had no interest in helping me find shoes. I may as well have been in a foreign country for all the sense the shoe names made to me. Finally, trying to hide my irritation, I asked for help. She had no clue but, God bless her, she said "There's someone in the back who runs, let me get her." And from there the day just got great! I met Christina, a college student/runner enthusiast who from the get go embraced and acknowledged my dream of running. An hour later after gleaning all kinds of helpful advice from her, I left with the above pictured shoes and a $13 pair of socks. Yep, thirteen bucks, but well worth the expense.Cannot WAIT to get out on the road in the morning. Hats off to Christina, a college student runner who also shared her faith with me.

Week 8! Who Would've Thought It?

Week 8: Run 6/walk 2 for 3x with an additional 6 minutes at the end. My favorite part is the running!During the final 6 minute run I felt a burst of energy and so I pushed it.. probably a little too much because the last two minutes took FOREVER!! Still, a great sense of accomplishment. Trying to find time to get to Fleet Feet in Memphis for bonafide running shoes. Busy times and worn out inappropriate shoes...a bad combination for a fledgling runner. Will keep this blog posted.John Bingham books are a lifesaver. I identify with his term "penguin runner". He says to run for the love of it, don't tie weight loss into it. Your weight loss plan should be separate. Love the running, fuel the running with good food and it will fall into place. I think he's right. I can't WAIT to run 30 minutes(that will be in January) and then to look toward my first 5K in the late spring. Great plans for this fast approaching fifty year old!

I Spotted a Runner Today!

I saw another runner today! My first "other runner" to see! I was clocking a new route in my car and I passed him. I wanted to roll down my window and yell "Hey! You! What's your name, how long have you run,how far do you run, do you know any other runners? Correction, do you know any "older runners"? Huh? Huh?" I decided against it. First, because I HATE it when people roll down there windows to say something to me in this small town. I don't want anything to break my stride. There's a little part of me that's afraid I'll run, run, run like Forrest Gump did and then one day just turn around and go home, never to run again. Who's to say I could have had the same effect on the running guy I passed? Plus, he was a hardcore runner, nothing was without defined muscle on his body.
Living in a small Mississippi town, it's hard to map any kind of trend. For all I know, there are thousands of women approaching 50 who are adding running to their lives. Only, they aren't living around me. It's solitary, that's for sure, but I like it that way. I don't want to run in a group, I don't want a "running partner to keep me accountable". I think I am doing this consistantly BECAUSE I am doing it alone.
So, I guess I was surprised at my reaction in seeing this runner. It made me tear up a little bit. He would have probably looked at this middle aged woman old enough to be his mother and thought I was a crazy!So, I didn't roll down my window. I just kept going and watched him in my rear view mirror as long as I could.
I want to run alone, but it's nice to know I'm not alone!

This is actually Week 7! Further along than I realized!

So, today it was: 5 minute run/2 minute walk 4x with a 2 minute run at end. Wow! Talk about apprehension. I go through all these mind games with myself on Monday nights. Mondays are my rest days and so in the back of my mind, since I'm so new into this that my trust level with myself is very low, there is unease whether I will actually resume a new week each Tuesday. Today, the week of female troubles began. So, of course, I was preparing myself for all kinds of worst case scenarios. I stepped outside with my good luck chunk of ice in my mouth(every morning, one cube that I crunch down, THEN I start)to a chilly morning. WOW! I haven't had that yet! And I just put one foot in front for five minutes while listening to this great song about this being the day the Lord has made, to be happy in it and not to think about the tomorrow just yet.Perfect start! It STILl is mind over body. The body can do it, the mind is the great challenge, to not FREAK OUT when I look at my timer and I still have 45 seconds left of the 5 minutes! I just relax, slow it down, breathe easy and FINISH the five minutes!
I'm reading "The Courage To Start: A Guide to Running for Your Life" by John "The Penguin" Bingham. He started running when he was 100 pounds overweight. The book is about your mind, your philosphy, what running can mean to your life quality, not only physically but emotionally. It's a deep book and really speaks to us normal, out of shape middle aged people who long to run like they did as children, to feel like an athlete, to uncover their natural body state, to feel confident enough to consider themselves an athlete. He says I am right now! How about that! You are an athlete when you do athletic things, it doesn't matter if you just started. Think that way, it will help. So, what a fringe benefit to the actual quest, your brain gets fed, too. How cool is that?
*at beginning of post is a pic of "The Penguin", John Bingham.

Week 5 of Run/Walk Not So Bad!

Granted, I may have just jinxed myself with that blog title. This morning I ran 4 minutes and walked 2 for 5x. I'd had a "food lapse" yesterday, that's my politically correct term for "food that does not help fuel my runs". It involved homemade lemon squares,chips and the chemically composed french onion dip AND it involved standing at my kitchen counter while I ate it. Those are all the gory details of that little binge you will get! HA! In my defense, I didn't bake the squares or buy the chip/dip, so at least it wasn't premeditated, right? Anyway, all last night I kept preparing myself for a difficult run this morning due to the kind of food I ate. Then my body gave me a gift, the run 4 mins was awesome! I relaxed into the experience and enjoyed almost every bit of it. The key is not to panic and to distract yourself with music, at least that's my key and that's the only kind of key that counts for me. I do not encourage encouragement of what I am doing. When my family is positive I shush them and tell them they will jinx this if I hear the positive stuff. Strange little psyche I have. It's a personal journey,competition,quest and I can't mar it with outside input. But I do appreciate your positive comments on this blog. So far, ya'll haven't jinxed me. HA!

It(being running) got better today!

What a relief,ya'll! I found out my cell phone has FM radio transmission so I breezed through the three minute intervals of running today. I was still drenched with sweat, but the time went by better. Funny, I've always pictured myself running silently down a wooded path. Guess that's a little advanced for this 3 minute run/2 minute walk girl at this point. For now, I need a little distraction.

Now the Running's Hard!

Okay, it took four weeks for me to find it hard to run. How embarassing that I discovered it this morning on my big three minute at a time run! This week the ratio is 3 min run/2 min walk; Oh my gosh! First of all, I am going to need some music to distract me from my thoughts. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't that it was physically hard, I could do it...but mentally I struggled not to want to just stop jiggling around, you know? I'm in it for the long haul and I will not give up, but I do think I will need to bring some "entertainment" for my relative long haul. For the record, I ran 3 min/walked 2 min for 6 x. I gauge how far I pushed myself by how sweaty I am. My shirt was really wet! So, yay!Everything I read says running is a mental game, that if you get your head right, the running is right.So, I'm gonna work on my head.