Time to Celebrate

This week I reached a significant milestone...

Since December I have run more than 100 miles! No, not all at one time but over the course of my training I have steadily built up mileage. From someone who had not run for nearly two years, that's pretty exciting!

It's wild to look back at how far I've come since Brad Kinkema of the YMCA challenged me to run the half-marathon. (If you're new to the blog, you can read about that here.)

I remember the first day I ran 2.5 miles and Sharon Kirby cheered me on telling me how good I was doing. She said "before long you'll be running six miles like there's nothing to it." I have to admit that in between gasps of air I thought that idea was rather far fetched - but she was right! 

Looking back, I started small and set attainable goals that I could easily reach each week. I ran one mile a day as often as possible to build up my endurance and then gradually lengthened my long runs. By increasing distance by just 0.5-1 mile each run, I've inched my way towards my goal of running a 13.1 mile half-marathon on March 22nd. I surrounded myself with supportive runners that had 'been there, done that" and remembered what it was like just starting out. As a result of that support...I LOVE running! 

While along the journey there will always be doubts but I have proved to myself that I can do it - and you can too! 

If you're interested in running at all this is the time to take action. There's less than one month to go before the Martinsville Half-Marathon, 5K & Relay. Do your best and even if that means walking part of the race- it's ok. Challenge yourself to believe and achieve...you'll be thankful that you did!

#KeepRunning #WeCanDoThis

SNOMG!

Winter Storm Pax stopped by this week and left us with 14-18" inches of snow in Martinsville-Henry County. My family was fairly prepared for being snowed in a couple days - minus a serious craving for Doritos, which we didn't have. #Didn'tNeedThemAnyway

We enjoyed sledding, snow cream, building snow forts, making a snowman and making snow angels. All this trekking up and down the hill, packing snow blocks and rolling snow balls had to constitute some kind of cross training right? Two and a half days after the snow fell we ventured out to go restock on groceries...and yes, I bought Doritos!

35 Days to Go - H and I were enjoying the morning at home while Darrin went on an outdoor excursion to combat cabin fever. I planned to run at some point during the day but no firm commitments had been made. Mid-morning I received a text from Sharon inviting me to a group run. I knew going with a group would be more enjoyable than running alone so I jumped on the opportunity. H got to spend some time with his Gigi and Pops while I went out for a run.

Energy Boost

Over the weekend Darrin and I traveled to Winston-Salem, North Carolina to attend the Fly Fishing Expo. While in town we stopped by Fleet Feet Sports to check out the available selection of GU and other energy supplements.

The staff there was very friendly and knowledgeable and they walked me through the pros and cons of each type of supplement. They also shared their opinions on the various flavors. The supplements ranged in price from $1.35 to $2.25. I purchased a variety of types and flavors to test out during my training.

41 Days to Go - I selected Vanilla Bean GU ($1.40) as my first taste test. This product is intended to be taken 15 minutes before running and every 45 minutes during the run. After hearing stories from other runners about the gag-inducing thick texture of this product, my goal was to get it down and keep it down. I started off by drinking some water. The salesman at Fleet Feet warned me that you should drink plenty of water with GU. The texture was very thick but if you enjoy icing (I do very much!) you'll like it. I sucked down the entire tube of vanilla deliciousness, drank some more water, puttered around the house for 15 minutes and then headed out for a one mile run at a race pace of 9:25. I didn't have any problems during the run; the GU stayed down just fine. After the run I realized that when the salesman said "drink plenty of water," he really meant PLENTY of water. If you are not properly hydrated, GU will absorb water from your body giving you some serious GI issues. After an evening of discomfort, lesson learned.

It's What Runners Do...

This week it was so nice to get back in the swing of things after the crazy winter weather of last week. I enjoyed running with friends, got in three runs and even set a new personal record for my long run on Saturday. Here's how the week went...

46 Days to Go - I was excited to finally get to run with the YMCA's Half-Marathon Training Group again. During our discussions we learned about running supplements like GU and other similar products that give you a boost of energy and electrolytes during the run. It seemed like all the experienced runners in the group had very specific preferences of one brand or flavor over others. The bottom line, our coaches advised that if we plan to use them during the race to try out various supplements early so that we'll know what type we're most comfortable with. (I'm going to a sports store this weekend to purchase a variety of supplements and will have a taste testing session soon. Watch for that in a future post.)

We began the group run by turning left on Starling and running around the block. We turned left on Church Street and ran all the way down the the Farmers' Market then up Main Street before taking a left to go down the hill at Ford Street. We continued down the Uptown Connection Trail until we reached the intersection of the Silverbell Trail and then reversed the route. I enjoy running in Uptown and was happy with this route. One new element for me was Ford Street. Running down it was a breeze but coming back up was a beast. As we began up Ford Street our coach Becky yelled back at us "This is just a hill- you all can do this." My thighs burned. Behind me I could hear Richard shouting "Thank you Ford Street for making me stronger!" That helped me pick up the pace to muscle through it and when we go to the top, I couldn't help but give a joyful shout!

Running with Dr. Leanna Blevins

Finishing her 1st half-marathon.

Leading up to the Martinsville Half-Marathon, 5K & Relay, Run MHC will feature the stories of other runners so you can hear different perspectives on how various people began running and what motivates them. Today's guest blogger is Dr. Leanna Blevins of Martinsville, VA. 

I started running around the time I turned 40.  I was never much of an athlete, so I didn't think I could be a runner.  I am, however, stubborn, so when some girlfriends and I decided to try to train for a half marathon, I figured it would be a physical commitment for a few months and then I could check it off the list.  What I didn't realize was that training and running is as much mental as it is physical.

I am a mom of 3 young children with a full-time job and various volunteer positions in the community.  I thought I was too busy to incorporate regular exercise into my life.  I made the decision to do it temporarily to train, and now I have decided to make it part of my lifestyle.  

Links I Love

Here are some articles and blogs that I've read recently. I hope that you find them helpful, too!

• How to Make it Through the Slump by Meaghan O'Keeffe

• The Rules of Winter Running by Drew Grossman

• Dear New Girl at the Gym by Erica Millard

Happy Running! #WeCanDoThis

Lifetime Record

I am 31 years old and yesterday I ran the longest distance that I have ever run in my life. EVER. It was the most amazing feeling, but before we delve into that I want to tell about the week.

If you want to test your dedication for running (or any hobby for that matter) see how well you fare in a polar vortex. Yes, we've now had two of them this winter. Days and days of freezing cold, ice, snow, repeat. There were days that I longed to run, days that I was willing to run if I had to and then days when asked if I was going to run my response was "No Way!"

After three weeks of continuously increasing my distance with each run I had been feeling great but the past week was just rough in more ways than one.

54 Days to Go - The weather was so nice. Temperatures were in the mid-50's and after publishing my friend Juan's guest post that morning, I was really pumped to run. In fact, I thought about it all day long and could not wait to get home for an afternoon run. An impromptu afternoon meeting kept me at work a little longer than I had planned to be there but it was OK, I'd still have time to do something.

When I arrived home I set out on my run, dressed for 50 degrees, and realized that the temperature was dropping rapidly as the polar vortex set in. My fingers, nose and ears all burned. I decided to pick up the pace and make the most of this one-mile route. I finished one lap at a pace of 9:21 per mile. This was a new personal record for that distance.