The Uphill Battle

One thing that you need to know about running the Martinsville Half Marathon, Relay & 5K is that it has hills. Not seriously intimidating hills but gentle rolling ones that will sneak up on you. The best way to prepare for this race is to train by running on hills. Our YMCA training team coach, Richard told us that "running hills is speed training in disguise". Get faster on the hills and you'll improve performance on the flat stretches.

Over the past two months I've been tackling more and more elevation. My running buddy Sharon introduced me to Root Trail, training coach Becky showed me the ropes on Ford Street and Richard took us to the one of the ultimate uphill battles in Martinsville, Mulberry.

33 Days to Go - Because of the recent snow fall that week, sidewalks were out of the question again so Richard decided it was time to introduce us to a new street route. I prepared for the run with Peanut Butter GU that was very tasty! From the YMCA, we turned left on Starling, and another left on Mulberry. We would turn around at the 2.5 mile mark to complete our 5 mile run. Because we were running on the street during the 5:30 p.m. afternoon rush, I was very thankful for wearing my brightest colored reflective running top.

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

It's All About Perspective...

61 Days to Go - Knowing that an impending snow was on the way, I decided to take the opportunity to get in a long run on the Monday holiday. It was a gorgeous day with temps in the high 50's. After running 3.12 miles the previous day, I was ready to up my mileage and I wanted to beat 4.06 miles, my highest mileage to date.

I took off and started running in a residential neighborhood. The first mile was brutal, the second mile I felt better and by the third mile I was smiling.

Why, you ask?

A week ago, Sharon took me running on a hill that I thought was going to kill me. That day I plugged away, huffing and puffing as she cheered me on and pushed through the hill. On this day, I dreaded the hill as I ran toward it remembering how ominous it was. When I got to the bottom I looked up and thought, "Well that's not so bad; I've got this!" And I did. The second time around it was so much easier.

Now the next hill after that one... we've still got some work to do, but maybe third time's the charm! It's true that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

I finished the run with 4.11 miles at a pace of 10:42 per mile on a route with 376 feet of elevation gain. I felt great! Take a good look at what intimidates you and get ready to laugh when you conquer it. #WeCanDoThis

60 Days to Go - There's a nice blanket of snow on the ground outside my house so I passed on the training group session this evening. A little disappointing because I really wanted to run with the group but I'll catch up on the mileage this week.

"Just Keep Running..."

65 Days to Go - During the week I was contacted by a friend who's been reading the blog and was interested in running; we'll call her "Joy." I invited Joy to come running with me. She is an avid walker but had not run in quite a while. Joy had the same wishes as me to get in better shape so that she could keep up with a growing child. She admitted that she was concerned about being able to run a half-mile so I challenged her to do just that and try her best at half a mile.

I began running on my own, to get in my miles, and had arranged to pass by Joy's office when she got off work. I reached the three mile mark right as she came outside and then we began running together. When Joy felt like she needed to slow down we did and at one point when she felt like stopping, we power walked. We picked the pace back up and when she was at a point of desperation I informed her that she had already run four-tenths of a mile and needed to go just one more. The look on Joy's face was priceless - instead of worry it was suddenly "hey, I can do this!" She ended up running 0.66 mile and didn't give up. My total mileage was 3.66 at a pace of 11:03 per mile. Joy agreed to run a half-mile again in the following days to get stronger at it. I'm so proud of "Joy" and am sharing this story to remind all my readers that you've got to start somewhere to move forward!

64 Days to Go - I really wanted to reach the four mile mark and knew that I'd need a little motivation so I called on Sharon to run with me. Not only did she agree to help me get in four miles but she also brought along three other inspiring ladies to run with us. One of the ladies was this week's guest blogger, Tiffany.

Words of Wisdom

We're 67 days away from the Martinsville Half-Marathon, 5K & Relay and my personal goal for today was to run 1.5 miles during my lunch break. In the past two weeks I've picked up lots of great tips but the absolute best piece of advice that I can give anyone interested in running is to find a veteran runner that you can connect with. Training for a race is intimidating but hearing from others that they once had the same concerns and challenges as you is very motivating.

Today, all of the advice that I've been hearing from veteran runners really helped me out. I seemed to have a million excuses not to run. I knew I needed to run and I wanted to run but doubt can creep in telling you that your stomach doesn't feel good, you have a headache, there's more work left to be done, I might get cold, etc. 

Running with Sharon Kirby

Leading up to the Martinsville Half-Marathon, I'll feature the stories of other runners so you can hear different perspectives. Today's guest blogger is Sharon Kirby of Martinsville. Sharon is part of an amazing group of ladies who are all wives, mothers and professionals. Not only do they share a lifelong friendship together but also the love of running. 

It was just over a year ago while on vacation with a couple of girlfriends that the idea of training for a half marathon came up.  

The discussion started at breakfast while the three of us sat around relaxing, enjoying our morning coffee.  It went something like this, “So T, how do you stay in such great shape?”……”I try to squeeze in a run several times a week; maybe 3-4 miles.  Hey, I have an idea!  Let’s all train for a half marathon!” And I, being a loyal friend, agreed without much thought or hesitation.