Running

I have always had this private little thought in my head that I would like to run a marathon someday. I'm not sure that I've ever shared that little tid-bit with anyone, but it has been this secret little desire that usually crops up when I hear of someone - anyone - training for or completing a marathon or race.

There's only one problem... as fit as I am, I am not a runner. I've tried to take it up on a couple different occasions throughout my life, but I have just never found my groove and I give it up (usually after about a week). In the past, I've had knee issues and hip issues (throbbing pain after and sometimes during the run). I even bought a knee brace to see if that would help during one of my afore mentioned trials, but ultimately, I never stick with it.

Recently, I found out that one of my friend's from church is training for a couple different races this summer and I was, once again, inspired to try my hand at running. So, I started asking her questions about when, where and how long she runs. She invited me to run with her, but since I'm just a beginner, I was worried about being able to keep up with her. I didn't want to mess up her training waiting on me, but I did want someone to teach me what to do/how to breath/how to find a stride/etc.

My friend uses the "Galloway Method" for running because she has an old injury that just never gets better. She said that she runs for 3 minutes and walks for 1 minute. This helps to prevent injury. So, I Googled it and found Jeff Galloway's website: http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/beginners.html

As you know, if you follow my blog, I workout everyday to P90X, but I decided to just add this training to my normal week. It is my goal to work my way up to be able to run with my friend. She runs Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. She runs 3 to 4 miles on the weekdays and does 5 miles and (I think) 10 miles every other Sunday. I started last Tuesday. The weather was beautiful here, so it was easy to get started.

I decided that I would just start by walking, since it has been a long winter and I haven't been on a plain ol' walk since last Fall. It's amazing how, even though you're 'in shape', just walking uses different muscles. I could feel in my legs and rear that I hadn't been on a good walk for ever. I followed Galloway's beginner instructions. I walked for 30 minutes and just threw in a few 'jogs' every once in a while. I did the same thing on Thursday and then Sunday the whole family went on an hour long walk. I was so glad that I didn't just jump in and try to run with my friend. It would've been horrible... for both of us.

I found an app for my phone that times the 3 and 1 minute intervals and boy, do I have some work to do! I can barely run for 3 minutes straight and I need more than a minute to recover. But, I am actually having fun tracking and timing all this. I found another app that will track my little jonts (using GPS); it tells me how far I went and how fast I went. These little tools are great for me - I like to compete with myself from one day to the next - it's nice to see actual improvement.

This is only my second week and yesterday it poured rain and snow all day, so I walked on my tread-climber instead of braving the weather.

I feel really positive because I have a plan (the Galloway site provided this for me) and I can track my progress (thanks to technology) and I have a short-term goal (to be able to run with Dawna). I also have a long-term goal... I want to be able to run a marathon (hopefully, with my best friend from high school, Gwen) in 3 years. As I continue to get better at this and I find a groove and actually enjoy myself, I hope to start signing up for little runs/races. I want to keep this up and the 3 year goal will hopefully keep me working at it.