Little Accomplishments
I must say I am extremely proud of myself after tonight's training.
As I've mentioned before, I've been run/walk-ing the whole time. Even back when I lived in Austin and ran more often (when I lived with Stacey), the most I could run without stopping to walk was .25 miles at a time.
I've been getting better and better (as far as endurance goes) each week, and about half a mile in (running on my own), I ran into one of my running buddies from a past run. We were running and talking and she was like "I totally think we can run this whole thing without stopping...."
So that was it.
3.4 miles later, we were back at our starting point, having run the whole way except for maybe one or two blocks total between finishing our first loop and mustering up some energy to start the second.
That's the longest I've run nonstop. And now that I've done this, I'm a little less discouraged.
I also love the mentors and coaches....everytime we passed by one of them, they'd cheer for us and tell us that we were doing great....I even got a "Go Kim!" from my mentor as we passed eachother on the trail.
Texans Everywhere
Saturday morning, they broke us up into groups again for the run. Lindsay joined the 4-mile group and I was in the group of slow beginners (haha) and half-marathoners. My group did 2 1/2 - 3 miles.
As we started running, I immediately found a running buddy who ran at my pace....as we started talking about running, the marathon and why we're doing this since we're both not the biggest fans of running in the first place.....
I find out she's from Houston, too! This makes the 3rd person we've met so far from Texas. There's a girl in Lindsay's group who is from San Antonio, and a past honored teammate (non-hodgkins lymphoma) who is from Dallas.
So...anyways, my Houston friend and I ended up finishing at the front of our pack....37 minutes which is not that great, but as long as I'm not the last one to finish, I'm good!
"X-Training Madness"
Last night was another wonderful Tuesday workout.
We were told we'd have a cross-training session, so I had my fingers crossed that that meant NO RUNNING!
Unfortunately, I was wrong. We started out running up a hill and back for roughly 8 minutes (I really need a running watch sometime soon....anyone have an old one they want to donate to me? I'm poor.)
I did pretty well for that go round, especially for going up the hill (a very slight hill, but boy did I feel it!).
After that run, we did a series of exercises like running in place with our knees up, calf raises, push-ups and squats. Another run up the hill....and I was not as good this time. I had to take a walking break but I made it back in time to do lunges (forwards, backwards, sideways) and crab/frog walks (I forget the actual name). Fun stuff like that.
By that point, I couldn't take another (3rd) run up the hill because I actually started feeling a little sick (it was my bright idea to down 2 cups of coffee right before heading to the park since I was getting pretty tired at work), so I joined another group in a stretch while I waited for Lindsay to get back from that last run.
Lindsay...here's your turn to pipe up...do you know the distance of each run we did? (feel free to mention anything i left out.....and let us know how you feel today!)
I'm actually not too sore like they said we would be. I'm feeling a little tight on the backs of my thighs and my abs, but that's it. Nothing painful or unbearable. Actually feels kinda good (like a physical feeling of accomplishment).
The plan for today is to hit the gym to run while my body is still in workout mode from yesterday. Whoo hoo!
i don't like treadmills
2.5 miles
It was dark by the time I got home from work, so I ran at the gym instead of at the park. I've decided I like running outside so much better than running on a treadmill. Of course the view is a lot nicer in the park, but I think it makes the time (distance?) go by faster, as well. Also, dirt feels a lot better under my feet than the machine does.
Cross training tomorrow. I did a little core work on my new exercise ball after my run, but I think I'm gonna look into the yoga class at the gym tomorrow...
Tuesday Training
In addition to Saturday (and sometimes Sunday) morning training, our other official group workouts are on Tuesday. I hauled my booty to get back uptown from work (way downtown in SoHo) and the workout started.
Concentrating on upper body technique for the next few weeks (and getting used to running), so we had a cute little demonstration from Ramon during which Lindsay and I counted the number of times he said "freaking" -- within about 5 minutes, I think the count was at 7. amazing.
This time around, we ran the Reservoir. It's 1.5 miles around and we did 2 loops (3 miles total). Lindsay zoomed off, and I found someone that ran at my pace. For slow kids like us, we were told to run for 3 lampposts and walk for 2. The good thing about having a running buddy like her is that we'd run 3...but say "you know what...don't stop...we're going to run for two more..."
So, we kind of motivated each other to push ourselves a little harder. It was cute. :-P
Lindsay is running with our friend Alex after work today, but since I have a bunch of errands to take care of, I'm just going to hit up the gym later tonight to do some cross training then pick up on my running on Thursday night. Hopefully the OC will keep me distracted (we love the personal tvs on each machine!)
First Training Session
kim: 2.55
lindsay: 3.4
first run was this morning in central park. i did a loop and a half around the lower loop. she did 2 full ones. and, of course, miss athlete still made it to the finish before i did.
due to an issue with my new shoes, my left foot has a fun blister on the arch.
overall, though, it was a good run. nice day outside, although a tad bit chilly early on.
"you already look skinny!" -- lindsay
haha...i wish.
our head coach is a latin man named ramon. he's funny....he's got a thick accent and says "freaking" in almost every sentence. "welcome to the new york freaking city chapter of team in training!" (an actual sentence from an email) i mentioned that we'll probably start picking up on that...and sure enough, we freaking use that word all the time now!
Season Kick-Off
So, last night was the official Kick-Off celebration for the Fall Training Season.
Fun times. We got to meet the training coaches, honored teammates and mentors.
Lindsay made fun of me when I cried during an honored teammate's story. I tried my best to keep it in and did really well for a while. We won't go into the details, but he eventually got me when he started talking about his family. Being a family member of someone diagnosed with cancer. He, and the other honored teammates, all thanked us for what we're doing. He put a face to the cause -- because the money we raise goes towards patient services and research for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma....money that funded research that made it possible for him to live as long as he has. He was diagnosed at stage 3 in 2002. Without the advancement in cancer treatment and procedures, he wouldn't be doing as well as he is today.
ANYWAYS....it was just a big introduction to what we're going to be doing and who we're going to be seeing throughout our months of training. We're doing about 3 miles this Saturday. In the rain. Lindsay and I are heading to Runner's World after work to get fitted for new running shoes, and then we're ready to go!
Friends
I'm really touched by some of the emails I've received in response to the one I sent out about this whole thing. Not only have MY friends been wonderful throughout, but my sister's and parents' friends are also stepping up in support. We're really lucky to have such awesome people in our lives! Thanks to all of you who have already contributed to my fundraising and I look forward to seeing what we accomplish by October.
In other news, my teammate and running partner, Lindsay, will be guest commentating every once in a while on here, as well. That means...I can't tell you I ran 5 miles on a Thursday, when really I was sitting at home watching The OC in bed -- cause she'll call me out!
TEAM TEXAS:
