5K

My family participated in a 5K yesterday and it was a blast! Out of 3 kids only 1 was excited, so I wasn't too sure what the outcome would be. It was a free run at a local pub and we were just there to have a great time.

We took off from the pub in downtown Clarksville with the sun shining. Even though it was extremely cold it was a beautiful day and we had dressed appropriately. Chris encouraged me to take off with my daughter and he decided to stick with the boys. She was excited to be there and wanted to run!

We ran to the water stop, had our numbers marked and turned around to head back. On our way back to the pub I saw my 14 year old son running solo. Let me tell you- this was one of my proudest moments! He doesn't like to run, didn't want to be there and decided to run the race on his own!!! My daughter and I finished in about 31 minutes and then turned around to find my son. He wasn't too far behind us and we ran the rest of his race with him to the finish. I was so excited to share that experience with him because I knew he was proud of himself!

I left my two oldest at the pub and then headed back on the route to find my husband and 5 year old. They were doing great! Chris had one of his hands and I had the other and we ran together to the finish! We had all done it and I was thrilled. We were rewarded with free drinks and the satisfaction that we had done something special! It was tons of fun!

Go The Distance

Yesterday, I ran further than I ever have before. It was Chris' birthday and he set out to run 37 miles for his 37th birthday- sounds a little crazy doesn't it? My long run for the week was scheduled to be 15 miles, so I decided I would meet up with him and get it out of the way. Well, I met him at mile 16 and finished it up with him, which means I did 21 miles!

It was hard!!!! Wow- I mean hard!!! My breathing was great and I had pretty good energy, but my legs were wiped. Here is the crappy thing- I was running with a man doing 37 miles, so how could I possibly complain??? I couldn't. I did my best to ignore the chaffing between my legs and the blisters ALL over my feet. Fortunately, we ran by our house, which we called our "first aid station." I was able to vaseline my legs like crazy, change my socks and cover my feet in band-aids before completing the last 11 miles.

The marathon is going to be a challenge. I know that I will get it done, but not without a little pain and suffering. At the running club meeting I attended Tuesday evening a gentleman said something that clicked in my brain. He said, "Your body will adapt to whatever you train it to do" That makes so much sense. If you sit on the couch and do nothing than your body adapts to nothing. If you put on some running shoes and head out the door it will get easier and easier. Eventually, it will get easy and you can go a little bit further. You don't even have to go a great distance- you just have to go!

I will add that setting the goal to run an official race truly changed my running. Training for the half marathon really gave me some excitement! It took me to a new level and I love it!

13.1

When I ran the half marathon in October my time was 2:08:28. My goal had been 2:15, so I was happy with my time. I ran with my friend up until mile 9 and then took off on my own after a lot of encouragement from her. After running that half, my friend consistently told me that she believed I could have ran it in less than 2 hours. I knew I could shave some of my time off, but I wasn't sure how much.

Yesterday, Chris and I ran the half marathon route and it was a great run! The sole purpose of that run was to be under 2 hours. I needed to prove something to myself! Almost every mile I ran was around 8:40 and I became more confident as each mile passed that I was going to reach my goal. At mile 10, I knew I was good to go! My legs were tired and I really didn't have much to give at the end, but I did my best to finish hard. My final time was 1:54:43!!!!! Woohoo! I was so proud of myself and it just showed me that if I continue to dig deep I have much more to give.

I am not going to put too much pressure on myself to have a finishing marathon time. I will run at a pace that I can handle for 26.2 miles.

Country Music Marathon 2009 Countdown

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Chris

My husband expects a lot out of me when it comes to running.   For example, he joined my little running group today and by mile 5 everyone else had decided enough was enough.  We had initially decided that 6 miles was our goal, so I wanted to get my 6.  I like knowing that I accomplished what I set out to do.  It is always a good feeling.

The neighborhood that we ran in today has two MAJOR hills and we had already done them twice by mile 5.  After my friends left, I asked Chris which hill we were tackling because I know him well enough that he isn't going to let me keep running another mile without doing another hill.  He then informed me that if I really knew him well I would know that we were going to do the section twice!  UGH!!!  These hills are killers!  After you go down one you have to go up the other no matter which direction you are going.  So, we ran down one, up the other, recovered briefly and went the opposite direction.  Did it hurt? Yes.   Did it feel great knowing that I did it without whining like a big baby? Yes.  Am I stronger because of it? Yes!!!

I live in my own little box and Chris is trying to demolish and smash it to pieces.   For many years, I only ran a maximum of 3 miles- that was huge for me.  Now, I am training for a marathon, but I have created a new box.  I like to keep my comfy pace, which is about a high 9/low 10 minute mile.  He believes that I can reach a low 8 minute mile pace.  Right now, I can't imagine running that fast for a long period of time, but then I never thought I would be a runner either.

Chris encouraged me to run and never stop no matter how much it hurt.  Those were his exact words!  I still hear his voice in my head when it just isn't feeling too good and I consider walking.  I love him so much for always encouraging me and expecting more out of me that I expect out of myself!  I will admit that sometimes I just want to be left alone in my little box of comfort, but he just won't let that happen.  So, maybe one day in the near future I will be out there running 8 minute miles consistently and I will have one more thing to thank him for!