Some Random Thoughts on Week 1 of the 40 Day Challenge

1. I'm officially in love with this challenge.

2. I am nowhere near as sore as I thought [assumed] I'd be. In fact, I don't feel sore at all. Did I just jinx myself? Probably.

3. I need to get more running clothes or be a grown up and do laundry more often. So, buy more running clothes then.

4. I have found the PERFECT way to stretch my hips/hamstrings/whatever that weird thing that hurts on the side of my leg is called. Here's the problem: It involves awkwardly draping my leg over the side of the treadmill. I've definitely gotten my fair share of "what on earth are you doing" looks. Embarrassment I can deal with, the real issues is that I don't have anything that's the same height in my apartment. But don't worry, I haven't given up. Yes, I throw my legs over random surfaces in the apartment. Yes, my roommate thinks I'm out of my mind. It's cool.

5. Have I mentioned I love this challenge?

6. I have a really hard time just running - not playing with the speed on the treadmill or trying to make the next mile faster than the last. I don't want to push myself too hard too early because I know I still have 31 days left of running. But it's really hard not to try to go just a little faster. This might come back to bite me in whatever that awkward muscle is called.

7. I'm really lucky to have such a super flexible [read: completely self-imposed] schedule so I can squeeze my runs in whenever I want. I'm not sure I'd have the time or the energy if I were working a regular 9-5 job. Yay bar studying?

All in all, I think this has been a really positive experience so far. It's definitely helped to keep me on track with my training and motivates me to get moving every day. I think it would be very easy otherwise to get so caught up in studying that I never left my apartment. I'm already thinking about what comes after the 40 days and I'm so pumped for Long Beach training!* Starting next week, I'd like to try to add more weight training in, particularly working on my upper body.

Anyone else doing the challenge? Have any awesome arm exercise I just HAVE to do?


*NOTE: Ask me again in a week and I may have an entirely different opinion =)

Identity Crisis

Workout:

2.5 miles - 23:24 [aka super fast awesome all star]

How do you know you’re a runner? I’ve been asking myself that question a lot lately. Yes, I’ve completed a ½ marathon (slowly and with an unbelievable amount of IT Band pain, but I finished). Still, even crossing the finish line, I don’t know that I’d have called myself a “runner.” I’ve never been athletic. I fall down. Like, a lot. I never really played sports or was particularly active. When I first started running almost 4 years ago, a friend of mine suggested we run a 5k together to lose some of our post-college chub. I ran the 5k in a whopping 39:45. But I was hooked. I started training for the Brooklyn ½ Marathon but then got sidelined by bronchitis halfway through my training and never recovered.  After that, I kept running my short runs, but didn’t really increase my distance in any measurable way. Then I started law school which, in case anyone was wondering, completely takes over your life. I pretty much stopped running altogether for about 2 years.

After a bad breakup last year, I was looking for something to keep me occupied. A friend of mine was training for a fall ½ marathon and suggested I run it too. I remembered how awesome running had once upon a time made me feel and gave it a shot. But I definitely cheated my way through my training. I focused almost exclusively on long runs and completely skipped my weekday runs. As a result, I really aggravated my IT Band. It first started flaring up about 2 weeks before the race, but I was determined to run anyway. So, I carried my right knee through the last 8 miles, finished in just over 3 hours and was sidelined for almost 3 months. Gross.

Now I’m back to running 4 days a week, feeling great, getting faster – but I still wouldn’t call myself a “runner.” Runners are tall and skinny and fast. I’m short with some junk in my trunk and SLOOOOW. Runners feel confident running their short weekday runs, I get nervous I won’t finish my 2 miles EVERY. TIME. I have all the running gear – Henry the Garmin, my amazing compression socks/leg warmers – but I feel like a sham every time I open a Gu packet. Real runners need Gus. I’m not working hard enough to require that kind of fuel. I cried crossing the finish line of my 1/2 marathon – partly out of pain, but mostly out of disappointment. This wasn't the triumphant feeling of "Finally, I'm a real runner!" I had expected. Maybe I'll feel it after my next 1/2 marathon (Oh, I didn't tell you about that? Yeah, more later). Maybe I'll feel it after my potential-possibly-to-be-run full marathon. Maybe I'll never feel it. Maybe that's ok.

I think part of it definitely has to do with how many running blogs I read. It's definitely amazing to see all of your achievements and I'm completely in awe of each and every one of you! But every time I read about your super speedy, super long, super easy runs, it definitely makes my "fast" or "long" runs seem pretty insignificant. I just have to keep remember that it's TOTALLY awesome that I ran an 8:48 mile tonight and it's TOTALLY awesome that I'm going to run 6 whole miles this weekend. And it's TOTALLY awesome that my Bic Bands came, so I'll look adorable doing it :)

Also, let's talk about how I'm going on my long run on Saturday with a GROUP of beautiful fabulous ladies I met on the internetz who can run circles around me. Um, eep much? Yeah, let's not think about that right now.

Are you a runner? How do you know?

EEP!

I may have just convinced myself to run a 1/2 marathon the day before my law school graduation ... crazy or awesome?

Discuss!