Tips to get you motivated to run

Tips to get you motivated to run

Article: How to run injury free

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If a 73-Year-Old Can Get in Shape, So Can You

If a 73-Year-Old Can Get in Shape, So Can You

Pain is weakness leaving the body.

I am hurting. My ego is badly bruised. My left ankle swells readily. The tendon above my right heel aches constantly. And I’m still slow as hell. On Wednesday I joined my friend Mary for runs. Her route was 2.9 miles. Both of us were plugged in to our electronic devices with motivating music to move us along. Starting off we walked for a quick warm-up then we took off running. We rounded the corner after one block and completed a second one when my legs and lungs went, “No!” I stopped and walked. Mary was concerned but I waved her on telling her I’ll catch up with her; I just had to walk this out for a sec. She went on and little by little got farther and farther away. I had to stop and walk several times. It was as if my ass weighed a thousand pounds. Where in the world did that wagon with the half-ton of iron came from?

Thursday I got all gung-ho and went to the trail around the golf course close to my home to walk. A beautiful day preceded the pleasant early evening walk. That trail was so aesthetically pleasing I got carried away with the trees, ponds, squirrels and the course greens and walked four miles. My legs felt good, except for that damn tendon. I went home feeling like I accomplished something.

Friday I joined Mary again. Oh, why did I do that? This woman is a stunner, but she’s too modest to believe it. Add to that her encouraging words to me: “You look good girl! You’re doing great!” I’ve known her long enough to know that she meant that, not being the kind of person to blow smoke up someone’s butt. I appreciated it. But how do you stop feeling like crap anyway? You succeed. I’m not quite there yet. Yet.

Breathe, breathe, in through your nose out through your mouth I’m told again by my coach this Sunday morning. Yesterday I was on my own and though it rained I got out there. Walking and running on the trail again. Not so many other people out because of the rain. I wanted to focus on breathing and nothing else. My brain and body just won’t go there right now as if it’s an unnatural thing for me to do. Concentration wanes as my mind wanders. My thoughts are of my old self, the woman Marine who was lean, fit and could run for miles. Two miles later I got in my car and headed home. This morning when I got up at 6:30am I felt good. Grabbed a glass of water, took half a fortified oatmeal cookie (for fuel) and got my clothes and gear together. Bruni and I were meeting at 8am. Out the door at 7:15, I stopped for gasoline and got to our meeting place early and stretched until she arrived. We walked today. My coach needed to observe my breathing pattern. How did I feel? Am I feeling any pain. How are my legs today? Do my feet feel okay? "We really need to step things up. I want you running three miles non-stop before the end of next month."

Couch to 5k needs a review. Unlike that program—which is really great and helped me early on in this journey—I have to be out there on a daily basis. Just like back in my days in the Corps. Everyday, a run. Walk when you’re feeling pain until its gone and run some more. No pain, no gain! And pain is weakness leaving the body. My boyfriend once said playfully that he likes his coffee strong and Black like his women. I’m getting there baby. Slowly and surely I’m getting there.

I registered. It's real now!

OMG, I’m six months away from the marathon. Frankly my running has been sporadic at best up until now. Last week my real training began. My coach, Bruni, is actively involved. She even confiscated my chocolate bar today! Anyone who knows me well enough know how much I love good, dark chocolate. My 72% cacao bar is somewhere in Bruni’s possession. My hand is shaking as I type this. (Not really, but it would be funny if it were so!)

Registration for the MCM opened on April 7th. By 11:25 am that day I was paid up and officially signed up. The 30,000 spaces filled up in less than a week. Wow, folks are serious about this particular marathon. Nicknamed “the people’s marathon,” entrants do not have to be pre-qualified to run it. But I chose this one for personal reasons. I was a uniformed, U.S. Marine over 20 years ago. This is my way of coming home.

Last Wednesday, Bruni met me at the lake near my job. The asphalt covered path that circles it is 0.75 miles distance for one complete loop. My coach wanted to see my running style and form and get a read on my conditioning to date. I sucked. She was so encouraging! My form looks good! My pace is acceptable at this point. What I must do, she told me, is focus on my breathing. Breathe like a horse, my dad told me last weekend. That is: breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. My past yoga training hasn’t helped me with the running. In yoga, all breathing is done only through the nose. I must adjust that.

So my pace is slow but getting better. I’m relieved spring has arrived and the freezing cold mornings are gone until late fall. I have six months to train hard for the MCM. New shoes are needed already. And Bruni tells me I should cross train on my non-running days. I went through my storage bin in the closet to pull out my swim suits. My thunder thighs were none too happy about the prospect of being on display for all at the community center pool to see. A little sunshine on my legs would be nice, too! A post on a group page on Facebook for women who work out told me she does trail running. Hmm… That sounds intriguing. A new pair of trail shoes will be good to have as my old ones are funky and worn out. My running shoes need to be replaced already. I’m stepping it up.

The tendon over my right heel is still nagging at me. My left ankle swells up most days and my left hamstring is tight a hell. I did a power yoga workout last night and my hips are tight, too. Tomorrow morning is an upper body workout with weights and a 4-mile fast-paced walking session after work.

Go girl!

Struggles

Its been a while since my last post. I know, I know... One starts off with a bang, then the excitement of the moment fades and the day-to-day realities set in and...nothing.

A whole lot of something's been going on. Everything from injuries to lack of motivation to a renewed sense of accomplishment, etc., etc. I have to be honest. I hate getting up early in the morning. Its not been my nature to rise with (or before) the sun. I love to linger in bed in the morning. I lay there, thankful for waking up, and then reflect on the day prior, and contemplate the day ahead of me. That's all fine, but does not make for getting the walking/running in a timely manner (before I go to work.) What I've learned from his experience so far if that I must put the effort in before work. Lunchtime runs have caused me to be very non-productive in the afternoons. I take far more time than my lunch break allows and have to make up the excess time at the end of the day. And post work session are even less successful as I find that once my work day ends, all I really want to do is go home and have a glass of wine and dinner.

My coach, Bruni, will begin joining me on Sunday mornings beginning April 11. She wants to see my form, pace and rate my progress to date. My first race, a 5k run on May 5, is soon approaching. That run will be my first milestone and I must reach it. I am anxious for the first day of registration for the MCM on Wednesday, April 7. I have it bookmarked on my calendar and a reminder set on both my cell phone and computer.

My progress in the Couch to 5K program has been slow. I repeated weeks 3-5. I should be up to week 8 yet find myself at week 6. Its fine. I'm not worried. I was sidelined for a week in late early March due to an ankle injury. I was walking with my (awesome!) boyfriend and tripped on a deep crack in the sidewalk. At the time I was more embarrassed at my clumsiness than I was hurt. However, a couple of days later my ankle was still swollen and my pain worsened from my lack of attention to the matter. Use of an elliptical machine would have been a good option, but I find those machines as monotonous as my accounting job. Biking would have been a better option for me, but I should own one of those contraptions to go for a ride, shouldn't I? :-) I've had tendinitis for nearly two weeks. It sucks but I can push through that. I know I need to go back to the hot yoga classes I used to take. My muscles are still too tight. But budget constraints prevent this for the moment.

Craiglist or the flea market will net me an adequate bike for my trail riding needs. A friend and former coworker invited me to join her when she uses her company's gym. I've been reading a lot about fitness and preparation for distance running, and weight training is mentioned often as a benefit for marathon training. I have a set of dumbbells. A bench (an under $50 investment) and a weight bar (another minimal cost) should do the trick. And to give myself another kick in the butt, I began reading Dr. Wayne Dyer's book, Excuses Begone!.

My eating has improved. I'm eliminating most of the sugar from what I eat. Yes, that means coffee black, no cream, no sugar, or those God-awful flavored creamers. My biggest obstacle lately has been sleep. Some night I'm lucky to get 5 hours. Waking up tired is no way to be ready for a run.

Waking up motivated is the answer. 4 days until registration; 31 weeks until race day. And you will see Mo run.