Running Update

Sorry for the long hiatus in posting.

After completing the 5 mile run, I attempted an easy 3 mile run several days later. My body just rebelled.

I realized that I had been pushing my body way too hard. The mileage was just going up too much too fast for me. I had previously been averaging 6 - 8 miles a week - total. The first week of training I did 12 miles. The second week I did 14.

I chose to halt my training program for the half in the interest of not injuring myself. Seeing as though I have no health insurance, and make little money, doctor visits and x-rays, etc., would NOT be a good thing.

However, I did find something else which would allow me to continue to run, but it also caused me to have to scale WAY back on my mileage level. I found barefoot running.

My very first barefoot run took place near the end of July on a treadmill. I ran 1/4 of a mile. I liked it, but felt kind of awkward running on a treadmill barefoot. My next barefoot run was outside on the sidewalks running throughout the office complex where the gym that I work at is located. I started with 4 minutes. I chose to use minutes instead of distance because I have nothing to measure distance, but do have a sportswatch to measure time.

Slowly, I have added time each week to my runs, and am now up to 12 minutes. I seriously love it! I probably could have increased my time/distance faster than I did because I am the type who is constantly kicking my shoes off. But the mantra of barefoot runners is to take it slowly in order to avoid TMTS (Too Much Too Soon) injuries. So far, I have not had any blisters, and just a few growing pains from my feet strengthening and expanding to where they should naturally be. (And yes, I have stepped on a few rocks/pebbles with no harm to my feet.)

If you would like to learn more about barefoot running, a great place to go is Runner's World Barefoot Running forum.

About Laura Runs

Hi! My name is Laura. I am a runner. That wasn't always the case though. Some may say that I'm technically still not a runner ... but I get off the couch and I pick my feet up off the ground .. so I think that qualifies me as a runner, whether or not it takes me 15 minutes to run a mile. :D

My story begins in January, 2008. I'd been pretty faithfully exercising 3 or 4 days a week, doing various cardio and strength training activities, but was kind of getting bored. One day I came across a group on Sparkpeople.com called "Couch To 5k." I'd seen that term before, and even knew that it was a running program. But it had never interested me personally. After all, I hated running - I was slow and it just took too much effort.

For some reason though, that day in January, my interest spiked enough so that I read through many of the threads. By the end of the next week, I had stopped at a local running shop and bought my first pair of running shoes - a pair of Asics. It sure didn't hurt my feelings any that they were blue and white. :D

Over the next number of months I slowly built up my running. I modified the program a bit to suit me better - starting off with 30 seconds of running followed by 90 seconds of walking. I did slack off from it several times during those months, which made me have to backtrack some. But by the end of May I was able to run almost 8 minutes straight before taking a walking break.

That's when I got the bright idea that I needed a challenge - something to give me a reason to not slack off - I needed to sign up for a 5k race! So, I did. I signed up for my first 5k in July, 2008.

What a bundle of nerves! Luckily, my dad was willing to get up at the early morning hour necessary to drive us to the race site - otherwise, I probably would have never found it myself. (I am directionally challenged even when fully awake.)

Standing at the starting line waiting for the starting buzzer to go off was such a rush. I hardly could believe that it was really me standing there, about to go off and trek out 3.1 miles. I didn't care about what my time would be, nor even if I finished last - all I cared about was finishing (preferably without the need of any medical assistance!)

And yes, I did finish. I wasn't last either. (Close to it though!) As I crossed the finish line and started drowning myself in water, I knew that I needed to make this a repeat experience.

I completed 3 more 5 k races by the end of October, with my time getting a little better with each one. Then November hit, and somehow my motivation went out the door, and didn't return again until late March, 2009.

I had gone for a few runs here and there in the intervening months, but had definitely lost a lot of ground - and gained a lot of weight back. Something kicked back in during March, and I started back - not quite back at square one, but close to it.

I realized that I needed to set landmarks for me to achieve - reasons to keep up with my running. So I decided that I probably could be prepared to do another 5k by the end of July. This time I would do it with my mom - who had walked the 5k I ran in October.

For some reason though, just doing more 5k's didn't feel like quite enough. I wanted to challenge myself more. But, I wasn't sure quite how. Then, a little over a week ago, I was reading some various blogs and I came across several mentions of people completing half-marathons - or 13.1 miles.

Two-years ago if you would have asked me if I had any interest in participating in a half-marathon, you would have seen me fall down on the floor laughing hysterically. Me? Do a half-marathon? The girl who could barely do a mile without feeling like dying of exhaustion? Yeah, that would be a no.

But for some reason, my mindset has changed. One-week ago I decided that I was going to train to walk/run a half-marathon.

I have several other blogs (which I don't keep updated as much as I should) but I didn't want to overrun them with my half-marathon journey. Because that is what this is going to be - a journey. Going from run/walking 3.1 miles to 13.1 miles is going to be quite the adventure, and possibly just the beginning.

So, here in this blog, I will be sharing the low-lights and the high-lights of my journey towards my first half-marathon. More than anything, this is for me to have a tangible record of my journey which I can look back on later.

But I also hope that it may be something which encourages someone else to get out there and join the running world. Hey, if you're in Texas, we might just pass each other on the trail.