See a change?

Two posts in one week?  Am I imagining things?  Nope, you're not.  It's me and like I said last post I have been wanting to blog lately, so I am riding this wave for as long as I can.

If you've been following my blog for a while you will notice a change.  If not, then I'll let you in on what I'm talking about.  I have "refreshed" my page with a new layout and...a new title.

So when I was talking about a refocus on my goals and making changes, I didn't just mean in what I am doing, but also what I'm going to write about and focus on.  I have decided that the title of my blog will always be "The Beginners Runner" because, well, that's my identity.  We are always beginning at something and I feel like I am a beginner runner again after such a long hiatus.  However the title of my blog will change with the goals I have planned.  Just like now, take a look at the title, don't worry, I'll give you a chance to look.  I'll wait here...

Take a look?  Good.  Well, that's what I'm planning for now.

Spring

Spring has officially sprung in Seattle!  The weather has been absolutely gorgeous all week and after the many months we’ve had of dark, gloomy, wet weather, this is a much welcomed break!!  My little family has been taking walks after dinner together to soak up the sunshine and have some active time together before we put the kiddo to bed.  It has been a nice change and one that I would like to continue with as the weather becomes consistently nicer.

So it’s been a couple of months since my last post, a pretty pissed off, telling post for me.  I try not to get too emotional on the blog, I like to keep things light and to the point, but sometimes I just don’t really care and want to say what’s on my mind.  Which brings me to today’s post…

PT progress and other things

Holy cow it's been a while since I've updated here. I know I was getting back into talking about my training and how that was all developing, but then I hit a wall...a big one. Let me explain.


So I've been going to PT since July, I've been seeing the same therapist and we have been working through my hip and plantar fasciitis issues. I saw immediate and lasting results with my hips when I started going to PT and I would experience short bouts of temporary pain relief in my heels, but the pain/irritation would not completely go away. It was dismaying but I was also still in training for my Dumbo weekend at the time, so I couldn't expect that pain would completely go away until after the race weekend when I could rest my legs and feet from running regularly.

Training and the Alter G

So my training, or what you can call "training", started last week. I was allowed to run one mile. Yes, just one mile. And not even when or where I would usually run, nope, I had to schedule my run at my PT's office to use a treadmill I had never used before.

The Alter G.

What is the Alter G, you ask?

Training Struggle

I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for the support and words of encouragement I received regarding last weeks post. It was a tough decision to make and the more I think about it and the more stories and comments I received and read about all of you making that same tough decision (to listen to your body), I realize that it was the best decision I could have made. So again, thank you for all the stories and encouragement, it really means a lot to me.

That being said, my view has changed drastically since last week. I am no longer setting my sights on a big goal that, at times, seemed insurmountable. But rather now I am working on facing a familiar adversary, the half marathon. The distance that I love to hate and hate to love, so much pleasure (finishing) and so much pain (during). (That sounded dirty, btw. He he...) Anyway.

After last weeks post I felt the need to pull everything in and "hide" what I'm going through, put on the happy face and post about seemingly benign things. Then the more I thought about it this weekend the more I realized that line of thinking is completely opposite of why I created this blog to begin with. I came here to write about my trials and tribulations, successes and jubilations (and my apparent need to rhyme at times, HA! Did it again.) To keep the process secret and not be honest about what I'm going through by only talking about good things would be silly of me to do. I have prided myself on being honest here and talking about things I'm experiencing, no matter how stupid or embarrassing it might be.

I feel like a failure

Nice way to come back from a blogging hiatus, right? Well, unfortunately, this is how I'm feeling right now. I will be posting my race and Disneyland trip recaps soon, there is lots to report on that front and things are finally starting to slow down in my crazy world right now. So those tidbits are forthcoming.

So, now...what is going on?

Well, let me say that this year I had goals that I had set out at the very start of the year. I had made it very clear last year and throughout this year so far that I had the goal to get fit after the pregnancy, to run Dumbo again and to train and complete my first marathon in January 2015.

However, it seems that with every attempt I make to try and accomplish these goals I get more and more road blocks and encounter even more pitfalls.

Disneyland Half Countdown: 7 days!

Wow...how time flies. I swear it feels like it was just two months out from the race just yesterday. Where does the time go? I feel like the weeks have been a blur of worry, anticipation, excitement, concern, focus and lots of hard work. It may not be reflected in the mileage that I've accumulated over the past couple of months, but the proof is in my ability to simply get up and down from a seated position. Not all progress can be easily measured.

I was worried about my training and the ability to get my body healthy by race weekend. Now we are one week out and I still have some concern about my body being able to handle the rigors of this race weekend, but nowhere near the concerns I had even a month ago. I can't even begin to express how happy I am that I decided to go into physical therapy for my hip issues. I am so incredibly thankful for my therapist and the work that we have been doing over the past month. Her attention to my problem areas and exercises I have been doing have literally changed my life. It really is amazing.

The strength and stability I am gaining is giving me confidence to attack the coming race weekend with peace of mind. As I have said before, I am not going into these races expecting to run the whole time or get even get a decent time, let alone a PR! I am going to simply enjoy the experience and run in one of my favorite places on Earth. Oh...and to take home these beauties!! (except for the kids race one, though I love the lanyard!!)

End of Week 16 Dumbo Double Dare Training

Oh geez...week 16 of training done! That means we are in week 17 now and week 18 is the race! GAH!!! That's NEXT WEEK!!! It's almost here! It's almost here!!! Disneyland NEXT WEEK!!! ::jumping up and down, clapping excitedly::

I'm not scared about running the races anymore now. I'm mostly excited. I have been working on my running and my training has been moving along. I can't be mad or down on myself for not being at the point of health I wanted to be for this race because SO MUCH has been going on with my physical therapy. So much change and improvement has been happening that I couldn't POSSIBLY be completely ready for this race weekend. That being said, I will be able to run, have fun and work on recovering better after each race.

So let's get to the training recap!

Tuesday: 30 minute run
Saturday: 9 mile run

End of Week 15 Dumbo Double Dare Training

Holy cow...did I just type week 15? That means I'm currently in week 16 and week 18 ends with the race weekend!!! AH!!! That means I will be in Disneyland in TWO WEEKS!!!! GAH!!!!

Oh man...I need to start packing. Yes, I am one of those people that starts packing way before they leave on the trip. Well...at least I get my list ready and do laundry and get it all organized, so not really packed into the suitcase, but more like have it prepared to throw into the suitcase the night before I leave. Because that's how I roll. I've been fine tuning and tweaking my pack list for the past 4 months (yes, 4 months, I get excited about trips and start to plan!) and I'm still to this day making small adjustments. Take this item off, add a different item on, increase the number of this item, decrease the number of another item. See what I mean, it's hard work being organized. 

Though this post isn't about my packing skillz, this is about training, so why don't we get to it! The scheduled training runs for Week 15 are as follows:

End of Week 13 Dumbo Double Dare Training

Wait...week 13? What happened to week 12...moreover...what happened in week 13? Ha! Well...about that. The training as listed and even as I have adjusted didn't happen, at all. ::defeated sigh::

As you all know, or may not know, I've been having physical problems since having the baby. My hips have been bothering me a lot more and my left heel started to hurt after (and even during!) my runs. These two ailments have put me out of training commission for far too many weeks, my hip issues have even kept me from running a race all together (Snoqualmie Valley Half & 10k). 

These past few months have been frustrating and humbling beyond belief. From chiro visits, to sitting out many training runs, to getting a new mattress set, to trying new stretches and strengthening exercises. All to no avail...I was still plagued by horribly stiff, aching and painful hips and an increasing presence of heel pain that is now appearing in both feet.

Good to your "self" - Week Three: Embrace

Well, we are three weeks into this body series Be Good to Your "Self" project, where we are talking about what we love or appreciate about ourselves. The first week was Engage, where we talked about our best facial feature, the second week was Enjoy, where we talked about our best body feature. This week is along the theme of acceptance and appreciation, but it's about the thing we are pushing against, our flaws.

I know, how can talking about flaws be positive? Well, it's all about perspective. We can talk about positive things in negative ways and make the whole conversation negative, it's all about structure and wording. I have flaws, just like everyone else. I see them every time I look in the mirror. I know exactly where they are and my eyes go to that point every time I go in front of the mirror. It's like my sub-conscious is keeping tabs on them to make sure I'm reminded. "Is it still there? Oh yep, right where it was before." Yes, they are still there but you know what happens? I leave my place in front of the mirror and get on with my life.

Yes, life still goes on even though I have flaws and everyone can see them! I'll wait and let you process that for a second, go ahead, I'm patient.

End of Week 11 Dumbo Double Dare Training

Oh boy, it's only Tuesday? I could have sworn today is Thursday, well at least that's how my body feels! I had the most horrible headache last night and it hit me hard all at once. I was actually sitting at the dining table crying because my head hurt so much. My poor baby was so quiet and just staring at me from his highchair because he knew I wasn't myself last night. Luckily I got decent sleep, so that helped to get rid of my headache and I'm feeling better today.

So now we talk about training! Woohoo!

This past weeks training according to the schedule looked like this:

Tuesday: 30 minute run
Thursday: 30 minute run
Saturday: 4 miles

End of Week 10 Dumbo Double Dare Training

Wait...what? End of Week 10? Have I been training all this time and not updating? 

Nope. 

But this is where the training schedule is for last week, I've just missed the previous 9 weeks due to misc issues and road blocks. So my training for this big race weekend is beginning now...right in the middle of the schedule. Oh yeah...here we go!

Considering how far behind I am in the training, I have augmented the prescribed miles to suit a different ramp up of miles for me.

For week 10 my training looked like this:

Tuesday: 30-45 minute run
Thursday: 30-45 minute run 
Saturday: 2 miles 4 miles (adjusted mileage for my training)
Sunday: 9.5 miles rest day planned

Monday Mojo: Starting Over

Well, it's been a while since I've written a Monday post and I've decided to change it up a bit. I usually call it Momentum Monday, but lately I feel like I've been lacking (or downright missing) my mojo. So I've decided to change it to Monday Mojo, because sometimes I need to stoke the fires of my mojo to get me going for the rest of the week! Today is no exception!

It's not a secret that I've been struggling with my running. Inconsistent training, injuries and physical setbacks have kept me from getting out there and logging miles. Then I find that the longer I spend in between runs not running, the less I want to get out there and the easier it gets to make excuses not to run. Which is crazy because I feel better when I run and after I run. Running makes me want to run more and the more I run the better I feel. I always tell myself after every run, "man, I need to remember how good I feel!". 

I'm here...I swear!

Wow...I can't believe that it has literally been a month since my last post! How is that possible!?! It doesn't feel like it's been that long. I know I've created posts in my head, dozens of them. Maybe I just didn't get a chance to actually post them. That's probably it.

I'm here though...I swear!!

It's Registration Day!

No, I'm not talking about school classes registration, I'm talking about WDW Marathon Weekend Registration! Though people do get schooled with the lessons learned from that weekend apparently. I wouldn't know, I've never been...until now!

I had talked about it during my post last week about how I registered for a big event during the WDW Marathon Weekend, but didn't go into much detail. Now that registration is opening today for the general public, I will talk about what it is I registered for.

Training mantra: Back in the saddle again

So this week has been an eventful one for me in the area of running. On Monday I posted about my first run back since baby and all the feelings I was experiencing during that first run. Then yesterday I had my second run of the week (gasp! I know, right!?! Two runs in one week!) and had very different feelings about that run as well. Then on top of all of that, yesterday was early registration day for the WDW Marathon weekend and for the first time I will be participating in this epic weekend of running and camaraderie! So much to talk about, let's get started!

Monday was my first run back and I was feeling so many emotions about being out running that I was just letting myself soak everything in.

Day 5 of Compression and "The Jam" Thursday

Happy Thursday everyone! Hope you all are having a great week so far, only one more day until the weekend! Woo hoo! But news flash! It is only 6 more days until Christmas!!!

ACK!!!

I still have two more presents to buy and stocking stuffers! Oye!! When will I find the time? Maybe tomorrow. I hope tomorrow.

Today is Day 5 of my 10 Days of Compression and I am featuring one of the first pairs of Pro Compression marathon socks I ever owned. The Marathon Pink!

Momentum Monday: Run Like A Boss

This weekend is the weekend I've been waiting for since I signed up for it in December, it is the Disneyland Half weekend in Anaheim, CA. As I type those words I still can't believe it! This race weekend has been a long time coming and the fact that I know how quickly it will go by makes me want to put the brakes on and slow time for a bit.

I know what is coming this weekend and it will come like a freight train, you just can't stop it. There will be meet-ups and meals with friends, there will be rides and photo hi-jinx, there will be old friends greeting each other with hugs and new friends coming together with open hearts, there will be laughs and happy tears, there will be tons of catching up and cascades of yawns into the late night hours, there will be shopping and costume wearing, and finally there will be running and getting the bling we've all worked so hard for.

This weekend will be one to remember and one we won't soon forget, and I've been so blessed to have so many great people to plan and experience this with, that I can't think about it being here just yet. Today I officially start my packing and I've got the list all made out. I have my schedule made for the weekend with all the "official times" and all the meet-ups I'm doing and a little bit of sleep scheduled in there somewhere.

But all this prep wouldn't be happening if it weren't for one thing: running. All the fun and anticipation is great but it also is because we are gathering to run races together. To push ourselves physically and to have fun in the process. As I get ready for this weekend, physically and mentally, I have to remember that all my training has brought me to this point and I can't prepare myself anymore than I already have, it's race time. So as I mentally get myself in the game, this quote really jumped out at me for today's Momentum Monday.

End of Week 14 Double Dare Training

Wait...end of week 14? That means there are only 4 more weeks until the big race weekend!?! Holy cow is it coming up soon! It is so exciting! I'm not really concerned about whether I will be able to finish the races or not at this point. My training has been going nice and steady and after every long run I've had, I actually feel like I could keep going without any issue or discomfort. I just stop because I don't want to push too far too soon, but my body has done it before and can most certainly do it again!

Seriously though, I am really, really, REALLY excited for this race weekend! All the chatter and information on get togethers has been growing steadily and it just makes me so excited for the weekend to get here and sad to know that it's only a couple of days of whirlwind fun and excitement, then I'm back to reality and missing my running friends from across the country again. :(

The countdown until we leave for Disneyland started months ago and looking at the countdown now we only have 21 days until we are in the Happiest Place on Earth. I'm so excited, I have this awesome picture as my background on my work monitor.