so I am following THIS training plan. i love hal. hal is my pal. hee, hee.
seriously, though. me and hal go way back. back to when i was 19 and i had been running the standard 6 miles/day for oh, 4 years or so. loved a good trail run back then but had never really raced. then i decided to run a marathon. as a child & teen I was always in excellent shape. super athletic thanks to playing sports my whole life. i took up running when i was a teenager as a way to stay in shape for my winter sports and do better on the soccer field. i also loved to bike, walked a couple miles to school every day for a few years, swam, rock-climbed, and played rec volleyball. so when i was 19 and got talked into (another story for another day) running this marathon, i did so with very little training. like, only the athletic endeavors i had under my belt.
i finished. yes ma'am i did. in 5:47. i was at the back of the pack the entire way, running (and sometimes walking) with a party group. we had a small fire engine with us, and let's just say we looked more like a parade than we did a race. there were beads, shot glasses, and lots & lots of crazies! it was a great time. but not something i tout as a huge running accomplishment. i mean, basically, i partied my way to the finish line. it was a joke.
in the years that followed that first experience, i noticed something about myself.
a) i loved the community aspect of running big races
b) i loved the race atmosphere both before, during, and after races
c) i never wanted to finish at the BACK of the pack again.
so i knew i wanted to do this more often, but in order to avoid being at the back, i would need to train. enter hal. he was my inspiration.
fast forward several years and several races, none of which included anything other than a 5k, later. i was my husband's training partner back when we were dating while he trained for his first marathon. it was inspiring, but i honestly didn't think i could do it. so in a typical self-defeatest way, i quit. i quit running while we were engaged. then we got married and i got pregnant.
i have never really, REALLY gone back to running the way i have always wanted to. i have walk/jogged a few 5ks and 2 half marathons since my kids were born. i have planned on training for and running a half and then hopefully a full marathon. in fact, 2 years ago, before i turned 30 i had grand plans to do just that. then they sort of fizzled and died. the feelings of failure at having given up, combined with feeling pretty bad physically from several miscarriages has kept me away for some time.
last year when i was working, i walked 2.5 miles on my lunch break 4 times a week. i was gearing up to train for the half marathon in april in st. louis. then my husband announced he was going to train for the marathon at the same time. well, that just wouldn't work in our family, so i sacrificed my training so that he could train. (he ended up backing out from the race, but that's another story for another day) then another miscarriage and the big move from missouri to arizona this summer had me taking more time off of working out.
which brings me to the present moment. and this training plan. i feel as though i am starting from scratch, even though i have been "a runner" for more than half my life. i am asking some pretty steep things of the Lord this time around, emotionally & spiritually. i am asking for some healing in my self-defeatest areas, and for the gift of discipline. i am also asking for my anger to be redeemed and healed. see?? it's a tall order, i know. that is where the name of my blog comes in. i am running to the Lord.
so i am training for a 5k with a 13.1 in mind for next year. training for the 5k is going to lay the foundation that i need in order to train for an complete the half marathon next year. after that...who knows. for now, i am hoping to enjoy the journey, and just put one foot in front of the other.
Working at a Museum in Maine!
6 years ago
I used the Hal Higdon intermediate 10k plan for my recent 10k. I like his plans because they don't tell you to run at a specified pace, rather just to run at a pace that is comfortable for you.
ReplyDeletePositive thinking is half the battle in running. When you start thinking negatively, recognize it and then think something positive.
You might also want to try a few 10ks too. Good luck! You can totally do it. I can't wait to read about your progress.
Well, okay, so I clickety-clicked on over here after reading your other blog today.
ReplyDeleteI was amazed at what determination you have. Me? I've only thought about running in passing as I read about other blogging mom's who go out and just do it. They train. They have kids. They do it. I exercise. When I make the time. And that's okay. But sometimes I wonder if I could do just as you are doing and plan for something more. Something bigger. Something to get me out of my rut and out of the underlying pain that always lingers (you know what I'm talking about).
Inspired greatly by you today (again!!). Keep on progressing and movin' on forward. You have great plans as you run ahead. Blessings along the way!
Stacy thank you so much for sharing your heart. I can so identify with your struggles. I have had a couple of very trying years that have affected me both emotionally and physically. The scenarios that play over and over in my head can be very defeating on many levels, keeping the pain so fresh and raw. For what ever reason the Lord has seen fit not to remove these difficulties but instead teach me how to live in His Sufficient Grace through them. Romans 8:35-39 really has helped me to see and think about affliction in a different way. From those verses I learned that nothing can separate me from His love. Nothing, not pain, not failure, not someone or something, nothing can take me from His love. Based on this fact it says I am a conqueror, and not just a conqueror but "more than conqueror." I didn't much feel like a conqueror as a matter of fact life seem to be conquering me. But Gods word is true so secondly I learned that I could use the sword of affliction to cut away at worldliness instead of letting it cut away at my faith. Affliction became the tool to cut away at anger, bitterness, murmmering... Another wards afflictions and difficulties were made the servant of godliness. And it is in this way that I become more than a conqueror! God's love triumphs in the end!
ReplyDeleteThank you again for sharing. I look forward to seeing how God WILL meet your needs! It's not a tall order for a God who already holds the victory in His hands!
Your plan looks like a good one. I've used one of Hal's plans, too. And to finish your training cycle with a race will be fun!
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