Looking for Running Motivation

Looking for Running Motivation

I am trying to figure out ways to stay motivated to run.  I read a blog and the blogger talked about reading "Runners World" religiously so I bought one and thought I could read it in the car while waiting for kids.  Most of their articles are short.  I also started looking around for running blogs.
Since I have started running again (run/walk), I never got to where I could really run when I was doing it before, I am hoping to get further in running this time. Last time it never got easy.  I am hoping to get to the point where I can actually run many miles, but I am afraid that might be a pipe dream.  I found a blog called myfitfamily.com.  I loved the article called The Running Theif.  Here are two excerpts from it that I really liked.

1 - 7 years and thousands of miles ago, I couldn’t run a single mile without stopping.  I couldn’t run a mile without feeling like my lungs were going to burst out of me, without feeling like my knees weren’t meant to run, without worrying: but I don’t look like a runner.
This makes me feel like I have hope.  I can only run about 400 meters without stopping then I need about 400 meters of walking! So maybe I can get there also.

2 - My running truths are that it never really does get easy. You’ll learn to love that some days you’ll look forward to a run and other days you’ll have to drag yourself out the door–confused how you can love something so much yet some days find it so challenging.  You’ll learn that sometimes it takes you a long time to get warmed up in your run but when you do, everything falls in place and for a moment–maybe a mile, or quite a few miles–it does feel easy. You’ll learn that that easy feeling will come and go and that sometimes you’ll want to run a pace that feels comfortable and some days you’ll want to push the pace so hard you feel like your lungs are going to burst and somehow—both runs will leave you feeling smiling, breathless and thankful.   This part made me feel better.  I thought it would get easier and it never really did.  I guess as long as you push yourself it won't be easy.  But I want to get to the part where you really love it whether or not it is hard.

Also if you are just starting to run like I am here is an Open letter from Seejenroerun. I learned a lot from it too.

How do you stay motivated?  Are their blogs or magazines you read to keep you motivated?  If so let me know in the comment section.

Back in the Sadle

What happened?  I took a couple weeks off, that turned in to a couple of months that turned into 7 months! I don't know how that happens. So today is Day 1.  It was a good run, I felt good afterwards.  I never feel good during ;-).  I started at a 15/45 pace and I didn't like it.  I felt that every time I started to run it was time to stop.  I switched to a 20/40 pace which I liked better.  At one point I was pretty tired so I figure that was the right pace.  I saw some geese and their babies on the Rio Grande.  It is hard to take a picture with your iphone while running and the zoom isn't that great either.  But here they are. 

5k race today!

 Well I haven't been running a lot lately, but we took the whole family to the Hearts for Honduras Run.  William rocked the 5K with a time of 22:06. I doubled his time with a little over 47 minutes.  I didn't hear the guy when I came across the finish line and I don't know where to find the results. My watch said 47:06 but I started it a few seconds late.  It was a really hard run for me, because I haven't run in about a month, which made this more difficult. However, I averaged 15:30 miles which is the best I have ever done in a 5K. I was proud of myself even though I know that is slow.  A friend ran by me to finish his 10K in the home stretch. I was amazed that he had the energy he did to sprint to the end, I was just happy to still be jogging (and I was only doing the 5K). Greg finished about 10 minutes in front of me.  Shelby and Wesley ran the kids K.  They had a great time.  Mitchell watched the little ones while Greg, William and I ran.

Finally back to where I was in March, kind of.....

 As I said in a previous post I took about a month off of running.  And I regressed a lot.  It has taken a month of running to get to the same run/walk ratio I was at when I took my break.  I ran 30/45 today.  I was dead when I got home and I am totally feeling it, but I did it. 

My short term goal is a 10K  I signed up to run on  Labor Day.  I am really nervous about being able to run 6.2 miles.  I have never done it before. I ran 5 miles in March and felt like I was going to die.  I will run 5 miles again this Saturday.  I would also like to be able to run a little faster. I am totally prepared to be the last one across the finish line, it is more about finishing for me :-)

The best thing about my short runs is that there are balloons every morning. Here are some of my views. It is hard to take pictures on your iphone as you are working out. 

I haven't exercised in a month, so why does it feel more like a year?

I haven't exercised in a month, so why does it feel more like a year?  I worked out Monday and I went back a couple weeks in my workout training schedule and I reduced my run walk ratio. Monday about 1/3 of the way through my workout I felt really good.  I started thinking maybe I should have just picked up right where I left off. However, by the end of my workout I was dying. Tuesday my calfs hurt all day.  I was complaining Tuesday evening and my 14 year old offered to let me use his foam roller, aka torture device.  Now I have seen my boys use this and I have seen the look of agony on their face as they do it. This does not look like something that I want to do, so I politely declined.  Todays run was torture, my calfs burned and hurt the whole time. I was regretting not use the foam roller. I have committed to use it before my long run on Saturday.  My question is how could I regress so much in only a month?

Time to Recommit

I ran a couple of times when I was in Utah in April.  Utah is my favorite place to run, it is so beautiful!  But half way through my trip I hurt my foot (not running) and I could 't run for a couple of weeks.  Those weeks have turned into a month.  I think I have run like twice since I have been home. I like running when I am done, not so much before or during.  When I saw this picture and I could totally relate. I have had a million excuses, I don't have time, I have sick kids, to many grasshoppers (seriously there are hundreds just in my front yard), I got up to late,etc.  Yesterday I was feeling really guilty and to top it off a friend posted on Facebook (fb) that she just finished a half marathon, then several hours later another friend posted he just finished his first marathon. At this point I thought really I can't find time to run 30 minutes.  So next week I am committed to get three runs in. I do need to run early because the later it gets the more grasshoppers there tends to be ( yes I get a little freaked out).


I had my iphone set to some weird photo setting when I took these pictures and it dulled all the colors.  I thought I would post anyway. I took these while running.

Can You Believe I Ran 5 Miles?

I know I posted this quote before, but it felt so appropriate today.  I just need to replace one word. ...the idea that I'd ever go 5 miles seemed impossible.  And of course it was until I ran 5 miles.

I was preparing for my long run a week ago Saturday and decided it would be nice to run down by the Bosque instead of in my neighborhood.  So I drove down there and I was glad I did!  My Last long run was three miles and for some reason this one was suppose to be about 5 miles.  I have never ever run 5 miles, and I wasn't sure I could do it, but I was willing to give it a try. I was only .6 miles into my run when I decided to change it to a two mile run.  My whole body hurt and it just wasn't going well.  Around a mile and a half I decided I should go ahead and make it a 3.1, my body still hurt but I was feeling better.  When I hit 3 miles I decided to continue and run for about 4.25 miles, my body was feeling better.  Around 3.75 miles I decided I was to close to 5 to stop so I ran 5.17!  My feet felt like they were broken, but I finished.

Not only did I run 5 miles, but my Garmin (watch that tracks my running time and distances) tells me it was my fastest 5K yet.  That really surprised me because I hurt most of the 5 k portion. I felt must better around 3 miles. My question is did my body really start feeling better at three miles or does it just go numb to the pain??

It blows my mind that a 10K is only 1.2 miles more than 5 miles.  My goal was to be able to run a 10k by January.  I can't see a reason why I wouldn't be able to run one by June now.  Now I just need to speed up to a snails pace and I can run a race!