Just Keep Running

Remember last week when I talked about joining the local rec center in 2011?

As part of my goals for 2011, I was determined to run the Flying Pig Half Marathon.

See, 2 years ago, my husband and I trained for the 2010 Flying Pig Half Marathon, beginning in January of that year. I had run one other half in 2003, and my husband had never one run. This one we'd run together!

Then I got pregnant!

I was still training, just taking it at a little slower pace. I knew I could still complete the race. What an accomplishment it was going to be for me!

Then, 2 weeks before the race, I noticed a lot of blood. A LOT of blood. Luckily, after an emergency trip to my OBGYN, we heard the heartbeat, had an ultrasound, and everything was OK. I had a tear in the placenta, but usually they fix themselves. I was put on orders of no strenuous activity. And that meant no race. To say I was heartbroken was an understatement. For weeks, months, I had trained. But my baby's health was more important. My husband completed his first half marathon, and I couldn't have been more proud of him!

Even though I was elated for him and his victory, I cried as he crossed the finish line. Honestly speaking, they weren't just tears of excitement for him. I couldn't help but feel jealous and selfish, that I should have been out there too. I wanted to be out there running. I actually enjoy running, and I was devestated that I was on the sidelines.

Fast forward to 2011, and I was committed to completing the race. I knew it would be tough. Training for a half is a time commitment. With two small kids in the mix, the time management becomes even more difficult. But I was determined.

To say I was out of shape was an understatement. I knew I needed more time than the standard 12 week training plan. So, I joined the rec center and created my own training plan:

All of my week day runs would be on my lunch hour. My Saturday runs would of course require lots of help from my husband so I could spend 1-2 hours running, plus stretching and showering.

Once I got into 4 and 5 mile runs during the week, that meant longer lunch hours. I couldn't get in that long of a run plus showering in less than an hour.

But my job was flexible, and I could come in a little early, and stay a little later on the days that I needed close to a 90 minute lunch hour.

My cousin had decided to train for the Pig that year as well. We had babies only 1 week apart (how cool is that?!) Unfortunately, we weren't able to do any training runs together, but somehow, we found each other at the starting line the morning of the race! What were the odds? So, we ran together. It was such a blessing to run 13.1 miles with my cousin. We pushed each other and it was amazing to cross the finish line with her.

On May 1, 2011, I could finally say I had run the Flying Pig! Mission Accomplished!

While my husband and I would both like to run the half Pig together this year, it really does take a lot of commitment and time away from family. So, I think we'll stick to the 10k because training time is so much easier to manage. And if neccessary, we can stick the kids in the double jogger and get in a run (I wouldn't want to do that for an 8+ mile training run!)

I wanted to share my training plan with you all, just in case you're motivated to try a half marathon for yourself!

And don't worry about speed. My 2011 half was by far the slowest I had run any race in my entire life. But I finished. And I didn't walk. And I had no injuries.

This year's goals are more focused around weight training. I'm still working on that schedule and I'll try to remember to post it once I feel good about it. It's a work in progress :)

Happy Running!

　

The Best $125 I've Ever Spent

A year ago, the start of 2011, I was bound and determined to lose weight.
I know, I know.  That sounds like every other resolutioner in the world.  But I WAS going to do it. I was going to stick with it.

I had had my second child in October of 2010, and had not lost all of the baby weight.  Actually, I hadn't lost all of the baby weight from baby #1 (and if we're being totally honest, I hadn't lost all of the college/early marriage weight I had gained either). 


2011 was going to be MY year.


For me, the key to losing weight is both diet AND exercise.  I can't do one without the other.  But how was I going to find the time to workout when I had a busy 2 year old at home and a not even 3 month old baby who was nursing non-stop.  Oh, and let's add the fact that I work full-time and I've got a husband too.  And I wasn't sleeping.  I wasn't sure how I would find the time or the energy.


I had started a new job in April of 2010, which allowed for so much more flexibility than the job I had held for the previous 6 years. While talking to one of my co-workers at the end of December about how to try and balance getting in a workout in my busy schedule she told me about the town's rec center which is less than 1 mile from where we work.  That was where she went at lunch to workout.


I informed my co-worker that I wasn't a resident in this town, so I couldn't join the rec center.  Then she told me that since we WORK in the town (and pay taxes, of course) that we qualified for a business membership!
Oh my gosh, how awesome!  It's like the clouds parted and the sun came shining down!


The kicker though, was that there were only a limited number of business memberships that they allowed each year, and they go on sale the first business day of January.  When they're gone, they're gone. 
I was waiting at the doors when the opened at 9:00am on January 2nd last year.  And I got my membership!


For only $125 I had access to the rec center's exercise facility, and of course the locker rooms and showers.
That's less than $11 per month for a gym membership!


The even better thing...it's not crowded.  EVER.  At least not at lunch when I go to workout.  In an entire year, there have only been 2 (TWO) times when I could not get on a treadmill to run.  In those two instances, I chose the elliptical instead.  (And to be fair, a treadmill opened up after about 10 minutes each time.  But when you've only got 20-30 minutes to workout, there's no time to wait)!


Since this is a rec center, it doesn't have the state of the art everything.  For instance, piece of cardio equipment doesn't come with it's own personal TV and fan.  But the equipment is new and there is plenty of equipment whenever I need to workout.  There are TV's to watch, and each piece of cardio equipment has it's own plug-in for headphones so you can choose which TV channel you want to listen to.  And since it's never crowded, I can change the TV's to pretty much any channel I want, because there aren't people already watching something.


This rec center membership has been life-saving for me.  It has allowed me to workout a few times per week, every week, for an entire year. 
I know that if I was trying to workout in the morning or after work, I would be much more likely to skip workouts when life gets busy and in the way. The lunch-hour workout is amazing.  I have energy when I go to workout (because I'm not still trying to wake-up at say, 4:30am).  On the flip side, I'm not dragging either from being at work all day.  It gives me energy for the second half of my work day.  I don't always get in the best workout, but a small workout is better than no workout at all. And it's consistent.  And I LOVE it.


My lunch workouts motivated 3 other women that I work with to get a 2012 membership to the rec center to try and get a little exercise in their day.  Wow did that feel good to know that my actions have motivated others to get healthy!


If you have been struggling to figure out how you can fit a workout into your busy schedule, I highly recommend trying a lunch hour workout.  And it doesn't take a gym membership to do either.  Even just putting on a pair of tennis shoes and walking around your work parking lot can do the trick (yup, I've done that too.) 


Here's to a happy and HEALTHY 2012!