Vivian'sRunningBlog

Mentoring

2009-03-13T10:37:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to a Team in Training Mentors meeting. I have been wanting to do this for a long time now and finally got off my lazy butt and did something about it. There are several events I could help with but I couldn't help but notice that most of the ladies that showed up were interested in doing Nike. They can't help it, its a really great race. That being said I will do my best for the San Antonio Rock N Roll Marathon. I do not think I will do the fundraising but instead will probably train and travel as a mentor. I thought doing this would help to get me motivated and excited about training again. I remember how having others do this with me was such an encouragement. I hope that I could offer that same kindness to others.

Finally!

2009-02-23T12:27:00.000-08:00

I am the only person who I know that would update a blog with a 4 year interim. I finished the Nike Women's Marathon in 2005. Yay! I have to get back into walking and running again and I figure this would be a great way to vent my frustrations regarding that.

This year I am pretty determined to do another marathon. I would love to do San Antonio's Rock-N-Roll later this year or the Tulsa Route 66 Marathon. I haven't decided which one yet but it will hopefully be 0ne of those 2 depending on whether or not (or rather where) Cliff's job moves us. Hopefully we will know soon so I could commit to one or the other but for now I will just dwell.

1st Race!

2005-05-31T09:33:00.000-07:00

I ran my first race on Saturday! I did it! I ran in the Andy Payne Memorial Run and I finished! Okay I walked about half, but at least I didn't come in last. I left that place to one other person. I feel really good about not finishing last, but I do wish I came in at a better time.

I have been doing well with training thanks to coach Cliffy :) He has been great about going out with me and has really helped me to establish a good beginning pace for running. I have been doing at least 2 miles a day and am trying to run at least half of whatever my goal for the day is. I didn't do so well last night. I was able to run a little over half a mile and got a little dizzy so I sat down for a bit and walked the rest of the way.

I am really excited about the Nike Women's Marathon. Training through the summer is going to be tough but I have a great source of encouragement with Cliff and Team In Training. I have a fundraising clinic tomorrow night that I'm sure will be very helpful.

I know that I have not been the best about keeping this blog up, but I will try harder to post on a daily basis. Have a great day ya'll!

I just might be insane!

2005-05-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I last posted. It has been a fairly busy week with a lot of changes in my workout routine.

On Sunday I decided to go with my husband to Lake Hefner to Bike on the trails there. Somewhere along the line there seemed to be a misunderstanding between us on what we were going to do. I thought he was intending for me to bike the whole course (9 miles) while he jogged whatever he was going to jog. Well that was what I thought! Apparently he thought I would bike alongside him and somehow that was not communicated (oh well). I don't think I will be doing that again. I started cycling around the Lake and started having problems with my right knee hurting as well as what I thought were gear problems (cliff thinks the brakes are dragging on the rear wheel). I ended up walking more than 1/2 the distance and cycling wherever there was a moderate slope. Cliff met up with me in his truck at about my 8 mile mark and asked if I wanted a lift :) My hero! Needless to say I was extremely sore on Monday morning.

On Tuesday Evening I attended a meeting for the Oklahoma Chapter of Team in Training which trains athletes to compete in various types of races to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I have decided to walk/run in the Nike Women's Marathon in October of this year. I am so excited! It is going to be a tough because not only will I be training for a marathon, but I will also have to do alot of fundraising. I need to raise $3,300.00 by October in order to go. 30% of the money I raise will go towards my travel and accomodations & 70% will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society towards research for blood diseases. I am really nervous about the fundraising part and hope to have my funds raised by the August recommitment deadline so I could relax and focus on training as the marathon approaches.

During the meeting I was informed that all participants would have an honoree (someone with Leukemia, Lymphoma or another blood related disease) that would be assigned to us, or we could choose an honoree that we knew. I have chosen my nephew Toby who was diagnosed with Accute Lymphocytic Leukemia (A.L.L) when he was 4 years old. I told him about the program and that he was my honoree and the first thing he asked me was if this was similar for Race for the Cure. I told him that it was very much like that, and he became very excited that I would run in his honor.

Pray for me ya'll. I will try to post here as much as I can so everyone can keep up with my training progress. If anyone has any questions as to what the team in training program is all about you can email me or find out about it on the link I have provided to the Nike website. Have a great day!

P.S. On my last run out I made it to 3 Minutes! Yay!

Running day 6

2005-05-05T07:52:00.000-07:00

I didn't reach my goal last night and needless to say, I am a little bit disappointed in myself. My goal was to increase my running time to 3 minute reps. I think I officially run out oxygen at 2 minutes. I just couldn't get past the 2 minute barrier. I know it will get better as I continue to run, but I can't help feeling just a little frustrated.

I did continue to finish my routine and added some distance and another 2 minute rep to make up for my short fall, so it really wasn't a failure. Today is a rest day and I am thankful for it! Maybe I can hit the trail tomorrow with a fresh prospective. Till then have a great day.

Vivian

Running day 5

2005-05-03T07:33:00.000-07:00

I didn't do so well this time out. Cliff went out with me last night and although he was extremely encouraging I only made it through my 1 & 2 minute reps but started to feel kind of sick at that point so I slowed down and walked the rest of the way. I've been going through some yucky stomach stuff and I have tried to just keep working out through it.

I got up at dark 0'clock this morning (5:20 am) to make it to the gym by 5:40am for an early morning workout. I was able to do 20 minutes on the treadmill and another 20 on the eliptical trainer. I really ought to do this more, it's such a nice way to start the day.

Today is a rest day. I will post again after my next run. Have a great day!

Running day 4

2005-05-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

I didn't actually run yesterday. My training schedule called for a break in the routine so I thought I would walk or cycle at Lake Hefner. Unfortunately the weather didn't look so great so I decided to visit my so-called 24 hour gym. When I got there at 7:30 pm I found that they are only 24 hours from 5:30 am on Monday - 10:00 pm on Friday, with Satuday hours from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm and Sundays from 10:00 am 6:00 pm. I was a little bummed out about that.

Since the gym was not an option I decided to go back to my regular park for an extended walk. I walked approximately 2 1/2 miles. I went a little farther on the trail than I've gone before. It would have been pretty uneventful if I had not discovered my park's lack of porta-potties. Needless to say, my walk home was much faster than my walk to the park.

My training schedule for today has an increase in running time so I am a little anxious about that. I will post how I did later, until then ttfn.

Running day 3

2005-04-30T14:26:00.000-07:00

I wasn't able to run last night like I originally planned. I forgot that we had a play to attend at Rose State. I made up for it though by going out this afternoon.

It was definitely an interesting time. I took Gracie our 2 year old Weimaraner with me to see if she would be a good running partner. She did really well, except for when we saw squirrels and I had to focus on restraining her and keeping to the trail. My goal today was 4x1 minute reps and 2x2 minute reps of light jogging within a 15-20 minute period and a 5 minute warm up and cool down. I guess I kind of made my goal. The 1 minute reps turned into 1 1/2 minute reps (Gracie Racy got excited about running and I had a tough time slowing her down), and on my 2nd 2 minute rep I only made to 1 1/2 minutes (Gracie tuckered me out!).

All in all it was fun running with Gracie, but I think I will wait until my endurance level is a little bit better before I take her out for more than just a walk again. Tomorrow is a longer work out routine but low impact. I think I may go out to Lake Hefner to walk or maybe bike. Until then I hope ya'll have a nice day!

Endorphine High!

2005-04-28T06:53:00.000-07:00

Last night's walk/run was really nice. The soreness of the first day has worn off and I felt like I could really just get into it. After the third rep of running I was starting to feel a little worn out and had to push myself a little harder to get through my workout. I hit my target goal of 7 reps of run rest periods (Yay!). I started to walk back home and was cooling down when the endorphines kicked in. WOW! I felt FABULOUS! I forgot what that felt like.

Today I feel really good. My thighs are just a little sore, but that's to be expected and it is very tolerable. I was a little worried about the problems I have with plantar fasciitis (heel spurs), but the stretching seems to have helped to alleviate it.

All in all, so far so good. I intend to keep up with this program. I have a rest day today and will post before my next run sometime tomorrow. Have a great day ya'll!

Running day 2

2005-04-27T10:51:00.000-07:00

My goals for today's run are pretty similar with an additional 5 minutes of walking time and a slight increase on the amount of time I am supposed to run. I feel pretty good today. Much of the soreness has gone and I am actually looking forward to my walk/run.

I am wanting to go back on my diet again. Nothing fancy, I just want to eat healthier and wiser. No more SONIC or McD's(okay maybe once in awhile!). I am just kind of getting tired of always being tired :)

I am really excited about this and hope that this isn't just a passing phase.

I will probably post the results of my run tomorrow so ttfn.

Vivian

The day after

2005-04-26T07:19:00.000-07:00

Well I got off to a good start last night! I did my routine through the park behind my house this time. I tried as much as possible to follow the Nike routine and walked the first 5 minutes to warm up, then I was supposed to do 5 1 minute intervals of running dispersed through a 15 minute time frame. I kind of pushed myself a bit and did 8 reps instead of 5. I then cooled down for 5 and walked home. I am so sore this morning! It probably wouldn't be so bad if Plantar Fasciitis didn't flare up on me. Cliff woke up to me rubbing and stretching my feet, and just kind of laughed, saying that he wished he could tell me that things would only get better! Honestly! You would think that I could better support from a seasoned racer :) Today is a rest day. Thank the Lord! I feel like I've aged 10 years in one night! I haven't looked at my running schedule for tomorrow yet. I will post when I get through with it.

Running day 1

2005-04-25T14:36:00.000-07:00

Okay! I finally decided to do it! I am going to cowboy up and actually run in a race. I decided to run one on May 28th called the Andy Payne Memorial Foot Races. I will be doing the 5k run. I thought about doing the 10k but decided I should start out small. I went on to www.nike.com/nikerunning and downloaded a training schedule for beginners as well as support info. I will log in my first 20 minutes of running time tonight. I am really kind of nervous about doing this and I thought writing all of this down on a blog would help relieve some of that anxiety. I will try to post after my run tonight while it's all still fresh in my head!