A beautiful day!

I added up how many miles I ran last week....I did 4 on Monday, 4.5 on Wednesday and 9.5 on Friday. That's 18 for 3 days...then did 5 on Sunday...so, that's 23 miles...in a week...in 7 days...WOWZA! Who would have thought?

I pushed myself yesterday when I was running...so many times I just wanted to stop...to just turn around and sit in my car...or better yet, since on a bench in the beautiful San Diego sunshine...but I kept going...I love my Garmin GPS watch...I can tell how far I'm going....if I have .2 miles to go to reach a mile, I keep going...I always tell myself I can do just a bit more, or I can run to the end of the street, or to the lamp post...every time a bit further...I've figured out that once I reach the 3 mile point, I'm ok...I'm settled in for the run....but the first 3 miles ~ I make up more excuses than a middle school student...but I've learned to just do it...stop listening to the negative and focus on the positive...but it's not easy...it's the same battle every time I get ready to run.

The race is 3 weeks from today...it will be over 3 weeks from today. I will be home from Las Vegas 3 weeks from today. What will I feel like? Thanks for sharing this journey with me...3 weeks to go!!!

....and the running continues...with confidence.

I'm still running...a lot...well, a lot for me. I did 8 miles this past Sunday. I actually ran the first 4 without stopping...I couldn't believe it. I was at the one mile point, I felt fine. So I kept running. I was running along the waterfront in San Diego and it was a simply beautiful, stunning, makes-you-want-to-be-outside kind of day. So I kept running. It was unreal to me, but I must admit I was proud of myself. At the 4 mile point, I was in front of the cruise ships, and there were a lot of people walking around, so I began to walk...but I SO wanted to do the "Rocky" dance (you know the one, where he's at the top of the stairs and has his fists in the air....background the awesome Rocky theme...can you picture it? I was there...I was SO there...) I'm walking/running about 20 - 25 miles a week ~ amazing. I read an old post where I ran for 4 minutes straight...now, I'm running almost 60 minutes...what's the difference? Training ~ yes. Determination ~ yes. But I think the biggest difference for me is simply one thing: confidence.



The race is about a month away...I'm getting excited...I'm reading up on half-marathons, on the mental aspect of running. It's supposed to be cold at the start of the race, so I'm looking at what I'm going to take....I guess you just take off layers as you run, so you take clothes you don't expect to get back...I didn't know that. I'm learning more and more each and every day. My confidence is growing each and every day as well.



Many people have asked me if I'm surprised that I am running. They ask if I'm afraid I won't finish. Most tell me they could never run 8 steps, let alone 8 miles. I think that's what I've learned the most about myself. I can do a lot more than I think I can. My body can endure more steps than I thought it could. Mainly, I've learned that confidence will play a bigger role in the half-marathon than almost anything. Confidence. I would never have believed that I could be where I'm at with my running. Confidence. It's a good thing!

COLD...RAIN....BRRR....all 4 letter words....

I do not like the cold weather....with cold weather, those of us with Fibromyalgia really feel it...our muscles tighten up more than they usually are...everything that kind of hurts really hurts...so this weather the past few days has created a challenge...I have about 48 days until the half-marathon...that's about 24 running days....so, I need to keep at it...do I allow the weather to keep me in, or do I keep going? If I stop, I've learned how hard it is to get back to the level I need to be running to make a decent effort...but it's hard just to get through the day...but I ran...on Monday....and Wednesday...my long run is supposed to be this weekend....I'm thinking Saturday morning...it's supposed to be sunny...now, sunny. That's a nice word....it has 5 letters....much better...so much, much better....I think I can, I think I can, I can I think....that's where I'm at....I find myself questioning why I've even considered running this...but have been pushing those thoughts out of my mind....I'm usually very determined to finish something once I've committed, but with Fibro, sometimes I can't control what the outcome is....so, maybe this race will be good for the mental aspect as well....I'll continue to post....I'll continue to run....

Is pain truly a four letter word?

Pain...just the thought of it makes me shudder...I have Fibromyalgia, which is chronic pain. I've had it for over 10 years, and it has changed my life. And not for the better. Some days are bad, some are worse...but lately it has been manageable. But pain and I are not friends.

Running causes me pain...and I wonder why I would do something that causes more pain. But during today's run I discovered that I can push myself further than I thought I could. I would pick out a landmark and tell myself I could keep running until I got to that point...then I found another further, and so on. I kept going. Now, I admit, I do have walk breaks. I'm not at a total running level...yet. I may never get there...but, I am running more. And I feel better than I have in years.

Is there a correlation between my running and that pain, and my reduction of Fibro pain? I hope so. I'll endure the occasional pain for 1 hour to have a decent quality of life. It's fun to watch the children play where I run, and see them run and run and run...what happened to that? We used to go from sun up to sun down, playing outside. Now, I strive for one hour of exercise a day. Out of 24 hours. But, that's more than I used to exercise, so I'll take it.

Pain is indeed a four letter word...just as the words "like" and "star" and "hope"...not all four letter words are bad...some evoke bad ideas, but many teach us to believe, to dream, to strive. Pain will no longer be a bad thing in my day, merely something I have to get through.

The half-marathon is 7 weeks from tomorrow. 49 days. Of Pain.

Maybe I should change the name of this blog to "I CAN run a half marathon, can't I?" Because I can and I will. Pain will not stop me.

SO not a runner...

Ok, I turned 50 in May...I am SO not a runner....my hubby runs...my daughter runs...I do not run. Or....maybe I do! Maybe I can! I have decided to train for the Rock and Roll half-marathon in Las Vegas. It is being held the first Sunday in December....some 55 days away. My longest run so far has been 30 minutes ~ but my middle daughter got married, and I stopped running for 10 days ~ what was I thinking!!!

This blog is for those of us over 50...to show what we can do. It is for those people who don't think they can begin an exercise program. This is for people like me who don't think they can be a runner. I've heard it, and I'm sure those of you reading this have heard it as well "anyone can run." I'm going to prove this to be true...over 50...SO not a runner.