It's Official!

Yesterday morning at 8:00 a.m. at the Iron Horse Trail in Danville training officially started. Boy, was it ever cold out there. I think, or, I hope, that's why my right knee was stiff and somewhat achy, or maybe it was just phantom pain since we just got started and I know what's ahead for me. I've forgotten that you can't be a wimp. I knew I should have taken off a couple more layers of clothes before I started running, but I didn't, because I was freezing. As a result I was cold and uncomfortable for about 10 minutes and then hot an uncomfortable for about 30 minutes, with about 10 minutes of just right! But it sure felt great to be out there with the team again!!! The run was 1-4 miles depending on whether you're running a half or a whole and how much running you had been doing up to this point. I'm a run/walker. In other words, I run half a mile and then walk for .05 miles and then run another half and that seems to work for me, especially in a marathon. Yesterday at about 1.5 miles my legs felt really heavy and tired and it made me nervous but then I realized that even though I wasn't running very fast, I hadn't taken a walk break, and my body was not accustomed to the steady running. I tend to get caught up with the team energy. This is also what happens to me at the beginning of a marathon, so it's something I need to concentrate on this season...the going out too fast and then struggling way too soon. Well, this is getting way, way too long. Today is a simple 20-30 minute easy run. Tomorrow is the dreaded lower body/ab workout. It took me almost a week to recover from that one last week!

And so we begin........

So after taking a year off of marathon running I decide that I will go back and do a half marathon with Team in Training and within minutes of my first meeting convince myself I can do another full. Of course I had to talk my friend Portia into doing this as well. I don't do crazy alone! Both of us have done just short distance running for the last year and probably no strength training for two years -- other than physical therapy after my knee and shoulder surgery. We decided we are going to "do it right" this time and did a lower body and ab workout Monday evening. Can I tell you we can't laugh, cough and my thighs are so tight I feel like I should be in a size 6 again!!!!! We do upper body tonight. May not be able to lift my arms tomorrow.