September 2019 Monthly Running Challenge

Okay! Thank you for the encouragement! Since my workouts consist of twenty minutes at home, six days a week, I run in the gym on Saturdays before I work out. I could set a goal for an additional run each week - outdoor. Then get signed up for some races and obstacle course runs (personal favorite).

@shanaber Wishing for the best for Hobbes.

Got 5 miles on Monday on the Greenline. Beautiful, beautiful day - even though we got out midafternoon it was still moderate temperatures and no humidity. As a result we ran our easy run too fast. Last time we did 5 miles it was over 100 and we had to take walk breaks and ended up with 12 minute miles, yesterday we ended up with 10 minute miles, and probably what would fairly be called a tempo run. But it just felt so good to be able to run a little faster! Our “easy” should be about 9:45 but we are way deconditioned after a whole summer of leg injury plus heat, and 10 is really not easy right now, I’m thinking we should be aiming for something like 10:30 up. Gotta work on slowing down. Speaking of injuries, my husband’s ankle that he rolled is still bothering him on uneven terrain. As long as he’s on flat ground, he claims it’s fine.

In good news, this was my second run in the Saucony Omni iso 2 and I think I’m keeping them. Achilles Tendon this morning is no stiffer than usual and no pain during run. Hopefully I can gradually work back to a lower drop. I really miss my Alta Timps on trails!

I'm SO excited. I just signed up for a 5K in Frankfurt that I ran over 3 years ago. It was my first organized run in Germany and I had to take the train alone to do it, and walk among all these people ALONE to do it. I have social anxiety so for me this was HUGE. I put on most of my weight after moving to Germany 10 years ago, partially due to the fact that I was terrified to step outside my door because I felt like everyone was judging me and nobody approved of who I was. (Germans have a tendency to give strangers some very hard stares, even when I smiled their expression would rarely change so for me this was extremely unnerving.) Anyway, at the point that I did this run three years ago, I had been running for 6 months. I had signed up for a half marathon in the US (where I'm from) and I began my training in December 2015 at 205lbs. I was going from couch to half marathon. I knew there would be no way I could actually run the entire half marathon since I only had a few months to train for it. I was so out of shape that even walking, ANY distance was hard. But I signed up because my whole family was doing this run. It was at a location close to our hearts (Zion National Park) and I didn't want to miss out on the moment since I live thousands of miles away from them and miss out on almost every moment. So I started slowly but I also pushed myself hard. I did run/walk intervals. By the time the half marathon came in March I had dropped 23lbs and was at 182. Still too heavy to make running feel anything close to "easy", I was able to (slowly) jog most of it, only stopping to use the port a potties twice (I started the run with a full bladder because the starting port a potties were all sitting in mud and I didn't want to start the race with muddy shoes. So the lines were LONG at that first stop.) and I think once towards the end where I walked for a few minutes (the entire course was uphill). My time was an unimpressive 3 hours, but I was so proud of myself for doing it. It was a huge improvement from where I'd been just months before. So my next race was this 5K in Frankfurt in May. I had 10 weeks after the half marathon to train for it. But I also had another half marathon in June, so really I was mainly in training for this. But back to this 5K. It was so exhilarating. I loved the race shirt and it felt so good to be "brave" and do it all on my own. (My husband never goes anywhere with me so if I do anything, it's almost always alone.) I just checked and my time three years ago was 32:14. By then I had reached 165lbs. I felt so strong and good. As of today I am 139.4 lbs and I am feeling so much lighter and faster. This course started slightly downhill, ended uphill, but for the most part was a generally flat course. I can't wait to push myself to see if I'm able to beat my time. I hope the course is the same. Unfortunately I was unable to run in 2017 and 2018 due to some bad hips so running is once again relatively new to me again. I was only able to start running again this spring. I didn't think my hips would allow me to run another half marathon, but just last weekend I did it. I was so happy I could cry. So this 5k holds so much meaning for me. It reminds me of where I began and how far I've come. I hope my husband comes along to support me but even if he doesn't, I know I can do it. My half in in 7 days. The 5K is in 10 days. I'm so excited for both!