Training: Day 1

Let's be honest - I am not a runner.

I enjoy running jogging to relieve stress and to clear my head.

The distance I jog typically equates to no more than a whopping 2 miles or so.  

I am definitely not a marathoner.

I am not sure when I became convinced that running a marathon was something that I wanted to do.

The Dirty 30 list was put together when I was 22, but I am pretty sure even before then on several occasions I was "training for a marathon" - it just sounds good rolling off of the tongue.

Now for the ugly truth - I signed up to run the Chicago marathon through the Leukemia Lymphoma Society.  I trained for a few weeks, never raised the money I was supposed to and never ran the marathon.  My family still reminds me to this day that there is probably someone out there that was relying on my fundraising and my follow through all of those years back that I failed.  To that said person, I am sorry.    

So where do I stand to this date as a "runner"?

I have completed a half - 8 years ago, AND since advertising to everyone that I was training, in January, I have been hitting up the gym off and on these past couple of weeks running random amounts of miles on the treadmill.  My friend lent me a book, which I did indeed read - but I have not been implementing any of  the running schedules that it laid out.  When I am too lazy to head to the gym, I tell Eric that the day is an "off day" and that I don't need to be running.  Just last night he commented how this is the craziest "schedule" he's ever heard off since some weeks I have up to 4 off days in a row.  I sense he has me figured out.  

My mom is in town this week visiting and helping me wrangle the crew of boys.  I figure it's do or die, now or never if I am ever going to actually begin training for the Rock N Roll (which is now just 4 MONTHS away).  I plan on documenting my day to day activities and any other Dirty 30 things that I knock off to keep myself accountable.  (Side Note:  Despite the fact that I turn 30 in April, due to the 4 years of pregnancy/nursing that I encountered during my 20s, I have redefined "before 30" as December 31, 2012, technically I will still be 30, so it definitely still counts).  

As I think back to what has held me back from actually beginning to train, these excuses come to mind.  I figure if I list them out, then when they pop back into my head, I can come back, review them and then get moving. 

1. I have a newborn.  No I don't.  Well, not anymore.  When I tell people that (that have clearly not met Cooper) and they ask when he was born and I say November 1st, their expression definitely confirms that he is no longer a "newborn".  
2. I am an anxious person by nature.  I am pretty sure that it is hereditary and that I inherited it from my mom.  I have done my research and with every marathon your odds of collapsing at the end are increased to 1/50,000.  My mom has reminded me about these people numerous times.  I plan on undergoing a stress test prior to actually ramping up to marathon distances.  I'm sure I am by far my doctor's favorite patient.
3. Between January, when I committed to running, and now I had a pregnancy scare.  How is that possible with a 3 month old?  Good question.  I convinced myself I must be pregnant because I was extremely tired and super hormonal - um, hello, time to look in the mirror, this is the every day story of my life.  Seriously, I bought two 3 packs of pregnancy tests and was taking them morning, noon and night.  Despite the fact they kept coming back negative, I was convinced that I definitely should not be training for a marathon while pregnant.  (And then someone told me about a woman who was 9 months pregnant and ran a marathon - Who is this shewoman and why does she have to make the rest of us look bad.  Hello, at nine months I was sitting on my big old booty eating boxes of snickers ice cream bars telling my family that it was bad for me and the baby if I exerted myself too much).  Long story short, I am not pregnant.  Sorry friends for my psychosis.
4. I have a muffin top, have stopped using dryer sheets because of the potentially toxic chemicals they contain (reference bullet point 2) and am cheap.  What does this have to do with running?  A lot.  You see at the gym I belong to everyone, and I mean everyone, looks like they spent at least hour getting ready before showing up to run on the treadmill.  Matching clothes, makeup, perfectly blown out hair - you know like the commercials where the wind is coming straight at the person and their hair is flowing???  Those are the people at my gym.  I was used to running in old t-shirts and boxers back in the day and upgraded my workout wardrobe pre pregnancy upon arriving in California.  SO...because I am cheap I do not want to go out and buy new clothes for my new size.  So I sausage myself into my tight fitting pants (which are now even tighter and I am convinced take all of the excess skin/fat from the bottom of my body and work it all of the way up) and I am pretty sure I am technically ice creaming out of the top more so than muffining (like ice cream on top of a cone) AND due to the lack of dryer sheets my shirt is so full of static it clings to every curve and contour.  Take that picture, put me on a treadmill and all I can think about is if my pants are going to split down the seam!
5. With daylight savings time running outside at night or in the morning before D has to leave for work has to take place in the dark.  I hate running outside in the dark.  This is what leads me to head to the gym and rack up my mileage on the treadmill.  Let's just say running 10 miles on a treadmill is not my idea of a good time.  I literally watch the hundreths place on the mileage and even though I tell myself I am not going to keep looking at it, I end up glancing back one second later, hoping a miracle has happened and my distance has doubled.  Let's just say it hasn't happened yet.  

These are the top 5 I can think of now.  I am sure there are a lot more.  I am really excited to actually reach the finish line, do some fun cross training activities on the real "off" days and to see if I can kick the left over baby lb's during the training process.  I will "weigh in" with measurements tomorrow.

Let's just say if I can when I finish the marathon come June, I am buying a 26.2 sunshade that covers my entire back car window.  The sticker just won't cut it.  

Workout today:  Ran 3 miles, burned 321.4 calories.  Trying Xtend Barre this evening for the first time - recap tomorrow.