I stop when I'm done

Over the summer, my BFF had the brilliant (okay, maybe crazy) idea for us to train for a half marathon. We were both at a stage of life where we weren't nursing a baby, trying to get pregnant, or actually pregnant...so we laughed and said "why not??"

Well, I guess I've been officially training for four months now and I am exhausted. I have pushed my body beyond boundaries that I did not think were possible. I get up at 5 am three days during the week to run four miles. Two days a week I cross train by doing Zumba. Yes, I zumba! I totally understand that I am that girl that every one wants to video and put on YouTube...I am that girl! I have no zumba skills...none, but I love it! On Saturdays are my looooong runs. And by long, I mean over an hour, sometimes close to two hours of straight running. It's stupid. Insane. Ridiculous. But...I am in love. Its this new hobby that totally breaks my body down and there are days I have a horribly slow run, but I love it. I love it.

So, I decided to chronicle my training on this blog. Not that anyone reads it or will even find this remotely interesting. It's mainly so I can remember, because I am convinced that after my first half marathon race on December 4th, I will totally pass out and forget everything that I had done!

Yeah, so I have about a month before my first big half marathon race...I will be running it a few days before I turn thirty. Every time I think about running 13.1 miles, I feel like I need to puke.

I have two awesome running stories for this first edition of my running journal.

One happened on Monday. I was running my usual four mile run and I was almost done with the first mile. Its early in the morning and there was a nice breeze unlike the usual nasty Texas humidity and creepy fog. (by the way, the fog totally reminds me of that awful movie, The Mist). Anyway, while I was running, I was thinking to myself how good I felt and how good my body felt. Then BAM...I hit the ground. The first thing I did was look around to make sure no one saw me fall. Good thing it was dark outside and there was no one around! Then I had to find my car key that I run with in my hand...because when I started to fall I totally tried to keep myself from falling, which made me fall harder and throw the key out of my hand...but I did find it. Then I noticed that my hands were bloody and I had a really bad skinned knee with blood gushing down my leg. I have way too much pride to stop before mile one on a four mile run. So, I just started running again. Every time I hit a light and there were people around, they just gave me this crazy look. I just looked back at them like I had no idea what was wrong...Moral of the story....never ever say to yourself how good you feel while running, you will trip!

Next story. I had to run my long run for the week last night because my nerdy husband left after my run last night to spend the weekend at a really nerdy conference over the KJV Bible. Anyway, so I set out to run eight miles last night...yeah, e.i.g.h.t!! I haven't run that much since high school and I was really nervous about it. When I was almost through mile one (I have no idea what it is with me and mile one) my headphones quit on me. It. was. horrible!! I cannot run without music blaring in my ears to drown out my horrible breathing and sort of make me forget what I am doing. BUT....again, my pride got in the way and I just kept running. Now, I run on this amazing bike/running trail that is a huge sidewalk that goes for miles. The only downside is that sometimes the trail goes behind trees and backs up to creepy bush-like land. I also did not account for it to get dark so quickly. Around mile four, I began hearing noises. howling. I heard howling. I pretty much sprinted two miles to get back to the part of the trail that is closest to the main road. Around mile six, I hit a brick wall. I was exhausted. I knew my pace had gone way down, but I just couldn't give up. Around mile seven, I didn't think I could go any longer and then I tripped. I didn't fall this time, but I still tripped. I am waiting for the day when I don't trip during a run. Anyway, I finally finished eight miles. The last few miles were really sloooow, but I finished. Oh and my GPS on my running app was slow for some reason, so I am sure that I ran more than eight miles. I didn't give up even though I really wanted to and my mind was shouting at me to stop, but I ran to the finish. I have no idea if I can handle running past eight miles, I mean, I know I have to for the official race and even my training, but it's mentally draining more so than physically draining.

I am excited about the next month of my training and for the official first half marathon race on December 4th!! I am sure that I will have many more...um interesting stories to share...