got my little blue box!

in case anyone is still reading, i did it! half marathon # 2. i was far less consistent with my training, and therefore worried, but i felt great. it was a beautiful day in san francisco, fun to run/walk with my friend j* (aka buster) and certainly worth the tiffany necklace and cute finisher's tee!

so now i'm experiencing this and i hurt here, but all in all, it was a memorable day and i'm inspired to do another one...maybe R&R half in san diego assuming they offer it again...i think the structure of TNT really helps me train.

10k on thanksgiving up next...stay tuned!

to run or to rum?

today was busy and kind of stressful. i have a wonderful job that i love but when it gets busy (like at this time of year) it can feel a bit overwhelming. i left around 6p today. my office is dangerously close to trader joe's, so along with some groceries i picked up some diet hansen's ginger ale and some cap'n morgan....my new favorite awesome summer drink. so i got home, tired and sweaty -- it's unusually hot and actually humid in SD this week -- and wanted a cold drink. but instead i somehow found it in me to change into my running clothes and head out the door. i did about 30 minutes at a good pace -- not sure of the distance, i need to measure it in my car. i was soaked with sweat when i got back, but i also felt less stressed than when i left, which makes it all worth it. now i just want dinner (hungry!) and a shower and then we'll see whether or not there is a cocktail in my future.... : )

wcrr no. 1

today i experienced my first saturday group run with my new club, west coast road runners. (since i'm not doing the fundraising TNT requires for my next half, this was a great alternative.) i found myself a little nervous this morning (not to mention tired since it was 6:45 am!) about joining this new group -- would they be nice? would they be accepting of a new person? would they all be super-fast, super-fit running snobs? of course, my worries were for naught. much like team in training, men, women, people of all shapes, sizes, and ages are WCRR members. sure there weren't the inspirational stories and the cheers of "go team!," but i found my distance group and after running alone for a while, i finally matched up with someone at about my pace. i'm a little behind in their schedule since i'm just starting, and they are training for a variety of races from august to january, so it may not be quite as focused and coherent as what i had with TNT, but i feel confident it will provide enough structure and support to get me to my next half. which is the goal.

so we shall see...so far so good, though i really miss my running buddy sam from TNT!

(just like) starting over?

well, i went for a short run today. a jog, really, because that is what i do. i'm really pretty slow. but i'm trying to learn to embrace the slowness. but what's dogging me now is i'm wondering if i'm benefiting from all of my prior training, or if the month and a half off set me back to zero. i'd imagine that i'm not starting from scratch again, but it kind of feels like it. i must learn to be patient with myself with all this, but it's hard.

one thing i noticed today was that instead of my usual self-motivating pep talk about how many other people i know and care about who have successfully completed distance events, i found myself thinking "you ran for three hours straight once...of course you can do this!" not that i don't continue to be inspired by the accomplishments of others, but there is something sweet about being able to reflect on my own accomplishment as well. feels good.

and i'm sure i will sleep well tonight, one of the biggest perks of this whole exercising thing. goodnight!

~j

thirteen point one...times two

well, here we go again...

today i went for a 4 mile run (with significant walking breaks!) with my sis-in-law, my first official workout since the big day, june 3.

so i guess that means i've embarked on my training for half marathon #2, the nike women's (half) marathon in SF on oct 21. 12 weeks away...

stay tuned!

3:03:10

I did it!

I'm sooooooo tired. But happy!

Massage tomorrow...yay!

Thank you everyone for your support!

xoxo j

tomorrow...tomorrow...

i woke up this morning and thought, wow, this time tomorrow i'll be done with the half-marathon!

(it was nice to be able to sleep in on a saturday after 4 months of early group runs with TNT!)

i'm definitely nervous, excited, scared...lots of emotions swirling around.

but mostly i'm proud -- proud that i stuck with the training, proud that i raised over $2000 for a great cause -- and appreciative of all the love and support of my family, friends, and co-workers that has helped me get to this point!

i'll let you know how it goes....keep your fingers crossed for me!

~ j