Can't Get Enough Fall Running! 10/25-10/31

[kacie tri-ing]

Seems like we needed a new thread!

I ran the myrtle beach half marathon with my friend for her first race.

It was really fun to share a race with someone!

I stayed at her race and ran 2:14. Great time for a first half!

I posted pictures and stuff on my blog.

Myrtle beach is hilarious, but we did have some yummy key lime pie at Margaritaville!

I am running another half on saturday with my mom to celebrate her birthday!

[Veronica]

I want a tough cookie t - shirt!

Veronica

[OakLeaf]

So cool Kacie! I wish I could do that two-legged tree pose.

So, one walk, one fairly relaxed aerobics class (instructor), two pretty strenuous hatha classes (participant), two days on planes trains and automobiles, and two days on my butt (not in sequence) and I was itching to run.

I will say that for all I was never super sore after the marathon (chalk that up to a little bit of ice immediately after, intermittent elevation for the rest of the day, and 24 hours of compression tights), and I was walking normally when I woke up Monday morning - everything I did for the past week, my body helpfully told me was enough. I brought my running gear with me when we went to visit the in-laws this weekend, but never really felt quite ready, especially with the very nice yoga studio just a couple of miles away. By the time we got home last night, my legs were asking for a run.

Nice relaxed almost five miles today, just down to the village and back, and it felt soooo nice. The wind was fierce but steady, so it really didn't bother me. It was fun to see the leaves chasing ahead of me (but so much for the fall color ). They've taken the tornado warning off (thank goodness), but the storm's about to hit.

[GLC1968]

Today will be my first run bumped up in mileage since I started my new off-season plan. 4 miles. I'm looking forward to it because it's long enough that I can run an almost entirely new route.

Can I also mention that I feel like a total non-runner? I am running consistently every other day (4 runs one week, 3 the next) to build my volume and I'm happy with the results so far. I've got a plan to get me to 20mpw by the end of January (injury free), so I've got a goal and a path to get to that goal. I just feel like until I get to some of those higher mileage weeks, I'm not a runner. I'm training to eventually BE a runner, I'm just not there yet. Will I ever make the transition in my head?

[OakLeaf]

Will I ever make the transition in my head?

I think I just did last week. Maybe. You DEFINITELY don't have to do my kind of mileage! (even if it was pretty freakin' minimal for marathon training)

Let's see if I can dig up what a friend of mine posted on my Facebook page when I aired my doubts last spring. .... Well darn it, now I remember her FB account got hacked over the summer, and apparently when she put together a new one, all the posts from her old account were deleted. It was along the lines of:

You are a real runner when YOU CHOOSE! Believe it! It's true!

[katluvr]

So just 3 very slow miles tonite. Totally off my running schedule, tired & tummy was not happy, but 3 slow miles is better than nothing.
As for feeling like I am a runner... most of the time I do feel like one. I have my doubts when I feel slow, or because I know I don't look like a runner or times like today when I really wanted to skip my run. What I don't feel like is an athlete. And that is what I want to be!
K