That is all.  :)

I’m on W5D2 today, and I think I’m going to repeat D2 again before my 20 minute run.  I have since started running outside, and honestly, it’s been harder outside than on the treadmill, so I am just working on building up endurance.  Since going outside, I have to say I’ve really begun to enjoy my runs.  Because it’s finally cooling down  more and more, often times my runs are done in 65 degree weather, which in my opinion, is perfect.  I really enjoy the fresh air, the smell of fresh cut grass, and the cool breeze.  I really don’t want to have to get back on the treadmill, to be honest!

My mom has committed to flying down to Houston to watch my girls the weekend of the Half Marathon.  She and the girls will drive up to Austin, but they three will stay at their own hotel (definitely with a pool!).  My mom is awesome enough to let me have a grown up girls weekend, but also bring my girls so they can see their mom run the race.  (and Auntie Steph)  Of all my supporters, they are probably my biggest.  Everyday after school they come home and ask “Did you run today?!”  It’s cute.  I think they’ll be excited to see us run the race and cheer us all on.

I’m thinking about signing up for a 5k in the near future, seeing as I am nearing the end of the program.  Maybe the Turkey Trot in Dallas since we’ll be up there for the holiday?  Not quite sure.  I’ll keep you posted.

Last week I had to take the entire week off from training because I got what most people have this time of year; the sore throat, no voice, lungs that feel like they’re going to implode, and a cough that won’t stop.  Sooo, I feel like I’m way behind.  But, I’ll be back on a roll tomorrow.  (yeah, I would have gone today but Abby stayed home sick from school)

All in all, even though the idea of a half marathon freaks me out at this point, I am still really excited.  For one, a lot of my girlfriends are running the race with me!  A bunch of us have jumped on the c25k bandwagon!  I love it.  It’s great to have support from others who are going through the same program.  It’s really encouraging.  The race weekend will be a lot of fun because I get to share it with them.

Another reason I’m excited is because my cousin, Steph, will be flying down to do the race with us!  She’s the closest thing I have to a sister, so it will be great to get to spend an all girls weekend with her.  I hardly get to see her anymore since I’ve moved to Texas.  To sweeten the deal, she and I are going to finish the weekend off by….skydiving.  YIKES!  (I’m beginning to question my sanity when I put this list together)

Did I mention that not too long ago while lying in bed, I began to have, what I imagine to be a mild panic attack at the thought of actually skydiving?  I laid there imagining the first step out of the plane and my heart began to race.  WTF am I thinking?  It’s going to be fun, right?!  Someone reassure me here.

You can do this, you can do this, you can do this…

The downside? Because my gait has changed with the minimalist shoes, my calves are really feeling it! I mean, I suppose that isn’t really a downside, but it was the only ‘negative’ I could think of. Oh, and on my left big toe, I felt like I was maybe rubbing a blister on the seam. I think it was just how my toe went in. It sort of lifted the seam up and rubbed against it, but the other toe was fine. I just have to be more mindful when putting them on.

I had a friend on Facebook tell me to research “top of the foot pain” before I started running in the Vibrams, and I’m glad she did. Everything I’ve searched has said that you really have to start slow with the barefoot running because your feet really aren’t used to it, which, for a lot of people, contributes to the top of the foot pain. Thankfully I’m still at the beginning of my training so I think it’s a good place to start with the shoes. Also, some people have speculated that the top of the foot pain could be because of the strap that is on the KSOs (which is what I have) and that they alleviated the pain if they just barely attached the velcro. I was sure to do it the same way today and didn’t notice any pain. Let’s hope it stays that way!

I really cannot wait until the weather cools down (if ever) so that I can begin training outside. It’s still in the 90s so I don’t know how soon that will be, but I will be looking forward to it!

So that’s my report on the Vibrams and barefoot running. I will definitely keep you posted as I continue on to see if there are any changes. But so far, I really like them!

-Autumn

I had briefly encountered the idea of barefoot running while playing around on the running forums. When I realized the new shoes didn’t help, I wondered if barefoot running would be the answer. When I got back to the house, I took a little jog around the living room and interestingly enough, it didn’t hurt! Even when my knees were still stiff. I was kind of surprised, to tell you the truth. It was then that I started researching the whole barefoot running idea further.

Understandably there is debate about the claims that barefoot running is beneficial to your health, and whether running shoes actually do more harm than good, but really I’m not going to try and debate all that. All I know is, I’m going to try it, and if I like it, I’ll keep doing it. If not, then I’ll go from there. And let me also clarify, I am NOT going to actually run full-on barefoot. I plan on ordering some of the five finger minimalist shoes. (even though they look completely stupid)

I really don’t want to stop running. It was something that I actually liked doing (even if it was only for a few minutes at this point). Hopefully this will be the answer to the sore knees. If not, I suppose I will take a trip to the podiatrist and see what he has to say. I’ll keep you posted!

-Autumn

Heifer has been around for more than 65 years educating and working to end world hunger and poverty. Their approach is something I’m sure you’ve heard before; Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime. A person is given an animal and training, with the understanding that when that animal produces offspring, the first born is to be given to another member of the community. They then also share their training with that member so that he or she can then pass on their gift, in continuing fashion. That is the whole program in very simple terms, but there is so much more to it when you really take a look around the website.

I love that one of the cornerstones to Heifer’s mission is improving the environment. That is always something that is important to me, though I’m not a huge activist.

Typically I gift at Christmas, and it’s usually something like a flock of geese, or chickens. However, I want to do more. It’s always been my desire to gift a whole heifer, but after looking through the gift book, I decided I wanted to up the ante and gift the whole Joy to the World donation.

The Joy To The World collection includes two sheep, four goats, a heifer and two llamas. These animals mean new hope in the lives of the hardworking poor families who receive them. Cow and goats’ milk is full of nutrients and your animals will provide a family with daily provisions of vitamin-rich milk.

I’m not sure quite yet what I’m going to do to raise the funds. I am thinking of hosting an event in cooperation with a local restaurant or something. We’ll see what I can work out. However, the first thing I’m going to do is add the link to my donation page, in case any of you feel touched to give.

HERE IS MY TEAM PAGE

If you are touched by the Heifer’s mission and feel compelled to help, there are two ways you can do it. You can donate on the team page -OR- you can join my team and collect donations yourself to contribute to the cause. I appreciate any support you can give!

Thanks!

-Autumn

So today I slept in and made it to the gym just after 1. I wasn’t sure if having 3 days since my last run would make a difference or not, but I was scared I’d have a hard time again. Thankfully I was wrong! I have to say, today’s run was actually *gasp* enjoyable! What the heck?! There were a couple times when I was ready to run before my 90 second walk was up which was surprising to me. I was super excited.

Now on Wednesday I will start week 2. (if you know me at all, you know that it’s driving me crazy to start a week in the middle of the week. grrr. I’m a little OCD like that sometimes) I’m thinking it will be tough the first time, but looking forward to my progress regardless.

A couple of my friends are training for a 5K as well. We’ve been talking about what race we’re going to run first, and I think we’ve decided to do the one in Galveston in October. I think that will be a nice run. I think it’s along the sea wall, which will be pretty. I’m looking forward to it.

I’m curious to see if I am going to be sore tomorrow or not. I haven’t had any muscle pain really since last time so we’ll see. I think all the stretching I am doing is helping to keep my muscles loose.

I’ll be back later to write a post about one of my other goals. I am super excited to share with you one of my favorite organizations.

-Autumn

My hips, ankles, and shins were really tight and sore before I started so I stretched them really well before starting. I still might do some yoga tonight at home just to loosen up my legs more. They are pretty sore still. It will be nice to get out of bed in the morning and not hobble around before my muscles warm up.

I am thinking I’m also going to start working up to the 100 push ups soon too. There’s no reason I can’t do them in conjunction with each other. After I finally complete the 5K training, I will sign up for my Bikram yoga 60 day challenge. Obviously I will continue training for the 10K but hopefully by then I won’t be dying each time I run, and will have enough energy and stamina to do both. Baby steps.

I am also going to look into doing a race around Christmas when I’m up in Washington visiting my parents. Anyone want to run a 5K with me while I’m up there? Do you have any suggestions as far as races go? Is there anything going on between Christmas and New Years?

-Autumn

Since I decided to aim for a 5K, 10K, half marathon and full marathon, I thought this was the perfect program to get me started. I’ve been wanting to do it for a while now, but again, never did it. Yesterday was my first day. HOLY crap. I know I’m out of shape, but damn. Out of the 8 sets of 60 second runs, I walked one, and ran half of 2. I DID run the other 5, but I was dying. This might be a little harder than I thought. Alright, who am I kidding? I knew this was going to be hard.

The hardest part for me was catching my breath. It wasn’t so much physical pain, which I’m grateful for. I also felt like my face was radiating at 100 degrees. I tried really hard to be in control of my breath but I was also trying not to die.

Tomorrow is w1d2 and I am hoping to at least just run all the runs. I am pretty sore today, but I know with some good stretching I’ll be fine. I’ll come back and update after my next day… if I live.

-Autumn

Well as my side bar says, I will be 30 in July of 2011. It kind of freaks me out! I have to admit. I feel like it’s a really significant birthday, and it makes my own mortality seem more real. Ok ok, before you analyze that statement, I’m not comparing 30 to dying, but I guess you could say that I don’t feel like a kid anymore.

I got married when I was 20 and had kids not long after. It’s definitely what I always wanted and how I wanted to do things, but doing things in that order certainly put the focus on the kids and away from my own, personal desires. Now I feel like I’m at a point where I want to do something for me. Both of my girls have gone back to school and will both be in full time! I’m finally at a place where I have the time to devote to myself, and damn it, I’m going to be a little selfish! That’s where the list comes in.

I realized, when reflecting on my 29 years, that there were so many things that I always have wanted to do, but hadn’t even pursued them in the least bit. Was I taking my life for granted? My grandpa passed away in April and for me it was the first in-you-face experience with death I’ve ever had. It was like a slap in the face that yeah, we are only here for so long, and you never know when you’re gonna go. When I go, I want the slideshow at my funeral to reflect a life full of adventures, risk, and experiences! While I LOVE being a mom, I don’t want that to be the only thing I am or will ever be about.

I no longer want to be held back by statements like “I’m afraid of heights”, “I hate to sweat”, or “I could never…” If I try something and don’t like it, that’s one thing, but I at least want to try it. That’s what the list is all about. No more putting things off. For what? There’s no better time than the present because you never know what the future holds.

-Autumn