The First Mile

The first mile of my run is always, ALWAYS, the worst. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost quit, or have quit, before I’ve even finished the first mile.

Just this morning in fact. My feet hurt (spoiler: my feet always hurt the first mile) and my right calf ached (my sister, who is way more of an athlete than me and studying sports medicine, has since told me it is a shin splint…lovely). I’d made my one loop around the blocks near my apartment which equals .9 of a mile. I was literally walking into my complex thinking “Well I did very nearly one mile, that’s better than nothing.”

And it’s true, one mile is better than nothing. But I knew I could do more. Plus I am training for a freakin’ half marathon. So I paused for a few seconds stretched out my calf and my feet and I gave myself permission to slow down.

I think that is the key. Give yourself permission to go slow. If one mile is better than nothing, then two slow miles is just wonderful. I actually read this tip on a blog somewhere (see my first post on scouring the internet…I really have been doing that). The girl was training for some sort of big race, so during a smaller race she said, “I gave myself permission to go slow.”

I can see that some people might be leery of this Go Slow philosophy. Can it get you into a trap of never going fast or not really giving your runs all you’ve got? Undoubtedly. But, so can staying in your cozy bed at 6am instead of getting out there and pounding the pavement.

I know that I can do this. My mom (Hi Mom!) always gives me great advice. And one thing that she says to me frequently, that I am passing on to you, is “You Can Do Hard Things.”

And, just so you know, after I went slow for a few minutes I was able to go faster than before.

So keep going. Keep moving. Keep having fun with it. You Can Do Hard Things.

Question of the Day: What is something that keeps you motivated through hard things?

Brilliance of the Day: A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work. – Colin Powell

Research You Say?

So once upon a time, I thought running long distances was crazy. I thought running any distance was crazy.

I have friends who have done the Goofy Challenge and Dopey Challenge in Walt Disney World. (For those of you who don't know, that means running a half marathon on one day and a full marathon the next...oh and the Dopey has you run a 5k and a 10k on the two days before that...)

Wait, I still think this is all crazy.

In fact, I think that running 13.1 miles sounds crazy. Today I did a walk/run of less than 3 miles and I just don't know about that 10 more miles. 

So, as I mentioned in the last post, I've been searching the internet quite faithfully for beginning runner help. Luckily for me, and now for you fair readers, runDisney has a great training program put together by Jeff Galloway. Other runners swear by this program. Podcasts swear by it. Come November I will tell you how I feel about it.

However, I am going to combine the Galloway program with the c25k program. I feel like these can go hand in hand quite nicely because for the Galloway program you do 2 normal runs during the week and your long run on Saturday. So for the "normal" runs I'll be following the c25k but sticking to the days from the Galloway program. 

Look at all that bling those Dopey people get!

After my "run" today I was super motivated to spend money on work out things. I'm going to show you my haul and in 2 weeks I'll let you know what I think. And without further ado...

These are super cute and look like they are made out of a sweater!

So these Nikes are the ones I've been using for a couple of months. They are usually comfortable but I have weird, wide, big feet so sometimes they hurt the sides of my feet. So when my mom (Hi Mom!) took me birthday shopping for new running shoes at the Nike Outlet I chose these...

Aren't they cute?

I really like these. The color is super cute. The tongue is attached to the shoe and made out of a neoprene-like material that makes it feel like the shoe has a built in brace. The bottoms are flexible and they are so light! But then when I was out shopping today I found these...

The bottoms/soles are my favorite.

Aren't they adorbs? One of my very good friends, Alexandra, who happens to be running the Avenger's Half with me, keeps touting the Asics brand. So when I found these on sale, in my size, they decided to come home with me.

Bright colors!

Running socks. And here I thought running was a relatively inexpensive, low tech sport. Boy was I wrong.

What is it? Any guesses?

Some of the podcasters I listen to are always talking about their Spi belts. I decided to try this cheaper version first to see if I could stand to run with a belt on. And then finally...

One of these things is not like the other.

Running mags. I usually find that I am most inspired to do something if I am absolutely immersed in the thing. One even talks about a Couch to Half Marathon program. I will peruse these at my leisure. Oh and the Geek magazine, that's because I am a huge geek...have to get my nerd news some where. 

I know you guys are super interested in my every move every day, but for convenience I'm going to do a weekly workout update. Feel free to comment with your successes, challenges, and goals. Happy training everyone!

Question of the Day: What is the craziest thing you have attempted? Was it a success?

Brilliance of the Day: "All of our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney

Learning to RunDisney

Hey, it's me, Brittney Belle.

And I'm learning to run. I'm 25 for 3 more days and I don't love running. Yet. But, but, but I now weigh more than I ever have in my life. And I hate it. So I signed up for a half marathon. The main impetus, though, was not for health or weight-loss reasons it was because of this:

That's right, an Avengers themed race. I love superheroes. And I love Disney. I've done one other RunDisney race, the Neverland Family 5k, part of Tinkerbell Half Marathon weekend. And it was a blast. As I stated before...I'm not big on the running thing right now and even I loved that race.

Excuse the redness of face...we had just run 3.1 miles

So, why am I telling you all this? For the past several weeks I have been SCOURING the interwebs for a good beginning runner's blog. Most of the stuff I've found has been either on hiatus, too advanced, or no longer talking about running due to health reasons. 

This is the real reason people run, right?

I'm not an expert on running. Or health. Or nutrition. Or blogging. This is just going to be me, telling you, fair readers, what's on my schedule/plate/feet and any tips and tricks I may know. Again, I am not a health professional, I am just doing what works for me. And I am motivated by strange things. (Like the inaugural Avenger's Assemble Medal)

This is me wishing myself good luck.

So wish me luck. And I'll see you on the road.

I'll leave you with another one of my motivations.
So what if he's fictional. I love him. And pie.