Still running!

It’s been over a month since I’ve last written about my chase to the finish line of my first half-marathon.  It was an unexpected break from my new blog life but I didn’t take a break from my running! Things got pretty serious two weeks ago when I pulled the trigger and actually registered for the Kentucky Derby Festival miniMarathon.  It’s official!  I’ll be running my first half-marathon in one of my favorite cities on April 25.

I must be a crazy person for picking an early spring race when I live in a state that regularly sees sub-freezing temperatures.  For being Michigan born and bred I sure am a whimp when it comes to the cold and snow.  I’m following Hal Higdon's Novice Training Plan and my first official training run took place at the end of January and the sidewalks were covered in ice.  That was interesting.  The next day, it snowed all day and the sidewalks were covered in snow.  Running in fresh snow is definitely nicer than running on ice!

After the first few runs it got really cold.  Negative temps with and without the wind chill.  I was forced to train on a treadmill.  I was only a week into my training plan and I was seriously starting to doubt my ability to run a 5k, let alone a half-marathon.  I had two solid weeks of terrible runs on a treadmill.  I’m talking walk breaks with every mile terrible!  Discouraged was an understatement.  I was thinking I had made a huge mistake in actually registering for the race.

This past weekend was my third long run, five miles.  It was above freezing and slightly sunny so I was able to run outdoors.  What. A. Difference.  My first mile was a little rough but once I found my groove I continued running until I had run a 10k.  I felt pretty good during the run, I took a few very short walk breaks but overall had an average pace under 12 minutes.  My goal for the race is to be under 12 minutes a mile.

Since I've discovered I just cannot run on a treadmill I have to suck it up and run in the cold.  Yesterday I dressed in layers and busted out 4 miles at my favorite Metro Park.  The sun was out so 29 didn't feel too bad.  Not only did I run my fastest mile but I ran all 4 miles non-stop!  No walk breaks.  That's pretty big news for the girl that couldn't even run for 30 seconds straight when I started.

Today I get to cross train, so it looks like I'll get to catch up on Netflix while I get a few miles in on the bike.

This weekend I’ll be heading to the running store to replace my running shoes.  I've been running on them for a year and I want to break in a new pair well before the race.  I noticed some shin splits during a few of my runs last week and that’s a new problem for me.  I think that’s a sign to replace my shoes!  I’ll probably stick with Brooks but I’m going to talk with the experts and make sure I have a proper shoe for my foot and running goals.

Just over 10 weeks to go!