Today is the last day to leave a comment in order to win the 2009 planner. You have until midnight tonight!
Is anybody out there???
Did I mention this is FREE???
All you have to do is leave me a running related comment and you will be eligible to win. It's easy!
Hope to hear from you today...
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Freihofer's Registration
I was looking at the Freihofer's website and in order to register as a team, we're limited to only 5 team members. In light of this, I think we should register individually. (Don't worry, Diane, we can still get t-shirts made!).
I also noticed that the sooner you register, the cheaper it is..even more of an incentive to register early. If you do it before 2/28, the cost is $20. From 2/28 - 4/30, the cost is $25 and it keeps going up...just thought you might want to know.
I also noticed that the sooner you register, the cheaper it is..even more of an incentive to register early. If you do it before 2/28, the cost is $20. From 2/28 - 4/30, the cost is $25 and it keeps going up...just thought you might want to know.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Leave A Comment, Win A Prize!
Hey, girls...I have a 2009 planner that I want to give away, but you must leave me comment to be eligible. Your comment has to be about running and what you're looking forward to/not looking forward to, etc. It can be funny or serious. It really doesn't matter.
Talk to me people!
I will ask a neutral party to choose the best comment and that person will receive the planner.
Disclaimer: The planner says "Compliments of East Ridge Community Church" on it, but we get things like this in the mail for free all the time and they never get used. I either give them to someone in the church or throw them away.
I'll have this giveaway open until the end of the week (Friday, February 27 at midnight). You have all week to work on your wit & whimsy. Give me your best shot!
P.S. I have all sorts of little running doodads that I will be giving away in the future so don't be sad if you don't win this time :-)
Talk to me people!
I will ask a neutral party to choose the best comment and that person will receive the planner.
Disclaimer: The planner says "Compliments of East Ridge Community Church" on it, but we get things like this in the mail for free all the time and they never get used. I either give them to someone in the church or throw them away.
I'll have this giveaway open until the end of the week (Friday, February 27 at midnight). You have all week to work on your wit & whimsy. Give me your best shot!
P.S. I have all sorts of little running doodads that I will be giving away in the future so don't be sad if you don't win this time :-)
The First Thing
Kathy guessed correctly!
The first thing you will need:
A notebook or a calendar. I like to use a weekly planner because that gives me enough room to jot down a few lines about my run. I prefer to use this rather than a notebook because a calendar helps me to plan out my running schedule from week to week. It's just a matter of preference.
In my planner, I write in my distance, total time spent running, the time of day and my calories (my watch gives me the calories). I also write down the route I went because I always think I'm going to remember, but I don't. If I had a particularly hard/easy run, I'll make a note of that, too. Or if I had any pain, I'll jot that down. It may sound like a lot of info, but it really only takes a minute or two to do this. When I get home from my run, I grab some water and my planner and make my notes.
Using a calendar is an excellent way to keep track of your progress, too. You will find that eventually a distance that once seemed impossible, is now easy. This is a great encouragement especially when you come home from a run where you just didn't feel so good. There are bound to be days where you just can't find your "groove" for one reason or another. There are going to be temporary setbacks every now and then so expect it. And, then be ready to put that day behind you and move on!
So, go out and buy yourself a cheap little calendar. Something that's small enough to carry in your purse. You can probably get one at the dollar store. The first thing you can write down is May 30 which is the date of the Freihofer's Run. Then, count back 9 weeks and that will give you the week we are going to start our training.
Go get 'em, ladies!
The first thing you will need:
A notebook or a calendar. I like to use a weekly planner because that gives me enough room to jot down a few lines about my run. I prefer to use this rather than a notebook because a calendar helps me to plan out my running schedule from week to week. It's just a matter of preference.
In my planner, I write in my distance, total time spent running, the time of day and my calories (my watch gives me the calories). I also write down the route I went because I always think I'm going to remember, but I don't. If I had a particularly hard/easy run, I'll make a note of that, too. Or if I had any pain, I'll jot that down. It may sound like a lot of info, but it really only takes a minute or two to do this. When I get home from my run, I grab some water and my planner and make my notes.
Using a calendar is an excellent way to keep track of your progress, too. You will find that eventually a distance that once seemed impossible, is now easy. This is a great encouragement especially when you come home from a run where you just didn't feel so good. There are bound to be days where you just can't find your "groove" for one reason or another. There are going to be temporary setbacks every now and then so expect it. And, then be ready to put that day behind you and move on!
So, go out and buy yourself a cheap little calendar. Something that's small enough to carry in your purse. You can probably get one at the dollar store. The first thing you can write down is May 30 which is the date of the Freihofer's Run. Then, count back 9 weeks and that will give you the week we are going to start our training.
Go get 'em, ladies!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Getting Ready
Let’s start to think about what has to happen in order to begin a running program. After all, there is a little bit of planning that has to go into this. I will try to take care of most of the planning to help get you started, but there are a few things I will need you to do.
There will be some tangible items you will need such as shoes, and things like that, but we’ll get to those later. For now, think about what has kept you from starting an exercise program in the first place. For many people, the answer is time (and the lack of it). Hopefully, the weather will get nicer in the next few weeks and you can begin to think about what time of day may be the best for you to run. Will it be morning? Will it be after dinner? Before the kids get home from school? There is no magical time of day that running is any easier. (Trust me, if there were I would’ve figured it out by now!) Everyone is different and you have to do what works best for you, your body and your family.
Speaking of family, let’s take a step back for a minute. Before anything, give yourself permission to take the time to begin a running program. As women, we tend to put ourselves last on our “to do” list. We say that we’ll take care of everything else on the list and then we’ll get to us. But, honestly, how many times do you actually get around to you? For any exercise program to be successful, you must be intentional about it. If you know you want to go running 3 times a week, then think about what days work best and stick to it. You can vary the days from week to week if you need to, but try to have a plan in place at the beginning of each week.
So, that’s it girls. Give yourself permission to run and think about when you’re going to do it.
Here’s a teaser….in my next post, I will give you the very first item you need in order to have a successful running program (and it’s NOT shoes). Any guesses?
There will be some tangible items you will need such as shoes, and things like that, but we’ll get to those later. For now, think about what has kept you from starting an exercise program in the first place. For many people, the answer is time (and the lack of it). Hopefully, the weather will get nicer in the next few weeks and you can begin to think about what time of day may be the best for you to run. Will it be morning? Will it be after dinner? Before the kids get home from school? There is no magical time of day that running is any easier. (Trust me, if there were I would’ve figured it out by now!) Everyone is different and you have to do what works best for you, your body and your family.
Speaking of family, let’s take a step back for a minute. Before anything, give yourself permission to take the time to begin a running program. As women, we tend to put ourselves last on our “to do” list. We say that we’ll take care of everything else on the list and then we’ll get to us. But, honestly, how many times do you actually get around to you? For any exercise program to be successful, you must be intentional about it. If you know you want to go running 3 times a week, then think about what days work best and stick to it. You can vary the days from week to week if you need to, but try to have a plan in place at the beginning of each week.
So, that’s it girls. Give yourself permission to run and think about when you’re going to do it.
Here’s a teaser….in my next post, I will give you the very first item you need in order to have a successful running program (and it’s NOT shoes). Any guesses?
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
My Running Story
I am so excited to see that we're getting some comments and there are a few "followers" (Diane, Kathy, & Priscilla). "Follower" sounds a little odd, but that means you've made a decision to train for the 5K and that's GREAT!! Congratulations on your decision! Feel free to leave comments at the bottom (both for me & for each other).
A couple of weeks ago, we met at Panera and I told you how I first started running. For those of you who weren't there, here's my story:
I want you to know that this whole running thing did not come easy for me. As a matter of fact, out of all the runners I know, I don't think any of them would say it was easy for them either. That's the thing..it's hard for everyone so don't be discouraged when it's hard for you, too!
After college, I took a step aerobics class for many years. One night, our instructor told us she was running in the Freihofer's Run for Women. I remember thinking "wow"- I could never do that. She then said if we were fit enough for her class, then we should be able to run 3 miles just like her.
Hmmm.
Could that really be possible? Did she mean 3 miles all at once or over a few days? I wasn't quite sure, but either way, I thought she must be messing with us.
I don't remember exactly how I made the decision to try running (it was a long time ago - 1991), but I knew I wanted to give it a try.
On my first attempt, I remember standing at the end of my driveway and looking down the road to our street sign and thinking that must be at LEAST a 1/2 mile away, maybe more (I found out later it was less than 1/4 mile). My goal was to run until I got to that sign. I figured that should be pretty easy :-)
After running for what seemed like an eternity, (my actual time running was like 4 minutes) I finally made it to the sign. All I wanted to do was lie down on the side of the road and take a nap.
After I got up from my nap, I picked another sign and walked until I reached that point. Then, I'd start running again. A few minutes later, I'd be tired and have to take another nap. I was starting to get the hang of this....run, nap, walk, run, nap, walk.
And that's how it went. I did that for a long time. Each week I would run a little more, walk a little less. I was making progress. And, progress turned into confidence.
My point in telling you this is not to scare you. I'm telling you so you'll be encouraged. I basically did what I'm asking you to do. I won't lie, there will be times when you may feel like quitting or like it's too much. That's why I started this blog. So we can work through those times and encourage each other. It may not be easy some days, but I promise you, it will be worth the effort.
"Let us run with perserverance the race marked out for us."
A couple of weeks ago, we met at Panera and I told you how I first started running. For those of you who weren't there, here's my story:
I want you to know that this whole running thing did not come easy for me. As a matter of fact, out of all the runners I know, I don't think any of them would say it was easy for them either. That's the thing..it's hard for everyone so don't be discouraged when it's hard for you, too!
After college, I took a step aerobics class for many years. One night, our instructor told us she was running in the Freihofer's Run for Women. I remember thinking "wow"- I could never do that. She then said if we were fit enough for her class, then we should be able to run 3 miles just like her.
Hmmm.
Could that really be possible? Did she mean 3 miles all at once or over a few days? I wasn't quite sure, but either way, I thought she must be messing with us.
I don't remember exactly how I made the decision to try running (it was a long time ago - 1991), but I knew I wanted to give it a try.
On my first attempt, I remember standing at the end of my driveway and looking down the road to our street sign and thinking that must be at LEAST a 1/2 mile away, maybe more (I found out later it was less than 1/4 mile). My goal was to run until I got to that sign. I figured that should be pretty easy :-)
After running for what seemed like an eternity, (my actual time running was like 4 minutes) I finally made it to the sign. All I wanted to do was lie down on the side of the road and take a nap.
After I got up from my nap, I picked another sign and walked until I reached that point. Then, I'd start running again. A few minutes later, I'd be tired and have to take another nap. I was starting to get the hang of this....run, nap, walk, run, nap, walk.
And that's how it went. I did that for a long time. Each week I would run a little more, walk a little less. I was making progress. And, progress turned into confidence.
My point in telling you this is not to scare you. I'm telling you so you'll be encouraged. I basically did what I'm asking you to do. I won't lie, there will be times when you may feel like quitting or like it's too much. That's why I started this blog. So we can work through those times and encourage each other. It may not be easy some days, but I promise you, it will be worth the effort.
"Let us run with perserverance the race marked out for us."
Monday, February 2, 2009
Welcome
Hello! I am so glad you decided to check out my blog! I hope this is the first of many visits.
If you're here, it's because you're considering running a 5K.
The first thing you need to know is you can do it. You may not be able to do it today, but if you stick with me from the beginning of April through the end of May, you WILL be able to do it.
The nine week training program I've chosen requires no running experience at all. Zero. If you click on the link to the right you can view the entire program called Couch-to-5K.
If you're sitting there thinking "I should lose weight first", "I have to quit smoking", "I'll wait until spring." Those are just comfortable excuses we use to stay on our comfortable couches. I know. I've used them myself (& many more)! Eventually, spring will come and there will be a new list of excuses (like I said, I know from experience).
Today is the day for you to decide to do something you've never done. Something unexpected. Something just for you. I promise, you'll be glad you did.
Just remember...
There will come a day when you can no longer do this.
Today... is NOT that day!
So, what do you say? You in?
If you're here, it's because you're considering running a 5K.
The first thing you need to know is you can do it. You may not be able to do it today, but if you stick with me from the beginning of April through the end of May, you WILL be able to do it.
The nine week training program I've chosen requires no running experience at all. Zero. If you click on the link to the right you can view the entire program called Couch-to-5K.
If you're sitting there thinking "I should lose weight first", "I have to quit smoking", "I'll wait until spring." Those are just comfortable excuses we use to stay on our comfortable couches. I know. I've used them myself (& many more)! Eventually, spring will come and there will be a new list of excuses (like I said, I know from experience).
Today is the day for you to decide to do something you've never done. Something unexpected. Something just for you. I promise, you'll be glad you did.
Just remember...
There will come a day when you can no longer do this.
Today... is NOT that day!
So, what do you say? You in?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)