Monday, September 13, 2010

68 Days To Go

68 Days To Go
Where is the time going? Sixty-eight days to go...wowzers. I still remember typing my first post back in the beginning of May for this blog and thinking how long 200 days was. My, my, my, how time flies. Fast-forward 132 days and here I am confirming hotel reservations, choosing my running "attire" for the big day (the important things, y'know), and realizing this is real and I am in this for the long haul. The 13.1 mile LONG haul - run, walk, or crawl.
A bit of bad news I haven't shared yet is that it is looking more and more like I am running this half on my own, minus the team that emerged after I made my announcement I was training for the half. Most of my friends/teammates had to bow out, and not without good reason. Pregnancy, stress fractures, medical school - I suppose they are all legitimate excuses, right? (Smile.) Now, don't get me wrong - I am disappointed, but I had prepared for this. I went it in this challenge alone and I am prepared to finish alone. This is my journey. I am happy to share this journey, but I can't let it go. I'm attached. I'm committed.
In good news, this past week I discovered a fitness group called Stroller Strides. Do you have one of these in your area? Okay, I'll be honest, I heard about this group a while back but completely underestimated it. I pictured a group of ladies leisurely strolling around pushing jogging strollers, sipping lattes, with an occasional power walk mom-march weaved in. Not the case. This group focuses on interval training - running from one station to another where resistance training, plyometrics, and body strength conditioning take place before running to the next station. This has been a great addition to my schedule on cross-training and stretch and strengthen training days. Not to mention, I get to enjoy a beautiful view of the Gulf of Mexico during evening classes and some optimal window shopping at the local outdoor mall during the morning classes. You know how I feel about things that involve shopping!
After this week is over I will be moving on to Week Five in the Hal Higdon training (I have done each week twice before progressing to the next). I keep hoping the Fall weather will arrive early before I get into these 7, 8, 9 (oh, it keeps going) runs that I am staring at in my very near future.
Here's last week's recap:
Highlight of Last Week: Realizing I can not wait any longer - it's time to start shopping for hydration belts or some other means of hydration for long runs. I've hit the milestone where hydration is necessary....and I get to shop!
Lesson of Last Week: Don't underestimate and/or be afraid to give new things a try. If you don't like it, don't do it again. I love the addition of the Stroller Strides classes to my training schedule. I should have tried it sooner.
Power Song of Last Week: Rock That Body by Black Eyed Peas. What can I say? I love me some Black Eyed Peas.

3 comments:

Amy said...

What hotel are you staying in? I think we are staying in the Hilton - maybe we could meet up and/or find each other at the start of the race, so you don't have to start alone! My email is amycrawshawbel "at" yahoo "dot" com - keep me posted!

Jaime said...

I am new to running, just completed my first 5k this past weekend.

I came across your blog because of the magic words "Stroller Strides" - see I'm a stroller strides franchise owner and I too had dismissed it as something completely different than what it is!

I'm now out strolling the blogosphere finding sites like yours where a little mention of Stroller Strides helps bring awareness to this amazing program.

I look forward to following you on the rest of your journey to the half-

In Stride,
--Jaime

Andrea Leigh said...

@Amy - we are staying at the Hilton too! Would love to hook up pre-race. Looking forward to it!

@Jamie - Stroller Strides was such a great experience. I think the name may not do it justice. Where is your franchise? I'm so glad your here now for my little journey! I appreciate the support more than my words can express. : )