Let’s Run in 2020!
Well the half marathon is happening. The first weekend in December I will be traveling to Texas to run my second ever half marathon. I will be participating in RISE RUN hosted by Rachel Hollis and her team. To say I’m nervous would be a bit of an understatement.
My last half marathon was in 2016, the year before I had Olivia. Many people asked me why I wanted to run a half marathon and my answer was and still is simple: to do it. I enjoy setting a goal and then completing that goal. I’ve done it once before, so I can do it again.
While I haven’t started officially training yet, I am starting to run consistently and I consider this my pre-training. Since I haven’t run in so long, I’m doing a scheduled run for a few weeks and planning to start officially training in May or June. Right now, I’m doing runs through Couch to 10k. If you are hoping to start running, I would highly recommend this app, it guides you through the interval training, which is what I was looking for. Myke is currently working through the Couch to 5k version, there’s also a half marathon one, which I plan on using-unless someone has another recommendation.
Before I started running, there were a few things I did that helped me get going and help me stay motivated. I thought I would share with you in hopes that it would inspire you to do your own running journey.
1. Find a race you REALLY want to do!
My first half marathon was here in Sacramento. That race was picked out of convenience. This time I wanted to pick one where I would want to run, no matter what. A race that I would be willing to pay the money for. As mentioned in other posts, I admire Rachel Hollis. There are many reasons to like her, but the main reason is I read her book, Girl, Wash Your Face, while I was in the cloud of postpartum with Meghan. It was a hard period of my life and the book helped me crawl out of the hole I was in. So when it was time to find a race and she announced her intention to do a race in Texas, I alerted Myke immediately and told him we needed to keep an eye out.
2. Get fitted for new shoes!
Running can take a toll on your body so it is very important to find shoes that will support you while running. Fleet Feet is an amazing store and I’ve been fitted there before and I’ve never been disappointed with the shoes. Over the past year, they implemented a whole foot scan to help them find the perfect shoe for your feett. They helped me find the right shoe and insole (I have a higher arch).
3. Buy a New Outfit
Ok-yes I know work out clothes can be expensive, but there really is something about finding an outfit that you just love. Target has a brand new work outline I’ve been wanting to try. Myke got a few from the men’s line and they are pretty good quality for a fair price.
4. Fuel Your Body!
Outfits are great and they can get your butt out of the seat. However, what’s really going to help you stay motivated and strong is what you put in your body. If there is anything that has been reinforced to me in my weight loss journey, it has been that what you put in your body fuels what you do. After eating whatever during and after pregnancy, you lose sight of that and it’s been a journey to bring that back to the forefront of my mind. Myke and I have made a huge effort to eat better not only for running/training, but for our girls. We want them to have good habits and we have intentionally made healthier choices so they can watch and learn. This includes not only fueling with food, but with water. Being hydrated is key in every day life. As Rachel Hollis says, drink the stupid water!
5. Get Accountable
Myke is my big supporter and accountability person and I’m so thankful that he is doing all of what he is doing for me. He’s a keeper for sure. However, he is not the only one keeping me accountable. The biggest accountability buddy I have is Olivia. We go for a walk pretty much every day, so when I ran my first run, I told Olivia we are going for a run. I explained to her that I will be running a long race at the end of the year and I had to practice running. She smiled at me and got excited that I was telling her so when we were out she shouted wee as I ran. The next day, I wasn’t sore but I wasn’t feeling super motivated to get out there and she came up to me and said, “Mama, run?” I said sure and we got on the road. My “runs” now are mostly walking with a bit of running, but when I do run, Olivia yells go mama and she even threw in a faster mama! If that’s not motivation I don’t know what is!
I’m going to be posting here about my runs about once a week in hopes to keep me even more accountable and hopefully to inspire anyone else that is starting a new journey like my own.
