Day 1 of Training

It is official I have started training for the Disney Princess Half in February. My goal is to finish the race in 3 hours or less. There are a lot of training plans out there for half and full marathons to follow. I am going to try and follow Jeff Galloway's training plan. His plans usually include a long run on the weekend then two 30-45 minute runs during the week. I am going to try and do three shorter workouts during the week to get in shape quicker. Or at least that is my plan. Last night I was trying to figure out the best time of day to try and get my runs in. I don't really like running with the jogging stroller, because it slows my pace, and it is kind of hard to push. Well after talking with the hubby I decided that unless I can find a cheap tread mill and run when Addie is sleeping that it is best to just push her in the stroller. With hubby's work schedule we never know when he will be home. One week it could be 5 PM every day, then the next week it might be 8 PM. I could try and run early in the morning, but running in the dark around my neighborhood doesn't sound appetizing to me.

Water Hazard on the Golf Course

So day 1 of training started today. I loaded the stroller, the car seat, the baby, the diaper bag, the dog (i decided she needed to get in shape too), and me in the car to drive to the path I mapped out.

We live relatively close to a retirement community and they have golf cart paths that follow all of the main roads through the community. One of the paths travel like 20 miles or more through the community from one town to the next. The path is nice and paved, plus the landscaping is pretty.I parked at the sheriffs department at the beginning of the path and unloaded all of the above list.

I am the typical first time mom. I packed everything I could possibly need for Addie. Wednesday when I go to run again, I am NOT carrying nearly as much stuff. Is there a reason why I think I would need a fully stocked diaper dag? I don't know, maybe, but I doubt it.

Anyway back to my run today. We started out great! A nice warm-up followed by run/walk intervals. I had planned on running .20 miles then walking 2 minutes. I did that about once then had to start running shorter distances. My running partner Bella (a miniature australian shepherd) is very out of shape as well. At about 3/4 of a mile she started slacking way behind. We were running early this morning, but it was still kind of humid out. I started running less and walking more. The whole 2nd mile we pretty much walked back to the car. It is going to take some time for her to lose some weight and being a productive running partner, but that is what team work is for.

I must of made her bored.

The running path is a golf cart path that is about 12 feet wide and nicely paved. However, the drivers of the golf carts are not so nice. Some of them were really nice and gave me a lot of room when they passed, but some... not so much. Also, the path is mostly straight, but there is some turns. Those turns... how can I say this nicely... some of those drivers think they are in the golf cart version of Nascar! They fly around the turns. I am pretty sure they are pulling an Earnhardt Sr. and throttling through the turns instead of braking! But we didn't have any near death experiences so I think this is my new running path. There is quite a bit of shade along the way as well. Some of the best qualities of this running route is the fact that the paving is smooth, there is shade, most of the people are friendly and wave or say good morning. and it is pretty much unlimited running. The road is called Buena Vista Blvd. It goes from one side of the community to the other, so it is probably 15-20 miles long total.

While on our run Addie must of gotten bored because she passed out in the stroller. Since this was the first actual run with her in the stroller I used the head support from the car seat. I am glad I did, because it supported her head when she fell asleep. She was a great running partner. Once we started going, I didn't hear one peep out of her. Normally she is a very "vocal" baby, but not today on the run. Either she slept the whole time, or she was really enjoying it.

Here we are midway through our run. She of course was sleeping, but I couldn't help getting such a cute picture of her!

The actual run wasn't that bad. I completed 2.06 miles. My pace was really slow because of all the walking. **And my dog thinks she must stop and potty about every quarter mile (Read about her here)** It was actually probably one of my slowest runs ever, but at least we got out there.

I am officially on the waiting list to be matched with a buddy for I Run 4 (IR4). The email says it could take 6-8 weeks before I get a match due to the over abundance of runners requesting matches.

With that said, if you know any one who is a runner and would be interested in being matched send them over to whoIrun4.com. Also, if you know anyone that is physically or mentally handicapped that would love to have a runner, or some one that has a child that is handicapped, please send them to the website as well.

On a side note... I listen to Pastor Mark Driscoll podcasts during my runs. He said some pretty awesome things: One of which was... "When good things become God things, they become bad things." He was preaching on one God and how we worship other things like: sex, money, people, things... It was something that really stuck with me.

The baby is awake now... Time to play. Stay tuned.