I ran (and walked) a 5K in May.  I started the Couch to 5k plan a few times.  I have never finished it.  I started running again this summer.  I ran/walked around our block (about 1 mile per lap) twice.  I felt great after I finished, but the next morning I woke up with heels that were so sore I could barely walk.  I was sore and limited in my exercise and even walking for about the next 4 or 5 *weeks*!  After that, I took another hiatus.  I cannot get running out of my mind.  I never thought I would be a runner.  I have never thought of myself as a runner, but for some reason I want to become what I have never been.

It is frustrating.  Right now, I am itching to get out and get running again, but I don’t do it, because it is such a frustrating experience.  We are moving in July, and after we get settled, we plan to join the YMCA in town.  I am both looking forward to this (having access to the equipment and other activities) and dreading the frustration that comes with trying to increase my running distance and endurance.

I may start the couch to 5K plan again and give myself 2 weeks for each week of the plan.  I may also visit the doctor again to see if she has any insights.  I am not sure.

The morning was cold and a little chaotic as no one around me really seemed to know what was going on.  As I got closer to the starting line, I felt more and more nervous.  I started off running pretty well.  Then, I sort of just crashed.  I couldn’t breathe well.  I am not sure if it was from the cold air or the nerves or a combination of both, but after about the first 3/4 of a mile, I felt pretty bad for the rest of the race.  I ran/walked, and I was able to run the last kilometer or so and finish at a running pace, but I really wasn’t all that happy with my inagural running experience.

I placed 2800 out of 4500 participants.  I was 329 out of 487 in my division.  I was 1775 out of 3117 for women.  My gun time was 48:01, and my actual time was 41:00.  My pace was 13:12 per mile.  I am not overly excited about this, but I guess everyone starts somewhere, right?

My plan is to get back on the treadmill tonight. The last few weeks have been hard on my running. Well, actually, it’s been further back than a few weeks. I guess I’d have to say it’s been about a month and a half since I really had a stretch of good runs. First, I got sick, and I couldn’t run for about three weeks. Then, I realized that maybe my colds were something more than just a cold. After talking to my doctor, I did some pulmonary testing, and I have been diagnosed with mild asthma. I’ve been taking an inhaler this week, and I’m hoping that will ward off another cold and coughing episodes like the ones I had in through almost all of November.

I had pretty much completed the Couch to 5K plan, but I think I’m going to jump back into that. From what I could tell before, it’s much easier to run when you have a plan and it’s not just an arbitrary distance or time. I’m also hoping to be able to move past the plateau where I stalled last time. I’m hoping that this asthma medicine will also help me while running. I had noticed that when I was running, I was never physically tired enough to need to stop, but I was often so out of breath that I couldn’t keep going. I didn’t feel like I could get a good deep breath in. It was quite frustrating.

I was hoping that this would be fairly easily resolved. I thought maybe I’d be lucky. I’d do the PFT test, and they would get a clear result. I’m actually still praying for that. I do think it’s more likely from what I’ve read and heard that the result will be inconclusive meaning that more tests are needed. I find that to be pretty frustrating. For one, I want to know what’s going on with my body and fix it. The other reason is that I haven’t given up hope for being able to run the half marathon in Fargo in May. It’s a pretty slim chance, and the door is closing on my chances the longer I have to wait. I still have that as my ultimate goal, though. If I end up not being able to do the half, I do know a few people who have decided to run the 5k, so that is my backup plan.

I told Jason today that life is kind of funny. When I was running, I was hoping that something would hurt or stop me from being able to run. Now that I’ve had to take a break, and it looks like this is going to be a harder goal to achieve than I originally though, I really want to do it!

I’m planning to call my doctor on Monday to see if she’s heard anything. I hate to be a bother, but I’m wondering if maybe some paperwork got misplaced somewhere or something. It just seems like 7 work days is a long time to wait for results of a fairly simple test. For all of you who pray, I would appreciate any prayers in this area.

Since then, I’ve been sick. Ugh. It started out as a terrible sore throat. I couldn’t swallow. I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t want to eat. It hurt so bad. Then, my sore throat turned to a cough. For those of you who know me, you know that this isn’t a rare thing for me. I have a tendency to get sick pretty frequently, and nearly every cold or illness I get turns into a cough. For years, at least the past 20 years, I’ve attributed the fact that I get sick so often to a poor immune system. Lately, though, I’ve been wondering if it’s something else. Allergies? Asthma? Something else all together? I don’t know.

I had an appointment with my doctor last Monday. At that appointment, I talked with her about this cough. She agreed that it wasn’t normal, and it was something we should try to figure out. Last Wednesday, I went to the hospital and had a pulmonary function test done. If you are like me, and you don’t know what a PFT is, I’ll tell you. Basically, I sat in a little glass box. First, I had to breathe into a mouthpiece. Then, the technician pumped some sort of gas into the little box. I did some more breathing. Then, she opened the door, and I did a few more breathing exercises. Each time, she got a chart and some numbers on her computer. I’m still waiting for the results of the test, but from what she said at the appointment, I’m guessing the results will be inconclusive. If that’s the case, I’m going to end up going back to the hospital for another test that is specifically to diagnose asthma.

So, to bring this back to the original topic of running, I don’t know what’s going to happen there. I was up to 2.5ish miles before I got sick. Most 10K and half marathon plans start around 3 miles. I would still really like to be able to run in the 2009 half marathon, but at this point, I’m not going to push it. I am hoping that figuring out what is causing this cough will also help my running. I had gotten to running about 2.5 miles, but my stamina was pretty spotty. Some days, I could make it. Some days I felt like I was going to die after 15 minutes. I wasn’t ever physically tired enough that I felt like I needed to stop running, but I sometimes felt like I couldn’t get enough air. I’d really like to be able to say that I ran a half marathon, and I’d like to do it with Jason, but at this point I just want to figure out what is causing my cough.

Between my post last week and his great time in the race, I had the extra motivation I needed last night to complete my 3rd workout of the week.  Generally, I run Monday, Wednesday, and Friday or Saturday depending on our weekend schedule.  Monday’s run went pretty well.  I ran about 1.5 miles, and then I took a short walking break before I finished the last mile.  Wednesday was TERRIBLE!  I’m not sure what happened.  I felt tired almost as soon as I started running, and I only made it to about 1.75 miles before I ended up walking the rest.  Ugh, it was disappointing and frustrating.  Then, on Saturday, we went to my sister-in-law and brother-in-law’s house for my niece’s fourth birthday.  We got home late, and I had a greasy piece of yummy pizza for supper followed up by some birthday cake and ice cream.  I was pretty sure that Saturday’s run was going to mirror the one I’d had on Wednesday, but I decided to give it a try (as spurred on by the 2 previously mentioned motivators!).  I ran the first mile and a half at my usual pace of 4.2 miles per hour.  Then, since I was feeling good, I decided to run the next half mile at 4.5.  I went back down to 4.2 for .75 miles, and then I did the last .25 miles at 4.5.  I was really happy about that run.  I felt good while I was doing it.  I ran the entire distance.  I increased my speed a little, and I made my goal!

After that run, I decided that I needed to get serious about making a plan.  Jason had used the Hal Higdon 10K running plan for his race yesterday.  He felt like it prepared him well, and he was quite satisfied with it.  I decided to (again) follow his lead, and starting a week from tomorrow, I’m going to start that plan, too.  I’m a little nervous about it, but I’m hoping that things will progress gradually from here on out.

Since my other post, I’ve had a few people visit with me about running.

“Doesn’t it make your feet hurt?”  Surprisingly, no.  In the beginning, I had hoped it would so I would have an excuse to quit.

“I’ve tried running, but I just don’t enjoy it.”  I started running in June.  I definitely did not enjoy it in the beginning.  I’m not quite sure I would say that I enjoy it now either, but I can say that it does feel good.  It makes me feel strong and, I know it’s good for me.

I’m not saying that everyone should run or that I’m for sure going to be able to run the half marathon in May, but I do think that there’s something to be said for making a goal and sticking with it even if it is *very* much outside your comfort zone.  That’s essentially my goal.  I think the 13.1 miles are secondary.

This leads me to a little bit of an admission. I have actually been running also for a while. We have a treadmill, and I started doing the Couch to 5K plan in June. I didn’t tell anyone though. I didn’t want to have any pressure put on me if I didn’t like it or if I decided to stop. Then, I realized something. I realized that if I really wanted to keep up with running I needed a goal. I also needed to tell people so they could put pressure on me and keep me accountable! So, I’m going to do it. I’m making a goal (gulp) and telling people about it. My goal is to run the half marathon in Fargo in May of 2009 with Jason. (My heart is beating faster as I’m typing this…not a good sign for my physical fitness.) I’m currently running 2.5 miles at a time with a goal of running 3 times a week.

Since I have a Nike+iPod Sport Kit, I can track my progress pretty closely. AND, since you now know that this is my goal, I guess I’m going to be telling you about how my running is going every week.