Day 14: Running up that road....in my mind

"And if I only could, I'd make a deal with God, And I'd get him to swap our places
Be running up that road...
      Be running up that hill....
          Be running up that building..."    Kate Bush....1985


Didn't run today, but Chip did.  For me, life got in the way. But I thought about running a lot. (Does that count?)  Somewhere between phone calls to Texas to check on my mom, who is in the hospital, working late on the February issue of Charlotte Parent, and the late night bass guitar lesson I forgot about, I lost track of time to get it done. It would really, really be helpful if I could designate a set time to run.  A goal to pursue. Until then, I'm on the run, and trying to find time to run.

Day 1 - On the Run

Welcome to my training blog! Let me tell you why I'm here.
My friend and fellow GOTR (Girls on the Run) board member, Sue, dreamed schemed up this wild idea, that I should train for the GOTR Charlotte 5k in May and blog about it. As editor of Charlotte Parent, I'm already a blogger and writer, so that part is easy -- but one thing I am NOT, is a runner. Never have been. Never will be. As a matter of fact, I tend to brag about how I hate to run. I exercise, do yoga, and stay active, but running is another thing altogether.

So, to humor my Girls on the Run friends, I agreed. My husband and son agreed to join me, too. I think they don't believe I'll make it, so they're coming along for moral support. Of course, I quickly forgot about my commitment in the whirlwind of the holidays. And really, January 2010 seemed so far away.

Then, on New Year's Eve, at a dinner party with friends, I suddenly remembered my promise - and announced my intentions to seal the deal. After a few hearty laughs, the other moms around the table offered to join my training sessions.  My friend, and walker-extraordinaire (who just finished the 39-mile Avon Walk!) Claire Oakley wants to train with me, and once we are fast enough we will let our friend, uber-runner Susan Watts, coach us. Quite frankly, she's an awesome runner and I'm scared of her. I'm sure she would run me into the ground.


So, here we go... . Today, I downloaded a schedule from CoolRunning.com , loaded a podcast from Robert Utlley's "Coach to 5K" program on my iPod, forced my family into some stretches, started a blog, Running in the Mom Zone, and took off on my (our!) first run. It wasn't so bad except it was 37 degrees. Brrr... with a little huffing and puffing.. and we made it. 

Tune in. Join us. Laugh. Cry... I'm sure I will.


Workout 1 - 12 stretches - 5 min warm up ; 8 60sec run / 90sec walk segments - 5 min cool down.