Back to Running!

Today is the 2014 New York City Marathon! It's an exciting day - lots of our friends are running for different charities and organizations. It's a windy but clear day and hopefully a lot of fun for all of them. I started thinking about when I was in New York Road Runners and how much fun I had gearing up for races, before I fell and sprained my ankle and missed the Brooklyn Half back in 2013.

Inspired by my friends running the marathon today, I have rejoined Road Runners and registered for a fun Jingle Bell Jog in Brooklyn first weekend in December. It's a 4 mile race, just over a 5K, and should be the perfect length to get back into running. I was really loving it, before I fell, and I love having goals!

It's no secret my long commute and post-honeymoon I've gained (more than) a little weight. So much is changing for the better right now, and it seems like the perfect time to hop back on the running bandwagon and set some goals for 2015 - like running a half marathon and maybe trying to run the 2015 marathon for charity!

We will see, right now I'm taking things day by day, week by week. I've got a few weeks to get back into running before we go to Paris, and then a week after we get back before my first running event. Stay tuned for more running adventures!

Running Adventures: NYRR Brooklyn Half Marathon!

Big announcement! Today I registered to run the Brooklyn Half Marathon - a New York Road Runners race held this year on Saturday, May 18th 2013. I have been wanting to do a half marathon after I ran about half of a half - my 10K last spring!! It's a lot of training but I'm pumped. I have a great training program  - the Hal Higdon Training Guide Novice 1. I love to run outside in the spring and now that March is a few weeks away it feels like winter will finally be over soon - fingers crossed!

I will post more updates soon about my progress, as well as the 5K and 4 mile race I am running in preparation! I will be ready for those 13 miles come May 18th!

Photo Credit: NYRR.org

Running Adventures: My first 10K!

I ran my first 10K!!! On some level I still can't believe it! I've been training and I've run two 4-mile races, but a 10K was a new challenge. In miles, it's about 6.25, so definitely a longer run than the 4 mile races. To my personal disappointment, I didn't get the chance to train as much as I would like for this race - life has just been too busy! Still on race day, I was determined to finish. I ran the best race thus far - a solid 11 minute mile pace the entire 6.25 miles! I finished in one hour, eight minutes and I was very proud of that time. I'm not a runner by nature so joining NYRR has helped me realize that no matter how fast or slow you go, a mile is a mile is a MILE! And I'm proud of myself for keeping at it even though it's hard. With a 10K completed, I feel that a half marathon might not be too far a stretch - of course I'll really have to buckle down with the training to accomplish that! It's great to have goals and I love running Central Park. I'm also very lucky that my sweet boyfriend woke up at 7am to see me run the race! I'm a lucky girl!

Stay tuned for more running adventures!!

Running the 10K - around mile 5

My First Race!

 I did it! I ran my first race! It was really exciting (hence all the exclamation points!). I ran a 4 mile race in Central Park - I had been training the last few weeks, running a few times a week, sometimes short runs (2 miles) and then longer runs, 3.5-4 miles. I thought realistically I would finish in 50 minutes because I have been running a consistent 12 minute mile. My goal was just to finish - I didn't want any pressure my first race. My first mile I ran a 12 minute mile, pacing myself, but my adrenaline was going strong. My second mile I was down to 11 minutes, same for the third! But the last mile I got a second wind in me and I ran it in 10 minutes, with a total time of 45!!! I was so proud of that, last mile and my time in general, it was way better than I could have hoped for. Nate was there cheering me on too at the finish line (and taking pictures of course!). It was rewarding doing the first race and realizing that I can keep setting goals and meeting them - it's so much more fun than going to the gym and running on a treadmill or doing the elliptical (although I'm still glad I have my gym, especially in the winter!). But I am really glad that the weather is getting nicer and I can run outside in the park - a huge benefit to living only two blocks away from it! I'm running another 4 mile race at the end of April, my goal for this one is to run it in 40, we'll see if I can do it! That would be 4 10-minute miles, so we'll see how training goes! After that, my first 10K is in May. Stay tuned for more running adventures!

Running Adventures: An Update

Run Dana run!!!!

So, I've definitely made progress in my distance runs! This past week I ran two 4 mile runs, and today I ran a 5 mile run! I'm still not running very fast but I'm making progress. I keep reminding myself that a mile is a mile is a mile - no matter how fast I'm running!

I'm registered for a 4 mile run in April, and I think I will register for a 10K in June! That will be a little over 6 miles which I definitely think I can do by that point - after all I'm already at 5.

Until then, I'm just going to keep running, aiming to run 3-4 times a week, and monitor my progress!

PS: Enjoy the funny picture, I found it on pinterest: http://pinterest.com/pin/129900770471518722/

New York Road Runners!

New York Road Runners!!! Update - I just joined the New York Road Runners, which is the umbrella organization for all of the major runs in NYC, from 5Ks to the New York City Marathon. When you're part of road runners, you can register for all these races. I realized, as successful as I have been at losing weight and being really happy about that, I wanted a fitness goal. I love running although I'm not a fast runner - far from it! But I realized watching my sister run the Gainesville half marathon that I love the idea of having a goal and working towards it - even if I know I'm the last one to cross the finish line. So on that note, I've joined the road runners and I registered for my first run - a 4 mile race in April. I can run 3 miles easily, so getting to 4 should not be too hard! I hope to keep it up from there, perhaps running a 10K or a 15K! All I know is I'm going to work hard to have a constant fitness goal so that I stay motivated and have something to work for!