Running - Hills & MotionTraxx

I have been running since the week of March 1st. I never thought in a million years I would be able to successfully run 6 miles without dying. Remember, I was the anti-runner! I used to joke about getting winded running to the end of our 100 foot driveway. If someone told me they just "ran 5 miles", I'd laugh at them. I'd laugh at them and say "HA! I hate running" - That was me. That was me, then. This is me now. I run 3 days per week. I run about 3-6 miles per run. I run about a 10 minute mile. Sometimes I run alone with my music. Sometimes I run with a friend. I don't like to run while I am running, but I absolutely adore the feeling when I am finished. I feel strong. I feel motivated. I feel good.

A week from today, my husband and I, along with my parents and some great friends will be running in theSea Dogs Father's Day 5K here in Portland. It will be my 2nd 5K. Ever. My first was on Mother's day. I am really, really looking forward to this race. I think because it isn't so new to me. I know what to expect. I know the excitement that goes along with it. I know the course. I am hoping I can run in under 30 minutes this time!

Here are my runs from last week:

Monday - Running: 5.70 miles, 57:49, 10:08 mins/mile

Tuesday - Running: Speed & Hill training. 2.97 miles, 28:57, 9:45 mins/mile -

Saturday - Running: 4.77 miles, 49:39, 10+ mins/mile (mapmyrun didn't record pace). 

It's no lie, I have been avoiding hills. Running hills feels like you are running in place, except for one thing...it hurts. You just want the hill to end. You just pray there is a BIG downhill when you get to the top. I have been avoiding hills for this very reason. I don't dig the small ones, so why would I try and do big ones?

We live about .25 miles from a salt marsh. Scarborough has a massive salt marsh, and we are lucky to live in the middle of it. There is a bridge up the street that goes over a portion of the marsh. The hill leading up to the marsh isn't huge, but it's bigger than I've done. It's a decent incline, and thankfully, it isn't big at all, but just big enough to hurt.

Not only did I practice hills, but I tried a new podcast called MotionTraxx - it's free, and definitely worth a download! My pace had been slowing down a bit, and I have been trying to get it to under 10 minutes. I did the run/walk interval podcast, it was very, very cool. It was done in 30 second increments, and the music is slowed down or sped up depending on what you were supposed to do. It chimes at the marker, letting you know when it is time to speed up or down. Instead of walking, I jogged, and for the run, I ran at a much faster pace. The music was good, and it had the perfect beat for running. MotionTraxx has all sorts of different podcasts set at all sorts of different "BPM" or "Beats per minute"- depending on how fast you want to run or cycle. Look it up! It's pretty cool. There is also an iPhone application that costs $2.99 - no downloading, just streaming. You can't use it with any other program though, so I suggest downloading a podcast if you're using iMapmyRun.

So, if you're on the fence about running - why not give it a try? Challenge yourself. What's the worst that can happen? You decide it isn't for you and you go on to the next thing? At least you'll lose weight, get in shape and feel good while doing it...or you get hooked, and you are off and running! Meeting your goals and feeling great about yourself. Challenge yourself! There are always local races to get involved in, which help keep you going! I am commited through October to run. There is no stopping now. Try the Couch to 5K - you will be amazed.