Success!

This past Saturday, I ran the Indy Mini! Woohoo! It was 13.1 miles, and my friend Sarah and I ran all but 2miles...maybe a little more that we walked. It was so great. I had 2 goals going into it: 1. Finish and 2. Don't get forced to ride the bus (they have a bus that you have to ride if you can't keep pace.) And we did it!

There were 35,000 people there running and walking with us. It was incredible! We saw so many different people:

• Father and son (I saw these 2 with matching shirts. On the back it had their names, and on the dad's it said "20th mini" and on the son's it said "1st mini." How cool is that?
• Firefighters. We saw groups of firefighters in full gear: masks, hats, boots, air, and everything. It made me wonder if they were completing the mini in memory of someone or just to build community among their team.
• A group of teenage girls dressed up as ninja turtles (AWESOME)
• An older man running, and pushing his wife in a wheelchair.

It really was an incredible experience. There was also just a great sense of community among the runners. Obviously the people at the front of the pack were the seasoned runners, able to finished in just over an hour. So many of them, after they had finished running, came back out and lined the course to cheer everyone else on. There was one girl in particular that was so great! We were 1/2 mile from the end and were taking a short break before we finished running. She saw us from the side and started cheering for us by name (our names were on our Bibs) and encouraging us to keep going and start running. So cool that someone who had probably finished a good hour before us took the time to come back and cheer her fellow runners on.

I know I asked myself many times if I was crazy for doing this....and to be perfectly honest, yea I think I kind of am. But I really did enjoy it, and am excited to keep working and hopefully run again next year and set and accomplish some new goals!

The Mini

The Mini is coming....next Saturday (May 2) to be exact. I'm excited...but a little nervous. Not so much about how I'll do (I really don't care so long as I finish and don't get forced to ride the bus....not kidding). It's more that I'm afraid I might die. Ha! Not really...but sort of.

My mom and I are going down Friday, the race is Saturday, I'm contemplating trying to catch up with a friend afterward, but I'm pretty sure I'll just pass out and fall asleep. So we'll see how it goes.

The good thing about this whole endeavor is that I actually look forward to running now...so I'm thinking I will at least continue doing a couple miles a few times a week. As for training for another distance run....still undecided. But all in all it's been good.

And many many thanks to my friend from Life group who runs with me, pushes me, and encourages me. Don't think I would have gotten this far without her!

5 Miles

Last Saturday, Sarah and I did 5 miles.  FIVE MILES!!!!  Yea buddy. 

Not gonna lie, we walked a mile in the middle.  But still.....I was pretty pumped.  And Sarah is awesome.  Such a great encourager.  She pushes me even when I say I need to stop.  Running outside and with someone is so much better than inside or by yourself.

Indy Mini here I come!

My running quest

Progress is being made. And that is good, considering how destructive the holidays were to my training schedule.

But...I have a running buddy now! So I have no excuse for sleeping through my alarm clock and justifying it by saying "well, I can run tonight."

....Because she will be waiting for me...at 6:30...AM...

Thanks for being my running buddy Mel!

Reasons for not running

So of all the reasons to not run....I think I have by far THE BEST reason not to run and it is not:

• being too tired
• being too lazy
• being too busy
• being too sore
• being unmotivated

or any of the other reasons that I would have thought I would have come up with by now.

No no. You ready for this?

It is Bigfoot.

That's right...Bigfoot.

Turns out there was an alleged Bigfoot siting at the end of my street (street is a generous term....let's try gravel road of death.)

Seriously. On Monday, I get all excited because it's so nice and I decide I am going to run outside rather than at the Y. I get all ready, iPod going, stretched, and off I go. I make it to the road when I remember....Bigfoot! So what do I do? That's right. Turn into a big ole SISSY and go running back the other direction and decide to run trails instead of on the road. NOT. KIDDING.

Now in retrospect, if I were Bigfoot, I'm pretty sure I would spend more time hiding out in the woods rather than on the main road. So if I was really worried about Bigfoot, I should have stuck to the road. But alas, there are simply times when I am not rational. Clearly this is one of them....on many levels.

But in other news....I am doing well and staying on track with my training plan and my body hasn't revolted yet. So I consider that a huge success so far!

Mini Update

So last week, I decided to try to convince a friend and co-worker to train for the Mini with me. I badgered her a bit on Wednesday....and on Thursday she called me and said, "Danni, I am totally in!!!" Yahoo!

I had no idea what would snowball from just that.

So on Friday, I was doing a couple of things with some co-workers and idly mentioned that she had agreed to train to run the mini. And he looks at me and says "Wait! The Indy Mini?!?! My wife and I are running that too!" And I proceeded to tell him how I thought we needed to have an Impact cheering section. Well, he went a step further...sent out an email to the entire staff telling them who all was running and encouraging everyone to consider training to run or walk it. How great is that?!?!

The even better part??? As a result, another girl from the office has decided to train for it, and at least one other person is considering it.

This is so fantastic! What great motivation and camaraderie!

That is what I love. People "doing life together" in all aspects. Spending time together, eating meals together, sharing similar interests... And RUNNING together!

And now I have someone to run with besides whoever happens to be playing on my iPod. :)

The past week or so...

A list to sum up my random thoughts from the past week or so.

• I find it mildly ridiculous that I used to stand around in pointe shoes for 6 or more hours a day, 6 days a week, and I was rarely phased. Yet three days of running around, standing, cooking, etc. made my legs feel like they were on fire...
• I have no clue how I frequently ran for days at a time on 4 hours of sleep a night in college. Was I nuts? (Don't answer that....)
  
• When you are exhausted, it is always better to take a step back to breathe and think before saying or doing anything stupid (and certainly don't make any big decisions. Exhaustion will pass and rational thinking will return).
• I am really good at making excuses for not running (last week it was, "Well, I moved lots of heavy stuff and cleaned all morning at work....so I don't need to run today....right?) Wow....that will NOT get me any closer to running the Mini.
• I need people around me that push me and encourage me. I think about training to run this Mini (I still think I've lost touch with reality by the way) and I wonder why it is that, again....when I was dancing, I would push HARD in classes and rehearsals all day and fight through pain and exhaustion. But for some reason...running is a much bigger giant for me to knock down. I think it's because when I was dancing, directors, teachers, other classmates were always pushing me to work harder, do more, be better (but it was also most effective when balanced with positive encouragement). I think that's the kind of environment I thrive in....One where I am pushed but also encourage.
• I saw an interview with the 3 boys playing Billy in the Broadway premier of "Billy Elliott" the Musical by Elton John based on the movie "Billy Elliott." I am already plotting a trip to New York to see my sister and brother-in-law and go into the city to see it. Yay!
• I am taking Thursday and Friday OFF!!!! Yay for going couch shopping with my mom!
• I've become slightly obsessed with Jon McLaughlin since the release of his newest CD OK Now. Good stuff... (his album Indiana is also great...especially the song "Beautiful Disaster."

That's all I got. I'm exhausted. I'm going home.

Lock Me Up

I told my friend Jody that I am officially a crazy person. Why you might ask?

After 15 years of dancing, my body has always hated it every time I try to run...my hips, knees, ankles....they REVOLT after about a quarter of a mile. That's just life I suppose.

So I need someone to tell me why I have decided that I am going to train to run a mini. Clearly...I am a crazy person. Only crazy people do things like that....right?

I mean, I have hated running my whole life, and now here I am voluntarily saying I am going to spend time intentionally preparing to run....A LOT. It's kinda humorous I suppose. But this could really be a good thing, because I have discovered since I started running awhile ago that it actually does help relieve stress. People have told me that so many times, and I just didn't believe them (I told them they were crazy....are you sensing the theme???) But then I started running, and wouldn't you know?!?! It really does!

So this is actually good right? Because now I suppose if I get stressed, frustrated, whatever...I can go for a run (which costs me nothing) rather than driving around spending $4.00/gallon.

*Sidebar...I am beyond thrilled that gas is now down to $2.99/gallon.

So....If you think of it, please check in on me. Ask me if I'm running, because I'm pretty sure that unless I have people holding me accountable and pushing me to keep training, I might give up. And I really don't want to. I am determined!

I'll post updates...