Well I’m one week in to being what I consider an actual runner. I’m running long distances on a schedule now and have found my inner running happiness. Today was “rest” day. Since it was spring break last week, I worked out like a crazy person. Not a day went by without at least an hour of activity, usually much more. So I had prescheduled my rest day for today to rest up to get back in my normal routine for work. But………that didn’t happen. Today I woke up and actually WANTED to run.
Things I’ve Learned About Being A Runner Week One
It’s addicting. I have heard people talk about how running is addictive before of course. There are runners out there that practice it like a religion. But I would always find myself thinking, yeah right. NO ONE actually likes running. But it’s true. Once you go a distance you never thought you could, you just want to do it again. When you break a new barrier or finally find your zone (as I did this week) you just can’t wait to do it again. Running is so measurable that it’s really easy to set goals to motivate yourself.
Over an hour, you must eat. This week I had an appointment with a nutritionist about how to eat to be a runner. I know that running 4-5 miles is no big deal. But I’m going to be running 10+ miles soon. She suggested that after 60 minutes of ANY exercise activity, the body needs 30-60 grams of quick carbs. That was shocking to me. That seemed like a lot. So I went to Boulder Running Company and bought a bunch of those runner’s snacks. She said I could have whatever I wanted and didn’t upset my stomach for the remainder of the run. Did you know they sell JELLY BEANS for running? You know I bought those! So I’ll be trying different snacks to see what I like over my next weeks of training.
Train the same, remain the same. This is something I had been doing but I heard it from several different people this week. Every time I run, I should run how I’m going to run the race. Whether that means water, food, headphones or shoes. Every run should be the same. Right now I’m not carrying water when I run. I’m not sure if I’m going to continue this or not. For today’s run, it was pretty warm and I really could have used water. I don’t want to change anything the day of the race. I know they will have water every 2 miles and gel shots at mile 7. I have to decide whether this is what I want to do or not. I don’t want to be distracted by anything when I run, so anything I find to be a distraction now, I’m trying to fix.
Different Shoes for different distances. When I set out for 6 miles yesterday, I wore my favorite shoes ever. The run before I’d worn my Brooks and they drove me crazy! I’ve decided I simply just don’t like those shoes and will save them for an emergency pair in the back of the closet. So I wore my Nike Flyknit Lunar 2s. 
I’ve posted about running shoes before here.But I never considered that they couldn’t go long distances. During mile 5, my toes started to hurt. It felt like my toenails were going to rub right off! While it wasn’t so bad that I had to stop, my toes continued to hurt the rest of the day. I was almost in tears thinking that I wouldn’t be able to wear my beloved Nikes in the race. I know it’s stupid. I just love them! So I headed to the running store to figure out what was the deal. After finding a VERY knowledgeable staff member, I told him I didn’t know if it was my socks, shoes or stride that was hurting my toes. He said the most common reason is that your shoes are the wrong size. I was thinking, “Yeah. Right. I’ve been wearing these shoes for a year and a half. Don’t you think I would have noticed that they don’t actually fit?” But since these people know their stuff, I let him humor me anyway. Then he brought out these beauties.
I was currently wearing a 10.5 so he put the exact shoe on that I have at home and looked at my foot and my stride. He automatically said, “This shoe is too small. You need and 11.” I was again thinking there’s no way! I wear a 10 or 9.5 in everything. So I explained how that shoe had never bothered me until today when I ran 6 miles. He then went on to explain that the size was fine, for short distances. He also explained that the farther you run, the more your foot expands. So this explains why they had never bothered me before or until mile 5. So I tried on the 11 in the new edition. I had been dying to see the new Nike Flyknit Lunar 3’s but knew I didn’t have an excuse to buy them. Well now I did! I bought them on the spot because of BRC’s excellent return policy.
Running makes you feel like a superhero. Maybe it’s just me because I’ve envied runners my whole life but during a run and after I finish, I feel like a super hero. You’re passing people eating junk food. You’re passing other people just out for a stroll. You’re passing people out to run errands. And you’re thinking about how much more awesome you are than all of them. And it’s kinda true. The runner’s high lasts for a while and all day I think about how I just did something that I never thought I could do. All day I just want to tell people, “I ran 6 miles today.” Running makes me feel awesome because I can measure it. Sometimes it’s hard for me to measure if I’m getting better at pull ups or tire flips or hula-hooping (yes you read that correctly) but knowing I can go an extra mile or two is exhilarating. So many people will say to you, “I could never run that far.” but the truth is they could, if they just tried. 