Here I am, one week from the big race. I feel like every single post lately is about running! So today I just wanted to write about how I was feeling in general. No flashy pics. No gimmicks. Just honesty.
I hope there is a time when I look back and realize that running a half marathon was no big deal. But for right now, it seems like a HUGE deal. When I first set this goal, in January, I thought I’d accomplish it by maybe October or so. Then I ran a really strong 5K in January. Then I ran a 7K in March and realized if I just trained, I could probably push myself into running the Colfax Half Marathon. There are two big marathons straight through Denver. One in May and the other in October. Even when I’d signed up and paid the money to run in May, I didn’t know if I could or would do it. I also didn’t know how it would change everyone around me at the same time. I knew it would take a lot of changes and mental work.
One huge change I made was gyms. I haven’t written about this much for the sensitivity of both businesses. However, I think it’s time. At my previous gym, I felt maxed out. I knew I could still choose to push myself hard and do more. I could have run before or after classes but I didn’t really want to. I was happy with how my body looked and didn’t want to lift more. I just wanted to be faster, trimmer, and work on my endurance. There wasn’t a lot of room for that where I was. Since there was only one class offered a day, I would show up for class and then do a little additional work.
Since I had already started boxing training, I was wanting more and more. I had loved boxing class for a long time and found it to be the highlight of my week. Then when I added private sessions, I wanted to box all the time. So, that’s what I do now. I joined a different gym where boxing is 24/7. They have classes all day long. If there’s no class then there’s always someone to work out with. I still get my private sessions a few times a week. I NEVER knew I could work out for three hours until I started at Punch Denver Boxing @ Touch ‘Em Up because I’d never had the chance. So in mid-March I made the switch and although it was a hard one, it was absolutely the best choice. Once my boxing endurance was stretched to two hours, my running endurance stretched to two hours and beyond.
I’m now faster, trimmer and more fit than I was before. My physique is even better than before despite a few injuries I’ve had along the way that required workout adjustments. Boxing is what I needed to become a runner. I think I could have done the marathon while training at my old gym, but I think it would have been A LOT harder to do it on my own. My training team adjusts my workouts based on how much I’ve run or if there’s a race coming up. I couldn’t tailor my classes before.
This post is getting off track…………..
Running has given me a lot of time to work on my mentality. There’s so much time to just think! I have found it’s easier to just stop and think in every area of life now, because I’m a runner. Running and boxing have gone hand in hand with mental work.
This past week, I felt off all week. I didn’t feel confident in the gym; I wasn’t sleeping through the night. It rained EVERY SINGLE DAY for the last two weeks. There’s only a few weeks of school left. Everyone is stressed and crazy. I felt like I’d never make it to Friday. BUT then I ran. On Thursday night it was finally clear for a few hours. Dan and I laced up our shoes and went for our first couple run in over a month. (His foot is healed!) We ran 4 REALLY fast miles. I got my personal best on 1K, 5K and 1 mile. It felt so good to run that I could’ve cried when we were done. That night I slept like a baby and felt less stressed about everything.
I didn’t know how much me running would change everyone around me. Because I run, so does my hubby, my friends and even co-workers. Dan now runs with me and is talking about us running the Rock and Roll Half Marathon in October. Several of my friends have gotten back into running, or realized that they could run further than they thought all because I can. I even started a Friday Fun Run club at my work because I wanted to encourage others to run. I never realized that losing 135 pounds seems unreal to most people. They can’t understand how much that is unless they are morbidly obese too. But everyone knows what it feels like to run a mile. Most people in Denver know how far a 5K is. I never knew running would be such a common thread to talk to people about or influence people to start making better choices.
3 months ago, I never would have been confident about running a half marathon. I still wasn’t confident about running a 5K, but now, I feel awesome. I KNOW that I can cross that finish line. I KNOW that I can push myself to do it. I KNOW that I’ll feel proud to cross that line. I KNOW I’ll earn that medal. I KNOW that I’m a runner and it feels so damn good!