Week One

Monday I officially began training! I decided that, to start off, I needed to know exactly where I was at: my baseline. So I got on the treadmill and began by walking at 3.0 for 1 min to get warmed up. Then I jogged at 4.0 for 3 min, and then back down to 3.0 for 1 min. I continued doing this till I reached 1 mile!! It took me 16 min, but I completed a mile!!

Tuesday I decided was my off day to stretch really good and work on my core. So I did as much stretches as I could think of (still not sure if I'm doing those right), and I did sit ups. I did 25 the regular way, 25 on each side and 25 while lifting my legs up. This was the first time since the C-section that I did abs, so I really couldn't do much more than that.

Wednesday I wanted to see if I could repeat what I did on Monday. So I started off by walking 1 min at 3.0, then I jogged for 3 min at 4.0. But then I had to pee really bad.. (LOL) ... so I stopped to go to the bathroom. This is when the question arised: what if I have to pee while I'm running a marathon?!!! My kegals are not strong enough to hold it in while gravity presses down with each stride... I remember somebody telling me that some hard core marathoners just pee while they're running! That's Nasty! I'm sorry, but if I have to pee, even if there's no bathroom around, I will stop, drop draweres, and pee right on the side of the trail before I let pee run down my legs like that! LOL Anyways... When i came back I started running for 3 min, and walking for 1 min until I got to 16 min. I did it again!!!

Thursday was supposed to be my off day, but I really felt like at least walking. So I called up my neighbor, Kathy, and invited her to come with me walking a mile. We used to do that all the time when the weather was cooler. So, after I dropped the girls off at the bus stop, we walked around the block until we reached a mile. It was nice. Then, I went to the gym and stretched really good and did abs. I still feel like I need to learn more about stretching and core workouts.

Friday was my Fitness Support and Stretch group. Paige Ladd, my good friend of many years, came up with the best idea to start this group that meets weekly at our church where she gives a mini lesson having to do with fitness. And then we talk about our goals, and what we've done and how we can do better next week. We write our goals down, and then we all go stretch together. It's really nice!

Anyways, yesterday was the second meeting, and Paige talked about what's appropriate to wear when youre working out. Then we got the chance to share what we did. I told my story about what it took to get to this point: pretty much everything that's been written in this blog so far. After telling my story, one of the ladies there, my friend Liz, said she was so pumped up that she wanted to run the marathon with me too! She said, "If Maurine can do it, so can I!" It felt good to know I could inspire her!

I told them that, for me, it wasn't about achieving the destination so much as continuing on the journey. For example, what happens if, because of my bad knee (knee surgery) and bad leg (broken in 2007, repaired with a rod and screws) should keep me from running? Or what happens if I still cant afford to pay the entrance fee when January comes? It doesnt matter to me, because the hardest part is training. That's when Paige said, "I want to sponsor you to run this race, so that money wont be an issue." I couldnt believe my ears! She was serious too! I, of course declined. I would hate for something to come up to keep me from running, and she would lose her money... but she insisted that she wanted to do this. I'm still flabergasted at that.

Anyways, after the meeting and stretching, I went to the gym and did the same thing i did on Monday again!

Saturday, today, I woke up early and got the kids ready, loaded Joey and Mikey into the double stroller, which with everything loaded in it probably weighed about 150 lbs, and had the girls bring their scooters, and we went walking! We walked from home, down Knox Rd to 44th, down 44th to Ray, down Ray to 48th, and back down 48th to our apartment! I measured it afterwards, and it ended up being 2.2 miles. But if felt like 4~! LOL

I feel really good about this week. I do need to look for more professional guidance in training so I can reach the endurance level I need. But, I definetly would count this week as a success, because I'm on my way!