Week ?

I have no clue. Before the holidays, I had knee and backproblems and during the holidays, visiting family in England and The Netherlands, I ran once.

Back home at my parents, it was freezing, but I wanted to do 'something'. In Spain you feel like you belong to some sort of secret group, as I thought walking to the beach yesterday, and viewing the many many runners around here treding past me. I love that feeling, like you are an insider and think to yourself "I'm a runner too" when you see the others passing by. You simple belong.

In Holland however, I was the only one out on the freezing cold morning after Christmas. Although I had thought of dressing properly for the cold, I couldn't help but feeling like an idiot, being the only one. I didn't belong. I was a 'freak'. People just don't run in Holland. They don't need to exercise, because they eat healthy and cook their own meals, cycle everywhere - from work to do the groceries to go out clubbing. In case of actually going to the gym or following some sort of class, it's all indoors. The weather simply doesn't allow much outdoor activities as it's either too cold or too rainy. I knew all this ofcourse, but I couldn't help feeling dissapointed about it.

Being home in Spain for a week, I've done nothing. And I miss it. Can't wait to start running again.

Week 6

I haven't been running as much as I wanted to. Granted, the painful knee and later severe backtrouble didn't help at all. But, brave as I was, tried it again earlier this week, because I noticed how much I missed running.
Funny how it seemed such an effort in the beginning and I would never have guessed then, that I would actually be looking forward to my daily run.

As I still didn't have a clue how far I'm running, Miguel and I started doing laps around the Feria-market yesterday. We measured the distance by car first and it turns out to be 500 meters all the way round. I ran 4 laps! 2 km might not seem a lot now, but it's good to know how far I can run without being exhausted. The only problem with it was... It's so damn boring! Definitely prefer the beach or pineforest...

Talking of which...gotta run!

Week 5

News from the Marathon committee. It's not looking good. There is no half marathon in February. Why didn't I check this out before?
So I won't be running in February at all, because attempting a full marathon right now would be suicide.

But I do want to continue training for the full marathon in November next year. Long way to go, but plenty of time as well. As far as my running goes.. it's allright. I'm not doing any more or less than last week, mainly because I've had pain in both my knees, so I had to keep quiet for a few days. But at least I can run a good half hour without getting too exhausted, which is good.

The weather hasn't been exactly helping either, it's been extremely windy (go figure, living close to the beach) and I was forced to run on my tredmill, which I find extremely boring as I can not do anything but stare at how many minutes I've ran, how far I ran and how many calories I burnt.. 25 mins = 2.0 km = 105 cal.
It's cool to know that, but I love being outside. I think actually today I will cycle for a bit, as the weather is gorgeous and I need to break down my running routine, too minimize kneedamage.

Week 4

So no news from the Marathon committee yet. Which means either my question was really stupid (or poorly written) or the're just being Andalucians... which means either very slow or they don't have any answers themselves yet.

I didn't run every day last week, maybe 5 out of 7 days, which still isn't bad. I do have a nagging pain in both my knees, which I try to sooth with homeotherapy massageliquid and icepacks. But honestly, I can't complain. I run 30 mins. or more without feeling too tired.

The best thing about this running 'experiment' is that I literally see my body change. I am getting thinner! Miguel even commented how my behind is getting tighter! Yeay! I feel good!

Whatever happens, 1/2 marathon or not, I will continue because it's addicting. It's not easy at times and I do have moments of wanting to give up. Especially when I see Miguel jogging in front of me and I seem to keep shuffling behind further and further away. I get angry at my body because it doesn't keep up with Miguel.
And yesterday, when I ran alone because Miguel was sick (running and sweating + chilly wind = cold&coughing) I was fine. I kept my own pace, and didn't have to focuss on Miguel being faster than me. I know it's not a competition, but stil. :-)

So this week, it's all about running faster, speeding up a bit. I wish I knew how to avoid these painfull knees though...

Week 3

I decide to change from daily updates, to weekly updates.

On Sunday, I didn't run, I was exhausted thanks to having to work throughout the weekend. Resting for a day made me feel great and ran 16 mins. straight on Monday. Today (Tuesday) I ran alone, as it was Miguels turn to be exhausted. Am proud to say I ran 20 mins (in slo-mo).
Shock horror, I'm finding out there is no such thing as half a marathon in Sevilla in Februari. Very uncool to say the least, especially as I was hoping to run together with my friend Paige from NYC. But I contacted the Marathon-committee and hopefully I will have answers soon. Nevertheless, I feel like I should keep that goal in mind and continue to train for the NYC marathon.

Day 12

Running on the beach for the first time. And running non-stop for 10 minutes, which is the most until now.
It was great. The sand makes it more difficult to run, but the view was amazing (close to sunset). After the 10 minutes, I walked the rest of the track back home.

Day 11

No running today. Was swamped with work, so I skipped this day. Wasn't happy about it, but most running schedules give 1 day off, so I decided that would be today.

Day 10

I ran for 30 seconds, thanks to monthly pains... So I didn't run much. The first day is always the most painful.
So I walked stubbornly, ignoring the pain. I wanted to excercise no mather what. Walking did last for around an hour. I was angry at my body for standing in my way. And sincerly hoping this doesn't happen on the big running day.

Day 9

Success!! Even though I woke up this morning with sore calve muscles, I ran further than yesterday. The burning calves came again, but later during my run. Miguel went jogging ahead, while I caught my breath. Then decided to sprint for a bit. Great feeling! my body already feels so much more powerful. I generally feel better. I do think I should take up some kind of strength training, to generate stronger muscles and improve my indurance.