Run Like Rocky

People! People!

Guess what I did today? Ran a 5K!  And if you know me at all, you know that is equivalent to a freaking marathon!  But, in all seriousness, I do hope by now you think I am a tad more in shape than I had been my whole life up until this yearJ

Back in January, I decided I wanted to run a 5K every month of the year after completing (not necessarily running) two the September and November prior (2016).  And my main goal over time was just to run an entire one.  I figured if I ran 12 in a year it would be bound to eventually happen. 

Well, I ran the entire one in January and just decided the goal had been met so I was done (I am so determined and great at follow through).  Anyways, a couple months later I ended up hiring my trainer, Kevin, and have been working out extremely consistently since March.  And when my friend, Liz, offered to run a 5K with me in November—and then talked me into doing a 10K instead, we decided we should do a 5K midway through our training. 

The training program we’ve been using is just a basic 10K running app we downloaded and we have been pretty consistent.  And in turn, I managed to shave off 4 minutes of my January time!  This isn’t saying too much because in January I could have walked faster than I ran, but still!  Logistics aren’t important here!

I feel like a total rockstar today and I am so ready to take on the 10K in November.  Even though my feet are sore and I could sleep for a week and a half. 

Since I was never a runner and still wouldn’t necessary refer to myself as one, I think I am qualified to share some tips.  So here is what works for me.

Advil.  The only reason I think I can make it through my longer runs are because I pop two advil 30 minutes before I start.  This is probably unhealthy or something, but I do it anyways.  It might not actually help at all.  If that’s the case, do it for the placebo effect because it definitely is working for me.

Read Running Like a Girl by AlexandraHeminsley.  This book transformed my entire mentality about running.  It turns out when you see people running down the street (by choice) they aren’t necessarily pain free and straight up loving life like I thought you were always supposed to feel!  It will always be hard (ish).  I will always be tired!  But, it’s mental!  And realizing that totally transformed things for me.  And it was nice to read a book about a girl who also wasn’t a runner at all.  And, like, actually not a runner.  Not someone who says they aren’t a runner, but then can run 6 miles if they have to. 

Blast that Rocky theme song like a champ!  Or maybe play it on repeat the whole freaking time!  I did that in January.  Today I just played Pandora, but when I got to the last stretch, I pulled my head phones out and blasted Eye of the Tiger followed by the Rocky theme song so literally everyone around me could hear it.  Like, unplugged my headphones, and half ran/danced to the end.  Now, people around us totally sped up.  It just could have been because we either motivated them…or annoyed them.

Last, but not least, get yourself an awesome support system like Ryan!  When I am done with my 5Ks he acts as if I ran a freaking marathon and it makes me so happy.  He is my biggest cheerleader (read this post from January to see what I mean).  I love that man to death if you couldn’t tell already!

Okay, I am going to go enjoy my freshly made bed and snuggle with my pup!  Happy Sunday, friends!  And, as always, thank you for reading!