Monday, November 19, 2007

Wanna Be, I Think

Hello, Marathon Mommies! I am Suzie Petunia's cousin-in-law and a frequent reader of this blog. I am also a wanna be runner, I think. I am addicted to my Nike+ for my iPod, a gift from my husband for my 10th wedding anniversary at the end of August. I started following a walking/running training log on Sept. 3 and hit the 100 mile mark this weekend. I have now set my sights on joining Suzie's challenge to run the half marathon in Salt Lake. But I am terrified! I run on a treadmill most of the time--in fact I prefer it. Will training like this be adequate? I am up to running five miles without walking, can I really do 13? Will I finish last? I have quite a few pounds to lose, will I accomplish my weight loss goals in time? Will I injure myself? As a three-sport high school athlete, I never questioned what I was capable of doing....I just set goals and accomplished them. What has happened to me?

8 comments:

Suzie Petunia said...

WELCOME, NIKI! YES, yes, YES you can do that half marathon! You are amazing! I am so excited that you have joined us! Everyone take notice: this woman is amazing and I love her to death! She had her second baby a month after I had my last and she has already logged all those miles! If I am using too many exclamation marks, it is only because I am so thrilled to have her join us. Now, everyone introduce yourselves and mingle.

Treadmills: if they work for you then go for it! You'll certainly want to do some long runs outside before the big race, but I don't think there is anything wrong with doing much of your training on a treadmill. Listen to your body, don't run if something hurts and you won't get injured.

P.S. You are looking great!!

Kelly(M&M) said...

Yeah for Niki! I am so glad you are joining us here. Congrats on getting up to 5 miles without walking. That is a great milestone. You can definitely run a half marathon, and I hope you do. Just find a good schedule to follow and stick to it and you will do great. We are here to help you!! That will be so fun to all go out there together. Keep us posted on your progress.

By the way, I know Niki personally too and I think she rocks! She is a great writer and I am glad she is joining us!

Team Hanni said...

ABSOLUTELY!!! You can do this. My cute neighbor that invited me to run with her has MS. Some days she can't even walk straight and has to use her cane. She has now run 3 half marathons and several shorter races too. She inspired me so much.

Keep lacing up those shoes - I can't wait for you to experience your marathon. It worth every minute of training for the confidence you get in return.

Welcome aboard! Soooo glad you are here.

Polliwog said...

Niki,
Welcome (I feel funny saying that sometimes, since I still feel "new"). I did much of my marathon training on my treadmill, especially the last half. While I tried to always do my long run outside, it wasn't always possible. Consequently I did a 16 miler and a few in the 8-10 range on my treadmill. My opinion is that if you run predominantly outside, the treadmill is harder and if you run predominantly on a treadmill, outside can be harder. That's why I tried to get my long run in outside--it kept me from getting *too* used to the machine.

Oh, and there is no "if"--you can definitely do this if you want to. Good luck!

JP said...

The only "if" I will use is: IF I can do a half marathon, SO CAN YOU!!! (I'm competing with Suzie for exclamation marks usage!)

I started running only 2 1/2 months before my half. I work full time, so my runs had to be early in the morning and therefore many miles were run on a treadmill. Like polliwog, I also tried to make sure my longer runs were outside.

Good luck, good luck!! I'm so excited for you!

Molly said...

Niki- It's Poky Girl(Molly).So excited to hear from you. It's been a while since I've checked in here and there's so much to catch up on. I know you can do it. My experience is that you should definitely do some running outide so your body gets used to the hard concrete and having to propel yourserf forwrard but you should be fine otherwise.

Molly said...

Niki- It's Poky girl(aka Molly) It's been a while since I've checked in here and there's so much to catch up on. I have to agree with everyone else saying that you should do some outdoors training. The concrete is so much harder than a treadmill bed so I think your body needs to get used to that a little. I'm excited that you are working towards such a great goal. Sounds like I'll be missing out on the fun if I don't join eveyone in SLC!

Molly said...

ok so I'm a geek. I thought my first comment didn't publish so I wrote again. Oops!