Full Speed Ahead

Much Aloha, all! I've been filled with extra Aloha lately, as it has been cloudy, rainy, and dreary here on the island. I LOVE IT! And I think I might be the only one. All the local Hawaiians I work with think I'm a little nuts. Well, they might be right.

But you know, this chilly weather has come at a really good time for me. I've recently taken up running again- or maybe for the first real time ever- and there's no better weather to run in than cloudy days. The last time I ran this much was when I played soccer in high school. It feels good! For the last few months, I told myself to start training for the Great Aloha Run- 8 miles- that takes place in Honolulu on February 21st. But apparently, there was some kind of disconnect between my brain and my legs, because pretty much no training happened. Maybe one or two little jogs that left me huffing and discouraged.

Oh, by the way, if you're a champion runner, don't bother reading this...I'm just an infant in your world of running. :)

So, I find myself sitting in our friend Adam and Ashley's living room last week, talking about my so-called training, realizing how pathetic I am, when Adam calls us all to a daily training challenge. It's a 16-week training schedule that will more than prep you to run 8 miles or more. The first 2 weeks consists of running 2 miles every other day. After that, they up it to 3 and 4 miles weekly, and so on and so forth. I'm proud to announce that I have run 6 consecutive miles this week and...I actually enjoy it. *Gasp* The first day was super tough, and I was practically sick. But I completed it at least. I stretched in the front yard for a while, feeling pretty beat, but proud, when my friend Emily strolled up for a quick hello and some water. We were shootin' the breeze, talking about life, when I had the thought to ask how many miles she had run that day. This fabulous girl ran around FIFTEEN miles while I was struggling through two. Please! Talk about humbling! She's a True Champ.

The second day was surprisingly easy- hardly out of breath, feeling champy. Pete and I ran together the second day, something that I hardly ever comply to. If you haven't noticed, Pete is 6 foot five, and the six feet are mostly in his legs. When I say he has one stride to 5 little jogs of mine, I'm not kidding. I tend to feel really silly running alongside him, mostly because he could whoop me, let alone run 6 miles more than me. Not to mention my severely competitive nature that would get in the way of me enjoying a simple run. But he talked me into it, and I actually loved it. He let me listen to my ipod the whole time- I'm not an interactive runner apparently- as he ran circles around me and backwards and sideways. He's a True Champ too.

Today, my third two-mile run, was somewhere in between. I was feeling pretty good about myself until a lady running with her 6-month-old in a stroller caught my eye. She was coming toward me at a much quicker pace than my own. We passed each other and did the nice little smile that most runners do, and went on our way. A few minutes later, I see her again, only this time she is PASSING me with her toned legs and stroller and 6-month-old child. Basically, she was kicking my butt for everyone to see. I gawked and started running faster (woe to my competitive nature), in hopes of meeting her pace and finding some dignity. I watched as she ran full speed ahead and let all hope of me catching up dwindle away. I think she is the True Champ of the week. I want to be THAT mom, you know?

Who knew there could be so much involved with running such a short distance? It makes life so much more interesting. Because I've started running again, I get to look forward to races. I just signed up for a race in May that involves 3 miles on the beach and chasing after life-sized Bananas. Yes, you read right. LIFE-SIZED BANANAS. Totally whacky! It's put on by Jamba Juice, if that answers any questions. :)

All in all, running just makes me feel good about myself. I feel successful the rest of the day if I do it in the morning, knowing that I've already conquered two miles by 11:00. It's a really cool feeling of accomplishment. I even like it when my leg muscles hurt, knowing that they hurt because of something good I'm doing for my body.

I'll keep you updated on how the training is going and any more interesting encounters I may have. Thanks for reading!