running with harry potter.

somebody's watchin' me...

I like to tell you about my problems with running more than my successes. Why? Maybe so you can help me. Maybe so you can keep me accountable when things get rough. Maybe so I have to keep going, because in some way, people are watching.

Last week was kind of a bust. I got back from my trip to Vegas (where I had been for five days) and didn't run. I only ran once when I was there, despite the fact that it would have been a great rehearsal for that half marathon (which, by the way, is less than three weeks away). I have this training plan that I spent all this time on, and I haven't really been following it. And I know that's a problem, but I still am not doing things I should do to accomplish this goal. Meaning, I'm staying up too late and then I stay in bed for as long as possible (sometimes risking my punctuality at work) and I am probably eating too much junk and not working out when I need to. These things are not helping.

this is probably what i look like at mealtimes?

So knowing all these things, I told myself that there were no excuses - I absolutely had to do a long run. I decided I would run two hours, and see what happened. I know I'm not going to finish the half anywhere near that time, but that's okay. The half will probably take me about three hours. I get that. I'm not mad at that. There will be other people around, my friends will be there, and there will be enough water stations that I won't be worried about where my next drink is going to come from. It'll be fine.

I think the weather wanted to test me. Saturday we had a high wind warning, with gusts near and over 80 mph. That's insane. That's like category two hurricane winds. I decided I was going to run inside, and I did. All two hours of it. On a treadmill.

I don't mind treadmills but two hours on one is maddening. Just in case you wanted to know. At least "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" was on TV.

i got by with a little help from my friends...

The point is, I ran my long run, and I figure if I can run nine miles on a treadmill, I can damn well run 13.1 outside.

What really ticks me off though, is that despite my legs feeling pretty good during my run on Saturday, I tried to run last night and just... couldn't. Didn't feel like it. It didn't feel good. It was just kind of crummy.

And maybe I'm wrong, but I stopped. I have learned that for me, if I am not feeling a run, it's best to just stop. Otherwise, it'll hurt and my animosity toward running will return. These are things I can't afford before December 4.

It's clear to me that when the half marathon is over, I'm going to need to take a different approach to running. What will that be? I haven't figured it out yet. My problems haven't been revolving around my breathing while running, but how good or bad my legs feel on a given day. I want to run more half marathons, and someday I do want to accomplish that goal of doing a full marathon. My legs need to get on board with the rest of me - my lungs, my head, my heart - and join the party.

running parties should have ron weasley and confetti

When you first started to get serious about running, what changes did you have to make to your schedule? How did you make time to run or cross-train while working and still having a social life?