Welcome to my blog!

I decided to start this blog to cover my journey from the couch (literally!) to half marathon runner. I started running about a month ago. I was inspired by a couple of my friends (I will call them R and J) from college. These incredible women have both ran half marathons before. In January, I went to Disney World (one of my favorite places!) with R and we met up with J and her husband A. R and A ran the half. J is pregnant so didn't run the half marathon this year, but she did last year. She instead did the 5k with A the day before. I said I would do the 5K and then didn't follow through. I didn't want to waste a precious morning at park opening on such a short trip (Thursday night- Sunday morning) on doing it, especially because I knew I'd be getting up at 3 a.m. the next morning to go cheer on R at the half with J.
So, the morning of the half, R and I woke up around 3 a.m. and caught the bus to the race. The whole way there I kept having this thought: "All of the people on this bus are about to run a half or full marathon, and I am so out of shape I can't even run a 5K." That was when the idea started brewing in my head. After meeting up with J, she encouraged me, saying that I could do it. She really solidified the idea in my head. I vowed that next January I'd be running instead of watching. By the time I was on the plane home, I was sure of it.
As soon as I got off of the plane on Sunday, I took my first step as a new runner: I bought new shoes. I knew that none of my sneakers were going to be suitable for running. I ended up at the Texas Running Company on 5th Street in downtown Austin. You can find them on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/TxRunCoAustin They were so helpful. They got me on a treadmill and had me run wearing some neutral shoes. They videotaped my feet and sure enough, I am an overpronator. I had a feeling, but they confirmed it. The gentleman who helped me was so nice, saying "I love beginners." He had a lot of great tips for me. When they didn't have the shoes I wanted in my size, they had them sent down from their north store in less than one buisiness day for me to pick up. They are Nike Zoom Structures, black with hot pink (my favorite colors!)
And I was off. Or so I thought.
I started doing an app very similar to Couch to 5K on my iPhone. The app I'm using is called Easy 5K with Jeff Galloway. The reason I picked that app ($3.99 in the App Store) over the free Couch to 5K is because Jeff Galloway is the coach for most RunDisney events, which I look forward to doing. He is also a big supporter of the run/walk program, which both J and the nice people at TX Running Co. recommended to me.
Several weeks in is where I started to have knee problems. Both knees were hurting me. They didn't hurt nearly as much when I was on the trail as on pavement or treadmill (sorry, but I don't do rain...), but they were hurting after runs. That slowed my progress down and set me back a few weeks or so. In fact, I nearly lost all of my motivation and began to wonder if this was just another hobby I'd pick up for a few weeks and then drop when I got bored.
But then, the Austin Livestrong Marathon and Half Marathon weekend came around. I had heard that there was an accompanying 5K, and although I knew I wasn't quite ready, I went to the expo and registered. It was great being around lots of runners and of course, shopping for fun new running clothes helped! :-) Hey, I knew it was going to be cold that Sunday morning, so I needed a light layer to put over short sleeves. I found a decent Brooks half zip pullover for $24.99 on sale and when I got to the register, it had been reduced to $20.00. Score. I was pumped and after that met R for some dinner so she could carbo- load (I didn't feel the need to carbo- load for a 5K! haha)
The next morning, R and I headed out around 6 a.m. I dropped her off at bag check and found parking. (The 5K started later than the half and full marathons). I found the start line and waited. My goal was just to listen to my body (still unsure of my knees) and finish, no matter how long it took.
I had a pretty good run. My hands were cold the entire time and I had wished I had brought gloves like R did. I focused on my pace and didn't worry about anyone else around me. That was hard because power walkers (including a couple in their 70s) were passing me up. Haha. But I did it and I finished! What a great feeling!
I stayed around to watch R finish in a personal best time for her. Then we got some food quick and went back to watch our friend N finish the full. Kudos to both of them for finishing. They both did great. We went to brunch afterward to celebrate. I finally felt like I was a runner after running my first 5K since high school. (I ran track in high school but wasn't very good!) I walked a 5K with R for fun after I first moved here to Austin. She was wearing flip flops and we ate snow balls before the race started, Amy's Ice Cream along the course, and we stopped to take pictures with all the bands along the route... so that totally doesn't count!
So, I will leave it today on that high note. Next post... experiencing failure after success. See ya then!
Katie