As I am writing this I have been sort of been delaying it. Let me start by saying I have been having a relatively good time with the running. At times it has almost seemed to easy. But I have found that I hit a brick wall at 3 miles. But that is the distance I started with during my walking phase. Part of my issue is that I am a worrier. I am an overly critical person. I take everything personally. I always want every run to be longer and faster and that is not happening. So after a week of meltdowns I reached out to Pandora for help. She was a god send. She was able to help me see that maybe I am doing too much to quick. I have plenty of time to prepare for this momentous day. She helped me see I need to relax and not stress about this so much. She told me that our goal is to finish.
I know that I am not going to win or beat anybody. It is a matter of doing something amazing that we could not do before. So I really need to relax and let it happen. I knew it was going to be a challenge. I knew that I was not going to instantly be good at this. I should have known that it was going to be harder that I thought especially given that a year ago I couldn’t walk up the stairs in my house without being winded. I have discussed the run with my surgery team and they did pose an interesting question to me. They asked me when looking back could I have run 3 miles a year ago. I was honest. No I couldn’t run 3 feet a year ago. I never gave a thought to running. Hell for me the standard joke was I don’t run because I don’t have to. I own a car.
I am a little nervous about the run tomorrow as the mileage starts to pick up. I do have some aches and pains but nothing unmanageable and nothing like I was worried about previously. These are just the growing pains of getting in shape. I am looking forward to seeing how it goes. I do try to not look at my stats until the run is over because I get obsessed with them. That is not always a bad thing, it keeps me on the path. But it also stresses me out and makes me crazy cause I always want more. I have also added Bobby Whisnand’s program to what we are doing. I think that strength training will be good for me and help with my 3 mile wall.
I hope that everyone who is doing the virtual training is having a good time and getting your miles in. My best advice everyone is that if you are struggling ask for help. If you need advice ask for it. If you need guidance seek it out. We have some very smart knowledgeable people around us who have the expertise to help us. Thank you to our fantastic sponsors Kays Naturals, Pace Setter Athletic, Celebrate Vitamins, and Ameriwell Bariatrics for all the support and believing in us.
I do owe a special thank you to Pandora for letting me lean on her, whine and cry to, and just listen and be a friend. I have needed that very much and I am sure that I am going to need more of that in the days to come. You rock girl!!!
Pandora Williams author of Desperately Seeking Slender is a Cooper Approved Wellness Coach Trained in Weight Management Strategies and Motivational Speaker studying to become a Certified Personal Trainer.
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Keep up the great work Dawn and remember where you have come from! I also have to remind myself of that and I am 2 years out from surgery and running for 1 year. As for the wall, for me, personally, I found that part of that had to do with not fueling my body properly. That is something you might want to explore. When I started out I was eating only protein and vegetables with absolutely NO carbs at all, not even fruit. I started working with a professional who trains bariatric athletes and she added in fruit. It made an enormous difference. The other thing is fueling while running. I need fuel for anything over 1 hour. So I use Hammer products since they don’t cause GI distress for my altered guts. I use the Hammer Gels for anything less than 2 hours and Hammer Perpetuem for anything over 2 hours. I make sure to take some fuel in every 20 minutes on the course. I hope this helps!