I ran for an hour! (Read 834 times)

I know that many of you on here can run for four times that in one go... but I'm not quite at that point yet. A month ago I had a hard time running twenty minutes without a walk break. Today I ran for an hour straight, at a good pace, and at the end I still felt really good, and as if I could have run a bit farther if I wanted to. I'm really proud of myself! My goal is a half marathon in May. Last month I really didn't think I could do it, because everytime I went out I had a really hard time pushing myself. I'd hit twenty minutes or half an hour and decide that I'm tired, even though I really wasn't- I was just bored. I've learned now that when I get tired, if I can just push myself for another five minutes, I get more energy and can go for a long time. If I take a walk break I can't make myself start running again without needing another walk break two minutes later. So, now I have no doubt that with some self discipline, I can run a half in May, no problem. I just had to share my little accomplishment with some people that understand.

WohooO! That's a milestone to cheer!

Way to go Stephonya! You should be very proud of your progress to date. Keep it up, and you'll have a great first half-marathon experience. Just remember, as you add distance and time, don't overdo it. It's easy to get caught up in the present and push too hard, resulting in an injury. You've got plenty of time until May, and a lifetime of running awaiting you!

That is awesome! As others have said, what a great milestone!

Way to go Stephonya! You should be very proud of your progress to date. Keep it up, and you'll have a great first half-marathon experience. Just remember, as you add distance and time, don't overdo it. It's easy to get caught up in the present and push too hard, resulting in an injury. You've got plenty of time until May, and a lifetime of running awaiting you!

Thank you guys! I appreciate your comments. Hmmm... now you've made me think. I guess I have increased my distance very quickly. My wind feels good, so I figured that I was fine. However, the arches of both my feet hurt during the last ten minutes of my run yesterday, and in the past two weeks my calves have hurt for the first ten minutes of my run until I warm out of it. That's never been an issue before... so maybe I should stop increasing before I get an injury. Would you suggest not trying to increase distance for a month, and just getting some more base miles in, then?

Congrats! I mark my first one mile run as when I became a runner. I was at the gym and I decided to run until my wife was done with her aerobics class. The thing was that I could see her and she could see me. She decided to stay and talk to people after class until I finished running! When she finally came out I couldn't believe that I had lasted for more than an hour. ...And from there I was hooked. It became a quest to see how far I could run.