Wow - I am impressed! That beats my 4 1/2 laps hollow! I'm impressed that you even considered entering a race, let alone completing it in better time than you expected. I also think you're mad - but what a wonderful insanity! I have completed 10 k walks for charity, even that 15 k one where we got lost & walked about 20 k, but running! Well done! *loud applause*

Now I have no excuse not to get yup in the dark & go to the gym before work tomorrow!

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Oh that walk for charity was entertaining. In a totally exhausting fashion. I love bananas!!! I am so glad they had them at the end of the walk for us.

I read through a section of this great running training book J has, last night. It was about "how to run your first race" and told me not to make exactly the mistakes I made about starting too far up in the pack and trying not to get passed, but I think I do better making those mistakes on my own and figuring out what I did wrong than having someone tell me beforehand.

I swear I mostly started running because getting up + getting to gym is too much effort, running you can start right outside your front door ... shaves hours off my exercise schedule every week ;)

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Oh, I had forgotten about the bananas! maybe that's why I don't like them any more?

Going to the gym, or going swimming, I start right outside my door, cos I walk there. It's only a 7 minute walk to the gym, & although it's a 25 minute walk to the pool, I count that as part of the exercise regime. I don't get the huge adrenalin rush, though, just a sense of feeling goood.

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Yay for you!!! You made it! :D

Kind of a rush, huh? ;) You feel like you're gonna die for a while, then suddenly you have all this energy, and you sleep so well that night.

Getting a good burst off the line is good, but it does take a few races to get a feel for your limits. :) In the X-Country races, I just didn't want to get elbowed in the face or ribs. ;)

You have another one coming up in a few months, don't you?

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I definitely slept well! I felt like throwing up all day after the race though. Um. Running with heatstroke! So much fun.

We were thinking of one in October, which still sounds good, but then we hadn't planned on doing this one. I need to touch base with J on when he wants to race next. It is SUCH a blast to know he's racing too and we're both in the same event.

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You know about penis envy, & how we poor females are supposed to suffer from it? Well, reading your post last night, I went to bed with a strong case of running envy! I wanted to learn to run & take part in a race & get all that adrenalin and nausea and sense of accomplishment!

In the cold light of morning I realised that with my arthritic knee and hip and toes, there's no way I'm gonna be able to run. I'll just have to concentrate on keeping fit with the things I can do. But boy, that envy was quite intense!

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I didn't think I could do it either and it's amazing what one can overcome in terms of physical disadvantages, once the running addiction takes hold. Talk to your doc before you rule it out completely... but then you could always walk competitively too - I know that'd be a rush as well, and you've always been a speedy walker!

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I'm seeing the physio at the gym on Friday - she gave me some exercises to strengthen the muscle that holds the kneecap in place, & I have to show her how much better it is. She'll have a clearer idea than my doctor about the chances of me running,, although she (dr) would be very supportive.

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Ask, ask ask! And if you decide to do it I'll dig up a copy of the Runner's Handbook for you. It is so awesome because it's about understanding that everyone starts from a baseline of *awful*. As a society, we're not runners. There's this sort of free-floating perception that of course 'I' could run if only I started, I think because most people did a bit of track in high school... but the author of the Runner's Handbook just wants you to start by understanding that you're a beginner and you can't jump in with both feet so to speak - it has a very good attitude!

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I did ask - I saw the physio this arvo (more on my own journal), & basically what she said was I gotta walk before I can run. Literally. She says he can get me fit enough to do the next City to Surf 15 ks, (some time in March I think),but I must walk it. Also, she's gonna help me overcome the knee & toes arthritis problems, because I can't run if they're not fixed. But she hasn't ruled it out completely! She said if I *really* want to run, she'll train me. Running is apparently good for beating osteoporosis.

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Ooh awesome. I'm glad your physio is on board. Sounds like a good lead-up time to me... walking the 15k by March would be good regardless of anything else, and working on the joint stuff sounds good too. Running is definitely tougher on the joints than walking. But the pay-off is excellent, it's a very, very efficient way to exercise ;) and the runner's high is outstanding.

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