Run like the wind bulls eye!

[Katie Little]

In my very first run Disney race - my costume will be Jessie from toy story so that I can wake up that morning and tell my self to "run like the wind bulls eye!"

Hi! I'm Katie Faye and I guess this is where I share a little about me. I'm pretty fat and unhealthy. I'm also obsessed with all things Disney. So a year ago, I was looking for way to use Disney to motivate me to live a healthy lifestyle be cause you know "A spoon full of sugar" and all that. I quickly discovered the virtual running shorts for runDisney. I downloaded a couch to 5k type app (it's by fitness 22 - not quite the the name brand one) and the rest was history. I fell in love with running and I gave the mouse all my money (well $150 anyway) for the 2017 virtual running shorts. I ran 3 5ks and received the most legit medals I've ever seen in my entire life. Fastest time was 45 mins and even though I was putting in the hours, I couldn't improve my time.

So I'm slow! At least I'm running right? Except I haven't lost weight or inches and I've actually gained... Then I tried to run a four miler in September (2017). I couldn't even run the first 2 miles before I had to walk. I had bronchitis, it was the weekend before my weeding, and there was WAY MORE elevation than I was used to. Oh and my lovely husband Walk/Jogged it faster than I "ran" it. So I was pretty discouraged. Took a rest week. Got married and then planned a honey moon. Between the stress of the wedding, the disappointment of my first race with other people and the overwhelming feeling of exhaustion I was feeling I stopped running for a bit. Also, my new dog ate my running shoes and I've had some achilles pain so I convinced myself that I needed a longer break..

Which brings us to December 27th. 3 months after the Terrible 4 miler and a few days before new years. I still love running and I still dream of a marathon at Disney. My pity party is nearing it's close and I've gotten a renewed sense of motivation thanks to my favorite youtuber Heather. I recommend checking her out here. I have new running shoes with a tiny "drop" to help with the achilles pain, a fancy new jacket to cope with the sub freezing temps, and I've discovered this thread to keep me accountable. So comments are not only welcome, but encouraged. I could use the cheerleaders and hopefully I can provide some motivation for you guys.


Currently I'm working through the 5k Runner app again. Since I've fallen completely off the wagon with both healthy eating and running, I think a fresh start will be best.

My question for all of you - How do you stay motivated?

 

[Katie Little]

Thought I would share the plan for Week 1 which starts Sunday (12/31/17).

Sunday - 5m warm up -- 1min run + 1.5 min walk (6 times) -- 5 min cool down (25 mins total)
Tuesday - 5m warm up -- 1min run + 1.5 min walk (8 times) -- 5 min cool down (30 mins total)
Thursday - 5m warm up -- 1min run + 1.5 min walk (8 times) -- 5 min cool down (30mins total)
Saturday - 5m warm up -- 1.5 min run + 2 min walk (4 times) -- 1min Run + 1min walk (2 times) -- 5 min cool down (28 mins total)

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

Welcome!!

My question for all of you - How do you stay motivated?

by coming here and reading about everyone else's training. You will find a wealth of information and advice here. Another way to keep yourself accountable would be to join a gym, if possible. After my knee surgery I joined a gym closer to my house just so I could be there quick, then hop on a bike and start rehabbing. The lady at the front desk asked about my knee and from then on every time I went in she asked how the knee was doing. It felt great to get that encouragement. I started at 5 minutes and worked my way up to 20 then added more resistance. By the way "fast" and "slow" and "running" "walking" "jogging" are all relative terms. Especially after an injury or other setback. Just keep moving forward and you'll get there. I am not a fast runner, but we are all runners. I am an assistant coach with Girls on the Run and I like something the head coach told our girls one day "I am not a fast runner, but I am a good runner." (she did a half marathon every month in the fall). So lace up those new shoes and start moving!

Christine

 

[DopeyBadger]

Following along! Excited to see what the future holds for you!

My question for all of you - How do you stay motivated?

Goals! I'm big on goals, and that includes writing them down. Then come up with a plan to hit those goals. It might not be something you can hit right away. I've been working on my big goal for over 5 years now. My motto is "If you want it, PROVE IT, by doing what is necessary to get it!" So what do you want?

 

[Katie Little]

Welcome!!


"I am not a fast runner, but I am a good runner." (she did a half marathon every month in the fall). So lace up those new shoes and start moving!

Christine

Thank you! I absolutely love that!

 

[Katie Little]

Following along! Excited to see what the future holds for you!



Goals! I'm big on goals, and that includes writing them down. Then come up with a plan to hit those goals. It might not be something you can hit right away. I've been working on my big goal for over 5 years now. My motto is "If you want it, PROVE IT, by doing what is necessary to get it!" So what do you want?

Thanks so much! I love "If you want it, PROVE IT..." It's like the action version of "If you can dream it, you can do it." . As it stands my goals are as follows (full disclosure some of them are a little big for where I am now).

1) A run every month in 2018.
2)A 30 min 5k
3) Not only am I going to go kill that same 4 miler in September this year, but I'd love to do the big event at that race (a 10 miler).
4)Half Marathon by December 2018
5) runDisney Marathon in 2019
6) Dopey 2020ish
Then my ultimate bucket list one day hopefully.... Boston.

 

[Katie Little]

Signed up for a virtual 5k on January 18th (this one). I know I'm probably going to run/walk it so my A goal is to run half of it. My B goal is to run 30%. It's a winnie the pooh themed and the medal is perfectly inspiring for the first of 12 races this year. It says "Promise me you’ll always remember, you’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”

 

[Sleepless Knight]

So I'm slow! At least I'm running right? Except I haven't lost weight or inches and I've actually gained... Then I tried to run a four miler in September (2017). I couldn't even run the first 2 miles before I had to walk. I had bronchitis, it was the weekend before my weeding, and there was WAY MORE elevation than I was used to. Oh and my lovely husband Walk/Jogged it faster than I "ran" it. So I was pretty discouraged.

My question for all of you - How do you stay motivated?

Welcome! As Obi-Wan Kenobi would say "You've taken your first step into a larger world.

Don't feel like you failed. You still got out there and ran the race. You still persevered to finish the race. I know many, many people who don't even attempt this. Maybe they want to, maybe they think it will be fun, but then they convince themselves they can't actually do it. Keep in mind that you're really only competing against yourself, working to defeat the version of you that is pretty fat and unhealthy. This doesn't mean you can't find friendly competition in races against friends or family. Rather it means that you should focus on your race and remember your training. Your training may not be as fast as someone else's. But if you put in that training, then you are prepared to succeed at your race. It's okay to let others speed encourage or motivate you. But do not let it discourage you.

by coming here and reading about everyone else's training. You will find a wealth of information and advice here.

I am also a slow runner. Despite my lack of speed I have become a better runner because of what I've learned here. I've also become a more confident runner because I've learned how training plans work and why they work the way they do. I've done things in running that I once believed only faster and more elite runners than me could do.

Goals! I'm big on goals, and that includes writing them down. Then come up with a plan to hit those goals. It might not be something you can hit right away. I've been working on my big goal for over 5 years now. My motto is "If you want it, PROVE IT, by doing what is necessary to get it!" So what do you want?

This statement is from one of aforementioned wealth of information posters. And he's right. Set goals, work towards them, and visualize them. What will it take to get where you want to go?

Sometimes in the midst of a difficult run, I visualize myself crossing the finish line. Or walking around the parks afterwards with that medal. If it's a short run and I'm not feeling it, I tell myself that it's race day and I have one more mile to finish.

Now for your last question about what motivates us? In the end, that motivation must be internal. While external forces including other runners can help encourage you, you need to decide why you're doing this. It's very easy to set goals that say, I will exercise because reasons. It's also more difficult to actually accomplish that goal when "because reasons" is your motivation. Now, if you set goals such as I'm going to exercise to improve my health or I'm going to run x miles in a week because I'm training for this race on this day, then that becomes why you do it. Without a goal, it's very, very easy to find excuses not to run. But when you have that goal, it tends to motivate you to get out there.

Set difficult, yet achievable goals. Difficult means you have to work towards it. Achievable means it's certainly possible. Above all else it means that you can measure your progress even if it's slow. Don't worry that it isn't happening overnight. Just keep going and it will happen. And as you achieve those goals, then you set new ones.

 

[Katie Little]

Thank you so much!! I love all of it! From the Obi-Wan quote to the last sentence.


In fact, all of you guys are so nice to actually take time out of your day to give me advice and motivation. I can't begin to articulate how much this has meant to me! Especially when I've looked at some of your training journals and seen your laundry lists of accomplishments. It blows my mind that runners that are so accomplished would take time out of their day to help me… It also gives me the thing I needed most and that’s accountability!


Don’t get me wrong, my friends and family are supportive, but I don’t actually know anyone who has ever ran more than 10 miles in real life! And trust me, I’ve bugged that one 10 mile guy plenty with my questions. This outlet is invaluable - Thank you.

 

[Capang]

Hi there! I’m going to jump in and follow along here. Staying motivated is tough, especially when it’s below 0 outside. It comes down to what @DopeyBadger stated. What do you want? For me, it was wanting to lose weight and be healthy. That motivated me to take the first steps, literally, to change my life. Don’t get discouraged if you’re not as fast or as strong as you’d like to be. Just keep training and you will get faster and stronger. The runDisney community here is wonderful and supportive. I look forward to reading more!

 

[jennamfeo]

Welcome to this crazy, yet inspiring and wonderful group of runners. I haven't been on here long and I haven't accomplished half of what some of the people have on here, but they never ever made me feel like less of a runner. Always welcoming and ready to give advice. To piggy back on what was already said goals are huge, at least for me. Using a training journal for accountability is super helpful. There will be hard days. There will be days you want to quit. The progress can be slow, but that's part of the process. And live my @DopeyBadger's motto, sometimes it's the only thing that gets me out of bed on those early mornings.

 

[roxymama]

It's so much easier to be motivated if you find something you love (or even just like a little bit) about an activity to latch onto.
At first mine was checking off the C25k workouts like it was a video game on my phone. And another thing was buying cute clothes. Having my post run coffee. Getting a shiny medal. Etc

And slowly but surely the thing I loved became the feeling that the actual running was giving me. I started to love the running itself the most. And now that feeling is what gets me back out the door.

It's hard right now in winter, that's the honest truth. But just getting the workout done is so much less exhausting than figuring out an excuse not to do it. My first 5k was 42 minutes in early 2015 and recently I did the same distance at 27:37. I understand where you are at. Your outcome may vary (maybe faster, maybe slower) depending on all kinds of things. But if you want it....go out and get it

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Thank you so much!! I love all of it! From the Obi-Wan quote to the last sentence.


In fact, all of you guys are so nice to actually take time out of your day to give me advice and motivation. I can't begin to articulate how much this has meant to me! Especially when I've looked at some of your training journals and seen your laundry lists of accomplishments. It blows my mind that runners that are so accomplished would take time out of their day to help me… It also gives me the thing I needed most and that’s accountability!


Don’t get me wrong, my friends and family are supportive, but I don’t actually know anyone who has ever ran more than 10 miles in real life! And trust me, I’ve bugged that one 10 mile guy plenty with my questions. This outlet is invaluable - Thank you.

With my friends and family, responses vary. My youngest sister has run 2 races with me and will be joining me for all 3 Star Wars races at Dark Side in April. Others want to do a Disney race someday, others have no desire to run, but are very supportive, and others have blatantly said I'm crazy. Any way you look at it, I need this community to ask my questions to, and find encouragement and support. And not think I'm insane for deciding to sign up for a half with no running in a month just 3 weeks before the race.

Welcome to this crazy, yet inspiring and wonderful group of runners. I haven't been on here long and I haven't accomplished half of what some of the people have on here, but they never ever made me feel like less of a runner. Always welcoming and ready to give advice. To piggy back on what was already said goals are huge, at least for me. Using a training journal for accountability is super helpful. There will be hard days. There will be days you want to quit. The progress can be slow, but that's part of the process. And live my @DopeyBadger's motto, sometimes it's the only thing that gets me out of bed on those early mornings.

A training journal is great for accountability, motivation, and discovering what worked and didn't work during a given run. I also like to keep track of my mileage on a spreadsheet. It helps me see where I am at a glance, how much improvement, if any I've made, and provides a nice way to determine how many miles I ran during a week or month.

 

[Katie Little]

My first frozen hurdle....

Today is here! It's the day my training plan started... The day I've been waiting for with anticipation. My alarm went off and I hoped right out of bed at 6 am (I'm not a morning person by any means so this is a big deal). Before I get my running clothes on, my wonderful lovely dogs needed to go out, so I grabbed the nearest jacket leashed them up opened the door and instantly decided "It's not worth it." After the dogs did their thing, I crawled back into bed with my husband for another hour and now I'm at work (shhhh don't tell my boss).

"Why would I give up so quickly?!" because at 6am this morning in central VA it was a nice warm 16 degrees!!! I had planned for that, I had all the best warm weather running gear laid out and was ready to brave the cold.. I just didn't realize just how cold 16 degrees was. You know the phrase "bone chilling?" Well, I fully understand that expression now.

Anyway I'm going to run when I get home, the sun will still be out and it will have warmed up to 21 degrees. Plus, there is that whole gym membership I've had for a year now. I could run on the treadmill, but to quote Jimmy Fallon "ew". (I really wish I knew how to add that gif in here).

I just felt it was important to share my "fail" here. I know that if I tell you guys that I failed but I'm going to get out there later, It gives me more accountability. OH! Speaking of that.. I joined Strava - Here's my account if you want to follow along there. And I joined the The Dis club thanks to @DopeyBadger's signature (Thanks!).

I do have a question for all of you guys about strava (or any run keeper you use) - Do you start recording your activity before or after your warm up? Also, do you turn it off before the cool down? I like starting it at the very beginning of my warm up walk and ending it after the cool down because it gives me a true mileage number; however, for the first 4 -5 weeks of my 8 week training plan, that 10 mins of warm up and cool down is a significant part of my work out and totally skews my pacing.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I do have a question for all of you guys about strava (or any run keeper you use) - Do you start recording your activity before or after your warm up? Also, do you turn it off before the cool down? I like starting it at the very beginning of my warm up walk and ending it after the cool down because it gives me a true mileage number; however, for the first 4 -5 weeks of my 8 week training plan, that 10 mins of warm up and cool down is a significant part of my work out and totally skews my pacing.

I turn it on the moment I start any activity and end it when I finish the activity. So I include the WU and CD, even though it may skew my final average pace. My WU and CD can last as much as 6 miles total three times per week. I feel like it's time spent training so it should count. If you're worried about skewed pacing, you could always do three activities: WU, then run, then CD.

I just felt it was important to share my "fail" here. I know that if I tell you guys that I failed but I'm going to get out there later, It gives me more accountability. OH! Speaking of that.. I joined Strava - Here's my account if you want to follow along there. And I joined the The Dis club thanks to @DopeyBadger's signature (Thanks!).

Woot Woot!

 

[Katie Little]

Welp - 1st run is done! 1.6 miles in 26 mins. During the run I felt awful. I was cold, I could barley breath and I'm pretty sure I tasted blood at one point.... Then I got home, warmed up a little and felt like doing it again. I realized all of my struggle was with the weather, and not the running. YAY!! I'm pretty sure that I didn't have to start the couch to 5k training plan all over, so I may skip around a little.. but for now, I'm just happy to be running again!

 

[roxymama]

Welp - 1st run is done! 1.6 miles in 26 mins. During the run I felt awful. I was cold, I could barley breath and I'm pretty sure I tasted blood at one point.... Then I got home, warmed up a little and felt like doing it again. I realized all of my struggle was with the weather, and not the running. YAY!! I'm pretty sure that I didn't have to start the couch to 5k training plan all over, so I may skip around a little.. but for now, I'm just happy to be running again!

Awesome! You braved the weather and this weekend I defaulted to gym.
I keep my WU and CD intact as well but I can see my data on my garmin app, so I know what my paces are when I'm moving faster. Treadmill it's harder to pull them apart but I'm not focused on trying for fast average paces...just focused on running well during each phase of the workout (slower or faster)
I hope that makes sense. When I first started I'd keep them all apart and it got hard to keep track of runs (for me.)

 

[FFigawi]

I turn it on the moment I start any activity and end it when I finish the activity. So I include the WU and CD, even though it may skew my final average pace. My WU and CD can last as much as 6 miles total three times per week. I feel like it's time spent training so it should count. If you're worried about skewed pacing, you could always do three activities: WU, then run, then CD.

Or hit Lap when you finish the WU and again after the run to have one activity but get your run split out for analysis.

 

[roxymama]

Or hit Lap when you finish the WU and again after the run to have one activity but get your run split out for analysis.

Forgot about that option! I do this outside when I've got speed intervals that are less than a mile.

 

[FFigawi]

Forgot about that option! I do this outside when I've got speed intervals that are less than a mile.

I use this feature often too, mainly because my coach gives me some workouts where the intervals are time based and not mileage based. I find it easier to have one file which uploads into Training Peaks and Strava than multiple ones.