The Gym

I had to do it. There's no feasible way to train for a half marathon in the summertime in Phoenix without joining a gym (or owning a treadmill).

So I did it.

I didn't want to. The gym has a bad wrap in my mind. I won't go into the details of why. Trust me, it just does.

I even got a nervous stomach as I approached the doors...

But I've visited 3 times now. Running like a madwoman on the treadmill. Today I actually lifted weights, something I haven't done in a long time. But my sweet friend joined me, so that made it easier.

Going to the gym was something we did as a family when I was in jr. high/high school. Me, my mom and dad. We didn't go to church on Sundays, we went to the gym. I enjoyed it though. They didn't drag me kicking and screaming. I really liked this unconventional family tradition we had.

Today, using the weight machines, all the techniques came back to me, just like riding a bike. It didn't feel awkward to use these foreign objects. I'm actually excited and looking forward to my dad's next visit to Phoenix so I can take him to my new gym for a workout, just like old times!

My very first half marathon is sneaking up on me. It's about 8 and a half weeks away. October 17th is the big day. I'm nervous to say the least. I'm not worried about having a great finish time, I just want to run the whole thing without stopping. I finally got back on track with my training. I jumped back into my training program and thankfully the week I picked it back up is an easy week. I have 4 milers this week. Three of them. Two down, one more to go, which will be on Friday.

Next week scares me a bit. I have 2 miles on Monday, 7 miles on Wednesday, 2 miles on Thursday and (eek) 9 miles on Saturday! The kicker with the 9 miles is that I'll be up north at Lew & Elaine's cabin where the elevation is about 6,000 feet and the loop that I do is not flat! Hopefully my friend who is joining me to scrapbook up there will join me in this run too! I haven't told her about it yet, probably should bring that up to her soon!