Edna Reed
Hello. I am Edna Reed. I became a runner 4 and a half years ago and my life has been blessed tremendously by this sport! It has brought many amazing friends into my life.....all of which I am truly grateful for. It has given me the strength and mental tenacity that I needed to live my life to the fullest. It's an awesome stress reliever, gives my mind peace to think, space to find creative solutions, and allows me to feel alive and strong. I hope to run until the day comes when I can no longer run. And I hope you find the joy of running in your own life!
16 Weeks to a Marathon!!
Running Moms, Here's a smart tip for your old books!
If you are like me, then you have old books lying around. In my shed, there is at least one large plastic container of books that I no longer read. There are even college textbooks that I still have on hand from 10 years ago! Right now those items are in my perpetual yard sale section....the section of my shed that continues to grow with little hope of seeing daylight again in the next decade or near century possibly. So here's a tip I wanted to share with you running moms: Sell them online! Yes, a friend even mentioned this to me awhile back but I have not pursued the idea at all...that would mean an additional time commitment on my part to go and locate a good site to use. Well, a magazine subscription has came to save the day! I thank the magazine All You for the following recommended sites to visit to sell your unneeded or unused books. Try selling your books at cash4books.net, ecampus.com, and mybookbuyer.com!! It's almost enough to make me want to go scrummage around in my shed....well maybe tomorrow when it's actually daylight!!
From one running mom to another,
Edna
Yes It's True.....Don't Think, Just Do!
This June marks 2 years of running. Sometimes I pinch myself. Is this really me? The same girl...ahem....woman....who never kept up an exercise plan for more than a week...a few months at best. Like that last gym membership. I think it lasted three months. But,yes, it is me and yes I am still sticking with it. Today.. being a prime example of how this whole thing actually works. It is really surreal. I make a plan. Sounds crazy but true. I make a plan about when I am gonna to run, with whom or by myself, and I pack some clothes. Today, case in point, I had made a plan, with a friend, to run at 4:30ish, and had packed my clothes. On my way to her house the LAST thing in the world I wanted to do today was run. It was Monday. I was tired. I had no pep. It was cold. It had been a miserable day in elementary school with NO OUTDOOR RECESS because it was rainy outside to go along with the cold. This is not a stellar day by any means. But I meander on to her house, and walk in with my bag over my shoulder. And there she is. One of my running pals, with her running shoes on and a smile on her face. So I go and change my clothes thinking...if I don't feel like running..we can just walk right?!!!! After pulling on layers, gloves, ear warmers, watch, IPOD and all other gear... we trample outside and make our way down the driveway. We fuss awhile about the complexities of life...reach our starting point, set our stopwatches to zero and off we go! We RUN. We RUN down highways, down muddy dirt roads, and even down the middle of the railroad tracks. We RUN to feel free, we run to burn calories, we run so we can talk, we run so we can go places. We run because it's what we Do!!! So again, I am reminded that you do not THINK your way into your run each day...you just lace up your shoes, tell yourself you are just gonna walk if you have to...and then you get out there! You will be glad you did! We were. We ended our run, happy and relaxed and thankful. Only at the end of our run, did we both find out neither one of us "felt" like running that day!!
139 Days....Runner Meets the Road
I miscalculated yesterday. I ran more than 4 miles actually...I ran 4 laps of 1.2 miles so that is much closer to 5 than 4. I decided that now is not the time to be shortchanging myself on miles! So I took off for a long run yesterday evening. I had my husband drop me off by the highway down from our house. My goal was to run as far as I could get towards the next city before dark. With a water bottle in one hand, and a cell phone in the other, I took off headed South. The next town is actually 13 miles away but it was already 4:10 p.m. and dark would be coming down at 5:30ish. At any rate, I decided to run along and see how far I could make it. I encountered several things....first was a herd of cows alongside the highway that thought me quite interesting... and decided to rile up the whole crew to run along the fenceline with me! That was fun! The second being a large black and brown dog who wanted to keep me company, or maybe he just wanted to see how many times he could try to trip me before he got bored and went back home. That was not so fun! Lastly, I caught a beautiful sunset that reminded me of how much I love running at sunset in the evenings. Around 5:30 I saw my husband's red Camry driven by my 16 year old coming down the highway to pick me up. I only made it 9 miles which meant my goal of 30 miles for the week ended up still 3 miles short. If only the darkness would have waited longer.............sigh..
140 Days and Counting
140 Days till my June marathon and I am worried about getting in my weekly mileage. This week called for 30 miles....and I have accomplished 17 miles and have one day left. That means to meet that goal I would have to run a half marathon tomorrow!! I don't know if I will make it...probably not. I am thinking 10 miles will be about the most I can take on without risk of injury. I was going to run 7 this eve and ran out of time..so I only made it 4 miles before I looked at my watch and had to make a judgement call. It was either run the other 3 or get home in time to go with my familly and friends to a church production. I chose the production and my family..... and well, I don't regret it! I had a great night...and I figured those 3 miles, done or not, will not break me. Falling short of a goal doesn't meet failure. It may just mean setting the bar again for the next week and going for it with my best efforts. The weekly mileage will continue to rise....and I hope that I continue to be able to rise to the occasion. Hope you all are having a great running week!
From one running mom to another,
Edna
Training Plan- Run a 5K in Eight Weeks
One Mile at a Time
Taking up running can be one of the most positive activities that you add to your lifestyle. The benefits of running include stronger bones, better cardiovascular health (you are strengthening your heart), improved range of motion, increased muscle strength, an outlet for stress relief, and best of all.....running is an incredible mood enhancer!
There are even more benefits that you will find out once you get started! Getting started can be the hardest part to any new endeavor. The good news it that with running, getting started doesn't take a lot of expense, prior experience, or expertise. What WILL you need to get started? A pair of running shoes, a place to get started walking, and a belief system that you can and will carry out your goals!
Now that you have the necessities, you need to uncover one more truth. The first MILE will be the hardest of all!! The first mile is a true milestone! It's the most difficult mile to conquer, but once you have conquered it you will find that you can learn to go as far and as fast as you train to do so. There are lots of training plans out there that will teach you how to learn to run a mile. My favorite plans are the ones that suggest you walk 3 days a week for at least 2 weeks. Once you have accomplished that, you need to interject small bouts of jogging. A good place to start would be walk 5 minutes, jog 30 seconds, walk 5 minutes, jog 30 seconds and continue this pattern for 30 minutes minimum. Do that pattern for 3 times that week. Then you would walk for 5 minutes and jog for 45 seconds for a total of 30 minutes and so forth. For a great plan that works, visit our training section and find the 8 Week 5K Training Plan. It is a tried and true plan, that if followed, will give you the results you are looking for.
141 Days Faith the Size of a Mustard Seed
141 more days till Marathon! This week was a tough week. In fact, this week I had to re-prioritize my days. Sometimes...even though it's hard...running just has to wait. My daughter's big Sweet 16 celebration, with her fellow classmates, was coming to a head this week so I had to set aside my running to take care of all the last minute details. It was a sacrifice but incredibly important to do. I also learned something in the mix, that is going to stick with me the rest of my running future. About 4 months ago, when I was asked to get things going for the Sweet 16 event by some friends who thought I might should take on the task, I was very doubtful about my abilities to coordinate and deliver the standard of expectations required. I was in reality, pretty intimidated. So I did something I often do when faced with an incredible task....get started and go forth with faith! When others are counting on you, go on the faith that God will give you the wisdom as you go. I didn't have a foggy clue how to make any of it happen, but I was open to the possibilities that we all could work together to make it happen well! With running, I think we often should approach our goals that way....AIM big and then step out in faith. When I started running...I only had a small tidbit of faith (mustard seed size really) that I could run even one single solitary mile. But that was enough faith to try. And try I did. When the going got tough, I searched for wisdom and kept on going. I am going to repeat Week 3 of my marathon training this week, but last week was not a loss.....in fact I gained a new perspective! And in my book that's an awful big win!! See you out and about:)
From one running mom to another,
Edna
1/26/10 Coffee Saves the Day!
151 Days till marathon. I have been exhausted. 18 miles over the weekend made Monday a no brainer about having a day off. However, today's training called for a 3 mile run. I had planned to do it after school. I teach school and often have after school remediation during which students stay after school and get picked up between 4:00-4:15 p.m. So today, I had after school remediation. My daughter's Sweet 16 Ball is this Saturday, so I tried to wrap up loose ends for that too. On the way home about 5:00 I wondered where in the world would I find the energy for a 3 mile run!! I felt tired and unmotivated...completely whipped! Then I thought about a cup of coffee. Just the thought of 1 cup of coffee, seemed to draw up some inner strength inside. I imagined how that 1 cup of coffee would give me a renewed sense of energy and drive. So that's what I did. I went on home and heated up a cup from the pot I had made this morning. Not the best (reheated coffee that is) but good enough. It worked!! I drank the cup of coffee and preceded to change clothes, gather my IPOD, my stopwatch, and an extra bottle of water. Off I went to the track. Another first for me tonight too.....I ran at the track in the dark by myself....something I thought I would NOT do. However, I knew where to turn on the lights so that the track was lit. I was not afraid....my determination decided that for me. My legs were leadened...tired...heavy...but I made them do 12 laps around that track. 3 miles accomplished. I am on "track" for the week!!! This is how it's done I think....just DO IT. Nike has it coined so succintly!!!
From one runnning mom to another,
Edna
