No More Running for Weaklings.

So I'm a little upset. I tried to take the Intermediate Running for Women class after being told explicitly by the Fleet Feet staff that I would have no problem moving to it after taking Beginner in the Fall. I explained to them my break in running between the Stampede and the Biggest Loser run and they said it shouldn't be a problem. I had been running for about two weeks when I started Intermediate on Monday.

Well, they were very wrong. It turns out the class is in the Arboretum, which is very hilly and which had been giving me a little bit of trouble (though not much) on the Bunny Run. This time, the legs didn't loosen up and I had to walk halfway back.

The Beginner class was done entirely on the very flat Greenbelt in North Davis. I was very disappointed to find that the route I've been taking since starting the Beginner class in September in no way prepared me for the Intermediate class. The hills were too much.

Fleet Feet could have done one of two things before I shelled over $109 to them.

1) Design the Beginning class so that it actually pushes a runner and prepares her for the next level, or,

2) Told me the truth about the ability to go from one class to the next.

How about an educated and informed staff?

I've done two 5ks in the last two months, and while I did take time off because of the stress of changing jobs and a MRSA infection, I don't think I'm all that out of shape. The level of intensity of the 10k class was grossly misrepresented to me.

Well, now I'm pissed because even though I got a refund, I would have really liked an apology. Shame on them. They didn't even address my concerns when I told them and asked for the refund. They simply nodded and smiled and handed me my receipt.

I've decided I'll be training on my own, shedding the "interval" system and researching online the best way to increase strength for hills since the Fleet Feet classes did absolutely nothing to make me a better runner. I haven't run since Monday and my shins haven't hurt since Tuesday, so I'm going out today to kick ass and take names. Thanks for nothing, Fleet Feet!

Logging Miles

I've used a few different running apps, but the two best are Runkeeper and MapMyRun by far. Those two I've created accounts with and have used to track my progress.

Between just those two apps, when I've used them to track my runs, I've run 163.48 miles. This isn't counting the running for women classes or the first two months of my running when I first started.

Even though there have been breaks, I'm still pretty proud of that, seeing as how that's probably 100 times more than I had ever run in my adult life before July of 2011.

I expect to break 200 before April is out, but that's only if I record my workouts. I kind of like being able to keep a record. The races are a bit easier; I've run 15k total. :)

Less Than Two Weeks

I have less than two weeks before my first ever 5k run. I'm super excited. I'm doing the Roseville Hot Pink Fun Run benefitting the Placer Breast Cancer Endowment. Team Tatariffic has two members now. I thank my friend Ray for asking me to do this with him, this convincing me not to do the zombie mud run, which probably would have been a bit much for a first-ever race.

This week in Running for Women, we are progressing from nine reps to eleven of 1 1/2 minutes running to 2 minutes walking. I'm going to be looking for either a bridge class over the holidays or see if any of the women still want to meet at the usual times to continue running. In January, I might take the intermediate class or the 5k maintenance class or I might do a different program altogether. I like the run/walk, but I know I can do a continuous run for at least two miles, so I might try something new.

What I love about all of this is that I can call myself a runner. When Chria and I are playing around and chasing each other to the mail box or whatever, my body automatically clicks into form without me thinking about it. It's like turning on a machine, I just love it. Can't wait for the 21st!