Larisa (tries to) Run
It's been six months and counting since my last blog post. Lots has happened...and lots has not happened. I have still been eating my way around O'ahu, hiking (no new trails), working part time at the food truck, and about four months ago I started running! Yes, you read that correctly...running.
It all started when a friend casually suggested I do the Great Aloha Run (8.13 miles) with her in February...and I agreed. Knowing I didn't want to fall down flat on my face from exhaustion, I decided to actually try to prepare for the race by participating in a free running clinic. Every Sunday morning (at 6:30 a.m.) for nine weeks, I drove down to Kapiolani Park where I ran for what was really the first time in my life. I have participated in other walks/races before, but I was always just a walker (not a zombie...well, yes sort of a zombie)...walking my way to the finish. Over the course of the nine week training program, I went from barely running a few yards to run/walking over eight miles. I surprised and impressed myself.
Each week I ran two to three times a week in addition to my Sunday running clinic training. Over the course of the two months I spent preparing myself not to die during the Great Aloha Run, I learned so much! Before I knew it, February arrived and the day of the Great Aloha Run was here. Armed with nine weeks of consistent practice, week before hydration, the best running shoes for a beginner like me, and decked out in crazy tacky aloha gear...I was ready to take on the course...and get that medal!
Two hours of running (with breaks for water, picture taking, roadside entertainment, and some fast paced walking) and I found myself crossing the finish line. A medal and photographers awaited my red faced, sweaty arrival. I did it. I successfully completed (under the time I initially thought it may take) my first Great Aloha Run! There is NOTHING like it. I was sweating in every conceivable place, and then some. I was grinning from ear to ear. I was proud. I was ready for more of this...I was ready for another race! They do say running is addictive...
There were many times I didn't want to get up early to drive to town for my running clinic. There were many days it would have been easier to sit at home and watch t.v. instead of going out for a run. There were many excuses to not try to reach my goal that I had definitely used before. But this was my moment, the timing was right, and I set a goal and achieved it.
Now, that same friend is whispering Half Marathon in my ear. I'm not there...yet. I am currently trying to fit a run or two in each week (I have slacked some since the Great Aloha Run). I have, however, done two 10k races, two 5k races, and yes...still try to fit in hiking (that is training too). I'm on the lookout for the next race. Now that I know that with consistent running, it does get easier, I'm more willing to get out there, rain or shine.
So although this blog, which started out as somewhat of a daily journal (see posts from ten years ago), then morphed into movie and restaurant reviews (pre-Yelp), and again morphed into my cupcake baking escapades, then most recently all of my hiking adventures, I am seeing a new path for Life of Larisa...a path that includes forest trails, mountain climbs, beach trips, taco stops, and now running. Thanks for bearing with me as my journeys, interests, and passions change. I'll try to update more consistently. After all, if I've learned anything from starting this running journey, it's that consistency is truly key. It's everything. It prepares your mind, it prepares your muscles, it prepares your schedule, it prepares your expectations. Four months into the year and I've decided that consistent is my mantra for 2019.
'Til next time..."Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up." ~Dean Karnazes
It all started when a friend casually suggested I do the Great Aloha Run (8.13 miles) with her in February...and I agreed. Knowing I didn't want to fall down flat on my face from exhaustion, I decided to actually try to prepare for the race by participating in a free running clinic. Every Sunday morning (at 6:30 a.m.) for nine weeks, I drove down to Kapiolani Park where I ran for what was really the first time in my life. I have participated in other walks/races before, but I was always just a walker (not a zombie...well, yes sort of a zombie)...walking my way to the finish. Over the course of the nine week training program, I went from barely running a few yards to run/walking over eight miles. I surprised and impressed myself.
Two hours of running (with breaks for water, picture taking, roadside entertainment, and some fast paced walking) and I found myself crossing the finish line. A medal and photographers awaited my red faced, sweaty arrival. I did it. I successfully completed (under the time I initially thought it may take) my first Great Aloha Run! There is NOTHING like it. I was sweating in every conceivable place, and then some. I was grinning from ear to ear. I was proud. I was ready for more of this...I was ready for another race! They do say running is addictive...
There were many times I didn't want to get up early to drive to town for my running clinic. There were many days it would have been easier to sit at home and watch t.v. instead of going out for a run. There were many excuses to not try to reach my goal that I had definitely used before. But this was my moment, the timing was right, and I set a goal and achieved it.
Now, that same friend is whispering Half Marathon in my ear. I'm not there...yet. I am currently trying to fit a run or two in each week (I have slacked some since the Great Aloha Run). I have, however, done two 10k races, two 5k races, and yes...still try to fit in hiking (that is training too). I'm on the lookout for the next race. Now that I know that with consistent running, it does get easier, I'm more willing to get out there, rain or shine.
So although this blog, which started out as somewhat of a daily journal (see posts from ten years ago), then morphed into movie and restaurant reviews (pre-Yelp), and again morphed into my cupcake baking escapades, then most recently all of my hiking adventures, I am seeing a new path for Life of Larisa...a path that includes forest trails, mountain climbs, beach trips, taco stops, and now running. Thanks for bearing with me as my journeys, interests, and passions change. I'll try to update more consistently. After all, if I've learned anything from starting this running journey, it's that consistency is truly key. It's everything. It prepares your mind, it prepares your muscles, it prepares your schedule, it prepares your expectations. Four months into the year and I've decided that consistent is my mantra for 2019.
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