How it all began

One might wonder how me, someone who has had only moderate (and girly) athletic interests for their entire life would stumble upon the desire to be a runner.
well, I decided I wanted to run a marathon.
I really have absolutely no clue where I decided this, maybe it was after I watched the biggest loser finale I thought heck, if they can, I can?

I really don't know, but looking back it really does seem insane.
I soon found myself on amazon looking for a book to tell me how, because I certainly had no clue how anyone runs 26.2 miles and found "The Non-Runners Marathon Trainer", immediately upon the purchase it came with a semi-free (I am still not sure if I accidentally paid for it) e-book. I was hooked in an instant, suddenly their were magic words about how anyone can run a marathon just using happy thoughts and determination. Thus I became a runner.

I did start with baby steps and purchased the Couch 2 5K application for my Ipod Touch
So I started with one whole minute of running and in a short 5weeks increased output 500% to 5 whole minutes. it is funny that even though the longest amount of time I have ever run is 5minutes, I am still dreaming about the marathon, but I really am going to run it, you just wait and see!

in My running book, it has stated multiple times the importance and value of visualizing mental motivation to help push through the mental block in running. They always suggest imagine you running easy and free and so I tried really hard to imagine me all bouncy and sized 0 but no matter what I couldn't convince myself.

Instead what I have come up with (enter the twilight zone)

Now (this is where it gets weird) I imagine myself (when I am full of energy and drive) as a tiger ripping through the jungle and in those moments when I have to push through I imagine myself as one of those horse's made to drive carriages in the city let go to run free, tired and sore but determined to keep running. Now how I relate to this better than an image of myself? I don't know....

additionally I have created another strategy. I hear (read it online, and in the book) that breathing is crazy important while running ( and due to a horrible 400 meter race in 7th grade, I was told that breathing is the cure to "stitches"/side pain)so I have been trying really hard to get a grasp on my breathing. So I imagined breathing in and the oxygen is teal bubbles, it then explodes inside me sending oxygen in bouncing bubbles to all my parts. when the breathing was much harder, I magically started to breath pink bubbles.

I know all of this is not something someone would normally say, but yet maybe someday it will help someone out and it really does help me.

Simply
Lauren