Training

So I'm into my 4th week of training for the Lincoln Half-Marathon on May 3rd. I decided to start completely over since I hardly ran at all over the holidays...okay and after the holidays too! But I'm back on track and despite having to run on the treadmill more than I'd like because of the crap weather, I feel pretty good. I became a "fan" of the Lincoln Half-Marathon on facebook and every week they send me training schedules! So last week I ran 4 days--3 miles on Tuesday, 2 miles on Wednesday, 3 on Friday and 5 today--ALL on the stinkin' treadmill except for Tuesday.

Have I mentioned that I HATE my treadmill? Yes, it is nice to have and yes its convenient, but its SO boring! I watch TV and its still boring. In treadmill time--5 minutes feels like 30. I don't mind running outside when its cold, but I don't really care to run on snow, so needless to say it looks like this week is another date with Mr. Treadmill. Maybe I should name him....what would be a good name for a machine that is stupid, makes time move slowly, and inflicts pain? ...Hmmm....George Bush! Okay bad idea...that will definitely not motivate me. Maybe I should try and give it a more positive spin so that I look forward to jumping on and running in place for 45-60 minutes 4 times a week....Justin Timberlake? Jon Hamm??? "I have to go get on Jon Hamm" That sounds MUCH better than George Bush! :)

Okay, back to actual running talk...if anyone reading this has a way for me to change my negative attitude about my treadmill or has some suggestions on how I can make my runs on that thing more....fun (if humanly possible) then I would LOVE to hear them!
I haven't received the schedule for next week yet, but I imagine it will be similar to this week. All I know is tomorrow is my day off and I'm very excited about that! I am worried about one thing--my hip. I am only 31 years old and I am experiencing hip pain. This is not a new running pain for me. When I started running a few years ago I had the same problem. I saw a physical therapist and it got better, but never really went away. So I've been trying to stretch a LOT and do the exercises he gave me, but it still hurts. So I went to google (my on-line doctor) and typed in "hip pain after running" Apparently this is a common pain that women experience due to poor posture while running. Well I guess if I were an actual "RUNNER" I would have better posture or know the "right" way to run, but....as you know from reading my first entry "I am not a runner" so....do I need a running coach? Maybe I'll have Jeremy video tape me while I run and then post it on this blog and if any of you are actual "runners" you could critique my running style....but please be kind because again...not. a. runner. I just want to get the hip pain to stop so that I can get through training and the marathon. Then if it comes to "you can never run again" at least I can say that I did a marathon! Isn't that why people do it anyway? Just to brag about it? Well...that's at least in the Top 3 reasons I'm doing it.
Well--gotta run!