Aimee’s new colorful kicks!
Mandi and Aimee, mother runners training together for the AMR Virtual 5K, acknowledged the past two weeks weren’t the easiest training-wise. “My life has been crazy the past two weeks and we’ve been having to train separately,” Aimee confided. Mandi, too, had her share of unexpected events, most notably catching a stomach bug that derailed a week of training. But, these BRFs are keeping the faith and are eager to keep training strong. One big boost: new shoes!
What’s been clicking so far in your training?
A: I set the timer in my phone to buzz when it’s time to switch from walking to running. Two minutes, then three, now four. I just keep reminding myself, “You just did three, four can’t be that hard.”
M: I agree with Aimee about the timer. When I have been able to train with Aimee, the timer method works really well.
Any bumps along the way that you’d want to share?
A: Life. Kids, work, this spring that just won’t start! Lots of excuses that I need to be better about managing around.
M: I had a stomach bug for a week, so that halted training pretty quickly. Throw in work, kids, a sick husband (also the stomach bug), no power from snowstorms, etc.
Any standout moments?
A: The last long run we went on together, the very first run set is straight up a hill. At the top I exclaimed, “I do not love running.” Fortunately we kept at it. By the end I was loving it again.
M: We are in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, so there are hills everywhere. While being at the bottom of the hill and trying not to trip or die on the way up, it’s a great feeling I have when I do reach the top of the hill. And new shoes make a huge difference! I got fitted for a pair of Brooks and I only regret not getting fitted sooner.
A: We both went and got professionally fitted for new shoes. I am loving them! If you’re a newbie like me, give yourself the gift of going and getting checked out.
Any particular item/person/mantra helping you stay motivated?
A: Eyes on the prize, right? We have a 5K Color Me Rad in April and then the 5K on May 11. We’ve recruited big teams for these two events—we can’t look like jerks and not finish.
M: Not only will we not look like jerks, but we will be carrying our teams over the finish line.
Anything else you’d like to add about this experience so far?
A: I apologize to Mandi, and promise to be a better training partner!
M: And I apologize to Aimee. We are in this together and even though we had a difficult few weeks, she still inspires me and I’m thankful to have her as a bestie, a colleague, and a trainer.
Sounds like you two ladies are doing great to me! I’m in Missouri and am doing the 5K finish it plan. I was doing really well until it snowed here last Sunday….that really put a damper on my running enthusiasm. Hard to get motivated to go outside or even down to the basement to run on the treadmill when it SHOULD be 50 degrees outside and it’s not even 40…ugh. Anyway, good luck!
I hit the stomach flu speed bump and lost a week of training, too! The important thing is that you keep going. Good job to both of you… And good call getting fitted for shoes. It makes such a difference.
These two are so cute apologizing to each other. My BRF and current training partner with RLAM Own It Half plan lives in Maryland and I’m in Milwaukee. We email each other at the beginning of the week what runs are scheduled for what day and of course there are always changes but we keep each other in the loop. She usually runs in the AM during the week and I run in the PM, so when she emails me that her training for the day is done, it keeps me inspired to be sure I get it done too. Sometimes I get a day ahead of her and she has told me that she liked the pressure of knowing that I got it done. Through all of this each of us has bailed on something, skipped something that really should have been done, but we just keep moving forward. Even though we are not regularly running together our goal is to run the Cleveland half together (start together and photo finish together in less than 2:30)so if we don’t keep up with our training one person will leave the other (that’s already our agreement).
I think Mandi will find that the first few runs after the illness fell like you’re at square one but then it comes back quick.
Good luck. Great story.