Hares to the Right

Well, the weather finally broke and I've been able to run outside. I'm supposed to be running 2 times a week on my own for 30-45 min. It's nice to be outside now. First of all, it's a little more interesting than the treadmill, and secondly it's a little less time consuming than going to the gym. 

Monday was my first outside run (in between rain showers) along the lakefront path. I've been noticing that during the first couple sets my legs ache a little, but if I push past it they feel fine after a couple minutes. I'm hoping this stays true for the longer distances. On this day, I tried a 3:2 run:walk ratio for 30 minutes. It was fine, but I still had so much energy left at the end that I decided to do some plyometrics for the last couple sets. 

Wednesday I went out for another lakefront path run. This time I switched to the 3:1 run:walk ratio to make it a little more challenging. It worked. I didn't have a lot of energy left at the end, but after 32 min, I did decide to keep running until I got tired, so I ran for an additional 5 minutes. 

So far I'm one of the slowest people running on the lakefront. That means I get passed often, by runners on the right and bikers on the left. But I keep plugging along, remembering that "Slow and steady wins the race." - I think there's a mathematical model that disproves this fable however. 

RE: Comments

- Check out the comment that someone left on the Elvis post... I like it. 

- Thanks everyone for your supportive comments. I really appreciate all t

he kind words. 

- Ashley asked if I have changed what I am putting into my body now that I'm training. Honestly, I haven't been very good about my nutrition and that is a slow work in progress. I love bacon and blue cheese burgers. They make me happy. I also haven't been great about eating breakfast, but I bought a box of cereal last week and that has helped tremendously. I don't smoke cigarettes, so that's never been a problem. And due to my lack of employment, who I hang out with and where I hang out has changed, so I don't drink beer as much during the week. But, that's just happenstance. 

- Please keep the comments coming and I will try and respond to any questions you may have. 

Three Mile Island

Saturday, 5:45 AM the alarm sounded and I lept out of bed! Or, not. In truth, I rolled out of bed and cursed the beginning of my new Saturday morning routine that will last for 5 more months. After many minutes groaning and rubbing my eyes, I chose to stay focused on the task at hand. So I dragged myself out of bed, got dressed, ate a bowl of cereal and a banana for breakfast, then headed to the training site. 

At the training site we chose our predicted pace group (I chose 15:00 min/mile) and began our first 3 mile run. Our instructions were simply to maintain a conversational pace, because our goal is endurance not speed. So I started with a slow jog to warm up and was immediately ahead of the other 9 people in my group. As I was trying to decide whether or not I should remain with the group and be social, I was joined by a young college student named Harry. It was nice to run with Harry. I pushed myself a little more than I think I would have otherwise, and I was able to keep a conversation going, something I've never been able to do while running. As a result, we both finished 3 miles in 38:37. That's less than 13:00 min/mile!

I was extremely surprised by my performance. For training purposes, we train at 1 min/mile slower than our potential. So I will be in the 14:00 min/mile pace group and we will use either a 3:1, or 3:2 run:walk ratio. I'll find out more details about the run:walk ratio next Saturday. In the meantime, I'll be cross-training, or running, 30 minutes everyday except Friday. I have officially changed from pre-training training, to AIDS Marathon Training. 

Now that I'm officially training I need more equipment. I thought this was going to be an inexpensive endeavor, but I was wrong. This weekend I purchased a Timex Ironman watch (see sidebar) to keep track of my run:walk ratio. In the near future I'll also need to get something to carry water, energy gels/beans, and a swimsuit for cross-training. The salesperson at the running store said my shoes should last me 500-600 miles (through the marathon). I'm really hoping that's true, because I'd rather not have to spend money on a second pair. It just keeps adding up. 

Salvation

I went and got fitted for my new running shoes. Depending on who I've talked to, they should last me anywhere from 350-600 miles. The lady at the running store said these should last me through my marathon. I hope so, because they weren't cheap!

The fitting process:

I went in and they measured both of my feet and told me I should wear a size 7. That was a big surprise to me. I've been buying size 8-8.5 for the past few years and after a while the 8's begin to feel a little small. Anyway, she said I should go up to a size 8 because I'm running long distances (this is supposed to reduce the chances of black toe nails...yummm!) So, she sized me and then had me walk across the room and then stand on one foot like a flamingo. The results were that I'm a pronator. Who knew? 

After she decided what type/size shoe I needed I was presented with 4 brands and I tried one brand on each foot. It was like being at the eye doctor. I would tell her which one fit better or worse, until we went through all 4 pairs. The result was the Adidas AdiSTAR Salvation. 

The Salvation seems like the perfectly named shoe for me right now. In a lot of ways, that's what this run is for me. It's physical salvation for my body after years of neglect. It's mental salvation for my sanity by providing stability and focus in a time when I have no idea which path my life will take in the next few months. And, it's salvation for those people that will benefit from my fundraising efforts. Of course, I'm not talking about eternal salvation. You can't find that in a sneaker... Jesus wore sandals. 

Blue Hawaii

This weekend I attended the official kick-off event. They put a lei around our necks, gave us each a yellow jersey and a training book, and told us all that we are doing a great thing. I'm pretty sure I also heard them whispering, "Suckers!" 

All I need now is a Hawaiian shirt and I am ready for the beautiful island of Maui! 5 more months of training is probably also in store. 

In the meantime, here are a few fun Maui facts, courtesy of our collective intelligence hosted by Wikipedia:

• Maui is also called the "Valley Isle" for the large fertile isthmus that I will be running across.
• King Kamehameha I (the first King of Hawaii) conquered Maui in 1790 during the bloody Battle of Kepaniwai.
  
• Missionaries from New England began to arrive in 1823 and clothed the natives and banned them from dancing the hula.
• Sugar cane cultivation once used 80% of the island's fresh water supply that was rerouted from streams through a network of tunnels and ditches hand-dug by Chinese laborers. 

5k Shock Therapy

Yoga at 11am on my day off was a little too ambitious. But I did make it to the gym for a run, and I tried something new. This entire time, I was supposed to be doing this walk:run method. I've been doing my own form of it, mixing up the ratio, speeds, etc. I couldn't just stick with it. Until today. 

Today I tried something revolutionary. I walked 2 minutes and ran 1 minute for 45 minutes. In addition, I also used the same treadmill speeds for both. 3.7 mph:5.5 mph. Despite my headphones shocking my right ear during the run portion, it worked! Even better than working, I covered the same distance at 30 minutes (2.13 miles) as I did when I kept mixing things up. There was even a point sometime around minute 21, that I thought, "45 minutes will be easy!" That only lasted a few seconds. By the time I finished, I had run/walked 3.20 miles. That's a little more than a 5k!

Maybe running 26.2 miles this way isn't completely inconceivable. I will definitely need to get my eating habits and nutrition under control though. I had only eaten 2 granola bars when I ran at 1pm. So, I'm looking forward to hear what nutrition information they have to offer at the Kick-Off event this coming Saturday. 

Spring In My Step?

As it turns out, I cannot spend the rest of my life on unemployment checks. Therefore, I started a new job at a nearby garden center. It's a nice, low-stress job that affords me a lot of time outside and extra physical activity. Unfortunately, this also means that I have less free time to wander the town and I actually have to schedule my training schedule. Ridiculous, I know. 

This week I'm lucky enough to have Tuesday and Thursday off. So my goal is to get up early enough to run before the 11am yoga class at the gym. I haven't been doing a great job of stretching and hopefully this will give me some new ideas for some nice relaxing stretches. I haven't been to a class in a while, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Right now it's 39 deg and raining, but I'm feeling confident that Springtime really is around the corner and I'll be outside running soon enough. 

The Tortoise

Today I suggest to you

Bite off more than you can chew

Forget when anyone watches you askew

Just pursue something big, exciting and new

Thanks for this poem and picture from Get Fresh Minds

That pretty much sums up how I feel about this marathon. In fact, that could probably be the mantra for my life. Things just seem to get boring when I stick to what I know I am already capable of completing successfully. I don't KNOW if I will succeed in this marathon. I'm afraid of failing. Whereas others may be driven to succeed by the sense of accomplishment that comes with success, I am driven to succeed by a fear of failure. You may think this sounds unhealthy, but keep in mind that the fear of failure has propelled me through a life of amazing experiences and left me with a deeper knowledge of self. So once again, the fear of failure will help me succeed at the following:

1. Raise $3500
2. Complete the AIDS Foundation Marathon Training Program
3. Greatly increase my level of physical fitness
4. Improve my physique
5. Complete the Maui Marathon in less than 5.5 hours

How I am doing so far:

1. I've raised $35
2. The training program begins April 25th
3. I'm still struggling to consistently run twice a week
4. I'm beginning to see the results of my weight training program
5. Yesterday I pushed hard to run 2.13 miles in 30 min. If I could do this for 26.2 miles, my time would be 6 hrs 9 min. 

When I got off the treadmill yesterday, I could only think of how far I have to go. I've definitely bitten off more than I can chew. But, I'll continue to nibble at the edges until I'm done, for no other reason than I am afraid to fail.