Family vacation, day 1

So, we left today at around 4:15 pm. Destination: Destin, Florida.  We covered around 350 miles out of about 975. My hope was to drive into the wee hours, making it through Nashville at the least, so that tomorrow we’d have most of the drive behind us. I drank one of those 5 Hour Energy things at 9:00, intending to drive until it wore off. But one of the boy’s tolerance for sleeping in the car wore off first.  And my tolerance for whining wore off shortly thereafter.

So, as Sara and the boys are soundly sleeping here in this Elizabethtown, Kentucky hotel, I update my blog, hoping the energy drink people were joking when they said that about “5 hours.”

12 training runs down, 35 to go

So as of Sunday, I am officially 1/4 of the way through my training for the 2011 Chicago Marathon. I am obviously not updating the blog very well, so I’ll provide a few highlights and challenges of the training process thus far.

Highlights:

• I have been able to get most of these runs in during the early morning hours. Last summer, I did my training runs almost all at night, and that was a real bummer. I’ve been setting my alarm for 4:30 and getting up by 5:00 or so to get out for my first two runs of the week, and I really enjoy starting the day this way; I feel like it helps to take the edge of morning stress off and gives me an opportunity to gather my thoughts before heading into the day,
• I have been strength training more faithfully than I had been. I think I’ve probably averaged 2 days per week. I’m focusing on keeping it simple, so I’m doing push-ups (app on my phone called “100 Push-Ups”…works great!), crunches, and wall squats.
• As of this point in the training, I haven’t missed a run yet! I’m incredibly thankful for this one. Last year, I had to sit a couple weeks out for a sore hip flexor, and then I ended up averaging only 2 runs a week most of the summer. I’m really thankful to be injury free, and I’m hopeful that I’ll continue to be able to not miss any running workouts. I just checked my excel spreadsheet, and it looks like I have more than twice as many miles logged in the past month than I did last year at this time. So thankful, but really nervous that I’ll mess this up.

 

Challenges:

• Weight. Okay, so I haven’t posted a Monday weigh-in for the past couple of weeks. I am so frustrated in this area, as I’ve totally plateaued since January when I started training for the May half marathon. Last summer, it was so encouraging as the pounds just steadily decreased as I progressed through my training. It just isn’t happening anymore, and I would still like to lose a couple gallons of fat by the time of the marathon.
• This brings me to my next point: I have wanted to work in two days of cross-training to supplement my 3 runs per week, but I’ve struggled to do this even once per week….even once, period. I think adding a couple hours on the bike to the week would help in the weight department but would potentially also be an added protection against injury through strengthening muscle without impact. I hope to report progress in this area in my next update…That I’ve worked in 1 bike ride per week in addition to my 3 runs for the second quarter of the training calendar.
• Busyness. This summer just got busy, and the calendar indicates that the frenetic pace of work and family responsibilities will only increase and crescendo through August. I am really nervous that this will cause me to fall off the wagon, but I’m determined to not let work take this time away from me. There’s a possibility that I’ll be starting grad school later in August, and this, on top of having several reports and proposals due at work at the same time freaks me out a little. By God’s grace, though, one day at a time I’ll need to tackle these responsibilities.

Adjustments:

• I took out the long run calendar prescribed by FIRST and replaced it with Runner’s World’s aptly named, “4 Hours or Bust” long run schedule. This is still pretty aggressive (3, 20+ milers), but it felt more doable for me.
• I have decided to run for charity again. This year, I’ll be partnering with a friend and mentor of mine in an attempt to get 700 people to each donate $10 to World Vision for their clean water projects in Africa through Team World Vision. (More on that to come…stay tuned!)

Terrible…

This is one of our favorite spots in the city, and it’s right here on the west side. So terrible that it’s been so damaged.

 

Garfield Park Conservatory severely damaged by hail from WBEZ on Vimeo.

Monday weigh -in

The past week reflects my most weekly  running mileage in several weeks. My hope is that by maintaining  a schedule of three good runs & 3 equipment -less strength training workouts each week and adding two days of biking, I’ll start losing these 17.2 pounds. We’ll see what next Monday brings…4 day weekend coming up, which will make avoiding too much eating tres diffcile.

4 Hours or Bust

So, my 16 week training for the 2011 Chicago Marathon officially starts this week. My theme for this year is “4 hours or bust.” I really want to train to break the 4 hour mark in this year’s marathon. To put it in context, last year, for my first ever, on a miserably hot day, I ran a 4:50:something. Yikes. But I’ve learned that I need to have an intimidating goal to work toward in order to stay motivated. So, 4 hours or bust.

I’ve posted my training schedule (see the page link above), which follows the FIRST training program. I followed their system (minus the cross-training) for my May half marathon and was excited to see how it really helped me get faster (this is a relative term, of course).

That being said, I’m still not convinced that I’ll follow this system for the marathon. It’s maybe a little too aggressive for my current base (up to 20 milers in the 4th week!!!!). So, I’m looking at creating a hybrid of this with another plan or going with this other plan altogether.

Here are my goals and thoughts for this year’s marathon training:

1) Develop the discipline of getting up early to get the workouts in. I don’t want my training to be a burden to my family. I also don’t want to run at night. It’s time to become an early riser for once in my life. So tonight, I’m setting my alarm for 4:30 am. Yikes.

2) Lose 19.7 pounds to reach my goal weight of 175, which would make my BMI no longer “overweight.”

3) Run three days per week. Cross-train by riding my bike two of the other days.

4) Strength train three days per week (simple, equipment-less stuff): push-ups, sit-ups, and squats. (Might need to add an excercise or two to strengthen the muscles around my left knee).

5) Join a friend and mentor of mine to run with Team World Vision. I wasn’t going to run for a charity this year, but I really like the idea of having my running be about more than me. My friend is seeking to raise $7000 for clean water projects in Africa by getting 700 people to donate $10 each. He’s invited me to help him toward that goal, so I’m signing on. (I plan to share more about this as I get more figured out.)

6)Whenever possible, share the miles with someone. I ran a few miles this past Saturday with a few guys from our Austin run/walk club, and it’s amazing how much easier it is to run when someone is running with you. (Lots of thoughts for a future post here…). Those long runs get especially lonely, so I’m going to try to find some guys I can run with every now and then through the process.

7) Remember that it’s the process, not the race that really matters and makes the difference. Each day I have the health and the opportunity to get out and move, I will be thankful. I won’t get down on myself for a slow run or for not hitting all my goals for a workout.

So, join me on the journey toward my second marathon…I better get to bed!

Dang

Well, marathon training starts this week. 16 weeks and 19.7 lbs to go.

Up 0.2

See below for an explanation.

Monday weigh in

So, marathon training is scheduled to begin this month. One of my goals for this year is to get to a “healthy” BMI for the first time since I was a teenager. For my height, I need to get to about 175 to no longer be in the “overweight” category. So, from today, that leaves me about 17 and some change to go. I plan to post a photo of the reading from my scale every Monday through the Chicago Marathon. That’ll help provide me with some accountability and hopefully demonstrate some progress in the months ahead.

One of those days

Today has been one if those days. One of those days that has just been so enjoyable that you wish it wouldn’t end. And while I’ve been up since 4:30 this morning,  have run 13 miles and some change and have driven 90 or so…I don’t want to surrender to sleep because I’m sad to see this day go.

Today was the Rockford Half Marathon. It was my second HM, and it was truly a family (and friend) event. Last year, my sister, Christina, my brother in-law, Patrick and I ran our first…chasing our uncle Doug, who hit a 1:45 today(!). (It was training for this event last year that propelled me into making running a part of my life). This year, Christina and I ran again, but this tome we were joined by our step-mom, Sandi, who just started running this year, our dad, who has only been out running a handful of times before today, Henry, a mentor in the program I work for who has become a friend, and Bob, a coworker / friend of mine.

It had been hot earlier this week (hit 90 one day), but the temps cooled way down for this weekend (40s). The only problem with the cooler temps was the predicted rain which was to fall this morning, during the race. I am amazed at this blessing. ..we didn’t experience more than a sprinkle all day! It was truly an ideal racing weather day!

Bob and I ran together.  I felt really good most of the way and really happy with our pace…For a while I thought we even had a chance to break 1:50. I started to feel it in the last 2 miles…the extra “get up” I try to conserve for my last mile in training runs wasn’t there. Nonetheless,  we ended up running a pretty consistent pace (34 seconds per mile better than my pace last year) throughout the course and finished with a time with which I’m pretty pleased. It was great getting to run with Bob; this was his first half, and having him running next to me really helped me to keep my pace up.

For me, the real joy and highlights for today were not found in getting a PR. The best part was seeing everybody else do so well. The experience was sweet because it was shared.

Christina took 5 minutes off her time from last year.

Sandi ran the WHOLE WAY after her longest training run was 7 miles.

Henry “ran by faith” and finished strong…his longest training run had been about 5 miles.

And my dad ran the first 8.5 before stopping to walk (I honestly don’t think he’s been out running more than 5 or 6 times before today…and his longest prior run wasn’t much more than a 5k)…I was so proud of him when he turned that last corner and got running again all the way to the finish.

We had such an incredible, supportive cheering crew, too. I’m so thankful that Sara and our boys, Patrick and their boys, and Bret & Erica so enthusiastically braved the cold to meet us at three spots throughout the course to cheer us on before meeting us again at the finish. Thanks,  also to my mom and to my father in-law who came out to cheer us across the bridge at the finish. I don’t take that kind of family love and support for granted.

It was just so awesome to share this experience with these guys. I’m so thankful to God for such a memorable,  joy-filled day.

Waiting for this presidential announcement

Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice, or the Lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from them. http://bible.us/Prov24.17.NIV