I've said it before....

I don't know how many times I've said it before...today's the day. Whether it be starting a new diet, a workout plan at the gym, or starting marathon training, just to name a few. I have my last hurrah whether it be a dessert or a lazy night on the couch telling myself that I will start tomorrow. Tomorrow comes and whatever I've started lasts a day, a week, maybe a month, before the whole cycle begins again. So I know I've said it before but I have truly started marathon training yesterday.

I now have a planner dedicated solely to the training, since this time around I'm trying a completely different program and it actually matters which day I run, fartlek or cross-train. Yesterday began with an easy 2 mile run (just because I've said I'm starting training, doesn't mean I haven't been running!) and Sunday's long run this week is only 3 miles. I need to ease myself back into the scheduled nature of  training. What I'm most looking forward to this new program is that every Monday is a recovery day, which can include something as simple as a walk or swim or dive with Belugas, which is how I plan to spend my recovery days at least during the summer months!

Here's to another long journey that will end with the 2nd greatest accomplishment of my life!

"I've learned that finishing a marathon isn't just an athletic achievement. It's a state of mind; a state of mind that says anything is possible" - John Hanc.

J.

DLF>DNF>DNS

Today is not my first run, it is just the first run in which I decided I would start the blog back up. I've spent most of my runs debating whether or not to bring this back, I wasn't always on top of the blog the first time around when the training was brand new to me but despite my lack of updates I spent every run mapping out just what I would say. It helps me to pass the time since I don't run with music.

When I finished the marathon in January I was elated, a true runners high, despite the pain my body felt for a few days. Once I returned home I hit the gym immediately, skipping the treadmill for the elliptical, because it was less stressful on the body. That was short lived as I had Plantar Fasciitis and had to take a break from everything, starting up after that was tough, I was so afraid of it not having healed I didn't want to push it to much. As I settled back into my regular routine of not working out I knew I needed another run to look forward to and to motivate me back into training. I signed up for the Disneyland Half Marathon to take place in August 2012 and the Disney World Marathon that takes place in January 2013. Along with some smaller runs along the way, the first one up is the BAA 10K! 

I hope that you will again take the journey with me as I make my way through the mileage and hope that you won't hold it against me when I choose to hang out with friends instead of blog (as the mileage increases the time I have to be social significantly decreases). 

Today's Stats:

2.33 miles  22:29minutes 

I don't exactly have milestones (get it!) in mind that I'm trying to hit on these beginning runs, I'm basically aiming to be somewhere between 20-30minutes with it increasing each run until I'm running 30 minutes consistently. From that point I will begin on the Non-Runners Marathon trainer schedule until I'm up to 6 miles at which point I will switch to a different marathon training schedule, still meant for beginners but that is a little more demanding. 

DLF>DNF>DNS

Dead last finish > Did Not finish > Did not start

Here's to my second start!

      J.

Finally Finals.

My classes are officially over for the semester, so I have 1 final project to focus before I'm officially done. It's crazy to think how cast this all went and how soon the race is! Basically I've got a month to fit in some good runs, including a few in the double digits.  I'm away at a conference for the weekend, but I'm hoping to fit in a fun run tomorrow morning - a good way to see a cool new place as well as start myself on the right foot for the last month.

Here goes!

A.

6 minutes later...

A busy November indeed - I have 2 weeks left of classes in my first semester of grad school! Yikes! That also means that January is coming verryyyyy soon.

Here's what I've been up to:

Last weekend I did my second 10K. You can check back in the June archives, I ran a 1:09 for my first race, and I was happy to have finished it.  For this one, I had one big goal - take 1 minute off of my mile time, so about 6 minutes off the total race.  I'm very happy to announce that I ended with a chip time of 1:03.48 - 24th in my division of 49 women. Those 6 minutes = gone!

This course was significantly hillier [more hilly?] than the first 10k, so it was still a challenge. Had it been flat, I think I could have dropped another minute or two off my total time. On the course, I met two people who inspired me - one was a Marine who ran the half marathon in full fatigues, boots and a backpack. If he can do that [and so, so much more] who was I to complain? That image will stay with me for a very long time.  The second was an average looking guy, maybe in his mid thirties, with a great attitude.  I believe he said he was running the full marathon. We had close to the same pace, so I saw him a lot, and he was always smiling, always calling out to thank the volunteers and people cheering us on 'thanks for the cowbell!'.  Around mile 5, I asked him if I could run with him, and when we got to the last stretch [which was uphill... who does that!], he kept cheering me on and raced me to my finish line [the longer races continued straight on] and he cheered for me.  I was so touched that a total stranger would do that. I wondered afterwards how the rest of their races went... I hope they know that they touched someone that day.

Running around here has been much more hilly than back North, and especially lately, my knees and hips have been feeling the burn. I've been trying to mix things up, adding some biking and new stretches into my week.  I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving sales so I can get a new pair of sneakers - I'm sure mine have enough miles on them at this point to warrent a fresh pair for the last stretch.

I've learned that I really enjoy the 10K distance. Even if I never become a marathon runner, I think this is a race that I'll stick with. It's just enough time for me to push myself, enjoy the run, and not feel like dying after. I probably won't fit in another before January, but I'm looking forward to a few in the spring down here. 

I've got a bit of a stomach bug, and it put a damper on my 10 mile plans for today, so I'll shoot for it next weekend. End of semester = stress = everyone is sick.

Hang in there, J! I'm so proud of you and I can't wait to see you!!

A.

PS. One of my friends snapped this about 100 yards from the finish line. The guy in the white shirt was my new friend who was cheering me on. Yay for a strong finish!

I miss sleep.

Grad school is way more time consuming than I ever expected.  Fitting in runs hasn't been easy, and I've been spending 12 hours a day on campus, especially as the second half of the semester picks up.  I'm really hoping to fit in a few good ones between Friday and Sunday this week. The mind is willing, but when it's 11 at night and I get the choice between the treadmill and studying for another hour before I drag my tired butt to bed, studying wins.

I talked to my mom about this recently - mostly that I'm jealous that I don't have as much time to dedicate to running as I'd like.  She reminded me that I'm here now because school is my focus and running is supposed to be fun, not an extra stress in my life.  It's hard to accept since I really want to do well in January. I guess all I can do is my best at this point, just to get through my first half but maybe the summer will give me an opportunity to dedicate more time to a second race.

I'm still doing the 10k in November, don't worry.

Sleep now. xxoo
A.