Track Workout

I felt like I was back in my college softball days last night. It was the first structured workout I'd had in nearly ten years (I can't believe it's been that long since I played college ball). I always get a little nervous with anticipation of having to run hard on demand - I think I'm afraid I won't be able to do it. Which is silly because even though it was hard work, I succeeded at finishing without stopping or complaining (or puking, which is always good). I had to channel the focus I had learned to develop in those 6am conditioning workouts in the Barn at SDSU. We ran one lap hard, one lap easy, eight times each (plus 4 laps cool down). The goal was to have our first and last hard laps be the same time. I was able to run each lap in the exact same time (about 2:10) except for the last one, which I ran in 2:05. I don't know why I get so worked up! But I focused on my breathing and my form, and that made the workout go by fast. Hopefully more of this will help me improve my speed.

I'm off to Vegas tonight and will be running 8 miles by myself tomorrow. Another good challenge!

Milestones

Last week I was chatting with my friend Jenny, who has run a number of marathons including Boston, and we were talking about my upcoming Saturday run. I told her I would be running 7 miles - the farthest I've ever gone. She said that's what's so cool about training for your first marathon, after a certain point, each week becomes a first. The first time you've run 7, 8, 10 miles. How motivating is that, knowing that each week you'll be accomplishing something you've never done before. It's really powerful when you think about it.

I finished 7 miles on Saturday and it was an awesome feeling. I'm excited to do 8 this week. Five years ago when I ran the 10K, I felt like I needed to take a week off after running that far. This weekend I ran 7 and got up the next day and ran another 3. Today I got 4 more miles in. None of it is easy when I'm at mile 2.3 and hating every second. But I finish hard and feel so good about myself and the fact that I can say I did it, that it makes it all worth it in the end.

26.2 miles scares me, I'm not going to lie. But when the day comes, I will have accomplished so much before that 26.2 miles that I will be strong enough to know I can do anything.

Run, Forrest! Run!

Earlier this summer I read about a website that tracks your running or walking mileage and shows you where in the country you would be if you started out on the coast of Virginia and followed a route to the West Coast, complete with pictures by the very mile you're at. When I decided to get back into running, sometime in the middle of August, I signed up thinking that seeing how far I've gone would keep me motivated. It didn't at first, but now that I'm training for something serious, it's kind of fun to see how far I can get on my own two feet.

The website is www.exercise.lbl.gov. Right now, I'm 53.5 miles into my trek across the country. My location is Charles City County, Virginia, about 6.99 miles outside of Glendale, VA. I should make it there tomorrow with my 7 mile run!

55:52

I shaved three minutes off my 5 mile time from last week!! The run felt good, the new shoes felt good. All is good this morning.

At this pace, I'll finish the marathon in just over 5 hours. Yikes.

What is it with Mondays?

Today's run was hard again. I decided to join a group run organized by Team in Training members. I was a bit intimidated since all of the runners there tonight have already run marathons. They decided to "take it easy" and run about 3 miles, with intervals of running fast and slow. They lost me on the first half mile - and they hadn't picked up the pace. I didn't go the four miles I had planned on running today, and the workout was harder than I was anticpating, but I ran those three miles at a pretty good clip - for me - and felt pretty great after.

It was also my first day with the new shoes. The new shoes that beat out 7 other pairs and felt so great in the store. I wasn't in love with them tonight. I'll give them one more week to see how they turn out. Taking care of my feet is priority numero uno.

Here's to working hard this week so next Monday doesn't suck again...and maybe in another month I'll be able to keep up with the rest of the group!









My new nike air zoom percepts.

Finally!

I feel like I'm getting somewhere! Today's training schedule called for three miles "easy." These were the best three miles I've run in probably 3 years. I finally feel strong. My crappy runs for the past 3 weeks are paying off. I gained a world of confidence today.

I should mention though that the Double Double I had at In N Out today probably played a part too.

59:15

Yesterday I ran 5 miles in 59 minutes and 15 seconds! Not bad considering it's been at least three years since I've run that far. It was hard. I took a lot of walking breaks. But in the end I was able to push myself, so I think I'm getting somewhere. Running 5 miles successfully yesterday makes me excited for the three miles I need to run today. Makes it sound easy!

I sort of solved my running outside in the morning issue. After talking to my friend Dan, who is also running the marathon with me, he suggested sticking close to the neighborhood where it's all residential. Our house is in the middle of three rings of streets. I was able to use the route mapping tools on USATF.com to figure out how to get 5 miles out of running in those circles. By running the perimeter, I only had to run it twice, which wasn't too bad. And it was only dark for the first 20 minutes or so. Problem solved. Although if I stick to that route, I might get bored, so I'm going to keep looking for solutions.

Monday - Week One

Mondays suck. At least this one did. Following my training schedule, I ran (or attempted to run) 4 miles this morning. I ran it on the treadmill and thought my legs were going to fall off after a mile and a half. I finished in 47:07. Not as good as last week. I maybe shouldn't have lifted weights yesterday. I'll have to ask the coach what the best days are to do that.

I'm still trying to figure out what my routine should be too. I like to get my workouts in in the morning. There's nothing better than starting the day with that already under my belt. But do I go to the gym and run on the treadmill, or run outside? I'm not 100% comfortable running outside in the morning, there aren't enough people out. Besides that, I end up having to sit in traffic (the gym is nice and close to work). If I wait until after work, I don't have the energy, or I have something else going on, or it's too late. It's nice that TNT has group runs during the week, that way I feel like someone is waiting for me and I have an excuse to leave work on time.

I need to figure this out soon, because the treadmill isn't going to cut it on the mornings I need to run more than 5 miles. How did I do it when I was living in Minnesota and training on the treadmill all winter long?

Training kick-off

Yesterday was my first official training run with the team. Everyone that is participating has such great energy - I think this will be essential in making it through those long runs. I started in the A group this week, running 8 minutes and walking 2. We were supposed to run only three miles, but since I had been running four all week already, I pushed myself to that distance.

It was an easy workout, which was surprising to me. The second half of the run went by in no time, and I think it's because I was running with someone else. I've always been a solo runner - I need to go at my own pace. Funny how fast four miles can pass when you're getting to know the runner next to you.

Considering my successful run on Saturday, I'm going to move up to the B group next week. They run a mile further than the A group and at a consistent pace. We'll see how it goes...

The Journey Begins

I've been an athlete my entire life. After college I started running and participating in races. I love the emotional rush of running in a race - especially if it's for a cause. The first Race for the Cure I ran was on Mother's Day about 4 years ago. I think I cried through the first mile, looking at all the runners who were running in honor of, or in memory of, a loved one. 5Ks are great - 3.1 miles are a cake walk for me. I even ran a 10K once. I never had an aspirations to go much farther than that though. So why, then, am I training to run 26.2 miles?

My reasons are simple. I'm turning 30 this fall and want to mark this passage with a challenge. And this is the greatest challenge my body will ever have been through. Not only am I testing the physical limits of my body, I'm sure it will be a journey of self-discovery as well. All recorded right here.

The other reason I'm running is because there are a great number of people who cannot. And I can raise money by running to help find a cure for the disease that ails them. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is fighting to find a cure for blood-related cancers, and no donation is small enough. You can donate here:

http://www.active.com/donate/tntsdh/tntsdhALarson

Stay tuned as I record my training and accomplishments over the next few months. Happy reading....