Skip to main content

Running Ramblings - 7 Weeks

Matt and I are in week seven of 26 of marathon training and rapidly approaching the date of the Denver half marathon (Oct 17). It hardly seems like we have been training for nearly two months. I thought this would be a good time for some initial reflections.
Running has always been my favorite stress outlet. When I am upset, I lace up my shoes and hit the pavement. I had a good 5K loop mapped out around the old neighborhood before we moved, but never ventured much further than that in terms of distance. I never really had a good reason to break that 5K habit until now. Click here for a recap of why we decided to run a marathon if you don't know already.
When I looked at the marathon training schedule to see what all it would involve, I was actually pleasantly surprised. The biggest commitment is actually the "long runs" which are scheduled on weekends. We basically add a mile each week until we get to twenty-two miles, and then taper off a few weeks before the marathon. After one or two "recovery days," two or three short runs (3 or 4 miles) and one Farltek or cross training session are all that is required during the week. Since I was already running 5K's regularly during the week, it was no major adjustment to my schedule except to make sure we fit those long runs into the weekend. So far so good!
It is amazing how my perception of running has changed now that I have such a lofty goal in mind. A couple months ago, I never would have thought I could run 7 or 8 miles. This weekend, we will run 10 miles and I am honestly looking forward to it! Each long run is a new milestone for me in terms of distance. In high school, I never did like distance running much, so I skipped cross country against my track coaches' advice. Hind sight is 20/20, as they say.
I have definitely started to notice "battle scars" after such long distances including but not limited to chaffing, blisters, and dehydration. However, I have been able to find solutions to every single one! Oh, and no one ever mentioned how running so much would make me want to eat EVERYTHING in sight! I am constantly hungry.
Despite the battle scars, there are also plenty of benefits that I have observed. My lung capacity is amazing. My legs and thighs are toning up. (Now if only every other "trouble area" would just follow suit...) I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow and am dead to the world until my alarm goes off. Four mile runs feel like a walk in the park. I am getting faster, little by little.
I don't think I would be nearly as excited about my workouts if I couldn't track my progress like I can with my new phone. I downloaded an app called Runkeeper. It uses my phone's GPS to track distance, pace and elevation gain. It also estimates my calories burned and saves each "activity" online so I can track my progress. It also posts everything to Facebook, so EVERYONE can keep track of how we are doing. :) The main downside to Runkeeper is that the GPS on my phone sometimes screws up and throws everything way off. Still, this is the first time I have been able to get anything like that to work. Plus, it's good to have a phone on me in case of an emergency. I never used to bother bringing it along.
Another tool that I recently acquired for the long runs is a running belt, with bottles that clip to each side so that i can easily carry fluids with me and hydrate along the way without stopping. This definitely helped with my dehydration issues. But I also make sure I drink lots of water during the day before and after I run. I especially like having the belt because I can train myself how much to drink without getting cramps. During our 8 mile run, I drank way too much at once and ran doubled over for the last mile. Last weekend, I limited myself to a couple ounces every mile or so and discovered that it was refreshing and didn't give me cramps at all. Its good to know all of this stuff before the actual race, where they will offer cups of water every mile or so. Now I know why runners never drink the whole cup, and dump the extra water on the volunteers instead. :)
Unquestionably, my best running tool of all is Matt. There is no way I would be on track without him. He keeps me motivated and makes me push myself to go faster when I settle in to a comfortable (lazy) pace. He is ready to run with me even after long days at work when we just want to sit down to dinner and some TV. I was so glad that he willingly took on this challenge with me, and I am happy that he will be at my side during the races to keep me going when I am sure I will want to quit.
It will be interesting to see how this training progresses through the winter. The days are getting shorter already, limiting our available time in the evening to run. Soon enough, we will be getting snow and freezing temperatures. The temps don't bother me nearly as much as snow on the ground when I have to watch every step. But then again, I have never run more than 3 miles in extreme cold, so it might become a factor as well. I know winter will make this more challenging, but we will just have to plan around the weather and hope for the best!
I think that's enough running rambling for now.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Political Aside

I’m going to apologize in advance for making this blog political for today. There is just one recent development I can’t help but post about. Last week, Congress passed a bill that made it a lot harder for credit card companies to take advantage of people through late fees and overlimit fees. Sounds great, huh? This bill would have been a lot better if there hadn’t been a certain “add-on” bill piggy backing on to the credit card legislation, making it legal for concealed weapons to be carried in national parks, as long as they are licensed and registered. Now unless you are going into a national park to shoot condors or bald eagles (which is ILLEGAL!), I cannot think of a single reason why you would need to have a concealed weapon in a national park. It’s not like they are huge hot spots for gangs, thugs and violence. National Parks are set up as a refuge for endangered species and a place where wildlife can live uninhibited. Where a hunting license would be required to shoot wildlife ...

The Power of the Mind

I believe in the power of the mind. It seems to me that a simple thought can solve (or create) many problems. Let me explain. Say you haven’t been sick in a really long time, and you don’t even notice. And just then when you get to thinking “Wow, I really haven’t been sick in a long time,” you come down with a cold. It’s like one little thought can trigger a physical reaction. I had a similar experience at work. My computer software used to crash a lot, which was really annoying. Recently, it has been running well until I had the thought “Wow, this software hasn’t crashed in a long time.” Five minutes later, it crashes. So many of these occurrences have been happening to me lately that it hardly seems like it can be coincidence. Now, if only I could use the power of my mind to figure out my latest programming issues for school…it suddenly doesn’t seem so easy as to “think it in.” Last Saturday morning and Monday mornings, I had to get up at 4 am to let Pongo out. He usually has a bladd...

Interlude: Tuesday Thoughts

One of my favorite TV shows to watch is “Jon and Kate Plus 8”. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a show which chronicles the life of a couple (Jon and Kate) with twins and sextuplets. Last night, Jon and Kate made a big (but expected) announcement. They are getting divorced. Due to all of the rumors in the media, this was not a shock. But I find it ironic that Jon and Kate started doing the show because it was “what was best for the kids.” Granted, it made them a LOT of money and skyrocketed them to fame. But ultimately, and I can only speculate, (they don’t ever really officially say what specifically lead to the divorce) that the fame and money are what dissolved their marriage. Clearly, the show was not really what was best for the kids in the end. I think I am mostly upset about this because I just read Kate’s book “Multiple Blessings,” which was written a couple years ago when she and Jon were still completely in love. I miss that. I really love their story. It was hard to rea...