Runners blog #7

So the QC Marathon is just about 5 weeks away, and I'm feeling pretty confident at this point, I've had an 18 and 19 mile training run and was able to survive both of those. My real test is this Sunday with my first 20 mile run and then again in 2 weeks with my final long run of 20 miles, those 2 runs will be the real barometer of my fitness and whether I will be able to complete this endeavor.

I recently read somewhere by a highly successful ultra runner that she goes into each event with 3 goals, winning is always one of them but the other 2 may vary. Well for me winning isn't even an option so my 3 are as follows,

1) Finish - for a first time marathon this is the ultimate goal and really in question.
2) Run in 4:30, that's under 10.5 min/miles which would be really good by my standards, my stretch goal is 4 hrs though.
3) Have fun! This will be the first and only time I get to run a marathon "for the first time" so a PR (personal record) is a guarantee. Every marathon from here on out will be in some way judged against the previous one and its time, this one is all about survival and having fun.

So this morning I really did not want to run and I of course forced myself to do it, as I often do I started making deals with myself, get out and do 2 miles and see how you feel. Then it turns to "Okay 2 felt good, just do one more, or you can cut short the rest" and so on and so on that goes until the next thing you know I've run the entire course and when I click off my stopwatch, I'm pleasantly surprised to see I've just run my regular 5 1/2 mile loop faster than ever before. A run I never even wanted to do, that I had to bargain my entire way through turns out to be my best one yet, that right there is why I have become addicted to running. That and the time I had a really crappy run, one that left me completely demoralized afterwards, until I realized that even though that run absolutely sucked the life out of me and left me questioning whether I wanted to keep doing this to myself, I remembered that I had still just completed 17 miles in under 3 hrs which let's be honest, isn't something most people can say they did over the weekend. I guess that's what I really love about running, everyone can do it if they want to, but most choose not to do it and even fewer choose to do longer distances. I guess I've kind of always been one to go against the grain a little bit, which suits me just fine I suppose, just wish I'd realized that at a younger age...but that is, I suppose the ignorance of youth.

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Runner's Blog #6

Marathon Training starts tomorrow...


...I'll let that just hang there for a minute...

Yup only 18 weeks till the QC Marathon and I'm determined to run it.

Now I know 18 weeks seems like a really long time but in the reality of a first time marathon runner it certainly doesn't seem long enough. Yes I have already finished a half marathon and will have at least one more completed next month, and yes I'm routinely doing training runs of 10 or more miles. But that's like comparing hitting a home run in a little league park versus doing the same thing say at Wrigley Field. I recently watched the latest contestants of The Biggest Loser run their marathon and I'm pretty sure if they can do it so can I. In fact the guy who won, Darris, is roughly about my size and he finished in just over 4hrs, and he had a bum knee from training to hard. I have a training plan to increase my mileage and endurance and I will be training during the hottest time of the year so I figure if I can make it through that then come race time in late September I should be just fine.

I read somewhere that only 1% of the population will ever run a marathon, I want to be part of that select few. Accomplishing something like that means so much to me, its not something anyone else can give me, or help me through, I'm the only one who can determine the outcome of this endeavor and that is where my glory lies.

Runners Blog #5

Half Marathon...check!

So I ran (and finished) my first half marathon this past Sunday and I'm happy to say I survived. I did much better than I expected or hoped for, I finished in just under 2hrs 13mins for an average of 10:09 min/mile. My main goal was to finish and hopefully be at or around 2hrs 20mins so I'm pretty excited that I was able to finish under. my target. Now that being said I wasn't even close to finishing in the top of my age group let alone top half of the race but I'm pretty sure for the group of "People who weighed 300lbs last year and were a lot closer to death than any 32 year old should be" I may have won. Honestly the fact that I even believed I could run this race proves I won that small victory as well as the larger battle of regaining my life.

It has been a slow process this last year, losing 75lbs pounds and I'm not done yet. I would like to lose another 25-30lbs and I know they will probably be more difficult then the previous 75. It took running that race for me to really appreciate and comprehend what I have done and how far I've come, and not just physically but emotionally, spiritually and mentality as well. I hadn't even realized how depressed I was before and how unhappy I was with who I had become. Working out, training mma and running not only gave me a way to lose weight but it gave me the tools to change other avenues of my life I wasn't happy with as well. It literally took me hitting rock bottom physically to finally decide to make a change and I'm lucky I did. Now I can be more active with my boys and have more energy during the day so I'm not as crabby and tired when I'm home. I hope I can be the example my boys deserve so they can lead a life of healthy activity, they certainly are active enough now, just spend a couple hours with them and you'll be wiped out. I remember being a kid and looking up to my dad and the things he could do physically and athletically and was just in awe of him, I hope someday my kids can look up to me that same way. I'll never be a world champion in mma or win the Boston Marathon and I really have no desire for those things, but if I can be a champion in my little boys eyes it will be just as good.

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Runners blog #4

So it's been officially over a year since I started my new active lifestyle and quite a lot has changed over the year. First and foremost I've dropped 70 pounds, I've completely changed my eating habits, I've eliminated my high blood pressure and cholesterol as well as my need for those medications. A year ago I couldn't run more than a few minutes let alone a mile and just this morning I knocked out 8.5 miles in 1:30 and could have easily done more if I didn't have to get home so the boys could hunt for easter eggs. Running and exercising has not only changed me physically but also mentally and spiritually to an extent. I have a much deeper appreciation for life these days, I'm enjoying my life a lot more and am a lot less stressed out. Running allows me to enjoy the outdoors and gives me an awesome outlet to relieve all that stress and unlike MMA no one is trying to punch me in the face.


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