8 Mile? Wasn't that a Movie?

I was not looking forward to my 8 mile training session today.  I didn't have a plan except "go freaking just do it and stop whining."  I called Heidi to get a route suggestion for the day since 8x9=72 laps at the gym would make more nuts than I already am.  She suggested the Hilliard Rails to Trails trail because of the pretty views and the fact that it has mile markers ready to go.  So, I dropped Alexa off and headed out to the trailhead. 

The trail was blacktop...nice since that's what I will be walking on for the Half.  It's nicely maintained and heads by Homestead Park.  I really enjoyed seeing all the people passing me running and biking.  Everyone was so friendly, saying hi and good morning.  That really kept me going for most of the walk.  I won't lie...I walked the vast majority of it.  I think I had about three jogging sessions. 

Thing I learned today.....my mind does eventually go to that happy place.  I was focusing on my breathing and on keeping my heart rate up instead of keeping track of laps, times, and clicking the stupid lap timer button.  And, oddly enough, it was sooo much more enjoyable.  I was able to enjoy the music, enjoy the scenery, and enjoy the nice people. 

Other thing I learned, my endomondo app on my phone and the mile markers did NOT match up at all.  So, I either went 8 miles or 8.81.  Either way, I'm duly proud of myself for going the distance.  I hit a point at about 6.5 miles where I thought I was going to pass out but that's the beauty of an out-and-back walk.  There was no other way to get home and I knew stopping was wayyy worse than continuing.  So, I bucked up, focused on my music, and finished strong.  :)

I'm impressed with myself and so excited to keep it going this week and through the rest of my training!!

Attack of the Lazies

I really have no excuses.  I could say that it was hot.  I could say that I was tired.  I could say that I was busy and had to time.  But all of those are cheesy lame excuses for my lack of exercise.  I have sporadically been training over the past few weeks in both Ohio and Arizona.  The real reason....I was lazy and sad. 

So a few decisions were made over the past couple of weeks. 

1) I am not going to aim for 3 hours anymore.  I will be happy and content to finish even if I come in outside the official limit (4 hours).  The point is to be working on myself and not racing against a better time.

2) I may be an athlete...but I still don't like running.  It is what it is.  I prefer the elliptical and I prefer strength training.  I wish there was a half marathon elliptical race....

3) The best way for me to get better is to STOP skipping the training.  So, I will be back to training 5 days per week this week.  Started this morning with a 2 mile mostly walk with some jogging.  Tomorrow will see an 8 mile walk.  Not sure where I'll be yet but here I go!

Thanks again to everyone for all of your support...you have no idea what it means to me.  :)

Word of the Week...Irony

"Headphones, headsets, walkmans, ipods, mp3 players, or personal audio devices, etc. are not to be carried or worn at any time during the race."  -- USA Triathlon Official Rules

REALLY???  This is what I learned upon picking my swag bag (I love that term!) yesterday for today's Giant Eagle Multisport Festival 5K.  Interesting...evidently, you have to be able to hear other people on the course and not just go with your music.  And since the festival included both an Olympic and Sprint distance triathlon as well as the 5K, we were under official rules.  So, I showed up sans mp3 player.  As it turned out, I had better than an mp3 player...I had Becky.  :)

I've known Becky for a few years.  She works with Mike at Camp Mary Orton during the summer and we have been known to hang out on occasion.  Becky is an athlete and has been running for the past couple of years.  Unbeknownst to each other, we both signed up for the Columbus Half Marathon.  She saw my blog and we've been chatting about training ever since.  So, Becky signed up for the 5K today with me.  She was looking for a way to jump start her back into training.  Then, she told me this morning that her goal was to help me set a personal best.  WOW.  Becky stayed with me through the entire race...we were passed by Olympic level triathletes (same course...different race) and got lost in a transition area near the end.  Becky kept up a continual stream of happy thoughts and "way to gos" and really kept me motivated even when I felt like I was going to pass out, throw up, or die from the heat.  Becky congratulated me at the end and came with me to get our finisher's medals.  (Long story short...when we got lost in the transition, we somehow missed the finish line and didn't actually cross it.)  I decided today that everyone needs a Becky to train with...she's way better than music.

The Soundtrack Matters

In my perusal (I love that word) of the Columbus Half Marathon's website, I read in the FAQ that participants are allowed to use headsets for the race.  I actually had to read it at least a half dozen times because I really thought to myself, "how on earth would I possibly get through 13.1 miles WITHOUT music??"  Evidently, in major races for those crazy people who run to actually win prizes, it is normal to run with nothing but your brain to distract you.  How insane are those people?  (Sorry Pop-Up...but you just gotta go with me on this one.)  My brain could NEVER distract me for that length of time while I was running.  I'm always thinking about when the heck I'll be done with this....I need distraction!!!

I was thinking about this interesting fact today on my 4-mile training session.  I did the first mile in a haphazard run as far as I can---walk a lap---run as far as I can---walk a lap and the rest of the miles in the two laps walking to every one jogging.  And, as the song Candlelight by the Maccabeats came on (if you haven't heard that...go youtube it...it's a fabulous Chanukah song set to the tune of Dynamite by Taio Cruz) (and yes...I listen to whatever when I run, even Christmas and Chanukah in July)...and I noticed that because I really like the song and it always gets me going, I could run faster and further because the song was revving me up.  The same thing happened with Disturbia and Fame....so I just need to find MORE songs like these.

So, I pose to you, my readers (all like half dozen of you), what are the songs that get you motivated and really PUMPING for your training sessions???

It's All in Your Head, Bree

"You can have all the talent in the world and all the skill in the world, but the only thing that separates you from success or failure is your own mind." -- Mike Greenberg (one of the Mikes from Mike and Mike in the Morning)

I have a number of friends who are great athletes.  I don't mean that they are elite athletes in terms of playing a professional sport or out winning races every weekend, but that they are great athletes because they inspire others to greatness.  I depend a lot on these friends for their sage advice during my training period.  One of these great friends is my friend Scooby.  (Don't ask about the name...just go with it.)  She is a triathlete.  She has been training for and competing in triathlons for years.  And, like me, she sort of starting running from scratch.  So, she is one of the people that I go to for what I call mental advice.  And, over the course of our discussion last night, she told me that I could run further than my mind said that I could.  I think her exact comment was something to the effect of, "the mind quits long before the body actually needs to" (or something like that).  And I realized that she was right.  I've been trying to come up with some sort of math-y technical plan to get me to increase my running distance while decreasing the recovery walking time.  Really, I just needed, to borrow the phrase from Nike, to just do it.  Jog as far as my mind thinks I can and then go further. 

So, after being sidelined with a terrible migraine for five days, I will do just that.  Tomorrow, my mind will get a mental slap as I do my four miles.  Go farther.  Jog farther.  Reward?  Harry Potter, here I come!  :)

I Can Go the Distance

After missing the first five mile long run for Samantha's birthday, I was a little skeptical about going straight to the six mile today.  I debated long and hard this week in my head before deciding to do the five miles and not the six.  But, after talking with Mike, I decided to get up early this morning and head out for six miles.  Outside seemed the best option as 72 laps around an indoor track did NOT sound appealing.  I set myself three time goals since I had never done it before...a crazy ambitious goal of 1:30:00 (which didn't sound achievable even as I set it), a reasonably ambitious goal of 1:45:00 and an outside slowest possible of 2:00:00.  I am happy to report that I finished in 1:46:28.  I was so proud of myself that I came inside and promptly announced that I was going to puke.  (At which point, Alexa pointed out that I should go use the toilet for that...isn't she smart!)

I was so happy to see that I could run for longer periods of time even if I couldn't maintain that pace for the full six miles.  No six miler this week though...five miles is the long run!  :)  (And I even have the day off!!!)

Thanks again to all of my HUGE supporters who are helping me get through this...I have ignited a 5K craze for my friend Janine (who finished her SECOND 5k yesterday at an even faster time than last week's) and have found time to talk training with my fellow staff members at work.  I'm working so hard and wouldn't be able to do it without my friends!

Runner in Training

"I often hear people say 'I'm not a real runner.'  We are all runners, some just run faster than others, that's all.  I have never met a fake runner."  -- quote from Runners World magazine.

I didn't write down who said that quote but it really resonated with me yesterday when I read it.  Even after eight weeks of training, I don't really consider myself a runner.   Most of my training consists more of walking than running so it seemed logical to me.  But, I realized that I was not giving myself enough credit for the training I have accomplished.  While I still don't really think of myself as a runner yet, I am definitely a "runner in training."  In any case, I AM an athlete and working so hard to accomplish this goal.

So today's training was four miles.  I went to the gym today for my training and decided that I was going to run one lap followed by walking two.  I have been doing my training on an indoor track that is 12 laps to the mile and today's training was on an indoor track that is 9 laps to the mile so running the lap was longer than I usually do.  After three miles, I was exhausted.  BUT, I persevered, kicked my mental butt, and kept going.  Happy to report that I completed the entire four miles following the pattern I had set even though it was difficult, setting a new PERSONAL RECORD in the process!  My mental goal was to complete in with the pattern and in less than one hour.  I finished at 59:49...a full eleven seconds to spare!!  I don't think I could have kept up that pace for another mile but I was still happy to have achieved my goal!!