Fifteen Miles Yesterday!

Well, we hit another milestone yesterday.  Amanda and I started at Lamar and North Loop, ran down to the lake, across to IH35, back to the Pfluger Pedestrian bridge, then up Guadalupe and back to our starting point.  Total distance was right at 15 miles.  Last week I struggled to do 10, but I felt great after the run yesterday.  Still today I feel good, a little stiff, but good.

The goal at this time is not speed, but total workout time.  We will do 5 tomorrow morning, ten Friday and repeat the 15, 5, 10 next week.  Then we will move to a 17 mile run for 2 weeks, and hopefully hit 20 miles by mid-November.  That is when the serious training will begin.  Once we hit 20, our goal is to spend less time walking and to increase the speed of our runs.  My goal is to get to 9 minute miles, which I can do now, but cannot sustain, and to sustain that time throughout the race.

With this new milestone, I am feeling more and more ready for the race.  Unfortunately, the time running takes away from blogging time, which means that my writings seem to be fewer and farther between.  However, I will try to make the time to keep posting where I am, as I really appreciate all your support in my training.

Take time to check out my other blog, http://revmjq.blogspot.com/2010/10/musings-of-methodist-minister-luke-189.html, as well as the blogs of my running partner, http://amandastovall.blogspot.com/ and http://www.dishevelledstars.com/.

A Sense of Accomplishment

I started a project Friday afternoon which should have taken me a few hours to a day and a half, at most. I had a leak in my car and had to rebuild the front end. I took it all apart, did my repairs, then reassembled the car. When I did, it ran rough, almost not at all. I took it back apart and thought I found the problem, but then, when I tried to put it back together, I found a damaged piece that required me taking the car back apart again to replace. Before I reassembled everything, I tried starting the car with only the bare minimal parts installed. I reassembled the car and tried to start it, but it would not go. I broke it down again, inspected things very carefully, and found that a sprocket was out of alignment by about 1/64th of a degree. I worked tediously to put it back together and now have it running. A day or day and a half project became a 5 day project, which angered me, sickened me, and just made me feel stressed. But I have a great feeling of pride and accomplishment for having done the work my self, as well as a good understanding of why mechanics are so expensive!

Last week I had a post about a great run. Then I tried to repeat the run Saturday, but my time was off and I struggled to meet my goal. Today I had what seemed like a difficult workout with Moe, and I thought about quitting. I started this whole getting in shape thing wanting to lose 15 pounds so I could fit into my pants again. I have since lost 47 pounds and am wearing pants that are 4" smaller in the waist then the ones I was trying to get into. I exceeded my goal, and was ready to say, "Enough!" However, I chose to stick with it. I stopped thinking about the marathon and whether or not I still wanted to compete in it and focused at the task at hand. I did not ask what I would have to do next while working out, but instead waited until I finished the task at hand before inquiring where to go next. I worked tediously to complete the task at hand, focusing only on that task. In the end, I was glad I did it.

Now I am looking forward to February 20, but I am living and training one day at a time.

Food for thought: Training for a marathon is like working on a car. Focus on the step you are on without getting caught up in wondering if it is going to work in the end!

Water 2 Wine and Walking With my Love

Last night we had a wonderful sushi dinner at Midori Sushi, then visited Water 2 Wine's North Austin location (http://www.water2wine.com). If you are a wine drinker in Austin, this is a place you must visit. They are a winery which imports grapes from all over the world, then create their own wines. There are numerous varietals and regions represented, as well as what the owner refers to as styles of wine. In addition, you can make your own, at least in a token way, which allows you to be involved in the process by adding yeast, tasting along the way, and in the end, designing the labels, bottling and corking.

We probably tasted 7 wines, and found 2 which we especially liked, but our favorite was the Rattlesnake Cab-Shiraz, with the Italian Pinot Nero running a close second. A bottle of this sells for $21.95, but you can make a batch for $369, which makes about 2.5 cases, meaning you have a custom wine with label for about $12.00 a bottle. Keep checking back, as I hope to have a Boys & Girls Club fund raiser here in the Spring.

I did not run this morning, choosing instead to walk/run with Maline and Rufus. Note to self: Basset Hounds run very slowly!

Ladybird Lake Saturday morning at 6 a.m. Let me know if you will be running with me!

And remember, when in doubt, add more wine!

Still on a High From Yesterday

I felt like Forest Gump. I ran with a goal in mind, and when I got there, I set another goal a little farther. It just felt good to run! In the end, I was not winded, not breathing heavily. In fact, other then sore feet, I was ready to keep going.

This morning we worked with Moe doing a lot of upper body and ab work. I always complain when we do that, but feel good afterward. The best part of the workouts, though, is not getting winded. I get a little short of breath when we do sprints, but recover easily. Between weight loss, running goals being met, and increased stamina, I feel the best I've felt in years!

Tomorrow I will walk/ run with Maline and Rufus. Saturday will be my next real challenge. I plan on doing all of Ladybird Lake. I will run the first 5, then walk and run as I am able. My goal is to be able to run the entire 10 miles by October 1. Anyone who wants to join me, meet at 6 a.m. in front of the Long Center!

By the way, if you are looking for someone to help you get in shape, I strongly recommend Moe Harris at Elite Fitness (http://www.austinelitefitness.com/index.php/). He has worked wonders for us. He challenges and encourages at the same time, which is a tremendous help.

Till next time, Run, Eat, Sleep!

A Little More Each Day

This morning marked another milestone for me. Well, actually 2 milestones. The first is my longest time consecutive running time. Last week I was pushing 17 minutes, and it took everything that I had. I have been gradually increasing my time, and Saturday did 25 minutes, which seemed like an eternity. Today, however, I went 35 minutes straight, covering 2.6 miles, which is my second milestone. I have been stuck at about 2.25, but today was determined to exceed that amount. My mile time was better at Town Lake (11.5 minute mile instead of 14 minute mile) then at Anderson Mill, which I am sure is due to the fact there are so many other people there. However, I see the 2 different running places as having different purposes. Anderson Mill gives me a place to increase my running time, while Town Lake gives me a place to increase my speed.

Now for my dilemma: How am I going to maintain a good training balance while on vacation?