Baby, It's Cold Outside

I left the house this morning at 7 a.m., and the temperature was 38 degrees.  By the time I finished my meeting at 8:15, it was 30.  By the time we ran at 1:30, the temperature had dropped was at 25.  Twenty-five, with a strong wind, and a wind-chill of 11, running on the lake.  Even the ducks were shivering.  We discussed making it a shorter run, especially when the cold weather triggered my asthma.  However, I am 19 days from the marathon, and I need to run/walk/move as much as I possibly can, so we ran from MoPac to Congress Ave, with a few short walks along the way so I could take a hit on the inhaler and catch my breath.  The first leg, other then asthma, was not all that bad.  I had a good level of energy, the wind at my back, and a very warm fleece jacket.  OK, my ears burned from the wind, but other then that, I was making it.  However, once we crossed the river on Congress Avenue, we came to a stark and scary realization:  running into the wind with an 11 degree wind-chill is just, well, insane.  It reminded me of my days in Upstate New York and the reason that I left!  It is now 3 hours after the run, and I am still feeling cold.  I am just now able to type, as my fingers are now thawing out.

After the run, I attended my Club's J.K. Livin' program, a fitness program sponsored by Matthew McConaughey's J.K. Livin' Foundation.  I worked out with the students, and for the first time since my accident, completed the entire workout, including 60 push-ups.  This is the first time I've done push-ups since breaking my elbow in November.  I felt very good afterward, and it gave me a renewed sense  of self, and while I feel the workout in my arms and abs, I am once again reassured in my ability to complete the marathon.

If you would like to support me in running, here are two opportunities.  The first is that you can make a donation through my marathon fundraiser page at http://bgcaustin.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=453053&lis=1&kntae453053=9CD2B0C8FA3648A29564247BDB045012&supId=286365985.  My goal is to raise $7,500 for the Club, and I am currently at  $5,664.  The second way you can support me if you are in Austin, is to join me for a Be Grape Wine Tasting and Marathon Kick-Off at Water 2 Wine in North Austin.  Details about this event can be found at https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=179796632059571.  This will be a fun event, with all the wine you can drink for only $25!  And if you are unable to support me with these, then simply a note of encouragement will work wonders and carry me miles!

So, until next time, Run, Live, Sleep, Repeat!

Back to School

Here it is Thursday, and I have not posted about the weekend run yet!  My Boys & Girls Club opened this week, and that has been all-consuming as far as my time is concerned.  I've made time to run and workout, but that is about it.

Saturday's run was the 10.1 again.  I started out with the girls, who left me at First Street, then went on to Longhorn Dam.  As with last week, it was a run a mile walk a minute day.  I felt stronger at the end, though it was still tough to push myself that last little bit.  My total time was 2:15:32 with an average speed of 4.5 and pace of 13.26 minute miles.  I am working to get the time down, so I am no longer adding distance to my runs, at least not right now.  While the time is slower then I would like, at least I see my times increasing bit by bit.

I am working on 2 ways to increase speed outside my Saturday runs.  The first is that I am doing a timed mile on Wednesdays.  Last Wednesday was only my second attempt, but I knocked 19 seconds off my mile from the previous week.  I did not do the mile yesterday, as it was raining.  How much was it raining, you might ask?  Well, I would tell you, but I can't.  I emptied my rain gauge twice, both times it was overflowing, which means 6 plus inches.  Over the course of about 48 hours we received somewhere in the neighborhood of 16 inches at my house.  That, my friends, is not good running weather.  So, I will do the mile tomorrow.  My goal will be a 10 minute mile for tomorrow, and ultimately I am looking to be able to sustain 5 miles at 9 minute miles.

The second way I am trying to improve my time is on my mid-distance runs.  Ever since hitting 2.5 miles, I've started doing my training with the idea that I run a mile walk a minute.  Now that I am running 10 miles on the weekend, it seems silly to do the run/walk combination on my mid-runs, so now I am working to run that one the whole distance.  This morning was the first attempt, and I was pleased with myself.  Total non-stop distance was 4 miles.  Speed was 4.7 miles/ hour with an average mile of 12.59 minutes/ mile.  My goal was 13, so I made the goal!  I will continue this distance until I can get the time down to about 12.5, then will start increasing the mid-distance run.

One thing that has helped is hearing people talk about following my blog.  One friend recently told me she was inspired to start running after reading it, and another told Maline that he reads it all the time and is impressed.  We have a friend who is a runner and who used to run marathons who gives advice on technique, some of which I started implementing today, which is helpful.  All this support and all these comments are helpful.  No one says to run faster or better, which helps.  They support me where I am, and I know that with friends and family supporting me, I will complete this race in February with no problem, whatsoever!

Well, back to work.  Until next time, ponder these words from Michael Franti: "Love like your life depends on it because it probably does."

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!

Back to the Grind

OK, so I did not do as well as I should have during vacation. I ran 3 times, worked out once, climbed one mountain and walked around museums a few days. I managed to lose a half pound during my time away, but had a very difficult time getting into a routine. So this morning I started back. Maline and I worked with our trainer for the first time since being back, and officially kicked off our "Back to the Grind" phase. The workout was tough, but good. What felt best, however, was being done with it and knowing that I could pick up where I left off.

Tomorrow I start back to the running regiment. My goal is to be to 5 miles by the end of next week. August we will start our team marathon training, which will be a tremendous help. And I look forward to a run around Town Lake Saturday morning.

By the way, I am researching best running shoes. I would live to get some feedback about possibilities.

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?