When I woke up this morning and looked at my alarm clock, I was a disappointed. 3:14 am. O.K., that sucks. The race is still 4 hours and 16 minutes away. It is a 15 minute drive from my house. Why am I awake? Why am I thinking about the race? Why can't I go back to sleep? Why did Kathleen comment on my Facebook page that there was going to be a hill at the end of the race?
When my alarm went off at 5:30, I think I had been asleep for about 20 minutes. Not a great way to rest up for my first half marathon. I got out of bed and went out into the living room, and it was still pitch black outside. I got down the box of oatmeal, and made myself some breakfast. I was trying to do everything right. I had drank a full 16 ounces of water when I woke up in the middle of the night.
I was filling my glass up with water at the fridge as I heard a bunch of yelling from outside. Now remember, I live on the 10 floor of my building, and its 5:30 am. It sounded like an argument, or a homeless guy screaming in the wind, or a party. You never know what it's gonna be downtown. I went to the window and looked down to the parking lot. I was about to open the door out to the balcony when something went flying through the air into the darkness below.
What the hell?
I went out on to the deck and realized that the noise was actually coming from the balcony of the unit directly below me. Now, these guys have already earned a little bit of respect. It's 5:30 in the morning, and they are still going strong from the night before. They are so hammered that they are launching full cans of beer from their 9th story balcony at their OWN truck below. This is the best morning ever.
The best part was listening to their college age alcohol induced debate... "No man, you gotta throw it higher to be able to get it that far." "No, you just gotta throw it harder." But my favorite was: "I don't know man, from this high, you might break the window"...
Ya think?
I said "Hey fella's, do me a favor" and they all looked up at me like deer in headlights... "Could you guy's just dial it down a notch, and for sure... no more launching beers at cars."
"Sorry man, but it is our truck" I'm guessing they aren't science majors.
"I know, stop anyways." "There are a million widows that can see you from up here, and someones going to call the cops." and for real... they said "o.k.", and went back inside and closed the door. Things have sure changed since I was a juvenile delinquent...
We were on our way to South Mountain Park where the race starts. We took a left, heading south toward the mountain when I began to suspect something sinister was going on. "are we going uphill?" I asked Jane. "no, it's flat" she replied. About a block later she added, "OK, maybe it is a little bit of an incline" and another block later "ok...we are definitely going uphill. Then in the next block we passed mile marker 11 and we were definitely STILL going uphill. "Sorry baby" she added, "that's gonna suck!" Apparently, the last 2.1 miles are all up hill. Crap!
We got to the start about 20 minutes before the race. There were over 400 people running in the half, and about than 200 running the 5k. I haven't run in any sort of race in almost two years, and that one was the first one since 1995. I was getting more than a little nervous. 13.1 miles, and the last two are all uphill. Welcome to your first half marathon.
Much of the advice I had received prior to the race was the same. 1. Don't come out of the gate to fast. 2. If you're looking to run a certain pace, make your first few miles 20 or 30 seconds slower, and 3. Save yourself some energy for the end of the race. You want to run even splits (Second half of the race at the same pace you run the first half.... hard to do when you are tired), or even run negative splits, where your second half of the race is faster than the first half.
When the gun went off, I was about half way back in the pack. Since I already noted the last two miles of the race are going to be uphill, then it just makes sense that the first two miles are downhill, since this course is a loop. I was shooting for about a 9:20 pace for my first couple of miles. Best laid plans of mice and men... My first two miles were 7:36 and 7:42. It was all down hill, so I was hoping that I had not expended too much energy. I tried to make up for it in miles three and four by running high nines, and I ran 8:09 and 8:56. Crap.
Even though I didn't slow down as much as I was trying to do, It was hard to tell because of the amount of people that were passing me. I was working on my pace, while trying not to stress out about the last two miles, and whether they going to cost me my race. Was I going to be able to keep a 9 minute pace, which is already very hard for me to do, AND keep it up during the uphill portion of the race at the end?
As I passed the 5 mile marker and looked at my watch, I heard a noise from ahead. It was cheering and clapping and yelling, but I wasn't able to see what it was about. Then a figure came from around the corner, running towards me from the other direction. It was the leader of the race. This guy had already reached the turn around point, a little less than 2 miles ahead of me, and was on his way back. I was just passing 5 miles, and he was already at 8. Holy Crap. And to make it even more impressive, he was smiling and waving back to us as he went by. There is just something wrong with that level of talent being all rolled up into one guy, or a least one set of legs, lungs, and determination. I was impressed...
When I reached the turn around, I gave myself a high five. I'm running with 400 other people and I don't even have someone to celebrate a milestone with. It seems a little weird to have this many people around me and to still be that alone. Not one sentence was muttered from start to finish. I said thanks to the people at the water stations a few times, but that was about it. Other than that, I spent the entire run with my internal monologue. Even I get tired of listening to myself after that much time.
After the turn around, my spirits lifted a little bit. I was able to look head on at the people that were behind me in the race. I know that long distance running is really a race against the clock, against myself. But it still felt good to look at some people that were behind me for once, instead of all of the people that had been ahead of me during the first half of the run. Maybe I have a little to much competitiveness in my, by I certainly don't like spending that much time focusing on all of the people that are beating me. It was a nice ego boost to realize I was still doing o.k. in the overall picture of the race, half the people were ahead of me, and half of the people were behind me. I guess that makes me a middle of the pack runner:)
When I passed 8 miles I was thinking "Wow, Do I really have 5 miles to go?" I was still moving along at my goal pace of 9:15, but I could feel myself slowing a bit. It ends up this was my first mile that I ran over my goal pace, but not my last. I didn't run under 9:15 for the rest of the race. Now my biggest concern was, will I be able to stay close enough to my the 9:15 to make up for however much I will eventually and surely slow down climbing the upgrades for the last two miles? My body is already telling my I don't have enough left in the tank to NOT lose time when I hit mile 11, the bottom of the hill.
I reached into my key pocket as I was approaching the water station just before the last turn, and the final 2 miles of the half marathon. I felt like a kid pulling a piece of gummy bear out of a pocket full of sweaty lint. Next time we will do better planning. This time however, I blew it off and threw it in my mouth, chewed it up and swallowed it just as I approached the held out hand with the cup of water... at the beginning of the hill. I shot the water and tossed it in to the garbage as I started up the hill.
I was looking forward and up the street. It was long. You could see the top... it was damn long. I don't do hills. (see "The hills are alive")
I literally have read more about running hills than I have actually run. One of the things I remember most is that they suggest that you pump your arms faster than normal. I haven't read enough to know why, but I thought I would give it a try.
About a quarter of the way up, I realized two things. One, I was tired. Two, I was making pretty good time. I was actually passing more people than their were passing me. Middle of the pack movin' up.
I was coming up on a 25 to 30ish gal that was ahead of me. She was trucking right along, but I was faster. I don't know why, but I felt good. I think it was the fact that I could see the top of the hill. I could see how much longer I would have to keep running. Once I got to the top, it was cross the street to the last dirt trail to the finish line. Most of that was going to be up hill also, but this was the hard part.
I passed her not to long before I hit the top. I was about to give myself another high five when I noticed everyone ahead of me was turning left. I had for gotten that the course turned at the top of the hill. It was probably another half mile till we get to the dirt part of the course, but at least it was flat. Fortunately I wouldn't need much energy to take on this part of the run, which was good because I didn't have any left.
I started doing the math in my head. Wow, it looked like I might make it. I might be finished in less than two hours. It will depend on how long the final dirt trail portion is right before the finish line. It seemed to go pretty quick when I ran down it, but I was full of adrenalin. Not much adrenalin left... As I reached the end of the stretch and everyone was turning right to cross the street, my thoughts of hitting my goal went up in a cloud of blacktop. There in front of me was another long stretch of road, just as long as the first hill I had just finished, heading south along the golf course. I had completely forgotten that I had run down this street. Rather than having just the dirt trail to the finish line left, I still had about a half mile of uphill blacktop road first. Crap.
Have you ever been in a situation like this? I had two goals. The first one was to finish my first half marathon. The second one was to finish it in less than two hours. Right when I started to think I might be able to do it... BAM! Not gonna happen. I figure I will run a 12 to 14 minute mile pace up this hill. I spent everything I had on the last portion. I looked at my watch. I was at 1:54 something. There is no way I am going to finish in the next five minutes. I wanted to quit. I wanted to walk.
I was already surprised at how many people were walking the hill. These were all people that had been ahead of me for 11 miles. These were all people that would have reached that 2 hour goal, if they would have been able to keep running. These were all people that had given it their all, but were out of gas. They, like myself, will all finish the race. They like myself, will not finish in under two hours.
I, unlike them, am not going to frikken walk. No effin way. I am not throwing stones. I am just not willing to do it. No one would care. No one would say a word. There was probably a dozen people walking the hill. You gotta do what you've gotta do. I have to run. I have to try.
The timer said 2 hours two minutes and some odd seconds as I passed. The thing that I concentrated on during that last hill climb was that Jane would be waiting for me at the finish. As I approached there was a crowd of people cheering me on. Jane was there, smiling, yelling and taking pictures. I was finished. They handed me a bottle of water as I crossed the finish line.
As I lay in the ice bath when I got home, wearing a sweat shirt and drinking the cup of coffee with Baileys that Jane had brought in to me, I was happy. I think when I woke up this morning I had another goal that I may have pushed to the back of my mind, be happy with however it worked out. My official time ended up being 2:01:33. If not for the hills, I possibly would have made my time. My goal for the Walt Disney World Marathon in January is under 4 hours. Twice the distance, twice the time. Maybe there won't be any hills.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Hangin' with the home boys... part 2
As we headed out the front door towards the elevator, I asked how far they wanted to run. I was a little worried that it would be farther that I was planning on, since I am going by my training plan for my upcoming marathon in January.
Paul answered that he didn't care, what did I want to run? I told them that my usual loop was a four mile run, or we could go to the next leg, and it would be about seven miles. To that, Pete said "Seven miles, that would be farther than I have ever run in my life."
On the outside, I played it cool. On the inside, I was jumping up and down with a big giant smile on my face. All I was thinking was that no matter what, at least I would be able to match their distance. Even if I come in 10 minutes behind them, at least I will be able to run as far as they do.
I was one cool cucumber... "O.K. Four miles it is"...
We got out of the elevator and walked across the lobby towards the front door. I asked them if we were going to stretch out outside, or had they already done that upstairs while I was changing. Paul said "I read that it doesn't really make much of a difference if you stretch or not. I'm not much of a stretcher." And off he went...
I found out a few things during the course of this run. Pete is probably more at my level as far as running goes, and Paul is nicer than he used to be. When we were growing up, we had a saying. "It doesn't matter who you offend, as long as you get a laugh". Now, you need to understand, these two guys were born funny. I just want to be like them when I grow up.
We don't take the saying seriously when it comes to other people, at least not anymore... But with each other, there have been few limits as to what you could say over the years. It was obvious that Paul passed on several opportunities to have fun at our expense. There were lots of chances for him to make jokes about my breathing, complaining, pace, or pointless banter. I was trying to keep him from paying attention to the pace part. He let it go... Much appreciated. I am pretty sure that by the time my Garmin beeped at me, and Paul asked if that meant we had gone a mile, he was having a hard time hearing the alarm over the sound of mine and Pete's breathing.
As it ends up, Pete has done most of his running up to this point on a treadmill, and I have done most of my running at over a 10 minute pace. I don't think that Paul would call anything over 10 minutes actual running. More like speed walking. Maybe even slow speed walking...
Paul and I were talking throughout most of the run, or at least the first 3 miles. At one point I said that I have a hard time gaging my pace when I am running under 11 minute miles, because I am not used to it. I said that "I know that right now we are running about 10 1/2 minutes.." Paul responded with "We are running just over 9 minutes".
"That's what I'm talking about. I never run this fast, so I have no idea what our pace is. And I'm the guy with the Garmin"... One of these day's I am going to have to learn how to use the light on this damn thing...
We started talking about back in the day when we used to run together. Back when I was faster than Paul. (Sorry, I am a little bitter...) We were talking about the night we ran the Firecracker 5000, and the beers at the starting line. We remembered that my little brother ran that race with us. Well, sort of... We had all been together at the starting line. The beginning of the run was up a gradual slope. When we got to the first turn, my brother was no where to be seen. We assumed that he was (obviously) either up ahead, or had fallen behind. When we got to the end, we wandered over to the pub that we had all agreed upon as our meeting place after the race.
When we walked in, there was my brother Matt sitting at the table waiting for us. He was flushed and wet with sweat. I gave him a high five and said "Nice run Man, how long have you been waiting for us?" He told me "Not to long", and we went on to order drinks. The server brought us our round, and bent over to whisper in my ear. "Your brother told me that you guys bet on the race, and that whoever lost was buying the drinks." And since that was me, she was willing to work for a better tip. She then told me that my brother had been there for about a half hour. No way he could have done that. It was only a 5k.
It ends up that when we hit the first turn of the race, he had already fallen behind, so he said screw it, and took a left instead of a right, and went straight to the bar. He was on his 3rd drink by the time we got here. When he saw us walk through the door, he dipped his hands into his water glass and splashed his face and ran them through his hair.
She got a good tip all right, but my brother is the one that paid it:) Best laid plans...
As we were laughing at the old story, I told them that I have talked more during these few miles than I have during all my runs with Jane combined. She runs with her iPod, so she is always listening to music. I don't run with music, because that is when I think about my blog writing, and I am afraid that music my screw it up, so I don't even want to try it. I might like it... and no more blog.
Pete followed that up with "You guys talk, I'm gonna concentrate on breathing. Obviously I need to run outside more."
At some point before the run I had mentioned that my goal for the upcoming marathon was to break 4 hours, which would be averaging 9:15 minutes per mile. I said that with my average pace for my training runs, it was starting to seem like that may not be a possibility. Towards the end of our run, Paul actually ran across the street away from us, and then crossed coming back to us. He was obviously trying to get in a little extra work while staying with us at our much slower than his usual pace.
He finally said, "Yes, I think you are going to have to do something about your training runs if you want to break 4 hours". That was a very nice way to put it Paul. We may have passed the "It doesn't matter who you offend" theory...
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This was the first time in a long time that running had been a social time for me. It was awesome spending time with two of my best friends, while at the same time doing what has become one of our favorite activities. It makes me miss spending more time with old friends. We used to run races together regularly. Back before we all got married and moved away. We need to find a way to spend more time together.
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Speaking of spending more time with old friends, we have signed up for the Ragnar Relay Del Sol, here in Phoenix. It goes from Prescott to Mesa this Feb 26th & 27th. We will run a total of over 200 miles in about 24 hours. Each runner will run three times and each run will be from 3 miles to 9 miles each. Little or no sleep. There will be 12 of us on the team. So far we have four of us from Mount Rainier High School, wives, neighbors, friends from work, and one of our old pals from The Greenlake Alehouse. We have space for a few more...
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I run my first ever actual half marathon this Saturday, October 24th. It is the 41st Annual GoDaddy.com ® YMCA Half Marathon, in Phoenix. I am scheduled to run 12 to 14 miles this Saturday as part of my training plan for the Walt Disney World Marathon in January, so the timing is perfect. I will use this race as both a gauge on my time, as well as practice for keeping to my scheduled pace. I will be using drink stations, and trying to not pick up my speed every time someone passes me, as well trying to make my goal time of under 2 hours. These are all things that I never get to work on during my training runs. Wish me luck...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I want to take this opportunity to thank you for reading my blog. I use your feedback as motivation for me to get out of bed on those day's that I might rather just sleep in. I hope that you are able to get something out of it as well. Please use the comments link below and leave me a note. If you are not already following my blog, please sign up to not miss any updates. You can either do it through Facebook, or through the google link off to the right of this story. If you already follow this blog, and it was sent to you as an e-mail, you can click on the Run Into Shape link at the bottom, which will take you to the blog website so you can leave a comment. Run Into Shape is currently the 5th most followed running blog on Facebook. Thank you.
Paul answered that he didn't care, what did I want to run? I told them that my usual loop was a four mile run, or we could go to the next leg, and it would be about seven miles. To that, Pete said "Seven miles, that would be farther than I have ever run in my life."
On the outside, I played it cool. On the inside, I was jumping up and down with a big giant smile on my face. All I was thinking was that no matter what, at least I would be able to match their distance. Even if I come in 10 minutes behind them, at least I will be able to run as far as they do.
I was one cool cucumber... "O.K. Four miles it is"...
We got out of the elevator and walked across the lobby towards the front door. I asked them if we were going to stretch out outside, or had they already done that upstairs while I was changing. Paul said "I read that it doesn't really make much of a difference if you stretch or not. I'm not much of a stretcher." And off he went...
I found out a few things during the course of this run. Pete is probably more at my level as far as running goes, and Paul is nicer than he used to be. When we were growing up, we had a saying. "It doesn't matter who you offend, as long as you get a laugh". Now, you need to understand, these two guys were born funny. I just want to be like them when I grow up.
We don't take the saying seriously when it comes to other people, at least not anymore... But with each other, there have been few limits as to what you could say over the years. It was obvious that Paul passed on several opportunities to have fun at our expense. There were lots of chances for him to make jokes about my breathing, complaining, pace, or pointless banter. I was trying to keep him from paying attention to the pace part. He let it go... Much appreciated. I am pretty sure that by the time my Garmin beeped at me, and Paul asked if that meant we had gone a mile, he was having a hard time hearing the alarm over the sound of mine and Pete's breathing.
As it ends up, Pete has done most of his running up to this point on a treadmill, and I have done most of my running at over a 10 minute pace. I don't think that Paul would call anything over 10 minutes actual running. More like speed walking. Maybe even slow speed walking...
Paul and I were talking throughout most of the run, or at least the first 3 miles. At one point I said that I have a hard time gaging my pace when I am running under 11 minute miles, because I am not used to it. I said that "I know that right now we are running about 10 1/2 minutes.." Paul responded with "We are running just over 9 minutes".
"That's what I'm talking about. I never run this fast, so I have no idea what our pace is. And I'm the guy with the Garmin"... One of these day's I am going to have to learn how to use the light on this damn thing...
We started talking about back in the day when we used to run together. Back when I was faster than Paul. (Sorry, I am a little bitter...) We were talking about the night we ran the Firecracker 5000, and the beers at the starting line. We remembered that my little brother ran that race with us. Well, sort of... We had all been together at the starting line. The beginning of the run was up a gradual slope. When we got to the first turn, my brother was no where to be seen. We assumed that he was (obviously) either up ahead, or had fallen behind. When we got to the end, we wandered over to the pub that we had all agreed upon as our meeting place after the race.
When we walked in, there was my brother Matt sitting at the table waiting for us. He was flushed and wet with sweat. I gave him a high five and said "Nice run Man, how long have you been waiting for us?" He told me "Not to long", and we went on to order drinks. The server brought us our round, and bent over to whisper in my ear. "Your brother told me that you guys bet on the race, and that whoever lost was buying the drinks." And since that was me, she was willing to work for a better tip. She then told me that my brother had been there for about a half hour. No way he could have done that. It was only a 5k.
It ends up that when we hit the first turn of the race, he had already fallen behind, so he said screw it, and took a left instead of a right, and went straight to the bar. He was on his 3rd drink by the time we got here. When he saw us walk through the door, he dipped his hands into his water glass and splashed his face and ran them through his hair.
She got a good tip all right, but my brother is the one that paid it:) Best laid plans...
As we were laughing at the old story, I told them that I have talked more during these few miles than I have during all my runs with Jane combined. She runs with her iPod, so she is always listening to music. I don't run with music, because that is when I think about my blog writing, and I am afraid that music my screw it up, so I don't even want to try it. I might like it... and no more blog.
Pete followed that up with "You guys talk, I'm gonna concentrate on breathing. Obviously I need to run outside more."
At some point before the run I had mentioned that my goal for the upcoming marathon was to break 4 hours, which would be averaging 9:15 minutes per mile. I said that with my average pace for my training runs, it was starting to seem like that may not be a possibility. Towards the end of our run, Paul actually ran across the street away from us, and then crossed coming back to us. He was obviously trying to get in a little extra work while staying with us at our much slower than his usual pace.
He finally said, "Yes, I think you are going to have to do something about your training runs if you want to break 4 hours". That was a very nice way to put it Paul. We may have passed the "It doesn't matter who you offend" theory...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This was the first time in a long time that running had been a social time for me. It was awesome spending time with two of my best friends, while at the same time doing what has become one of our favorite activities. It makes me miss spending more time with old friends. We used to run races together regularly. Back before we all got married and moved away. We need to find a way to spend more time together.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Speaking of spending more time with old friends, we have signed up for the Ragnar Relay Del Sol, here in Phoenix. It goes from Prescott to Mesa this Feb 26th & 27th. We will run a total of over 200 miles in about 24 hours. Each runner will run three times and each run will be from 3 miles to 9 miles each. Little or no sleep. There will be 12 of us on the team. So far we have four of us from Mount Rainier High School, wives, neighbors, friends from work, and one of our old pals from The Greenlake Alehouse. We have space for a few more...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I run my first ever actual half marathon this Saturday, October 24th. It is the 41st Annual GoDaddy.com ® YMCA Half Marathon, in Phoenix. I am scheduled to run 12 to 14 miles this Saturday as part of my training plan for the Walt Disney World Marathon in January, so the timing is perfect. I will use this race as both a gauge on my time, as well as practice for keeping to my scheduled pace. I will be using drink stations, and trying to not pick up my speed every time someone passes me, as well trying to make my goal time of under 2 hours. These are all things that I never get to work on during my training runs. Wish me luck...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I want to take this opportunity to thank you for reading my blog. I use your feedback as motivation for me to get out of bed on those day's that I might rather just sleep in. I hope that you are able to get something out of it as well. Please use the comments link below and leave me a note. If you are not already following my blog, please sign up to not miss any updates. You can either do it through Facebook, or through the google link off to the right of this story. If you already follow this blog, and it was sent to you as an e-mail, you can click on the Run Into Shape link at the bottom, which will take you to the blog website so you can leave a comment. Run Into Shape is currently the 5th most followed running blog on Facebook. Thank you.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Hangin' with the home boys...part 1
When I joined the Air Force in 1983, my pal, who also signed up with me, and I started running to get into shape for Basic Training. I was 18 years old, and built like a miniature stick, weighing in at 123 pounds. I was probably close to being in the best shape of my life, before or since. We started out at a couple miles, and worked our way up from there. Do you know how long you had to run on your final long run in Air Force Basic Training in 1983? 1.5 miles. Yes, you read that correctly, 1.5 miles. We started at about a quarter mile run, and spent six weeks of rigorous training to work our way up to a mile and a half...
That was the last time I ran with my pal Pete.
I owned a bar in Seattle in 1994, I was 30 years old, and weighed about 175 pounds. I had a friend of my older brother (the Marathon running brother) describe me as "The Chubby One". You only have to hear that once for it to be burned into your memory forever. For Ev Ver!
I started running the next day. I ran around Greenlake about three or four days a week, and ran in some 5k or another nearly every Saturday. We ran in Beat The Bridge, The St. Patties Day Dash, The Firecracker 5000, the Falls to Gasworks Park Relay race, and a bunch of others. Jane and I started dating when I was at about 158 pounds. Best race ever, Jane and I shooting cans of Guinness at the starting line of the Firecracker 5000 at midnight, and putting in a respectable time. I still remember the blood from the cuts where I put the smashed beer cans in the front pocket of my cargo running shorts during the race. Oh yes, I was the poster child for white trash. That night was the last time I ran with my pal Paul, just over 14 years ago.
That is until last Tuesday. Pete and Paul were in town working on a couple of their rental properties. They are identical twins, two of my best friends, and it has been 14 years since I ran with one, and 26 years since I ran with the other. Jane and I stopped running after the guiness night, and didn't run again until about six months ago. Crap.
In 2009 I was 43 years old. I got an invite to join this online thing called Facebook. I had heard of it. I had made fun of it. I had made fun of my friends that were on it.
I accepted the invite, and my whole world changed. Yes I said it. You can put it in quotes. Facebook changed my life.
I started finding friends from work, from old jobs, from my military time, from high school, you name it. It is bizarre. I have typing conversations daily with people I have not seen in 25 years. Now remember, they have not seen me in 25 years either. The last time alot of these people saw my, I weighed 120 pounds. 140 pounds. 160 pounds. The day I joined Facebook I weighed give or take, somewhere in the neighborhood of two bills. I can't even say it. I have to be cute...
Two bills.
When I accepted the FB invite, I had recently returned from a vacation in Mexico, and like everyone else, I wanted to post pictures from my vacation. I started going through them. Crap. It was a vacation in Mexico on the beach. I am wearing a bathing suit in most of them. Hanging around the pool, walking on the beach, even sitting at the bar.
In other words... Most of these pictures of me, I'm not wearing a shirt!
That shi+ ain't going on Facebook.
As most of you who are Facebook friends of mine already know, I am pretty particular about what pictures of me go on line. Neck up, or with a shirt on. It is like my own personal company policy. No fat pictures on the Internet. Sometimes it's hard to hide it. Some vacations I return from i realize there are no other pictures available, so the standard gets lowered. That is when I started running.
First we started P90X, and I hated it. So I started filling in a couple of the morning workouts with running instead. Soon, I was running more days than I was working out. Next thing I knew, the P90X DVD's were covered in dust, and it was time for me to go out and by some running shoes that were manufactured in this decade... I'm a runner now.
Back to Tuesday night (Man, when I go off on a tangent, it can go on forever...). When Paul called me Monday and said they were in town, the very first words out of my mouth were "Dude, we gotta go for a run!" As we spoke on the phone and caught up on what was going on in each others lives, I found out he had run a 5k on Sunday in Seattle, and ran a 6:50 pace... Crap. I'm not that kinda runner...
When the boys showed up at my place Tuesday night, I was happy as hell to see them, yet a little intimidated about the run. Clearly my average 10 and 11 minute pace runs would bore the crap out of them. This may end up a little humbling. Hell, I write a blog about running. I use the sentence "I am a runner" in almost every story. These guys are going to have expectations that I can't meet. These guys think that I think... Shi+. I have stage fright.
That was the last time I ran with my pal Pete.
I owned a bar in Seattle in 1994, I was 30 years old, and weighed about 175 pounds. I had a friend of my older brother (the Marathon running brother) describe me as "The Chubby One". You only have to hear that once for it to be burned into your memory forever. For Ev Ver!
I started running the next day. I ran around Greenlake about three or four days a week, and ran in some 5k or another nearly every Saturday. We ran in Beat The Bridge, The St. Patties Day Dash, The Firecracker 5000, the Falls to Gasworks Park Relay race, and a bunch of others. Jane and I started dating when I was at about 158 pounds. Best race ever, Jane and I shooting cans of Guinness at the starting line of the Firecracker 5000 at midnight, and putting in a respectable time. I still remember the blood from the cuts where I put the smashed beer cans in the front pocket of my cargo running shorts during the race. Oh yes, I was the poster child for white trash. That night was the last time I ran with my pal Paul, just over 14 years ago.
That is until last Tuesday. Pete and Paul were in town working on a couple of their rental properties. They are identical twins, two of my best friends, and it has been 14 years since I ran with one, and 26 years since I ran with the other. Jane and I stopped running after the guiness night, and didn't run again until about six months ago. Crap.
In 2009 I was 43 years old. I got an invite to join this online thing called Facebook. I had heard of it. I had made fun of it. I had made fun of my friends that were on it.
I accepted the invite, and my whole world changed. Yes I said it. You can put it in quotes. Facebook changed my life.
I started finding friends from work, from old jobs, from my military time, from high school, you name it. It is bizarre. I have typing conversations daily with people I have not seen in 25 years. Now remember, they have not seen me in 25 years either. The last time alot of these people saw my, I weighed 120 pounds. 140 pounds. 160 pounds. The day I joined Facebook I weighed give or take, somewhere in the neighborhood of two bills. I can't even say it. I have to be cute...
Two bills.
When I accepted the FB invite, I had recently returned from a vacation in Mexico, and like everyone else, I wanted to post pictures from my vacation. I started going through them. Crap. It was a vacation in Mexico on the beach. I am wearing a bathing suit in most of them. Hanging around the pool, walking on the beach, even sitting at the bar.
In other words... Most of these pictures of me, I'm not wearing a shirt!
That shi+ ain't going on Facebook.
As most of you who are Facebook friends of mine already know, I am pretty particular about what pictures of me go on line. Neck up, or with a shirt on. It is like my own personal company policy. No fat pictures on the Internet. Sometimes it's hard to hide it. Some vacations I return from i realize there are no other pictures available, so the standard gets lowered. That is when I started running.
First we started P90X, and I hated it. So I started filling in a couple of the morning workouts with running instead. Soon, I was running more days than I was working out. Next thing I knew, the P90X DVD's were covered in dust, and it was time for me to go out and by some running shoes that were manufactured in this decade... I'm a runner now.
Back to Tuesday night (Man, when I go off on a tangent, it can go on forever...). When Paul called me Monday and said they were in town, the very first words out of my mouth were "Dude, we gotta go for a run!" As we spoke on the phone and caught up on what was going on in each others lives, I found out he had run a 5k on Sunday in Seattle, and ran a 6:50 pace... Crap. I'm not that kinda runner...
When the boys showed up at my place Tuesday night, I was happy as hell to see them, yet a little intimidated about the run. Clearly my average 10 and 11 minute pace runs would bore the crap out of them. This may end up a little humbling. Hell, I write a blog about running. I use the sentence "I am a runner" in almost every story. These guys are going to have expectations that I can't meet. These guys think that I think... Shi+. I have stage fright.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Running friends
When my buddy Paul started running, it bugged the crap out of me. Every time we got together with him and his wife, the conversation would eventually turn to running, spin class, bike riding, training, his body bugg, his calorie burn, or some other fitness topic that usually led to me ordering seconds, or having another cocktail. Dude, we get it. Your in shape. You could pull a car. You could have your own show on the ocho at 3am. Get over yourself. Cripes! Shut up about it.
Now, five years later, I just had a friend of mine post something like that to me on my facebook page.
Quote: "If i have to read one more comment of you eating a salad, running in the heat...reading or writing...i am going to throw up...where is my fun Adam who drinks and jokes...and passes out...."
Now remember, I love this guy, but he may not be what's best for my continued running. Not that we aren't friends. We just currently have different preferences for leisure activity...
I am not saying I can host a show on the ocho, but I am in better shape than I was five years ago. That is not my point though. My point is, when my buddy Paul started exercising, we started hanging out less. Part his choice, part mine. I didn't want to continually hear about it, and he probably wanted to spend more time with people who could relate to his new healthier lifestyle.
They say that people who are overweight tend to have over weightfriends. They say that people who drink to much tend to have friends that do likewise. Remember the first time you tried a cigarette, or beer, or...? You weren't with a group of friends, with you being the only one doing it. You did it with your friends. It was called peer pressure. Or just hanging out with people of similar interests. I'm not sure what they call that when your an adult.
James Ray, author of a book called Harmonic wealth, says that a person's income tends to be very close to the average of that person's 10 closest friends. Take a look around your own life and see if it holds true. Add up the approximate salary of the 10 people that you spend most of your time with – even if they're not friends of yours – and then divide that number by 10. Is the figure that you came up with roughly what you make in a year?
I can tell you this: When I go out with my Foodie friends, my body bugg tells me I ate to much. When I go out with my drinking buddies, there is a good chance that I won't make my run the next morning. When I go out with my sports fan friends, its usually to a sporting event or game.
When I go out with my running friends, it is different. If it is a casual lunch, I typically eat more healthy. If it is dinner, I drink less, especially if we have a run planned the next day. I don't have to feel embarrassed like am being arrogant if I talk about what I like. It doesn't feel like I am monopolizing the conversation. We all want to talk about the same thing. We talk about running.
What was your pace on your Saturday long run? What race are you signed up for? What week of your training plan are you on? Do you eat goo on your runs? Do you carry water on your runs, or do you stash bottles along your route before hand? How is that toe injury feeling? Do you prefer to go in the morning or would you rather run after work.
I am not feeling guilty. I can talk about my obsession openly. It's like AA for runners. Hello, my name is Adam and I'm a runner. Hello Adam, so are we. Would you like to tell us about your story? Well yes, as a matter of fact I would. And we all tell out stories. No guilt.
We live in Phoenix. During the summer, most people don't run outside. If they do, most all of them do it in the morning. Since we live downtown, it is tough to find people to run with. I run most mornings with my wife, and typically once or twice a week by myself. We run with a group on Saturdays, most of whom are training for January marathons. Most of them for P.F. Changs here in Phoenix, and us the Walt Disney World Marathon in Orlando.
It is great running with a group. We meet other runners. We see people that are way faster than us. We see people that are way slower than us, (although not that many:) It also helps keep us motivated to not miss our runs during the week, since we don't want to ever not be able to finish our group long run.
When you run with someone, it is harder to hit the snooze button (Snoozy), because you don't want to leave your friend hanging. It also keeps you from getting into a rut, which can lead to skipping your runs, or stopping altogether. It keeps you out there on you training runs when you are alone, because you will want to be able to keep up on the run with your friend later in the week.
As the weather here in Phoenix starts to cool off in the fall, we will pro-actively start looking for other running friends. I realized that me posting about my workouts, and my training, and my marathon goals, is getting annoying to some of my Facebook friends. But I will also say that the support I have received from other runners on Facebook is what has motivated me to keep running.
Then I signed up with Twitter. None of my facebook friends are on there. It is my selfish pleasure. It is all about running.
I searched for runners and followed them. I looked up names like alitherunner , seegirlrun , run2finish , and tinyjenna , and started a coversation. And guess what it was about? You got it: Running.
I post things like:
"First time pace under 9 min in 14 years (3.81 miles, 32:50, 8:37 pace). Either that or my Garmin feels sorry for me...(sorry/little excited)".
What do they say in reply? Something like my buddy said to me, or like what I would have said to Paul five years ago? No. They respond with answers like:
"iiagdtr @runintoshape Smokin'...that's a huge improvement!" or
"ReluctntRunner @runintoshape Whoohoo! Congrats! Nothing like breaking through a barrier!"
I am not special. They are not treating me any differently than they do any other runner, online, or in their running community. They are being supportive. They are offering advice. They are checking in to see how my long run went. They really want to know. They really care. Because it's about running.
Find a friend. Find a running buddy. Hold each other accountable for training. Sign up for a race together. Make each other get out of bed. Give each other high fives... Give each other someone to talk to.
I am a little bummed. My best pal Paul lives 2500 miles away. I don't get to go running with him. I don't get to make up to him for my indifference five years ago. I can't say "Dude, I understand." "I get it." That is until we run together this January in Orlando... hint hint...
Now, five years later, I just had a friend of mine post something like that to me on my facebook page.
Quote: "If i have to read one more comment of you eating a salad, running in the heat...reading or writing...i am going to throw up...where is my fun Adam who drinks and jokes...and passes out...."
Now remember, I love this guy, but he may not be what's best for my continued running. Not that we aren't friends. We just currently have different preferences for leisure activity...
I am not saying I can host a show on the ocho, but I am in better shape than I was five years ago. That is not my point though. My point is, when my buddy Paul started exercising, we started hanging out less. Part his choice, part mine. I didn't want to continually hear about it, and he probably wanted to spend more time with people who could relate to his new healthier lifestyle.
They say that people who are overweight tend to have over weightfriends. They say that people who drink to much tend to have friends that do likewise. Remember the first time you tried a cigarette, or beer, or...? You weren't with a group of friends, with you being the only one doing it. You did it with your friends. It was called peer pressure. Or just hanging out with people of similar interests. I'm not sure what they call that when your an adult.
James Ray, author of a book called Harmonic wealth, says that a person's income tends to be very close to the average of that person's 10 closest friends. Take a look around your own life and see if it holds true. Add up the approximate salary of the 10 people that you spend most of your time with – even if they're not friends of yours – and then divide that number by 10. Is the figure that you came up with roughly what you make in a year?
I can tell you this: When I go out with my Foodie friends, my body bugg tells me I ate to much. When I go out with my drinking buddies, there is a good chance that I won't make my run the next morning. When I go out with my sports fan friends, its usually to a sporting event or game.
When I go out with my running friends, it is different. If it is a casual lunch, I typically eat more healthy. If it is dinner, I drink less, especially if we have a run planned the next day. I don't have to feel embarrassed like am being arrogant if I talk about what I like. It doesn't feel like I am monopolizing the conversation. We all want to talk about the same thing. We talk about running.
What was your pace on your Saturday long run? What race are you signed up for? What week of your training plan are you on? Do you eat goo on your runs? Do you carry water on your runs, or do you stash bottles along your route before hand? How is that toe injury feeling? Do you prefer to go in the morning or would you rather run after work.
I am not feeling guilty. I can talk about my obsession openly. It's like AA for runners. Hello, my name is Adam and I'm a runner. Hello Adam, so are we. Would you like to tell us about your story? Well yes, as a matter of fact I would. And we all tell out stories. No guilt.
We live in Phoenix. During the summer, most people don't run outside. If they do, most all of them do it in the morning. Since we live downtown, it is tough to find people to run with. I run most mornings with my wife, and typically once or twice a week by myself. We run with a group on Saturdays, most of whom are training for January marathons. Most of them for P.F. Changs here in Phoenix, and us the Walt Disney World Marathon in Orlando.
It is great running with a group. We meet other runners. We see people that are way faster than us. We see people that are way slower than us, (although not that many:) It also helps keep us motivated to not miss our runs during the week, since we don't want to ever not be able to finish our group long run.
When you run with someone, it is harder to hit the snooze button (Snoozy), because you don't want to leave your friend hanging. It also keeps you from getting into a rut, which can lead to skipping your runs, or stopping altogether. It keeps you out there on you training runs when you are alone, because you will want to be able to keep up on the run with your friend later in the week.
As the weather here in Phoenix starts to cool off in the fall, we will pro-actively start looking for other running friends. I realized that me posting about my workouts, and my training, and my marathon goals, is getting annoying to some of my Facebook friends. But I will also say that the support I have received from other runners on Facebook is what has motivated me to keep running.
Then I signed up with Twitter. None of my facebook friends are on there. It is my selfish pleasure. It is all about running.
I searched for runners and followed them. I looked up names like alitherunner , seegirlrun , run2finish , and tinyjenna , and started a coversation. And guess what it was about? You got it: Running.
I post things like:
"First time pace under 9 min in 14 years (3.81 miles, 32:50, 8:37 pace). Either that or my Garmin feels sorry for me...(sorry/little excited)".
What do they say in reply? Something like my buddy said to me, or like what I would have said to Paul five years ago? No. They respond with answers like:
"iiagdtr @runintoshape Smokin'...that's a huge improvement!" or
"ReluctntRunner @runintoshape Whoohoo! Congrats! Nothing like breaking through a barrier!"
I am not special. They are not treating me any differently than they do any other runner, online, or in their running community. They are being supportive. They are offering advice. They are checking in to see how my long run went. They really want to know. They really care. Because it's about running.
Find a friend. Find a running buddy. Hold each other accountable for training. Sign up for a race together. Make each other get out of bed. Give each other high fives... Give each other someone to talk to.
I am a little bummed. My best pal Paul lives 2500 miles away. I don't get to go running with him. I don't get to make up to him for my indifference five years ago. I can't say "Dude, I understand." "I get it." That is until we run together this January in Orlando... hint hint...
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Keep Running vs. Quitting Smoking: which is harder?
When I stopped smoking, it was a pretty easy thing to do. I had started smoking at a pretty young age, so I thought it would be harder. But then again, I was in the 8th grade and had only been smoking for two weeks. From what I hear, it's a tad bit harder for most people.
Why is smoking so hard? Nicotine, which hardly seems to have any noticeable effect, and yet to judge by its number of users, is easily the world's most addictive substance? For many people, quitting smoking is simply impossible.
Have you ever read a list of steps for how to quit smoking? There are lots of them. They are all over the Internet. They all have similar themes. They talk about things like schedules, deadlines, programs, support groups, dedication, positive affirmations, increased hunger, goals, buddies, and rewards.
Hell, they look just like the steps for starting a running program. That might explain why so many people find maintaining their running program so difficult. It's like trying to kick the habit.
The lists are tough to tell apart. No kidding. Trying to stop smoking and trying to start a new habit are very similar... No wonder so many people continually start an exercise or running program, and then slip, slide, stop, start again, or give up forever.
Do you think I am making this up?
1. (Quitting Smoking) MAKE A DATE and stick to it. Draw up a plan of action, considering what methods are available to you.
1. (Starting Running) Sign up for a race (Make a Date). Do it now! Having a race goal (and race fees!) on the line will be a powerful source of motivation. I guarantee it.
Both require you to set a date. One is for the actual quit date (smokers), and one is for your first race (runners). This is about setting goals. Sticking to your goals. Holding yourself accountable to your goals. Sounds easy enough. My race is the Walt Disney World Marathon. January 10th, 2010. What is your date?
2. (Quit Smoking) DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS - keep a glass of water or juice by you and sip it steadily. Try different flavours. (Really, this is from a stop smoking website)
2. (Start Running) DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS - An hour or two before a long workout, drink 16 ounces of water or a sports drink like Gatorade. This will help prevent dehydration and also keep you feeling alert. Plain water is fine if you're running an hour or less. If your run is longer, you'll need to replenish lost electolytes, so Smartwater or a sports drink are better options.
Although drinking fluids was kind of a surprise for me to find under stopping smoking, the rest is a no brainer. Jane and I went out and bought water belts, and then didn't even wear them during our first run with our new running group. We didn't want to look like the new kids with all the cool new gear. Now that I have run with water a few times, eff em if they can't take a joke. Running with water makes a HUGE difference.
3. (Quit Smoking) THINK POSITIVE - Withdrawal can be unpleasant, bit it is a sign your body is recovering from the effects of tobacco. Irritability, urges to smoke and poor concentration are common - don't worry, they usually disappear after a few of weeks.
3. (Start Running) THINK POSITIVE -That kind of confidence, of course, springs from putting in the physical work of hard, smart training between races. But on race day, even a well-trained runner can sabotage his effort with negative or unproductive thoughts. Bottom line: Believe in what you’ve done to get to the start line, focus on what is possible, and use both your physical and mental strengths to produce the best outcome on the day.
I received a comment on one of my stories a few weeks ago from a friend (Tiffany-an Iron Man Competitor) who said she had just finished one of her worst runs in a long time. They were about 7 miles into a 13 mile run when she made the fatal mistake of saying "this is one of my best runs in a long time, this just seems easy today". The wheels immediately fell of the cart. As soon as the words came out of her mouth, her superstitions kicked in and her mind filled with negative thoughts. "Oh crap, I shouldn't have said that." Then all the usual aches and pains of a long run became accentuated, painful, and difficult to run through. Negative thoughts started to play tricks on her, and the run became a painful, demoralizing event from there to the end.
Moral of this one is, just stay positive, and keep the nagging neggies away...
So far, it sounds like stopping smoking and starting running (or stopping being lazy) are running neck and neck foer degree of difficulty.
4. (Kicking the Habit) Breaking a habit can be simple - you just create a new one and then practice it again and again. If you've smoked for any period of time then you have probably practiced the smoking habit thousands of times. Every time you think about it, you practice it and cement it in further.
4. (Starting the Habit) If you struggle with making running a regular habit, try doing it every other day at the same time. Habits are easiest to form if you do them consistently, but the key is to go very easy in the beginning — nothing that will stress your body out or make you sore the next day. Also, instead of running every day, you could swim or bike or do strength training, so that your running muscles are given a rest while you continue to form your exercise habit.
If you are at all human, this is the place where it is easy to trip up. My dedication to go running tomorrow morning is without question. The next morning, when the alarm goes off, my motivation to actually get out of bed and go, is sometimes nowhere to be found. That is where our great enemy the snooze button comes in...
5. (Quit Smoking) Rearrange your routine- Many have found that if they change up their daily routine they find no time for a cigarette. If your structured this works very well for you. Many people do the same things everyday at the same time in a repetitive motion.
5. (Start Running) Write down a time plan that varies each day. Put your plan on paper by listing the days you will run, the distances and the paths you will run. Varying the lengths of time you run each day will make your runs more interesting. You might start by saying you will run for 15 minutes on your first day, 20 minutes on your second day, 30 minutes on your third day then 15 minutes again on your fourth day. Make it interesting for yourself.
Making a routine is something that can help lot's of people. In business, we call them systems. In exercise, we call it a routine.
6. (Stop Signs) Post signs in your home- Every time you think about smoking look at these signs you create. Make the signs thoughtful, draw up reason why you wish you never began to smoke. Write the negative affects the nicotine has had on your body. Keep the signs visible, so whenever a craving creeps up on you. The signs can be your saving grace behind you not giving in to temptation.
6. (Start Signs) For runners that are in need of a little help in sticking with their routine, posting positive affirmations has been found to be extremely helpful. "I enjoy listening to the sound of my beating heart in exercise. With each beat, it strengthens."•" I love the feel of the pavement beneath my running shoes." "I feel strong and in control."• "I enjoy listening to the beautiful sounds of nature as I run around the block. " "I love the wind against my face as I jog around my neighborhood."
These examples pretty much suck, but good ones actually do make a huge difference. A reminder when you walk past the mirror in the morning can make the difference between putting on your running shoes, or your Florsheim's.
7. (Stop Smoking) The first two weeks are critical, seek all the support from family and friends you can find. The side effects to quitting begin just four hours after your last cigarette, generally they peak at three to five days, and then fade out after two weeks. The symptoms are both physical and mental.
7. (Keep Running) Focus strongly on getting through the first three weeks. It takes roughly three weeks to establish a habit. If you can get past the first three weeks, your mind and body will find it much easier after that.
You probably know someone who has tried to quit smoking, and failed. You more than likely also know people who have succeeded. You also probably know someone who has started running, or getting into shape, and then fallen off the wagon and given up. What do you think the difference is between the people that succeed, and the people that don't? All I can tell you is that if I knew the answer to that, I would be a billionaire. They are both hard.
When you make the choice to go running, congratulate yourself. When you get out of bed in the morning, remind yourself that this is a victory all by itself. You are completing an act of determination that hundreds if not thousands of people fail at every day. I failed four day's straight this week. It can be a constant struggle. For me so far, it has been a whole lot harder than it was two quit smoking. But I had only been a smoker for two weeks. I have been lazy my whole life.
I think I will cut myself a little slack. If it was easy, everyone would run marathons.
Why is smoking so hard? Nicotine, which hardly seems to have any noticeable effect, and yet to judge by its number of users, is easily the world's most addictive substance? For many people, quitting smoking is simply impossible.
Have you ever read a list of steps for how to quit smoking? There are lots of them. They are all over the Internet. They all have similar themes. They talk about things like schedules, deadlines, programs, support groups, dedication, positive affirmations, increased hunger, goals, buddies, and rewards.
Hell, they look just like the steps for starting a running program. That might explain why so many people find maintaining their running program so difficult. It's like trying to kick the habit.
The lists are tough to tell apart. No kidding. Trying to stop smoking and trying to start a new habit are very similar... No wonder so many people continually start an exercise or running program, and then slip, slide, stop, start again, or give up forever.
Do you think I am making this up?
1. (Quitting Smoking) MAKE A DATE and stick to it. Draw up a plan of action, considering what methods are available to you.
1. (Starting Running) Sign up for a race (Make a Date). Do it now! Having a race goal (and race fees!) on the line will be a powerful source of motivation. I guarantee it.
Both require you to set a date. One is for the actual quit date (smokers), and one is for your first race (runners). This is about setting goals. Sticking to your goals. Holding yourself accountable to your goals. Sounds easy enough. My race is the Walt Disney World Marathon. January 10th, 2010. What is your date?
2. (Quit Smoking) DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS - keep a glass of water or juice by you and sip it steadily. Try different flavours. (Really, this is from a stop smoking website)
2. (Start Running) DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS - An hour or two before a long workout, drink 16 ounces of water or a sports drink like Gatorade. This will help prevent dehydration and also keep you feeling alert. Plain water is fine if you're running an hour or less. If your run is longer, you'll need to replenish lost electolytes, so Smartwater or a sports drink are better options.
Although drinking fluids was kind of a surprise for me to find under stopping smoking, the rest is a no brainer. Jane and I went out and bought water belts, and then didn't even wear them during our first run with our new running group. We didn't want to look like the new kids with all the cool new gear. Now that I have run with water a few times, eff em if they can't take a joke. Running with water makes a HUGE difference.
3. (Quit Smoking) THINK POSITIVE - Withdrawal can be unpleasant, bit it is a sign your body is recovering from the effects of tobacco. Irritability, urges to smoke and poor concentration are common - don't worry, they usually disappear after a few of weeks.
3. (Start Running) THINK POSITIVE -That kind of confidence, of course, springs from putting in the physical work of hard, smart training between races. But on race day, even a well-trained runner can sabotage his effort with negative or unproductive thoughts. Bottom line: Believe in what you’ve done to get to the start line, focus on what is possible, and use both your physical and mental strengths to produce the best outcome on the day.
I received a comment on one of my stories a few weeks ago from a friend (Tiffany-an Iron Man Competitor) who said she had just finished one of her worst runs in a long time. They were about 7 miles into a 13 mile run when she made the fatal mistake of saying "this is one of my best runs in a long time, this just seems easy today". The wheels immediately fell of the cart. As soon as the words came out of her mouth, her superstitions kicked in and her mind filled with negative thoughts. "Oh crap, I shouldn't have said that." Then all the usual aches and pains of a long run became accentuated, painful, and difficult to run through. Negative thoughts started to play tricks on her, and the run became a painful, demoralizing event from there to the end.
Moral of this one is, just stay positive, and keep the nagging neggies away...
So far, it sounds like stopping smoking and starting running (or stopping being lazy) are running neck and neck foer degree of difficulty.
4. (Kicking the Habit) Breaking a habit can be simple - you just create a new one and then practice it again and again. If you've smoked for any period of time then you have probably practiced the smoking habit thousands of times. Every time you think about it, you practice it and cement it in further.
4. (Starting the Habit) If you struggle with making running a regular habit, try doing it every other day at the same time. Habits are easiest to form if you do them consistently, but the key is to go very easy in the beginning — nothing that will stress your body out or make you sore the next day. Also, instead of running every day, you could swim or bike or do strength training, so that your running muscles are given a rest while you continue to form your exercise habit.
If you are at all human, this is the place where it is easy to trip up. My dedication to go running tomorrow morning is without question. The next morning, when the alarm goes off, my motivation to actually get out of bed and go, is sometimes nowhere to be found. That is where our great enemy the snooze button comes in...
5. (Quit Smoking) Rearrange your routine- Many have found that if they change up their daily routine they find no time for a cigarette. If your structured this works very well for you. Many people do the same things everyday at the same time in a repetitive motion.
5. (Start Running) Write down a time plan that varies each day. Put your plan on paper by listing the days you will run, the distances and the paths you will run. Varying the lengths of time you run each day will make your runs more interesting. You might start by saying you will run for 15 minutes on your first day, 20 minutes on your second day, 30 minutes on your third day then 15 minutes again on your fourth day. Make it interesting for yourself.
Making a routine is something that can help lot's of people. In business, we call them systems. In exercise, we call it a routine.
6. (Stop Signs) Post signs in your home- Every time you think about smoking look at these signs you create. Make the signs thoughtful, draw up reason why you wish you never began to smoke. Write the negative affects the nicotine has had on your body. Keep the signs visible, so whenever a craving creeps up on you. The signs can be your saving grace behind you not giving in to temptation.
6. (Start Signs) For runners that are in need of a little help in sticking with their routine, posting positive affirmations has been found to be extremely helpful. "I enjoy listening to the sound of my beating heart in exercise. With each beat, it strengthens."•" I love the feel of the pavement beneath my running shoes." "I feel strong and in control."• "I enjoy listening to the beautiful sounds of nature as I run around the block. " "I love the wind against my face as I jog around my neighborhood."
These examples pretty much suck, but good ones actually do make a huge difference. A reminder when you walk past the mirror in the morning can make the difference between putting on your running shoes, or your Florsheim's.
7. (Stop Smoking) The first two weeks are critical, seek all the support from family and friends you can find. The side effects to quitting begin just four hours after your last cigarette, generally they peak at three to five days, and then fade out after two weeks. The symptoms are both physical and mental.
7. (Keep Running) Focus strongly on getting through the first three weeks. It takes roughly three weeks to establish a habit. If you can get past the first three weeks, your mind and body will find it much easier after that.
You probably know someone who has tried to quit smoking, and failed. You more than likely also know people who have succeeded. You also probably know someone who has started running, or getting into shape, and then fallen off the wagon and given up. What do you think the difference is between the people that succeed, and the people that don't? All I can tell you is that if I knew the answer to that, I would be a billionaire. They are both hard.
When you make the choice to go running, congratulate yourself. When you get out of bed in the morning, remind yourself that this is a victory all by itself. You are completing an act of determination that hundreds if not thousands of people fail at every day. I failed four day's straight this week. It can be a constant struggle. For me so far, it has been a whole lot harder than it was two quit smoking. But I had only been a smoker for two weeks. I have been lazy my whole life.
I think I will cut myself a little slack. If it was easy, everyone would run marathons.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
On the road to the Walt Disney World Marathon
Whenever I think about my family trip to Disney World as a kid, the first thing I think about was the lake. I remember taking a ferryboat from the parking lot to the park. I was watching a landscaper riding a lawn mower cutting the grass right up along the edge of the lake. Right as I told my little brother that the guy was a little to close to the edge of the water for comfort, the uphill side of the mower started to lift off the ground. The guy jumped off and into the lake just in time to clear the tumbling John Deer as it crashed into the water.
When we signed up for the Walt Disney World Marathon a few months back, we thought we had tons of time. We are now officially 20 weeks away from the race and while that may seem like a lot , what it really means is that our 16 week training plan starts September 21st. 4 weeks and 4 days from today.
I have not chosen a training plan yet.
If you google "Marathon Training Program", there are 3,810,000 results. A little about me... If I go to a restaurant and there are more than eight choices for dinner, I close the menu and put it back down on the table. I then ask the waiter what they suggest, and nine times out of ten, order it. Sometimes I win. Sometimes I lose. (particularly when it involves crab)
How In the hell do I choose a training plan. There is no "running waiter" standing in front of me saying "If it were me, I would go with the intermediate plan that is five days a week running, one day cross training, and one day of rest. (but I would have the chef hold the goo packs, cause they give me gas)"
How in the heck do you decide? I have been trying to figure that question out for several weeks now and am pretty sure that I am no closer than I was when I started. I am 20 weeks and four days from hitting the starting line at the happiest place on earth, and I still have no plan. Eff!
Jane and I went shopping at the Runners World at Tempe Marketplace last weekend. Spent a frikken mint. Running belt with four water bottles for Me. One with two bottles for Jane. She also needed new running shoes. Then you go to accessories. Who knew that running requires accessories. Crack would be cheaper. Do you know about nip guards? Awkward! That is all I am going to say on that matter. How about Glide. Yep, it's lubricant for fat. I can't have one fat part of my body trying to intimidate another fat part of my body because it starts to chafe and hurts like hell. Can't we all just get along?
Now lets talk about goo. You may have guessed that you need to replenish nutrients DURING the marathon. I had no idea. I assumed you had some pasta the night before to carbo load, had a little water out on the course, and fell asleep in pain afterwords. Apparently, it's not that simple. You have to carry around little packs of goo, or chews, or jelly beans designed by mad running scientists Your choice depends on what you like, what gives you the best energy, and (here's the good one) which one doesn't give you the walks (maybe she meant runs:).
Yes, you have to eat something out of a little aluminum pouch the size of a pack of gum, and while you are worrying about your speed, mileage, pace time and breathing, ability to finish, you need to hope you don't all of a sudden have to pick the pace up to a sprint, while you take off for the bathroom. No one told me this as I was sitting at home one night thinking that I wanted to run a marathon. All I was thinking was "Cool, I might as well go to Disney World." That running waiter guy didn't jump out from behind the couch and say "Dude, that stuff might make you poop your pants!"
I don't care. I would gladly have to change my undies for a chance to spend time at Disney World again. It has been about 26 years. (I grew up on the West Coast, so we usually went to Disneyland) I passed on Captain EO and went with the the Indiana Jones ride instead. (never did like M.J.)
One of the plans I am looking at says that I need to be comfortable with 8, 10, and 12 mile long runs to start. I am NOT. One of the plans we looked at actually has us PLANNING on walking some of the time...WTF? Pre forbid, I might end up walking at some point in the race, but I sure as Hell am not going into it PLANNING on walking!
But then again, it's Disney World. I might want to take my time...
Here is another thing that we have to do over the 16 weeks of the training plan... We need to practice our pre race dinner. We have to eat a nutritious carb filled dinner that (here the tough part) won't make us have to go number two during the race. We actually have to test different dinners on Friday nights and measure what it does to our system between 5am and 11 am the next morning. No poopin' on the race course from what I hear...:)
Whatever plan we choose will have us running nearly 500 miles between now and race day. We catch the Red Eye on the Thursday night before the race. Since we have to report to the parking lot at Walt Disney World at 3 am Sunday morning, we will be changing our sleeping times for the week prior. Our hope is that we can get some sleep on the plane, drop off our luggage at the hotel, and go straight to the park after landing in Orlando at 9am. After spending both Friday and Saturday at Disney World, we will hopefully be in bed by 6pm the night before the race so that we can get up and be able to run 26.2 miles without falling to sleep. How is that gonna work?
This may not be exactly what I had in mind for my next trip to Disney World, but we just didn't want to pass up the chance to knock two things off of our Dream Fruition list. I am looking forward to both, and will keep an eye out for the landscaper in the wet overalls.
When we signed up for the Walt Disney World Marathon a few months back, we thought we had tons of time. We are now officially 20 weeks away from the race and while that may seem like a lot , what it really means is that our 16 week training plan starts September 21st. 4 weeks and 4 days from today.
I have not chosen a training plan yet.
If you google "Marathon Training Program", there are 3,810,000 results. A little about me... If I go to a restaurant and there are more than eight choices for dinner, I close the menu and put it back down on the table. I then ask the waiter what they suggest, and nine times out of ten, order it. Sometimes I win. Sometimes I lose. (particularly when it involves crab)
How In the hell do I choose a training plan. There is no "running waiter" standing in front of me saying "If it were me, I would go with the intermediate plan that is five days a week running, one day cross training, and one day of rest. (but I would have the chef hold the goo packs, cause they give me gas)"
How in the heck do you decide? I have been trying to figure that question out for several weeks now and am pretty sure that I am no closer than I was when I started. I am 20 weeks and four days from hitting the starting line at the happiest place on earth, and I still have no plan. Eff!
Jane and I went shopping at the Runners World at Tempe Marketplace last weekend. Spent a frikken mint. Running belt with four water bottles for Me. One with two bottles for Jane. She also needed new running shoes. Then you go to accessories. Who knew that running requires accessories. Crack would be cheaper. Do you know about nip guards? Awkward! That is all I am going to say on that matter. How about Glide. Yep, it's lubricant for fat. I can't have one fat part of my body trying to intimidate another fat part of my body because it starts to chafe and hurts like hell. Can't we all just get along?
Now lets talk about goo. You may have guessed that you need to replenish nutrients DURING the marathon. I had no idea. I assumed you had some pasta the night before to carbo load, had a little water out on the course, and fell asleep in pain afterwords. Apparently, it's not that simple. You have to carry around little packs of goo, or chews, or jelly beans designed by mad running scientists Your choice depends on what you like, what gives you the best energy, and (here's the good one) which one doesn't give you the walks (maybe she meant runs:).
Yes, you have to eat something out of a little aluminum pouch the size of a pack of gum, and while you are worrying about your speed, mileage, pace time and breathing, ability to finish, you need to hope you don't all of a sudden have to pick the pace up to a sprint, while you take off for the bathroom. No one told me this as I was sitting at home one night thinking that I wanted to run a marathon. All I was thinking was "Cool, I might as well go to Disney World." That running waiter guy didn't jump out from behind the couch and say "Dude, that stuff might make you poop your pants!"
I don't care. I would gladly have to change my undies for a chance to spend time at Disney World again. It has been about 26 years. (I grew up on the West Coast, so we usually went to Disneyland) I passed on Captain EO and went with the the Indiana Jones ride instead. (never did like M.J.)
One of the plans I am looking at says that I need to be comfortable with 8, 10, and 12 mile long runs to start. I am NOT. One of the plans we looked at actually has us PLANNING on walking some of the time...WTF? Pre forbid, I might end up walking at some point in the race, but I sure as Hell am not going into it PLANNING on walking!
But then again, it's Disney World. I might want to take my time...
Here is another thing that we have to do over the 16 weeks of the training plan... We need to practice our pre race dinner. We have to eat a nutritious carb filled dinner that (here the tough part) won't make us have to go number two during the race. We actually have to test different dinners on Friday nights and measure what it does to our system between 5am and 11 am the next morning. No poopin' on the race course from what I hear...:)
Whatever plan we choose will have us running nearly 500 miles between now and race day. We catch the Red Eye on the Thursday night before the race. Since we have to report to the parking lot at Walt Disney World at 3 am Sunday morning, we will be changing our sleeping times for the week prior. Our hope is that we can get some sleep on the plane, drop off our luggage at the hotel, and go straight to the park after landing in Orlando at 9am. After spending both Friday and Saturday at Disney World, we will hopefully be in bed by 6pm the night before the race so that we can get up and be able to run 26.2 miles without falling to sleep. How is that gonna work?
This may not be exactly what I had in mind for my next trip to Disney World, but we just didn't want to pass up the chance to knock two things off of our Dream Fruition list. I am looking forward to both, and will keep an eye out for the landscaper in the wet overalls.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Weight loss and running
Running may be a fantastic way to stay in shape, but it is not the end-all be-all to weight loss. We need to watch what you eat as well. We won't lose weight by running more, if we just replace it by eating more.
How much do we actually know about the basics of diet? I can tell you that I learned more than a few of these things researching this story. A little education, as well as determination, can help us all make diet decisions that will help us reach our goals. Let's take a quiz.
Here you go:
What are calories? (Aren't they the things that we count when we are trying to eat more healthy or lose weight?)
Calorie: A unit of food energy. In nutrition terms, the word calorie is used instead of the more precise scientific term kilocalorie which represents the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a liter of water one degree centigrade at sea level. The common usage of the word calorie of food energy is understood to refer to a kilocalorie and actually represents, therefore, 1000 true calories of energy.
According to DietBites.com, "Calories reside in almost 100% of the foods that we eat. Even evil-tasting rice cakes contain calories - but you sure wouldn't think they would. Anything that tastes like cardboard shouldn't contain calories, but yes they do indeedy."
I don't think we need to check the facts on that one. I think we can trust that to be true (rice cakes really do suck).
Those same people at Dietbites say this: "Calories that go unused by the body fly into our fat cells. Even pencil-thin people have fat cells. Once stored, they stay until they are needed by the body.Once released, they turn into energy and are burned through activity. It's like storing energy in a bank. However, it's not a good thing because those plumped up fat cells register on the body and are often times visible even through vests and snug sweaters. I need a tissue...can you please hand me the box?"
So far I like the writer for Diet Bites.
What is Fat? And I am not looking for answers like: 1.The two people I always get stuck between when I can't get an aisle or window seat. 2. The guy that says "Get in to my belly." or 3. That bad ass Harley I have had my eye on. (that one is spelled PHAT)
MedicineNet.com tells us this about Fat: "1 Along with proteins and carbohydrates, one of the three nutrients used as energy sources by the body. The energy produced by fats is 9 calories per gram. Proteins and carbohydrates each provide 4 calories per gram. 2 (was boring, so I deleted it). 3 A slang term for obese or adipose. 4 In chemistry, a compound formed from chemicals called fatty acids. These fats are greasy, solid materials found in animal tissues and in some plants. Fats are the major component of the flabby material of a body, commonly known as blubber. "
Here is the big one. (For those of you that already know this, quit looking at the rest of us like we are clueless. That's why we're over weight, leave us alone!)
How many calories equals one pound? This is the basics of weight loss. It is nothing more than math. If I were to take one pound off body mass, how many calories are in it?
Three Thousand Five Hundred. That's right, 3500 calories weighs one pound. 3500 calories will always equal 1 pound, no matter what you eat! So, what does that mean to you. Well, lets use this example (Estimated Average Requirements (EAR) are a daily calorie intake of 1940 calories per day for women and 2550 for men.)
If 3,500 calories is equal one pound of body weight, then the rest is easy. Generally, dieters dump an average of 1,000 calories per day in an effort to lose 2 pounds of body fat per week. That means for a woman that is burning an average 2000 calories per day would need to cut her intake to 1000 calories per day, or increase her burn to 3000, or a combination of the two, to lose 2 pounds per week.
Regardless how much you run and how many calories you burn from fat, if you increase your calorie intake to replace all the calories you burned, you will not lose any body fat.
Here is a calorie/ weightloss calculator that works very well to explain what I am talking about...
http://www.hpathy.com/healthtools/calories-need.asp
Now lets take this information and relate it to running. According to easyweightloss101.com "Depending on your speed, body type, and the terrain over which you are running, you can burn around 350 calories by running for about 1 hour at an easy gait."
The Bodybugg I wear on my are tells me that I burn about 100 calories per mile when I run. I will use my Bodybugg's 100 calories to make some examples.
Jane and I were running Sunday morning going North on 5th Avenue. As we crossed the I-10 overpass I realized that for the second day in a row I was having a hard run. I would catch myself comparing my breathing to Janes as she was kicking my a$$. Then my mind would wander off into the never ending internal debate of the dieter, "Is my appreciation and passion for the consumption of good food and beverage worth all this sweat?"
When I snapped out of my trance I could see the stoplight up ahead at McDowell, where we take a right and start back towards home. I was thinking about this story, and how I could relate the run to the calories. It then came to mind that this 4 mile run would not burn off the Kettle Corn that I had eaten on Saturday. I had 10 ounces or so. At 140 calories per ounce, I would need to run a half marathon to burn that off. Is it worth it? (remember that I will have been training for six full months when I run my marathon in January).
When we got close enough to the intersection to read the sign I realized that we were approaching Encanto, not McDowell. That means we are another half mile from our turn. That means I need to run another five minutes to still be 8 miles short on burning off yesterday's extra calories. It makes you think twice.
Add a shot of Bailey's to your coffee on Saturday morning, a mile and a half. 16 ounce coke, 2 miles farther. How about a Big Mac? According to calorieking.com, you will need to to run nearly 5 1/2 miles to burn off that extra 540 calories.
Here is the point. I run a lot. I am still overweight. You need to work on both ends of this equation. Burn more calories, while also addressing the amount you are taking in.
Read the lable, do the math, then go for a run. Just remember that those miles are sometimes hard, and maybe sometimes, you could just eat a salad.
How much do we actually know about the basics of diet? I can tell you that I learned more than a few of these things researching this story. A little education, as well as determination, can help us all make diet decisions that will help us reach our goals. Let's take a quiz.
Here you go:
What are calories? (Aren't they the things that we count when we are trying to eat more healthy or lose weight?)
Calorie: A unit of food energy. In nutrition terms, the word calorie is used instead of the more precise scientific term kilocalorie which represents the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a liter of water one degree centigrade at sea level. The common usage of the word calorie of food energy is understood to refer to a kilocalorie and actually represents, therefore, 1000 true calories of energy.
According to DietBites.com, "Calories reside in almost 100% of the foods that we eat. Even evil-tasting rice cakes contain calories - but you sure wouldn't think they would. Anything that tastes like cardboard shouldn't contain calories, but yes they do indeedy."
I don't think we need to check the facts on that one. I think we can trust that to be true (rice cakes really do suck).
Those same people at Dietbites say this: "Calories that go unused by the body fly into our fat cells. Even pencil-thin people have fat cells. Once stored, they stay until they are needed by the body.Once released, they turn into energy and are burned through activity. It's like storing energy in a bank. However, it's not a good thing because those plumped up fat cells register on the body and are often times visible even through vests and snug sweaters. I need a tissue...can you please hand me the box?"
So far I like the writer for Diet Bites.
What is Fat? And I am not looking for answers like: 1.The two people I always get stuck between when I can't get an aisle or window seat. 2. The guy that says "Get in to my belly." or 3. That bad ass Harley I have had my eye on. (that one is spelled PHAT)
MedicineNet.com tells us this about Fat: "1 Along with proteins and carbohydrates, one of the three nutrients used as energy sources by the body. The energy produced by fats is 9 calories per gram. Proteins and carbohydrates each provide 4 calories per gram. 2 (was boring, so I deleted it). 3 A slang term for obese or adipose. 4 In chemistry, a compound formed from chemicals called fatty acids. These fats are greasy, solid materials found in animal tissues and in some plants. Fats are the major component of the flabby material of a body, commonly known as blubber. "
Here is the big one. (For those of you that already know this, quit looking at the rest of us like we are clueless. That's why we're over weight, leave us alone!)
How many calories equals one pound? This is the basics of weight loss. It is nothing more than math. If I were to take one pound off body mass, how many calories are in it?
Three Thousand Five Hundred. That's right, 3500 calories weighs one pound. 3500 calories will always equal 1 pound, no matter what you eat! So, what does that mean to you. Well, lets use this example (Estimated Average Requirements (EAR) are a daily calorie intake of 1940 calories per day for women and 2550 for men.)
If 3,500 calories is equal one pound of body weight, then the rest is easy. Generally, dieters dump an average of 1,000 calories per day in an effort to lose 2 pounds of body fat per week. That means for a woman that is burning an average 2000 calories per day would need to cut her intake to 1000 calories per day, or increase her burn to 3000, or a combination of the two, to lose 2 pounds per week.
Regardless how much you run and how many calories you burn from fat, if you increase your calorie intake to replace all the calories you burned, you will not lose any body fat.
Here is a calorie/ weightloss calculator that works very well to explain what I am talking about...
http://www.hpathy.com/healthtools/calories-need.asp
Now lets take this information and relate it to running. According to easyweightloss101.com "Depending on your speed, body type, and the terrain over which you are running, you can burn around 350 calories by running for about 1 hour at an easy gait."
The Bodybugg I wear on my are tells me that I burn about 100 calories per mile when I run. I will use my Bodybugg's 100 calories to make some examples.
Jane and I were running Sunday morning going North on 5th Avenue. As we crossed the I-10 overpass I realized that for the second day in a row I was having a hard run. I would catch myself comparing my breathing to Janes as she was kicking my a$$. Then my mind would wander off into the never ending internal debate of the dieter, "Is my appreciation and passion for the consumption of good food and beverage worth all this sweat?"
When I snapped out of my trance I could see the stoplight up ahead at McDowell, where we take a right and start back towards home. I was thinking about this story, and how I could relate the run to the calories. It then came to mind that this 4 mile run would not burn off the Kettle Corn that I had eaten on Saturday. I had 10 ounces or so. At 140 calories per ounce, I would need to run a half marathon to burn that off. Is it worth it? (remember that I will have been training for six full months when I run my marathon in January).
When we got close enough to the intersection to read the sign I realized that we were approaching Encanto, not McDowell. That means we are another half mile from our turn. That means I need to run another five minutes to still be 8 miles short on burning off yesterday's extra calories. It makes you think twice.
Add a shot of Bailey's to your coffee on Saturday morning, a mile and a half. 16 ounce coke, 2 miles farther. How about a Big Mac? According to calorieking.com, you will need to to run nearly 5 1/2 miles to burn off that extra 540 calories.
Here is the point. I run a lot. I am still overweight. You need to work on both ends of this equation. Burn more calories, while also addressing the amount you are taking in.
Read the lable, do the math, then go for a run. Just remember that those miles are sometimes hard, and maybe sometimes, you could just eat a salad.
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