I was thinking today about how we are trying teach my 9 year old son to embrace challenges, rather than avoid them. He is starting baseball season, and this year it's kid pitch, with three strikes, three outs, sliding and stealing. It's much different from what he's used to. He's being pushed out of his comfort zone into unknown territory, and it's HARD.
We are trying to explain to him how challenges are good for him, and that the way to learn is to practice the fundamentals so that when game time comes, he will have enough confidence to play. To do the hard things.
That is why I'm doing the marathon. To move to the next challenge. I'm also out of my comfort zone by training with a group. I'm typically a solitary runner; give me some tunes, or the birds chirping at the sunrise, and the road ahead, and I'm in heaven. Running with a group has its own challenges, especially for an introvert like me.
I think that's why, today, when we did six miles, I was tired. Really tired. I'm not usually so tired after only six miles. But not only was I concentrating on my pace, I was trying to make conversation. For me, that's the exhausting part! Nevertheless, I feel that it is important to bond with the group so that when the marathon comes, we will all be able to support each other all the way across the finish line.
I encourage everyone to try to push themselves out of their comfort zone. Even if it is a small step, you will feel stronger for having attempted it. And if you need others around you to help you get there, don't hesitate to ask! Likely they want to do it, too.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Gadgets
Best of Tokyo Marathon 2011 Live Ustream from Joseph Tame on Vimeo.
I'm slow, and I haven't ever run a marathon (yet) but I still seem to collect gadgets and gear for running (at least I'm not like this guy). This morning was a good example. I had on my left wrist the giant Garmin Forerunner that my husband and I share (you can share if you don't use all the features). On my right shoulder I had my new iPhone in an armband with headphones. I was trying out the Runkeeper app for the iPhone to see if it could replace the Garmin, but I wasn't sure how it would work.
Perhaps I haven't figured it all out yet, but with my armband, I couldn't see my pace or mileage on the iPhone very easily. I also couldn't do anything with the phone while I was running. I usually run about halfway and then decide I need music for the way back. With the iPhone in my armband, I would have had to come to a complete stop, take off the armband, pause Runkeeper, and then try to load my music. If I needed to adjust the volume I would have had to take the phone out of the armband. I bought a cheap armband at Target, so I assume that there are better ones out there, but even so, I can't imagine being able to do anything with the phone while I'm running, even changing songs on the iPod.
Cool things about Runkeeper include audio cues that tell you when you get to a mile, and can tell you your average pace and your split pace at each mile. Runkeeper does your splits, but doesn't appear to keep the total time after each split like the Garmin does (so in case you run a little over 4 miles, but you want your average pace for just the 4 miles, you can see the total time for 4 miles on the Garmin and figure it out from that). You can access your music within the Runkeeper app, which is cool if you are prepared to listen to it the entire time. You can see a map of your run, too. The information automatically is downloaded onto the Runkeeper website, and you can get more information about the run, including the elevation. I assume the Garmin website will do all of this too, but we never hooked it up, and you would have to sync it with the computer to transfer all the data.
Runkeeper does not sync with Dailymile either. I really like Dailymile, and so I don't think I'll stop using it. But this means I will have four different places where I can track my runs - Runkeeper, Dailymile, the MIT website and my own fitness spreadsheet. Kind of overkill, I think.
I might take the iPhone on my longer runs just so I have a phone with me in case I need it. And while I'm with the pace group I won't need to constantly check my pace. But I can't imagine using this set up for all of my runs.
I still love my new iPhone. But maybe it can't do EVERYTHING.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Causing trouble already
I pulled into the Thomas Worthington High School parking lot. I checked in on Foursquare (there was a choice for the training group! Still not the mayor of anything yet.). The parking lot was filling up fast. I was a little early. We had been told to be there at 7:40 am to drop off our keys, use the bathroom and just get settled. Running wasn't supposed to start until 8:10.
I was a little nervous. I don't run with anyone and I'm not much of a conversationalist. But I vowed that I would talk to people, and try to make friends, especially among my pace group, so that I would have support as the training progressed. Talking makes the miles shorter. Really. I resolved to ask everyone their names and remember them. Lesson learned from one of my last sessions.
Once I got out of my car and walked toward the track, I realized why we needed the time to get situated. First, there were tons of people there. Second, I had to stand in a long line to get a card for my keychain so I could "check in" my keys. I stood in another line to "check in" my keys. (I'm not sure what the purpose was of this since no one was there to "check out" my keys when I picked them up.)
We headed to the bleachers for some announcements. I wasn't sure why everyone was standing until I looked down at the seats. They were soaked. I took my place among the eager runners, standing in the bleachers waiting for the important announcements. The important announcements consisted of asking us to raise our hands if we were brand new, telling us again how to determine our pace, and introducing the pace coaches. The first clue I had that things would not be smooth was that the 12:30 pace coach was not there today. 12:00 minutes per mile it was, then.
We filed out of the bleachers after a few more announcements, and found our pace coaches, who were lined up around the track. There were about 20 people circled around the 12:00 m/m pace coach. She asked us all to give our names and then announced she would be taking us north on the bike trail for two miles.
Wait - what? Two miles? I spoke up, "What about the marathon runners? We are supposed to do five miles today."
Our coach said, "I don't know about the marathon training. I'm committed to the half marathon. I don't know if there is a coach for the marathon." She asked how many people were training for the marathon. About 10-12 of us raised our hands.
Two women piped up indicating they planned on running five today and that we could follow them. But they didn't sound like they wanted to take on the responsibility of pace coach on the first day. I was fuming. I paid a lot of money to have a pace coach so that I would stay on pace. The coach had also indicated that there wasn't a marathon pace coach for the 12:30 minute/mile group either. This reminded me of when I started with this training group several years ago and they didn't have any pace coaches beyond 11:00 minutes/mile, which is absurd when you have beginning runners. I had been by myself most of the time back then. When I read on the website that they now had pace coaches up to 13:00 minutes/mile, I thought that was for the marathon, too. Stupid me.
We all set out running north on the trail, following the half marathon pace coach. Not more than five minutes out, a woman slipped on a wooden bridge and fell flat on her face. She was bleeding and had chipped a tooth. We all stood around while the pace coach helped her up. Someone offered to go get the person in charge, who we had left back at the track. The rest of us just stood there, staring, and most of us probably thinking, "glad that wasn't me." I hope this wasn't her first day running.
Finally someone decided we should keep moving, which I thought was a good idea since we were just all staring at the woman holding her tooth in a napkin like somehow it was going to be reattached if only she kept it with her. A bunch of us set out, with me and another woman leading the pack.
Yikes. I hadn't anticipated being out in front. Fortunately next to me was one of the women who volunteered to lead the marathoners today. She had a Garmin Forerunner like mine, and kept us on pace. When I finally remembered to look at my Garmin, two miles out, it was still set for my husband's last run, since I never reset it or turned it on.
This woman did a great job leading us. Some people turned around after a mile, since they were only training for the half. The rest of us kept moving. We chatted, getting to know one another, which was nice. The pace was steady, averaging 12:00 minutes/mile and no one complained that we were going too fast.
One of the women behind me said that this was her first time with the group; she wasn't a runner. A bunch of us said, "You are now!" I just love that support.
When the faster pace groups passed us coming back on the trail they called out to us, "Great job! You can do it!" I don't know if it was because we were pretty annoyed about the pace coach situation, but we all agreed that those words of encouragement actually sounded a bit condescending, like we needed the encouragement or something. We were doing fine, thank you very much. Six of us were in a group for almost the whole time, keeping a steady pace, and we all agreed that our new leader did a great job keeping us going.
The whole time we ran I was thinking about how to approach the organizers about the fact that we didn't have a pace coach. I suggested our new leader, Lisa, should volunteer if they had no one in mind, and she wasn't opposed to it. So when we got back, and I immediately informed the head organizer that we were lacking a coach, and he said yeah, I guess we need to find someone, Lisa stepped up next to me and I said, "She just did a great job leading us and I think she'd make a great pace coach." The guy asked if she was interested, and after a short pause, she said "Sure." However, I was still annoyed that I even had to do this, and I asked him, "So what does she get?" He responded that her training fee would be waived. It better be!
Things were looking up. Lisa, and her friend, who was also running with us and was the other volunteer for pacing today, were both drafted as coaches, and they were pretty excited. They want to have a close knit team if possible, making a point to get to know everyone. It will be nice to have a group to return to every week.
All in all the running itself was ok. I had a slight stitch in my side the whole time and my shins were sore but nothing out of the ordinary. It was really hot, but the five miles didn't feel too bad, especially at the 12:00 minute/mile pace. I was incredibly tired afterwards, which is unusual since I'd been running longer distances for a few weeks and haven't felt so tired. I am chalking it up to all the excitement and adrenaline that built up even before we started running; usually I just step out the door and start running, without a lot of fanfare.
In the end, I know that the running was pretty easy today, but as the miles add up, 12:00 minutes per mile for five miles will be a distant memory.
I was a little nervous. I don't run with anyone and I'm not much of a conversationalist. But I vowed that I would talk to people, and try to make friends, especially among my pace group, so that I would have support as the training progressed. Talking makes the miles shorter. Really. I resolved to ask everyone their names and remember them. Lesson learned from one of my last sessions.
Once I got out of my car and walked toward the track, I realized why we needed the time to get situated. First, there were tons of people there. Second, I had to stand in a long line to get a card for my keychain so I could "check in" my keys. I stood in another line to "check in" my keys. (I'm not sure what the purpose was of this since no one was there to "check out" my keys when I picked them up.)
We headed to the bleachers for some announcements. I wasn't sure why everyone was standing until I looked down at the seats. They were soaked. I took my place among the eager runners, standing in the bleachers waiting for the important announcements. The important announcements consisted of asking us to raise our hands if we were brand new, telling us again how to determine our pace, and introducing the pace coaches. The first clue I had that things would not be smooth was that the 12:30 pace coach was not there today. 12:00 minutes per mile it was, then.
We filed out of the bleachers after a few more announcements, and found our pace coaches, who were lined up around the track. There were about 20 people circled around the 12:00 m/m pace coach. She asked us all to give our names and then announced she would be taking us north on the bike trail for two miles.
Wait - what? Two miles? I spoke up, "What about the marathon runners? We are supposed to do five miles today."
Our coach said, "I don't know about the marathon training. I'm committed to the half marathon. I don't know if there is a coach for the marathon." She asked how many people were training for the marathon. About 10-12 of us raised our hands.
Two women piped up indicating they planned on running five today and that we could follow them. But they didn't sound like they wanted to take on the responsibility of pace coach on the first day. I was fuming. I paid a lot of money to have a pace coach so that I would stay on pace. The coach had also indicated that there wasn't a marathon pace coach for the 12:30 minute/mile group either. This reminded me of when I started with this training group several years ago and they didn't have any pace coaches beyond 11:00 minutes/mile, which is absurd when you have beginning runners. I had been by myself most of the time back then. When I read on the website that they now had pace coaches up to 13:00 minutes/mile, I thought that was for the marathon, too. Stupid me.
We all set out running north on the trail, following the half marathon pace coach. Not more than five minutes out, a woman slipped on a wooden bridge and fell flat on her face. She was bleeding and had chipped a tooth. We all stood around while the pace coach helped her up. Someone offered to go get the person in charge, who we had left back at the track. The rest of us just stood there, staring, and most of us probably thinking, "glad that wasn't me." I hope this wasn't her first day running.
Finally someone decided we should keep moving, which I thought was a good idea since we were just all staring at the woman holding her tooth in a napkin like somehow it was going to be reattached if only she kept it with her. A bunch of us set out, with me and another woman leading the pack.
Yikes. I hadn't anticipated being out in front. Fortunately next to me was one of the women who volunteered to lead the marathoners today. She had a Garmin Forerunner like mine, and kept us on pace. When I finally remembered to look at my Garmin, two miles out, it was still set for my husband's last run, since I never reset it or turned it on.
This woman did a great job leading us. Some people turned around after a mile, since they were only training for the half. The rest of us kept moving. We chatted, getting to know one another, which was nice. The pace was steady, averaging 12:00 minutes/mile and no one complained that we were going too fast.
One of the women behind me said that this was her first time with the group; she wasn't a runner. A bunch of us said, "You are now!" I just love that support.
When the faster pace groups passed us coming back on the trail they called out to us, "Great job! You can do it!" I don't know if it was because we were pretty annoyed about the pace coach situation, but we all agreed that those words of encouragement actually sounded a bit condescending, like we needed the encouragement or something. We were doing fine, thank you very much. Six of us were in a group for almost the whole time, keeping a steady pace, and we all agreed that our new leader did a great job keeping us going.
The whole time we ran I was thinking about how to approach the organizers about the fact that we didn't have a pace coach. I suggested our new leader, Lisa, should volunteer if they had no one in mind, and she wasn't opposed to it. So when we got back, and I immediately informed the head organizer that we were lacking a coach, and he said yeah, I guess we need to find someone, Lisa stepped up next to me and I said, "She just did a great job leading us and I think she'd make a great pace coach." The guy asked if she was interested, and after a short pause, she said "Sure." However, I was still annoyed that I even had to do this, and I asked him, "So what does she get?" He responded that her training fee would be waived. It better be!
Things were looking up. Lisa, and her friend, who was also running with us and was the other volunteer for pacing today, were both drafted as coaches, and they were pretty excited. They want to have a close knit team if possible, making a point to get to know everyone. It will be nice to have a group to return to every week.
All in all the running itself was ok. I had a slight stitch in my side the whole time and my shins were sore but nothing out of the ordinary. It was really hot, but the five miles didn't feel too bad, especially at the 12:00 minute/mile pace. I was incredibly tired afterwards, which is unusual since I'd been running longer distances for a few weeks and haven't felt so tired. I am chalking it up to all the excitement and adrenaline that built up even before we started running; usually I just step out the door and start running, without a lot of fanfare.
In the end, I know that the running was pretty easy today, but as the miles add up, 12:00 minutes per mile for five miles will be a distant memory.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
The Great Wall Marathon
Talking about crazy (or amazing), my brother is running the Great Wall Marathon in China! I can't wait to see how he does. Find out why he's doing this - Climb for Kids.
I'm taking a little break. Big day is Saturday. And I don't mean the Rapture.
I'm taking a little break. Big day is Saturday. And I don't mean the Rapture.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Please read this and take it to heart!
I forgot how much I like blogging. I was thinking all day today what I might post. I'm sure that if you are reading this blog now, that eventually you'll get tired of reading it, because it will be all about me and my training. I'll try to make it entertaining, but really, who am I kidding?
Don't feel compelled to stay. Feel free to stop by occasionally to see how I'm doing. I don't expect anyone except maybe family to read this on a regular basis (my family is awesome). It's really just a way for me to motivate myself.
I never understood why people are obsessed with having people read their blogs. It's a bit narcissistic, isn't it? Unless you are a writer, or promoting something, I don't know how anyone can find a blog about you and your life to be interesting. But then again, people watch "Reality TV." Which isn't really real reality anyway. But I digress....back to ME.
Don't feel compelled to stay. Feel free to stop by occasionally to see how I'm doing. I don't expect anyone except maybe family to read this on a regular basis (my family is awesome). It's really just a way for me to motivate myself.
I never understood why people are obsessed with having people read their blogs. It's a bit narcissistic, isn't it? Unless you are a writer, or promoting something, I don't know how anyone can find a blog about you and your life to be interesting. But then again, people watch "Reality TV." Which isn't really real reality anyway. But I digress....back to ME.
What I really wanted to write about was how excited I am to start my training. I got my first email from MIT today. The advice was about what your pace should be while training. Apparently this is VERY important, because it was prefaced with this statement: "If you read nothing else throughout the course of the season, please read this and take it to heart!" I've already paid enough for this training to ensure that I will read each and every email they send me. Still, it seemed important, so I read it closely.
We are advised not to train at "race pace," but to train at a pace a whole minute slower than your expected race pace. Since your training will not take you to a full 26.2 miles, you need to be able to be on your feet running the length of time it will take you to complete the marathon while running likely no more than 22 miles at the longest. Running slower ensures you can endure the hours it will take. And it will definitely take me hours!
We are advised not to train at "race pace," but to train at a pace a whole minute slower than your expected race pace. Since your training will not take you to a full 26.2 miles, you need to be able to be on your feet running the length of time it will take you to complete the marathon while running likely no more than 22 miles at the longest. Running slower ensures you can endure the hours it will take. And it will definitely take me hours!
I had an average race pace of 11:30 minutes per mile for my last race, which was a half marathon. 13.1 miles. In two and a half hours. So I'd like to run a five hour marathon. Yes, that's correct. Five hours. First, I can't imagine being out there for five hours. I'm going to get hungry. I'll have to pee. I'll be bored. My music player batteries will die.
Second, if I take the advice to go slower in training, one minute slower is 12:30 minutes per mile! I don't know if I can go that slow. It's hard enough running as slow as I do (I imagine people put quotes around the word "running" when I tell them how slow I "run"), but I know people who walk races faster than that! Even worse, if I figure out a pace for 22 miles (which will likely be the longest I will run in training) for 5 hours, that's 13:38 minutes per mile. At that point, why bother "running" at all?
Oops I think I just talked myself out of this crazy thing. Maybe blogging about it is not the best way to stay motivated. I have two more days before training starts. I might not make it.
Second, if I take the advice to go slower in training, one minute slower is 12:30 minutes per mile! I don't know if I can go that slow. It's hard enough running as slow as I do (I imagine people put quotes around the word "running" when I tell them how slow I "run"), but I know people who walk races faster than that! Even worse, if I figure out a pace for 22 miles (which will likely be the longest I will run in training) for 5 hours, that's 13:38 minutes per mile. At that point, why bother "running" at all?
Oops I think I just talked myself out of this crazy thing. Maybe blogging about it is not the best way to stay motivated. I have two more days before training starts. I might not make it.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Pictures
It's all about ME ME ME! I promise to find some better pictures to liven up the blog, but for now, you get me. Hey, it is all about ME anyway. So there.
Try Try Again (even if it takes 2 years)
Wow, it's been a long time. I'm not sure why I feel compelled to blog again, except that I'm excited about running again. And nervous. I'm going to train for my first marathon.
Yeah yeah if you have read this blog before (like two years ago) you know that I tried this once before. All I had to show from it was a stress fracture. And then a sprained ankle. Several months of physical therapy and a gradual training plan brought me back to my feet and running again. I've completed 5 half marathons, with the last one in October 2010 and a PR. I'm not much faster than when I started (well, a little faster) and I don't expect to get any faster. For some reason, I thought I should try the marathon again. My husband didn't laugh when I mentioned it, and other friends thought I could do it (one even offered to babysit - no excuses! she said).
So this morning, I signed up for the Marathoners in Training (MIT) group again. I don't think I'd be able to follow a training plan without some support, and MIT was a great way to stay motivated and meet people when I started running. More people than ever before are running, and I have a lot of friends who are running, so that helps to keep me motivated as well.
But I'm getting bored with my same old races and mileage. I just need to try something different. I'm not getting any younger, and while I enjoy riding my bike, it's just not the same (I'm not constantly worried about a flat tire or someone running me off the road).
I'll be using this blog to keep me motivated as I hope to progress through my training. Anyone who wants to join me on this journey is welcome, and I can use all the support I can get!
Yeah yeah if you have read this blog before (like two years ago) you know that I tried this once before. All I had to show from it was a stress fracture. And then a sprained ankle. Several months of physical therapy and a gradual training plan brought me back to my feet and running again. I've completed 5 half marathons, with the last one in October 2010 and a PR. I'm not much faster than when I started (well, a little faster) and I don't expect to get any faster. For some reason, I thought I should try the marathon again. My husband didn't laugh when I mentioned it, and other friends thought I could do it (one even offered to babysit - no excuses! she said).
So this morning, I signed up for the Marathoners in Training (MIT) group again. I don't think I'd be able to follow a training plan without some support, and MIT was a great way to stay motivated and meet people when I started running. More people than ever before are running, and I have a lot of friends who are running, so that helps to keep me motivated as well.
But I'm getting bored with my same old races and mileage. I just need to try something different. I'm not getting any younger, and while I enjoy riding my bike, it's just not the same (I'm not constantly worried about a flat tire or someone running me off the road).
I'll be using this blog to keep me motivated as I hope to progress through my training. Anyone who wants to join me on this journey is welcome, and I can use all the support I can get!
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