The Plan

I thought I should write a little about what I'm doing, mostly because writing things down makes them more official.


The basic schedule, a week in the life of a marathoner wannabe, goes something like this:

• Sunday - Strength training, full-body
• Monday - Low-impact cardio (bike, elliptical), about 45 mins
• Tuesday - Running workout (hills, speed, etc.), basically I have to push myself in some way, usually end by a mile or so of medium-effort running to shake out the tension
• Wednesday - Strength training, full-body
• Thursday - "Easy run" of around 3 miles.  I've been starting these out pretty easy and then pushing up the intensity for a while at some point.
• Friday - Off, and hypothetically to bed at a reasonable time
• Saturday - Long run, increase by a mile or so per week

All of this is currently being done at the gym (cardio) or at my house (strength).  As I get closer to the race and the weather gets better, I'll probably mix it up with some long bike rides, and hikes, and recovery cardio on Sundays.  As for strength training, I'm following a routine I established last summer, just because I don't have to think too hard about it.  Since I've been a slacker about that stuff for months, it's still difficult and new enough to be useful.  I'll start changing it up in a few weeks.

In addition to all of this, I have a couple of non-race goals.  I want to lose 17 pounds and change my body composition to the "healthy" range.  I am sort of astounded that my body composition appears to be out of whack, but it's a good overall health goal.  I have one of those hand-held thingies coming in the mail and while I realize they're not super accurate, they tend to be consistent so I can at least track the change if not know the exact number.  I know that this is more realistic than the weight loss (most people maintain or gain during endurance training because their bodies keep demanding fuel, and they quite rightly supply), but I am pretty chill about the weight thing.  I'm following a calorie intake that should result in less than a pound of loss per week, which means that I'm eating quite a bit.  I am also keeping better track of what I eat, both substance and balance of carbs/protein/fat.  I have stopped packing a big lunch and instead pack a series of snacks so I eat 100-200 calories/hour all day. 

Right now everything feels awesome.  I always forget how exhilarating the transition from inactive to active is.  Let's see how well I keep it up!

New Year, New Races

Alright, kids. So here's the deal.

Ever since I finished the Nike Women's Marathon, I've been thinking "hey that was an amazing experience that I will never forget, but I sure as hell am never going to repeat it." All I could remember was the pain and the feeling that I was subjecting my body to an enormous strain that was verging on the unhealthy. So over the last couple of years I've focused on shorter races - 5k, 7k, half marathon, and even a 10-mile. Occasionally I'd daydream about doing another marathon, but 99% of said daydreams involved the part where I would cross the finish line. But in the past week or two, something surfaced. The past couple of months have involved the usual descent into winter: increasing intake of unhealthy food coupled with decreasing activity. It's flipping cold here in Minnesota, and holiday foods are delicious. Suddenly I realized that doing another marathon was not only the key to restoring my focus at the very time I need it most, but it was also something I should do again so I could do it right. Because frankly, I shouldn't have done it the last time around.

To be fair: Under the circumstances, I prepared pretty well. I mean, first I was in New York City during the most miserably hot months one can be there, working at an internship that was stressing the crap out of me, living on next to nothing. I had never followed any kind of structured exercise plan and suddenly I was preparing for an endurance event? After New York, I then severed all ties to my running support and went back to law school, which is pretty much like trying to work out while tied to a chair. I finished preparation and went out to San Francisco by myself, ran the race with thousands of strangers, and celebrated alone. By the time I had physically recovered, I kind of lost the overall momentum. And it's no wonder it took so much out of me: I learned how to run, yes, but I didn't prepare my body adequately. I didn't monitor my nutrition, and I didn't work particularly hard at conditioning anything but my running legs.

So now I'm going to do it again. This time, I have pretty solid base already. I have both been there and done that, and I know what to expect. I am registered for a triple 7k (basically a half marathon) round about St. Patty's Day. I am following a pretty strict workout schedule. And I am thinking thinking thinking. And it will be awesome!

Aaaaand I'm Back!

After spending the months between October 2008 and now saying I'd never run another marathon, I just registered for the Minneapolis Marathon taking place in June. Here we go again...

6.3 miles at an 11:30 pace today. after running last night too.
i will do dexter-aa. i will.

Racing Again

It's been a while, I know. But I'm back in action!

The 5k of a couple of weeks ago, along with my ability to stick to a workout schedule, gave me the confidence to do a half marathon yesterday. I know it would be a scenic route (through a park in Dearborn), plus the theme was AWESOME (Martians! http://www.martianmarathon.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1), so I figured that even if I had to walk half of it, it would be worth it.

Kate and I got up at 5am and pulled on some layers. It got down to the 30s on Saturday night, and it was still chilly. We drove to Dearborn and parked the car, then hurried, shivering, to the building where the expo was being held.

I felt a strange combination of excitement and nervousness. I was almost worried by how I wasn't really that concerned with what I was about to do: run a half marathon after almost no training since October. It made me realize how much my mindset has changed over the past year. It was a good feeling, but I was worried that I was too confident.

Finally the race started, and Kate soon left me behind. I intentionally kept a very slow, steady pace. My runs lately have mostly been faster than I intended, and I wanted to be sure I had a fair shot at getting some distance before my muscles gave out. At the halfway mark I started to feel tired, but I kept telling myself "ok just one more mile and then you can walk." Instead of stopping at mile 9, I just ran the whole frigging thing. In 2:44, which gave me a pace of 12:33. Which is faster than I was doing training runs of this distance last fall. What. The. Eff. I'm starting to wonder if taking a long break was exactly what I needed. While I've definitely gotten squishier and heavier than I'd like, clearly my strength is not an issue.

So now I'm contemplating registering for the Dexter-Ann Arbor half. Pros: cool medal (http://www.dexterannarborrun.com/halfmarathon.htm), nice run, something to keep me going, part of my fee will get picked up by the grad school program. Cons: 12 min pace minimum or they chase you off the course. Kate thinks I can do it. I think it's hypothetically possible, but finals, graduation, moving, and vacation occur between now and then.....

Back At It

It's been an intense time since my last post, and there has been very little running or physical activity. I've gotten kind of (a lot) out of shape.

But today I ran my first race since December and the results just came up. I'm pretty proud of myself. For the past couple of weeks I've been making an effort to be active at least 5 days a week. Today I ran a 5k in downtown Ann Arbor in 31:56, which is a pace of 10:17. Not too shabby for being out of shape...

Here I go again!

Continuing on

Not sure when I'm going to get to posting about the race, but I think I've become a runner for life.
I'm going to do a half marathon in the spring (probably the Martion Marathon in Dearborn - http://www.martianmarathon.com/), and I'm gearing myself up to be serious about some things in the months until then: losing weight and doing more cross-training.

There is something amazing about having the strength to finish a marathon, and I want to continue feeling that way. At the same time, I think the other demands in my life led me to make some choices about how I proceeded that were less than ideal. Not that I had a whole lot of leeway, but I prioritized what I thought would get me through the run. Now I want to shift a little bit and focus more on maintaining whole-body health. I feel like this is combining the marathon training with some of what I did to lose weight initially back in 2005. I don't think I'll run a full marathon again, but I want to improve everything.

The Sunday a week after the race, I ran 2.21 miles, and did the same route again on Thursday. My Thursday run was in 22:40 - a 10:15 pace. I was definitely pushing it, but it felt good. Today I did 5 miles in 55:38 and didn't feel like I was working hard. I'm going to continue to take shorter runs when I can get to them, and try to get to the gym occasionally. I'll ramp up soon, but right now it's just nice to know that I can still put one foot in front of the other.