4:23:24. My primary goal was to finish. Secret goal was 4:30. All successful! I really should have focused on my neck during my strength training. This thing is heavy!

4:23:24. My primary goal was to finish. Secret goal was 4:30. All successful! I really should have focused on my neck during my strength training. This thing is heavy!

“You’re running on guts. On fumes. Your muscles twitch. You throw up. You’re delirious. But you keep running because there’s no way out of this hell you’re in, because there’s no way you’re not crossing the finish line. It’s a misery that non-runners don’t understand.”

Martine Costello

All packed and ready to leave for Little Rock tomorrow. Sunday I will be crossing the finish line.  I only hope I won’t be describing the marathon as hell. If we can leave out the vomiting part as well…that’d be great. 

My first 20 mile run. My pace was significantly slower than what I’ve been running as of late. Maybe that was my subconscious’ effort at self preservation. At mile 14 I somehow managed to kick myself in the toe; causing me to bleed through my sock. Yep, I’m skilled like that. Fortunately, besides that and some sore leg muscles, I seem to be injury free. I was nervous about this run. Perhaps that is why I registered for a bunch of races last night. Two more half marathons, a 10K trail run, and a trail marathon. Add that to the half marathon I had already registered for, the relay race I was talked into running a week before Little Rock, the handful of small local races I’m sure to sign up for, and that makes for a busy season. If today’s run went poorly, which I’m glad it didn’t, I’d have no choice but to suck it up and move on. There’s more on the schedule to strive towards.  Let the taper begin!

My first 20 mile run. My pace was significantly slower than what I’ve been running as of late. Maybe that was my subconscious’ effort at self preservation. At mile 14 I somehow managed to kick myself in the toe; causing me to bleed through my sock. Yep, I’m skilled like that. Fortunately, besides that and some sore leg muscles, I seem to be injury free.

I was nervous about this run. Perhaps that is why I registered for a bunch of races last night. Two more half marathons, a 10K trail run, and a trail marathon. Add that to the half marathon I had already registered for, the relay race I was talked into running a week before Little Rock, the handful of small local races I’m sure to sign up for, and that makes for a busy season. If today’s run went poorly, which I’m glad it didn’t, I’d have no choice but to suck it up and move on. There’s more on the schedule to strive towards. 

Let the taper begin!

My folks are going out of town for an extended weekend vacation. On our lunch hour walk my dad told me that he picked a hotel based solely on the fact that they had a fitness room. A fitness room with a view that looked out on the Gulf, no less! I had to laugh. A few months ago the idea of a fitness room would not have even crossed his mind, but he has been walking consistently and is obviously enjoying himself and the changes he’s seeing. I do believe I am rubbing off on him!

One Year Later

It was one year ago yesterday that I took my life back. One year ago that I made a small investment in my health and plunked down some money on P90X, a pull-up bar, some bands, and a yoga mat. When the box of new fitness tools arrived and I sat on the floor to assemble my pull-up bar, telling my family that I was going to start exercising, I can remember wondering how long this was going to last. How long until this stuff sits in the closet and starts gathering dust? I’m sure they were probably thinking the same thing. After the first week everything hurt. I could hardly roll over in bed without grimacing in pain. I could have quit at any point. 90 days after years of a sedentary life feels like an eternity. However, once the muscle aches pass it becomes more of a mental battle to continue pressing play more than anything. I had committed myself to this program and quitting was not an option. It’s a good thing that I have a stubborn streak. Before long I had learned to enjoy the training and the sweat.

In March I saw this inspiring video by Ben Davis and it motivated me to return to running by using the Couch to 5K program. Years before I taught myself how to run in order to join the Navy. Back then it was all about time requirements for the mile and a half…and I hated it. This time, however, there would be no expectations. There would be no drill sergeants or stop watches. It would be just for me, and as a result, I found the joy of running.

P90X led to Insanity, which led to Asylum, the One on One volumes, a second round of P90X, and now P90X2. I’ve enjoyed the changes in routines. They’ve allowed me to keep things fresh, confuse my muscles, and keep myself from plateauing. At the same time I’ve found a mental release from running. Progressing from a 5K to 10K, a half marathon, and in just another month…my first full marathon. I have been active for 365 days straight, and while I may not know what’s happening on the latest hit TV show, or may not have seen that blockbuster movie, I have enjoyed myself and the changes that all my hard work have wrought. I have no plans to stop any time soon.


“Running is just you, the work you put in, and the clock. You can’t cheat yourself. If you don’t put in the miles, you can’t go to the starting line thinking you’re going to pull a miracle out of nowhere. You get out exactly as much as you put in.”

Desiree Davila 

15

15 miles. I’ve never run that far before until this afternoon. Sure, it’s only 1.90 miles more than a half marathon, but that little distance can be scary when you’re running into uncharted territory. The trail that I run doesn’t go further than a half marathon distance if I do an out and back route so I had to tack on a few miles through the neighborhoods in the next town over after I reached the trailhead. One thing that I didn’t anticipate would be that I would be adding hill training to my run, but there it was between me and my goal, so I sucked it up and climbed.

A few things that I learned from today’s adventure:

  1. Running is still fun. 
  2. Fellow runners will always smile and give you an encouraging head nod or thumbs up.  
  3. You will encounter some odd balls, like the guy that was raking the trail and did not seem very pleased that I had to run through his handiwork. 
  4. I’m not a big fan of Gu. Had my first one today and I don’t know that I can get past the texture. It also gave me a bit of stomach ache. 
  5. I will get angry and yell at cars that take too long to move and make me stop running when I’m just a half mile from the end of my run. 
  6. My iPod is psychic and seems to always pick the best song for my final sprint to the finish. For some reason, today, it also increased the volume and wouldn’t let me turn it down, but I guess it thought it was helping.  
  7. My shoelaces will come untied at the worst time…like the final quarter mile sprint. There was no way I was stopping. I didn’t want it to mess with my pace and I was afraid that if I stopped my legs might revolt.  
  8. I will almost cry at the end of 15 miles. It was pride in a new accomplishment on my way to even bigger miles in this training program. Then a little later it may have been due to the almost immediate cramping my quads decided to put me through. 
  9.  have never been happier to have a recovery drink and a hot shower.  
  10. I can hold it for 7 miles by outright denial that I need to use the bathroom, but once inside there will be another sprint to the facilities.  
  11. I’m faster than I think I am. I finished 15 in the same time it took me to run the half marathon back in October.
  12. Compression gear is my friend.

 Next weekend I get to do it all over again, but this time we’re going for 16.

Hello, New Year!

What better way to start 2012 than with a shiny new PR in the 5K? Coming off yesterday’s 10 mile training run I didn’t expect to do much in this race. I don’t think of races so much as a race for time but as a group run with friends. However, after the first mile it crossed my mind that it might be nice to push myself and start off the new year by setting a new milestone (as if running a 5K on the first of the year wasn’t enough of a change from last year’s Amy). 

A lot has changed for me in 2011. In late January I committed myself to a healthier lifestyle and started P90X. After 90 days I moved on to Insanity; 60 days later…The Asylum; then all three volumes of the One on One videos; a hybrid of P90X+ and Insanity; and wrapping the year up with a second round of P90X. In mid March I started running. Training myself with the Couch to 5K; the Couch to 10K; a half marathon; and finally marathon training. That’s not enough hours devoted to training…how about walking for a minimum of two miles every day during my lunch break? Not only does this allow me some much needed stress relief by getting me away from my desk for about forty minutes a day, but I get the chance to spend time with my Dad, and he has now lost almost 20 pounds in two months! I joined a running group and made some new friends. Friends that are there to cheer for me, ring a cowbell in the cold, and encourage me every step of the way. In May, when the massive F5 hit Joplin, I learned how fragile our world is but how reliant we are as a community. Overall, 2011 taught me that I don’t have limits. That with the support of my family and friends I can push myself harder and farther than I’ve ever thought possible. That if I get outside of myself and just put one foot in front of the other, there is no stopping me. I only expect more good things in 2012. More races, more fitness programs, more challenges, more friends, and more fun. For now, I am moving forward with my marathon training for Little Rock (63 days and counting), finishing the final week of P90X, and impatiently waiting to start P90X2 on January 16. I don’t expect things to slow down this year. What would be the fun in that? 

2011

33 pounds lost

561.55 miles run (157.85 of which were on the treadmill…YUCK!)

15.15 miles biked

Unknown miles walked

350 workout videos completed

7 races (three age group finishes)

1 training day missed due to illness

1 big smile

Earned my very first trophy today! Sure it’s cheap and plastic, but it’s mine and I have the muscle aches to prove it. I stopped by the park on the way home from the race to run two more miles so that I could mark the twelve miles on the training schedule complete for the day. I was slightly tempted to run a little more and call it a half marathon, but I think that is what’s on tap for next weekend’s long run. Merry Christmas to me! I must say, as much as I do not enjoy running on the treadmill, it has really helped my pacing. I have dropped a minute off my mile in the last few weeks.

Earned my very first trophy today! Sure it’s cheap and plastic, but it’s mine and I have the muscle aches to prove it.

I stopped by the park on the way home from the race to run two more miles so that I could mark the twelve miles on the training schedule complete for the day. I was slightly tempted to run a little more and call it a half marathon, but I think that is what’s on tap for next weekend’s long run. Merry Christmas to me! I must say, as much as I do not enjoy running on the treadmill, it has really helped my pacing. I have dropped a minute off my mile in the last few weeks.

Any success I’ve had on my fitness journey, be it weight loss, improved self-esteem, or the occasional race medal, it all pales in comparison to the pride I experienced when my Dad called me yesterday to tell me I had inspired him to start running. He wanted to underline the fact that it was only a quarter mile, but he ran it. Three weeks ago he made the decision to become active. Each day he and I walk for two miles during our lunch break, and he continues his walking on the weekends. While he emphasizes to me that he doesn’t want to become a “fitness fanatic” or alter his diet, just thirty to forty minutes of activity a day has led to him shedding ten pounds. He is at a weight he doesn’t recall seeing in the last ten years; his pants are loose; and he already needs a new belt. More importantly, those thirty to forty minutes have given us a time to bond and talk, and hopefully they’ve allowed me even more days on this planet with my Dad. That is better than any finisher’s medal I could ever receive.