Another Week Nearly in the Books

This week flew by like so many before it.  I accomplished many of the goals I set out at the beginning of the week and added a few along the way.

I worked out six of the seven days, with four days running, one crossfit weights, and one biking.  This while working all week which included travel to Atlanta and the normal dad, husband, family-type tasks.  All-in-all a successful week.  Oh, and I signed up for a marathon.

Since last fall, I have been toying with the idea of completing another marathon (my first and last being the 2002 San Diego Rock n' Roll Marathon).  I have a friend who has tried to convince me for a couple of years to join him in doing the Walt Disney World Marathon and after seeing that 2013 was the 20th year for the marathon, I began to have illusions of running it.  I did pause after hurting my ankle last fall, but the feelings returned again in the past few months.

I mentioned this race a couple of times to my wife, who was not keen on my daughter missing school for the trip.  Last week, after mentioning it for the umpteenth time, I must have finally worn her down as she reconsidered and responded affirmatively.

After getting the go ahead, I didn't immediately sign up.  I thought about it some more and talked to a few trusted running friends to see if I was crazy.  Conclusion?  Yes, I am crazy -- just crazy enough to run and complete the race!

So, I signed up today and decided I wanted the extra training support (and VIP experience) that comes with the Runners World Challenge.  The registration is confirmed and now the training fun begins.

See you on the road to Orlando!

Success is Mine!

Family Photo

Well, based on my efforts the past two weeks, I am sticking to my plan.  I wanted to continue to lift weights (check), cross train on the bike or pool (check) and start to increase my mileage (check) all while improving my diet (check).

So now you migh ask, what's next?  A couple of things: 1.  this plan has only been in effect for two weeks, most real change in habits and patterns take at least 6 weeks of constant effort before it gets easier, so I still have at least 4 weeks to go before this turns into a routine; and 2.  starting an effort is often easier, in my experience, than continuing the effort when the newness wears off.  So far, I am still in the honeymoon period, which I hope stays true until the habits are established, but I must be prepared to push though when the difficulty arises.  Just recognizing the feelings and doing the activity will be another step in the path to greater fitness and faster speeds.

As the miles continue to climb and I prepare for the Market to Market, I want to keep in mind the pleasure and joy of moving my body under my own power and running for the sake of running.

Happy running, my friends!

Picking Up Steam, Slowly.

Color Me Rad

Summer training can be tough.  After ramping up the training for the late spring/early summer race, I usually take some time to recover and consider a training schedule for the summer.  Some years, this takes all summer and other years I take a week or two off and jump right back at it.  This year, with the extreme heat and fun vacation, this seems to have taken a little longer than average.

The last seven weeks I spent time focusing on strength training, cross training, health mind and body recovery, and just plain fun.  Just look at the pictures of our Color Me Rad 5K from today for the proof of the fun!

Over the next few weeks it will be game on! I plan to ramp up the mileage smartly, while continuing to incorporate cross training and strength training (thinking about doing some cross fit -- good idea?).  I will try to listen to my body while using Sport tracks to gauge my fitness and recovery.  My last goal is to get my diet back to where I was last summer, lose more than a few pounds, and be ready for the fall races.

My target race is the October Market to Market Relay, my 5th as team captain, which I want to be my strongest.  I am considering running the Omaha 1/2 marathon (would be my 1st) as a training run, but will not make that decision until I see how the training progresses. 

My Team at the Finish!

Time to get on the road!