Park City Marathon

I'm right on track to run the half marathon in Park City on August 23. I will probably be spending August with my parents in Payson, so the timing is perfect!

Running update

I ran 4 miles yesterday for the first time. That was a huge breakthrough for me because I'd been trying to do it every weekend for a month. I have to run after the sun goes down and I still feel like I'm getting a sunburn.

Motivational quotes

The pain of discipline is less than the pain of regret

Dwight D. Eisenhower: There is no victory at bargain basement prices.

Walter Elliott: Perseverance is not a long race, it is many short races one after another.

Jerry West: You can't get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good.

I'd rather be a could-be if I cannot be an are; because a could-be is a maybe who is reaching for a star. I'd rather be a has-been than a might-have-been, by far; for a might have-been has never been, but a has was once an are.

"The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph." - Thomas Paine

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or a gazelle - when the sun comes up, you'd better be running."

"The race is not always to the swift, but to those who keep on running."

"Start writing a new chapter, for if you live by the book you'll never make history." Ben Sobel

Country music + running = easycake

Until I lose some more weight, I have found my perfect running time is a 12-minute mile. If I start out trying to do a 10 or 11 minute mile in time to my peppy rock music playlist, I can only keep it up for ohhh 10 or 11 minutes. Then I end up walking and feeling like a loser.

Sterling threw some Garth Brooks on my ipod and I figured out how to listen to it after a few weeks. Voila! Perfect beat to keep me running for miles without injury or walking. I ran 3.5 miles on Friday, no walking, and it was a blast. Great weather too!

OUCH my self-esteem got a boo-boo

http://www.scottdouglas.biz/Articles/penguin.htm

Runners knee for the loss

Bleh, my left leg has been giving me trouble for a month. First it was posterior shin splints (fixed that with proper stretching and running on dirt instead of concrete). Now, my left knee has been hurting. After doing some research there are three reasons this could be happening.

1. I run like a dork (very possible, Sterling says I kinda swing my left leg out weird when I run and walk.)
2. I have worn-out shoes (no help for that for a while, we are saving for a house)
3. My quadriceps are wimpy. (ah hah! Something fixable)

If the quads aren't doing their job, your kneecap can get thrown out of its magical groove where it could slide indefinitely in its cozy bed of cartilage. If it gets knocked around and starts rubbing the cartilage wrong, then major pain and swelling happen.

So Tuesday and Wednesday I just went on short walks and did lots of lunges and squats. This morning, instead of limping down the stairs as I have been for the last 3 days, I walked down pain-free!

Novice Supreme

Novice Supreme

How prepared am I to start the Higdon training?

I figure I am running an 11-minute mile. So on my long runs, I'll need to slow it down to a 12 minute mile. Running with a stop-watch really satisfies the obsessive side of my personality. Yesterday I ran 3.75 miles in 40 minutes. I don't know if I could run 6 miles like the Higdon schedule wants me to do on the first week. I don't want to injure myself, and I still have time till the January marathon. It's an 18-week program, so the latest I would start is the end of August. What's nice about running the Disneworld marathon is that I'll be used to the humidity, and it's a flat course. And come on, running through Sleeping Beauty's Castle and seeing all the characters cheering you on as you run seems like it would be more of a party than a race.

Marathon training!

Wow today's workout was awesome. I ran for 40 minutes with a 2minute break at 20min, and a 1 min break at 30 min. Break = walking. I did a good 5-min walk warmup and 4 different stretches, then a 10-minute cooldown. I stuck to the dirt path next to the paved path for about 70% of the time. At the end of it, I was tired but not EXHAUSTed. I'm proud of myself for sticking to it and only my left knee hurts a little, but that's what the quad exercises are for. No sign of shinsplints today.

Marathon training

I'm running a marathon at Disneyworld in January. I started training for it during the last week of January. I walked 1.5 miles every day. Then the next week I started running. I didn't try to kill myself, I just ran a little farther every day. Now, I can run 3 miles in 30 minutes. However, this last week I had to rest a bit because I have been getting a persistent cramp in my calf, and for the first time felt a bit of a shinsplint on my other leg. And I've got a weird knee twinge. So I've been doing situps, pushups, stepups, and other calisthenics in place of running.

I love running. This week of rest has been hard on me. I get a serious high after about 3/4 of a mile into a run. I am sure I look goofy running in the park with a huge grin on my face and my braid swinging wildly behind me. I listen to music on my ipod while I run, which really helps me keep pace. I downloaded Sterling's Rocky soundtrack, and I actually watched Rocky III with him last week. What a great movie! Now I need to see the rest of them.

Anyway, since I've been running, I have lost almost ten pounds, and my clothes fit much better. I still can't wear my wedding ring, so that's a bummer. But maybe in another six weeks...who knows?

Goal this week:

• Monday: Run 40 minutes (longest ever in my ENTIRE life)
• Tuesday: rest, do quad strengthening and wall pushups
• Wednesday: 3 mile run (quad and wall work)
• Thursday: Basketball and 1.5 mile run
• Friday: Rest
• Saturday: 3 mile run
• Sunday: 30 min walk