Week 1 Progress

After three consecutive mornings (Tues/Wed/Thu) of gearing up and running in sub-freezing temperatures, I can't help but feel a little gyped that I've only banked 4 training miles so far. I suppose, though, that the sheer commitment to running and early morning wake-ups is potentially more challenging than the mileage buildup. After all, they do say that it takes 21 days to form a habit so if I've still got this routine going come week 4, I'll really be earning those quarters/dimes/nickels you guys are saving. ;) And I do have 5 miles to look forward to this weekend after all, then another 274 after that before my planned half marathon in March...

For those whose facebook news feeds I've been featured on this week, you may have noticed some posts by this run-tracking app I started using called EndoMondo. Combined with my phone's GPS, it shows some nifty pictures of my run route, along with mileage and speed:

https://www.facebook.com/chauzilla/app_endoapp

I have to say, I'm feeling a bit uneasy at the thought of the entire world potentially having easy access to my physical location everyday - but if the social accountability keeps me motivated, I would consider it a fair trade.

And finally, for anyone who's been wondering what that jar of money will be going towards, I've just signed up to run the Broad Street Run, a 10-miler here in Philly, as a "fundracer" for - guess what charity: Back on My Feet! Love this organization - I spent my rest day today walking two miles with one of our guys but might see about combining some of my training runs with my BOMF outings. In any case, I'm feeling satisfied with the start of my training thus far, even though it took a solid hour of boiling myself in the tub this morning to regain feeling in my limbs. :)
More to come!

Restraint + Perseverance = Discipline

With my sister (who has taken the marathon runner baton for the past 3 years) home for Thanksgiving, it was the perfect opportunity to go for a post-gluttony, pre-training run. Easy 2 miles with a leisurely walk around the park in the middle. A bit of tightness in the left calf prevented me from doing more - but perhaps this is a blessing in disguise.

As it turns out, both the beauty and the frustration with the training plan I settled on is the conservative build-up in the beginning. Though my "training" thus far has existed entirely in my head - reading blogs, mapping out routes, researching shoes and gear - I've already been finding myself anxious to do much more than 1-mile runs at the onset - after all, isn't it that much easier to build to 13, then 26 if we start with 3's and 4's rather than 1's and 2's? But that pang in my leg this Friday reminded me why I shouldn't - no way am I letting my injury-prone body succumb to failure in the firest few weeks. I'm sure, too, that the discipline to not run more than 1 mile tomorrow will hopefully translate to pushing through to 9-10 miles come week 8 when I only want to do 3. :)

So I hereby vow to exercise both restraint & perserverance and with tomorrow's forecast of snow, it seems the elements are on board for testing that commitment. Better find myself some good hats before the morning!

The Plan/The Goal

Four years ago, I ran my first marathon, and to date, my only full marathon.
I've signed up for races since and have never performed the way I'd like, mostly because I'm no longer 24 years old and able to will myself through 26 miles without adequate training. Because let's face it, training through the bitter cold, the pouring rain, and the gross humidity of the Northeast just downright suuuuckkkss!

But after two recent meniscus tears and ever-lengthening post-race recovery periods, I've come to the conclusion that if I ever run another marathon, I need to train and train like crazy. And in order to ensure that I do, I need to incentivize like crazy and bring my friends in for both moral support and some no-excuses, kick me in the rear accountability.

So here goes, today is November 21, 2012, and beginning next week, I'll begin a 16-week half-marathon training plan to get me racing 13.1 by March 17th, then a prolonged build-up thereafter to prep up to 26.2 come fall 2013. Totally doable right? Right...

So let's take it one step at a time and start with the 1/2 marathon training plan (this one comes from the running guru):




Okay, so step one: 296.1 miles. Remember that incentivizing I was talking about?
Here comes my ask: For every mile I complete in this training cycle, I want you to put aside a quarter for me (or a dime, a yen or whatever is available to you.) Why? So we can take this journey together and also so that by the time Broad St Run (in May) or Marathon season (in fall) comes around, you'll have some cash on hand to travel down to cheer me on in person, or help me "fundrace" for charity to guarantee a spot in a popular race.

Thank you so, so much for being a part of my marathon chase - my first update will come next week! (... and with potentially $2.25 of your support at stake.) ;)