I'm in week 3 of marathon training. So far, so good. Even though I'm using the same schedule I used last year, there are a few things I'm doing differently. Primarily, I'm actually strictly following the schedule.
Last time, I went into training thinking that since I started above the baseline capability for distance, I would just keep running the distances I had been until the schedule caught up with me. I'm not sure if that contributed to me getting hurt or not, but it probably did put some additional, unnecessary strain on my body. I'm also actually doing the speedwork drills the plan recommends.
I've never been fast, and honestly, that was never my goal. I just wanted to be able to prove to myself that I could run 26.2 miles at one time, so distance was always what was important to me. That's still mostly what's important to me, but I want to be able to run those 26.2 miles in a time I can be proud of. I want to know that when all is said in done, I not only ran a marathon, but I ran the best marathon I could. So I'm doing the speed drills.
I don't like speedwork. It's hard. It takes a lot of self discipline. A lot of times I want to throw up. And a lot more times I want to quit. But I'm pushing myself to do it. And the fun part is that after only a few weeks of incorporating one day of speedwork, I'm starting to see some results.
I don't think I've magically gotten faster in these few weeks. But I do think that I'm more comfortable pushing myself as a result. I'm learning that I haven't been giving myself enough credit. I've allowed myself to get comfortable performing at a level that is nowhere close to my potential.
It makes me wonder where else in my life have I let myself become complacent? Where am I comfortably settling into mediocrity instead of pushing myself to achieve my full potential? To be honest, I could easily a dozen areas in my life where that's the case. Maybe running isn't the only area where I need to give myself a little push.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
1 down, 19 to go!
I wasn't planning on an update today, but then I realized that it's been a week since my last blog post. Where has the time gone?!
To be honest, I don't feel like I have anything major to discuss or to note, but that in itself is noteworthy. I have finished my first week of official marathon training and I'm feeling good. I was nervous about increasing the frequency of my runs from 2-3 times a week to 5 times a week, but my knee seems to be holding out okay.
I guess the big reason I didn't feel I had much to write about was because I haven't had much that I was struggling with this past week. I've been looking forward to getting up and running, not trying to talk myself into just getting out of bed and putting my running clothes on. My head and heart have made a complete 180 from a few short weeks ago.
The funny thing is that these are the times that I should WANT to write about! The good feeling - when everything goes okay. I guess I take it for granted that there's no lesson to learn in these times, but there is! This is the pay-off for the frustration and difficulty that I've had to work through to get to this point. This is to be celebrated, and all praise directed to the Lord for His mercy.
On my run this morning, I remembered to thank God today for the strength He has given me, both physically and mentally. But I need to ask Him to also move my heart to cherish these good times and not take them for granted.
I have 19 weeks left to go. There's still plenty of time for things to go wrong, and plenty of opportunities to learn new lessons. For right now, I'll be thankful for the break!
To be honest, I don't feel like I have anything major to discuss or to note, but that in itself is noteworthy. I have finished my first week of official marathon training and I'm feeling good. I was nervous about increasing the frequency of my runs from 2-3 times a week to 5 times a week, but my knee seems to be holding out okay.
I guess the big reason I didn't feel I had much to write about was because I haven't had much that I was struggling with this past week. I've been looking forward to getting up and running, not trying to talk myself into just getting out of bed and putting my running clothes on. My head and heart have made a complete 180 from a few short weeks ago.
The funny thing is that these are the times that I should WANT to write about! The good feeling - when everything goes okay. I guess I take it for granted that there's no lesson to learn in these times, but there is! This is the pay-off for the frustration and difficulty that I've had to work through to get to this point. This is to be celebrated, and all praise directed to the Lord for His mercy.
On my run this morning, I remembered to thank God today for the strength He has given me, both physically and mentally. But I need to ask Him to also move my heart to cherish these good times and not take them for granted.
I have 19 weeks left to go. There's still plenty of time for things to go wrong, and plenty of opportunities to learn new lessons. For right now, I'll be thankful for the break!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Halfway
The last several months have been filled with uncountable frustrations and difficulties for me. Most of it was fueled by my injury and the havoc that wreaked on my daily routine. Regular exercise was out of the picture, and I was having a really hard time reigning in my eating habits. I've definitely struggled to maintain some control over my health, wellness, and fitness, and even though I managed to hang on without regaining all the weight I worked so hard to lose, I felt defeated.
I think I've reached a turning point in my efforts, though. For one thing, I'm excited about running again. It was a very strange experience to work so hard to be able to run and then not actually desire to go running once I was capable of it. I read an article in Runner's World recently that explained that some of that is related to fear of reinjuring yourself or of not being able to perform at your previous level, but most of it is simply because you're out of the routine. Hearing someone that had been a runner for two decades admit to the same struggle I was facing helped immensely.
Over the last couple of weeks, I've regained a lot of the enthusiasm for taking care of myself that I had lost. I've been eating much better, and I've been getting out and running on a more regular basis. This week I started my official marathon training. Following the prescribed schedule, I'll be cutting back on the distance of my long runs for a few weeks, but I'll be increasing my mid-week mileage (which means I'll be running five days a week instead of three). Having a schedule is good for me - it takes some of the pressure off of me to try to figure out what I should do/how far I should go.
I also have finally seen some significant results on the scale. I am now down 10 pounds from the most I weighed post-injury. I have about 10 more to go before I reach my pre-injury low (and unfortunately I had about another 15-20 to go before that). It took me six months to get back to this point. It was a difficult, emotionally challenging, frustrating six months, but being able to finally see these results validates the work, the determination, and the prayers that got me back here.
Maybe I'm halfway back to my pre-injury weight, but if I could measure the progress of my emotional and psychological health, my attitude, my heart, I think my spirit has progressed much, much farther than that. This experience has definitely tested my faith and determination, and I have a feeling that it will continue to test me. But I also know that every challenge we overcome makes us stronger, more confident, more faithful.
I make a point of praising God when I run. Maybe it hurts, maybe I want to throw up, maybe I'm tired and want to quit, but I'm capable of running, and I never regret the discomfort I went through once I'm back home.
Thank you, Lord, for my body that is strong and can run. Thank you for friends and family that have supported and encouraged me, especially when I was a depressed, emotional wreck. Thank you for showing me how strong I can be when I surrender my worries and cares to you.
I think I've reached a turning point in my efforts, though. For one thing, I'm excited about running again. It was a very strange experience to work so hard to be able to run and then not actually desire to go running once I was capable of it. I read an article in Runner's World recently that explained that some of that is related to fear of reinjuring yourself or of not being able to perform at your previous level, but most of it is simply because you're out of the routine. Hearing someone that had been a runner for two decades admit to the same struggle I was facing helped immensely.
Over the last couple of weeks, I've regained a lot of the enthusiasm for taking care of myself that I had lost. I've been eating much better, and I've been getting out and running on a more regular basis. This week I started my official marathon training. Following the prescribed schedule, I'll be cutting back on the distance of my long runs for a few weeks, but I'll be increasing my mid-week mileage (which means I'll be running five days a week instead of three). Having a schedule is good for me - it takes some of the pressure off of me to try to figure out what I should do/how far I should go.
I also have finally seen some significant results on the scale. I am now down 10 pounds from the most I weighed post-injury. I have about 10 more to go before I reach my pre-injury low (and unfortunately I had about another 15-20 to go before that). It took me six months to get back to this point. It was a difficult, emotionally challenging, frustrating six months, but being able to finally see these results validates the work, the determination, and the prayers that got me back here.
Maybe I'm halfway back to my pre-injury weight, but if I could measure the progress of my emotional and psychological health, my attitude, my heart, I think my spirit has progressed much, much farther than that. This experience has definitely tested my faith and determination, and I have a feeling that it will continue to test me. But I also know that every challenge we overcome makes us stronger, more confident, more faithful.
I make a point of praising God when I run. Maybe it hurts, maybe I want to throw up, maybe I'm tired and want to quit, but I'm capable of running, and I never regret the discomfort I went through once I'm back home.
Thank you, Lord, for my body that is strong and can run. Thank you for friends and family that have supported and encouraged me, especially when I was a depressed, emotional wreck. Thank you for showing me how strong I can be when I surrender my worries and cares to you.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Determination
I had an exciting breakthrough this week. I ran two days in a row for the first time in the last six months! Two back-to-back, muggy, sweaty 4.5-mile runs. It was exciting!
I'm going to be honest, though. I was not excited waking up two days ago for the second consecutive run. I was tired, I wanted to go back to bed, and my legs just felt heavy. But I had to get up to take the dogs out, then they wanted to eat, then they wanted to go on a walk. And I figured if I was going to do all that, I may as well just go ahead and do my run, too.
So I set out, and I had a really bad attitude going into it. The first three-quarters of a mile or so from my house is up a gradual hill, which is always a great way to start a reluctant run. And I kept telling myself that I wasn't in the mood and I probably wouldn't do it. But then I started thinking about a friend of mine.
My friend Jenn had knee surgery about a week after I did. We were never close friends, and we live in different corners of the U.S. now, but we were connected through facebook, we were both runners (her much more accomplished than I), and we were able to relate to the frustration of not being able to run due to injuries.
While my surgery and recover was pretty straightforward, Jenn experienced one setback after another. It has been six months now, and Jenn just ended up having a knee replacement to (hopefully) finally address the problems she's been having and get her back to living an active life.
During these last six months, I have had a lot of ups and downs. I've struggled with consistency and motivation. I've lost a lot of my innate desire to get up and go out for a run. It's been frustrating.
Something changed for me as I set out for my first two-in-a-row run, though - I started thanking God that I was even capable of putting one foot in front of another. Throughout all of her setbacks, Jenn has remained incredibly positive, encouraging, and faithful. And all this time I've been squandering the opportunities God has given me to glorify Him through my physical activity with a bad attitude.
My second run was tough. My legs felt heavy and dead. It was muggy and I was sluggish. But in a lot of ways, that has been one of my best runs, yet. Simply because I finally realized that my runs are not about me.
I run because I never thought I could. I run because other's can't. I run because it is a gift from God.
I'm going to be honest, though. I was not excited waking up two days ago for the second consecutive run. I was tired, I wanted to go back to bed, and my legs just felt heavy. But I had to get up to take the dogs out, then they wanted to eat, then they wanted to go on a walk. And I figured if I was going to do all that, I may as well just go ahead and do my run, too.
So I set out, and I had a really bad attitude going into it. The first three-quarters of a mile or so from my house is up a gradual hill, which is always a great way to start a reluctant run. And I kept telling myself that I wasn't in the mood and I probably wouldn't do it. But then I started thinking about a friend of mine.
My friend Jenn had knee surgery about a week after I did. We were never close friends, and we live in different corners of the U.S. now, but we were connected through facebook, we were both runners (her much more accomplished than I), and we were able to relate to the frustration of not being able to run due to injuries.
While my surgery and recover was pretty straightforward, Jenn experienced one setback after another. It has been six months now, and Jenn just ended up having a knee replacement to (hopefully) finally address the problems she's been having and get her back to living an active life.
During these last six months, I have had a lot of ups and downs. I've struggled with consistency and motivation. I've lost a lot of my innate desire to get up and go out for a run. It's been frustrating.
Something changed for me as I set out for my first two-in-a-row run, though - I started thanking God that I was even capable of putting one foot in front of another. Throughout all of her setbacks, Jenn has remained incredibly positive, encouraging, and faithful. And all this time I've been squandering the opportunities God has given me to glorify Him through my physical activity with a bad attitude.
My second run was tough. My legs felt heavy and dead. It was muggy and I was sluggish. But in a lot of ways, that has been one of my best runs, yet. Simply because I finally realized that my runs are not about me.
I run because I never thought I could. I run because other's can't. I run because it is a gift from God.
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