26point2milerun

I began this journal almost 2 1/2 years ago after reading an article in a magazine. It was an attempt to help motivate myself into training to run a marathon. Here I am today and I still have not ran a marathon. I have not even run in a 5k fun run. I have been talking about running a marathon for almost 10 years now. The desire to complete 26.2 miles has not faded. I still want to run in a marathon.

With the bust of the real estate industry, especially in my part of California, I was put into a tight position. I was forced to take on a job demanding much more of me. I took a warehouse job where my brother worked. That was a year ago. Six months after beginning at the warehouse, I took a second part-time job working in an office for a farmer. My time became so limited, I had no time to get to the gym. And if I did have the time, I simply did not have the energy.

Beginning today my schedule has changed. I still have both jobs, but I start working a later shift at the warehouse. I then changed my office job to an earlier shift. I still have about 3 1/2 hours between jobs.

With 3 1/2 hours to kill each day, I plan on getting back into the gym. Why not start training for a marathon again? That is what I plan to do!

I know it has only been a few months since I have been to the gym, but it feels like ages ago. The endurance I had built is now gone. I did walk almost 5 miles a couple of nights ago. That is a story for another day.

Today I picked up First Marathons by Gail Waesche Kislevitz. I had read a few of the stories in the past, but as usual I set the book down and never picked it back up. I have found many of the stories inspiring. I still want to tackle the great achievement of completing a marathon!

I will begin training again and soon. To aid in my training and goal setting I have begun looking at local and statewide events. The first event will be The Kaiser Permanente
Modesto Classic 5K Walk/Run in May. I want to find a 10K run before moving on to the San Francisco Half Marathon at the end of July. I am still considering many marathons, but leaning towards the 3rd Annual Sacramento CowTown Marathon. It is supposed to be a relatively flat race and good for beginners.

Let the training begin.

This is a test post from Photobucket.com

My workouts have been fairly regular, but nothing to brag about. I really need to get into the gym and train. I did have a decent run/walk yesterday.

I did not want to go the gym when I received the call. "Are you ready for the gym?" My reply was simply "no." Next thing I know I am walking out the door. She calls me a few minutes later and says she is going to a jog instead and she'll meet me at the gym after. Okay.

I get to the gym and I set a goal. I want to run/walk 3 miles in under 30 minutes. Goal attained. I completed 3 miles in roughly 29 minutes and decided I wanted to complete a total of 6 miles in as many minutes as it would take. I completed mile 4 at the 40 minute mark and ended up taking about 63 minutes to complete 6 miles.

I am taking today off and expect to be back in the gym again tomorrow. Maybe twice.

I posted an entry back in April talking about my new workout partner. We never actually made it to the gym together and my workouts became far and few. For the past month or so now I have been working out randomly with and without a partner. At the gym last night she was reading a magazine and there was an advertisement for a marathon in Southern California. I had previously suggested we train for a marathon and she agreed. She looked over to me and said, "Let's do the half marathon." I agreed.

When I got home after our workout I went on-line to find out more information regarding this marathon. Based on the reviews and timing, I do not want to participate in that particular one. I looked at some others and settled on the Huntington Beach marathon in February. If I can talk her into waiting another month then we'll run the half marathon. I am also looking at continuing my training so I can run a full marathon in May. I will have to see if I can talk her into that one.

I will spend the rest of the week coming up with a plan for my training. I should be writing more once my training begins.

I have finally made it back into the gym. I find myself not able to get myself out of bed early in the morning. I have since decided I would attempt to work out later in the evening. My cousin rejoined the gym I workout at and will be working out with me.

Tonight we went about 9:30 pm. I ran 3 miles in 36:30 minutes and a 3:30 minute cool down. I weighed myself and came in at 246 pounds. That's really bad. Did a bicep and tricep workout tonight. My arms are sore and tight. I will certainly feel it tomorrow.

I have not been going to the gym as regularly as I would like. My last visit was this past Wednesday, March 22nd. It was a tough workout. I had only slept two hours and had drank a few beers the night before. As usual, I started on the treadmill. I completed 3.27 miles in 45 minutes which included walk breaks. Not my target pace, but not bad for now. I then completed 5 sets of leg extensions, 3 sets of leg curls, and 3 sets of leg presses. My weight after my workout: 238 pounds. I should find myself in the gym tomorrow morning.

I made it back to the gym this morning. I started my workout with a 5 minute walk. I then jogged with walk breaks 3 miles averaging about 13 minute miles. Not my greatest time, but good enough for not having been in the gym in so long. After jogging, I proceeded to the leg machines. Leg presses, leg extensions, and leg curls. My legs are going to feel like rubber tomorrow, but it feels good. My official weight after the workout is 238 pounds. I do not know how much is water weight. I will find out on Wednesday when I return to the gym. As soon as I find an event to run, I will begin training again.

I have not worked out in months. My gym even changed its name. It was actually bought by a chain of gyms in the area. I am supposed to go in and sign some paperwork, but I have not even done that.

Why did I stop training? You name the excuse and I used it. I have since injured my knee. I am not sure what it is, but I occasionally get a sharp pain under the kneecap. Having just acquired health insurance, I plan to get this checked out soon.

I am not sure when I will begin training for a marathon again, but I will. I have recently been back in touch with an old friend and we are going to hold each other accountable for working out. Of course, she is located in a different part of the country, but with e-mail it can be done.

I hope to be back on track and training again.

It's just past 12:30 am and I logged into the USDA My Pyramid tracking only to find there is no way for me to finish tracking my food intake or exercise for October 11th. It must be done before midnight. I am a little annoyed with this.

Again I failed to wake for a morning run. Instead I worked out in the evening. I was tied up with some work and did not make it until about 10:00 pm. I ran 3 miles in 36:11 with a 5 minute cool down. I really wanted to lift some free weights so I decided to get in a leg workout after my run. I began with the leg press. I put on about 135 pounds and did a set of 5. It was too light. I then placed roughly 315 pounds on the machine and did 3 sets of 10. From there I went to the quad machine where I did a set of 10 at 70 pounds, 80 pounds, & 90 pounds. I did the same at the hamstring machine. I went pack to the treadmill and did a brisk walk of 5 minutes. To the scale and I weighed in at 242 1/2 pounds. Again, probably water weight. Stretched at home and spent about 15 to 20 minutes in a cold bath.

It's late and I need some sleep. I have a feeling I am going to be really sore tomorrow. Need sleep.

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: None

Tonight's workout consisted of exercising the mind. I picked up my "Runner's World" magazine and begun thumbing through the pages. The full page photo of fruit on page 66 caught my eye. I began reading the article "The New Rules of Food" by Liz Applegate, PH.D. I had skimmed the article before, but took the time to read it in its entirety. I typed some notes including the "Top 10" lists to be transferred to my PDA.

The article is about the new Dietary Guidelines issued by the United States Department of Agriculture. The USDA is still using the old pyramid we all learned growing up in school, but with a few changes. They pyramid is "personalized...based on your age, gender, and activity level." Instead of measuring in servings, we are now measuring in cups. According to the article, this provides larger amounts of foods. It goes on about fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, oils, fats, sweets, and exercise.

You can get your personalized pyramid at http://www.mypyramid.gov

I fell into the 2400 calorie per day pyramid. My daily recommendations are as follows:

grains - 8 ounces
vegetables - 3 cups
fruits - 2 cups
milk - 3 cups
meat & beans - 6 1/2 ounces
physical activity - 30 minutes

My allowances are:

7 teaspoons of oils
360 calories of solid fats and sugars

The My Pyramid Tracker explains in great detail the specifics of each category.

I also took the time to enter what I ate today. The drop down list is detailed, but did not have exactly some of the foods I ate. For example, orange chicken from Panda Express. After entering everything, the site then has resources to compare what you are doing to what is recommended.

My Dietary Guidelines Recommendations for October 10, 2005 were compared to what I actually ate. I was okay in the grain, dairy, & meat categories, but failed in the fruit & vegetable categories. Good in the fat & saturated fat categories, but bad in the cholesterol & sodium categories.

The site includes a nutrient intake breakdown and a bar graph illustrating intake vs. recommendations. It also will track results over time.

Current Mood: peaceful
Current Music: None

After my run tonight I walked into the locker room to weigh in. One of my reasons for wanting to run a marathon is to get into better shape and lose weight. I recorded my weight at 243 pounds. A loss of 1 pound. It is sure to be water weight from my workout.

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: None

As expected, the hardest part of my training is getting out of bed and doing it. I play coed softball on Wednesday nights. This past week my team won and I had a few beers while watching two more games. The end result was a missed run on Thursday morning. Missing a morning run, I decided I would run at night. Didn't happen.

A friend invited me to play soccer with a group of people Friday evening. I figured this would be a good way to get in a cardio workout. I was right. Within the first 15 minutes I was winded. They sundown I was exhausted and beat up. I have never played organized soccer and now realize why they wear shin guards. I will probably play again this Friday.

I took Saturday off and planned on a long run for today. I finally made my way to the gym around 9:00 pm to find out they closed at 10:00 pm. I wanted to run a slow 5 miles, but time was against me. Instead I managed to squeeze out 3.2 miles in 38:36 minutes, roughly an average of 12 minutes per mile, with a 5 minute cool down after. Total distance was 3.33.

I had remembered reading in the October 2005 issue of "Runner's World" an article about a runner taking a cold bath after her workout. I decided it would be a good idea to try. I sat in the bath reading the very same article for roughly 20 to 30 minutes followed by a warm shower. I hope this keeps the soreness to a minimum.

The next challenge comes on Tuesday.

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: None

The hardest part of my workout this morning was getting out of bed. I had planned for my workout to begin about 4:00 am only to wake up at 4:45. I rolled back over and shut my eyes. I laid there for a few minutes still half asleep thinking. I kept saying to myself, "I need to get up. I need to get up." I finally managed to.

I walked into the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. I was awake. I quickly got dressed and grabbed my things; water bottle, cell phone, keys, towel, & my mp3 player. I probably could have jogged to the gym, but it was cold this morning and I chose to drive.

First things first. I walked into the men's locker room straight to the scale. 244 POUNDS! No surprise. I have been maintaining this weight for the past few months and this is the largest I have ever been. On to the treadmill.

I walked and jogged for a total of 40 minutes. Not exactly as Jeff Galloway's book recommends, but I did not want to follow the training to the T. And I have not read too much of it in the past week. The last time I trained for a marathon we trained under his program. Both walking and jogging I managed to squeeze out 3 miles, an average of 13.33 minutes per mile. Not bad considering this was my first time in the gym in months.

I feel good. A little gross because I am still in my sweaty gym wear, but good. My next challenge is getting out of bed on Thursday.

Current Mood: good
Current Music: None

For many years I have expressed an interest in running a marathon (a 26.2 mile race). Only once have I actually started training. Unfortunately I was unable to reach my fund-raising goals and had to stop.

Today I decided I want to follow through. I am reading a book titled "First Marathons" in an attempt to keep motivated. I bought Jeff Galloway's "Marathon: You Can Do It!" as a training guide. Along with the book, I purchased the October 2005 edition of "Runner's World" for updated information on running. I read a short article in the magazine suggesting an online journal as another source of motivation. This is my start.

My goal is to run in the 28th Annual Napa Valley Marathon on Sunday March 5, 2006. The race begins in Calistoga, CA and finishes in north Napa, CA. Less than two months later, it is my hope to also run in the Capital City Marathon in Olympia, WA.

I will officially begin training the first week of October. I played softball tonight and almost pulled a leg muscle. Of course it was the only muscle I failed to stretch before the game. In just a little over a week I'll be ready to train. I look forward to the many miles ahead.

Current Mood: energetic