I apologize for the lack of posting around here - things have been very hectic lately. Work has been crazy, I've had small bouts with a stomach bug, and we had an unexpected death in my family. But...marathon training has been going really well - if only it would warm up a little bit! I ran an 8 miler yesterday with the local weatherman reporting a 4 degree wind chill...it was so cold! I cannot wait for the warm sunny days of April, May and beyond. Call me crazy, but I would much rather run in extreme heat over extreme cold.
In a recent episode of my favorite running podcast (Steve Runner's Phedippidations) - Steve encouraged his fellow runners to introduce at least one person to the sport of running in 2008. I talked to one of my friends about possibly running a half-marathon in the spring with me, and she said that she would. Then, I asked another friend if she would like to join us, and she did. And then she asked two friends if they would like to join us - and they did, and now we have a group of 5! It is so great to run with these girls and watch their confidence grow with each mile. Before beginning training for the half- marathon, I think the furthest any of them had run was about 3 miles. We do our long runs together on Saturdays and it is so much fun. I remember how much having a group to train with last Spring helped me out - and I am so happy that these girls have that as well. I'm convinced that it makes all the difference in new runners.
The half-marathon that we are all training for is one week before the full marathon (Cincinnati Flying Pig) that I am going to run with my sister. I do the half-marathon long runs on Saturday mornings with the group, and then my marathon long runs on Sunday mornings. This has actually worked out really well - I've been able to add some mileage to my weekly totals and the Saturday runs help me get stretched out and loosened up for my Sunday morning runs.
As for my diet - things have been going ok. I've been really trying to watch what I eat, but I totally fall off the wagon on the weekends. Hopefully I'll be able to keep a more consistent, disciplined approach with my eating habits. I am pretty sure that I am an emotional eater - so maybe that's why I've been eating everything in sight lately. Chad and I went to see Cloverfield (which I highly recommend!) this weekend with some friends and I found myself absolutely stuffing my face with popcorn. It is very suspenseful, terrifying, stressful, etc - and I pretty much ate everything within a 5 foot radius of me during the movie. I also discovered that Miller Chill can be both my best friend and my worst enemy...it is so good! Almost too good. I rarely ever drink, but this beer is amazing and tastes like Sprite. I drank half of one last week with some amazing steak tacos and was practically three sheets to the wind.
3 comments:
Good luck on your training. I lived in Indiana for a few years and always wanted to get down to the Flying Pig but didn't have a chance.
Good luck with your training! My sister is also my running partner -- we've done two marathons (mostly walking) and recently a half marathon (mostly running) ... we live in different states but keep each other motivated through text messages, emails, and phone calls. Basically, we're scared to get left behind if the other gets too ahead with her training!
I've tried to rope my parents into running / walking with us also, but no luck so far. But I agree, having a support system -- and friends who will train with you -- makes all the difference.
I've only got one half-marathon on the table so far, but I'll keep reading and following your progress. Hopefully I'll be inspired!
Great job getting your friends to join you!! :) That's awesome.
I love the back-to-back weekend runs- that sounds nice. Keep up the great work! :)
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