5 posts tagged “marathon”

My cycle started over yesterday. With it, came back pain. I can do without that, thank you very much. Its still bothering me, but we aren't doing any running or walking today so I have some rest in that respect.

I don't know how I feel about it, though. I am happy, because I can keep training for the marathon, yet a little sad that there'll be no baby. There is always another cycle...another month. If its meant to be it will happen.

Its quiet over here. I have four children, and it usually is pretty quiet around here. Relatively speaking. When the girls are gone with their father the silence is deafening. And then its just the boy and I (when Daddy's at work). You can tell he misses his sister's while they're gone. I miss them while they're gone.

My oldest child's 11th birthday is this coming Monday. I invited everyone we could think of, and only one family is coming. It breaks my heart for her, but I hope she doesn't care. I found her birthday gift (finally) after searching everywhere for it. But in buying it, it left us with $1.80 in the bank. I've had to rely on friends to help us keep her party going. I am waiting on the second half of the child support to come in so I can pay them back. It bothers me. A lot. We normally don't have a problem with this...its been a wonky couple of months.

I had a dream that we lived in the apartments that Anita lives in, and that I told her nosey manager to mind her own business and quit being a stalker. In my dream, her manager kept following me around and asking why I didn't buy her cheesecake (when I went to a cake store), or who lives on whatever street (when I would go visit my family). I woke up creeped out.

We got down to a 12 minute mile last night. My shins were still bothering me so I walked the whole three miles. Anita was sore so she walked too.

I went home and sort of died in my chair. My body did not want me to get up. After a bit, I willed it into the bedroom, took a shower with my mer-boy and attempted to sleep. I attempted to do this, because mer-boy had turned into some nocturnal beast and wanted everyone to stay awake with him. Adam had the Midas touch and soon Lucian was out so we all could rest.

Our foray into independent homeschooling is going rather well. The girls are motivated again, and seem to like the more relaxed mother that has replaced the stressed one. I still miss using the K12 curriculum, but I like my sanity and no longer willing to trade that for the security of the virtual academy. We have been using a mix of OFE with some unschooling. Once all my books are printed I plan to try out OFE exclusively and see how it fits for us. I just have to remember to read everything before I let the girls, because the downside to using such old books is just the sheer amount of horribly racist crap that's in it. I was flabbergasted yesterday, as I read the science chapter on dragonflies to Ambrosia, my kindergartener, a sentence about a superstition "the negros" held about dragonflies and snakes. What?! Uuughh...I hate crap like that. I guess I could turn it into a discussion on history and civil rights; the civil war, slavery, and the like. But I am not sure I'm ready to burst my daughter's bubble. She doesn't categorize people into this or that. We're all just different shades of the same family to her, and I want her to hold onto that.

To begin with, Mary Henley Park is windy. Once we were back in the van, my face still felt like it was moving because of all the wind it had gotten. Next, goals are great. I kept chanting to myself, "just make it to the stop sign" or "I can get to that lamp, I know it." I also learned that walking when needed is great. The overall time can even be better because of it.

Yesterday's time was an 17 minute mile (we ran 3 miles). Tonight's (Day 2) time was pared down to a 15 minute mile (another 3 miles ran, also). It may not seem like much, but I challenge you to get out there and run too! We are improving, and that is awesome.

I discovered just how much I hate running when nature calls. I suppose it spurs me on to get it all done faster; but it is so hard to concentrate.

Jimmy, Anita Ann's husband, has graciously offered to pay my registration into the La Jolla Half Marathon if I babysit for them every now and then. SWEET! That will fit into our training perfectly and both of us should have no trouble finishing in under 3 hours like they require.

Oh yeah...I also discovered a happy side effect of all this exercise is just how happy I am afterwards. Go endorphins!

Ok, this is it. I can do this. According to my training guide, I can start training in two weeks. But I'd rather start now. I suppose I can modify the long run on Sunday to build up to what I'll be running once I start using the guide faithfully.

Here is what I have learned so far (its here to remind me):
Long Runs: The key to the training program is the long run on weekends, which builds from 6 miles in Week 1 to 20 miles in the climactic Week 15. (After that, I taper to get ready for the marathon.) I can skip an occasional workout, or juggle the schedule depending on other commitments, but can not cheat on the long runs. Although the weekly long runs get progressively longer, every third week is a "stepback" week, where I'll reduce mileage to allow me to gather strength for the next push upward. Rest is an important component of any training program.

Run Slow:  Normally it is recommend that runners do their long runs anywhere from 45 to 90 seconds per mile slower than their marathon pace. But for novice runners like me, we don't know what our marathon pace is, because we've never run a marathon before! We aren't supposed to worry about it, though. They recommend doing my long runs at a comfortable pace, one that allows me to converse with my training partners (if any), at least during the beginning of the run. But toward the end, I may need to abandon conversation and concentrate on the act of putting one foot in front of the other to finish. It did say that if I find myself finishing at a pace significantly slower than my pace in the first few miles, I probably need to start much slower, or include regular walking breaks. They say it's better to run too slow during these long runs, than too fast. The important point is that I cover the prescribed distance; how fast I cover it doesn't matter.

Walking Breaks:  Walking is a perfectly acceptable strategy in trying to finish a marathon. It works during training runs too. While some coaches recommend walking 1 minute out of every 10, or walking 1 minute every mile, this guy likes to teach runners to walk when they come to an aid station. This serves a double function: 1) I can drink more easily while walking as opposed to running, and 2) since many other runners slow or walk through aid stations, I'll be less likely to block those behind. He said it's a good idea to follow this strategy in training as well. His class that trains on the lakefront finds water fountains (also known as "bubblers") every mile, or more often. He teaches them to stop frequently to drink. His classes that train elsewhere in the suburbs don't always have easy access to fluids, but he teach them to wear a water belt and also stop frequently to drink. I don't have a water belt, so maybe it would be a good idea to invest in one. He says I will lose less time walking than you'd think. He gives anecdotes of where he ran a marathon with a great finishing time where he walked through every aid station, and another where his son qualified for the Olympic trials (marathon) using the same strategy. For me, I figure I don't want to overdo it and end up passed out along the side of the road...so walking when I need it is going to be a given. lol Walking gives your body a chance to rest, and you'll be able to continue running more comfortably. It's best to walk when you want to, not when your (fatigued) body forces you too.

Cross-Training:  Sundays in the training program are devoted to cross-training. What cross-training, you ask? Well, any other form of aerobic exercise that allows me to use slightly different muscles while resting (usually) after my long run. In this program, I run long on Saturdays and cross-train on Sundays, although it certainly is possible to reverse that order. The best cross-training exercises are swimming, cycling or even walking (I'll probably walk, seeing as I am without a bike...though once it warms up I'll probably walk the few feet to our complex pool). What about sports such as tennis or basketball, you say? Activities requiring sideways movements are not always a good choice. Particularly as the mileage builds up toward the end of the program, I'll raise my risk of injury if I choose to play a sport that requires sudden stopping and starting. I don't have to cross-train the same each weekend. And I could even combine two or more exercises: walking and easy jogging or swimming and riding an exercise bike in a health club. Cross-training for an hour on Sunday will help me recover after my Saturday long runs.

Midweek Training:  Training during the week also should be done at a comparatively easy pace. As the weekend mileage builds, the weekday mileage also builds. If I add up the numbers, I'll see that I run roughly the same mileage during the week as I do during long runs on the weekends. Midweek workouts on Wednesdays build from 3 to 10 miles. (He likes to call these the Sorta-Long Runs.) There are similar slight advances on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The program is built on the concept that I'll do more toward the end than at the start. Sounds logical.

Rest:  Rest is an important component of any training program. Scientists will tell you that it is during the rest period (the 24 to 72 hours between hard bouts of exercise) that the muscles actually regenerate and get stronger. Coaches also will tell you that you can't run hard unless you are well rested. And it is hard running (such as the long runs) that allows you to improve. If I'm constantly fatigued, I'll fail to reach my potential (not a peep out of you, Anita Ann). The program I'm using includes two days of rest each week for novice runners, like me. If I need to take more rest days--because of a cold or a late night at the office or a sick child--he recommends I take it. The secret to success in any training program is consistency, so as long as I am consistent with my training during the full 18 weeks of the program, I can afford--and may benefit from--extra rest.

I'm nervous and excited and scared. A marathon. A MARATHON. This is going to be the best (and hardest) thing ever.

AJ and I are entering the Orange County Marathon. This is where I laugh maniacally. Are you freakin' nuts, Melissa?

Yes, yes, I am.

I plan to collect donations for Candlelighter's Childhood Cancer Foundation of the Inland Empire. This is the organization that helped take care of my family when DD2 was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. They were a very tiny chapter then. We took part in their first charity walk that year. The pictures DD2's favorite nurse, Cindy, took of her ended up becoming the next year's walk propaganda. Yes, my then 2-year-old daughter was on brochures, posters...you name it, so that people would come and walk for the foundation.

We are trying to come up with the $180 we need to register both of us. Ouch, that is a lot of money. It is $90 until October 31st, and then it is going up, but we don't know to what. I said I still want to do it no matter what, AJ said I can even if we don't get enough for his registration...but I want him to run too. >.< UGH. I hate being low income.

I wanted to enter the LA Marathon, but he didn't want to. "I hate LA," he informed me. There is one in Huntington Beach on Super Bowl Sunday. "You go then, the kids and I will watch the game at my Dad's; he has a Super Bowl Party every year." lol So it looks like OC it is. He likes OC because his family is there and he says they will come out to cheer us on.

For someone with a small, disinterested family, it seems foreign to me. My own uncle wouldn't donate for the 5K, much less see us run. lol

I guess it is something I am still getting used to. His mother emails me all the time, more than him. His Aunt came to visit us, and his mother didn't join her. His Grandfather invited people to his house for Christmas and ended up renting a restaurant because everyone R.S.V.P'd. Almost everyone in his family has sent our son something when he was born. Relatives my husband didn't even know he had. "Who is in New Jersey that sent the boy an outfit?"  "The card says your Great Uncle."  "I have a Great Uncle in New Jersey?"

In my family, no one visited a relative alone. It was like a two for one. If my mother was going to visit her Aunt, my Grandma or Aunt would go to ("Oh you're going to visit Ester? Let me get my coat."). It's the same now. If Mom is going to visit my Uncle, I go too. Its like we carpool to save on gas or something.

But what AJ's family has is what I'm trying to build with my own children. Closeness. I looked to the families I grew up around and wanted that. Steven's family, Anita's family...I want my children to come over on the weekends with their family and have huge barbeques. Come for breakfast. Be close. It saddens me that things like that are dependent usually on one person who holds the family together, though. I want my family to continue to get together even if I am gone. That is when they need each other the most.

Wow, I went off track. Ok, steering back on course...doing the marathon will be great for us, and also for me as an individual. I'm excited.