Marathon Man - Another day in the park.

Just wrapped up another week, with my longest run yet - 88 minutes.  I did three laps around William Land Park.   It's really amazing to me that I've come this far. Can I quit now?

A few weeks ago I ran a 5K in Granite Bay and I just signed up for a 10K on July 4th here in Elk Grove. Both runs were selected because they match the time/distance requirements of the day I ran. That is two weeks ago, I was supposed to run 40 minutes, which is about how long the 5K took. Next Saturday, I'm supposed to run 6 miles, which is just shy of 10k. That's as good a metric as any to show how much the training is picking up.

Starting Monday I run distance instead of time. Maybe that will be the incentive to pick up the tempo. I've been moving really slow, with my effort on maintaining consistency.

If you're just joining us, this is all about me running the CowTown Marathon this October as a fund raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Details can be found here.  You can make donations here.

Marathon Man - It's official, I'm a runner.

The week started with a  5K run in Granite Bay. I finished and I didn't come in last!  My goal for the run was to see how it all worked. As I've mentioned before, it's easy for me to lose my pace when I'm running with other people. I thought this would be a good test of that process. Also, I wanted to get a sense of the overhead of a group run. Checkin, etc. It was all easy. I started towards the back of the pack (and stayed there. :-) ) 

I ran a 5K, rather than a 10K because it fit my training schedule for that day. I'm glad I did it and I'll get some other organized runs in between now and October. By then it'll be second nature.

This was supposed to be a light week, but I just finished my longest run so far - 80 minutes or about 5 miles as the crow walks. It went well. I do fine as long as I keep to my snail's pace.

On Wednesday I had my first 'couldn't do it.' I was supposed to be out an hour, but only made 45 minutes. Not sure why. I'm happy to let it go and see if it becomes a pattern before I worry about.

As always, thanks for your support. On the fund raising side of things (this is, after all, a fund raiser) I'm doing ok. Only a couple of hundred dollars to go. 

If you're just joining us, this is all about me running the CowTown Marathon this October as a fund raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Details can be found here.  You can make donations here.

Marathon Man - And The Beat Goes On.

This will be a brief update. Not a lot to report.

I've just finished a 70 minute run, the longest yet and a 250 minute week, also the longest so far.

The running has gone well. I'm usually slogging along for the first 10 minutes, but then I hit the groove and all is well.

Next week will be a bit easier. I'm running a 5K tomorrow and the rest of the week is an 'easy' week.

Thanks again for all the support. It really helps.

If you're just joining us, this is all about me running the CowTown Marathon this October as a fund raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Details can be found here.  You can make donations here.

Marathon Man - a new Discovery (Park)

I'm five weeks into training for the CowTown marathon on Oct. 4 and it's been a good week. The training, as expected is ratcheting up this month. By the end I should have gone from a 40 minute long run to an 85 minute long run. (Each week has a few shorter runs - now the 40 minute runs are the short runs! and one or two longer runs. This morning I ran an hour for the first time.)

I ran in Fair Oaks on Wednesday night and managed to invite myself over to some friends for a shower and dinner after.  That was a nice end to a hilly run.

Last night the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society received a donation in my name that took me to 80% of my fund raising goal. I wasn't sure how the fund raising was going to fare and it's been a bit of a relief to receive the support that I have.

Today's run started in Old Sacramento (a weird mix of historical park and tourist kitsch). We ran along the Sacramento River to Discovery Park, where the American River ends, and then through the park a bit. And back. It was great weather and a smooth run. And it isn't a part of Sacramento where I've spent much time.

Before and after the run today we got some pointers on proper walking and running. The goal is to avoid wasted effort which, while trivial when walking to your car in the parking lot, can become injury threats if maintained for 26.2 miles. I appreciated the pointers.

Again, if you're just joining us, this is all about me running the CowTown Marathon this October as a fund raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Details can be found here.  You can make donations here.

Marathon Man - Week Four!

Cool!  Week four is under my belt. Had a nice group run on the American River Bike Trail today and got my schedule for June. They are hoping to see the beginners running 85 minutes by the end of the month. Hah, imagine. Today's run was 45 minutes, so perhaps it's possible.

The week's runs have gone well. My legs are feeling it all the most.  Fortunately next week's Saturday run will be followed by the Run Clinic. Also this month is the Nutrition Clinic. The clinics are half-hour to hour presentations on a topic to help us do what we're doing better.

When I first started this I thought I'd give it a month to see if I'd stick with before talking it up and trying to raise money and actually commit to running a marathon. I'm glad I didn't wait.  This is doable.

It's all good.

Again, if you're just joining us, this is all about me running the CowTown Marathon this October as a fund raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Details can be found here.  You can make donations here.

Marathon Man - Week Three

I just returned from the group run. On the way back I was thinking about my goals for this process - what do I want to get out of training for a marathon. This is what I came up with:

1) Get in shape and develop exercise habits I can maintain after the marathon.
2) Raise some money for a good cause.
3) Finish the marathon.

The goal review came up because I overslept this morning  and so I jammed to get out of the house and to the meeting spot. I was about 15 minutes late getting there. I checked in and did my 40 minutes and came home. So, no consequence to being late. But also, no consequence to doing the 40 minutes there as opposed to here.  That's of some importance because the group run next week is a 45 minute drive from home. 

So far the value point in the Team in Training has been the training schedule. I think it's different for most of the other runners in the group. Statistically, I'm an outlier. I'm pretty sure I'm the oldest runner and only one of two men in the group.  And when I say I'm the oldest, I'm older by 20-30 years in most cases.  Others in the group are getting a social benefit which I think is part of the design.  I'm not. I'm the cranky old man.

What I'm still hoping for, and the reason I'll still attend the group runs, is some direction on the ancillary parts of the training, learning how to warm-up properly, stretching, etc. So far it's not so much of an issue because I'm really not stressing myself. Which is, in and of itself, progress and a testament to the training schedule. I mean, I just ran (albeit slowly) 40 minutes and I'm no worse for the wear. 

So, I'll keep going to the group runs and maybe I'll become a smarter runner.

Fortunately I have other resources, friends and colleagues who are runners who, this week, have provided advice on stretching, pain management and even vitamins.

It's all good.

Again, if you're just joining us, this is all about me running the CowTown Marathon this October as a fund raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Details can be found here.  You can make donations here.

Marathon Man - The problem is all inside my head.

Just got back from the 3rd group run.

The Team in Training participants meet twice a week as a group. On Wednesdays there's a workout time, followed by an 'educational' session of some sort.  The run on Wednesday was at McKinley park. McKinley is a popular park for runners and walkers, so it's already busy. Add 40 Team in Training folks and it's down right crowded. What was interesting to me was how much having all those people around threw me off. I couldn't find a pace that was comfortable.  I was surrounded by people who were faster (most were much faster) and people walking their dogs  and everything in between. Also, I'd asked one of the trainers for some tips. I was (and am) concerned that I was looping along with absolutely no idea of the right way to train. The trainer proceeded to point out all the ways that various passers-by were doing it wrong and suggested a few things to avoid. So, add self-conscious to my list of concerns.  All in all, a bad run. My take-a-way was that I needed to figure this out because the point of the whole exercise is to run a Marathon. In a large group. And there won't be a n00b division, so I'll be in a mix again. 

Today was better. We ran along the river (well, on the levee above the river). After Wednesday I'd decided to work on my own pacing and ignore my fellow runners. And it worked fine. I had a comfortable run. In fact I probably could have pushed it a bit more, which I'll try tomorrow. I think it would have been much harder to keep at it if I'd had two bad runs in a row. It's nice to have a success. I can tuck this away and whip it out next time I'm discouraged.

It was also 'gear up' week. Got some socks and a shirt at the last day of the REI sale and picked up shoes at Fleet Feet. The shoes were definitely not on sale. Oddly, (Alanis Morisette would say ironically) the $130 shoes were thought by staff to be better than the $100 shoes. Who'd a thunk it. I was happy to learn at the Friday Marathoners' lunch that a Timex Ironman watch was a good way to go and would only run me $35 or so. I just want you to know that I'm investing in this process too.

Again, if you're just joining us, this is all about me running the CowTown Marathon this October as a fund raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Details can be found here.  You can make donations here.

Marathon Man - The Welcome

Today was the first day of the real Team in Training experience. We all met at a local Junior College and had our first 'run'. Many ran, many walked. I walked. A journey of 26 some miles begins with - a walk.

Afterwards we, probably 50-100 people,  gathered and introduced ourselves. At first everyone clapped after someone gave their three sentence statement on why they were running but a coach discouraged that. "You really don't want to clap after someone says they're running because their mom died of Leukemia."

And there was a lot of that.

It's not really a random sampling, but everyone had a cancer story. It was a very depressing 45 minutes. There was a Lymphoma survivor who was going to run his first marathon. There was the woman who had been running for many years but probably wouldn't this year because she'd been diagnosed with breast cancer a few months ago. And people were running for the aunts and uncles and friends and co-workers who had been diagnosed with some form of cancer.

After the meet and greet we all received our official TNT tee-shirt (I can quit now?) and training manual and a schedule. I'm off to the races.

If you're just joining us, details can be found here.