Running and Marriage

Well I have been busy, not much time for writing in my blog. I had a good labor day weekend that included delicious bbq chicken, corn on the cob, and potato salad. The wedding plans are about finalized and we have started moving into the new house. So with all this good stuff going on I have not exactly made much time for running. I guess certain situations (weddings) call for a little time out, no matter what the goal. My body will be okay, I will get one more 5 miler in today, but after that I will have to rely on hiking next week as my source of exercise. Hiking on the honeymoon will be great in Glacier Natl Park, Montana!!!! Wish me luck in my quest down the isle this weekend.

wedding

So in nine days I will be a married man, this last days leading up to the wedding have been hectic I admit, not with the wedding planning, but trying to get as much work done as I can before I leave for a week. Unfortunately I have been working in Chicago these past months for work; which is part of the reason it has been so easy for me to find time to go running no matter what the hour. My runs lately have been boring to talk about though, just easy runs to get my legs back in shape. My fiance is living in our home town in Columbia, Missouri where she works and takes care of my house and my dog, both of which will soon be hers.

It is tough living on the road, that is one of the reasons I like running so much right now, it takes my mind of the fact that I am away from my friends, fiance, and dog. It is depressing to think about being on the road all the time, I feel like I am missing out on so much, like I missed out on my entire summer. Everyday is precious and I do my best not to waste it. That is why I am going to run from Columbia to St. Louis, I don't want to look back on anything and say I wish I would of....

run run run

I have been unable to write very often these past couple of days, so I do apologize. I have not gotten too much more intense on my runs, just 6 milers. Oh but there was the run over the weekend where I went for my run in the evening just as the sun was setting. I thought I knew where I was going for this loop, wrong! As the sun set I made a turn and then another, this second turn was the wrong turn putting me down a road across the river where there was not many bridges back to the other side. So I just had to keep running, turning my six mile run into a seven mile run. It wasn't that bad, but when you are out of shape, it hurts. I have done similar things to that before, but all the other times were when I was in great marathon shape and knew that I could run forever.

I enjoy running, without the ipod, without the sounds of a city especially. I love running to get away from all the noise. It gives me a kind of meditative feel, especially when running through Rock Bridge State Park in Missouri, with the winding path through the woods and the trickling streams, it is very relaxing. At the same time I love running the Chicago Marathon because of the beauty of a big city. You will never find a better way to experience a city like Chicago or New York than running the marathon, what a great tour.

I do not run anymore to try to finish first, I run for no one but myself, I have nothing to prove, I love to use running as a tool for good deeds, it takes me to places that I would never have gone otherwise (both physically and mentally), it is the most relaxing sport that I have ever been apart of; not golf, baseball, soccer, basketball, frisbee, or any other sport that I have competed in has brought me to a greater state of happiness. I hate to lose so maybe that's why I like it so much, I have won in all the other sports I have played, only a select few get to win in cross-country, and I never won while I was running in high school or as a youth. Everything I do now in my spare time is not because I want to win, but because I enjoy it and it helps me feel better. Maybe that was a ramble, but I think I got my point out somehow.....

Day 5 and 6

On Friday I took it easy, just a short run to let my legs recover a little. I am really trying to ease myself back into a solid routine without getting hurt. I especially have to be careful doing this because of the lack of non-paved trails here in Naperville, IL. I can't wait to get back home where I know the loops and trails, and where I don't have to pay a membership to take my dog to the dog park so she can be off leash, what a load of crap that is. Guess what Naperville, I still let my dog off leash, I just do it at a non-dog park, so she can run and chase her frisbee.
Friday night I was listening to the White Sox game and drinking a few beers, the game turn out ugly for my Sox, and the beer made me decide to sleep in Saturday morning.

So this morning (Saturday) I woke up, relaxed, ate breakfast, watched a movie, got a haircut, and now I am sitting at a local coffee house enjoying a delicious brew typing away. Coffee makes me happy and the caffeine can give me a little pep for a future workout. This afternoon I will go for another six miler, my goal is to stay at 8 minute pace, maybe picking it up the last mile. One thing that I have majorly been trying to focus on is my stride as much as I can. When I am tired I use my arms, you would be surprised how much your arms can help you. I don't know how well known it is, but your legs naturally want to keep up with your arms, so pump your arms when your tired, they can help you get to the finish line.

I apologize for being unable to tell you about the end results of my run this afternoon, but I do not have the internet at home currently, so hopefully I will be able to fill you in tomorrow. And by the way Alzheimer's affects not only memory, but also may cause the person to become anxious or aggressive. It cause the person to completely regress, it is a terrible thing to bare whiteness to.

Thursday Day 4

I made it six mile yesterday and I felt great! I think I may need new shoes soon, my current pair have about 500 miles on them and that means it is about time to turn them into lawn mowing shows. I think I will go through with the run to St. Louis, I read about a nun who attempted to run an ultramarathon to raise money, so I think I can at the very least make the attempt as well. I will release my final plans next week on where my exact starting an ending points will be, the distance, and the path that I will run.

I am starting to feel lively again because I am getting back in shape! Maybe I should run a fun run some weekend coming up? I wonder if there are any ones going on that are nearby the Naperville, IL area or the Columbia, MO area?

Day 3

I got home at 8:15 pm last night, I was tempted to go for a run, but I had to do the smart thing and take the day off. My legs are starting to tighten up and it is good to take a day off when you just start training. Part of me feels like I let myself down, but I have to realize that these days will come where I have had to work to long of hours and will unfortunately be unable to get much personal time in. On days I can't go for runs, whether it me from work or soreness, I like to supplement my workouts with some cross-training or at least an indoor work out of some kind. I need to at the least make sure that I stay active each day. Hopefully I will be able to get a good six miler in tonight, I am feeling lively right now, I hope it lasts all day.

Oh ya, and I am super excited that I get to get married in two weeks!!!

Day 2

Did you know that approximately 5.3 million people in the USA suffer from Alzheimer's Disease? It is a disease that deteriorates the brain tissue and causes individuals memory loss and loss of motor skills.

My second day of getting back in shape started with another long day at work, arriving home at 7:30 pm, but once again I was out the door within 15 minutes. So far this plan of making running part of my daily routine again has been working out (don't think about it, just do it!). I ran another 40 minute run, this time a little more up beat. I ran an out an back, which I am not too fond of, I prefer to run a giant loop. One thing that I forgot about is the amount of bugs your face will run into while doing a dusk run through a wooded area, that was tasty. Does anyone ever find themselves slowing up as they approach the end of there timed out and back run? I always have to fight the urge, part of me says, "Slow up so you don't have to run as far dummy." Then the other side reminds me, "Never hold anything back, save nothing for the return journey." Of course I end up somewhere in the middle usually, but at least it's better than stopping and walking.

So after my run when I walk in the door, I proceed to do start cooking my dinner while doing sit-ups and push-ups as my dinner cooks. I try to eat healthy, but I do not over concern myself with counting calories and fat content, I just use my best judgement. I listen to my White Sox blow another game on the radio, say good night to my fiance, and fall asleep waiting for the next day.

Day 1 Know Yourself

So I am 6 feet and 0 inches tall, I currently weigh 192 lbs, I have run 4 marathons, and my fastest 5k is 16:53. Of course these running achievements were when I weighed about 180 lbs. So I need to get back in shape and by the time April rolls around I hope to weigh about 180 lbs.

My first day back in the saddle on Monday was a long day. After getting three hours of sleep Sunday night I headed into work at 8:00 am and found myself working a long day, getting home at 7:00 pm. I walked in the door and was out the door running by 7:15, not even giving myself a chance to think it over. And think it over is what I usually do after a long day. Generally I get home and say that I am going to go for a run, but lately with the longer work days, it just has not been happening. I believe this is because I will have every intention of running, but when I get home I may be hungry or tired, so I say I will eat first or put my feet up for a little while before I go running. I have even had my running shoes on ready to go out the door and decide to wait and rest my legs first. Well after I have let myself mull it over for a while I decide that I need the rest for work. So after all this I usually just end up taking it easy at night and not running, saying maybe I will get up early and run at 5:00 am like I used to, oh no that never happens anymore, I love my snooze button too much now. Monday was different because I am focusing on overcoming my shortfalls and I also have a goal that I intend on keeping.

This first run I took was an easy run at about 8:30 mile pace and I went for 40 minutes. I need to do two things before I really get back at it; I need to get in good enough shape where I wont get hurt if I push myself and I need to build a base (a large one). I am worried about injuring myself in anyway, an injury of any kind at this point would cause me to have to start from scratch all over again. I also know that I need to run a lot of longer runs to build up a base before trying any medium or hard workouts. I knew that I could still run 5 to 6 miles at an easy pace so I thought that would be a good starting point. Over the next couple of weeks I will vary my distances, not really breaking 6 miles so that I can allow my legs to get back into the swing of things. After that I will starting building my pyramid.

The main thing is to know what your goal is, knowing yourself, your current abilities, and assessing what you need to accomplish each day. Over the next couple of weeks I will develop a training schedule on a calender for future more intense training so that I can see my goals each day, I have never made a schedule like this before, but I think it might help me stay more focused than usual.

The Challenge

I know I haven't written in a long time, but I found myself consumed with work and traveling, oh and plus I haven't had the internet at home because I am living on the road and the place I am staying at does not have internet. Needless to say I have let my fitness slowly decline over the past several months. I need a challenge and I need focus. I have often found it difficult for myself to stay focused on workouts if I do not have a goal in mind. Well here is a goal that I may or may not try, it is something that would be extremely difficult and I would need the support of my soon to be wife, my family, and my friends.
I have it in my mind that I need to do something more than just raising a few thousand dollars each year for the Alzheimer's Association. Witnessing the effects of such a disease can really change your perspective on things and it makes me want to do more for a disease that seems to get lost in the shuffle.
I was driving up to Chicago for work on Sunday and it was late, about 3:00 am. I was on I-55 just thinking away, because there isn't much else to do on long, late night, lonesome car rides like that. I have always tried to come up with ideas of how I can make a difference, or at least the biggest difference a regular person like myself can make. I decided that maybe I should try something a little crazy, that I should run from Columbia to St. Louis for the St. Louis Marathon this coming April. Upon my arrival on Saturday I would rest and that following morning I would run the St. Louis Marathon or at least do my best to run it. This trek would put me at about 140 miles in less than 3 days and I believe that I can accomplish this with the proper training and preparations. My goal would be to log my training regiment here on this little blog, writing about my runs and the mentality of trying to stay focused on training for 6 months. Hopefully people can take my training experiences and learn from the different ways that I balance dealing with life and finding time to seriously train for such a monstrous task.
If I do decide to go through with this I will decide within the week. My plan is to raise as much money as I can for the Alzheimer's Association for this run and hopefully bring some more awareness to people along the way.
Running is something that I am very passionate about, it gives me a chance to relax and take in the world wherever I am at. I hope that I have the guts to commit to this challenge and I hope that I find myself worthy. I hope that I can make some difference, at the least shed light on the illness to just a few, if only that happens I will consider it a success.