Day 23 (6 miles)

It must be Memorial Day because when I went to the park in Woodinville late this morning every couple and their 2.5 kids were outside, mostly on bikes cruising up and down the Sammamish River Trail.  There were also some hardcore extended-weekend-warriors who just can't get enough.  Maybe after all of this training is over with I'll give in and ride my hybrid road bike up Burke-Gilman from Gas Works park, then over to Woodinville for lunch then onwards to Issaquah.  That sounds pretty cool.  Right?

Though the day wasn't perfect, weather wise, I appreciated the fact that I was able to be running, even though my speed is more of an extremely labored waddle.  On this 6.0 mile run I started to take note of the blessings in my life and I began to smile.  What I noticed was that other people smiled back at me like they were infectiously jolted out of the seriousness of physical exertion.  So I kept up the smiling and what happened?  I began to run faster.  My form straightened up.  My kick went from scuffing the ground to almost a proud prance.  It wasn't exactly a runner's high, I've felt those before and this wasn't it.  But still, in some sense, it felt good.

So.  Happy Memorial Day!  Get out there and bike, run, jog, trot, walk, or waddle.  And smile while you're doing it!  : )

Day 22 (14 miles)

This run went light years beyond kicking my ass.  The longest I ever ran before this was 8 miles and that was twice, once in college and once in seminary.  Figured if I went out slow and steady then I could run indefinitely.  WRONG!!!  First off, I became impatient after 0.30 miles and disregarded my Heart-Rate Zone alarm once it flew past 150.  I normally do 150 bpm of 20 minutes worth of cardio in the gym on weight days and 40 minutes worth on my off days.  But I guess this was my off day though I couldn't imagine going into to do weights tomorrow.  Come on!  It's Sunday; the laziest day of the week.  I broke down the run mentally in half and broke it down from there into halves as well to get 3.5 mile quarters.  Make sense?  Sure.  Well from there I broke down into miles with an additional 0.50 mile add-on extra which I told myself was hardly anything.  That's like 5 blocks.  I initially drank my cherry-flavored electrolyte water at the quarter marks (3.5 miles) with the GU energy gel (this stuff once saved my life, but that's another story) at miles 7.0 and 10.5.  I needed them both and decided that at my potty break point (Mile 10.0) I should refill my two 10 oz. water bottles on my running belt, sans electrolyte tabs.  I was doing alright until about mile 11.0 with 3.0 miles left.  The last leg is always the hardest.  But it was at this point that I saw my friend BeckyJo from SPU and her husband Darrick, cruising back to Seattle.  I shouted out, "BeckyJo!"  She turned and looked and Darrick randomly shouted out, "You know that guy!?!"  I would have made a shout out to Darrick but they were going by fast enough for me to only get in two syllables.  Sorry Darrick.  Next time.  At mile 12.0 a group of 4 girls with signs were sitting on the side of the trail next to their house cheering everyone on that passed by.  I got a huge long cheer because at this point I was really poking along compared to the majority who were zipping by on their bikes.  This long run gave me a new found sense of pride compared to bicyclists.  Speed does not equal effort or guts.  Especially when you're on a man made contraption and you're hardly doing any work.  So don't look at us runners like we're merely a obstructionist nuisance for you to slow down for.  I like biking too.  Don't get me wrong.  But you, my friend, with your spandex & faux-sponsor bike shirt, are in the little leagues.  When you feel like you want to grow up and challenge yourself the way God intended, then slip on a pair of running shoes and go at it.  But until then, stop your complaining.

Day 21 (7 miles)

With some embarrassment I write this latest blog entry with sincere honesty.  Back sliding happens.  It happens to the best of well-intentioned practitioners, in whatever that might be, and it happens to the worst of us (finger pointing to self).  My father reminds me that it takes me almost an entire year to get acclimated to any one place.  This was true for Pasadena, and as I have recently moved to Kenmore, Washington in February, it holds true in that I am still acclimating myself to my new environment.  I am a creature of habit and nothing is should be more habitual than exercise, adequate sleep, and proper nutrition.  Thus far I've maintained one of three of these standards.

So as it relates to this blog, which was supposed to be a journal of some sorts about my first marathon, I have to say that I have been far behind on my running schedule and am now completely freaked about about it!  I paid the $129 entrance fee and am signed up, believing that this would keep my feet to the flame.  But in reality, there's a lot more than goes into motivation than just simple economics.  Looking back I should have joined some sort of running club that met on Saturdays to encourage one another.  I still wish I had a running club.  Maybe I'll start my own.  Who knows?

Finding a good routine is like finding that perfect tempo run when you're not doing speedwork but you're also not doing a slow run.  You're in a groove and you're feeling that runner's high, the sort of thing that comes when you lose track of pain and discomfort and everything is effortless.  That's what it's like to get into a good exercise routine, whether you're a morning person and you want to rev up your metabolism for the rest of the day or you exercise at the end of the day to relieve all the stress that built up from work just so you can get a good night's sleep.  Whatever your own personal groove maybe, run with it, then strap on those shoes, get out the house, and run.

I have decided that although I'm super far behind on my running schedule and I have less than a month left of training, I'm still planning on running the marathon.  I could be blissfully ignorant of how hard this is going to be, but oh well.  There you have it.  It is better, in my ignorant opinion, to try something hard and to fail spectacularly than to simply put it off for fear of failure.  I am not a proud person (and I say that with the utmost pride) and I could care less about what I think about myself, though I do care what others think about me.  To fail at this, come race day, would be to admit defeat and have to say to friends that I'm not as cool of a dude as I had hoped everyone had thought I were.  I'm not as much of an inspiration as everyone believed me to be.  I'd like to be that shining beacon of an example for others.  But let's face it, I'm lazy.

So where do I go from here?  Well.  I admit that this isn't going to be pretty.  It's going to be embarrassing.  It's going to be humiliating.  But if I can admit that, maybe I can push it aside and get on with my original goal of actually running this thing.

I ran seven miles at a slow pace then did 90 minutes of hot yoga.  I was exhausted yesterday and my heart when trying to fall asleep, didn't drop below 80 bpm.  I was beat.  I can't imagine what a marathon will do.  My next long run I'm going to bring a water bottle belt and maybe some GU, just like all the yuppie 40-something weekend warriors!  Yeah!