Running Back

Today I discovered good news! I had been considering the weeks until the half-marathon in relation to my running schedule and it occurred to me that I may in fact be ahead of schedule. If my long run is already at 7 miles, and I have 8 weeks to go, I could possibly be (could it be true??) AHEAD of schedule?

A quick check confirmed my suspicion - I should have run 5 miles on Sunday, not 7. For some people, this would cause a dilemma - should I back up, or should I continue adding a mile each weekend? For me, it was pretty clear: I will (enthusiastically) back up two weeks and relish the experience. Sure, it may seem like I'm losing out (in the long run) but I need to be extra cautious about over training. Let's not lose sight of the fact that I am no runner. I would be shocked if I ran 1 mile in 2007, and in 2008, I have run upwards of 125 or more in only 9 weeks. Therefore, I really need take liberties where they may fall in an effort to avoid the dreaded stress fracture of torn ligament, or whatever other injuries runners may acquire.

I have had a light week. Monday I did only stretching. Tuesday, 20 minutes of cross-training on the elliptical machine along with a short weight routine of chest, triceps and abs. Today, I ran three miles. Tomorrow, I will take off again and Friday probably do 2 miles in conjunction with weight lifting (back, biceps, and shoulders).

All in all, I am pleased with my progress and I am pleased with my commitment to the training. Up to this point, as per my track record (no pun intended), I would have given up by now. So what's keeping me going? Is it the blog? Is it the camaraderie with 4 friends joining in the "fun" of training with me? Is my desire to do this for Emelyn the underlying force? I would have to say it's a combination of all of those things. I also believe that I truly am stronger now than I was 5-10 years ago. I mean mentally/emotionally, as well as physically. In addition, I have more of a sense of who I am and what I want to accomplish in all walks of life. I am doing this marathon for me as well as for all of the reasons mentioned above.

During my run today, I ran past South Eugene High School, which falls into my route on nearly every run. Today's presence, though, was truly special because a lot of the students were outdoors on their lunch breaks. I began to wonder how many of them have integrated fitness into their routines. I suspect very few of them (at least the smattering of students I witnessed Today) and I felt a strong compulsion towards approaching each of them (at the risk of sounding like a grandpa - "if I knew then what I know now") to stress the value of healthy living and lifestyle from an early age. Of course I suppressed this urge, but you get the idea.

This running quest has been very humbling for me. I don't typically do things that don't come easily to me. I have had to push myself to even go on a run, and then push myself to keep running during my run. Had I adopted this value earlier in life, I'm certain I would have better core strength at this point in my life, as well as back then. At any rate - I'm here now, going strong and actually gearing up for a marathon. Who'd have thought? Certainly not my peers in high school in 1994!