DAY 17 - ROLLER COASTER RUN

Greetings,

This morning's run was a bit of a roller coaster, so I thought I'd blog about it.

I headed out around 5:20am and when I arrived at Kelly Drive I had already started to sweat before I even stepped out of the car. It was SOOOO hot, humid and hazy. I thought, "This is not gonna be fun in this weather."

I was planning on running 15-min and 12-min run intervals with a 1-min walk in between. So, I shook it off and began my 2-min warm-up walk. As I warmed up, I was feeling great and reconsidered that this might not be such a bad run after all.

Then I started to run and things turned bad again. My knees were so stiff and rigid. I could hardly bend my knees to run. It wasn't exactly painful, just awkward and uncomfortable. I was a bit worried that this might happen because my knees felt funny after my run on Monday. But I did 30 minutes on the StairMaster and lifted weights on Tuesday to loosen them up a bit, and they felt fine up until I started to run this morning.

Anyway, I pushed through the uncomfortable feeling, and after about 20 strides, they felt fine. A minute into running, I had forgotten all about my knee issue and was ready to get through my first 15-min running interval. Then I realized that my breathing was labored, already. I had just started running, so it was way too early to start huffing and puffing.

I was so focused on my knees during the first few minutes of my run that I didn't realize that I was sucking in thick, hot air. Five minutes in and I was dripping with sweat and trying to adjust my breathing to compensate for the lack of "fresh" air. At this point, things are not looking so good.

However, I push on and try to find my rhythm. It's getting hotter by the minute but I won't stop. Ten minutes in I'm thinking I might throw the towel in early because I'm sweating bullets and I'm focusing so hard on breathing. But, I keep running anyway because I'm not actually in pain or gasping for air, just a bit uncomfortable.

The next time I glance at my watch, I see I've almost reached the 15-minute mark and I re-evaluate my situation. I'm actually feeling OK now and I'm thinking maybe I could keeping going and reach 20 minutes, which was my goal to accomplish by the end of the week. Somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes I started to enjoy myself. My breathing regulated and I was feeling great.

So, I keep trucking right past 15 minutes. I reach 19 minutes and I'm still feeling fine. But considering the weather, I don't want to overdo it. I stop at 20 minutes and take a minute to regroup. Then I pick right back up for the last 7 minutes of my 30 minute session. These last 7 minutes were a breeze, even though I am dripping with sweat when I'm done.

Despite all the ups and downs this morning, I ended on a great note: I reached 20 minutes of non-stop running today, ahead of schedule. I was stoked!

Today turned out to be a good training day!



Totally stoked,

Almost Thirty

WEEK 2

Greetings,

I've made it through week 2, but not without some struggles. Like last week, I ran for 30-minute sessions on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, cross-trained on Tuesday and Thursday, lifted weights on Thursday and rested on Saturday. I was able to meet my goal of 10-minute running intervals, with 1 minute walks in between. So far, my body is feeling fine, no knee problems or aches and pains.

However, my run on Wednesday morning was a real struggle for me. My stomach was upset and I was totally out of breath as I attempted my 8-minute running intervals. I was able to finish but I felt sick and winded afterward. It may have been that I was over-worked from the yoga and cycling I did the night before, or the whole wheat pasta I decided to try the night before, or the fact that I didn't sleep well that night. Whatever the case may be, I've decided not to work out the evening before I run, I make sure that I'm in the bed and winding down by 9:30pm the night before I run, and I'm more mindful of what I eat the night before I run.

You may have noticed that I've added a ticker to my blog, counting down to my first 5K race. I've decided to register for the "Race for Jobs" held by the Philadelphia Unemployment Project. It's a 5K USATF Certified Race Course at the Philadelphia Art Museum (Kelly Drive) being held on Saturday, August 30 at 8am. After visiting the organization's website, I figured it was a good cause to run for.

My goal for week 3 is to continue to increase my run intervals from the current 10 minutes to 20 minutes by the end of the week. This may be a stretch but I thought this would be a good time for me push myself a bit. I've been pretty conservative for the first 2 weeks. Check back in next week to see how I do!



Up for the 20-minute challenge,


Almost Thirty

OH YEAH...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Greetings,

I almost forgot...I turned 28 on Tuesday. Happy birthday to me!

Aside from getting pulled over by a rogue cop and the annoying "You better start freezing your eggs" comments, it was a pretty good day, thanks to my family and friends.


Headed for 29,

Almost Thirty

WEEK 1

Greetings,

This week went pretty well. I ran/walked for 30-minute sessions on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, cross-trained on Tuesday and Thursday, did some weight training on Thursday, and relaxed on the beach on Saturday. My goal was to be able to run 5-minute intervals, and I was able to go a bit above that goal: by Sunday I was able to do 6 minute run/2 minute walk intervals. No real aches or pains, but I was a little sore after lifting weights on Thursday.

I decided that I would follow the advice of many running experts and run without headphones for safety reasons (except on the treadmill). Headphones are now banned from many organized races, so I wanted to get used to running without music. And it's not as bad as I thought it would be. I mixed it up a bit by running in different places: on the treadmill at the gym, on Kelly Drive, on the track at Haverford College, and a trail through Fairmount Park, to keep things from getting monotonous. While I love rocking-out to my favorite tunes while working out, running without music turned out to be quite enjoyable, and safer. Plus, if I were wearing headphones, I wouldn't have been able to hear all the encouragement from other runners I encountered.

For the most part, runners are extremely aware of each other and don't hesitate to acknowledge each other. Almost every other runner I encountered gave a nod, or a wave, or a "Good morning!" as we passed each other. At the track there were a handful of walkers and runners who, I guess, were regulars, an older guy even said, "I haven't seen you around before. Welcome! Glad you could join us." While running on the trail, I began to slow down to walk and two guys passing me said, "Come on, you can do it!" And another young woman on the trail surprised me saying, "You go girl! You look great!" It was all very encouraging, especially as a beginner to the sport.

Also, it's easier to dissociate (zone-out, in runners lingo) when running with music, which can be a good thing or a bad thing. It's OK on the treadmill because it's completely boring to run on a treadmill (unless there's a TV attached), but there is no chance of getting hit by a car or a cyclist, or tripping over a crack or rock in the road. But one needs to be very aware of these things and more when running outdoors. At one point on the trail, I was being followed by two people on horseback. If I was wearing headphones, they would have definitely startled me when they passed.

And more interestingly, running without music allowed me to be a lot more aware of myself: my breathing patterns, my form, and how my body felt in general. Instead of being engrossed in the lyrics of Lil Wayne, or a tight Timbaland beat, I thought, "My quads feel a bit tight. Make sure you stretch well afterward," or "Oooh, stepping in that little pot hole did not feel good on my left knee. Let's keep an eye on that to make sure I didn't really injure it," and "Don't lean forward too much. Your back is gonna hurt later if you don't run upright."

Next week, I plan to continue to increase my run intervals from the current 6 minutes to 10 minutes by the end of next week. Stay tuned to see how it goes!



Looking forward to week 2,

Almost Thirty

IN SUMMARY...

If you missed my first 12 posts, here's the long and short of it.

• WHO: Me. (My Complete Profile, THE NON-RUNNER post)

• WHAT: Start training for a marathon to run on or around my 30th birthday. (THE GOAL DEFINED post)

• WHY: To focus on a positive progression towards turning 30, as opposed to succumbing to the stigma of "getting older," to embark on a new and exciting adventure monumental enough to compete with the advent of turning 30. (THE PROBLEM post, THE SOLUTION post, THE NEW GOAL post)

• WHEN: Training over the next 2 years, starting the week of my 28th birthday.

• WHERE: Wherever I can train: trails, the gym, the track, the road, the sidewalk, you get the point.

• HOW: By training by butt off. (TRAINING DETAILS post)

Did you get all that? I don't know if you can keep up, but keep trying.


Almost Thirty

DAY 0

Greetings,


I read that one could spent up to $80 for a good sports bra, and although no woman likes the feel of her girls bouncing around while running, I thought 80-bucks was a bit excessive. That and all the hype about the more expensive running apparel made of moisture-wicking materials to keep you drier and more comfortable while running. But since I've been working out in the same clothes for the past 5 years or so, I thought it was a good time for me to invest in some new gear.

So what did I, Frugal-Frannie, do? I went to my local Target to check out their less expensive versions of the popular name brand sporting apparel. BIG MISTAKE!!! While the sports bras, shorts and tops were easier on my budget, the quality was not up to par, at all. I ended up taking all of that stuff back and hitting the clearance rack at the Nike Store. It was a bit more expensive, but much better quality.

Anyway, training officially starts tomorrow, so I thought it would be a good idea to get my starting weight and some before photos. As a matter of fact, I may even do this every month, just as another measure of progress. Even though I'm not trying to lose weight, I'm pretty sure that I will during this process.

• Day-0 Weight: 152 lbs.
  
• Day-0 Body Fat Percentage: 33% (Or so says my aunt's high-tech scale. If this is accurate, then I am officially obese according to the American Exercise Counsel)
  
• Day-0 Photos: Here I am. No make-up. No photo-shop. No shame, even though it took a lot for me to publish these.

Ready to run,


Almost Thirty

TRAINING DETAILS

Greetings,

Over the past few days, I've come across numerous suggestions and training schedules for beginner runners, all of them tailored for specific goals like, 3 months to 5K, or running your fastest mile. Most the schedules were also geared towards two types of beginners, complete novices who are fairly inactive for which they prescribe a walking-to-running program, and beginners with some running foundation to build upon. I don't really fit into either of these categories: I'm pretty active, but I don't run.

Therefore, I decided to combine some of the strategies used in the schedules I've read, and develop my own program. I plan to sort of make it up as I go along, but here is what it looks like so far for the first 2 months.

General Plans:

• Run: 3-4 days/week
• Cross-train: 1-2 days/week on non-run days (anything but running, cycling, elliptical machine, Stair-Master, yoga, etc.)
• Weight training: 1 day/week on run or cross-training days
• Rest: No activity 1-2 days/week

More specifically:

• Goal by week 4: Run for 30 minutes straight. Interval walk/run training for 30-minute sessions at least 3 times a week, increasing run time until a full 30 minutes of running is achieved comfortably. Endurance is the goal, not distance.
• Weeks 5-8: 5K Training. Gradually increase endurance training to full 45 minutes of running and run 5K (3.1 miles) at least 1 day/week until 5K Race Day (keep reading to find out more about race days).

I also thought it would be a good idea to set up some training check-points for myself by pre-registering for some organized races along the way. Of course the distances of the races will be in line with where I am in training. So, here are some dates and race goals I am considering, but we'll see how it goes.

• 2 months (late August/early September) - 5K (3.1 miles) - There are a few to choose from, but I haven't decided on which one yet.
• 4 months (mid-November) - 8K (4.97 miles) - The Philadelphia Marathon, November 23, 2008.
• 6 months (mid-January) - 10K (6.21 miles).
• 10 months (early May) - 10 Miles - The Broad Street Run, May 3, 2009
• 12 months (summer 2009) - Half-Marathon (13.1 miles)

Seems pretty ambitious, doesn't it? It may look over-zealous on paper, but most of the runners I've consulted with said it's definitely doable. In fact, they think 12 months to train for a half-marathon is way too long, even for a beginner. I've come across a few half-marathon training schedules for beginners, and they all range from 18 weeks to 28 weeks. So, I think 52 weeks to a half-marathon is a very attainable goal.

Eager to begin,

Almost Thirty

GETTING READY FOR RUNNING

Greetings,

When I went to Spain a few years ago, I immersed myself in everything Spanish for two months up until the time I left. I brushed-up on my Spanish using Rosetta Stone, my TV was always tuned to a Spanish-speaking station, I listened to Spanish music and broadcasting on the radio, and I had all the travel guide books on Madrid. By the time I left, I was literally thinking in Spanish. And that was only an 11-day trip.

But I'm a scientist. I'm naturally inclined to do research. So, you can imagine how much research on running I've done over the past week or so. I've perused books, magazines, websites, specialty stores, everything that has to do with running. After looking through a few dozen of these resources, I've settled on a couple to invest in based on beginner-friendliness, readability, and practicality.

• Runner's World Complete Book of Women's Running by Dagny Scott Barrios
• Runner's World Training Journal
• Runner's World Magazine (yes, Runner's World seems to be the authority on running)

I also invested in some gear, starting with the most important piece of running equipment: running sneakers. Moisture wicking socks and clothing are next on my To-Get List. While surfing the web, I also came across a little gadget called the Nike+ System. It's an inexpensive system that can easily track how far and long you run, and keeps it organized in an online running log. Everyone in one of the running stores that I visited was talking about it and there was even an article in this month's edition of Runner's World Magazine about it. Since I'm not getting paid from Nike for advertising, you can visit Nike.com to check it out for yourself.

I tried it out last night along with my new running sneakers, which also happen to be made by Nike. I took them both out for a pre-training test run/walk just make sure everything was copacetic. I love the sneakers, and the gadget is actually cool and easy to use.

Now that I'm almost ready to run, I should fill you in on my training schedule. But you'll have to wait until the next entry...

Off to the track for a brief walk,

Almost Thirty

THE GOAL DEFINED

Greetings,

So, you already know that the ultimate goal is for me to run a marathon on or around about my 30th birthday. But almost all of the running books that I have been reading suggest setting specific goals and writing them down if your serious about training. And I am. So, I should more specific in defining my goals; what this whole process will be, and what it won't be.


With that said, my goals for this endeavour WILL be to:

1. Train for a full marathon to be run on or near my 30th birthday.


2. Maintain a consistent training schedule.


3. Participate in and attempt to finish several organized races during my training, including but not limited to 5K's, 8K's, 10K's, and half marathons.


4. Contribute to local charities and organizations by participating in organized races, as a sponsored runner, if applicable.


5. Embrace the approach of my 30th birthday by looking forward to being fit and fabulous.
   

On the flip-side, this endeavour WILL NOT be an attempt to:

1. Train to become an Olympian. I'm not running for speed. I just want to finish. Although, it would be a bonus if I turned out to actually be good at running.


2. Diet and exercise to lose weight. I would like a six-pack, though.


3. Run everyday. That's excessive and ill-advised by all the running professionals I've encountered.

**I fully intend on sticking with these goals, but remember that goals are pliable: they can be amended and added upon as circumstances change.**

Just getting back from a pre-training walk/run,

Almost Thirty

WHY BLOG ABOUT IT? PART 2

Greetings,


As I was saying, writing this blog has been a struggle for me. So, the following is an attempt to define the boundaries of of this blog.


This blog IS intended to:

• be a journal of my adventures in training for a marathon.


• be informational, to keep you posted on my progress and/or struggles.


• be kept short, written and published within 30 minutes per blog.


• consist of 1-2 blogs per week once training starts (these first 2 weeks of entries are a bit excessive, I just wanted to blog my total creative process leading up to training).


• be a forum for your comments, questions, support, suggestions, etc., as it relates to my training. Haters welcome too.

This blog IS NOT intended to:

• be the focus of my journey. As a matter of fact, it's not even secondary to the task at hand.


• be a literary masterpiece, so expect some grammatical errors, colloquialisms, and run-on sentences.
• be a blow-by-blow of every detail of my current endeavour.
• be an open forum for you, or me, to vent or ramble about topics unrelated the purpose of this blog (just scroll up if you've forgotten).

This is my ninth entry so far and it is getting easier for me to adhere to these guidelines with each blog. But I feel like I still have so much to cover before my training starts. So, look forward to a few more during the rest of the week covering my goals more specifically, some reservations I have about training, and a brief overview of my long-term training schedule.

Headed to bed a bit early tonight,

Almost Thirty

WHY BLOG ABOUT IT?

Greetings,

I started this blog before I told anyone that I was planning to train for a marathon. I intended for it to be just an online journal for myself, just to jot down a few goals and milestones during my journey through training. I started to tell people about my new goal around about the third entry. After telling them, I kept getting asked the same series of questions of why, when, for what, for who, and "Are you crazy?!"

So, I decided to let people in on my blogspot, so you can take a glimpse into my journey whenever you feel like it. So, you can read all about the whys and whens, my plans, my goals, and in the future, how I'm progressing and/or struggling.

You already know that I am not a runner, but I should tell you that I'm closer to being a runner than I am to being a blogger. I've seen people run before, almost everyday actually. I've even experienced running myself on more than one occasion, to say the least. And although I've read a blog or two while perusing the web, I've never met a blogger or seen blogging in action.

I had no clue how hard it be for me: blogging. My entry on July 1st, which was literally my first blog, took about an hour and a half for me to publish. The trouble wasn't with finding a blog-space to blog on, or even setting up an account on blogger.com. That part took all of a few minutes to accomplish. The problem was treating this blog like a blog, and not like a dissertation. I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to writing, always double checking my grammar and sentence structure, and triple checking my syntax and fluidity. But I have a life; I don't have time to spend two hours on each blog. The whole point is to blurt out whatever idea comes to mind, and try to convey it coherently. So that's what I've been attempting to do, but in 30 minutes or less.

On that note, this is getting a bit lengthy. To be continued....




Feeling refreshed from a great yoga class tonight,

Almost Thirty

THE NON-RUNNER

Greetings,


Now that I've told you all about how and why I've decided to train for a marathon, I should tell you a bit more about myself as it relates to training for a marathon. Trust me, I won't bore you with my life story... I'm not that interesting. Plus, all the unimportant details are in my profile.

I am 5 feet 9 inches, about 156 pounds and I'm a size 8 in ladies/misses clothing. I have an athletic build, probably from playing several sports throughout high school (basketball, volleyball and soccer) and maintaining a fairly active lifestyle. I go to the gym, but not regularly, and I dabble in a number of sports from time to time. I've played tennis, golf and softball sporadically over the past few years. In addition, I've taken several yoga and pilates classes, as well as a few ballroom dancing lessons recently, just to change things up and keep things interesting.

While I am no stranger to the treadmill, I am no runner. Honestly, running is my least favorite cardio exercise. However, I've always wanted to be able to say I was a runner for some reason. Hopefully, I will be able to soon.




Unwinding from a rather stressful pilates class,

Almost Thirty

JUSTIFICATION

Greetings,

So, why a marathon? Basically, because all the other ideas that I came up with and from friends, were lame, or insufficient to say the least.

I turned to some of my more creative friends for input on ideas for my new goal, and here are a few of the suggestions (and why they were dismissed):

• Go sky-diving on my 30th b-day: I have no desire to jump out of a plane at 20,000 feet above the ground, depending solely on some parachute to open properly and some random jump instructor to pull the cord in time.
• Train to go real rock climbing for my 30th b-day: While rock climbing is fun and very rewarding, the closest I want to get to scaling the side of a mountain is indoors at my local rock climbing facility, or watching Sylvester Stallone in Cliffhanger from the comfort of my sofa.
• Plan a back-packing trip through Europe: A trip to Europe would be incredible, but back-packing? Please.....

Trust me, I thought long and hard before settling on training for a marathon. But at the end of the day, it was the most practical, and economical choice. Plus, it easily fit all my criteria: a new experience, physically and mentally challenging, has a long-term training period, relatively inexpensive and can be done independently.

Finally, I've decided to train for a marathon, but I'm not a runner. Where do I start?

Off to finish folding laundry,

Almost Thirty

P.S. - Training starts 1 week from today. Are you ready?

THE NEW GOAL

Greetings,

Before I came up with some ideas for my new goal, I set a few general guidelines.

• This endeavour had to be a new experience,
• had to require some physical effort,
• had to require some mental effort,
• and preparation could be stretched among 2 years.

Given these few guidelines, the first thing that came to mind was ballroom dancing, specifically Latin ballroom dancing. I thought maybe I could train to dance in a Latin ballroom competition for my thirtieth birthday. I've always wanted to learn to be a sultry Salsa dancer or a passionate Paso Doble dancer. It just looks so sexy and they get to wear those cute little outfits.

So, I started researching dance studios in the area and finding out about group and individual lessons. I found a really nice dance studio and I even took a few lessons. But I quickly realized that I needed to add a few more guidelines for my new goal:

• It had to be relatively inexpensive,
• and independent, no partner or group required.

Dancing lessons are very expensive AND I would need to find a partner. Also, even if I did have the finances to go through with dance lessons and found a partner, my success would greatly depend on how good my dance instructor AND partner would be.

Too many variables: I needed my new goal to be as self-sustaining and self-fulfilling as possible, not dependent on other people. Of course I would get expert opinions and seek guidance from professionals help to work out the details and give me advice, but I wanted to be able to execute the plan by myself.

So, my next immediate idea...train for a marathon.

Exhausted from running around all day,

Almost Thirty

THE SOLUTION

Active Denial

Greetings,

If and when those feelings of despair start to surface as I approach thirty, I won't suppress them, because that's unhealthy according to most psychologists. I'll acknowledge them, but I won't give myself a chance to dwell on them. I plan to actively deny those feelings and thoughts from occupying space in my head by focusing on positives that come with turning thirty, focus on what I have to look forward to at thirty. It seems simple.

But what are the positives? What do I have to look forward to? Besides the obvious things like, hopefully I'll still be around to celebrate, and I'll be more mature, I don't have the luxury of a crystal ball to show me exactly what I have to look forward to. I don't know if I'll meet someone and be married by then, I don't know if I'll be still at the same job, I don't know if I'll still be living in Philadelphia...you get the point. I could make resolutions based on those types of unknowns, like "I want to move to Florida when I turn 30," or "I want to move to a different company by the time I turn 30," but I've setting those kind of goals for myself all my life.

I wanted to focus on a different type of accomplishment. Something new, something exciting, something monumental enough to compete with the advent of turning thirty. But what?

Of course you already know, but stay tuned to find out how I came up with the idea.


Heading out to roller blade,

Almost Thirty

THE PROBLEM

Greetings,

You may be wondering what prompted me to decide to run a marathon. So, I'll try to explain over the next few entries, starting with this one...

As I stated in MY VERY FIRST BLOG, it seems that there is a consensus among the late-twenty-something cohort that turning thirty is the onset of some type of terminal illness. Turning thirty is a guaranteed panic attack just waiting to happen. Turning thirty is the official end of youthfulness. And if you're a woman (like me), and you're still single (like me), with no children (like me), you're a prime candidate to be taken behind the stables and put out of your misery.

For some reason, we have been conditioned to feel this way. I've seen it time and time again: women, and men for that matter, get depressed and sulk as this milestone birthday approaches.

Although I am very aware of this sentiment, I can't help but to think that I may have been subconsciously programmed to feel the same way. I don't know when it's triggered, this feeling of utter hopelessness and doom that creeps up from below and tries to pull us down. But I won't wait for it in fear. I plan to face the beast head on, with a weapon I call active denial. What's active denial? Stay tuned...


Off to bed now,

Almost Thirty

THE BOTTOM LINE

Marathon to 30!

Greetings,

So, here it is: As July 15th (my twenty-eighth birthday) quickly approaches, I am seriously considering to begin training for a Marathon. Yes, you read correctly! A marathon! 26.22 miles! 42.195 kilometers! 138,441.6 feet!

Training, which will begin the week of my birthday, will be a marathon in itself: 104 weeks of preparation. It's not a sprint, because I'm in no hurry; and it's not a competitive race, because this is a personal journey; and my goal isn't the finish line, because completing a marathon AND turning 30 will be a new beginning for me.

My plans are still under construction, as I will be researching running literature (for beginners), marathons, training schedules, and etc. over the next few days. In the meantime, I guess I should fill you in on things like how and why I decided to run a marathon, who or what is my inspiration, what are my goals, and why blog about it. Stay tuned for the answers to all of these inquiries and more.


Getting ready to hit the hay,

Almost Thirty

MY VERY FIRST BLOG

DISCLAIMER: This is officially my first blog, so please bear with me.

Greetings,

In exactly two weeks, I will be celebrating another year of life on this earth. And it's always about this time that people begin to remind me that I have a birthday coming up, promptly followed by, "How old will you be?" Then, comes my not-so-prompt response, "Twenty-eight." Of the eight or nine people who have asked so far, ALL of them have had the same type of reaction, "Wow! Twenty-eight. You're getting old...you're almost thirty!" As if it's the end of the world and everything goes down-hill from there.

Since when is hitting the Big 3-0 the onset of some sort of terminal illness? It is this question that has led me to my latest journey and this blog. Hang on and stay tuned to find out what it's all about...


Tired from working out tonight,

Almost Thirty