I finished my first marathon, the Triple Lakes Race in Greensboro, NC, last Saturday. The race report is here.
I'm still a bit stiff, so I've signed up for a chair massage at work tomorrow, and am looking forward to that! My knee (which I FELL on) and my blisters are slower to heal than I'd like, but I do feel some improvement.
I'm beginning to feel like doing some of the things I've been neglecting during marathon training and initial recovery, like cleaning at home, sorting through mail, and other domestic things. I still can't stay awake very long to read in bed at night, as I'm still pretty bushed. My body's healing, though, I can feel it. My mind is also on the mend. It took me nearly 11 hours to finish the race, a long time on my legs, AND a long time by myself, where I get downright lonely--and bored out of my skull! The next marathon I'll be running, Outer Banks, is a bigger race, AND it allows headsets. Also, George has decided to run the Outer Banks Marathon with me! (Woohoo!)
I'm eager to recover quickly so I can finish training for the Outer Banks race, where I hope to clock a big improvement!
Showing posts with label marathon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marathon. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Busy End to Summer
It's hard to believe it's the end of the last weekend of summer! Wow! Life has been busy, mostly with marathon training, smattered with a couple of recent road races. We also celebrated George's grandfather's 95th birthday in August, which included dinner at the Angus Barn (very nice!).
Running this summer, especially training for the marathon, has taught me a lot about myself. I recently completed a 20 miler, and while my body was wiped out, it was a nice feeling of accomplishment. I'm still pretty slow, so I've been working on speeding up, with some results. It's also been good mental training for "long haul" stuff, as it's been tempting sometimes to quit and make it s shorter run.
I've been trying to read more this summer, though I've discovered recently that I have to take a break from books about running! Thinking about running, training, sleep and nutrition, it's on my mind almost constantly, so I need my reading to be a diversion, something to give my brain a break! Once I have fall racing behind me, one of the books I hope to read is Born to Run.
Speaking of reading, just last week I rediscovered the website Bookcrossing.com, a way to recycle used books and follow a book's travels around the country or the globe. I have so many paperback books at home that I haven't read, so this should be motivation to read them and start "releasing" them! I've already ordered my first batch of bookplates and sticky notes from the BookCrossing store (though it's not necessary to do so), and am looking forward to getting going again with this little project. My BookCrossing profile is here.
Between marathon training, reading, and life in general, I haven't been watching much television this summer, and most of the time, I don't miss it! I'd be surprised if I've watched a total of two hours of TV all summer! Hard to believe. :) Of course, I've spent more time on the computer, some of it doing research on running, genealogy, and other things.
I'm looking forward to fall, for sure. Happy First Day of Fall on Tuesday!
Running this summer, especially training for the marathon, has taught me a lot about myself. I recently completed a 20 miler, and while my body was wiped out, it was a nice feeling of accomplishment. I'm still pretty slow, so I've been working on speeding up, with some results. It's also been good mental training for "long haul" stuff, as it's been tempting sometimes to quit and make it s shorter run.
I've been trying to read more this summer, though I've discovered recently that I have to take a break from books about running! Thinking about running, training, sleep and nutrition, it's on my mind almost constantly, so I need my reading to be a diversion, something to give my brain a break! Once I have fall racing behind me, one of the books I hope to read is Born to Run.
Speaking of reading, just last week I rediscovered the website Bookcrossing.com, a way to recycle used books and follow a book's travels around the country or the globe. I have so many paperback books at home that I haven't read, so this should be motivation to read them and start "releasing" them! I've already ordered my first batch of bookplates and sticky notes from the BookCrossing store (though it's not necessary to do so), and am looking forward to getting going again with this little project. My BookCrossing profile is here.
Between marathon training, reading, and life in general, I haven't been watching much television this summer, and most of the time, I don't miss it! I'd be surprised if I've watched a total of two hours of TV all summer! Hard to believe. :) Of course, I've spent more time on the computer, some of it doing research on running, genealogy, and other things.
I'm looking forward to fall, for sure. Happy First Day of Fall on Tuesday!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
100 Day Challenge for Better Health
I'm now on Day 9 of the 100 Day Challenge I started for myself to work on healthy habits. I was inspired a bit by the book 100 Days of Weight Loss: The Secret to Being Successful on Any Diet Plan, a book I'm reading through in chunks. I decided not to follow the book, day by day, because I want to develop all-around good habits. Of course, I want to lose weight along the way too! :) The book has some pretty good ideas, but I'm glad I borrowed it from the library.
So, I'm tracking the following things, with the goal of doing them daily:
1) Weigh in
2) Take a multivitamin
3) Drink 64 oz of water
4) Sleep
5) Floss
I'm recording my weight, as well as hours of sleep, no matter what the numbers are. I've also got a comments section, where I put things like "ate at ____ Restaurant last night" or "meeting after work," in hopes that I can see patterns over time that will help me be healthier.
One of the motivators in this is that I'm training for my first marathon, and being ready means doing all I can to be healthier. The exercise is easy for me to do, and I'm already recording that in a paper log, as well as several online exercise logs. (Wierd, but there's a reason! The paper log goes with me to the gym. The various online exercise logs have different features I like a lot, whether it's tracking shoes, neat graphs, or social networking. I haven't been able to give up one of them yet!)
So far, I have a perfect score in every column for the first 8 days. I'm still working on going across the board for today. Things I've learned so far:
1) Something close to 7 hours of sleep is optimal for me, but I'm not good about getting it.
2) It's easier for me to drink more water during the work week.
3) Flossing any time of day is good. If I floss in the morning, sometimes I floss again at night. All the better, right? I think my dentist and dental hygienist will be pleased, come August, if I keep that up. I've gotten the flossing lecture during my last two visits to the dental hygienist. I haven't had a cavity in ages, but I don't want to tooth ache to interfere with my marathon training!
I'm keeping track of this on a spreadsheet, which I uploaded to Google Docs, so I can add to it wherever I am. I numbered Days 1-100 down the lefthand side, and have the five goals in column headers across the top, along with a comments column.
So far, so good.
So, I'm tracking the following things, with the goal of doing them daily:
1) Weigh in
2) Take a multivitamin
3) Drink 64 oz of water
4) Sleep
5) Floss
I'm recording my weight, as well as hours of sleep, no matter what the numbers are. I've also got a comments section, where I put things like "ate at ____ Restaurant last night" or "meeting after work," in hopes that I can see patterns over time that will help me be healthier.
One of the motivators in this is that I'm training for my first marathon, and being ready means doing all I can to be healthier. The exercise is easy for me to do, and I'm already recording that in a paper log, as well as several online exercise logs. (Wierd, but there's a reason! The paper log goes with me to the gym. The various online exercise logs have different features I like a lot, whether it's tracking shoes, neat graphs, or social networking. I haven't been able to give up one of them yet!)
So far, I have a perfect score in every column for the first 8 days. I'm still working on going across the board for today. Things I've learned so far:
1) Something close to 7 hours of sleep is optimal for me, but I'm not good about getting it.
2) It's easier for me to drink more water during the work week.
3) Flossing any time of day is good. If I floss in the morning, sometimes I floss again at night. All the better, right? I think my dentist and dental hygienist will be pleased, come August, if I keep that up. I've gotten the flossing lecture during my last two visits to the dental hygienist. I haven't had a cavity in ages, but I don't want to tooth ache to interfere with my marathon training!
I'm keeping track of this on a spreadsheet, which I uploaded to Google Docs, so I can add to it wherever I am. I numbered Days 1-100 down the lefthand side, and have the five goals in column headers across the top, along with a comments column.
So far, so good.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
I Did It!
Last night I woke up in the middle of the night, and couldn't go back to sleep. Part of what was on my mind, was trying to decide between running a half marathon and a full marathon, and using it as a fundraier for the Ronald McDonald House of Durham. The fundraiser thing I knew I wanted to do, despite the economic woes in our area and across the country and world. (Children still get sick enough to need hospital care, and their families still need a place to stay!)
I decided that since my church did a gutsy thing this past Sunday by giving out envelopes to everyone in the congregation with cash to return to the community, that I could do something gutsy with the money I received ($20). I'd definitely decided to put it toward my fundraising goal, but when I couldn't get back to sleep about 2:00 this morning, I decided that shooting for the marathon was what I need to do. I just need to do it. So, I got up, fired up the laptop, and registered for the Outer Banks Marathon on November 8! Half marathons are a fun--and still challenging distance for me, but I decided I needed to stretch myself and shoot for the marathon distance. At this point, my stomach has butterflies, but it's a goal I need to put into motion now.
I signed up for an account with FirstGiving.com, and it was really easy to set up a fundraising page for my marathon-running, Ronald McDonald House compaign. My goal is to raise $500! I hope I can do it in these tough economic times. Check the page out here to stay posted.
If any readers have run the OBX Marathon, or can recommend a hotel, I'd love to hear from you!
I decided that since my church did a gutsy thing this past Sunday by giving out envelopes to everyone in the congregation with cash to return to the community, that I could do something gutsy with the money I received ($20). I'd definitely decided to put it toward my fundraising goal, but when I couldn't get back to sleep about 2:00 this morning, I decided that shooting for the marathon was what I need to do. I just need to do it. So, I got up, fired up the laptop, and registered for the Outer Banks Marathon on November 8! Half marathons are a fun--and still challenging distance for me, but I decided I needed to stretch myself and shoot for the marathon distance. At this point, my stomach has butterflies, but it's a goal I need to put into motion now.
I signed up for an account with FirstGiving.com, and it was really easy to set up a fundraising page for my marathon-running, Ronald McDonald House compaign. My goal is to raise $500! I hope I can do it in these tough economic times. Check the page out here to stay posted.
If any readers have run the OBX Marathon, or can recommend a hotel, I'd love to hear from you!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Life is a Highway
This weekend I've been thinking about how much I'm enjoying reading again. I'm soaking up more books than usual, and it's been an interesting ride!
I think it started as a desire to reclaim my bookshelves at home, which are overflowing with books, many of them checked out from the university library where I work. My unit processes many of the incoming books, and as I see titles that look interesting, I put a request on them, and they land in my chair or box at work, checked out to me, even! My current due date for most of them is in May 2009, so unless one of them gets recalled, there's no pressing deadline. Thankfully, I've recently picked up the pace on my own, reading several books at a time (nothing unusual there), and actually finishing several.
Of course, more reading means less time on other things. Right now, I'd say reading time is being taken from away from computer and television time, not a bad thing! Other than being sick the past few days, my exercise time (which is non-negotiable when I'm well) hasn't suffered.
I have been wondering a bit about what my next big time shift will be. Sometimes life has a way of dictating that, but most of the time I tend to feel like I'm in the driver's seat of my life. As I wind down my last active year as a Junior League member (which ends in May) and as a Worship Associate at church (which ends in August), I'm thinking that next "school year" will be a great time to pick up something new. Some things I've been thinking about include training for a marathon, learning a martial art and working my way up the belt ladder, and learning how to knit or crochet. I think that the marathon training and knitting could be worked before then, but the martial arts classes would take more time than I'm willing to commit right now. Still, all three potential interests I've mentioned are things I've been thinking about for a while and just haven't been able to shake. (Ever get that way?)
I think it started as a desire to reclaim my bookshelves at home, which are overflowing with books, many of them checked out from the university library where I work. My unit processes many of the incoming books, and as I see titles that look interesting, I put a request on them, and they land in my chair or box at work, checked out to me, even! My current due date for most of them is in May 2009, so unless one of them gets recalled, there's no pressing deadline. Thankfully, I've recently picked up the pace on my own, reading several books at a time (nothing unusual there), and actually finishing several.
Of course, more reading means less time on other things. Right now, I'd say reading time is being taken from away from computer and television time, not a bad thing! Other than being sick the past few days, my exercise time (which is non-negotiable when I'm well) hasn't suffered.
I have been wondering a bit about what my next big time shift will be. Sometimes life has a way of dictating that, but most of the time I tend to feel like I'm in the driver's seat of my life. As I wind down my last active year as a Junior League member (which ends in May) and as a Worship Associate at church (which ends in August), I'm thinking that next "school year" will be a great time to pick up something new. Some things I've been thinking about include training for a marathon, learning a martial art and working my way up the belt ladder, and learning how to knit or crochet. I think that the marathon training and knitting could be worked before then, but the martial arts classes would take more time than I'm willing to commit right now. Still, all three potential interests I've mentioned are things I've been thinking about for a while and just haven't been able to shake. (Ever get that way?)
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