I know it's very hard to run a successful blog if you never actually blog. That being said I really hope my followers are still checking in on me...probably not.
I'm still running as much as I can and loving every step of it. I have also read some VERY motivating books over the last 5 months, which lead me to set certain goals for myself. Without sounding too selfish I'd just like to point out that my goals are about me and my levels of determination, physical and mental ability, and stubbornness. I have come to realize that without goals one just merely shrugs most ideas off and tends to say "I don't know" more times than what should be allowed. So let's all make goals and tell people about them so we feel as though we have witnesses...I mean people that will hold us accountable. Although I only recommend this if you're not worried about people "raining on your parade" so to speak. If someone wants to join me for a particular goal I'm cool with that, but they need to be able to adjust to my schedule and my pace. I don't ask for much!
I read five wonderful books over the summer months and the one that gave me the most motivation was RUN! by Dean Karnazes. I recommend this read to runners and non-runners because it's full of inspiration and motivation for everyone. Karnazes writes about his experiences, training, family, career, friends, and goals. He wrote about his training for the Western States and how he would run 10 miles before work every day of the week. At first I thought that sounded exhausting. I mean really? That's 50 miles in a single work week (not including weekend runs). FYI: While training for the Fargo Mini Marathon Bryan and I were averaging just over 30 miles in a single week, which included Saturday. So 50 miles in a week...Monday through Friday...before work...was I insane to consider doing this? Well lately I've barely been hitting the 20 mile mark for a single week. So yes I might be insane (most runners are) but what my brain originally processed as an exhausting task transformed into an achievable goal that I HAD to conquer!
Bryan recommended the 50 mile week start when he was on vacation. To my surprise he was interested in my goal (at first). I thought he was going to tell me I was insane, but that came later after he did a little research. Bryan tried explaining to me that according to Runners World magazine a runner should "never go above a 10-mile bump" and this goal might be out of our league.Well it was too late and I wasn't listening because I was already determined. However, just for the record I did state from the very beginning that I would try to run all five 10's, so if I failed at least I could say I tried. But you never try, you just do!
I thought of everything that could have gone wrong but I honestly didn't linger too much on the negative. I wanted to work hard for this and I expected to have sore legs, blisters, an aching back, and very limited company. I knew this was going to be a mental game with the biggest opponent being my stomach since it rarely ever cooperates. I have learned from past experiences that I can never leave home without a pocket full of toilet paper, so if my stomach were to betray me I was going to be prepared. Rest was also going to be key during the week and I knew I would have to make it to bed by 9 p.m. every night no matter what. I am not a ray of sunshine in the morning and in order to get each 10 mile run in before work I had to be running by 5 a.m. Another concern I had related to my poor hydration skills. Thankfully a recent purchase of a Nathan Hydration Pak eased that worry a bit. Then of course I had the weather as another opponent. However, the extended forecast looked good with morning temps in the 30's, no precipitation, and only a few days showing some stronger winds. Yahtzee!
I'm still running as much as I can and loving every step of it. I have also read some VERY motivating books over the last 5 months, which lead me to set certain goals for myself. Without sounding too selfish I'd just like to point out that my goals are about me and my levels of determination, physical and mental ability, and stubbornness. I have come to realize that without goals one just merely shrugs most ideas off and tends to say "I don't know" more times than what should be allowed. So let's all make goals and tell people about them so we feel as though we have witnesses...I mean people that will hold us accountable. Although I only recommend this if you're not worried about people "raining on your parade" so to speak. If someone wants to join me for a particular goal I'm cool with that, but they need to be able to adjust to my schedule and my pace. I don't ask for much!
I read five wonderful books over the summer months and the one that gave me the most motivation was RUN! by Dean Karnazes. I recommend this read to runners and non-runners because it's full of inspiration and motivation for everyone. Karnazes writes about his experiences, training, family, career, friends, and goals. He wrote about his training for the Western States and how he would run 10 miles before work every day of the week. At first I thought that sounded exhausting. I mean really? That's 50 miles in a single work week (not including weekend runs). FYI: While training for the Fargo Mini Marathon Bryan and I were averaging just over 30 miles in a single week, which included Saturday. So 50 miles in a week...Monday through Friday...before work...was I insane to consider doing this? Well lately I've barely been hitting the 20 mile mark for a single week. So yes I might be insane (most runners are) but what my brain originally processed as an exhausting task transformed into an achievable goal that I HAD to conquer!
Bryan recommended the 50 mile week start when he was on vacation. To my surprise he was interested in my goal (at first). I thought he was going to tell me I was insane, but that came later after he did a little research. Bryan tried explaining to me that according to Runners World magazine a runner should "never go above a 10-mile bump" and this goal might be out of our league.Well it was too late and I wasn't listening because I was already determined. However, just for the record I did state from the very beginning that I would try to run all five 10's, so if I failed at least I could say I tried. But you never try, you just do!
I thought of everything that could have gone wrong but I honestly didn't linger too much on the negative. I wanted to work hard for this and I expected to have sore legs, blisters, an aching back, and very limited company. I knew this was going to be a mental game with the biggest opponent being my stomach since it rarely ever cooperates. I have learned from past experiences that I can never leave home without a pocket full of toilet paper, so if my stomach were to betray me I was going to be prepared. Rest was also going to be key during the week and I knew I would have to make it to bed by 9 p.m. every night no matter what. I am not a ray of sunshine in the morning and in order to get each 10 mile run in before work I had to be running by 5 a.m. Another concern I had related to my poor hydration skills. Thankfully a recent purchase of a Nathan Hydration Pak eased that worry a bit. Then of course I had the weather as another opponent. However, the extended forecast looked good with morning temps in the 30's, no precipitation, and only a few days showing some stronger winds. Yahtzee!
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