Boston Training: The Good, The Bad, The Stupid…

Boston is officially under three months away and I have amped up my training schedule slowly but surely.  When my friends are training for Marathons or ½ marathons they often ask me for my advice or how I have trained for specific distances.  Since my running consists of less than 4 years of experience and I am always in the hospital with a bowel obstruction or having surgery I am not sure I am the best person to ask…but I am always happy to help.

Pretty much sums it up....

Typically my response is to encourage them to look online and find a training plan that fits into their schedule and help them reach their goals (faster pace, longer distance, whatever).  If they tell me they want to train like I do I remind them that I am crazy but will give them some of my “trade secrets”.

1.          I have never followed a training plan.  With three children, one husband, two dogs, and recurring hospital stays I cannot consistently follow any training plan.  When you layer in my part time job teaching aerobics it really becomes tricky…trying to run 15 miles after teaching two Spinning classes is not something I can do on a regular basis.

2.         On any given day I am *READY* to run a marathon.  I may not be ready to have a BQ time but if I’m given 24 hours notice chances are I can pop out 26.2 miles…no problem (this is NOT sarcasm).

3.         When preparing for a marathon I am typically registered for 2 or 3 ultra marathons as well…my long runs are actually long races.  For example, the Boston Marathon is on April 15^th, 2013 my training “plan” includes running an 8 hour race on February 2^nd, and a full marathon on March 10^th.  

My general attitude towards maximum weekly mileage.

4.         To clarify, an 8 hour race is basically what it sounds like.  A bunch of crazy trail runners line up in freezing cold weather and try to run as many miles as they can in under 8 hours.  Whoever runs the furthest gets to win.  I am not classifying this effort as sane, but it certainly helps you get your long run in for the week.

Race Cartwheels...a must.

5. There are several things that I personally find especially helpful while in hardcore training mode.  I do a lot of weight lifting (Body Pump) and yoga (Body Flow), granted as an instructor in these programs getting paid to train offers a bit more incentive.  Additionally it keeps me strong and limber for when I need to do cartwheels at rest stops or headstands post race (and yes, these are necessary skills to demonstrate at races).

Always SQUEEZE YOUR BUTT!!!!
It's just a good idea =)

6.         Speed and hill work are always on my list of must-dos.  Usually my idea of a speed workout is to go on a 10-12 mile run and sprint for ½ a mile and then jog slowly for a mile.  As for hill work I get on the Step Mill/Gauntlet at the gym for 60 minutes and try to climb 7-8 miles of stairs, it is not easy but it makes for a strong butt.  Lately I have been reading a lot of articles saying that runners get a lot of injuries due to weak glutes, I hope to not have that problem.

The law of my run.  Single track trail, slowest runner in front of me
will NOT let me pass.  No speed work today.

7.         Lastly my general philosophy goes along the lines of: just because you’re training for a 10K does not mean that you cannot follow a ½ marathon schedule.  When I train my goal is to increase my ability to run longer distances a little faster over time…without getting hurt.

It has taken me almost four years to get where I am and I have no clue what I am doing.  Essentially I have learned to run through trial and error, asking my running friends for advice, and a whole lot of research and reading.  I have tried a lot of different methods and strategies and have finally found what works for me. 

I love to run really really far and as I get stronger my speed gets faster.  My advice is to do what feels good for you and if it hurts...don’t do it. One thing I always remind myself when I start to overdo is that I would like to be able to run for a very long time.  It’s my happy place and I pray I will be doing it into my 80’s…and yes, I realize I will eventually have to scale back my training.

Good luck!

What’s your next race?

Do you follow Hal Higdon or one of the other popular training plans?

Which have you found to be the most effective?

Take Thanksgiving Back!

Thanksgiving….

Lately I have really been feeling sorry for poor old decrepit Thanksgiving. 

It’s not really a spend LOADS of money holiday except for the whole Black Friday extravaganza it’s more of an eat LOADS of food kind of holiday and as a nation we are supposed to be frowning on that behavior…so what should we do with Thanksgiving?

I have an amazing idea (of course I will probably be the only to think so):

Why don’t we put all of the sales circulars down, close all of the stores, and spend time with our family to give thanks for all that we have rather than buying a bunch of junk that we don’t even need.

Oh, yeah…that is what the holiday IS about.

I am Thankful for Cartwheels at mile 26 :-)

This year on Thanksgiving morning I went for a 15.5 mile run and listened to Avalon, Andy Griffith (uh huh….hymns baby), and even to Wee Sing Bible Songs.  Do you know what????  I have a lot to be thankful for.  1 Thessalonians 5:18 reminds us “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  By the way, this is so NOT going to be a sermon, just a little reminder.

People say to me all the time that they have no idea how I do it, how I keep on keeping on after everything.  Comments are made about how they would have lost faith and jumped off of a bridge eons ago, so why is it that I am the one talking continuously about counting my blessings?  It’s because no matter how you look at my life or my circumstances, it’s true, I am blessed and reminded of those blessings…in big ways and small, sometimes through sheer agony and others through sheer joy.

If Grace had been born with the ability to see, to me she would always be Amazing Grace…but to everyone else she would be that sweet little Gracie Hammett.  Through God’s Grace I got to travel a journey with my child that few mothers will ever experience, I was able to watch my blind child learn to see.   I was there for her when she could not see and I was there the exact moment she was touched, that God put the gift of vision into her and enabled her to see.  Are you counting yet?

How it feels to count your blessings!

 

OH YES!

When baby Sarah was born asleep I honestly thought I would never recover.  After 50 hours of labor with every conceivable complication known to mankind I thought I had seen the worst, but less than 7 weeks later I very accidentally (and excitedly) found myself pregnant with one of the most amazing gifts I will ever know, my sweet and perfect Ella Jordan.  With Grace being blind, my pregnancy with Sarah was an experience in hope…I hoped and prayed for a child with sight, God chose to give Grace the ability to see and helped me to learn that all children are a blessing born or unborn.  Sarah helped me to learn that life is precious; sight, sound, touch and smell are just added bonuses.

After an 18 week miscarriage, postpartum hemorrhage/hysterectomy and breast cancer am I am still counting my blessings…heck yes!

I will pick these guys over a TV everytime!

 

They probably want the TV though.

Cancer gave me running and without Clara there would have been no Postpartum Hemorrhage or TRUE appreciation for blood donors.  On some base level I would have known donors were awesome…but now I now know exactly why.  They take an hour out of their day doing what they think is right not knowing who they are going to help.  In my case they helped a woman who had just delivered her fifth child, her third living child and who REALLY needed to stay alive to enjoy the fruits of her labor.  Now I am even blessed by strangers. 

As I look around on a daily basis life has really turned out OK.  It’s an entirely a different life than I had ever planned on living.  I never thought that I would live in an area that I do not like for so long but my husband is happy at his job and there are a lot of nice places to run.  So I have to look at living here, far from my family in that light, there is always a positive spin if we choose to find it. 

Black Friday Shopping is FUN!!!!!!!

So, let’s take Thanksgiving back.  Let’s not even start shopping until the Monday after (yeah, Scrooge I hear you)!  Is just amazes me that everyone yaks around the Thanksgiving table expounding upon their blessings, hops up from the table while scraping the last of the dessert off their plate, to wait in line to save $200 on a 60 inch television that they do not need (sorry folks, no one needs one). 

Seriously, take a few days and think about it.  Maybe even make a list.

Do you know that I ran A LOT (and for me to say a lot, be very scared of what my Garmin mileage reads) over this break and even with all of my running I did not have enough time to truly realize all of the gifts I already have?  That’s correct; lying in bed last night I was still rolling them out…

Thanks.

 
What are you thankful for?

Did you brave the crowds and save loads of money?

What is your favorite Thanksgiving memory?