Marathon Training--Take 2

Just like last year, I am starting marathon training. I weigh about 10 pounds less than I did last year. I didn't really realize that until just now, so that was a pleasant surprise. I also am a bit faster than I was last year, so I should end up in a faster pace group.

In addition to being faster and lighter than I was last year, I'm also mentally better prepared. Last year, I hoped/assumed the group could get me to the race. This year, I know they can, but also understand how important it is for me to listen to my body and put in the effort during the week. I can't rely on the Saturday long runs to get me to my goal. I need to run during the week and do all my cross-training. If you see the training widget on the bottom right side of my blog, you will see those miles increasing much more quickly than it has the last few months. I already rode my bike for 30 minutes yesterday and am ready to tackle my 30-45 minute run tonight. This is in addition to the physical therapy exercises that I do twice a day, every day. With all of that exercise and trying to plan a large fundraiser for the charity training me for the marathon, it feels like my entire day is all about running. I'm ok with that balance.

Day 29C--Charity Auction

This Mets fan package can be yours. Bidding starts at $35 and will run until the end of May on my blog, twitter and facebook. The package includes a pair of Mets FanMats for your car, 6 Mets handles, 2 Mets Robe Hangers, Shea Stadium Plaque, 2000 NL Champs Plaque and team plaque. The car mats are worth $30 and the 2000 plaque is currently $35 on eBay. The highest bidder's price will go to my marathon fund raising.

Day 26C--Water

I haven't been running in almost two weeks, but I have been working on my water intake. I am diligently making sure that I drink tons of liquid during the day. I have a reusable, BPA free bottle that has a reusable built-in ice pack next to the straw. It holds about 50 ounces and I try to drink a full bottle every day at work. The other 10-20 ounces that I should get during the day come from the milk in my cereal, tea and water with dinner. I really want to make the hydration habitual before I start training so it's one less thing that I have to worry about.

One thing I don't have to worry about any more is fund raising. I have raised enough to guarantee my spot in the marathon. Thank you to all who have donated. You rock. If you haven't donated already, please do. The money still goes to a great organization. My personal fund raising goal was $1,500, so I would love if I could hit that amount, but I'm not worrying about that.

Day 18C--Accomplishments

Part of me feels like I've bit off more than I can chew. Trying to raise at least $1,000 for charity and training to run 26.2 miles. Luckily, that's only part of me. Most of me thinks that I'm already making really good progress on these goals. I'm trying to listen to the optimistic parts, not the pessimistic thoughts.
I've already raised $680, so I'm 2/3 of the way to succeeding and I've only been at that for three weeks. I still have three months left to raise another $320. I'd like to raise more than $1,000, but will be happy to just secure my spot in the marathon. If I look at the figures I just laid out, I feel confident that I will have no problems hitting the bare minimum in plenty of time.
I've already increased my maximum run from 3.1 miles to 4 miles and then to 4.8 miles. I've been ignoring the 10% rule, but have been leaving plenty of time for rest between my runs and have been paying attention to every ache. The aches have not been bad at all and usually only occur the day after the long run as some muscle tightness. My official marathon training doesn't start for another three weeks and I'm already enjoying the long, outdoor runs. I feel like I'm already ahead of the point that is expected of me by the coaches. They've even said as much in some online messages.
It's much easier to listen to the negative voices, but it's getting easier to believe the positive ones. I need to remind myself that the negativity is BS and serves no purpose.

Day 13C--Running

I ran one mile yesterday, then walked a bit to cool down. I ran my mile in 9:57, which is right at the goal I set. I didn't run farther than that because I have a three mile run scheduled for Saturday morning. That will be my longest outside run this year. I will be running with a group of runners, which should help push me farther than the treadmill does.
I also figured out my resting heart rate yesterday, so I'll be updating that blog post with the new numbers.
My fund raising is still moving; received a donation online today and one offline. If anyone wants to send in a check as a donation, let me know and I can get you the details on how to do that.

Day 12C--running

I didn't run yesterday or Tuesday. This was not because of laziness, but because I don't want to over-train. The standard rule is that you only want to add 10% to your total miles each week. I'm probably going to exceed that with a short run today and a longer run on Saturday, but didn't want to double last week's numbers with a run Tuesday or Wednesday.
I do plan on running a little bit today, probably just a mile, maybe more. I'm hoping to run it in 10:00 or less, back to a pace that I had last year. I know I can't maintain that pace for more than one mile right now, but I think I could do it for one mile.
I'm getting closer on my fund raising goal. I'm at $550 of the $1,000 minimum needed. It's been 12 days since my first donation; at this pace, I should be good to go in another 10 days. I would really like to be safe in my fund raising before I begin the official training. I won't stop mentioning my run and asking for donations, but I won't be stressing about that any more.

Day 10C--extras

I found this a few weeks back. Despite its beauty, it's horrible. Please help me destroy it and help people who are living with it.

Day 8C--recovery

I didn't run at all yesterday. I'm still recovering from Wednesday's run. I keep putting Neosporin on my chafing injuries, but they still hurt, especially when I get soap in them. I wasn't sore or stiff at all yesterday, but I am today. My right hamstring is really tight and feels like it wants to cramp up. I hope I can get a run in tomorrow morning before the games begin.
I've been thinking about Elizabeth Taylor a lot the last few days. It's been hard to avoid all the news and pictures. I always loved her; she was beautiful and talented. Also admired her tenacity. She lost her husband in a plane crash, had tons of personal illness and lost a dear friend to AIDS. Her dedication to AIDS was early and unending. That became her passion, and keeping that in mind has been pushing me to ask for donations to my race, even though I hate doing that.
Sort of related to that, I want the dress she's wearing in this photo. I may hire my seamstress friends to make it for me as a prize for finishing the marathon.

Day 7C--Treadmill

Just as I had planned, I used the treadmills after work and ran a full 5K. I did pack some running clothes, but forgot my sports bra. I wasn't going to let that stop me, though. I may question that decision next time. I have some injuries suffered because of not wearing the proper equipment. I have some chafing on my arm and sides where my bra rubbed. I put some Neosporin on it today in the hopes that will help it heal. I may buy some diaper rash cream at lunch to see if that helps, too.
On the bright side, I ran 3.1 miles in 34:28 minutes, which is an 11:07 mile pace. That's my best pace this year and my longest distance since last summer. It's only two minutes slower than my race time last June, and better than my first 5K last April. I feel ok today, thanks to Jenni reminding me to take some Advil before bed last night. I was already starting to stiffen up and would have been in a bit of pain today without that.
On another good note, my fund raising is rolling along steadily. I'm at $300, or 30% of the minimum needed to guarantee my race entry. I'm trying to get some Twitter people with more followers to tweet my fund raising page, but no luck yet. I did have a friend post it on her facebook page, though.

Day 6C--Cold & Rain

I didn't run yesterday because it was cold & raining. The weather is equally bad today, but I brought running clothes to work, so I can use the dreaded treadmills. I don't totally hate treadmills, but they're not as enjoyable as running outside on the sidewalks. Treadmills help me with my pacing and speed, something I have a hard time with on sidewalks. I'm hoping that I can get in a full 5K tonight, regardless of my time. I feel like I need to start increasing my endurance a bit, with only 200 days until the marathon. I don't have any concrete reason for that feeling, just some fear that I won't be ready for the official training and thus the marathon. Now that I read it, 200 days seems like a really long way off.
My fund raising has stepped up a bit. I had raised about $85 when I went to bed last night and I'm now at $245. That's about 25% to my minimum to guarantee me a spot in the marathon and 16% of my goal. I don't like fund raising for the same reasons I don't like sales or collections. I don't like asking people for money or favors, and this combines both of them into one task. My efforts so far have been pretty passive; I've tweeted about the run and posted it as my facebook status. I've updated my avatars with T2EA images, my twitter profile with the donation link and made updates to my blog. The most active step I've taken is to create a note on facebook and tag people in it. I know I will have to be more active, but have four months to work up to that.