Day 27C--Official Start

Yesterday was the official start to my marathon training. No running, but lots and lots of information. This also seemed like a really good time to get some baseline measurements. These will be the numbers to which I compare my measurements in October.

I currently weight 140.9 pounds, which makes my BMI 24.96. That puts my BMI within the "healthy weight" range, but on the higher end of it. A BMI of 25 is considered "overweight" I would like my BMI to be closer to 21, which makes my goal weight about 119 pounds.

Waist: 32 inches
Hips: 40 inches

My waist to hip ratio is .80, which puts me in the healthy range. That means I'm not at an increased risk for heart disease and diabetes.


Calf: 13
Thigh: 22
Wrist: 6

I found a site that allows you to determine you body fat percentage without any specialized tests. It just uses the measurements here to calculate. I have 30% body fat. 42.3 Pounds of fat and 98.7 Pounds of lean (muscle, bone, body water). Again, it's in the healthy range, but on the higher end.

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.

Inspiring Person #18

Cliff Young. He was an ultra-marathoner who set a record in the Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathon at age 61, despite the skepticism of his much younger, higher tech competitors. He maintained a 4 mph pace over 5 1/2 days straight. His shuffle style of running has been adopted by Ultra-marathoners and is dubbed the Young Shuffle.

Inspiring Person #17

Sam Robson. He ran his first ever marathon in London on April 17th of this year. He finished in 3:45, which works out to about 7 mph. After that was done, he ran the 99 miles to his house. His overall average for the entire 125 mile journey was 4.6 mph. He did all this to raise $5,000 for the UK Epilepsy Society.

Day 25C--Missed goals

I didn't run at all this weekend. It's been over a week since my last run. Not good. I just found out my official schedule for my marathon training and I still think I'm ok, even without last week's run. The schedule wants me to run 30-45 minutes on the 2nd & 4th of May and then run 3 miles on the 7th. I can do that without issues. I'm supposed to do some non-impact cross-training on the 1st, 3rd & 5th of May. My options for those non-running days are weight lifting, cycling, rowing and yoga. I think I'll be able to handle that, too. I should really add some yoga or even pilates to my workout to strengthen my core and improve my flexibility. I'm sure that will help with my running.

Inspiring Person #16

Doris Schertz. She won the F70-74 at Boston this week. Her time was 4:28:23. This is the 2nd consecutive year the 72-year-old won her age category in the famous race. This after having knee surgery in December.

Inspiring Person #15

Tammy Duckworth lost the lower part of both legs from injuries sustained on November 12, 2004, when the Black Hawk helicopter she was co-piloting was hit by a rocket propelled grenade. The explosion almost completely destroyed her right arm, breaking it in three places and tearing tissue from the back side of it. In 2008 and 2009, she completed the Chicago Marathon. Her time in 2008 was 2:26.