Back in Training

Today was my first day back.

Insanity The Asylum, 49 mins

Quick one miler, 8 mins

In horrible shape, but getting back in it!

Now only if my diet were clean.

Back in Session!

I know I didn't mention this earlier, but my final official time for the 2012 Chicago Marathon was 3:19.  Three hours and nineteen minutes.  Not bad!

A 28 minutes improvement from last year.

Here are some pictures!

Chicago Marathon Tomorrow!

I know, I know!  I haven't posted in a long time.  But I promise you it's not because I've ignored running--no, on the contrary:  I've been running stronger and faster than ever this past month! 

I haven't posted because I've been focusing on this club I'm starting here at the University of Chicago.  My little baby I need to cradle in its infancy.

But in light of the great event tomorrow:

Tomorrow, the knells shall ring with all their hearts--but their deathly portent shall be softly eclipsed by the early morning rise and reverberations of fabric and synthetic rubbers methodically pounding on the pavements of the Chicagoland with their promise of long-term cardiovascular exercise and sought-for pain.

Haven't Posted in a While

I've got about t-minus 5 weeks to go before the big Chicago Marathon.  

I've basically fulfilled my St. Jude charity commitment, so I'm happy there.

And one more thing.

I love distance running.  I love running for miles at a time.  Why?  Because you can start slow and feel horrible.  But around mile 4 or 5, it gets better.  The legs begin to pump.  The lungs flare up with oxygen at a calm rhythm.  And then you're good to go.  For miles.

Because that's the thing.  In a run that's 10 miles long, you can stumble and fumble for the first few miles, but you have to have the courage and the strength to keep putting one leg after the other until you're ready to do your best.

It just takes a while sometimes.

This is the biggest lesson I've learned this Summer while training.  To just keep going.  To ignore that voice in your head that continues to murmur, "I'm not ready."  Because you'll get there.  You just have to keep gonig.

Mo Farah Blog: Mo Farah Running Away from Things

This is one of the most hilarious blogs about running I've ever encountered:

http://mofarahrunningawayfromthings.tumblr.com/

Here's an example:

Back in Houston: The Real Training Begins

Date	Workout	Mileage	Time (Minutes)	Comments on Workouts
8/11/2012	Insanity Asylum, Speed and Agility, + 4 miles	4	80	GREAT.  I can't do speed training anymore :[
8/12/2012	Insanity Asylum, Strength + 6 miles	6	90	Strength felt great, although I now know what it feels like to be a true blue runner.  No muscle
8/13/2012	Yoga X + 4 miles	4	110	OMG, WHY?  MY LEGS HURT!

So this has been my workout schedule for the past three days.  As you can see, mileage has significantly decreased, but time and intensity has significantly increased.

This is all part of my new phase in training.  Building strength, power, and endurance in my overall body--especially my legs because they need more plyometrics training to increase their elasticity (their ability to quickly strike the ground and spring back up like a rubber band).  The greater elasticity in the legs, the easier it will be for me to keep a swift/fast pace especially in the last 6-8 miles of the marathon, when muscles are tired and worn out).

I'll be sacrificing mileage for now, until around two weeks from now, when I should be able to hit 8-10 miles immediately after an insanity workout, if not completely do away with insanity workouts and just do general strength and add more mileage.

Inspirational Quotes: Running and Hitting the Pavement

Two great quotes to keep you going when you're feeling under the weather or second-guessing yourself about your up coming run of the day:

Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don't so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head.  

Joe Henderson, running coach and author 

If one can stick to the training throughout the many long years, then will power is no longer a problem. It's raining? That doesn't matter. I am tired? That's besides the point. It's simply that I just have to. 

Emil Zatopek, Olympic runner 

Get these daily quotes from Runner's World Running Quote of the Day.