Biggest Liar

A few weeks ago I spoke in a post about how wonderful I found the television show, Biggest Loser. While I am not extremely overweight, I still connected with these people and found them very inspiring.

I was particularly inspired last night when the latest person eliminated ran a marathon in 3:53, according to the caption on the screen. He was so proud of himself and he said he feels so good that he can run a marathon side by side with his wife.

The problem... he cheated.

The producers of the show picked the couple up and gave them a lift, apparently because the crew was on a tight schedule and the couple was running too slow. They crossed the finish line in 5:53 and accepted finisher's medals. According to reports around the internet they were driven for at least three miles.

A disgrace.

I saw the finish time posted on the screen and was duped into thinking that this man could do it. I was impressed that he was able to get such a great time, and it made me feel good, because sub 4 is my goal for my first marathon in November. (I am still impressed that he has achieved so much weight loss and fitness, but I have lost a little respect for him and a lot for the show.)

Various blogs have been covering this, some of whom even ran that same marathon. It is good to point out that the race director DQ'd him and his wife and they are not listed in the results.

I do not care what kind of deal I have with some show... if they wanted me to cheat at something I would have to say no.

Something Inside Me

There is something in me that wants more. I do not tell anyone about this... I have just been discovering it myself over the last few months. I want more. I want to push my limits of human endurance and go as far as I can.

People would think that I am crazy. I have never ran more than 7 miles at a time... yet. I have only done two 5k's and nothing more... not yet. My first marathon will be in November, if the Lord is willing, but I already want more than that.

I want to cycle further, run further, swim further. I want to push the limits every day.

Many people look at a marathoner, ultra marathoner, or triathlete and they are amazed, or confused, or inspired. I see these athletes testing the entire idea of human endurance and I want it too. I want that and more.

Am I crazy? Will I ever be able to do it? How bad do I want it?

I want it... I want it more than an expensive new car or loads of jewelery. I do not watch the "pretty" people on TV and long to have their celebrity lifestyle. I look at the athletes and I want to share their journey and their pain and their success.

I want it... something inside me wants it more than anything else.

Damn I am Weak

So this week I started doing core exercises. I have always known that I am not as strong as I should be. I decided it is time to get stronger so that I can be a better runner and not be so worn out all the time.

I discovered that I am far weaker than I thought. I was doing some planks, side planks, superman, and leg lifts...

I could barely hold these positions for 15 seconds. Holy Cow! I was shaking and struggling just to do these moves. No wonder I feel so weak... because I am!

At least now I know where I am at. I will continue with these exercises and watch myself as I get stronger. Hopefully this will help me improve not only my running, but also my day to day posture.

Registered!

Registration finally opened for the Broad Street Run today! I do not know if it is normal to feel this excited about just signing up for a race, but I never claimed to be normal.

I think it will hold true that once you sign up then you have more motivation to stick with your training plan. I am ready to tackle this and excited to train hard for what will be my first major race.

Yesterday's run went very well too. Even though it was a little less than expected I felt good for the entire run and it really makes me feel that I will do good in May if I stick with my plan.

Oh man I can not wait!

The Wait Is Killing Me

I started my training for the Broad Street Run this week, and although I have gotten off to a slow start I must say that the suspense is killing me.

Not the suspense of race day quickly creeping up on me... but the suspense of signing up for it.

The website says that registration begins in mid-February. They have updated the site for this year, but registration is not open yet. I keep checking almost every day because I am so anxious to sign up.

Hurry up people! It is mid February already!

What Have I Been Doing

I have not posted in almost a week. I also have not ran in almost a week.

Sunday night, after that incredible run I had in the morning, I started feeling some pain in my legs. I decided to rest for a couple of days and then do a real easy run Wednesday morning to see how they feel. I want to make sure that I am good to start my Broad Street training and stay injury free.

Well Wednesday morning brought 8 inches of snow in my area. South Jersey got anywhere from four inches and some people have told me areas got even more than eight. So my Wednesday morning was spent shoveling snow rather than running. The good thing is that my legs felt good even after shoveling for two hours, and there was really no pain in the legs all week.

Today I will do an easy three. I decided to wait until the afternoon since the weather is warming up today, and I have a feeling that this run will be pretty nice in 40+ degrees and a nice change from the teens we felt all week.

Other than that, I finally made a set in stone training plan for the Broad Street Run. I used Smart Coach at Runners World to give me two different training plans and then I mixed in elements of both to create a nice one that I am comfortable with. I start next week and hopefully end with the race on May 3rd.

So now it is time to catch up on blogs that I read. I am having running and blogging withdrawal so you will probably see another post from me this afternoon or evening.

Long Run, Negative Splits

Today I ran my long run a little harder than I was supposed to. Despite that it felt really good even though it started pretty bad.

I woke early and could not get out the door. The one day I finally have motivation and I am ready to go, and the bowels start talking to me. After a couple trips to the bathroom I finally got outside.

My legs felt pretty tight, and I was still a little worried about my stomach. I took my time warming up and did not go very far from my house at first. I decided to take it extremely slow, and after a little bit I was feeling better.

Before the end of the first mile I was feeling great and had picked up my pace. I knew that I would be doing five miles today. I decided, on the fly, to try to get it in under an hour. Last time it took me 1:05:41.

Something clicked in me. I was feeling great and just floating down the road. My mind was racing with everything except the run. I was thinking about my writing, my job, my future. I was daydreaming about the marathon and my mind was just wandering all over the place. The last mile I had a good song playing and really picked it up.

When I got home and looked at the data in my Forerunner, I was surprised by the splits. 12:18, 12:16, 11:50, 11:22, 10:41. A total time of 58:29.

My legs feel great, my mind is clear and I am feeling awesome right now. This is the first time I had a run where every spilt was negative!

Now if I can carry this run into the rest of the day, and through the beginning of the week...

Am I Ready?

I had a very humbling run yesterday. It was only two miles, but one of the worst I have had in a long time.

I went after work, and although it had been a while since I ate, I did have a couple of my wife's onion rings before heading out. I did not think that would be a big deal. During the run I was cramping in my side, could that be from only a couple of onion rings? I could not run properly and no matter what I did I could not get into a proper rhythm.

Next week starts my training for the Broad Street Run. After my run yesterday the plan I have seems a little too ambitious. Will I even be able to do some of the training runs that it has planned for me? Will I have a good run after the thirteen weeks of training? Will I even make it through the thirteen weeks of training?

I know that this is a mental block that a lot of runners get, but it is making me think. I have two more "free runs" before training starts next week. I am running an easy three tomorrow and a long four or five on Sunday. I think while running these runs I will be reviewing my training plan and maybe making some tweaks to it.

I do not want my training to be so easy that it does nothing for me and I have a bad run... but I also do not want it to be so advanced that I set myself up for injury and failure.

Almost A Run In The Snow

Last night I was excited to see snow in the forecast. I was hoping to wake early and run in the peaceful setting of the moonlight reflecting off the fresh powder.

I woke up and it was raining. There was snow everywhere, as expected, but it was now turning into a slushy mess. It still looked nice outside so I suited up and went out. The conditions were not good for running.

Obviously the sidewalks were not shoveled yet, and the snow plows pushed all the snow from the road onto the shoulders. There was nowhere for me to run.

After trying to convince myself to run anyway, and at the same time convince myself not to run, I finally decided to put the run off until tomorrow and went back inside the house. But it was not all a waste.

I left my heart monitor on and started my Forerunner. I sat in the chair for a half hour and rested. I even drifted into a light sleep for a few minutes.

My resting heart rate hovered around 60 beats per minute, even getting as low as 58. When I first started running I measured my resting heart rate at 70-75 beats per minute. I think that is a pretty good improvement in only six months.

It is those little improvements that keep me motivated to run and try my best to improve even more!

Long Run Cheat

I usually do my long runs during the weekend. This past couple of days has been crazy so I decided to get my long run in this morning, but count it for the weekend. So I did not really cheat on my long run, I just cheated on when to include the miles, since I am a stat whore and wanted the six miles to be on last weeks total.

My main goal for this run was to keep a very slow and steady pace. I was aiming for six miles, which I have never done before, but told myself five would be fine.

I also did not want to listen to music on today's run and debated on whether I should listen to a podcast or just forget the ear buds altogether. I opted for a podcast called 4 Feet Running. This is a great podcast. They record on the run and in the studio, so most of the time I felt like they were running right beside me while talking. I definitely recommend it.

I think listening to their conversation helped me keep a slow steady pace and also entertained me while I ran.

As I neared my house I was a little short of six miles, but I was feeling great. I took an extra loop around some of the side streets so that I would hit six and still have enough distance to do a good cool down walk.

I love the feeling after a run, and it feels especially good after a long run. Today feels so much better than yesterday!