WARM WEATHER

As the final weekend of October wrapped up, a week of gloomy weather came to an end. For the last few days of the week it was completely miserable here in Missouri. It rained for maybe 3 days straight, which made it very hard to run, and we were confined to the stuffy, crowded indoor gym.
The weekend however was gorgeous! It was the ideal weather for autumn. However, it was also a holiday weekend which meant there was going to be a lot of celebrating that took priority over running...for now. Yes, i know that if i want to stick strong to my goals i can't make excuses for not running, i have to do it no matter what. But when the town explodes because a world series championship, and halloween is just days away, it's really hard to want to run instead of celebrate. But somehow i managed to do both.
After a spur of the moment decision to drive to Champaign, and a night of wild world series dancing, i still did two 4 mile runs this weekend. Mostly these runs helped me recover from the weekend because they were pretty relaxed, but they did keep me endurance from dipping down.
Although the weekend didn't raise my endurance or strength of running, i did have an important realization. I have decided that while the weekend was fun and party filled, looking back i don't think that i will be drinking very much anymore. I realize that i still will go out and have fun, but i'm going to start doing it sans alcohol. I just think that i need to start following up my serious attitude and talk about this marathon, with serious actions that reflect how passionate i really am.

RUNNING BUDDY

Today I’m sore. I always find that it’s harder to get yourself up and running when your sore. I mean, you feel so accomplished. You feel that there is a reason behind your pain, and that you worked so hard to reach the point of soreness your at, that your vindicated out of a day of running. That is how I feel today.
I recently found myself a highly motivating running partner. My roommate allison has become my number one training partner for all this marathon business. We are actually trying to run the Spirit of Saint Louis marathon in April as a team with all the field hockey girls, but Allison is the only other person as serious about this goal as i am. So far we've only been training seriously for a few days, but she's doing a great job of pushing me....actually, she is the one mostly responsible for the incredible amount of soreness i feel today. We ran a running and body weight circuit today with two of our freshman....i don't know if they still want to train with us anymore after what we did to them. Our workout was a circuit of two laps on the track followed by a body weight excercise and we did it 6 times. Each circuit started with jogging the curves of the track, and sprinting the straights. Next, we jogged a normal lap and then started our body weight excercise, then repeat the cycle.
After about the 4th cycle (we had just finished lunges), i felt like my legs were going to give out from under me during the sprints. If i had been blind i would have thought my legs were the size of treetrunks after that workout.....because that's how heavy they felt everytime i had to lift them up to walk.
Needless to say we were sore, but we also felt accomplished. I doubt we'll do a workout that intesnse everyday for training, but it was fun to mix up our training from the usual 4 mile loop.

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams."

--Paulo Coelo

FINDING A REASON TO RUN

It has been three days now since i have been on my own and i have been trying to find a consistent motivator to keep me training hard and running everyday. Somedays are easier than others, and some days i can find motivation to run from stress of the day or issues with an ex. But i really find that i am struggling to find a way that i can keep running no matter what.

"There are as many reasons for running as there are days in the year, years in my life. But mostly i run because i am an animal and a person, an artist and a saint. So, too, are you. Find your own play, your own self-renewing compulsion, and you will become the person you are meant to be."

I read a few quotes like this one and i realize that i need to be my own inspiration. I need to make running a habit that i can't question or excuse myself from. I need to make running a natural part of my life, like eating breakfast or brushing my teeth. Once i get out there on the roads my thoughts and desires along with the music on my ipod will be enough to keep me going mile after mile, at least until the snow starts falling.

ALL GOOD THINGS...

As of Monday morning, our field hockey team is officially in post-season....and this will quickly wind into a long off-season. This weekend we had our last two games of the season and even though we out husteled the other teams, it turned out to be an unfavorable way to end a heart-breaking and emotionally draining season.
Now that season is over i have another thing to start worrying about besides field hockey.....I have to worry about staying in shape. As much as practice is a pain in the butt and it takes up so much time, it was a great disciplinary tool. Everyday it was required that we run our 3 mile loop, and you KNEW that we would have sprints and running drills in practice. The future looks grimm to me now because it's getting colder and the excuses to not run are greater and greater. First of all, there is the treadmill.....even if i run a few miles a day on that it doesn't do as much as actually running because it does half of the work. Then, there is the excuse that it's too cold. Whatever the case is i need to find a motivational tool that will allow me to keep my 8 miles by December 17 goal for the marathon training!!!

WELCOME

Hello! This is a blog that i'm going to write so that i can stay sane over the next year while i'm in training. Here's the deal.....i hate to run. I have never liked to run, ever, in my entire life. I've always loathed running. I hate the way it makes your legs hurt, the way you cannot breathe, and the way that after a nice long run your eyes burn from all the sweat. But this summer something happend to me....


All summer i worked at a camp in the Poconos mountains on the east coast. Now the thing is, at camp there is no cable, no radio, and no town really. You work about 16 hours a day with random little hour breaks in between. So this summer while i was stranded in the mountains and i needed a break from screaming campers, i ran. I ran through the mountain trails and woods, i ran along dirt roads, and i ran up and down the winding roads. I ran to get away from the stress of work, i ran so that i could have my own thoughts, and i ran because that was the only time i could call my own. And after all that running, 2 or 3 times a day, in 100 degree heat and in thunderstorms and floods, something happend. I got in shape.
Now, i've always been an athlete playing a different sport every season, but i'd never been in really serious amazing shape before. My newfound runner's breath and endurance was shocking to me.
So now here i am, at the end of my Junior Year field hockey season, and i don't want to lose what i have. I don't want to lose this endurance or invincibility. Now, i have a good 3 monthes until i start my spring lacrosse season so i have been looking for something to ignite me and inspire me to stay in shape. I found my answer a few days ago while looking around the internet...
In April my whole field hockey team is running in the Spirit of St.Louis half-marathon as a bonding activity. It has always been a goal of mine to run a marathon before i die so i went on-line to research the Chicago marathon for next year. I figured that when the Chicago marathon takes place Next October that will give me incentive to stay in shape after the half-marathon in April. So this blog is going to help me vent my frustration and anger at running and help me track my overall progress. I guess we'll see what happens!