The Night before My Half Marathon

Well in just about 12 hours I will have started my first half marathon. Just 11 months ago I could hardly walk a mile without my legs killing me and it would have taken me probably over 25 minutes to do it. As I’m getting ready to do it, getting my clothes shoes, gu etc together I can’t help but think about what I have done this year. I have changed who I am both on the inside and the out. I am a different person. Even though this is just a step on the road to doing a marathon it is a milestone within itself. One that I’m as normally before a race nervous about. I feel confident that I will be able to do it based on the training I’ve put in and my longest run over 7 miles more than the 13 I’ll do tomorrow. My plan is to just enjoy the run it is suppose to be a pretty scenic one starting out over the Wilson dam in the first mile or so. I want to get the atmosphere of a long race and manage myself and not start to fast or get caught up in the rush and forget about who I am and what I have done. I want to remind myself of that tomorrow and even though it’s not the “big show (the marathon)” I hope to do some reflecting tomorrow as I run. I looked back on face book at some of my pictures from others races this past year and also some pictures of me and I looked at the physical change in me over the year. I had an eye opening experience tonight also. Jenny and Summer went and got them a desert after supper and I had them bring me one back I don’t know why I just did it was a sonic blast. I took a few bites and I was like I don’t want to eat this is not me anymore, so I put it down and I started typing this. It reminded me this is a lifelong journey that I’m on now. I have to stay focused and not go back to where I was just a short year ago. Well I’m going to go now and make sure I have all my stuff ready for in the morning and get some rest got to get up at 430 to head out to Florence. Doing this today not tomorrow.

28 Oct 09

7 Miles this morning, just an easy 7, I actually forgot my watch so I just ran at a comfortable pace and according to the clock in the car it took me right around 1 hour and 12 minutes, so that was pretty close to my 10 min pace goal. As I near this goal of a marathon and have the half this weekend I can’t help, but let my mind go back in time and think about where I have been and where I am at now. I was thinking this morning about how this time last year I had no desire to lose the weight, in my mind I was just going to be fat the rest of my life! Now almost 11 months later I’m a totally different person, both on the inside and the out. I got to thinking about the discipline it has taken to get this far and I’m not sure why but my mind went all the way back to when I went through basic training for the Air Force over 22 years ago. I hated it, it was tough being away from my family, but I knew if I could make it through those 6 weeks everything would be better. Kind of like when the running gets tough, if you can hang in there you will get through it and it will get better. Doing this today not tomorrow!

27 Oct 09

Rainy Morning
After the run

It has really just hit me tonight that on Saturday I will be running my first Half Marathon. Wow and when I think back where I was at 11 months or so ago I just have to say Wow again. I’ll have to admit that it doesn’t seem real that I’ve lost all this weight and how much I’m running now. In a way it seems like it was a world ago that I was that out of shape and I guess you could really say in that bad of health too. As I’m getting closer and closer to the full marathon I seem to be doing more and more reflection on this journey I’m on, I’m going to try and put down more of my thoughts, so look for most posts over the next month. Now about today I only had to do 4 miles. For some crazy reason I didn’t want to get up, I did it though and went and did the run and guess what it was raining seems like it has done a lot of that this last month or so. I was a good run I didn’t push too hard just a good easy run. Doing this today not tomorrow.

20 Miles

After the run
Me after 20 Miles

After the Run

Before the run

Wow that doesn’t seem real 20 miles seeing where I was at less than a year ago. This is the longest run I’ve ever done. Just under 10 years ago I had did 18 before, but never 20. Before I talk about the run let me talk about leading up to the run. Last night I felt bad, my stomach felt funny and I just didn’t feel good. I was afraid I might be getting sick, but the feeling never got any worse than just a blah feeling. When the clock went off this morning I just wanted to stay in the bed. Of course I couldn’t, I said this before running the Marathon is more than just race day, it’s the discipline on getting up and doing those runs on the mornings when you just don’t feel like doing it. I was kind of nervous about the run this morning, I was confident based on my last week or so of running based on how I felt, I felt I could do it, but was just nervous about it. I’ve had a funny feeling in my right heal the last few runs nothing major and it usually goes away after a couple of miles, but I was worried it might give me problems. Any way I got up at 5 and was up at Hamilton ready to run just a little after 530. The run started out uneventful didn’t really feel good or bad just Ok. I started to feel blah at around 4 and ½ then there was this dude running that came up beside me and we chatted for about half a mile then he went his way and me mine. The talked kind of picked me up, e told me he ran marathon when he was 50. I got that sick feeling again around mile 7, I took a GU not long after it and I felt better not to long after that. At around mile 9 I had a pretty big hill it was kicking my butt, but I felt good once I got to the top. I felt good from about mile 10 to 15. Then I started to feel tired, around mile 17 I was real tired, my legs were getting tight and I just felt tired, of course my mind was telling to stop and walk a little, I didn’t listen to it I listened to heart and I stuck it out. My last five miles were at a little over an 11 minute pace, but I finished with a time of 3:34:15 for an overall pace of 10:43. I came home and ate some eggs then some cereal, did my laundry for next week and now I’ve just been lying around the rest of the afternoon. Doing this today not tomorrow!

18 Oct 09 and 18 Miles

Rainy Wednesday

More rainy Wednesday


Before the 18

After I finished the 18

Me after the 18

Crazy week this week with the weather. 65 and humid on Tuesday, 63 and raining on Wednesday and then 42 and cool on Saturday, then this morning on my long run it was 34 and sunny. Man it was a beautiful morning this morning for a run. I did the first 6 on the mile loop at the school then went up the hill towards Weston for 5 then to the back to the track then down to the river for 5 then I finished up the last two doing two loops around the school. I felt real good on the first 6. The big hill going to Weston kicked my tail pretty good, but I got over it and felt better. I was really dragging coming back form the river and it was tough having to do the last two around the school. I kind of wished I had of planned it so that when I got back from the river I would have been finished. Over all I was pleased with the run, I was tried and legs felt heavy but I pushed through. My overall time was 3:04:41 for a 10:16 average pace. I had ran 18 before about 9 years ago when I got back from Saudi and I had been doing all that running, so this wasn’t a distance pr if you will, however next week I’m suppose to do 20 for my long run so that will be, I wish I could say I was looking forward to it, I s crazy way I guess I am….why do I like this pain? Doing this today not tomorrow!

11 Oct 09

Well today’s long run was 14 miles. I’ll talk about it first then recap the week. I got up at 4 to get the run in before early service since I had to be at it today. I got in the bed early last night, so it wasn’t too hard to get up this morning. The first couple of miles I felt real fresh, my legs felt good and strong. Then on mile three my stomach started to hurt I had to take bathroom a break. Felt good after that and the legs still felt good then at mile six my stomach acted up again, yep another bathroom break, not sure what was going on with that, but no more problems with my stomach after mile 6. My legs started to feel a little heavy after that. I never really got in to a rhythm. I did the 14 miles on a one mile loop because it was still dark and I didn’t want to set out on the road so I did it on the mile loop around the school in Hamilton. I don’t know it’s just hard to get into a rhythm there because you are making a turn about ever quarter of a mile. I guess some of it could be boredom. I started to feel pretty tired around mile ten. That is when this doubt I’ve started to have seem to creep in. He I am on mile ten and feeling like quitting and I’d still have 16 to go to do a marathon….I don’t know it’s crazy. I pushed and keep going and finished and one it was over I felt good. Kind of like I had broken through a wall. My overall time was 2:31:29 for a 10:50 average pace. The past week was good. It warmed up and was humid, I was thinking I didn’t really like this cool weather we were having, but I’ll take it over this warm and humid any day. Doing this today not tomorrow.

4 Oct 09

Good week this week. It was a little cooler and that seems to make the running a little more enjoyable. Got in 7 miles of hills on Wednesday, I use to like hills, naw I still do just not seven miles of them, but I know in the long run it will pay off. I ran 16 miles this morning. It looked like it was going to rain and I was afraid of lighting, since my scare a few days ago, so I did it on the mile loop around the school at Hamilton. It sure does get old/boring doing that way I felt pretty good starting out then my legs got heavy half way through. I had to work to do it, but nothing major. My overall time was 2:49:23 for a 10:36 average pace. I don’t know I have been starting to get nervous about doing the marathon, I mean I’m having doubts will I actually be able to do it, will I crash around mile 20…I don’t know I guess the only way to say it is I’m not sure why, but I’m seem to be getting scared! I’ve just got to stay focused and push through this…..I’m going to do it today, not tomorrow!