Run 6 & 7 - 4 miles and 4 miles

Today I ran on the inside track at the UCF gym. It's an 1/8 mile track and I ran 4 miles. Today is Tuesday and my run #6 was Friday and was also 4 miles. This may be my first plateau. I originally wanted to run 6 miles today, then once I started I was thinking 5. My next run, tomorrow, will have to be at least 5. That's all I have for now.

Run 4 & 5 - 3 miles and 4 miles

I'm slacking on my blogging, but not on my training. Yesterday I ran 4 miles in 37 minutes and the day before I ran 3 miles in 29 minutes. I ordered the book Chi Running from the library and it was delivered yesterday. I read the introduction and also attended a 45 minute meditation last night before my run. I only mention this because any combination of the the aforementioned, along with the fact that I did a night run (833pm to 910pm) and ran the whole run with my shirt off (so my body could release heat more efficiently), with these factors to consider... my run last night was not difficult. I was so into it that I overran my 4 mile mark and didn't realize it. I was focused in the whole run on what I understand to be zen concepts. I was paying attention to everything in my body. I was trying to minimize the stomping, minimize the stress on the knees, land softly, lean forward at the right amount to propel me in that direction, but not too far to cause excess stress on the knees and feet, focusing on head tilt, and pelvic tilt, and breathing, and keeping the shoulders and arms and hands relaxed. I'm not sure if all this is why the run seemed so much easier when only a day before the 3 mile run caused me great pain. Maybe it was the environment as I ran through a neighborhood for the 4 mile run and on a paved trail for the 3 miler the day before. I'll have to think about these things in my run tonight.

Run 3 - 3 miles

This one was a challenge. Maybe because this is the first day time run- it was 1700 ish. Maybe because it had just finished raining and it was humid as hell. Maybe because I woke up at 530am to drive to Tampa for my Shotokan belt test. Who knows. After .5 miles my brain was telling me I may have to walk a bit in this one (I did no walking). I told my brain to shut up so many times which brings me to an interesting point. This was the first glimpse into the possible meditative properties of distance running. I ran through a park, Blanchard park to be exact, and once I got tired, if I glanced at people or the surrounding, or let me mind go to anywhere other than the run with one foot in front of the other, my body started hinting that it wanted to stop. When I shut out everything else and focused on simply running, I noticed it was much easier. In any case I ran 1.5 miles one way with tiny goals. After the first .5 I said no way am I walking when I have a 26 mile run in front of me. I shot for the first 1.5. I did 1.5 each way. When I hit the 1 mile mark I thought, only .5 to go then I'm at half way. On the way back I hit the 1 mile marker again and recognized I was 2/3 the way there. The last .5 mile wasn't any easier and my brain kicked in again with the idea that I could walk part of it, but I had already decided that wasn't going to happen. I think accomplishing all of these many goals along the next couple months, until January 8th, will do wonders for me internally, over and above the physical benefits. I am as excited as ever. I used the clock in my car to time my run and it worked out to 27 minutes for the 3 miles. Not too shabby for a non-runner:)

Day 2: 2 miles

There isn't too much new to report on this one but I'll go ahead and write something after every run so there is a record of my progress. I put this one off till the very end of the day. I had Karate at 6am, then I was running from A to B to x,y,&z until 11pm when I actually began. I ran the two miles without stopping and it wasn't too taxing. I feel like 3 miles on Saturday is an achievable goal. I tried using the GPS runningmap program on my android phone today and it recorded the run inaccurately. I know this because I plotted out my run on http://www.runningmap.com on my desktop earlier today while I was at work. Tomorrow is a rest day and I'm hoping I recuperate fully for my Shotokan karate test in Tampa on Saturday. I should be fine. When I got home tonight I drank one scoop (about 10grams) of protein along with one scoop of Whole Foods "Alive" drink mix which contains 15 grams protein along with many multi-vitamins and dehydrated healthy stuff. I'm going to use these supplements along with a good multi-vitamin which I have yet to pick up to supplement my less that optimal diet. That's all for now.

First run: one mile

I finished my first about an hour ago. I wanted to start slowly with a mile run because I've never, ever been a runner. I'm not in terrible shape. For a little background, I train in Shotokan karate 3 times per week with an occasional missed class. I'm a 4th Kyu testing for 3rd kyu (brown belt) this Saturday. Every month or two I get into the gym for a couple work outs and then I usually fizzle out. Consistency has not been my strong point. So I figured... Why not jump into a 26.2 mile run through Disney:) This is going to be an exciting journey for several reasons. First, I'm going to complete something that I am saying that I'm going to complete. I know that I am going to grow through this journey and I am very excited. Also, I know that by the time January rolls around I will be in the absolute best shape of my life. This blog will be the record of my journey. One final note is that I've got about 21.5 weeks until the Marathon and I am beginning to build up for the 18 week running plan that I will begin exactly 18 weeks before the run. I will be following Hal Higdon's Novice run program which can be found here: http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/MaraNovice1.html

If you want to join me on this training plan let me know and we can post times. That's it for this post. Later.