Week 9, 7 weeks til the big day: Longest run: 7.6 miles (longest run I have EVER done. Yay!); Best pace: 9:30 min/mi during practice sprints.
Dear friends,
Do you know that moment where you figure it out and things FINALLY start to click? I remember when I went to Spain for my study abroad, erhm, 15 years ago, and even though I had studied Spanish since 7th grade, things just weren't quite making sense. I struggled with understanding normal-paced conversation and television. Then one day, about 6 weeks into living there, I was watching the news and realized that I was understanding what they were saying. Without having to concentrate so hard I give myself a headache. Well, folks, I think I've had a breakthrough in the old training. I somehow managed to run the 7.6 miles of our training run on Saturday and NOT feel like I was going to keel over. Wow. It almost makes me understand people who claim they love running. It was not awful.
And now for some other not awful news: my mom's been telling me about this fantastic organization that offers services such as acupuncture, massage, naturopathic medicine consults, and much more. She is so relieved, feels like there are finally people who are listening to her and are truly there just for her. She told me about her visit to the naturopath, whose visit took almost and hour and a half, and which made her feel guilty for taking up so much of the naturopath's time. But isn't is wonderful to feel like someone's listening, and you're not just part of the process? So, folks, in honor of finding things that just seem to work, I am proposing dedicating the half marathon run, now in merely 7 weeks, to this great organization. I'm writing Hope Lives to see about setting up a fundraising page, so be on the lookout in my next blog for information on how to contribute to this great cause.
Have a marvelous weekend. Tomorrow we're set to run over 8 miles, again smashing any old distance records I once had. Hope I can walk on Monday! Eek.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Week 8? The best shape of our lives
Longest run in the last few weeks: 6.4 mile loop around Central Park. Time: 1h 9min (slow and steady)
Best run this week: 5.19 miles short loop around Central Park. Time: 53:02. Avg pace: 10'13"!
Dear reader(s)- Sorry I went off the grid for awhile, but I promise I haven't gone off track. Training is going great. In fact, I've signed up for a half-marathon class 2x a week, and wow, in 3 classes I'm already seeing improvement. Sometimes it's hard to find motivation when you get tired, it's hot out, certain joints that once just whined a little are starting to scream. Of course, I have my main goal: the race, for cancer, for strength, for recovery. But that goal is still 2 months off, and in the moment... well, in the moment, I just need a little boost. This week a mantra started going through my head, one a friend and I were discussing a couple of weeks ago: How great would it be to say you were in the best shape of your life? The best shape of your life! Now, after a year of being sedentary and not working out. Take THAT, 36!! So my mantra this week was: "The best shape of my life. The best shape of my life." And wow, did I start feeling stronger. Like I could conquer the next hill, and I did. And shut up, hip, I ain't listening to you complain. So overall, a great couple of weeks.
But of course, you're not here to read about my great week, you're here to read about our fantastic week. Mom's results came back with some amazing news: her tumor has a low recurrence rate, meaning no chemotherapy. And she's gotten leave to go back to work next week.
We are that much closer to normalcy, within whatever new normal has been established. On the other hand, why settle for just normal when you can strive for the best shape of your life?
Best run this week: 5.19 miles short loop around Central Park. Time: 53:02. Avg pace: 10'13"!
Dear reader(s)- Sorry I went off the grid for awhile, but I promise I haven't gone off track. Training is going great. In fact, I've signed up for a half-marathon class 2x a week, and wow, in 3 classes I'm already seeing improvement. Sometimes it's hard to find motivation when you get tired, it's hot out, certain joints that once just whined a little are starting to scream. Of course, I have my main goal: the race, for cancer, for strength, for recovery. But that goal is still 2 months off, and in the moment... well, in the moment, I just need a little boost. This week a mantra started going through my head, one a friend and I were discussing a couple of weeks ago: How great would it be to say you were in the best shape of your life? The best shape of your life! Now, after a year of being sedentary and not working out. Take THAT, 36!! So my mantra this week was: "The best shape of my life. The best shape of my life." And wow, did I start feeling stronger. Like I could conquer the next hill, and I did. And shut up, hip, I ain't listening to you complain. So overall, a great couple of weeks.
But of course, you're not here to read about my great week, you're here to read about our fantastic week. Mom's results came back with some amazing news: her tumor has a low recurrence rate, meaning no chemotherapy. And she's gotten leave to go back to work next week.
We are that much closer to normalcy, within whatever new normal has been established. On the other hand, why settle for just normal when you can strive for the best shape of your life?
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