Jeff Galloway and a 5K

Last Saturday while in Disney World to support my wife in the Princess Half Marathon, I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking to Jeff Galloway, 1972 Olympian and a huge proponent of the run/walk method of training. Jeff is the Training Consultant for runDisney. I had a few minutes to speak to him at the health and fitness expo. I have to say that I was surprised by how down-to-earth and approachable he was. And you can tell he absolutely loves to talk about running. I had run that morning in the Disney Royal Family 5K and finished in under 30 minutes for the first time at a pace of 9:26. This was the first time I'd ever run at a sub 10-minute pace which is really fast for me. About 50 yards or so from the finish line, I see Jeff Galloway and his wife running. I didn't know he was running the 5K so it felt really cool to pass him right before the finish line. As we crossed the finish line, he put his hand on my shoulder and said "we did it!" That was awesome!

Time for New Shoes

After running 18.7 miles last Sunday, I realized that I needed a new pair of running shoes. I had expected to run 20 miles but my feet and knees were really hurting and I didn't want to risk any injury. After logging my run in my training journal, I calculated that my current pair of shoes had just over 405 miles on them. Now considering the fact that I'm still over 200 lbs and that probably 90% of those miles were on the road, I'd say my shoes have taken a pretty good beating and are definitely losing their support. I started noticing the past 2 weeks that my outside runs seemed to be especially hard on my legs. I'm hoping to do a 20 - 21 miler the first weekend in March as my last long training run before the marathon, so I'm hoping that new shoes are just what I needed!

Yesterday's Run

I really don't know what to say about my run yesterday. I had planned on going to the NCR Trail for an 18-miler thinking that the trail would be clear but muddy. This was going to be my second of four long runs in preparation for my marathon. I have never been on a trail run before but normally the NCR Trail has a hard packed surface; the kind of surface that allows for running in road running shoes. When I get to the trailhead, I stand in disbelief because the entire trail is one big snowy, icy, slushy mess. I start to have second thoughts but I see another guy running and I decide to go ahead. I had to carefully watch every step I took. The last thing I needed was to slip and twist an ankle 6 weeks before the marathon. I had to watch out for frozen footprints, ski tracks, ice puddles, fallen tree limbs and the occasional pile of horse droppings. My run had turned into a jog but I felt really good. I ended up running from Cockeysville to Monkton where I stopped to go to the bathroom and take a salt tablet, and then back to Cockeysville for a total of 13.5 miles. Along the way I passed 7 other runners, 4 cross country skiers and 1 person on horseback. It was a very scenic and peaceful run. I didn't have to watch out for cars or here the noise of a large truck driving by me. Initially I was upset that I wouldn't be able to get my 18 miles in. However, those 13.5 were the hardest miles I've ever run and I was quite happy overall. It takes a lot out of you to maintain your balance with slippery footing while running that distance. I still managed to finish in under 3 hours and actually ended up having a very enjoyable run!

A Spring Marathon???

Right about now I'm wishing that I would have scheduled a fall marathon for my first one. I would have much nicer weather and more daylight. Actually, I don't really mind running in the cold. It's these long dark days that limit when I can run outside. I have put in a few nighttime runs but I'm finding it increasingly more difficult to get up in the morning to run on a treadmill. I really look forward to my long weekend runs when I can get outside and run in daylight. With my karate schedule changing in a few weeks, it will be even more difficult to find time to run in the evenings. I'm really looking forward to being in Florida in a few weeks where I can run outside everyday. Until then, I need to run as much as possible even if it means being stuck on a treadmill.

Laziness is Dangerous

Last Sunday Jan. 30th 2011, I had the best run of my life at 17 miles. That finished the best month of running for me since I started running at 88.95 miles. Since last Sunday I have run a total of 2 pathetic miles in the past 6 days. Not because I was nursing an injury or sick, but because of laziness. Having a 2 mile running week in the middle of marathon training is inexcusable. Oh sure I could say that I wasn't sleeping well and was tired or that I was fighting off a cold or that the weather was so bad last week that I could only run on the dreadful treadmill, but those are only excuses. The bottom line is that I could have and should have overcome all those obstacles, but I was just plain lazy. But this is a new week and I need to put last week out of my mind and continue on. I just finished a 3.3 mile run outside which seemed much harder than it should have been, but it's a start for this week. One of the things I love about running is that it makes me stronger mentally. And that stronger state of mind will help me in the future when bouts of laziness try and attack me.

The Beginning of My Story

Three years ago, I weighed 284 lbs give or take a pound. My health problems included severe obstructive sleep apnea, high blood pressure and insulin resistance to name a few. I don't know what my initial body fat percentage was, but 9 months after I started training in martial arts, it was "down" to 46.5%. My weight tends to vary by about 3 pounds a day, but this morning I weighed in at 213 for a 71 lb weight loss so far. All of my health problems are a thing of the past! My goal weight is 175 lbs. In April 2008, I began training in Budo Taijutsu. Barring any significant injury, I will receive my black belt this October. I also started training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in January 2010 and should be testing for my blue belt by the end of this year. It is because of the martial arts that I finally decided to take control of my health.

Three Years Ago

I wish I would have started this blog three years ago. It would have been great to share my journey from the beginning. However, I never knew at that time how drastic my life would be three years later. So even though I'm almost three years into my journey, I'm not even close to being finished. In fact, I will probably never be finished because this journey has turned into a lifestyle. And what's even more awesome is that my wife has started her own journey as well and we are sharing these experiences together.