First things first…
Have you visited my American Cancer Society Team DetermiNation Website and made a donation yet? Any race could be a life-changing event – but my half marathon will be a lifesaving event.
As part of the American Cancer Society DetermiNation team, I am achieving things I never imagined I could accomplish. Yes, training is tough, but for me the finish line is just the beginning. My race victory will help save lives from every cancer in every community. And I’m hoping you’ll support me in my efforts. Please make a Donation HERE.
This weekend I will be continuing my training for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia half marathon I have decided to participate this year – my first marathon EVER! Here are a couple of things I’ve learned from my half marathon experience so far.
Lesson 1: Doing all your runs outdoors better prepares you for race day
In the past, I’ve done just about all my running on treadmills. As a requirement for my 5th degree black belt test on the Ultimate Black Belt Test, I ran an average of 2 miles per day. I choose to do this on the Treadmill or the Eliptical. I simply did not want to stress my back or my knees with “road work”. I was simply focused on getting the miles in. For the marathon, I knew that I needed to get on the road. The treadmill cannot challenge you like actual road work. I couldn’t get a true sense of what my pace was on the treadmill. So I right away started doing road work to developed and maintain my desired pace.
I had my mind on the prize of 3:00. I figured that I would give myself 12 to 15 minutes per mile at a conservative pace.
But the best advice I got from many of my friends that have done marathons was to not focus on time but to focus on FINISHING!
So with this mindset, I get up every day and do my runs with the simple mindset to just FINISH. My time now is an average of 9 minutes per mile! Very cool.
The Saturday before the start of my official training for the half marathon I took my kids out to lunch and I decided to get a cheeseburger. Well, on Monday, the day I started my training, I did about 5 miles and it felt great. However, about 30 minutes after my run, my stomach became sour and was giving me problems until Tuesday evening. I realized that it was the meat that I ate. Never again!
My nutrition is now mostly brown rice, whole wheat pastas, eggs, oatmeal, fruit, vegs, chicken, legumes and juicing. I also include supplements.
I am a firm believer that if you have a job to do you must have the right tools. My goal (job) is to not only finish the marathon, but to survive and enjoy the journey. To ensure that I have an enjoyable journey, I researched the kind of equipment I needed.
#1 – Shoes. I needed to get the right shoes. I went through (purchased) 3 pairs of shoes before I found the shoes that worked great for me. They are the Adidas ClimCools and I love them.
#2 – Watch. I also wanted to be able to know exactly how many miles I ran and what my pace was so I did some research and purchased the Nike+ Sports Watch with GPS and I love it. It records everything for me. My time, distance, calories burned and pace. I then plug it into my laptop via a usb port (check out video below) and it records in in my journal. I can then share my run on the social networks (Facebook, Twitter and Google+)
#3 – Running APP for my Android. I also purchased a running app for half marathon training. This is where I created my training plan from. It is called, Training Peaks v3.0.2 and it is very helpful.
#4 – MP3 Music for Training & Half Marathon. To keep me motivated and moving at a pace that is relative to my training, I purchased some music from Deekron & Motion Traxx Workout Music:
- Run Walk – 3:1 Ratio (Running Interval Workout Music Mix W/coach Jeff Galloway)(5K, 10k, Half & Full Marathon Training)
- Half Marathon Music Mix; Non-Stop Running Music Designed for Half-Marathon Training, Set At a Steady 180 Bpm
My whole life has been defined by this mindset! Never ever think that you cannot improve or get better results. Be Smart, surround yourself with the Best and seek out opportunities to improve yourself.
I am learning so much about myself and about running with this marathon experience. My marathon goal: To FINISH. That is the smart goal to work towards and I know I will do it.
