Hey pals,
Today marks my 100th post on The Pursuits of Price! Virtual party horn blowing and confetti falling from the sky for all!
So for the past several months the little itch inside of me to pursue running a half marathon in the upcoming year has started to become a reality. After seeing countless friends, relatives, and people four times my age accomplish the feat of running half marathons, and even marathons, I have been inspired to achieve this new goal of mine.
Two years ago, I was probably in the best shape of my life. I exercised regularly, and watched what I ate. After some time I probably became a little too obsessed with being "healthy" and skinny. No longer was working out fun, and I was definitely not seeing the important part of life... actually living, eating food (all kinds in moderation), drinking (in moderation), and socializing with people (not the gym). I ended up letting working out hit the wayside, so I could refocus on what was important... living, enjoying myself, family, friends, and actually making memories.
While I was in my tiptop shape, my mom and I ran the Knoxville Covenant Health 5K in Knoxville, Tennessee. Prior to signing up for this race, I would have never thought that my mom and I would have made the memory of running a 5k together. It was grrreeat (as Tony the Tiger would say)! My mom and I had prepped for weeks. Weekly recaps of where we had run, how far we had gone, and even what "running outfits" we were going to wear on race day were regular conversation topics that my mom and I had together. My mom and dad came up to Knoxville one chilly winter weekend for the big race day.
On the morning of the race my dad became the unofficial "official" photographer of the event for us. He captured us starting the race (the picture is really blurry, but actually ended up turning out very artsy- ha), each of us at different points during the race, and my mom barreling in towards the finish line.
I finished a bit earlier than my mom, so I had the opportunity to see her running through the finish line on the jumbotron in Neyland, Stadium. One word...Priceless!
I hope to make another race memory like this again with my mom, and maybe even the BF.
For the past couple of weeks I have been reading up on running half marathons, and how to properly train for one. Most of the free training schedules that I have found online are for a twelve-week training regime. Besides making up a plan specific to my schedule, I am curious if any of you readers out there have suggestions on how to train?
Ultimately I want to have fun with this goal and be realistic.
P.S. I discovered RunKeeper.com. It has an awesome free app that you can download to your smart phone. The app syncs to your online profile on the RunKeeper website and saves all of the routes that you have run (GPS tracker fun woot woot), your mileage, calories burned, etc. A sweet little lady even talks to you every mile down and gives you the low down on how you are doing. Maybe I am late to the ball game on this type of app and online site... but I think it is great!
What are some of your pursuits that you know you will have to put some effort into, but know that you are fully capable of doing at the same time?
Following my pursuits,
Price
Get The Big Book of Endurance, by Phil Maffetone. Doesn't have specific 1/2 marathon schedules, but debunks some of the poor plans out there that are likely to result in injuries.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kenneth! I will look into purchasing that book. I am building up my mileage as we speak. So far I have 2.75 down. I am running a 5K in February. Slow and steady :)
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