martinis=inspiration=marathon

Not that I had a little bit too much holiday cheer last night (these martinis were like candy: goldschlager, cranberry juice, vodka) but I recall some conversation with colleague at The Office who told me she and I are running a MARATHON next September or October. And I have no doubt she's serious since she 1) she's already training for a spring half, and 2) kept using my name and the word "inspiration" and its derivatives in the same sentence.

Oh, and I got about 5-1/2miles done on the treadmill last week over two days. Which is quite an accomplishment for me since all running and strengthening exercises were done before 730AM.

If pigs could fly.....

It's not impossible.

If I can finish a marathon, really anyone can. I tell that to everyone who will listen, to anyone who says they couldn't possibly do it themselves. I repeat: If I can do it, you can too. It just takes a little bit of discipline and a plan.

So having apparently been inspired by my marathon finish last year, my sister begged me to run with her this year. And so we went on to do two 10K races this year, along with my cousin for support. My sister ran spring and fall races with great enthusiasm and always finished with a smile.

And now onto bigger things. Since I bought her a race for Christmas last year, she's decided to return the favor -- for my birthday, belatedly, she's gone and outdid me. Not only did she today register us for a half marathon, she booked us for 13.1 miles in Cincinnati, OH.

FLYING PIG 2008!

Now it's not a total surprise because she and I have talked about this for weeks now. The idea was sprung on us by her husband, somewhat in passing but enough that when he said it, he also looked it up on the web to give us more details because we were intrigued by the thought of hanging out at his family's farm in northern Kentucky, but also that the magical asparagus I've heard about for three years will actually be in season by the time the race rolls around.

I didn't want to talk about this race, make promises, just in case it turned out like the MCM in Washington. But my sister hit her Dec. 1 deadline of signing us up. It's going to be great. I'm sure this party is going to grow... I have this way of infecting people with crazy ideas like going on the road for a road race.

I'm looking forward to training for something. Hail to the treadmill!

No stam

I forced myself to go to the gym after work. Why haul all this workout gear to The Office and then lug it back home unused? Usually I feel better after a workout but today I was just not into it. I went through strength class with no will to really lift the 4-lb weights I had in each hand (yes, 4lbs! I am such a lightweight). And then the crunches were achy, the lunges were unsteady, and to top it off, the music was bad today. When the music is bad, it's going to be a bad workout. So I slipped on my iPod after class with a 5K treadmill run in mind, rationalizing that at least my personal selection of tunes would motivate me. Wrong again. I quit after 1.6 miles, of which I walked probably a third of it. I switched to the stationary bike. Nothing in my legs to pedal, and after a torturous 2.65 miles of stop-go, I halted the charade.

I told C about this pathetic gym episode during the drive home.
"I have no stam," I said.
And in a genuine moment of pure geekiness, he replied: "Well you just need a blue gem."
(It's pure nerd because it's a reference to that game we play online. Certain blue gems added to armor give bonus stamina stats. Oh, I'm a nerd too! Well, they shall inherit the Earth, so the saying goes.)

The 20-minute workout

Back in the 80s, my sister and I used to watch the "20-minute workout" (follow the link to video for trip down memory lane. Though I just don't get what's going on from minutes 06:00-06:30!) I think it used to be on in the morning while we were getting ready for school. My Tuesday strength class instructor talks about it every once in a while too, and sometimes we do some of the cool moves. No we don't.
I was thinking about the leg warmers today when I was doing my own 20-minute workout... in three phases... !
1. 20 minutes on the treadmill. 1.7miles.
2. 20 minutes of weights. 20 reps for various arm muscles, some lunges too.
3. 20-minute ab class.

One more

Race season isn't done. I've just signed up for the local fun run to ring in the new year, same as last year. Also will be going with the same friends as last year, Yumke and R. Perhaps my cousin will join up too, while it looks like my sister will be out of the country. I unofficially PB'ed at this race last year, as the 5K event isn't a chip-timed race. The entry bonus gift for signing up this year is this nifty jacket:

Guess this might come in handy for the winter training if I'm not treadmilling it... on the way to a spring half....

Belated birthday thoughts

I looked back on this blog to see where I was a year ago. It was a pretty introspective post back then. I talked a lot about the running-as-lifestyle a year and a day ago but I'm not sure I've really lived up to this mantra. I haven't kept much of a regular running routine, nor have I replaced the no-running with another activity. I've lived a pretty sedantary year compared to last year I think. Yesterday I self-tested my blood with the finger-prick, something I'm supposed to do daily, for the first time in about 2-1/2 months. The reading was a bit on the high side; though I shouldn't be surprised since I haven't been as careful with my diet in recent months. And I also only intermittently "remember" to take my diabetes drugs, the one that's been in the news as of late. I should get those replaced, see my doctor, reintroduce myself to my health log. It's my birthday, I can cry if I want to.
But enough of the pity party.
Step One is recognition. And now it's time to kick myself in the butt. So I went for a belated birthday run this afternoon, a decent 6K effort. It's wrong that it's mid-November and I went sleeveless.

The off-season

Next up: picking the next race.

It's like the end of the tv season and I left a cliffhanger in my last post about three weeks ago. And then I went on a bit of a hiatus.

Hi again.

I wasn't hurt, just away from blogger. It's been a bit hectic at work the past few weeks, and I've been heavily playing that online game again, but I haven't completely let all that get in the way of a good run. I ran 8K recently and saw a deer on the bike path in the valley. I don't know which one of us had more of a "deer-caught-in-the-headlights" look, me or the deer. I've also had a handful of treadmill efforts, nothing more than 5K. Today, I went outside again because it was too delicious to pass up. I finished work at 3, and I was home just before 4 and the sun was shining. I had decided on my way home that I'd change and run as soon as I got home, so as to not lose my nerve. If I waited, it'd be dark and cold. It was warm enough to wear a tshirt and capris, which is also another reason to go today. Who wants to layer? I didn't have much of a route planned, so I just ran. Ended up doing a big square -- 6K.

Anyways, in the last few weeks some decisions have been made but not exactly set in stone. It looks like the family experience is hitting the road in 2008.

Stay tuned...