Training, when will I get to end?

Image by Pabo76 via Flickr

By: Brent

The Glass City Marathon is this week. I have prepped as well as I can. I run, I run, I run.

The Runner's World program gives you options for training for how long you want to work at it. They also give you options as far as how many miles you want to average. I chose the 16 week option with 3 days of running. In that time I have logged 256.92 miles prior to my marathon. Along side my training I have also put in 50+ miles on the bike.

16 weeks is a long time to train. I am thrilled to be at the end of it. As week 14 was starting I was beginning to get severe pain in my left foot and what seemed to be a strong head cold. Week 14 I really laid off the foot. I talked to other runner friends and read up trying to figure out if I had messed something up severely but I think it was just strained from a long run and a lot of yard work and labor that the foot wasn't used to over a long weekend. I tackled the head cold with more Tylenol Cold medicine and Vitamin C than any cold I have ever been through. Mentally I was shaken. I called my good friend Jon and talked out a lot of my concerns. He reminded me how much I have done and that he still is in such shock that I can honestly call myself a "runner". We are both of similar build. I call him Dr. Phil and he calls me Oprah. I don't know if in my entire time of knowing Jon we haven't picked at each others weight. Both of us at 6' plus and in the 190+ weight class. We got started running around the same time so we have been through a lot of the same feelings on running. I also reread a book that really gets my mind on the best part of running. "My Life on the Run" by Bart Yasso. Great book. And that is from a guy who does not read. Bart Yasso is a Runner's World top dog. He has one of those jobs that runner's would kill for. He is C.R.O. Chief Running Officer. He travels around to different races and meets and greet and helps race directors and give speeches but from my standpoint, the most important thing he does is motivates. Talking to him or listening to him, you just want to jump up and GO RUN. He is one of my "Face Book friends" and I have posted a couple things on his page and he has always responded and even his wife has chimed in. He may rub elbows with the Ryan Hall's of the world but he is just a friend of people. He himself is amazing. So at this point I feel very good about where I am at, what I have done and how well I have prepared.

So again, The Glass City Marathon is this weekend. the Half Marathon is sold out at 1,500 runners. The marathon is 94% sold out at about 650 runners right now. There is a 5k that I think has about 700 people entered into it also. I am very excited. There is really only one concern and it is one that I can't focus on. I have no control. Weather. Weather.com is calling for NASTY storms. 80% chance. I have stopped watching the weather. Living in the Midwest, I have learned that there is no predicting what the weather will really do. I have no idea what happens when a race gets rained out. I assume it will just get REscheduled, but that remains to be seen. Toledo is about a 2.5 hour drive. The plan right now is my family of 4 along with my mother and father will go Saturday and make a weekend of the happenings of Toledo. I guess worst case scenario if it gets rained out, I grab a buddy and sucker them to go along with me so I have a driver on the way back because I'm sure my legs won't work when I am done.. Again, I can't worry about that until it gets here.

In marathon training, and really any training, I think the part that gets the least amount of acknowledgement is the support you get. I need to thank mostly my wife for the time. Jeff, Rael, Andrea, Jon, Roger, my parents, Bart Yasso and anyone who has inquired about this marathon which gets me excited just talking about it

4/25/10. 26.2 Miles. Bring it on.

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Top Ten Reasons To Ride Your Bike To Work

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

By: Jeff and Brent

Today is the first day this year that I have been able to ride my bike into work.  Ahhh fresh and brisk morning air, oh ya 36 degrees!!!  I love riding into work. Here is a list that Brent and I have compiled for reasons to ride into your workplace.

1. Bragging
2. Sharing your "workout smell" with the rest of the office
3. To hear people make fun of your bike clothing
4. Having a bike in your office is a nice conversation starter
5. To get in shape (duh!)
6. Having quiet time to yourself
7. Avoiding rush hour traffic (If you live in a big city)
8. Save gas money for your next bike
9. Not as goofy looking as wearing your helmet in the car
10. Spandex!

Spring Is Here!!!

Image by fensterbme via Flickr

By: Jeff

Finally, after what seems to have been a long winter, spring is finally showing up.  What does this mean?  Well it means we can finally get off our trainers and treadmills and hit the pavement!!!  In the last two weeks I have been able to run outside, play with the kid outside, and have even gone for a couple of bike rides.  Last night on the bike, riding with Brent, we noticed traffic, in spots, seemed to be fairly heavy.  This reminded me of the recent controversy with ESPN's Tony Kornheiser.  He made some negative comments about cyclists being on the road.  Lance Armstrong ended up going on his show, Tony apologized, all is well.  So with that I just wanted to take the time to point you to an organization that addresses this issue.  This is for both motorist and cyclists.  Yield To Life is an organization started by David Zabriskie.  After being hit on his bike by cars, and knowing people who have lost there life by being hit, he started this organization to raise awareness between motorist and cyclists.  Just please keep in mind that the more room you give us the safer we will be, and we will try to remember not to hog the road!

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The Idea Of "In Shape" OR The "Ideal Shape"

Image via Wikipedia

By: Jeff

Have you ever heard someone say, "I want to be in better shape."?  When some people say this they are talking about their outer figure.  The shape of their body.  They want to be skinnier, have more muscle tone, or who knows what else.  When other people say this they are talking about their fitness level.  They want to be able to have better aerobic endurance and better physical health.  You may ask, "skinny people have a better fitness level, don't they?".  I would argue that this is not always true.  Being  the "ideal shape" is noncorrelating with being "in shape".  There are plenty of skinny people that would struggle to run a mile.

It is that latter statement that I would like to focus on.  Sure, sure, I want to look skinner and stronger. Ultimately though, I want to be able to do things without having to figure out where my next breath is coming from.  I want to have a higher level of fitness.  This is one of the reasons that I am running a 5K in June (see previous entry).

I am now on week three of my 16 week training program.  The first two weeks have been interesting.  I feel like I'm making progress.  One foot plopping in front of the other.  In the last two weeks I have logged more miles on a treadmill than I ever have before.  One of the things that is keeping me motivated is that I am focusing on accomplishing a mindset of being "in shape" rather than the "ideal shape".  Being a rather large guy if I focused on losing weight I would be highly disappointed.  I know if I keep working on my fitness level, that eventually the weightloss will start to happen.

Not to change the subject totally, but I had my stride evaluated.  I highly recommend this before getting to deep into a training program.  My results came back that I had a pretty good overpronating stride (think of ankles rolling awkwardly inward).  It was recommend that I get a motion controlled shoe.  I ended up getting the Ascics Evolution 5 shoe.  Since I am new to running I won't give a detailed review on this shoe, but I will say that the soreness in my legs and hips has decreased significantly since I have began using them.