NEW CHAPTER .... LET'S GO!!

Week of September 1st - 8th ... 2013

Tuesday of this week I ran 3 miles with hills that was a hard run and kind of fast paced and beat me up a little but too bad ... then Wednesday was to be a moderate pace 4 miles and this was fairly nice with just a little hip pain.... then Thursday was to be 3 miles easy ... I ran slow and easy and felt good.

Today was my 7 mile run with blisters on my feet, which I got from barefoot laszer tag with my daughter Ashlyn the night before (bad idea)  ... too tired to go through a lot of details but it was run #8 of the Half Marathon training for race in October.   It went well ... felt really good through mile 4 .. hips starting hurting some but then went into zone around 6 and not much hip pain to finish.  I was very pleased.

RUNKEEPER routes can be viewed HERE ...

Be Blessed all ... 

Can I Even Attempt This?

Many of you that have followed my running journey know that the very first race I did was a 5k in Charlotte called The Runway 5k.  It was 7 weeks into my running journey.  I had not even completed a full 3 miles at that point.  Running that race was such a huge accomplishment for me.  Every year since then I have returned to that race.  It's been kind of like an anniversary race for me.

So this year, I planned on running it again. It would be the 4th time if I ran it.  I ended up asking a buddy of mine if he wanted to run it with me, and he was excited to do so.  

He has been racing a lot this year.  He was actually training for a marathon that is the week before The Runway 5k.  However, upon further review, he realized it was the exact same weekend as the race at the runway.  He was very disappointed to tell me that he would not be able to attend.   I was pretty bummed as well.  
 
I decided to look up his event and found there were several races that weekend.  They were holding a 5k, 10k, half marathon and a marathon.  I thought to myself, "we both really want to complete in a race together soon. Since he was willing to run with me, why shouldn't I be willing to run with him?" He had already been involved in a training plan for his marathon, but I had not began a plan for my race yet.  It would be more logical for me to steer my efforts towards his event knowing they were hosting a 5k that day.  
 
I've been wanting to run consistently again because I've missed it. Sure, I could train for the 5k, but I do not think that would be a big enough challenge to get me focused on a serious running regimen.   I started thinking about last summer, and how great it felt when I trained for a half marathon and completed it.  (By the way that was an insane adventure for many reasons.  You can read that story here: Half Marathon Nightmare!!!) Then it occurred to me, what better way to begin a regimen then to train for the half marathon that weekend instead of the 5k.  Although my friend would be running the full marathon, at least we would be at the same event pushing ourselves to complete something awesome.  

I knew training for this half marathon would be tough.  I looked at the calendar and realized there were only 9 weeks until the race. Last year, my plan was 12 weeks.  We barely were prepared.  I began looking at 10 week plans because I technically had nine and a half weeks.  I thought if I could complete the last long run day of  week 3, which would be 6 miles, it would leave me 9 weeks of a plan left to follow until the race.  Completing that 6 mile run was not going to be easy.  Let me back up just a bit.  Last week was the first time I had ran in a quite a while because of few different circumstances.  At this point, knowing I have only ran twice, and  both times I had to push to even complete 3 miles, running 6 miles felt impossible.  I knew I had the cardio for it, but was not sure about the muscle and joint endurance after such a long break from running.  However, I also knew that if I could complete it, then I would feel very confident moving forward with the training plan.  

I messaged my buddy and asked him if he would like to run the 6 miles with me.  His mileage was already built up and he was definitely up for it.  We met Wednesday morning to run.  Up until this point, my two runs were on Thursday, August 22nd and Sunday the 25th.  This 6 mile run was to be on Wednesday, August 28th.  As a trainer, I would never suggest this to anybody after taking a lengthy break from running.  The risk of injury is great if your joints, tendons, and ligaments are not ready to withstand that repetitive force.

In my early days of running in 2010, I had to push through distances that I thought were going to break me, but they always grew me instead.  I do a lot of strength training that is ideal for runners. Since I have such a strong base of lower body strength, I had a pretty good feeling that even if I went through some pain, I would not injure myself long term.  

Off we went to begin this 6 mile run. The last time I ran this distance was training for the half marathon last July.  I was unsure of what to expect.
 
The first mile was pretty good except for running up a steep hill too fast.  I should have pulled back, but my pride was in the way, and I was conversing with my friend. After the hill was over,  I felt pretty good. We continued on to mile 2, then 3.  I knew we had started too fast, but I felt ok.  I had hopes it would continue.  

Around mile 3.5 my hips and lower back, where I commonly have some issues, began to ache a little.  I tried to pull back, but it seemed running slower actually caused my gait to change. This was applying more impact to what was hurting.  By mile 4, my hips began to throb really bad, and my lower back was hurting pretty bad as well.  I knew this feeling.  I had it the first time 3 years ago when trying to reach 2 miles for the first time.   I persevered then and I wanted to now, but was not sure I could.

The pain intensified and almost brought me to a screeching halt. I thought back to the early days. I was so determined and I always knew that it would pay off later.  I remembered thinking about how many people were following me on that journey and I wanted to be strong for them.  I knew my perseverance could change the life of someone if I made it through.

 

I thought about my current clients and how hard they work in their sessions.  How could I expect them to push through when they felt like quitting if I couldn't do the same?  There are too many people I would let down including myself if I stopped, so I kept on.  

 

The last 2 miles felt like an eternity, as does this blog entry.  :) Every step felt calculated and it was as if I had to make a conscious decision to take the next step.  I wanted to be a runner again too much to quit.  I knew before starting this run it was going to be a test.  I knew that if I did not pass it that I would question if running a half in October would be possible.  I decided it meant too much to me to give up on the idea that quick.  I continued to calculate the cost of quitting over and over and over.  

 

 

I decided it was all worth it, and I had to make it.  I just kept saying, "just put one foot in front of the other, and do not look ahead." ( ..... one foot, then the next, then the next.)  Each minute felt like 10, but I was going to finish.  I wanted to feel that feeling of accomplishment.  I had a feeling that my body was going to respond well to the new demand and it would begin to remember how to deal with longer runs.  That is yet to be determined, as I have not had to run again. 

I did finish the six miles this past Wednesday.  The next day would be the real test.  I knew how my body would feel if it was a bad decision.  I also knew what I would feel like if it was ok, and I was going to be able to continue my training.    

The next day, I was not very sore.  No more then expected from an increase in mileage.  I was so glad.  I am very excited to continue to train for this race.  I will keep you all updated as I technically need to complete 6 - 7 miles tomorrow.  I may pull it back to 4 and then adjust next Saturday.  I think I will just play it by ear.  My sweet wife said she would run tomorrow with me.  I am excited because it will bring back great memories of last year when we ran the other half marathon together.

Don't forget if you want to read about last years adventure you can do so here: 

Half Marathon Nightmare!!!  LOL...

Thanks for reading today...and remember .... 

Put in the time. Believe in yourself. Trust the process.  Change forever! 

Time to RUN Again!!!

Wow, what a hectic year 2013 has been.  I do not even know where to begin with this entry, but I want to re-connect with you all and talk about running.  Running seems so simple for some but seems so complex to me.  So as you may know at the end of 2012 I was injured and had to stop for about 4 months.  I then ran a 5k in March with only a couple of runs under my belt.  I pushed so hard I actually made running not fun.  I soon got into mountain biking, which I am in love with, but miss my running as well.  So last week I decided to run.  I had some hesitations though I must say.  They say you do not lose your cardio base until after 90 days.  Hoewever, that was not my biggest concern.  My biggest concern was getting all of my joints and ligaments and tendons back in the groove of running. My mind was made up though and I just laced up the old shoes and went out the door.   I ran a very light pace and just enjoyed the fresh air.  About a mile in I was feeling absolutely amazing. I could not believe the cool refreshing day and was a little bummed I had been missing out on that feeling all this time.  That was until I reached 2 miles.  My hips started aching and my back as well.  Those are 2 very weak places for me.  They seem to fatigue first.  Yep, my biggest concern was a reality.  I did finish the 3 miles however and as always I never regret a run.

Along with the physical, there is another obstacle that seems to be getting in my way.  Pride!  Comparing myself to others is something I constantly have to work on.  Now that I have lost so much ground I feel like I am starting over.  I know I am not completely starting over because I can still complete 3 miles of running, but my pace has changed a great deal.  I am experiencing hip discomfort at about mile 2 as I have said and this was a huge obstacle that I had to overcome the first time.  I know the process to do it though and thats over half the battle.

When running a lot I like to be working toward something.  So why not just dive right in.  I have decided to train for another Half Marathon.  I have a dear friend that will be running it as well.  He has an absolutely amazing story about how he began to run.  You can get an idea of his journey from this video interview he did with a website called Running On Juice.  You can also find out more about him at his juicing facebook page ....  

 I hope to be posting frequently about my half marathon training as it will be difficult in only 10 weeks.  If I had been running regularly it would be less difficult, but from kind of a brand new start to a half in 10 weeks is going to be kind of tough.

Talk to you very soon friends.

Believe. Trust. Change

Rainy Run

Today was my day to run. I knew it was supposed to be rainy but boy oh boy was it rainy. Barely making it to 40 degrees to boot and the wind blowing a little.  I was thinking, "Really? Did I publicly profess on my blog I would run in this?" Actually there was a part of me that was looking forward to the running in the rain until it got closer to time .. lol ... but all day it was just a monsoon outside and I was determined to wait until it let up at some point.  I was running out of time and thankfully it turned into a drizzle.  I went to change into my running clothes and I heard it just let go.  Oh well too late to turn back now.  By the time I went outside it had let up again. I was so glad.  I wore my rain jacket anyway.  During the first few minutes it did start drizzling again but not bad at all.  The worst part was the puddles everywhere but it ended up being entertaining to dodge them.  However it was inevitable to be 100% successful some of them were deceiving. :(  ... yep you guessed I ended up with wet feet at about .65 miles into the run.  I have been there done that in the past, so not too big a deal, just went on.  Today though was a tough run overall. My energy levels were low probably because I am carb cycling and it was a low carb day. My existing back issues flared up a little and my whole back was on fire after mile 2 and an existing bone bruise under my knee was hurting pretty bad as well.  I did make it to mile 3 before stopping.  I was determined to finish, after all it was much harder then this the first time and persevered.  Overall I was glad I did it. I have never ever regretted a run. Glad its over though and ready for some clear warmer days.  Wow, building my running base back up is harder then I thought. 

Be blessed and remember if you don't feel like working out ... do it anyway! :)

First 3 Miler Since Injury Hiatus

If you did not read my previous post to this one it would help with the understanding of this one.

So on to to a new chapter of running for me. So I had my coming back to running emotional party the other day as you read in my post.  As great as it seems to have found my passion and myself with running again there is a lot of hard work ahead of me. Before my little hiatus from running happened, I went from 100 pounds overweight and not being able to jog even 60 seconds without feeling like I was going to die, to running 3.1 miles in 7 weeks in a time of 39:54 to my best persona record (PR) last year of that same race of 25:22. Not only that but last summer completely my first half marathon of 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 16 minutes. 

I know that my starting place is completely different this time because I have a foundation and was able to still run 2 miles the other day, but my expectations and goals for growth will still take just as much hard work to obtain. I am not entirely sure what those goals will be just yet and you will have to wait until a future post to find those out, but I want them to be something that only dedication can achieve much like my first goal of going from the couch and sedentary to running a 3.1 mile race.

Since my last post I did go for another run on Saturday with my wife. I really wanted to see where I was with my cardio and muscle endurance since the break I had taken. I had decided we would go for 3 miles.  Even though this was a short run for me in the past I knew that it would not feel short that day.  We did complete it but honestly there were moments I had to dig deep to keep going.  Because I had trained my muscle memory to stride at a certain speed comfortably in the past my legs still wanted to run that way which I think is the biggest contributor to that run being so difficult.  I hated though to force myself to run slower which would change my gait and probably cause me to heel to strike which I had worked so hard on not doing anymore.  I was pleased though that my form came back to me because in the end that was where my biggest gains in endurance came from.  Learning to run more efficiently I mean.   For a little info on that you can visit the Running Efficiency page of my blog.

The run went fairly well.  I was pushed a little with my cardio and legs were fatiguing but over all it felt great.  I was a little curious to know what I would feel like the next day, especially my foot that has been injured and still a little painful, but everything was great.  No soreness or stiffness the next morning or today.

Tomorrow is Tuesday which is one of the days I like to run. It looks like its going to be cold and rainy but that never stopped me before so I am going to suck it up and go for it.  One thing I learned in my past adventures was how to push through those feelings of dreading the weather or current physical feelings because I was always proud of completing my run and I never regretted one. Since the injury, one thing that has been hard even for other types of workouts, be it strength or anything, was the ability to push through and just do it despite how I felt or my surroundings. I miss having that grit and determination and what a better way to regain it then by forcing myself to run tomorrow with a high of 36 degrees and it raining off and on. 

Be Blessed!!!!  and remember  BELIEVE, TRUST, CHANGE!!!

www.philliplafon.com
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New Self Discovery

 

Today is the beginning of a new chapter in my life. I am not sure what to call it but I know something new emotionally, and physically happened today.  

I cannot begin to explain the complications I have been through physically the last few months. If I had to describe it with one word I would call it "pain".  I have been very discouraged and bummed out and yet still attempting to be the motivation for my clients that they need and deserve. 

Running used to be a very large part of my life and evidently part of my identity. It all began a few months ago I aggravated an old injury playing basketball which sidelined me from running all together. Then later came a knee injury, and so on to a few other things. I thought I could change my workouts up to lower impact cardio but before long I was sedentary except for demonstrating movements for clients. I went a few weeks on end with maybe one workout a week. 

I hear you guys now saying "what, a trainer and your were not even working out?" Well I say to that yes, your right. Guess what? I am human too. :) .. 

So this week I decided I was running again. Pain or no pain it was happening. I contemplated trying to move into the minimalist world of running and ran Tuesday in some of my minimalist shoes. I did it the right way keeping mileage low and walking every quarter mile but I just wasn't feeling it. 

Today I put on my favorite pair of running shoes and decided I was gonna give what I had. As I ran my foot was hurting but soon it warmed up enough to not hurt severely. I began running faster and faster and remembered my original journey running, which where this blog begins if you care to go back and read it, click here, but as I tired and felt I could not go another step I remembered all the break throughs I had originally. I thought to myself, will I have to start there again? Soon I realized what strength and confidence that journey built in me that I had lost lately. So I embraced it and knew at that moment that yes I am starting over and its ok, I will only become strong again and stronger then before.  

So in summary I found myself again today. I do not know how to explain it but something just clicked today. I am excited to start this journey over and to see where it leads this time at a completely different starting point then before.

Be Blessed everyone and remember,

Put in the time. Believe in yourself. Trust the process. Change forever!

Wow! I cannot believe it has been so long since I posted on my blog. Quick update. Since the half marathon the biggest race I did that meant the most to me was the Runway 5k in October. This race is my anniversary 5k. The very first race I did was the Runway 5k in 2010 and completed it in 39:54. I had high hopes for the 2012 Runway 5k and even though I fell short of my goal I got very close and was proud of time of 25:22. It was a very fun experience and was able to take some friends with me this year .. we had a blast.

Half Marathon Nightmare!!!

COMPLETED FIRST HALF MARATHON  TODAY!!!!! 2hrs 16 min ... we were happy with time but not at with how we started the day. Here is a little summary that still does not describe how horrific it was to actually go through.

Beginning was a NIGHTMARE!!!!! Got up at 4am and left hotel feeling yuck in my belly .... it was pouring cats and dogs on the way... our plan to drink a protein shake for breakfast in the car failed when we were so consumed driving in the dark and rain that we forgot to make and drink them. We pull up to park in a grass field and its still pouring and then starts lightening. We make half a shake and choke it down because its all we could muster with the conditions and nerves. We had 7 minutes to board shuttle to the start and were forced to get out in the rain. We avoided puddles in the grass as long as possible but water was seeping in our shoes. Lightening continued and then struck the campground and snapped a tree within a few hundred feet of us and the thunder was the loudest I have ever heard in my 33 years of life. It was EXTREMELY TERRIFYING as we stand in water. Then beside the shuttle bus was nothing but 6 inch deep standing water and no way around it to board the bus. Everyone had to wade through to get on. So now our socks and shoes were 100% water logged. We had to pee so bad it was bringing tears to our eyes as we road in a bus with air conditioning blowing us as we were hungry, cold, had to pee, and soaked to the core. The ride up the mountain took 40 minutes to go 20 miles at about 20-30 mph because the bus could not go up the hill any faster. During the ride I realize that my sleep was not super great and my legs were just achy and not feeling fresh. We get there and I jet to the woods for relief as Christina has to stand in line for the porta-potties which was very long. Then it begins to drizzle again and I go to a covered porch as she holds umbrella and waits in line. Then we deicide we have enough time before the start so we might as well try to wring out our socks. So we take off our shoes and wring our socks out like washcloths. It at least kept us from squishing around as much. We then realize we are so thirsty and forgot our bottle of water. We are standing beside a gas station and then realize we have no means of money, no cash, or plastic.  We knew there would be some aid stations but I practically had cotton mouth at this point from nerves and hustle and bustle. So we make it to the start and we attempt to warm up our legs a little. We could not hear any of the pre-race instructions except for at mile ten the dirt road is soupy and if you lose your bib to do something but we had no clue what he said.  The air horn goes off and we start.  The first 2 miles fly by and I was so glad to see the first aid station with water. The volunteer is holding out a cup and as we approach a lady just in front of me zigs over and snatches it and the volunteer looks at me sad and says sorry that was the last water we are so sorry. I was miffed to say the least. We forged on and to mile 4 and the next aid station and they had water and we began to feel more in control. Thank God it never rained during the race and we began to get in a groove and then it hit me that I had to pee again. I looked for a any way I could go and see a trail that forks off so I take off down the trail as others laugh at my adventure. It works out perfectly because the trail looped right back to the race course where i met right back up with Christina. From then on it went well. There were some hills at the beginning that were tough.  My hips started feeling it at about mile 6 but at mile 7 the downhills got kinda steep and we just went for it. We ran about 4 minute per mile faster pace then we had been because just took off and let gravity takes its course.  It was crazy but fun. We just started picking people off left and right. Everyone probably thought were crazy because its about mile 10 and people are starting to really struggle and we were just flying down the hills. Then it flattened out about mile 11 and it all caught up to me and so we walked for a minute up a huge hill and then as soon as we started back I realized I had excruciating pain in my right foot and I seriously thought it was a stress fracture and I was limp running until soon my left quad started burning so bad from the over compensation that I had to just bare the foot pain but then all the sudden it started to fade and we gutted it out to the finish. Overall we did have a great time but boy was our will tested at first. It was the hardest thing I have ever forced myself to do. We grew in huge ways today. It was good for us in hind sight. We can tackle anything now. We just kept reminding ourselves while we suffered in the beginning that at least we were alive and healthy and able to partake in this journey. We tried to find the positive in everything that happened. Even though my prayers for no rain seemed to not be answered they were on the course with no rain and I think God had put it together the way He wanted. We learned a lot today. Thanks for everyones support. Be blessed everyone!

A Runner burns enough calories to power a house ...

Runner.com - Information and Inspiration for the Runner

• Total calories burned by core runners in one year equals 4,234,278,397,440.  That’s enough to power the electricity needs for 1,771,622 homes for a year.  That is equivalent to all the homes in Los Angeles and San Francisco combined.            

• Total energy used by all core runners is equivalent to 177,162,208 gallons of gasoline  That’s enough to power a Boeing 747 around the world 1,093 times. That’s also equivalent to the energy expended by 177 atomic bombs the size of Little Boy, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

• Calories a man runner burns per year of running equals 175,386 which is enough to power an LCD TV for 107 days.                                            

• Calories a woman runner burns per year of running equals 119,574 enough to power a clothes washer for 6 months

• An average woman running a marathon will burn enough calories to power a 60 watt bulb for 8 days

• An average man running a marathon will burn enough calories to power a laptop computer for 8 days

• For a half marathon, a woman runner will burn enough calories to charge cell phone for more than 21 days

• For a half marathon, a man runner will burn enough calories to run a clock radio for over 3.5 days

• The total calories burned by all finishers of the New York City Marathon equals 145,154,457, that is enough to light up NYC for 7 .5 hours

Sorry for the delays ...

This post will be very informal so forgive typos or grammar mistakes. So lets get to it.  I did try the shoes below and did not keep either of them. The Brooks Ghost was decent but my heel did not stay in place well and they were a little wide. The Saucony felt pretty good but was too long and a size down was snug around my foot. It was light and responsive and I liked it but never quite got the right fit. After a month long search and trying on at least 15 different pairs of shoes I found a great one. It is the Brooks Launch pictured to the left. I was not super excited about the color buts its the only color produced this year.


Ok moving on lets talk about whats been going on with running for me. My last post about actual running was about the Turkey Trot in November.  I continued to run a some every week but when I am not racing it seems harder for me to run as consistent. Well I finally signed up for another race back in March. I registered for the Bearfoot 5k in Bostic, NC. Its a fun raiser for Sunshine School and its a always a great turn out. Well I wanted to set a new PR (personal record) for this race and if I was going to I would have to work hard to do it. The whole first mile is up hill and I knew it would be tough to keep the pace I needed to PR. Long story short training went well and I felt good the morning of the race and completed it in 26:39 which was indeed a new PR for me. I placed second in my age group.

This past month I signed up for the Miles for Messiah 5k on April 28th. I had no idea how this course was going to be and had decided I would just run this race a with little less focus on time and more for fun. Well of course my competitive nature got a hold of me and I ended starting out way to fast. I pulled back finally and tried to get into a good pace. I had no Idea that most of the race would be uphill. I ended up running this one with a time of 26:35 which was a new PR by 4 seconds.  I again placed second in my age group at this race.

So now I am looking ahead to the Leader of the Pack 5k on May 12th. Now this race I am planning to go for a loftier PR goal. I want to run somewhere in the 24 minute range ... I will even take 24:59 .. lol... I only have 2 weeks to work on speed so we will see how this goes.

Well that should catch everything up to speed ... pun intended :).  Oh oh oh ... I almost forgot I officially signed up for my first Half Marathon in July. I am very excited to go for this accomplishment. My wife is going to run with me which delights me so much more. Its going to be a wonderful experience and the course is gorgeous. I will not be going for a specific time at all .. I just want to finish without walking at all.

Thanks for reading. Remember.. Put in the time, believe in yourself, trust the process, change forever.

Be Blessed!

Well I know its been forever since I posted and I also know I was supposed to review how running in my Vibrams was going, but I decided to not run in them currently ... long story but still loving them and love wearing them.

I did need some new running shoes though and so this week I will be trying out a couple pairs ... they should arrive Friday.

Brooks Ghost 4  

Saucony ProGrid Triumph 9 




Cannot wait to try them ... running a race next week and going for a PR so hopefully the ones I decide on  will give me the edge I need.

Be Blessed!!!

Have you heard of Vibram FiveFingers?

So my Christmas wish list included some Vibram Five Fingers Shoes 


If Santa brings them I will review them here. Stay tuned. If you want a pair and know how incredible they are already click the link below.





MyFiveFingers.com Year-Long Giveaway
http://www.myfivefingers.com/win-fivefingers/?awt_l=FUMTI&awt_m=KYWgt21POsJKRQ

Thanksgiving Day - 2nd Annual
Father in-law / Son in-law Turkey Trot

Ok so thats not the official name but my father in-law has enrolled me for the second year to run the Turkey Trot with him and I already love races but a free race is even better ... lol.  I am very proud of him because he does not run regularly and he beat the time of my 1st 5k last year where I had run for 9 weeks to prepare for it.

WAY TO GO RICHARD!


Even though this is my most dreaded course because of the hilly ending mile, its fun and the challenge is still exciting at the same time.

Last year this was only my second race and I completed it in 34:54. This year I ran it in 28:03. A great improvement from a general perspective but of course my competitive nature always finds reasons maybe it should have been better. The race was very congested at the start and so after crossing the start line it was still not possible to run at the speed I wanted for about a quarter mile because I was constantly dodging and tip toeing around the crowd of people. Next year I will definitely be near the front because I think this cost me at least 15- 20 seconds off my total time. My personal best for a 5k was the race in October where I ran 27:45 in Charlotte but it was a very flat race so I had no expectations of beating that on this hilly course but after seeing how close I was I cannot help but to think had I not got caught up in the congestion that I may have actually beaten my Charlotte time. BUMMER :( ... but all in all I am very happy with my progress and time.

I think I want to really focus on improving my 5k time because I really feel my competitive nature kicking in and I am a person that usually just jumps into things with both feet and so I want to find out what I am really made of.  Last year I ran a couple races with my sister and she beat me badly.  I was just beginning to run and very overweight then so I hoped to be able to keep up with her one day.  This year I ran 2 races with her in October and beat her twice and she seemed unaffected; however, I wondered in the back of her mind if she was planning on stomping me in the next race. LOL!   Well this was the next race and she definitely kicked it up a notch and after the first half mile I never saw her again. She beat me by 43 seconds. Does not sound like a lot but in the race world thats about a tenth of a mile.  All I can say is its on now sis! LOL.

This blog used to really be about my struggles and how to stay mentally tough and overcome them but I am happy to say that it is turning more into celebrating victories and looking onto the horizon for a more successful and bright future of fitness.

Thanks for reading and be Blessed!

Runway 5k 

10/29/2011 @ 8:05 AM

RunningAHEAD.com

Distance: 3 . 1 mi

Duration: 27:45

Pace: 8:58 / mi
5k PR

So its about 4:15am October 29, 2011 and I just could not sleep anymore. I woke up at 3:30am and finally decided to just get up.


Well today is the day!
Its been one year since I ran my first 5k race, in September 2010 I decided that it was time to end my battle with weight.  Mentally I was an athlete just like in high school, but physically was a whole other story. A sad one. A story of man that now 100 pounds over weight and pre-diabetic.   It was a weird 10 years of my life being overweight. Feeling active and athletic mentally but appearing and physically feeling overweight was very awkward and frustrating. Then the transition to complacency began and before you know it you almost accept this new place in your life. I say almost because I do not think anyone ever is ok with being overweight but you get darn close to accepting it once you have tried so hard for so long and just cannot seem to get a grip on it. Well my grip came one day last year where I said " this is it,  I am tired of being an obese person! I WANT TO LIVE AGAIN!"

I was not sure what do but I knew what I felt like doing. I wanted to run as far away from the feelings of defeat and low self esteem as I could. So thats exactly what I did. I started running.  If your interested you can begin reading my journey by clicking here, but it has definitely been a journey that is for sure. Today is one year since my first 5k race (3.2 miles) and I am so excited to see my progress.  There have been struggles that only this blog can explain and then some not ever posted here. I will say this though, perseverance always pays off. Set a goal and go for it.

I will return later to post the results.

Be Blessed!


Updated 11:30am ..... for results of today's 5k go to my Facebook page. 

"What I've learned from running is that the time to push hard is when you're hurting like crazy and you want to give up. Success is often just around the corner." Sir James Dyson, Inventor of the Dyson vacuum cleaner _______________________________________________________ This was not my quote but sums up how I felt in my journey from couch potato to runner. It really is an eye opening experience to push when it hurts. I encourage you to try pushing through when it gets tough and you just feel like you cannot go further. Go past that point if only briefly just don't stop when you first feel at that breaking point add a quarter mile or 2 minutes if your timing yourself. It really will be monumental growth later on and will give you new perspective on yourself. For new readers of the blog you can read my journey from the beginning by   "clicking here"  Be blessed everyone.

I want to run again.....

I have not been running for about 3 months. If you have been reading my blog for a while then you probably have read about my running journey. For those of you that do not know let me give you a very brief but hopefully informative summary.


My running began because I knew I had to get a grip on my health. I was basically close to 100 lbs over weight and miserable physically. I hated the way I looked and felt. I could still play my favorite sports and did on occasion but they were very few and far between. I knew I could not let that ability to play sports fool me any longer into thinking there was no problem. I knew from past experiences that just starting a hardcore gym routine  was not going to last because I had tried and stopped so many times. I knew I needed something to entice my competitive nature. So what a better way then to start running. It was something that I did not need anyone else to do with me and yet there could be standards and goals I could set out to beat. Mostly competing with myself, but that was great because I do this with almost everything I do anyway whether it be a record I had set on Nintendo Wii or just other random things. So I thought to myself "running" what a perfect way to challenge myself and get active. So i began my journey. It was really really harder then I thought and I faced walls from cardio endurance walls to joint pain walls to waking up sick on an important running day walls, but I pretty much dug deeper then I had at anytime in my life and broke through all of those. I was very proud at that point in my journey.


(You can read the whole journey here "A Run for my Life") 


Even though I worked very hard and was consistent the weight was not coming off the way I had hoped. Diet played a part but my body adapting to the same routine  played a bigger part. I had reached a place in running where I was not progressing and I was very discouraged. I had come a long way but to not progress was driving me crazy and discouraging me. I decided to focus on weight loss in general. I began to educate myself and immerse myself into the nutrition and exercise world, learning all I could from any source I could find. I was successful and I am down 33 pounds since that plateau where running was not getting the weight off, however as I lost the weight and began other forms of training and exercise, I had lost my time to run and a little of my zeal to run as well. I have run a couple times in the last 3 months but only as a warm up for a class I attend that a friend teaches and so it was like a half mile or so run but nothing that pushed me all that much.. Well the way I felt running just that scared me because I felt like my running endurance had decreased how ever my cardio during aerobic sessions felt increased.  I was perplexed yet to afraid to start running again for the fear of being back to square 1.  Well over the last couple of weeks I have just been craving a run. I have procrastinated because if I could not run even the distance I did before it would really discourage me but finally this week I gave it a go. I ran on Tuesday and actually because of poor planning only had time to run 1 mile at most but I forced myself to do it anyway just to feel that start feeling again. I knew the longer I put it off the harder it would be to start. So off I went to run this mile on Tuesday, however first let me say that when I stopped running 3 months ago my average pace was about a 12 minute mile sometimes 11:30 if I was focused or at a race,  but once running I did feel lighter on my feet and I was like "wow I can feel that 33 lbs gone".  I also noticed that my pace felt swifter. I use my phone to track my runs with GPS and so I glaced at it and it said I was around a 10 min pace. I could not believe it. So I finished that mile looked down and it said I completed it in 9 min 34 sec. I was stoked and in that moment I was reminded of a dream I had just had that night before. I honestly in the dream I had just ran a mile at that time. So that was a pretty freaky feeling. Well today I set out to run 2 miles and I knew that I could not keep my new pace for the whole two miles because I would tire quickly but I was excited to see what it be for the whole 2 miles. I pushed myself pretty hard to keep a decent pace and when I finished today my pace for 2 miles was 9:39 per mile ..... I am so elated with this. I am pretty sure I could not have gone a 3rd but for day 2 after not running for a while I am very ENCOURAGED verses discouraged as I thought I would be. I am so glad to be back running again. There is just an indescribable feeling running gives me. Its a natural high and sense of accomplishment nothing else gives me.  Thanks for sharing this with me by reading my blog. Be blessed everyone.

Obstacles... Obstacles... Obstacles....

I honestly feel like that is all I deal with. I am determined to not give up. I had some injuries and back situations in December and into January. I recovered and started back at it and then ran my fastest 5k in March. Right after that I began to have pain in my lift shin. It felt like a shin splint and everything I have read says to not run through the pain.


I had been reading as well about the new barefoot running craze and it seems to make so much sense. I read how it began to eliminate pain and injury that running shoes can actually cause. Of course my sensitive feet are not about go barefoot anywhere so I began to search for a minimal shoe solution. I had tried Vibram five fingers before and they were just not a good fit for me. So this weekend I picked up some New Balance Minimus Trail shoes. I love the way they fit and feel. It HIGHLY cautions you about how to introduce them into your routine because it completely changes the mechanics of how you run and the muscles you use. So I started yesterday running only half a mile with them at the gym on the treadmill and the remainder of my workout was on the elliptical. I really hope this helps with my shin. They sure are fun to wear. I cannot wait to see how it goes.


Check it out. You can click on the shoe for more information.