Spirit of a Marathon

My blogging over the next few weeks will be a little different. There's only so much you can say about walking a mile, a training plan or a playlist. Today, I want to spend some time on the documentary, Spirit of a Marathon. This movie was mentioned on another blog and I immediately queued it up on my Netflix account. During the last month of my training I watched it over a dozen times. I'm always inspired by the life stories of others. I love memoirs and biographies so this DVD was right on time for me. Basically, it chronicles the lives of a diverse group of runners training for the Chicago Marathon from female champion Deena Kastor to Kenyan Daniel Muturi to this a single mother (first-time marathoner) who starting running to lose weight.

There are professional marathoners and people who for run for the simple enjoyment and challenge. Below are some of favorite quotes from this documentary.

Sometimes the moments that challenge us the most define us.
--Deena Kastor

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When you come across that finish line, no matter how slow or how fast, it will change your life forever.

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People ask me why I run the marathon. I do it for the t-shirt.

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It's not necessarily about a destination of just getting from the start line to the finish line. It's about the journey we are on.

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I must confess that I watched it again today. I'm almost sad to return it. It served as such a wonderful motivational tool during my last month of training. I do look forward to seeing what will inspire me over the next nine weeks.

Week One Training Plan

Well, here's my game plan for next week.

I'm going to focus on maintain my level of fitness.

Monday - 1.5 miles
Tuesday - 1 mile, strength training
Wednesday - 2 miles
Thursday - 1 mile, strengh training
Friday - off
Saturday - 2 miles
Sunday - off

I've been unplugged for the past three weeks. I'm plugging back in so I'll post my playlist sometime tomorrow.

I'm hooked and I'm ready

Okay, I'm ready to start training for my next 5K. I've already chosen my event.

The Surgeon General's 5K, June 3rd, Piedmont Park, 6:45 PM.

My goal is to complete the course in 45 mins.

Here we go again! Time to earn another t-shirt.

I did it!

Mission accomplished.



It was wet. It was exciting. It was challenging.



I am so happy and proud of myself.



I am so grateful to Jill and Crystal for being there with me. Truthfully, I am not so sure I would have been able to finish that course without Jill. There were way too many hills and inclines for me....but I did them all. Jill was great. She laughed and told me funny stories as a plugged away. I still can't believe she was willing to walk in the rain for over an hour to support me.



My goal was to finish without stopping and I did just that. I initially wanted to finished in 45 minutes but over the past month I ditched that goal. Lol!



All that training really paid off. I'm not nearly as sore as I thought I would be today.



I'm already setting my next fitness goal.



1. Lose another 40 pounds.

2. Beat my 5k time (1:04) in June.



I'm going to spend today stretching and then I'm back on the path tomorrow.



Yesterday I learned that I can do anything I really want to do -- with a little help from my friends (and strangers). The support I have receive during the past 11 weeks has been overwhelming. Yesterday on the course, there was so many people cheering us on.



Oh, I was worried about being last in the race. I wasn't. I was second to last. Lol! It's all good. I tried not to think about it while I was out there but it was in the back of my mind.



I'll be back later on with next week's training plan.

The Day Before

I have been on a rollercoaster of emotions today. I'm excited. I'm nervous. I'm excited. I'm nervous. For the most part, I'm excited. I can taste that finish line. I can honestly say I have done my best to prepare. I got my butt out there and walked. I made progress. I conceived it. I believed it. Now, I'm going to achieve it. No matter what happens tomorrow, I am soooo proud of myself. I am so proud I can hardly think about it without crying. I have come so far and I can't go back. I feel like a different person. I am a different person. I am getting healthier and more fit by the day. I am realizing my first fitness goal for the year and it feels great!

Well, I'm off to get a good night's rest. I'll be back to share my thoughts tomorrow after my big walk.

Good night.

The Clock is Ticking

Okay, today has not been a good day. I've been so nervous I started crying. I don't know why I'm filled with so much self-doubt today. I guess it's because my energy level has been down the past few days. It's a combination of a slight cold or hay fever or something and a lot of crap on my mind. However, I am not going to let those minor distractions get in the way of achieving my goal. I've come so far.

It's raining out. Since I already have a slight cold, I'm not going to walk today. I'm going to do about 30 minutes or so of step aerobics. I raised the level a couple of weeks ago so I'll get a good aerobic workout. I need to work off some of this nervous energy.

The Final Countdown

I wasn't feeling so well but I managed to get in my walks. Saturday I walked 3.5 miles.

My goal this week is to walk 3 miles Monday - Thursday and rest on Friday. Saturday is the big day. Wow! I can hardly believe it. Eleven weeks ago I could barely walk around the block.

This week I am going to do my best to do my stretching, eat healthy foods, and stay positive.

I can wait to cross that finish line on Saturday.

I'm already thinking about coming up with my next fitness goal.

Two Weeks and counting!

I did 3 miles today.

I have been riding a mental roller coaster this week. I am so nervous about my event. I've come so close and I just want to do well. I kept thinking of all sorts of things that could go wrong.

Once I got over all that negativity, I was able to focus on my outstanding achievement. I have been walking five days out of the week for nine weeks. I can hardly believe it.

Slow and steady wins the race. I'm so proud of myself for getting out there and trying. I tried and tried and kept making progress.

Today was real emotional for me. I really wanted to walk 3 miles, nonstop, today. First of all, it was cold and rainy. I wasn't about to let this stop me. I get out to the walking path and there is no one there. I couldn't believe it. Where are all the diehard athletes? Well, I stretched, looked at my watch and started walking. After .25 miles, I saw two women jogging. Okay, I'm not the only dummy out here in this weather trying to exercise. When they passed me, one of them gave me a thumbs up and said, good for you. I almost cried. It made me feel so good to receive encouragement from a perfect stranger. I have no idea why it meant so much to me in that moment, but it did. Here and there, I encountered other on the path. Somehow I felt they understand how important it was for me to be out there walking. I thank them for their encouraging smiles. An hour and twenty minutes later, I was done--literally. I wanted to walk three miles today and I did. For this, I am truly grateful.

I'm going to do this. I'm really going to do this!

Three Weeks!

I've got three weeks to go before the big day. Today was a good day.

I did 2.5 miles in 55 mins. -- nonstop! I'm going to continue to focus on distance and increasing my endurance.

I'm starting to stiffen a bit so I need to remember to stretch and ice my knee.

I'm so proud of myself!

Twenty four days and counting

Can you say anxiety attacks? I allowed my mind to be filled with so much self doubt today. I love Kelly. She gave me a nice pep talk. I have to learn to give myself credit. I started this program barely able to work around the block. I walking up to 2 miles now. I'm worry about nothing. I will be able to finish. I will be able to finish. I will be able to finish.

My manager is also very sweet. I know she offered to do the 5k with me. I assume she was going to run. I can't believe she's willing to walk with me. I was deeply touched. It's probably one of the nicest things anyone has done for me in a long time. Life is funny. You never know who will be there for you in your time of need. I'm speechless. I really don't know what to say. Her gesture touched me deeply.

I walked a little over 1.5 miles today and it was a challenge. I went to the chirocator yesterday. My knee is fine. I got an adjustment and some ultrasound therapy on it. He suggested I wrap it when I walk. I did but I'm not sure it made much of a difference. I iced it after my walk. I'm not sure this made a difference. Oh well....

One more thing...I have been focussing on my food. I want to be at least 10 pounds lighter by the end of the month. The less weight I have to carry across the finish line, the better. So far I've dropped three pounds.

Twenty-seven days and counting

The Publix 5K is in 27 days. Wow!

Yesterday's walk was good. I walked 50 minutes (2 miles). Although today is an off day, I need to walk. I was sick on Wednesday. Well, it's snowing today. I'm going to have to wing it and do 30 minutes on the step aerobics, plus my strength training.

I'm nervous, anxious, and excited all at the same time.

I have been doing some visualizations and watching myself walking across that finish line.

Week Eight's Training Plan consists of:

Monday - 40 mins.
Tuesday - 35 mins., strength training, 50 crunches
Wednesday - 45 mins.
Thursday - 35 mins., strength training, 50 crunches
Friday - off
Saturday - 55 mins.
Sunday - off