Go Speed Racer GO!

So I didn't post Wednesday like I had hoped to, but I did keep to the training.

Days remaining:155

*Miles to date: 15

This week my direct superior at work left the office on a 3 week vacation to get married and go on his honeymoon. He's a great guy and I really hope everything goes well for him and his wife in the next few weeks and into the future. Congrats Scott!

In his absence I've been picking up where he left off and staying late the last few days and trying really hard to prove that he has nothing to worry about while hes gone. So far, things are going really well. All deadlines have been met, and the rest of the staff seems content at where we stand through the Memorial day holiday.

Due to the heavy workload, I haven't been alloted the same amount of free time to rest and run as I normally would during the week, but I'm proud of the fact that I was able to squeeze in all of the runs I scheduled this week. I missed my Thursday run to see the new Indiana Jones with the family, but was able to run it on Friday when I was planning to have a rest day; fair trade.

I finally made the transition from time to distance in training this week too, and I'm actually glad I decided to make the change. Initially, running for time was great because you knew that each week going into it you were going to push yourself further and further, but didn't really notice a difference by the time you would finish because it was a mere 3 minutes longer than the week before. I think any beginner to running should try this strategy because it definitely worked for me -- someone who hadn't really run more than a mile before, and that was back in high school. By the end, however, it started to get dangerous as I reached 50 minutes and above. I would maintain that new heightened length of time for 3 separate runs during the week, and my legs would become really sore in the knees or thighs in the next couple of days while resting at work. Last week I would estimate I ran for 24 miles after running around the local lake and back 3 separate times. While happy about my accomplishment, I also need to keep in mind that I am still a novice at the whole running routine, and my body really isn't used to that kind of impact yet. I also read that between 25 and 30 miles in a week is when most people start to experience injuries if they aren't careful about their training, which is harder to monitor with time based running. I could just as easily have started to run for lesser and greater times to create variety, but I was looking for something more concrete to continue on in reaching my goal.

So, physical health in mind, I cut back significantly this week and ran 3 miles Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday each, and another 6 this morning. The book I just finished reading was written by Hal Higdon, a marathon guru considered by many to be THE authority on guiding people to success in this challenging sport. He has developed several training programs from novice to Olympic in experience level that are designed to enable the body to withstand the immense trauma of training and the marathon itself. My new method is to follow his training program as much as possible to ensure that I will be ready without injury come October 26th. It is a bit early now to start (22 weeks to race day), but I guess I'll just restart the program over again from the beginning when week 1 of 18 comes. The benefits I'll receive are:

1) I can have a total mileage section of the blog now which will be really cool to see by the time I finish

*This does not really indicate total miles, as there were quite a few up to this point, but it does designate from the time I started following a set plan.

2) More importantly, because I'm following a tried and true plan, my odds of injury are significantly reduced. Running on my own wouldn't last me much longer If I kept trying to build time with no real knowledge or structure in place.

If it sounds like I'm repeating myself about the whole thing, I probably am. It helps me to reiterate at times, particularly when trying to approach long term goals and challenges.

Also, there are 2 movies I would recommend everyone go to see, or rent when they become available.



SPEED RACER...I don't care what anyone says, this movie was a lot of fun! The visuals are very intense, but having watched the cartoon before seeing the movie (yep, I'm a dork) I found it to be a great live action interpretation of what was a cutting edge anime at one time in the past. And the story (bad by moviegoer standards) was nearly identical to the original plotline of the show. Just go see it! Its gooood.



SON OF RAMBOW...This is an indie British film, but it's easily one of the best I've seen in a very long time. It's very imaginative, and it took me back to days when I would entertain myself with the obscure noises that only made sense to me in the adventures I would create in my mind as a kid. It's an 80's timepiece of two polar opposite children who become best friends at a private school over a film they create against the will of their families and even religion on one end. One is part of an extremely religious group that strictly prohibits the watching of television and movies, while the other is a trouble making misfit most likely the result of a negligent brother and mother, who is never around. Its a little eccentric, but it will make you laugh out loud and smile several times while watching it. DO IT!

B.Easy