53 Revolutions Around the Sun and 13 Years of Running

This week I celebrated my 53rd birthday - which also represents the 13th birthday of when I really started running.  My regular running began with a bucket list item to run a 5K without stopping for my 40th birthday (I had never run more than 2 miles before).  So after following a run - walk training plan I ran the 2002 Autumn Run 5K.  That race has been replaced on the Track Shack calendar with the RockNRun 5K, which I ran yesterday on my birthday!

I am not in 5K PR shape - and trying to run it fast would make the experience less enjoyable - so I decided to slow it down, have a good time at the race, and just celebrate life.  I did challenge myself - I ran the entire distance except for the water stop around the halfway point and for this picture at mile 3 near Blaine the Mono (who totally rocked it on the course).  With my easy pace I finished in 31:05 - about 5 min faster than that first 5K I ran 13 years ago.

Today I was scheduled for an 8 mile long run, but after enjoying a bit more wine than normal last night, I slept in and woke up feeling the usual morning after effects of alcohol.  My head was a bit achy and stomach was not thrilled - but it wasn't horrible.  The idea of running was tempting, but I decided to "google" whether running with a hangover was a good idea.  It turns out that running the day after can be beneficial in helping your body rid itself of all that evil alcohol from the night before.  It wouldn't be the best run, but it can be done.

So I popped a couple of ibuprofen, drank some extra water and had a Honey Stinger gel to get something in me.  I also figured I would break the run up into shorter distances and stop back at the house so I had the option to stop if things were not going well.  I set my Garmin to go off every min so I would take a slower run 1 minute/ walk 1 min approach.  It was late morning, not my best time for running, so I figured I would head out and see how it goes.

I ran out 2 miles from the house and turned to head back for a refill of my small water bottle.  As I approached the house it started to rain and feel cooler.  I love running in the rain and felt like I really needed to run in that.  I also felt pretty good, so I quickly refilled my water and headed out for another 4 miles.  The 4 miles in the rain felt amazing and I was enjoying every bit of it.  I felt like I was flying...and ran my 8th mile faster than all the others: in 11 min flat.  The birthday gifts continue!

I realized I didn't post last week, so here is the next episode of the Running Adventure's Podcast.  The original post for the podcast can be found at here.

Hot Running and In Training - and Podcast Episode 2

So I am training for the 2016 Goofy Race and a Half Challenge.  Why in the world would I do that after completing it 3 times (once while doing the Inaugural Dopey Challenge)?  Marathon training is time consuming - and the body can take quite a beating in the process.  This 52 year old body is not as forgiving as the 40 year old who started doing 5Ks.

But there is an awesome adventure in the making!  My younger sister is turning 50 this year.  Her bucket list item - run a marathon.  And where better than in the most magical place on earth - Disney World?  What a great privilege to pace my sister through her first marathon!

But it gets better.  My sister's 3 daughters are also going to run the marathon with us!  One of them ran the OUC Half Marathon with me last December - her first half.  This will be their first marathon as well.  AND.....another sister is joining us for her first marathon (she and I ran the Chip and Dale relay in 2012).  AND.... my other sister is going to run the half (which is why I am running Goofy - I want to run with everyone!).

So, how can I pass that up!  Running with my 3 sisters and my 3 nieces on Disney Marathon weekend!  Too awesome  :-D

But of course there is the TRAINING that gets us from running 10 or 12 miles to running a full marathon.  Not always the fun part but it is the most important.

Today was a 13.5 miler.  I started my run at 6:30 am - too late for the current heat, which made the last couple miles pretty tough.  I was also testing out a new blue tooth headset I picked up - the Samsung Gear Circle.  I am trying to get rid of some wiring and hook up to a large phone (I have a Note 2) which I stow in a pocket on my belt.  It worked okay...I think the phone was the problem - not the headset.  The jury is out on how much I like it - I am going to take it on my business trip next week to see how well it travels.

Including another Running Adventures Episode with this post.  The show notes for the original release is at http://marathonchris.blogspot.com/2007/04/running-adventures-episode-2-back-to.html  
Time to move on into my day.  Blog at you later!

Back to blogging....

I seriously wondered if I could even log into this blog anymore.  Would Google have deleted it for lack of use?  Fortunately for me, they did not.

Still running, now 9 years after starting this blog.  And running is definitely still an adventure.  So much has happened.  The time of my journey became joyfully clear to me after finding an old iPod Nano (2nd generation), charging it up, and finding the full suite of my Running Adventures podcast.  Since my newer iPod is MIA, I decided to take this one on my 10 mile long run last weekend.  I fired up the podcast, curious to hear what I had put together 8 years ago.  Almost immediately I was whisked back in time.  My happy tears must have looked strange while I was run-walking my way through the neighborhood.

I only produced the podcast for one year, and only 15 episodes with one "mini" adventure.  These were made between 2007 and 2008.  My daughters were ages 7 and 13 and were always featured in some small way in every podcast (actually the older daughter delivered the critical "Three facts."  The special treat for me was having an audio record of so many amazing things I did with my girls when they were small.  Amazing only in that they were everyday things - but part of my life adventure.   My "fact" reporting oldest daughter is now a junior in college and no longer runs with me while my younger daughter is going into 10 grade and seems to have inherited my ability to be too busy.

I am going to begin reposting the podcasts here, since my account that stored them online has long since expired.  Podcasts have come a LONG way since 2008 - my production quality was pretty poor at times, but I still am happy with what I wanted to capture during each one - to take the listener on a running and life adventure.

So, thanks to Soundhound, here is Episode 1 of Running Adventures!  The link to the original show notes is http://marathonchris.blogspot.com/2007/03/running-adventures-episode-001-run-run.html.  I hope you are all out there having your own amazing adventures!

To Blog or Not to Blog...

 It has been a long time (nearly 2 years) since I have blogged - although my Facebook posts have become more of my Running Adventure reporting mechanism.  Still, I miss being able to put together a story for a post.  With my Ph.D. behind me, I have a little more time (or so I would like to think) and have pondered blogging again.  This way, I can update my running activities without spamming all my FB friends who are not interested in that part of my life.  I imagine all the Daily Mile posts can be boring if you are not a runner.

So I think I will be blogging again, although no promises.  I have no idea how regular I will be with this activity.  I almost wanted to rename the blog to be something line "In the moment..." because I find it has been refreshing to ponder those moments when I feel like I am "in the moment" - you know - those times when you feel you are connected and in the flow with the rest of the universe.  I feel like I have been spending a bit more time there lately, and I like it.

On the running front - I am back after a hiatus in completing my Ph.D. and I am enjoying the ride!  With my Dopey Challenge behind me, I am working toward settling into a regular routine and distances more in the range of half marathons for now.  I will post more on my Dopey report later.  I seem to be internet challenged tonight.

Now, time for more Running Adventures!

The First Day of the Rest of My Running Life

Today is the first day of the rest of my running life....

My running has been on hiatus for the past 2 months. This is due to typical and atypical events in my life. I probably sent my stress-o-meter off the charts. Not running has probably contributed to the increased stress. But faced with sleep or run, these past couple of months I chose what little sleep I could get. Today, I chose run.

 I blame myself for most of the time consuming things in my life. I chose to go back to school, along with a career and my attempts to spend quality time with my family. And I am willing to suffer the consequences of those choices. Its the events in our lives we don't choose that make it a bit tricky, especially when we don't leave any "slack" for extra stuff.

 But here I am, about 10 years after I started training for my first 5K. 6 years since training for my first marathon. And in some ways, I am starting all over again. But that is okay, because each day is the first day of the rest of my running life. What is behind is behind - I can control what is coming up.

And I choose to run!