In which there is Hockey!!!!! (And Running)

It's week 10! We're in the double digits, folks! I can't even believe that I have been running for ten weeks. (Does this mean I have to stop telling people I'm new to this? I'm voting for no.)

I had a really easy running week last week. My times weren't always as good as they had been, but I was running in 80 degree heat after a full day leading theatre camp, and I felt great. Makes for a boring blog post, right? 

But then the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup. 

Look at it! So pretty and shiny!

 Seems somewhat unrelated, right? But over the several months that I was introduced to hockey, I watched and learned. I saw the Blackhawks play really poorly. So poorly that in the playoffs I thought "Gee, Detroit deserves this more than the Hawks do." But the one thing the Blackhawks always, always, always, did was play with heart. They had a goal, and many smaller goals leading up to it. We have to win this game, we have to win this series, and then we have to win the Cup. And their sheer determination and the effort that they put into training and playing, even when they were not playing at their best, allowed them to beat teams that were in many technical ways, playing better. 

Now before all my Hawks friends stop reading and hate me forever, let me say that this is why I admire Chicago's team so much. Running isn't easy every day. It was easy last week, but it was terrible today. Just like me, these toothless, banged up men have moments where they are tired, behind, and probably want to just quit playing. But also like me, they know that giving it their best in that moment will be enough get them through to the next moment, and the next, and the next. Working in that way, they eventually reached their ultimate goal. And Chicago went wild.

Michael Jordan said "If you put in the work, the results will come." (You can tell I really love my hometown players.) I really believe that this idea is the foundation for the work that every professional athlete does, but it works in your life too. Do the work. Put in the time on hard days and easy days, and you will reach your goal. That is what's going to get me across the finish line in October.

Oh, and I'll also be smiling about this:

My view of the win from a bar in Bucktown. Congratulations, Hawks!

 

Tricks and Tips

Hidee ho, friends! Last week was my first week of "official" training. That means two regular runs, one day a really hard run, and another long run. Plus cross training. This week was a doozy, but I've developed some tricks and tips for anyone who wants to know "how you do it."

1) Make a list of things you like about it! Stop focusing on the negatives (It's hot! It dehydrates me! It makes my feet hurt!) and stop to appreciate the things that are great about it. Mine include that it gets me closer to nature (in Chicago! That's hard!) and helps me to explore my neighborhood and my city.

2) Change it up! Change your route, which helps with exploring your neighborhood from the previous tip, and your types of runs too. Our hard runs mean we can pick a hilly course, run all out, do sprints with breaks, or "fartlek" which are intervals of harder and slower running. On cross training days I alternate between activities  that I really love, like bike riding and circuit training, and swimming. Then my cross training days are like rewards! Changes keep you from getting bored or noticing that you're miserable (and keep your body changing too).

3) Find a buddy! I employ this in several ways. I have a friend who I call my "accountabilibuddy." She doesn't live in this city, but we both try to be fit and healthy. If I really don't want to do a workout, I'll call or text, and she'll remind me what I'll gain from it. (Self esteem, strength, being able to RUN A MARATHON). I have another friend here who goes on runs and bike rides with me. And the more I talk about this experience, the more I meet and discover new people that are willing to be running buddies. It's great!

4) Make it social! This sounds similar to the last one, but our charity does long runs together on Saturday. Yes, it helps with accountability and motivation, but the best part about this is that you meet new people and get to have brunch afterwards. Joining a running/fitness club can be more than just fitness!

5) Set goals! It doesn't have to be running a marathon, even just a number of workouts per week or per month can be really motivational. Before I started marathon training I would give myself a monthly workout goal, and then every time I hit it I would buy myself a little treat. No, not a food treat! Something unnecessary that I really wanted and made me feel nice, like a new Wonder Woman comic, a dress, or something nice for my apartment. Patting yourself on the back is encouraged when you meet these goals. Well done, you!

6) Play leap frog! This is a little trick I use when I'm running and I want to quit way before my stopping point. I set a really close primary goal, one that I can practically see, and a slightly further off secondary goal. I tell myself I really can quit when I get to the secondary goal. But when I meet my primary goal I set a new goal, a little ways past the secondary goal. See where this is going? Then I leap frog my goals, always having one just out of reach, until I finish my workout. I'm tricksy! 

7) Workout for a charity! Whether it's a clothing or food drive for your local shelter, a walk-a-thon, or running a marathon for charity, this one feels really amazing. It ties back into accountability, but is sort of like patting yourself on the back at the same time. I know I am running for people other than just myself. I am working really hard to bring water, something that many of us Americans take for granted, to people who need it. Any action like this will exponentially increase your feelings of success about a workout program. (Remember, go to my "Pages" section and click on the link to donate!)

8) Get inspired! At our group run this week one of the team leaders who had just been to Africa to see the work World Vision was doing told some stories about his experiences. They had installed a rain filtration system to catch and clean rainfall at a school, and attendance doubled. These students no longer had to spend time during the day to get water, or worry about bringing it from home. They were able to focus on education, which is another thing I take for granted. This story really touched and inspired me. It motivated me to work harder, but was lovely to hear about people who wanted to learn when given the opportunity.

There you go folks! These work really well for me, I hope you'll try them. Feeling inspired or have your own tips and tricks? Share them in the comment section! Let's have a tip swap!

The "Post Pre-Training" Post

Well folks, I ended pre-training as I began it. In the rain. The cold, horrible, wet rain. But it was neat to see myself dive out there and run (that's right, run) a 5k. Technically I did a little extra. 3.4 miles with no stopping, no walking, no slowing down. (Ok... maybe some slowing down.) I am immensely proud of myself. Here is what this experience showed me:

1) It's almost 2 months later, and I'm still running! How bout that!

2) I ran 3.1 miles in 30.33 minutes. Based on this time I am projected to finish the marathon in 4 hours 47 minutes - 5 hours 6 minutes. (That's a goal race pace of roughly an 11 minute mile.)

3) I should train in the 12 minute mile pace group for group runs.

4) Um, I freaking DID it!

Here's what I'm really proud of: the pace group suggested is the first group on the list that does not run intervals. I am incredibly proud of that. I did just start running, after all. I ran the whole thing, and I ran my 3 miles today. And I will only get better at this. We do 5k "test runs" throughout training to check in and calculate our progress. I feel I started very well, and can't wait to see my improvement next time.

Here's what I'm discouraged about: 4 hours 47 minutes to 5 hours 6 minutes. I have to run for five hours. I mean... I don't think I can. When I think about running a marathon I think "yeah, I can do that!" When I think about running for FIVE HOURS!? No way. Absolutely not. Impossible. 

I'm trying to remind myself that first of all, they told us to run all out as fast as we could for the 5k. Since this was my first time running without intervals, I did not do that. I took my normal pace to make sure I didn't burn out. I know I could have done it faster. 

In addition, I still have five more months of training. My test runs will improve. My endurance will improve. My everything will improve. Which means my goal pace and projected time should both get smaller. So maybe (please oh please) it won't be five hours of running. 

A couple of lovely things happened this week to keep me going. I finally ran far enough south (and east) on the lake shore trail to see this view:

No, not the guy fishing! The downtown skyscrapers and Navy Pier on the far left!

I know that the perfect blueness of the sky and water have been washed out (seriously, iPod Touch, it looks like it's been instagrammed already. What gives?), and the buildings look much smaller in the photo than they did in real life (just like mountains, you can never quite capture them right) but this was pretty impressive. It was my first view of downtown as a runner. The view all the athletes in films about Chicago see as they stride gloriously in all types of weather. This view, combined with a trip back home to Nebraska where I ran in gorgeous weather (except for 5k day) made this week an enjoyable running week.

I would also like to say Happy Birthday to my Mom. Thank you for raising me, birthing me, letting me visit and all that stuff, but guys, she followed Gabby's lead! She donated her birthday money to my fund as well, claiming both miles 5 and 6 (seems like a good time to get a boost from your mom). Thanks Mom! You're the best! I'm starting to feel on a roll with this fundraising, as we've already helped six people get fresh clean water for their whole lives. Thank you all for your help and support. Let's keep the ball rolling and the water flowing! 

Sometimes It's Hard To Plan

Here we are folks, Week 7, the penultimate week of pre-training. I should be feeling like a rock star, doing a 60 minute run (guys... that means an hour. AN HOUR!) and feeling groovy. 

I bet you can sense where this is going. I am not feeling groovy or rocking it out. This week was a miserable failure. Here's why:

As many of you know I worked for a popular retailer that we'll call the Plantain Democracy, whose mascot is an elephant. I love getting people all gussied up and showing them trends and what not, but I don't like pushy salesmanship, terrible pay, or stupid hours. And this week I worked *stupid* hours. I also got to quit my job at Plantain Democracy, and spend the weekend working a street festival for my new job. New job = better pay, working as a teaching artist, playing/learning with children about theatre and life. Oh, and regular hours. Jackpot, right?

Eee, except here's the way the two schedules worked together:

Monday: Day off (rest up, my friend, you're in for it later)
Tuesday: 6 am - 3 pm (Ugh, what?)
Wednesday: 11-4  (Normal, but followed by a ribbon cutting ceremony for the New Job and a birthday party.)
Thursday: 6 am - 3 pm (Double ughs in one week? Ugh!)
Friday: 4:45 - 10 pm (Last day! Not bad right? But look at tomorrow...)
Saturday:  Street Fest! 8:30 - 7
Sunday: Street Fest! 9:30 - 8

What a beast. I had the best intentions, started off Monday right with a 40 minute run, leveling up in my intervals and that went pretty well. Tuesday, I was going to skip my walk, go next door and get a slice of pizza (oh no, Kel, don't do it!). I didn't! For some reason my tired feet kept right on walkin' and I boogied around the block a couple times for my walk. I'm doing it guys, I'm doing it!

And then Wednesday happened, and I couldn't get out of bed. And then Thursday happened, and I meant to take a nap after my monster shift and then go for a run around 7. Instead I slept from 4 pm to EIGHT A.M. Right on through. I did manage my run on Friday, and had the foresight to make it my long run. So I ran twice this week. Once for 40 minutes and once for 60 minutes. 

Saturday and Sunday weren't as trying as I thought they'd be. I didn't run, because they looked like stupid long days. But we got out early both nights, and I did a total of 60 minutes of "dance party" time with the kids each day. So I got a hefty amount of cardio in. (I even tricked the kids into doing high knees and jumping jacks, 'cause they don't know they're not dance moves! Buahahahahaha!)

I don't feel great about how it went. I could have tried harder, scheduled better, or gone home instead of being social. When I agreed to this whole shenanigan I thought the difficulty would be the running and the more running and oh wow we're still running. But it is turning out that scheduling it in has been the most difficult aspect.

The New Job will be awesome, because it has set hours and I can have a routine. (And for a lot of other reasons, but this blog isn't about that!) It will get easier from here on out. Your take-away this week?  Discouraging weeks happen, we all fall off the fitness wagon (or whatever wagon you're goals have you riding). But wagons don't go very fast! If you run and climb up, you can get right back on. 

And if the wagon seems really far away, here's a little reminder from our graffiti artist friend:

This week's big shout out goes to the wonderful Chris for her donation to my marathon fund! I am now fully sponsored for mile four, and I love having her on my team! (She's been on my team since I was little. It's great!) Who's going to get me through mile five?