Joanna and I started this adventure on May 5, almost 10 weeks ago. To give you a tiny bit of back history. Last summer we completed the Color Run 5k, and had a blast doing it! We didn't run, we walked it, but that was our plan anyway. We did it with no problem, so this year we wanted to up the anty a bit. We looked at 10k's, and even a couple half marathons. One in particular, the New Albany Walking Classic, seemed perfect. A half marathon that required you to walk. No runners allowed. Awesome right? When I called to sign us up...it was booked full. I guess they only take a certain amount of entires and then you're shut out. We had really gotten our hopes up to walk a half marathon, so I went looking for another possibility. My internet search eventually took me to the Akron Marathon scheduled for late September. We rationalized that, "Hey it's only $10 more to sign up for the whole marathon, and if we only finish half? Oh well that's a great accomplishment!"
Once we signed up I searched for some kind of training schedule to guide us. I found a great, and simple, walking schedule, that stretched out 20 weeks.
http://www.marathonwalking.com/schedule_marathon.html
It would conclude the week before the race. Perfect! We agreed to do our best to get all of our walking in the first 10 weeks. Nothing fancy, just get it done. The last 10 weeks is when we would put our heads to the grind stone and really push ourselves. You see, both of us started this journey very overweight, and with no recent regular exercise regime. I knew from experience (because once upon a time I was in really good shape!) that I needed to give my legs time to acclimate to the mileage. In the past 6 years I had really not been good to myself. I had put on a lot of weight, stopped exercising, and lost track of good portion control. And I was feeling it BIG Time!
Over the past 9 weeks I've averaged 15 miles a week on my legs. Many weeks it has been over 20. There have only been 2 weeks I've really slacked off... Memorial week, and last week due to 4th of July. That's not an excuse, but it is reality. I wanted to share a bit about some of the things I've experienced so far.
1. Shoes. I have worn everything from $90 Asics to cheap flip flops. I have discovered that the LESS bulky my shoe, the better my feet feel afterward. Which is why I have decided to lean more towards a Minimalist shoe. My buddy Zach turned me on to a book called "Born to Run," by Christopher McDougall. Here's the link if you want to check it out...
http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-hidden-ultra-runners-greatest-ebook/dp/B0028MBKVG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404876720&sr=1-1&keywords=born+to+run
It basically talks about how ALL of us were designed to Run! It is centered around a tribe in Mexico known as the Tarahumara, called "The Running People," who are known to run 100 miles without barely a heavy breath. I am almost finished, but the reason the book comes into play when I mention shoes is that, the top ultra marathoners are all moving toward these minimalist style shoes because it has been shown over and over again that these fancy running shoes with arch support, and micro-chips, and all this fancy stuff, are actually making problems worse. So I have been doing most of my walking completely flat-footed!
Here are the style of shoes I plan to walk the Akron Marathon in..
http://www.amazon.com/VIBRAM-FIVEFINGERS-BIKILA-EXERCISE-FITNESS/dp/B005GK9AWI/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1404879260&sr=1-1&keywords=vibram+five+fingers+bikila
2. Equipment. When I go walking I carry a light shoulder bag with my phone (to record my workout), a can of mace, and sometimes a bottle of water. Although I have begun hydrating before I leave instead of carrying the water with me. As for the mace...this is a big frustration... I carry it because people do not know how to keep their friggin dogs on a LEASH OR FENCED! I had to mace a dog two weeks ago and I hated to do it but here's this big, unleashed dog, charging me, snarling and growling like he wanted to rip me apart, and the owner had zero control. He was calling the dog over and over again, but the dog kept coming. So I stood my ground, yelled "No!" at the top of my lungs (that didn't phase him) and proceeded to dispense my mace right into his face. It stopped him of course, but I wanted to yell at the owner for not keeping their dog under control. This loose dog thing is a very sore topic. I have had way too many close calls. So this time I ordered bear mace...30 foot spray. That'll teach 'em.
3. Eating. Ugghh...this has been hard. With all the walking I've been hungry! When I get home from a 3-4 mile walk, if I don't have something healthy ready to go, I will eat and eat and eat...and they're not exactly good choices. So I've started hydrating well before AND after, and I do not eat anything until I first drink 1/2 of one of my big bottles of water. So it's about .75L I believe. I have resolved to stick to my daily calorie allotment and use my Weight Watchers app, which really helps keep me on track! These final 10 weeks, you're all gonna see this chick shed some serious inches!!
4. Making my workouts priority. With me personally, I have so many things pulling me in different directions. House chores, taking kids to lessons and therapies, keeping up on my nursing schoolwork (which is crazy right now), and just dealing with this guilt from not living up to my own expectations. I WANT to have an organized house...I WANT to have dinner on the table every night by 6 so we can all eat together... I WANT to sit and do activities with my kids like reading and legos.... there are so many things I feel I SHOULD be doing that I lay immense guilt on myself when I don't get everything done that I think I should. I am slowly learning that it's ok to not get everything done. I have learned that making exercise priority will infiltrate into my family life in a very positive way. Healthy mom, healthy family.
5. Accountability. For the past several years, I have tried to "recruit" others to go on this fitness journey with me. And then I allow myself to quit when they don't stick with it. By doing this I am allowing someone else to control my outcomes. Deep down I have known for a long time that if I am to make progress I have to do it for ME and NO ONE ELSE. This marathon journey, for example, I asked Joanna if she wanted to do it, but I also told her that with or without her I was doing it. We both encourage each other for sure, but we also know that we are on separate journeys, for our own reasons. Make sense? I messaged my cousin last week and asked him how he's been doing so good. He's lost a ton of weight, is at the gym every morning by 6am, and is always posting pictures of his healthy meals. And he looks fantastic! I asked him for any words of wisdom he may have for me to get serious about my eating. His words to me? "How bad to you want it?" It was simple but so true. How bad DO I want it. Well I can tell ya...Pretty darn bad!! I don't want my kids to grow up remembering their mom always being fat and out of shape. I want them to remember me as a mom who was out there doing things with them, taking them places, and having a zest for life. We are only here for a short while and I want to make the most of my time here with my family! I've had several things in life that have knocked the wind out of my sails. But you just gotta get back up and keep truckin!
So I would just ask anyone who prays to please pray for Joanna and I to have the discipline and drive to get through this training plan for the next 10 weeks. This final 10 weeks is going to be the hardest by far. Each week we're going to have to walk our normal schedule of Mon (3 miles), Tues (3 miles), and Wed (4 miles), and then Saturday is going to be progressively longer with walks averaging 12 miles and more. Our last 10 mile walk really wreaked havoc on our legs. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure Joanna had a mild case of heat stroke. We are going into the hottest part of the summer, AND the hardest part of our training...not a great combination. We're going to have to figure out how to do all this walking and not succumb to these hot temps. Our only good option is to start at the butt crack of dawn. And I am NOT an early morning person. But guess what? I will LEARN to be!!
Good Night ALL!!
Once we signed up I searched for some kind of training schedule to guide us. I found a great, and simple, walking schedule, that stretched out 20 weeks.
http://www.marathonwalking.com/schedule_marathon.html
It would conclude the week before the race. Perfect! We agreed to do our best to get all of our walking in the first 10 weeks. Nothing fancy, just get it done. The last 10 weeks is when we would put our heads to the grind stone and really push ourselves. You see, both of us started this journey very overweight, and with no recent regular exercise regime. I knew from experience (because once upon a time I was in really good shape!) that I needed to give my legs time to acclimate to the mileage. In the past 6 years I had really not been good to myself. I had put on a lot of weight, stopped exercising, and lost track of good portion control. And I was feeling it BIG Time!
Over the past 9 weeks I've averaged 15 miles a week on my legs. Many weeks it has been over 20. There have only been 2 weeks I've really slacked off... Memorial week, and last week due to 4th of July. That's not an excuse, but it is reality. I wanted to share a bit about some of the things I've experienced so far.
1. Shoes. I have worn everything from $90 Asics to cheap flip flops. I have discovered that the LESS bulky my shoe, the better my feet feel afterward. Which is why I have decided to lean more towards a Minimalist shoe. My buddy Zach turned me on to a book called "Born to Run," by Christopher McDougall. Here's the link if you want to check it out...
http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-hidden-ultra-runners-greatest-ebook/dp/B0028MBKVG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404876720&sr=1-1&keywords=born+to+run
It basically talks about how ALL of us were designed to Run! It is centered around a tribe in Mexico known as the Tarahumara, called "The Running People," who are known to run 100 miles without barely a heavy breath. I am almost finished, but the reason the book comes into play when I mention shoes is that, the top ultra marathoners are all moving toward these minimalist style shoes because it has been shown over and over again that these fancy running shoes with arch support, and micro-chips, and all this fancy stuff, are actually making problems worse. So I have been doing most of my walking completely flat-footed!
Here are the style of shoes I plan to walk the Akron Marathon in..
http://www.amazon.com/VIBRAM-FIVEFINGERS-BIKILA-EXERCISE-FITNESS/dp/B005GK9AWI/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1404879260&sr=1-1&keywords=vibram+five+fingers+bikila
2. Equipment. When I go walking I carry a light shoulder bag with my phone (to record my workout), a can of mace, and sometimes a bottle of water. Although I have begun hydrating before I leave instead of carrying the water with me. As for the mace...this is a big frustration... I carry it because people do not know how to keep their friggin dogs on a LEASH OR FENCED! I had to mace a dog two weeks ago and I hated to do it but here's this big, unleashed dog, charging me, snarling and growling like he wanted to rip me apart, and the owner had zero control. He was calling the dog over and over again, but the dog kept coming. So I stood my ground, yelled "No!" at the top of my lungs (that didn't phase him) and proceeded to dispense my mace right into his face. It stopped him of course, but I wanted to yell at the owner for not keeping their dog under control. This loose dog thing is a very sore topic. I have had way too many close calls. So this time I ordered bear mace...30 foot spray. That'll teach 'em.
3. Eating. Ugghh...this has been hard. With all the walking I've been hungry! When I get home from a 3-4 mile walk, if I don't have something healthy ready to go, I will eat and eat and eat...and they're not exactly good choices. So I've started hydrating well before AND after, and I do not eat anything until I first drink 1/2 of one of my big bottles of water. So it's about .75L I believe. I have resolved to stick to my daily calorie allotment and use my Weight Watchers app, which really helps keep me on track! These final 10 weeks, you're all gonna see this chick shed some serious inches!!
4. Making my workouts priority. With me personally, I have so many things pulling me in different directions. House chores, taking kids to lessons and therapies, keeping up on my nursing schoolwork (which is crazy right now), and just dealing with this guilt from not living up to my own expectations. I WANT to have an organized house...I WANT to have dinner on the table every night by 6 so we can all eat together... I WANT to sit and do activities with my kids like reading and legos.... there are so many things I feel I SHOULD be doing that I lay immense guilt on myself when I don't get everything done that I think I should. I am slowly learning that it's ok to not get everything done. I have learned that making exercise priority will infiltrate into my family life in a very positive way. Healthy mom, healthy family.
5. Accountability. For the past several years, I have tried to "recruit" others to go on this fitness journey with me. And then I allow myself to quit when they don't stick with it. By doing this I am allowing someone else to control my outcomes. Deep down I have known for a long time that if I am to make progress I have to do it for ME and NO ONE ELSE. This marathon journey, for example, I asked Joanna if she wanted to do it, but I also told her that with or without her I was doing it. We both encourage each other for sure, but we also know that we are on separate journeys, for our own reasons. Make sense? I messaged my cousin last week and asked him how he's been doing so good. He's lost a ton of weight, is at the gym every morning by 6am, and is always posting pictures of his healthy meals. And he looks fantastic! I asked him for any words of wisdom he may have for me to get serious about my eating. His words to me? "How bad to you want it?" It was simple but so true. How bad DO I want it. Well I can tell ya...Pretty darn bad!! I don't want my kids to grow up remembering their mom always being fat and out of shape. I want them to remember me as a mom who was out there doing things with them, taking them places, and having a zest for life. We are only here for a short while and I want to make the most of my time here with my family! I've had several things in life that have knocked the wind out of my sails. But you just gotta get back up and keep truckin!
So I would just ask anyone who prays to please pray for Joanna and I to have the discipline and drive to get through this training plan for the next 10 weeks. This final 10 weeks is going to be the hardest by far. Each week we're going to have to walk our normal schedule of Mon (3 miles), Tues (3 miles), and Wed (4 miles), and then Saturday is going to be progressively longer with walks averaging 12 miles and more. Our last 10 mile walk really wreaked havoc on our legs. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure Joanna had a mild case of heat stroke. We are going into the hottest part of the summer, AND the hardest part of our training...not a great combination. We're going to have to figure out how to do all this walking and not succumb to these hot temps. Our only good option is to start at the butt crack of dawn. And I am NOT an early morning person. But guess what? I will LEARN to be!!
Good Night ALL!!
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