I Love Morning Runs!!!

Morning Run Selfie. LOL

Ok, so that might be a little sarcasm in the title. The truth is, morning runs are going to take some getting used to. Thus far in my running journey, I have only ran in the afternoons. But since my training is going to have me running much more, my wife and I decided that it would be best if I did them in the morning so I wouldn't take as much time away from my family.
Speaking of my wife, she is amazing!!! I was a little nervous when I told her my desire to run a marathon and how much time I would need to train to acomplish it. We have been super busy lately and she has had some health problems that have been a challenge for her as she can't do as much housework as she's used to. But, even with her health problems still on the mend, she was 100% behind me and immediately sat down with me to come up with an action plan!
So about my run this morning. I'm really catching on to this being a mental game. I woke up this morning telling myself I was running, no excuses. Then I walked out the door and my mind instantly went to, "it's so dark...it's so cold...you're still sore from yesterday..." and I might have given in, but then my heart took over and said, "dude...it's 3 miles today...shut up!" and my brain was all like, "yes sir!" And then off I went.
When you set a distance, the feeling of the miles change with the perspective distance you're planning

to run. When I ran 6 miles, the first 3 miles felt like nothing, it was the second that was the roughest. But since I only ran 3 miles this morning, I felt every bit of those 3 miles. I also have a few pointers for any beginners who are reading this. If you have a device that monitors your distance, the miles are going to feel ridiculously long if you continously look at it. I have a watch that monitors my distance. Well, my OCD will kick right in and I will look at it every 1/10th of a mile if I don't challenge myself. I learned to pinpoint a stationary object that seems far in the distance and then I'll only look at my watch at those pinpoints if I have to look at it at all.
I thought of a lot more to write while I was running but I forgot it already, so I guess I'll leave  you all with this. Thanks so much to those who are following this journey and encouraging me. You're words and thoughts and prayers mean so much to me. My prayer with this journey is that in some way, God would be glorified. After all, He is the creator of our bodies and I believe He's also the reason we reach for the stars! God bless ya'll this fine Friday morning!

1/8th of a Marathon. :-)

My Marathon Journey Begins!

If you would have asked me 10 years ago if I was interested in running a marathon, my response would have likely been, “not a chance!” It’s not that I was lazy. I was a skateboarder, rollerblader, I enjoyed a good bike ride. Running was just never my thing. I tried it here and there, but after a half mile, I would just feel like crap. And I would feel like that for the rest of the day. It was pathetic.

So, what brought my interest in running again nearly 10 years later? I can’t say that I can pinpoint one exact cause. But I was tired of being so unhealthy. In that 10 years, I had gained nearly 60 pounds and just walking up stairs was enough to make me reach my target heart rate. I knew something had to change. The first thing I did was I made a final resolution that I would swear off soda…well, for the most part. I still allowed myself the syrupy beverage the few times we’d be at restaurants and at holiday events and what not, but that was it.

From that alone, I was able to lose 20 pounds. Now, before this sounds too good to be true, I was

Start of Training 2015

reminded of one important factor for my weight loss as well as the lack of soda in my diet. It was around this same time that I took a leap back into taking my ADHD medication. And the side effect, as you can probably guess, is lack of appetite. It wasn’t enough to be considered unhealthy, but enough where I can eat an appropriate portion without feeling the desire to eat more. I know the meds had something to do with this change, but I do feel my desire to get my weight in check definitely was a factor. My wife and I always say, we are gluttons at heart. WE LOVE FOOD!!!

So now, I was down 20 pounds and wanted to increase some muscle mass. So I began some callisthenic training (ie. Pushups, pullups, situps, etc.) and I really enjoyed feeling more and more in shape. What I didn’t realize I was doing, was I was building up my endurance. After about two weeks of steady callisthenic training, I decided to give running another shot. The first day I did one mile…and felt AMAZING!!! I probably looked ridiculous with a huge smile on my face!!! But it was awesome. So I was hooked. I ran my first 2 mile on Thanksgiving Day. And slowly I continued on. Currently my longest distance is 6 miles. But soon that will increase, because on Monday, my Marathon Training begins. For the next 38 weeks, I will be pushing my body to the limit to compete in the Des Moines Marathon on October 18th.

What I need from you is encouragement. I will be posting every day of my training to let my friends and family who care, know how things are going. I will post my progress here and my thoughts about the day and my morale in the moment. I’m about to enter a no negativity zone. I’m really nervous about the training and am studying up and reading a ton of material and advice. If you have ever trained for a Marathon or ½ Marathon or whatever and have any advice at all, please feel free to share it here as I can use all I can get. Mostly, I just need your encouragement. So, here for today…Here goes nothing!!!

1/22/15 Run!