One small step..

One small step for me , one giant leap for my ego. Well I did it. Did what you might ask? Well I started the c25k program. I won't bore you with all the details but basically it i a program that gets you from the couch and no activity to running a 5K in 30 minutes. the program is 9 weeks long. After debating with myself on the pros and cons of it, I decided to challenge myself to at least start and hopefully complete the program.

Well,I decided this yesterday, so I had 24 hours to try to talk myself out of it.All day today I kept telling myself all the bad things: I did not sleep well, I keep worrying about all the things in life I can not change.It is going to be too warm, I will be tired from a day at work, it might rain. I got out of work and I decided that at least I was going to try it. The worse that could happen would be that I would not be able to complete my first day. I came home, changed and headed out the door. I warmed up for 5 minutes and I started into the program. At each turn I kept thinking that my knee was going to start hurting, I was going to be more thirsty then I was. But I came prepared; I had water, I had a knee brace on and I completed my time of 20 minutes and then I cooled down for 5 minutes.

I got home and I felt good that I had accomplished it. And I felt that I would be able to do it all over again in 2 days. Well at least hopefully with less anxiety leading up to it.

I completed W1D1. Don't worry I won't bore you with a daily account of my adventure, just a weekly recap. And I leave you with this thought : it is better to start something and possibly fail then not to start it at all and not know your true potential.

It's another NEW beginning....

Here I go again, and again. It has been a while since I have written on this blog, but as I feel that I am ready to start another chapter in my life, I want to once again chronicle the accomplishments and any low points of this journey.

It has been close to a year I guess since I wrote so I would like to summarize the time away. It was a challenging time where I dealt with frustrations and a major burnout. I over trained and I paid the price because I nearly dreaded each workout and each race. I had a good year in that I felt I continued to touch some peoples' lives as I worked as an assistant coach for FIT, but it was frustrating because I really did not feel I was accomplishing anything for myself. I trained and trained for Goofy and I failed to finish the full marathon so I felt like the whole year was a failure. Thanks to the people in my life such as Drew, Nancy, Barbara and Shari I feel that I learned tons from the experience and will be able to help others too because of it.

So, here I am ready to start. This week I begin the c25k program. I will try to stick with it so that I can grow and challenge myself to accomplish what I thought was beyond my reach. I will train differently and will concentrate on eating right to lose the unnecessary weight. I hope you stay tune so you also can experience the new thrills of this trip.

All good things must come to an end,but somehow they continue...

Well I did it. I finished and finished more then I ever expected. In four weeks, I did four half marathons and some training in between. Last weekend was the last half marathon , it being the inaugural Princess half marathon in Disney. The race was a women's race , there being over 6000 women, and 197 brave males, I being one of them. It was a lot of fun, and I got a lot of attention from the spectators and some of the runners. It was a good race to end the season with, because it was definitely out of he ordinary and out of my "box". It was just symbolic how this whole experience has been out of the ordinary for me; and I have certainly stepped out of my comfort zone in training and doing these races.

I have reached the end of another year and I am happy to say that I surpassed my goal for the year. I trained and raced for close to 1187 miles. I did nine half marathons, a couple of 15K's and two full marathons. I have lost some weight, met great people, have forged friendships in sweat and endurance. I would not trade these months for anything. I could thank a lot of people, but you know who you are already. And realistically this blog is about ME. Just kidding , I could not have done it without each of you.

As the days go by, I am already planning on new adventures ahead. Will I run more and get faster? Will I train for a triathlon? Will I go to Greece? Join the 50 state marathon club? As the months go by, I hope to share all of these experiences with you. I will continue to write this blog, but starting in April I hope to do a weekly entry. I hope that you will join me in my journey. I am open to suggestions, so make a comment. Enjoy life and look to the final reward.

Time flies when....

Here I am almost two months since my last entry. I thought it would be a week and I would have entered something, but life got in the way. After Disney, I did the Miami half marathon, then it was a time of hectic anticipation and preparation. My friend, Barbara has had some health issues, but she thank God has been able to complete several more half marathons. Now she will complete her last one this weekend before her anticipated surgery. May God be with you, Barbara. Nancy has been plugging along with me. We completed Miami and then two weeks later did a virtual half marathon for breast cancer, and the week later did A1A. She is doing some 5K's but I did the inaugural 13.1 marathon in Miami Beach, with my godson, Drew. It was a fun weekend but a grueling race with the four bridges we tackled on the Julia Tuttle causeway. And now I prepare for the Princess half marathon in Disney this weekend.
I have completed over 1100 miles this year, I have gotten faster and I am more secure in my training. Without the encouragement of Barbara, the patience of Nancy as she trains with me week in and week out, I could not have done it. And now lately I have the challenge of Drew always being faster then me. I look forward to the end of this period, but I look forward to the new challenges that the new training season will bring.
I will have an entry soon after the weekend, because the end draws near. Enjoy the journey.

Was it a year ago, that I started?

I remember a year ago, I was sick with marathon flu, my feet were severely damaged with really big blisters, and I was signing up for the GOOFY race and a half challenge, that was to take place on January 10-11, 2009. Well here I am almost a week later and I am happy to say that I not only survived it ; but that I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the 2 races. I went up On Thursday before the race, with my friend, Barbara. We did the expo on Thursday and Friday. Friday was a day to spend at the lecture series. hearing greats like Alberto Barrios, Jeff Galloway, John,the penguin, Bingham, and coach Jennie. It was such an educational time as well as a fun time spending it with Ileana, Nancy and Marilyn. I was inspired and humbled by the Hoyt team. A father and son who not only shared when the human spirit can do, but what agape love is all about.

The first race, the half marathon , came and we were all ready.It was in the upper 40's when we started and about 64 when we finished. Barbara did great,she got her Donald. -All of us did great. Nancy and I stayed together the whole race, who was pacing who was hard to differentiate; but we finished well with the 3:30 hours I had to finish it to continue in my goofy quest. We finished in 3:17 not our best but certainly not our worse.Nancy left then and I continued the next day to the full marathon. That day after the half I sat in an ice bath for 15 minutes, great for the legs not good for the ego.
The next morning it was not as cold, must have been about 54 to start; and it warmed up to close to 80 by the time it was all over. Barb T met me and we did the marathon together. We went fast at the beginning, faster the I thought I would do. But I was playing a catch up game because I knew it would get warm at the end and so it would slow us down. There was plenty of support throughout the race. I love Disney races. Barbara was our personal cheerleader throughout the course, seeing us at three different places mile 4, 9, 12 and then at the finish line. She not only cheered for us , she cheered for all the FIT members. Throughout the whole experience I kept thinking I just want the three medals, but down deep I wanted to beat my time from last year too. As the finish line came into view, i saw the characters waiting for us, Lilo and Stitch, Pinocchio; I also saw Barbara and Janet with the GO EMMAUS sign. I knew I was going to make it. I ,also, knew that I was below my time from last year and even the marathon in San Antonio. I finished almost 13 minutes from last year's finishing chip time. I not only completed it but I had another P.R.

Another ice bath and I was ready to go out and celebrate. The next we spent at the parks and then Tuesday after a visit to Hollywood Studios, we headed back. And now it is back to the routine. Work, train, and race.

I have to thank God for giving me the strength and knowledge to train. For my friends and acquaintances that believed in me. I also would like to thank those that thought I was crazy when I signed up. My determination to prove you wrong, got me over the top when I did not want to continue. Today I did a recovery training sessions. We did almost 6 miles and when I plotted it down, I saw that I have trained over 1033 miles. Neat to say the least. I look forward to the road ahead and hope to continue to be able to share it you.

I know that I am not alone.....and I thank you.

Here I sit at the beginning of a new year. I am only a week away from the Goofy Challenge and I look back and marvel at what I have accomplished. Although I am not slim, I have lost weight. And although I have not trained on a daily basis, I have been faithful in my training and I am happy to say that since March 2008 to yesterday, I have trained a total of 967 miles. I have done most of my training already for the races of next week, completing my 21 miles last Saturday. I improved my time from the last time I did it by about 12 minutes.

Yesterday, I continued the tradition that I started in the year 2000, of getting up and watching the first sunrise of the year. I went and walked by the beach for 57 minutes with my friend, Barbara Flynn. This woman has been a great inspiration for me because no matter how many challenges are placed in her path she has continued to forge ahead and stick with her training. She will complete her fourth half marathon next week. She has ,also, provided me with encouragement throughout my journey.

The second woman that has been a key player in my life, is Nancy Page. As I have mentioned before, Nancy trains with me at least 3 to 4 times a week on the beach. She has always been faithful in her commitment to be better, and has always provided me with encouragement. In the process she has become a good friend too. Nancy finished without too many complaints her first 21 miles last week. Without her I would not have been able to do that crucial part of my training.

So I not only thank God that I have come this far; I thank you, Barbara and Nancy, without the two of you it would not have been so much fun. I look forward to this year, as we all continue to evolve in this exciting world.

What is a PR? What about 3 new PRS??

Hello, I know it has been awhile since my last entry, but it seems that life gets in the way some times of allowing time to write an entry. A lot has happened since my last posting. So I will try to recap all these events here.

First, I would like to recount my trip to San Antonio, Texas. It was an exciting time because I went with the training group,FIT, to do the inaugural Rock and Roll Marathon. Yes, I did do 26.2 miles, and I started to question like around mile 19 , why do I subject myself to this, when I could have gotten a nice medal with just doing 13.1 miles. The trip was good, I traveled with my friend, Barbara and Dennis met us there. Barbara after all her injuries was recovered enough to complete the half marathon and Dennis, just a year after his surgery was able to complete the full marathon. I was happy and proud to have been able to share both of these accomplishments with them. More about the marathon later, but I wanted to say a few words about the expo. It was such and exciting time. I got to meet one of my heroes, John, the penguin, Bingham. I met Frank Shorter and David Beardsley. Coach Jenny was there and suggested that after the marathon , best thing was to soak your legs for 10 minutes in ice water, and to use salt packets before and during race.
So I did the full marathon. It was cold at the start in the 30's and after using the salt packet, started the race with Barb T, along side me. We had been training together and this was her first full marathon. We met Steve along the way, from San Antonio, and walked most of the way with him too. We passed the Alamo, the missions and a lot of boring places, but we finished. At the finish line , the penguin was there to shake my hand, and as I looked at the time, I realized that I had done it in 7 minutes faster then Disney.....wow I had a new PR. PR is a personal record. I went to the hotel , and as my friends went to the pool, I went to my tub , sat in cold water and poured ice into the bath. It was cold , but I sat there for 10 minutes and I am happy to say that my legs felt better. The rest of the time I did sightseeing trips, even went to the caverns north of the city and climbed over 380 steps.
I move ahead to Thanksgiving Day. I had signed up for the turkey trot in Miami's Tropical Park. I was there by myself, after the race I was headed over to the west coast to celebrate with my family. I started the race, it was a 5K, and started running along with having some walk breaks. I came to mile one, and I was lower then 13 minutes. By the end of the race I had done it in 42 minutes and my pace was a 13:01 minutes per mile. I was excited, another PR for a 5K for me.
And I finish with yesterday, it was the Half Marathon of Palm Beach. I was there again with FIT. Barbara was there and my training partner from the weekdays, Nancy and her sister,Alex. Nancy and I were going to try to break the 3 hour mark for the half marathon. It was cool and foggy to start. We were doing good, but not good enough. I played it too conservative because I kept thinking I still have the Goofy in a month. We finished in 3 hours 1 minute. Well we will try again, but it was a PR for both of us. I thank Nancy for her commitment to train and follow sometimes my foolish actions. So that was the third PR. I know that if I continue to train I will achieve better times for each race. But the best part is that I enjoy when I am out there. I never thought it would be me finishing those races. Barbara and Alex did well yesterday too, and I look forward to other races where we can challenge each other. Enjoy each day, and walk a little bit more closer to your goals.