marathon training (week nine)

this week has been a tough running week. i felt major fatigue all week and my head just wasn't in it. it's a little frustrating actually because i'm normally really optimistic even while running. lately though...it's been rough. i'll find myself thinking during the entire run how i don't want to be running. it's clearly a sign that i might need a little time off. well...too bad. :)

i also got a wicked bad chest cold last week that prevented me from sleeping good at night. i normally get about six hours of sleep (i know it's not enough), but with all of the coughing i was doing it was even less than six. i finally went to the doctor tuesday and got put on a five-day antibiotic which i think is helping. she even told me (not sure if this is a good thing or not) that i could continue to train...just as long as i "try to take it a little easy...maybe slow your pace down." no problem, doc!

and of course you all heard i got the promotion at work, right? i mean...it's not like that is now my most popular blog post ever (by like three times as much as any other post). the job is going great, too!!

one thing i learned/re-learned this week in regards to running: i NEED a minimalist shoe. yes, i'm going to be trendy and make the switch to a minimalist shoe. i don't even care. that's all. i'm planning on getting these next time i'm willing to spend money on running shoes.

week nine numbers:

starting weight: 178


monday - rest
tuesday - 3 miles / 26:41 (8:47)
wednesday - rest
thursday - 7 miles / 01:03:30 (9:05)
friday - 4 miles / 33:40 (8:25) 30 minutes strength training
saturday - rest
sunday - 10 miles / 01:32:41 (9:17)

total mileage for the week:  24 miles


ending weight: 180

total weight loss/gain: +2

food of the month

i'm adding a new monthly post to my blog. as the title states...it's going to be about a new food (or drink) every month. emily and i are not picky eaters by any means, but there are still a lot of things we haven't tried.

this month we tried an asian pear. the aesthetics of this thing are pretty sweet. emily especially liked the "packaging" it came in. i really didn't know what it would taste like. actually it was a little surprising. i almost felt like it had a pear + apple + potato combination going on. it was sweet like an apple and/or pear, but had the texture/crunch like a potato. i would definitely eat one again...but it's not something i'd trade my regular pears and apples for.

asian pear: 

-would i recommend it? yes

-easy to prepare? wash it and eat it...pretty simple :)

-availability? we found it at wal-mart (go figure)

-health benefits? low calorie and good healthy fiber!

 

moving on up

you may have previously read something in my blog about the promotion i was up for, or maybe you didn't because you're tired of reading about running. either way...onto the good news.

i got it!! i'm now a service manager!!

i found out today. can you believe this dude will be managing people? to say i'm excited is an understatement. an understatement like type politicians use to tell taxpayers their taxes will "go up slightly." what?

i'm the type of person becoming the type of person who likes to figure out what i'm suppose to learn in certain life situations. i believe God puts me (and you) in tons of different predicaments just to see how we come out of it and to teach us something. with all of the waiting i did for this promotion (close to four months probably) i could very easily tell that patience was top on the "things you need to learn from this" list. i feel like i was able to check that one off. not like i have patience conquered or anything...but you get what i mean, right? i feel confident that emily would say i'm a much more patient person than i used to be, but i'm not going to wait around while you ask her...that would take forever. moving on.

faith and contentment were two key factors in this experience, too. it was tough to keep faith that God does know what's best for me. it was difficult to remember that no matter what the outcome could've been...it was God's will being done. would i have been content if i hadn't gotten this promotion? i'd like to think so, but i'll be honest...being content was the most difficult part of this deal.

power of prayer! it works, my friends. it really does. what's the saying..."God doesn't always answer 'yes' to your prayers...but He does always answer." you get what it's saying though. i really learned a lot about prayer. at first i felt guilty for praying for a promotion. "dear God...it'd be really awesome if you could get me this promotion. i know i'd get a big raise, but of course...only if it's Your plan for me...i mean, You know best." scripture says that if we need something...anything....just ask. so, i did. over and over and over and over and over again. like a kid sitting in the back seat asking his/her parents every minute if they're there yet. 99.9999% of the time that answer is no, but guess what....eventually that kid is going to get a 'yes' out of his parents. by just asking!

marathon training (week eight)

this week was stressful. did you happen to catch my earlier post this week about stress? i did my best to handle it and try to deal, but dude...it's really starting to wear me down. it didn't help that i got a wicked chest virus thing that caused me to have the worst cough ever and a really bad sore throat. the good part is...a new week/day is beginning and i'm feeling good about it.

i've made some changes in the past couple years and one of the changes i'm most proud of is being more optimistic. it truly does have an affect on your everyday life. seriously, it does. there have been studies done. just ask emily (i should make a t-shirt with that saying on it). luck and coincidence and karma and all that other crap pessimistic people try to blame it on has nothing to do with it. optimism wins.

so how does this all tie into running you ask? great question, my friend. when you're working toward something, wanting some change in your life, or simply trying to adjust your perspective...your attitude (ie being optimistic) is everything! our minds are a crazy thing...and the best part is, is that we do actually have control over it.


one thing i learned/re-learned this week in regards to running: stress is fuel for faster times. in my opinion, it's really important for people to have ways to relieve stress. for example...playing guitar or listening to some really good music is a big stress reliever for me. lately, reading has helped, too. in some cases, like today (2/15/11), running was the best way to relieve stress. my day sucked, so i took it out on the road. (that sounds like it could be in a running commercial or something, right? no?)

one extra thing i learned about running because i love learning: there are some people in this world that do not give a crap about what you do...but that does not matter. keep doing what you believe in! no matter what anyone says/thinks/does.

week eight numbers:

starting weight: 175


monday - rest / 30 minutes strength training
tuesday - 3 miles / 23:35 (7:52)
wednesday - 6 miles / 50:59 (8:30) / 30 minutes strength training
thursday - 3 miles / 20:15 (6:45) fastest 5k yet. i feel like a baller.
friday - rest
saturday - 13 miles / 01:58:13 (9:06)
sunday - REST!

total mileage for the week:  25 miles


ending weight: 178

total weight loss/gain: +3

                      just a funny commercial. enjoy!

stresss

it's turned into a four letter word for me. stress. it stresses me out just saying it...even hearing someone else say it. why do we stress? because we think we can control every situation? or maybe because we know we can't control every situation, but think that somehow we can defy all odds and start controlling situations that are out of our control. the latter? i'm thinking so, too.

a few nights ago it all caught up to me. realizing what all i had on my plate. then, this is the best part, i stressed myself out even more by thinking that i actually shouldn't be stressed because there are tons of people out there who have it way worse than me. they have much bigger plates with a lot more on it, and not in a good way where it's all really good food or sugary desserts or something like that. ultimately, life is good.

i have a more-than-amazing relationship with my wife.
i have great family.
i have really good friends who care about me.
i worship a loving/forgiving God.
i have freedom in the country i live.
i have the food i prefer to eat.
i have clean water.
i have warmth when i'm cold (unless i'm driving in my car).
i have cold when i'm hot.
i have medicine when i'm sick.
i have a shower when i'm dirty.
i have a "good" job.
i have a lot.
too much actually.

and this, my friends......stresses me out.

welcome to bummersville, illinois. <--- that was stupid.

marathon training (week seven)

this week i went on a "business trip" tuesday through thursday. it was the first work trip i've ever gone on. it was an experience. to fill you all in, because this has everything to do with running, i'm up for a promotion at work.

i work at trugreen as a lawn specialist (the dude who treats lawns), but a while back i was approached by a supervisor asking me if i'd be interested in moving up in the company. so, here i am now going for service manager (the person who runs production and manages all of the specialists) and it involved some extensive training that happened to be this week. the hotel i stayed at was in a very industrial/stop light-y area, so it was almost impossible to get a good run/route in. so guess what? i was forced to use their fitness center (which was very nice) and ended up running on a treadmill. ironic right? the week after the blizzard and me complaining about using a treadmill...i'm stuck using a treadmill again. and this week...it involved a six miler.

my long run today was twelve miles. twelves miles of suck. it was hard. i'm talking about the kind of hard workout when you want to give up, but deep down you know it'll hurt worse to give up than just keep going. it took everything i had plus an adrenaline boost from a bad driver that made me mad to finish today. i did it in decent time...but of course i would've liked to finish quicker. go figure!

one thing i learned/re-learned this week in regards to running: running is what you make it. duh, right? not really. i just finished reading born to run and i actually ended up learning a lot from it. it was one of those books that i almost didn't want to read because it is SO popular in the running community. then i realized i'm not cool enough to decide when not to follow trends...so i caved.

week seven numbers:

starting weight: 179


monday - rest
tuesday - 6 miles / 53:01 (8:51)
wednesday - 3 miles / 24:30 (8:01)
thursday - rest
friday - 3 miles / 25:20 (8:27)
saturday - rest
sunday - 12 miles / 01:52:35 (9:23)

total mileage for the week:  24 miles


ending weight: 175

total weight loss/gain: -4 (thanks to the Hyatt for not offering vegetarian friendly meals)

marathon training (week six)

me: man, this week is going to be a good training week. less miles = not as hard.
blizzard: oh, tony...you dummie. nothing comes easy...and this i will show you.
me: i like snow. after all...it is illinois and snow tends to happen here. whatevs, blizzard.
blizzard: seriously...i am a blizzard and your breathable running clothes are no match.

that's basically how it went this week. the freakin' blizzard kept forced me to stay inside and run on the dreadmill. yeah...the "DREADMILL!" now, i can handle a two or three mile easy run on a treadmill, but if i have to do anything over three...i get a little angry. ok..a lot angry. (thank you emily for sneaking around paparazzi style and snagging gracious photos of me to post on my blog.)

one thing i learned/re-learned this week in regards to running: it snows in illinois, people. running in it is a blast. most times. unless it's life-threatening...

week six numbers:

starting weight: 180


monday - rest / stretching
tuesday - 3 miles / 25:54 (8:38) too icy out to be "safe," completed on the dreadmill
wednesday - 5 miles / 45:44 (9:09) too drifty and unsafe, completed on the stupid dreadmill!
thursday - 3 miles / 24:24 (8:08) guess where? yep.
friday - rest
saturday - 7 miles / 01:02:11 (8:53) outside!!
sunday - rest
total mileage for the week:  18 miles


ending weight: 179

total weight loss/gain: -1

sixty-four ounces a day

that's how much water we are told to drink per day. brag warning: i drink seventy to ninety ounces a day. feeling guilty warning: there are a billion people on this planet that don't have access to clean water. as i type that statistic...i get chills. here i am trying (as a goal) to drink more water than what is recommended for personal dietary reasons.

reality check..."unsafe water and a lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all disease and kill more people than all forms of violence, including WAR!"

this organization, charity: water, is doing boss at getting people (humans like you and me) clean water! i know it's hard for us (humans like you and me who have clean water) to imagine what life is like without clean water, but it's not impossible. the only thing it actually is (the fact that we have access to clean water)...it's a praise! we need to be thankful for things like this. unfortunately, it goes on my "things i take for granted" list too often.

they have a great FAQ's page to check out if you wonder how they go about doing "business" or how much of the money raised goes to helping people (the answer is 100%). you can check out their 2009 annual report and i'm confident it will make you tear up reading through what they've done so far and what they're doing AND how motivated/driven they are to getting everyone clean water.

i love hearing about organizations/groups like this (thanks to emily for showing me) because it proves that there are AMAZING people in this world doing AMAZING things. i hope it motivates you as much as it does me to help! i'll never forget a couple months ago when i looked up the word 'serve' in the dictionary just to see what all of the definitions were (yes, i'm a nerd like that...sometimes). the one definition that stood out and i will never forget: serve - to answer the needs of 

so, what do you say? want to serve others or what!? (rhetorical) let's do it!