I purposely just did a short 3 miles on the treadmill today. I ran the whole time at my hopeful marathon pace. No breaks, no stopping to stretch, just stayed consistent. It felt pretty good. Now just to be able to do it for 26.2 miles. I'm not sure I could focus at that pace long enough to accomplish that goal on the treadmill though.
I signed up for my next Team In Training event which will be the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC. There seems to be some problem with the initial Team In Training link, so for now I will just have to wait until that is fixed. But I'm in, and that is what matters. One more event to motivate me to run faster, and raise money to fight cancer.
Monday, March 9, 2015
Saturday, March 7, 2015
10 Miles Today
My Team In Training coach said 10 miles for today. That's a long run on a treadmill but since that's my only options, forced myself to go down there. I watched several episodes of Big Bang Theory and also watched one of the little course videos on the treadmill. I watched the one running trails in New Zealand. What a beautiful course that was!
Speaking of New Zealand, I just signed up for the Queensland Marathon Tour last night. Something absolutely amazing to look forward to in November. I was a little worried at first because the tour ends on November 28 which means I fly home then, and two days later fly to Deadhorse. But then I remembered, they are a day later there, so I will likely get home on the 28th or maybe even the 27th. That's enough padding to be sure I make it home in time. Worth the gamble anyway!
I want to sign up for the Marine Corps Marathon in DC with Team In Training for October. The TNT website shows it as a Flex option but when I attempted to sign up it didn't show that option. I suppose it's just too early in the year. But I sure want to do that one. It will be a great chance to visit all my cousins back in that area too.
Speaking of New Zealand, I just signed up for the Queensland Marathon Tour last night. Something absolutely amazing to look forward to in November. I was a little worried at first because the tour ends on November 28 which means I fly home then, and two days later fly to Deadhorse. But then I remembered, they are a day later there, so I will likely get home on the 28th or maybe even the 27th. That's enough padding to be sure I make it home in time. Worth the gamble anyway!
I want to sign up for the Marine Corps Marathon in DC with Team In Training for October. The TNT website shows it as a Flex option but when I attempted to sign up it didn't show that option. I suppose it's just too early in the year. But I sure want to do that one. It will be a great chance to visit all my cousins back in that area too.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
6 Miles
Started out very slow and sluggish and wondering if I would even make it through the first mile. But around mile 4 suddenly I got a second wind and forced myself to gradually speed up to my desired speed. I felt pretty good. Maybe the magic number is mile 4. It's really hard for me to get motivated to head down to the treadmill, but once I get there I usually am really glad I did it.
I now have 7 marathons on my upcoming agenda for this year. April Bunbury, Australia. May Cincinnati Flying Pig for Team In Training, followed by Fargo, ND the next weekend. Then on May 24th I will celebrate my birthday at the Coeur D'Alene Marathon in Idaho. So far nothing scheduled for July but August 8th off to Kenya for the Maasai Marathon followed by the Anchorage Big wild Life Marathon on the 16th. October 4th I will head to Jersey in the UK for the Jersey Marathon with the Marathon Globetrotters.
With all of that in my future, it is best to find the motivation to head down to that treadmill when I am up here in Deadhorse where it is impossible to run outdoors.
I now have 7 marathons on my upcoming agenda for this year. April Bunbury, Australia. May Cincinnati Flying Pig for Team In Training, followed by Fargo, ND the next weekend. Then on May 24th I will celebrate my birthday at the Coeur D'Alene Marathon in Idaho. So far nothing scheduled for July but August 8th off to Kenya for the Maasai Marathon followed by the Anchorage Big wild Life Marathon on the 16th. October 4th I will head to Jersey in the UK for the Jersey Marathon with the Marathon Globetrotters.
With all of that in my future, it is best to find the motivation to head down to that treadmill when I am up here in Deadhorse where it is impossible to run outdoors.
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Short Workout
Today was not one of my finest. Not sure where my motivation went but it was all I could do to make it through a 3 mile treadmill run. I just felt tired and probably more bored than anything. But I did try to pick up the speed.
A short run is better than no run at all. I miss running in the great outdoors!
A short run is better than no run at all. I miss running in the great outdoors!
Monday, March 2, 2015
Another Day Another 5 Miles
I thought I would just do a really short 3 mile run. But then I decided on 4 miles. But when I got to 4 miles, I went on to 5 miles. I worked on pushing the pace too. I felt stronger today than yesterday. I hope it's a trend. I know most of my sluggishness is mental. Fast music helps me keep moving. I want to increase my mileage too. Back in December, I was really bad at keeping up with training mileage. Maybe it was just the darkness. That month with no sun at all can seem pretty dreary. It is easy to roll over and go back to sleep when I'm up here in the Arctic all of December. I usually black out the windows in my room during the sunny months to help me get more sleep. These last two days, I let the sun shine in and it didn't seem to stop me from sleeping. But I think it did keep me from rolling over and getting 10 hours of sleep instead of what I really needed.
I'm running the Bunbury Marathon in April in Australia and my goal is to have a much better time than in my last few slow marathons. It may not seem like much of a goal but for goodness sake, at least I want to beat 6 hours. That's just ridiculously slow! I probably won't ever get to Boston, but at least I'd like to stop worrying about reaching the finish line before they pull it down! Australia gives me continent number 6. Then in August I will reach the 7 continent mark with the Maasai Marathon in Kenya. That will be a happy day.
I'm running the Bunbury Marathon in April in Australia and my goal is to have a much better time than in my last few slow marathons. It may not seem like much of a goal but for goodness sake, at least I want to beat 6 hours. That's just ridiculously slow! I probably won't ever get to Boston, but at least I'd like to stop worrying about reaching the finish line before they pull it down! Australia gives me continent number 6. Then in August I will reach the 7 continent mark with the Maasai Marathon in Kenya. That will be a happy day.
Sunday, March 1, 2015
5 Mile Treadmill Run
I'm back up here in Deadhorse. Just had the most incredible blizzard but was able to sneak in on the early morning flight yesterday instead of getting stuck hanging out in the Anchorage Airport until things finally cleared up.
Judging by the speed of my last 4 marathons, it is definitely time for me to concentrate on picking up the pace. I realize the last 4 came with significant challenges, extreme heat in the Bahamas, extreme wind in Chile, and a long list of inconveniences there in Antarctica. But I am getting tired of always bringing up the rear. It's easy to just blame it on my age, but I think I can place more of the blame on my own laziness than on just my age.
So today I hit the treadmill hard, pushed my speed, and got in a good solid 5 miles. Increasing my speed is going to be my focus this month as I train indoors on the treadmill. Not much chance of running outdoors around here this month. I'm just lucky to be able to get to work 1/2 mile in the car. -20 now and of course the usual wind. Deep snow where it hasn't blown away leaving something that would make a great ice skating rink in its wake! Yes, in times like these, I appreciate the treadmill.
Judging by the speed of my last 4 marathons, it is definitely time for me to concentrate on picking up the pace. I realize the last 4 came with significant challenges, extreme heat in the Bahamas, extreme wind in Chile, and a long list of inconveniences there in Antarctica. But I am getting tired of always bringing up the rear. It's easy to just blame it on my age, but I think I can place more of the blame on my own laziness than on just my age.
So today I hit the treadmill hard, pushed my speed, and got in a good solid 5 miles. Increasing my speed is going to be my focus this month as I train indoors on the treadmill. Not much chance of running outdoors around here this month. I'm just lucky to be able to get to work 1/2 mile in the car. -20 now and of course the usual wind. Deep snow where it hasn't blown away leaving something that would make a great ice skating rink in its wake! Yes, in times like these, I appreciate the treadmill.
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Friday, February 20, 2015
White Continent Marathon Antarctica
Our flight was finally able to go and we made it into Antarctica last night. It was a rough night sleeping in tents on the very rocky ground. They said they would supply sleeping mats but they were nothing more than a quarter inch piece of insulation foam that had no cushioning whatsoever. I stuffed my coat and other pieces of clothing under my sleeping bag in an attempt to make things a bit smoother but it wasn't of much help. At least I was never cold.
But I was quite tired in the morning when we got up around 5:30 am to run. It was fairly calm when we started but the wind quickly increased and later we had a full blown snowstorm. The temperature was near freezing so the ground was very muddy. I was not expecting so many big hills either. The course was up and down muddy and very rocky hills, with a very strong wind blowing. It was by far the most difficult marathon I have ever run. So I know my time was ridiculously slow. But then again, I am ridiculously slow even on a good course. We did see occasional penguins and at one point a collection of about 5 of them gathered right next to the trail and watched as we ran by. That was adorable. I love how they stick their wings out behind them as they waddle along.
Even though it was a tough course, the terrain was interesting with large snowfields around us, and I could see interesting islands out in the water. There were fascinating rock formations that looked like a combination of granite and volcanic rocks. I was quite happy to finally reach the finish line. It was a tough week for me running three marathons in about 5 days. But even though I was slow, I didn´t particularly get sore. I am quite tired though.
More exhausting than the run was the freezing cold wait for many hours for the plane to get in to bring us back to Punta Arenas. There was really no place to stay warm so most of us took turns huddling in the food tent. I was certainly glad to finally get on that plane.
So now I plan to spend the month of March pushing myself to gain some speed on the treadmill in Deadhorse. I´ve gotten much too slow and if I want to continue to succeed in these marathons it is imperative that I pick up the pace. Only 2 more continents to complete my goal of running marathons on all 7. Australia in April and Kenya in August.
But I was quite tired in the morning when we got up around 5:30 am to run. It was fairly calm when we started but the wind quickly increased and later we had a full blown snowstorm. The temperature was near freezing so the ground was very muddy. I was not expecting so many big hills either. The course was up and down muddy and very rocky hills, with a very strong wind blowing. It was by far the most difficult marathon I have ever run. So I know my time was ridiculously slow. But then again, I am ridiculously slow even on a good course. We did see occasional penguins and at one point a collection of about 5 of them gathered right next to the trail and watched as we ran by. That was adorable. I love how they stick their wings out behind them as they waddle along.
More exhausting than the run was the freezing cold wait for many hours for the plane to get in to bring us back to Punta Arenas. There was really no place to stay warm so most of us took turns huddling in the food tent. I was certainly glad to finally get on that plane.
So now I plan to spend the month of March pushing myself to gain some speed on the treadmill in Deadhorse. I´ve gotten much too slow and if I want to continue to succeed in these marathons it is imperative that I pick up the pace. Only 2 more continents to complete my goal of running marathons on all 7. Australia in April and Kenya in August.
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