2. What is Success?

Success. Living in Wisconsin, most people here would consider Superbowl 45 a success (*spoiler alert: Packers won!). Some other people *cough Steeler's fans* would consider the Superbowl a failure. As you might have guessed, success can mean different things to different people.

What this means is that if a person wants to be successful, they first have to define success. You could ask 100 different people what it means to be successful and get 100 different answers. For some, success is getting up on time every morning. For others, success is achieving great financial gain. Without defining success for yourself, you are bound to fail.

For me personally, finishing my first half-marathon last year was a success. My goal was simply to finish. This year, my goal is to run faster than I did last year. If I simply finish but run slower, then I will not consider the race a success.

Ultimately, it is important to make sure you figure out what success means to you. Without defining success, one will not be successful. Only after knowing what success is can you achieve it. *Special Note: Yes, I would consider this fan's helmet paint job a success! Go Pack Go!*

1. Priorities & Unexpecteds

Winter weather in Wisconsin is rarely predictable. It can snow one day and be 70 degrees the next. With such uncertainty, how does one decide what is acceptable workout weather and what is not?

Personally, I consider the closings of schools and blizzard warnings pretty good signs that I should cancel my scheduled 2.5 miler. I also have a list of about 7 priorities that come before training for this half-marathon which I noted in my previous entry. When deciding whether or not one should workout, I think it is important to have your priorities firmly established. Make a list of all the very important things in your life, decide where training falls, and then make a commitment to yourself that you will make choices based on where things fall within this list. It is important to be realistic when creating this list of priorities. What comes first - family or work? Work or training? Training or fun?

Without having a concrete idea of where your priorities are, decisions can sometimes be much more difficult. On the flip side, it is important to find the right balance for ultimate happiness. What might be right for one could be wrong for another. In addition, sometimes life hands us unexpected things. They are nearly impossible to plan for and typically cause us to change plans.

So when I think about training for a half-marathon (and really life in general), I try to remember these things: 1. Priorities. Know them. Follow them. 2. Flexibility. Know when it's appropriate to deviate from your plans. 3. Balance. Make sure you don't become so focused on one thing that you fail to see the big picture.

With all that said, there's a big windstorm blowing snow around at 40mph, and I'm not working out tonight. Accept the unexpecteds.

Half-Marathon 2011

When considering what went right and what went wrong with last year's blog, I see more wrongs than rights! After losing my password, I abandoned the blog. In addition, I more or less abandoned logical training and had a VERY TOUGH 13.1 miles when race day came!

What went right: my cousin and I had phenomenal support from our family and now all of the cousins are running the half this year! How exciting!!!

I guess that means it's time to start training. My schedule will be another modified version of Hal Higdon's Intermediate Training Program and can be found here: Half-Marathon Training Template. I have a pretty full schedule this year between my regular full-time job, a part-time track coaching job, recruiting and competitions, school, volunteering, and training for this thing, so I may post fairly infrequently. With that said, I'll aim to have interesting, informative, and perhaps comical posts of greater quality than if I was posting more often. Happy running :)

edited to add: Actually, it looks like I lost my password after thinking I wanted to do a full marathon. In any case, I am back!

Day 1: Complaints.

Written work-out: 3 miles
Actual work-out: 7 minutes, or approximate 3/4 of a mile.

Well here I am on Day 1 of my official 'Marathon' training. This entire post can be summarized in one big statement called, 'what was I thinking!?!?'

People who know me in 'real' life can testify that I am typically a very positive person in any situation. Right now is not one of those moments. I am low on sleep thanks to an awesome Brewer's game (my first!), work, and nightmares. Yesterday I thought maybe I would be able to get up at 4:00 am (hahaha) and run an hour before getting ready for work at 6. Since that did not happen, I decided I would try and run tonight. After all, it's 'only' 3 miles. Apparently two weeks has erased my memory for running. I completely forgot about how warm it is after the sun comes up, even at 7pm. I forgot about all the other people who would be outside. I forgot that many of them are over-enthusiastic to mow their yards. I forgot to take an allergy pill. I went for a nice 7 minute jog... around the block. WHAT WAS I THINKING!?!?

If I am going to run outside, it needs to be between the hours of 9pm and 6am because I cannot handle any of the above mentioned factors. Luckily I have a membership to the local gym... so if I am scared to run outside after dark, and I am having regular nightmares of being attacked, I should probably compromise and do a gym work-out.

That is where I am at right now... the in between time of going to the gym and going to bed. I want to wait a little bit to weed some of the people out. I really prefer running by myself or with very few people around. I find it peaceful by myself, under perfect morning conditions.

SO... that is day 1. Hopefully I will have a better update next time.

8. The 1/2 Marathon

This is likely to be a very long post (although I will try to keep it short), so here is the short version: I finished my first half-marathon in a time of 2:26.56, hooray! I placed 926 out of 1234 finishers over all men and women.

The Start
The weather was gorgeous with only two spots that were extremely windy and that did not last too long. When we lined up, there were pace setters starting with 5 minute miles to 15 minute miles. My cousin and I were shooting for 10 minute miles, but we knew we should start out slow, so we lined up with the 11 minute milers. This turned out to be a wise choice.

The first mile was awesome. Everybody is pretty close together, but it is kind of like a party and not bad at all. Once we get to mile 3 the miles start getting longer and people start walking or using the bathrooms along the way.

Mile 5
I prefer to run cold, and we started running in a nice cool temperature. Unfortunately around mile 5 we moved out to the highway part and the sun was very warm. Around this point I started having trouble breathing because my cousin was going faster than I was ready for. I told her to go on ahead as I needed to catch my breath. She gave me a quick hug and good-luck and we separated. After a few seconds I caught my breath and began to jog again... just in time because my family was up ahead and took the photo you see from the race.

Gu-gel
I can't really say too much else about the mile markers because the were all miserable. The Gu-gel came between miles 7 and 8 which seemed pretty early, but I decided to take it, knowing your body needs to re-fuel after 90 minutes of running. Gu-gel has the consistency of honey. You pretty much choke down whatever you can and hope the water station comes up soon. Another benefit is that is does not cause cramping because your stomach does not need to digest it. Somehow the benefits outweigh the disgusting taste and consistency, so I would recommend trying it. Lucky if you like it.

Time
My iPod died around mile 11. That was really unfortunate because running to music makes a world of difference. Time is a funny thing during a race. With every mile, time seems to slow down. The absolute worst motivator of the race was the fact that they marked where 13 miles was... and .1 mile later they had a sign that said, "1 mile to go!!!". When you feel like you've done at least 1/2 mile and you see it's only been 1/10th, it feels like a trick... but it's not.

Support
I have done shorter races and ran cross-country in high school, and I never really cared much about support. I just didn't get it because I didn't think finishing a 2 or 3 mile race was that big of a deal. My mind has now been blown over just how important support is during a 13.1 mile race (or further I'm sure!). Every single person out there who is cheering you on is appreciated. Even the little girl who said, "Don't quit!" was a welcomed message of support. Running 13 miles is HARD. You truly have to feel like it is worth it to get through the race. I had more family there than I expected, and I wish I could show them just how much it meant that they came to cheer us on because it was one of the best feelings I have ever had. Seeing how proud they were after we finished the race was so awesome, almost indescribable.

The End of the Race
After the race, I took off my shoes and found 3 massive blisters and some blood on my heel where my sock fell down. I should have bought the new Asics I was thinking about, but I didn't and my ankles and feet are paying for it. My body kept bouncing back and forth between too hot and cold, but it wasn't a big deal. It just felt good to be done.

So this marathon deal...
Well... the half-marathon was... so tough. It is making me re-evaluate this whole marathon idea. I am much more uncertain that I really want to do it because once I get into the race, I am overcome by feelings of dread and 'why did I do this' and 'I want to quit'. However, the training plan starts out easy, and I am still going to start following the marathon training plan. I have not decided whether or not I will sign up for the marathon, half, or just do a bunch of 5/10k races this summer. I am leaning towards the charity races, but I will keep everyone posted.

5. Clothing (1/2 Marathon T-12 Days)

The half-marathon is less than 2 weeks away, so my cousin and I have been discussing what kind of clothes we are planning to wear. Typically both of us run in a t-shirt or tank top and shorts or capris. Because our race is 13.1 miles, we ultimately want to be as comfortable as possible.

There are a few problems any fitness enthusiast can tell you about - some  clothes really are better than others. For example, finding the right shorts is almost a job in itself. Some shorts ride up to give you a wedgie, and some have the side effect of chafing after a few miles. Unfortunately, this type of information is not something a store associate can provide you with. It's usually not something you can test out in a store setting either, so unless you are good about returning items (I'm not), one wants to find the best item the first time around.

The weather average for May 2nd is a low of 40, high of 65. We have been having an unseasonably warm spring so far, and the high is already slated to be 70 with a low of 45. I am a big fan of running my long runs in 45-50 degree temperatures, so it is likely to be much warmer than I prefer. We have decided to try this tank top from Under Armour. One of my concerns is that Under Armour material (82% nylon, 18% elastane) tend to ride up when I run. I do not know if this is a sizing problem on my part, or a problem typical for this item.

Two of my friends have also highly recommended purchasing shorts with built in underwear. They said both of previously mentioned problems are not an issue. I have not checked these out yet, but I am planning to look into them. Otherwise I think spandex shorts are a safe bet, so I will probably stick with those.

I am still not sure whether I am going to try and get new shoes and break in before the race or not, but I still have a day or two to decide. Luckily my tax refund is still on its way and not already spent!

4. Walking (1/2 Marathon T-13 days)

Yesterday I decided to take a 15 minute jog since I was still tired from the 9 miles I ran the previous day and really did not want to go out at all. After only 5 minutes, I was still not wanting to run and making tons of excuses to try and convince myself to quit (it's too hot... you ran so much yesterday... nobody will know, it's all just for you anyways). I continued to miserably jog for another 3 minutes until I was 2 blocks way from the lake I love to run by, and realized it was time for me to just stop and walk.

Walking. For some reason, I have it in my head that walking is inferior to running even though I know this is not true. Rather than just go home, I decided I would walk around the park at the lake and then decide whether or not I was going to walk or run home. After a refreshing brisk walk around the water, I decided I would jog home because then I would be done quicker. Had I just given up and gone home immediately, I would have had much less of a work-out, and I wouldn't have felt good about the work-out at all.

Walking uses muscles differently than jogging, so it is not quite the same. When you are tired though, it is a smart move to mix it in with your run when you feel the need. There are so many benefits to walking. It is foolish to push your body harder than it needs when you are not racing, and even I need to regularly remind myself of this. Safety first!

2. Beating Boredom on the Run (1/2 Marathon T-14 days)

Something I hear a lot and have experienced myself is that running is so boring. I agree that at times it can seem to go on and on. Here are some things I have found keep me occupied on my runs.

#1 Relaxed Thinking Time. I use running time to try and find solutions to things. Sometimes I figure out what the most important thing I need to do on that day are and come up with a plan of action to make sure it gets done. Sometimes I think about different people and what's going on with them. Sometimes I just enjoy the music I am listening to. It all depends on my mood for the day.

#2 Set an Amount of Time to Run (or Destination). If I go out running and do not have either a time or destination decided ahead of time, I cannot motivate myself to run for very long. For some reason, I also struggle when I set only a destination. I run best when I set a certain time for myself. On days when I don't want to go out for a run at all, I might only say 15 or 20 minutes. If I find myself more motivated when I am out running, I can always add more time. If I am still not feeling it, I simply finish my run and am done for the day with only 15 minutes taken out of my day for it. This is especially helpful for long runs where I might set a goal of an hour run because I do a much better job of not starting out too fast and run at a more relaxed pace. I never set a goal of more than an hour - I consider any time over an hour as "bonus" time and feel great when I can get this time in.

#3 Music. Sometimes I just want to get my mind off of everything and these are the runs where I put on my favorite music and simply lose track of time to it. I also put on my favorite 'motivational' song that pumps me up when I am close to home. Then I finish all of my runs strong and feel good about being done. I do this strong finish on 80% of my runs.

Those are my top 3 ways to beat boredom while running. I find that most of running is a mind game. Sometimes when I am tired and not that close to home, I make up little games to help take the focus off being tired. One game I play is changing my speed every 5 steps: very slow, regular, slightly stronger regular, repeat. Depending on how tired I am, I can change the amount of steps for each set of 5, but the purpose is really just to re-focus my mind off of being tired and eventually make it home.

If you have any of your own tips to leave, I'd be happy to hear them. Seeing as this is a new blog, I do not anticipate much of a response, but any suggestions are always welcome!

1. Intentions

Alright, my name is Lyndsey, and my sister had the great idea to share my marathon experiences through blogging. As is the case with our entire lives, she suggests something that will probably leave me eating my words or play-doh ("if we can make it out of things from the food pantry of course we can eat it"), and I do it anyways. However, I think by setting up the blog I have made the second step towards commitment.

What then, is the first step? On May 2nd I will be running my first half-marathon with two of my cousins. Our goal is simply to finish, and I been training about twice a week - one short run, one long run. This is definitely not a good training setup and do not recommend anyone try it if they are looking for a good time.

Starting May 16th I will begin training for a full marathon which will take place on September 19th. I will be following a real training plan (viewable on Hal Higdon's website, see Novice 1 http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Mar00novice.htm ), and the goal is for me to actually follow it.

I know I can more or less 'push' my way through a half-marathon, however, the thought of a full marathon scares the crap out of me. Here I am then, starting my 'pre-marathon' portion of the blog. Get ready for a course in 'marathon running', and please feel free to join me on this adventure!