How to Completely Surprise Yourself

As promised yesterday, here is my Guide to Running a Half Marathon for NonAthletes. Because we hold this truth to be self-evident: If I can do this, you can too.

(Remember, my sport of choice in high school = piano.)

So here are a few tips that washed up the shore of my conscious mind during the two hours and thirty one minutes it took me to run the Livestrong Half Marathon on Sunday. I hope they help you, because next year, I'd like some company: YOU!

1. The reason I got into this foolishness in the first place was that I needed a goal that had nothing to do with my darling children. Something with a logical algorithm: Hard work -----> Measurable, Obvious Results. I recommend this practice for all adults, but especially for full-time moms. MAKE A SPECIFIC GOAL. Write it down. Tell your friends and family, so you'll feel embarrassed if you back out.

2. Find a group. I trained every Saturday morning at 7:00 a.m. with Austin Fit, where no one cared that I'd never run long distances before and had no idea what GU and Shot Blox were. If you lived in another town, search the Web, flip through a local magazine, or ask your athletic friends for a recommendation. The group provides support, momentum (most of us can run much farther in the company of others), information, and accountability. Austin Fit had a weekly schedule with three short runs we did on our own and then our longer group run on the weekend. Which brings me to ...

3. Have a schedule. Do you think I ever felt in the mood to run? Ha! Guess again. But I knew if I skipped my individual runs, I'd be lagging way behind during the Saturday group run. And if I  missed or couldn't keep up with the Saturday run, I wouldn't be in shape for the half marathon. I didn't have years of stored-up running energy to fall back on. Every run counted. See how the goal, the group, and the schedule all work together?

4. Don't be afraid to walk. We always trained in intervals: run a while, walk a bit. My pace group did one minute of walking for five minutes of running. I completed the race in similar fashion. When I mentioned this to a friend, she responded with amazement, "OH! You mean you're not constantly running? Well, maybe I COULD do this." So now I'm telling it to you, too.

5. Build muscle with weight training. I probably could have saved myself considerable grief with my IT Band / knee if I had, well, more of a butt. (Hey, maybe my jeans would fit better too!) Running doesn't really build muscle, but weights too, and building muscle helps with endurance and injury prevention. I started weight training a bit late. Don't be me.

6. Surround yourself with plenty of cute cheerleaders! Like the runners, they come in all ages, shapes and sizes.

7. The best time to start is always the present, not tomorrow. We all have a million reasons not to tackle a goal like this. Back in August, I could barely run a mile without stopping. And I wish I had a bar of chocolate for everyone who's said to me: "Oh, I can hardly run around the block!" We define ourselves so often by what we think we can't do. But listen, as I surveyed my co-racers on Sunday, I saw all ages, shapes, and sizes.  None of us were the cheetahs or even the loping gazelles out there. We just wanted to finish. And we did. You can too.

Or if it's not a half marathon, what is that crazy goal for you?

Multitude Monday XIII: Half Marathon Edition

In case you missed all the hoopla on Facebook and on this very blog, I ran a half marathon yesterday. My first ever. Wonders never cease.

(Jayna and I picking up our race packets on Saturday morning. Dude. I felt like such an athlete!)

It almost didn't happen. This was the situation on Saturday afternoon: I had a bad cold -- congestion, sneezing, the works. Also, a fever of 100.2. I won't mince words: It was depressing.

I had some words with my Savior. The conversation evolved from, "Lord, You know how hard I have been working for six months to do this thing that hitherto seemed impossible to me. You know the many mornings when I dragged myself out of bed muttering "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," because if I skipped my run, I wouldn't be in good shape for my Saturday training run, and then I couldn't do this half marathon. You know all the money I paid for therapy for my foot and IT band. YOU CAN'T TAKE THIS AWAY FROM ME!" ... to ... eventually ... "Lord, I know the worst that can happen here is that I miss the race. And since Your heart is unfailingly good toward me, You wouldn't allow that without having a very good reason for it. Also, You owe me nothing. You've already given everything. Your will be done."

Also, lest you think I'm completely heavenly and overcoming, I watched a lot of episodes of Monk. For distractional purposes.

Sunday morning, I arose at 5:00 after little sleep. I scrambled two eggs, rubbed plenty of Vicks VapoRub on my chest and face, and took three Advil. I felt okay to proceed. So here we go, counting the gifts unwrapped that morning:



#128. Vanessa, for coming at 5:30 to pick me up and save me the parking headache. (Plus, my family needed our car for coming to spectate!)

129. Over-the-counter medications. I'm a natural-leaning person myself, but let's face it, OTC meds have their place and time, and this was one of them.

130. Tears at the starting and finish lines. Aren't there moments when crying makes you feel just a tad more alive?

131. The people who prayed for me to be well enough to run: Brian and Julia, Lisa, and many others.

132. The people who got up early on a Sunday morning to come cheer me on: my lovely husband and kids, Sam and Vanessa and their kids, my sister Kristen and husband Allen (who showed up at three different spots and ran that last hard hill with me), Greta (who ran a little ways with me, baby bump and all), CB and Michelle and their kids, and my in-laws. It meant SO MUCH to have those dear, cheering faces on the sidelines.

133. The people who sent me encouraging text messages before and during the race: Meredith, Stefani, Stephanie, and my brother Paul.

134. The women who have run with me Saturday after Saturday for the past six months, making this all possible: Jayna, Deborah, Yvonne, Kathy, Rebecca, Gigi. We did it!!!

135. Cooling breeze on my sweaty face at the crest of a three-mile-long hill.

136. Hearing these lines from God is In Control through my iPod on the cusp of that last, leg-jello, mile:

"This is no time for fear

This is the time for faith and determination

Don't lose the vision here ..."

137. Sprinting the last few yards to the finish! My time was 2:31. You know what's really disturbing? There were people -- actual human beings! -- who finished the FULL marathon at the same time. But they were male. And elite. So we don't need to think about that.

Stay tuned, because my very next post will be my FREE motivational guide:  "From NonAthlete to Half Marathon Finisher in Six Months or Less." (For the grammar gurus: Less time; fewer months.)

(With some of my faithful cheering squad at the end ... thanks, Meredith, for the loan of the pompoms!)

Half-Marathon Hi-Jack

Hello everyone. This is the "Professor" and I have just hacked into and hijacked Hannah's blog to enlist your support for a big event. Several months ago, you may remember that Hannah set a goal of running a 5K. Well, she's blown that away while training for the Austin Half Marathon, which she is planning to run this weekend. Sunday morning to be exact. She thrives on cheering, supportive crowds, so if you love her, and if you are in Austin, do what you can to cheer her on! Here is the course website, with a PDF of the route, and here is a handy web page for tracking her progress, if you happen to have mobile net access or can't make it to the race. She'll have to post her pace group info in the comments.

Let me give you a little background so you all understand why this is such a big deal and why you need to go cheer for her, as if running a half-marathon isn't enough on its own. To Hannah's athletic siblings, one of her many nicknames was "Tender." (get the idea?) Let's just say she wasn't known for athletic accomplishment. (Iin my opinion, anyone who gives birth to three children qualifies as a super-stud.) So now she has set this super-stretch goal, and this is a real breakthrough and a substantial personal accomplishment.

In order to help you all help her, I have produced a handy support sign that you can print out and wave or staple along the route. Click here to get the full-size printable PDF version from my DropBox account. (Don't worry, there's no cost.) Print out a few, stake out the route, and be there to cheer her on.

See you Sunday morning!

Signing off,

-The "Professor"