Got Crazy?

Thought you might enjoy this!  Saw this on Michael's training blog and thought it was pretty cool.  Sometimes I start to believe everyone that tells me I'm crazy, but then you see something like this and you know there's always someone out there with a little more crazy than me!  

LONDON (Reuters) - Already Britain's oldest employee, 101-year-old Buster Martin now aims to become the world's oldest marathon runner by completing the London Marathon and celebrating with a pint of beer and a cigarette.
ADVERTISEMENT
click here

Sprightly and bearded, he completed a half marathon at the weekend in five hours 13 minutes. The former Army physical training instructor works three days a week for a London plumbing firm and says he has trained for the April 13th race in his spare time.

"I've said I'll attempt it," he told Reuters by telephone from his workplace at Pimlico Plumbers. "I haven't said I'll complete it. If I do make it, all the better. I hadn't thought of doing it before but someone asked me and the money goes to charity so why not?"

His sponsorship money will go to the Rhys Daniels Trust, which provides temporary accommodation for families of patients in specialist children's hospitals.

Martin, who had 17 children and returned to work at the age of 99 saying he was bored after two years of retirement, would beat the previous record for world's oldest marathon runner by eight years.

These are a few of my favorite things!

Sometimes even though it's snowing and 30 something degrees outside you can still have a great time.  Today was one of those days.  When I woke up and looked outside and saw that it was raining, I thought, "I can still go.  It's just a little rain.  Besides 16 miles on the treadmill?  I'd rather run in a blizzard!"  Then when it started to hail and then snow, I knew we were in for it.  Jodi and I left and though my lungs were struggling as usual and my bum and legs were still extremely sore from Thursday, it was just a fun run.  We got to experience snow, sleet, hail, wind, rain, and even the sun.  As the snowflakes were hitting my face, some were staying there and I couldn't help but think of the Julie Andrews song My Favorite Things and the line "snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes."  I love that kind of snow.  Before I knew it we had already done the first lap and were almost halfway through the second.  Jodi turned off later than we had planned on and she ended up doing almost 9 miles!  Awesome job!  I could tell she was feeling good today and almost suggested she just go the 10 with me, but didn't want her to pay for it later.  Next week, though!  Time just flew by with Jodi and I can't say how nice it is to have a running buddy!  I finished up the 16 miles and felt pretty good for most of it.  I could really feel my sore body.  There were a few times during the run that my legs just felt like they were on autopilot and they didn't want to stop even though my lungs were telling me to.  Good run, all in all.  Ran it in 2 hours and 43 minutes: an average of 10 minutes 10 seconds per mile.  The last half was slightly faster but not by much.  So because of the song...I started thinking about some of my favorite things about running today.  So here they are...in no particular order!

Legs...would be kinda hard to run without those!

Snow that's not too cold.

Hail...fun to try and catch in your hand.

Jodi...makes the run seem shorter and I love the conversation...I pretty much just love this woman.

Music...nice to have when Jodi leaves.

Mountains...we have the most beautiful scenery to look at!

Sun...I swear that I got a burst of energy every time the sun peeked out!

Water....ohhhhh, so good!

Shoes...I'd have much thicker callouses if I didn't have comfy shoes.

Husband...takes care of everything while I'm gone and takes good care of me when I get back.

Downhills...such a good break for the lungs.

Uphills...makes me stronger.

Home...boy doesn't that look good!

Since there's just 3 weeks left until the Salt Lake Marathon, I decided to try and use the gels today and see if I couldn't get them to work better than last year.  I used 1/2 the gel and tried to drink 4 oz. of water.  Of course it's pretty hard to judge what 4 oz. is.  I tried my best and think I may have gotten it figured out towards the end.  It's more water than what I thought it was.  Good thing I'm just doing half the packet instead of the whole thing like last year.  I think that was a good thing.  I wore the shirt I'm going to wear in the marathon today to see if there were any chaffing issues I needed to be aware of.  I think it will work good.  Wonder what the weather will be like in 3 weeks!

Drank 3/4 Ultra Fuel this morning.  Waited 1 1/2 hours to run.  That seemed to be good as far as potty breaks were not necessary this week.  

Used 2 gels during the run.

Drank Endurox R4 for recovery.

Also tried something new after my run today.  Kind of crazy, but I was so sore I thought I'd try it.  The ice bath.

Punishment for the quads!

I was actually looking forward to this weeks tempo run.  It was 2 miles easy with 3 miles at tempo pace and then 2 miles easy to cool down.  Much better than the 8 miles last week.  So why was it such a hard day?  The 2 easy miles even started out hard and then it seemed bearable until I had to crank it up for the 3 miles.  They seemed unbearable, my legs were like lead again and I might as well have been running in quicksand.  So during the last 2 laps I finally just turned down the speed.  I was starting to get a side ache and had just had enough.  The last 2 miles were o.k., but they were pretty slow.  Maybe it's all the Easter candy I've been horking down during the day and my legs are still sore from Monday's plyometrics.  I really debated whether to do them again today or not in light of my run on Saturday.  I had to do weights today so I was trying to decide if I should just keep punishing my body until it gets used to it, or to back off and give it some rest.  After much deliberation, I decided that doing something different for weights will be good for my body in the long run (not the one on Saturday ha! ha!) and so I did a watered down version of plyometrics and then lifted for my upper body.  I just hope my body can adjust quickly as the weeks are counting down until the fist marathon.  I'm starting to get a little nervous!  

And it's always hard when I can't meet with exactness the specifications of the program.  It's easy to get down.  I just need to remember that I'm doing the best I can and really, that's all I can expect.  It's hard not to compare myself with others, but I'm learning and teaching myself that it's my pride that makes me feel bad.  C. S. Lewis said it well when he said, "Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man...It is the comparison that makes you proud; the pleasure of being above the rest.  Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone."  I read the talk on pride by President Benson last week and have been pondering on it since then.  I love where he says "The proud depend upon the world to tell them whether they have value or not.  Their self esteem is determined by where they are judged to be on the ladders of worldly success.  They feel worthwhile as individuals if the numbers beneath them in achievement, talent, beauty, or intellect are large enough.  Pride is ugly.  It says, "If you succeed, I am a failure."  If we love God, do His will, and fear His judgment more than men's, we will have self esteem."  I need to remember why I run in the first place.  It's not to be faster than anyone else, or even beat my previous times.  It's because I love to run and the way it makes me feel.  It's shown and taught me so many lessons that I don't know if I would have learned any other way.  Pride is truly something I need to work on everyday of my life.  I'm so grateful for modern prophets to give me instruction on how to overcome myself.

7:30 Kashi cereal with blueberries and milk and vitamins

9:00 run with 12 oz. accelerade

10:30 1/2 serving Endurox R4

11:15 starving so drank 4 oz. juice mixed with 1/2 scoop protein powder

Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug!

Today I was the bug!  (listen to the new theme song for today!)  My speed workout today was miserable.  Not even the kind of misery that you think might be good for you, that might make you stronger.  No, today I just wanted to stop because nothing felt good.  The top of my foot has been hurting for some reason after my run on Saturday.  Then wearing sandals on top of it all weekend long didn't help.  I tried to loosen my laces yesterday, but it didn't seem to help much.  I think I must have a bruise there or something.  My marathon shoes got here yesterday so I put those on to run in today and just kept the laces on that one foot really loose.  Maybe it just needs to heal.  I'm sure my other shoes aren't done yet.  My quads were feeling the effects of the weight training yesterday and felt like they were stuck in mud or quicksand or something.  My knee has been o.k.  I wear my Pat Strap every time I run and that seems to be keeping it from getting any worse.  I'm still icing it and stretching, so I'm sure that is helping.  My lungs were miserable today too.  Then I still had to do upper body weights!  My run today was 6 1/4 miles in all.  I did speed for 1 mile, then 2 miles, then 2 x 800 meters.  Yuck!  

I think I have spring fever and really want to be running outside!  It feels so good out there, but still not good enough for me to push that stroller with a 2 1/2 year old in it for my speed work out!  I'll do it for easy days but I guess I'm stuck on that treadmill!  I know the years will be soon be here when my Logan will be in school and I don't want to wish those years away.  I know that time will come when I can go anytime, anywhere.  So until then the treadmill and I will be good buddies!  

8:30  ate Kashi blueberry cereal with milk.  Forgot vitamins again!

10:30 ran drinking 12 oz accelerade.

12:15 drank Endurox R4 for recovery.

Easy Run

Just took it easy today and ran 3 miles followed by plyometric training for my lower half.  I'll still have to do upper body tomorrow, just ran out of time today.  

Should've flown a kite instead!

Today's run was a 12 miler that was a breather from the weekly milage buildup.  I took the first 5 miles pretty slow with the 2nd and 3rd mile averaging 11 1/2 minutes per mile.  The wind was terrible and although it was sunny, it wasn't warm.  After I finished the first 5 miles in 50 minutes, I started to feel pretty good and picked up the pace a bit and ended up finishing the next 7 miles in 1 hour and 4 minutes.  Overall pace was 9 1/2 minute miles but I was pretty spent and couldn't have kept that up for very much longer.  My knee hurt once or twice but it's been o.k. the rest of the day.  Stretched, but haven't had a chance to ice it with family being in town today.  I really missed my running buddy, Jodi today. :(  Misery is always best shared!

8:30  Got up late so I drank 3/4 serving of Ultra Fuel and vitamins.

9:20  Drank 12 oz. accelerade on the run.

Drank 12 oz. Endurox R4 for recovery.

An hour later ate egg salad sandwich and strawberries.

Longest Tempo Run Yet!

Well, I did it.  The longest tempo run I've ever done.  Last year in the marathon program I completed the tempo runs as far as the mileage goes, but could never do it in the time I was supposed to.  So I guess they weren't really tempo runs.  This year I am determined to complete them in the time I'm supposed to.  It's my real weak spot (well, one of the many) and I can't believe I am able to do it.  I ran 8 miles at tempo pace and the first 4 felt pretty good.  I resisted the urge to turn up the speed a little knowing that I still had quite a ways to go, telling myself that if I still felt good, I'd do it at the end.  Between miles 6 and 7 were pretty tough but I pushed the speed up for the last mile and made it!  My knee didn't hurt although it was still tight.  I stretched really good afterwards and iced it.  

8:30  ate Kashi blueberry cereal and milk and vitamins.

11:00 ran and drank 12 oz. accelerade during the workout.

12:45 drank Edurox R4 to recover. (1-1/2 scoops)

1:30 ate leftover cashew chicken and rice

11:00p.m.  quads are really sore and IT band has been hurting all night.  Janz rolling pinned it and I took ibuprofen before bed.

Weighty Thoughts

Today I just lifted weights.  My knee is feeling pretty good and I thought I'd save it for my 8 mile tempo run tomorrow.  That will be a real test!  I love how running teaches and reinforces life lessons.  On Saturday while I was running with Jodi we were talking about how the program increases a bit each week for 3 weeks and then backs off a little to allow the body to adjust to the new mileage and absorb the training.  Then the program steps it back up again and more progress is made.  I was thinking how this relates so much to things we do to grow in life.  If we take things to the extreme without slowing down and take time to absorb it, we will for sure get burned out very quickly.  Whether it's learning math, or scrapbooking, or even studying the scriptures, we need that time to ponder and let things soak in.  I love how President Hinckley was always telling us to take time from our busy lives to ponder and meditate.  It truly rejuvenates the soul.  Running is such a great time to ponder anything that is going on in our lives.  We were told on Sunday that Sherry Dew said that to be steadfast and immovable means we can't press the pause button in our lives.  I thought about this and how it would apply to what I was thinking about and I've decided that it means we keep moving forward with our goals in mind, but that we need to pause to meditate and ponder the solemnities of the eternities.  Sterling W. Still said that when we ponder on things of an eternal nature we are having the same thoughts that God thinks.  That's a pretty cool thing to think about!

Speed Workout

Another good speed workout today.  I did 8x400 meters, went faster than last week, and felt good.  The whole workout including the warm up and cool down was 60 minutes and was 5 miles.  I wore my knee band and didn't feel any pain, just tightness.  I iced it afterwards and stretched really good.  I hope it keeps doing well.  

7:30  ate bran muffin, milk and vitamins.

9:30  drank a glass of accelerade during the workout.

10:45 drank another glass of accelerade to recover.  

11:30  ate turkey sandwich and a glass of water.

Recovering from the weekend

I took it easy today and ran 3 miles followed by weight training.  I can already feel my bum, not a good sign!  Hopefully it won't be too bad!  Running felt good today and gives me hope since the whole weekend while my knee was aching I was feeling pretty down.  It's not even hurting like it was before, it's just tight, but I'm just so afraid I'm going to be right back where I was last year or worse, like I was several years ago and not be able to do anything.  It's crazy how a little pain can bring back so many bad memories.  The only thing I can relate it to is labor and when you feel that first hard contraction all the memories from previous births come flooding back in an instant and you remember with amazing preciseness the horrific pains that lie in front of you and you want to just say, "Never mind, I don't want to do this anymore.  Does somebody want to do this for me?  Can I just be knocked out now and someone can wake me up when it's all over with?"  Something along those lines!  Anyway, today was encouraging.  I guess we'll see how it goes the rest of the day.  I may have Janz rolling pin my leg again today even though that hurts too.  I guess if I get desperate enough I can always go see the chiro that I saw last year.  I think this weekends long run will be a good test for it.  

specs:

8:00 ate bran muffin and glass of water

ran, drank water

recovered with glass of accelerade

ate salmon and pasta and broccoli for lunch

forgot vitamins again!  

14 miler!

Today was my long run.  I don't think the weather wants to cooperate with my long run days.  It was cold and humid.  I got to run the first seven miles with Jodi.  We left at 7:30.  I woke up at 5:30 a.m. starving so I ate 2 pieces of toast with peanut butter and a small banana.  I wonder if it was too much.  My lungs didn't feel good until about the 3rd mile or so and then I was o.k.  As Jodi and I were finishing the 6th mile, the fog came in.  It was thick and cold.  It cleared up as we got closer to home and I thought about stopping for my sunglasses.  Well I didn't need to after all.  The fog only got thicker and colder.  It never cleared up the rest of the run.  My legs started to get pretty tired around mile 10 and if I hadn't run that route so many times before, I think I could have gotten lost.  I was pretty disoriented a few times and had to figure out which street I was on.  I was also worried about cars being able to see me since the visibility was terrible!  I was really worried going up the canyon road and the big state road snow plow barreling down the canyon didn't help.  I think the air was affecting my breathing and the last mile was pretty hard.  I was determined to do a negative split and finish the second lap faster than the first but it was pretty miserable.  We finished the first lap in 1 hour and 12 minutes.  I finished the second one in 1 hour and 9 minutes.  So just barely faster.  I came home with my hair frozen.  I could feel it hitting my back on the way home and knew it was frozen.  I had frost on my vest and gloves too.  Weird.  Today was hard and I've felt pretty tired today.  Oh and my IT band hurt twice during the run.  I stopped and stretched and it seemed to help.  I had Janz rolling pin it tonight and I've been stretching it today.  It was tight last night after all the sitting in the temple, car ride, and dinner.  Hopefully it won't give me anymore trouble or that I'll be able to keep it under control.  Today's one of those days that I think everyone might be right and I may just be crazy.  I drank about 18 oz. accelerade on the run and about 12 oz. afterwards.  I don't know if I didn't drink enough during the run, I forgot to most of the first lap.  I ate really well last night, pasta with marinara sauce, veggies, and chicken and bread so I really don't know what was different this week.  Maybe it was just the weather.  Maybe it was the visit from my aunt.  Who knows!

Easy day!

Ran 3 miles today at an easy pace with a couple of strides thrown in.  Drank water during and after and stretched really good.  I should remember and take time to do that after every run because it feels so good.  It just takes extra time though.  Did it on the treadmill today as it is snowing!  What a spring spoiler that is!

Cross Training Day

Just did weight lifting today.  My body was pretty tired from yesterday's workout.  I'm pretty sure I didn't refuel my carbs like I should have.  Oh well.

Tempo run again!

There were several good things about my tempo run today.  First, I procrastinated again this week because I ended up going to Ogden to get Easter stuff with Holly.  I had already promised the kids that we could go to the park after school today and so I thought I'd just run around the park while we were there.  It's a 1/4 of a mile around and that meant that I'd have to do 24 laps.  It was so nice being outside for my tempo run that it wasn't too miserable, although misery still played a major part.  And I know for sure that my treadmill is OFF because I can run much faster outside than what that machine tells me I am running!  Now for the complaints:  my shins were killing me again today and my lungs were screaming by lap 16 so I walked for 15 seconds that lap and the next one.  Then I was able to finish up without too much trouble.  When we were on our way home we passed Mickell who was just starting to run and I asked her why she was running without me!  She followed me home and we ran another mile around the block.  She's pretty fast and I didn't like the hill we started out on.  So here's the eating specs for today:

3:00 hungry so ate South Beach bar (probably too much protein but couldn't think of anything else)

3:50 run 6 miles at tempo pace drinking 1 glass of accelerade

4:00 drink 1/2 glass of accelerade before going with Mickell

5:30 eat eggs, salmon, hashbrowns, and milk  (again, probably too much protein and not enough carbs.  Guess I'll be able to tell on my next workout!)

later, legs feel tired and start to get a headache.  Drink more water immediately and eat a pancake.

Wanna go to lunch?

Logan really wanted to go to lunch today (yes it really was Logan wanting to go to lunch) and since the weather is so nice out there, we decided to walk.  We stuck a hat on Logan that he wasn't happy about, but since he was getting out he was o.k. with it.  We walked to Wendy's and got happy meals and then headed home.  It was 5 1/4 miles.  My shins were killing me the first half.  I decided that I really don't like fast walking all that much.  I think it might hurt more than running!

Speed Workout

Great speed work out again today!  I love the shorter distances.  There's definite pain, but at least I know there's a break right around the corner!  I did 800 meters today 4 times with 1 1/2 minutes recovery time.  I decided to challenge myself, since I was able to complete the tempo run last week, and do it faster than I was scheduled to.  It was hard, but I was able to complete it with the last one being the fastest.  Doing the last part of any workout faster than the beginning is one of my goals for this year so that my body gets used to pushing it even when I'm tired.  Well here's the specs:

Kashi cereal with blueberries and milk and vitamins.

1/2 glass of acclelerade and 1/2 more during workout.  

Finished with glass of accelerade to recover.

Neither Rain, nor Sleet, nor Snow shall keep me from my long run!

When I got up early so that I could run with Jodi, I thought about going back to bed after I looked out the window.  It was raining.  And not just raining, it was still cold.  So I bundled up and got all my gear together:  water pack filled with Accelerade, cell phone, i pod, gloves, hat, vest, jacket and forgot my chapstick.  Decided that I could leave the sunglasses home today.  I drank 1/2 a glass of accelerade and took my vitamin, hoping that I wouldn't get sick.  Jodi came and off we went.  I picked a bad route this time.  It was petty much all the way uphill.  Just a slight incline for most of the way, but still uphill.  It started to snow and sleet.  It started stinging our faces.  I stayed pretty warm, surprisingly except for my face!  We finished the first 6 1/2 miles and Jodi went home to get ready for a sealing.  I stuck my i pod in and went around the loop again, dreading the upcoming uphills.  It went by surprisingly fast and I even saw a few friends along the way, some running and I saw Holly driving home from the gym.  I looked down at one point and the snow had accumulated on the front on my pants.  When I walked in the door my kids and hubby started to laugh at me.  I guess my hair went all kind of matted and wet looking.  Janz grabbed the camera and took a picture before I went in the bathroom to see for myself.  Yep, it was bad.  The pictures didn't even do it justice!  It took 2 hours and 11 mins:  a 10 minutes 4 sec per mile pace.  I finished with 1 glass of accelerade and then about an hour later had oatmeal and milk.  Felt good the rest of the day.  I decided that I should be a postman; neither, rain nor sleet nor snow shall keep me from running!

Easy day!

Decided to run today and just take it easy.  I'm thinking that it might loosen up my hip flexor although my shin doesn't hurt at all today and was killing me last night.  Only ran 2 1/2 miles at an easy pace.  Enjoyed it and plan to run a couple of easy miles later tonight with hubby.  Had to lift weights today because I didn't do it yesterday because of fatigue after dreaded run.  Here's the specs:

7:30  ate Kashi cereal with blueberries and milk.

10:00 ran easy pace, drank water (16 oz. in all-during and after)

11:00 lunch homemade pizza and water and vitamins (forgot again!)

feeling good! 

Dreaded Tempo Workout!

Wow!  I knew it was going to be a hard one today, but wow!  My tempo (running at a speed a little slower than 10k pace for a sustained amount of time) workout today was a killer.  I knew it would be just because it was 8 miles and the farthest I've been able to do previous to this was 4 miles.  I really dread those tempo workouts.  I like the speed ones because you know there's always a break ahead and even if you're running faster, you know it will come to an end.  But today was much different.  I know they'll make me a better runner, but oh how I dread them.  Last year when I was training, I never did them faithfully.  I would do the miles, but never in the time limit that I was supposed to.  And I really didn't care as long as I was able to finish the marathon before all the drink stations closed down.  But now this year, I want to do better than last year, so I need to make myself do the workouts.  It was a mental game for sure.  I did it on the treadmill, which is horrible in itself for that amount of miles.  But I started a counting game.  I talk to myself while I'm running and don't even care if that makes me crazy.  It helps!  I told myself that I could take a drink every 4 laps.  So pretty soon I was counting down to every 4th lap.  Then I figured out how many laps I was going to be doing-32.  That sounded like a lot.  But pretty soon I was at lap 11 and I figured out that I was 1/3 of the way done.  Not bad.  Can't wait for the next drink.  Want to listen to my new and more upbeat music, but it's further down the list.  Tell myself that I'll need it more later on.  Lap 16 came and I gave myself the little pep talk that I was half way done.  Anything from here on out was on the down hill stretch at least.  About that time by right shin is starting to tighten up (in other words HURT!) and I can feel my hip flexor about lap 20.  But at lap 20 I congratulate myself on going further than before and tell myself there's only 3 miles left.  3 miles, 12 laps, but only 2 more to go until I'm 2/3 of the way done!  It's getting harder but I keep going, changing the music faster now, skipping songs that just aren't doing it for me.  Lap 24 passes, get a drink and start to repeat mantras that have worked in the past.  I am soft, fast, smooth.  Swift feet, light feet.  I believe I can.  Keep going, keep going.  Works for the next 4 laps.  Now I only have 4 more to go.  Can't believe I've been running this long.  Right shin and hip flexor are really tight now.  Try to ignore and just finish.  Realize that I haven't shifted my music to the good stuff yet and quickly try to find it down on the list.  Try to concentrate on having good form and finishing strong.  Count down the last 4 laps....3....2....1 more!  After completing the last lap of 8 miles I walk one last lap to cool down.  Though I'm tired and hungry and my hip and shin are hurting, I feel good and very excited that I completed it.  Now I just hope there's not a long one like this for a few weeks!

Specs:

7:30 1/2 of hubby's homemade cinnamon roll (I know!  But it was the last one and I have been so good about not eating the whole pan!)

9:00  realize I didn't take my vitamins (they seem to help if I take them in the morning and I think they keep me up if I take them at night.)  Eat a whole banana to keep me from getting sick.

9:05  Holly calls and asks if I want to go to Ogden with her.  Tell her I can't because of dreaded 8 mile run.

9:20  Take Justin to school and think I'm going to have to pull over and puke.  Guess the banana didn't work.

10:00  Still feel like puking.  Lie down with Logan and watch Dora the Explorer.

11:00  Holly calls and asks how run was.  Confess I haven't started yet.  Thinking that I should just do it tomorrow.  No, that just makes me dread it one more day.

11:15  Get dressed and make accelerade drink.  Decide it's been a while since I've eaten last, so make 1/2 glass of accelerade and go!

1:30  Drink one more glass of accelerade for recovery and eat lunch.

Later that night:  About 5 o'clock start to get a headache.  Don't think I've eaten enough today.  Eat dinner but it doesn't help much.  Go to bed at 9:00 to try and get rid of headache.  

Speed Work

Today's workout was great!  Wow, don't say that very often.  I think it was because it was about 1/2 hour shorter than normal.  I really could have gone longer, but when I looked at what was ahead this week, I decided that it was o.k. if I stopped now.  I did speed work, 2 minutes fast, 2 minutes recovery 5 times with a 15 minute warm up and 10 minutes cool down.  Because I want to use this as a good training tool for me, here's the specs:

7:30  ate Kashi cereal w/ blueberries and milk and multivitamins

9:00  1/2 banana

10:00 run with 16 oz. accelerade 

10:45  lift weights

11:00 drink 8 oz. accelerade, shower and get ready

12:00  eat homemade pizza for lunch

Already dreading Wed. workout!