"So Matt, how is the training going?" Common question now that most of my friends and family know that I am running the Half Marathon.
My typical response is, "Good, lost 25 pounds, running 25+ miles per week, feeling okay"
Then the next question comes, "You ready for Saturday?" Saturday being this Saturday, Saturday, April 30th, only 5 days away. This Saturday being the Nashville Half Marathon. 13.1 miles of pure torture and pain.
My typical response to this question is, "WHAT?!?!? It's this Saturday?!?! How did that happen?!?! I am totally not ready!" Or something to that affect.
13.1 miles is a long ways. To give me perspective, I did some quick math. I drive (drive, not run) 6.7 miles to work, about half of what I'll run on Saturday. When hearing this, a friend said to me, "Well, you should run to work in the morning and run home that night, that would be perfect training, why don't you do that?"
And my calm response went something like this, "BECAUSE THAT IS OVER 13 MILES, WHO DOES THAT?!?!" Well, this Saturday I am.
In truth, the training has been good. Other than a few small back problems, I have felt good and am looking forward to the event. I have lost 25 pounds and can see the difference in the mirror. Going to Nashville is always fun. Nashville supports this race in an amazing way. Over 35,000 participants and many more than 100,000 cheering you on, it is hard not to be motivated.
Now I am in my taper down week. All the Half Marathon traning sites say to dwindle your training time and mileage the week before the big run (how about dwindling down to NOTHING!). Where I have been watching calories and saturated fats for the last 8 weeks, I can start to "carb. up", highlighted with a big pasta dinner the night before the race. For one week I can say I need to exercise less and eat more . . . wouldn't that be an AWESOME New Year's Resolution? Now the experts don't necessarily agree with this, but you can't do EVERYTHING the experts say, right? Nonetheless, I am very excited about this event and plan on doing a couple more posts this week to give you final updates and preparations for the big race.
You know me, I'd be remiss if I didn't hit you up one last time, so, here we go, if you can find some pocket change to support me, please go to www.active.com/donate/pclrunforhope/mattryerson and give whatever you can afford. It all goes to a great cause, the People for Care and Learning - the Run for Hope (which I'll need A LOT of to make it the full 13.1 miles). They serve children and families all over the world with a focus in SE Asia. Visit http://www.peopleforcare.org/ for more information.
Showing posts with label training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label training. Show all posts
Monday, April 25, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Pushing forward
If you've been following my blog or my life in general (which, if that is true, please allow me to apologize), you probably know that I have been in training for the Nashville Half Marathon on Saturday, April 30th. This is a day I look forward to with much anticipation, although, probably not for the reasons you might guess. I am looking forward to it because that is the day that this "training" will be over.
Now, don't worry, I will continue to work out, but I like to swim, bike, and do other forms of exercise. In preparation for this run I have fully committed myself to running . . . which hurts. Not like the injury type of pain many people complain of, no, this is just the "I don't like to run, so I like to complain" type of hurt. I NEVER feel good after running. I feel good that I've done it, like somebody will feel good once you've completed your taxes and paid the IRS your tax bill, but my body doesn't feel good. I just feel good that it's over and not hanging over my head any more.
Nonetheless, you (my blog readers) are my accountability partner (or partners, IF, more than one person actually reads this), so with that, I give you my latest training results. I ran the 65 Rose 5K on Saturday at Lee University in an inhuman time of 32:38. When I say "inhuman", I am obviously being sarcastic, as the only "inhuman" part is that how can anyone go that slow. Simply put, that time is pretty slow. Nevermind that the guy with the prosthetic leg (an actual and TRUE athlete), the pregnant woman, and Dr. Paul Conn (in my defense, despite being slightly older than me, he is an amazing runner with an incredible record of distance running) all beat me. So here is my excuse, when I push beyond the 6 mph rate, my back starts hurting, so I am trying to keep it down. There, does that work for you? The truth is, overall I felt good. This morning, I ran 6.1 miles in about 1 hour and 5 minutes. This is about the same pace as the 65 Roses, so I am on track. My legs have been a little tight this morning, but I am hanging in there. What does this all mean? What is my prediction for Nashville? In the words of the legendary Mr. T from Rocky III, "PAIN!"
But my most important goal is where I am failing. My goal to rais $3000 for the People for Care and Learning through this event is moving slow and I am asking for you help (this will prevent me from writing a bad $3000 check to a nonprofit that would bounce and ultimately cause me much embarrassment, so please, PLEASE visit www.active.com/donate/pclrunforhope/mattryerson and give anything you can afford. Remember, this goes to an amazing organization that does amazing work worldwide (visit http://www.peopleforcare.com/ for more information).
Thanks for the great support, I have a terrific cheering section.
Matt
Now, don't worry, I will continue to work out, but I like to swim, bike, and do other forms of exercise. In preparation for this run I have fully committed myself to running . . . which hurts. Not like the injury type of pain many people complain of, no, this is just the "I don't like to run, so I like to complain" type of hurt. I NEVER feel good after running. I feel good that I've done it, like somebody will feel good once you've completed your taxes and paid the IRS your tax bill, but my body doesn't feel good. I just feel good that it's over and not hanging over my head any more.
Nonetheless, you (my blog readers) are my accountability partner (or partners, IF, more than one person actually reads this), so with that, I give you my latest training results. I ran the 65 Rose 5K on Saturday at Lee University in an inhuman time of 32:38. When I say "inhuman", I am obviously being sarcastic, as the only "inhuman" part is that how can anyone go that slow. Simply put, that time is pretty slow. Nevermind that the guy with the prosthetic leg (an actual and TRUE athlete), the pregnant woman, and Dr. Paul Conn (in my defense, despite being slightly older than me, he is an amazing runner with an incredible record of distance running) all beat me. So here is my excuse, when I push beyond the 6 mph rate, my back starts hurting, so I am trying to keep it down. There, does that work for you? The truth is, overall I felt good. This morning, I ran 6.1 miles in about 1 hour and 5 minutes. This is about the same pace as the 65 Roses, so I am on track. My legs have been a little tight this morning, but I am hanging in there. What does this all mean? What is my prediction for Nashville? In the words of the legendary Mr. T from Rocky III, "PAIN!"
But my most important goal is where I am failing. My goal to rais $3000 for the People for Care and Learning through this event is moving slow and I am asking for you help (this will prevent me from writing a bad $3000 check to a nonprofit that would bounce and ultimately cause me much embarrassment, so please, PLEASE visit www.active.com/donate/pclrunforhope/mattryerson and give anything you can afford. Remember, this goes to an amazing organization that does amazing work worldwide (visit http://www.peopleforcare.com/ for more information).
Thanks for the great support, I have a terrific cheering section.
Matt
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Which way is home?
Over a recent weekend, I was taking a training tour of the back roads of Bradley County. I had beautiful weather, I felt great, and my training times were excellent. I have a race coming up in September which includes a 56 mile bike, so I decided it was important to begin logging some serious mileage on the bike. My normal ride to Red Clay State Park (which is a hidden GEM in our community, if you’ve never been, you must go visit) only takes me a total roundtrip of about 23 miles and I wanted to go further on this ride so I just went right on by the park and continued on into Whitfield County (this was my first mistake).
As I enjoyed the gentle rolling hills of North Georgia and SE Tennessee, I began to realize that nothing looked familiar. A few miles later came a sign welcoming me to Hamilton County. It was at this point that I realized I wasn’t 100% sure where I was (this is man-code for “I was lost”). I passed a number of churches with unfamiliar names like Antioch Baptist and Apison Seventh-Day Adventist. I even passed a few country stores, but I never once stopped for directions. In fact, it didn’t even occur to me that I should.
This created in me a flashback to my youth. I must have been 11 or 12 and I was in the car with my dad. We were driving around Cincinnati, clearly lost, when I asked, “Dad, why don’t we stop and ask for directions?” His answer was classic, “If we just keep going this way we’ll eventually run into something I recognize.” I think it was the Indiana State Line that convinced him we’d gone too far. However, it is now clear to me that this gene has been passed down to me.
Eventually I arrived at an old gas station called “County Line Store”. Unclear about which county line I was straddling, I finally decided it was time to ask for directions. I must have been quite the sight, wandering into this old country store in my bike gear (not the most flattering casual wear) and asking, “Where am I?” The kind woman did not pass judgment and helped me on my way home. After 37 miles (and still many to go), I had to call my wife for a “rescue” pick-up, the first time in my many years of riding Bradley County back-roads.
This latest adventure (some might call it a misadventure) made me think about all the little things we pass down to our children unintentionally. Is it refusing to ask for directions, impatience, forgetting to put the toilet seat down (apparently another one I have inherited); or will we leave positive habits for our children to duplicate like telling your family “I love you,” on a daily basis, smiling, being polite, or being generous. It is important that we are intentional and conscious of what we role model for our children. Unfortunately for my son, he is doomed to wander around old country roads until he is so lost he must be rescued.
As I enjoyed the gentle rolling hills of North Georgia and SE Tennessee, I began to realize that nothing looked familiar. A few miles later came a sign welcoming me to Hamilton County. It was at this point that I realized I wasn’t 100% sure where I was (this is man-code for “I was lost”). I passed a number of churches with unfamiliar names like Antioch Baptist and Apison Seventh-Day Adventist. I even passed a few country stores, but I never once stopped for directions. In fact, it didn’t even occur to me that I should.
This created in me a flashback to my youth. I must have been 11 or 12 and I was in the car with my dad. We were driving around Cincinnati, clearly lost, when I asked, “Dad, why don’t we stop and ask for directions?” His answer was classic, “If we just keep going this way we’ll eventually run into something I recognize.” I think it was the Indiana State Line that convinced him we’d gone too far. However, it is now clear to me that this gene has been passed down to me.
Eventually I arrived at an old gas station called “County Line Store”. Unclear about which county line I was straddling, I finally decided it was time to ask for directions. I must have been quite the sight, wandering into this old country store in my bike gear (not the most flattering casual wear) and asking, “Where am I?” The kind woman did not pass judgment and helped me on my way home. After 37 miles (and still many to go), I had to call my wife for a “rescue” pick-up, the first time in my many years of riding Bradley County back-roads.
This latest adventure (some might call it a misadventure) made me think about all the little things we pass down to our children unintentionally. Is it refusing to ask for directions, impatience, forgetting to put the toilet seat down (apparently another one I have inherited); or will we leave positive habits for our children to duplicate like telling your family “I love you,” on a daily basis, smiling, being polite, or being generous. It is important that we are intentional and conscious of what we role model for our children. Unfortunately for my son, he is doomed to wander around old country roads until he is so lost he must be rescued.
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