Training is winding down; I am ready for Disney; and Thanks!

It's Taper Week 2!  So far, I have avoided Taper Madness (or have I?).

I got in a solid interval training run this morning (which I really needed!).  I changed it up a bit as part of my tapering process -- instead of 1/2 mile intervals, I ran 4 sets of '1.5 minute run between 9:15-9:30/mm followed by a 1 minute recovery'.  Then a 5-minute easy run.  Then repeat the whole thing.  After 43 minutes and 3.84 miles, I felt good!  I really needed that time to myself to help kickstart my day.  And the 35 degree weather was actually quite refreshing today!

The rest of this week is going to be rather anti-climatic though.  I have a 4-mile tempo run scheduled for Thursday.  Tomorrow is a cross-training day which will likely be on a bike for 30 minutes, followed by some pool walking as my 'cool down'.  Friday will be a rest day and I will kick off New Years Eve with a 3-mile easy run and some time in the Jacuzzi.

Taper Week 3 starts January 1st and leads me right into Disney.  I have another CardioPoint Assessment scheduled for Jan 2nd so I can see how my sport zones have changed over the last three months, and adjust my HRM accordingly.  Then I will do some very light cross-training (20 minutes in the pool) and call it a day.  Tuesday will be an easy 3-mile run, my last run before heading to Disney on the 4th.  I cannot WAIT!

The lead-up to this point has been steady, exciting, nerve-wracking yet confidence-building.  I have worked very hard and very long to get to this point.  Even though I still have butterflies in my stomach, I know that I am ready for my first two Disney races.  I have lost weight, gained muscle, increased my endurance, fought to control my diabetes, ran in 13 races, and trained by running for over 500 miles since April.  January 2012 is going to be epic as I cross that finish line twice at Disney (and once more a week later in Chicago for the Polar Dash Half Marathon).

I am so very thankful to God who has been with me throughout this whole process.  It started with His not-so-gentle nudge to get me to see a doctor at the end of April 2010.  That was when I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and I was faced with some serious life-changing decisions.  I chose to face the challenge head-on and to make immediate changes to lead a better, healthier life.

I have lots of friends who have supported and helped me along the way: my family, church friends, my trainers, the Hakuna Matata gang, co-workers, the TrekSF crew, LiHi and GU friends, FB buddies, doctors, the list goes on and on.  I thank each and every one of you because without that support, I would not have made it this far.

And there were role models too: the Endorphin Dude (a fellow recovering diabetic and soon-to-be Titanium Marathon Maniac), Meghan (my trainer/coach who recovered from cancer to conquer two Ironman Triathlons), and all those 'famous' people I hear about and listen to on The Marathon Show podcast.  They have been a source of encouragement and inspiration for me, knowing that if these people can accomplish their goals then I have a chance to do the same!

For those who have read this blog and followed my journey (oh, it's not over yet), my hope and prayer is that you have found something that helps inspire and motivate you to reach for your own goals.  I believe that you can accomplish what you put your mind, spirit, effort, and determination into.  It might take a short time; it might take a lifetime.  But you can reach the mountaintop!

Thanks for traveling this road with me.

Ran the Virtual 10K with my Run Club

I woke up at 7AM this morning on a quest: to do my Long Slow Run while participating in a "Virtual 10K".  I did a Virtual 5K on Thanksgiving Day so I figured this would be equally fun.  I was supposed to run 6 miles on my LSR anyway, so adding .2 miles to the distance wasn't gonna kill me.

I also decided to do my run today with members of my Run Club.  It sounds strange but, I joined the Run Club this summer and since that time I have only run with them during the Hot Chocolate 15K race (I ran it with 3 members of the club).  Their regular runs were either conflicted with other runs I had planned, or their distances were further than I could go.

So today, I got dressed and headed to LifeTime.  I met up with 6-7 other members and we were off and running!  Four of them were way faster than I was planning to run, and the others were slower than my pace.  So I ended up running by myself.  But it was still cool to know others were out there with me.  I considered listening to music since I was kinda 'goin solo' but decided not to waste the time to dig out my Nano.

The first two miles were pretty normal. I was running at a 10:00/mm pace, the route was a bike path with rolling hills, nothing I couldn't handle.  Then I came to "Cardiac Hill" (where I do my Hill Work).  My friend Mike warned me last night that the Run Club's route includes the "hill".  I figured I could handle it.  Well running down the hill wasn't too bad.  Then I hit the Illinois Prairie Path and before I knew it, I had reached 3.1 miles in about 30 minutes.  Time to turn around.

Now, going back to the club was a bit more challenging.  The first one was Cardiac Hill which was about 3/4 mile in front of me.  When I got to the base of the hill, I decided to run up the hill all the way like I do in my hill training.  This would be a new experience since my legs had run 3.5 miles already.  So I surged forward and took the hill at a 10:15/mm pace!  It was tough!  When I got to the next stop sign, I was winded so I let myself walk for about 2 minutes.

Then I kept moving onward! Only 2.1 miles remaining!  Of course, all those 'rolling hills' of the route felt a lot harder to my legs now than they did in the beginning of the run. LOL!  I decided not to check my watch and just keep running.  And before I knew it, I was almost back at the beginning of the bike path.  I checked my watch and I was at 6.1 miles!  So I did a little sprint until I reached 6.21 and then I logged the lap on the watch (finish time 1:06:27) and walked the remaining .3 miles back to the club, where I saw three of the Run Club members chatting.  I got one of them to take my photo before I headed in to take a shower.

I am very pleased with the finish time, as well as my performance on the route itself and particularly the Cardiac Hill.  The 10:42 overall pave isn't going to break any records, but it is a LSR pace I am comfortable with.  I posted my results on the Virtual 10K page and sometime next week, I will find out how I did compared with the other participants.

A great way to start Christmas Eve!  Afterwards, my wife and I had breakfast at the IHOP, shopped for stocking stuffers, and eventually made it back to the house.  Now I can relax before my daughter and I sing a special duet ("Mary, Did you Know") during the Christmas Eve service at our church.  I am really excited about that!