Running Towards Fitness

Personal Awareness
The ancient Greeks used to believe that a healthy mind and a healthy body not only went together, but were both critical for happiness and a successful life. They were also intertwined, meaning that a weakness in either area would affect the other. When I started this transformation I was overweight and full of excuses. And by overweight I don't mean just a few pounds - I weighed over 70 pounds more than I do now. I finally took my life into my own hands and started exercising. At the time, I had no idea where it would lead - to a stronger body, a happier, more nimble mind, and a chest full of race medals. Healthy mind, healthy body, indeed! It hasn't been easy, or without issues, but I wouldn't trade the experience for the world.

1000m Recap

I was taking a quick break and checking out your comments - too kind by far - and realized that today was the second time I’d done 1000m intervals. To recap, this was my time a few hours ago:

Time: 4:41 - 4:51 - 4:51 - 4:49 - 4:46
Pace: 7:32 - 7:48 - 7:48 - 7:45 - 7:40

And last time, just five weeks ago, I posted these numbers:

Time: 5:13 - 5:12 - 5:16 - 5:14
Pace: 8:24 - 8:22 - 8:29 - 8:25

So in a month I’ve knocked well over 30 seconds off my pace and that included an extra repetition. Not only that, but this time I was a lot more comfortable and could have done 2-3 more at around a 7:45 pace - last time I really don’t think that I could have even done five without some serious slowdown.

Not bad, not bad.

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About

I'm Richard Stanford, a fit, happy runner. Of course, that wasn't always the case. Dip into the archives to follow my progress from couch potato to sub-four hour marathoner.

I also like to cook, write, code, and play with power tools...

Personal Records

DistanceRaceTimePace
Marathon2006 Freescale3:54:078:56
20 Miles2006 RunTex3:00:089:00
30K2005 RunTex2:42:448:45
Half M2006 3M1:42:577:51
20K2005 Decker1:40:428:06
10 Miles2005 Pervasive1:20:138:01
10K2005 Dublin Dr Pepper48:437:51
5 Miles2005 Turkey Trot37:017:24
5K2005 Margarita Run22:327:15
4K2006 Fila Relays17:247:15
1 Mile2006 Congress Ave6:236:23

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Activity

7 total comments, leave your comment.
  1. Not bad indeed!!! :)

  2. Wow! You fast bastid. You’re doing super.

  3. Not bad - it’s great!

  4. I just looked at your marathon training schedule and now I am attempting to pick my chin up off my desk now…wow. Now THAT’S a training schedule. You are going to kick ass in NYC!

    Someday, I hope I can handle miles like that!

  5. The progress is really great Richard. I must say your training schedule is quite impressive. The one thing I am feeling “green” about is your dedication to weight training. I’ve set myself two goals for the summer - 1) make bike commuting a habit (it’s 32km a day) and 2) Do two days of weight training a week.

    I’ve gotta get my schedule finished and posted but one difference between yours and mine is I do my long run on Saturday and rest Sunday.

    I find it curious that you do a race pace run the day before your long run (not being critical - just curious!). How do you find that? Do you feel it adds or takes away from your long runs? I suppose you must feel it is valuable otherwise you wouldn’t be doing it that way.

    Care to share?

    Congrats once again on NY - I guess that makes TWO things I’m feeling “green” about. As Kermit the frog said, “it’s not easy being green”!

  6. I haven’t tried the double schedule yet actually. The key there that I’ve seen is to do the shorter run at marathon pace, which allows me to do the longer run purely for distance. Walking, taking random water stops, etc, are all acceptable as long as I get the distance in. I will have to keep it s..l..o..w as well, at around a 10:00 mile. So its part LSD, part recovery, and should be all fun.

    Having said that, I honestly don’t know how I’ll handle it, and I’m willing to change it up if I feel like I should. It is certainly a fairly aggressive schedule for me, but I feel that I can manage it if I’m disciplined. After all, I don’t want to spend the money to go out to NYC and not have a good showing!

  7. mark
    Jun 18th 2004
    10:16 AM

    It looks great Richard and I think it is good to be flexible cause it allows the mind to accept that when things happen you are not somehow failing. I’ve known people who, when confronted with having to make changes on the fly, become very concerned that their training has been compromised. While it is true one needs a plan, even elites listen to their bodies and adjust accordingly.

    Okay, now I’m feeling ashamed about not having a schedule up to make ME more accountable. I think that will be this weekend’s project.


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Famous Marathon Times

RunnerTimePace
Al Gore4:58:2511:23
Oprah4:29:3010:17
P. Diddy4:14:549:43
Will Ferrell3:56:129:01
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Boston Qualifier3:10:597:17
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People I Train With

Alex - Addicted to Exercise
Carrie - Tri to be Funny
Erine - Thousand Miles
Frank - Running Blog
Gilbert - Gilbert's Gazelles
Jay - Leotian Blog
Mike - BROTH