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.

Weekly total

Tuesday: 3
Wednesday: 2.5
Thursday: 3
Sunday: 3.5
Total run: 12

Biking: 30

Workouts: 1 core

Its funny - I actually had thought that I’d done more workouts than that. Ah, but the blog doesn’t lie now, does it? I guess that’s why doing this summary is a good idea. Next week, I want to do at least three days in the gym, at least four solid runs, and hopefully hit about 16 miles total. I’d like to get my runs up to four miles with no breaks by the end of the week.

That’s pushing it on the distance acceleration, but my goal is to ramp back up to 30 mpw by the beginning of October. At three miles per week, I can make that - and I don’t think that this will be too much of a strain. But if it is, I promise I’ll back off. The last thing I need is another two month suspension!

Tentative schedule for next week:

Monday: gym (lower body: low weight, higher reps)
Tuesday: 6km - resting 1 min after every km
Wednesday: gym (lower body: higher weight, lower reps)
Thursday: 6km - run 3km, walk 1km, run 3km
Friday: gym (upper body: higher weight, lower reps)
Saturday: 30+ miles biking
Sunday: LSD run - 4 or 5 slow miles without resting

Mileage goal: 1 + 3.5 + 2 + 3.5 + 1 + 0 + 5 = 16

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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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Famous Marathon Times

RunnerTimePace
Al Gore4:58:2511:23
Oprah4:29:3010:17
P. Diddy4:14:549:43
Sarah Palin3:59:369:09
Will Ferrell3:56:129:01
George W. Bush3:44:528:35
John Edwards3:30:188:01
Carrie Sapp3:29:067:59
Boston Qualifier3:10:597:17
Lance Armstrong2:59:366:51
Gilbert Tuhabonye2:23:075:28
Paula Radcliffe2:15:255:10
Paul Tegat2:04:554:46
Haile Gebrselassie2:03:594:44

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