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.

Easy run

I decided to take it easy today. I got out to the trail at about 6pm, when it was already getting a bit dark. Despite regular stretching, my previously mentioned strain is still making itself very well known. Thanks to Jay and everyone else who commented on that, by the way - the forward lunge was exactly the right stretch but it took a friend who used to be a trainer to show me how to do it properly.

Anyway, I went out to the trail and ended up running the MoPac/Congress loop. It was weird. My pacing was erratic, ranging from a 9:30 pace that felt like I was dying to a comfortable 8:15 or so. Breathing all over the place, and my aches were really noticable - to the point of trying to affect my gait - for the first two miles.

So. More stretching to come, and I’ll try to alternate running 3-4 miles with the elliptical for the rest of the week. Am I ready for the marathon on Sunday? I’m not sure. Then again, I wasn’t sure about 3M and I felt like I did really well, so we’ll see.

Whatever happens, I need to keep in mind that one year ago I was running 1 mile at a time, Galloway style, with a 10:30 pace goal. My 5K race last March was an 8:45 pace, and I’m aiming to significantly beat that over the course of a full marathon. I’m doing alright.

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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

6 total comments, leave your comment.
  1. brent
    Feb 7th 2005
    11:02 PM

    really? a 10:30 one year ago? my you have come so far. good luck, you’ll do awesome i have a hunch.

  2. vj
    Feb 7th 2005
    11:37 PM

    Damn, an 8:45 pace?!?! Sheeeoooot, Richard, that’s pretty damn impressive. Can’t wait to see how you do at Freescale. Hell, I just can’t wait til Freescale!

  3. Wow, that year old pace is a real shocker. I thought you were one of these people that has been running since high school and stuff. Ha! You’re a newbie. Ok, I can just no longer respect anything you say, even though you are running killer races (and back to back!). [Jon turning a nice shade of jealous green]

    :D

  4. In fairness, I should point out that 10:30 was my goal pace last year. Thanks to my ITB problems, I actually turned in a 12:24.

  5. OK, so I won’t be around to read the race report, but best wishes on smashing that PR this weekend. It will be awesome, I’m sure. I’ll miss reading you on my hiatus, but I’ll have something to look forward to.

    Oh, and my 5K PR is 28:59 from last August. Haven’t run one on my own since then; I’ve been doing them with my son at his pace. I’ll be interested to see what i do in race conditions in the shorter distances after a spring full of halves.

  6. Ken
    Feb 9th 2005
    8:23 AM

    Looks like you’ll be blowing away your Marathon PR this Sunday. Good luck!


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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
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

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