Less than a month away from the big day and crux time with training has really set in. Wouldn’t you love to have a crystal ball telling you in advance how it would all unfold? Then again, maybe a much different, less pressured, supernatural route would work: the ever-popular Magic 8 Ball.

Sounds odd, I know, and it’s only for fun. It came to mind this past weekend because I had 8 miles to log for my long run. It was pretty much do or die. You get this run in, girl, you have a chance. You choke, well, you have some ’splainin’ and much more work to do! I DID get the run in, but still it might be fun to play the game.

Magic 8 Ball: Will I finish the 1/2 on October 17th? (Shake, shake, shake).

Answer: It’s…looking…as if…it’s LIKELY! Whew. Was sweating that one. Truthfully, it’ll probably be my slowest ever. But that’s not my concern. I just want to be able to say that when I could’ve been planning to watch football and have beverages on a Sunday, overall, I made a conscious decision to train for something that would ALLOW me to watch football and drink beverages without the guilt afterward.

Magic 8 Ball: Will I have to walk at times in this 1/2? My plan is to run it all the way, just like the previous two. (Shake, shake, shake).

Answer: Your attitude and efforts will be your guide. Hmmm. I’ll show up with my game face on and take it from there. Don’t want to walk any, though. Planning on a good, consistent jog that day.

Magic 8 Ball: Will some amazing things happen for those doing their first 1/2 or full? Will some set personal bests when they didn’t think they could? (Shake, shake, shake).

Answer: Without a doubt! (Ooh…I like that one. Nice!).

Magic 8 Ball: Will someone make a difference in others’ lives just because they did 13.1 or 26.2 on 10/17? (Shake, shake, shake).

Answer: Someone WILL change a life that day…even if it’s only one. It’s more likely that MANY lives will be changed. Get your cameras ready. One person crossing the finish line might be raising thousands for a great cause or inspiring someone else just because!

So there ya go. Even though I got my magic 8 miles in on a run recently, I still have to put in the work to get to the finish. And as I/we get down to the wire with training, it’s important to remember some basics, too. We’re all in this together. Ultimately we want to create a spirit of unity. Besides proving something to yourself, you can share something with others. That something is the magic of the finish. We owe it to each other to provide encouragement along the way. Especially for novice runners/walkers like me, it’s not always easy to get there. A simple “you’re good” serves as an “okay, I can do this.” Encourage, engage, finish. I hope to see you there, at the finish, and then again afterward. Run-walk-wheel on!

Photo credit: mulad

Miss Lisa, 95.5 The Hawk

Four weeks down. Eight weeks to go. Still hanging in. Over the course of this last month I’ve come to realize how training for another 1/2 marathon has suddenly become like dating! Dating? Seriously, it’s true. Overall, it’s exciting. Every now and then you become a little cautious. Sometimes the expectations are too high…and sometimes too low. What about the times you completely wear the wrong thing? Oh, and then there’s that thing called compromise. Oh, yeah. So much like dating. The key is somehow stringing together enough right choices to make the relationship work and still keep that “excited” feeling new.

Running/Dating 101:

1. PICKING THE RIGHT THING TO WEAR. More specifically…be rockin’ just the right SHOES! Oh, my goodness. I knew my toes had been hurting lately (especially on runs of 4+ miles). Imagine my disbelief when I finally got in to the running store last week, only to find I’d gained an entire shoe size over the course of a year! Don’t let that relationship issue go. Talk about it right up front.
2. MEETING EXPECTATIONS. Simple in theory. Show up and be you! My complicating factor on the run side is the 3 am wake-up call for work. That has me wishing I could do a 2 am run. Hasn’t happened yet. Wish it could. First thing in the morning: ready. After that: not so much. Still looking for a good compromise on this one. Taking a power nap to be renewed when it’s beautiful in the middle of the day gives me a restless feeling. Need to work on that to adjust.
3. BEING CAUTIOUS AND MAKING COMPROMISES. Doing alright at this, but it still needs work. Listening to the body to make sure I’m not overdoing it. Making compromises in the schedule, too. For instance, a 4 or 5 mile run is not happening the day of or the day after yoga. Too worn out. Adjusting accordingly. Oh, and the monthly PMS factor…low back pain, sluggishness, bloatedness, etc. That’ll cause compromise in a heartbeat. Take me as I am.
4. NOT BREAKING UP OVER ANY/EVERY LITTLE DISAPPOINTMENT. Would’ve been outta the scene a few weeks ago if I’d folded over not doing every single run. Good news is I’ve gotten in all the longer runs up to this point. Still “going with you,” you running thing. Won’t let you kick me to the curb just yet.
5. KEEPING THE EXCITEMENT NEW. Change up the runs. Outside. Inside. Flat. Hills. Combo. This will be an ongoing challenge for me, too. But I’m willing to work at it. There, I said it. Please stay?

All that said, still amazed by the serious runner. That type of discipline stops me in my tracks. Amazing to watch! For the more recreational runner, what can be taken away from this last month of training? Well, I’m certainly not a pro at running (or dating). All I can do is offer my personal experience and pray that the end result is not a breakup!Let’s keep going! Reach me by e-mail at misslisa95@aol.com anytime. Thanks!

Do you ever play that game “how many times can I hit the snooze button before my feet actually hit the floor” in the morning? You talk to your clock or cell phone, too, “ok, ok, ok…I’m UP.” Well, it’s that time in my training program: I snooze, I lose. The good news is I’ve gotten in a solid few weeks of movement. (Things didn’t go exactly as planned at first, but I did manage to keep the commitment of hitting the gym 5 to 6 days a week!)

Miss Lisa, 95.5 The Hawk

What had originally begun as a plan to jog 2 or 3 miles each day quickly turned into, “oh, no…can I really do this again”? After being out of commission for months because of injury, it was a little scary to realize my ability to focus had simply checked out! A mile or so into a jog my mind would get bored. That can’t be good, right? Thankfully I did some improvising and was able to ease the panic with interval training. So, I did a 10-minute walking warm-up followed by a solid 60 minutes of alternating walking and sprinting. Concentrating on that minute of speed each time helped me start to regain focus. And the bonus is that once I averaged out the sprint and walking times, it gave me an ideal training pace for the start of logging miles again.

A few other things have also come into play as I’ve ramped up to training. I’m probably 80% on target with the diet. I still need to be a little more diligent for maximum effectiveness when I set out for a run. (Cheap gas in the tank generally makes for a bad workout). So my goal in the next month is to bump that up to at least 90% with a little wiggle room to not completely stress myself out. Also, I picked up a Tuesday night yoga class hoping it would help with both focus and flexibility. Let me tell you, it will feel so good when I start seeing yoga’s positive effects. Right now I’m finding I’m about as “bendy” as uncooked spaghetti. ‘Nuff said. Also, I’m a person who’d rather do my workout first thing in the morning. Since I’m up by 3 am and in by 5, the before-work run can’t happen. Sometimes it’s such a struggle in my mind to get in a mid-afternoon workout. But it’s crunch time now, and I don’t have a choice to “hit the snooze button.” I have to get the runs in. And I know from past experience that as long as I follow the plan, I can get there.

I’ve also realized I have a choice between two things with each training step: humiliation or humility. I’m not as young as I used to be. That is glaringly obvious with each ache and pain I feel that makes me wince or with each fatty jiggle I feel that makes me think “what if I’d had just one less piece of pizza?”. But positive vibes should always trump the negative ones, yeah? I can’t choose to be humiliated by things that could potentially bring me to a standstill in training. It’s a better choice to be humbled each time…realizing I can’t change anything that’s gotten me where I am now. All I can do is stick to a plan, make good choices and come out with a smile each time I get a step closer to the goal. Chances are you’ll be saying these same types of things somewhere along the way. Let’s get back to it! Always feel free to e-mail me: misslisa95@aol.com if you want to chat. Good luck in training…and I’ll check back in next month!

Note: K95.5’s Miss Lisa will be blogging about her experience training for her third 1/2 marathon. Check back to follow her progress!

First things first. Any of you who run competitively are amazing. In addition to all that hard work and dedication you put in, you were given a gift. It’s inspirational to watch you combine the two and soar even above and beyond your own goals.

Now, on to a brutal truth for me. I’m a jogger at best, and a slow one at that. Since 2006 I’ve done two 1/2 marathons. (Watching a former co-worker’s success in training was the initial motivation). My first 1/2 in Charlotte I finished in just under a 10-minute mile pace and was so pleased. Last year’s Nationwide was also a sweet experience…albeit much slower! But as training begins for the 3rd, it will likely be my toughest challenge yet.

A couple days after last year’s race, I noticed a persistent numbness and tingling in my hands and feet. It impaired my daily life enough to know that medical attention couldn’t be avoided. Long story short, seven months out of commission will not make for an easy transition into retraining my body to go for long periods of time.

Of course, weight gain often goes hand in hand with physical inactivity. Been there, done that? (No lie. I’m carrying at least 20 more pounds than my body frame wants or needs). Feeling kinda chunky and clunky. That said, I’m GLAD I was asked to blog about my experience. Now I have no excuse but to put the nose to the grindstone and figure out a way to rebound from practical inactivity to 13.1 shape again. 16 weeks from today I hope to be a much different, more focused and certainly more fit “40-something”!

So, I’m ready to do this! The proper diet starts today. In addition, I’ll be doing a solid month of base cardio training. (6 days per week for the next 4 weeks will include a 10-minute walking warm-up, 2 to 3 mile jog and a 20-minute cool down…roughly 60 minutes per workout). My official training program kicks in on July 25th and lasts for 12 weeks leading up to the event on October 17th.

It’s all about the attitude. Time for channeling some positive energy and turning each step into a reconnection with true spirit and well-being. Would love to hear from you with questions about the training experience anytime…especially if it’s your first go. Just shoot me an e-mail: misslisa95@aol.com If you’re running, walking or maybe even wheelchairing it, we all have a common goal…to get the job done. It’ll be a blast, especially once we cross that finish line together. Let’s get started!