Well overall the past week went pretty well. I was working out of town this week and my worry was that it would be hard for me to stay both motivated to running in the morning and to eating somewhat healthy. The running part went great and I think I did OK with the food. I even went so far as to stock up on bananas and water at the store instead of the typical junk food I would get when staying in a hotel.
Running this week was good. I had to map out a few routes but they were nice. I was staying in Lake Havasu and our hotel was close to the lake. I didn't get a chance Monday to do anything, so Monday night I used the hotel gym and went at it. It was nice because I was the only down there and so I just watched the basketball game and rode about 20 miles on a bike.
Tuesday I had a nice jog along the banks of the lake. The trail was not what I was use to but was very scenic. It included a lot of up and down and had some real sandy parts. It was a nice workout.
The next couple of days I took another route that led me across the London Bridge. For those of you who are unfamilar with Lake Havasu (which I would be if I weren't a professional Arizona traveler), some guy bought the London Bridge from London, took it apart piece by piece, shipped it to Laka Havasu, Arizona, and put it back together. It goes from the main land to a small island. It is not a very big bridge when compared to others I have seen but it is a very nice looking bridge. The island it leads to is fairly small, in fact yesterday as part of my six mile run, I ran around the entire island. The bridge is lined with alternating American and British flags and I noticed for some reason when I passed by other people on one side of the bridge I would say "Good morning" and while on the other I would say "Top of the morning to ya". It was the strangest thing. It was as if the bridge transported my to England and back.
I must say though, it was a nice change of scenery from the Mesa canal I usually run along. As I was running across the scenic London Bridge, I couldn't help but think that in two months, I will be running across the much larger Golden Gate Bridge. It's going to be awesome.
I was very excited to be able to come home from Lake Havasu a day early and I was able to make our final dance practice. Tonight is our big performance. Our dance is coming along, however, I still think we could use a few more practices. So tonight is the performance and then tomorrow I have my first official 5K in many, many years. I ran a 5k with Megan a few years back but that was just as her "shadow runner", it wasn't about me. Not too mention I did run that wearing a pink boa. (The things I do to support Megan is amazing...running with a pink boa, dancing...what's next??)
Well, I will try to write tomorrow to let you know how the dance went, as well as the run. It should be a pretty fun weekend.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
It's Official
So for my loyal followers, or should I say follower, I have officially signed up for the San Francisco Half Marathon in July.
I was happy that I was able to get a spot in the first, and more scenic, half of the marathon. I would have added a count down on my blog page but in my limited goofing off time, I can't figure it out.
My blog is evolving from the ramblings of an auditor to the ramblings of a running CPA. I am sure that over the next 10 weeks, my blogs will focus on my training for this event. Hopefully in ten weeks I will have a good bit of information on my blog that I can use in my autobiography. (If I don't make it though, I give my family permission to use all blog posts for monetary gain.) I am still working on the title of my autobiography, and rightfully so. I still have many chapters to go. Maybe I will call it "Jeff Patterson, A Book With Many Chapters". It would seem appropriate since my life changes from time to time. Perhaps this chapter would be titled "A Nerd on the Run".
Enough about the book, you'll hear about in a few years when I am on the lecture circuit. Training this week has gone fairly well, however, today was rough. I went to the Giants game (I guess technically it was a D-backs game) and didn't get home till very late. Yet I still woke up at 5:15 and put on my running shoes and headed out the door. Today was a three mile "easy" run. (My training table uses the work easy, not me.) It went OK but I am glad that tomorrow is a rest day. Sunday is another 7 miler, so hopefully I will see some improvement.
Next week will be interesting because I will be out of town the whole week. I am expecting to get back in town Friday in time for dance, then Saturday morning I have a 5K run. So next week, I have to stay focused and on track. The thing that worries me the most is that when out of town, the company pays for meals and it sure is easy to eat a lot. It will be a challange to me to not only eat modestly, but to eat healthy. I am still trying to slim down and hope that running about 20 miles a week will help shed the pounds.
My blog is evolving from the ramblings of an auditor to the ramblings of a running CPA. I am sure that over the next 10 weeks, my blogs will focus on my training for this event. Hopefully in ten weeks I will have a good bit of information on my blog that I can use in my autobiography. (If I don't make it though, I give my family permission to use all blog posts for monetary gain.) I am still working on the title of my autobiography, and rightfully so. I still have many chapters to go. Maybe I will call it "Jeff Patterson, A Book With Many Chapters". It would seem appropriate since my life changes from time to time. Perhaps this chapter would be titled "A Nerd on the Run".
Enough about the book, you'll hear about in a few years when I am on the lecture circuit. Training this week has gone fairly well, however, today was rough. I went to the Giants game (I guess technically it was a D-backs game) and didn't get home till very late. Yet I still woke up at 5:15 and put on my running shoes and headed out the door. Today was a three mile "easy" run. (My training table uses the work easy, not me.) It went OK but I am glad that tomorrow is a rest day. Sunday is another 7 miler, so hopefully I will see some improvement.
Next week will be interesting because I will be out of town the whole week. I am expecting to get back in town Friday in time for dance, then Saturday morning I have a 5K run. So next week, I have to stay focused and on track. The thing that worries me the most is that when out of town, the company pays for meals and it sure is easy to eat a lot. It will be a challange to me to not only eat modestly, but to eat healthy. I am still trying to slim down and hope that running about 20 miles a week will help shed the pounds.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Because it's there.
Well I know it has been a bit of time since my last riveting post and so much as has happened. Well, maybe not. I am glad to report that the Giants finally got a win against the Padres, that was getting a bit insane.
Dance rehearsal went well last week, our dance is finally coming together. I am a little worried about the uncertainty of our next and final practice before the show on the 28th. Hopefully, we can pull it together, I think we are going to bring down the house.
The biggest news is that it has been a few months and I am still running. Sure I am not up to Forest Gump milage just yet, but I am getting there.
As I was tracking my milage on "Runnersworld.Com" I saw an ad for the San Francisco Marathon. Though I have never had the desire to train for or run a marathon, I clicked on the link and began to look at the website. I noticed that not only did they have a marathon, but they have two half-marathons and a 5K run. I knew I could do the 5K but I couldn't see myself going out to SF just to run a little 5K race. Then the possibility of running a half-marathon entered my mind. I was planning on running the one here in Phoenix next January/February, but I love SF and I would love to run one there. I looked at the course which runs along the Embarcadero, past Fisherman's Wharf, across the Golden Gate Bridge and back, then ends in Golden Gate Park. To me that seemed cool, but was it possible?
Normally, I would only entertain this notion for a minute or two and then my mind would tell me all the reasons that this idea is not only crazy, but is stupid. My mind would tell me things like how I can't run that far, how it would be too expensive, how I would finish in like 12,000th place, so what's the point?
Something else happened instead. I dared for a moment to dream, to think what if. I let myself think instead of what can be done and to think for a moment of what I wanted barring all obstacles. For me, this is a huge break through. To stop thinking of what I can't do and think about what I want to do and what I could do. So I decided, all things aside, I want to run a half-marathon is San Francisco on July 25, 2010.
My next step was to think about how I was going to accomplish this, not about what was standing in my way, but how I was going to overcome obstacles in order to do what I wanted to do.
My first concern was my physical ability to complete the course. In order to complete the 13 miles, you have to run in under about 3 hrs or they start reopening the streets. You can still keep running, but watch out for cars. So I decided to see if I could run 13 miles in under 3 hours. I devised a training program (with some expert help, of course) and on Sunday I did my first "long" run of 7 miles. I accomplished the 7 miles by jogging the entire time and ending in just under an hour and twenty minutes. So I determined that if I could currently run 7 miles in under an hour and half, that in 11 weeks, I could build up to run 13 miles in under 3 hours no problem. (I am planning on running it under 2:30)
The next obstacle is of course funding. It cost money to enter, it cost money to get there but I was determined that a way would surface. In somewhat of a surprise manner, I recieved a bonus from work, enough that I could fund my endevour.
So I allowed myself to dream and things are coming together. I am under no illusion that I will win the half-marathon but it's not about that. It's not about competing against others, it is about competing against myself. It is about proving to myself that I can accomplish the things I set out to do. It's about showing the self-doubting half of myself that I can do things I never before would allow myself the opportunity to dream about. When Sir Edmund Hillary was asked why he climbed Mt. Everest his response was "Because it was there". People may ask why I want to travel 700 miles from home to run a 13 mile race knowing that I won't win a medal, I won't get my name in the paper and won't get glory. To that I respond: Because it is there, and I add: because I CAN!
I know it will be difficult training over the next few months, it will come at a price but then again the great things in my life haven't come easy. It has always been through hard work and sacrafice that great things have happened to me. Everytime I wake up at 5:00 to go jogging and ask myself why I am doing this, I will think of that finish line. Everytime my muscles ache, I will think of that finish line. I know my goal and I will keep that in mind over the next ten weeks or so. I dream of crossing that finish line in Golden Gate Park. To me that will be the blow that finally tears down the "wall" in my mind that separates what I believe I can do and what I actually can do. It's time for the wall to come down.
Dance rehearsal went well last week, our dance is finally coming together. I am a little worried about the uncertainty of our next and final practice before the show on the 28th. Hopefully, we can pull it together, I think we are going to bring down the house.
The biggest news is that it has been a few months and I am still running. Sure I am not up to Forest Gump milage just yet, but I am getting there.
As I was tracking my milage on "Runnersworld.Com" I saw an ad for the San Francisco Marathon. Though I have never had the desire to train for or run a marathon, I clicked on the link and began to look at the website. I noticed that not only did they have a marathon, but they have two half-marathons and a 5K run. I knew I could do the 5K but I couldn't see myself going out to SF just to run a little 5K race. Then the possibility of running a half-marathon entered my mind. I was planning on running the one here in Phoenix next January/February, but I love SF and I would love to run one there. I looked at the course which runs along the Embarcadero, past Fisherman's Wharf, across the Golden Gate Bridge and back, then ends in Golden Gate Park. To me that seemed cool, but was it possible?
Normally, I would only entertain this notion for a minute or two and then my mind would tell me all the reasons that this idea is not only crazy, but is stupid. My mind would tell me things like how I can't run that far, how it would be too expensive, how I would finish in like 12,000th place, so what's the point?
Something else happened instead. I dared for a moment to dream, to think what if. I let myself think instead of what can be done and to think for a moment of what I wanted barring all obstacles. For me, this is a huge break through. To stop thinking of what I can't do and think about what I want to do and what I could do. So I decided, all things aside, I want to run a half-marathon is San Francisco on July 25, 2010.
My next step was to think about how I was going to accomplish this, not about what was standing in my way, but how I was going to overcome obstacles in order to do what I wanted to do.
My first concern was my physical ability to complete the course. In order to complete the 13 miles, you have to run in under about 3 hrs or they start reopening the streets. You can still keep running, but watch out for cars. So I decided to see if I could run 13 miles in under 3 hours. I devised a training program (with some expert help, of course) and on Sunday I did my first "long" run of 7 miles. I accomplished the 7 miles by jogging the entire time and ending in just under an hour and twenty minutes. So I determined that if I could currently run 7 miles in under an hour and half, that in 11 weeks, I could build up to run 13 miles in under 3 hours no problem. (I am planning on running it under 2:30)
The next obstacle is of course funding. It cost money to enter, it cost money to get there but I was determined that a way would surface. In somewhat of a surprise manner, I recieved a bonus from work, enough that I could fund my endevour.
So I allowed myself to dream and things are coming together. I am under no illusion that I will win the half-marathon but it's not about that. It's not about competing against others, it is about competing against myself. It is about proving to myself that I can accomplish the things I set out to do. It's about showing the self-doubting half of myself that I can do things I never before would allow myself the opportunity to dream about. When Sir Edmund Hillary was asked why he climbed Mt. Everest his response was "Because it was there". People may ask why I want to travel 700 miles from home to run a 13 mile race knowing that I won't win a medal, I won't get my name in the paper and won't get glory. To that I respond: Because it is there, and I add: because I CAN!
I know it will be difficult training over the next few months, it will come at a price but then again the great things in my life haven't come easy. It has always been through hard work and sacrafice that great things have happened to me. Everytime I wake up at 5:00 to go jogging and ask myself why I am doing this, I will think of that finish line. Everytime my muscles ache, I will think of that finish line. I know my goal and I will keep that in mind over the next ten weeks or so. I dream of crossing that finish line in Golden Gate Park. To me that will be the blow that finally tears down the "wall" in my mind that separates what I believe I can do and what I actually can do. It's time for the wall to come down.
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