The Benefits of Races

So this was supposed to originally be a post about my philosophy as a runner, but I kinda figured that it really didn't warrant that much blog space. With that said, my philosophy is pretty simple; push yourself as hard as possible and don't be afraid to try new things. When I say, try new things, I mean if you run 3 miles run 6; if you run a 5k then run a 10k and so forth. It's all about testing yourself and pushing the limits that you can go. Now before I get to sidetracked, I'd like to get back to the original thought at hand.

I've talked a lot in the past about the physical and mental benefits of running and for some that may not be enough of a good reason to start running and that's okay. However, there are lots of other great reasons to start running races and these are probably the two of the biggest in my opinion.

If you're a fan of free gear, then you're in luck, most races will offer free swag, such as: shirts, medals, snacks, etc. My girlfriend usually clowns one me for running races that don't offer any type of free gift, but I'll be honest it does make it worth while by waking up at 5:00 AM for a race if you get a fresh ass tech shirt.

The next reason (and one that I have made a point to do better at) is immerse yourself in the camaraderie of other people that, like you, are looking for the same thing. I'll be honest I struggle with this mainly because, I tend to keep to myself and use running as a time to think about life and other random thoughts, but I do realize that it's always a good idea to have people around you that are passionate about the same things that you are. It become infectious when you meet a person that's equally or more passionate about something that you love. That is my second resolution and one that I look forward to this year.

Thanks for reading again.

New Year, New Me?

So much like my recent track record of consistently posting new blog entries, the same could be said for my recent running activity. I think much of that has to do with the fact of being really content with my accomplishment (as much as that makes me sound really superficial haha) but it really seemed that way. Fortunately there's a new year on the horizon (at the time of this blog post about 32 hours away) and I already have some big ambitions for this year.

I think this is what this year is going to be about. I want to push myself to limits that I never knew I could go. Yeah so I apologize for nothing earth shattering or highly intellectual, nah this year is just pretty much show up and show out. Hopefully some of you guys who read this will start to do something new to improve yourself or something that you enjoy.

Happy Running in 2014

2:05:47

Well first of all I'd like to apologize for being awfully late with this post. With that said, onward and upward! 

So Thanksgiving was a pretty eventful day to say the least, ran my first half marathon and quite honestly...it wasn't that bad. 

I suppose I had built up this event like it was the Ironman Triathlon (the one held in Hawaii every year) but quite frankly I was able to cope with everything, including the cold temperatures pretty admirably I must say. All that hard work and training had definitely paid off, but what really put me over the top, was the sense of excitement and anticipation that I had leading up to the start. There were so many times I just wanted to explode my pace, but I knew I'd need to conserve energy towards the finish and thankfully I did because they had some massive hills to climb (which really pissed me off and annoyed me to no end haha). If there's one piece of advice I would give to someone whose training for a race of any sort, is to run on trails or courses that feature lots of hills or some hills. Hill work is extremely beneficial, because well for one it makes your legs stronger...and well shit that's pretty much all I got, but trust me when I say that hill work can make a big difference between an easy race and a very hard race.

So I officially timed in at 2:05:47, which is much much quicker than even I imagined, but as a few days passed I sat back and really thought about it, and I didn't feel that sense of satisfaction that I expected from this whole experience. Perhaps it's because I felt like I could have ran harder, or maybe I need to run longer races exclusively (marathons, 50k, etc.). Either way I plan to find the answer to that question, by running in a few half marathons and then setting myself up for a big marathon challenge. 

Well thanks again for reading, happy running.

Pregame

Well I have to admit, as I sit here with less than 10 hours away from probably the most physical challenge I've ever taken up, that I'm pretty gat damn nervous. Well actually it's a combination of two things: anticipation and nervousness.

On one hand I'm nervous as hell, and you may wonder why, but I don't want to run at a snails pace and feel satisfied with just finishing (nothing wrong with that, I have just have a different mentality I suppose)...f*** that I want to compete and try as much as I can. Now I know that I'm probably not going win place finishers medals (we do get participant medals though!), and quite frankly that's okay, but I just like to push myself as far as I can go and if I feel like I don't do that then this will be a failure.

Now on the other hand, I know I busted my ass in training and did just about as much as I could to get used to running in very cold temperatures (nothing is worse than the 2011 Cotton Patch Run at Boys Ranch with -17 degree wind chill and 40 mph winds we all endured) and so I think that physically I'm ready for tomorrow and that once I get to the starting line that I can start to mentally prepare myself and get crunk. I'm also excited to finally have a personal cheering section because my girlfriend, Jessica, is going to be there, which is also the first time I haven't had a complete stranger tell me to "keep running" or "you got this". So there's that added bit of motivation to kick some asphalt tomorrow (lame pun I know)

In any case back to the song, conveniently placed above, is one that I usually listen to while running that soothes me and causes me to calm my nerves, so this is a bit of a microcosm of what's going on with me on the even of the my first half marathon.

Thanks for reading!

What's on My Playlist for Thursday

So in my previous post I mentioned something about sharing what I've been listening to in order to get ready for the Atlanta Half Marathon and well this song perfectly summarizes the vibe I've been going for.

When I hear this song, I think back to my favorite scene in Forrest Gump when he's running across America, and well even if it is on much smaller scale, I imagine myself in that exact scenario. This song is probably the last song I listen to as I cross the finish line this Thursday (which quite honestly I'm pretty scared shitless of)

Here are a few more tunes that have been on repeat lately as well. (also links provided for listening pleasure)

Deftones - Sextape
http://youtu.be/f0pdwd0miqs

Failure - Another Space Song
http://youtu.be/alNQ84K3y5Y

The Chain Gang of 1974 - Undercover
http://youtu.be/vfMTA7rbxro

Toro y Moi - Never Matter
http://youtu.be/xV48pF4r5m8

A Tribe Called Quest - Award Tour
http://youtu.be/P800UWoE9xs

Pete Rock & CL Smooth - Take You There
http://youtu.be/y1joT0YnnsI

Iron Maiden - The Trooper
http://youtu.be/4uq6Ax-zzkQ

Almost Game Time

So today is a joyous day for me, yes for those that know me, today happens to be my birthday, but I'm actually referring today being less than 2 weeks away from my first half marathon. Although I'll be honest, I'm a little afraid about it but at the same time I've been trying to bust ass in preparation for it.

I have been able to steadily increase my speed and distance despite a hamstring that keeps bothering me. In fact since I bought my new pair of shoes (which is actually a half size shorter than what I normally wear) it forced me to alter my running form. Instead of running on my forefoot, I began running on my heels and although it feels a bit odd I'm actually able to run at a brisk pace at longer distances. Although running longer distances isn't easy to get used to when you've been running 3-6 miles.

It's not easy running longer distances, mainly for me because it can be tough to maintain that focus but I like to think of long distance runs as a road trip. Weird I know, but for whatever reason it helps me maintain my focus and think towards the end of the run, like the destination of a trip. Plus I just really enjoy road trips, because it allows me to think about life and lots of other subjects, a really good time to contemplate.

Well happy running guys. I'll be posting my half marathon playlist soon as well.

Quick Half-Marathon Update

So I'm really trying to kick into high gear with my half training and...yeah shit is pretty tough.

So well I'll try to finish up these other two blog posts, and keep you guys up to date.

Thanks for reading.