Martian Marathon Run!

Hello Earthlings!

Since I am running a half-marathon in a couple weeks, I wanted to do a training race to take place of a long run. I heard great things about the Martian Marathon Run so, I decided to sign up and run the 10k.

The Martian consists of five events: Marathon, Half-Marathon, 10k, 5k and the Martian Mile. You would think the event would be insane and a huge cluster eff with five events. But no, The race was well organized and on time. I never felt claustrophobic like how I did at the Detroit Turkey Trot.

By the time my event started, it was rainy, cold and windy. I was not loving the weather and lost all interest of running. Remember my excuses post? This was definitely one of those moments. Thank God my Mom was there telling me to suck it up or I probably would have left. ha.

The course was smooth and somewhat hilly. We ran all around Dearborn and saw some cool sites. Like the campus pf U of M Dearborn, The Henry Ford Estate and through Hines Park. The only boring part of the course was mile 3-4. It was a down and back on a free way. Not real exciting but, it was flat and fast so I didn't mind.

Please note my amazing form. *sarcasm*

My goal time was 60 minutes or under. My last 10k was at Shamrock n' Roll and  I ran it in 1.07. Terrible! My calves tightened up from my new shoes and it was just the worst race. This time I ran it in 1.04. Still not my best but at least I knocked three minutes off my previous time. My PR is 59.58. I'm hoping to get there sooner rather than later.

Final Time: 1.07

My training for the next couple weeks include:
4/17: 5 miles
4/18: 6 miles speed work
4/19: 5 miles
4/21: 10 miles
4/23: 5 miles
4/25: 6 miles hills
4/26: 3 miles
4/28: 12 miles
4/30: 3 miles
5/2: 4 miles speed
5/4: 2 miles
5/6: FLYING PIG!!!!!!! RACE DAY!!!!

Suck it up! Excuses don't get results.

Wow! I have a lot to update since I last wrote my "Bucket List with a Twist" blog post. I have been doing a new exercise regimen which I will go in depth later.  I have the Flying Pig Half-Marathon coming up in about 4 weeks and if I can kick it into gear these next few weeks, I will be ready. If not, well, I guess I got sucked into the "Winter Blues." 


What are the "Winter Blues" you ask? Well, it's a term I made up to describe all of the BS excuses I used to NOT train this winter. Below I have some excuses that I used to justify to myself that it was okay NOT to train. 


"It's really cold outside"
I'm sure we all have used some sort of climate based excuse. Whether it's raining, snowing, too hot, too cold or maybe too windy. I will confess, I used this one a lot this winter. If you live in Michigan and are currently reading this, feel free to call me a wuss or something else. We all know that Michigan was NOT cold this winter. Yes, there were a few cold days. But, overall it was a mild winter. Some would even say it was perfect running weather. To me, it was an excuse to stay in bed and relax. To this I say to myself and to you, "SUCK IT UP!"


"I've been really busy..."
How many people have used this excuse? I will say, my winters were pretty busy. I am a cheerleading coach and winter is our competitive season. I had 3 hour practices every night and  had a competition almost every weekend. By Sunday, I was content with laying in my bed and doing absolutely nothing. I ran on the treadmill a few times. Hated it. Gave up after 15 minutes. I would like to think I tried to work out. But, we all know that wasn't true. Here is a quote that directly relates to my life, "Someone busier than you is running right now." To this I say to myself and to you, "SUCK IT UP!"


"I'm so tired"
I just read a blog post about this excuse. The main point was that everyone is tired. But, you can't let "tired" define you. Yes, I am exhausted at the end of the day. But, during cheerleading season I let my "tiredness" consume me. I was too tired to go out. Too tired to work out. I was just "too tired." Everyone is tired. I recently posted on my Facebook that I was too tired to workout and I needed motivation. My friend Jess said to go to the gym and stay there for 10 minutes. Most of the time you end up doing the whole workout. Genius! So the next time I am tired I say to myself and you, "SUCK IT UP!"


Training for the Flying Pig
Training for this race has been rough. This is the first race I've trained for by myself. No guidance or group leaders. Yes, I am running it with a group of friends from college. But, we are training for it in different places. It is very difficult to go out and run when you have to go out by yourself. I reconnected with a local running group and they have been helping me train. I am SO grateful for Jessica and John. They have been so supportive throughout this whole training process. 


If you have to go running by yourself, I would recommend breaking my cardinal rule. Which is, always run without music. Break it and break it many times. Thank God for Britney Spears, rap/hip-hop and all other sorts of music. If it wasn't for my brother's iPod shuffle and Lola (my dog) it would be a very hard training process. 


So, I have to ask...


What are some things that motivated you to get out and moving? 


and


What do you do if you have to train alone?