Two More Weeks

Well, it would seem that plans have changed. With all the rain lately here in the south, there has been severe flooding. And due to this flooding, the half marathon that I was running today has been postponed until June 13th. This actually sets up a interesting situation. I will now be running two long distance races within a week of each other. I will have the half marathon on June 13th and a full marathon on June 20th. Keep in mind that both these races are on trails, which is a first for me. On the bright side I have two more weeks to run on the trails around my area to help me prepare for the race. But this news also came almost last minute, thus making my taper week obsolete. But on the bright side, I got a nice long run in this morning and was able to take advantage of my body being at 100% strength. Also, this gives me the chance to do trial half marathon on the trails to give myself an idea on how well I should do at Hell's Hills. I am not intimidated with these two races being so close together. I have done something similar before. I ran a half marathon in early February of this year and then a week later I ran the Rouge-Orleans which had me running a total of 24 miles. I am really excited and now the anticipation is only getting worse. But these two weeks will fly by before I know it and it will be time to conquer the hills!

Preparing For The Trails

Its been about a week since my last blog post, but I have been really busy training and preparing myself for my next half marathon. I have already completed two half marathons before, but this one is going to be different. Its all trail and it will have a lot of hills. As a matter of fact, the name of the race (Hell's Hills) should say it all. I have been spending my time running on both the road and the trails. I am still getting myself comfortable with being isolated and being in unfamiliar territory, but I am getting there. Its a nice change of scenery and pace. I can not hold the same speed that I can on the road due to the trails being unpredictable and caution being warranted, You could trip over something, you could run into a snake, and you have to be aware of any wild animals near by. Its definitely a new and exciting challenge and I am looking forward to the race. Also, the course I have been running on for training has a ton of steep hills, which is perfect for preparing for the Hell's Hills course. But the fun does not end there, on June 20th, I will be running another trail race. But this race will not be 13 miles long, it will be 25 miles long and have the same steep hills as the half marathon. So as you can see, I have a lot of training ahead of me. I look forward to sharing with you my experience at Hell's Hills and the results of the race. Until then, I am out for the long run!

Always A Student

Conrad Hall once said "You are always a student, never a master. You have to keep moving forward." These words ring true for me. You are always going to learn something new and you should be open to that idea. I know that the title "master" is put on certain things when it comes to athletics or education. But to claim to be a master at something means that you know all there is or all there will be about a particular subject. Maybe some do not see it this way and you do not have to agree with me, but its how I see things. I find that life is a never ending learning experience and we always have something new to learn. One individual who I discovered through social media reminded me of this fact. On Instagram most of the people I follow are fellow runners like me. But one man caught my attention and became an inspiration to me. His name is Runnermarx and he has 25 years of running experience and 10 years of experience as a running coach. Now most people would consider an individual with those credentials to be a "master" of running. But he does not see himself this way. After reading through his bio I came across these words, "Here to educate and learn." That really spoke to me. Here was a individual with years upon years of experience running, and yet he acknowledged that he was still learning. I respected that about him and he became an inspiration to me. So this brings me back to my main point, we are and always will be students, no matter what sport, subject, or field of study. Life itself is lesson and we will always be learning from it. I go into each new day with the mind frame of learning something new. An example of a lesson that I learned took place at my last 5k. Their were a total of three hills on the course and the last hill was right at the finish line. I "kicked it" right at the bottom of the hill and was exhausted by the time I reached the crest. I was talking to Micah, who is a track coach in Texas and he explained to me that I had made a mistake. His advice was to save the "kick" for the middle of the hill, that way I would still have energy left to surge toward the finish line. I tried this during a training run and noticed a difference in how I felt when I reached the top of the hill. I still had energy left over and did not feel worn out. Always be open to learning new things, even if you feel as if you know a lot or have years of experience, you can always learn something new. You can always get better and keep moving forward.



On a side note, my friend Runnermarx who I talked about in this post is currently participating in the Runner's World Cover Photo Contest. Aside from being a teacher and student, he is also a giver. He always puts others first and does charitable work. He truly deserves this amazing opportunity! You can read more about him by clicking.here You can also vote each day as well!

                                                               Runnermarx

Run For Your Life 5k

Another great 5k is in the books! This was my third 5k and it was my first year running this particular race. The run for your life 5k helped raise money for the American Stroke Association and had a ton of local sponsors. The course was beautiful and was in an area of my town I had not explored before. I arrived at 7:30 am, 30 minutes before the start of the race and I started to warm up. I took a few small trails that ran along the river and sometimes would stop to take in the scenery. I arrived back at the starting line with 6 minutes to spare. We all lined up and payed our respects to the flag as the Start Spangled Banner played. 1 minute later, it was go time! The first mile had a pretty steep hill, but I was already prepared for it. After clearing the hill, I was holding third place. I kept switching between third place and second place as me and another runner were staying neck and neck. Shortly after hitting mile two, we came up to another hill, which I was not expecting. This hill brought us up onto the levee by the river where we turned around and started heading back to the finish line. By this time, I could feel the guy behind me start to slowly get closer and closer. I was still staying neck and neck with the guy in second place. At almost the 3 mile mark, I surged ahead and took over second place. But it was at that moment that I realized that yet another hill awaited me right before the finish line! I had some energy left to spare and began to realize that my second place finish was being challenged by Zachary, the guy in third place, He was creeping up on me fast and I kicked it into gear, putting out everything I had left to get to the finish line. I crossed the finish about 4 seconds faster than him, sealing my first ever 2nd overall finish in a race! After crossing, I turned around and shook his hand, thanking him for pushing me to a strong finish. I walked away from the finish line and got to meet the first place finisher who I talked to for a few minutes. He was a track coach from Texas and was a genuinely nice guy. Zachary and I spent most of the time talking about our previous 5k together back in October of last year where he came in first place. Overall the event was great and well organized. I do not think the reality of me coming in top three overall for the first time has sunk in yet. But the best thing I gained from this race is two new friends and memories I wont soon forget!

Micah (the first place finisher) and I talking after the race.

Chicago Bound

Last month I saw that one if my friends had submitted her name into the Chicago Marathon lottery. So, I thought I would take a shot and do the same. I honestly did not get my hopes up as I figured that the odds of my name being drawn was low. I actually put it into the back of my mind until near the end of April when I received a email from the Chicago Marathon notifying me that the lottery had closed and they would be emailing those who are picked throughout the day. I started to get a little anxious. Now o was thinking to myself of how amazing it would be to run in a huge marathon with a long history. When they day came that they were going to draw the names, I watched my email like a hawk. It was approaching evening and I still had no email yet. So I figured that my name was not drawn and I called it a night. I woke up the next morning and went through my notifications on my phone. As I scrolled through my email, I saw one titled "Chicago Marathon Lottery Status." I opened it up and had to read it twice before the reality of the situation hit me, I was approved to run the race! I immediately registered and started planning my trip for October. Right now it still feels like a dream to me. I don't think it's going to feel real until I arrive in Chicago. This will be first major marathon and also will be first time visiting Chicago! I have a lot of training ahead of me to prepare for this marathon. I want to bring my best and to do that I have to endure some tough running to reach the level I am aiming for. Three races stand between me and Chicago. And the first of the three will take place on May 9th as I tackle my third 5k!