I have goals, both short term and long term goals. My short term goal is finish the mini-marathon on May7th 2011(a 13.1 mile race) by walking, jogging and/or crawling if need be. It is only 2 months away. I also have a long term goal of training for & completing a full marathon before the end of the year in which I turn 40. Well that is 2 1/2 years away. I also want to lose 35 pounds by the end of this year. So I'd consider this a mid range goal. If I lose a little more than a pound a week on average I should be able to attain this goal. Why do I put this out there to you so openly. ACCOUNTABILITY! So far my friends have been great asking me how my training is going. This helps me to stay motivated. I"m competitive my nature that is just the way God made me.
Rest is for the wimpy, right? I mean if you want to lose weight & get into shape you've got to exercise and exercise a lot, right? You know the old sayings
"No pain, No gain."
&
"Pain is just a sign of weakness leaving the body."
So since I'm training for an endurance event I should exercise a lot right. I should be running daily & lifting weights at least 3 times/week. I should be cutting calories and watching my fat intake or was it my carbs or protein. Well anyway its all wrong. Of this I have to remind myself. My competitive nature tells me to push the envelope, workout even though the training schedule says take the day off.
However, I must remember that I am not my own. That my body is the dwelling place for the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19) So I must rest because if I fail to rest my physical body it often has ramifications not only in the physical but spiritual. A tired body tends to have less patience with children (& husbands) Which can lead to raised voices or anger that can lead to sin. A tired physical body can want to eat more than is necessary to fuel it. This can lead to gluttony. A tired body can lead to a body that doesn't want to move at all which leads to sloth. So I must bring my body into subjection and rest it. I must
Rest is for the wimpy, right? I mean if you want to lose weight & get into shape you've got to exercise and exercise a lot, right? You know the old sayings
"No pain, No gain."
&
"Pain is just a sign of weakness leaving the body."
So since I'm training for an endurance event I should exercise a lot right. I should be running daily & lifting weights at least 3 times/week. I should be cutting calories and watching my fat intake or was it my carbs or protein. Well anyway its all wrong. Of this I have to remind myself. My competitive nature tells me to push the envelope, workout even though the training schedule says take the day off.
However, I must remember that I am not my own. That my body is the dwelling place for the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19) So I must rest because if I fail to rest my physical body it often has ramifications not only in the physical but spiritual. A tired body tends to have less patience with children (& husbands) Which can lead to raised voices or anger that can lead to sin. A tired physical body can want to eat more than is necessary to fuel it. This can lead to gluttony. A tired body can lead to a body that doesn't want to move at all which leads to sloth. So I must bring my body into subjection and rest it. I must
Moderation in all things is truly the key to success in anything. Your body needs to eat a variety of healthy foods and it needs rest. Days where its not being physically stressed so that muscles have time to repair themselves from the stress placed on them during workouts. Rest days are just as important to a training schedule as the workouts themselves. Sometimes its difficult though. Especially when I am seeing changes & improvements. I question, will I back slide & not come back to my training schedule for the next workout. Will a day off cause me to forget what I'm training for. Perhaps you have the same competitive nature. A desire to feel your body move, improve & transform.
I've done a lot of reading and the experts seem to agree that you can successfully train for & complete a marathon by training only 3 days/ week. The 20 something, single & no kids me would have scoffed at such a schedule. I would have said you must log time & lots of it to complete a marathon. After all to run a marathon takes time.
But in March/April issue of Women's Running one of the cover articles is "Marathon Made Easy: Train in 3 days a Week!" As I mentioned before my goal is to run a marathon so of course I bought said magazine. The program they present consists of 18 weeks of training, but, before you can begin that there is a catch ah yes the catch. This is not for someone that has worn a spot on their couch so deep that no one else can sit there because their contours don't match. This program is for those that:
"have a strong mileage base. The stronger the foundation, the more successful it will support the demands of marathon training. When starting this three-day program, you should already be running six to seven miles, at least three to four times per week."
Whoa! What did they say? I should be running 6 miles 3 times per week (at a minimum) before I embark on this program. Okay well let's see here uh I'm still having to take walking breaks when I'm out for my 30 minute jogs. So I guess I'm not quite ready for a running marathon training program, yet. So I finished the article. Perused the rest of the magazine, look at the pictures of all the smiling happy runners with great admiration and recall a time in my life when I was once one of them. Will I get that back? Will I once again reach the place where I feel confident enough to call myself a runner? I'm sure trying stay tuned and find out.
Hint: I still have the magazine & I take it out at least once or twice a week to remind myself of my goal.
Disclaimer: I was not compensated by Women's Running Magazine for my presentation of their article nor was I asked to review or otherwise discuss this article. The statements made are strictly my views and do not represent the views of Women's Running Magazine. The article I quoted was in the March/ April 2011 issue of Women's Running Magazine (on stands now). I purchased the magazine for my own personal use and knowledge. In case you want to get a copy I purchased mine at The Blue Mile in Broad Ripple.
