It's kinda like wax on, wax off only different.

I set out to once again run the 9 miles that keeps eluding me on Saturday and once again...I came up short.  This is the only time, however, that I actually walked away with my head held up high and here is why...

The plan was to wake-up at 4:30am to be out at the park at 6:00am.  No, the park is not so far away, but I am a huge dawdler in the morning.  Unfortunately, I had a horrible night's sleep...one of those tossing and turning kinda nights (and that was AFTER having popped some Melatonin), so yeah...the plan failed.  This meant a later start which meant more exposure to that blasted heat and humidity.

I had pondered several times what the best way to go about completing my mileage would be...should I do 5 medium laps (roughly 1.8 miles each) and walk the remainder?  Should I do 7 short laps (roughly 1.3 miles each)?  Should I do a combo of the 2?  Should I throw in one of the long laps (roughly 3.8 miles)?   I eventually opted to do all short laps.  After 5 of them, I stopped at one of the picnic benches and there I met my own personal Mr. Miyagi.  I have seen him out at the park every Saturday.  He is quite obviously a seasoned runner.  We greeted one another.  He told me he sees how hard I work and he noticed how much I've been improving.  He asked if he could offer up some suggestions.  I eagerly answered yes and said I love to listen to any advice I am offered.  He said he notices that I do not use my arms very much and that I am forcing my legs to work harder and thereby burning my energy faster since I am not putting my arms to their proper use.  He encouraged me to find out how many steps I'm taking per minute - he said he suspects I'm taking about 140 and he said my goal should be around 180.

We continued to talk and I explained to him my running history and how I was nervous about my Chicago Rock 'n Roll coming up on August 1st.  I also told him of my plan to join the Champions Fit's training program in July to train for the Houston Full Marathon.  He asked me to consider joining the training group he runs with instead.  It's called Marathon Team NAM and it benefits the Northwest Assistant Ministries.  Ironically, my mom volunteers one day a week for NAM, so I am quite familiar with them.  He said the training cost is half the cost of Champion Fit's, but that I would be expected to raise money for NAM for the race.  That is no problem!  He gave me the web address and told me if I emailed the email address on the website, he would get a copy of it.  He said to provide him with what I have been doing for my training, where I initially started, how I've progressed, etc... and he would provide me with a guide to get me prepared in time for my half marathon.

I sent my Mr. Miyagi an email later that day and true to his word, he responded back.  He explained that I was having a hard time getting beyond the 7 mile mark because of my weekly mileage.  You see, I'm only doing 3 to 6 miles during the week.  He said I should be doing 1 to 2 times the mileage accumulatively throughout the week that I will be doing on my Saturday (or Sunday) long run.  So, basically when aiming for 9 on a Saturday, I should be running a minimum of 9 and a maximum of 18 scattered throughout the week.  Ahhhhh....like a light bulb, it all made sense.  My body has not been prepared for these longer runs.  Sure, I've been hitting the elliptical and the bike - lots of cross training, BUT my focus needs to be on running right now.  I have less than 2 months to get ready for this half!  No more playing around - it's down to business for this runner - you will find me Monday thru Thursday evening pulling 2 to 3 milers around my subdivision!

My Mr. Miyagi also suggested I get rid of the running capris and turn to shorts.  I tried on some shorts at Academy.  No can do.  I don't wear shorts in real life, nor can I manage it in running life.  The idea is to zone out and do my thing...I can't possibly do that while worrying about tugging down my shorts from riding up every 3 seconds.  Capris may be hotter, but they are infinitely more comfortable for me and it is crucial for me to be running comfortably!

So, it was only a 6.5 miler on Saturday, but I feel like I gained a mentor, found a new training group for the full marathon, and discovered where I've been going wrong with some of my training!  This was worth missing the 9 over.

On Monday, I got down to business...I won't lie, running after working all day is hard for me, but I set the goal at a 5K and I did just that.  It was slow and steady, but I...finished it and felt great (despite the truly wretched humidity which was worse than any other day so far, I'm convinced).

You can call me Kimmy-sun, by the way.  It's only right.