Countdown to the Marathon - T Minus 10 Weeks

Another week of training for the Disney Marathon coming up on January 13, 2013. My training log for T Minus 10 weeks (Oct 31- Nov 6):

Miles ran:  23 (3.5mi, 3.5mi, 16mi)

Miles scheduled:24

Cross training: Pilates x 1

Total miles run since training began: 267

Audiobook: Still reading Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Okay, this book is obviously not great to listen to while running since it is taking me so long to get through it. I don't really have any desire to listen to it during a run -- it just doesn't draw me in.  I'm not sure if it's because it's fiction (all the other audiobooks I've read have been nonfiction -- most having to do with running), or if it is just too descriptive - not my normal type. Either way I won't be trying a book like this again.

General Notes:Got in a big ol' long run this week on Monday. Felt good to do some hefty miles. I'm going to try to keep upping my long runs by two miles every other week, then back to 15 miles on the weeks in between.

I also did a crazy race this weekend called the "Anything is Possible" 5k. It started in the middle of the night, just before Daylight Savings Time ended. So I actually started the race at 1:50am and ended at 1:17am -- earlier than I began. Was a cute race. More importantly, I ran at a 8:30 min/mile average for all three miles -- great speed work. I want to try to incorporate more speed in my runs -- at least once a week. I think they make me mentally tougher.

Leaving today to run the Ragnar Relay in Las Vegas -- 200 miles with a group of 12 friends. Team "Worlds Dumbest Road Trip" (follow the craziness on Twitter: #RagnarLV).  Not sure exactly how many miles I'll get in this weekend. Should be 15-20. Plus all the dancing.  :-)

Countdown to the Marathon - T Minus 11 Weeks

Another week of training for the Disney Marathon coming up on January 13, 2013. My training log for T Minus 11 weeks (Oct 24-31):

Miles ran:  21 (11mi, 3 mi, 7mi)

Miles scheduled:24

Cross training: Pilates x 1

Total miles run since training began: 244

Audiobook: Still reading Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Still making slow progress, but progress.

General Notes: Let me reach into my bag of excuses and pull one out. How about... sickness, no already used that.... too much work, wait, also used... how about: HURRICANE. That's it, I couldn't get all my miles this week in because there was a hurricane that hit the East Coast and we had three days straight of rain and wind.

Now, just because that's true, still doesn't negate the fact that I once again did not get my full miles in for the week (fifth week in a row, if I'm not mistaken).

When I first started running, I enjoyed it most because while I was out, I didn't have to cater to or worry about the needs of my children, my boss, my home, my hubby, my students.... Instead, running was a time where I let my imagination run free. To take my mind off the physical discomfort of distance running, I created grand scenes and stories in my head. At the time, I wasn't doing any writing, so it was a good exercising of my imagination.

But now... I need my imagination to work on command as I'm writing my book that is due at the end of November. So when I run, I'm trying not to let my imagination go hog wild (I want to save it for when I'm writing). That in turn, causes me to be much more aware of discomfort my body is in while running.

And overall, makes running not so much fun.

But enough with the whining. The good news in, the marathon is still a little over 10 weeks out. I still have time to quit crying and start working harder. That's the new plan.

NaNoWriMo Bits O' Wisdom

NaNoWriMo has begun!

NaNo what? Does this have something to do with that old Mork & Mindy show? Nope. For the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month.   It’s a “seat-of-your-pants literary adventure”! It’s “half literary marathon, half block party!”

Uh, what?

Basically if you’re participating in NaNoWriMo you’re writing a 175-page (50,000 word) book in 30 days.  1667 words (so roughly 7-8 double spaced pages) a day for the month of November. Over 250,000 people participated world-wide last year. If you want to know more about NaNoWriMo, check it out here .

For those of you already in the midst of NaNoWriMo frenzy, why are you here instead of writing??? But since you’re here, I present to you (from the NaNo poster) the most important bits of wisdom about NaNoWriMo :

1. Plot your novel, clean your house, spend time with your family, get caught up at work before November 1.  Ummm…. Okay, never mind. (Note to self, get blog post up earlier…)

2. Your curiosity is a dependable guide; follow it.

3. SILENCE THE INNER EDITOR!

4. The first step in writing a good book: Giving yourself permission to write a bad book.

5. We can do amazing, impossible things when given a deadline, a supportive community, and unlimited access to chocolate & caffeine.

6. Make no mistake, you will be writing a lot of crap.

7. Whatever you think you are, you are more than that.

8. Write first! Ask questions later!

9. They are called rough drafts for a reason. No one gets a novel totally right on the first pass. This is true whether you give yourself a month or a lifetime to write the first draft.

10. 30 days. 50,000 words. GO.

It’s not too late for anybody to do NaNoWriMo, even if you’re hearing about it for the very first time today.  For anybody having doubts, remember this: Novels are written by everyday people who give themselves permission to write novels.

Now go write yours. See ya in a month.