Archery Groundhog Hunting and Other New Things!

Try Something New Day 21 Day 22, and Day 23

I have to admit that I've fallen behind on my 30 day challenge and I'm having to step down from it. I'm not normally a quitter but I probably shouldn't have jumped in to 30 days all at once. However, in my defense I've had several unforeseen things come up that take priority over this challenge including some private family issues. Things are going well over all and I will try the "try something new" challenge again soon! I've enjoyed it and tried some new things that I probably wouldn't have. Here is an update on where I was before I had to stop...

Last Friday I tried Kentucky Grilled Chicken for the first time! I didn't have much money on me so I tried the two piece dinner and I have to say it was pretty dang good! If you like KFC give it a try!

Saturday morning I woke up early to give my first "non-mountain" running a try. The allure of the trails had pulled me out of bed early on a Saturday before but I wasn't sure if I could do it for a "regular" jog. The alarm clock went off and with a little inner debate I managed to get up, get dressed, and get out the door! I took off at a good comfortable pace and felt great for about a mile. Then for some reason after that I just could not convince myself to run. I normally use running to clear my head but I had so much on my mind that I really just wanted to walk. After much debate I decided that if my mind wanted a change of pace then that's what I would give it! I ended up taking a nice relaxing 4 mile walk and I used the time to solidify some plans. I got pretty much the same health benefits but mentally it was a great new thing!

Later that day Harry and I went archery groundhog hunting! We didn't see anything but we ended up playing and having a great time!

Sunday Jessica and I took Harry to a Japanese restaurant in town. It wasn't Harry's first time at their hibachi grill but it was mine. A friend of ours was having a birthday gathering and we all had a blast talking, eating great food, and watching the kids be amazed by the chef's!

I've been shooting my bow a lot lately and giving total concentration to my shooting. I have a hard time doing that and I normally rush through things. The hard work I've been putting in is really helping my shooting take on a new level! I'm very excited about that and the upcoming hunting seasons! I hope things are great for you all as well!

Marathon Preparation and Recovery

Try Something New Every Day – Day 8 and 9

I guess I did ok with my marathon preparation and recovery, which is still ongoing, because I don’t feel too bad today! I’m tired and I have some muscle fatigue in places but I’m able to function fairly well so far today!

Day 8

I spent most of the day working and trying to figure out what I needed to do that evening to be ready for power walking my marathon the next day. Turns out I would have been partially right on what I needed to do to get ready but I would have been fairly well off on what I needed to do to recover. As I learned, the night before a marathon you need to eat a balanced diet as normal with a little more emphasis on carbs. Actually, this should be done about the whole week beforehand but I didn’t know that. I would have ate a ton of pasta and been done with it but that’s actually a bad idea. You really don’t want to load up your digestive track with extra food before heading out on a long run. After I realized my nutrition plan was off I adjusted and then readied my backpack with food and Gatorade, along with extra socks, shirts, etc. I then went to bed early to make sure I would get enough rest. It was the first time I had ever prepared for a marathon and it was fun but I was nervous that I still wasn’t ready.

Day 9

I woke up early, showered, ate a small breakfast, finished packing, then got Harry up to get him ready to go to the babysitters. I kissed Harry and Jessica bye and told them that I loved them and that I hoped I survived to see them again!

I had planned on running as much of the 26.2 miles as I could but I realized that I had severely underestimated running with a backpack. I really didn’t want to wear one but there would be no aid stations on this run and I had to have food, and more importantly water. During the whole day I didn’t get to run much at all. I had planned on power walking a lot of the course but I quickly realized that it was going to dominate my day. This would make it easier in some ways and harder in others. My body would probably have it a little easier but I would be out much longer than I had hoped.

I started walking and the miles went down fairly easy and I was enjoying the long walk. However about 11 or 12 miles in I started fatiguing and starting to hurt a little. I had never walked this far before and my knees were not really happy with me. I made it to my workplace and refilled my Gatorade bottles, ate, and took a short break before hitting the road again. One mistake I realized I had made was in making it an out and back course. On shorter runs I don’t mind it at all but 26.2 miles is tough and having to look at the same scenery both ways was boring. I needed anything I could to take my mind off of the ache in my body and walking a course I knew like the back of my hand didn’t do the trick. The rest and food had helped and I felt pretty good through the first few miles. However after that the ache crept back in for another few miles. It felt like every inch of my body hurt for a couple of miles and then for the next mile or so something set in and I felt unstoppable like Superman! I was so pumped up and was making good time! That lasted for a little while but gravels in my shoes intervened and I lost that feeling while dumping my shoes. I tried like heck to get it back but every step got harder and harder. My knees ached so badly. My right ankle felt like it was sprained and my feet felt like they had huge blisters. The only thing getting me through was my iPod and the thoughts of knowing how this accomplishment could inspire others and myself on to bigger and better things. People have been letting me know lately that my words are inspirational to them and that feels so good! However some of the things I write are to keep myself motivated as well. I never want to go back to being the out of shape, overweight, near alcoholic, that I was at one point so I push myself daily! All of these thoughts kept running through my head so I kept telling myself to fight through the pain and keep putting one foot in front of the other. Finally after what felt like forever Rural Retreat came in to view. I thought I would be relived but I knew I still had almost two miles to go. Normally two miles would be nothing for me but that day it might as well have been twenty. Knowing that my home was within reach though I couldn’t stop. I eventually reached my street and I knew I would be able to sit down in one tenth of a mile! I reached my door, stumbled to the phone to let Jessica know I had lived, and made myself a big glass of chocolate milk!

I was so relived and happy to have outlasted 26.2 miles of ache and pain but I knew I still had things to do before I could really rest. The chocolate milk was a good start to recovery as it is a great blend of carbs and protein but the next step was going to be tough. I knew that the next recommended step, a cold bath, would be almost as hard as the course itself and I was about half right. Normally I can’t stand cold water and it was tough yesterday but after all of the pain I had put up with it wasn’t as bad as I thought. To be honest with you I didn’t think it would do much but it really did relive a lot of the pain in my aching muscles! Once I had submerged myself for a few minutes I made myself something to eat and grabbed a big glass of Gatorade to get my hydration back up. I ate and drank quickly and then laid down for about an hour. I felt ok when I got up and managed to go get Harry and hang out with him until his bedtime. I spent the rest of the evening eating and relaxing before going to bed about 9PM.

I knew that 26.2 miles would be tough but I had no idea how truly far it was. I have a whole new respect for anyone who makes it through that distance let alone races it! As tough as it is I’m determined to renew my training and one day race it myself though. I recommend to anyone if it’s ever been a goal of yours, start training now. As tough and painful as it was yesterday I learned a lot about myself yesterday! I feel so much stronger now both mentally and physically and I can’t wait to see what else I can do!

Mossy Oak Marathon (unofficial)

I have never attempted to run further than 8.1 miles in any one given time in my life. I've only been running seriously for a few months now. I did start running occasionally last year but never stuck with it, for long, until this year. I have built up to running daily but I normally run a couple miles a day and 8 milers are my longest runs. With all of that being said Thursday July 2, 2009 I will be running/hiking/walking/crawling the Mossy Oak Marathon ( unofficial)! The run is a celebration of our freedom to do crazy things like this and to show my passion and support for Mossy Oak, along with testing my own human spirit! The Marathon is not official as I will be the only participant and there is no way I can actually run the whole thing but it will be me putting in 26.2 miles in one day! From my home in Rural Retreat VA to my workplace in Wytheville VA is exactly 13.1 miles. I plan on getting up early Thursday and heading to work, via feet not car, taking a short break to refill my water bottles and eat and then heading back home. I expect this to take anywhere from 6-9 hours but I'm hoping to surprise myself! Stay tuned here to see how I do! Talk about trying something new every day!

National Running Day

Today is National Running Day! I'm "under the weather" right now but I'm going to do some running today any way. Use today to get yourself started if you aren't already. There's no better day than today! You don't have to even run, just go for a walk. The important thing is to just get up and get going!

Running Tired

I've been tired all day. This week has been long, filled with hard work, and I've had to get up early all week. Today I had heavy eyes, a hurting back, and a big workload but as soon as I finished work do you know what I did? That's right I went running. For nearly 40 minutes I put one foot in front of another over and over. Did I want to do it? No, I didn't. Did I feel better after I did? Yes, I did! After putting my feet to the pavement I eventually started feeling alive again! It was tough but it was so worth it! I've lost a ton of weight lately, I'm in better shape, and I have more energy. I'm going to have a post letting you in on some of my secrets but I'll give you a little hint right now. Get out and do SOMETHING. I started off small and kept building. I still don't do much a lot of days but I do SOMETHING. If your health isn't where you want it... get off your rear for five minutes to day and put in some work. You'll be happy you did and it will be the first day of the rest of your life!

Americans Ryan Hall and Kara Goucher Finish 3rd in the Boston Marathon

I kept up with this race through live blogging on RunnersWorld.com! It was an exciting and tense event! I was so amped up that I set a new PR on mile run at lunch!

Cold and Windy Run in Wytheville

What a terrible day to run. My legs were dead, the wind was blowing HARD, and I severely underestimated how cold it was out there. With all that said though it was the perfect day to run. I always think that the hardest times to run and workout are the best as that is when you get the strongest. I pumped out 5 miles in the conditions today and I definitely feel stronger and better now!