Preparing for Shamrock Mararthon

Sometimes I wonder just what exactly I am doing.....signing up for my second marathon at age 48....only two months after my first one. First one was pretty rough......I met my goal for my bucket list......but two? What is my deal?

That I don't know. To make matters worse I am doing the WHALE! What is the whale you might ask? Glad you asked.....it is the 8K on the Saturday before and the full marathon 26.2 miles the following day.

I won't set in records in the races.....just maybe a personal best.....if I am lucky. 

23 more days to prepare. BRING IT ON!

Wait what am I saying?

Eugene Thompson

ET This I Believe

CHKD Run/Walk Race

Well it has been about 13 weeks since I last ran a race....the Shamrock 8K Race. Shamrock 2012 My time and effort were less than desirable but finishing the race is the first half of the battle.  Right after that I decided to begin the 17 Day Diet.  Some of you have seen my progress on Facebook Eugene's Facebook Page and heard about the ups and downs.....mostly all good stuff.

Well Saturday, my wife and I ran the CHKD Run/Walk Race in downtown Norfolk. A great race and specially after I have lost 36 pounds over the last 13 weeks. My time was approximately 10:48 min/mile pace.

I was winded towards the end of the race but my legs didn't hurt at all......I just need more training and practice to keep it up. I would like to be able to get down to a 9 min/mile pace but to finish is satisfactory enough for a 46 year old man.  I would like to get down to 195 pounds......I don't remember the last time I weighed that little......a long time!

We have a 5K run on the 4th of July and a few others planned the rest of the year. Here are the long term goals so you will know that I am completely crazy.  January of 2013....Half Marathon again; January of 2014.....Full Marathon; January of 2015....I want to do the goofy race...Half Marathon on Saturday and Full Marathon on Sunday....at age 49!

Yes my friends, you all already knew I was a bit GOOFY! Have a great day!

Shamrock Race 2011

Pre-race picture while waiting for it all to start

Yes, Again I know...late posting.  This should catch me up now.  My wife and I ran the 8K portion of the Shamrock race a few weeks ago. She was very much prepared as she has been running near the distance or more.  ME? not close to being prepared but wasn't going to back out. I really needed something to get me running again.

I started off pretty well with huge crowd that takes off every time.

I had used my iPhone last time with an app to help track my time and pace. It had told me every half mile what my pace was.  I thought that was a little spaced out too far so I (thought) adjusted it to tell me every quarter mile. Well once I start across the start line and hit the button, it ran through the time, my pace, how far off my pace I was...and then immediately said it again....and again....again....and again.  The music wasn't going to be able to come on due to the constant chatter.  So I turned it off.  I will have to fix that next time before the race!

Well I was pretty wiped out. There were a few times I had to do some brief walking but for the most part I ran. It was fun like always and of course, we love to run...sort of. We hope to take vacations and run wherever we visit. A fun healthy habit for a change. We have plans for several Disney runs coming up.