Training Program

My sister-in-law (who is running the marathon with me) sent me a marathon training schedule for novices. I think it's probably a good idea for my first marathon. It is an 18-week program so I'll need to start it the second week of February. I still struggle to run daily but I think I will be more motivated when the training schedule begins.
I talked to a fellow student in my MCOM320 class who tried out for the BYU cross-country team. He sounds like a very serious runner and has ran a mile in 4:30. So he is fast too. He told me he ran his first marathon last year and I asked him how it went. He response, "It was so so hard. Just really hard. It hurts a lot." #howencouraging
http://magazine.byu.edu/?act=view&a=2440
(link to training schedule)

Yesterday I ran a 3-miler and felt pretty good. The whole time I was thinking in the back of my head, "I just need to run this loop 9 times..." :) The farthest I have ever ran in one run is 12ish miles. That was back in high school when I was training with the cross-country team. Since I returned from my mission in May of 2012 I think six miles is about the farthest I've ran. So.....I have a ways to go and need to start stepping up the mileage.

Magic Bullet

Training has begun. For Christmas I was given a Magic Bullet. Since I got back to Provo I have started using it, and I have absolutely loved it. The vast majority of my blends consist of some type of protein spinach shake. I know, it sounds nasty, and my first attempt in making one turned out disgusting. It was basically water, spinach, banana, pear, and frozen peaches. Well, I've been learning and now I think they taste great. My ingredients now include of some combination of the following: milk, banana, frozen fruit, spinach, avocado, vanilla yogurt, orange juice concentrate, and protein powder. I'm still not sure if I believe in protein powder or not. I went to Smith's to get some and it was thirty something dollars. I do not have that kind of money to experiment with so I didn't buy it. However, my sister loves to get her groceries at WinCo, which sells protein powder in those bucket things. So I had her buy me a scoop or two to test it out. I can't really taste it in my shakes and I can't tell if does anything. But I'll keep trying it. I'm not a body builder or anything, but I do want to be more fit.

"I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure." 
- Eric Liddell

This year of 2014 I will fulfill one of my life goals, that is, running a marathon. The Utah Valley Marathon will take place Saturday, June 14th. That gives me five months to prepare. Honestly, it is difficult at this time for me to find motivation to train because the race seems so distant. At the same time, I realize that if I don't start training now, I can not prepare adequately for a race of 26.2 miles. In this blog I will record my training, preparation, and progress as I approach this daunting feat. Enjoy reading!