…next stop, Chicago Marathon 2009. As many of you already know, I have been running for some time. In the past few years, college has gotten the best of me and stopped me from consistently running. Of course, I ran from time to time and cross trained with lifting, boxing, and other miscellaneous recreational activities. The rest of my time was filled with studying, extracurricular activities, and “social gatherings”. About a year after being out of school, I blew out both arms and couldn’t lift anything above my waist without a burning feeling near my elbows. Unfortunately, tendonitis never completely goes away and the best anyone can do is keep it at bay by strengthening exercises and not pushing it to the edge. Frankly, I’m not the type to sit back and get comfortable with something easy. Hence, I picked up running.
January 2009 – Current
My Acsics GT-2140 were laced up and hit the pavement once again early January. A bit cold for my liking, but it always makes me appreciate modern air conditioning. I also hate treadmills. Since then, I’ve been running from temperatures from -10°F to 90°F, in the rain, 500-4000 ft elevations (of course ranges weren’t on the same run). I have also completed four races:
2009 Shamrock Shuffle 8k (3/29/2009):
Time: 36:30 min
Pace 7:18 min/mile
Anelise’s Run 5k (4/25/2009):
Time: 19:50 min
Pace: 6:40 min/mile
8K Run for Youth by Alternative Inc. (5/17/2009)
Time: 34:23 min
Pace: 6:55 min/mile
Committed to be Fit 9th Annual 10K (6/7/2009)
Time: 42:58 min
Pace: 7:05 min/mile
Before I get flamed out, yes I do know it seems that I am “full of it” or boasting because I’m posting times. However, numbers are a good way to gauge performance and fitness overtime. It’ll give you a good perspective on where I am at. Years ago, I ran competitively in high school, recreationally in college, and recently been training for six months. It’s nice to be on the upward trend of fitness rather than the contrary.
Now approaching Half Marathon
The next stop is the 2009 Rock and Roll Half Marathon on August 2, 2009. A steady 13.1 mile run that’s precisely 0.1 miles longer than I have ever ran (the 13 miler was done fall 2001 in my senior year of high school). I have two goals in this race: 1) to get a free T-Shirt, 2) Not injuring myself. To achieve this, this will be the first race (ever) that I won’t race in. In other words, I’m not giving it 100%, because this is a stepping stone to my real destination: the 2009 Chicago Marathon.
Next Stop, The Chicago Marathon!
Since high school, it was always a dream of mine to complete a marathon. In the past years, I have always identified myself as a long distance runner, but what kind of real long distance runner would I be if I haven’t run a race that everyone and their momma has run. The road will be long (obviously) and hard, but I feel that it’s a matter of consistency and developing a routine that will pull me through. Having little marathon experience, I’m turning to a third party resource to keep me from breaking a leg (literally). The marathon program that I am running can be found at Hal Higdon’s Website. With 15 weeks to go, I have a lot of work to do, but running for a good cause is one of the best motivators to have for this race.
Running: the Anti-Drug!
Well not exactly anti-drug, but I have signed up to run for the American Cancer Society. Years ago, my uncle passed away from malignant lung cancer. It was a trying time for my family and I still feel that things haven’t been the same. Since then I have donated to charities here and there, but I feel that this marathon is a great opportunity to finally put myself out there. I am reaching out to everyone to support me in this race by making a donation, no matter if it’s a 1,000 dollars to 1 dollar. Every little bit counts.
Please support me and the fight against cancer at: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/prodriguez
I’ll continue with updates in my training and fundraising. Pax.
