ScoJo's Running Down a Dream Journal (comments welcome)

[CACruisin']

Scott, your training continues to be awesome.

LOST - I missed too many episodes last season and got lost myself. I'll Tivo the episodes this season, but I need to rent the DVD's, catch up and start over again.

Amazing Race - liking the season as it goes along, but your right, no real fav yet. Possibly the brothers team...

Survivor - definitely looking to be a good season. I'm rooting for Yul. It would be nice for someone with good ethics to win, but not too likely.

Big Brother - 3 months without DIS??? We'd miss you terribly, but definitely would be worth getting the live feeds, if I knew someone there. You'd have to bring Mickey ears and Mr. I into the house, of course!

Has Santa checked out the "running Computers" at roadrunner sports. I think it is by Polar? Pretty cool in the gadget dept....

Have a great rest of the week!

 

[ScoJo15]

Thanks everyone for the posts and kind words!! You guys ROCK!!

Yesterday was cross training for me. I went to the fitness center and busted out 40 minutes on the elliptical. The good thing is that my HR is consistently lower than it used to be which is a sign of being more fit. On the elliptical alone, I was averaging around 145 just over a month ago and the past few times I've averaged around 135. Hopefully this is good stuff and will make for a good physical with the doctor next week.

Today we're gonna re-evaluate our training plans for the marathon. Seems that we could tweak a few things to better prevent injuries and still be properly trained to complete the 26.2. I also want to finally add weight training and core strengthening to my regular routine. Gonna do some internet research and come up with a solid plan for the next few weeks and see how it goes. I want to push myself and continue to make improvements with the running, but it's more important that I make it to the starting line in good condition. The lifting/core stuff is just personal...I've lost a lot of weight but now just want to shape up...get more fit in my stomach, chest and arms...not bodybuilder like, but just a nice solid shape. So that's the plan for today...

Of course, all bets are off come 9pm tonight!!

Have a great day!

 

[eeyore25]

Hi Scott,

Whew just got caught up on your journal...WOW is all I can say. You really are an inspiration....I have thought about starting to run, but I just don't think I could do it. Then I read your journal and everyone else that runs and I think maybe I could. One day, I may give it a try. Not too sure though, I already have a bad knee, I just don't want to make it worse. Who knows though!

You are doing a great job gettting ready for the marathon in January. You are going to do great...I know it!!! With all the training that you have done, you are going to make it through it just fine!!!

Thanks for sharing your trip with us...so far it sounds like you had a great time! I really need to get started on my trip report, been back almost a month and have not started it yet!

Keep up the great work! You are doing a fantasic job!

Have a great day

 

[AmyBeth68]

Hi Scott

Wow...your HR is such an indication of your awesome fitness level! I'm really impressed...that is really what all this is about...being healthier and more fit. You have accomplished so much these past 7 months. I am really proud of you!!!

As far as our marathon training plan.....I think we still need to revisit that! I've already injured myself (fortunately things are getting better) and you've been experiencing pain and soreness...particularly in that knee . It's important for us to remember the goal...the original goal! Our plan was to run this thing and have FUN! This shouldn't be about torturing ourselves...god knows we deal with enough of that as it is....the marathon was going to be about the whole experience AND having fun AND running a slow race so we could take in the sights!!! With that said...we've been training like we want a sub 4 hour time! That is the competitor in us.....we're cut from the same mold. But it's time to take a closer look at the plan and make sure we aren't pushing too hard too soon! There's always next year to qualify for Boston . OK....so maybe qualifying for Boston is never in my future. Which goes to back to the main point...the Disney marathon is about the experience NOT about how fast we finish. It's important that we make it to the starting line healthy and strong. Not limping....popping advil....and cringing .

Hope you're feeling ok tonight! Hang in there and great job on the XT as always!!! Oh wow...hope you're enjoying Lost tonight!!!

 

[toystoryduo]

Hi Scott,

You are doing such an awesome job! You have accomplished so much in the past few months.... I am proud of you! You are going to do a great job in January!

I'm enjoying your trip report... Is the third installment up yet?

Hope you have a great Thursday!

 

[kimwim8]

As far as our marathon training plan.....I think we still need to revisit that! I've already injured myself (fortunately things are getting better) and you've been experiencing pain and soreness...particularly in that knee . It's important for us to remember the goal...the original goal! Our plan was to run this thing and have FUN! This shouldn't be about torturing ourselves...god knows we deal with enough of that as it is....the marathon was going to be about the whole experience AND having fun AND running a slow race so we could take in the sights!!! With that said...we've been training like we want a sub 4 hour time! That is the competitor in us.....we're cut from the same mold. But it's time to take a closer look at the plan and make sure we aren't pushing too hard too soon! There's always next year to qualify for Boston . OK....so maybe qualifying for Boston is never in my future. Which goes to back to the main point...the Disney marathon is about the experience NOT about how fast we finish. It's important that we make it to the starting line healthy and strong. Not limping....popping advil....and cringing .

AMEN, SISTA!!

 

[ScoJo15]

Thanks everyone!

First of all...third installment of the TR might be up later today. Sometimes I get a little long winded

Amy - Thanks for what you wrote. It is important to remain focused on the main goal of having fun both training for and running the marathon and I totally agree with relooking at our training schedule...I mean, we did such a great job yesterday formulating the ab/core rountine (ok..you pretty much figured it out..lol) that we should be able to come to an easy agreement with the marathon training. With today being an off day, tomorrow basic XT and Sat a short long run...I see Monday as being a critical day of figuring out the best thing for us to do....but, I guess that's not to be decided here - I'll talk to ya later about all of that

Oh yeah...training...LOL...so yesterday was the Wednesday night fast 4 mile 'hood run. I did the 4 in 35:17 for a pace of 8:49mpm. I was very pleased and really pushed myself hard. Possibly too hard as when I went to do my post race stretches, I couldn't really flex my knee at all....and my legs were already starting to ache a bit. So I had to postpone most of my stretches along with my ab workout Later on last night, I was pretty wiped out...legs ached and my right knee still hurt. So I was advised to get some sleep and that's just what I did...watched Lost and then hit the sack and got a good night's sleep.

This morning I feel back to normal again so I'm hoping that it was just a case of pushing too much on my hilly pavement laden course. I am going to consider running on the flat trail near my house more often to help take some of the stress off of my body...after all, I don't experience any sort of fatigue or pain after long running there on the weekends. I still want to keep at least one hilly run in the schedule though as it is great for conditioning and working different muscle groups.

The pretty wild thing about it is that I wouldn't trade this aching and slight pain for anything...in a way, I want to deal with some adversity...I want finishing that marathon to be the greatest achievement of my life so far and there is a part of me that knows it will not be easy....but I do understand the need to ease off if I need to in order to not injure myself to the point of not being able to race, that simply cannot happen

Anyway...The Office is on tonight and if you haven't caught up with Dwight's blog on the NBC website, I suggest you do so...such a funny entry in there yesterday!!

Lost was pretty incredible and was very different than what I was expecting. SPOILERS AHEAD --------- I feel totally sorry for Jack now!! Man, he is totally defeated and broken down...what a tragic sequence of life events...and to hear that his ex wife is now happy, followed by having to obey orders from "the others"..wow. And what's up with the "next two weeks being very unpleasant" for Kate? Sure hope they get rescued next week! BUT the one thing that I found out that makes me mad is that the show airs for 6 weeks in a row and then WON'T BE BACK ON UNTIL FEBRUARY!!! NO Lost from Nov.15 thru Feb 14th or something. OMG!! What the heck? As if there isn't enough torture in my life already...you just know they'll cliffhanger us for that break...UGH.

Hockey starts tonight!! wooohooo!! Go Thrashers!!! We take on arch rival Tampa Bay in our home opener...here's hoping the boys can put one together and start off with a nice victory.

Finally I'll conclude today with a couple of quotes (sorry to steal your thunder Amy!)..

Here is one that contradicts everything I just said:
"I like running because it's a challenge. If you run hard, there's the pain - and you've got to work your way through the pain. You know, lately it seems all you hear is? Don't overdo it' and? Don't push yourself.' Well, I think that's a lot of bull. If you push the human body, it will respond."
- Bob Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers general manager, NHL Hall of Fame.

But here's one that kind of agrees with me:
"Top results are reached only through pain. But eventually you like this pain. You'll find the more difficulties you have on the way, the more you will enjoy your success."
- Juha "the Curel Vaatainen

And I just like this one....sometimes you have to take risks
"Sport is not about being wrapped up in cotton wool. Sport as about adapting to the unexpected and being able to modify plans at the last minute. Sport, like all life, is about taking risks."
- Sir Roger Bannister


That's it for me today!! Today is an unusual Thursday rest day so I'll take a break from running and will try to make up the missed ab/core workout from yesterday sometime tonight.

Have a good one!!

 

[kimwim8]

Hey again Scott. Yes LOST was awesome (responded more on my journal). Totally agree with your Jack thoughts. Poor guy.

I did watch The Nine last night too. It was good. Not Lost good, but good. I'll watch it if I'm awake enough after Lost most weeks. It'll be cool to see how it all went down.

Man, I truly need some more hours in my day to be able to check out Dwight's blog and the webisodes.

Keep it up, Mr. Incredible.

 

[goldcupmom]

I've been MIA, but you haven't been forgotten, Scott.

I've been enjoying your trip report!

Training seems to be going very well. Pretty soon January will be here and gone and you will have done AWESOME!!

have a great weekend!

 

[CACruisin']

You have come so far in such a short period of time. It is amazing. Do listen to the pain your body is giving to you and PAY ATTENTION! The goal is to cross the finish line and live to tell/gloat about it -- and wear that medal proudly every where!

Have a great long run on Saturday and good luck figuring out what is the best training schedule.

 

[AmyBeth68]

Hi Scott!!! I'm so glad you want to revisit the training plan. I just would hate to see you get hurt this far along! You've worked so hard and come so far in these few months since you began training. I just know that you are capable of great things....just don't push yourself too much too soon! We want our first marathon to be a positive, fun experience! I'm really proud of you for taking the steps now to make certain that you don't injure yourself! Stay rested up! Keep icing and stretching like crazy!

I can't wait to hear what you think of that ab/arm routine that we devised. It was fairly challenging and yet not tedious like other ab routines that I've done in the past! I liked the circuit aspect of it...keeps it moving along. And don't worry about skipping it last night...it was wise to allow your body to rest up!

Good luck with your XT tomorrow . We need to prepare ourselves for the long weeks ahead! It's going to be pretty grueling these upcoming weeks. But I know we're up for the task!!!

Awesome job Scott!

 

[kimwim8]

Hey guys....any way I can get the scoop on the arm/ab routine you're using? I'd love to hear about it! Feel free to PM it to me if you don't want to type it all out here. (or feel free to say NO )

 

[eeyore25]

Hey Scott,

You're doing such a great job!! Keep it up! But do listen to your body, (sounds like you are) and take it easy when you start to hurt!!! You've come so far and I am so proud of you!!!

Keep up the great work.

I am enjoying your trip report, thanks so much for sharing it!

 

[ScoJo15]

Hi

Thanks to all for your support.

I wanted to post the arm/ab circuit routine that we came up with so that Kim can start using it tonight The deal is that you do each exercise for 30 seconds, then progress on to the next exercise (no breaks). There are 10 exercises total and once you finish #10, you go back to #1 and go thru them again (you do each exercise twice). So you are working out for 10 minutes total. It's a really tough workout but should produce some great results. Here are the exercises in the order that we do them:

1 - Basic Regular Crunches
2 - Crunches with your knees up in the air and feet off the ground (90 degree angle)
3 - Leg Lifts (straight legs..don't touch the ground)
4 - Scissors
5 - Bicycles
6 - Left Oblique crunch
7 - Right Oblique crunch
8 - Plank
9 - Pushups
10 - Dips

If you need to know what any of these are...feel free to shoot either Amy or myself a PM and we'll help you out

Sooo....yesterday was a rest day for me and I did just that. I didn't even watch any tv so I'll have to catch up on the shows this weekend. Well, I did see the Thrashers drop their season opener in an overtime shootout

Today is cross training, so I plan on either a 30 minute LifeCycle or Elliptical session.

I'm kind of down today...so I hope everyone else has a happy Friday and a great weekend!!!

 

[toystoryduo]

Hey Scott,

I hope your day today gets much brighter! Maybe you can go back and read your trip report and remind yourself of all the wonderful times you had at WDW. Just remember.... Today is FRIDAY!

The workout that you posted looks like a good one! One of my favorite exercises on the list are planks... They're hard, but very effective! The ones that I have done were in 10 second increments so 30 seconds should really be interesting!

Sorry to hear the Thrashers dropped their season opener... We live near Cleveland so we are used to most of our sports team dropping their season openers and many other games to boot. I thought there was no hope for the Browns until they beat the Raiders last week. At least they won one game! We're waiting for basketball season here..... Our best hope in Cleveland for a championship is LeBron James. Of course as Ohioans, we are rooting for the #1 football team in the nation...Ohio State! Go Buckeyes!

Scott, I hope you have a wonderful day! Sending lots of good thoughts and Buckeye your way... Take care!

 

[ScoJo15]

Hey Scott,
Sorry to hear the Thrashers dropped their season opener... We live near Cleveland so we are used to most of our sports team dropping their season openers and many other games to boot. I thought there was no hope for the Browns until they beat the Raiders last week. At least they won one game! We're waiting for basketball season here..... Our best hope in Cleveland for a championship is LeBron James. Of course as Ohioans, we are rooting for the #1 football team in the nation...Ohio State! Go Buckeyes!

Did you know I was born in Westerville (suburb of Columbus)? I grew up in Ohio (first 20 years there)...so GO BUCKEYES!!!

 

[toystoryduo]

Did you know I was born in Westerville (suburb of Columbus)? I grew up in Ohio (first 20 years there)...so GO BUCKEYES!!!

That is so cool, Scott! I didn't know you were a fellow Buckeye! When I was in high school, we went to a cheerleading camp where Westerville's cheerleaders were our main competition. We ended up beating them and taking first place, but they were very gracious and kind to us! It really is a small world isn't it?

 

[AmyBeth68]

Scott,

I'm so sorry you are down today . Hang in there ok!!!

And hey...you know....we're all here for you!!

Good luck with the XT tonight!!! And good luck with that ab/arm routine!!!

 

[CACruisin']

Your ab/arm routine looks awesome. Hope your long run this weekend brings you out of the dumps.

 

[ScoJo15]

Hello

Cure for being a little down?? 1 all night session followed by a 6 mile long run!! Welcome to my world !

Yeah so I didn't get much sleep, but managed to get out there and bust out a long run today. I actually was not feeling too bad at all...and the run supports that statement. Check out the splits:

mile 1 - 7:56
mile 2 - 8:37
mile 3 - 8:48
mile 4 - 8:34
mile 5 - 8:59
mile 6 - 8:30

total run - 51:24
avg mpm - 8:34

So needless to say, it was a very successful morning! Now we'll see how the next two weeks shape up....the next two long runs are a 10 miler and a 12 miler. It represents a pretty demanding part of the marathon training and I hope that I can manage my way through it without too much difficulty. Once that 12 miler is in the books, the training will be half way done!! My how time flies....

I hope everyone has a great day and great weekend!! Go Tigers!!! (not a Detroit fan...just hate the Yankees )