Week 2 of Training for the Marine Corp Marathon 10/30/16

Well I just completed week 2 of my training for the Marine Corp Marathon. My trainer Jennifer explained to me that we are changing the approach we took for Boston. It will be more intense because I'm not carrying the 65 plus pounds I had to lose to run Boston. She coaches cross country and track in the local area and she is using an approach to training me that she is also using with her students this year called I.I.P. which means Introduce, Improve and Perfect. She introduced a track workout the previous week with me which entailed a one mile run, two 1/2 miles the second needing to be faster then the first, 3 1/4 miles the same thing and finally 4 8th's with the same goal. I did improve from last week so next week my goal will be to perfect the workout. This will be an ongoing challenge throughout my training.

Also this week I had a challenge in which I needed to run 5 miles with the goal of each mile being faster as I continued the run. I did succeed in having negative splits on the 4 remaining miles which basically means I did it correctly and I succeeded. I will have the same goal for my shorter run this week. I also ran 12 miles today. My average pace was 14:35 which was 15 seconds better then the pace I ran 10 miles the previous week. There was also of course some yoga involved. I continued my Yin practice with Meredith's class at Lifetime. The focus this past week was on stretches for the legs and hips which ended up being very beneficial for me. I also took a class on Thursday with another instructor Chelsea which was based on creating more shapes and flows and though I'm more flexible and more of what I do actually looks like yoga I've still got a ways to go. Next week we are going to try introducing a boxing class to my training so that could be very interesting.

I also wanted to cover one other part of the journey. When I ran Boston there was a purpose, first and foremost it was to run for a lot of kids who physically couldn't. The children at the Perkins School for the Blind have a lot of kids like my nephews Andrew and Daniel who are so special and have a lot of gifts, gifts that differ from many of ours and they do a lot with the gifts God has given them and when Jennifer and I visited there we were inspired and moved by the students, the staff and the wonderful history and the legacy they have. Many of those boys and girls can't run a marathon on there own and I wanted to run for them and I was so proud that I was able to raise money and run for them. The schools motto is, "All We See Is Possibility". So amazing and so very true. I have a wristband they gave me the day I visited with that motto written both in english and in braille. It hasn't left my hand since. It's a constant reminder of the opportunity I was given, the possibility they saw in me, that Jenn saw in me and a reminder that I was able to fulfill a dream and a promise. Very cool things.

So for the Marine Corp Marathon I decided I'd like to run for people who may not be able to run a Marathon, but they inspire me with there courage, their strength, their resolve and their love and zest for life. How can you not be inspired by those qualities? So I chose some people who exhibit all of those qualities and their names are going on the back of a t-shirt I'm making especially for this race. So in no particular order, Sally Naser, Andrew and Daniel Wiener, David Ceolinski, Marie Stanley Holton and John Thomas Young will be with me that day as well as the name of the Perkins School for the Blind. There are a few more names that I feel belong and I will be reaching out to them soon. Until next week.