Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Muscles and Meat



This morning I woke up to a couple inches of fluffy, cold, wet snow- beautiful but irritating I tell ya!
At this point I feel like I have had enough! Enough mother nature! Bring on spring with its flowers, and blue skies, and chirping birds and green trees!

So after I took a moment to judge the condition of the sidewalks (unshoveled) and the roads (unplowed) I decided to skip the run and try to get a quick workout done in the comfort of my own living room. Sit-ups, pushups- you know the old school stuff we all did prior to things like insanity and p90x. I actually got quite the workout in! Focusing on slow repetitions that cause your muscles to feel like they are reallllly burning! Thanks to the book and concepts from " The Four Hour Body" that Brandon brought to my attention I am learning how to use " the minimum effective dose" in order to cut down on time spent in the gym and maximize those muscle producing results! (More on that in a later post)

It has been what seems like an impossible goal for me to add some muscle and tone to my body- honestly probably the result of lack of focus and time I have put in to strength training- I have always downplayed the importance of the role solid muscle plays in the life of a distance runner. So this is a new beginning for me- on a quest to "beef up"(haha!) with the hopes of seeing improvements as a runner and all around athlete! I have even been convinced to swap SOME of my broccoli and asparagus and other delectable veggies for lean cuts of meats such as chicken, beef, and fish! Not that I have ever been against meat... It just wasn't my thing! And I hate to admit it... I love a good burger or pork chop now! That's right folks, Meg is a meat eater!



Sunday, March 10, 2013

Boston Marathon

The Boston Marathon is the distance runners dream race. Every April, 30,000 runners travel to Boston to run in the Superbowl of marathons, the championship of the long distance athletes. The race is a BIG deal here in Boston, most workplaces shut down so that the people can cheer on the runners. It's dubbed "Patriots Day" and is a great way to get people involved and definitely makes the race more exciting for participants.  To qualify, the runner must A) qualify in a certified marathon in a gender/age group specific time. (my age group would be sub 3:35) or B) run for a charity that is associated with the marathon who take on a number of runners committed to raising at least $5,000 for the respective charity. Then, there are the folks that just want to run it- in the road race world these people are called "bandits" and bandits are usually frowned upon because they are essentially "stealing" the race because they haven't paid to participate.

HOWEVER!

Boston is one of the few races that Bandits seem to be accepted. From the research that I have done, anywhere from 1,000-2,000 bandits gather at the verrrry back of the pack to run the Big,Bad, Boston Marathon. It has become a part of race day tradition, and as long as the bandits don't get in the way of the "real runners" race officials seem to turn a blind eye.

And I, Megan Barnes, will be one of those bandits - April 15, 2013.

Now first things first let me clarify a few things first ... Charity Running- this would be my ideal method of entrance. Raising money for a good cause and running the race legitimately would be such an honor and I wish I had the opportunity to do so. My decision to lay out a training plan and actually commit to the marathon came only a few weeks ago, leaving my ability to "get in" with a charity and raise the 5,000 to do so pretty much impossible. Next year my friends, next year!

In the past couple weeks I have stuck with my training plan with the exception of a few bumps on the road. A couple of times I had to adjust or change days of my long run due to the massive amounts of snow accumulated or ice plaguing the sidewalks of the city. For example, Nemo was a doozy of a storm and left us with 2 feet of the white stuff- the city practically shut down and running would have been quite a feat!

All and all I am extremely confident, buzzing with excitement, and ready to rock!!!

As I finish typing up this post I am mentally preparing for the 20 miler I have on my schedule today. Good thing its going to be a sunny, warm(ish), all around beautiful day!

Meg

P.S. is anyone as excited as me that daylight savings means more daylight in the evenings?? I can see spring on the horizon, its coming!!!