First of all I wanted to throw a "shout out" to Ashley, Cara's friend from Hawaii by way of Texas originally and any of her friends/family that are checking this out. Welcome and thanks for reading the blog.
I am heading over to Hawaii this coming Saturday for approximately a week to enjoy a vacation and also run in the Honolulu marathon with my sister Cara. It should be fun and is something I have been training toward specifically for about 6 months. I ran in high school and also for two years in college so I have a decent background in running to be attempting what many consider a daunting distance--26.2 miles. With that being said, I took a number of years off getting fat and lazy until one day I ran in a local 5k (3.1 mile) race and my time was such an embarrassment it galvanized me back into running regularly. That happened about 18 months ago, but I am still over fifty pounds heavier than my competitive running weight (competitive runners are very skinny!!!). However, I carry the extra weight well and could be mistaken for a football player these days. That reminds me, sometime ago Cara was home and came across a pair of my old running tights from high school cleaning out her closet. She couldn't believe I could ever actually fit in them as I think she or mom had confiscated them at one point for Cara to wear for skating when she herself was in high school. I think I only wore them once or twice since tights were not "cool" for the boys to run in and I usually wore them underneath a heavier pair of loose running pants but they did fit. Running a lot of miles will make most people skinny provided they are burning more calories than they consume which definitely was me in high school.
While in Hawaii I also have tentative plans to cycle the Hawaii Ironman bike course of 112 miles on the Big Island from Kona to Hawi and back and would also like to check out Crossfit Oahu--though doing that might be problematic. I started doing crossfit workouts in St. Louis last year for about 6 weeks and they were some of the toughest athletic experiences I have endured outside of running. However, the local affiliate here was quite a distance away from my home and I opted to just workout instead at the local gym with the high gas prices at the time and the distance involved. The crossfit workouts really helped get me in better shape but they tend to make parts of your body sore that you didn't realize could actually be sore--maybe not the best idea in the week before a marathon. Yet, I am usually up for any type of crazy athletic endeavor so stay tuned on the crossfit Oahu front--they have a vacation special for $30 bucks which gives you 5 workouts and a T-Shirt, and I am usually a pushover for schwag like that. The local affiliate in St. Louis charges either 10 or 15 bucks for each workout so the offer is enticing. Ashley--if you are needing someplace to workout regularly where they will push you to accomplish more than you thought possible you should look up the Crossfit Oahu website. I tried to get Cara interested in it but I don't think she ever followed through.
I also need to spend some time this coming week figuring out what else I want to try and do while in Hawaii since before I know it I will be heading to the airport for the flight out. Till next time.
In the spirit of trying new things
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The most expensive plane ticket I ever purchased was to Fayetteville,
Arkansas.
Let me explain …
After 22 years in the sport, I’m into trying ne...
1 year ago
2 comments:
First of all, I never said I didn't believe you ever fit in those tights. I remember how disturbingly thin you were. Second, I have good reasons for not going to crossfit yet and plan to do it when I'm home or when I get back here in January. Third, please plan things for mom and dad to do while they're here so dad doesn't complain like last time. Fourth, are you getting a Garmin? After all the crap you gave me about 'real runners' not needing garmins because they should be able to tell their own pace and now you're breaking down. I'll take that as a big fat 'Cara was right'!
I recall you giving me grief over how skinny the tights were....but it was a long time ago so I will defer to your recollection that you didn't doubt that I fit in them--I think I just took away from your long ago reaction the idea that you thought I was quite skinny to be fitting in them which was kind of the point of the post. So sorry for getting the details slightly off--you didn't doubt my then skinny ass fit in them. But I don't think I was "disturbingly" thin at the time I was wearing them since I was one of the heavier runners on my team and no, not all runners are anorexic or have an eating disorder because they are thin compared with the average American.
Plan stuff for the parents--hummm....because they are so easy to plan for right? That is a minefield I had hoped to avoid but I will try and come up with some stuff to help you out. However, I just booked my flight to Kona--Monday morning through Wednesday night I will be on the Big Island. You and the parents are welcome to join me for all or part of my trek there but I will be doing the Kona bike course the majority of Monday probably. FYI I actually already tried to plan stuff for them to no avail. I tried to steer them into going to another island before they booked the hotel but they balked at the idea saying if they wanted to go to another island they would just do it for the day and return to their hotel or pay for an extra night on another island if absolutely necessary. So, I don't know if they will be interested in going to Maui or the Big Island for the day or not, and I have not pushed the issue since I was shot down before when I suggested they actually plan their trip to avoid double hotel bills etc.
As for the Garmin, I thought my post explored my conflicted feelings on the subject---I am generally old school but recognize that a Garmin could provide useful information so long as one is not overly reliant on it. Plus, I have not even received it yet so it is a little early to be claiming I "need" it. I do a pretty good job of knowing my pace based on feel but the Garmin would just be an objective measure confirming my own observations. What I really object to are those runners who refuse to go on a run without their heart rate monitors and pace calculators because they are incapacitated without it. That is what I don't want to become. Sorry if I snapped at you when you suggested a Garmin. I think I just have seen too many people try to buy their way to fitness instead of working hard that I probably overreacted. My apologies. Also, without a Garmin and before I started running, I was able to predict my final time in a 10 mile race today to within 1 minute of the actual time without it because I know my pace.
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