WEEK 8 - RED & YELLOW, BLACK & WHITE....

This past weekend I took my son Caleb on a belated college graduation trip...2 years belated.  It never seemed as if our schedules lined up:   I had just started a new job in March of 2013 and he started shortly after graduation.  Don't really know where 2014 went...but now we are here, 2015 in New York City!  

Since we are 8 weeks into the 18 week training schedule, the long run miles are getting bigger and from my past 2 full marathons, I know how important it is to not miss the long mile trainings.  So I said to Caleb that I had 13.1 to run while in NYC and want to see if he would run with me?  He didn't hesitate (I'm sure during and after he was questioning his logic) and on Saturday, off we went.  We started down 42nd Street West toward the Hudson River.  We ran on a nice path up to 68th and then over on 70th to Central Park.  After making a loop and a bit more around CP, we headed down 5th Ave until we reached the 13.1 mark!  The picture above is from Central Park and the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain that was placed there in Central Park in 1864.

There were many people out early on Saturday morning (we started our run at 7:30) whether we were running the sidewalks of the city or in Central Park.  One thing that I took note of was ALL the different types of people we came across:  young, seasoned, tall, short, men, women, thin, not so thin, etc.  All shades of color and many different languages could be heard.  It made me think (I had this thought another time I was in NYC); this must be what Heaven is like.  Galatians 3:28 says it best, "There is neither Jew nor Greek; slave nor free......for you are all one in Christ Jesus!"  Whether we are from New York or Nebraska; the United States or Sweden.....wherever we are, whoever we are, we are all "...precious in His sight!"

Smile at everyone...give a kind word too!

Keep on running!

WEEK 6 Training: 42 days down....84 to GO!

12 weeks.  84 days.  As of today, I am 1/3 the way done with my marathon training with 12 weeks to go.  Funny how these past 6 weeks of training just flew by.  If that is any indication, I'll be prepping for my follow-up blog to the TCS NYC Marathon!

As I reflect back over this "1st Period" (a little hockey reference there..go Wings!), it's been a good/productive 6 weeks.  I have covered 100 miles (missed one 4 mile run while my wife was in the hospital during week 4) and feel good about the training.  I had a chance to train in the cool temps of Michigan in Week 1 and the heat and humidity of my beloved Nebraska since then!  

The miles in these next 6 weeks section will really start to build up and although it is still hot and humid, I'm ready for them.  Each day it get closer to Nov. 1st, the more and more I think about the race; what will it be like?  What is my strategy; run for a PR or run like a tourist and take it all in?  I see/read on some of the NYC Marathon pages I follow that there are many like me, who this is their first NYC and are looking for information and although I have so many questions, I want this to be an experience like nothing else I have experienced so that this truly will be a "Race Like No Other."

However I choose to run, one this is certain, in 84 days, I'll be lining up with 50,000 others to take on the streets of New York through the 5 Boroughs.

Keep your focus as you pursue your goals/dreams.  As Ben Franklin said, "Well done is better than well said."  Don't just talk about it...DO something about it!

Keep running!

UPDATE:  Running as a St. Jude Hero for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, for this my 2nd time, is a great joy for me.  To date, many have helped to contribute to this great cause through my efforts as a St. Jude Hero.  I have a goal to raise $3500 and currently we sit at $2410...that is 68% of the goal raised!  Thank you to all who have made this possible.  If 22 people can give $50, we'll surpass the goal.  If $50 is too much, ANY amount is great and goes to a fantastic cause.  To help support my efforts, go to http://heroes.stjude.org/timpeterson  Thank you!

WEEK 4 & 5 NYC Marathon Training - Summer Daze!

WOW!!  What a CRAZY past 2 weeks.  When one sets out to have their "Best Year Yet," you might not stop the think about, ahead of time, disruptors to your plan.  In Week's 4 & 5 of my training, I had one such "disruptor" and another just pre-planned activity that was in the mix.


My plan has me rest on Mondays and Fridays and then run Tues-Wed-Thurs-Sat with Sunday being a cross training day.  Week 4 started out as a usual week.  Tuesday, July 21st, I did my training run after work.  That same day, my wife wasn't feeling well, so she came home from work that day and headed straight to bed.  After my run I checked on her and still no sign of relief.  At 3:30 on Wednesday morning, she woke me up to take her to the hospital.  Acute appendicitis was the diagnosis.....appendectomy was the plan!  It was a rough week for her but she turned the corner and is now doing great.  I missed my Wednesday run, but finished out the week. 

Week 5 training went as planned and finished off the running with a good paced 10 miler on Saturday Aug. 1st.  This weekend was also my wife's parents 50th Wedding Anniversary.  So it was a busy, yet great way to cap off the past couple of weeks.

So, what does all this have to do with being my BEST YEAR YET and training for the NYC Marathon?  Plenty!  Whether you are training for a marathon, doing a "plank" challenge or whatever, we are all going to be faced with "disruptors."  It's our response during these times that will determine the desired outcome we have to our plans/goals.  Control what you can control....remember, "My response is MY responsibility!"

So as you set out on your own BEST YEAR YET journey, remember, you are an overcomer and you can overcome!

Keep running to your BEST YEAR YET!!


UPDATE:
With the upcoming TCS NYC Marathon, I am running for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as a St. Jude Hero.  My fundraising goal is $3,500 and to date, I have 68% of that goal reached, $2,410 with 90 days until the race.  Please consider supporting my efforts and St. Jude's by going to http://heroes.stjude.org/timpeterson.  Any amount is greatly appreciated.

WEEK 3 Training - Challenge the COMFORT ZONE!

With this past weekend's Cross Training, week 3 of my 18 week marathon training concluded.

I like the Cross Training days.  It gets me out of the routine of just running and on to something else that challenges me.  This week I did a crazy at home workout from a company called Beachbody (they have P90X; Insanity; Focus T-25; etc).  This one is called "21 Day Fix" and yesterday's offering was UPPER FIX.  I told my wife that I would work out with her on Sunday's as part of my Cross Training, so this is program she is doing.  MAN....it kicked my butt.  I "feel it" today and boy did it get me out of my "comfort zone!"  With my running, I don't get much upper body work in, mostly focusing on my running and some core exercises...for obvious reasons.

I look back over the past 3 years since I started running and all the "firsts" that I encountered that stretched me:
     - first 5k
     - first 10k
     - first Half Marathon
     - first Full Marathon
Each one of these had different challenges.  Mostly they had to do with the unknowns of "can I really run this far?"  "why does my calf hurt?" "am I really this crazy?"

Every time I challenge my comfort zone, I grow.  A long time ago, I heard this saying, "live like a rubber band:  a rubber band is not at its greatest potential until it's been stretched!"

So as I enter into week 4 of the#tcsnycmarathon training, I want to challenge you to get out and be active.  Live the life of the rubberband this week!

Run on!

WEEK 2 Training - Roller Coaster!

What a week!  We spent some time in Michigan and I took advantage of the new/different surroundings to get my mid-week training miles in.  

Although it is July, the weather in Western Michigan was relatively cool.  My Week 2 Mid-Week miles consisted of Tues-Wed-Thurs of 3 miles each day.  Tuesday was rainy; Wed and Thurs were cool...high 50's...GREAT weather to run...then...

Back in Nebraska, I got out on Saturday to get 7 miles in...in the humidity.  I took off around 8 am and struggled after the 3 mile mark.  My body reflected it....my time reflected it.  

I experienced the "highs" of great weather, good times and the "lows" of hot weather, not so good times.  It reminded me of the story in 1 Kings 18 and a great victory that the prophet Elijah was a part of (1 Kings 18:20-46).  After this great "victory," Elijah got word that one person, Jezebel, was going to take Elijah out....and Elijah fled for his life.  In a short time span, Elijah experienced a "roller coaster" of highs and lows in his life.  

So, what's next?  Week 3!  This is a journey....it's a marathon, not a sprint.  Maybe it's better preparation (time to run; fuel; hydration; etc), whatever it is, it is something that is behind me now and can be viewed as a learning experience for the upcoming week.  

Hands to the plow and eyes forward!  Happy running this week!

WEEK 1...INTHE BOOKS

Today I ran 6 miles to end my first week of an 18 week training schedule for the NYC Marathon.  What amazes me is that 3 years ago, a friend challenged me to run a 5k for a local ministry.  At the time, I had never run 3 miles, at one time, and didn't know if I would be able to due to a knee injury I had in 2008 that resulted in surgery to remove 75% of the meniscus in my right knee.  I took his challenge, ran the 5k, and ran a 10k a month later.  I didn't know if I could run 6 miles, but that 10k started it all....

Since then I have ran hundreds of miles to train for multiple half marathons and 2 full marathons to date.  As I conclued this first week of training, I want to encourage everyone that if you really want something, you can do it!  Here a good plan:

• Have a desired goal
• Get a plan that YOU control the actions 
• START!

There are great FREE running plans you can search for on the internet:

• www.halhigdon.com
• www.runningforbeginners.com

Start off with a "couch to 5k" and get going!   A friend of mine once said, "you can have results or you can have excuses...the choice is yours!"  

Get out and get your "WEEK 1" in the books!

WELCOME TO NEW YORK!

"...it's been waiting for you!"

November 1st is 126 days days away.  18 weeks from today, June 28th, will be the 45th running of the New York City Marathon and I will be one of 50,000 plus people who will be running this iconic race set through the 5 boroughs of New York.

My "official" 18 week (thanks www.halgigdon.com) training program starts tomorrow, but this journey began almost 3 years ago when a friend invited me to run a 5k, for a great local ministry, through downtown Omaha at Midnight.  I had never ran 3.1 miles but thought I could.  So the next day, I laced up some pseudo running shoes and set out to go what I thought was a distance that was about 3 miles.  To my surprise it was a bit shy of 3.5 miles, so I could run a 5k.  That led to my first 10k and after that, I didn't know my running would turn into a habit with the challenge of stretching my self imposed boundaries.  

I challenged myself (and 2 of my sons) to train over the winter and run a half marathon in February of 2013.  After that was completed, I ran another half later that year which was the beginning of my full marathon journey.  A friend of mine mentioned to me about a race in Nashville in April of 2014 that was, in part, an opportunity to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.  At the time my friend's son had been receiving care from St. Jude's for about 8 years and it was a great opportunity to stretch ourselves to run and raise money. After a few back and forths, WE (really I think it was me) decided that if we were going to do this, we needed to GO BIG and run the full!  What an experience from all the training, once again, over the winter, to the raising money and awareness to the actually realization of completing the full marathon that this gave me.  In the fall of 2014 I ran my 2nd full marathon, the Omaha Marathon.  After that was completed, I thought this distance of 26 point 2 miles was in the past for me, due to the time commitment it takes to get yourself ready to endure this distance.

Well, about a month later, it was a couple of weeks prior to my birthday.  I turned 49 on November 9, 2014 and I started thinking about what I could do to have a great year and not let the "number" define me in a negative way.  So I set out to have my BEST YEAR YET and decided that the a great way to cap off this BEST YEAR YET, would be to run the New York City Marathon (which runs the first Sunday in November), which runs 8 days before I turn 50.  Now, (I know this is getting a bit long, but stay with me here) I did some research to find out how one gets into this race.  

There are a few options: Qualify on Time...I'm out on this, as I don't run this fast and I would have needed to already ran a qualifying marathon. Next option: Get picked in the Race Lottery....over 100,000 people put in for this and they select somewhere around 18,000.  And the third option, for me, would be to run for a charity.  I had done some research and found out that St. Jude has some entry spots available through their St. Jude Hero program...the same program I ran for in the Country Music Marathon in Nashville.  I reached out and they said that it wasn't set yet, but they would know something in early March.  So I felt pretty go about having an opportunity to run. I went ahead and entered the lottery and my name got drawn!  Man, I was overwhelmed with joy and excitement to know that I had an official entry in this race.  

So, that brings us to now....18 weeks out.  This has been a fun journey up to this point, and it will continue to be fun.  I will be blogging about these next 18 weeks, so please stay tuned for updates.  

Also, I went ahead and decided to run again as a St. Jude Hero, even though I had guaranteed entry.  So if you would like to help and support this great cause, please go to http://heroes.stjude.org/timpeterson and donate.  There really is no donation too large, so GO BIG!

You can follow me on twitter as well @_timpeterson

#26point2 #ncymarathon #stjudeheroes #imarunner