Marathon Official!

It's been a seriously long time since I've posted. It's been a little boring around here. Just a lot of work. I've got at least 45 extra hours with the Gophers this month. That's more than an extra week of work so it takes up a lot of time. I don't really have full weekends anymore. The job is so easy though so meh, whatever. It also doesn't hurt much because we're headed to DC in April for our good friend's wedding. Erich's big bro from the fraternity, Eric, is getting married out there. He was the best man in our wedding and Erich is the best man in his. And yes, they are both named Erich/Eric. I'm pretty stoked about this wedding.

Even with all of this busyness, I've still been getting in my runs and workouts. In fact, I will probably hit up the gym tonight after I get done working at a women's gymnastics meet. I've got the whole afternoon but I need to get groceries and get the car washed prior to going. I'm hoping Erich will come with me (it's always better to tag team our grocery shopping) but he's not out of bed yet. It's 11:00! I'm also currently watching Secrets of a Restaurant Chef on the Food Network and don't want to pull myself away. So much to learn!

This week I started planning out my training program for the marathon. Turns out I have to start training at the end of May for the 18 week program. I chose this one for a couple of reasons. First, it allows for some flexibility. Hal Higdon, who designed it, knows that most people have real lives to live and mentions this in the training explanations. He also writes as if he's talking to you and it's pretty humorous. Second, I don't want to over train. Since that can definitely be a problem, I'm all about not doing anything to make myself hurt worse. Lastly, Hal Higdon also has a post marathon training program to allow your body to recuperate properly. It's  a total of 5 weeks of post marathon training so this whole endeavor will take me into November.

I decided a while ago that I'd be repeating one of the weeks due to an event I'll have in June. It runs Friday-Sunday so I'll be missing my long run that Saturday. It probably wouldn't be a big deal because it's a step back week and the long run is only 5 miles. Friday is a rest day so I wouldn't miss anything there and Sunday is cross training. But, I want to make sure I still get the mileage in. The best thing I could think of was to repeat the week. My biggest concern for the rest of the program is the day I have to run my longest training run of 20 miles. It's a tough run and will take multiple hours. It happens to fall the day after a long tiring event I have for work. :( Not cool. Looks like I won't be taking part in any post event happy hour as I usually do. It'll be home and off to bed so that I can do the run the next day with no problem.

I also started looking in to standard tips and such for training. I put together a whole book of all of this info. I now have a lovely marathon training guide thanks to Hal Higdon and other online resources. I included nutrition advice and clothing advice, though I'm already pretty well versed in the clothing department. I'm already super picky about what I wear to work out.

My last preparation which was done last week was to actually register for this thing. I'm now officially registered through the MS Society (I was the first) and have begun raising money. The required fundraising amount is $1000, but my goal is more like $2000. So far I have raised $151.20. Why such a strange amount? Well, my first gift was from my dear friend Chris who gave $26.20 in honor of running 26.2 miles. Clever Chris! Next I received $75 from my uncle, Kent who also participates in MS Society events in North Carolina. He knows the great events they put on an the great work they do. Then, I received $50 from our cousins, Adam and Sonia. I feel like they have a connection to multiple sclerosis somehow. I believe that is what Sonia told me. I'm well on my way and I've still got some time to go! The MS Society was lucky enough to partner with the Water Park of America here in the Cities to hold a great fundraising event. If you don't know, this is the largest indoor water park in the country and is across the freeway from the Mall of America, which is the largest shopping mall in the country. The water park is donating their entire park for 5 hours in April and we are holding an exclusive private party. The tickets are just $5 per person which is a steal compared to normal admission rates to this place. The best part is, 100% of the ticket price goes back to the MS Society and can be applied to my fundraising. If you live in the Twin Cities, or would like to take a trip up for this event, check it out and get your tickets here. If you get tickets, be sure to indicate that you want the money to go to me. As another fundraising tool, I'm planning to have a pancake breakfast at work. More details to come on that.

If you'd like to make a donation to me, you can do so online by going directly to my fundraising page. The website is completely secure and you can donate with a credit card. How convenient! I really hope you'll help me out with a donation. The money will work to do great things such as fund vital research (my nerdy passion) and provide programs and services for people with MS, as well as their families. After going to MS Youth Camp this past summer, our family programs are now one of my favorites. Please consider giving!