Since I have been in California I have been training in different ways to try and get ready for my next marathon. I have already signed up for a marathon called "Welcome Back Friends" marathon. A couple guys decided to start organizing marathons on a smaller scale so people could enjoy the run rather than worry about dodging a million people. There will only be 75 runners in total and it is at Long Beach. The hardest part about the marathon is that it is a circular run. We have a 4.37 mile *circle* that we have to run 6 times to complete the marathon. I don't know how hard it is going to be but I look forward to the challenge.
Since I have been in California I have tried different ways to better prepare myself. This includes running to the beach and using hills to better train my lungs, running barefoot in the sand and playing a catch/chase game with the waves, or trail running.
The hill running is self-explanatory but the wave chasing was an idea that I learned from a book that I read. In order to better condition my lungs I run on the beach barefoot and play a game that has me running after the waves when the move out, and running from the waves when the come back in. It basically has me alternating between jogging and sprinting.
I have also started trail running pretty frequently. I have had several people say I should try it because of how big I am, so I did. I won't lie, I really enjoy it. It's fun to travel all over the place and explore. I have thought about maybe looking in to trail running as a more permanent thing, but we'll have to see. The majority of the runs are Ultramarathons. As I said, we'll see in the future :)
Today I decided to take a 16 mile jaunt through Carlsbad in preparation for the marathon. Little did I suspect, the entire run was up and down hills. It seeeeeeriously hurt. I thought it would be straightforward and easy, but it was NOT. Just a word of advice, pay attention to details when you're going for a long run. I didn't plan well with water (ran out after 9 miles), I didn't have anything to eat, and I started the run at 10 am which was stupid (surprise, it got pretty hot!). I always hear about people saying that certain runs were just killer and the only time I feel like that happened was with the marathon and the last 22 miler I ran, but this one OWNED me. I learned some important lessons today, ones that I will not soon forget. Still, It will only make me stronger even if I feel like a big wuss today!
That's about it for me as of now. Just preparation and trying to get stronger. I'll be better and keep things more updated more frequently.
