Turning Dreams to Reality: October 2012

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Marathon Diaries: Aiming For The Stars Now

I started my marathon training today. Last week, I plotted my training days on this Marathon Finisher Plan that I downloaded from Nike Running. As I was looking at the first 8 weeks, I was pretty sure I can handle them easily. I started doubting myself though the minute my eyes fell on 16 miles. Then a question suddenly popped in my head (think thought balloon) - WHAT THE HELL AM I GETTING MYSELF INTO?

Deja vu. Of exactly one year past.

Unlike most serious marathon trainers, I do not have a real (what do i mean by this?) training plan in mind. Nor a training coach. Except for my competitive husband (who doesn't like training with me) and that downloaded training plan, I have nothing else. Well maybe the motivation of finally crossing out this item on my bucket list that says - RUN AND FINISH A MARATHON BEFORE MY 35TH BIRTHDAY. I have less than a year to do that. Although (yes, you got me there) that bucket list is honestly non-existent I still have several things (at the back of my mind) that I would really wish to achieve or experience before well to say it bluntly, I die. And a marathon finish is one of them. Alongside maybe, several dream places to travel, concerts (or rather bands) to see and items to own (yes, i do crave for material things too). After serious contemplation, my husband and I decided that we will try our luck at making our first marathon finish at Condura Skyway Marathon again. If you would remember, it's the same race where I ran my first half-marathon. Condura is less than 4 months away (roughly). So really, I have about 3 months to train. And I mean seriously, T.R.A.I.N.

I think I can handle the mileage requirement. The scheduled days of the runs are just the right fit to my rather unpredictable life as a working mom to an audacious preschooler. But what concerns me the most are those days on the training plan that were marked - CROSS TRAIN. It suggests of weight training which I have no single clue of. I've also read somewhere that the best cross training exercises for marathons are biking and swimming. Biking and swimming (two things that I never learned and most likely will never learn to do) - if I take that suggestion seriously I might interpret it as a sign that I should not push through with this crazy idea anymore. But I am going to throw that out the window and carry on with this as boldly as I possibly can.

Maybe I can make use of some of the suggested exercises in this guide from Runner's World or this guide from Active.com. I'm sure the internet is a treasure trove in itself. I could try You Tube as well. I know that I have very weak endurance and I have to especially work on that since I've never been spared of cramps before. But there are still several half-marathons lined up this year that I can join just to prove that I can finish without a cramp attack. I also have very strong lungs. And a huge fighting spirit (check back with me again in December, will you? hahaha). SO...I CAN DO THIS. I WILL DO THIS.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Hello October!

October is one of the busiest months of the year for me. I celebrate 2 anniversaries this month. The first would be my motherhood anniversary and the second would be my wedding anniversary. Two of my personal life-changing events happening just 2 days apart.

In the past, the wedding anniversary was always overshadowed by the kid's birthday. Although by experience they do tone down every passing year. This year we celebrate our 5th year wedding anniversary. I still don't have any idea how we are going to celebrate it. I do have an unused coupon for a resto in Tagaytay that I've set aside for special occasions and we might decide to use it for our anniversary brunch. One thing is sure though, we will definitely still go and hear the 6am mass at Ina Ng Laging Saklolo just like what we've been doing for the past 4 years. We are not very religious but we both believe that keeping faith on something (in our case that something is God) is one of the ties that strengthens our bond. And hearing the mass on our wedding anniversary day at the same church where we got married is also our way of reminding each other that a few years back we promised and made vows to each other.

October (also by experience) is also one of the months where most of our intense fights as a married couple happens. I would like to think though that we have since become a wiser couple because just the other day the hubby told me that these fights are actually healthy for us. They serve as our reality check. And they bring our attention back to our family goals. Yes, that should be healthy right?

I have been laying out plans for the kid's birthday in mind in past couple of days. She's been persistent about keeping the fairy-theme though so I will try my hardest to give her that. But I'm sure treating her classmates to lunch and having them witness her blow her cake should really suffice. The cake blowing after all almost always is what defines birthday for kids. If the school would allow it, we might just add in a couple of balloons to complete the show.

Lots of things happening around the Metro to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness month as well. I still don't know if we will get to participate this year, I'm hoping we could. But since the kid started preschool, weekends have been pretty hectic for our household we could barely squeeze in time for non-family related appointments. Oh well, we participated in several Avon Kiss Breast Cancer Goodbye events in the past so we might just join the walk this year again.

And we also usually start feeling the cold holiday breeze at this time of the month. Oh I can't wait for that to happen. I've been wanting a reprieve from the rains (and news of floods) for sometime now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I finally get that wish this month.

How about you? How is October coming along for you?