My Legs Are Beat!
Yesterday, I roughly doubled the length of my longest run since I began working on my comeback from plantar fasciitis. That 6 mile run will become my short day standard as I train to run the Boston Marathon next spring. My feet felt a bit tight and irritated later in the day yesterday, but any pain was minimal.
One of the changes to my thinking on fitness has come about as a result of Patti Lyons Catalano Dillon. Patti was the first American woman to finish a marathon in less than 2:30, a mark she set 25 years ago at the NY City Marathon. Patti works hard today, homeschooling her two children, and promoting running among today's youth, especially girls. She co-founded the Connecticut Home Schooled Harriers with her husband, Dan Dillon (another international caliber runner). One of the other things Patti does is to moderate the Girl Talk! thread on Dyestat, where she is frequently joined by Ruth Wysocki, another international class runner, who is, I think, a few years younger. On this thread, one of the things Patti has stressed is overall strength. I realized that I was lax in this area, and have begun to do some lifting and other exercises to build strength.
As I have looked at my performances in races over the last several years, I have been disappointed that my times have not been closer (or exceeded) my old high school perfomances. While exceeding them may be an unrealistic desire, I expect I should be able to come close to matching them. If I can do that, my recent personal records should quickly fall. Thus, I want to run Boston next spring, then attempt a long walk (I am hoping to cover 100 miles in 24 hours.), then turn my attention to real speed, racing on the track.
As we age, most of us lose muscle mass. I am pretty sure this is what happened to me, and is one of the reasons why I put weight on so easily today. The lifting should reverse this trend, allow me to drop weight more readily, add speed to my running, and help me to get through life more effectively. In the meantime, from the added distance and the weights, my legs feel like somebody was pummeling the muscles.
One of the changes to my thinking on fitness has come about as a result of Patti Lyons Catalano Dillon. Patti was the first American woman to finish a marathon in less than 2:30, a mark she set 25 years ago at the NY City Marathon. Patti works hard today, homeschooling her two children, and promoting running among today's youth, especially girls. She co-founded the Connecticut Home Schooled Harriers with her husband, Dan Dillon (another international caliber runner). One of the other things Patti does is to moderate the Girl Talk! thread on Dyestat, where she is frequently joined by Ruth Wysocki, another international class runner, who is, I think, a few years younger. On this thread, one of the things Patti has stressed is overall strength. I realized that I was lax in this area, and have begun to do some lifting and other exercises to build strength.
As I have looked at my performances in races over the last several years, I have been disappointed that my times have not been closer (or exceeded) my old high school perfomances. While exceeding them may be an unrealistic desire, I expect I should be able to come close to matching them. If I can do that, my recent personal records should quickly fall. Thus, I want to run Boston next spring, then attempt a long walk (I am hoping to cover 100 miles in 24 hours.), then turn my attention to real speed, racing on the track.
As we age, most of us lose muscle mass. I am pretty sure this is what happened to me, and is one of the reasons why I put weight on so easily today. The lifting should reverse this trend, allow me to drop weight more readily, add speed to my running, and help me to get through life more effectively. In the meantime, from the added distance and the weights, my legs feel like somebody was pummeling the muscles.
posted by Scooter at 10:32 AM
2 Comments:
I think it's awesome that you run to lose weight! I think it's great that you work hard to get to a healthier weight! I, unfortunately, put on some serious pounds in the last couple of years due to inactivity and I am having a hard time staying motivated to lose it before my wedding day. I'll keep coming back to your blog for inspiration! Thanks!
Jenn,
Make sure that you are having fun! If you enjoy an activity, you do it, and doing it is the key to burning the calories.
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