Running for a Cause

Have you ever thought about running for a cause?

I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately!

First I stumbled upon the story of Krissy’s Team in Training experience.She creatively used her blog to raise $2,500 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. How cool is that?

And now my NUUNKOTB teammate, Dawn, is raising money for the American Cancer Society with her upcoming marathon. She’s having a super cool running gear raffle. I’d recommend checking it out and getting your raffle ticket…or 5!

Someday, I’d really like to run for a cause too! I’d like to raise money for something I care about…like clean drinking water or sustainable agriculture or something like that!

Here is a little boy drinking clean delicious water!

Have you ever run for a cause? What cause would you most like to raise money for?

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Smart Training

A little back story: I started running 12 years ago, and slowly built my way up so that between 2006-2010 I ran about 25 miles per week. Then in 2010, Some things in my life changed and I started running less. In March 2012, I was shocked to realize how out of shape I had become, and decided that the way back to fitness was to run a full marathon (a goal I’ve had for awhile). I then proceeded to start training as if I still had my 25 mile per week base (when I really had more like a 6 mile per week base). I started with an intermediate training plan, quickly increased my mileage, and started doing speed training.

The result of this fast increase in intensity and mileage was pain. My shins began to hurt, which has never happened before in my 12 years of running. I even got an x-ray for a stress fracture. I realized that I was training like the runner that I once was, rather than the runner that I now am. I took a week and a half off from running, and just began running again last Friday. I’m determined to train smarter now. So here are the new rules:

1. No more than 4 days of running per week.
2. No speed week for the first month of smart training.
3. No sudden increases in mileage.
4. No considering pace for the first month of smart training.

Here’s how I will be if I stick with my smart training!

I realize that this is a lot of “no’s,”  but I was a little out of control and need to recognize where I’m at right now, and slowly build up to where I want to be. It’s frustrating at times, but if there’s anything I know from my own story, it’s that gradual improvements pay off over time…and will help me stay injury free!

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Goals and Need for Achievement

There are certain people in the world who are high in need for achievement (high NAch). People who are high NAch pretty much like to be successful. They tend to set moderately difficult goals for themselves, and they work hard to reach those goals.

The reason that I am able to write so expertly about high NAch individuals is because I am one. (I think that many runners are high NAch). I absolutely need to achieve. I need to reach my own goals. I just…need to. I don’t know why. Somewhere deep in my soul is a thirst that can only be quenched by accomplishing things that I set out to accomplish.

Okay, I realize that this is not the most exciting picture, but I must say that if you are looking for people who are high NAch, a doctoral program is a pretty good place to look. Also, if you are looking for people high in anxiety, a doctoral program is a good place to look.

Part of being a high NAch individual is that my goals have to be a perfect balance of challenging without being too challenging. If they’re not challenging enough, I’ll feel like I’m not really accomplishing anything, and I’ll get bored. If they’re too challenging, I’ll fail, which is absolutely the most devastating thing for a high NAch girl.

So…this has left me in quite a conundrum when it comes to choosing a marathon goal time. Being high NAch, I need to have a goal that’s somewhat difficult and therefore challenging; but I also need a goal that I can definitely be reached.

Goal setting for a high NAch girl is a delicate balance…

So, I’ve been throwing ideas around in my head regarding an appropriate goal. My comfortable pace has traditionally been 9 minute miles, so I thought that maybe 4 hours would be an appropriate goal. However, I’ve never run more that 13.1 miles, so isn’t it reasonable to expect to go a bit slower? Perhaps 5 hours is a good goal then. But 5 hours doesn’t really sound all that challenging to me, so it also just doesn’t feel right.

Finally, I read something that put it all in perspective for me. In a chapter written by Hal Higdon in Runner’s World Complete Book of Running, it says that a reasonable marathon goal is to double your half-marathon time and add 10 percent.

Okay! A goal that Hal Higdon says is reasonable sounds reasonable to me!

So, here we go: My most recent (and only) half marathon time was 1:54:59, so doubling that puts me at 3:50, and adding 10% of that puts me roughly at 4:15 (I’m rounding up). Okay! So my marathon goal time has been discovered!

Here we go! 26.2 miles in 4 hours and 15 minutes!

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