Today I crossed a big milestone, I logged my 500th kilometer on my new iPod. That means I have averaged 6.6km (4.1mi) a day for the past 75 days. Not only that, but today I logged my fastest 10 mile run to date. The marathon is only 3 weeks away, I am fired up and ready to go!
Make it Happen! from Ted Murphy on Vimeo.
How about you? Are you sticking with your fitness goals?
This morning I had planned a 20 mile run as part of my marathon training program. As I sat on the floor and stretched my legs I started preparing myself mentally for the road ahead. I began to question the goal I had set for today’s run. I knew I could run 20 miles, the real question is can I push myself 10% harder and run 22? With that in mind I set out to run the longest distance I have ever run.
At 20 miles I was exhausted. I felt like I could collapse at any moment. I thought about stopping… 20 miles was my original goal, why should I keep going? But the little voice inside of me knew I wanted more, I knew I could do it if I put my mind to it. The next two miles were the hardest two miles I have ever run. Each step felt like my knees might explode, my entire body throbbed in pain.
I pushed through it all… dry heaving as I crossed the 22 mile mark. I smiled as I bent over in agony, I had accomplished more than I set out to achieve this morning. In retrospect that extra 10% of effort is what I am most proud of. Keep the other 20 miles, the last two is what made this run so special; they were harder than the previous 20 combined.
Goals are great, but don’t let your own goals limit your performance. The real race starts when you reach your goal and is measured by how far you exceed it. The extra 10% is well worth the effort.
In mid October I decided I was going to make some changes to my lifestyle. I was fat, unhealthy and not taking care of myself. One of the things I decided to give up was caffeine. I am not a big soda drinker, but I found myself addicted to Starbucks, Venti iced vanilla latte to be exact. I was pounding down at least one (normally 2) a day, sometimes 3 or 4 if I was on the road. Whooooaaaa chunky butt, check out the nutritional information for one of these drinks:
1,200 calories in a day from coffee? 900mg of Caffeine? I am surprised I am not dead.
Not only do I feel better (once I got past the headaches), but my wallet is fatter… a lot fatter. On average I was spending $8 a day on coffee. Over the past two months I have saved $480, that is $2,880 over the course of a year. I never really thought about it, but I was spending a ridiculous amount of money on something that I didn’t really need (though they do taste damn good…. mmmmmm starbucks… bad ted bad).
How about you? Is there a vice you can cut out of your life that will make you healthier and save you money at the same time? Fast food, cigarettes, alcohol and candy come to mind….
Ouch. Nobody likes to hear that, but I did. Well…. kinda anyway.
A couple of months ago I linked up with my old buddy Michael Brito at IZEAFest. We hadn’t seen each other in about 4 months. He and I have always shot straight with each other, so after a few drinks he dropped a bomb on me. While he didn’t say “Dude. You are fat.” he did say I had put on a good bit of weight and my neck was thick. My mind translated his statement into what I already knew. I was getting fat and was out of shape.
That was a turning point for me and I am so happy Michael said something. Today I ran 20 miles and I am currently in training for a marathon. I saw Michael again this past weekend and he told me I looked like I was getting in shape (thanks buddy).
While I realize a very small percentage of people have a legitimate weight disease, the majority of us don’t. There is no excuse for people like me. I was simply eating too much and exercising too little, my caloric intake was higher than what I burned. I am not alone. According to the CDC 33.3% of American adult men are obese. Are you kidding me!?! That is ridiculous.
U.S. Obesity Trends 1985-2007 from Ted Murphy on Vimeo.
I wasn’t getting fat because my parents are heavy, I was working too much, getting older, blah blah blah. I was getting fat because I was eating like a horse and not engaging in any physical activity. That was my choice. I chose to eat like I did. I chose not to exercise. It’s your choice too. Unless you have a rare disease you have nobody to blame but yourself.
Michael is a Marine and with that comes a special flavor of tough love. There’s no BS, it is what it is. I’m lucky to have a friend like that, but most people don’t. When was the last time you told your friend to ease off the cheeseburgers? It’s a hard thing to do. Nobody wants to hurt someones feelings, so we sit back and watch our friends rack up the pounds.
Your friend gets fatter and fatter. You say nothing…but eventually the message comes, not from you but from their body. Coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, hypertension, dyslipidemia, liver disease, the list of obesity related illness goes on and on.
You have a choice, either you can help your friend realize they need to make a life change or their body can. Hmmmm… heart attack vs. some potentially hurt feelings. I would pick the latter any day. You have the chance to help your friend or loved one before thet get to far down the road of obesity. You may save thier life.
Speaking of that… it looks like you may need to lay off the fries. Chunky butt.
I finished in 2h 19m 05s, that is an average pace of 8m 41s. I don’t know how I managed to do it but I took 11 seconds per mile off of my run from last weekend, even though I ran 2 miles further. This was the longest run I have done to date and I am feeling pretty good about it. I made a short video that captures the beginning, middle and end of my run.
How about you? Have you managed to commit to getting yourself healthy again? How’s it going?
I officially began training for a marathon this week. My schedule goes from Sunday to Saturday, with a predefined distance to run each day. This week I ran 23 miles, but this morning I ran 14 miles. I have never run that far before and wasn’t sure I could make it but I did.
My First 14 Mile Run from Ted Murphy on Vimeo.
I am pretty happy with my time. I ran 14 miles in 2:04′ 30″ with an average pace of 8m52s per mile. I finished a half marathon (13.2 miles) in under 2 hours. Next Sunday I will run 16 miles, it will be interesting to see if I can maintain a similar pace.
I registered to run my first marathon this past weekend. I’ll be running the Five Points Marathon in Gainesville, Florida on February 22, 2009. I started running again a couple weeks ago and so far so good. Aside from some knee pain I feel great (the tiger balm is helping a lot with that). I finally have the right gear for long distance runs and I am happy to say there have been no recurrences of the infamous bleeding nipple (see video below).
I do have some concerns about the big run. What happens if I need to go to the bathroom? Are there going to be toilets? Gainesville has more hills than Orlando, I won’t be used to that. What if I am super slow? Will they boot me from the course?
My friend Courtney Benefiel told me I needed a training plan. I looked on a bunch of different sites, then put something together based on my current ability and timing of the race. It’s a progressive schedule with breaks between many of the runs.
The 8 mile run yesterday was fine, but the 14 mile run this Sunday kinda scares the crap out of me. It will be the longest run I have ever done (my previous best was 13 miles). Wish me luck… I may need it.
Last Saturday morning I went for a 6 mile run. Later that day I went to my sister’s house to watch the FSU game. My right knee was killing me and I couldn’t stop rubbing it. My brother-in-law noticed my discomfort and told me he had just the thing. He whipped out a little jar of ointment called Tiger Balm. I had never heard of it before but decided to give it whirl. I have got to say it is awesome (thanks Patrick!). My knee felt great the next day and I went out to pick some up after my run yesterday. I looked for it at Target but they don’t have it, the only place I know of is CVS. If you have pain in your joints give this stuff a try, it works for me.
I have no relationship with the makers of this product, I just think it’s good stuff.
