I Am MOTIVATED!

This summer has been tough with all the heat and humidity here in the NE.  It has also been BUSY--the boys and I have yet to have an agenda free day--and we are longing for it---we need a week of NO AGENDA, no camp, no appointments, no work, no commitments--no rushing off to be somewhere.

We have been sneaking the beach in whenever we can.  We have a locker at Spring Lake where we can store our chairs, boogie boards, surf board, sand stuff--so finding the time is our only challenge.  Yesterday at the beach was CLASSIC.  We got there by 9:30 am (we had ortho appointments at 8 am so it worked out perfectly)--it was high tide going into low, so we parked ourselves at the waters edge.  There was barely anyone there, but being that it was a Friday--the crowds started rolling in by 1pm.  I HATE the beach on the weekends.  Even in Spring Lake the weekend crowd is too much for me---I grew up down at the Jersey Shore and it is common knowledge that you avoid the beach from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon.  Thankfully, since we had snagged the perfect spot, even as the beach filled--we still felt like we had it all to ourselves.  Here is a picture I snapped before the crowds (BENNIES) arrived.  The Atlantic was beautiful and COLD!

Here is a picture from Thursday--we were not so lucky with the weather---but had a great time anyway---I love the beach on a rainy day.

I was actually able to read at the beach and I dove into Jeff Galloway's "Marathon; You can do it"---I am intrigued by his run/walk approach.  Has anyone out there tried it?  Conor wants to run a 1/2 and I would like to run a full---we decided we would put his training program to the test.  We have only managed a few runs this summer and they have been less than spectacular.  We have struggled to push 2-3 miles out and have found that we have HAD to walk---especially on those super humid days.

We hit Bucks Mill trail during Ronan's soccer practice.  Our goal was to keep moving for at least 30-45 minutes and do a run/walk ratio of 3:1.  We also decided to follow Jeff's instruction to keep the pace slower (2 minutes slower).  I set my garmin to go off every minute (kinda annoying but the only way we could keep track of minutes) and we set off.  I have to say the walking breaks early and often kept me motivated.  I did not feel tired or spent.  Conor had some tummy issues and after 2 miles had to stop; he decided to watch his brother's scrimmage.  I was able to go 50 minutes and get 4 miles in.  I felt GREAT after the run---endorphin high galore.  I loved running through the wooded trail (sorry for the blurry photos--tried to take the pictures during our walk breaks).

I love running with my son (I am so proud of him).

We also found more trails that lead through a horse farm---I am sure we were not supposed to be there--but the horses won't tell (no he is not relieving himself--he found a gopher hole---we also found numerous deer, snake holes, and a variety of other woodsy stuff).

So---4 miles (longest run in a while)--feeling great and feeling as if I could have run 3 more (but I did not want to injury myself)--Should I be concerned about the SUPER SLOW pace?  Jeff claims that runners can actually improve their times with this run/walk approach???  I guess I will trust the process.  I imagine that as our endurance grows our pacing for the run and walk will improve.  I also buy into the fact that Jeff claims during a race the early and frequent walk breaks will give the runner the edge to finish faster than if no walk breaks were integrated.  Meaning if you had a 10 miles run planned and you ran/walked the first 7 miles--your last 3 miles could be a strong finish (with no walk breaks)--instead of shuffling along--which is what I end up doing.

I am willing to give this a try--because as I sit here writing this (the day after the run)--I still feel invigorated and I can not wait to get out there and do it again (it has been a while since I felt this way)---I AM MOTIVATED!

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/42511639