Little Rock Marathon Day Nostalgia

Happy Little Rock Marathon Day!

This time in 2013 I was recovering from the hardest run of my life, or so I said. I read through my race recap from back then, and little did I know I was about to start the year of no running thanks to an injury that manifested after that race.

But I did recover. And I ran my comeback race this past December. It was an awesome day. One of the best days of my life.

Lots of things have changed since December. I did have to nurse some nagging injuries, and I haven't been running consistently for various reasons....like the winter weather and general laziness.

For Christmas, Santa gave me entry into the Navy Nautical 10 Miler in Millington, Tennessee. Ten nautical miles is about 11.5 miles. And I haven't kept up with my distance running at all. But all that is about to change.

Thanks to all the photos and posts about the Little Rock Marathon, I have written myself a kick ace training program, and it seems to have happened just in time. It's 14 weeks til my next race day, and I've written a new training plan to reach my new goal.

I'm super excited about it since the weather should start to play nice, and Spring will be here before we know it. Plus Daylights Savings Time starts next weekend.

I like a progressive training plan that allows rest weeks, and I typically only run three days per week. Two weekday runs 3-5 miles depending on where I am in my training. I like to do shorter and faster during the week. Some days I will incorporate hills. Just depends, and I don't really plan those out as much since I like to see what I feel like on those days.

The long runs, however, are planned down to the day.

Here is what it looks like for my upcoming training season:

March
7th - 3 miles
14th - 4 miles
21st - 5 miles
28th - Omega Prostate Cancer 5K (Rest week)

April
4th - Capital City Classic 10K (6.2 miles)
11th - 7 miles
18th - 8 miles
25th - 4 miles (rest week)

May
2nd - 9 miles
9th - 10 miles
16th - 11 miles
23rd - 8 miles (taper)
30th - 6 miles (taper)

June
7th - Navy Nautical 10 Miler (Race Day)

For some reason, I always give myself a two week taper. I don't know why I do that, but it always makes me feel more prepared and rested. I mentally come down from the long run high, run some shorter distances, and then know my next long run is the race. It helps me. It's a weird thing I give myself.

I'm excited to be back on the training bandwagon, and I'm excited to see what I can do. I am not setting any insane goals. I just want to enjoy this one. Let it be what it is. And get some pretty sweet bling!

Via

Who's going with me?!

The Year of the Arrow

2015 is the year of the arrow. I've always loved the symbolic meaning behind the arrow. I wear an arrow necklace all the time, and the meaning is two-fold. First, to honor the Asher Brooklyn Ray's fight against cancer, and, second, the universal meaning.

"An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backwards. When life is dragging you back with difficulties, it means its going to launch you into something great. So just focus and keep aiming." - Unknown

I've spent at least the last 10 days trying to come up with my resolutions for 2015. I set some kind of resolution every year, and most years they are pretty frivolous.

Drink more water. Work out. Run a marathon. Cook more at home. Less sugar. More time with family and friends.

And while all those things are important and they add to my life during the moment, I never manage to make it to the next year having done them all with success. By March, I'm not working out as regularly. By May, I've had 98475982375934 cookies. It's a disaster.

I'm trying something new this year.

So far I like 2015. I like the way it started. I like the say it sounds when I say it. I like that it will be an odd birthday number. I like the newness. I like the possibilities. I like the unknown.

I've set three resolutions.

All of which are centered on Scripture and will lead to failure if I don't seek the Big Guy daily. No frivolous things. No grand gestures. No generalizations. Just straight up honesty and trust in what God will provide for me by daily seeking 3 things.

Resolution 1: Green Hope

Green is my favorite color. It symbolizes new beginnings. Hope is something I struggle with. It's easy to get down in the dumps and feel hopeless. Each day I will strive to have green hope. Hope for a new day. The future. Good choices. The possibilities are endless with green hope.

"May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope." Romans 15:13 The Message Bible

Resolution 2: Love

We all need to feel it. In relationships. Towards ourselves. Love is important. It's can one of the many reasons we get up every single day. Love of people. Love of family. Love of life. Love of music. Love of art. Love of community. Love makes us feel things we wouldn't feel. God is love. So love is something that needs to be given and shown freely.

"Let us stop just saying we love people. Let us really love them and show it by our actions." 1 John 3:18 NIV

Resolution 3: Gratitude

Probably the hardest one to actively seek on a daily basis. Each day give thanks and show it. I know there are days when you feel like nothing goes right. Everything is terrible. You feel hurried and not like yourself, and then things seem to go wrong all day long. Take heart. There is still something to be thankful for. Some days it will be obvious what you should be thankful for, and others you may have to reach a little deeper to find it.

"Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude." Colossians 4:2 The Message Bible

Each day. Every day. For the next 365 days. I will ask myself. What is my green hope today? Where is the love? What are you most thankful for? Each day the answers will be different. Because each day I'm given a new chance to experience them.

There is no time like the present to experience life at its fullest.

Share your resolutions with me.