My career background is primarily in the marine industry where I began as a sailing instructor for children and adults and progressed to managing the editorial team of a cruising powerboat publication as well as the education component of the magazine’s event series. Whether I was teaching, writing, or coordinating seminars, much of my focus was helping people establish a comfort zone on the water. Being on a boat has any number of fears associated with it and it was important to understand the fears of others in order to help them overcome those fears and feel at ease on a moving boat in the water.
Teaching others to find a comfort zone on the water required repeating the same maneuvers, actions, and routines in controlled circumstances in order for new boaters to understand that boating is not just safe but also enjoyable. In boating you can slowly add more and more responsibility to the helmsman or crew to expand their level of comfort while also showing them how to maintain control.
When I think about how I’ve progressed in running, it’s been with much of the same pattern I taught others in sailing. Continue reading
One of the things I have enjoyed most about having run a marathon is how much I learned along the way. I am very aware that I have barely scratched the surface of most topics related to running and training and I find it encouraging that there is always something new to learn about the sport. Part of running is science and understanding how the body works and how all the muscles work together, and part of running simply personal and figuring out what works best for you.
When I decided I wanted to run a marathon it was last October and I was only slightly enamored with the idea. Knowing that I might get serious about it, I continued to run through November and December but only put in 9-12 miles a week, maybe a little more on warmer days. By the end of December I had committed myself to the March 1st marathon and my running friend and I decided we would officialy start training January 3rd.
This morning as I was walking down the stairs sideways, slowly, holding on to the railing, and feeling each step in my knees and ankles I smiled knowing that for all this pain I would not change having just run my first marathon less than 24 hours ago.
I believe it is not just coincidence that I have made it through this entire 2009 winter without a cold. I don’t typically get sick to begin with (knocking on wood now) and the last time I had a sore throat and stuffed up noise was just after the Christmas holidays. My big goal for this past winter was to run through it, and November and December were months I used to get used to running in the cold. I was outside for 3-4 mile runs three times a week. I had been mentally preparing to start true marathon training after New Years and so my first few runs of 2009 were indeed with a runny nose, but it didn’t last long. I have been sniffle-free this winter while everyone around me has had the flu, the common cold, aches and pains, and I believe I have running to thank for keeping my immune system strong. 
There is no question that individual runners and athletes will find the diet, routine, and training that works best for their own goals, pace, and body type. An interesting debate on 
Whether training for a marathon, a triathlon, a 5K, or nothing at all it’s always worthwhile to set healthy eating goals. I would like to tackle the much larger topic of healthy eating over a series of posts and here will be focusing on what the best practices are with regard to meals for the final week before a marathon.