Monday, March 31, 2008

Capitol 10K was huge!!!

Sunday was a great day for running -- mid 60s with light rain
showers to cool me off! That was the day for the Capitol 10K.
Here are a couple of pictures taken after the race, and a copy
of the newsletter I sent out to my subscribers at
http://www.beginning-running.com/.





























Your Beginning
Running Newsletter






Capitol
10K and Last Day of Sale



Yesterday I hit another of my goals! I ran the Capitol 10K in
Austin, Texas. There were 6,566 timed runners, and I was not
last! (I was #6,355, so there were 211 slower than me.)

I don't know how many total runners there were, as there were a
bunch more fun runners, many in costume. All I know for sure is
that they were still finishing some time after I had stopped for
refreshments, so I felt really good about that. Since this is my
first race in nine years, I was excited, and it turned out just
great!

For those interested in statistics, my time was 1:34:27.8 and I
was 10th out of 18 in my age group. I don't know if he was the
oldest runner, but a 97-year-old crossed the finish line about
20 minutes after me. The winner's time, by the way, was just
over 30 minutes; his pace was exactly 5 minutes per mile. (I
console myself by noticing that he is my junior by almost 40
years!)

If you're thinking about a race, you'll find a big race is a
wonderful way to boost your enthusiasm. This was the biggest
race I have run, and I have found that the bigger the race the
better my chance of not being last! Not that it really matters
-- the last person to finish gets cheered by the crowd almost as
much as the winner.


Alan finishing Capitol 10K


My wife took the photo of me finishing -- I had a great kick at
the end and passed the finish line before she saw me! They
announced my name just as I crossed the line, so the shot is a
little late.

Remember, today is the last day of the
Road Runner Sports
sale.

One of the great things about them is that you can run in their
shoes for 60 days and then return them if they don't work for
you. Where else can you get a deal like that?



Sincerely

Alan
Jenkin Fitness Runner with a Beginner's Mind


Huntsville,
Texas


beginningrunning@gmail.com


Monday, March 17, 2008

I'm stoked!

Yesterday (Sunday), I ran 10 miles for the first time in more years than I can remember. I was stoked! I couldn't wait to put out a special newsletter to the members of my running site.


Then, today, it dawned on me that I could also put it on this blog. Duh!

So here it is:

Your Beginning Running Newsletter

Special Edition
I am so excited that I need to share this with you right away!

I just got back from a long run (actually, a jog, rather than a
run). If you're in the second stage of my program, you know
about LSD runs. Well, my last long run was 8 miles.

I had set a goal to run 10 miles before April 18. Today, the
weather here was perfect, sunny and breezy and in the 70s. When
I set off for my run, forcing myself to keep my pace as slow as
possible, I knew it was going to be a great run.

As I settled down, after 5 or 10 minutes, I found myself getting
into "the zone". That happens when suddenly everything seems
perfect and I feel that I could run all day without getting
tired.
Near the end

So guess what? I met my goal a month early! Just blew away 10
miles.

Of course, this means I broke my 10% rule, but what the heck! If
you never break a rule, you never live. The bad thing about is
that that last mile was really hard work, but who knows how much
of that was just because I knew I was breaking my rule?

Made it!

Anyway, it feels great to be there already. Now I can
concentrate on picking up my pace in time for a 10K in two
weeks. Wish me luck!


Sincerely

Alan Jenkin Fitness Runner with a Beginner's Mind

Huntsville, Texas

beginningrunning@gmail.com

Friday, March 14, 2008

We've been busy!

Sam Camp is exciting and is giving us a lot to do. Reaching our goals is challenging but fun!

My goals for Camp are:

1. I have developed a website and newsletter service for beginning runners, and have 100 or more members by Friday 9:00am PST April 18th., 2008.

2. I have run 10 consecutive miles or more by Friday 9:00am PST April 18th., 2008.

3. Team Laser (our small group of five) has selflessly committed 16 hours or more of community service per person, for a total of 96 hours or more by Friday April 16th., 2008 at 9:00am PST.

Working backwards through this list, I have 5 hours of service so far (30%) and have run 8 miles (80%). The first goal is lagging: I have the website and the newsletter service, but so far have only 21 members (21%).

I'm sure I'll get the other 79 members within the time frame, but I'd like to get at least 200. After all, what's the point in having a goal if you can't blow past it?

So, dear reader, if you want to support me, sign up now! The good news is that until April 18th. it doesn't cost anything. The even better news is that you can drop it anytime (only please hang in there until after April 18th.!) Meanwhile, you can assist me by letting me know all the errors you find or suggestions you may have for improvement. Even if you're not a runner.

BTW, one of Billie's goals is to lose weight until she can get into size 12 jeans. She made it already, and is now trying for a 10. Way to go, Billie! She's lost about 30 lbs., and looks great for it.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

We're Back!

We made it back safely to Huntsville after an exciting two weeks in Phoenix, San Diego and Ventura. Billie got some great photos (I think) but they're all still in her camera. The first weekend of Samurai Camp 14 with Klemmer was amazing. I came back with three goals (including a team goal) -- all to be accomplished by April 18:

1. I have developed a website and newsletter service for beginning runners, and have 100 or more members who are receiving my regular newsletters by Friday 9:00am PST April 18th , 2008.
2. I have run 10 consecutive miles or more by Friday 9:00am PST April 18th , 2008.
3. Team Laser has selflessly committed 16 hours or more of community service per person, for a total of 96 hours or more by Friday April 18th, 2008 at 9:00am PST.

The current status for Goal 1 is that the web site is now up and running properly, so if you know anyone who might be interested, please encourage them to look at the site and (hopefully) enroll. I am making it free for the first fifty. If you or anyone you know, would be available to test it for me (by enrolling), that too would be helpful.

For the second goal, I ran 8 miles today, so am well on my way. I'm still v.e.r.y slow, but am working on my speed because I'm running the Capitol 10K in Austin on March 30.

I have not yet started on the third goal.

The following week with Klemmer, staffing Heart of the Samurai 24 was also amazing, but slightly marred by the fact that Billie and I both got allergies. We think it was caused by mold in the room: the weather was pretty damp most of the time. If/when we staff again, we'll probably stay off site.

We saw Paul, Alisa, Kai and Judy for a brief visit last Monday and Tuesday and flew back to Houston Tuesday.

On Thursday we went to the World Championship Barbecue Cook Off at the Houston Rodeo to see Trent perform a great show. Billie stayed on in Houston at Rusty's house to work on her Samurai Camp goals, while I'm working on mine in Huntsville. I'll see her again Monday, when Trent's label has a Houston Rodeo Kick-Off and CD Release Party. Then, in the evening Trent will be performing at the Hideout (formerly known as the Astrodome).

After that, maybe things will quiet down for a while so we can continue to work on our goals!