Supporting Cast

I couldn't have made it this far without help. My roommates have been a huge source of encouragement and support - they have been able to push the right buttons so to speak and make me feel more accomplished than I thought. There were times that it seemed like I made little or no progress on such a huge challenge, but I can count on their positive spin and glass half-full rhetoric to keep moving along, no matter how small the steps may be.

In addition, just being able to talk to my classmates about their progress and struggles is encouraging in its own way because I know that I'm not alone in working towards behavior change. I feel comfort and assurance that I have people around me that I can turn to for support in any of my pursuits and I'm grateful that I have them around!

Update:

11.05 miles last week spread over 3 days with an extra hour of basketball to increase my overall activity level for the week!

Below is a hilarious prank gift box from the Onion store...works great for any occasion!

My inspriation

The person who inspires me to keep up my activity levels is my grandma. At 78 years old, she continues to wake up everyday with the intention of getting chores and straightening up before leaving for her daily walk and social rounds. She wholeheartedly believes in the mantra of "keep moving" which she picked up from Oprah or something. It's amazing to see her after a lifetime's worth of hard work and activity, still refusing to take it easy. Don't get me wrong, she takes breaks and watches tv, but she enjoys being active, both physically and socially. Just watching her in action is both inspiring and humbling at the same time; inspiring because she makes me want to match her motivation levels and humbling because her drive is innate, natural and so organic. At times when I get lazy, I think of her and how she takes days off only when she truly has to and this is usually the motivation I need to get off my butt and do something.

12 days left until the half-marathon...

Update:
4/18/09 - jogging/walking total of 6 miles in 63 minutes

Less than a month left before 13 mile assault!

So the half-marathon is coming up fast, one month from last Friday and timing couldn't have been worse because I've been kinda in a running slump these past few weeks. My routine isn't as consistent as it was when I first started and I've been trying to run more outside to simulate race day. Running outdoors is definitely harder and I've only managed a meager 2.5 miles without slowing to walk. It's definitely frustrating because I can easily last 5 miles on the treadmill before I walk...

My goal this week is to increase each of my outdoor workouts from 2 laps (2.5 miles) to no less than 3 (3.75 miles). Gotta get back into running mode!!

Update from last week:

3/30/09 - jogging total of 1.25 miles in 11:50
3/31/09 - jogging/walking total of 2.5 miles in 25 minutes

Props to Veeral for telling me about this site, fail.org, where this pic's from:

It's the end of March already!

Damn the semester is just flying by. It seems like we all just started our respective quests for personal growth and well-being.

I totaled my progress since I committed to the crazy idea of running a half-marathon and I've logged 105 miles since November 30 of last year! Considering that the last time I ran for exercise was for the AIDS walk back in 2007, I feel pretty accomplished and proud of myself for sticking to it. I will use this reflection on my progress to propel me through to May 3's duel with my personal Goliath - the 13-miles in Newport Beach...















Update for the week:

3/23/09 - jogging/walking total of 3.15 miles in 30 minutes
3/25/09 - jogging total of 2 miles in 18 minutes
3/28/09 - jogging total of 2 miles in 20 minutes

Progress

Howdy peeps!

Here's an update of the past two weeks:

3/9/09 - jogging/walking total of 1.35 miles in 15 minutes
3/12/09 - jogging/walking total of 2.54 miles in 24 minutes
3/13/09 - jogging/walking total of 5 miles in 51:30

3/17/09 - jogging total of 2.54 miles in 24:44
3/20/09 - jogging total of 5.1 miles in 50 minutes

Good Luck and Good Night

What up party peoples? I'm sure you're all studying hardcore for our upcoming midterm, so here's a quick update:

3/1/09 - jogging/walking total of 3.1 miles in 30 minutes
3/2/09 - jogging/walking total of 2.7 miles in 30 minutes
3/4/09 - jogging total of 1.27 miles in 11:21
3/6/09 - jogging/walking total of 2.54 miles in 24:13

Benefits of Running

Some interesting articles on the benefits of running and why people run-

Article highlighting a 20-year longitudinal study comparing runners and non-runners:
http://med.stanford.edu/news_releases/2008/august/running.html

Running - a different kind of "high" - this article chronicles former drug addicts that have turned to running for a positive addiction:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-297--12302-0,00.html

"Runner's high", consistent runners are less and experience less anxiety:
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=77215

For the challenge:
http://money.cnn.com/2001/10/31/news/costello_column/


Weekly update:

2/23/09 - jogging total of 3.1 miles in 30 minutes
2/25/09 - jogging total of 3.7 miles in 37 minutes
2/27/09 - jogging/walking total of 4.1 miles in 43 minutes