Fit Friday!

As promised, here is Garth's Fit Friday update for you guys, enjoy!

I want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement during my training for the Chicago Marathon. I would be lying to you if I said I was proud of my progress and right on schedule because the truth is, it’s very challenging and sometimes discouraging and I’m still trying to adapt to the lifestyle change.
I know this may seem strange to you guys, but running is the easy part, it’s everything else like dieting, stretching, and resting that’s hard to balance in, on top of having a busy work week! I started running 2 miles 3 times a week and did that for the first few weeks then progressed to running 2-3 miles 3 times a week with a 5 mile run on Saturdays, which is where I am right now.

There were some setbacks, like having the flu and pulling a back muscle, but nothing too serious. As far as weight loss goes, I’m a little discouraged because I thought I would have lost more than what I have with all that running, but I was told that I would be building a lot of muscle during the beginning phases of the training and eventually the pounds will start dropping. I’ve only lost about 5 pounds but I do feel a lot stronger.

The goal right now is to get in shape for official advanced marathon training which will start in June and that will be to consistently run 3 miles 3 times a week with a long run on Saturdays, starting at 5 miles and increasing by one mile every Saturday, with two days of strength training in-between.

Sometimes reality kicks in and I find myself in a panic because I have already committed to running this race and there’s no backing out now lol. I still have a long way to go and sometimes I need some serious motivation, especially getting ready to do a run when it’s dark, icy, and below 20 degrees outside. But I just keep reminding myself why I’m doing it or more importantly, who I am doing it for! Stay tuned for some more body aches, crazy long runs, probably plenty of tears, and hopefully some major progress.

Thanks for listening and encouraging. It means more than you know! -Garth