Red Square/Green Square

A lot has happened, but not much time for blogging. I signed up for the L.A. Marathon! I actually meant to do so last Saturday, after my 23 mile run. But somehow it slipped my mind. I paid my money, so I’m running the race!

I put together a new training chart that seems to be quite helpful and motivational. It is essentially the same one I had before, but now I assign colors to every square. If I complete something or achieve a goal, that square becomes green. If I don’t complete something or don’t achieve a goal, that square becomes red. It is quite motivational to have each square be green. There have been a few reds, but mostly they are green. There is that point in every training session when I think that I don’t have to do this. But I know if I stop, I will have to put red in that square. It has helped me to go on a number of occasions. Whatever works.

I had a 90 minute run scheduled yesterday and it was one of those days where I did not feel great from the start. I’m sure my heart-rate was elevated, I could feel it. However, my Garmin was flashing “Battery Low” as soon as I turned it on, and then went dead about five minutes into the run. I was not feeling very good throughout the run and because I didn’t have my watch, I’m sure some of my walk breaks were longer than a minute, but I did complete the whole route and persevered. I wanted to stop many times, but the thought of a red square under my 90 minute run inspired me to keep going.

John Thum