Weekly Adventure Destination #3: Volunteering at the Austin Marathon

Here is another weekly adventure that I am late in posting about (forgive me, I'm now on Oklahoma time).

I didn't run the Austin Marathon this year, giving my joints a little time off, but I did volunteer. I handed out medals to the marathon finishers after they crossed the finish line. This may not count as a "weekly adventure" since I have technically been there before, but not on the other side, as a volunteer. Since I'm making up all the rules for this challenge, I also get to break them, so this one totally counts! And holding 25 medals on your arm and being on your feet for 4 hours is actually a workout!

I've crossed the finish line on two marathons so far, and it took me HOURS to suffer through them both, but you can bet I will attempt a few more in the years to come, especially after watching so many people complete this feat. The coolest part about volunteering was that I watched the winners sprint their way across the finish line. The men's champion Keith Pierce, finished in 2:29:25 (average pace 5:42/mile) and the women's champion, Desiree Ficker, in 2:50:35 (average pace 6:31/mile). I can barely finish a half marathon in that time! After the elite finished, the super fast came in under 3 hours, the really fast in under 3:30, the oh-my-god-I-just-qualified-for-Boston in under 3:40, the oh-shit-I-didn't-qualify-for-Boston in over 3:41, the masses started around the 4 hour mark and then the rest trickled in, after I my shift was over.

When I ran the Austin Marathon in 2009 and 2010, I was in the post-5 hours group, alternating between jogging, walking and practically crawling. I was definitely in pain as I crossed the finish line, but the joy of finally being done drowned everything else out; I definitely had tears in my eyes as I took my medal from a kind volunteer. At this year's finish line I saw tears, vomit, bloody nipples (mostly men), sweat, elation, joy, pain, crippling pain, laughter, grimaces and many big smiles. Marathons are not a spectator sport. There is nothing that compares to actually completing 26.2 miles on your own two feet after months of preparations and training. I missed that feeling this year, but lived vicariously for a few hours through those awesome athletes who ran the Austin Marathon on the warm and humid morning of February 20th.

I didn't take too many photos, since I was busy sorting and handing out the medals, but here are a few...

The finisher medals, neatly hanging before the race

Prepping for the winners

Piles on the table

Finishers

close up of medals

Volunteer line

A List of Don'ts

Things I've learned not to do during the 100 Day Challenge

Don't procrastinate the 100 minutes, or you will be riding the stationary bike until 1 in the morning, then can't go to sleep because you are wired from the exercise.

Don't procrastinate the 100 pages, or you will be up reading until 2 in the morning (possibly while riding the stationary bike), trying not to fall asleep.

Don't attempt 45 minutes of Pilates shortly after a large dinner and 2 beers. Trust me.

Don't hydrate with coffee instead of water, no amount of exercise will get rid of those jitters.

Don't try to read while running on the treadmill. Reading and walking - yes, reading and running - no!

Don't try to update your blog from your iPhone while walking outdoors, you will trip multiple times. Someone will witness it and shake their head and laugh.

Don't turn down free books. They might be the easiest, quickest and most entertaining things you read. (Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series - thanks Jamie!)

Don't hit snooze, just get up dammit.

Don't sacrifice sleep to stay up late in your hotel room watching another episode of Intervention: Keeping Up With The Animal Hoarders Biggest Loser.  You will have terrible dreams (and will hit snooze in the morning).

Don't assume you know everything. Contrary to popular belief, you are not the smartest person in the world with the most advanced vocabulary, there are many words you do not actually know. The dictionary is your friend. (i.e. puerile: of or pertaining to a child or to childhood. maudlin: tearfully or weakly emotional.)

Don't over commit your time. There are 1440 minutes in a day. 480 of which should be spent sleeping, up to 720 are now spent working, 100 are for exercising, and anywhere from 60-120 will be spent reading depending on the book. That leaves approximately 20 minutes for everything else, unless you sacrifice sleep. You may not have time to go out to dinner, drinks, the store, etc. Plan accordingly.

Don't focus on what you can't do. Focus on what you can. As Henry Ford allegedly once said, "whether you think that you can or think that you can't, you are usually right."

Halfway Home

This past Saturday, February 26th, marked the halfway point in the 100 days challenge. That's day 50 for the mathematically challenged folks. To celebrate I went out for a weekly adventure. I ran for over 100 minutes on the "Pathfinder Parkway," a paved 10 mile (or so) trail that runs through the middle of this little town. I probably only ran 7-8 miles at a pretty slow place, stopping to take photos every few steps it seemed. 

Every half mile for for three miles, there were mileage markers with inspirational quotes on either side. I must say, these were neat to see out on the trail and gave me some interesting things to ponder as I pounded the pavement on day 50. Here are the ones I ran by...

 

Throughout the past 50 days, I've read over 5000 pages, completed 18 books, did over 5000 minutes of physical activity, finished one film job, found some inspiration for the "career" direction I think I want to go, visited some fun, new outdoor spots, started another film job, and can finally button my favorite pair of pants again. This is all great news, but the best part about the past 50 days I am am creating new, healthy habits that I hope will stick with me for life. So far, I think it is working.

Now that I am living it up in a hotel room for a month, I have free wifi and cable TV at my fingertips whenever I want. I've wasted some time surfing the web, watched a few too many episodes of Hoarders and various reality shows, but mostly I find myself wanting to read when I have down time.  Instead of wasting my time and energy mindlessly staring at the TV for hours, I want to put my mind to work, and not just because I "have to" read 100 pages. I want to. I love learning (hence all the nonfiction books) and also love good page-turning stories more than I love watching another couple buy/redo another house or another overweight person getting fit, as inspirational as it may be. Now, I'd rather be working on myself and improving my mind than watching other people do something good (or idiotic) on TV. 

Most days, the physical activity part isn't too hard either. Knowing how good I feel after a workout makes it easier to get up early or stay up late to get in my minutes. Plus I can kill two birds with one workout by reading while I bike or watching bad TV while I do my Pilates DVD.

Pilates in the front, Biggest Loser in the back

Some days, it is still hard to find that motivation to get up at 6:30 in the morning, when I could be sleeping until 8:15 (like I did today, oops). As I lie in bed bargaining with myself for "10 more minutes and then I'll get up," there is another voice that whispers "you never regret a workout, but you do regret skipping one" over and over again until I get up. It usually works, though sometimes I still sleep in and have to get in my minutes later in the day or at night after work (like tonight). Thankfully there is a mini-gym at the hotel open until 10PM and I can always do my Pilates and yoga DVDs in my room. No matter how tempting it may be to completely skip a workout, I have managed to do my 100 minutes of physical activity every single day for the past 50 days and for that, I am pretty dang proud.
 
I am thrilled that it is all downhill from here, so to speak. I have loved the 100 Days Challenge so far, but it is quite a commitment every day, especially while working again. The hardest part is yet to come since I am now working long hours again for the next few weeks and will be squeezing in my minutes and pages on either side of 12 hour workdays, but I will figure it out. How? The quote below describes it, and was my favorite of all the ones I ran by over the weekend....

To the next 50 days, may you be as productive and enjoyable as the first 50!