As my training buddy, Brooke, pointed out in a recent comment, I have been remiss in providing updates about my training. To my three or four regular readers…sorry ‘bout that. My training for the April 29 New Jersey Marathon continues, but since “runner’s knee” prompted me to change my training focus from running to walking, the training hasn’t been as intense or as frequent, so I’ve had less to write about.
Since my last update, I’ve enjoyed a couple of team walks where I finally managed to show up at the right time and place. (By the way, it turns out that the national park I went to last time wasn’t even the right park for the team walk. I’m still not sure what the right park was, but I would have been there at the wrong time anyway, so having the wrong park worked out for the best.) I was in California again over President’s Day Weekend, so I missed the team walk that weekend, but the following weekend I finally met some other TNT walkers for a 12-mile stroll. There were half a dozen or so people, most of whom I only met briefly. Roger - the only other man in attendance - is quite the speed-walker, so he was long gone in a hurry. I was comfortable sticking with the rear contingent, which consisted of myself, Laura (who you may remember from “An ice day for a walk”), and Laura’s mom. If I’d written this in a more timely manner, I’d remember her name, but for now, it’s just “Laura’s mom”. The temp was in the 20’s, but no ice. I enjoyed hearing about how Laura’s mom was the first in the family to get involved with TnT, to honor and support her brother-in-law’s battle with leukemia, and then other family members joined in. At a half-marathon in which several family members participated, Laura’s dad injured himself just prior to the event, but didn’t want to miss it. He had to keep a slow pace because of the injury, so while Mom stayed with him, the rest of the family went on ahead. As he finally approached the finish, he saw that the rest of the family had stopped short of the finish to wait, so they could all cross together. Is that like the ending to a movie on Lifetime, or what?
Last weekend, I attended the Saturday walk and was the only man this time. I wouldn’t recommend that anyone join Team in Training for the purpose of dating, but if I were a single man, I could think of worse ways to meet women. The women significantly outnumber the men, there’s an automatic common interest to share (the training and reason for training), and given the fact that this is a group that runs or walks several miles a week, people tend to be in pretty good shape, or at least headed in the right direction. I’m not sure if it’s polite to point out that a lot of the women are hot, seeing as how we’re all there to cure cancer, but as long as I also point out that none of them are or ever can be as hot as my wife, maybe it’s okay. I love you, Kat.
Anyhoo, last weekend’s walk was also 12 miles, and I walked with Coach Lynn. Lynn has been involved with TNT for ten years - the last five as a coach. She’s done something like seventeen events, so she possesses a wealth of experience in training, fundraising, and all things TNT. She also has an impressive knowledge of good places to party before or after any given event.
The weekly training schedule is the same for walkers as for runners, but honestly, I haven’t been keeping up with the mid-week mileage. I might get more motivated for that part of the training if I were struggling with the long weekend walks, but I’m not. I’ve got stamina to spare on the long walks, and the only discomfort I’ve felt is a tendency to have shin splints (or something like them) for the first couple miles, but that goes away once I’m warmed up. I haven’t had blister problems since changing shoes, and my knee hasn’t given me any problems. The last time it hurt was toward the end of my national park walk, when I had a long, steep grade to descend. I haven’t run for six weeks or more, so I may even try a short run next week. Getting caught up with the running in time for this event is out of the question, but if I can run without pain again, I’d still like to add it back into my regular exercise. I never thought there’d come a time when I’d actually miss running, but I do.
Although I’m delinquent in my “official” mid-week training regimen, I continue to do some informal cross-training. By that, I mean extended sessions of Dance Dance Revolution, and doing exercises and stretching when I watch Ducks hockey games. To the crunches I was already doing, I have added some push-ups, and squats to strengthen my upper legs. Between sets, I stretch, so that one way or another, I’m doing something during most of the game. (I use Tivo to skip through breaks and intermissions, so total time is usually just over an hour.)
There. Are you happy now, Brooke? 
