Somehow, after the Hulkies left at 2:30am and then I finally went to bed at 3:30am, I managed to get up today and head out the door for my morning run. I ran 9.59km at 5:18min/km. It wasn't the best of morning runs and it was a late morning run but considering I had only banked 5 hours of sleep, it was an unexpected, I-can't-believe-I-woke-up run. I woke up just before 9am and then laid in bed for a couple of hours before I successfully convinced myself to get up and go run.
My commitment to wait till after my run to eat my most delish oatmeal bake was seriously what got me running. I'm not joking. The proof it is in the fact that my last couple of kilometres were faster than my first. "The faster I run, the faster I'll get home", is what I continually am telling myself and today, with that oatmeal bake sitting pretty on the juice bar counter waiting for me, I ran as fast as my little Polish legs could take me in those last kilometres.
After breaking out a solid run and then indulging in my oatmeal bake, I then had to start work early. Getting my work tasks done early meant I could get in a bite to eat, relax a bit and then start my training at 2:30pm -- boxing and weight training.
Waking up for my morning runs seems to be getting harder and harder because of the simple fact that it's getting colder and colder IN the club and I'm going to bed later and later. The key to getting up for my run is making a set routine of it -- wake up everyday at the same time regardless of if I have to wake up for a morning run or not. Just recently someone in one of the Facebook groups I'm a member of posted an event. It's not so much of an event as it is a challenge.
Here is the picture of the event/challenge they posted and the description...
Welcome to the 6th Marcothon.
The rules are simply, you must run every day in DECEMBER. Minimum of three miles or 25 minutes – which ever comes first. The challenge starts on December 1 and finishes on December 31. And yes, that includes Christmas Day.
It's not a competition. Just a personal challenge or an incentive to burn off some beer and turkey dinners.
The history: This all started in 2009, when Marco challenged himself to run every day in November. I decided to follow suit and run every day in December. I posted the challenge – and dubbed it the Marcothon - and before I knew it there was a group of runners equally eager to embrace the winter conditions of December 2009. In 2010, the group was added to Facebook and attracted over 500 runners from across the globe. Last year, we had over 2000!
The challenge is simple, run every single day in December with a minimum of either 3 miles or 25 minutes.... 3 miles = 4.828 kilometres. Now I've never been one to support or encourage anyone to do the same exercise day after day or train everyday for that matter but there has been exceptions and I think I have found an exception to this challenge that makes it good for me. My exception that justifies me supportive of this challenge is the fact that now I'll HAVE to train Pacquiao to be my running partner.
Typical Week of Training for me here in Korea:
Mon.: boxing + weight training
Tues.: 9.5kms morning run + boxing + weight training
Wed.: 9.5kms morning run + boxing + weight training
Thurs.: 9.5kms morning run + boxing + weight training
Fri.: boxing only
Sat.: 15-31kms long run + boxing + weight training/Crossfit Challenger class
Sun.: day off ALL training
On Monday, Friday and Sunday I don't run but, according to the rules of this 6th Marcothon, I have to, so I figure I'll use those three days to train Pacquiao. I can't see him going for a 5km run but I can definitely see us TRYING to run and taking the minimum 25 minutes to do so.
December starts on Monday so on Monday this challenge officially kicks off. I have my long run scheduled for Sunday so doing a training run with Pacquiao will be a fun way to kick the challenge off. I've already told Pacquiao he's got to help me with this challenge and, well, he's a dog so he really had nothing to say but "baaaark bark". I think that translates to "hell yes". Cool.
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