San Jose Half Marathon In October

May 11, 2009

With less than 3 weeks to go, I can feel the marathon breathing down my neck, and half of it is sweet with accomplishment, the other half is anxiety and nerves. This has been a true testament to my will power and dedication, but at the same time hasn’t been too hard. Obviously 18 mile runs aren’t easy, but being forced to exercise is something that I can enjoy once the routine is set. The hardest thing I have begun doing over the last few days is getting up around 6AM to prepare for the race. On race day, I’ll be waking up at about 4AM to hydrate and get ready, so this is nothing.

One of the best experiences from this training is positively affecting those around me. From people eating oatmeal in the morning, to doing some sort of exercise everyday, to drinking more water or getting more sleep. I certainly don’t deserve the credit, because it’s ultimately up to the person to decide, but being a role model for better health feels great.

At this very moment, I am in the greatest shape of my life. Since my training began in Nov/Dec I have lost about 18 pounds. This is taking into account that I wasn’t in bad shape, just not optimal, proving to myself that I really hadn’t been taking care of myself as best I could.

I already have some post-marathon plans for running, this October I will be running the San Jose Rock and Roll Half Marathon with my cousin and anybody else that is interested. It would be awesome to have 20-50 people running the half marathon together. I have already heard some excuses about the possibility of running a half marathon for those who aren’t in the best shape of their life, and my only response is, it takes time, but it’s well worth it. Plus, once the race is over, that’s just the beginning because at that point you’ll be in the best shape of the last 10-50 years. Probably losing roughly 10-30 pounds in the process, amongst friends and family, and enjoying an incredible experience that you won’t soon forget. Plus it’s a Rock and Roll race so there’s bound to be a great experience to be had.

I would really like to experience the San Jose Half Marathon with a bunch of friends of family, so that we can all have a great time and feel incredible doing it. If any of the following are reasons for YOU to do it, please join me on October 2, 2009 in San Jose.

Have 10-30 pounds that you want to lose before Thanksgiving
Would like to lower your cholesterol, blood pressure, risk of heart attack or stroke
Have never completed a half marathon
Are interested in people telling you that you are “glowing, look incredible, radiant, look 20 years younger than your age,” or other awesome compliments
Want to start running for leisure
Are tired of putting off exercise because it’s not the right time
Want to be part of a group
Be able to jog 3 miles without working up a sweat
Jog 2 miles just to warm up, for the rest of the workout

I am thinking about setting up a training group over the summer to prepare for the San Jose Half Marathon, so if you’re interested please let me know so that I can gauge interest and determine if this would be worthwhile. Don’t limit it to yourself, do it with your spouse, friends, children, parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and dedicate it to somebody you love.

I’ll speak more about this later, I have to go do some spinning and abs, the week has just begun.

More importantly, as of today I have raised $2,000, and am looking for more! My deadline for fundraising is the 14th, so if you’ve been thinking of donating and haven’t gotten a chance please take a few minutes to donate.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/rnr09/rgreenfield


Thanks and take care,
Ryan