Running while sick = bad

Hey sportsfans,

A sick Maryanna checking in on the marathon training...unfortunately over the last few days I developed a cold. It must be from switching climates so often and running in the rain. At any rate, the training continues.

I wrestled for a while about whether I should keep running while sick, but all the online advice seems to point to the sentiment that if you aren't keeling over it basically makes sense.

Sooooo..I took 2 days off last week when I was feeling horrible to regroup and have been back in action...already at ~18 miles training for the week and its only Tuesday! It's weird though, every morning I wake up feeling a little bit better, but in the afternoon, post my morning run I always feel miserable again. I'm convinced that I am just allergic to my office mate Simiso ;)

At any rate, I had a busy last two weeks. When my mom was in town we saw ALL of Joburg (including the Apartheid museum, see pic to above). We dined with ALA staff (see pic at bottom). We had a braai (other pic at bottom).... and we went to Capetown. See I told you....busy time!

As you all likely know, I am running this marathon on behalf of the African Leadership Academy and Sani (see more dets/updates below and checkout their website for more informaiton!) If you are able, I would appreciate any donations to the cause you can offer, follow this link to donate! http://www.africanleadershipfoundation.org/marathondonate_maryanna.asp

Guest blogger:

So, I promised you all input from a guest blogger...my mom! She and my aunt came to visit me last week and of course I got all sorts of great new advice from these veteran marathoners, so here it is:

1. "You do the work now...or you do the work later"--meaning, I can train now, really push myself and have an easy marathon. Or I can dawdle and chill, and have a miserable time come D-Day (that's what I'm calling it now!) With this in mind, I am trying to push myself even harder.
2. "You must keep upping your mileage"--I think I have gotten into a nice little groove with my 8 mile per day runs. Apparently I need to keep pushing the mileage on my daily runs..I've been doing ~8.5 per day this week and next week I hope to push closer to 10 miles a day...wish me luck!
3. "During the marathon..you are going to hate everyone?!"--Apparently after the "easy" part of the marathon (up until mile 15 or 18) one gets fairly irritable. I apologize in advance for any mean things I might say to those near me during that crucial time!

Thanks mom for the advice!

Running update:

As mentioned I have been pushing my daily run mileage, getting up early in the AM sucks! Especially in the cold of winter in Joburg (yes it gets uber cold here!), but when i finish my runs it feels good to go to work knowing that I've already accomplished something!

Also, to encourage my long runs I plan to do a half marathon each of the next two weekends! I am doing the Vodacom half in Midrand this Sunday--I spoke with the race organizer, sounds like it will be hilly but I'll push through it. I think the one following should be easier..I hope! Also some work friends (hi Jenn, Ryan and Chris) may join in as well which will certainly hope push me over the finish line!

Running insight:

• Run on your toes: Nick S. gave me awesome advice when we ran in the Drakensberg, he mentioned that he was taught to run on his toes--it gives you more speed and agility. I have been working to do this on my AM runs. I can definitely see the pickup in speed, though this style change is killer on calves! After my runs, they throb all day long! But that being said, if it works in the long run, I'll fight through the pain ;)
• Be careful and alert during road runs: During a run last week I was almost hit by a car...TWICE! it was my scariest running experience. In one instance, I was running downhill at the end of the run when i was tired, a car was coming towards me and I tripped just as the car was passing me! Thank God I caught myself just before falling because I would have certainly fallen right into the car. Then at the end of the run when I was turning around for my cool down walk a car almost rammed right in to me...I guess they thought I was still moving forward instead of turning around. All of this to say...be alert!
• Find your sprinkler spots: A nice lawn sprinkler is the best thing when you get hot during the run, if you run the same route often try to find the houses which turn their sprinklers on in the AM and time your run so you can run through them! I have gotten lucky, there is a house on the route which has 4 sprinklers which turn on in the middle of my run, it is so refreshing to run through the nice cold water when you get hot!

Motivational quotes:

• "Tryna hope for tomorrow/when I think I can't/ I envision Obama/ I envision the diamonds/ I envision Ferraris..." -Maino, lyrics from "All the above"
• "You either do the work now, or you do the work later"- Mom
• "Yes I'll donate on your behalf to ALA"-supporters...thank you!!!
• http://www.africanleadershipfoundation.org/marathondonate_maryanna.asp

Marathon playlist adds:

• Dota- Basshunter
• I get crazy- NIcki Minaj
• Release me- Agnes
• One tribe- Black Eyed Peas
• Dinosaur on the Ark- Esau Mwamwaya
• Raindops- Basement Jaxx
• Wild Hearts- Noisettes

African Leadership Academy updates:

• Seeing progress on the Pardee library- I am so excited to see the progress on the library space on campus, the construction team is moving swiftly and we are going to deliver an awesome study space to the ~200 students who will arrive in late August!
• 2010 admissions launching--Just as we welcome the newest class, the 2010 admissions process is launching. The newest brochure (with our L2 students) has just gone out and the portuguese, french and arabic versions are soon to follow!
• Vusi Mahlasela to perform on campus-- To welcome the newest class, the world renowned activist and musician (a mentor to Dave Matthews) is going to perform on our very own campus--exposing the students to this kind of talent is going to be huge! It will hopefully get the psyched for the challenge that will be a year of academics at ALA!

A moment of Zen:

In honor of my mom's visit, I give you the gift of awkward family photos, I hope you get as much joy out of it as I have! http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/

New post coming soon

Hey sportsfans,

I will add a new post shortly...look out for it. There is much to report--running recap from last week/this week. News about ALA. More songs for the ipod. AND more running tips from a special guest blogger (my mom) and friends!

-mvq

Just breathe

Dear sportsfans,

I plan to organize my posts into a few sections as laid out below. Hopefully this will make everything easier to follow rather than a huge information dump. Thanks for all of your initial votes of support, please keep them coming over the next few weeks!!

Running update:

Last week, I h

ad my most consistent run week in a while. I ran 7-8 miles in the morning four of the five weekdays last week. I stuck to

my local run which starts at mthe house here in ROsebank, includes 1 hilly loop around the neeighborhood then leads to "part 2' which is a run up to the zoo lake area and a loop or two aorund Jans Smuts/ the Moyo area. It is such a nice run because it is predictable and not so long that I get bored!

This weekend I went to the Drakensberg mountains (see pic of the group and "things you may encounter while running on the roads in Drakensberg" in KwaZulu Natal with some ALA fellows. I surprised even myself by completing a long run in the mountains with a new fellow/runner extraordinare, Nick S. He taught me a good bit about what he learned in his career as a college

runner.

Running insights:

Over the past week I learned a few techniques to hopefully improve my running

• breathing: Breathe in for 3 counts and out for 2 and get into a rhythym during the run. This should ensure that the body gets the necessary oxygen to keep your muscles in top form. Typically people tend to breathe erratically when going up hills especially by maintaining this ratio, and potentially speeding it up, you should do fine on the hills
• going uphill: Obvs, don't stop on a hill...feel free to stop, walk, enjoy the scenery on a mountain! but don't stop on a hill! Also when going uphill, pump your arms harder for added support for your legs. Your arms should be paralel to the hill/street.
• going downhill: Avoid the tendency to lean back, lean in to the hill and stay on your on toes

Motivational quotes:

• "Every time you go for a run, you are only racing yourself. Push yourself to be better continuously."-Nick S.
• "life surprisesus in mysterious ways, good for you taking on the risk of such opportunitis ad running with it.

Marathon playlist adds: The first of what will be the marthon playlist

• "I got a feeling"-Black Eyed Peas
• "Electric City"- Black Eyed Peas
• "RIn g a Ling"- Plack Eyed Peas
• "Alive"- Black Eyed Peas
• "Imma Be"- Black Eed Peas (guess who just bought the new BEP album?)
• "Daylight"- Matt and Kim
• "Jump out ofyour car" Iglu and Hartly
• "We are the people" Empire of the Sun
• "All the above"- Maino
• "Best I ever had"- Drake

African Leadership Academy update:

• Faculty is arriving for faculty training
• Campus undergoing renovations in the library, dorms and classroom spaces to welcome 200 students who plan to start a the end of August! This represents a doubling of the student body.

A moment of Zen:

"Confucious say....crowded elevator smell different to midget"--Anonymous

And so it begins...

Clearly I have gone crazy because I am doing what I have vowed time and time again never to do. Ever since my days of hiding from Coach Johnson during cross country practice and sick notes to get out of races I thought for sure that running was for lunatics. Turns out...I was right...running is for lunatics and apparently...I am a lunatic.

After spending a bit of time at African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg, South Africa...

I have decided to run the 2009 New York Marathon on November 1 on behalf of ALA and in honor of our IT guru...Sani Iliyasu who passed away in late July, 2009.

Wow, it feels weird to write that because it makes things official. Beyond the obvious reasons for running a Marathon...like the fun of 26.2 miles and the pleasure of waking up at 6am to run in the freezing cold.

A few things are motivating me:

• 1. The amazing promise of African Leadership Academy (www.africanleadershipacademy.org). ALA draws students from all across Africa and beyond, with the goal of developing the next generation of more ethical, intelligent and globally aware Leaders for Africa in all fields ranging from business to politics to social activism to arts..etc. I am hoping that through my effort I can raise awareness and much needed funds to enable ALA to fulfill its mission.
• 2. The inspiring life of the notorious Mr. Sani. Sani, is the architect of ALA's infrastructure and approached life with a sense of honesty un-paralleled in other people I have encountered. He committed himself 100% to everything he got involved with and never compromised himself or his beliefs while pursuing his goals. I hope that I can carry with me lessons from him, including to be more direct, more consistently appreciative, and to not be afraid to be my crazy self!
• 3. The desire to prove that this can be done, I hope that by completing this marathon I will encourage myself and others to keep pushing myself to achieve the impossible!

BUT...I can't do this alone. I will need a community of support in this massive effort! Please help push me through to the finish line by:

• 1. Donating funds to the cause for which I am running: African Leadership Academy via this website http://www.africanleadershipfoundation.org/marathondonate_maryanna.asp Help me to achieve the goal of raising $3,000 for ALA. Any donation you can offer will go a long way towards providing a strong education for the best and brightest of Africa and beyond.
• 2. Providing words of encouragement and (equally as important!) song recommendations for my run play-list! In each of my posts I will continue to expand my running playlist by adding supporter recommended and my own selection of songs to "MVQ's marathon play-list"!
  
• 3. Joining me on a training run--I do 6-8 mile runs 4x a week and a long run on the weekends. Please join me on one/many of the runs!
• 4. Keeping me on track--Check in with me to see if I am sticking to my training goals...if you catch me slipping you officially have my permission to publicly chastise me/ embarrass me!
• 5. Cheering me on during the race- On that fateful day of November 1 please come to NY to support me by cheering for me, screaming my name, passing me drinks/food, etc. I will especially need encouragement at mile 13, 18 and 22--please support me by being along the course at these points or even jumping in and running with me for a bit! I may not be able to chit chat but I will be ever grateful! I hope to complete the race in about 4 hours and 15 minutes--I will post my approximate locations/times in a later post!
• 6. Checking out this blog and posting/sending me words of encouragement!

I will continue to post here throughout my marathon training--I will include updates on my runs, funny stories, mileage/time postings, play-list updates etc.

I hope to see you here again soon!

-MVQ

P.S.- Bridgerunners must be acknoledged...it is because of their encouragement that I finished the half marathon and I hope to run with a few of them during the full!