Michelob Ultra Ft. Lauderdale Half Marathon

Hi Guys! Its been a while since my last post and even my last race. I wanted to let you know that I am officially registered for the Michelob Ultra Ft. Lauderdale Half Marathon happening on November 9, 2014. So its been a while since my last race actually. I’ve taking on a lot of work responsibilities and currently finishing up grad school but nevertheless thats no excuse. I’m excited for this run and I know it will be fun and eventful which will help me to get back on track!

Here is a link to the course map. Check it out and let me know what you think (It’s on the water).

http://www.131marathon.com/FortLauderdale/PDF/coursemap.pdf

I also have my eye set on Palm Beach Marathon on Dec 7, 2014 as well as the Miami Marathon on Jan 25, 2014. If you have been following me for a while or have read my previous blog post you know that I’m all for setting goals and sticking to them. Without goals its hard to improve and to share experiences with others.

Respond back to this post and let me know how you are doing with your Health and Fitness endeavors! Looking forward to it.

 

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Long Time No See!

How’s it going everyone?! Its been a while since my last post, life has been very busy and I’ve been trying to accomplish some very challenging professional goals. Nevertheless, I am still here and hope that your nutritional and fitness goals are going well. Please let me know whats new with you. What is working and what can be improved? Looking forward to hearing your responses.

As for me, I have been lacking a little bit on my running but I am focusing on getting back in shape. I got some new winter gear, shirts, socks, shoes and shirts. I’m going to aim to run 3-4 times a week and lift weights 3 times a week. The weather is cooling off nicely here in Tampa, FL which makes for a better run in my opinion.

I’m scheduled to run a half marathon on Dec 7, 2013 in Orlando with my friend Matt who has never run a half before. So I’ll be running with him and pushing him through. Sometimes we need that encouragement from others to accomplish certain things. I am also set to run the Miami marathon on Feb 2, 2014 which will be really fun. So I have some serious training to do. I’ll keep you posted on the results from both runs.

LA Marathon Weekend

The LA Marathon on 03/17/2013 makes my 4th marathon. I expected to finish in 3:45:00 however I was not expecting all the hills in LA which slowed me down just a little. Almost 25,000 runners showed up for the event which is pretty awesome. My training for the marathon consisted of 3-4 runs a week with weight training on my off days. My eating was really good and I made sure to avoid anything that wasnt healthy. I can really tell a difference in my runs when I eat good and when I don’t. I flew across the country all the way from Florida to California. However, I met people who were from Australia, Europe and Africa in LA just to run the marathon.

 

The Course

The LA Marathon course was pretty eventful. We ran through all the major attractions such as the Dodger Stadium, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Downtown LA and Santa Monica beach. If you haven’t ran the course before I highly recommend it but be sure to train for hills 🙂 One thing that I also liked is that there was a huge support system from locals, family members and friends. About 90% of the race was filled with spectators cheering the runners on and handing out food and water. I think that all the cheering keeps the runners motivated! The weather was cool and overcast which made for an even better race.

Unfortunately, I didn’t see any celebrities running the race but I heard some were in disguise. I did do a little site seeing at Huntington Beach, Santa Monica beach, Long Beach, Hollywood, Downtown LA, Rodeo Dr, and Marina Del Ray. My friends Jim, Sam and I took a tour with the TMZ show which was really fun. We spotted all the celebrity hang out spots, restaurants and gyms. Amanda from the TMZ show was our tour guide…I gotta tell you she is something else and very funny.

What’s Next for LJay? 

I am training for marathon #5 in Nashville on April 27,2013 and a 50K (31 miles) in May. People ask me all the time “Why do you keep running marathons?” To me, that is a very tough question to answer but deep down inside I do it because it makes me happy and I love running. Everyone has their thing that they enjoy like golfing, fishing, skiing, hiking etc…and mine is running!

What’s Next for you?? Comment and let us know…I look forward to it. 

Jax Bank Marathon

Completed the Jacksonville Bank marathon this past Sunday 12/16/2012 in Jacksonville, FL! It was a great race with a flat and shaded course. I used this race as a training run for the ING Miami marathon in 6 more weeks.

The day afterwards my body was sore and I was walking like tin man (very slow) but today feels awesome and I am back to normal.

I stopped more frequently for water during the race because the sun came out and drained everything out of me. But my time was still pretty good considering.

This makes for marathon number 2 and will be completing number 3 next month!

What are some of your 2013 goals? It can be nutritionally, physically or both. Please share!

ING Miami Marathon

I am slowly gearing up for the ING Miami Marathon. This will be my 2nd full marathon (26.2 miles) and I am excited about the awesome scenic route of Miami. I think that this will be a great way to start the New Year and set the expectation for my 2013 race year. I have 8 weeks left until the big day Sunday, January 27, 2013. My training schedule includes 4 runs a week in which Saturday’s are my long runs consisting of 14+ miles. I am using a running plan by http://www.runnersworld.com/training-plans/marathon-training-plans.

Goals: My goals for the race is to finish in 3 hours and 30 minutes, and to drop to race weight which is about 10lbs I will need to lose in 8 weeks. Losing the additional weight will help my body last longer and relieve the stress on knees and legs during the long distance.

The Course: The race will start in downtown Miami (Biscayne Bay) and then head over the first Causeway (2 miles) unto South and Miami Beach. After running on South Beach runners will head back over the Causeway (2 miles)back into downtown Miami and then all the way down into Coconut Grove and turn around heading to the finish line.

Participants: This year (2012) there were almost 4,000 marathoners and over 16,000 half marathoners. With that being said, they are expecting an even bigger turnout for 2013 since ING NY Marathon was cancelled. Runners will be coming from all over the world to run this race and mingle with other runners.

Recommendation for 1st time marathoners: My best advice to prospective marathoners looking to run a marathon is to be consistent with training and put in the time. Nutrition is equally important and both go hand and hand. If you have a marathon training schedule you should try and follow it as much as possible but don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day. Also, please please please listen to your body and avoid injuring yourself.

If you are thinking about registering or want to know more about the race there is still time to sign up and I am including the link to the website: http://www.ingmiamimarathon.com/

Ill be sure to let you know how the race goes! To keep up to date with my training and day to day prep, follow me on Facebook or Twitter @ljayhealth. Both links are also found on the left side of this page!