The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Marathoners

You see that thing to the left? Have you ever felt the urge to see what you're made of and given the Couch to 5k a try. Have you ever felt the urge to double down and go for a 10k? Have you ever felt half crazy or full on nuts and pushed yourself to a Half or Full Marathon?

Well, if you answered yes to any of those questions you not only recognize that document, you've no doubt scoured the inter-webs looking for a training program that is perfectly suited to your style of preparation. Regardless of your distance, following a set plan is one of the best ways to achieve your goal in the most efficient and healthy way possible.

My first race ever was the Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon 10k, and good ole Coach Purvis and her Nike Running training schedule (seen above) was the exact method I used to get me to the finish line. My original intention was to run the 5k with a group of friends but due to the Friday night start time, none of them could make it. So they talked me into the 10k the morning after and my goal was set, run 6.24 miles straight. The plan worked.

But that doesn't mean it has to be so damn boring, does it? I mean look at it; so bland, so monotonous, and un-inspirational. It is literally just exercises on a calendar.

So when I finally decided I was ready for my first Half Marathon, I wanted to come up with something a little more lively and impactful. Something that would change regularly and give you a fresh mindset on a regular basis. So instead of simply using your basic event training calendar, I found the program I wanted to use and wrapped it in a shiny new package.

I broke my calendar into a single page per week and I love it.

This structure is an absolutely amazing way to keep track of how far you should be going and when you should be running/lifting.

The best part of the single week structure is it prevents you from peering to far ahead. Seeing one week at a time, the farthest you can look ahead is your long run for the week. Let me tell you, seeing you have to go 7 miles in a few days is a hell of a lot easier to digest than seeing you 'll have to run 12 miles when you just worked yourself up to a 10k distance.

As you can see, I've also added an inspirational message into each week of my calendar. This is another great way to help push yourself in a manner that's best suited for pushing yourself. For instance, having run multiple 10k's, I no longer view the 6 miler as a challenge. So for the first month of my training program I used humorous runspiration pictures to help keep me in a jovial mood prior to the heart of my training program.

As the mileage becomes more difficult, I chose messages that had a much stronger motivating message behind them. An added bonus is you get to chose which messages you choose to motivate yourself. After all, who knows what messages have more impact on you than you?

Like I said, every one knows what works best for them, but I'd highly recommend you turn to yourself when looking for your next training motivation program.

Putting the Fun Back in Fun Run

If I were to ask you the first thing that comes to your mind when I say cherry pie, apple turnovers, and whipped cream pies to the face, you'd clearly say running a 5k, right?

If you're shaking your head wondering what I'm talking about, you're not alone. In fact, there's a pretty good chance you're having the exact same reaction I had when I opened the Champaign Parks

District summer catalogue earlier this year and saw this ad to the left.

You do the double take, you read a little closer, and then you realize that sitting right before you, is an athletic event that involves eating pie while running. What kind of evil genius could come up with a race that one could conceivably consume more calories then they burn?

The answer, of course, is who really cares.

And that is exactly the mentality I had as I quickly got my credit card and immediately signed up. While I appreciate the challenge and the accomplishment of pushing my body to its limits, I find an equal amount of enjoyment in a run for fun's sake.

Luckily for those of us in the Chambana area, we have a Parks Department that clearly feels the same way. The Pie Run, held June 22 during the Taste of CU, marked the second fun run I've participated in through the Champaign Parks Department. The first being last fall's Zombie Run, a 2 mile Zombie evasion course that challenged you to make it through hordes of the undead without losing all 3 of your lives.

Unlike my first go around last fall, the Pie Run not only offered a fun course, it gave runners a chance to bring home a little bling as well.

As I have an affinity for unnecessary validation, I was determined to come home with some hardware at any cost to my humility. The options included delivering your best pie themed joke, most spectacular finish at the flying pie finish line, or best pie themed costume.

As I'm not afraid of making a fool of myself, I chose the costume contest as my best opportunity to bring home a medal. Growing up a fan of the Simpson's, I knew there was only one choice. I bought some felt, some red fabric, and a pie tin and transformed myself into the Pie Man.

The costume was an excellent choice as I not only got my medal, but seemed to be one of the more popular runners throughout the course. I'm definitely glad I won because the costume was absolutely miserable to run in.

The route itself was easy enough. The run started just outside of Westside Park on Elm Street in Downtown Champaign. We worked our way towards Church Street, swung a left, and ran straight until we hit Davidson Park.

At just shy of the one mile mark, the park was the location of our first water stop. And while there was a chance to rehydrate yourself, this was also the first opportunity to scarf down on some delicious apple or pecan pie. Not being a huge fan of nuts in my desserts, I instantly went for the apple. I don't know which of our sponsors provided the treats for this station (Pekara, Curtis Orchard, WalMart), but I do know that after running a mile it was the most delicious apple pie I've ever tasted.

We worked our way around the park only to be greeted by a second pie/water station. Our options at this station included a chocolate creme pie and a cherry pie. I enjoyed the chocolate so much, I couldn't help but enjoy the cherry as well. I slammed another cup of water and got back on course. We kept going down Church until we hit Victor and pulled a quick U-turn and started heading back towards downtown on Park Ave.

It was another straight shot until we hit the 2 mile marker at Eisner Park and our third pie/water station. Cherry was the only option at this station, but seeing as cherry is my go to pie, I enjoyed it just as much as I did a mile earlier. I enjoyed a few samples, posed for a few pictures, and then quickly took off to the other side of the park and our final stop before the finish line featuring an apple turnover that was by and far the tastiest option on the course.

Now, as I eluded to earlier, one of the medal categories was the most spectacular finish at the flying pie finish line. In other words, you had an option to just cross the finish line or you could chose to cross the finish line with a bunch of kids chucking whipped cream pies at your face. What fun would it be just to cross the finish line? Clearly my super powers were in full effect as I'm pretty sure I was the only finisher not to get jacked in the face.

Once all was said and done and the whipped cream was wiped off our faces we were again met with a table offering what else but a slice of apple or cherry pie to cap the event.

Whether your run for your health, for competitive purposes, or just for fun, the Champaign Parks Department puts together really well organized and planned out events that are highly enjoyable. I highly recommend you give one of their runs a try. I know the Pie Run certainly won't be my last.

Courtesy of the News Gazette