markvanmeter.com

Well, today is here!!  “Today” is the day I started to long for about 2 weeks after the snow season was over and switching gears to summer.  “Today” I get to go back to Snowshoe!!  Everything is packed, food organized, and you’d think I was setting out for an expedition.  All my friends are at Snowshoe now so in the off-season back in Columbus all I really see on a weekly basis are my wife and daughter a one or two family members.  Now, love em’ to death but you have to have dudes around ya’ know?  Keeps it real for me.

So, should get in tonight around 9:30 or so and it will be good to see my roomate from winter again.  Catch up and drink a few beers at the kitchen table in Tree Top 33.  Can’t freakin’ wait!

Once I decided to run in the Columbus Marathon it was surpising to see how well everything just kinda fell in place.  Went down to the Frontrunner last week and had a shoe tech fit me with a smokin’ pair of ASICS street running shoes.  It seams I over-pronate a bit and that’s probably why my last several attempts at running have failed over the years.  Sore knees.

So far, so good!  No knee pain and all my cycling has made the running easy.  For now!  Found a killer web site called Marthon Rookie and it has been chalk full of cool info on how to get started, nutrition, mental toughness all of it.  Downloaded their 24 week training program and following it to the T.

Keep ya’ posted

I have always wanted to run a full marathon but have never quite sacked up and trained for one.  Oh, there have been times that I’ve tried but failed :-(  in my attempt for cardio perfection but think this year will be “my year” to get this done.  Not getting any younger!

The event chosen is the Columbus Marathon held right before my birthday on October 18th 2009 giving me 24 weeks to get ready for the big day.  A fraternity brother of mine, Paul Jannot, has been doing these since early 2008 and has offered some guidance and support along the way.  Gathering pulling off a 26.2 mile run has more to do with mental toughness than it does physical fitness.  Not trying to downplay logging miles in preparation for a marathon but feel mental toughness plays a HUGE role in marathon running.

My motivation for doing this is simple: get in superior shape and put a life long milestone/dream under my belt.  Turning 42 this year has been messin’ with my head. So, today marks day one of my quest.  Will keep blogging about it until race day of course.  One thing I am excited about is doing a bunch of this training at Snowshoe this summer.  Bit higher elevation than Columbus and A LOT COOLER!  I hate humidity!

This winter the only excersise I got was skiing and lots and lots of skiing.  By the end of winter my legs felt like iron.  Like they did back in my bodybuilding days.  Have always had a love-hate relationship with working out due to the fact I take everything to the extreme.  Well, this off-season was greeted with a trip back to the gym and after 3-4 weeks of constant working out I’m finally back in my grove.  Baseline fitness now and it’s time to step it up! 

No more training for mass!  It’s now all about high-reps and lots of cardio.  Riding mtb all summer will definately contribute to the cardio side of the coin and being able to continue workouts at Silver Creek will be key.  By the time Fall rolls around; it’s game on! 

Nothing tastes as good as lean and mean feels.

Every Tuesday night I make the trek up to Mansfield, Ohio to take Outdoor Emergency Care at Snow Trails Ski Resort.  It’s a nice area that I used to hit up all the time in the late 80s and early -mid 90s.  The patrol outfit their is a top-notch group of volunteers that have dedicated countless hours to keeping the ski area safe for the public.  It’s been fun learning how another patrol unit operates and trains their people and to participate in their candidate training. 

 The course schedule runs from April till Mid-May then takes a 2-1/2 month break for the summer resuming in August.  The final exam will be October 27th so it’s basically a 21 week course and the core training for all ski patrollers.  Outdoor Emergency Care is a pre-requisite to joining The National Ski Patrol and just the start of my training for the next several years.

Tuesday nights are definately the high-light of my week during the off-season and would probably go nuts if I didnt’ get a chance to be around like-minded people.

Well, it’s getting to be that time to start packing and organizing all my bike crap for ths summer at Snowshoe.  I thought last summer was off the hook with 57 days of riding on the mountain.  Hell, this summer will be even better now-working for the mountain and patrolling the trails.  This Spring off-season has been a challenge with the HUGE honey-do list Rosa had ready for me after being gone virtually all winter. 

Going to be updating this site regularly all summer and going to let my FaceBook account collect dust.  I mean, why spend more time on a puter than you have too with sooo much riding and living to do! Right?