Quinn (my wife) and I am going for a fitness assessment this morning with our new trainer ‘Mark’ at our gym. It’s ironic that you couldn’t find a name more fitting as he ‘marks’ down our starting stats. This could get ugly fast. My intention is to loose 10 pounds before I start my heavy endurance training in September on way to the Disney Marathon, January 2009. My wife is committed to reaching her best shape for her 40th birthday in November - which she lovingly calls “getting her body back”. I can totally relate. I hope to share some of our transformative journey here. Thanks in advance for reading this post and sharing your support. What a great community to be a part of - be good!

zenrunner.... (that was a great podcast by the way-now called ‘another runner’ with Adam Tinkoff)!

The disney marathon… wow...that’s cool! How many marathons have you done?

I was poked, prodded, measured and pinched by a caliper… yeouch! Our trainer put us through the basic paces, measuring our heart rate, muscle strength, flexibility, body fat ratio and stamina. When all the dust cleared, I was delivered the answer I already knew in the back of my mind. I scored a 20 out of 40. Incredibly average… a perfect place to start, but not a result to be proud of. Now with my back to the past I move forward to train my body, mind and spirit for an extraordinary adventure on way to the 2009 Disney Marathon. The adventure starts here.

Have you ever done a marathon before, .... any races?

I have run several 5K races and a half marathon. Disney 2009 will be my first marathon. I am also the race director of The Zen Run 10K which is part of the festival of free ‘virtual’ races being held around the globe on the weekend of 11-12 October 2009 including the Worldwide Half and The Kick The Couch 5K. I don’t think it’s appropriate to promote these events in this discussion board beyond a brief mention, but if you’re interested in finding out more about them feel free to contact me offline.

Keep moving!
ZR

Yeah!  I ran my first WWHalf last year (my first half ever!).... finished in 1:53:32.... and i am NOT a runner

Love the podcast by the way!

Let’s get everyone on MTM to join the WW Half, kick the couch 5K or ZenRun 10K this year! ...... Anyone can do it!

There was a few in MTM that did the WW races last year.... so cool (you can look up the ‘group’)....

If your ever in San Diego area, I’d love to run with you.... Some very pretty, (and flat) runs, or some challenging hill runs too!

I like your thinking but I would suggest we take it one step further and stage a MTM 5K sometime in 2009. I absolutely love everything that’s going on around the Worldwide Half Marathon, but think there’s room enough for a real event that has a virtual counterpart soley built for MTM members. Now my gears are turning… I’ll be in San Diego the last week of October if you want to come downtown for a run along the harborside. Carlsbad, California along the Pacific Coast Highway is one of the nicest places on the planet to run - but unfortunately I will not have a vehicle.

a MTM 5K sounds great.... I’ll set some wheels in motion to see how many people can coordinate getting together....maybe groups around the country, race reports etc…

Yeah Carlsbad is a great place to run (ride and swim too) Ill be doing the Carlsbad Sprint Triathlon this weekend.... and running along PCH (know as Carlsbad Blvd thru the Carlsbad area-AKA Hwy 1)

and I’d love to run with ya in October… (If Ive recovered from the WWHalf!  )

Welcome back, Adam! Good luck with the marathon! And I’m thrilled to have the Zen run option for the WWH, I’m planning on the half, but I’ve had knee issues.

Is your wife still a healthy baker? I’m a fan of your burning 20, way back.

Bree

There’s a marathon in Disney?! Oh wow, if that doesn’t motivate people then what will?

The Disney Marathon is one of the most grand road races in the world. You start and end at Epcot under the shadow of the giant golf ball shaped “Spaceship Earth” and run 26.2 miles through ALL the parks including, The Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, MGM & The Disney Boardwalk area - and back through Epcot a second time. It’s a spectacular event being held on 11 January 2009 that starts at 6:00am and on average has close to 13,000 CRAZY runners…

I begin my hardcore training in late Aug/early Sep. which I’ll share here.

Did I mention it’s exactly 6 months away? Perfect timing for the Mastermind which I’m participating in. I’ll need all the support I can get when hitting those 17+ mile long runs… (this is my first marathon).

oh Adam, you are going to soooooo do this! 

your first marathon....what a inspiration for us all!

Can’t wait to hear your workouts!

Thanks Tom,
I’ll be drinking from this well and the Mastermind group when the going gets tough in the training. The last time I trained to run this race (2006) I injured my peroneous longus tendon right behind the ball of my foot about 8 weeks from the event. It was a tough “break”, so this year I’ll be training more conservatively than usual. Slow and steady to ensure I get to the starting line in January… I’m in this to finish with my head high and not crawl over the finish line - so my biggest challenge out of the blocks will be NOT starting too fast, even in the training. Slow and steady…

But before anything else happens in my life… I’m going on VACATION! I’m leaving for a 5 day cruise in the Bahamas this afternoon with my entire family. I plan to be good, but also relax and enjoy myself a little before the hardcore training begins…

Thanks for being there to read my story here and if you would like more detail, audio comments and video feel free to check out my blog “Another Runner” at http://tinkoff.com.

Thanks,
Adam