Musings of Eric Sharp

Finished another 5 1/2 mile run this morning. That’s back to back weekends of that mileage, which can only mean one thing at this point of training. More running.

The month of July will be the most dramatic increase in miles per week during my entire training. Next weekend I’ll extend my long run on Sunday’s to 6 miles, the weekend after 8, and then finally the highly anticipated double digit run at the end of the month. I’ll total 20+ miles in ONE week at the end of July! Let me remind you I live in Florida too. Now, does that long run of 10 miles make me nervous? A little. Does it scare me? Never. I’ve already put too much time, effort & research into my training to let that monumental figure derail me. That, and I stopped playing in my Wednesday night softball league to train for this Half-Marathon! There are only a few things in this world that can prevent me from playing some softball. My first born child, a Bears game (yes, even a regular season game), or a broken arm (which, give it my history – I may just attempt to play and “see how it goes”).

As the weeks keep going by (by the way, I’m 10 weeks out from runnin’ this thing), I’m surprisingly learning more about my body and for that matter, the human body in general. For example, I dehydrate very quickly when the sun is beating down on me. More so than the average person does. If I run at night, when the sun is down – I’m a different runner. Less fluids needed, more spring in my step, less sweating. Anyone that’s played sports with me knows that I’m a sweat machine. Sounds disgusting, I know. But man, when that sun is out, I feel like I’m a totally different athlete if it weren’t. Hydration before/during/after a run maybe the most significant component to making all the gears of your body run smoothly.

Another key area that I didn’t see coming was the strain on the abs & lower back muscles running induces. About 2 weeks into my training, I noticed a slight strain on my lower oblique. It’s not really bothersome during runs, but post-runs it’s pretty tender. I guess I just wasn’t expecting a strain on anything outside of my hamstrings/quads/calves (knock on wood!). The core of your body is probably just as important as your legs for a successful, injury-free run.

Just for the record, anytime I refer to the word “commitment” in my training posts, I mean it with full enthusiasm. I’ve truly found a physical goal that is inspiring & motivating every part of me. For a couple years now, I’ve been passively searching for challenge that would take me out of my comfort zone. I thought about boxing, martial arts, cycling – something that didn’t require the “team aspect” that could be competitive and easy to get into. Running is just that. Competitive, challenging, with a deep science behind getting results. Lets just say that going to bed before midnight on Saturday nights, missing a season of softball and watching my nutrition every hour of the day – is a small sacrifice for a much larger reward. The reward, is me crossing that finish line on September 9th with my fiance – she’s been a hearty motivational piece in this whole experience. She doesn’t know this yet, but I plan on giving her the biggest, sweatiest hug she’s ever encountered once this journey has reached climax.

The sweat machine will be in full effect people. Stand back.