This will be a pretty quick update as not much went on with training as I was trying to overcome a cold most of the week so although I got 4 runs in they weren't that great.
Monday - Felt like death so didn't run.
Tuesday - Started to feel a little better but still not ready to run.
Wed - Got off of work a little bit early and was able to get 3 miles in before heading down to Charlotte. Couldn't breathe through my nose but was still able to run 8:01 pace.
Thurs - Got up early and since I was back in Charlotte decided to head to my old stomping grounds at McMullen Greenway. Man I miss that place. 6 miles of flat shaded running with markers every quarter mile. Didn't feel great but since I was there I wanted to get a longer run in so ended up doing 5 miles at 8:08 pace. Picked up a bit on the last mile and finished in 7:46.
Friday - Headed to another favorite spot of mine before I left to head back to Winston and did 4 miles through the streets of Dilworth. Another great spot to run. Did 4 miles at 8:00 pace.
Saturday - Was a struggle. Back in Winston and I don't if it was just 4 days of running in a row which i haven't done in a while or still not being able to breathe through my nose very well but run sucked. Struggled through 5 miles at 8:11 pace.
Sunday - ended up taking off. I thought about doing a 3 mile jog but wanted to take the increase in miles slow.
So ended up with 17 miles for the week. Up one mile from the previous week. Not as much of an increase as I wanted but the cold through some things off. Plan now is to hit 5 days for the next two weeks and then have a step back week before hitting my regular schedule of 6 days.
Fundraising update: Thanks to some generous folks I am now up to $1,271 raised so far in two weeks which is unbelievable! Want to give a big shot out to Thomas Coughlin and Fred Hsu for the extremely generous donations. It is greatly appreciated. So right now i'm sitting at 44% and still have a long way to go so please, please, please send in your donations. Only one more month to get that tax write off :)
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and has a great week this week.
http://pages.teamintraining.org/nc/rnr12/brandonhillisformybro#My-Fundraising-Page
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Week One
So first week of training is in the books. Started out pretty slow only doing 4 days but hoping to increase that out to 6 over the next few weeks. It's going to be a long journey to get back into the type of shape I was in last year before OBX but i'm hoping with the early start by the time I get to March i'll be ready to get in some tough workouts. Anyway nothing to exciting but here is how my week went.
Monday - off. Tough start I know
Tuesday - 3 miles. 8:05 pace. Run pretty much sucked but miles were pretty consistent. Doesn't help that i'm learning a new area so not sure where hills are or where i'm ging half the time. That will hopefully change over time
Wed - 4 miles. 8:03 pace. Felt like crap first half of run but started to feell good on the 2nd half of the run and was able to finish last mile in 7:34.
Thurs - 4 miles. 8:13 pace. Nice and relaxed run. First really cold run of the year and forgot my gloves not good. Hands were pretty much icicles
Friday - off
Saturday - 5 miles. 8:10 pace Felt good suprisingly. When I woke up my throat hurt but as the morning went it subsided so decided to head out. Ran relaxed and was never labored. Ran last mile in 7:46 and didn't feel like I was picking it up to much.
Sunday - off. Had hoped to run but throat was killing me
Total - 16 miles. So a good start. Plan on going 5 days this week for around 22 miles. Hopefully I shake this cold as today i feel like crap.
Fundraising update: I'm up to $446 which is 15% of my goal so far. That is pretty great in just one week and I want to thank everyone who donated. For those who haven't yet here is my link. Any amount you can give would be much appreciated.
http://pages.teamintraining.org/nc/rnr12/brandonhillisformybro#My-Fundraising-Page
Thanks.
Brandon
Monday - off. Tough start I know
Tuesday - 3 miles. 8:05 pace. Run pretty much sucked but miles were pretty consistent. Doesn't help that i'm learning a new area so not sure where hills are or where i'm ging half the time. That will hopefully change over time
Wed - 4 miles. 8:03 pace. Felt like crap first half of run but started to feell good on the 2nd half of the run and was able to finish last mile in 7:34.
Thurs - 4 miles. 8:13 pace. Nice and relaxed run. First really cold run of the year and forgot my gloves not good. Hands were pretty much icicles
Friday - off
Saturday - 5 miles. 8:10 pace Felt good suprisingly. When I woke up my throat hurt but as the morning went it subsided so decided to head out. Ran relaxed and was never labored. Ran last mile in 7:46 and didn't feel like I was picking it up to much.
Sunday - off. Had hoped to run but throat was killing me
Total - 16 miles. So a good start. Plan on going 5 days this week for around 22 miles. Hopefully I shake this cold as today i feel like crap.
Fundraising update: I'm up to $446 which is 15% of my goal so far. That is pretty great in just one week and I want to thank everyone who donated. For those who haven't yet here is my link. Any amount you can give would be much appreciated.
http://pages.teamintraining.org/nc/rnr12/brandonhillisformybro#My-Fundraising-Page
Thanks.
Brandon
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Veronica and I are trying this new fad called jogging or yogging, it might be a soft J. I'm not sure but apparently you just run for an extended amount of time. It's supposed to be wild.
Alright I promise that is my last Anchorman quote. Probably not but I'll try. Welcome to my blog chronicling my journey in training and fundraising for the San Diego Marathon with Team in Training.
Today marks day 1 of training for me. I know some of you are thinking what the hell are you starting to train for a June marathon in November. At least the runners among you. Well after running two marathons last year lets just say that I've been a bit recreational in my running, so I'm going to need to build back a solid base before I get down to the nitty gritty of actual training. The 3-4 mile runs aren't going to do it much anymore. The next few months I will mainly build up my mileage to hopefully the 45-55 mile range as I set myself up for some intense training beginning around March. From there I will start to incorporate more workouts, yada, yada. I'm sure most of you could care less about the intricacies of marathon training.
My goal and this is the first time that I have ever set one this far before a marathon or at least publicly is to run 3:05 or technically 3:04:59 to qualify me for Boston. Some of you are thinking I'm probably nuts. You're going to try and go from running 3-4 miles 3 days a week to a 3:05 mile which equates to about 26.2 miles at 7:05ish pace. Well I'll get to that in a second but I improved from a 4:08 for my first marathon to a 3:22 for my second so 17 minutes should be a piece of cake right? :) I wish. Now that I have gone through 2 of these I believe I'm a little wiser on how to train and more importantly how to race the marathon. It is a grueling physical and even more so mental endeavor that, while it has increased in popularity the last few years, is still an accomplishment that a 2:05 or 6:05 marathoner should be happy about it. The training will have to be disciplined and while I know sometimes life happens and it may cause me to miss a day or two that I will have to be steadfast in my training. From eating right to mental preparation to the actual physical training I will have to do to run sub 3:05 is going to be tough but hell its either go big or go home right. Plus San Diego is flat at least, let's just keep fingers crossed that its not to hot and not very windy.
Now for the reason that I've decided to do this and to do something different and run it with an organization such as Team in Training. I mean its hard enough training for a marathon without having to raise $3,000. Well earlier this year my brother, Chris Hillis, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. With such a high success rate we all thought after his initial round of chemo he would be cleared and cancer free. Unfortunately the chemo did not take care of all the cancer and he will be heading back for more chemo and stem cell transplants over the next few months.
Those who know my brother know that he is a huge runner and fan of the sport. He was also getting ready to tackle training for the Beach 2 Battleship Ironman before his diagnosis. So after finding out about the cancer not being totally gone I could sense that my brother was disappointed obviously and had lost a little bit of the fight he had when he was first diagnosed. I know he couldn't wait to get back out there and start training again and had already pictured his vignette on NBC's coverage of the Ironman in KONA. So that is why I decided to train for this marathon and to do it with Team in Training. Since he can't be out there running or training now I can take it on for the both of us. That is partly why I've set such a lofty goal of qualifying because I feel that I will not only have myself running with me on the streets of San Diego but my brother will be there with me as well.
If it wasn't for my brother I wouldn't be a runner anyway. I was a basketball and baseball player first and foremost but once I got to high school and had seen what my brother did I decided to run cross country. I fell in love with the sport and ultimately became a pretty well decorated high school runner. With that being said I still didn't get recruited very much and was all set on going to UNCW and follow my brother there before I got the news that I didn't get in. I had got a few letters from UNCW for running but not any heavy interest. Without even asking my brother went to the coach and told him that I did not get in to UNCW and was devastated and is there anything he could do. Coach then went back to admissions and told them that he was recruiting me and is there anything he could do to get me in. Thankfully they did and I ended up going to UNCW even though at first I wasn't going to run after a few weeks down there I decided to join the team and it was one of the greatest decision I've ever made.
If it wasn't for my brother and him doing that for me I wouldn't have met the many wonderful and loyal friends that I have today. I wouldn't have experienced four of the best years of my life and may not have turned out the person I am today. So this is another way I can thank him by raising money for the very disease he is fighting while also doing something that both of us love.
Anyway this has turned a bit longer then I anticipated but please continue to check back here as I will update my training hopefully every week. I will also keep everyone updated on my fundraising as well. After this entry my blog may move to the Love is Bald page at (loveisbald.org, check it out, its a non-profit started by Kelli and Allen Williford that is very near and dear to all of our hearts, plus its got cool shirts and attire for purchase. :) ) I will keep you posted on if it changes.
Also please donate to my team in training page as I work to blow away the $3,000 goal that I have. Any amount helps and is much appreciated. If you are weary of donating over the Internet you can e-mail me at bph1800@yahoo.com and I will send you my address. Feel free to pass this along to anybody as the more people know about this the more awareness and money we can raise for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
http://pages.teamintraining.org/nc/rnr12/brandonhillisformybro#My-Fundraising-Page
God Bless and Love you all.
Brandon Hillis
Today marks day 1 of training for me. I know some of you are thinking what the hell are you starting to train for a June marathon in November. At least the runners among you. Well after running two marathons last year lets just say that I've been a bit recreational in my running, so I'm going to need to build back a solid base before I get down to the nitty gritty of actual training. The 3-4 mile runs aren't going to do it much anymore. The next few months I will mainly build up my mileage to hopefully the 45-55 mile range as I set myself up for some intense training beginning around March. From there I will start to incorporate more workouts, yada, yada. I'm sure most of you could care less about the intricacies of marathon training.
My goal and this is the first time that I have ever set one this far before a marathon or at least publicly is to run 3:05 or technically 3:04:59 to qualify me for Boston. Some of you are thinking I'm probably nuts. You're going to try and go from running 3-4 miles 3 days a week to a 3:05 mile which equates to about 26.2 miles at 7:05ish pace. Well I'll get to that in a second but I improved from a 4:08 for my first marathon to a 3:22 for my second so 17 minutes should be a piece of cake right? :) I wish. Now that I have gone through 2 of these I believe I'm a little wiser on how to train and more importantly how to race the marathon. It is a grueling physical and even more so mental endeavor that, while it has increased in popularity the last few years, is still an accomplishment that a 2:05 or 6:05 marathoner should be happy about it. The training will have to be disciplined and while I know sometimes life happens and it may cause me to miss a day or two that I will have to be steadfast in my training. From eating right to mental preparation to the actual physical training I will have to do to run sub 3:05 is going to be tough but hell its either go big or go home right. Plus San Diego is flat at least, let's just keep fingers crossed that its not to hot and not very windy.
Now for the reason that I've decided to do this and to do something different and run it with an organization such as Team in Training. I mean its hard enough training for a marathon without having to raise $3,000. Well earlier this year my brother, Chris Hillis, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. With such a high success rate we all thought after his initial round of chemo he would be cleared and cancer free. Unfortunately the chemo did not take care of all the cancer and he will be heading back for more chemo and stem cell transplants over the next few months.
Those who know my brother know that he is a huge runner and fan of the sport. He was also getting ready to tackle training for the Beach 2 Battleship Ironman before his diagnosis. So after finding out about the cancer not being totally gone I could sense that my brother was disappointed obviously and had lost a little bit of the fight he had when he was first diagnosed. I know he couldn't wait to get back out there and start training again and had already pictured his vignette on NBC's coverage of the Ironman in KONA. So that is why I decided to train for this marathon and to do it with Team in Training. Since he can't be out there running or training now I can take it on for the both of us. That is partly why I've set such a lofty goal of qualifying because I feel that I will not only have myself running with me on the streets of San Diego but my brother will be there with me as well.
If it wasn't for my brother I wouldn't be a runner anyway. I was a basketball and baseball player first and foremost but once I got to high school and had seen what my brother did I decided to run cross country. I fell in love with the sport and ultimately became a pretty well decorated high school runner. With that being said I still didn't get recruited very much and was all set on going to UNCW and follow my brother there before I got the news that I didn't get in. I had got a few letters from UNCW for running but not any heavy interest. Without even asking my brother went to the coach and told him that I did not get in to UNCW and was devastated and is there anything he could do. Coach then went back to admissions and told them that he was recruiting me and is there anything he could do to get me in. Thankfully they did and I ended up going to UNCW even though at first I wasn't going to run after a few weeks down there I decided to join the team and it was one of the greatest decision I've ever made.
If it wasn't for my brother and him doing that for me I wouldn't have met the many wonderful and loyal friends that I have today. I wouldn't have experienced four of the best years of my life and may not have turned out the person I am today. So this is another way I can thank him by raising money for the very disease he is fighting while also doing something that both of us love.
Anyway this has turned a bit longer then I anticipated but please continue to check back here as I will update my training hopefully every week. I will also keep everyone updated on my fundraising as well. After this entry my blog may move to the Love is Bald page at (loveisbald.org, check it out, its a non-profit started by Kelli and Allen Williford that is very near and dear to all of our hearts, plus its got cool shirts and attire for purchase. :) ) I will keep you posted on if it changes.
Also please donate to my team in training page as I work to blow away the $3,000 goal that I have. Any amount helps and is much appreciated. If you are weary of donating over the Internet you can e-mail me at bph1800@yahoo.com and I will send you my address. Feel free to pass this along to anybody as the more people know about this the more awareness and money we can raise for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
http://pages.teamintraining.org/nc/rnr12/brandonhillisformybro#My-Fundraising-Page
God Bless and Love you all.
Brandon Hillis
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