Headed to China to Run the Great Wall Marathon!

I've been planning this one for awhile now.  When I first got to Korea, some people I ran with mentioned an adventure marathon in China on the Great Wall.  I looked it up and showed the link to my wife Jenn to see what she thought.  Her response during one of our may Skype calls said it all.
"You gotta do it"  "It's a chance of a lifetime!"

She was right.  As my years in the military wind down, the chances of being back in Asia are not likely.  Even if I did, who knows how old I would be or what condition my body will be in.  There are those who will say "Maybe sometime I'll..."  Well, my sometime is now.  I'm here now, capable of running the Great Wall Marathon and that's what I plan to do.

This won't be an ordinary run and will involve traveling 26.2 miles over a wide variety of terrain and elevation.  Then there are the stairs. Literally thousands of them of varying sizes and height!  I can expect to add at least 25% more to my marathon time to complete the Great Wall Marathon.

Although I've continued to keep my training up over the past few months, the new year triggers me into action and I'll be stepping up my game.  This means lots of extra miles, dropping some pounds, and lots and lots of stairs.  I'M PUMPED!

Enjoy the promo video and website link below.

FatSergeant



Great Wall Marathon Website

2009 Wrap up. Big Plans for 2010!

Nov 2008

2009 was good to me.  I made a commitment for what I hope is a lifelong change to take better care of myself.  It started on Dec 26 of 2008 and I'm happy to say I'm still going strong a year later.  No need to rehash everything for you.  It's all here in the blog if you care to read it.  Weight loss, Marathon, Korea, it's all there.  I do feel that it's a good time restate my goals, re-evaluate where I am, and where I'm going.

Back in October I set some short term and long Term Goals.  Lets see how I'm doing:

Short term goals:
1. Compete in a half marathon before the end of the year and finish in under 2 hours. 

PASS!  I Completed the Saber Run Half Marathon in 1:47.

2. Get my weight down to 190 lbs and maintain it through the holidays to  Jan 1st. 

FAIL! Even though I have kept up a nice running/workout routine, I've managed to put on about 5 extra pounds during this holiday break.  This means that I'm about 20 Lbs above my lightest weight which was a week or so before the Air Force Marathon.  I'm not too worried. I'll simply re-state this goal and work harder.  It means that I'll have to shed about 25 pounds now but I know I'll make it.  My goal will be to get there before my next big race.

Long Term goals:
1. Finish a marathon in under 4 Hours. (I need to shave 24 minutes!)

ON TARGET: I have a great training group in Seoul Synergy and a great support system.  My plan is to run the Seoul Marathon in March and meet this goal.

2. Compete in a triathlon!  (This is a big one!  I don't even have a bike here.)

ON THE SCOPE: I will start training for this one in the spring of 2010.  I'm really looking forward to getting a road bike and enjoying the rides through the Korean countryside.  The swimming will be the biggest learning curve I believe.  Sure, I can swim, doing it correctly for a race will be totally new.  

Oh Yeah!  One other thing :)

My next post will be dedicated to a special sports event that I will be participating in soon.  I consider it a once in a lifetime experience. 

Thanks for stopping in,

FatSergeant