So the half marathon training is up and going for almost a full week now and I have a blister that resembles New Hampshire on my left foot to prove it. Today I talked with my friend Trent, who is racing in the Indy Mini in May, about training regiments and I’m considering looking into a different training schedule after looking at the one that he is following. This is only my second half marathon, so I figured I’d ask for some advice from some other half marathon runners on their training regimen. So if you consider yourself a runner and have thoughts on training, do share your insights with me. I’d also love to hear some recommendations on music I could add to my run iZZy run playlist on my iPhone. Of course run iZZy run is my tribute to the Simon Pegg movie run fatboy run. The movie is pretty funny and can serve as inspiration to get you running, but still doesn’t hold a candle to my favorite Simon Pegg movie…Shawn of the Dead.
Yesterday I met with the team of people who will be going down to the Dominican Republic with me in May for a service trip. It was nice to catch up to some people who went last year as well as meet a few new faces. The most exciting part for me was that I decided to start sponsoring a child that lives down in the area that we work in. The sponsorship, throught Solid Rock Missions, provides education and materials for the student for the entire year. I’ll be able to correspond with him and because of our missions’ trip, I’ll be able to meet him and see him every year that I make the trip. (Totally cool thing, his name is Noe Israel. Awesome, cause my Dad’s name is Israel and mine is as well.) This is really meaningful to me because part of my personal revolution has been to try to know people who are in poverty. The inspiration for this comes from Shane Claiborne who in The Irresistible Revolution said that many people are so far removed from poverty that it has no affect on them. Jesus said we will always have the poor among us, and many people have used that as an excuse for not doing anything about poverty. But Shane’s take on it is that we are never supposed to allow ourselves to be removed from those who are in need. This makes so much sense to me, because if I am sitting and talking with the widow Ms. Maylee or corresponding with Noe Israel, it helps me to be conscious of the difference between my wants and my needs. I’m not saying that we should do away with all our wants, but I always want to think about the fact that I, little old me, can have an effect on those around me and the world by using the gifts and resources that I’ve been given. I want to know when I die that I have not just gone through the motions, but that I have made the most of my life. For me that includes helping others and not one day realizing the difference I could have made if I had bought one less THING and instead helped to feed or clothe someone in need. I’m not out to become a saint, but to become more aware of the world I live in and to be active in making it better.
Ever heard of skype? A co-worker of mine has been using it to talk to her daughters who are out of the country as well as her father who lives across the country. So I’ve been thinking about checking it out to use to talk to my loved ones that don’t live close. Any pro’s or con’s I should know about?
Final note…Totally excited to check out Demetri Martin’s new show Wednesday night (2/11/09 10:30pm) on Comedy Central. He is comic genius in my book.
Izzy Rodriguez 
3 things:
1.) Run Fat Boy Run, is one of the greats!…i actually just rented it a couple of days ago. i always laugh so hard during the scene with the landlord in the wheel-chair appealing to the nike board for funds.
2.) Shane’s incredibly genuine and inspiring and I also greatly admire his friend Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. I just read his book “Free to be Bound”…really, really good.
3.) Skype is the hotness, you can use it for peer to peer stuff and im, but i also dig the whole skype in / skype out deal…and i recommend it to everybody because it’s way cheap (relatively) and you can call cell phones / landlines, they can call you, and you get voicemail.
great blog izzy! i enjoy reading it
As for running, my only tip is run a lot.
Last summer I was training for a half marathon, and got a blister between two toes. It was the ONLY time I’ve ever had a blister, ever (and I’ve been running off and on for the past 16 years, 6 of those competitively).
It took me about a week of pain to realize I had recently added arch supports to my shoes. Once I removed the arches, the blister immediately went away.
Odd.
Anyway, a blister is normally due to something going on with your shoes.
Are your shoes tight enough? Could you fit another pair of socks on? Are the shoes too tight?
As far as training tips, I say run long, run hard. I don’t really have any tips other than that one.
And I’m a fat boy running now.
Skype rocks. I’ve used it to conference call with some programmers in Ireland. A lot of our missionaries use it regularly to communicate. No cons, just pros.