During one of our water breaks on our long Sunday runs, Tiffany asked me what time I put down on the application for the Disney Marathon.  

“Well, if I run at my slowest pace of 11 minute miles, that’s 55 minutes to run 5 miles.  Given that pace, I figure I should finish it in about 5 hours, right?” 

“Good!  That’s what I thought, too!” Tiffany replied.  “My goal is to beat Katie Holmes’s time: 5:29:58.” 

“Oh we could so beat her!”  We’ll kick Katie Holmes’s a$$!” 

Then, this past week, Tiffany asked me if I knew that Palin ran a marathon. 

“Palin ran a marathon?” 

“Yeah, it was in Runner World.  Her time was 3:59:36.” 

“How old was she?  Wow.  The other Denise was right.  She is a super woman.  She is a machine, but I still ain’t voting for her.” 

I began to visualize Palin running a marathon along the icy polar caps of Alaska while holding a rifle and shooting baby seals.  How does a mother of five and a governor find time to train for a marathon?  How can she be that fast?  She simply can not be human.

My training trance was abruptly interrupted when Lori commented on how my pace suddenly picked up a bit.  

“Well, I thought we only had to be Katie Holmes.  Now, I have to beat Palin’s time!” 

Indeed, Palin did run a marathon at the fabulous age of 41.  She ranked 15^th place in her division and 63^rd out of 203 runners. 

If I can’t beat her time in January or February, then it’s something for me to strive when I hit the big 4-0! 

Other Politicians Who Have Run Marathons

• George W. Bush, Houston Marathon 1993 (3:44:52)
• Michael Dukakis, Governor of Massachusetts, Boston Marathon 1951 (3:31:00)
• John Edwards, Marine Corps Marathon 1983 (3:30:18)
• Bill Frist, Marine Corps Marathon 1997 (4:54:36)
• Al Gore, Marine Corps Marathon 1997 (4:58:25)
• Mike Huckabee, Governor of Arkansas, Little Rock Marathon 2005 (4:39:04)
• Tom Vilsack, Governor of Iowa, Little Rock Marathon 2005 (5:28:39)
•  Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Marine Corps Marathon (3:11:xx) 1979

Celebrities Times I have to Beat

• Katie Holmes, New York City Marathon 2007 (5:29:58)
• Oprah Winfrey, Marine Corps Marathon 1994 (4:29:20)    
• Will Ferrell, Boston Marathon 2003 (3:56:12) -As if I could run that fast!  LOL
• David Lee Roth, New York City Marathon 1987 (6:04:43) - I could so kick his rocking a$$!
• Mario López, Saved by the Bell, Boston Marathon 2002 (5:41:41)

For this week’s edition of 5 Minutes for Fitness, let’s do some lunges, which are one of my favorite strengthening exercises. 

Lunges are great to help strengthen and tone your legs.  For forward lunges, stand tall with your hands on your hips and step with one leg forward.  Be sure your front knee does not pass your toes.  Then, switch legs.  Make sure to keep your abdomen pulled in tight and your posture straight. 

 I even found a fabulous visual to help you.

If you want to challenge yourself, try a few reps of walking lunges, but watch your alignment.  For an even greater challenge, hold 5-10 pound weights while you walk.    

And of course you need some music keep you moving and Mercy by Duffy (3:40) is the perfect song for lunges.  After a few reps of these, you will find yourself “begging for mercy”.