Category Archives: Running Experiences

Personal Running Experiences

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My First Tri

I may not be super fast or extremely fit, but I have a lot of determination.  Regardless of how crazy it sounded, my goal for my first triathlon was to finish it in first place (female overall).  I tried to override this thought process by telling myself that I should only focus on finishing the thing.  My husband sure reminded me of that (any time I mentioned anything even slightly competitive).  But my mind wanders and it seems to have high expectations.  There is a warning to that though: high expectations can bring great disappointment.  Yet, I would rather just push and see what happens.  I tend to achieve more when I have a bigger goal to work towards.

So, over the past couple of months I have worked hard on my silly dream.  Not really as hard as I could have, but I always had the best intentions and motivation seemed to follow suit in most cases.  Even those who appear to be highly motivated have their ups and downs.  There were days I didn’t want to get up and go swim at 6:00 am and days where I just felt like refusing to turn my dial during spin class.  But there were also days when I would plan to ride 15 miles, but ended up doing 20 miles instead.  We all have our good days and our bad days.

I didn’t let the fact that I have 3 kids to care for get in the way.  When I am not in training mode, I am in mommy mode.  If I wanted an extra workout, I would push 60 pounds of little kids in the double jogging stroller.  When I wanted to do something fun with my oldest, I would take her out for a bike ride.  This all sounds just too perfect doesn’t it?  Like I am some kind of super mom?  Okay, let me also point out that on days when I would push myself too hard, I would come home and lay on the couch while the kids watched cartoons. If I was feeling too exhausted to make lunch, then we would drive through Chick-Fil-A on the way home (always a tease to my starving self because I choose not to eat chicken).  There is a cost, but this is what makes me happy and when I am happy then I can better focus on making my family happy.  Not only that, but I feel like I am setting a good example (most of the time).

Back to the triathlon.  Oh boy, was I nervous!  I felt prepared, but you are never sure if you are really prepared when you try something new.  And of course everyone there knew who the newbies were because we had it written on our leg.  Maybe all of the questions gave it away too.  I stood by the lake prior to the start and was very relieved that I had chosen to do this at a lake instead of the ocean.  My main concern was the swim portion of the event.  Fortunately, we went in waves, so it wasn’t one big massive group swimming together.  I think I only got kicked twice.  However, when I first started swimming I realized that the lake was pitch black.  I started swimming like a person who doesn’t really know how to freestyle… the person who keeps their head up out of the water while doing the motions with their arms.  Then I realized I was being ridiculous and told myself that I know how to swim.  I stuck my face in the black water and got down to business passing people, maneuvering around the buoys and focusing on swimming in a straight line.

After I got out of the water (I must say that it did go by fast) I ran to my bike.  Even though it felt like my shoes and my helmet weren’t on right, I hopped on and got going.  As I started passing people (and that is a whole new thing because there are certain rules), I started to get worried because I know I tend to push too hard in the beginning which can cause me to die at the end.  Yet, I couldn’t tell myself to slow down because I wouldn’t listen.  My legs burned, but I just kept thinking about spin class.  The instructor is kind of pushy and I always leave class with a soaked towel (thanks to all of the sweat spilling off my body).  Maybe that paid off.  I just kept going and was relieved when I passed a little kid (very cool, but I sure as heck didn’t want him beating me).  I wasn’t even sure how far I had gone because it was the first time I had ridden without GPS.  But, it didn’t take too long before I managed to coast to the end.  The end of the bike ride that is.

My legs felt like lead when I jumped off the bike and I felt a tad tired.  I ran to change out my shoes and put my bike up.  Then I started the run.  I thought about how I usually start a run all refreshed and feeling pretty good.  Yeah, that is a bit different when you start running after swimming and cycling.  I felt like I was moving in slow motion.  Yet, it seemed like the people in front of me were moving in even slower motion.  I wasn’t even sure how I passed about 10 guys, but I did.  I kept telling myself “the run is your strength, you can push it.”  And I did push it like I normally do on any other run.  I was so happy to see the finish line, but I also felt so excited about what I had just done.  I already couldn’t wait to do it again.  Not only did I have fun, but I did finish in first place for the “My First Tri” race.  And not only did I finish first over all of the newbie females, but I also beat the first place “My First Tri” male by one minute.

I am proud of what I accomplished, but also humbled by the work it takes to achieve your goals.  I want to inspire others in a positive way and make it known that all things are possible if you BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.  I know I will most likely be disappointed at my next race because I have set my expectations too high (and I will no longer be a “my first tri” participant), but that doesn’t mean that I won’t try to do better.  I will still have fun doing it.

Just a side note.  When I first started training a few months ago I could barely swim a full lap without stopping and I would fall over when I tried to stop on my bike.  Don’t let those small annoyances get in the way of achieving your goals.

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I Will Tri

This morning marked the end of a journey.  It was my last Saturday morning run with Team in Training.  I remember nearly 2 years ago when I sat in the information meeting just 6 weeks after giving birth to my third child.  I was determined to run a marathon and I knew that Team in Training would help me accomplish my goal.  I was no newbie to TNT.  I had already completed a Grand Canyon hike with the Team in San Francisco and I was well-informed on how the money raised was used for cancer research and to support cancer patients and their families.   Not only did I want to run a marathon, but I knew that joining the Team would be a great way to form valuable friendships.

I was easily suckered in at that first meeting.  The next thing I know I was at the first training wondering if I would be able to keep up with the fastest runners.  I saw a woman there who looked to be about my age.  I remember that she kind of looked a bit tough and she had all of her running gear.  I assumed that she had been running for a while and I must admit that I was a bit intimidated by her.  At the trainings that followed, that running chick always seemed to go above and beyond.  She would run extra miles and turn around to go back up over the bridges.  One day I decided to stick with her and see what would happen.  Wouldn’t you know it, we became each other’s best motivator.  We became good friends…. life-long running buddies.  Even though we are now separated by thousands of miles, I say “life-long running buddies” because we already have future plans to meet up for races around the country.  Even though I don’t see my running buddy, she is still motivating me to do my best and to never give up.  I can’t thank her enough for that.

So we ran the Walt Disney World marathon.  Oh wait, let me back up for a minute.  Let’s not forget the Jacksonville Bank Marathon just 3 weeks before that.  Four of us crazy teammates decided to do our long training run (20 miles) during the Bank Marathon.  We figured that we would run the first 20 (you know, to train) and then just walk the rest (you know, to recover).  Well, that really sucked.  We don’t recommend doing that.  The Walt Disney World marathon was a much better experience even though I still thought I was going to die at mile 22.  But what do you expect during your first “real” marathon?  Pain… lots of pain.  Out of the 4, I came in last… not my best moment, but I finished!

Of course we couldn’t stop there.  My buddy calls me not too long afterwards to ask if I would be willing to coach the Fall Team with her.  Sure, why not?  Oh, but please note that when we say “Fall Team” we mean that the participants train during the summer so they can run a marathon in the Fall.  I hope you realize that I live in Florida.  I soon found out that training during the summer really SUCKS.  In order to beat the heat (whatever that means because the heat doesn’t care what time of day it is) we had to wake up at 4:00 am in order to start our runs at 5:00 am.  Not that I was a Friday night party animal, but waking up at 4:00 am on a Saturday morning really SUCKS!  But you know what?  It was worth watching those participants finish their first half-marathon.  What a rewarding experience that was!

Then what? Oh, of course I couldn’t stop there.  I just had to run another marathon with the Team, but first I had to do my own thing and finish that Goofy Challenge.  Then I was able to meet up with the Team and give it my full attention again.  But let’s go ahead and mention that I couldn’t have done the Goofy without another running buddy who I was fortunate enough to meet through TNT.  Okay,  by now you should realize that it is so much easier to finish a race when you have a MOTIVATOR!  Now THAT was FUN!  Seriously, I was ready for it and didn’t feel like I would die.  It appears that marathons seem to get easier as you run more of them.

Done with Goofy and then back to TNT to finish training for the next marathon.  I had to go back and forth between which marathon to do, but I finally decided on the Country Music Marathon in Nashville.  So, I was chugging away at my training and having fun meeting more amazing people when… WHAM!  Yep, I was hit with THE INJURY.  Whatever, you blasted injury!  It really pissed me off and I had to take a running leave of absence.  But, needless to say, I was determined to at least finish the half-marathon.  And I did.  Somehow.  Still not sure how I ran nearly the whole thing, but I did.  It SUCKED, but I pushed through.  Maybe that is why I won the TNT award for “Most Determined.”

And this morning was our celebration run.  Now what?  Oh, right.  Of course I have a plan.  Now I will finish my first triathlon.  Let’s shoot for an Olympic on June 23rd.

 

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The half-marathon I will never forget!

I tried not to think about it as the day approached.  I wasn’t too keen on walking a half-marathon.  I just kept telling myself that the plan was just to finish it and not to worry so much about how I would actually get to the finish line.  I wasn’t as stressed as I usually am when I pack for a race.  I only brought one pair of running shorts, one shirt and one pair of running shoes.  Normally I would make sure I always had a spare of each item.  I didn’t really worry too much about what I ate during the days leading up to the event.  I didn’t feel any real excitement about the race and I mostly just focused on enjoying a vacation weekend away from home.  It was almost like the race was just an after thought.

I eventually arrived in Nashville and spent some time looking around the race expo.  I wasn’t interested in purchasing any race attire or souvenirs.  I didn’t feel the need to take home any mementos other than the medal that I would receive if I crossed the finish line.  The Goofy event a few months ago was a different story.  I made sure I had purchased a shirt that very clearly stated that I had run 39.3 miles.  That was an obvious necessity.

When I went to the inspiration dinner later that evening I was inspired (not an unusual feeling for me at those events).  A young woman talked about how she lost her sister to cancer many years ago.  She cried often during her speech and it brought tears to my own eyes.  I listened as they announced all of the top fundraisers and I was utterly impressed.  At the end of the dinner I still wasn’t sure about my own goals during the race, but I knew that I had already done something… I had raised $3,000 to help fund cancer research.  What more did I need to do?

As usual, I couldn’t sleep that night.  I tend to run races on very little sleep because I have so much trouble falling asleep the night before.  I woke up not very refreshed, but ready to get it over with.  We took our team photo down in the lobby and wished each other success on the race.  A few participants were running the marathon and I felt a twinge of jealousy because that had been my original plan.  Yet, I knew I had just been dealt a different set of cards.  I knew that this would be a challenge and challenges usually motivate me, but for some reason I just wanted to get through it and be done.

I waited with another participant near the starting line.  We actually waited a very long time because we had arrived so early.  She was nervous because it was her first half-marathon and she wasn’t confident that she had properly trained.  I encouraged her as best as I could.  Come to find out later, she actually did quite well.

I went to my corral up near the front.  The only reason why I was up near the front was because I had registered with a decent finish time for the marathon.  I considered moving back since I feared that I would be the only one stopping to walk.  I often get annoyed with people who decide to stop in the middle of the road, especially at the start of a race.  I didn’t want to be one of those people.  Yet, I also didn’t want to get stuck in the back where I had to deal with weaving in and out of traffic if I decided that I would pick up my pace.  I decided just to stay in my assigned corral and move off to the side.

At that point, I began to get a little worried.  The furthest I had walked in the past few weeks was 6 miles.  And of course I hadn’t been on a run in over a month and a half.  I just assumed I would be fit enough to finish because I maintained my fitness through cycling, swimming and weight training.  However, I knew that people who thought that they could run a half-marathon without actually training for it were just plain stupid.  Now I was standing there wondering if I was one of those stupid people.  Not only had I not trained specifically for that event, but I had an injury to deal with.  I began to wonder if I had made a mistake.

Well, it was too late to reconsider because the next thing I knew I was following the crowd past the starting line.  I started at a slow jog because I didn’t want to inhibit anyone behind me.  People were still passing me, but at least I had a decent speed.  After jogging a block or so I felt the adrenaline pumping and I started to pick up speed.  I wasn’t about to be that slow person holding up traffic.  I kept thinking that I should stop to walk.  Actually, that was a recurring thought throughout the entire race.  I never really ever responded to that thought except maybe a few times when coming down a steep incline or during an approach to the water table.  The next thing I know I was at the 5K mark within 31 minutes.  Yikes!  I told myself that I needed to slow down because there was no way that I would be able to maintain that speed.

Every now and then I would consider the pain in my left leg and lower back.  I would consider it thoughtfully.  It was more of a dull ache and not a sharp shooting or severe pain.  I didn’t feel any numbness in my leg or foot so I knew that was a plus.  I couldn’t find a real excuse to stop running at the pace I was moving at.  Then I focused on endurance.  Yeah, I would probably tire myself out before I got to the finish line.  I hadn’t run this far in a long time so I knew that fatigue would take over all areas of my body.  These thoughts always ended with a final decision:  to just keep running until I was either in severe pain or too tired to move my legs.

And the hills!  Wow… Nashville is hilly!  All of my running buddies know I love to run hills.  It is actually the best part in my book because I usually tend to pass loads of people who are wearing down.  Well, you might think that I would get even more tired since I hadn’t been out for my regular Tuesday night bridge runs in quite some time.  Sure, I was more tired than usual, but you know what?  That pain in my left leg would subside when I ran up an incline.  No pain meant more running.  On the downside, I had to go easy with the declines because those made the pain worse.  So, I was passing walkers going up the hills, but runners were passing me as we went down the hills.  They must have thought I was some sort of freak.  Who runs up hills but walks down them?

It was one hill after another, but I didn’t really notice like most normal people would.  The only hill that I actually cursed was the one at mile 12 because I was just so dang tired.  At the marathon / half-marathon split at around mile 11 I easily talked myself out of joining the marathon course.  I knew that would have been just plain stupid.  As I neared the finish line I couldn’t believe that I had continued to run pretty much the whole way.  Not only that, but the time just flew by and I couldn’t believe I was already almost there.  It was then that I felt a wave of emotion.  I had to curse the hill just so I would refrain from shedding the tears.  I just could not believe what I had done despite all of the setbacks.  I wasn’t sure if I should have been proud of myself or if I should have cursed at myself for being really stupid.  I just knew in my heart that whatever pain I was feeling was nothing compared to the pain that Elizabeth and her parents have endured.  I nearly choked at the thought of what it would be like to have a sick child and feeling helpless as she endured endless treatments.  I almost felt like I had no right to stop and walk.

Somehow I managed to cross the finish line at 2:19:18.  My worst time ever, but not by much.  My first half-marathon time was 2:17:55.  A far cry from my fastest time of 1:49:57 (accomplished just a few short months ago), but how can I complain?  My goal was 3 hours!  I was planning to WALK!  What happened?  I don’t know, but I will take it.  I just can’t believe I did it.  I really can’t.

Of course I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to get out of bed the next morning.  Then I would hear the endless “I told you so’s” and never be able to redeem myself.  But to my utter amazement, my left leg and lower back were perfectly fine.  Strangely enough, I didn’t feel even the slight pain that I had been feeling over the past few weeks.  Yet, I wasn’t left in tip-top shape.  Nope, my body had to reward me with a strained right calf muscle.  Now I am limping around on my other leg.  Okay, whatever.   I will take it.

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The Road to Recovery

It feels like I have been on this road for longer than I actually have and I don’t know when it will end.  That is the most frustrating part of it all.

I can tell you that rest has not been a part of this journey.  I guess I should be able to say that I have “rested” from running, but that isn’t completely accurate.  Every couple of days I make an attempt to run.  It usually ends in failure.  Yesterday was one of those days, but I was able to do more than I expected.  I walked mostly, but jogged some.  I managed to go for 6 miles using that walk/run method that I so much despised before all of this happened.  Now it is a blessing.  I feel a sense of success when I am moving through the “run” (okay, let’s call it a jog) phase of the method.  A car passes by and I know they are thinking “look at that runner, I wish I was running right now.”  The pleasant feeling only lasts about a tenth of a mile before I back off and start walking again.  I know that when I feel any pain that I must stop.  If I feel pain in my leg then that means my disc is pushing against my nerve.  That means that I am not helping the heeling process.  I am probably part of the reason why this road seems to continue on forever.

When I don’t feel pain I am unstoppable.  I will squat, lunge, chest press, curl, etc.  If my physical therapist tells me not to use a bar on my back for squats, then I use the same amount of weight in dumbbells along my side.  If my physical therapist demonstrates strengthening exercises, then I do those exercises every day.  Of course, when they give me more, I add it to my routine.  When I am told to use the ARC machine at the gym (something similar to a cross between an elliptical and a stair climber) I make sure I am sweating bullets by the time I get off.  If I am not told to do something, then I do it.  Maybe they don’t realize that they need to give me a list of every activity, movement and exercise I shouldn’t be doing…

So, is this helping or hurting?  Not sure.  Some days I feel so great that I think I could run 3 miles without walking.  Funny enough, these are usually the days after I have exercised in the morning.  Other days I feel like I am hurting just when I walk around the house.  And yes, these days usually happen after a period of minimal activity.  I don’t know what it means, but I am thinking that it is better to exercise than to sit around and wait.  Not only can I not bear the thought of sitting around, but I would undoubtedly fall into a state of depression that can only be cured through exercise (I know this to be a fact).

And they appear to think that part of my problem is a lack of strength in my core and glutes (it seems ironic that a fitness enthusiast would be told that she doesn’t exercise enough).  So, I have been burning my butt muscles on a daily basis.  And wouldn’t you know it, I can actually feel a tightening in my tummy.  I nearly have total confidence when wearing a 2-piece bathing suit (just the damn stretch marks I can’t get rid of).  Is it helping my back?  Not sure, but at least I am getting more fit trying!

Okay body.  So if I can’t run, then I won’t run.  I have pretty much excepted that.  I won’t give up, but I will keep myself entertained in other ways.  The day will come when this road will end and a new one will begin.

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The Veggie Experience

So, today is day 8 of our vegetarian crusade.  Well, I suppose it is not really a crusade.  We are not animal rights activists (but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about the welfare of animals).  We are just looking for ways to live a healthier life and the vegetarian option sounded like it might keep us on the right track.  I will tell you that it is so much easier to talk about it… actually doing it is not so easy.

I can read all the hype in magazines, on blogs and facebook pages.  These people say this and those people say that.  It all comes down to what I want to do and what is right for MY body.  No two bodies are the same.  My husband and I ran into an old friend of ours a few weeks ago and she discussed her new raw vegan diet.  I was a bit perplexed about the concept, but I have always been very open-minded.  More power to her for doing that because it must take a lot of time and dedication in order to do it right.  Some people will say that it is not healthy, but others will argue differently.  It all comes down to knowing your own body and finding out through trial and error what works and what doesn’t work.  Of course my husband argued with our friend and told her that humans were meant to eat meat.  He is a big time meat-eater.  Actually, he wasn’t always so fond of my turkey substitutions.  I have never been a big fan of beef or pork.

Then, one day my husband surprised me by saying that he would be willing to try the raw vegan cleanse (lasting 10 days).  However, that just wasn’t very plausible and I honestly didn’t even think I could do it.  I talked him into a vegetarian cleanse instead.  We needed to take one step at a time.  The idea was to do it for 10 days to find out whether or not it suited us.

I must admit that it hasn’t been an easy journey so far, especially with 3 children.  As you know, most children are picky.  We knew that we couldn’t expect them to refrain from meat completely, so instead, we just require them to try our new vegetarian dishes during dinners.  Just the other day our oldest daughter returned home from her weekend Girl Scout camping trip and she talked about the pulled pork sandwiches she had for dinner one night (one of my husband’s favorites).  However, they seemed to enjoy the eggplant parmesan (actually more than my husband and I did) and they absolutely love tofu.

After the first few days we started thinking about how to better diversify our menu.  I know that I couldn’t just live off of tofu and vegetables.  We tried quinoa for the first time which is a grain with a lot of protein packed into it.  The whole family enjoyed that!  I know that I could survive by eating black beans every day (not a problem when I went to Central America and ate rice & beans every day), but our oldest daughter does not eat any type of bean.  My husband seems to have fallen in love with the tofu burritos at Moe’s.

Eating out… now that is another challenge.  Fortunately, being vegetarian kind of helps us save money (and calories) because there are not very many options when you go out.  It’s not like I am going to go to Chick-fil-A and order a chicken sandwich without the chicken.  Last weekend we planned a day trip to St. Augustine.  As part of that plan we were going to eat lunch somewhere in town.  I actually had to go on the internet and research restaurants.  I found one that offered a bit a variety, but when we got into town we actually came across a regular restaurant with a big sign that read “Burger of the Month: Chipotle Black Bean Burger.”  That was easier than we expected!  Of course we didn’t even bother to look at the menu and I was thankful that I didn’t have to refrain from eating fries with my “burger” (which was way more delicious than any real burger I have ever eaten).

However, there are the tummy issues.  We are all of a sudden incorporating more fiber into our diet and most of you probably know what that means… a lot of regularity.  I guess we are really being “cleansed” in some way.

So, now we have decided to invite our neighbors over for dinner.  It is a very regular gathering so we didn’t think twice about what we would actually eat.  I asked my friend if she had ever had a black bean burger and she said no.  So that is what’s on the menu for tonight!