Well, I just finished one of the most successful races I have ever run, so what now?  Is there more?  Oh, there is always more to be had even if you think you have done all that you could do to improve.  I’m not sure if I could get any faster (and I’m not sure if I even want to), but a half-marathon in under 2 hours now seems very realistic.  Do I want to run a faster marathon?  Sure.  I guess for a runner it is always about beating your own PR (personal record) for each distance.  You could definitely focus on this type of goal for years.  Everyone has their own idea of “fast” and “slow” and I think that regardless of what you choose to focus on you have to ENJOY it.  I know that I will never be as fast as an elite runner, but that isn’t a goal of mine.  I just want to be faster than myself 🙂  Okay, faster than my husband also works (even if only for a day)!

It is often difficult to focus on speed at the same time you are trying to increase your distance.  It just isn’t realistic to run a marathon at a 5K pace.  Speed training does help you become a more efficient runner at your slower pace though.  Therefore, I would recommend it for anyone who is a runner.  It also makes running more challenging and fun!

I also realized today that another challenge is running while pushing a jogging stroller.  Yep, my pace was significantly slowed due to the extra effort of propelling the stroller forward in a straight line.  It also feels awkward because you can’t really swing your arms to provide that extra momentum.  I’m sure that my running form was not improved with this new addition.  I guess this jogging stroller challenge gives me something else to work on.  There is never a dull moment.

In the long term, I have another goal of helping others train for and finish half-marathons and full marathons.  This means that I will need to shift my focus from my needs to the needs of others.  When I am out there running with my group, I want to help them become better runners.  I think that anyone can learn to love running if they just give it a try.  It does take a few weeks to get into the grove, but the payoff is well worth the effort!  I think the best part of it will be watching my team cross the finish line, especially if they previously thought that they could never finish a half or full marathon.  If I can do it, then anyone can.  Many people don’t know that I was not at all athletic during my childhood.  My mom did force me to run a few races, but I complained the entire time.  In school, I focused on my academics and dreaded P.E.  I did try out for volleyball once, but got DENIED.  Yes, I was the nerd, not the jock.  It just goes to show that you don’t have to have a history of athletics in order to become an athlete.  And yes, when you are out there running at whatever pace you enjoy, you are an athlete!

So, what’s next?  Well, there is still plenty to achieve.  I guess that means that I will always have something to write about.

Sure, I just finished a marathon in a decent amount of time.  And yes, I just managed to run the fastest 5K I have ever attempted.  Yet, neither of those accomplishments can surpass what I just did today.  Today was the victory of all victories.  It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that happened to present itself today.  And I took it with all I had.  The victory is mine!

Oh, let me back up a few years… about 8 1/2 to be exact.  Lets go back to the time when I met my husband.  We were at Coast Guard training.  I liked him.  He liked me.  He was very athletic.  I wasn’t, but somehow I managed to pass the physical requirements to get into the program.  Well, we didn’t really have much time alone so we figured that the best way to get to know each other would be to run together in our free time.  I suppose he must have done all the talking because I know I must have mustered all of my energy and lung capacity to keep up with him.  I knew that he was running very slow in order to maintain my pace.  But that is what we do when we like someone, right?  🙂

Yeah, he ended up getting the physical fitness award for our group.  He was in prime shape and I was, well, just me.  Then things started to happen.  We got married, we moved (many times) and had three kids.  Somewhere during all of that chaos, he started running less and I actually started running like someone who likes running.  I even signed up for races, like half-marathons!  My husband did his thing and sometimes he would run the race and sometimes he would just cheer me on at the finish.  Actually, he could do both at the same time because he was always at the finish well ahead of me.  What really irritated me was the fact that he could just run a race without even training for it while I worked my butt off to get myself to the finish line.

As most of you know, just recently, I started running a whole lot.  Loads of running with some half-marathons and marathons mixed in to keep it goal oriented.  I remember the first half-marathon after giving birth to my third child.  Not my best time, but I was proud no less… seriously, I had just given birth 3 months prior to the event.  No surprise that my husband flew by and made great time.  But that wasn’t even close to being the end for me.  I was in serious training mode and I ran my first marathon just months later.  At the same time, my husband was not so focused on running.  Oh, he is intent on completing an Ironman Triatholon by the end of the year, but he has been on the bike and in the pool and not so often out pounding pavement.

I saw all of these changes as a chance to turn things around.  The Gate River Run 15K was in my sights.  A week ago I asked my husband if he wanted to run with me and you know what he said??  That he would be mad at himself if I made it to the finish line first.  Well, how is that supposed to make me feel?  Yes, you said it:  super competitive.  So, on Tuesday night I worked hard on speed and I told my running buddy that my only goal for the race was to beat my husband.  I didn’t have a time like most people set their sights on.  No, I could care less about the time.  I just wanted to BEAT him!  As we ran the bridges fast that night I thought about how I did have one advantage… I am GOOD at bridges.  They don’t scare me in the slightest.  Actually, they get my adrenaline pumping even more and somehow I can move my legs faster than most people.  So, the plan I had formulated in my head was to stay behind him for the first 8 miles and then pass him on the bridge that leads to mile 9 and then bring it home!

Soon it was the morning of the race.  I was standing next to some of the members of the running group I often participate in (the one with the really fast women who keep me going) and next to my husband.  As soon as we passed the starting line, he took off in a sprint.  There was nothing I could do because it was a mess of runners in all directions.  He was wearing the blue race shirt that like half of the other runners were wearing! I lost him right then and there.  I didn’t even make it a half mile.  All I could think was that I just needed to keep moving fast.  And that is just what I did.  I don’t even know what happened to the rest of the group because I was so intent on propelling forward.  By the time I got to mile 2 I was a little scared.  I was worried that maybe I had started off too fast.  What if I die during the last half of the race?  No, don’t think negative thoughts Heidi!  I have read that positive thoughts can actually make you stronger so I just kept thinking about how I would catch my husband.  I spent most of my time scanning the crowd ahead of me so I had little time to think about how my legs felt like they might fall off or how I felt like I was choking on air.  I kept telling myself that I should probably slow down, but that didn’t really happen.  My body did force me to slow down, but my pace was a lot better than I ever expected it would be halfway through the race.

Then, around mile 8, there it was.  The bridge.  I had never been on this bridge because it doesn’t have a sidewalk so people can’t legally run on it (that doesn’t stop some runners).  It looked very long… very, very long.  And my legs were feeling weak… very, very weak.  I started up slowly, but then I saw the fast woman from the running group and I passed her so that only gave me more motivation to increase my speed.  I was passing people left and right.  Ha!  They don’t seem to be a fan of bridges!  Then there was this really loud, obnoxious music coming out of the speakers near the top of the bridge.  I wasn’t really paying attention to my surroundings because I was waiting for the downhill portion of the bridge to show itself.  And thats when I saw HIM.  Yes, my husband was right there in front of me.  I just said “hey” as I continued running past him. Then the downhill side of the bridge stretched before me.  I ran as fast as my legs could carry me down that hill.  I didn’t even risk using energy to look behind me.  I feared that every runner passing me was my husband.  I couldn’t let that happen.  Not now.  Not when I am this close.  I just pounded the pavement not caring what I was doing to my body.  I will pay for that later.  For now, I just need to cross that finish line.  Then there was a curve in the course and all of these people were there cheering us on.  I totally thought it was the end of the line so I started sprinting around the bend just to find out that the finish was not there.  It was at least another 0.1 miles further!  I nearly ran out of steam.  I have no idea how I looked when I crossed that finish line, but all I can say is that I was so proud that I made it there before my husband did.  He wasn’t far behind, but he was still BEHIND.  This time, I had to wait for him.

This will probably be the only time that this will ever occur, but it will forever remain in my memory as one of the best moments of my running career.

Okay Floridians… you know what this weather means.  That summer will be here before we know it.  While other parts of the country are suffering freezing temperatures and falling snow, we are sitting out on our decks drinking iced tea in our shorts and tank tops.  Now, if it could just stay this way it would be perfect.  Those other folks in the colder areas of the country might be a bit jealous of us right now, but that won’t last long.  Soon they will have the perfect spring and summer temperatures while we smolder in our liquid heat.

Yep, today was an absolutely beautiful day with the perfect balance of warm air with a cool breeze.  Yet, in a runner’s world, it was HOT.  If this is HOT, then I don’t want to think about running in the weather that awaits me a month from now.  You know, it wouldn’t be so bad if the air didn’t have to grab on to all of that water.  Nothing like feeling as though you are drowning right when you step outside.

So, my run this morning was a HOT one.  While most of you enjoyed a nice walk to the park or enjoyed your morning cup of joe on the front porch, I was slathered in my own sweat.  Seriously, I could feel the sweat beading up on my head, sliding down my back and slipping out underneath my shorts to take refuge in my socks.  Not only was I sweating like a pig (if they actually do sweat… who has seen one sweat?), but I felt like I was running up against a wall.  Every breath I took contained some oxygen, but mostly water.  It is like having pneumonia when you actually don’t have pneumonia.  Fortunately for me, my running buddy had just gotten over pneumonia so I didn’t have to hurt my ego too badly.  I could run slow and then just blame her for the slowness (j/k t.b.)  🙂  How could I go from running sprints one day, to feeling like an ox pulling a wagon up a hill the next day?  It’s all about acclimatization folks.  Except this didn’t seem like a gradual change in the environmental conditions.  It just seemed to happen overnight!

Yes, I know I am a pansy.  How can I be complaining when it was only 70 degrees this morning?  I guess I also need to remind you that it felt like 100% humidity.  Those of you residing in Arizona have no idea what I am talking about.  Let’s just say that when you mix heat with water you don’t always get the results you want. If I want a warm shower I will use the one in my bathroom.  I shouldn’t have to go outside for that.  Needless to say, I am a little worried about what the future holds…

I ran 7 miles last night with the new running group I joined a few weeks ago.  My running buddy had warned me that these people thrive on running fast and it takes extra work to keep up with them (actually, they are probably just running an easy pace, but it seems really fast to us).  The first time I ran with the group I was a little winded.  Then the second time I thought is was no problem at all.  By the third time I felt like a pro and had no difficulty keeping up with the fast ones.  And then there was last night.  Interestingly, my first mile is usually my slowest.  It takes me about a mile to get into my running groove.  So that meant that when we started running I was at the back of the pack.  For some reason, after that first mile, I didn’t feel like I had gotten my groove.  I still felt like I was trying too hard and this meant remaining in the back while trying desperately to hang on.  Then, all of a sudden, I felt a tweak in my left ankle and I freaked out for a second.  As fast as the pain had come, it subsided.  That was odd, but I kept trudging forward.

You know, I am not a big fan of all of the water breaks that this group takes along the way, but I have to say that I was very thankful for that first stop.  I couldn’t get it out of my mind that this group must be running way faster than they had been in the past.  My little running application, Endomondo, was no help to me because I couldn’t turn him off when we stopped since the zipper on my pocket got stuck.  However, after the next mile I checked and realized that we were going at about an 8:30 min/mile pace.  Pretty darn fast, but definitely not as fast as I had imagined.  I can’t be this tired at that speed… maybe later on, but not at mile 3!

Then we came upon the first bridge.  I do have to say that my strongest skill is uphill running.  I am pretty darn good at running up these bridges.  Yep, I started the hill in the back, but by the time I got to the top I was right behind the leader.  Now, I know better than to jet down a hill at full speed.  That’s what you do if you want to get injured.  However, my ego kind of got in the way and I was a bit peeved when those folks behind me decided to go down the bridge as fast as they could.  Oh no, I wasn’t going to allow them to pass me.  Needless to say, I flew down that bridge.  As we ran to the next bridge, I still felt pretty good and I was excited about another hill climb.  Well, this time no one would let me pass!  I was stuck behind the two leaders all the way up to the top until they decided to do their wildly fast descent.  And, yet again, I couldn’t let them get far ahead of me so I followed suit.

You know what my payment was for that stupid move?  Excruciating lower back pain for the next 2 miles.  I also felt pain in both ankles and I know my body was pretty upset by how hard I was pounding my feet on the pavement.  If I didn’t feel old and like I was going to fall apart before, I did right then and there.  I even wondered if I would make it back to my car.  But, dang it, I couldn’t show any mercy around these people. Somehow I managed to run even faster than I did at the start.  All because I didn’t want to have a hit to my ego.  I couldn’t let anyone see how those bridges beat me up.  On top of that, when we got to our cars I didn’t stop because I wanted to make sure I completed a full 7 miles instead of 6.8.  Yep, I was the only one who kept running, but I did it.  But then, when I was finished, I kind of felt like a really bad overachiever with obvious ego issues.  Do I actually know what it means to run for fun?   When I woke up this morning with an aching body, I realized that maybe I learned a little lesson last night:  just stick with what feels right and don’t worry about what everyone else is doing!

The title of this post is “Beach Run #1” because I definitely plan to make a trip back in the near future.  It’s just too bad that it takes roughly 45 minutes for me to travel to the beach from home when 1 1/2 years ago we lived right across the road from the beach (seriously we did… and we also lived right across the street from our favorite Brewhouse).  Back in those days, I would step out my door, cautiously cross Highway 1, cut through the marina parking lot and get right on to the coastal trail.  Yep, that trail was awesome and I could easily get a 10-mile trip completed while running next to the beautiful Pacific Ocean.  Swimmers, surfers and fishing boats were abundant when the weather was warm and clear.

Today was just slightly different from those experiences.  First of all, I seemed to have moved all the way to the other side of the country and the ocean is a bit warmer over here.  The grand Atlantic Ocean doesn’t offer too much in the way of scenery during the winter months, but just the ocean itself is enough scenery to make me content.  The waves are much smaller on this side of the country so I didn’t happen to see any hardcore surfers that typically flock to the west coast during the winter (some of the best waves come and go during the winter months.  Not that I know anything about surfing… I am a runner, remember?).   And my sense of direction is a bit off because when you run south on the west coast the ocean is to your right while it is on the left over on this side.  No more beach sunsets, but if you get up early enough you can observe a sunrise (kind of had to focus on the timing of the tide for this trip).

The road we took to get to the coast dumped us out on the southern end of Jacksonville Beach where towering mansions dominated the land.  If you run closer to the city you tend to see tall hotels and condos lining the beachfront.  So, I must say that it was pretty interesting inspecting these substantially large homes (who resides in these places anyway?).  As soon as my super-human-fitness-instructor-guru running buddy and I stepped onto the beach (while hunkering down to retain heat in the freezing wind), we surveyed the beach to determine wind direction.  You see, in our minds we knew that we needed to start running against the wind or else we might not make it back (not that I would mind knocking on somebody’s door to ask them if they could give us a ride in their Ferrari).  Needless to say, it was a perilous plight.  The wind versus us.  The weather report was totally inaccurate to state that there would only be 9 mph winds today.  What about the 30 mph gusts you lame weather people?  Not only were we battling the wind, but every once in a while our feet would sink into the sand and our pace would suddenly slow.

At mile 3 we decided we had enough.  It was time to turn around.  I just prayed that the wind wouldn’t decide to turn around with us.  Nope.  The run back was a glorious redemption of our actual running ability.  I even enjoyed myself.  We pretty much ran in silence and I kept my ear buds packed so I only focused on the crashing waves and the occasional sound of seashells crunching under our feet.  I even warmed up and could feel my face, fingers and toes again.  As we finished and stopped to stretch, I realized that my glutes got quite a workout… a nice added bonus to burning well over 600 calories (my computer program didn’t know we were running on sand so I am sure that we burned more calories than just running on the street).  Thanks to my running buddy, we did pretty well on the speed considering the crappy circumstances for the first half of the run.  Thanks to her I was forced to run fast.  Okay beach, I will be back… just please keep the winds calm.  I don’t need to see so much spindrift coming off the waves (my coastie friends know all about spindrift 🙂 ).