A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

What does this picture say to you? Strength? Determination? Speed? Agility? Confidence? Well, this is a picture that tells a completely different story than what it represents.
This picture was taken at the end of what was billed as a net downhill 5k in the stifling humidity of August. This was my third race. It was hot and no way was it net downhill. My running buddy stayed with me for the race and I found that I had to walk most of it. It was an annoying feeling, but the heat and the hills, I needed to walk. This picture was taken just after I saw the finish line and decided to just sprint it out to the end. This is the last 300 feet of the race. If this picture had been taken anywhere else, it would have told a very different story.

The Climb That Almost Wasn't

I have participated in a fundraiser for three years now. It raises money for the American Lung Association. It involves climbing the stairwell of a tall building. 29 stories. No, really, 29 stories. It only takes a few minutes but it's so challenging. As long as I have done it, it is has been on Saturdays. For some reason I had it in my head this year that it was Sunday. I have no idea why, but Sunday was firmly ingrained in my head, even though the emails this week stated "latest info for SATURDAY", as if the director was speaking directly to me. Yesterday, my son asked me  if the climb was today, "no", I said, "it's Sunday". I received a text last night asking if the climb was today, again I said it was Sunday. The reply indicated that another person was doing a climb on Saturday and were there two climbs? Uh oh. So I went back into my emails and looked closely to find that yes, indeed, it was Saturday and not Sunday. DOH!! So I reset the planning switch to 12 hours instead of 36 and was geared up. Somehow we had an early start time and the climb went very quickly. I was relaxed about it this year, no running, no two stairs at a time, just climb one at a time and get to the top. I took a few breaks to stretch and take pictures, this was more about the experience than a race to me, and I had fun.

You know that's right

Wait!  I wasn't supposed to go until 9:40!!
Then again, I thought it wasn't for another 24 hours, so what's four more minutes?

That's a long way down

Three more floors

My favorite part of the day, the sweaty smelly ride down to home base

and on top of that

I'm fighting an issue with my back and leg...bursitis? it band?  sciatic nerve?  That's what my pt is hoping to figure out today.  I hope we do figure it out and fix it.  I can say that I am frustrated and feel totally derailed.  It's my own fault for doing too much too soon.  I'm hoping I still get to test for my black belt in June.  I don't even care about a marathon at this point.  Just help me get rid of the pain.  It will get better!!  I am hoping to be pain free by my Birthday in May.  You know...40 is the new 20 apparently.

This stupid kick will be the death of me

Oh dear

So I've done it now.  My getting all big in britches and trying minimalist running shoes, loving them and heading out for a 7.5 run in them.  Can you say plantar fasciatis?  Woops.  I ran today and it worked through alright.  My back feels good.  I'm thinking I will save those shoes for short runs and go back to my big sneakers for ling runs.  It's amazing how different they feel and how different I feel while I am running with them.  Here's hoping I didn't screw up marathon and black belt training.  Here's hoping I can work through it.  woops

Okey Dokey

What's new?  Well, I've earned my black stripe.  I'm about 6 months away from testing for my black belt.  I am fighting a back issue, but working through it with PT and Chiro care.  I'm doing the Runner's world run streak challenge and tomorrow my family is running a trot off your turkey race.  Well, that's it.  Just need to hop back on the wagon !!

5 months?!

Was it really five months ago for my last post?  Well, I sure have been slacking.  Let's see what's new.  I earned my black stripe and just about blew my back and leg out in the process.  I have put myself on rest and in Physical therapy right now to try to fix what I almost destroyed.  I blame the spinning hook kick and my crooked pelvis.

I was going to train for a half marathon for the Fall, but training while trying to heal my injury is like fighting a riptide, it ain't gonna work.  So I admit I am out for now.  I am going to go the race to cheer my running partners on and sleeze a lobster roll.  I have my black belt test next year, so I guess my goal over the next year would be to heal, and train for another half and another big test without making this injury flare up again.

This sucks royally because I recently got my iron levels set and feel good in that respect when I run, but the pain is no good.  So I'll keep stretching and exercising and hope I work back into this.

Slowly but Surely

Running takes some faith and wisdom

I have a necklace that I love.  It's a brown leather necklace with a runner girl charm, a faith charm and a pearl of wisdom.   It is to remind me that I have become a runner, to have faith in myself and to have the wisdom to not hurt myself.  It is all a work in progress.  I may have run myself a 5k a couple of weeks ago, but I continued pushing myself on that week and ended up irritating my back (which felt great that week) which causes pain down the side of my leg.  So I missed a whole week of running after that, and now I am back to short runs with intervals.  I'm happy to be doing the short runs, I just wish the wisdom thin would have kicked in last week because now I have blown any chance for a half marathon this Spring.  It's ok though.  I don't think my body was meant to do a lot of half marathons, it fights me on long runs.  Instead I am going to train for a 10k that runs over a local bridge.  Very cool!  I need the wisdom to balance the Tae Kwon Do and the running,  so I can't get caught up in what everyone else is doing.  Just because a friend does a half, doesn't mean it's right for me.  I still have two big tests and I can't do big races at the same time I do these tests.

Back in the Race

I'm training for another half marathon and already I know this is going to be good.  I ran this morning.  For the first time since I started running I ran and felt good the whole time.  It's damn cold and snowy around here, so I'm holed up at the gym these days.  I'm ok with it, because I actually feel good when I run now.  This morning I was able to run a 5k.  I was back to my original 5k time from my very first race.  34:50  I may not be a speed demon, but I ran the whole distance, something I have never actually been able to do.  I think I am going to kiss my Dr when I see her. She has changed my life.  

Red Belt~yahoooo!

I have run, jumped and kicked my way to a red belt in TKD.  Wow. I am now two belts and one and a half years away from a black belt.  yay!

A New Lease on Running

I ran this morning.  I got onto the treadmill (it's dark and very cold at 5:45, so it's treadmill time) and I ran.  For the first time in a very long time I ran for a 15 whole minutes without feeling like I was going to collapse.  Recently even running three minutes was pushing it.  I have felt like there was no oxygen in my muscles ( which, due to anemia, there wasn't and they responded as such). So this morning, I got onto the treadmill planning to do 5:1 intervals. I love intervals!  They got me through my first half marathon, so I have a huge loyalty to them.  But today, when I got to 5 minutes, I felt no need to stop. The point of intervals is to stop before you feel a need to stop, so you have as much energy at the end of the run as you did at the beginning.  So in theory I should have stopped.  But I wanted to see if I could make it to a mile.  I haven't run a mile willingly in a very, very long time. Guess what? I made it to a mile.  ME!!  I made it to a mile and I felt really good, so I kept going.  I made it to 15 minutes and for the most part I felt great and wanted to keep going, but a nasty stitch in my right side insisted that I walk a bit.  So I walked for two minutes and finished out to two miles.

This is huge for me.  Now I need to look at some races and make some strategies for myself.  My first goal is to complete a 5k without walking, if not the full 5k then maybe walking at distance breaks rather than time breaks.  I'm going to play with it.  There is a piece of me that felt like a runner today.  I got it today.  I got how people can go out and just run and enjoy it.  I've never gotten that before.  It's a whole new running life for me, I think.

already looking forward to running this race again

Merry Christmas to all!!!

Modern Cranberry Noir Christmas

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What's new?

I posted the latest development in my training over on the Big Yellow Tent.  If you've ever had an issue with chronic fatigue during training, you may want to check it out.

Get Out!!!

I ran a half marathon! ME!! I completed a half marathon doing 3 minute runs and 1 minute walks and I was in pain for the last three miles and I smiled as I ran across that finish line. I completed it in 2 hours and 45 minutes. I'll never win one, but I will definitely try another one. If you asked me a year ago if this was something in my future I would have laughed at you. I never would have believed that I could do a half. And I don't know how many more I have up my sleeve. But I did one, and it was so unlikely that I would have completed one that I smile and giggle every time someone asks me about it. I ran with some very good friends. We chatted and cheered and complained as we plugged along and we saw beautiful scenery. It was amazing and I am glad that I had the opportunity to try it.

First Half Marathon in the Works

So on October third I will be running the Smuttynose Half Marathon in NH. I'll be running with a group of friends and I am excited and nervous. We did our 7 mile run today which was good, yet painful. It was very hot today and I'm still feeling it, more from the heat than from the run. At least it isn't humid, I'd probably be passed out. I still have a lingering headache and am very excited to go to bed tonight. It was good though. We've started using Jeff Galloway's run/walk technique. I'm not the type of runner who can just step out, run three miles straight and feel good. The run walk system helped tremendously today. I felt better at the end of today's 7 than one mile into our six mile run two weeks ago.

So to summarize. Half marathon ahead! Run+walk=happy me.

Stair Climb

So today I had a departure from running. I participated in a stair climb to benefit the American Lung Association. Holy Mother of Pearl, that was HARD. I sorely underestimated the difficulty of climbing 58 flights of stairs. But it was very much worth it. My good friend and I , who will soon be the star of a post here, went through many incarnations of game plans. We'll run a few then walk a few, we'll walk, then run then walk, we'l walk, then do by two, then run...but we'll definitely run at some point. Ummmm, no that never happened.

I started a little strong with a steady pace taking two steps at a time. By the time I hit floor 3, I was down to one step at a time. By floor 8 my chest felt like it was on fire. I rested at some point for a few seconds and I finished standing. I did not vomit, though that felt like a possibility and I can still feel the pain in my chest. It was all of ten minutes, if that. It was more challenging than anything I've done so far. It was more painful by far and very rewarding. I think it's the once event that puts you in touch with the people you are raising awareness for. Yes my lungs were burning, but it was for a short time, I'll be able to run tomorrow if I want. But people with lung disease, people with full on asthma? They end up in the hospital for breathing treatments. Or on oxygen on a daily basis. I am grateful that I was able to climb up those flights of stairs this morning, and grateful that I can breathe easy now.

Climb of your life

If you get a chance to do a stair climb, do it! It's not a marathon, but it's a whole new challenge.

A New and Interesting Challenge

So I signed up for a new type of race. On February 27th I will be climbing 56 flights of stairs to raise money for the American Lung Association. I'm excited, it's very different than running a race and it may get me psyched to try a half marathon which would be very different from the stairs.

I have a new post coming soon about my marathon relay last October. It's about a Nor'Easter, a relay adventure in Newport, good friends, and a girl who inadvertently runs a half marathon with no training at all.

Look for it, it's a doozy.

So it's been a long time since my last post. That's ok, today's is going to be short, and until I can work out my kids back in school, working more and trying to keep up with the house, things are going to be far and few between. Life just gets busy

So since my last post I have done a six mile long run, and run the CVS 5k in PRovidence. That was a great race, very flat course and my running buddy stayed with me for the whole run, it was fun. I turned my ankle a bit in a pot hole and am just starting to feel better from that. The extended runs irritated my IT band, which has been annoying. TKD has been great cross training, my IT issues always feel less so after a class, so that's good.

I received some hand me overs from a good friend yesterday which has inspired me to be more conscious of what I am eating so I can better fit into the new clothes. My husband recently lost 18 pounds by dropping soda and running more. Totally not fair at all if you ask me. But I think I am ready to put the work into it. I just need to do it.

Butterfly 5K

Today was the Butterfly 5K. The forecast called for cloudy with showers. It was a beautiful sunny day which made the run brutal. It was hot, really hot. And although it is billed as a net downhill race, it sure as hell didn't feel like a net downhill. Lots of walking was needed to get through it, but I started running and finished running and listened to my body and all is well. There was a lot for the kids to do and they had kids races after the main race, so although I added 4 minutes to my last 5k time, it was a successful day.

Enjoying a banana while the kids get ready to race

Go Kevin!!!

Go Brian!!!

Partners in Crime

Yay! It's over!

Next Race and Other Thoughts

I am taking tomorrow and Saturday off, and running a 5k on Sunday. Yesterday we did some fun speed work at the track, yes I said fun, and today I did a run walk with the newest member of our running group who is working on the couch to 5k program. That was a nice change of pace, I have to say. Very chatty group this morning and it was nice to feel like I was going to make it through that run without question. I do have to say that the running is feeling good. It has been pretty hot and humid, so it's been difficult, but I feel good after the runs. TKD has been ramping up the challenges which is good too. Though I was almost in tears from the across the floor wheelbarrow pushups last night. Not pleased with my work on those.

I am finally starting to take my eating seriously. It is going to take a while to have it all make sense and for me to stop craving the crap I so love. I went through yesterday with no refined carbs, such as crackers or bread or anything like that. That is HUGE for me since I have often gone for entire weeks with no fruits or vegetables. I tried Amazing Super Meal in my smoothie this morning, and it wasn't bad. I was educated on the evils of creamer by JRTRUNR, so I think that the cup of coffee in front of me, may just be the last with creamer. Maybe I can just get rid of it altogether. I've cut out the caffeine already, it's just for the taste of it now. So what's the point? I've cut out soda. Now it's juts the rest of the crap that I always feel so entitled to. I am taking my boys to the movies tomorrow. Do I get popcorn? Maybe I just need to buckle down and say no. We also are having my nephew's birthday party. I'm going to try to make side salads from vegetables more than pasta and have fruit and veggies out in addition to the crap everyone else wants. In another thought, has anyone tried coconut water?

I see a lot of people posting everything they eat in their blogs. I'm not thinking that that is what I want to do here, but if it helps, I may end up doing it just to keep myself honest

Oh and in a I can't believe how crazy my kids are side note: the first Christmas list of 2009 is officially sitting by the fireplace. Lord help me.

Four!

Today had a few firsts for me.

I ran alone for the first time today,

I ran four miles in a training run for the first time,

I ran without music (which, ok, I've done that before, but not alone, so that's a first of sorts).

I walked in the two hills in the run, in miles two and three, and I am ok with that. I ran very slow ( I actually have no idea how long it took me), and I am ok with that. I felt like I may pass out when I got home, and I was kind of ok with that. I took a cold shower that didn't take, I know that because I was sweating well after I dried off, that annoyed me but made me laugh at how gross it was. I discovered that I can do anything with gum. Without gum I feel like my mouth is full of sandpaper, which is awfully distracting. So I make sure I have some gum. I learned today that anything more than four miles is going to need a replacement piece of gum. I learned that I can say some nice encouraging things to myself when I am running, I can also be pretty awful, it depends on how the run is going.

I don't time myself, I don't pace myself. I map a run, do my best, slow down as much as I need and aim to at least start and finish the run, running. If I have to walk a little, I'm ok with that. Who am I chasing? Who am I competing with? Myself. And the myself of a year ago couldn't even think about what I did today. I did something today that a year ago I would have laughed at the mere thought of doing. So I'm good. I had a great run today. I have a race next Sunday and I will not be crazy about it, I will start it running, I will finish it running and what happens in between will be fine.