The Longest Run...

This Sunday I'm going to attempt to finish a marathon. I have run three half marathons (each one progressively slower), I have a few triathlons under my belt (haven't drowned yet), I sort of followed my training plan (16 weeks is a long time), I have run 20 miles in one day (it hurt), but nothing... nothing, seems to compare to this next challenge looming on my not too distant horizon.

If the 20 mile training run is anything to judge by, I will be in large amounts of pain by the 16 mile mark, by 20 I'll be struggling to keep moving forward and for the next 6.2 miles I'll wonder why I ever willingly signed myself up for something that tests every ounce of my mental and physical strength.

I think the answer is this... From time to time I think a little struggle in life is necessary. We need to know we're capable of overcoming challenging situations. As we explore our physical and mental limits we may yet find a small piece of the never ending puzzle of who we are. These last 16 weeks or so have been challenging to say the least. I have given up and then rallied, turned an ankle, limped, fought back tears of failure then found pride in a good run. I have held on to moments of runners high, walked too many times to count, gave up my weekends, slept all afternoon to recover, iced and rolled out, forgot why I ever liked running, and then remembered. No matter how much it sucks sometimes, the good will always outweigh the bad. That's why we keep running. I am a healthier happier person because I do this. I'm in the best shape of my life. I can run for 5 consecutive hours. I no longer say to myself, "just another 5 minutes," I say "only one more hour." Even if I'm not fast, even if I finish last, even if I have to walk a hundred times... I'm capable of so much more than I ever thought possible, and the will to keep going is what got me here. At the end of the day it's worth the struggle to fight through pain and boredom, sickness and every type of emotion, to come out the other end knowing you're capable of meeting a challenge head on and defeating it. You run... run some more... and keep running til you cross the finish line... and the next one.... and the one after that. You pick how many races to run and plan how you'll get to the finish, but what you discover about yourself along the way is what will keep you coming back for more.

In running "slow and steady" doesn't usually win you any races, and definitely doesn't look particularly impressive in the race results, but it does get you across the finish line, and in this day and age the Tortoise and the Hare both get medals.

I'll be embracing my inner tortoise this weekend :)
Here's to a great race weekend!


listening to: Man on Fire/ Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

Run Down

Time to catch up. As in get faster, run longer, and just in general, improve. Not to mention once again own up to my training, make some new goals and chronicle our adventures in leisurely athletics. So with that in mind...

Ever since the mental/physical breakdown that was the Lake Effect Half Marathon, I've been trying to fight my way out of the downward spiral of defeat. Everyone has off days, sometimes training doesn't go as smoothly as expected, and then things happen like falling down a flight of stairs 2 hours before a race. It's hard not to get discouraged when things don't go as expected. Training has been made more difficult this year as winter refused to relinquish it's icy cold grasp on the world until Spring battled it's way in with some wicked humidity. I feel like I traded a demon for the devil. My plan was to maintain what little stamina I had worked up to through spring, eyeing the Mountain Goat as the first big race of the season. I handled the Shamrock Run 4 miler well enough, but sooner than expected I had had enough of the cold weather runs, and layer upon layer of clothes that are an unfortunate necessity of winter running. Soon my desire to avoid frozen extremities had me skipping runs. Lo and behold I was back at the 5k distance, the Mountain Goat left to be tackled by stronger runners than I.

On the upside as winter slowly slackened it's grip, Boomer and I found it near perfect weather to run the Six Legged 5k. With the two legged Dan at our side, Boomer pulled me through my fastest mile time since middle school, 8:10 (I usually run a 10:00, or on a good day 9:00 at best). We slowed down a bit after, but I was still happy with our performance. Even more recently, Dan's mom's goal to run her first ever 5K was accomplished as a big group of us ran together in the Komen Race for the Cure this past weekend. She faithfully kept up with her training plan and ran the entire distance with a smile on her face. When I think back on my first 5k I seem to remember a few walking breaks...

It's a curious thing but as runners I think we often loose perspective on all that we have accomplished. It's easy to get caught up in the idea of going faster, or longer, to compare ourselves to "real runners." During the unending quest for our next PR we seem to forget that everyday we drag ourselves to the gym, run in a snowstorm, or stand at that starting line to run another race, we're working towards achieving something that started out as a fitness goal and has turned in to much more than what we could have hoped for. Taking the opportunity to better ourselves each and every day and attempting what we may have once thought impossible is a pretty impressive accomplishment in my book. Many of us have found along the way that we're capable of much more than we once thought, and the act of surprising yourself can be just as alluring... so in the spirit of attempting the impossible, and chasing down another ambition...

Bring on the Marathon!

                 

                                     


Listening to: Red Hands / Walk Off the Earth

Cool Runnings

Roughly 10 weeks ago I was talked into signing up for another half marathon. In February. In central New York. I missed the registration but quickly got onto a waiting list, a few weeks later I was in... if a little behind on my training...

Then I got a cold and then I got another cold. By the time I should have been logging in the long distance runs I was suffering through 3 and 4 milers. Long story short, I did what I could but only managed a 7 miler as my longest run and had to hope adrenaline could pull me through the rest of the way.

It didn't quite work as well as I'd hoped, but I have a medal to show for my efforts none the less. Here's the rundown:

I should preface this by saying, earlier this week I slipped on an icy patch and needed to comically flail out my arms to right myself... and wrenched my back. Luckily it was only a dull ache for a few days and I didn't take much notice. This morning I slipped into a new pair of socks, grabbed a hamper full of clothes and a full glass of water and took to the stairs... and then I went down. Hard. After giving myself a terrible charlie horse and probably wrenching my back a second time I had to mop up the stairs, collect my strewn laundry and then head off to the race. Not the best start to the day.

The temperature of race morning steadily went down leading up to the race. At the beginning of the week we were looking at almost 40 degrees, lining up at the start it felt like 25, sometime around mile 5 the temperature seemed to take a dip or possibly the wind just kicked up... either way it was cold! Dan and I ran together til we hit the two mile mark and then I stopped to tie my shoe and he went ahead. I felt pretty good for the first 5 miles... which makes total sense because I was perfectly trained up for a 5 mile run, unfortunately I still had about 8 and a half to go. At mile 7 I was already thinking I just had to get to 8. I stopped just short of 8 to walk for a few seconds and stretch out my back and protesting right hamstring. It was sort of the beginning of the end for me at that point. From that point on I stopped to walk or stretch about 30 times. I somehow made it to mile ten, downed a green apple gel, which was a good choice on my part, and told myself- 3 miles to go, just 30 more minutes. I struggled a lot during those 3 miles though. My back felt like someone took a bat to it and my right hamstring and arch of my foot were seriously messing with my mind. Around mile 11 I found myself running close by another girl, as I walked/ ran we passed each other over and over. Soon she was coaching me to keep running and by the last half mile she was the only thing that pushed me to run across the finish line. I was in so much pain I couldn't get my head around running until I heard her over my shoulder routing for me to run. I finally crossed the finish line at 2:24: something and thanked my lucky stars I was done. Dan finished his first half marathon at 2:13:something. Not bad for training through any sensible person's off season :)  

 After downing some chicken noodle soup, we went to lunch and after sitting for 10 minutes I could hardly put weight on my right foot. Happily, after two ibuprofen I once again have use of my right leg and am hopeful that my back will stop hurting before it's time to run the Tipp Hill Shamrock Run!

For now though I'm going to call it a night... and get some well earned sleep!

These are the awesome signs Laura made us!

We had a great cheering section who enthusiastically encouraged us on our way, I was even complimented on my cheering secion as I ran by :) 

These are the semi happy faces of mile 7

Dan finishing up, running through the pain

 Almost done at this point, and my impromptu "coach" behind me

Thank You Cheering Section! You rock for staying out in the cold that long!!!

Pain in the Asphalt

After many athletic endeavors over the last three years or so I can finally say that today I accomplished something I doubted I ever could. I ran my first Half Marathon! Possibly my last, depending on the development of my current aches and pains over the next few days.

The biggest lesson I learned today was that I need to train a lot more for long distance races. I've been told if you can run 10 miles, you can run 13. While I believe that it is in fact possible it is most definitely not advisable. I should also mention that I stretched this notion by thinking 9 miles is basically the same as 10, so if I can run 9 I should be able to run 13.1. Not the greatest logic as my barely  functioning legs can attest.

I have always wondered why some days are good running days and some leave you struggling to finish 2 miles. I can never seem to figure out what factors into those rare good days, and today it would have been helpful. At the two mile marker I was already trying to ignore pain in my groin and feet. Normally I get a break on the aches and pains until at least mile 5. By mile 8 I was just telling myself to get to 9 because I knew I could. Every minute of every mile afterwards either found me hobbling up hills, wishing for water stations, maneuvering steeply slanted roads and just in general avoiding becoming marathon roadkill. All this while a raging battle to walk or keep running was being fought between my common sense and will power. I'm happy to report will power won out and I ran the entire race. Unfortunately having poorly prepared for this race my body took a beating and I can honestly say, I've never had to fight through so much pain in a race before. From my lower back to the bottom of my feet everything hurts. I have been picking my legs up with my hands to lift my foot up high enough to climb stairs. It's a bit dramatic I know, but I feel it's necessary until my groin decides to reconnect my left leg to my body.

It wasn't all pain and no fun though, there were a lot of people and huge cheering sections. As I've never been to Philadelphia it was an interesting way to see the city and there was a lot of interesting architecture, statues, parks and of course the Rocky Steps! We had a great post race sandwich at the Reading Terminal Market and a nice dinner at Maggianos. I really liked the shirts we got for this race but the medals could be a bit more interesting... but I suppose the point is to run and meet your goal not get a medal, but it' still a perk :)

Angela finished 2:24:59 and I finished 2:21:31

My longest run thus far was 9 miles and hers was 7... I'd say we did pretty well considering!

Kris finished the Marathon in 4:09:00 even with the killer second half!

And Dan was there to cheer us on, all in all a good weekend!

Mind over Milage

I woke up this morning in a less than pleasant mood, anxious over a long run I was pretty sure would be torturous. After taking a short afternoon snooze to attempt to clear my head I finally dragged myself out into the brisk 42 degree windy day and began my run. At first I thought maybe I would cut corners and run a shorter route if I wasn't feeling up to my lofty goal of 9 miles. There were many points that I thought about the short cuts and slowing to walk but I forced myself to keep putting one foot in front of the other and get the run over with. I ran what I thought was slightly slower than my normal pace and at about 5.5 miles I think a bit of runner's high hit me as I imagined myself coasting through the finish line at the Philly Half. Then miles 7-9 I got a reality check as my knees feet and right Achilles began protesting while my right arm slowly started going numb. Luckily I had Honey Stingers to distract myself and managed to find two working water fountains along the way. By the time I hit the last half mile I knew that this race is going to hurt and probably be the hardest physical challenge yet (and that's saying something since the flyer). As I gave myself a preemptive pat on the back for finishing my first ever 9 mile run I hobbled into the house to see that it had taken me an hour and 45 minutes... much slower than I had hoped. At least I know I can do 9... this half will take me 2:35:00 at my current pace. My goal had been 2:15... I'll have to reassess I suppose... finishing might just be enough for me!

Listening to: Now is the Start/ A Fine Frenzy

Gotta Run

Asics Gel DS Trainers 17

So here it is... my 100th post! And to celebrate I bought myself a flashy new pair of running shoes.

Actually, I bought them because my previous pair have turned the last month or so of runs into a slow torture fest of never ending blisters, achy knees, sore feet and generally miserable runs. What I discovered after visiting Fleet Feet was that my Mizunos while technically a good fit for my foot, are a  stability shoe best for runners with overpronation issues. In addition to wearing a stability shoe I further increased my arch support with green Super Feet inserts, the combination of which would over correct even the worst overpronation issues. Turns out that I have one foot that slightly overpronates and one that is fine. No wonder my arches took a beating. This is why you go to the people who know what they're doing before you jump into half marathons and other athletic endeavours slightly beyond your current capabilities. So I wound up buying a light stability shoe and adding my green super feet after a few runs and so far so good.

Escaping from Fright Nights

I ran my last race in the Mizunos and have retired them to the role of hiking sneakers. Speaking of my last race, we ran a 2.5 mile run at the fair grounds in a misty rain/ torrential down pour in the Escape From Fright Nights run a few weeks back. I ran it shortly following a 6.5 mile run the day before thinking 2.5 miles should at this point be a piece of cake. I was sorrily mistaken. Among the many problems with this scenario were that along with having just run 6 and a half miles in badly fitting shoes, I started out with some serious blisters and inevitably added a few more. Wet feet with cotton socks = bad news. Since becoming aware of this equation I have also recently purchased new running socks to wick away moisture. The run was a rude awakening, I am supposed to be running 13.1 miles in little under a month and 6.5 followed by a 2.5 miler was defeating me. I'm pretty sure they don't give you 4 days to complete a half marathon. Since then however I got the right equipment and am attempting to get back on track. Yesterday I put in a 6 miler and with any luck I'll be able to maintain a few 3-4 mile short runs with my long run mileage creeping up closer to my lofty goal of 13.1... it may not be pretty but I'm determined that this won't be the race that defeats me.

I also discovered a new motivation at the Escape from Fright Nights run... apparently all you have to do is put doughnuts at the finish line and I will run through a down pour being chased by creepy costumed characters casually ignoring the throbbing pain in my feet. I maintain that the Boston Cream I had post race was the best doughnut I've ever tasted. Maybe I should make arrangements for the half...

Four weeks from today!

Listening to: Anything Could Happen/ Ellie Goulding

Late Lowdown

I've been terrible about bloging this summer, having planned our vacation shortly after the big race there was a lot more stress than usual on us. I'll use that as my excuse for why this post is so late. As I'm actually writing it over a month after the fact, this will most likely be the overview...

Race morning came early as it always does, and just like always I was running a bit behind. The dash was reading much too high a temperature for so early in the morning but with transition to set up I wasn't too bothered by it. Once my transition was all set to go Elyssa pointed out I had set it up on the wrong side, after moving it I reassessed my position and decided I'd switch it back and set it up wrong so I could go faster through transition. Later on I think it paid off but next time I'll just make sure my bike is racked the correct way. 

As usual the swim course looked much longer than I thought I was capable of, so I was sure to note the locations and quantity of Kayaks on the lake in case I needed to stop and have a chat with any of them. The anxiety of being in the second or third to last age group is unreal. You have to sit through like 8 other swim starts and try not to let loose the nervous break down threatening to morph you back into a terrified child running from the water and screaming for your mother.  I managed to keep these feelings in check and lined up like the grown woman that I am about 30 minutes into the wave starts. Up until the point where I actually entered the water I was terrified, once I was about waist deep I knew it would turn out fine, so off I went. I quickly realized that starting towards the back kept me from being clobbered and drowned however I also wasn't actually going anywhere. It didn't take long to switch to plan B and make my way to the far outside. Once there I got into a rhythm and swam relatively well (if you excuse the gasping for air on every single stroke thing). Happily bypassing the kayaks I rounded the far buoy and turned for home, only I may have kept turning here and there and made quite the zig zagging approach back to the beach. It cost me some time but I made it back alive and the sigh of relief after dragging yourself out of a triathlon swim is a big weight off your shoulders.

I flew through transition and happily took off sprinting on my bike, only to realize my lungs had just about had it after the swim. Slowing down I tried to pace myself and get into a rhythm. Things were going well up until the approach to the railroad tracks. About a mile a way I heard a train whistle and really didn't put two and two together until I turned a corner and saw people up ahead stopping. As we slowed down Elyssa caught up to me and we both pulled the bikes to a stop for the unfortunately scheduled train that was blocking the course. On the bright side a volunteer took our numbers and said there would be time adjustments. So as the train past we all took off again, my motivation was sort of shot at that point because I knew no matter what my time would be at best, an estimate. I road as hard as I could but it felt slightly slow for me, we were battling some winds so that might have been the problem.

me in transition

I made it through the bike and grudgedly traded in the wheels for running sneakers, taking a bit more time to catch my breath and recover momentarily for the run. I knew it wasn't going to be pretty but I was hoping the urge to walk would hold off at least til mile 1.5-2ish. I managed not to walk at all but I'm not entirely sure the pace I was keeping could be considered running. Thank God for the volunteers! People had their hoses out, music cranked and were cheering and clapping for everyone, the water and Gatorade was much appreciated as well. I always like it when people have their dogs out too, it gives me something to distract myself from being exhausted. Anyways, as soon as I could sprint to the finish I did, and I was very happy I made it through yet another Iron Girl Triathlon! My first official time was exactly 2 seconds faster than last year and, 13 seconds faster than the first year... I'm nothing if not consistent! After the train adjustment I had 2 minutes taken off and finished as follows:

So a decent swim, not too shabby on the bike and a fairly slow run, but I suppose I have to leave room to improve for next year! Another great year of hitting the gym, pavement, pool, weights, etc., etc... not to mention hanging out with tri buddies and making new friends. I may complain from time to time but at the end of the race when that medal is hanging around your neck and your cheering section and fellow athletes surround you, it's hard not to think that's it most definitely worth it!

Angela in transition

almost done!