How Running Has Changed Me (and helped me maintain my stress)

These last 2.5 months have been incredibly hard and I’m glad as heck they are done.

Hubby got transferred to New Orleans in April and I stayed in the ATL with the boys to finish up school. I now have a new found respect for single parents and military spouses. Single parenting sucks! I found solace in running. Knowing that each footstep I took was bringing me closer to June 1, our move date. As therapeutic my running was it was also bittersweet. Knowing that these were my last two months running the streets of my neighborhood. I found myself on those streets. I started walking and pulling my boys (a combined weight of 80+ pounds) in a wagon to prepare for my hysterectomy. Post surgery, I started walking. My walking moved to wogging. I bought my first pair of running shoes and decided to give this running thing a try. I fell in love. I lost twenty pounds. I found my confidence. I found my strength. I grew up. I conquered 5k, I crushed 10k, I ran my first 13.1 and I pulverized 15 miles! 

In my last week before the move, my family back home in Seattle called to tell me that my Gram was in the hospital and she had 24 hours left to live. My Gram was my best friend in college. We were roommates, foot twins and shouldered each other through the grief of my PopPop’s passing. She had been battling lung cancer for over six years. (She never smoked a day in her life.) She had 24 hours to live and I was 3,000 miles away. I have never felt so crushed and so helpless in my life. Thankfully I was able to face time with her for over an hour at 1:00 in the morning ATL time. I was able to see her, smile at her and tell her that I love her. I only wish that I could have given her a hug. She was tired and in pain, but I was not able to see that she was dying. After our chat, she took a turn for the worse and died 14 hours later. I find comfort in knowing that she is no longer in pain and that she is with PopPop. My last words to her were asking her to give PopPop a hug from me and telling her I love her. Her last words to me were telling me what an honor it is to be my Grandma and goodbye.

Goodbye. It’s so final.

She passed on a Tuesday, the movers came to box up our house on Thursday and they loaded the truck on Friday. I don’t know how I made it through that week; probably because of the flask of Jim Beam that I kept in my purse. We left the ATL on Saturday morning and started our drive to NOLA. We only made it as far as Montgomery, AL when the transmission on my car blew. All I could do is laugh. After everything that I had been through: single parent for two months, my Gram dying, moving and then the transmission blows. Long story short: AAA towed the car to a garage, they don’t work on transmissions, hubby took a taxi to the airport, finally found a rental car, drove back to the garage in said rental car, the nice assistant manager offered to lock up my car in the garage over night, we drive the remaining miles to NOLA and eventually fall asleep in hubby’s corporate apartment. The next morning (Sunday), I attempt to have AAA tow my car to a garage that works on transmissions. Epic fail. You can’t have a car towed to a closed garage without being present. We end up spending moocho dinero to have the car towed from Montgomery all the way to NOLA. We meet the tow truck at a transmission shop and drop the key. We spend the next few days lounging around the apartment, trying to catch our breath. Wednesday, the moving truck arrives. They unload and I start unpacking frantically so I can turn around and pack suitcases for the boys and myself.

Thursday morning at 6:50 am, the boys and I hop a plane to Seattle for Gram’s memorial. If given the chance, I would have bailed on this last minute trip due to the large amount of stress I was carrying. We made it safely to Seattle and I collapse. Gram’s memorial was nice but incredibly hard. I was glad to be able to attend and see her friends. I was relieved that I had the opportunity to run on my brother’s treadmill for five miles before the service.

We enjoyed 1.5 weeks visiting with family that we hadn't seen in years.

The day before Father’s Day, my baby brother, mom, the boys and I hiked up to the ice caves. My mom fractured her ankle just as we were starting the descent. She went one way and her ankle went another. I learned how to basket carry someone with a fracture. It isn’t easy work whilst hiking down a mountain!

I spent my last few days in Seattle deep cleaning my parent’s house and babysitting “Gimpy” as I now call her. She finally gained the rest and strength she needed as I was leaving. Phew!

The boys and I are back in NOLA, a happily united family. Glad to be with hubby and looking forward to possibly going for a run tomorrow morning. I really wouldn’t advise any of the above happening to any of you (as if you can control it!) and I especially wouldn’t advise all of the above happening to you at one time. I am thankful for the ability to run. I am thankful for my family. I say I love you to my family each time we say goodbye. You never know if it is your last goodbye.

Next month I start my marathon training. Right now I plan to run as I feel: maintain my base, sanity control and getting used to the humidity down here. I’ll keep y’all posted as I ease into 100%+ humidity running whilst training for the Full Mary. I can’t wait!!!

It’s a great day for running y’all!

Race Recap: Atlanta Half Marathon

This is my second year running the Atlanta Half Marathon. I can honestly say that it is much better (and easier) the second time around. I had hubby drive me down to the expo opening morning to pick up my bib. He dropped me off at the curb; I jumped out, weaved my way through the crowds and hopped in line for my bib. For some reason, my corral was the only one with a line. Thankfully, I printed off the email with my number and was prepared unlike those around me. It was a ton of fun to eavesdrop on the conversations going on around me. I was in the midst of newbies. After getting my bib, I crossed over the chip timers (very classy ATC!) to get my bag and my shirt. It is a nice, technical, long sleeved shirt. Thankfully they had my size this year. That is why I went to the expo the first day and not the second. Last year they ran out of women’s size medium and I had to get a men’s. This year the shirts were unisex and a size small fit perfectly. I ran into a girl in L’s class who was there with her dad. I said hello and then ran back to the curb to meet hubby.

I was nervous all day. I’m not sure why. I think I was even more nervous than I was last year. I was crabby and snapping at my family. I don’t like to be like that. I had the usual carb heavy dinner: spaghetti with bread. Let’s say that the meal was so carb heavy that it hurt my stomach all night. Between the nerves and the carbs, I really didn’t sleep very much at all. I was up every hour, on the hour from 1 am until 5 am. I finally got out of bed at 5:30, went to the bathroom and got dressed. I ate my oatmeal and had a few sips of coffee. At 6 I got hubby out of bed to drive me to the race. He couldn’t understand why we were leaving so early if the race started at 7:30 and my corral started at 7:45.

We hit the road. I was thankful for hubby’s heated seats and my nervous chatter talked hubby’s ear off. The roads were shockingly busy the whole drive. We made it to the interstate and flew through the city, until the Grady curve. If you’ve been to the ATL, you know that the Grady curve is inexplicably stopped every.single.time. There is no reason, it just is. It is kind of like the Ship Canal Bridge in Seattle. It just is. I told hubby to take exit 246. I would hop out of the car at the top of the exit and he could turn left and get back on the interstate to head back home. Easy peasy in theory. We sat in traffic for over 30 minutes. We finally made it through and hubby dropped me off at my exit at 7:20. I ran through the streets and the parking lots to Turner Field. As I was heading down the stairs in the final lot, I heard them singing the National Anthem. I made it to the porta potty, there was still TP and hand sanitizer, Score! I had enough time to get into my corral, start my Garmin and use my inhaler. Five minutes later, my corral started. It was nice to not sit too long in the corral and freeze, but that was not enough time to prep for my race. Thank you traffic!

The weather at start time was 45 degrees. I had left my throwaway sweats in the car but brought my sweatshirt with me. Underneath, I was wearing a skirt and a tank top. I kept the sweatshirt on for the first 1.5 miles. I had bought a cheap pair of kids gloves at target and kept those on until mile 3. I was afraid that my reynaud’s would act up and bother me the whole race. Originally, I had planned to set my timer and walk after the first four minutes, just to keep from starting too fast. It took me four minutes just to work my way through the crows so I bagged that idea. Once the crowds cleared I kept a steady pace. I don’t think I took my first walk break until 2.5 miles. Even then, I think it was long enough to blow my nose and start running again. This is a decent course for aid stations. They have water every two miles. I would walk through each station and grab a cup of water and a cup of poweraid. I would have a few sips of each and then toss them. I took my gels at miles 3, 6, 9, & 12. I knew I was in for it when I was getting tired before entering Piedmont Park. The rolling hills start just as you exit the park. I am not sure why I was tired before. Maybe it was because I had to cut my last long run short? Maybe it was the poor sleep the night before? Maybe it was the increase rise in temperature? We started the race at 45 degrees and I ended the race at 66 degrees. That is quite the jump and the heat really affects my running. While The hills were not as hard as last year. I still had to walk up three of them. I was very discouraged by that. I even did hill repeats this time around. I did see the benefits of my hill work, but it wasn’t enough. I was unable to keep my min focused and not give in to thinking “these hills are hard”. On all of my training runs, I have intentionally found hills to end with to practice the mental battle. I struggled mentally on the second half of this race. Maybe it was due to the traffic and quick start time?

I had sub-goals to run 6 miles in one hour and be at or past the 11-mile marker at two hours. I can say that I accomplished both. It was my race goal to finish as close to 2:20 as I could. My finish time was 2:23! I scored a 10-minute PR from last year and consider 2:23 to be a respectable finish time this year. I am incredibly proud of my efforts considering the cards I was dealt on race day. Ideally, I was going to try to keep my pace at 10:30 miles and not break an 11:15 pace. I kept that up until mile 10 (with the exception of mile 7) and that is freakishly amazing for me!

Yes, that is kick a$$ for me! If I run this race again next year (I’m pretty sure that I will just to beat this year’s time and shoot for another 10 minute PR but race day morning I always say no due to nerves and traffic) I will find even more hills to train on. A friend of mine who ran this race in 1:46 described it perfectly, “The race doesn’t start until you leave the park. It’s a 10k race with a 10k warm up.” While those hills are killer, it was nice to know what and when to expect them. I saw great improvement from last year and am excited to see even more improvement next year!

Mile 7 and on there are some hills

Lessons learned for next time. Training Runs: I will find a way to run 7 miles and then do hill repeats, that will mimic race day perfectly. I will find a way to beat the mental battle and keep my mind focused. I will score another 10 minute PR. I will realize that I am Galactically Bad A$$ (GBA) for running this race and I will not compare myself to others. There will always be people faster than me and there will always be people slower than me—All that matters is that I give it 110%.

Happy running y'all!

PR Baby!

Happy Thanksgiving y'all, it's a great day for running! I just finished my 2nd half marathon and I got a 10 minute PR from last year. It wasn't a perfect race but I am incredibly happy with my performance. I'll type up a race report in the next couple of days. I hope you are enjoying your family and friends today. Savor the gift of running.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Wordless Wednesday

T minus one day and counting. Bring on the carbs!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bring on the taper

Last Thursday I was supposed to run my last long run: 17 miles. I was unable to get that run in due to PTA obligations. I spent Wednesday-Friday at the elementary school. Saturday, we hiked with the Tiger den and it was a blast. I love seeing Civil War ruins and I love the fact that we live in the heart of many ruins. There is such much history here in the ATL. I didn’t grow up with much history other than the Duwamish Tribe in Seattle. I still can’t get over the fact that Georgia was one of the first 13 colonies. Cool!

Sunday was a family day. Hubby FINALLY had a weekend day off and we slept in, hung out in our pajamas and then went to a birthday party. I have massive mommy guilt when it comes to doing a long run when the boys are home, especially if hubby has a much awaited weekend day off. That means today, 1.5 weeks ‘till race day, and I had 17 miles looming over me like a dark thundercloud. I hate missing my long runs, and I hate even more having them hang over my head. This morning I started out after my oatmeal breakfast and then a cliff bar. It was 66 degrees with 96% humidity. Why oh why do I always have muggy days on my long runs? Thankfully, there was a cloud cover and the sun never really came out. Phew! My first mile was strong; I then played with my pace. I was originally planning to take walk breaks at each mile marker, but knew I’d run out of steam. Yesterday, I looked at the Galloway Magic Mile page. My race pace should be 10:17-10:30 and my training pace should be 12:08. I am not running that slow on my training runs, but I clock a solid 11 minute mile for my long runs. I also discovered that I should be running four minutes and walking for just 35 seconds. After my first mile, I decided to try the 4/35 ratio. It seemed to work for me. I had very little expectations for this run. I battle ovarian cysts that rupture pretty regularly and one started up on Saturday night. I was in so much pain last night, that I broke down and popped a prescribed narcotic just to sleep. I knew that would mess with today’s run. My goal was to run 13.1 miles and whatever I clocked over that distance was just gravy.

I felt incredibly strong today. I took gels at miles 3, 6, 9 and 12. I have found that every three miles is the key to my success. I had plenty of water and didn’t run out until I hit the 13^th mile. My goal for this race next week is to finish strong and only walk when my timer goes off. I even attempted to skip some walk breaks today and I didn’t tire out as much as I had expected!

As I was approaching 11 miles I noticed that the timer was just about to break two hours. That is when I kicked it into high gear. I am working hard to pick up my pace and beat last years’ time. At 12 miles, my knees started to really hurt. As the garmin chimed at 13.1 miles, I decided to stop and walk home, there is no reason to hurt myself this close to race day. My official time for today’s 13.1 miles is 2:22:08!!! No freaking way! That is a seven-minute PR from two weeks ago and 11 minutes faster than last year’s race! Here’s to hoping I can hit that time or even beat it next week. Bring on the taper!

Happy running y’all!

11 > 15

No, I did not fail 1^st grade math. Yes, I do possess a Bachelor’s degree. I understand that 11 is not larger than 15 mathematically BUT on the pain scale of my recent long runs, 11 miles is WAY more painful than 15 miles. Why is that? If you remember my post here about how 11 miles kicked my butt, then you will be shocked to hear that yesterday’s 15 miles was exhilarating. I felt strong, had no problems breathing, even skipped a few walk breaks and finished strong! I have not ever finished a double digit run and felt that strong. The only hard part about yesterday’s run was the 45-degree temperature combined with the wind advisory. It was an ice-cold run and I found myself running just to keep warm. I guess it did the trick because my run was epic.

I will admit that I was dreading these 15 miles. I was supposed to have run them last Thursday, but I was on antibiotics for a TMI infection and decided to sleep the day away. If I had run that day or even the next day, I would have died from heat exhaustion because our temps were pushing 80+. I went camping with the cub scout pack on Saturday. The day was gorgeous and warm. By Saturday night, the temps dropped 30 degrees and the wind started up. Thank you Sandy. By the time we got home on Saturday, we had a slight drizzle. I listened to the winds howl all Sunday night. Monday morning, I stayed in bed extra long, trying to keep warm. Then I chided myself out of bed and into my running clothes.

Long sleeves, a fleece vest, hat and gloves combined with plenty of water and gels and I was out the door. The wind was bitterly cold and would change directions so it felt like the whole 15 miles was with a head wind. I didn’t care about a time; my run was all about the distance. I swallowed gels at miles 3, 6, 9. & 12. I finished all four of my water bottles and stopped by the house for a refill. If I felt strong and my timer was going off, I would skip the walk break. I found that I kept warmer by moving. If I walked in the first half, it was only for 30 seconds just to keep warm. I have often wondered if I would be able to run a half without using the Galloway plan and yesterday’s run proved to me that I can; someday.

Looking at my splits, I am very happy with my pace. I averaged an 11:35 min pace which is really good for me for long distances. I only had one mile break 13 minutes (mile 10) and even then, it was only 13:09.8. It is my goal to keep all of my (mile) splits under 13 minutes and especially under 12 minutes for my race. (I only had two miles in the 12 minute pace) After yesterday’s run, I am confident that I can do that in 3 ½ weeks. Keeping my fingers crossed that I can stay healthy and strong!!!

It’s a great day for running!!!

No more excuses, I’m just slow

Today I ran 13.1. I ran 13.1 and got a PR: 2:29:09. When I started running this morning it was 65 degrees and 100% humidity. By the fourth mile, the sun came out and started melting the sidewalks. When I finished, it was 72 degrees. I know, I know, I always make excuses for how slow my pace is. Today, it was the heat and humidity. It gets me every.single.time. I was dehydrated by mile 7 and had to loop back to the house at 9.5 miles to get more water and a cold paper towel to keep around my neck. Besides the heat and humidity, I am not even a week out of the feverish flu and am in the throes of a head cold. Excuses, excuses. I’d love to say that I’m a Speedy Gonzales. I dream of running 13.1 in 2:17. Someday.

I’m tired of making excuses for my slow self. It is what it is I run slow. BUT today, I PRd and was able to run 13.1 in under 2:30 and that is a BIG deal in my book! I looked at my splits and noticed that even with all my walking in the second half, I kept my pace under 13 minute miles. Score! I took a gel at miles 3, 6, 9 & 12 and that really worked. I didn’t have to ration my water too much because I was planning to stop by the house. I can honestly say that these 13.1 miles were easier than the 11 I ran two weeks ago. I still fight the wall and am learning to push through and keep my mind focused. Someday I will conquer the mental battle and keep on pushing on and only walk when my timer beeps.

Tomorrow I will go for a short walk. Rest on Wednesday and my legs will hopefully be ready for 10 x 800 on Thursday. Keeping my fingers crossed my body holds out.

It’s a great day for running y’all!

Me, a serious runner?

Today helping out at the 3^rd grade Greek Festival (which was a blast), I had another mom ask me if I was “The Serious Runner”. I laughed and said I wouldn’t call myself serious. She then told me that she runs with another mom (Hi ST if you’re reading!! I hope you’re feeling better real soon and I know you’ll kick some asphalt on your race next week!!) who has mentioned me and also mentioned my blog. I had to laugh. I have never considered myself a real runner. I may run half marathons but I’m not fast. I have to do the Galloway program because my body can’t handle running more than three miles without walking or I get injured. I have exercise-induced asthma. Did I mention that I’m slow? I’m slower than molasses in January! How can I be a serious runner?

To me, a serious runner is Kara, Shalane, Dean, Bart, Meb, not me, definitely not me. Standing at the bus stop this afternoon I started to wonder if I am holding myself back? If I see myself as a serious runner, does that make me a serious runner? Possibly. If personal finance is 80% behavior and 20% knowledge. Does that apply here? If my behavior says I’m a serious runner, then why don’t I believe myself? Deep, deep thoughts for a Friday afternoon.

After spending all day Tuesday and Wednesday in bed, I had the energy to take a shower yesterday. Today I helped out all day at the school. I am now finding myself pacing about the house. I know I’m ready to start running when the pacing starts. Tomorrow I’ll squeeze in 45 minutes with some hills. Rest on Sunday. Monday I tackle 13.1. Can’t wait to see how it goes. I was hoping to use this distance to judge how my race will go. Now I’m not sure what to expect after getting sick this week. Only time will tell.

It’s a great day for running. Happy running y’all!

Should I stay or should I go?

I have slept for nearly two days straight. Yup. Bilbo Baggins and his post Lonely Mountain adventure stop with Gandalf in Rivendell have nothing on me! Minus the battle of five armies and the gold treasure of course. But I do have my own personal Elrond taking care of me…Hubby!

Not sure what sort of bug I picked up but it has hit me like a ton of bricks. I went for a walk on Tuesday and by 1pm I was ready to hit the sack. I managed to stay awake long enough to greet the boys at the bus stop, give them a snack, breeze through homework and then crawl into bed. I was able to get up to feed them dinner, bathe them and tuck them in. I then crawled into bed and haven’t gotten out until this afternoon. Thankfully, hubby came home early Tuesday evening and had yesterday off so I could sleep this fever off and not worry about the boys. Hubby made me soup, brought me a smoothie in bed and took care of my needs. That’s saying a lot since he is not a natural caregiver!

Today I am starting to feel almost human. I am hoping another good nights’ sleep will kick this bug to the curb and I will be able to rest up this weekend. I need to make up my missed 13 miles from today. In my feverish state yesterday I actually considered running 13 today. I then realized that would probably put me in the hospital with pneumonia and ruin my goal for the race. A little sleep wouldn’t hurt me and I know that I couldn’t walk five miles today so running 13 is out of the question.

I’m hoping to kill these 13 miles on Monday. I am actually going to add the .1 to see how my time is. I’m dreaming of a huge PR this year and trying to not get my hopes up too much for Monday. Only time and rest will tell.

It looks like the sun is out today and I’m sure that it’s a great day for running…if you’re healthy!

Happy running y’all!!

In the books

The first training run is in the books: 30 minutes this morning and they sure kicked my butt. My lungs (thank you asthma) and my legs were telling me that it had been two weeks since my last run. The good news is that it can only get better after today. After my back injury, I decided to switch from the TLAM Half Marathon: Own It plan to the Jeff Galloway Half Marathon Time Goal plan. My body responds well to the Galloway method and I think that is a perfect fit for me considering my recent injury. I am still planning to use the TLAM: ½ Own It plan for my half this next March. I just need to get back into the pace of running without injuring myself.

With the Galloway plan, I am working on some speed. I attempted some Acceleration Gliders this morning. From my unprofessional opinion, they are very much like strides, but use hills to pick up your pace. That is part of the reason why this run was so hard, I played with my pace the whole time. I know that I need to do more HIIT training and it was my first day back. Excuses, excuses. I will get faster. I will get physically stronger. I will get mentally stronger.

ATL Half: Half Marathon Training Schedule for Time Goal Runners

Week	Fri	Sat (CD/Acg/p)	Sun	Mon (h)	Tues	Wed	Thur
	10-Aug	11-Aug	12-Aug	13-Aug	14-Aug	15-Aug	16-Aug
1	off	30 min	off	30 min	easy walk	off	5 miles
	17-Aug	18-Aug	19-Aug	20-Aug	21-Aug	22-Aug	23-Aug
2	off	35 min/MM	off	35 min	easy walk	off	6 miles
	24-Aug	25-Aug	26-Aug	27-Aug	28-Aug	29-Aug	30-Aug
3	off	35 min	off	35 min	easy walk	off	7.5 miles
	31-Aug	1-Sep	2-Sep	3-Sep	4-Sep	5-Sep	6-Sep
4	off	45 min/MM	off	40 min	easy walk	off	4x800
	7-Sep	8-Sep	9-Sep	10-Sep	11-Sep	12-Sep	13-Sep
5	off	45 min	off	40 min	easy walk	off	9 miles
	14-Sep	15-Sep	16-Sep	17-Sep	18-Sep	19-Sep	20-Sep
6	off	45 min/MM	off	45 min	easy walk	off	6x800
	21-Sep	22-Sep	23-Sep	24-Sep	25-Sep	26-Sep	27-Sep
7	off	45 min	off	45 min	easy walk	off	11 miles
	28-Sep	29-Sep	30-Sep	1-Oct	2-Oct	3-Oct	4-Oct
8	off	45 min/MM	off	45 min	easy walk	off	8x800
	5-Oct	6-Oct	7-Oct	8-Oct	9-Oct	10-Oct	11-Oct
9	off	45 min	off	45 min	easy walk	off	13 miles
	12-Oct	13-Oct	14-Oct	15-Oct	16-Oct	17-Oct	18-Oct
10	off	45 min	off	45 min	easy walk	off	10x800
	19-Oct	20-Oct	21-Oct	22-Oct	23-Oct	24-Oct	25-Oct
11	off	45 min	off	45 min	easy walk	off	15 miles
	26-Oct	27-Oct	28-Oct	29-Oct	30-Oct	31-Oct	1-Nov
12	off	45 min	off	45 min	easy walk	off	12x800
	2-Nov	3-Nov	4-Nov	5-Nov	6-Nov	7-Nov	8-Nov
13	off	45 min	off	45 min	easy walk	off	17 miles
	9-Nov	10-Nov	11-Nov	12-Nov	13-Nov	14-Nov	15-Nov
14	off	45 min	off	45 min	easy walk	off	Easy 5 miles/MM
	16-Nov	17-Nov	18-Nov	19-Nov	20-Nov	21-Nov	22-Nov
15	off	45 min	off	45 min	easy walk	off	1/2 Marathon!!!
	23-Nov	24-Nov	25-Nov	26-Nov	27-Nov	28-Nov	29-Nov
16	off	45 min	off	45 min	easy walk	off	4 miles
	30-Nov	1-Dec	2-Dec	3-Dec	4-Dec	5-Dec	6-Dec
17	off	45 min	off	45 min	easy walk	off	6-12 miles

Next run is Monday after I put the boys on the bus! I might try going to the pool tomorrow, depending on how crowded it is. I am looking forward to going while all the children are at school and I won’t have an audience.

It’s a great day for running, happy running y'all!