Updates!!!

Wow, where did February and March go?

So much to update and so little time!

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RACE INFO:

Just finished the mercer island half marathon last weekend! It was so much fun! I ran with my friends Bridget and Chris. Because Chris is a little crazy (and that's what I love about her) she used this half marathon as a training run for her next half marathon in May. She ran 7 miles with Bridget and me.

The Mercer Island course was pretty tough! The first 10 miles are rolling hills on uneven streets, then the last three miles were even tougher! And it ended in an uphill incline!

I managed to PR, my chip time was 2:20:57. I realized that morning that this was my fifth half marathon in less than a year. And I finished this one 18 minutes faster than my first one :)

The only thing I can attribute it to was having this song in my head all through the race:




hahahaha, Bridget and I actually starting singing it around mile 10 :)

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In February I did the Love 'Em or Leave 'Em 5k with Holly and Matt. I was still in marathon training mode, so a 5k was not going to be enough distance for me. I decided to leave at 6:30 in the morning and run from my apartment to Greenlake (where the race was) first. It was 6 miles to get to the starbucks. Then a mile from Starbucks to the start of the race, where I met up with Holly and Matt.

Somehow I managed to only finish about 10 seconds slower than my 5k best! I guess I really do need to get those junk miles out of the way early :)

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In marathon news, I need to pick a new race. Matt's sister is getting married the weekend of the Vancouver Marathon. So I decided to not really train for anything just yet, and now I'm running out of time! I'd like to get at least two marathons in this year.

I'll pick something this week :)

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I took a volunteer position as an assistant coach for Girls on the Run. So every thursday I go to an elementary school in Tukwilla and help out with running and teaching the Girls on the Run curriculum. I've only gone one week so far and it's already proving to be an amazing experience! I'll definitely post more updates :)

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Thanks to Bridget I've finally run Queen Anne hill, right up the front of it. It's one of the steepest hills in Seattle. I usualy take a mile and a half to go around the slowly up the hill. This was is the most direct route. Frankly, if I can run Queen Anne hill, I'm pretty sure I can take on almost any hill ;)

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I've also recently become moderately addicted to Bikram yoga. I tried it while I was in Scottsdale with my boss last month. We went twice, the first time was awful the second time was less awful. Then I decided to find a studio in town, and found Bikram Seattle. They have this sneaky trick where you sign up and pay the drop in fee, and get 10 FREE classes that you have to use in 14 days. So I ended up going 3 or 4 times a week... and by then it's totally easy!

(FYI, Bikram is hot yoga. You do 26 poses twice. The first time you hold them for 60 seconds and the second time is 30 seconds. Oh, and the room is at least 100 degrees)

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Phew! That's the long and the short of it! More soon!

Run Matt Run!

Wow, how can so much greatness exist in one apartment.... :)

Last Sunday Matt completed his first half marathon in Phoenix. And I was along for the ride.

I was a little nervous going into the race. Our longest run had been 5 or 6 miles, and Matt started getting a pain in his toe. Anything beyond 6 miles was going to be a mystery! We hadn't had a chance to try out hydration or nutrition options.

On the morning of the race I wanted to be prepared for anything. I packed us some water, a couple granola bars, shot blocks, some aspirin, oh and a disposable camera. Matt also hadn't run enough in my uber-fashionable fanny packs to get comfortable carrying his own, so I strapped on our survival pack.

The weather was perfect! A cool 50 degrees... but since it was Phoenix, the weather was going to get much warmer right away. We packed into the starting line and took in the myriad of characters waiting to start the race. Because we had a longer estimated time we were mixed in with walkers and joggers. But there seemed to be too many people in warm winter-y coats. It blew my mind.

I wonder how many race participants were first timers. I know Phoenix has a lot of programs to raise the fitness level of their city, but it seemed like there were a lot of people who didn't know what was ahead of them.

Here are a couple of my favorite runners:
- Dude carrying the goody bag from the expo around his shoulders
- Girl holding up the line for the porta-potties because there was no toilet paper
- The two Paris-Hilton type girls walk-running, one of which had a wrist clutch
- The dude on the apparent "green team" or maybe he was rooting for the eagles....


Okay, so Matt was definitely my favorite runner. We ran the first 4 miles, no problem. They were going by pretty quickly! We stopped and walked for a mile. Then it happened...

He got his first runner's high. It was great to be with someone while they experienced it for the first time. He was pumping his fists to the music and joking around. He could have run forever...

or for another mile or two. :)

Around 8.5 it started to get more difficult. Luckily, his family was in the perfect spot to cheer us on, and they snapped a photo. :) The energy was enough to keep us going for another half mile.

We ate a granola bar, walked, talked, and made fun of bands along the way. We decided we'd run again at mile 10.

Then it was mile 10, just in time for our legs to get good and stiff. It took about 10 minutes for me to start feeling good again. It's been a while since I've been running for more than 2 hours. We only had three miles to go. Matt was pretty lucid and moving, and if it came down to it, we could walk it if we had to. We both knew he was going to finish :)

The last three miles were pretty rough, but of course they are, that's why most people don't do this sort of thing. It also started to get really hot. It was reaching the mid-70s. We kept trucking along. I was really impressed with how well Matt was doing. I knew he was in pain, but he was a real trooper!

We got to the finish line and it was over. It wasn't as climatic as Matt had hoped, but it was over and we survived. :)

AND, the best news is... he's interested in doing it again! I think the real success is that he finished the race and doesn't hate running! Look out world, we have a new half-marathoner on our hands :)

Girls, Girls, Girls!

GIRLS ON THE RUN IS SO MUCH FUN!

You can't really argue with a chant like that! Holly and I became "running buddies" this winter for an organization called "Girls on the Run." This group is dedicated to helping girls between the ages of 8 and 11 develop healthy self-esteem (to match their healthy bodies!) through running. Our job as running buddies was to help these young ladies train for their first 5k and offer encouragement and support during the 3.1 mile journey.

After Sammy, my running buddy, and I were formally introduced, she looked me up and down and asked, "Can you go fast?"

Uh oh!

I wondered, am in good enough shape to keep up with this gal who is ready to win? I mustered up a bit of confidence and answered, "Uh, sure!"

From the start Sammy was ready to go fast. She wanted to pass everyone right out of the gate! I tried my best to explain why you don't go as fast as you can in the beginning, but Sammy wasn't interested in reason. Soon we were so far ahead of everyone it was okay for us to walk. It gave us a chance to get to know each other a little better.

We kept walking until one of the other girls would catch up, then we would run as fast as we could! And eventually Sammy's strategy worked! We won the practice 5k!

As the girls finished we cheered and enjoyed our celebratory cups of Gatorade. It was so touching to see the girls be so encouraging to one another. Let's face it, girls aren't always nice to each other, and it was refreshing to see these girls be so accepting and encouraging of their friends!

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The Wonder Girl 5k was the event the girls had been training for. Sammy was ready to win that morning. She even looked like a super hero in her crown and cape.

On the other hand, I was freezing... it must have been about 30 degrees!

Before I knew it we were off! Sammy strategically placed us near the front of the group so we could go fast. Everything was going according to plan, then it happened.

The worst thing to happen to anyone while running: a side stitch!

Poor Sammy was trying so hard to run through it, but we still had so far to go! We tried a few times to walk it off, but it just kept coming back. I tried my best to convince her that this happens to everyone and some days are just "bad run" days.

Then she said, "I don't think we're going to win–I'm sorry..."

It totally broke my heart! I told her she didn't have to apologize! She's a strong person for even attempting to run a 5k and she'll be an even stronger person when she finishes!

I told her about my awful 12-mile run that I couldn't even finish. I had to call Matt to come pick me up. BUT the next weekend, I ran 21 miles! And the weekend before the 5k we were running I ran 13.1 miles at the Seattle Half Marathon.

"Did you win?," she asked.

It made me laugh, I wasn't even close! I won because I finished.

Our conversation reminded me that you can't expect every time you hit the road to be even better than the run before it. What's important is doing the best you can in any situation.

We sprinted the last 1/2 mile of the Wonder Girl 5k. She finished strong with the crowd and her friends and family cheering for her as we crossed the finish line.

I really admire Sammy's ambitious attitude because he's willing to work hard to achieve her goals. Although she didn't win the whole 5k, she won her personal race. Even with a side-stitch, shoe/foot pain and ridiculously cold weather she did her best that day.

Too often many of us settle for mediocrity, and we're okay with never really challenging or pushing ourselves. It's easier not to.

But what I loved about being in the "trenches" with Sammy was witnessing a young lady choosing not to settle. In our two interactions I could tell that Sammy will grow up to be a very successful woman some day. I've been inspired by her determination to be a better mental athlete.

At the end of the day, all we can ask of ourselves is to do our best in any situation; then, we can't be disappointed in the outcome.

Just fine in '09

It's that time again... resolution time!

I've stopped making traditional resolutions years ago. They were always the same: this year I will lose weight, be better at finances, find a better job, become a super human who always has their stuff together, become a super hero while I'm at it, save the world, save money, save trees, save the children... that all comes back to that super hero thing.

Usually by around January 15 my delusions of grandeur had met cold hard reality: I'm human.

A couple years ago I realized that if I made resolutions I could actually keep I'd be a much happier person. Thus my new resolution was born: I will wear one article of black clothing everyday.

It was perfect. Totally something I could control, and each day I succeeded I felt good about setting a goal I could achieve. So this became my resolution every year. I kept this up for a few years until suddenly my entire wardrobe was black. I guess I was committed.

At any rate, this year I'm going to set goals rather than resolutions and here's what I have so far:

IN RUNNING:
- A 25:00 5K (I would need to shave 3 minutes off my current PR, and maintain an 8-minute per mile pace... hello track workouts!)
- A sub 1-hour 10k
- A sub 5-hour marathon

Race Schedule thus far:
- 1/18 Phoenix Rock N' Roll Half Marathon
- Love 'em or Leave 'em 5k (February)
- Vancover Sun Run 10k (April) this one is a maybe... a local 10k would be just fine
- Vancouver Marathon (May)
- Seattle Rock N' Roll Half Marathon (June)
- Disneyland Half Marathon? (Sept)
- Portland Marathon (October)

I realize I don't have to run every race, every year, but I think this is an aggressive year for me because ultimately, I want to do a 50k race in 2010. So in addition to all these road races, I'll also be trying out some trail running. I have yet to find a 50k road race, but I'll keep looking.

So that's the running plan for this year! This is going to be a good one, I can feel it! :)

More Marathon Photos...

So I've been totally MIA, but I promise there is much to report! I'm already running again and training for the Seattle Half Marathon at the end of November.

But more on that later....

Here are the official race photos, and they actually caught my running crew out on the street with me! You can view them here:

http://racephotos.net/RunnerDetails.asp?nRunnerID=648049

I plan to purchase a couple photos this week :)

Here are a couple from our lovely dinner of Spold Mac and Cheese at the Montage:
















Sarah took this one, so she's not in it :( But here's Holly, Jess, Chris, Simon, Michael, me and Matt :)




















MMmmmm.... left overs!

















There's a good lookin' fella!


















The best friends you could ask for! (Missing a few people, of course!)




















There they are!...Sarah and Michael, too! :)




Thanks again to everyone who made my first marathon truly special! Deb and Raj, too! (Who I unfortunately, didn't get a photo with... )

More to come :)

Take that, Katie Holmes!!!

Wow wow wow! I did it! And it was incredible and one of the best experiences of my life so far!

I was sure I'd finish in 5 and a half hours. My super secret goal was to finish before Katie Holmes. What I (and I'll bet Katie) didn't realize, is that she set the bar for a lot of young women. I couldn't believe how many other gals I talked to that had the same goal!

I was also preparing myself for two hours of sheer agony. If this race was going to be anything like my training runs, it was going to be long, slow, and excutiatingly painful.

Much to my surprise, I finished in 5:03:38!!!

And I felt great! I was able to sprint the last part before the finish line! I was definitely in pain afterward. My ankle is totally swollen (pic below, promise I'm icing! Or it just looks like I have one kankle). But I'm not too stiff! We didn't have a bath tub in our hotel room, so I had to rotate ice packs. And Matt helped rub my legs and feet afterward. Then we pretty much stayed in bed and watched Food Network and football until I fell asleep.

I'm walking like a normal person, for the most part. :)

I had so much support from my friends who were there in person, and also there in spirit! And I really couldn't have done it without them. I really appreciate all the supporting phone messages and emails I received. My in person crew was Matt, Holly, Sarah, Michael, Jess, Chris, Simon, and Deb and Raj drove up the morning of.

And here's the break down:

MILES 1-6:
Off to an okay start! I see Deb and Raj right away! Shortly after I hear Matt yell, "Go Wac!" Which made me tear up a little, but I knew I had to breathe slowly if I'm going to get through this thing. I see the 5-hour pace group, and kind of just hang with them. It feels a little fast, but I look down at my Garmin, and we're only going a little over an 11-minute mile. I can't decide if this is too fast to me, or not. But my heart rate is only in the 150s, so I stick with them. Even though I'm kind of thirsty, I don't stop for water or fuel until mile 6, which is what I did in my training runs. I'm prone to cramping when I have too much water.

HIGH POINT:
Mile 5/6: Seeing everyone on the side again

LOW POINTS:
Mile 2: Noticed my sock on the left had fallen and was only half way around my foot
Mile 3-ish: The top of my ankle on my right foot began to hurt (and didn't quit)
Mile 6: Pain on the outside of my left foot


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MILES 6-13
Coming into mile 7 I was in a lot of pain. Both my feet are killing me, in very different ways. It's also that time of the month, so I was having the occasional menstrual cramp, and it was catching up with me. I managed to stay with the 5-hour pace group through this entire time. Around mile 10 I started falling behind. I was thinking, "I made my body into this machine, that means I can will it to go faster..." and this woman came up beside me and asked if I was okay! hahah... I must have been very pensive looking. We chatted for a bit, this was not her first time doing this marathon and she said the real hump is the bridge at mile 17. Her scheduled walk break was about to take place. I would have stopped with her, but I noticed the few minutes we ran together slowed me down. So I told her I'd catch up with her later... but I never saw her again.

I did, however, catch up to the 5 hour pace group again!

HIGH POINT:
- There was a family on the street handing out jelly beans. I had to stop and give a high-five to this one kid. :)
- The miles were really just flying by!

LOW POINT:
Mile 13: This is totally nit-picky, but they had the 13-mile marker, then the water tables, THEN the timing chip mat! I had stopped at the water tables, and was totally bummed to see the timing mat.


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MILES 14- 20
I had to be smart. I had enough energy to to speed up, but I knew that would wipe me out. Instead I tried to slowly increase my pace. I decided to pull ahead of the 5-hour pace group so when I chose to stop and walk, I wouldn't fall behind. Having the bridge as a major landmark to work towards, getting to mile 17 was what I was focusing on. I had some fuel at 16, and began the ascent around 16.5. I made a point of climbing the hill slowly, and not letting my heart rate get too high.

Around mile 19, the pain set in. I expected it to come sooner. I remembered something Deborah told me about "accepting the pain." Maybe it's because I was anticipating it, or imagined it would be much worse, either way... it wasn't awful, but it definitely slowed me down. I couldn't seem to pick up the pace.

I started chatting with Dave the walker. He's probably late 60's or early 70's and walking a marathon in all 50 states. (He did manage to finish before I did)

Then mile 20, I saw Sarah and Michael! Sarah ran with me for a bit

HIGH POINTS:
Miles 14: Pulling ahead of the 5:00 pace group and maintaining a lead
Mile 17: Passing people up the hill to the bridge
The bridge: I felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and there was such a beautiful view of Portland
Mile 20: Seeing Sarah and Michael waiting for me, and having Sarah run with me for a few minutes

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MILES 21-26.2
Sarah let me know the whole crew was just around the corner at mile 21, which really helped me get to the next mile. Then only 5 miles to go! This was the point where I knew I was going to finish. My legs hurt, but they only felt like I had run for 10 miles instead of 20. I was also super close to finishing in under 5 hours, if I just pushed hard enough! I did what I could, and mile 25 was one of my fastest miles! Here are the highs and lows:

HIGH POINTS:
Mile 21: My whole crew came out and ran with me for a few minutes! I was the envy of all the runners around me
Mile 22: Meeting Jenny from Texas. We were talking about how much we enjoyed beer, and we passed the Widmer brewery, which was handing out free beer!
Mile 25: Meeting Victoria, originally from LA, who had been training with Portland Fit
Mile 26: Helping this guy who had a bad thigh cramp by giving him a shot block with sodium, and some water
- Seeing Holly and she let me know the finish line was around the corner
- Seeing Deb and Raj and having the energy to wave at the camera
- Hearing Matt's voice cheering for me as I approached the finish line
Crossing the finish line: Victoria and I hugged, I got my cape, medal, and rose. I found my crew and there was chocolate milk waiting for me

(Here's a photo Deb snapped of me... I'm still in a lot of pain, if that smile looks intense... :)


LOW POINTS:
Mile 26: Helping thigh-cramp guy seriously slowed me down ;)


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Here's the Garmin report:














And here's the link to view the whole report, but you need to view it in IE.


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I really can't believe the whole thing is over. It seemed to go by so quickly. I did it! I ran a marathon. I'm pretty sure I thought about each and every person in my life and how much I appreciate them. It's like everyone was running with me. It was incredibly touching when they came to run with me. (photo coming of the crew soon!) And I am super grateful for how encouraging and supportive Matt has been. He really is my biggest fan! Hearing his voice while I was running brought a smile to my face no matter what my legs were feeling.

I feel like an enormous weight has been lifted. I think I came into this race trying to prove that it can be done. That anyone can run a marathon, all you have to do is train. Through training you learn so much about yourself. You learn that you are capable than so much more than you imagined. You also learn it's okay push yourself, but also to be kind to your body.

Although it felt like I was bearing a torch those 26 miles, I wanted to do it for all the people out there who think a marathon is something they could never do. I started running when I was almost 300 pounds (hence that opening picture), and one mile at a time I made it! I've had the help of many encouraging people along the way, and I hope that my story can one day inspire others to get out there and do it, too!

Finishing a half hour before I expected... that was for me. I just wanted to see if I could do it. Part of me knew I was going faster than I should. I figured if I lost the 5 hour group I would still finish at a decent time. But I could have lost it, and dropped into my slow mopey pace I experienced at the end of my 18-mile and 20-mile training runs. I am really proud of my time, and I know I can knock a few minutes off it next time...

That's right, next time!

Race Report: Alki Beach Run 5k

One of the benefits of being at the peak of fitness for your own body, is that you can really kill on shorter races.

My friend, Holly, and I signed up for the Alki Beach Run 5k last Sunday, and it was a blast! The weather was perfect, the route was a flat out and back along the water, and I knew this was going to be the 5k that I broke the 30 minute barrier.

I know I've been getting faster, I can feel it. I've been running with Brie in the mornings, and she's much faster than I, but I've been able to keep up with her. I've also had some surprisingly fast first halves of my long runs... but I've really been looking to do a timed race again.

The announcer starts by saying, if you run 5-6 minute miles you should be up front. If you run 7-8 minute miles you can be back by him, and the walkers will be in the back...

hahaha... oh alright, I'll go behind the stroller brigade...

The first mile went so fast! I finished it in 9:44. Having the garmin made it so much easier to keep my pace. I was able to look down and notice when I was slowing, and counteract it. Mile 2 was a little more difficult as the sun came out, and I was over dressed for the heat. There was this tall, thin blonde runner in front of me. I had to work hard to keep up with her, but I knew that if I did I would meet my goal.











The last mile was so great! I know I could have pushed harder at the end. We were coming to mile 2.5 and I wanted to kick it up, but decided to wait until I was closer to the finish line.

A quarter of a mile later I ran as hard as I could, and finished... 28:30!

Here's our photo on the beach :)

Even though I'm really excited with this new PR, I know I could have done even better!

I would love to do a 10k, so I'm keeping my eyes peeled for the perfect one!

The marathon is less than a week away... I'm so excited! :)

New Choooos :)

Well, sort of new. After forgetting my beloved Brooks Adrenaline GTS 8's when I went to Vancouver for the Half Marathon, I had been running in the Asics I picked up from the Running Room.

The Asics were fine. During the Vancouver half I noticed a foot pain I had never experienced before. I was ready to dismiss the Asics to being gym shoes, or maybe used for tennis. But I took them out on a few more runs and found them to work just fine!

Until about two months ago.

I started getting that same pain in my foot. Usually I would get it post mile 7, and it would go away in my ice bath. Then when I did my 20-mile run, I had to foot pain for a week and a half afterward. I kept running on it, of course, because I'm ridiculous.

So after the scare of this pain being a stress fracture, I figured I'd bring back my old Brooks just to see how they felt. And I ran 11 miles in them, pain free!

Yesterday I ran out and got a new pair of my oldies but goodies. They were practically glowing in the dark this morning :) I need to run them through a few puddles or something before the marathon.

I really feel ready to this... is that strange?

(Yes, this is a post about my shoes... whatcha gonna do?)

Real Runners do it in the rain

I woke up Saturday morning to Deb calling to confirm our meeting spot, as she was pulling into her parking spot.

Shit! My alarm didn't go off.

I raced out the door and pulled into the parking spot next to Deb 20 minutes later. It's a good thing I had set out all of my stuff the night before.

This was my first chance to use my garmin forerunner... and it was AWESOME! (screen cap below)

Deb and I began our 11-mile run on Alki, and it was raining steadily. The air was crisp and fresh and reminded me how excited I was to be running in cool weather again. The course we were running was going to be mostly flat, there was a slight incline around mile 5. (I did this exact run for my 12-miler a while back). There's also this beautiful area that looks like it could easily be a small harbor on the east coast (especially the fog).

I really finished strong for this one. It was awesome to finish 11-miles and feel like I had just ran 5. AND, my foot didn't hurt at all. (I had switched back to my old shoes for this run, so I think that's the answer).

The photo on the left is from when we were done. We were soaked. I brought us some dry jackets to change into and we got our post-run coffee and yogurt/chocolate milk.

I'm really enjoying tapering. It's so awesome to see how much long runs and speed work effect your shorter distances (and it's amazing that I consider 11 miles a shorter run now...). Deb also snapped this photo of me, but she said I didn't look miserable enough. :)

The race is two weeks away and I'm feeling pretty prepared, and frankly, excited.

I'm really in the mood to watch marathon movies and get all pumped up. Matt and I saw Run Fatboy Run in the theater a looooong time ago and it just came out on DVD. I'm also dying for Spirit of the Marathon to be released. Unfortunately that won't be until October 7.

Perhaps I'll have to watch all the Prefontaine movies for the time being... :)

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In other news, my Garmin is the bomb.com:















Deb also recommended this website/program where I can upload my runs and analyze them. I can not only see my pace, heart rate, and exact distance, but it also tracks the weather, elevation and laps.

I'm going to set it so that I get an alert at every mile. And for some reason it showed that my heart rate was 100 the entire time. I'm guessing there was interference from Deb's heart rate monitor. I'll be trying it out in the morning on my own to see what I come up with. I'm so excited.

I really shouldn't have waited so long to buy it! It's reinvigorated my love for running again. That and the abundance of running buddies I've finally found. It figures I would be getting excited about running a couple of weeks before I'm scheduled to take a break.

Also, the group that I trained with for the half marathon has started up again. They are training for the Seattle Half Marathon. I'm thinking about doing the long runs with the new group. I think I could really help some of the gals while they are training. Plus, now that I've gotten faster I could possibly run with a couple of different pace groups. We'll see... I ran into Heather from our group at breakfast this morning and she said that a couple of gals from our group were already running with them... hopefully they wouldn't mind my dropping in.

Anyway, a good weekend in the world of running. I also cheered on Holly and Alex and the Kirkland triathalon this morning. It looked incredibly challenging and fun...

Something for next year?

Taper Time!

Tomorrow morning I'll be running 11 miles with Deb, at Alki. I'm really looking forward to it. I haven't run at Alki in months. Although it'll probably be cold and possibly drizzly... I'm looking forward to running in the cold again.

The absolute nutso thing is that the marathon is 15 days away. When I started that ticker thing I was around 120 days away... when it got to 90 it was surreal... now that it's so close!

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As a follow-up, I did get my bone scan, and I was injected with radiator fluid...

jk, radiation fluid

which has been giving me awful headaches. I have to drink water to flush it out of my system, and as a result I've been drinking around 12-16 glasses a day...

I'll have a follow-up call with my doc today.

My bone scan didn't show any extra activity near the painful part of my foot, so my technologist mentioned that it was probably muscular.

Randomly, I picked up "Northwest Competitor" magazine at the doctor's office because there was an article about the "Young Guns of ultra-marathonning," and the article mentioned one of the dudes had a neuroma in his foot because he had doubled his mileage from 130 miles a week to 260 in like two weeks... or something ridiculous...

BUT... I looked up neuroma, and it sounds really similar to the foot pain I'm experiencing!

I'm going to ask for a referral to a sports medicine doctor, just so that I have one in my back pocket :)

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AND in the most exciting news of all...

My Garmin Forerunner 305 showed up last night!!!

I really should have bought this sooner, it's so amazing. It tracks your heart rate, pace, time, ties your shoes, gives you water, and carries you when you're too tired to run anymore....

OK, well the first three things are true. I charged it last night atnd I'm dying to try it out, but I really shouldn't run today with a long run on the horizon tomorrow.

I'll post a full report after I take it out for a spin! :)

3 weeks... and an hour and a half...

The Portland Marathon is exactly three weeks from today...

wow...

These next three weeks it's going to be crucial that I listen to my body.

The first time I felt it was at the Vancouver Half. A slight pain in my right foot that radiated up into my ankle. I thought it was the shoes I had purchased the night before.

It went away, although I would get the pain occasionally even when I wasn't running.

I noticed it again this last month or two. It seemed to only show up post mile 7, or when I ran on uneven surfaces. And usually it went away before the end of the run and wouldn't bother me afterward.

Then I did my fist 20-miler. My foot hurt by the end, but no worse than before... only it didn't go away. It continued to hurt, and I continued to run on it. I cut down my mileage, started icing it on non-running days, and it finally went away a week and a half later.

I did see my doctor and she set me up with an appointment for a bone scan next week to be sure it's not a stress fracture. If it's a stress fracture, that means 6 weeks no running... at my discretion...

Today I have my final 20-miler beginning in about an hour. I need to be smart. I'm probably doing closer to 17 instead, and I plan to really take it easy on my foot, at the first sign of pain.

Wish me luck!


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Update from 7:25 this a.m.... I wised up and I'm not running 20 miles this morning. I don't want to risk really injuring my foot today. I'm going to wait until I get my bone scan done on Wednesday before I make any decisions... And I'll hit the stationary bike at the gym until then.

I was putting an ace bandage on this morning and trying to loosen my shoelaces so my foot would comfortably fit in my shoe and I thought, "this is a bad idea..."

So Kelli and I are going to swing by the farmers market instead... time to hit the shower...

Time flies...

So... how in the heck is it Mid September already?!!?

I've had so many things to say and no time to get them on the blog! Well here's a quick recap of what's been going on in my world for the last month and a half:

In Life:

- I'm getting promoted at work! Nothing feels better than knowing you're kicking ass at work, but now the never-ended flow of work has started to appear on my plate. (Like working everyday after work, and through the weekend, and still having to do an all-nighter yesterday... sigh...)

Which really explains my lack of internet presence lately. I'm ALWAYS on my computer, but the second I don't have to, I won't... I'll try to be better about responding to emails and updating sites, and someday making a facebook account.

In Running:
I have successfully completed my 16, 18, and 20-mile training runs... and they were every bit as painful as they sound! Thanks to some encouragement from Alison, I have started taking ice baths afterward. Which are also just as painful as they sound. But they make a huge difference! The first 30 seconds is miserable, then it's just a matter of holding still.

Holly rode her bike for three grueling hours with me on my 16-mile run. And I'm excited to see her compete in the Kirkland Triathlon next weekend!

Sarah was wonderful enough to meet me along the trail and run a 3 mile and 2 mile section of my 20-miler. I don't know if I could have done it without her! And we've been doing wednesday runs, which have also been a tremendous help.

Brie was awesome and ran a relatively scary route with me the other morning. It's getting dark so early already!

I have my final 20-miler coming up this weekend. Kelli has graciously volunteered to ride her bike from Seattle to Redhook Brewery with me. Any takers on running the last three miles?

I'll be running the weekend after next with Deb, who is taking the Philly Marathon by storm in November.

And of course, my wonderful Matt has been continuing his encouragement and support by picking me up from the run I couldn't finish, and the runs I did, then taking me to starbucks for chocolate milk immediately afterward. He has also been to person to announce to all of our friends how far I've run the morning before we do anything.

I guess I'm just feeling very grateful for all my friends and family and how supportive they have been while I'm trying to accomplish this major feat. I've had to give up a lot of my social life for long solitary runs. Even though through running I've had the opportunity for a lot of self-reflection, personal development, and success... I'm ready to get this fucker over with! :)

So thanks everybody!


More to come soon! Stay tuned for blog posts on:
-The end of my first year of running
-The Garmin 305
-Gear that I love
-The last 20 before the big day
-Is that lump on my foot a bone spur?
-What the hell do you do after you've run a marathon...?

Where we're going, we don't need roads...

I am about to embark on a journey into uncharted territory...

in more ways than one.

This morning I'm running 16 miles. The furthest I have ever run in my life. I hear this one is going to be a hard one. Luckily, my friend, Holly, has been gracious enough to volunteer to ride her bike along side me.

My 14-miler was fantastic! I finished it in 2:40, which is only 2 minutes after my Vancouver Half time. I'm expecting this run to take me well into 3 hours of running... I don't even know how to plan for that.

We're also heading 8 miles out along the Burke-Gilman trail. I've never been more than 3 miles out...

Wish me luck!

My body is falling apart... sort of

Last night one of my toe nails popped off...

I guess that makes me an official runner!

hahaha :) No, but I've known I was going to lose two of my toe nails, the other one still looks like it's ready to go at any time. If toes had the same names as their corresponding finger, I would be talking about my pointer toes. (Second in from the big toe) But in the world of toes, those ones would probably be ring toes, that's where I always wore my toe rings.

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In other news, I finally made it to the doctor to check out my gall bladder. My doc was already talking surgery before he even sent me to get my ultrasound. Which freaked me out. On my health history I had checked off weight loss, so he asked me about it. When I told him I had lost 86 pounds his immediate response was, "On purpose?!"

Who accidentally loses 86 pounds, really? I could see 5, 10, 15, maybe 20... but 86? It takes a lot a freaking hard work to lose 86!

Anyway, I think he could have handled that situation a little better. I didn't really dig him from the start. He had on a gold chain and some of his chest hair was poking out of his scrubs. He totally struck me as the kind of guy that would have been a lot nicer if I had blonde hair and fake boobs.

But who does this guy think he is? He does colonoscopies for a living?

Meh, now I'm just being mean. Needless to say, I'll be looking for a new gastroendenologist.

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I had an ultrasound on Wednesday and I got to see my stones on the monitor... they're going to be soccer players!

I have two small stones, and apparently the small ones are the more painful ones. I asked my ultrasound technician if my stones and me can have a peaceful coexistence; one where I don't feed them anything that makes them angry, and inturn they don't make feel so sick I want to die.

She said it is possible. My gallbladder is not infected, so it doesn't have to come out.

There's a little ray of hope! :)

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Normally I don't think I know more than doctors. In fact, I know I don't know more than doctors. But I really don't want to have surgery if I don't have to. If they remove my entire gallbladder it'll mean an overnight stay in the hospital (something I've never had to do), and at least a month before I can return to any form of strenuous exercising.

Even though the pain is pretty bad I know I can control it through diet. And I know I can get through it for at least the next two months.

I'm pretty much refusing to let surgery get in the way of my training for the portland marathon. I've worked too hard and I just want to make it to Portland so that I can take a break afterward. A real one.

In the mean time, my mom is researching my holistic medicine options, and I'll be avoiding Cheez-its, french fries, and excessive amounts of dairy. We can get through this!

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Even though it seems like my body is falling apart, the rest of me is incredibly healthy! Blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, my insides... all in terrific shape! The guy who took my blood pressure was surprised at how "normal" it was. He asked me if it's always that low...

I dunno? I guess so, right?

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That concludes this health update :) Hope everyone else is feeling as healthy and vibrant as possible!

So where's this slow and steady race?

I am the slowest runner, ever.

period.

ever.

exclamation point!

As I embark on this marathon journey I realize I'm going to be doing the majority of my long runs on my own. Which is fine, I'm perfectly good company for the first nine miles... then I'll talk to just about anyone who passes me. Don't be surprised when you start getting calls from the road! I'm just not used to being solely responsible for my pace.

My first official long run after the Seafair Half Marathon was an 11.2 mile run... over queen anne hill, around lake union, and back over queen anne hill. It took me 2:25! Granted, I did run the queen anne hill twice, and I wasn't really on fresh legs, but still! I averaged 13 minute-miles! Yeesh, some people walk that fast!

Here's the loop:


I highly recommend it! It was a beautiful run. The best part was getting to the other side of the lake and seeing buildings I had just ran by look so small in the distance. I mean, this was a fantastic long run! The problem was my heart rate only raised above 165 when I was running up hill. I held back and fell into a nice easy pace that I could have kept up all day.

But who wants to run all day?

My only motivation for getting faster is that I just don't want to be running for 6+ hours to finish the 26.2! I'm not talking about running a sub 4-hour marathon... I'm thinking between 5:15 and 5:45. (And hey, I would be ecstatic to beat Katie Holmes' time. Hey, it looks like we might have the same pants!)

Last weekend I did a 10-mile long run, and it took me 1:56. Not too shabby... And yesterday I ran 6 miles in 1:06. I'm totally happy with that, too!

What I need to learn is how hard to push myself. I dream of being able to just bust out 10-minute miles with no effort necessary. What I'm now realizing is that if I want to run 10-minute miles, I need to keep running miles at that pace and eventually it will get easier. Or at least striving for that pace. My 6-mile run was definitely not easy. I really had to push the last two miles to keep up the pace.

I think I've found the difference between jogging and running. When I'm jogging, I can run for days at a super slow pace. When I'm running, I'm pushing and trying to gage how hard to push so I have enough endurance to las the whole run.

Tomorrow morning I'm doing some speed work again. I did some track workouts with Holly on Monday and it was awesome! I wish the track by me wasn't so scary :)

I also think it might be time to step up the gear... I'm really thinking about getting a heart rate monitor that tracks mileage and pace... A big investment, but it will really help me on my long runs.

I want to go fast!!! Now I need to work for it!

I have been to purgatory

Yesterday I finished my second half marathon during the hottest day of the year in Seattle. It also happened to be the hilliest course I have ever run.

We'll start with the good part... like the first 5 miles were no problem. It was a little warm, but we ran across the 520 Bridge (photo to the left) and had the benefit of a nice cool breeze coming off the water. I couldn't even believe we had been running for an hour already!

Everything was going fine until I saw the 7 mile marker...

half way up a hill.

Wait a second... this course was supposed to be flat! I had checked the course elevation map and the biggest hill should be coming between mile 11 and mile 12 (coincidentally the hardest mile in a half marathon, right?) Here's the course map provided by the race (to the right), which shows some rolling hills, but for the most part, a fairly manageable course.

Chris and I are able to get through the first two hills. There are some wonderful spectators on their lawns wetting us down with their hose and sprinklers. It feels great for a moment before all the water evaporates off my skin...

Damn, it's hot.

We get the satisfaction of running down hill, only to turn the corner and see...

another incline?!?!

I started running up it, but I was going so slow I knew I had to walk... it was too much. My heart was pounding and I could not cool off. I checked my heart rate monitor... 178! And I'm walking... partially in the shade!

As a reference for me, here's how the heart rates break down:

165- Nice, easy 11 minute-mile
175 - Pushing for a 10+ minute-mile
180- Running uphill in cool weather
189- Heart is about to pound out of my chest, incredibly uncomfortable

I realize I need to to take it easy, especially if I want to have anything left for those last dreaded miles. I stopped at every water station and walked while I downed glucose and water.

I'm able to keep chugging along, but this part of the race was definitely challenging. I knew Deb would be at mile 10.5, so I had to at least make it that far!

Deb was actually a little past mile 11, which actually made all of mile 10 go by much more quickly! She asked how it was going, all I could say was, "this sucks!"

I knew I only had two miles to go, but I started to feel all sorts of strange sensations in my body. My hands had swollen to the point where it was painful to try to close my fingers. My feet were swollen and my shoes felt so tight. My left ankle shot pain up my leg with each step, meanwhile my right hamstring felt like it was on the verge of cramping.

And I had the chills! I could feel the goosebumps showing up on my arms, and I felt cold, yet feverish. I even starting getting a tingling sensation on my face.

Then Chris and I hit the even larger hill. I knew I had to walk it. We both decided to walk to the top and see how we felt about running the downhill afterward. As we were walking Chris saw this gal we had started with. Her shirt said, " I thought this was supposed to be a beer run!" She really wanted to beat her, so she picked up the pace.

I did not.

I felt like I was lucky to be walking at this point.

I came to the mile 12 marker, only a mile to go... slightly downhill. I started to run again. I was sooooo slow. I just could not muster enough strength to pick up the pace. I could see Chris off in the distance. But she was too far. I couldn't catch up. I just had to take it at my own, very slow, pace.

Before I knew it, I turned the corner and I was in the shoot and could see the finish line. It's funny, at this point during Vancouver I started choking up because I was so proud of my accomplishment. This time, they were literally tears of joy. I knew not to let myself totally cry because I can't breathe, but I didn't care, I was sooooo excited for this to be over!

Then some dude started coming up on my left... No way Jose! I somehow found some strength to pick up the pace and finish before him!

And then there was watermelon! Woo hoo! I could not think of a better post-race treat! My face was covered in watermelon by the time I met up with Deb, Chris, and Chris' family.

I don't even care about my time, or the fact that I had to walk more than I would have liked. I am so ecstatic that experience is over. I was so nervous the night before and it turns out, the race was even more terrible than I had imagined it would be. But I survived!

Chris later emailed me the actual course elevation and map:













Yeah, that's more what it felt like. Every agonizing step... But I couldn't be more happy that I did it. I probably won't put myself through that again... but now I really know that even when things seem terrible, if I just put my head down and take one step at a time, I'll get through it.

I'm too stubborn not to.

Portland, here I come!

Snoop Bloggy Blog

Man, I sometimes really suck at this "keeping up with my blog" business....

Here are my excuses:
- I've been working a lot
- I've been running a lot
- I've been enjoying an active social calendar
- And all these things mean I'm not sleeping much

The running world has been awesome! I've found two running buddies crazy enough to meet me as the sun comes up to go for a jog. We get to enjoy the beautiful views this city has to offer, and we have them all to ourselves!

Myrtle Edwards park can be somewhat scary when you're on your own, this morning Sarah was awesome enough to meet me at my apartment and we embarked on a four mile journey along the water front and back up Queen Anne hill. She's such a trooper, this run is gorgeous, but either way you end on an incline, Queen Anne hill being the lesser of two evils.

Tomorrow morning I'm meeting Chris at Alki at 5:30 a.m. to do 5 or 6 miles. This run is also fantastic! It's flat and we usually make a point of ending the run at starbucks, just in time for me to need some caffeine!

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So I've neglected my blog a little, but I'll be back! This weekend I'm running my second half marathon. I don't feel totally prepared for it, but I know it'll be fine. Expect a full report!

Heart Rate and Fat burn (heart burn and fat rate?)

Although I haven't been to the gym in months, I was always mystified by the heart rate scales on the treadmills and elliptical machines. For some reason if your heart rate stays lower you are in "Fat burn" territory. However, when your heart rate gets higher your workout is considered "Cardio."

WTF?

I thought the whole point of doing cardio workouts was to burn fat?

I read this fantastic book, Marathoning for Mortals, which I highly recommend to anyone even remotely interested in running. Here's a section from their book that breaks it down:

"You run all of your tempo workouts just below your anaerobic threshold, that is, the level at which your body begins to burn the short supply of glycogen or sugar in your system at a higher rate. Your muscles can burn one of two types of fuel–fat or glycogen (stored carbohydrates). At lower intensities–such as walking–your muscles prefer to burn mostly fat for fuel. However the higher your intensity, the more glycogen your muscles burn.

"You can go for days on fat stores but only a few hours on glycogen. The body is always using a ratio of both, but for the purpose of a successful and comfortable race, you want to burn a higher rate of fat.

"Your tempo workouts will allow you to raise your threshold. Ultimately, your body will burn a higher percentage of fat for a longer period of time at a higher intensity. This not only helps you lose weight; it also bolsters your endurance. The more your body burns fat for fuel, the more it conserves glycogen and the longer you can run without feeling tired."

Hey, I'm a fan of burning fat, So I think I'll keep up the tempo runs!

I mean, it makes sense that you can build endurance by increasing your threshold. And really I've seen evidence in my own running career.

Presently I am reading The Complete Book of Running for Women, where I discovered that women store the same amount of glycogen whether we eat a diet containing 60 or 75% carbohydrates, but we burn more fat than carbohydrates or protein compared to men. Which means our glycogen store will last longer.

So.... if I keep up the tempo work and maintain a healthy amount of carbs and fat in my diet I will be able to run forever...

Or cover the same amount of distance in less time...

I prefer the latter. Even though I totally agree with C.S. Lewis when he said, "If one could run without getting tired I don't think one would often want to do anything else," let's face it, comrades, the best part of distance running is when you're finished.

30:38

I knocked 4 minutes off my last 5K time in a matter of 4 months. And it wasn't easy.

Last night I ran the fremont 5K. (My race photo is there to the left.) My intent was to use this race as my tempo run for the week. I haven't competed in a short race or fun run in a few months, and I was curious to see how fast I could really run 3 miles.

I would really chalk this event to a bad run day. I came home from work starving and against my better judgement, had a pretty heavy meal. It was also raining all day, so I wore pants, a long sleeve technical shirt, and a jacket...

It ended up being a beautiful afternoon, and I couldn't believe it. It was actually pretty hot (considering our recent weather), and around mile 2, I could tell my upchuck reflexes were being tested...

I ran the first mile at a relatively slow pace (or so I thought), but then I hit the mile marker at 9:40. I felt fine, but I was distracted by the two barefoot men running near me, and the woman on one leg who passed me.

Between mile 2 and 3 is where it got hard. I could feel myself slowing and couldn't do anything about it. My heart rate was in the 170's (which for me means I'm pushing, but I'm probably at about 80% of my capacity). And all I really felt like I could puke at any time. I even rationalized stopping and walking for 30 seconds.

But come on, it's 3 miles...

There was a large crowd of people around a runner who had fallen. As I got closer I saw his hand was covered in blood. I looked in through the crowd and saw a man in his 40's with a purple face and blood under his nose. It was pretty scary! The ambulance was on it's way for him.

I passed the mile 3 marker at 29 minutes. I could see the finish line, so I wanted to push harder. I could feel my heart pounding, but I pushed anyway. I was 50 feet from the finish line and looked down at my heart rate... 188! Oh Sh*t! But I'm so close. My heart feels like it could jump right out of my chest, and it's over!

When I stopped running my entire body shook. I knew if I had to run another step I would have thrown up. I could feel my dinner packing it's bags and getting ready to come back up.

Sarah finished just after me. She also felt pretty woosy, so we headed to the food table, got some water, and met up with her husband, Michael, at the beer garden. Danielle finished a little after the both of us, so we all went to a bar and got a beer.

The beer actually calmed my stomach, quite a bit!

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The book I'm currently reading, "The Complete Book of Running for Women" casually mentions a 10-minute mile as though it's a slow pace, on par with jogging. I find this fascinating! I've been running for over a year now, and I'm only finally getting to a 10-minute mile pace, and only on my short runs. I think one of my other side goals would be to have a 10-minute mile be my 10K pace. I would LOVE for it to be my distance pace, but really my only motivation for running long distances faster is so I won't have to be out there for so long!

Guess it's time to up the speedwork!

Reunited and it feels so good...

Sorta...

Saturday morning my alarm went off at 5:45. I slowly got myself out of bed. I found my running pants, got my sports bra on, strapped on my heart rate monitor, located my one technical shirt, threw my hair back in a ponytail, put on my under armor running socks, and went into the kitchen.

It's weird how a routine and gear can feel like getting reacquainted with an old friend you haven't seen in a while. For two months every Saturday started this way. It was completed by having a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of soymilk.

After the Vancouver Half I took a week off of working out. My body appreciated it, and I continued to lose weight. The problem was, not working out was starting to become too easy. One week turned into two, and then three... I went on the occasional three mile social run, but nothing I would consider training.

Saturday was going to be my first long run with Chris. And I knew it was going to kick my ass. We were planning to run 6 (or 7 miles). Which is twice what I had run at any one time in the past month. To make matters worse, rather than eating a healthy dinner and going to bed early (like I did for my two months I was training), I decided to go out for dinner and have a glass of wine... and three jack and diet cokes.


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Back to Saturday morning... Chris woke up with a stomach bug :( I knew this was going to make it easier for me to wuss out on my run... but instead I went anyway. I decided to run along the Burke-Gilman. I knew it was three miles out to the water fountain.

Mile 1-2:
Were awesome! I was somewhere around 10.5 minutes a mile for the first two and the felt great. I've totally missed this!

Mile 3:
It's funny how quickly running goes from being enjoyable to pretty uncomfortable in a matter of a couple steps. It's hot out and I got a pretty bad cramp and felt my breakfast starting to come up, and I was ready to turn around, but I hadn't even made it to the water fountain yet... Then I looked down right as I was stepping on the marker for three miles. I knew the water fountain wasn't far, so I kept going.

Mile 4:
I spent this entire mile looking for the mile 2 mile marker I had seen on the way out. This sucks.

Mile 5:
When you run out and back you get to cross paths with some of the same people. I see a man approaching slowly, he's walking... and carrying a cup of coffee in his hand.

Mmmm... coffee, I look down at my monitor to see how many minutes I have to keep this up before I can be smug walking around with my cup of coffee... dang it, probably 20 minutes yet!

Mile 6:
I'm so close I can smell it! I'm ready for this to be over with... and it is!

I spent a good 20 minutes stretching at my truck, and it felt so great! All of it, so great! Even the agony (haha, I can be so dramatic!) during the run seems all worth it now that it's over.

I missed this!

I felt so great after my run, I go home and sign up for a couple other fun runs and races I'm planning to do: the Fremont 5K, the Seafair Half Marathon, the 4 mile run at the Redhook Brewery... and the Portland Marathon.

Here we go!