Race Day Tales

The story begins when I signed up for the La Jolla half marathon a few months ago. I moved out to California last August and wasn't used to the dry weather here compared to the east coast, so I've been suffering from asthma. I thought I had it under control, but it continued to act up as I ran further distances. Le sigh. So anyway, that was problem numero uno. Next, I'll be honest. I slacked MAJORLY on my training. My training was nowhere near as intense as it was for my previous half marathon back in C'ville. I'm a grad student. I'm teaching. I'm DOING SO MUCH STUFF AHHH EXCUSES. Anyway, so because life got in the way, I neglected training...I did get up to 8.2 miles before the half, however. I was planning on utilizing the last week before the half, but then problem #3 occurred. Monday afternoon...I notice a toothache. I figured I had a wisdom tooth coming in further. Thursday afternoon...pain has not gone away and I find myself bawling in my room from pain (yeah yeah...). Thursday evening. I realize this is not normal so I go to an emergency dentist at 9 PM to have an infected (ew) wisdom tooth pulled (OW). Friday. I'm on vicodin and can't walk around without getting super dizzy. Saturday...on the mend...still in pain, but not taking vicodin. Then at an event all day until 3 PM, which after, I had to drive 2 hours in order to pick up my race day packet (mind you, before the expo ended. I made it. Barely. California has so much traffic). Sunday, RACE DAY. Wake up at 5:45 AM, take some Advil, get pumped...as pumped as one can be considering the circumstances. At the starting line, getting excited!! Run the race...miles 1-4 go well. At mile 5, I can see the biggest incline in the race--a 420' elevation gain, which lasted for about half a mile. See that little ridge that wraps up the hill? Yeah.

Anyway, so I make it up the hill at a nice steady walking pace. Mile 6-8 are okay. That's when the tiredness kicks in though. I struggle through the rest, but nonetheless finish the race at 2:45, which isn't awful considering the circumstances. I didn't PR, but I ran it. I'm still proud of myself and my boyfriend was there to help encourage me on the way. So the moral of this story? Train more and asthma less. Oh, and don't go and get infected wisdom teeth. :)

So now I've completed 2 half marathons. Time for a marathon? We'll see.

Stream of Consciousness

So tonight at the gym, I got on the treadmill without any high expectations for myself. I went to the gym because, well...I'm paying for a gym membership and not going, and I thought, "geez, what a waste." See, I've been doing these fitness classes instead about 2 times a week...yoga, Zumba and the like...but that's not "real" cardio like running is. Yoga is great for strength, but...definitely not cardio. Zumba is fun cardio, but not intense cardio like running is. So I decided it was time to lace up the sneakers again and yell curse words at the treadmill. So I was on the treadmill and I usually huff and puff for 3 miles. Truth be told, I haven't been running in probably a month...anyway, I've also been battling with asthma ever since I moved to Southern California. Something about the dry climate is what they tell me...so I've been afraid of running anything more than 3 miles--just scared to have another asthma attack and let me just tell you how freaking scary those are. So the inhaler seems to be doing the trick and I'm probably just getting used to the climate now. I ran 1 mile...felt great...headed into the 2nd mile really optimistic...finished the 2nd mile pretty tired, but was like TO HELL WITH IT and kept going. I hit 3 miles and I started a little mantra. In one of my running mix songs, there's a line that says,

"Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight

Gotta kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight."

So I kept saying over and over to myself, "nothing worth having is without some kind of fight. FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!!" you get the picture. And I stared myself down in the mirror with a look of determination that said, "don't you dare give up." Anyway, so I fought for it! And I finished out the 4th mile having taken only one small walking break (next time, I hope to lose the walking break). See, I've run a half marathon before, but I haven't actually ran more than 3 miles since...wait for it...May of last year. Geez, that's embarrassing. But there it is. So hopefully this is the start of a new running pattern.

I constantly tell myself that I'm too busy or too tired to go running...I started teaching this semester and have 11 grad school credits + working another job...so I've been great at talking myself out of running. No more excuses though. I know I can make time. I just have to fight for it. To help me in my fighting, I have signed up for the La Jolla half marathon in April, sooooo...I've gotta get my ass back on that treadmill. 13.1 is the magic number! And this time, I got the BF to run it with me. :) Yay. Ok, time to grade papers and read a crazy long paper for my class tomorrow.

A Personal Milestone

On Saturday, April 9th 2011, I ran in the Charlottesville half marathon. I had been training for weeks and weeks and then all of the sudden, the race just popped up out of no where. I was excited, nervous, anxious, giddy...so many emotions the night before the race and the morning of. My mom came into town to support me since I couldn't convince anyone to sign up for a half marathon in C'ville. Hmmm, wonder why? Hills, anyone? Or perhaps it was the entry fee? I know college kids hate paying for extra stuff. Anyway, I had trouble sleeping because I was feeling all of these emotions. I ended up getting about 4.5 hours of sleep in the end, waking up at 5 AM to get ready, snag half of a bagel with peanut butter, head downtown to find parking and show up at the starting line by 6:30 AM.

Now, I've never ran in a race before like this one. The closest thing to a race I've done was a 5K in Old Town Alexandria and that was probably 6 or 7 years ago. The energy was amazing. Everyone was pumped for the race. It was of course still dark out and FREEZING. It was set to be an overcast, foggy day with highs of 45 for the race. I did a few jogs in place, and before I knew it, the whole mass of runners, both half marathoners and marathoners, started pushing forward to the start of the race. It was a feeling I've never felt before...just the sense of camaraderie, the energy, the support from the onlookers. WOW. We all ran in a huge clump of runners down main street, which was probably the flattest part of the course. After that, it was hill after hill, or so it seemed. I crossed the finish line at 2:41:31. I was elated when I caught a glimpse of the finish line. I had survived. I had done what I have never done before. I had reached a huge goal. I had achieved what I set out to achieve.

In retrospect, I know I should have trained harder during the last two weeks of training and even during my training plan. Between work, interning and being a full-time student, I found it hard to stay motivated during the middle weeks of my training. Then during the last two, my boyfriend visited, during which we ran only 1 day. Oh well. I tackled the hills as best as I could, pausing to walk now and then. Another thing that I was afraid of was my ankle. It had been giving me trouble during my runs for the past month or so...it feels like tendonitis (I NEED NEW SHOES) and that started acting up during mile 8 or so. Luckily, I felt kind of numb by the end/other parts of me were hurting, so it took my mind off of my ankle. Oh well, lesson learned.

Needless to say, I am THRILLED and eager to sign up for another race. Hell, I'm even eager to go running today, but my legs are telling me 'not yet.' I'm currently trying to find another half marathon in San Diego for the fall. That's right folks, I'm moving to San Diego!

Anyway, for my next race I will:

A. buy new shoes that support flat feet and control pronation (looking at Brooks or Pacers)

B. be more dedicated to my training

C. choose a training plan that does not span 2 months...maybe 6 weeks instead?

D. set a new PR !!!

Also, if you're a person that's not sure of signing up for a race or if you're even nervous about starting up running...I recommend BOTH. Sign up for a 5K. Just RUN. Your life will never be the same.

Well, I feel like I've ended one chapter of my running career and am about to start another one. I'll be sure to update it with my future training and future races!

On My Way

I'm such a bad blogger. Oh hey, March, where'd you come from? Anyway, I'm sitting on the floor of my room, legs feeling like jello after an 8 mile run. It's my first time running 8 miles. In fact, two weeks ago, the long run for the weekend was a 10K. Lazy me skipped that long run and didn't train that hard the following week. The following weekend, I was home in Arlington and was able to run the bike trail for 7 miles. I was so frickin' proud of that 7 miles...that slowwww 7 miles...but hey, I didn't stop once. Well, I swore to myself that I was going to train this week. And then midterms happened, sending me into a crazed, stressed, sleepless (well not really, but I averaged 5 hrs a night) week. I did not go to the gym or run ONCE this week. Nope. I felt bad for having not worked out at all, but I was too stressed and too tired to care too much. But then the thought of the half marathon being on April 9th kind of freaked me out. So today I ran 8 miles. I started out on some seriously hilly terrain...C'ville certainly doesn't lack hills. By mile 3, I was running at a snail's pace up an incline, but then I sort of went into "my legs are going numb" mode where I stopped feeling them too much. This got me to mile 5.5 where I decided I was getting ridiculously tired, especially after having to make a wide circle around this stupid car wash some high school kids were doing. By mile 6.5 I was faced with another ridiculous incline, which is what I walked up. But then I ran pretty much the entirety the rest of the way, stopping for water once at the gym as I passed it. So despite my couple of stops, I finished the 8 miles in about 1.5 hours. I find it ridiculous/awesome that my body can exercise for THAT long!! A month ago, I wouldn't have imagined my body could do this--that I could push myself this hard. To tell you the truth, I was even skeptical about following the training plan I had found. But...it has worked. I am completely on schedule for my half training. This week I plan on dedicating a fair amount of time to training as it's spring break and I'll actually have some free time (omg). So there you have it. I'm so damn proud of myself. It was also a beautiful day outside to run. Partly sunny, not too windy, not too cold.

On a different note, I need to figure out how to successfully carry water with me. I hate holding things when I run though. I've seen people with strappy water bottles around their waste...but that looks expensive. Meh. Also! I realized what my running mantra is. When I get tired, I start repeating "just keep running" over and over. It works...go figure. Ok, have a good weekend workout, everyone!

Triumph!

So I haven't written in a while. I've been disappointed with my lack of motivation and lack of hardcore training. I got sick with the flu and essentially had to take a week (6 days-ish) off of training, which put me a bit behind as you can well imagine. It was tough getting back into it after my body had rested for a week. I'm always SOsosososoosSOsoso busy and finally my body crashed and, well, it felt awesome to just be able to sleep. However, it felt good to get back into training. I haven't taken the last week too seriously though. I had a lot going on--was in the middle of making a lot of decisions and was busy with school and my internship and work and was incredibly STRESSED. I let training slide. I took probably 4 rest days last week. Yeah, I know. But man, it felt awesome. This weekend I was supposed to run 6 miles but I couldn't get myself to wake up early and run at home. I went home for the first time in ages and I just wanted me time. Well, me time I got. I think it prepared me for my training this week. Yesterday was Valentine's day and I slacked yet again, but today I came back into training full force and ran 6 miles. 6 loooong treadmill miles because it was getting dark by the time I got out of class. Don't ask me how I did it. Mile 1 was fine. Mile 2 was okay. Mile 2.5 I wanted off of the treadmill. Mile 3 I was getting angry and fighting a losing battle with my mind that told me to just stick with 3 for the day and be happy. But I paid a lot of attention to my breathing...and then I made the grave mistake of drinking water while running which gave me a cramp from hell. Well, it went away around mile 4. Then I knew I had it--6 miles was attainable as long as I pushed myself. I slowed my pace and picked it back up when I was ready. Mile 5 I was going strong and mile 6, I did some sprints mixed in with a steady paced run. So there ya have it, folks. I ran 6 miles for the FIRST TIME EVER tonight and I am damn proud of myself. It's amazing to see how far you can push yourself even when you think you can't do anymore. Now my legs feel like jello. I'm going to sleep so well tonight. Tomorrow I think yoga is in store. Agh, I'm going to be so sore. But it was worth it. I love seeing progress! :)

Sick

Hey all. Haven't posted in ages it seems. Well, like the title of this post says, I got hit really hard by the flu. Or something very similar to the flu. After body aches, a fever, sniffles, coughing, and all sorts of fun things, well...I'm still sick. Anyway, I was forced by my aching self to put training on hold for 3 days. THREE WHOLE DAYS. I was devastated. I was THIIIS close to going running on Sunday night, but I was told I'd be crazy to do so. Well, I suppose I was crazy tonight too because after being holed up in my room for 3 days (actually no, I went to class and interned, sorry to those folks I most likely got sick) I went to the gym and did 30 mins of stationary biking just to get myself back into the swing of things. It felt good, but right after I stopped wheezing (yes, wheezing) I started sneezing. So I'm obviously not back in the game yet. I haven't decided what tomorrow will bring. I might do some yoga orrr...I might try to run, but breathing is hard with a stuffy nose. I think I'll do what I can for the rest of the week without pushing myself too hard and then I'll have to repeat this week of training next week, which will put me a week behind, but since the half is on April 9th, I still have time to do that.

As for training itself, it's been awesome. I run, I cross train either on the stationary bike or in the pool (I looove the pool and the sauna after!) and I do speed work on the treadmill, usually. The weather has been so cold that I've been doing mostly indoor running. But I need to start outdoor running so that I can get used to the terrain. Also, I really want a Garmin. Kind of random. Well, time to drink some tea and knock myself out with nighttime cold meds.

Winter, are we done yet?

The Words of a Stranger

Today was my 2nd day of training. I did yoga yesterday for strength training and oh my gooooodness was I sore this morning. It hurt just to sit up to get out of bed. I popped some advil and bravely went running this afternoon. Training day 2 consisted of 45 mins of running (mixed with a few walking breaks because of my soreness) which gave me about 4 mi. What was funny and motivating was while I was on the return route from the downtown stretch. This one guy stops and says "If you keep jogging, you'll be where you wanna be soon." This struck me as interesting. I figured, well, he could be talking about weight. I mean, I don't run to lose weight per se, but it kind of happens anyway, which I'm not exactly complaining about. Actually, I've come a long way. This time last year I was 15 lbs heavier, to be quite honest. Anyway, and if that guy wasn't talking about weight, then I really appreciate the comment! After all, if I do keep jogging, I will be where I want to be. I will reach my goals. So I turned around while running and gave him a huge smile and a thumbs up and continued on my merry way.

Well, the run today was pretty tough. The hills were killers but I can't avoid them, especially since it pushes my muscles, builds my strength, and will prep me for my race that is over similar terrain in April. I'm not used to exercising day in and day out. I ran on Sunday and then have completed my first two days of training. Let's just say every muscle hates me and my legs feel worn, but I feel awesome--like I'm completing something I've looked forward to for so long.