Monthly Archives: May 2014

The WILMA Dash 5k

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Running Boston and Beyond

It’s starting to get a little swampy here in the hood. Humidity levels are rising, as to be expected, and from how I’ve been running lately, I’ve acclimated to the increase in temps and swamp levels pretty well. Surprise for me since I loathe running in warm, sweaty weather. Give me some 40-degree running and I feel like I can go all day. Not the situation anymore, unfortunately. Case in point was last night’s WILMA Sweatfest Dash 5k.

I had a busy afternoon yesterday. I had to pick the kids up from school early so my oldest could get his eyes check and we could find out how much more blind he was getting. It’s still not terrible, but I hate seeing him have to wear glasses to see. I’m extremely lucky and have 20/20 at 40 years old. My husband is virtually blind as a bat.  I didn’t appreciate my good vision as much until he told me that he would just love to open his eyes and be able to see. That would totally suck. Boy, I’m rambling a lot today already.  ANYWAY, the appointment took forever and then my son had to pick out new frames for his new, more powerful glasses, so we didn’t get home until 4:00.  I wanted to leave the house at 4:30 to get to the 5k early, which was to start at 6.  I didn’t leave the house until 4:50, but it turned out fine. I got there in plenty of time, and I was happy that my sister was able to join in and go with me.

Oh, now I remember why I brought up that I got home late…. I wanted to eat something close to 4:00 so I didn’t run with a bowling ball in my stomach, but I didn’t eat until 4:30, and I chose a banana with peanut butter. Come to find out, it was way too much peanut butter as it felt like a bowling ball anyway, which is what I really wanted to avoid. It wasn’t too hot, I think upper 70’s, very humid, but cloudy.  I was at the start about 15 minutes early and the race started on time.

The WILMA Dash 5k is an all female race that is all about getting active and healthy. It is for runners and walkers of all ages, sizes, and fitness levels. Almost 800 women and girls finished the race this year, it’s 6th year. I’ve never done an all female race before, so it was really cool to see people decked out in cool costumes and just banding together to have fun.

wilma dash2

I wasn’t feeling the best before the start and I wasn’t sure if it was the peanut butter or nerves. There’s something about races that always makes me a little nervous. I knew a PR wasn’t going to happen, and I was ok with that, but I did want to run a good race. I told my sister that I was expecting between a 22 and 23 minute finish. The air horn sounded right on time and I took off. The course took you right up a short steep hill and the rest of it was more of slight inclines and declines. My pace stayed fast and steady between 6:30 and 7:00 pace, and it crossed my mind a few times that “hey, I could possibly get a PR in this thing after all”. That quickly subsided at mile 1, when I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold the 6:50 pace for two more miles.  Thankfully the bowling ball feeling went away, but then I got the sweats.  The course had a lot of turns in it too, which I don’t particularly enjoy, but really, it was a nice course as long as you really paid attention to your steps due to sections of cobblestone streets and the boardwalk at the end.

I felt myself breathing really hard somewhere in mile two, but really, it was probably 90% humidity and upper 70’s, so what would I expect, especially at that pace. For a bit in there somewhere, I thought I might hyperventilate, but thankfully, that feeling stopped. I knew I was running well, and was happy that the three miles ticked by relatively quickly. Don’t you hate it when a 5k feels like a half marathon?

I tried to go a little faster the last quarter mile, but there were several more tiny turns, so I wasn’t able to gun it or anything. I saw my personal cheerleader, who happens to also be my sister, at the corner right before the last turn, right before the finish, so it was nice to see her there cheering for me. I turned and crossed the finish in 22:09.  I was really happy with that!

Then the sweat deluge started. Holy cow it probably took me 20-30 minutes of walking around to stop pouring sweat! Yuck. I haven’t race in conditions like that in a long time, and thankfully it was only a 5k.

We meandered to the Wilma Nights Health Fest where we got a drink and some food. I wasn’t a big fan of the food, but it sure looked good! The Front Street Brewery Kolsch was worth the sweating though. My son’s baseball game was to start soon, but I saw I was going to win an award, so I wasn’t sure whether to stay for my award or leave and get to his game…. My husband and sister said I needed to get my award since I hadn’t missed any of my son’s games all season, so we hung out what seemed like forever for the awards to start. During that time, I met a girl who complimented me on my Boston tattoo and said her dogs’ names are Fenway and Tessie. I liked her immediately.

Finally, the awards started and I got to collect my medal and prize for 2nd place Masters and even 10th overall. I wasn’t too far behind 1st place and it was within my PR time, so of course I had to think the “what ifs” but slapped myself and was happy to finish where I did. And I’m not on a scheduled plan either, just doing my own training. Not too shabby if I do say so myself, especially on tired legs.

2nd Place Masters

2nd Place Masters

My sister and I quickly left as I was delusional enough to think we could make the tail end of my son’s game. On our way, my husband texted that the game was over, so I dropped my sis off and headed home to get some warm water for my shower before the boys stole all of it.

So after doing this “girl race”, I think it would be a lot of fun to run one with a group of friends, complete with tiaras and boas (although those might get a little annoying), and possibly even wine glasses on our hats like the “Run Now, Wine Later” team had.

I’m not sure what I’m doing today, if anything, with regards to running, but I know I’m off tomorrow and doing lots of yard work. On Sunday, I’m planning to run with my friend who’s near the end of her marathon training, and has a “vomit” long run. You know those, right? Run some easy miles, run more really super fast miles, run easy, fast, vomit, that sort of thing. It has been a lot of fun to run with other people, just going with the flow, and getting in some good tempo workouts along the way.

Monday is my .9 mile open water swim, the last with a wetsuit, so I’m actually looking forward to that, assuming the conditions are good.

Have a great weekend!

My newest medal and gift certificate

My newest medal and gift certificate

 

 

Categories: beach 2 battleship triathlon, boston red sox, half iron distance, marathon, open water swimming, running, swimming, training for half iron distance, training for marathon, training for triathlon, triathlon, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Saving Turtles and Losing Toenails, Not Necessarily in That Order

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Running Boston and Beyond

I lost my toenail last week.  The day after I ran the Boston Marathon, I knew I was going to lose the 2nd nail on my right foot. It looked very dark black and blue and had a blister under it. It’s been a few marathons since I’ve lost one and I don’t really understand why it’s THIS toenail either, but whatever. Small price to pay for a marathon, right?

I was taking my toe nail polish off the day I realized it was going to fall off soon and I started singing, “Nananana, hey hey hey, goodbye”. And that got me thinking of songs that my toenails and I could sing to each other in sort of a,  “You say tomato, I say tomahto” fashion.

ODE TO MY TOENAIL MEDLEY

Jammin’

Time After Time

One Week

The Final Countdown

“Goodbye, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu”  (that song the Von Trapp kids sing at the end of The Sound of Music)

Say Goodbye

Good Riddance

Breakaway

Killing Me Softly

Please Don’t Go

I Will Remember You

I Can’t Find the Words To Say Goodbye

I Used to Love Her, But I had To Kill Her

Hanging by the Moment

No, I didn’t actually sing these songs to my foot and they certainly didn’t sing back, but it was enough to entertain me for a while. Now I have a small little nail growing in, so I just paint where it should be, and not many people are the wiser. Sometimes you don’t remember how important the nail is either.  Less than an hour after the thing came off, I dropped my iPhone. Yeah, right on my friggin’ nail-less foot. Ouch. Then my cat came up and bit it later in the day. He’s bitey anyway, but sheesh, pick the one with protection, dude!

This is just to prove that he bites. He's kind of an A-hole.

This is just to prove that he bites. He’s kind of an A-hole.

On other notes, I’ve been feeling a little triathlony lately. Here’s the rundown of what I’ve been doing:

Last Monday: 5 mile run and .93 mi open water swim

Tuesday: 1 hour on the bike on the trainer

Wednesday: 5 mile run and .65 mi open water swim

Thursday: Nothing

Friday: 8×400’s at 1:35 and 2 at 1:45, 6.5 miles total

Saturday: Yard work

Sunday: 11.5 mile run at 9:00 pace

Monday: .93 mi open water swim

Tuesday: 5 mile run

Today: 25 mile bike ride

Scheduled for Tomorrow: 5k race – the WILMA Dash, and all women 5k downtown Wilmington. Will be my first evening race in the heat. Sorta wish I would have skipped this one, but oh well, I signed up so I’ll go.

The open water swimming is going well. I’ve been able to swim in pretty rough conditions as well as really good, rather perfect conditions. I have come to enjoy it, except when I breathe wrong and I’m floating there all gagging and stuff. I’m super slow, but I’m just trying to learn how to sight, which is totally easier than what I thought. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m swimming by myself (well, smaller than groups of 5 plus a “safety person” and I’m WAY behind so essentially I’m by myself), which is the opposite of what I’ll be doing on race day, but each practice is helping.

The view from where we got out of the water on Monday.

The view from where we got out of the water on Monday.

When I went on a bike ride a few weeks ago, I was almost home and saw a turtle heading straight into a four lane road. I pulled over and put him back on the other side of the creek/drainage ditch so he didn’t become turtle soup, at least not on my watch.  Then this morning, I was riding along and saw this tiny little thing just making his way across a road.  Of course I had to stop and put him on the other side and across a fence. He was probably between the size of a quarter and dollar coin. Just teeny and cute!

tri3

I do have to say, I had one of the best weekends in over a year.  Last year at this time, we were all stressed out with getting our house ready for sale, two kids in baseball, and getting our house ready for sale. I still don’t know why it’s taken so long for me to get settled here, but I’m slowly getting more put away, hung up, and relaxing. I guess when you live with adrenaline for over three years, it takes a while to get out of your system. So I’m a little dreamy about the weekend. We spent time with the family, swam in the pool, got kayaks to take out in the waterway, went to the beach, hung out with friends, got some yard work done, got some good exercise in, drank, ate, and relaxed. It was just fabulous. Oh, we even took the kids to the restaurant/pub where my husband and I met 16 years ago.

Cheers to almost 15 years of marriage!

Cheers to almost 15 years of marriage! And a $5 pitcher of PBR.

So THAT is what I’ve been up to.

 

 

 

 

Categories: beach 2 battleship triathlon, Boston Marathon, half iron distance, marathon, open water swimming, running, swimming, training for half iron distance, training for triathlon, triathlon, trying somethign new, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

I Didn’t Get Eaten By A Shark Last Night

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Running Boston and Beyond

Mostly because sharks don’t normally go into the waterway, but still, they DO.

On Monday evenings, a group of people get together and swim in the intra-coastal waterway. I was one of them last night. Last week, my wetsuit came in the mail, so I knew it was time to face my fears, and get ‘er done. It was a really pretty day, so I suggested to my husband that he come along and take the kids to the beach while I swim. Maybe it was a small comfort knowing that if he heard sirens or about a “swimmer in trouble” he would at least be there and not sitting oblivious to “an urgent situation” while at home.

I got my wetsuit on and my kids were nice enough to remind me NOT to fart in it. Heh, heh, of course they would say that. It seemed fairly tight, and when I mentioned it to another swimmer, she basically said “that’s how we all feel”. I let it go after that.  Turns out, it felt great in the water and I’m very happy with it and it’s buoyancy effect on my body.  Wetsuit + salt water = floaties.

The tide was steady and low when we got in, the water wasn’t cold, and the breeze had died down, so it was pretty close to perfect when we went out, just after 6 pm.  One of their friends was on her paddleboard, so it was nice there was someone watching out for us.

View from the finish where I dropped my shoes and a towel.

View from the finish where I dropped my shoes and a towel.

I thought the swim would be about .6 or .7 miles, and that made me slightly nervous.  When swimming in the pool, I stop every 25 meters, if only to grab the side and turn (I have not yet mastered the flip turn, or any turn for that matter), but it does give you some time to come up for air. They told me where to sight to, which was pretty much useless on me, because I’m just trying not to end up turning in a circle and going in the opposite direction.

It’s strange going from a pool to open water. You can’t see shit.  Then when breathing (because I can only breathe from one side at this point), the sun was glaring off the water, so I couldn’t see shit in or out of the water.  Once we started going, I got into a rhythm of sorts, and it felt pretty good. Then all of a sudden the warmish water got cold. Then warm, then cold.  It sort of freaked me out, so I stopped and realized I was headed for the docks. Oops. If I could figure out how to load my information from my Garmin, I would probably find my path something similar to this:

Not a straight path to my destination.

Not a straight path to my destination.

It made me laugh and I thought that it was too bad I couldn’t have a “sighter” on shore who could speak directly into my ear telling me “a little left, a little right”, you know, like the NASCAR drivers do. I’m sure the USAT would consider that illegal though.

The other swimmers knew I was a green novice beginner, so they stopped often and asked me if I was ok, doing all right, and that, which made me feel really good and less like a doofus. There was absolutely no pressure for performance, which is pretty unlike any running experience I have, ever. Especially when I’m alone.

There were three things I didn’t like: the water changing temperatures abruptly and often (ISN’T THAT A SIGN OF SHARKS OR OTHER SEA CREATURES?), boaters, and the dark water under the bridge. These are all things that I will get used to, and I was happy that I didn’t freak out or panic when what I assume was a seaweed thing got caught on my hand and when “something” touched my foot. I didn’t even stop to get it off as I knew that it would come off itself, which it did.  At the end, there was what looked like the head of a venomous snake poking out of the water, blocking me from coming to shore. OMG WHY WOULD A SNAKE BE RIGHT HERE??? I took my goggles off and alas, it was just a piece of Styrofoam. A very scary one.

I made it to the shore and I was surprised to see that, per Garmin, I swam .93 miles in 33 minutes. Hmmmm, if I can do THAT, what can I do in October? A sense of relief came over me, and I know that I can do this triathlon thing. No, the conditions won’t be easy like they were last night, training for and doing the thing won’t be easy, but I have many days of practice ahead of me, so I will be able to handle whatever happens that day.

I’m going back out on Wednesday evening to swim with another group, headed by my running coach who just happens to be a total kick ass swimmer, where she is going to help beginners like me learn the ropes of open water swimming. I’ll eventually learn to sight, how to breathe on both sides, and how to deal with less-than-perfect conditions. I’m on the couch-to-5k  swim program. It’s interesting and I could really like this open water business.  As long as the sea creatures and Styrofoam snakes stay away.

The icing on the cake for last night was finding my boys hanging out on the beach on a beautiful evening.

Post-swim.

Post-swim.

Trying something new isn’t bad at all. It can open up a ton of avenues and possibly bring you joy along the way.  Last night was a clear reminder of one of my favorite quotes:

“If you want something you’ve never had, you have to be willing to do something you’ve never done.”

I took my first step.

 

Categories: beach 2 battleship triathlon, half iron distance, open water swimming, running, swimming, training for triathlon, triathlon, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Giving It A Tri

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Running Boston and Beyond

I’m feeling better today. I’ve decided to focus on one thing to get done, get it done, then move on to the next thing. I did get a few pictures hung up, decided which color frame to hang in another room, and then I started painting my kitchen.  The latter was just to avoid cleaning my house, and in fact, created a whole other cleaning project because we all know painting kitchens is not the easy room to paint. But at least it will get done.  In the meantime, I’m trying to figure out how to do this tri thing. I’m taking a break from workout schedules and plans so I can rest my mind and have the ability to be flexible with what I’m doing. Don’t feel like running today? Ok, then don’t. And it’s ok.  I need the break from “having” to do a certain workout.

I really was in a quandary on whether or not to do the Beach 2 Battleship Triathlon or to make it a relay. The tri will be 11 weeks before the Houston Marathon, and the marathon is my priority.  I didn’t want tri training to mess with marathon training. I thought about not doing the tri.  But then I realized it’s probably a little fear creeping in and the fact that I’m just so used to running, anything different feels strange. I’m assuming tri training will do nothing but help marathon training, so I fully committed to doing the 1/2 iron tri in October. I’m in. What I’m NOT interested in this time, is going for a certain time. I would like to just enjoy this race like I used to enjoy running races, without worrying or thinking about PR’s and all that stuff. I want to enjoy the training process and enjoy the race, as long as I meet my cutoff times of course.  Well, I have to say that the running part is the serious part, something that I will be concentrating on more, probably because I enjoy it more and I will be working towards a marathon PR just a few months post-triathlon.

I know I needed to start getting my rear on the bike so I can work out soreness from that, get the bike adjusted if need be, and get back to it.

Getting ready to go.

Getting ready to go.

There’s an amazing feeling of freedom when it comes to bike riding. My first ride in many months was on Wednesday, where I parked at Carolina Beach State Park and rode 26 miles. I finished in just about 1:30, so I was pretty happy with that since I haven’t ridden in so long and I was just out to ride. Here I go again, making speed a factor, but maybe that part of my brain just won’t shut off.  It was a beautiful day and I had a beautiful view, so I came back refreshed and happy.  I learned a few things too. Don’t wear cotton undies and it’s time to cut the RAGBRAI tags off the bike. Yes, the bike has been on many a RAGBRAI from moons ago. (I REALLY want to do this ride again in a few years – I did the full ride waaaaaay back in 1993 – holy crap that was 20 years ago. Damn.) It’s a dinosaur in it’s own right.

View along the way.

Ocean view along part of the way.

Southernmost point of the Wilmington peninsula.

Southernmost point of the Wilmington peninsula.

My rear didn’t hurt and my legs were fine post ride and the day after.  Thank you, speed work!! Yesterday was swim day. I tried and tried to talk myself out of it, but I knew I needed to just get in the pool and give my swim tether a tri.  It was wavier than I thought, which is good since the waterway isn’t glassy and I need to get used to it, and it stirred up some of the junk in the pool, which is fine because it’s still way cleaner than the waterway.  It wasn’t bad. The only thing I don’t completely like about the swim tether is that the resistance on my arms is different than if I was actually swimming. I think they’re going to get pretty tired, but my solution is to just use the kick board and get some of that in as well.

Using the swim tether.

Using the swim tether.

I only gagged once and realized I need to get my butt back in the pool a few times before I head out in the waterway on Monday or I’m gonna regret it! My timing was off and I realized I only had about 15 minutes to play around in the pool before I needed to leave and do transport for a local dog rescue. That was an event all to itself and I ended up with a blown tire on my way to pick up the dogs. Thank goodness for husbands who drop things for their wives so they can help rescue animals as he traded cars with me so I could make my meeting time and wouldn’t have to wait for the AAA guy to change my tire.

I was going to take today off since we are getting a sod delivery and will be doing that all weekend, but a cool front came in and I just don’t think I can resist taking a nice run down the road and getting a small peek at the waterway yet again today.  Yes, I’m going to do just that.

Thanks for all the encouraging words and if any of you triathletes want to chime in on your favorite workout, I’d love to hear it. I’m not going back to coaching until July, so I have a lot of work to do on my own. I’m also on Facebook so if you want to, come “like” my page and we can communicate that way. And you’d also get to see my Goober picture I posted yesterday.

Better go, my shoes are calling!

Good luck to all doing the Ironman Texas this weekend!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories: half iron distance, iron distance, marathon, open water swimming, running, swimming, training for marathon, triathlon, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Oh, Yes I Did

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Running Boston and Beyond

I have been feeling “meh” lately. I can’t put my finger on why. I don’t think it’s the post-marathon blues, although I’m sure there’s a little of that in there too.  I feel like I can’t get things organized. My thoughts, my house, my little world feels like it’s a yard sale right after you announce everything is half off. I can’t locate my satellites.

I'm still waiting....

I’m still waiting….

After living in my house for almost a year, you’d think I’d have all my shit together, wouldn’t you? Well, I don’t. I don’t even know where my shit is TO get together. I don’t even have all my pictures picked out for the frames that I haven’t put up yet. Then when I get the pictures printed, my kids have changed enough that I have to wonder if I should just take new pictures and put THOSE up.  I’m tired of the mess and the clutter. Admittedly, I’m also still mad about the marathon. I’m not upset about the experience, I’m upset that something so “simple” as salt can tear down in a matter of minutes what it took me months to build and years to earn. So I think I’m still getting over that. I’m still trying to re-boot. It’s almost like I don’t let myself think about the biggest and best marathon that I’ve ever run. And that makes me sad.

Waiting for a re-boot.

Waiting for a re-boot.

So what do you do when you feel “meh”. Me, I sign up for stuff. Oh, yes I did. I signed up for the Quintiles Wrightsville Beach Marathon, my backup marathon for Houston. And it may not even be a backup at that point, I may just run the hell out of it. It is only $60 to register for the month of May, and I know I can change it to the half if I want, but hey, it’s a really good deal.  And it’s basically in my back yard. Bonus. I just got my wetsuit in the mail too. Yes, I sign up for and order stuff.

I’ve been running really well lately, too. I’ve been averaging 8:30 minute miles, even on the easy days, and Saturday’s 10 mile run was an 8:00 pace. It gave me a huge high… until I had to do back-breaking yard work the rest of the day. I keep putting off tri training too. I feel like I’m breaking up with running. “It’s not you, Running, it’s me!”. Oy, it feels silly but after focusing on running for so long, it’s hard to break out of that routine. BUT I am getting on that bike this week and taking a nice long ride, just to see where I’m at. Then next Monday, I’m headed out for my first open water swim. Will I get eaten by sharks?  Will I start to love swimming and biking a fraction of how much I love running?  I don’t know, but I’m sure going to try and have a little fun.  And maybe by next week, I’ll have hung up my pictures.

So when you’re in between training for events, what do you do if you feel “meh”?

 

 

Categories: Boston Marathon, half iron distance, marathon, open water swimming, running, swimming, training for marathon, triathlon, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | 10 Comments

Redemption In Two Ways

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Running Boston and Beyond

Guess what I’m doing tomorrow morning? Yes, I’m going for a run, but I’m also going to register for the Houston Marathon that will take place on January 18th, 2015.  Is 2015 less than a year away??? Cripes. It’s my redemption race and my plan is to crush it.

houston marathon

Why am I signing up for THIS race when there’s a bajillion other marathons right around the corner from me? Well, I’m running THIS one for a few particular reasons

1) It’s large (13,000 for the marathon and 12,000 for the half marathon). The more people around me while running, the faster I seem to run with less effort. I like the hoopla, the crowds, the other runners going along with me. It distracts me from what I’m actually doing to myself 🙂

2) It’s flat.  People talk about the “hills” somewhere in there, but it’s flat, plain and simple.

3) The race is in January so it shouldn’t be hot.  It’s Texas so anything goes in January, but typically, it’s nice and cold and the start and cool at the finish.

4) I have a lot of friends in the Houston area and will get to visit them.

5) I got my BQ there in January of 2013. Bad weather that day, but good memories.  I want another one.

The timing of this race was interesting, because it’s 11 weeks after the Beach 2 Battleship 1/2 Iron Distance Triathlon I’m doing at the end of October. I wasn’t sure if it would work to do both, but after looking back at Training Peaks, the timing for the 1/2 marathon run and training for the full  marathon look pretty close. I thought the biking for the tri will only strengthen my legs and hopefully help keep me injury free – cross training is awesome. For a while, I was ready to ding dong ditch the triathlon and just do the relay again, but I really want to do it all. I don’t see why I can’t.  So I am.

The quote that I have on my fridge so I can always remember it when I get hesitant to do something is this:

“What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” 

I'm looking forward to doing this for "fun", not for time.

As for running recently, I started feeling better last week. I took Thursday off so I could go to my son’s Battle of the Books competition, so I felt I needed some miles on Friday. I am SICK of running in my hood so I headed to the track at UNCW to park and ended up going 7 miles on the cross city trail. It felt awesome and I finished in 58 minutes.

I had a wonderful and fulfilling 3.4 mile run with my son on Saturday. We just chat and gab the entire time, so we plan to run more often. What a wonderful way to bond with your kid! Then over Saturday and Sunday, I hauled almost 8 TONS of mulch into my yard while my husband was doing all the other things that needed to be done in the yard. Needless to say, my back and arms are a “little” tired, and I refused to do any more yard work today. Mulch makes me cringe.

Mulch, anyone?

Mulch, anyone?

I was so shocked and pleasantly surprised at what having energy was like on Sunday evening, even with all the yard work. It’s been weeks since I haven’t been either traveling or doing long runs, so it was refreshing to feel really good. My husband ran his 3rd 1/2 marathon after only running 5 miles to train (sorry for hogging every weekend morning for MY training, honey!), and I was so proud of him to finish in 2:05.  I looked up a few full marathons for him to do, and it’s only a matter of time before he hits that “REGISTER” button. (As I rub my hands together and give him a maniacal laugh..). HE was the one who was knocked out last night, poor guy.

Hubby after his 1/2.

Hubby after his 1/2.

And redemption was mine.

Today was my redemption run. It didn’t start out to be one, but as I was running from the UNCW track again, I felt some fatigue from the weekend and probably from a few glasses of wine I had last night. Hey, they were in a pink flamingo glass so I blame that for going through them so quickly 🙂

I’m still relatively upset about what happened in Boston. I know, it’s just a race, it happens all the time. But still. I’m competitive so it’s really difficult not to separate the marathon from Boston.  I pulled through my fatigue this morning like I was finishing the last 7 miles of the Boston Marathon. I kept going. I went faster. I imagined the cheering crowds, being able to cross that finish line with gusto, not with guts-o ( I was extremely nauseated when I crossed the finish line in Boston). I wanted to beat my “fresh” time from Friday.  So I pushed it. I didn’t go all out as I am still in recovery mode, but I wanted a pace like I was imagining I would have run in Boston. I finished that 7 miles in 56:48, a minute and 12 seconds faster than Friday.  And an 8:07 pace. I’m good with that. I got my redemption. There weren’t any crowds, there wasn’t a finish line, but I got to push through fatigue and the desire to cut the run short so I could finish. Now it’s time to put the bad feelings away and only remember the best part of Boston.  I got redemption.

This is all I need to remember from the Boston Marathon.

This is all I need to remember from the Boston Marathon.

Categories: Boston Marathon, half iron distance, marathon, running, swimming, training for marathon, triathlon, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

If Running was Poker, I’d Be in Rehab

Posted on May 2, 2014 by Running Boston and Beyond

addicted

Hello, my name is Kelli, and I am an addict.  It dawned on me the other day that I am addicted to running.  Yes, it actually took that long to figure out. I knew I loved running, and fell deeper in love with it this last training cycle, but I really think I upped the ante and became addicted.  I’m sad and slightly anxious that I don’t have a race in the near future, especially a marathon. I ran a marathon less than two weeks ago and I’m chomping at the bit to run another one. The mind wants something that the legs simply cannot (and shouldn’t) deliver. I’m getting withdrawal symptoms.  Irritation. Obsessive thoughts about running. Crankiness. Wanting to train for something. I miss my Training Peaks emails.

I started thinking about how my husband felt about the whole thing and my continuing preoccupation with running that will soon be paired with swimming and biking.  I asked him the day after we got back from our Boston trip, “So, how do you feel that “this” is never going to end. I’m always going to want to compete, to get better, and to run races? It’s. Never. Going. To. Stop.”

He likes to play poker so then I started thinking, wow, what if I played poker and spent as much time/money thinking about and playing poker as I do running. Yikes. I’d totally be in rehab.

Thankfully for me, he is really understanding about my passion, my love, “the other” in our relationship, and I believe I balance everything pretty well. My family is first, but running is not even close to other things behind it (you’d totally understand that if you saw my yard and my junk drawers and closets and well, you get the picture).

So I looked up the “signs of addiction” and wasn’t surprised at what I found.  I am, indeed, addicted to running.

I compiled a few signs, adjusted them to the running addiction, and listed them below along with my answers. Go ahead, see if you’re addicted too.

****Disclaimer time: Now really, I’m just poking fun at this, I’m not making light of someone’s true and detrimental addiction to a substance or an unhealthy relationship with running.****

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*  Do you start running and cannot stop? Have you made at least one serious attempt to give it up or slow down, but was unsuccessful in that attempt?  *I was going to run “one more marathon”. Four marathons ago.

*When you stop running, do you suffer from withdrawal symptoms, such as cravings, bouts of moodiness, bad temper, poor focus, a feeling of being depressed and empty, frustration, anger, bitterness, and resentment?   * WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME ALL THESE QUESTIONS??????

* Do you continue running despite injury?  * Does this count if you pretend the injury doesn’t exist? Oh, see below for “Denial”.

* Do you make financial sacrifices in order to continue running and related activities?  * Um…. define “sacrifice”.  The bills are paid on time and the kids are fed.  We took the kids to Boston! They didn’t want to go to Disney anyway. Hey, isn’t there a race at Disney?  

* Do you take risks in running that you normally wouldn’t take in every day life?    * If doing something to cause a driver to think or say, “damn runner” , then I have succeeded. Do I get a medal? And I don’t listen to my 5k play list when I drive anymore.

If you've ever said, "I signed up for WHAT?!" then you know what endorphins are and what they can do. Dangerous.

If you’ve ever said, “I signed up for WHAT?!” then you know what endorphins are and what they can do. Dangerous.

* Do you use running in helping you deal with your problems?  * “Step into my office” said the sidewalk.

Um, not really.

Um, not really.

* Do you find yourself obsessing about running and lose focus on your other every day activities? * Ok, well, like I said above, the kids are paid and the bills are fed. What? I think about food.

* Do you ever run in solitude and not tell anyone about it?  * Is the sky blue and the grass green?

* Do you feel you are in denial about your addiction to running?  * Everyone else does it.

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*Do you find yourself running in excess, causing dizziness or fainting, abnormal hunger, loss of toe nails, excessive muscle cramps, strange tan lines, and/or signing up for ultra races?  *I currently have a blue toe nail.  Add red nail polish and it isn’t a bad shade of purple, y’all. And I have a farmer tan. It’s cool. And the raccoon eyes are just from sunglasses.  

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* Have you dropped other hobbies and activities besides running? * There’s other hobbies and interests besides running?

* Has your running caused any issues in your relationships?  * Hmmmm, maybe that’s why my husband grinds his teeth at night… And most of my friends are runners so if we’re all doing it, then it’s okayyyyy!!!!

 

addicted

 

So there, my friends, are YOU addicted to running? I hope that if you are, it’s a good addiction and you maintain a healthy balance with other people and activities in your life. Better go, time to RUN!!!!

 

Categories: Boston Marathon, marathon, running, training for marathon, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | 4 Comments

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