Summer Running

So I kind of had a drive by post the other day, so I figured I’d come back and will in some details.

First off, if you are considering registering for Zooma CapeCod, do it NOW! They’re filling up (first time in the 3 years I’ve run it that I’ve seen it get this full), so hurry before you’re closed out.  CCAMB1 will still get you 10% off!

Quiet Summer...

Sorry, it's been a quiet summer for me so far!  Here's my quick update:

I still am feeling the effects of my winter running sabbatical.  Running is so hard again! The humidity isn't helping, I know! but still, it's sooooo hard....

But, I'm up and moving.  I'm trying to make my Monday run a 4.5 mile loop instead of my 3.3ish one.  Plus, I'm officially at the leading edge of my Zooma Half Marathon training. (Hurry and sign up if you haven't yet, it's 95% filled already! Use CCAMB1 to get 10% off!)  Which means that I actually have to get up on Friday, Saturday or Sunday and log some actual miles.  I did it the last 2 weekends, 3 makes it a trend, I'll let you know on Monday!

Plus, it's time for the annual Tour De Common in Rindge, NH.  I'm hoping for a repeat of my 3rd place in my age group! Pete, my oldest is too old for the kid's fun run, so both the boys are doing the very hilly (300 ft climb!) 5K.  My sister is being *awesome* and running her first 5K too! You know how I was talking about how it's hard to tell who's motivating who?  Well, add my sister to that list.

Ok, on that note, I'm going to sign off.  More later on my love/hate of my fitbit and other fun summer stuff.

Zooma Ambassador Again! and Who's Motivating Who?

It's been a while, like 4 months.  First off, let's start with the good stuff, for the 2nd year in a row, I'm a ZOOMA Cape Cod Ambassador!

Isn't she pretty?

Discount code will be available by mid month.  They're trying to get the ambassadors more involved this year.  The first is a Photo A Day contest on Facebook and Instragram.  Check out #ZOOMAPhotoADay.  And keep looking for more ZOOMA related info from me between now and September 27th!

Go the Distance

I was on vacation last week, since it was MA school vacation week. I got back to work this morning and saw the 400+ emails waiting for me. There were the daily work updates, spam, a few emails that needed responses and the news updates.  I also subscribe to a few email newsletters and one of these caught my eye.

Paul Hellman taught a public speaking class at my office.  I enjoyed the class, and apparently made an impression with my opening line of "Half my group quit". (that's a story for another day.  He sends out weekly "Energize in 30 Seconds" tidbits to get you thinking.  The tidbit from Thursday, April 18th really spoke to me and I wanted to share it.  He doesn't have it on his website, so I've copied it here.  Please share, but attribute it to Paul.

____________________________________
Go the distance
by Paul Hellman

Go the distance.

I'm working at home today.  Or attempting to.

If you live in Boston, and even if you don't, your attention keeps getting pulled back to Monday's Boston Marathon.

You heard the news, you saw the pictures, you feel the heartache.  And you think, the Boston marathon, this glorious event, will never be the same.

But consider:  A marathon is about going the distance, no matter what.  It's the hero's journey.

I've never run a marathon.  But I run almost daily.  Running, I used to tell my kids when they lived at home, solves about 20 problems, 10 of which you never knew you had.

You may not feel like running, but running teaches you to ignore that feeling.  Running is action.  You put on your sweats, lace up your sneaks, and start moving.

People have been running, of course, for thousands of years.

Some days, it feels like that's been you, the entire time.

Marathon, a Greek town, was a battlefield in 490 BC.  The Greeks expected defeat, they were outnumbered.  Afterwards, a messenger was sent to Athens.  He ran a long way, got to the assembly, and said, "We won."

Then he collapsed and died.

That's the story anyway (Wikipedia).  Maybe it happened, maybe it didn't.

But you and I know the truth about marathons.  It takes grit to run one.  And it takes grit, after a day like Monday, to keep moving.

Every marathon that ever was, and every marathon that ever will be, delivers the same message:

Persist.

The Heart of the Story

"To get to the heart of the story, you have to go back to the beginning" - Henry VIII in "The Tudors"

When I created this blog, it was really to track my training for my 2nd half marathon, since shortly after I completed my first, I had all but forgotten the tears shed when I first ran 10 miles or when I bonked at 8 miles and was still 5 miles from home (thank goodness for Dunk's and cell phones!).  But I feel like I've hit an emotional wall with regards to running, so I need to remind myself how I got here.  I haven't told anyone the whole story, although a few close family members and friends know it.

I didn't used to be a runner.  I joined volleyball in HS because we only needed to do 10 laps around the gym.  I was always "fluffy", "curvy" or "chubby".  Unless you look at my BMI from 1999-2009.  Then I was obese.  I really hate that word.  But yeah, I was.  See?

Me and 1 year old Pete. Summer 2006. 

After I had Brian, I lost some of the weight and fought to keep it off.  That was my first foray into running.  I did Couch to 5K and ran the 3.5 mile JP Morgan Corporate Challenge.  In 48 minutes.  Then I stopped running until I got sick.

October 2010, right between my sister's wedding and halloween, I ended up in Mass Gen's ER.  I honestly thought I was having a heart attack.  After spending 12 hrs in the ER, having them rule out the heart attack, stroke, rule in then out a pulmonary embolism, we figured out it was a gallbladder attack. Except my gallbladder and I parted ways in 1997 due to the same exact attack.  I'm just this side of a medical miracle; I make "chunky" bile.  Nothing 6 months of pills, minor surgery and diet modifications and exercise can't fix.  On February 17th, 2010, I set my alarm early, hit the gym before work and started on the journey that has lead me to a small collection of 5Ks, a 10K, 2 mud runs, a color run and 2 half marathons (and counting!)

Brian's 5th Bday 2012. Me at my healthiest.
Please excuse the mess! :) It's hard to find any pictures of me.

And here's why I'm typing this up today.  I've had a tough time staying motivated this winter.  I've gained weight. I feel sluggish. My running routine is, well, barely a routine. So, I'm frustrated, which means old habits, like eating, are coming back. Which make me feel more sluggish, more frustrated and it's this horrible cycle. And for me, the only way to break the cycle is to face it head on and remind myself of why I run.

This is my response to the simple question of "why do you run?"  I run because that woman in the first picture couldn't run 20 feet down a ramp. Because she had problems picking up a 1 year old.  Because she slept horribly due to all the snoring.  And because she hated all of those things.

I run because I remember when I couldn't and when I wouldn't.  And I won't ever go back there again.

Not a Resolution

Yeah, I know, it's been a while. I haven't really written about running for a good reason. I haven't really been running.  Since the Zooma Cape Cod Half, I put in about 13-15 miles.  Yes, I ran in ONE day the same miles as the 3 months since.  And yes, I'm very embarrassed.  But, part of it is OK too. I took some time off for legit reasons: post race, injured toe, the flu (2 days of 102+ fever! then a good week recovery till I could stand up with coughing).

But there were the less than legit reasons, like "I'm tired today"or, "It's 6 degrees on Jan 2. I'm not going to the gym I haven't gone to since the spring to run on the treadmill. Everyone there will think I'm a New Year's Resolution Person".  Made total sense at 4am.

When I found myself avoiding twitter, because I follow so many runners, I noticed.  When I weighed myself, I really noticed.  I had all but stopped running.  Sure, getting up early on a few Mondays and getting through a slow 30 minutes was keeping me from being totally sedentary, but I wasn't feeling fit or healthy.

I mentioned this before: I'm the type of person who needs goals. I need a race to aim for and train to.  Sept 29th is a bit far off, and I haven't really found anything sooner that fits my family's schedule. So, I made a goal.  Technically, it's 4 goals. I'm not calling it a resolution, because, well, they never make it to February.  So, without further ado:

Nicole's 2013 Running Goals

1. Run at least 3 days a week
2. Go at least 3 miles per run
3. Run at least 1 half marathon (aiming for 2)
4. Run at least 500 miles this year

Ok, I know you're looking at goal 4 and you're very confused.  If I'm running 1-2 halves, that should be easy, heck, I should have passed that during last year.  Nope. Didn't really come close, actually.  I ran Princess in Feb, and Zooma in Sept, plus a bunch of 5Ks (both virtual and "real").  I hit 350 miles. So this year, I figure I can average 10 miles a week, instead of the 7 (yes, I'm using 50 weeks per year. I'm assuming I'm going to miss at least 1 week for vacation, and 1 week buffer).  My minimum won't get me there, but it'll get me 90% of the way (hey, literally!).

I decided this over the weekend. I got up Monday, I ran 3.07 miles in 38:35. I got up this morning and ran it in 37:30.  I'm getting up tomorrow, and I'm running it.  

I'm a little nervous about the days when its below 25 in the morning. At what temperature do I get on the treadmill in the little gym with the icky showers?  The extended forecast is calling for single digits in 2 weeks.  I don't think I own enough clothing to go running in single digits!

Post-race reflections

If you've been following along this summer, you know I ran the Zooma Cape Cod Half Marathon this weekend.  It was a beautiful course, and very well run race. Don't tell the folks at Disney, but I think I actually liked Zooma better!  Less pagentry, more camaraderie. 

Anyway, I PR'd by 1.5 minutes at Zooma.  On hills. Almost 800 feet of elevation. I was flying high at the end of the race.  Crying and yelling when I crossed the finish line. 

Then, Sunday, we had a bit of excitement at home and I barely noticed the day (quick summary: It's all good now, Hubby got dehydrated, and passed out.  7 year old called 911 for me, Hubby ended up in the ER, discharged 6 hours later and has been fine since. Side note: I ran 13.1 miles and peed within an hour of finishing. Hubby had a gigantic buffet breakfast and ends up on IV fluids. Just saying.) But Monday? Monday hit me hard!

Monday, I couldn't walk up or down stairs without grimacing.  I was told to take the elevator several times.  I replied with "I ran 13 miles, I am not taking an elevator" and continued to hobble.  I fell into chairs instead of sitting.  I wore flip flops with work clothes because my weird toe nail hurt. I had slammed the toe into a curb a few years back and the nail now grows up instead of out. Apparently, it was too long during the race and got banged up. It's now a pretty pale purple color and achy. 

Tuesday, got better.  I could almost sit and stand easily. Stairs slowed me down, but weren't painful. Toe got some more color to it, and a bit throbby, but I could wear shoes.

All of the aches and pains got me thinking: during the training runs, I was fine.  No long recovery times, no toe issues.  But, then again, it took me 2:40 to run 12 miles during training.  What was different about the race? 

I ran faster.  That's it.  I checked the elevation, my 12 mile run was 787 ft, the Zooma Half was 797 ft.  Let's call that even (and I was worried about the elevation change! I probably should have check my long run elevation before the race, not afterwards!).  The only different was I kept my pace and walked less. I also set a more realistic pace than in training (10:20-12:30 min/mile vs 8:50-10:20 min/mile), which made it easier to keep.

Going into the race, I wasn't even thinking PR. Heck, I was hoping for 10 minutes over my first half.  At one point, I was running with Michelle, and found she was aiming for sub 2:30.  I ran with her for most of the race.  She finished stronger than I did, and got her goal and PR.  I was right there with her, till mile 10.

Up until mile 10, I was on target for a 2:30 finish.

Right now, I'm afraid to actually aim for a 2:30 goal.  But maybe that's just the busted toe nail talking.