5 Years

Five years ago, I completed my first endurance event.  It was a 15k.  I was woefully unprepared, and spent a little over a week recovering.  By recovering, I mean regaining my ability to walk/sit/stand without wanting to cry. I had a panic attack in the first mile.  My Jenny's sister, Jessica, told me if I didn't keep going she would make me run a 1/2 marathon with her. At that moment, it was the scariest thing I had ever heard.  Thirteen miles seemed like crazy talk.(Yes, I realize the hilarity of this statement.)  Five years makes quite a difference.

I am not overly proud of my performance during that race.  I guess I should say I wasn't very proud, finishing the marathon on the same course as the 15k did a lot to help my memory of that first race.

Tonight, in the same Disney parking lot where I had that panic attack, my family will run our first 5k.  I have never run a 5k, so this will be interesting.  I will be running beside my girl and I am so very excited for her to cross her first finish line and get her first medal. 

Heartbroken

I am heartbroken for the people and runners in Boston today. 

Boston is a dream, a goal that a marathoner looks toward, trains for, and must qualify to even attempt to sign up.  As a new marathoner the look I get from people that heard I have finished a marathon is one similar that I give to those that say they have completed and or qualified for Boston. 

The early finishers often make their way to just before the finish line to cheer on the runners still going.  People will hang out at a finish line just to cheer for people they don't know.  Spectators and runners are some of the most special people in my world right now.  There were many nameless runners that cheered my on to my first 26.2.  My breath catches and heart aches to think these strangers that loved on me for a few minutes in January may be hurt or their world torn apart today. 

I went to Boston for the first time in college.  We were there for under 6 hours but the city has held my heart ever since.  Today it breaks with theirs.  My family lives there, I am scared for them.

Someone told me that I am now a part of the 1% of people that will ever finish a marathon.  These people today are part of my 1%, I will stand with them and pray for them in the days to come.  If I cross paths with a Boston 2013 participant, I will hug them, hold their hand, and tell them I am so glad they are safe and I will mean it with ever fiber of my being.

I Am No Longer That Girl

I love looking back at the photos of my race weekend.  They never cease to bring a tear to my eye.  I was laughing today because of my picture from the expo.  That poor girl had no clue what she was about to do.  She was scared nearly to death but excited to try.  Whenever someone asked her goals about the race her answer was "To not die.".

I am no longer that girl. As much as she will always be a part of me, I will never doubt I can finish a marathon, or anything else I want for that matter.  My body image is completely changed.  I am less discouraged at how my legs look, they are still scarred and larger than I would like but they carried me to a long standing dream.  I am much more forgiving of a little cellulite. I look in the mirror and see strength not weakness, there are no words for how freeing this is.

I know not every person will have a chance to run a marathon.  I want to share the video of me when I caught sight of the finish.  It was supposed to be a picture but the palm of my hand switched the camera to video.  Please excuse the slightly off key and overly exuberant singing, I had after all just completed 26.1 miles.  I was nearly there, joy and thankfulness was radiating out of every pore. This is what it looks like when a girl that was told she can't realizes she can and did.

One Year

I am one year out from my first 1/2 marathon.  I started this blog to track my progress during the training for said 1/2 marathon.  It took a few stops and starts but last February, I finally crossed both the start and finish line. I have heard numerous times the person that crosses the finish line is not the person that started the race. I had no idea how true this would be. I finished my first half and immediately set my sights on my first full marathon.  Somewhere on that walk around Disney I decided I might want to try the Goofy.  Once that thought entered my head, I could not get it out of there. 
A little over a month ago I completed the Goofy Challenge.  I am still struggling with the emotion of having completed this goal.  I still tear up when I see a part of Disney I have not seen since my races. When I talk about my Goofy weekend, my voice will still catch in my throat and my eyes will well with tears.  I was afraid this was not a normal feeling, until I met a fellow runner at Disney and as we talked about our races, I noticed we were both in tears.  I think of all the reasons I shouldn't have been able to do this, and know my emotions are fine.  I think the biggest of these was the fact that I ran on the tenth anniversary of setting this goal.  When I had my daughter, ten years ago, I had to have a c-section. For ten years not only have I carried a goal of running a Disney race, but also the feeling that my body failed me on her Birthday.  I am thankful every day that I was in the care of doctors that were able to deliver her safely and healthy, but I feel like my body was not able to do what God had designed it to do. This was the second occurrence of a body part not working and me ending up in an operating room. I think the overwhelming emotion comes from knowing that I overcame something I have struggled with for years.  This time my heart and body both got what they wanted. My ankle was strong, my heart beat normally, my brain wouldn't let me stop. I finished.  I will carry this success with me always.

Training With The Girl

We have decided to run the Expedition Everest 5k challenge as a family.  This means we also needed to convince a 10 year old, she is capable of running 3 miles. All of this happened while I was doing my recovery from my last race.  This will be all of our first 5k.  I am a little nervous because 3 miles is my most disliked distance.  I am hoping to embrace the "short" run. While training for my first 1/2, 3 miles was my scary distance when I started, maybe that has just stuck with me. 

I have never trained a child, I struggled training myself, and I am not an expert.  That being said, I started this blog to encourage and log my training to hopefully inspire others not sure of where to start. I will continue that now as I also work with my daughter to get her 5k ready.  The Girl regularly talks about running the mile at school and that some days PE consists of run/walking the track for the allotted class time.  I also know she is capable of walking miles and miles at Disney without whining. I used these benchmarks as a starting point as to what seemed like a reasonable goal.  My husband had taken her on a 2 mile walk the other day and she was running ahead and back, in a similar fashion to a quarter drill for a good chunk of that.  As the member of the family that has done a race before, my main job will be encourager/pacer. 

I decided to take her out for a 3 mile run/walk to see where we were starting.  Since it is a Run Disney event they have a required pacing of 16 min/mile.  The girl and I did 3 miles in 42 minutes.  I also added in a 1/4 mile warm up and cool down lap.  We started with a 1:1 run walk ration of 1 minute. Now that we know she can keep the pace required for the race we are going to slowly build up the run:walk ratio. We will likely add in some upper body work-outs for all of us since we are unsure of what the obstacles will be.

A Few More Memories

I have a few more things I do not want to forget. I have enjoyed 2 weeks of rest, the hamstring seems to be all healed up, and The Girl and I have completed our first 3 mile run as a duo. As I took my downtime after the races, new memories come flooding in.  I wanted to get them in writing so I could look back on them when training for next year's Goofy gets rough.

- Yes, I said next year's Goofy.  My husband and a friend or three want to do the Goofy with me next year. 

- The final Marathon finisher finished with her service dog.  One of the lovely, amazing, and beautiful volunteers brought a medal to the dog in the med tent.

- Having a best friend that stayed up to make sure she could talk to me while I was on the way to the starting line both days.  Also having her husband, one of my favorite people in the world (mostly because he gets my stupid jokes), tell me they were proud of me. I miss those two.  With any luck they may be 2 of the three from item 1.

- A guest service representative that saw The Girl cheering for every single runner, asked her to come find her before they headed to see me at the finish.  She rewarded her with any stuffed animal she would like.  The guest services rep said since she spent her birthday weekend cheering for the runners she deserved something special.

39 Thoughts

I haven't posted about my training for the Goofy.  I am now two days out from the Goofy Challenge and my legs work just like normal.  They are a little sore and the hamstring I pulled during the full is still angry with me, but I feel incredible.  So much so that I am having a hard time believing that I actually finished a half and full marathon a mere 48 hours ago.  Since I haven't updated on the training I will probably add a few thoughts on that to the 39.

1. The best moment of the races was my husband telling me he now wants to start running and do a race with me.

2. In two different races with 25,000 + people at the start line, I found a runner that had done the half with Jenny and I.  It was incredible to find him nearing the finish line of our Goofy.

3. The half was the most amazing day.  I cut 10 minutes off my Princess time.

4. It seems unreal that the sunburn will last longer than the muscle pain.

5. Social Media is a powerful tool.  I realized the day before the race that I was doing something amazing when an Ironman wished a couple of us Goofy runners good luck.  My friends came through with positive comments, prayers, and good thoughts when I thought I was done in mile 9 of the full.

6. Bio Freeze rocks.

7. Did you know monorails have horns?

8. I told my fellow half participants what the lady had told me on the overpass into Epcot.  I had another runner look at me and say "I needed to hear that, thank you.".

9. 3 sunrises over Disney are beyond magical.

10.  Disney does magic best.  The concierge at the hotel was handing out flowers to the finishers when we arrived back at the hotel. I cried.

11. Magic = Defying Gravity coming on my iPod as I rounded the corner to the finish of the Marathon.

12. To the man with the "One day you may fail, Today is not that day!" sign at mile 24, Thank you.

13. The most hilarious sign was "You're halfway there" at mile 4. The girl next to him had a sign that had an arrow and "Bad at Math".

14. I started in the last corral.  I looked around during the half and found that I was mostly running with people that started 2-3 corrals in front of me.

15. One of the larger charity teams had volunteers spaced throughout the race to cheer on their runners.  During the full one of these groups loudly said "You need to cheer for these people the most they probably won't make it." as I was running by.  I almost believed them.  Luckily my long distance cheerleaders were louder.

16. Can't is a powerful word. It is even more powerful when you prove that you can.

17. At mile 22 a Florida Highway Patrolman was telling us all we had to stop at the water station at the top of the hill.  The heat was brutal.

18. There were nurses at the finish line that wouldn't let you pass until you had started drinking your water or sports drink.

19. I didn't stop at any of the medical tents during the half.  I made up for this by stopping at all the ones that had Bio Freeze during the full. (A third of them had run out.)

20. On the Speedway just after I realized I had likely pulled a hamstring, I saw the pacer bus. It scared me. Terrified me actually.  I hobbled to the next med tent, slathered as much Bio Freeze as I could on said hamstring and never saw that bus again.  The next 15 miles weren't pretty.

21. Miraculously I finished in the allotted time.  I was told that once you were in the parks you could go over the time limit because they wouldn't sweep from the Studios or Epcot. I was not in the mood to test this theory.

22. The number of hours from the finish of the full marathon until I decided I would like to run another.

23. It took another 26 hours to decide to do another Goofy.

24. I had experienced marathoners tell me I was crazy to do my first marathon as part of the Goofy.  They were right. However it makes the accomplishment that much sweeter.

25.  Runners are a generous group.  I had people offer me candy and salt during the full.

26. Runners ability to lift each other up is incredible.

27. The Medic that walked a runner over the finish line deserves a special medal of his own.

28. Disney shoots the confetti cannon at the finish for the winners and the very last finisher.

29. If you are running an endurance event, pack your own nutrition. The conditions of the race can vary in ways that cannot be anticipated. Knowing I had enough Gu in my pack allowed me to not stress when the Clif bar team had run completely out at the first stop, and only had two flavors left at the second.  Mile 19 is not the place to discover if you like/dislike a new flavor of energy gel.

30. Walking around Magic Kingdom on Marathon Monday, wearing my medals, knowing I had wanted that moment for 10 years, was the most amazing feeling.

31. I ran the Goofy to challenge myself.  I sincerely congratulated every race finisher I saw.  I was amazed at how many said "I just did the half/full" as if it were a lesser accomplishment. Getting out there and doing any type of endurance event should never be discounted. Never.

32. I have done two half marathons and one full.  I have all my toenails and haven't had a blister.  The right shoes make all the difference.

33. My new goal is to get all of the East Coast Disney medals.

34. I have heard many times "The first steps are the hardest." this was true when I started training. Although I know think this is never more true that the 48 hours post marathon.  Once I am moving I am good but starting from sitting can be a bit dicey.

35. If you go to a race expo or watch a race you will see people wearing funny calf sleeves/knee socks.  These are compression garments.  These people are smart, follow their example.   I am convinced these have played a major part in my recovery. I also switched to properly fit compression pants during my training.  The recovery from my 17-21 mile long runs was better than the shorter ones with non-compression pants. They are amazing.

36. I do not have a picture of the finish lines once they were in my sights like I do for the Princess.  The palm of my hand switched to video as I was running. I was upset at first until I watched the one for the half.  It is hilarious.  I did it again on Sunday for the full. I obviously did not learn a lesson on Saturday.  I am so thankful for this video now.  I can hear the sob/laughs and some off key singing along to Elphaba.

37. Three medals are heavy.

38. This weekend contained so much joy.  I am going to hold on to that joy and try to not let the memory of the fear prevail. I am so thankful to my cheerleaders. 

39. The number of miles I ran at least a little bit of.  Next time I will run more. I cannot wait to continue this journey.

Post Race Workout

I had my first real workout post race today.  That is unless you count unloading and setting a new store with hundreds of cartons 24 hours ahead of schedule.  My upper body definitely felt that.  I have chosen my next race and it will be the Disney Wine and Dine in November.  I did my first training without any speedwork just choosing to get through.  Rather than slack off the workouts, I have decided that for the next six weeks, inspired by The Great Fitness Experiment, I will do Tabata based workouts combined with the Bowflex six week challenge.  I am tracking body measurement and mile speed, I will probably due a 1/2 way check in as well.  I started today running a straight mile for my baseline mile time.  I finished that mile in 8 min. 40 sec., can I just point out that is approximately 3 1/2-4 minutes faster than the first mile I finished when kicking off my training for the 1/2? I cannot wait to see what my next race will bring.

13 Moments

I achieved my goal of finishing my 1/2 marathon.  There were so many things that happened during the race I want to write before I forget them all. 

1. The jukebox in my head was in full force.  As we were walking to the corrals I was singing "Defying Gravity" from Wicked and "Past The Point Of No Return" from Phantom of the Opera.

2. No fear. There was not a single point on Sunday Morning that I ever doubted I would finish the race. Well, that is not entirely true as running under the Water Bridge scared me and made me claustrophobic, I really had no idea I could move quite that fast.

3. Strength. I never in my life have felt as strong as I did for those 3 hours and 8 minutes.

4. Running through Cinderella's Castle with my best friend, Jenny.  I mean it truly doesn't get any more magical than that.  It was so magical in fact that my emotions spilled out my eyes.

5. Mile 5-6 looking at Jenny and yelling, "Look at me, I am running a 1/2 marathon." Jenny's response was "You are just figuring that out?", me "Yeah, kind of.".  I think that getting to that point in the race and feeling so very amazing made me realize I was realizing this goal. The only race I did in preparation was a 10k.  I think nearing that distance and knowing I had a ways to go made it very, very clear.

6. Tears of Joy.  I really could not stop crying.  I cried as I crossed the start, the Magic Kingdom Parking gate, relief at making it through that stupid bridge, seeing the Castle, running through the castle, Mile 10 marker (maybe 11 and 12, too), seeing Spaceship earth and knowing all I had left was to run around it and to the finish line, and just after crossing the finish.  The tears at the finish were definitely the ugly cry.

7. Jenny had told me at some point towards the end she would look at me and yell "Balls Out" because that is what Joshua said.  Around mile 10 I looked at her and said "This is a woman's race it should be Boobs Out"  I think the other runners actually cheered for that one.

8. The lovely lady on the overpass somewhere between 9 and 10 that when we neared the top told us, "Look to your left." We did and her response was "They all wish they could be where you are right now, they will all finish behind you, you are doing great.".  God Bless that lady.

9. The lady in the Epcot parking lot with the sign that said "I don't know you but I am proud of you."

10. Overwhelming Joy.  Shawn took a picture as I was running towards them where they watched us.  The picture is focused behind me but all I could see was the smile on my face.  When I did the 15k a few years back he took a picture where I look frustrated and that was in view of the finish line.  Sunday I looked thrilled and we hadn't even made the halfway mark.

11. The marching band changing the song to "Eye of the Tiger" as we ran by.

12. The gospel choir at mile 13 that gave as many runners as they could high fives as they passed.

13. The finish line.  My goodness, I never thought I would get here.  I signed up after being able to run only 1/4 a mile. 

.1. Rocket propelled toilets make it very hard to sleep the night before a race.

13 Things

We have made it to the day before the race.  In celebration of making it through my first expo and training experience, I thought I would share 13 things I have learned.

1. If you don't love the scent of your deodorant, switch.  Especially if you use one of the "activated by activity" types.

2. If you have a pair of shoes you love, buy two.  They will wear out in your training and your emotions will vary from ecstatic that you wore through your shoes to sad that you cannot wear them for your race.

3. The support of family and friends will carry you farther than your legs. I have friends that ask "What is your distance this week?" or even "How is your running going?".  To everyone that has supported me, I will not let you down.

4. Your mind is a powerful tool. It can get you through each mile, do not let it trick you. Mile 10 is much closer to the finish line than the start.

5. For being such a solitary sport the legions of other runner whose faces light up when you ask them about their race shirt or smile and encourage when you tell them this is your first 1/2 marathon made me realize this is much more like a team sport.

6. Learn how to balance your nutrition in the best way for you.  There are plenty of websites stating study after study. Find what works for you.  I had one run that ended with me crashing on the bed an hour later and another where I did 12 miles and went to Disney afterwards.  The difference having this dialed in is incredible.

7. For a sport that supposedly only needs shoes, this can be quite pricey.  Race entry, cold weather gear, new shoes, special socks, belt to hold things, the list goes on and on.  Start with the shoes and add from there.  EDITED: Not to mention the replacement clothing for the jeans and things that no longer fit as your body changes.

8.  Your first step is the hardest. Tell everyone you can what your goal is, this will keep you accountable and maybe just maybe inspire someone else.

9. According to a study I read somewhere, Carb Loading should not just be a one meal thing but a multi day process with a taper.  Seriously, rest and eat carbs? This is this Italian girl's dream week.

10. You may feel stronger than you ever have.  This feeling of "I can conquer anything" is amazing. Once I hit twelve miles, my new goal is to run the Goofy Race and a Half challenge next January.

11. When I finish tomorrow, I will be on my way to fulfilling a goal I set in the days before my Daughter's birth.  We were walking around Disney the day after the Marathon.  I looked at my husband and told him I wanted one of those medals, tomorrow I will have one. I still want the Mickey medal most of all so when I run the January races that to me will be goal completed.

12. My cousin and I have our longest races to date this week.  She did an 8.3 miler in Honolulu last Monday.  I am so proud of her. She told me after one of my races that I inspired her, can I just say the inspiration goes both ways?

13. Nervous doesn't begin to cover my feelings today.

Breaking In

Today I started using my new running shoes.  I just did 2 miles today because I figured I would take it a little easy.  The shoes feel great, they feel very springy and easy on my knees.  I did 1 mile running and one Tabata hoping that would allow me to see how the shoes feel doing my regular pace or doing sprints.  I think these shoes and I will have a nice couple hundred miles together.
Since I have my new shoes I thought I would add up the miles put on my old ones since I started training for the 1/2 this go round.  I have put 103 miles on my old shoes since the beginning of October.  I have had these Nikes for a couple years but didn't always use them for training. This is the first time I have ever replaced a pair of running shoes because I ran through them.  I am so proud of these shoes and what they stand for, I hope they are just the first of many to be worn out from their intended use.

Race Mantras

When I finished the 15K just barely coming in under the allotted time, I kept repeating to myself "No loser bus." I know that it sounds horrible but my worst fear was that I would be picked up by the sweep and branded a loser. It is ridiculous to me now but in that moment made perfect sense.  I am not afraid this time.  I am well trained, I have already gone most of the distance on a long run, and I will have my BFF by my side.  This time I will probably repeat "Castle, Castle, Castle" for miles 1-5 and "Epcot, Epcot, Epcot" for 6-12, and "Finish, Finish, Finish" for the last 1.1. I am really hoping I can come home and change the blog title to something having to do with 26.2.

Long Runs & I Got This!

Since recovering from my cold I have managed to get in two long runs.  I put in 8.5 miles last week on 1/26 and was planning on following it up with a 10 today.  I had figured 10 was a good distance to try to knock out a 12 last week and have time for a two week taper.  Ten felt so great today I actually finished twelve.  Today I learned that Kona Punch Power Gels taste like bad cough medicine.  Blech. Also that my shoes have served their purpose and need replaced within the next day or two so I have time to break them in.  I am now overwhelmingly at peace that my race is 22 days away and confident I will finish strong.  If you had told me in October that I would voluntarily run 12 miles and then head out to Disney for the evening, I would have laughed hysterically. Today, I can tell you it was a blast.

31 Days

The overwhelming thought in my head right now is "Oh sh**, Oh please God help me" repeating over and over and over.  I am more nervous now because I have not been able to get my runs in since Thanksgiving due to two mutant colds that took up residence in my chest.  My first run was a strong 2.5 miles and I would have gone farther/longer but I didn't have time. I am hoping I can still continue to build up the mileage and not panic. I have some other things going on that are causing me to be a little more anxious than usual so hopefully I can put the nervous energy into my runs.

10K Recap

I ran my first 10k this morning.  I finished in 1:17, I am pleased with this result even though I would love to be faster, I need to keep reminding myself I am just starting. I am still only six weeks into this idea and I completed my first 10k. I actually feel pretty amazing about this accomplishment.

I had a really bad five mile run a week and a half ago that made me realize, I will have some serious issues if I can't figure out my pre-race nutrition.  I did a six miler this week a little slower than my pace today but had about 350-450 calories prior to my run. It was so much easier than the five miler.  Today, I made sure to cram in at least 600 prior to the race.  I started my day with two pieces of peanut butter toast with bananas sliced on top 1 hr 45 before the race start.  Around 1 hour before race time I ate a Clif Pumpkin Pie bar.  This was definitely the way to go for me, I felt full but not sick for the entire race. I need to balance my fluids a bit better because I got a stitch in my side to end all stitches in the side around mile 2.  It was so bad I could actually feel the tightness with my hand.  I walked more of mile two than any other mile.

A couple years ago I walked a 15k. I had no idea how to train, pace myself, or really even compete in a race.  I was still able to learn so much that helped this time.  The mantra "Just keep going!" works for walking or running.  The right music at the right time can make all the difference.  The 15k had DJ's and U2's Elevation kicked off my run to the finish that year.  Today, I used my iPod (one ear only).  Having more music than the time you expect to run your race is key, being able to hit the shuffle/forward button if the music isn't giving you what you need works well. I was able to use this in my later miles to set small goals for how long I would keep running.  For the 15K I had sunglasses in my pack, but when coming around a corner from dark/shade to sun in your eyes they are difficult to fumble with.  Today, I ran in a baseball hat and my sunglasses on, they are amber colored so I can wear them in lower light and still see just fine. After the 15k,  I also learned that no matter how early you started your race, stopping and taking a nap will ensure that your legs don't bend/walk properly for almost a week.  Today, I came home, showered, and went shopping for most of the afternoon.  My legs feel great.

I have some other things I learned today, too. Gatorade in a bottle will foam up when shaken repeatedly over 6 miles and become difficult to drink but the calories help. Gaga, Britney, Evanesence, Christina, and Pink can really help a girl keep a pace. Compression pants even though they are long do not make your legs feel overly hot. (I broke the no new clothes rule because my clothes are all for warm weather the 50 degree start called for desperate measures. Yes, I realize how lucky I am.) Starbucks at 3.5 is just cruel, I mean at that point I had already been up for nearly three hours and all my cash was at the start/finish line. The thought that you have friends and family cheering for you even if they are far away means everything. (My furthest cheerleader was in Ireland.) Seeing your baby girl's face light up as she sees you nearing the finish will ensure you have all the energy you need to cross that line.

Sorry

I haven't been great about updating my workouts.  I continue to shoot for an every other day workout of some type.  I have been trying to run for most of them because I want to get my endurance up.  This week I added in some Just Dance on the Wii.  I have been trying to keep a goal of adding one mile a week and have been able to keep up with that, even though this week my every other day did not work out.  I hit 4 miles today in 48 minutes.  Last week was 3 in 36.

Week One and 1/2

I started using Spark People this week to track my caloric intake.  It has a tool that allows you to figure out how much you should be eating based on your workout schedule.  Three days in and I can feel a huge difference in my energy level.  I can't wait to see how this translates to my runs.

I Don't Feel Like It.

My head is stuffy and hurts.  I keep sneezing from my allergies.  I am going to run today, anyhow. It is funny how much can change in a week.

Registered

I registered for the Princess 1/2.  I am too cheap to back out now.

Week One: 9/29 to 10/05/11

This all started with the overwhelming urge to try Tabata sprints and try forefoot running.  I will list workouts to track my progress each week. 

09/29/11 Treadmill 0.25 mile forefoot 0.50 mile Tabata 0.20 walk 11 minutes/.9 miles overall
09/30/11 Treadmill 0.30 mile forefoot 0.10 mile walk  5 minutes/0.40 overall
10/01/11 Outside W/The Girl 0.35 forefoot 0.45 walk 11 minutes/0.80 overall
10/04/11 Treadmill 0.85 mile (2 intervals 0.75 first interval) 0.65 walk 20 minutes/1.5 miles
10/05/11 Outside 1 mile run (12.5 minutes) 1.5 mile walk 45 minutes/2.50 miles