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.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Sunday, February 3, 2013
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.
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.
- 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.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
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.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
13 Moments
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.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
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.
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.
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