Happy Turkey Day!

Yep, 'tis the season of giving thanks, spending time with family, and gluttony!

We're doing something a little different this year---participating in a Turkey Trot. A what? A Turkey Trot! Many towns sponsor fun runs on Thanksgiving Day so you can get out into your community, run with your neighbors, and start your day of indulgence off with some exercise. Jonathan and I, my sis, my little brother and his wife Amber are all running in it. Should be a great way to spend time together, do something good for our hearts, and mitigate the copious amounts of calories we will inevitably consume!

To find a run in your area check out the Turkey Trot race locator at active.com.


Happy Turkey Day!

Week 2 of 5: Mulligan Half Training Report

M: Rest
T: 4m (skipped)
W: 6m (skipped)
R: 4m (skipped
Sat.: 12m (did 10m on Sunday)

Ummm...another FAIL week as far as training goes. Sadly, I could have squeezed in a run twice this week and simply chose to do something else instead. It's cold in the mornings so staying in bed always seems to beat out a morning run. I've had lunch meetings so lunch hasn't been an option. If I wait until after work for a run, it is highly unlikely it will occur (which is why I like to do it in the morning or at lunch). Oh, well. This is the last week of my 2008 billing year, and I'm convinced my training will get back on track if I can just survive this week! My goal for this week is to run tomorrow, to run in the Turkey Trot 12k on Thanksgiving Day, and to get a run in on Saturday or Sunday.

So...I attempted 12 miles again yesterday. Same story---first 3 miles felt awful, the middle miles were great, and at 9.5 miles, my knee gave out. It's like I can't even bend it when it does that. I made it to 10 miles then walked the last 2 miles to my car. I was hurting. Every muscle in my body hurts today---the bottom of my feet, my IT band, my knee---yikes! I'm hoping this is the suffering I must endure for skipping so many workouts, and the aches and pain will disappear when my training is back on track.

Week 1 of 5: Mulligan Half Training Report

M: 4m (skipped)

T: Rest (ran 2 miles that night)

W: 5m (with hills)-(skipped)

R: 4m (skipped)

F: Rest

Sa: 11m (10.5 miles on Sunday)

My, oh my. This was a FAIL week as far as training goes. Talk about life getting in the way! November is the end of our billing year so I'm scrambling to get my hours finished, and this is my bestest friend, Christine's, last week at work so I was busy getting together a farewell party for her. I planned my work, but I definitely didn't "work my plan"! I ended up working late almost every night and was exhausted--physically, emotionally...I was beat. So I skipped my workouts. I did get in 2 miles on Tuesday night late. It was cool out, and I really enjoyed it (enjoying running is kinda new to me).

I kind of missed my workouts this week. I missed doing something physical and the stress relief and endorphin rush I get from exercising. I was really nervous about my long run since I skipped so many workouts. I was also nervous about running so long alone (not for safety reasons---just for boredom reasons). But to tell you the truth, I was itching to do something physical! I worked most of the weekend and was emotionally spent from my buddy moving so I just wanted to get out there and zone out.

It was incredible! The first 3 miles were pretty painful--my body was protesting after so much time off. But in mile 4, I hit my stride. I tried a new tactic this run. I ran 1 mile then walked 1 minute. I did this throughout. It was a success! In fact, I hit my mile markers (even with walking) faster than 12 minute miles (which is what I did the last time Jonathan and I ran 10 miles together). It helped to break down the run for me. All I had to tell myself was, "you get to walk in 1 mile." For some reason, this made the run seem less daunting.

I tweaked my knee in mile 7. It didn't hurt immediately, but I could barely walk (much less run) by the end of mile 10. I planned to run 11 miles, felt so great at mile 5 that I decided 12 was possible, but after the pain at 10, I decided to call it good. I'm going to make another run at 12 miles next weekend.

And running alone...I really enjoyed it. I didn't feel the pressure of keeping pace with Jonathan; I didn't even think about too much (I tend to get carried away when I have too much time to think so this is definitely a good thing). It was a gorgeous day, and I just enjoyed being out there and doing something physical. I've wondered if I really will be able to run the half alone, and after today I know that I not only can, but I think I will enjoy running alone. It just felt like so much less pressure. I'm really glad to discover this.

Until the end of November, my schedule is pretty brutal. It will be tough to get in all of my workouts. I'm going to try to take it easy on myself and work them in when I can and cut myself some slack when I can't. I'm actually looking forward to trying for 12 next weekend.

Let Freedom Run!

Since today is Veteran's Day I thought I'd post a cool story about a father (a 75 yo retired Marine) and son (44 yo) who ran 112-days and 3,330-miles from San Diego to Washington, D.C to raise money for wounded veterans (Tom and Warren Knoll's Freedom Run). Wow! And I whined about 13.1 miles!

Here's their stats:

Running the Numbers

3,300 Miles in Tom and Warren Knoll's Freedom Run

14 Total pairs of shoes they wore through

9 Number of hours their van driver stood in line to try out for Deal or No Deal to get publicity for the run (no deal)

$35,000 Money raised for the Challenged Athletes Foundation, the Wounded Warrior Project, and The Sunshine Foundation

How awesome is that? You can read the full story at Runner's World.

Let freedom run!

I'll Take a Mulligan, Please!

I like Wikepedia's definition of 'mulligan'- a mulligan is a retaken swing, usually due to a previously errant one.

Yep-that sounds about right. I'm going to start referring to my first half as a "previously errant swing". I'll take a mulligan, please. My mulligan? The Dallas White Rock Half Marathon. I'm not that concerned that I finish in a faster time really (though it would be nice). My goals for "running the rock" are:

1. Give myself permission to walk.--I know. I know; you're thinking...what? You walked a heck of a lot at the DRC Half! It's true. I did. But I went in thinking, "I will not walk until predetermined water stops." So when I needed to walk earlier and more frequently than that, I just felt like a giant loser. It got me down on myself and started the mental battle that I eventually lost. I'm going to be nicer to myself this time. If I need to walk, I will walk. Not if I want to walk, but if I need to walk.

2. Listen to the crowd, see the crowd, and take it all in.--This thing is supposed to be really neat; I want to enjoy it. I don't remember much about my surroundings at the DRC Half. I don't think I looked across the lake once (though I distinctly remember looking at the edge and wondering whether the odds were greater I could run/walk to the finish line faster than I could dive in and swim it).

3. Smile when I finish.

I'm going to start on Week 6 of the half marathon training program on Marathon Rookie. I'm also going to train at Wildcat Bluff once a week so I can get some hills in.

So here goes...I'll take a mulligan, please!

Recovery Week: Half Training Report

M: Massage!

T-F: Rest!
Sa: 6m with hill work


Ahhh...recovery week. Just what I've been waiting for! Can I tell you how much I needed a mental health break from running? We had a super busy week, and it was so nice NOT to have to worry about when I'd squeeze a run in. Some things I've said say "run easy", other say "don't run for a week." Can you guess which advice I followed?

I was sore this week. Very sore. My muscles. My pride. It was all hurtin'. The massage worked wonders on my muscles, and writing massaged my bruised ego. I'm better now.

Saturday's 6 miler actually went well! I think I may be officially done with trying to run with any sort of speed (I use the word 'speed' loosely)! Hurray! I told Jonathan I was going to go at my own pace and enjoy my first run after the half so "feel free to take your own car." He ran with me the first 3 miles then smoked past me. I didn't mind. I walked some of the hills on the last 3 miles and was otherwise fine. I ran slow, but it felt comfortable. It was a gorgeous day--no wind, cool, sunny. I'm not ready to totally concede this yet, but I was kinda glad to be out there. You might even say I kinda missed it!

Running with Your Mate

So you may remember that one of the reasons we started this running bit was to find a form of exercise we could do together (this being more important to Jonathan because he really likes to exercise and wants me to as well). We've tried working out at the gym together. Never seems to work because (in my humble opinion) he's always instructing me, and frankly...I don't take instruction well (no surprise there)! We've tried tennis. This didn't work either because frankly..he's really good and I'm really not, and I don't much like doing things I'm not really good at. [Is anyone else seeing a pattern here?] Now why we thought running would work since we have a pattern of failed attempts at exercise with one common denominator [me!] is really beyond me, but off we went! And, as you've read in my DRC Race Report...we will add running to our list of failed exercise attempts.

The whole idea to finish races together was encouraged by an article in Runner's World where Natalie Morales discusses she and her husband finishing marathons together. "That's neat!" we both thought. For whatever reason though, it just doesn't work for us. At first I thought it was because of our painstakingly different athletic abilities. However, I know couples who are a similar pace who can't seem to make it work either. As I looked around the race on Sunday and saw so many couples running together and seemingly enjoying it, I started to feel like we were the only ones who couldn't make it work. But after I posted my race report on the Runner's World forum (essentially the same report I posted on this blog), and read the flood of comments about feeling the same frustration about running with their husbands (who in message board world is called "DH"--I have no idea why), I'm starting to think there's something to this!

Why is it that some couples just can't run together? I think the #1 reason we can't make it work is different expectations. I know my expectation of running together was to talk and enjoy each other's company while we ran (Jonathan prefers to strictly listen to his iPod), to leisurely run and walk when we wanted, and to finish certain distances together ( while Jonathan prefers to see how fast and far we can go). So it's really no wonder it doesn't work for us. We're constantly frustrated because our expectations aren't being met! I'm frustrated because he won't take the earphones out and because he's pushing me to go faster and farther than I want to go, and he's frustrated because all he wants to do is listen to his music and push faster and farther!

So for us, we've resolved to continue running "together" in the sense that we'll follow the same training plan (we'll just do the runs at different paces), and we'll go to the races together. This way we can still share the overall experience, but each be able to satisfy our own individual expectations. We'll see how it goes...

I just have to share some of the comments about running with your mate from my Race Report (RR) post on Runner's World:

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Wow, I've never run a half, but I've experienced almost all of the same stuff as you, including cussing (and hitting) my overly chipper DH! Major kudos to you for finishing, as these things usually call a halt for me. Go you!!!

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Well that was one great race report. And I am so glad you are going for it again next Month. I think if you follow that #6 tip, you will be just fine.......

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Congratulations on a great run (even if it wasn't at the time) and you have the medal to prove that even if your mind battle had you on the bottom, you still pulled through!!! My husband and I will start races together, and agree to meet somewhere after the finish line. We've learned when he's tried to train with me that we're not the same pace!

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I know you are disappointed with your race but you persevered! I certainly don't mean to make light of how you felt at the time but you wrote it in a very entertaining manner. I can't believe your DH would run a mile time trial in the middle of a half marathon which he is supposed to be running in support of you! No worries, I think most would agree that he does indeed have a hot wife!! LOL! Sucks about the blister. You might look into wearing either some friction free socks or just rub your feet in Vaseline before the run. A piece of advice...leave the DH on the sidelines for the next one!

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I loved your report and your sense of humor! Even though it wasn't the way you had envisioned it, you persevered! If you husband is reading, yes you do have "a hot wife"! However, don't be doing a mile time trial at the tail end of a half marathon where you are supposed to be supporting your wife! Stay on the sidelines next time! LOL!
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Great report! You cracked me up, and you nailed how I feel about running with my hubby as well! Great job! Thank you for such a fantastic RR, so entertaining. Congrats on your finish and time!
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My husband and I make a great team but running together?!?!?! HA! We tried to do C25K a year ago together, and it was almost grounds for divorce. Now we run on our own. Your honesty was so completely refreshing.

Product Review: Band Aid Blister and SPI Belts

You may remember my "Freak Out" post. Two of my issues were what to do about my blister and where to carry my GU.

1. Blister--While I didn't find anything that worked for the race, I did find a product to use for everyday care. It's Band Aid Advanced Healing for Blister, and it's awesome! They come in all different sizes (I have a giant blister on the ball of my foot and a nasty looking thing on my pinky toe--tough sizes to find). I have "large" and "toes". You put it on a clean sore, and it stays put for days. Buy them if you have a blister.


2. GU holder--you must buy an SPI (small personal item) belt. Sure, it's just the runner's version of a fanny pack, but it's awesome! It's tiny (but expands freakishly), totally comfortable, does not bounce (AT ALL), and comes in tons of colors. Oh...and it's only $20! I put my hotel key, my list of goal splits, folded up train schedules, and 3 GU's in mine. A friend had her GU and a small BodyGlide in hers. I couldn't believe how comfortable it was. I pushed it lower on my hips and wore the bag in back at first (so as to avoid the true fanny pack look). However, it did bounce at the back so I moved it to the front side. Much better. Totally forgot it was there. Here's a picture I took of me in mine:


Stop laughing. Just buy one.

Reflections of a First Timer

So here is what I gleaned from my first half marathon experience:

1. You can do "everything right" and sometimes things just "go wrong". I paid attention to my nutrition and hydration all week. I followed the training program. I didn't have any physical ailments. I was ready. But I could not control the weather (it was really warm--62 degrees at the start and 75 at the finish), and unfortunately, I could not control my negative thoughts. Those 2 things really did me in.

2. Every burden is lighter when shared with family and friends. It was so nice to be a nervous wreck with a friend, to stand around the start together, to know that they would be running 13.1, too, to talk about being sore together...I loved the camaraderie of being at the race with a group. It was nice to talk about my fears (and be calmed) and talk about my disappointment (and be encouraged). Family and friends are the best.


3. Even though you can share the burden, ultimately, it's still you who has to carry the load. Even though it's so helpful to share the experience, in the end it was me who had to put one foot in front of the other for over 2.5 hours. There's no way around it. No one else can cross the finish line for you. In the end, it's just you and the pavement.

4. "Flat" doesn't mean the same thing in Dallas that it does in Amarillo. Enough said. It was really hilly compared to where I train.

5. If you're losing the physical battle, you can still win so long as you're winning the mental battle. The opposite is not true. There have been times my body hurt so badly I couldn't believe I was moving in a forward motion, but my mind was stronger than my physical pain so I pushed on. Relatively speaking, my body felt good on Sunday. No major aches and pains; I just lost a mental battle plain and simple. I mean, I actually verbalized at one point, "I cannot do this." I learned that I'm not as mentally tough as I thought I was. I love this quote:

"Now if you are going to win any battle, you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired in the morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired." George S. Patton, U.S. Army General, 1912 Olympian

6. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Jonathan really wanted to support me by "running with me". In fact, I know he thought he was doing so. This man is a kind, well intentioned man. In fact, sometimes I can hardly believe my good fortune. But him "running with me" turned into a complete disaster--we just can't be running buddies on race day. As I looked around during the race, there were plenty of couples running together. They were talking. They were pointing things out along the path. They would stop and walk, then start running again. They really seemed to enjoy themselves. While I had hoped that for us, it just wasn't and won't be, and that's okay. One man's good intentions + one man's superior athleticism + one woman's struggle to run + one woman's negative attitude = one hellacious race day. He's got to run his own race, and I've got to run mine.


7. Even when you lose, you win if you learn something. My official chip time was 2:41:23. Over 11 minutes off my goal time and slower than I run even my training runs. But I learned a lot on Sunday...more than I would have learned just sitting on the couch.

8. Sometimes the only thing left to do is get...


Which is exactly what I'm going to do. Next up: White Rock, December 14! I'm out for redemption...

Dallas Running Club Half Marathon-Race Report

The Good.

What a fun weekend trip! We left early afternoon for Wichita Falls, but redirected to Dallas after finding out my cutie pie niece, Kamryn Paige, had a stomach bug (no thank you, Mr. Stomach Bug). We had a yummy breakfast Saturday morning, got a shopper's high at REI following breakfast, picked up our race packets, shopped at fun running gear stores, then rested at our hotel room before dinner. We met Jonathan's family for dinner (and saw our niece and nephew, cutie pies Alyssa and Cade) then did a little more shopping at Sephora before heading back to the hotel room to watch the Horns and the Raiders duke it out till the end (and to flitter about with race day prep!).

Ahh...race day prep. This was my first big race, and just as I love planning a vacation almost more than going on a vacation, I have also learned I love race day prep more than race day. I flittered around (as the guys said) pinning my number on my shirt, laying out everything I needed (except one important item!), and checking everything twice (then again, then again). I cross checked the DART rail schedules, looked at the elevation map for the hundredth time, checked out my personal time schedule...oh, the joys of OCD planning!

We had a group at the race--so much fun! Our friends, David and Christine, my sis and her friend, Stephanie, and we also asked Jonathan's family to join us (his cousins and their partners did the 5k). I think the atmosphere is so much fun with a group!

Post race on Sunday we enjoyed another yummy meal, stopped and saw 3 other cutie pies--Brileigh, Kamryn, and Brody, and had good conversation all the way home. I just love traveling with good friends!

The Bad. The Ugly.

I felt prepared. I really did, especially following my successful 10 mile run. I even felt okay about the elevation changes since I did 3 of my long runs on Wildcat Bluff. It was "go time".

I was nervous as everything. I didn't sleep well Saturday night, but I slept well on Friday night and took a nap on Saturday so I wasn't too worried. We were there exactly on time. The energy was great. I was excited. Again, it was "go time".

Jonathan wanted to run with me since we said we'd do this "half marathon bit" together. I was skeptical of this (the challenges of running as husband and wife deserves a post all its own), but he insisted. We lined up with the 2:30 pace group. I felt this was a conservative choice. The gun went off, and we started moving ever so slowly to the start line. People were cheering; music was blaring; I loved it!

(Note: this is the last thing I would love for over 2 and a half hours.)

Miles 1-3: Things start off great. I'm not even freaking out when I realize the one thing I forgot to lay out and apply was my deodorant! I know...ewww! I've been having some shin problems, and I have to stop so Jonathan can work on it so we decide we'll run a little ahead of the 2:30 pace group and watch for them in later miles and then fall in. Our first 3 splits are even 11:15's which is exactly where we need to be (11:27's ensure a 2:30 finish). The lake is nice; the houses are pretty. We stop at the Mile 3 water stop as planned. I can tell my blister cover is crinkling so I take off my shoe and sock and remove it while Jonathan goes to the bathroom. My blister looks horrible. My shins aren't hurting at all; I'm so thankful! I'm skeptical, but this is fun!

Miles 4-5: Umm...this is starting to be not-so-fun. It's hilly. It's really hilly. In fact, I think there's a small mountain range that no one has identified in the middle of town. I'm not supposed to walk until Mile 5, but I power walk the hills at Mile 4 and Mile 5. I take GU and water at Mile 5; it puts a little pep in my step, but the "pep" quickly turns to "plunk"...

Miles 6-7: I break down the race into 3 parts: 5 miles, 10 miles, then the full 13.1. I'm on leg 2. The "big hill" is over until the next one at Mile 8. I settle in for some flat terrain and big houses. I really should enjoy the experience. Funny thing is, the terrain doesn't flatten out. My blister is killing me. It is hot outside. It's humid. I'm struggling. Meanwhile, "Chipper Jonathan" is bounding up hills and loving every minute of it (literally, think of a deer bounding up a hill; it's what he looks like: strong, effortless, and happy). He tells me to look at a neat piano in someone's house. I cut my eyes and see it, but I don't actually turn my head (takes too much energy to move it to the left then center it back on the road) so he thinks I'm not looking at it. He gets frustrated with me. I yell naughty words at him--loud. When someone calls out "Half Way!", I want to cry. I'm only half way??? This isn't that fun.

Miles 8-9: Why in the world did I think I could do this? The hill at Mile 8 makes me laugh (the kind of nervous laughter you do when you want to cry). I walk up it; not power walk, just walk. Jonathan stays a good 10 feet ahead of me, if not more. He's annoyed with my negative attitude (after all, I did yell naughty words at him earlier). I don't really care. I'm annoyed with him, too-- his bounding around, his chipper attitude. He's not even breathing hard. He's only sweating because it's hot, not because he's exerting very much energy. I think of one of the reasons I started running...to have one of those lean bodies that runners have, tight abs, sculpted legs and arms. Man, I used to fantasize about how I would look in my running clothes at my first 13.1. Jonathan would think he had a hot wife---it was going to be great. Back to reality: I'm wet with sweat and don't smell that great either thanks to forgetting my deodorant. My face is tomato red. My shorts are crawling. I have a little bit of a muffin top peeking over my running shorts. My legs are lily white. My face is contorted with exhaustion and anger. I've just yelled naughty words. Not only does this race suck, but I haven't come close to becoming the hot wife. I actually say out loud at mile 9: "I cannot do this." Screw this. I reluctantly take another GU. This isn't fun at all.

Mile 10: I somehow make it to Mile 10. My blister is numb, and my shins aren't hurting at all. For a moment, I'm so happy! Mile 10! I'm on the 3rd leg of this race! Yahoo! Just a 5k left!

Mile 10.25 (I'm manic now): Mile 10? Are you kidding me? I have a whole 5k left???

Mile 11: At this mile marker, Jonathan says he wants to see how fast he can run a mile so he'll meet me at the next water stop (at mile 12.3) so we can cross the line together (hopefully even you are annoyed that he would do a mile time trial in the midst of my despair) . I tell him not to bother, to just finish. He says he'll wait for me. I am completely demoralized at this point. I walk an entire half mile. At one point I decide I'll run 4 minutes then walk 1 minute. I look down at my watch after running for a bit and see that only 90 seconds has passed. Seriously? 90 seconds? I acknowledge how sick I am on this mile. I am completely influenced by those around me. If a person who is overweight or old passes me, I start running. "I can't lose to them." But if a fit person starts walking or is walking already, I think "I'm going to walk, too (or I'll keep walking). See? That person is young and fit and is walking. It's obviously okay." I acknowledge that this is pathetic. I am pathetic. I can't believe how bad this sucks. Not fun at all.

Mile 12: I will never, EVER, as long as the world goes 'round do this again. Never. It's horrible. There is no shade. The sun is shining down on me hard. It is humid. I hate this. I hate you. I hate me. And I especially hate whomever invented half marathons. They suck. I fantasize about burning my shoes, my Camelbak, my reflective vest, and every training plan I have ever printed off. Let's have a bonfire! Because this is the worst thing I've ever done. Not fun!

Mile 12.3. I meet up with Jonathan (where he has been peacefully resting since his one mile time trial). I start running after I have some water. I decide I'll run 2 minutes then walk 2 minutes. Jonathan seems annoyed. I am annoyed that he is annoyed.

Mile 12.5 Everyone keeps yelling "you're almost there"! I know to to ignore them, but secretly I'm hopeful that they are right. Then someone yells, "just half a mile to go!" You have got to be kidding me!!! I can't make it a half mile!

Somewhere in between: I see my sis. She's yelling for me. She starts running beside me and telling me things like, "It's just around this stop sign. Lengthen your stride. Move your arms. Keep going. You're right there." These are the best words I've ever heard. I want to hug her, but that would take energy. I momentarily wipe the scowl off my face. I am so glad she's here.

Mile 13: Sis leaves me to let me finish. Jonathan is near. I see the official clock. It says 2:44:something. I will finish before it says 2:45; I am determined. I try to move those lead legs faster. I cross the line. I know it's my name they're announcing because they butcher it. I grab my medal. I grab my bottle of water. I find my "pit crew". Jonathan says, "We finished this thing. Give me 5." I give him 5. I'm done. I didn't come close to a 2:30 finish, and I'm certainly not feeling happy or hopeful about the race like I had wanted. But I am done. This thing is over.

Reflections of a first timer to follow...

Preview of My First Half

More to follow...