I just completed my 2nd half marathon this morning and I will be honest. I was not happy with how the second half of the race went. I started having really bad cramps in my left calf. I tried everything that I could to help get it to where I didn't have to stop. I had no such luck. I wound up stopping and walking and then running a little bit. After that initial stopping point, that was it. I felt like I was needing to stop every so often and I did. My leg was hurting even when I was walking but I pushed through it. I finished and that is all that counts. Although my finish time was not bad and I still had a personal best, I feel like the goal that I had for myself was too lofty and that I just set myself up for failure.
When I got back to my hotel room and had a chance to sit down, I decided to let my body cool off before getting ready. When I was able to get on Facebook, I saw a comment that my mother in law put up on a photo that I uploaded last night. After reading that, I must admit, I cried a little bit. It made me realize that I was going to have bad runs, today was one of them, but I have to two beautiful kids and a husband that are proud of me no matter what my time is or how many times I might have had to walk because of cramping. It was then that I realized that I put too much focus on the time that I am going to have and not on having fun or just happy that I was given the opportunity to run.
There are numerous things that I could tell you about the race but I think that the most important thing that I can tell you is what I learned. I learned today that no matter the reason that you run, whether it is for competition to win, health reasons or to just finish, that you do it with everything that you have. That whatever you do, you do it with your heart.
I will be honest with you, I spent time in a pity party for myself because I didn't reach my goal. Once I read that comment from my mother in law, everything changed. My family is proud of me for just completely 13.1 miles and they don't care how I finished. Whether I ran the whole time, run/walked or walked the entire thing. I am relieved that is the case because I may just be a middle of the pack runner for as long as I choose to run. You know what? That is ok and I am happy with that. You want to know why? Because God gave me the ability to run and I am thankful for that.
I have another race coming up in a couple of weeks and I am going to try something. I am going to try running with my heart and not worry about anything else. I love to run and that is all that it comes down to for me. I want my kids to see me do something that I love and pushing through even though I am not the best. So until next time.
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Almost time!!!
Today I completed my last run before the half marathon Saturday. I did one 3 mile run and worked on my pace Tuesday and today I did a 3 mile tempo run on the dreadmill. I usually try to steer clear of running on it but I really wanted to make sure that I was able to maintain a tempo run and not wind up doing speed work. Which is usually what happens if I go outside.
Now that I have those completed, I just have to wait for Friday to get here so that I am able to go and pick up my packet. I am so excited that I am not able to put it into words but on the flip side I am a little nervous.
Last year I ran and barely beat the time I said I would complete it in. Along the course, I let my mind play tricks with me and I honestly thought I wasn't going to finish. I am afraid I am going to have those same thoughts come back. I know what I need to do but it is easier to say it than to actually do it. I trained for 4 1/2 months for this race and I ran 11 miles for my last long run. That is 3 miles longer than last year. I have put in the training and I just need to learn to trust it.
My biggest issue when running is I tend to let my mind tell my body what to do. Especially when I know I am capable of so much more. That is what I am afraid will happen this time around. Your body hears everything and I need to learn to think more positively. Now that I have totally just spilled everything about how I feel when running, I will share with you what my goals are for this race.
Last year I barely finished under my estimated finish time of 2:45. I came in at 2:43:09 which isn't bad considering I had only started running in April of the same year. This year I estimated to finish in a time that I know see as a lofty goal but you have to have a goal to work toward. Even if it takes more than one time to reach. Just as long as you never give up.
The last long run I did was 10 miles and I finished it in 1 hour 39 minutes and some odd seconds. Almost a 20 minute difference in time from the previous 11 mile run. So I am praying for nice weather for Saturday and if I can run like I did for my 10 mile run I should finish anywhere between 2:10 to 2:15. A difference of 28-33 minute. That would be awesome.
There is something that I will remember when I get ready to run that my dear friend Ken told me Monday night in Zumba. Just do your best. That is the plan and as long as I do my best I will be proud of the outcome.
I am going to take a few pics at the expo to blog about the night before the race and then another one either Saturday or Sunday to share my experience running this time around versus last year's experience. So until next time.
Allow the hiccups and move on
Well, I had a few hiccups last week that prevented me from doing as planned but that is life for you. I ran last Thursday with a friend. I had only planned to run 3 miles with the Mach Tenn Running club but my friend wanted to get in 5 miles so I was like sure why not. Turned out to be a good idea but I will get to that in a minute.
I just took it easy on this run because I have been so paranoid that I will get injured. I had a nice easy 5 mile run and was able to carry on a conversation which I normally can't do. Then here is where the hiccup came along.
A couple of years ago, everyone in my family got the flu and both kids had strep throat as well. I was the only one that lucked out and didn't get the flu. However, I did have it when I was pregnant with my daughter. Since then, we have gotten the flu shot and it usually turns into a family affair. The kids will go to the pediatrician's office and get theirs. Then later that afternoon, Brad and I will go to our local pharmacy to get ours.
Later that night, my daughter Peyton had a slight reaction to the shot. She was running a fever and it seemed to take forever for it to come down. Since she was running a fever, I chose against running Saturday just to make sure she wasn't coming down with something. My husband had to work and I didn't want to risk getting other kids sick if she was contagious and not just having a reaction. (My kids usually stay in the nursery at our local rec center when I run if the hubby works.)
Thankfully, she got to feeling better and was fever free for 24 hours so she could go to church. Unfortunately even though she was feeling better, I was unable to run Sunday because Brad had to work Sunday as well. So at this point, I was very thankful I chose to run 5 miles instead of 3 miles to make sure I got a little bit of a long run done.
Since this post is getting long, I will do another one on my two short runs this week and getting everything together for the race. So until next time.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
9 days & 4 runs
Some of you may be wondering what the heck the title of this post means. Well the first number is the number of days left before the half marathon. I have been waiting for months to say that we are in the single digits. I have been training for this race since April and officially registered in May so it has been a long time coming. As of right now, my team is the largest team for the half marathon with 20+ team members. It is amazing!!! This is all thanks to our team captain. She has done so much to get the team together. Including getting team shirts. She has also been planning to get together the morning of the race for a pre race photo and a prayer before the race. I am very thankful for all her work she has done and for taking the time to allow us to pray for everyone on our team and other runners before the race begins.
The second number in my title is the number of runs that I have left before the actually race. I will be running 3 miles later this evening and probably another 6 miles Saturday. That one is still up in the air. I was wanting to get people together to run with me but I can't seem to get a time together that works for everyone so I was thinking about doing something different. I am thinking about taking tomorrow off from any type of exercising, running 3 miles Saturday and doing 6 miles with the running group on Sunday morning. This is only dependent on whether or not my husband has to work or not on Sunday. It is his scheduled weekend to work and he won't know until either tomorrow or Saturday if he has to work on Sunday so that plan may get a little tweaked. After that, the plan for next week is to do an hour to an hour and a half on the elliptical machine Monday morning.
The reason that I would like to do this is because I have found it easier to push through those hard moments in my run. Not to mention that it is good cross training exercise for runners. So I want to make sure that I am able to do that one day next week since the race is Saturday. The next day I plan to run 3-4 miles and take the next 2 days off from any type of exercising. The plan that I have scheduled for Friday morning is going to kill me to do but I am going to try my best. I plan to walk with a friend and kinda loosen up before the race. Then all I have to do is get the oldest one from school and drop him and baby girl off at their Granny's and then head up to get my packet and check into the hotel.
Now that I have wrote all this out, I have just realized how busy I will be next week. Not to mention those few things that always seem to pop up at the last minute so let's hope that everything goes well. I am so excited about this race and I can't wait to write about how everything went so that I can share it with you. So until next time.
The second number in my title is the number of runs that I have left before the actually race. I will be running 3 miles later this evening and probably another 6 miles Saturday. That one is still up in the air. I was wanting to get people together to run with me but I can't seem to get a time together that works for everyone so I was thinking about doing something different. I am thinking about taking tomorrow off from any type of exercising, running 3 miles Saturday and doing 6 miles with the running group on Sunday morning. This is only dependent on whether or not my husband has to work or not on Sunday. It is his scheduled weekend to work and he won't know until either tomorrow or Saturday if he has to work on Sunday so that plan may get a little tweaked. After that, the plan for next week is to do an hour to an hour and a half on the elliptical machine Monday morning.
The reason that I would like to do this is because I have found it easier to push through those hard moments in my run. Not to mention that it is good cross training exercise for runners. So I want to make sure that I am able to do that one day next week since the race is Saturday. The next day I plan to run 3-4 miles and take the next 2 days off from any type of exercising. The plan that I have scheduled for Friday morning is going to kill me to do but I am going to try my best. I plan to walk with a friend and kinda loosen up before the race. Then all I have to do is get the oldest one from school and drop him and baby girl off at their Granny's and then head up to get my packet and check into the hotel.
Now that I have wrote all this out, I have just realized how busy I will be next week. Not to mention those few things that always seem to pop up at the last minute so let's hope that everything goes well. I am so excited about this race and I can't wait to write about how everything went so that I can share it with you. So until next time.
New Shoes
It is amazing what a new pair of shoes can do for your feet. As I stated in a previous post, I was in desperate need of a new pair of shoes. With my heels hurting to the point that I was walking on my toes like I was wearing invisible high heels, it was definitely time for another pair of shoes. So last Saturday, the kids and I loaded up and headed to Fleet Feet.
This time I remembered to bring my old pair of running shoes so that they were able to see how I wore the shoes when I ran. I learned that I have a neutral stride and I scrape a little bit on my heel. I always thought that I ran heel first. Guess I was wrong.
Anyway, I tried on several different pairs of shoes to try and find the right fit for my plantar fasciitis. The first pair of shoes were close to the same pair of shoes that I have been running in and those were Aesics. For some reason, these hurt when I walked and even worse when I ran. He tried putting in inserts and they still hurt but not quite as bad. The next pair of shoes that I tried on was Brooks Ghost 6. Those were awesome!! They felt the same with and without inserts so I was tickled about that. The last pair of shoes were New Balance. As soon as I put those on and put my foot down, I was like no these are not going to work. I had a sharp pain shoot up my heel and the back of my calf. There was no way that I could wear something like that to run in.
So to make sure I got the right shoes for me, I tried on the Brooks again and ran in those. They felt pretty good and had the same feel without the inserts. So I walked out with a new pair shoes and they have made a huge difference.
Normally when you get a new pair of shoes, you aren't suppose to break in a new pair of shoes with a long run. I have never really been one to really listen to things like that so I ran my long Sunday in them. It was amazing!! The only thing is that I had to stop and stretch my feet out a couple of times. I also did a short run of 3 miles in them a couple of days ago and they are slowly getting broke in. I have to remember to stretch a little bit before I run since they are still a little stiff but other than that, I couldn't be happier.
I honestly never thought that a pair of shoes could make such a huge difference. I am able to walk without much pain on my hardwood floors and with each run, my feet feel better than the last run. I am definitely not steering away from this brand of shoes. They seem to be doing me quite well. So until next time.
This time I remembered to bring my old pair of running shoes so that they were able to see how I wore the shoes when I ran. I learned that I have a neutral stride and I scrape a little bit on my heel. I always thought that I ran heel first. Guess I was wrong.
Anyway, I tried on several different pairs of shoes to try and find the right fit for my plantar fasciitis. The first pair of shoes were close to the same pair of shoes that I have been running in and those were Aesics. For some reason, these hurt when I walked and even worse when I ran. He tried putting in inserts and they still hurt but not quite as bad. The next pair of shoes that I tried on was Brooks Ghost 6. Those were awesome!! They felt the same with and without inserts so I was tickled about that. The last pair of shoes were New Balance. As soon as I put those on and put my foot down, I was like no these are not going to work. I had a sharp pain shoot up my heel and the back of my calf. There was no way that I could wear something like that to run in.
So to make sure I got the right shoes for me, I tried on the Brooks again and ran in those. They felt pretty good and had the same feel without the inserts. So I walked out with a new pair shoes and they have made a huge difference.
Normally when you get a new pair of shoes, you aren't suppose to break in a new pair of shoes with a long run. I have never really been one to really listen to things like that so I ran my long Sunday in them. It was amazing!! The only thing is that I had to stop and stretch my feet out a couple of times. I also did a short run of 3 miles in them a couple of days ago and they are slowly getting broke in. I have to remember to stretch a little bit before I run since they are still a little stiff but other than that, I couldn't be happier.
I honestly never thought that a pair of shoes could make such a huge difference. I am able to walk without much pain on my hardwood floors and with each run, my feet feel better than the last run. I am definitely not steering away from this brand of shoes. They seem to be doing me quite well. So until next time.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Best long run ever!!!
Today was my last long run before my half marathon next weekend. I was hoping to be able to get 12 miles but I had things that I needed to get at the store after my run so I was only able to get in 10 miles. Those 10 miles was the absolute best long run I have had since I have started training for this half.
I wanted to make sure that I would be able to make Sunday School this morning so another friend and I decided to get started around 5:30 or a little after and get in as much as we could before the group started, then meet the group and run what we could with them. So I was able to get in 4.18 miles before and I believe she got 5 miles because she is a little faster than I am. We were able to watch the sunrise while were running. I can't remember the last time that I was able to watch the sunrise and it was beautiful.
The weather when we first got started was quite chilly so I ran with a jacket and even with that on, I was still cold. My hands were going numb and my face was starting to lose all feeling but I enjoyed every minute of it. Being able to be out and doing something that I thoroughly enjoyed was absolutely amazing.
So we got back to the local rec center where the group meets and she wanted to go a little bit further to get in her 5 before and I had to head back to the car. I was getting hot from where I was wearing the jacket during the run and I just had to shed that thing. Plus, I didn't run with my water bottle for the first 4.2 miles and I have learned that I do better when I run with it, if I am going to be going any further
. I am not stopping and going at each water stop and my overall pace has been a lot better.
Everything was going great with this run. The weather couldn't have been more perfect and twice along the route I was blessed to have been able to see several deer. Two of which let me get pretty close to them. I was doing great and then around mile 8 or so I started cramping really bad in my calf and had to stop to stretch it. It was almost as bad as a Charlie horse. It was terrible and I knew there was no way that I could keep running without stopping so I had no other choice but to stop. As much as I hated to, I knew that I had to.
After stopping and stretching, everything was fine. I was able to get my GU gel and then continue on to finish my run out so that I could get to the store. I was really struggling with the last 8/10 of a mile because my feet were really hurting so I was having to stop and stretch my feet. At the roughest part of my run, I looked to my right and there were two deer eating literally just feet away from me. I was just amazed at how beautiful they were. In case you were wondering, yes I did have to stop to take a picture and they just stood there. Didn't seem to get frightened at all. It was amazing. As I continued running, all I could do was thank God for allowing me to see them. It was just what I needed right when I needed it. It gave me that extra boost that I needed to keep going.
My overall pace for this 10 mile run was 3 seconds faster per mile than my last 10 mile run. Another thing that amazed me was that there was about a 19 minute difference in time from last week's 11 mile run. 19 minutes!!! Which means if the weather stays cool and I keep doing good with my new shoes, I should be able to finish with a great time and PR by a little over half hour. How awesome is that?!?!
I mentioned that I got new shoes earlier. Last week after my 11 mile run, my feet were hurting so bad that when I took off my shoes I was walking on my tiptoes. Like I was wearing invisible high heels. Talk about painful. I kinda dismissed that until they were still hurting Tuesday and then began to hurt a mile into my run on Wednesday. I knew then it was time to get new shoes so yesterday I went and got some. I got a different brand than what I was using and they are AWESOME!!!
So in 13 days I will be running my half and will be able to write all of you and let you know how it went. I am so excited that I get to share this experience with you and hope that you will be checking back after the 28th to hear how it went. Thank you again for taking the time to read my blog and supporting me. So until next time.
I wanted to make sure that I would be able to make Sunday School this morning so another friend and I decided to get started around 5:30 or a little after and get in as much as we could before the group started, then meet the group and run what we could with them. So I was able to get in 4.18 miles before and I believe she got 5 miles because she is a little faster than I am. We were able to watch the sunrise while were running. I can't remember the last time that I was able to watch the sunrise and it was beautiful.
The weather when we first got started was quite chilly so I ran with a jacket and even with that on, I was still cold. My hands were going numb and my face was starting to lose all feeling but I enjoyed every minute of it. Being able to be out and doing something that I thoroughly enjoyed was absolutely amazing.
So we got back to the local rec center where the group meets and she wanted to go a little bit further to get in her 5 before and I had to head back to the car. I was getting hot from where I was wearing the jacket during the run and I just had to shed that thing. Plus, I didn't run with my water bottle for the first 4.2 miles and I have learned that I do better when I run with it, if I am going to be going any further
. I am not stopping and going at each water stop and my overall pace has been a lot better.
Everything was going great with this run. The weather couldn't have been more perfect and twice along the route I was blessed to have been able to see several deer. Two of which let me get pretty close to them. I was doing great and then around mile 8 or so I started cramping really bad in my calf and had to stop to stretch it. It was almost as bad as a Charlie horse. It was terrible and I knew there was no way that I could keep running without stopping so I had no other choice but to stop. As much as I hated to, I knew that I had to.
After stopping and stretching, everything was fine. I was able to get my GU gel and then continue on to finish my run out so that I could get to the store. I was really struggling with the last 8/10 of a mile because my feet were really hurting so I was having to stop and stretch my feet. At the roughest part of my run, I looked to my right and there were two deer eating literally just feet away from me. I was just amazed at how beautiful they were. In case you were wondering, yes I did have to stop to take a picture and they just stood there. Didn't seem to get frightened at all. It was amazing. As I continued running, all I could do was thank God for allowing me to see them. It was just what I needed right when I needed it. It gave me that extra boost that I needed to keep going.
The beautiful deer that greeted me this morning!!!
I mentioned that I got new shoes earlier. Last week after my 11 mile run, my feet were hurting so bad that when I took off my shoes I was walking on my tiptoes. Like I was wearing invisible high heels. Talk about painful. I kinda dismissed that until they were still hurting Tuesday and then began to hurt a mile into my run on Wednesday. I knew then it was time to get new shoes so yesterday I went and got some. I got a different brand than what I was using and they are AWESOME!!!
So in 13 days I will be running my half and will be able to write all of you and let you know how it went. I am so excited that I get to share this experience with you and hope that you will be checking back after the 28th to hear how it went. Thank you again for taking the time to read my blog and supporting me. So until next time.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Always learning something new
After my long run Sunday, my feet were still killing me by Tuesday so I decided that I would try something different. I have always heard that the elliptical machine is good cross training for runners so I thought I would see how that went. Wanted to try it before the race to see if there was a difference in running performance.
So Tuesday morning after I dropped my oldest off at school, I dropped my baby girl off in the nursery and went upstairs. I got started and there were times that I struggled but I wasn't about to let myself stop for one of two reasons. Reason #1 I ran 13.1 miles pretty much nonstop except for through the water stations for 2 hours and 43 minutes last year. Surely I can do an hour on this stupid machine. Reason #2 I am not going to quit and let everyone see that I couldn't finish what I started. There was no way I was going to let that happen.
So I kept trucking on for what seemed like the most boring hour I have ever done but it did make a big difference when running Wednesday. I wanted to get in a few miles before heading to church to cook. I was able to get in 3 quick miles but I learned a lot in those 3 quick miles. Besides learning that I needed a new pair shoes, I was able to push myself further than what I normally do. When I got tired, I just kept making myself think that I was on the elliptical machine and that I knew I could push through this. Which is what I did. Once I got back to the rec center, I was tired but not quite as tired as I would have been. I was proud that I had finally learned a way to push through the fatigue that my legs felt and make myself keep going. I always know that I have it in me to run further and a little faster than what I think I can. That is why when I can't do that, I am always so hard on myself for not doing better.
I honestly can't say that I have ever been so happy of a simple 3 mile run than I was on Wednesday. learned so much just from a few miles. So if you run and struggle with pushing yourself past your comfort zone when your feeling tired, try doing the elliptical machine for a little bit and see if you see a difference. I know I did and if you do, I would love to hear about your experience. I would definitely let you know how my last long run goes and keep you updated on how the half goes. So until next time.
So Tuesday morning after I dropped my oldest off at school, I dropped my baby girl off in the nursery and went upstairs. I got started and there were times that I struggled but I wasn't about to let myself stop for one of two reasons. Reason #1 I ran 13.1 miles pretty much nonstop except for through the water stations for 2 hours and 43 minutes last year. Surely I can do an hour on this stupid machine. Reason #2 I am not going to quit and let everyone see that I couldn't finish what I started. There was no way I was going to let that happen.
So I kept trucking on for what seemed like the most boring hour I have ever done but it did make a big difference when running Wednesday. I wanted to get in a few miles before heading to church to cook. I was able to get in 3 quick miles but I learned a lot in those 3 quick miles. Besides learning that I needed a new pair shoes, I was able to push myself further than what I normally do. When I got tired, I just kept making myself think that I was on the elliptical machine and that I knew I could push through this. Which is what I did. Once I got back to the rec center, I was tired but not quite as tired as I would have been. I was proud that I had finally learned a way to push through the fatigue that my legs felt and make myself keep going. I always know that I have it in me to run further and a little faster than what I think I can. That is why when I can't do that, I am always so hard on myself for not doing better.
I honestly can't say that I have ever been so happy of a simple 3 mile run than I was on Wednesday. learned so much just from a few miles. So if you run and struggle with pushing yourself past your comfort zone when your feeling tired, try doing the elliptical machine for a little bit and see if you see a difference. I know I did and if you do, I would love to hear about your experience. I would definitely let you know how my last long run goes and keep you updated on how the half goes. So until next time.
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