Running Really Doesn't Suck, Until........

You do a face plant - on a beautiful day, during the lunch hour, along Ruston Way where all the nice restaurants serve wonderful lunchtime delights!  Seriously, I don't even know where to start - or better yet, where to start again.  In case you missed it in the past, I struggle with running - I am slow, and just not a natural runner.  Recently I started running again, with the goal of training for a half marathon I am registered for in May.  Mind you, I registered LAST May for the race, thinking that would provide me the motivation to improve my running endurance and, therefore, speed as well. 

After several treadmill runs over the past few weeks, the weather here became just absolutely GORGEOUS!  So, I headed outside.  The first lunchtime run I completed a 5k with relative ease.  I was excited.  It also helped that I had a new toy - a Garmin run computer - that kept me entertained and intrigued.  I will provide a post on that on its own, because I LOVE my Garmin!

My training routine includes running three times a week for at least 45 minutes.  Because of the weather here in the Northwest, I will likely do a lot of my weekday runs on a treadmill unless we get nice weather and until the daylight hours are longer.  My weekends are my long run - adding a mile each weekend.  My plan is to run a 4:1 run:walk ratio - four minutes of running with one minute of walking.  For the half marathon I hope to will run the last 3.1 miles non-stop.  Anyway, my first weekend long run I set out to do 5 miles to start.  And, I DID IT - with relative comfort/ease and minimal soreness afterwards.  I was psyched because, you see, I hadn't done much running and 5 miles is the furthest I can ever remember running.  LIKE EVER IN MY LIFE!  I thought I was finding a love for running - until this past Monday when doubt literally crashed back in.

On Monday the weather was fantastic - sunny, clear, and predicted to be close to or over 60 degrees!  So, I planned a lunchtime run.  Honestly, as the morning wore on at work, I didn't want to go.  But, I forced myself out the door - as they say, the hardest step for any runner is the one out the door!  I set out on my run along a beautiful stretch of waterfront trail.  It was gorgeous, and I was so glad I had forced myself to take a lunch.  At 1.7 miles, I decided to turn around back towards my car.  At 1.71 miles, I was crossing a driveway to a really nice restaurant, trying to turn my music up on my MP3 player, and loving the view.  Only one problem: while I remembered at the end of the driveway as you enter the trail there is a rise in the pavement, I totally misjudged the rise and my foot struck it.

It was kind of like slow motion.  Honestly, I almost caught myself, but in the end I concentrated on missing the poles put there to keep cars from turning onto the trail (probably a good plan) and went down on my right arm, which of course was holding my music, and it totally gave way - leaving me to slam my chin into the pavement.  All I remember is turning over and looking at my hands covered in blood.  I remember mumbling "SWEEET" in a very sarcastic tone.  Next, I noticed a car approaching in the drive and the woman in the passenger seat pointing at me.  The man driving stopped to ask if I was ok, and I remember stammering, as I was checking my teeth for chips or breaks, "Yeah, I think I just banged up my face."  His response after looking at me closer out the window? "YEAH you did."  I remember thinking "THANKS, that is just what I need to hear right now [insert some expletive here]!"  So I picked myself up, removed my fleece and held it to my chin, and began the walk of shame - all 1.69 miles of it - back to my car.  That was one seriously LONG walk.

All in all I was fine.  No chipped or broken teeth.  Other than a nasty mess of a chin and a few x-rays of my jaw at the insistence of my boss when the next day I couldn't even talk normally (which proved there was no break) the publicly noticeable ramifications have been few.  A very sore shoulder (my shoulders dislocate fairly regularly), some swelling and headaches, and an extremely sore hand remind me of the incident, but hopefully will fade in a few days.  After a few days and ibuprofen, I think I am on the mend - physically.  (But really, a fall running and all THIS?????).  But my ego is bruised.  My confidence busted.  I was embarrassed and that is the worst injury of all for me.  That walk of shame, having to return to my office with a chin and hand dripping blood, actually taking sick time to take myself to the doctor, and either having people I know constantly ask what happened or having strangers stare wondering what happened, I am embarrassed.  Humiliated.  That is always a challenge for me.  So, I need to pick myself up and get back out there - remembering the most difficult step will the the first step out the door.

Just to show that there is some humor in this, here are some fun facts:

1.  My Garmin shows I was running a 9:28 mile at the time I fell - that is freakin' AWESOME for me.

2.  The Garmin graph plots along until it goes straight up at the time of impact to a dead stop - interesting analysis of my run!

3.  At least it happened while I was running, and not in a walk interval.

4.  Last Tri season you may remember my fear of crashing on my bike and I endured not one centimeter of road rash last year.  This year I get road rash on my FACE during a RUN!

5.  My kids keep asking "Did someone push you Mom?,"  "Did anyone help you Mom?"  "How exactly do you fall running Mom?"  They are confused as to how old Mom goes to work and says she ran at lunch and comes home looking like a crash victim!

6.  Friends and colleagues at work feel much better now about my lunchtime runs.....I can no longer count how many times I have heard "See, exercise is going to kill you!"

And, really, I NEED to get back out there - how can you beat this view:

Words to {Begin} Live{ing} By........

I am the queen of negative self-talk and questioning myself.  Recently, my sister gave me this to remind myself that I need to believe in myself.  Christopher Robin was sure wise for a boy.  I know often I look back and am amazed at what I did - what I do on a daily basis that I never give myself credit for.  For this week I make a pledge to remember the wise words of this "boy."  How about you?

On a related note, the last few months I have spent a great deal of time reflecting and reading.  Weekly, and sometimes more often, I find a little "nugget" or saying that I use for a theme for myself.  Sometimes I put a post-it on my monitor, or my bathroom mirror, with the little "nugget" to help me digest it.  I plan to share some of the better ones, more inspiring ones, here.  I hope you don't mind, but I have found that mental training is as important, and sometimes more important, to reach whatever finish line you are approaching.

Well, Here We Go Again!

Wow, it certainly has been some time since I last posted.  The last months have been a whirlwind of life challenges and successes, and a period of tremendous personal growth for me and my family.  All in good time, I will share a lot of what I have learned, through stories that are mine to share.  For many reasons, some stories just are not mine to tell, and therefore will remain untold here. 

Honestly, I am thinking the focus of this blog may change a bit.  I have thought often of sharing some of my life these past months here and all too often thought "Well, that simply doesn't fit with the theme as stated."  However, so many times my title was very appropriate for the situation or thoughts I had wanted to share.  "From the Glider Rocker to the Finish Line" really says it all - my life is complex, and a good part of my life is focused on bringing me, my children, and my family through the trials of life to that "finish line."  Obviously, the "finish line" takes on many meanings!  So, look for such changes to come - along with hopefully a design change that will make this blog more user friendly, and, honestly, more fun!  I look forward to growing with the blog on a more regular basis.

As for the active part of my life, I have to say it has been pretty quiet.  I have endeavored to support my children in their active pursuits, primarily dance and soccer, but my own training has taken a back seat to many other "big" life challenges.  I am finally getting into a position to perhaps begin to train for my half marathon in May, although I *may* defer a year.

In September after my last race, I discovered I had a pencil size lump on the apex of my left shin.  It was tender to the touch, and with a minor history of skin cancer, off to the dermatologist I went.  On September 26 they took a biopsy of the spot.  Within a week or two, the site NEVER healed and, in fact, grew to a size over that of a quarter.  Finally, on October 26 I had surgery.  The plastic surgeon was enlisted because of the complexity and the planned skin graft.  After the surgery, I was told "Good News!  We didn't have to do a skin graft!"  If only I knew the true meaning of that.  See, I had a 4-5 inch incision stretched to close over the top of my shin bone - and THREE kids to care for, who also had little feet, hands, and in one case, heads that would continually batter the site.  Within a week the stitches had dissolved and almost the whole incision opened and WOULD NOT HEAL!  I will spare you all the gory details, but let's just say it was horrific and I was terrified of infection.  It was not until around Christmas that I finally noticed healing beginning after wearing pressure bandaging for a month!  It is just this week that I finally called the surgeon for a last check with the hope that I can get back in the pool to swim.  I miss the pool terribly - more for my mental health than anything else!  I hope to swim Wednesday - please, let me swim Wednesday!

So, in short, I am back, well, almost back.  Life has changed dramatically for me in the last six months, and I continue to fine tune my current life to try to get back into my personal fitness training.  I look forward, however, to bringing this blog back to life, albeit perhaps with a more wide variety of topics!

As The Weekend Nears......

I am getting excited and terrified all at once.  This weekend is monumental for a variety of reasons:

1.  This will be my first full triathlon.  I am finally doing all three segments, although I "downgraded" to only do the 1/4 mile swim so I could enjoy the weekend and have less not stress.

2.  This is my first girls weekend in 13 years of marriage.  I realized that in 13 years of marriage I have NEVER done a girls weekend.  Well, even a girls overnight!  So, tomorrow I head out with a large group of ladies racing this weekend.  Of course, it isn't a full weekend, since my husband and kids will meet me Saturday afternoon for some play time, dinner, and for me to nurse the baby.  But, they will stay in their own hotel room while I stay with ladies racing the next morning so I can get a full night's rest and roll out of bed to the race that is beginning in the park where the hotel is!

3.  This is the first time I am leaving my son overnight!  I never left the girls overnight before they were at least a year old.  This kind of makes me sad and makes me feel guilty.

4.  This is my first multisports WEEKEND!  This race is part of a larger event that is a full weekend long and includes an olympic distance, a half ironman, a 10K, and a half marathon as well as the two shorter races on Sunday so I will be eating, sleeping, and breathing multisports ALL weekend.  It should be fun.

5.  My 5 year old is also doing her first triathlon.  The organizers have also put together a kids race that is on Sunday afternoon and my 5 year old is doing it.  I am so excited for her!

So, in about 24 hours I am off to Chelanman - what a wild weekend it will be!  Oh, yeah, Body and Mind, please take note that the SAME rules apply as two weeks ago!

Stay tuned for the results from my fun and crazy weekend!

Well, I DID IT!

And, honestly, I have to keep reminding myself I did it and that was the point of this whole exercise.  I have to remind myself that I completed the bike/run and I only registered for this to get out there, finish, and experience race conditions before adding the swim.  I MUST KEEP REMINDING MYSELF!

As you may remember, I was pretty nervous.  You can see this from a transition photo someone snapped of me (I think I was searching desperately for my husband and kids because I was TERRIFIED!)

So, here is the report:

Bike:  50:36.1  (grrrrrr)
Run:  32:14.2 (ok, I will take that, need to get 2:14 off soon!)

Swim:  Yeah, this was easy - my friend completed it in 9:48!  A very good time!  I know she was hoping for under 9:00 but, really, GREAT JOB!  My only complaint was on my behalf of fumbling with the timing chip after she came in and NOT having my bike off the rack because, well, all the other teams left theirs up there and I was not sure of the protocol/rules (I am a stickler for the rules, which I learn in this sport COULD actually hold me back or maybe it was just this event where penalties were apparently NO WHERE to be found.)

Bike:  This is supposed to be my no brainer.  Well, maybe I should have realized that it wasn't exactly a no brainer when, several days before the race, I began to freak out about the bike.  I was very conservative on the bike, taking turns too slowly, being apprehensive on the pass (it was an open course, meaning cars and trucks on the course). 

That left turn I was so worried about?  Piece of cake, really.  At least the first loop was a piece of cake.  I wish I had taken it harder and saved precious seconds.  It was a fairly easy ride, some moderate rolling hills, some definite potholes.  The potholes were significant enough that the race organizers marked them!  I started off a bit slow (and on the wrong side of the bike out, but thankfully no one was headed in at that time) and was really slowed by my cages on my bike - I truly need to get to clipless pedals by my August race, I just don't want to do my first fall (everyone falls at least once) on race day so I keep putting it off. 

A few minutes into my ride, I really started to feel comfortable and was on a straightaway so I began to hit the speed.  I was passing people quickly, and with little effort.  Then, as it got more hilly, I realized how conservative I was.  I would pass people effortlessly on the way up, only to have them pass me on the way down!  WHAT????  Obviously, I was too conservative when I should have been letting it fly - I did get better at this, but it took some time. 

After about 2/3 of the first loop (it was two 7 mile loops) I settled in to a pace (in hindsight too slow of a pace) and seemed to have found my spot in the group.  Then, we headed back onto a main road which, from my previous drive of the course, meant I should be able to power this pretty good, so off I went.  I began passing people, aware that there would be a hill in my future.  From my recollection, just a normal hill, no big deal.  As I approached the hill, I gained speed and kept powering through.  In the initial incline, powering through and then "WHAM" it hit me - I should have downshifted several hundred yards ago because this was WAY steeper than I had thought it would be and my quads were screaming.  Unfortunately, that basically threw the whole hill for me - it was impossible to regain the momentum as I downshifted over and over with the hopes I would make it to the crest without *GASP* getting off my bike and walking!  This hill wasn't straight up, but it was steeper than I thought and it WENT. ON. FOREVER.

So after powering through the hill (and I didn't have to stop!) I descended to the beginning of the course to start my second loop.  I thought to myself "ok, you navigated it fine, now put on more speed."  Off I went, make the quick right to the "left turn" and in front of me is a tow truck going SLOOOOOOW.  Held up by a bunch of riders ahead, the tow truck proceeded slowly with his right turn signal on the whole time.  I wanted to pass him on the right, but was too concerned he would turn without me seeing him.  I was going insane!  Every time he passed a side street I would groan louder and louder each time he didn't turn.  After a minute or so I was yelling "turn, turn, turn!"  This made all the race volunteers on the corners howl with laughter!  Finally he turned and I shouted "Hooray!" followed my more howling laughter!  I passed the group of cyclists that had been ahead of the truck and off I went. 

The remainder of the ride to the "big hill" was fairly uneventful.  Then, at the slight descent leading to the hill I put on a ton of speed hoping to catch the momentum.  As I began the hill I was flying, so happy I wasn't going to almost stall again.  I began downshifting slowly to accommodate the incline and then "WHAM!"  Downshifted to fast and my legs were spinning without resistance.  DAMN!  There went all my momentum AGAIN!  I struggled again to reach the crest.

As I turned in to finish the bike, I was not exactly pleased:

Finally, I turned into the bike dismount area only to have my husband screaming "KEEP GOING!"  He was annoyed I slowed down to early - but I was concerned about my cages catching (again, I REALLY need to get those clipless pedals on!).

Run:  So, off on the run I went.  It was significantly less eventful than the ride.  I even took a brief moment to wave to my husband and kids:

I did walk a bit through the brick part as my quads were really having a hard time adjusting and it was impacting that glute pain I warned my body about!  But, it did work itself through way before the midpoint and I continued from there with few issues other than it actually was WAY warmer than I expected!  As I re-entered the park I found a great burst of energy and finished strong. 

So, I finished.  I was NOT happy with my bike time and I start working on that Wednesday at my team training.  My run I was ok with, and hope to get faster the next time around.  In less than two weeks I will be doing another Tri - I have to admit, I can't wait.  But, I am getting cold feet on the 1/2 mile swim, so I "downgraded" to a Try a Tri at this event to limit my swim to 1/4 mile.  Of course, as soon as I did that I had a great swim on Wednesday night.  So much of this is a mental game, and once the pressure was off I enjoyed my open water swim tremendously!  But, the upcoming race is on a wholly unfamiliar out of town course for me that will be in hot temperatures but COLD water, so I am thinking it will be best to ease into it.  I will probably regret not doing the full half mile swim, but I will get that opportunity on my home course in early August for a swim race prior to the Sprint there in late August. 

In all honesty, this has all been kind of anticlimactic.  For some reason I have been kind of in a funk about it.  Maybe it is the slow time.  Maybe it was that I recovered fairly quickly and don't feel I gave it may all.  Maybe it just IS.  But, it is time to move on to the next race and training the bike and swim!

Dear Body, Dear Mind

Dear Body:

YOU CAN DO THIS!  You have been working hard and strengthening yourself for months.  You have been fueled well, and rested this week.  With all this in mind, I do however have a few requests/orders:

First, please save the cramping for after the finish line.  In exchange, I will be sure to supply you with the electrolytes you need and give you a great stretch before and after the race. 

If at all possible, could you speed up the movement of blood and lactic acid out of my quads after the bike?  Waiting seven minutes and four seconds to feel like my legs are working again is a bit long and, frankly, unnecessary.  It also causes me to grimace in pain/annoyance and I really don't want that captured in any pictures from the event.  And, speaking of photos, if you could turn just so to hide my muffin top when near any functioning cameras, I would greatly appreciate it!

Please save the glute pain until after the race.  Running with my hand on my left glute chanting "I have a pain in my behind" is not the best approach to a positive race.

Unfortunately, use of restrooms between the transfer of the time chip to me and my crossing the finish line is strictly prohibited, so please plan accordingly.  And, while we are on that topic, I am fully aware that I have had three children within 5 years.  Therefore, the constant reminder through "bladder challenges" (yeah, THAT) is not necessary, so please conduct yourself accordingly.

Move and move fast.  And I don't just mean the arms.  If the legs could somehow reflect the speed with which the arms pump during the run, it would be much appreciated.

Don't fall.  Enough said.

Most of all, enjoy!  And, if you happen to forget any of these items, I will remind you loudly and often during the race to assist you with meeting these requirements.

Dear Mind:

YOU CAN DO THIS!  Any thoughts to the contrary are strictly prohibited.  Don't worry about the Body, it has also been informed of this, but DO provide encouragement as needed.  With all this in mind, I do have several requests/orders:

The only vision you may have of the left turn on the bike course is one of the Body sailing through it with just the right lean and speed necessary.  All other visions are strictly prohibited and "turned off" pursuant to THIS theory/instruction.

DO NOT think about those behind you and wanting to pass you on the bike course.  Leave it up to them to worry about that.  This is as much your race as it is theirs, so concentrate on yourself.

If, and only if, something doesn't go as planned, adjust and let it go.  DO NOT obsess about things you cannot change.

Stop worrying about whether you look like a dork.  You may well just look like a dork, but you are you, and most people aren't even going to notice - they are worried about looking like a dork too, so they are too focused on themselves.

Replace the thought "I don't know if I can do this" with "I AM doing this!"  Why?  Well, because you ARE doing this.

Enjoy!  You have wanted to do this for a long time and have had the privilege to prepare for it, so enjoy, LOVE it, and worry about tomorrow tomorrow!

Don't worry, if you forget any of this along the way, I WILL remind you loudly and often. 

Sincerely,

Lisa


*and if you pass me on Saturday and hear me reminding my body and mind about these things, just smile and laugh WITH me, not AT me!  Good Luck to all racing this weekend!