This morning I went running with Stanley here. He's one of the local staff members and has been a runner for a while. Sounds like he hasn't run in about a year, but he still made me look pretty wimpy! Mark drove us to the corner so that we could have a shoulder to run and have a better chance of not getting run down. Apparently people do NOT have the right of way here, so they can turn you into a pancake and get away scott free. So we hugged the bushes and ran. Okay, running in Texas and running in South Africa are TOTALLY different! I can't believe the hills here. the first 3.5 miles started as a steady incline and the last mile was intense. I thought I was going to throw up! Fortunately, what goes up must come down and the last miles were sloping up and DOWN, hallelujah! :) It was incredibly beautiful. The mountain view was inspiring and I've asked Stanley to take me again. He said no! :) Ha! I DID do better than him. Does that mean I win? ;p
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Exhaustion
Is there such thing as exhuastion? Exhaustion is the TOTAL consumption of something. A state I have never truly experienced. I've never gone running and fallen over because I had absolutely nothing left. And yet I've flippantly thrown that word around this week hoping it would buy me some pity. It did, and I was profoundly grateful. I had every right to complain, didn't I? I ran my first 20 mile run and THEN I was supposed to run 4 miles, 9 miles, 4 miles and another 9 miles last week. Man, a girl can't catch a break! So I gave myself one. I skipped my last 9 mile run. I knew I just couldn't do it; after all, I was exhausted!
When we're tired, it reveals our true character. And my true character seems to be that when I'm "exhausted" I eat worse, whine more, and basically take on a victim mentality. I pat my belly, "Aw, poor, belly, what you need is some chocolate!" I rub my legs, "Poor wittle, wegs, you need a break from running!" And I sit in front of the t.v. and content myself with the fact that I'm exhausted and if I tried to get up my legs, no doubt, would buckle beneath me. I've even permitted myself to be grumpy and whiny. Poor Mark deals with it by provoking my wrath! :)
What would happen if we would speak more honestly and allowed ourselves less excuses? I can't even imagine! We would actually become adults and take responsibility for our words and our growth! I would say things like, "I'm really tired this week from running so much, but I'm not going to give in to that. I'm going to keep going, strengthen my legs, mind and lungs so that I'm ready for my marathon." Do such people really exist? They must! There are some pretty amazing people who've accomplished some pretty amazing things.
And so I'm going to work on my character a little bit more this week. Yes, my legs are tired, and definitely my brain feels weak. But instead of rubbing my belly and legs and seeking refuge in front of the t.v., I'm going to try to work past the weakness in me and see what's comes out on the other side. I'm guessing a little more willpower and definitely stronger legs! Wish me luck! And say a prayer for Mark so that I don't bite his head off while I'm so "exhausted"! :)
When we're tired, it reveals our true character. And my true character seems to be that when I'm "exhausted" I eat worse, whine more, and basically take on a victim mentality. I pat my belly, "Aw, poor, belly, what you need is some chocolate!" I rub my legs, "Poor wittle, wegs, you need a break from running!" And I sit in front of the t.v. and content myself with the fact that I'm exhausted and if I tried to get up my legs, no doubt, would buckle beneath me. I've even permitted myself to be grumpy and whiny. Poor Mark deals with it by provoking my wrath! :)
What would happen if we would speak more honestly and allowed ourselves less excuses? I can't even imagine! We would actually become adults and take responsibility for our words and our growth! I would say things like, "I'm really tired this week from running so much, but I'm not going to give in to that. I'm going to keep going, strengthen my legs, mind and lungs so that I'm ready for my marathon." Do such people really exist? They must! There are some pretty amazing people who've accomplished some pretty amazing things.
And so I'm going to work on my character a little bit more this week. Yes, my legs are tired, and definitely my brain feels weak. But instead of rubbing my belly and legs and seeking refuge in front of the t.v., I'm going to try to work past the weakness in me and see what's comes out on the other side. I'm guessing a little more willpower and definitely stronger legs! Wish me luck! And say a prayer for Mark so that I don't bite his head off while I'm so "exhausted"! :)
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Still Not a Competition, Right?
I know, it's sad. I can't seem to help myself. I try really hard to just be excited about me and let everyone else go at their own pace, but there are just some people that I can't seem to do that with, and Mark is one of them. It's not even fair really; it's like comparing apples to oranges. He's a man, therefore he has all his man muscles that will keep him far above me in all things physical. And then, as far as men go, he's actually really fast. His 100 m time in college could have qualified him for the Olympic trials. I mean, really, what is wrong with me? And then as far as I go. I'm a long distance runner. He's always trained for sprints. It's not really fair to compare my 20 mile run to his 4 mile run, right? But....that's what I do!
We went running together the other day. He hadn't run in 3 weeks since he was sick, and I was still stinging from my pathetic 15K with him from the 23rd. He could have so easily kicked by butt, but in my defense I was sick! So, I asked him if he'd like to go running (mind you I'm completely healed now from my sickness) and he reluctantly agreed. I told him he could pick the distance and I'd pick the pace. Poor guy, he was trusting me to pick the pace! I started at an 8:30. No, not on purpose, I mean he's a sprinter, right?? Obviously that's a simple pace for him. When he's well...oops. So we ran and walked some and went about 4 miles. He was gasping for air and I was fine. I didn't say anything to his face, but come on...I won, right? :)
We went running together the other day. He hadn't run in 3 weeks since he was sick, and I was still stinging from my pathetic 15K with him from the 23rd. He could have so easily kicked by butt, but in my defense I was sick! So, I asked him if he'd like to go running (mind you I'm completely healed now from my sickness) and he reluctantly agreed. I told him he could pick the distance and I'd pick the pace. Poor guy, he was trusting me to pick the pace! I started at an 8:30. No, not on purpose, I mean he's a sprinter, right?? Obviously that's a simple pace for him. When he's well...oops. So we ran and walked some and went about 4 miles. He was gasping for air and I was fine. I didn't say anything to his face, but come on...I won, right? :)
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
It's Not a Competition
One of the greatest things I love about running is that it's not a competition. Recently, Mark asked me how fast people on the Biggest Loser ran the marathon and I told him, "I don't know. I'm not competing against them, I'm competing against myself." Wise words, right? But are they words I can live by?
I got myself a free weeks pass at 24 Hour Fitness because we've had a lot of storms come through and I couldn't run outside without risk of becoming paralyzed or sudden death. I have to admit, I don't love running on the treadmill, but one does what one must when a marathon looms over one's head. I needed to run 8 miles that day and I snagged one of the good treadmills. Turned on a show and began to run. Not much time had passed before I noticed a girl ahead and to the right of me running. Had she been there long? I don't think she was there when I first started. Throughout my run I'd check, yep, she was still running. She looked to be in pretty good shape. Her running pace looked good. How long was she going to run anyway???
Once my 8 miles were up I did my stretching and headed to the ladies locker room. In there was the girl that had been running as well. I got up the nerve and asked her, "How long did you run for?" I mean, I was behind her so she couldn't know that I was running too. "Only 7 miles." She answered and walked away. I called after her, "That's good!" But in my head I was thinking...Oh yeah, I did 8. I win!
I got myself a free weeks pass at 24 Hour Fitness because we've had a lot of storms come through and I couldn't run outside without risk of becoming paralyzed or sudden death. I have to admit, I don't love running on the treadmill, but one does what one must when a marathon looms over one's head. I needed to run 8 miles that day and I snagged one of the good treadmills. Turned on a show and began to run. Not much time had passed before I noticed a girl ahead and to the right of me running. Had she been there long? I don't think she was there when I first started. Throughout my run I'd check, yep, she was still running. She looked to be in pretty good shape. Her running pace looked good. How long was she going to run anyway???
Once my 8 miles were up I did my stretching and headed to the ladies locker room. In there was the girl that had been running as well. I got up the nerve and asked her, "How long did you run for?" I mean, I was behind her so she couldn't know that I was running too. "Only 7 miles." She answered and walked away. I called after her, "That's good!" But in my head I was thinking...Oh yeah, I did 8. I win!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Hotter than Hell!
Lately I've been having some sore leg muscles. Especially my muscle that runs next to my shin. Every run I have I have to warmup, stop and stretch and then finish my run because they are just tight. I definitey don't want to get shin splints, so I'm trying very hard to take care of my legs. Yesterday I was headed out for my 16 mile run. That was a hurdle to overcome mentally. Somehow, everytime I looked at my schedule and saw that 16 mile run looming over me I would have to force myself to focus on the run of the day and just leave it looming. But today was the day that I stepped out and headed off for this seemingly overwhelming run. I took my phone with me in case I needed to call Mark in the middle to come get me!
Anyway, I decided to put some BioFreeze on my legs to help loosen them up. It was empty! I have no idea why I have kept this empty bottle, but no matter how hard I squeezed and shook, nothing was coming out. Feeling desperate, I searched the medicine cabinet for something that would work. I came across some Ultra Arthritic Cream that Mark uses when his back flares up. Perfect! I put it on and wondered if it could possibly be too old to work because I felt nothing. About a mile into my run my muscles were starting to create some heat and I started to feel like my legs were sunburned. Oooh! I forced my mind onto other things and kept running.
Once home, amazingly I didn't need to call Mark to come get me, I decided to hop into the bath to soak my muscles. Suddenly my legs felt like they were on fire!! I kept thinking it'll pass, but instead it felt worse and worse! I had to hop out of the tub and into the shower. Even that was unbearable. I leaned my head into the water and washed my sweaty hair and jumped out. My legs burned for the next 30 minutes! Ridiculous.
Later, when I told Mark about my legs he said that a trainer in college had wrapped his legs up with this cream on them and he'd ended up with blisters. I checked the label on the cream and nowhere in the warnings did it say possible death from burning flesh melting off. What is wrong with these people? And where is some BioFreeze and how soon can I buy some? Well, at least it took my mind off of 16 miles which turned out to be an incredibly exhilerating run! Maybe I should put some on my backside next time and it'll propel me forward! I'll get my fastest time yet. :)
Anyway, I decided to put some BioFreeze on my legs to help loosen them up. It was empty! I have no idea why I have kept this empty bottle, but no matter how hard I squeezed and shook, nothing was coming out. Feeling desperate, I searched the medicine cabinet for something that would work. I came across some Ultra Arthritic Cream that Mark uses when his back flares up. Perfect! I put it on and wondered if it could possibly be too old to work because I felt nothing. About a mile into my run my muscles were starting to create some heat and I started to feel like my legs were sunburned. Oooh! I forced my mind onto other things and kept running.
Once home, amazingly I didn't need to call Mark to come get me, I decided to hop into the bath to soak my muscles. Suddenly my legs felt like they were on fire!! I kept thinking it'll pass, but instead it felt worse and worse! I had to hop out of the tub and into the shower. Even that was unbearable. I leaned my head into the water and washed my sweaty hair and jumped out. My legs burned for the next 30 minutes! Ridiculous.
Later, when I told Mark about my legs he said that a trainer in college had wrapped his legs up with this cream on them and he'd ended up with blisters. I checked the label on the cream and nowhere in the warnings did it say possible death from burning flesh melting off. What is wrong with these people? And where is some BioFreeze and how soon can I buy some? Well, at least it took my mind off of 16 miles which turned out to be an incredibly exhilerating run! Maybe I should put some on my backside next time and it'll propel me forward! I'll get my fastest time yet. :)
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
14 and ice???
I've recently realized how lucky I am to live in Texas. I haven't always felt that way, after all, I did grow up in Monterey, California. Easily one of the most beautiful places on the planet to live. I thought that was very lucky! I have also been fortunate enough to live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the Colorado Rockies and even Austin, where they have a lake (river) and hills (which they call mountains, but the rest of the world knows those are just hills). So, Dallas, Texas, in all it's non-glory, flat, very few trees and of what it did have were weird, dead trees growing out of its lakes, didn't seem all that special. Until I began to run.
My running team, poor things, live in Iowa and Indiana where it snows! As they've shared their times and runs with me they've mentioned words like wind, ice and below freezing temperatures. Oooohh, these people are serious runners! I've tried not to be too glib as I shared my times and used words like sun, shorts, and 50 degree weather; just a little "Oh, by the way, it's beautiful weather here," was slyly mentioned... Ok, maybe I did want them to be a little jealous. After all, they've all run marathons and run very fast. I had to have something.... :) But there was this tiny voice that said I didn't need to be as tough as them to gut it out and run in the cold.
Until yesterday! Yes, Texas had snow, and ice, and it was very cold! At first I had a weenie attitude, but at some point I realized, this is my chance! I can be a serious runner too! I put on my neck gaiter/hat, gloves, under armor, sweats, long sleeved shirt, light jacket and heavy jacket and went running. I looked like I was going to rob the 7-11. The only part of my skin that showed was the opening in my hat where my eyes were and I had covered that with sunglasses in case of snow blindness. (Well, I did live in the Rockies and that was a problem there anyway) People looked out their cars at me impressed. I assumed that's what that look on their face was, what else could it have been? (Don't answer that) Okay, there really wasn't a lot of snow or ice on the sidewalks, but I carefully ran the 7 miles to Plano and 7 miles back. I bet there aren't a lot of people that live in Texas that can say they ran 14 miles in the snow. I am a beast, running in the snow!
My running team, poor things, live in Iowa and Indiana where it snows! As they've shared their times and runs with me they've mentioned words like wind, ice and below freezing temperatures. Oooohh, these people are serious runners! I've tried not to be too glib as I shared my times and used words like sun, shorts, and 50 degree weather; just a little "Oh, by the way, it's beautiful weather here," was slyly mentioned... Ok, maybe I did want them to be a little jealous. After all, they've all run marathons and run very fast. I had to have something.... :) But there was this tiny voice that said I didn't need to be as tough as them to gut it out and run in the cold.
Until yesterday! Yes, Texas had snow, and ice, and it was very cold! At first I had a weenie attitude, but at some point I realized, this is my chance! I can be a serious runner too! I put on my neck gaiter/hat, gloves, under armor, sweats, long sleeved shirt, light jacket and heavy jacket and went running. I looked like I was going to rob the 7-11. The only part of my skin that showed was the opening in my hat where my eyes were and I had covered that with sunglasses in case of snow blindness. (Well, I did live in the Rockies and that was a problem there anyway) People looked out their cars at me impressed. I assumed that's what that look on their face was, what else could it have been? (Don't answer that) Okay, there really wasn't a lot of snow or ice on the sidewalks, but I carefully ran the 7 miles to Plano and 7 miles back. I bet there aren't a lot of people that live in Texas that can say they ran 14 miles in the snow. I am a beast, running in the snow!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Becoming Utilitarian
The other day I got a call from my girlfriend. You know, a girl that's a friend? She was hoping I would come over to her house, while her baby was sleeping, and help her with some music stuff. Problem: Mark had my van and his car was broken. Solution: run to her house! :) According to my Hal Higdon Marathon Training Schedule I was supposed to run 6 miles that day, her house was 3.5 miles away and I needed to do 2 miles of a timed run according to my coach. Now, I know this isn't exactly what Hal intended when he said to run 6 miles, but, hey...how cool is it to run to somebody's house out of necessity? Pretty cool! I guessed how long it would take me to run there and headed out. 1st mile - rough, felt pretty sore, stopped and stretched my calves. 2nd mile - felt a little better. 3rd mile - felt MUCH better and ran it at a 9:30 pace. Ran the last 1/2 mile to Kristi's house and felt very proud.
After helping with her music I keyed up the ipod, turned my gps watch back on and headed home. I felt GREAT! I ran the last few miles quickly and then walked once I got to Target.
Too bad I didn't bring my wallet and a backpack. I could have gone shopping....now that's what I call utilitarian! :)
After helping with her music I keyed up the ipod, turned my gps watch back on and headed home. I felt GREAT! I ran the last few miles quickly and then walked once I got to Target.
Too bad I didn't bring my wallet and a backpack. I could have gone shopping....now that's what I call utilitarian! :)
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