Sometimes you're the windshield (or the face of a runner)

Life can hit hard sometimes...yet be so gentle with us at others. As I said before, I had a delightful time running the Scream Half in July. Not so much for the Bluegrass Half on Sunday. It was painfully obvious that I don't like running hills and they don't like me.

I have never wanted to quit a race so badly as I did during this one. It has really messed with my confidence. I, honestly, thought that I would be able to run in it in under 2 hours with my current fitness level - WRONG. I haven't been doing speedwork of any kind and I think that has really hurt me in the "speed" department. I had a friend do the relay on a team called "Fast for Turtles". Ha! I could so be classified there. I'm faster than people who don't run on a regular basis but much slower than my friends who run all the time. Oh well, it's ok...Never gonna win anyway, right?

I have set my sights on this marathon now. We are down to less that 5 weeks to go. Training has been harder than anything else I have ever done in my life. It's not necessarily the running that's hard. It's more like trying to find the time to run. Fitting in a 3 hour run isn't easy, especially when all you want to do is sleep. Yes, it wears you out. As if that were ever a question.

I find myself being thankful more and more though regardless of how I run. I am constantly reminded of just how blessed I am. First of all, I was working in a classroom learning about Columbus and just started thinking about how odd it is that I was born in America and not somewhere else. How come I wasn't born in Africa or India or Honduras? Maybe this is me learning more and more about mission work and about how much these people lack compared to what we all take so much advantage of on a daily basis. I know this has nothing to do with running but just wanted to add some food for thought.

Happy Running!

Where do I go from here?

So much has happened since my last post that I don't know where to begin. First off, I made my original goal of breaking 2 hours in July. (Whoop Whoop!) It was a downhill race but I finished it in under 1:53 so I will take it! I haven't been running that much since I got back to TN. It just seems that somehow something always seems to get in the way. Here I have friends who want to hang out with me, a family that wants to see me, and things I want/need to do(for example, working 2 jobs 11a.m.-11p.m. almost every day). I didn't have all of the distractions in Charleston, therefore I ran more(because I didn't have anything better to do). Oh, and have I mentioned how hot it has been?! That, in addition, to my adverse reaction to getting up before the sun rises when it is still cool, has also put a kink in my running plans.

I feel good when I go run now. I don't get nervous like I used to. I just went and ran 11 miles yesterday. Not once did I think, "I might not finish this", even though I should have. I hadn't ran over 10 miles at once in 4 weeks. I was sore that night, but that is normal.

I have signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon in DC, as most of you know. More than once this summer the thought has crossed my mind that I won't do it and I will just sell my bib number. Why? Well, as if the reasons above aren't enough, my running friends usually do long runs on Sundays. In Charleston, I would have been fine with this but since being back I have found myself in love with a church here. I hate to miss it. Therefore if I want to do a long run I usually must do it alone on Saturdays. I am fine with this until I make it up to my 20 mile runs...then I would really like to have someone with me. Just. In. Case. You never know what can happen.

So that's where I am now. I have decided to start putting more effort into my training on the assumption that I do decide to go to DC and run my 26.2. I have to say though, my friends Jenna Booher and Jamie Williams just completed an IRONMAN! If that isn't inspiration and motivation, I don't know what is. I have so much respect for these ladies when, at this point, I am intimidated by training for just a marathon, when that is only 1/3 of what they just did!

I wanna go fast!!

Where to begin? I think I will start on a good note because, as any teacher knows, it's always best to lead with the positive. I am so happy to be back! As beautiful as Charleston is, it is still not my home. Now that I am here I feel so surrounded by love :) As cheesy as that sounds, it is true. I have been welcomed back with open arms by my family and friends! While I was in Charleston, I may have made more friends back here than I did there. Ha! I am so glad that I have this time to spend with my family and my friends, old and new.

I have been accepted by the group of Foot Rx like crazy! Let me tell you something, runners are some of the nicest and most supportive people I know. (It could be all the "feel-good" endorphins) I honestly don't really feel worthy of being in their group considering how fast most of them are...but they have NEVER made me feel this way. That is just my own insecurities.

The race today was not my best...but I suppose they can't all be or a "PR" wouldn't be special, huh? I ran 30 seconds slower than the 5k 2 weeks ago. I could sit here and make excuses for myself all day long, but I'm not going to. The truth is I was just not feeling it and could not get going. I am disappointed in myself and mad at my body for not being faster. I want to go fast!(Thanks, Ricky Bobby) Is it my VO2 Max? Am I just not cut out to be a fast runner? I don't know. I would like to blame it on my physical make-up but I don't think that is the problem. I really don't want to continue at this hard-racing, speed-workouting, competitive pace if I'm not going to get any better. If this as good as it gets then I just need to go back to recreational running. Although, I do enjoy a good half-marathon. I think I like those much better than 5Ks, as odd as it sounds.

I will give it some time. As some awesome people reminded me today, I just got back and have started training hard, which is hard on the muscles. I need to let my legs adjust to what I'm putting them through. In the words of marathoner Kara Goucher from her fifth-place finish at Boston, Today was "Not my day, but that's okay". Sometimes we all just need to learn how to let certain things go and I'm working on that for today. As for the future, I'm looking forward to running my first 4-mile race next weekend. It is THE HOPE 4 to benefit the American Cancer Society at Tusculum College. I love running for a good cause and at this point I can't think of a better one.

“Desire is the key to motivation, but it's the determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal—a commitment to excellence—that will enable you to attain the success you seek.”
— Mario Andretti

eat pray run

As I am drawing a close to my Charleston experience, I am feeling bittersweet about leaving this fair city. I don't know how I have been so fortunate as to have been blessed with meeting the wonderful people I have here but I am so very thankful that I have. I will miss each and every one of you...you know who you are :) I am hoping that I will find myself back here a few times this summer! I learned a lot about myself during my time here. I really did eat, pray, and run A LOT! There was no love to it but that's ok. Running became my new love and I am thankful for that. I feel that many things would not have been accomplished had I still been in Tennessee all this time. I needed time for reflection and growth in order to progress. I did this for me. I hope there are no hard feelings from my people in Johnson City because I left for a while, because you are my people.

EAT~If you don't know Charleston is one of the best culinary experiences you can have in one city! Very seldom are chain restuarants to be found here and they are not to be patroned unless you want to be shunned by the natives. I have had the fortune to experience many of these culinary offerings while here but still feel like I didn't even get the tip of the iceberg. When you come to Charleston, explore!

PRAY~With God, all things are possible. Without Him, I would have been so lost in this new city all alone for the first time in my life. It's hard for me to come out of my comfort zone and open up to new friends. I may be goofy and grace you with my singing and dancing but that doesn't mean that you really know me. It takes me a while to let people in, as it did here. God helped me through a lot...from what was going in on in the present to things that happened in my past. I feel like I worked a lot of things out and I am coming through better for it. I needed the alone time here. I have always depended a lot on my friends and family to help me through things. Here I learned to do it by myself.

RUN~I feel like all of you reading my blog have watched me learn and develop as a runner this year. I am far from finished. Still a long way to go to that 23:00 5k, 49:00 10k, 1:45 half, and finishing a whole marathon but I am getting there. I am so much closer than I have ever been. I look back to my first ever race and I struggled to finish a 5k in 31:09. It was reallll work...and now, I am hoping to post a 25:00 very soon. Be on the lookout. My first half-marathon I completed in 2:40. And just brought home my second one in 2:03. That's 37 minutes!! I am not bragging. Please do not take it this way. I am just happy! :) I want to be a success and this feels like WINNING(Charlie Sheen voice here)! In all seriousness though, I'm not sure that I would have pushed myself and put myself out there had I been home and trying to run with the girls that I went to Disney with. They intimidated me incredibly. (Love you girls!) Here, I could do it in the privacy of my "own" Ravenel bridge, Isle of Palms(IOP)Connector, and treadmill. I pushed myself to my limit and it was good. I have built my confidence to be able to run with them now and I have even found some pretty awesome new friends in them! :) Everything happens for a reason...

Chasing those Snakes

I ran my 1st 10k on Saturday, Chasing Snakes. It was...interesting. I went out there hoping to run a 55 or 56. (Ran in 56:58...barely made it!) I didn't know that the race was full of hills! Who decided to put all of those there?? I once again went out too fast. I'm gonna have to put a stop to this! Slower start is definitely my goal at the moment. I think that is the only way I will make it to my time goals.

I have to admit that my competitive nature is getting the best of me lately. I don't like being the slowest one of all my running buddies..but I guess that just means I will get faster when I run with them. (I do have to say they are some of the fastest women in JC.) I have been getting down because of not making the goals I am setting for myself. Maybe I am reaching too far...I don't know. I know that to get faster it takes dedication, mileage, and speedwork. I have made each of these a special place in my weekly routines.

Then again, I feel lucky that I can run. Just today while running I passed a man getting out of his car with a walker. Not an older man either. I was just thankful that my legs were pumping away (even if they do hurt sometimes). I could just as easily be in that position. I also saw a video that someone had posted on facebook of a man running marathons and an Ironman with his son. Watch the video that is now on my page and you will appreciate what you have too.

Love and happiness to all!

Fairytale Ending (Well Almost)

Ok so I just finished the Princess Half, which is what this whole blog was focused on so now it will be transformed since I will be running my 1st ever marathon in October! It is the Marine Corps Marathon so I can't be having a Princess blog for that one ;)

I probably won't start the intense training until June but until then I will try to keep at least one weekly run of 10 miles or more just so the mileage is not so hard on me come June (because it will be. I've already been warned). I also plan on completing a couple more half marathons this year to not only beat my personal best but to also make sure that I am in shape and keep up with all I need to be doing to prepare and train.

As for the Disney Princess Half, I was overall happy with my time. As you know I was going for under 2 hours so I fell short by 3 minutes. While running the half I was so concerned with finishing and saving my energy for later that I didn't use it when I had it at the start. I know what my mistakes were and I will learn from them. If I don't then what was it all for? I went out at a 8:20 pace, which is WAY fast for me...but it didn't feel fast. It felt good. Like really good. I don't know if it was the adrenaline or training but for what it's worth - it worked. Then after I ran my 2nd mile around 8:30 I started getting nervous. I knew (thought) that if I kept up that pace I would die before the end so I started trying to slow it down. (This was my mistake.) I should have just went with the flow but I was trying to plan and be smart. I ran my 1st 4 miles under a 9:00 pace and my 5th right at 9:00. I was pumped and just knew that I was gonna make it but I kept trying to lower the pace so I could keep it up. In the end I realize that fighting with myself to slow down was the worst thing I could have done and I slowed too much. Live and learn. My next one will be there. I know it. (Unless I run some crazy hilly thing...not planning on it.)

I'm already excited for the marathon and it is sooo far away but if I keep up the excitement it should be one for the books. If I never do it again, I will be able to say I ran a marathon...

I am just amazed at what I can do already. Running is all about personal goals and records. You can't compare yourself to everyone else out there running. You do it for yourself and not anyone else. I already beat my best by nearly 40 minutes! And it didn't even feel like it took that long. I was just running along for 13.1 miles. Now a new adventure begins...Crazy...

Here we go!

The beginning of this week started out bad for me. I had had the terrible run on Sunday and was just feeling sooo tired and beat down. I honestly didn't know if I had it in me to do all of my runs this week so I bargained with myself that I would skip the Saturday 3m HMP run since it seemed that my long runs on Sunday seem better when I don't run on Saturday. Wellllll come Tuesday I had a horrible day. all. day. long. I just had a lot on my mind. I know that the best thing for me to have done would have been to come home and run but I didn't feel like it so I didn't. I'm glad I didn't because I'm pretty sure everything has just been laying on me pretty heavy right now and I needed the break. My body was telling me to take one. I like to listen to my body when it talks to me. hehe. I decided to do 6 x 800s for speedwork this week. I have kind of gone on my own with the plan by now. I do what I feel I need. 800s are killers! They are so fast (for me) and it is for 1/2 a mile. I, again, do the math in my head. With these I break it down to laps around a track. (Only 3 more laps - Push!) It works for me.

I felt pretty bogged down on my recovery run on Thursday but I guess that means I did my speedwork right? I was reading RW this week and saw some of Dean Karnazes' quotes. He had one where neighbor had said, "Doesn't running hurt?" He answered back, "Only if you're doing it right."

I ran my 3m on Saturday since I skipped my Tuesday one. It was successful. I am keeping under pace for my runs so hopefully that is a good sign. My long run today was great, beautiful and windy, but overall great. I feel a sort of peace over me about the race. I'm ready. If I don't have it by now then it's not going to happen. I am anxious about hitting my time goal, excited about going to Disney World, and a little nervous about my first solo flight and getting through Atlanta's airport on my own. I can't wait to spend time with my fellow runners as well!! It has been so long since have ran with anyone so I am really looking forward to the half and commercing with a sea of runners. All of the races for this weekend are sold-out! How awesome is that?! We are going to have such a blast ladies!

On another note, I am feeding my addiction and signing up for a FULL marathon. The Marine Corps Marathon is in D.C. on October 30th. I have plenty of time to prepare but the distance (26.2 miles) intimidates me to the core. This one is a good one for my 1st I think. It is called "The Peoples Marathon". Most who run this are running their 1sts, it's fairly flat, and in our nations capitol. Well, I'm gonna need twice the discipline and determination for this one but I do have a lot longer to prepare. I only had 6 weeks for this half!