Waddell & Reed 1/2 Marathon - Kansas City 10.17.09

Well, I did my fourth half yesterday. I call it 3 hours of quality alone time.

Before the race start, this one, like most, was PACKED with people. It was dark and cold, but everyone was relatively happy, anxious, nervous, ready to go! I wondered what the scene looked like to the person flying the helicopter overhead; a sea of people below. When the race gets underway, however, and you cross that start line, you are on your own. You become very alone. Not in a bad way, but alone, nonetheless. It's all you, baby. Nobody but yourself to rely on.

At about mile 2 I was feeling great. I had my iPod this time and what a difference music makes! I ate more snacks this time too (Goo, Chomps, chewable tablet things, I even choked down a partial banana at about mile 9, but I'm getting ahead of myself.)

At mile 4 I was still feeling good. At mile 6 I ran the farthest I think I've ever ran at once without stopping...of course I don't really know because I don't have a Garmin, but I know it was FAR.

About mile 8 I really had to start talking to myself. I told myself that I only had a little over 5 miles to go and 5 miles is nothing. I could do this. I just had to stay strong.

At mile 9 I choked down the banana...nasty. It just kept growing in my mouth, but I swallowed hard and drank some gatorage. I drank gatorade and/or water at every stop, which is very important.

At mile 10 I felt great mentally. A little over 3 miles left and I could probably do that everyday. No sweat. But then my left leg just pretty much stopped working. I couldn't run three steps without pulling up like an injured horse. Not cool. Up til this point, I was 3-4 full minutes ahead of my goal! I couldn't stop now!? I figured out that I could walk fairly well, but the muscles used to pick up my leg to run were just spent. So I walked as fast as I could for a couple miles, just hoping I could run across the finish line.

When I hit mile 12, I knew I only had a little bit to go. So I started running again. Full out. I'd run until my leg stopped working, then I'd walk again. I did this all of mile 12. When you hit mile 13 in a half marathon, you're exhilerated. And I was. I could see the finish line by then. I timed it right and was able to run across the finish, a full 4 minutes ahead of my goal and a full 15 minutes off my best ever time. I really pushed it and came in at a respectable 2:54:53. WOW! I was so happy. I was limping, but happy!

I kicked ass and it felt GREAT. I put my medal around my neck and headed for the after-race area. It was packed with people and I managed to pick up a piece of an orange, part of a bagel and a water, as I scanned the crowd for Carl and Bev. They'd cheered my across the finish (35 minutes after Carl's PR finish of 2:19:01).

We found each other and after a few minutes we started to get really cold, so we headed back to the hotel to take showers and rest. All in all, it was a great race day. Weather was in low 40s. No sun to speak of, so no need for sunglasses. I was a little disappointed in the medal itself -- not enough bling for me, I guess.


    Carl and me at the finish. Yay us!!

How to Stay Motivated to Run

Buy something new! I'm usually not that shallow (I think?) but one of the things I like about running is the clothes and the stuff. They make me feel good.

I went to buy a headlamp (not sexy) for running in the dark. Got a FUEL LED headlamp from Princeton Tec (4-mode, water resistent, distance of 35 feet).  I also wandered over to the women's clearance apparel section. I found a very cool, Insport cool weather Kinetix hoodie with reflector stripes on the back for half price. It has a zippered pocket on the inside of the left sleeve and holes for my thumbs so I feel particularly hip when wearing it. I also found Champion semi-fit capri style pants - I will wear these until I absolutely have to wear warmer pants. They are nothing special. No pockets or little nooks for holding things. But they were cheap and a size smaller than I'm used to. Hello!! Sweet.

I had a pretty good short run last night (3.7 miles). I'm not dreading the half on Saturday.

Running Playlist #1

The Rolling Stones - Beast of Burden
No Doubt - Hella Good
Ok Go - Here It Goes Again
No Doubt - Hey Baby
Gwen Stefani - Hollaback Girl
James Morrison - Nothing Ever Hurt Like You
Miley Cyrus - Party In the U.S.A.
Nelly Furtado featuring Timabland - Promiscuous
Black-Eyed Peas - Pump It 
Joss Stone - Put Your Hands on Me
Bruce Springsteen - The Rising
Whitney Houston - So Emotional 
10,000 Maniacs - These Are Days
MGMT - Time to Pretend
John Lennon - Whatever Gets You Through the Night
Gwen Stefani - Yummy
Madonna featuring Justin Timberlake - 4 Minutes 

9.5 Mile Training Run

On Saturday I went on a 9.5 mile run and I think it's fair to say it was NOT a good run. I think it's fair to say I experienced a serious bout of muscle fatigue. That, combined with the bitching, moaning and crying, just about did me in. I suspect it about did my running partner in too. (Sorry, Carl. Thanks for putting up with all my drama.)

I felt OK, contrary to what I would have expected, for about the first 4 miles. After that, my legs felt like they weighed approximately 1,000 lbs. each. Not cool. I have felt like this one other time - in the Chicago Rock-n-Roll 1/2 at about mile 9. At that point I thought I couldn't go on. I did, but I went slowly, and my overall time suffered because of it. Same thing this past weekend. At about mile 6 or 7 I just felt like I could not go on. I want that feeling to never come again. I have been reading a little about my VO2 max and levels of lactic acid (threshold) in my muscles, but I know very little about it. From what I do understand, there's a point at which the threshold has been crossed; something to do with oxygen, and there's little that can be done. Just keep training. Keep running. Keep going.

Ok, but that just SUCKS.

I even said outloud at some point that I was really trying to just enjoy myself. I reminded myself to look up at the sky, the gorgeous surroundings of trees and bluffs and river, as opposed to my feet that were failing me. I reminded myself that I am running for better health, so that I may stick around as long as possible; that I am running because I can and that I am in the minority in this regard. I reminded myself that running is a serious mindfuck and that I am stronger than I think I am. Alas, my body said no and my mind followed. I get a "daily kick in the butt" email from Runner's World. Today's, fittingly, was "If you can train your mind for running, everything else will be easy." Even more odd, that quote is by Amby Burfoot, who I didn't know about until last night, when I picked up a book called "No Need For Speed." In the acknowledgements, the author thanks Amby for his encouragement through the years. Maybe these kinds of little coincidences mean something. Maybe I need more oxygen.

At least I got in a long training run before the Waddell and Reed half marathon this coming Saturday in Kansas City. At this point, I am still just in these things to finish. And get the medal, of course.

On a lighter note, I was surprised on Sunday when I experienced not one ounce of soreness from the previous day's torture. Seriously, not a bit. I was perfectly fine. To be honest, I was kind of counting on a little soreness, just to prove to myself I'd done something extreme the day before. I didn't even need a nap Saturday afternoon. Hmmm...

Running Epiphany

Last Sunday I ran about 4 1/2 miles. Out in the middle of nowhere, but that's a different subject. As we were running, my running partner, Carl, said something like the way I was running couldn't possibly be good for my hips. I have been going to physical therapy because my left hip is about a half inch higher than my right hip. Also a different subject. Anyway, he said I looked like I was sort of lumbering along. He was right. I wasn't picking my feet up, my legs were too straight. I wasn't really running. Here's a thought: I probably haven't really been running at all. Ever. Well, at least not since I was a little girl.

In all the pictures that are taken of me during races, I always look a little goofy. I know, everyone looks goofy when they're running, but I look just plain psychotic. It's because I really haven't been running. So, last Sunday, near the end of the run, I said, "OK, let's just run. Fast." So we did. Of course, we didn't run far and fast, because I thought I would die after about 10 seconds. But Carl said "YES! That's IT!" He actually said he had considered the thought that I really didn't know how to run. Of course I know how to run. I just haven't been doing it. I don't know why. But I think I've turned a corner. Even though I felt like I would just collapse, I knew instantly that it was different. My form changed. Both feet were off the ground at the same time. I was running. I think I really hadn't truly run, full on, since I was a little girl. It felt good.

Flooded Trail

This is part of the trail I run on a lot...in fact, just ran there night before last. I took this picture last night from Scott Blvd. in Columbia, facing west. A total swamp from over 24 straight hours of rain.

Negative Anticipation

I sometimes, well, OK, most times, totally dread actually starting to run. I am trying to patiently wait until the day when I look forward to the run. I am not there yet. I am supposed to run a fairly long training run tomorrow and I'm already dreading it. Not because I think I can't do it. I can. I don't know what it is....I think I don't like the feeling of being out of breath, feeling like I can't possibly put one foot in front of the other even one more time...all that. Once I get past about mile 2, I am almost always feeling better, so I am trying to focus more on that. But those first 2 don't make it easy to get out there. These aren't exactly the most positive thoughts, but they're the thoughts I'm having. Maybe getting them out there will make them dissipate quicker.

Positive Writing Impacts Physical Well-Being

OK, I'll give it a shot. I've been waiting for inspiration concerning what in the world this blog might actually be about. I blog on our adoption process, (http://myeradoption.blogspot.com/)
but with the seemingly endless wait-time there's nothing much really to say at this point. The inspiration for a blog came originally from a conference I attended in Washington D.C. back in July called Social Media for Government. I've posted just one time, and that was that. Riveting.

So today my friend Carl sent me an interesting link to a story about a study done at MU dealing with the idea that simply writing about positive experiences can carry over into boosting a person's physical well-being: http://www.rodale.com/positive-writing-and-health. We had a pretty good run last night (rare, recently) and he suggested we should email each other after runs like that. That, and the fact that he called me "an athlete in training," made me think this blog could be used for something along those lines. I'm not sure about that label yet, but I'll let it be for now.

This blog's title came from my experience meeting Nell at the 2009 Chicago Rock-n-Roll half marathon. Her art became the official artwork of the race and is what's at the top right of this blog. I bought that poster and she signed it for me. She's an elite runner who took time to talk to me and give me advice on how to get faster. She signed it "Try to Fly...." The image at the top left is that poster. The image at the top right is at race start in downtown Chicago.

Social Media Conference in Washington DC

I started an adoption blog a long time ago, when I thought our adoption of a Chinese infant girl would be a speedier process than it has been. Since then, I've updated that blog periodically. But, I've often thought that I'd love to have another blog...about stuff. About nothing. About everything. I've always wanted to write, but all the excuses always got in my way. The other blog has really just become a log of milestone events in our years-long adoption process. This one I hope to use to amuse any of you who care what I might be thinking at the moment. Maybe it will evolve. Maybe it won't.

So, I'm at this Social Media conference in Washington DC. If it does nothing else, it will have at least spurred me into action to create this blog and begin to write on it. As I write, I am skipping the "group exercise" that is on the schedule right after lunch. As social as I am, I despise those types of things. So, rather than be a grump at the table, I bailed. In terms of social media, to quote John Legend, "the future started yesterday, and [I'm] already late."