It is amazing how much one weekend can change a girl's attitude.
I started the month of May with the not-so-great Sacramento half-marathon and trying not to think of the Uvas Triathlon in mid-month. My last triathlon in March was an embarrassment, and I had a hard time visualizing myself at this next triathlon.
On a personal non-racing level, I was not looking forward to the month of May. It was turning into one of those times where everything explodes: not only was work becoming insane as I had to prepare for 3 huge events with a total of 450 people attending, but my husband and I also put an offer on our first house! The double stress and obligations put a small snag in my training plans and I was getting a little nervous about Uvas.
The day before Mother's day, I participated in the Human Race with a team from work. Part of me was thinking about registering for the 5k or 10k and running the race, but I decided that my spirit---and wallet---needed a break from competing. So, instead of competing, I did something I hadn't done in a looooong time: I walked a race! It was a great experience, because I was surrounded by people united for one reason: to bring awareness to stroke. Our team dedicated the race to a stroke survivor and her caregiver/husband. I believe this was their 7th year doing the race, and it was inspiring to see her get out of her wheelchair to walk across the start and finish lines. I know the stroke survivor's story and how far she has come to get herself to cross that line and it definitely puts things into perspective.
On Mother's Day, I was talking to my 10-year-old niece about running. My brother had mentioned that she likes to go for runs and I immediately decided that I wanted to do a race with her. I invited her to be my buddy for the Girls on the Run 5k , a race put on by a non-profit that works with teaming up mentors with young girls to help with self-esteem and learn about running. We ran to the computer and logged onto Active.com and my excitement started to build as we selected our t-shirt sizes. I couldn't wait to run a race with her---maybe now I could get a family member to do these events with me. So, who cares that the race is a day before Uvas!
My niece and I had a blast. I loved playing the role of Coach Aunt Jill and took her out for dinner the night before (carbo-loading at Pasta Pomodoro). We laid our race clothes out on the floor the night before and set the alarm for 6:00. I woke up right away, and let her sleep in a little. Since I am not a mom, I didn't quite take into consideration the preparation involved with a 10 year old. I was already nervous about parking and packet pick up, so I rushed us to the car. She said something about breakfast, and I told her we could grab something on the way. I didn't have enough time for a Starbucks stop, so I gave her some Luna Moons ("They are like candy for athletes" is what I told her). She ate some of them and we made it to the start line surrounded by 1200 athletes (3/4 of whom were under the age of 18). We ran through Vasona Park and were given beads at each mile. I told my niece that if she needed to walk, we would walk. I told her if her body is telling her something, she must listen to it. We stopped at water stops and I was amazed at how well she was doing. However, around 2 1/2 miles she said the infamous little kid words: "I don't feel so good." And I said the infamous adult words: "Are you going to throw up?"
I will spare you the rest of the story. I rubbed her back and asked if she wanted to walk or just go home. She said she would walk and finish the race. As we walked, I told her that now she is a real runner---even though she got sick, she still made the decision to finish the race.
The crowd cheered us on at mile three and soon we saw the finish line. I looked at her and said, "This is it. Let's go all out and finish this strong." We sprinted to the finish line and I was so excited to see that look in her eyes of determination and pushing herself to her limits. I recognized that look as I have had it before many times. She told me she had fun, but next time she needed breakfast. I smiled sheepishly and agreed while mentally I started thinking about all the races we could sign up for.
After I dropped her off, I thought about how amazing it is to be in an event like a run or triathlon. I have been surrounded by people who all have goals set just for themselves, be it completing their first 10k, running an ultra-marathon or finding the strength to get themselves out of a wheelchair to cross a start line. How awesome is it to be surrounded by people all determined to improve themselves?
As excitement poured through my body I knew one thing:
I was ready for Uvas the next day.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
The risk we take...
At the beginning of this month, something happened that deep down I knew would eventually happen:
I didn't meet my goal.
I believe the risk of failing is one of the things we have to consider when we set goals for ourselves. My goal seemed simple enough: a sub 2 hour American River Parkway Half Marathon. I had completed a half marathon in late March at a little under a 2:03, so shaving off 3 minutes didn't seem that impossible.
I finished at 2:10:32. It was the first race I have ever done where the thought of ditching the race midpoint was tempting.
My time for the Silicon Valley half-marathon in October last year was 2:10:50. Not only did I fail at meeting my goal, I was only 20 seconds faster than I was 7 months ago. Let me remind you that this was before my crazy training.
As I crossed the finish line-- barely making eye contact with the clock that clearly showed my shortcomings---I felt the weight of defeat on my shoulders. Let's make one thing clear---I am not going out to win the gold, silver or even place in the top 10 of my age group. I run for a different reason, which is to beat one person: myself. I go in with the mentality of hoping to beat whatever time I did before, because that must mean I have improved. But what does it mean when 7 months go by (2 1/2 of which were fairly intense training) and I only improve 20 seconds?
The disappointment I felt in myself brought a thought that I tried to push aside: why bother working so hard if the payoff isn't there? This thought is what I call being in the dark place of running and teetering so close to the edge where drooling over running shoes doesn't seem as important as being a couch zombie zoning on reality TV. I feared that my tendency to not finish what I started would come back because I know my personality likes to take on things quickly but lacks the drive to follow them through.
Luckily I snapped out of being a whiny baby and just accepted the fact that some runners must face eventually: it just wasn't my race. This realization is a sort of sporty version of "He's just not that into you." There are a ton of excuses I could list ranging from unexpected muscle problems, the stress of getting lost on the freeway before the race, not having coffee...but making excuses won't make those 10 minutes and 32 seconds disappear from my time.
So what is a girl to do? I forced myself to adhere to the needlepoint wisdom of learning from my mistakes and acknowledging the positives. So I didn't beat my time, but it was the first half marathon where I didn't have tummy issues. Yea! I also had to remind myself that this wasn't even my big event. My big triathlon is in August so getting all worked up about this race isn't going to help me at the half-iron man. Now I just look at Sacramento as a tiny blip on my running radar. It was merely a training run that got me and my husband out of town for the
weekend for a much needed getaway.
I know someday I will be under two hours. Just not that race--- and that is still fine with me.
I didn't meet my goal.
I believe the risk of failing is one of the things we have to consider when we set goals for ourselves. My goal seemed simple enough: a sub 2 hour American River Parkway Half Marathon. I had completed a half marathon in late March at a little under a 2:03, so shaving off 3 minutes didn't seem that impossible.
I finished at 2:10:32. It was the first race I have ever done where the thought of ditching the race midpoint was tempting.
My time for the Silicon Valley half-marathon in October last year was 2:10:50. Not only did I fail at meeting my goal, I was only 20 seconds faster than I was 7 months ago. Let me remind you that this was before my crazy training.
As I crossed the finish line-- barely making eye contact with the clock that clearly showed my shortcomings---I felt the weight of defeat on my shoulders. Let's make one thing clear---I am not going out to win the gold, silver or even place in the top 10 of my age group. I run for a different reason, which is to beat one person: myself. I go in with the mentality of hoping to beat whatever time I did before, because that must mean I have improved. But what does it mean when 7 months go by (2 1/2 of which were fairly intense training) and I only improve 20 seconds?
The disappointment I felt in myself brought a thought that I tried to push aside: why bother working so hard if the payoff isn't there? This thought is what I call being in the dark place of running and teetering so close to the edge where drooling over running shoes doesn't seem as important as being a couch zombie zoning on reality TV. I feared that my tendency to not finish what I started would come back because I know my personality likes to take on things quickly but lacks the drive to follow them through.
Luckily I snapped out of being a whiny baby and just accepted the fact that some runners must face eventually: it just wasn't my race. This realization is a sort of sporty version of "He's just not that into you." There are a ton of excuses I could list ranging from unexpected muscle problems, the stress of getting lost on the freeway before the race, not having coffee...but making excuses won't make those 10 minutes and 32 seconds disappear from my time.
So what is a girl to do? I forced myself to adhere to the needlepoint wisdom of learning from my mistakes and acknowledging the positives. So I didn't beat my time, but it was the first half marathon where I didn't have tummy issues. Yea! I also had to remind myself that this wasn't even my big event. My big triathlon is in August so getting all worked up about this race isn't going to help me at the half-iron man. Now I just look at Sacramento as a tiny blip on my running radar. It was merely a training run that got me and my husband out of town for the
weekend for a much needed getaway.
I know someday I will be under two hours. Just not that race--- and that is still fine with me.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Open Water: friend or foe?
I realized something this weekend: triathlons are a disgusting sport. I am familiar with the gross-out factors of running (porto potties, tummies jostling up and down, toenails that fall off) and cycling (bugs splatting on your helmet, saddle sores, other cyclists spitting--or worse--on you) . The triathlon has all of those aspects--with the addition of one more friend: the open water swim.
Swimming in lakes is perhaps the foulest part of a triathlon. I had a swim clinic at the Fremont Quarry on Saturday and tried not to think about what I was swimming in (i.e. goose poop delicacies). Ocean swimming isn't as disgusting unless you are swimming in slimy seaweed wrapping itself around your legs. Ocean swimming is more nerve racking to me because I hear the theme song to "Jaws" in my head. Lake swimming is just plain gnarly. The water is murky, suspiciously warm, and smelly. Plus, I have been to Lake Berryessa before. I witnessed what kinda of drunken, beer-bong debauchery goes on in those lakes on a holiday weekend. Blech.
But, in all honesty, I actually enjoyed my swim on Saturday. I think the thing that worked for me was thinking about other things, and not water snakes swimming under my torso. So, I swam and thought about lengthening my body and timing my breaths. I thought about finding the place I was swimming to and how to get there in a relatively straight line. I thought about how to keep my pace steady, yet fast so in a real triathlon I don't burn-out.
And, of course, I thought,: "Oh crap. My half-iron is 3 months away. Seriously?"
Swimming in lakes is perhaps the foulest part of a triathlon. I had a swim clinic at the Fremont Quarry on Saturday and tried not to think about what I was swimming in (i.e. goose poop delicacies). Ocean swimming isn't as disgusting unless you are swimming in slimy seaweed wrapping itself around your legs. Ocean swimming is more nerve racking to me because I hear the theme song to "Jaws" in my head. Lake swimming is just plain gnarly. The water is murky, suspiciously warm, and smelly. Plus, I have been to Lake Berryessa before. I witnessed what kinda of drunken, beer-bong debauchery goes on in those lakes on a holiday weekend. Blech.
But, in all honesty, I actually enjoyed my swim on Saturday. I think the thing that worked for me was thinking about other things, and not water snakes swimming under my torso. So, I swam and thought about lengthening my body and timing my breaths. I thought about finding the place I was swimming to and how to get there in a relatively straight line. I thought about how to keep my pace steady, yet fast so in a real triathlon I don't burn-out.
And, of course, I thought,: "Oh crap. My half-iron is 3 months away. Seriously?"
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Tierra Bella...kinda rock and roll
Yesterday's Tierra Bella ride went very well. Dennis and decided to stay at my parents in Morgan Hill and catch the route from there rather than meet the crowd at Gavilan college. Oh my goodness was it chilly yesterday. I left my windbreaker at home and was worried that I would be cold, to which Dennis responded: "Pedal faster." Thanks hon.
The ride itself had some very nice parts. We had a fairly long climb up Gilroy Hot Springs road. I think the toughest part of a new route is that I don't know the hills. We made our way downhill, passed Monterey road to Santa Teresa in Gilroy. From there we took Day road to Watsonville Road and eventually went to Uvas Reservoir. That was probably my sixth time cycling up Uvas, which is a good thing because I am doing the Uvas triathlon next month and will be fairly familiar with the road.
Today I met my friend Cheryl for a hike at Rancho San Antonio---one of my favorite places to trail run. The parking lot was way too crowded and we couldn't find a spot So we hopped into her car and headed to Montebello Open Space preserve. As we were driving down Foothill we saw quite a few runners on the road. I realized it was part of the California Relay ( a race that goes from Calistoga to Santa Cruz where each runner does 5-7 mile legs). I immediately felt envious and made a mental note to make a concerted effort in finding a team next year.
The hike was gorgeous! You can see all the way to the bay. We parked at Picchetti winery and caught the trail from there and even managed to do a tasting after the hour and a half long hike.
Time for bed now because I have to swim at 6:30 tomorrow!
The ride itself had some very nice parts. We had a fairly long climb up Gilroy Hot Springs road. I think the toughest part of a new route is that I don't know the hills. We made our way downhill, passed Monterey road to Santa Teresa in Gilroy. From there we took Day road to Watsonville Road and eventually went to Uvas Reservoir. That was probably my sixth time cycling up Uvas, which is a good thing because I am doing the Uvas triathlon next month and will be fairly familiar with the road.
Today I met my friend Cheryl for a hike at Rancho San Antonio---one of my favorite places to trail run. The parking lot was way too crowded and we couldn't find a spot So we hopped into her car and headed to Montebello Open Space preserve. As we were driving down Foothill we saw quite a few runners on the road. I realized it was part of the California Relay ( a race that goes from Calistoga to Santa Cruz where each runner does 5-7 mile legs). I immediately felt envious and made a mental note to make a concerted effort in finding a team next year.
The hike was gorgeous! You can see all the way to the bay. We parked at Picchetti winery and caught the trail from there and even managed to do a tasting after the hour and a half long hike.
Time for bed now because I have to swim at 6:30 tomorrow!
Friday, April 18, 2008
It has been awhile....
The bad news: I am a crappy blogger. I had high hopes of updating my blog daily and that didn't happen.
The good news: a half-iron man only seems like a half-crazy idea and not fully crazy.
February was dedicated to getting into shape. Or rather, I started my roughly 6 month process of getting in shape. I joined Team Mermaid, which has the awesome coach Heidi leading us on workouts to help us get to whatever goal we have individually. It is a great group of women and we meet 2-3 times a week. I learned about the famous core and did a variety of exercises to strengthen said core. I found myself doing squats, sit-ups, something called an inch-worm and a variety of other movements designed to make my abs, tushie and thighs strong. It took about a week to recover from my 1st workout and for my abs not to ache when I sneezed.
March was dedicated to running. It worked out well in terms of gaging my results because I had a race at the beginning of the month and one at the end. I raced in the Happy Hour 10k Run the first weekend of March in downtown San Jose. My time was 1:01:26 which is a 10:28 mile pace. After a month of great training (tempo runs, long runs, stair-step breathing), I finished the last weekend of March with the mermaid Half-Marathon. My time for that was: 2:02:54--roughly a 9:35 pace. It was a PR for me and I felt awesome, aside from the gigantic blister on one of my toes so gross and intimidating that my husband refused to pop it for me.
Somehow I managed to squeeze my first triathlon of the year into the month of March. It was a sprint triathlon put on my the Cal Poly tri-team. My time was so embarrassing, that I refuse to blog it. Though, if you are really curious, I am sure you can Google the results. That triathlon kicked my bootie---those Cal Poly Kids do not mess around! We started with the lake swim at Lopez Lake, which was my first time swimming in a wet suit. The water was 52 degrees---brrzziees! The bike was the toughest part for me, even though it was only 16 miles. The hill before the halfway turn-around was brutal and many people wound up walking their bikes up it. I didn't walk, but my chain fell off as I was puffing my way up the hill. My pedals were moving but the bike was not. Luckily I clipped out of my pedals and saved myself from falling over and possibly causing a pile up. By the time I reached the last transition and was ready to run, I was exhausted. Though it was a tough race for me, it definitely was a wake-up call for what I signed up for in August.
April is all about introducing the other two sports into my training: swimming and cycling. I did the Cinderella Century at the beginning of April. It was a blast. Imagine 2500 cycling through Pleasanton, Livermoore and San Ramon wearing crowns and fairy wings. I definitely will be wearing a costume next year. Tomorrow is the Tierra Bella Century in Gilroy and Morgan Hill. I signed up because I am a South County girl at heart.
The addition of the two other sports is a little challenging---I think my body is confused because I am not solely using my running muscles.
My next big event is the American River Half-Marathon on May 3rd. I am hoping to break 2 hours, but will be happy to at least be faster than the Mermaid.
The good news: a half-iron man only seems like a half-crazy idea and not fully crazy.
February was dedicated to getting into shape. Or rather, I started my roughly 6 month process of getting in shape. I joined Team Mermaid, which has the awesome coach Heidi leading us on workouts to help us get to whatever goal we have individually. It is a great group of women and we meet 2-3 times a week. I learned about the famous core and did a variety of exercises to strengthen said core. I found myself doing squats, sit-ups, something called an inch-worm and a variety of other movements designed to make my abs, tushie and thighs strong. It took about a week to recover from my 1st workout and for my abs not to ache when I sneezed.
March was dedicated to running. It worked out well in terms of gaging my results because I had a race at the beginning of the month and one at the end. I raced in the Happy Hour 10k Run the first weekend of March in downtown San Jose. My time was 1:01:26 which is a 10:28 mile pace. After a month of great training (tempo runs, long runs, stair-step breathing), I finished the last weekend of March with the mermaid Half-Marathon. My time for that was: 2:02:54--roughly a 9:35 pace. It was a PR for me and I felt awesome, aside from the gigantic blister on one of my toes so gross and intimidating that my husband refused to pop it for me.
Somehow I managed to squeeze my first triathlon of the year into the month of March. It was a sprint triathlon put on my the Cal Poly tri-team. My time was so embarrassing, that I refuse to blog it. Though, if you are really curious, I am sure you can Google the results. That triathlon kicked my bootie---those Cal Poly Kids do not mess around! We started with the lake swim at Lopez Lake, which was my first time swimming in a wet suit. The water was 52 degrees---brrzziees! The bike was the toughest part for me, even though it was only 16 miles. The hill before the halfway turn-around was brutal and many people wound up walking their bikes up it. I didn't walk, but my chain fell off as I was puffing my way up the hill. My pedals were moving but the bike was not. Luckily I clipped out of my pedals and saved myself from falling over and possibly causing a pile up. By the time I reached the last transition and was ready to run, I was exhausted. Though it was a tough race for me, it definitely was a wake-up call for what I signed up for in August.
April is all about introducing the other two sports into my training: swimming and cycling. I did the Cinderella Century at the beginning of April. It was a blast. Imagine 2500 cycling through Pleasanton, Livermoore and San Ramon wearing crowns and fairy wings. I definitely will be wearing a costume next year. Tomorrow is the Tierra Bella Century in Gilroy and Morgan Hill. I signed up because I am a South County girl at heart.
The addition of the two other sports is a little challenging---I think my body is confused because I am not solely using my running muscles.
My next big event is the American River Half-Marathon on May 3rd. I am hoping to break 2 hours, but will be happy to at least be faster than the Mermaid.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
darn rain!
So, I finally got off my butt and actually worked out this weekend! I did the Pacifica Trail Run on Saturday. I only did the 9k becauseit was my first trail run. Let me just say---holy cow! Trail Running is definitely a different animal then the nice paved runs I usually do. I am surprised I didn't bite it---though I came might close on tripping on rocks going down hill. It was a good time though, and I will probably do it again.
Sunday was the longest bike ride I have done since the day after Thanksgiving. I am doing the mardi Gras Meric Cenury in Ventura in a little over a month and need to train for that. The ride was nice: I went to Stevens Creek Reservoir, up Mount Eden, took highway 9 down to Los Gatos and then caught Shannon Road to Hicks.
How come the best bike rides are where all the fancy pants houses are?
My ride came in at about 38 miles. I am hoping to add 10 miles to this weeks ride, but it is apparently raining forever...
Sunday was the longest bike ride I have done since the day after Thanksgiving. I am doing the mardi Gras Meric Cenury in Ventura in a little over a month and need to train for that. The ride was nice: I went to Stevens Creek Reservoir, up Mount Eden, took highway 9 down to Los Gatos and then caught Shannon Road to Hicks.
How come the best bike rides are where all the fancy pants houses are?
My ride came in at about 38 miles. I am hoping to add 10 miles to this weeks ride, but it is apparently raining forever...
Thursday, January 10, 2008
How did I get here?
I was not a born athlete. I wasn't, however, a sedentary child. I took part in such activities as soft-ball, ballet, tap dancing and the swim team. I now realize my problem back then was that I lacked the drive and competitive spirit to push myself into being better at sports. I showed up to practice, did recitals and was in the slowest heats of swim meets. I enjoyed myself, but figured I would never be the best, so why try harder? I also NEVER enjoyed running.
Then something truly horrendous and embarrassing happened when I was 15. It was the last dance of Junior High and it was a BIG DEAL. My friends and I got all gussied up in our floral print formals and suntan-colored nylons (the early 90s weren't known for its excellent fashion sense). We danced and danced in our circle of six girls. We did the Cabbage Patch to MC Hammer and slow danced with boys to Unchained Melody. And then, it happened...
I don't know what song we were dancing to---perhaps I blocked it out. I just remember that it must have been fast-paced, because we were dancing in a style that involved legs flailing. One of my friend's (I don't know which one because it was dark and happened so fast) high-heeled pumps made contact with my knee and I fell to the ground. I started laughing because I was known as a a klutz and falling down wasn't exactly a surprise event. Unfortunately, I realized I was in pain. It was a pain that I never felt before and my knee kept on seizing up. The, when I looked down, I saw that my kneecap was sticking out in a way that it had never stuck out before.
I dislocated my knee not in the usual way (i.e. soccer, skiing etc), but at a freakin' high school dance!
That is so me!
I will spare you the details of the next year. Long story short: spent a summer of physical therapy and in a cast that went from my ankle to mid thigh, dislocated it again and had knee surgery the day after my 16th birthday. I have a pretty cool scar on my knee that is about 2 inches long. The trauma of the injury, however, messed with my head big time. I didn't trust my knee at all and did no physical activities. I never wanted to feel that kind of pain again.
I didn't get into running until I was 21 and moved back to California from going to school in Oregon. The irony of the situation is that for the two years I lived in Eugene-- which is practically the top running city in the United States ---I never ran.
I started slow and short: 3 miles, 4 miles and the occasional 6 mile. A few years went by and I saw a poster for a training program for the Honolulu Marathon. It was sponsored by The National AIDS Marathon Training program. They put on group training runs (all the way up to a 26 mile training run in Golden Gate Park a month before the race) and, in return, I would fund raise for The SF AIDS Foundation. It was a long 6 month program, but perfect for anyone who wasn't an experienced runner but wanted to complete a marathon.
Though I felt immense satisfaction in my completion of the 26.2 mile race, I never wanted to do a marathon again. My body hurt, my IT Band was inflamed and my time sucked: 6.5 hours! I went back to my old way of thinking: why bother improving if I am not going to win?
Fast forward to four years later and something clicked: I started getting into half marathons. I did the Santa Cruz Half Marathon, CSU Monterey Bay half Marathon, Disneyland, San Franciso and San Jose Rock'n'Roll. Suddenly I was getting competitive---though my big competitor was myself. I didn't have grand delusions of being the winner, but I didn't want to beat my last race. I started the season with the Monterey Bay run in the Spring with a time of about 2:18 and improved down to a 2:09 in Disneyland in September.
Then, in the fall of 2006, I received an e-mail promoting the inaugural Eugene marathon. I remebered my vow of never doing a marathon again. I then called my enabler---I mean, friend, Robyn. She had done Honolulu (though much faster than my time) with me and we had also met 11 years ago in Eugene. We convinced each other to sign up, and then BAM! I was on my way to training for a marathon.
This race, I told myself, was going to be different. I was going to improve my time. I wasn't going to take walk breaks. Training was NOT going to take up half my year. I downloaded Hal Higdon's training program and enterred all my future workouts on my Outlook calendar. I was going to be ready for this beast.
There was, however, a little snag in my training plan. My work was sending me to India for three weeks about one and a half months before my race. Though I was excited to go to India, I was nervous about my training program. I had an 18 and 20 mile run scheduled for the weeks I was there. I convinced myself that I would somehow train over there and bought a nice fashionable fuel belt so I could hydrate well during my training.
India was amazing: colorful, surreal, awesome food and friendly people. It was not, I realized my second day there, the best place to train for a marathon. Not only was it hot, but it was humid and the air quality was a lot different from what my California raised lungs were used to breathing. I ran a couple times outside and discovered the (non-air conditioned) gym in my office. At first I thought I was going fast onthe treadmill because my pace was 8.5 and I was not even winded. Then I realized something: they use the metric system in India. So insteady of 8.5 miles an hour, it was 8.5 km. oops.
The Eugene run went ok. I ran the whole thing, but my body was not very happy with the grand latte I ingested before the race. It was a great feeling running past the dorms I lived in and realizing that I was in much better shape at 30 then I was at 18. I also beat my Honolulu time: 4:59!
My recovery was dreadful. My husband and I drove back to California the day after the race---about 9 hours in a car. Then a day after returning, I was back on a plane for a second trip to India. A 15 hour flight is not the best post-marathon activity. I spent about a month hating running. My legs felt like lead whenever I tried to run. My mind and body were defeated.
I decided I needed a new hobby. I think hubby was tired of my bitching about running, because we suddenly found ourselves in a bike shop getting ready to upgrade my cruiser to a road bike. We bought a beautiful aqua blue Trek. When I got home, I immediately signed up for a sprint triathlon.
I loved my first triathlon and was instantly hooked. I decided to sign up for the LA Triathlon and accidentally registered for the Olympic distance. I am an ok swimmer, but could I swim almost a mile in the Ocean?
The LA Tri was a blast. The swim was difficult, but once I found my pace and the ocean was calm, I was fine.
So, that triathlon was in September. My races for the remainder of 2007 were sporadic and unsatisfying. I signed up for a couple half marathons on a whim, didn't train well and didn't break any PRs. I started getting lazy and squishy and decided I needed a new goal.
And that is what brought me to signing up for Barb's Race, the 1/2 ironman that is in just about 7 months.
So...here I go. My training starts today by deciding from now on I will walk the 11 flights of stairs to work instead of the elevator.
It's a start, right?
Then something truly horrendous and embarrassing happened when I was 15. It was the last dance of Junior High and it was a BIG DEAL. My friends and I got all gussied up in our floral print formals and suntan-colored nylons (the early 90s weren't known for its excellent fashion sense). We danced and danced in our circle of six girls. We did the Cabbage Patch to MC Hammer and slow danced with boys to Unchained Melody. And then, it happened...
I don't know what song we were dancing to---perhaps I blocked it out. I just remember that it must have been fast-paced, because we were dancing in a style that involved legs flailing. One of my friend's (I don't know which one because it was dark and happened so fast) high-heeled pumps made contact with my knee and I fell to the ground. I started laughing because I was known as a a klutz and falling down wasn't exactly a surprise event. Unfortunately, I realized I was in pain. It was a pain that I never felt before and my knee kept on seizing up. The, when I looked down, I saw that my kneecap was sticking out in a way that it had never stuck out before.
I dislocated my knee not in the usual way (i.e. soccer, skiing etc), but at a freakin' high school dance!
That is so me!
I will spare you the details of the next year. Long story short: spent a summer of physical therapy and in a cast that went from my ankle to mid thigh, dislocated it again and had knee surgery the day after my 16th birthday. I have a pretty cool scar on my knee that is about 2 inches long. The trauma of the injury, however, messed with my head big time. I didn't trust my knee at all and did no physical activities. I never wanted to feel that kind of pain again.
I didn't get into running until I was 21 and moved back to California from going to school in Oregon. The irony of the situation is that for the two years I lived in Eugene-- which is practically the top running city in the United States ---I never ran.
I started slow and short: 3 miles, 4 miles and the occasional 6 mile. A few years went by and I saw a poster for a training program for the Honolulu Marathon. It was sponsored by The National AIDS Marathon Training program. They put on group training runs (all the way up to a 26 mile training run in Golden Gate Park a month before the race) and, in return, I would fund raise for The SF AIDS Foundation. It was a long 6 month program, but perfect for anyone who wasn't an experienced runner but wanted to complete a marathon.
Though I felt immense satisfaction in my completion of the 26.2 mile race, I never wanted to do a marathon again. My body hurt, my IT Band was inflamed and my time sucked: 6.5 hours! I went back to my old way of thinking: why bother improving if I am not going to win?
Fast forward to four years later and something clicked: I started getting into half marathons. I did the Santa Cruz Half Marathon, CSU Monterey Bay half Marathon, Disneyland, San Franciso and San Jose Rock'n'Roll. Suddenly I was getting competitive---though my big competitor was myself. I didn't have grand delusions of being the winner, but I didn't want to beat my last race. I started the season with the Monterey Bay run in the Spring with a time of about 2:18 and improved down to a 2:09 in Disneyland in September.
Then, in the fall of 2006, I received an e-mail promoting the inaugural Eugene marathon. I remebered my vow of never doing a marathon again. I then called my enabler---I mean, friend, Robyn. She had done Honolulu (though much faster than my time) with me and we had also met 11 years ago in Eugene. We convinced each other to sign up, and then BAM! I was on my way to training for a marathon.
This race, I told myself, was going to be different. I was going to improve my time. I wasn't going to take walk breaks. Training was NOT going to take up half my year. I downloaded Hal Higdon's training program and enterred all my future workouts on my Outlook calendar. I was going to be ready for this beast.
There was, however, a little snag in my training plan. My work was sending me to India for three weeks about one and a half months before my race. Though I was excited to go to India, I was nervous about my training program. I had an 18 and 20 mile run scheduled for the weeks I was there. I convinced myself that I would somehow train over there and bought a nice fashionable fuel belt so I could hydrate well during my training.
India was amazing: colorful, surreal, awesome food and friendly people. It was not, I realized my second day there, the best place to train for a marathon. Not only was it hot, but it was humid and the air quality was a lot different from what my California raised lungs were used to breathing. I ran a couple times outside and discovered the (non-air conditioned) gym in my office. At first I thought I was going fast onthe treadmill because my pace was 8.5 and I was not even winded. Then I realized something: they use the metric system in India. So insteady of 8.5 miles an hour, it was 8.5 km. oops.
The Eugene run went ok. I ran the whole thing, but my body was not very happy with the grand latte I ingested before the race. It was a great feeling running past the dorms I lived in and realizing that I was in much better shape at 30 then I was at 18. I also beat my Honolulu time: 4:59!
My recovery was dreadful. My husband and I drove back to California the day after the race---about 9 hours in a car. Then a day after returning, I was back on a plane for a second trip to India. A 15 hour flight is not the best post-marathon activity. I spent about a month hating running. My legs felt like lead whenever I tried to run. My mind and body were defeated.
I decided I needed a new hobby. I think hubby was tired of my bitching about running, because we suddenly found ourselves in a bike shop getting ready to upgrade my cruiser to a road bike. We bought a beautiful aqua blue Trek. When I got home, I immediately signed up for a sprint triathlon.
I loved my first triathlon and was instantly hooked. I decided to sign up for the LA Triathlon and accidentally registered for the Olympic distance. I am an ok swimmer, but could I swim almost a mile in the Ocean?
The LA Tri was a blast. The swim was difficult, but once I found my pace and the ocean was calm, I was fine.
So, that triathlon was in September. My races for the remainder of 2007 were sporadic and unsatisfying. I signed up for a couple half marathons on a whim, didn't train well and didn't break any PRs. I started getting lazy and squishy and decided I needed a new goal.
And that is what brought me to signing up for Barb's Race, the 1/2 ironman that is in just about 7 months.
So...here I go. My training starts today by deciding from now on I will walk the 11 flights of stairs to work instead of the elevator.
It's a start, right?
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