Half Marathon, The Flu and Jacksonville Marathon on December 20th, 2009

October 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

I did my first half marathon of the season – solo, that is.

My first 13 mile training run for this racing season. It went pretty well. The weather held up – nice and brisk.  The knees, though sore now, held up – so I’m icing them down. Next week I do 9 or 10 and then up to 15 in hopes of getting ready for the Jacksonville Marathon in December.

UPDATE
One day later:

Daughter began getting sick at noon, as I finished up this post -  as you know you don’t have much time once the baby starts throwing up.

She is doing much better today, but we had a rough, rough night. We were up most of it. Her fever has broken and she’s holding food down, but I can tell you this – it is way worse to watch this little person that you love so much it hurts to throw up than it is to do it  yourself!

RUNNING NEWS:
I ran tonight instead of this AM. I had to get out of the house – 2 kids, one sick and one not, inside all day, it’s tough! I did 5 miles in record time. Why is my time so much better in the night than in the morning, when I am used to running?

UPDATE
One day later:

See, when you have kids you can’t get everything done at once. This post has taken two days! It is my off day of running, and I slept in – yay!

I keep getting asked if I am doing the Jacksonville marathon – and the answer is, I hope!

I have learned this when you have kids:

Don’t expect anything. Expect everything!

It is tough to plan for things when you have young kids. So much comes up. I want to run the Jax marathon, but in all honesty I am trying to hold off on making committments with my running right now. I did that with Disney and though I felt I had trained enough, maybe I had not. We moved cross country, kids got the flu, and things changed all during my training. I don’t want to commit to something this time and get injured again.

I want to go in prepared.

After Sunday’s half marathon training run, I know I can do the half. So that’s all I’m commited to at this time.

I’d like to do the full -

It just depends on where life takes me in the next two months!

My new rule of running:

Fit it in when you can, and make it enjoyable.

So often I think we forget running is something we do for enjoyment and stress relief. It’s not supposed to bring us MORE stress. So often in the past I have tried to commit to this, or stick to that strict schedule, and then I’m all stressed out about my runs and things go sour quickly.

I’m trying to take a more relaxed approach to  running now. And in all honesty, for the past six months or so this has worked out well for me.

Before that time I would have never considered going for a 5 mile run at 6 PM. Never! If I missed it in the AM, it was gone for the day.

I believe this more relaxed approach has really helped me a lot, and has improved my running. I realize I am a runner – I can run whenever I can go; all I need is my shoes!

SPEAKING OF SHOES:
I ordered my new pair last night! Went with Saucony Progrid Guides, wide, again, because damn they work well! I had asked a store to order them for me, since I can’t get to a running store in this town; two weeks later, still no word from them. I called, asked where the shoes could be, and they said they weren’t sure – so I ordered them off of Amazon and got them about twelve dollars cheaper!

WOOT!

Can’t wait until they come in. They will be my Jax shoes, marathon or half.

Hope all your runs are good ones today!

Filed Under: October 2009, Racing, Reflections on Running Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Rigid Schedules Are Typical for Runners – But Are They the Best?

October 6, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Runners typically have rigid schedules. We say, “I run X number of miles on Monday, X number on Tuesday, Wednesday is an off day . . . ” and so on. Ask us what day it is and we will tell you by the number of miles we clocked. Did we do twenty? Must be a Saturday. Three? Tuesday.

Get in the way of our runs and we’re likely to rip your face off, right?

But, perhaps this isn’t the best way to be.

I learned this from experience.

When you are a parent you begin with pregnancy. During that time you believe that, miraculously, you will put everyone on a rigid schedule and they will stay that way.

Then the baby laughs in your face. You see, you are on baby’s schedule. And that never changes. If the baby is sick, you wake up all night. If the baby feels good, you get to sleep. If the toddler is teething, you’re up. If the toddler feels good, you sleep.

That is life in parenting.

Runners often believe they have to stick to this rigid schedule regardless of extenuating circumstances. Blizzard outside? Oh well, just bundle up more. Torrential downpour? Don’t go too far from home. Tornado? How fast can you run anyway?

In reality, we need to begin to understand that some flexibility in running is key. Flexible schedules can:

  • Reduce our risks of injury
  • Keep us healthy
  • Ease our minds
  • Add more to our running

If we run when we don’t feel well, chances are we are going to either get hurt or feel worse. Just a cold, no problem – run when we have a fever, potential issue. If our legs hurt and we run we may end up hurting them more. Yet we still feel we have to go. Ease back some, skip a day, and you will probably have a better run than if you tried to run through the pain.

If we are constantly punishing ourselves for not following our running pattern – we didn’t get in ten when we wanted, or we did not get to run on Saturday because the kids were sick – we’re going to be aggravated with running, our family, and ourselves.

Instead, if we ease up just a bit we may find that changing our schedule actually enhances our running performance. In the past few weeks I’ve had to skip several long runs and I’ve had to run half runs in morning, half in the evening. I’ve actually enjoyed this change of pace. I miss the long runs, but I can usually make them up – at least most of them – the following day. Or, if I can only get in 5 miles when I want to do 7, then I make up those other miles the next day.

My best friend is training for her first half marathon. She’s only run three miles up to this training point – when she got in seven and a half on Saturday. She’s asked for advice for a while now, and the one thing I tell her is this: Don’t be too hard on yourself. Do what you can, when you can. Don’t think so much about the schedule. If you can’t get the run in early in the morning, run at night. We sometimes think, “I’m not a day/night/outside/inside runner.” That’s not  true. We are runners! We can do anything! We  can switch to nights if we have to because our schedule wont’ allow for mornings that day. We can do a treadmill if it is raining outside. We can run outside if the gym is closed or we can’t get there. All you have to do is put on your shoes and give up this idea that we can only run if the stars are aligned and all is right with the world.

Face it, most days all is not right with the world – and we still get up and go.

As Nike says, just do it – regardless of when your ‘schedule’ says you should.

Filed Under: October 2009, Reflections on Running, Training for a Marathon

Question of the Week: What do You Drink on Long Humid Runs?

April 13, 2009 By 6 Comments

So as I move into summer and humidity, my mortal enemy (humidity and heat, not necessarily summer!), I’m dreading the potential issues that come with hot weather running.

Last September we house hunted here. It was hot, yes, but not brutally so – but the humidity was out of control!

I’m not sure what happened – I was drinking before, during, and after my six miler. I felt something was wrong before I finished up the run, and though I was running with someone and could have continued on a few more miles (I was supposed to do ten), I knew when I got to six I was spent.

I went back to the condo and all of a sudden felt incredibly sick. I had to use the bathroom, but could barely remain upright. I ended up on my back on the sofa, chugging gatorade but still feeling sick and weak. We had houses to look at but my husband said maybe I should stay back. I was afraid, too, though; I felt so sick I wondered for a bit if I should go to the hospital.

During my run, I drank two bottles of water, one mixed with gatorade, and I continued to drink after. I ran 6 miles.

So, to say I’m scared of summertime running in south Georgia is not a lie! Though I was not used to the heat and humidity that day, it wasn’t as hot as it will get.

I’ve been training here now for about four months, so I’m slowly becoming acclimated to the difference in temperature from California. Still, the summer months scare me. I’m not sure if I should drink gatorade on lower runs – 4 milers – or stick with water. And should I go for all out gatorade on runs over 6, rather than mixing in water as I normally do?

What about you? What are your eating and drinking habits like when you run in the summer? Are you in a highly humid or very dry climate?

In other news . . . I changed my running schedule as promised. I ran a short 4 on Saturday, and on Easter morning I skipped my run and enjoyed the festivities with the family. This morning I did 9 miles. It was a good, strong 9 miler, too.

Hope you all had a nice Easter; I’ll be posting some photos of ours as soon as I get them uploaded on the computer.

Now, off to shower and get the oldest to school!

Happy Monday running, runners :0)

Filed Under: Reflections on Running, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

Don’t Forget Those Sexy Arms!

February 10, 2009 By 10 Comments

I think as runners we are so focused on our legs that we sometimes forget that we can have those sexy sculpted arms, too! I spend at least two days a week post-run working my arms by doing tricep dips, kick backs, bicep curls and push ups. I also do the plan pose which I think is great for not only the arms but the entire body. I wanted to remind you today to WORK THOSE ARMS! Have you seen Kelly Ripa’s sculpted ‘ceps? Dang!

kripa1

You don’t have to get buff to have sculpted arms. By controlling the amount of weight you use you can keep them looking nice and rounded without looking like a weight lifter. I use 15 pounds when I work with weights, and i do about 8-10 reps of each exercise.

Here’s a video of the bicep curl using two weights:

I also use the isolated curl. Sit down on a chair. Put the weight in one hand, resting elbow on knee. Rest your other hand against your knee. Lift the weight slowly, doing 8-10 reps. This isolates the muscle, rather than using a variety of muscles as you are doing when you use the exercise in the video above. Both are good for the bicep.

The tricep dip is as follows:

She shows a few varieties. You can do these on a bench, bleachers, chair, etc . . .

You Go Girls!
So on Saturday Shalane Flanagan smashed the indoor 5,000 meter at 14:47.62 while Kara Goucher, who I posted earlier about wanting to have kids soon, won the 3,000 meter in Boston. You go girls!

In other news . . .

Today I ran 4.5 – not breaking any records but for me running a good pace averaging around 9:15 – and then came home and worked on some core exercises. I also did a few lunges and squats, but I’m trying to be easy with these and they do have a tendency to strain my knees and since I have that ITBS issue I’m still clearing up I don’t want to put too much stress on the knee.

Now, off to finish watching the Bachelor, which I taped last night since I fell asleep at 8:30! That four day trip with the two girls wore me out!

Happy Workouts!

Filed Under: Reflections on Running, Uncategorized

From Bad to Good, and Bunions Suck

October 4, 2008 By 4 Comments

Once upon a time there was a runner (that’s me!) She ate a lot of pasta and ice cream on Friday night, went to be at 9:30 and thought that by doing all of this she would have a great Saturday morning run.

After eating, she felt like this:

This runner has a love of distances and always looks forward to going each Saturday.

Yet this Saturday morning, something had changed. As she stood on her tiptoes and peered out of the bathroom window to see what the weather was like outside, and she saw the darkened sky and the fog that had been creeping over the Pacific throughout the night, she thought this:

“Maybe I should stop doing all of these distances.”

Where did this doubt come from?

As she stepped out into the cold morning, she thought, “I’ll just do six miles.”

She’d eaten a half peanut butter sandwich, loaded up with her Gatorades and Fig Newtons, but realized she’d forgotten her Ipod.

“That’s okay, ” she told the stars, “I’m not going that far.”

So she ran. And she ran and she ran and she ran. She ran like she had wings.

She ran like a Super Hero (only with smaller breasts).

Eleven miles later, when she returned home, she wondered why she had doubted her long distances at all.

The End.

How does this happen? How is it that you can start a run feeling like crap and then, somehow, somewhere, it changes?

I don’t wake up feeling like I don’t want to run. I never feel this way. I love running. It’s my life. I read a story about this guy in Runner’s World last month who had his leg amputated because he could no longer run. Now he can run. At first I thought, holy crap! I don’t know if I could have that nerve!

Then I thought, On the other hand, imagine a life with no running.

I don’t know what happened with all the self doubts this morning, but I’m glad it all got turned around during the run. I had a GREAT run. I could have done 13, which is what I was going to initially do, but decided to get back a bit early and see how the family was doing.

And they were fine.

Husband was up, kids were up, and all was good in the home.

No more doubts. The weight, I have to deal with that. It is my nemesis. I know that it is frustrating to be overweight, but it is also frustrating to be underweight. Yet I was thinking today, I bet everyone is frustrated about their body, somehow, something that bothers them. The key is to live with what I have and make the most of it. To learn to accept it and move on.

Bunion Surgery:
I had bunion surgery on both feet about 15 years ago. I wasn’t running then. Active, but not jogging or running.

The pain from surgery was excruciating. I’d almost rather have another C section than go through that again, except then I’d have to take care of another baby and I’m not sure I have the energy for that lol! At least with a C section I was given pain meds.

With bunion surgery I was sent home with Tylenol and codeine. Now, I am not a medicine popper. I don’t take ibuprofen for headaches, Motrin for cramps or cold medication when I have a sneezy nose. I don’t take any medicine, ever. Unless I’m in excruciating pain.

Cutting open foot, removing part of bone, stitching back up = excruciating pain. Wanted meds.

Anyway, the last few long runs I’ve had I’ve noticed a pain in my right foot where the bunion was. When I visited the foot doctor the last time I trained because my toe was going numb, he said, “Wow, you really have some large bunions.”

“I had them removed when I was about 24.”

He shook his head. “Well, I wouldn’t say they did the best job. If they don’t hurt your okay. If they start to hurt you may have to have another surgery.”

Needless to say, I’m ignoring the pain. I don’t want to go through surgery again. I’d rather eat glass. So, let’s just hope this is a distance thing, getting used to going farther (even though I am staying around the same mileage), and that my feet will adapt and overcome.

Mileage:
I’ve been at the same long distances, between 9 and 11 miles, for about a month now. I like it here. I think I’m going to try to keep my long distance runs at 10 miles at least, in the double digits, so that when we get to Georgia I can start training from there for the Disney marathon. Then, I’d ultimately like to remain at these numbers for good, so that when other races come up I can start training from there. Plus, I really enjoy runs lasting about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Over that and it’s hard to get up early enough to get home early enough.

Anyway, those are my Saturday stories and I’m sticking to them. I got in a nice hour long nap while everyone rested and now I’m taking the girls to the park for some swinging and sand play. It is cold here, so I can’t wait to wrap up under the covers tonight and watch some good TV with the husband man. Hope you are all having a great weekend. Stay fit!

Filed Under: Long Distance Running, October 2008, Reflections on Running, Training for a Marathon Tagged With: , , ,

I’m Back, and With One Scary Southern Run Under My Belt

September 6, 2008 By 3 Comments

You may have noticed I have been on hiatus.

MIA.

In South Georgia, on a house hunting expedition, as we prepare for our cross country move. We spent eleven days there, and they were jam packed days in which we got little sleep, trudged from house to house for four days in a row, suffered a lot from the three hour time difference and, thankfully, found a house that we absolutely love! Yes! We did it! We found a house!

The home is in great shape but needs some TLC as it was a bank owned property, but here is the view from our backyard! When we get the front yard cleaned up I’ll post a photo of it.

Here is a photo of our girls as we walked along the St Mary’s Historical area downtown.

We are back in So Cal now for seven weeks and then we will begin the next part of our life. It starts with a cross country drive, car loaded down, kids strapped in their seats! Now, that will be one to write about!

So I had a scary run experience while there. I felt fine starting off at 5 AM, one 17 oz bottle of water, one of Gatorade, some bagel in my stomach, a power bar in my pack. My goal: 8 miles.

I felt the humidity as soon as I stepped outside but I was committed to staying hydrated by drinking those two bottles during the run. I started drinking immediately.

About two miles in I met a guy that has run marathons in 42 states. He belongs to the 50 marathons in 50 states club. I have not looked into it yet, as I had no internet access at the condo where we stayed, but as soon as I do I will post some info. It sounds like fun.

Anyway, my stomach began to rumble about 3 miles into the run. I knew I wouldn’t make it the 8. Even the guy who lived in South Carolina said it was hot, so I knew it must be, and I have always had a sensitivity to the heat so I have to be careful when it gets really hot. Yet he had only one bottle of water, I had two bottles of liquid, and I felt prepared.

At mile 6 I told him I couldn’t go any further. I didn’t feel sick, just tired and hot and I really had to go to the bathroom.

And go I did. I won’t go into any gory details, but if you run distances you know what I’m talking about.

I was so hot I stripped down between trips to the toilet and put some water on my head. I ate a bowl of oatmeal, though I felt like puking, and I guzzled large amounts of liquids to replenish myself.

But I couldn’t stop going to the bathroom. Finally I took a cold shower, tried to eat some pretzels, which I could barely swallow, and laid down again.

We had to go house hunting and I didn’t want to miss the three houses that were first, and that were also located near our condo, so I made it down to the car but I told my husband I might not make it much further. He suggested I stay home but I didn’t want to miss it. I felt very tired, and had a hard time keeping my eyes open. Eventually, I came around some. By nighttime I felt fine.

The next day, while walking down the stairs of our new house, I pulled a muscle in my leg.

Let’s just say that the heat and humidity obviously got to me. I was not only overly hot but then I became dehydrated, and the dehydration caused the sickness to get worse and then the muscle pull the next day.

I think of myself as a smart runner. I had already run in that area a few times, so this wasn’t my first run in the humidity, and I didn’t even feel that sick while running; I just had to go to the bathroom.

It scared me so much that I took tentative runs the rest of the time. The muscle pull got better a few days later. I did a three miler and then a four miler before we left. They went fine.

I think part of the problem was that I didn’t hydrate myself as much as i should have the day before I ran. Once we get there I think I will have to make a really conscious effort of drinking tons of liquid the night before a long run in the humidity. I did go for the run at the early morning time I always do, but it was still hot, hot, hot.

Despite that run, and that scare, the rest of the runs were great. I missed having my weights and my exercise ball and particularly my kettlebell! I did my situps and crunches and push ups but they just didn’t feel the same! I’m glad to be back home with all of my tools. The condo didn’t have a great yoga place either. My new house: Perfect! I can do it right in the living room overlooking the marsh. I can’t wait!

I hope everyone has been healthy and having fun and having good runs. I have some weight to make up. I lost about four pounds, and I’m sure that part of that was how sick I got. I need to get that weight back on, so chocolate, here I come! Today I did a nine miler, and it was great. It was cool here, with some mist over the ocean. It’s going to be hard to leave this weather behind, the coolness of the early mornings, but I can’t wait to get to where we are going, either!

Happy Running!

Filed Under: Health and Running, January 2008, Long Distance Running, Racing, Reflections on Running, September 2008, Training for a Marathon Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Out of Curiousity . . . How Long Were You a Runner Before Trying Your First Distance Race?

August 17, 2008 By 1 Comment

I was thinking this morning about the fact that many of the fastest women in races are in my age category – over 30.

I was wondering about the readers here who are running longer distances – at least 10K races, if not halfs and fulls.

How long were you a runner before you began doing distances?

I started running about 12 years ago. I started off with 5Ks. I did some longer runs for a while, but when I started going too far too fast and got hurt I stopped, and I didn’t pick up longer distances until after the birth of my first daughter.

After her birth and before my second daughter blessed our lives I miscarried. Not only was it a bad emotional experience, but it was a bad physical one as well that left me in the hospital overnight and in bed for quite a few days. I almost required a blood transfusion. The fear on my husband’s face that first night stopped me cold, as he is so strong that I always rely on him to hold me up when I am scared.

A few weeks later, numb and recovering, I started running again.

Four months following the miscarriage, after having not run at all during the two month pregnancy, I finished my first half marathon.

The rest, as they say, is history.

It took about ten years for me to decide that my casual jogging was actually more than that.

How long did it take you to go from your first jog to your first endurance race?

And what do you think pushed you to do so?

In Lance Armstrongs book that i just read, It’s Not About the Bike, he talks about how endurance athletes generally have gone through something and are running (figuratively) from something.

Maybe this is how it starts. We have a bad experience and then we run, run, run. Or ride, ride, ride.

Do you know what propelled you forward? Was it a life changing event, or was it just the next gradual step from running a 5K?

I’d love to hear your thoughts and your reasonings. We all have those very long times on the pavement when we can think, and so I’m sure that these thoughts have, at some point in training, crossed your mind. If you’d like to share, we’d like to read!

Filed Under: August 2008, Reflections on Running, Training for a Marathon Tagged With: , , ,

Today’s Run: Partly Crappy with a Chance of Pain

August 16, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Oh! Today’s long run was horrid!

This rarely happens for me. I really love my distance runs. When I have a bad run, it’s typically mid week when I’m tired.

I think I might be fighting something. I have an ulcer on my lip, which is generally an indication that a virus has invaded my body. I never get sick-you know, puking, sneezing, coughing. It’ s a joke around here about how strong my immunity is to various things that my kids and husband pick up. Actually, my oldest daughter has an immune system like mine. But I do get ulcers.

I’ve also been dead tired these past two days. In fact, I didn’t train as hard this week, dropping my biking and swimming routine on Thursday and just keeping the twenty minutes, speed run with some ab work.

When I woke this morning after eight hours of sleep I knew it was going to be a dreaded run. In fact, I thought maybe I”d just do a few miles.

I did end up at eight, which was just one mile less than I wanted to run. My runs these past Saturdays have been:

9
9
11

Then today was 8.

Next week I hope to do 13, and then we will be traveling for a few weeks so I’ll do a shorter, maybe 8 miler again, and then maybe a 10 before my 15.

I actually hit a wall today, which never really happens for me. I put on my headphones right into the run, about a mile in, when normally that would come much, much later. I like to spend those first forty five minutes to an hour just thinking about things, and I can’t think when the music is blaring. But the music made the run more tolerable.

I turned around at four miles, just after stepping onto the beach, and headed home.

I have to figure out if I am fighting something or if I am not getting enough calories. So I’m going to start tracking my weight now, since I’m climbing up the mileage scale. I have a tendency to lose weight, to become over thin. I know that some people will read that and say, “Oh gees, let’s get out the violins,” but actually it is a problem. I don’t like to be too gaunt. I prefer a little meat on the bones. But when I get up in mileage, the meat sheds pretty quickly. I love to eat, so it’s not that I don’t put enough in, but perhaps i need to pick some higher fat choices this time around.

Today’s weight: 134.6 after breakfast. Now, yesterday’s weight was 135 pre-food, so I ate oatmeal with bananas and honey and a piece of toast for breakfast. Before my run, thinking I might go out and do the 13 today, I had half a bagel (well, half of a half) and then halfway into the run I had a gel pack.

I hate it that a long run turned crappy like that. I like to think back on those long runs and realize how much I enjoy getting out into the world, in the quiet of my mind, and just experiencing things.

Hopefully, next week’s thirteen will be much better!

Filed Under: August 2008, Long Distance Running, Reflections on Running, Training for a Marathon Tagged With:

Listening to Your Body

August 11, 2008 By Leave a Comment

It’s funny, but long distance running has taught me one thing: To listen to my body.

It’s not that I didn’t listen before. I did.

I just didn’t react.

Here’s a scenario. My knee hurt. I was running a few times a week a few miles at a time. I was addicted to running, having traded it in long ago for my one a day pack of cigarettes. I didn’t want to falter. So I didn’t slow down. Kept running. Hurt the knee. Out for quite some time.

Fast forward to when I began training for a marathon. My knee hurt. I cut back. Knee pain went away.

You see the difference?

I have always listened to my body. I have always heard what it had to say. However, now I finally have put two things together: If it hurts and I don’t take care of it, I don’t have it anymore. Or, at least, it doesn’t work as well as it did.

When training for a long run, I’ve become acutely aware of everything that is going on in my body. I can tell when I’m hungry long before the hunger pains strike. In fact, I eat now in advance. I eat when I wake up, before I get out of the door, on mornings when I’m running over an hour. If I’m going past one and a half hours I not only eat before I leave but I also take my preemptive slug of gel around forty five minutes so I won’t burn out at mile 13.

If my feet hurt when I am done with a run, I rest them. I put the tight shoes away and pull on the sneakers.

Now, when my body tells me something, I listen.

I’ve also gotten better at hearing what it has to say, which I think is because I am more in tune with my body when I’m out there going 12, 14, 16 miles at a time. I can feel my neck growing stiff from holding my arms at my sides, so I stretch them. I stop during a long run when my knee begins to twinge a bit and I stretch my legs out so it won’t hurt when I am done. I am so much more in tune to how I feel, to what my body feels, and to what will happen if I don’t care for myself, than I ever was.

Of course, this is mostly selfish on my part, I suppose. I don’t want to hurt myself so badly that I can’t get back out there and run again. If I hurt my knee, I won’t make the marathon. If I don’t eat, I’ll not have enough energy to kick it into high gear at the end of the race-whether I am racing others or just the clock.

How has long distance helped you relate to your body? Do you feel what it tells you more than you used to, and do you listen?

Filed Under: August 2008, Health and Running, Long Distance Running, Reflections on Running, Training for a Marathon Tagged With: , , ,

Vivid Sights on the Long Run

August 9, 2008 By Leave a Comment

I love long distance running.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say this over and over again. I just love the days that I get up early, load up my pack and head out into the early dawn-sometimes pre-dawn-day.

Today I spent my time thinking about so many different things and I made some discoveries on this run.

First, I discovered, or rediscovered, the vividness of everything after a long run. Does this happen to you? The sky, when blue, is the bluest it has every been. The green of leaves on the tree outside are so bright green it’s almost unbelievable. I know these things are always these colors, right? But why does everything seem so much brighter, so much more alive, when you finish an 11 miler?

Secondly, the body is an amazing machine. Seriously. You can train it to do almost anything you want it to do. I mean, you can run 26.2 miles or more! You just have to train. I thought of my body today as I ran, the way that it met that last marathon challenge and the way that I hope it meets this one. How is it that my feet can pound the pavement that long and still carry me around the rest of the day? That my arms can remain in the same position for 2 hours and not remain sore after the run? It is so true, that if we treat our bodies well, they will treat us well, and since we have to live in this shell for (hopefully) a really long time, I think its in our best interest to be kind to our body!

Thirdly, our minds are even more amazing than our bodies. It is our mind that says, “Okay, I’ve been running now for an hour and a half. I’m hot. I’m sweaty. I want something to eat-like a side of beef and a dozen eggs-but I’m gonna keep on going for a bit longer. When we train our minds to think positive thoughts, positive thoughts will follow. Don’t believe me? Train for a marathon. You can’t run 26.2 if you spend the entire time getting down on yourself, thinking you can’t do it.

The beautiful thing is this: If you train your mind to run long distances, you can train your mind to do anything. If you can stand the silence of being alone for this long of a time, you can do whatever it is that you want to do. I have yet to meet a runner with a negative attitude about life. Have you? Most runners really appreciate everything around them. I think that we learn to do this through our running, particularly in the distances, because we spend so much time training ourselves to think positively. We can make the finish line. We can do that last four mile stint before we get home. We can climb that obnoxious hill that suddenly jumped out in front of us.

I made one other startling discovery on this run. As I ran down the beach I stopped at a line of public restrooms to use the bathroom (damn long runs-that is the ONE negative thing I can say about them-I can’t get through them without having to GO!) I pushed the first few doors. Two were locked, and then the third swung open but stopped short. I looked down and saw a body on the floor. Yep, a body. Was it dead? I don’t know. I screamed, turned, and ran. I looked back and was not being followed. The door hadn’t reopened. Being alone and female, I was not about to go back and see if that guy was okay (and it was a guy, I think, from the state of the blue jeans). Instead, I hurried on. Living in a beach community, it’s not abnormal to find someone passed out somewhere along the beach. Thankfully it was daylight and there were other runners around, so I felt pretty safe. I couldn’t find someone to tell about the body though, as there weren’t any county workers or police there yet. So, I don’t know what happened to that guy, but I can tell you he scared the living daylights out of me this morning!

Filed Under: August 2008, Long Distance Running, Racing, Reflections on Running, Training for a Marathon Tagged With: , , , , ,
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