Learning to Balance -Week 13 of training

While training for this Boston marathon, I think the biggest lesson I have begun to learn is balance.  I really try to take most things in stride.  Trying to have fun along the way.  I like to think that I am a pretty happy go lucky kinda person in most things.....

Well most things....except for running!

Now I love to run!  I love being outside, I love the way it gives me clarity, I love how much I can eat.....However, for me, it is about the numbers.  I love the numbers.  The pace and the mileage numbers!  I like a plan and I love to stick to it like my life depended on it. 
So... if I went to see a therapist, she would tell me that; "Everyone does something to feel like they have control in their life.  I use running as a means to feel like I am in control." 
However, I'm also smart enough to know that control is an illusion.  I cannot even make my own heart beat.  I have to totally depend on El Elyon to do this for me.  Talk about a lack of control.  I can't even make my own body do what it needs to do to LIVE!   El Elyon is a Hebrew name for God, and means "most High" or "most high God" and is used to describe"the possessor of heaven and earth".  He is in control, so I don't have to be.....

And it is He that teaches me balance!

And this is the way He did it this week!

Sunday morning my sweet Abigayle (14 year old daughter) woke up not feeling well.  After assessing that she had a fever, I gave her some Advil, made her a bed on the couch and let her go back to sleep.  Sunday was pretty uneventful.  We did the Advil every 4 hours and everything seemed fine.  Matt went on to church that night and about 6:00, I gave Abigayle another round of Advil.  About an hour later, she asked if she could go to her own bed.  So I let her and told her I would check on her in a few minutes.  When I went to check on her, her fever had gone up to 104 degrees....well that is when I took the thermometer out.  I quickly made her get out of bed and we started the process of trying to get the fever down with cool water. 
Now, I was a little freaked out, but Abigayle has always run high fevers when sick.  However, while I was frantically working to get her cool, she looks at me and says that she cannot see or hear me.  Then her pupils become wide and she goes into an unresponsive state.  At this point, my life and hers starts flashing before my eyes... and I start yelling her name.  This lasted only for 20 or 30 seconds, but it seemed like a lifetime.  After, she comes out of it and seems like she is confused about my actions.... but she is fine.
The doctor said that her high fever most likely caused her to have a little seizure.  This is what I expected, but it scared me to the point that when it was over, I was shaking uncontrollably.
Sunday night, she sleeps on the couch and I sleep on an air mattress right beside her.  I wake up every 2 hours and alternate between Advil and Tylenol.  Then the next day I continue checking and rechecking my sick little girls temp.

So needless to say.... Monday's training goes out the window... and I didn't even care.  Glad it's a step back week!

Tuesday swimming comes around and I get in about 1000 slow meters.  Abigayle is doing better, but I still keep her home from school because she is so tired and weak.

Wednesday is Hill Work and catch up at work.
I do 9xhill. Michelle and I run up and down hills until we cannot see straight!  Training for Heartbreak Hill!  But I'm tired and my allergies are making my lungs burn.  However was able to do an 8:04 average pace.

Thursday is a rest day... from what I don't know.

Friday is my 12 mile Long Run!
I switched it to Friday because I am keeping students at my house for an event called Disciple Now Weekend.  The students get to stay in different people's homes over the weekend while they attend a conference at the church.
Michelle and I run from the DOWD YMCA.  Even though there is no pace prescribed for this run, we are churning out miles way too fast.  It was HOT!  Also, at the end, we realize that we need to add on some miles so we start cutting through neighborhoods.  We ended up doing 13 miles, at an 8:21 pace, running out of water, and almost getting hit by 2 cars.  But we had a good time!

Saturday I woke up...after getting to bed really late... made waffles for 6th grade boys....then tried to get motivated for 6 miles in the rain.  It wasn't happening so I called my buddy Bree.  We met and ran 6 miles together.  I was chatting her up.....  it was fun!

But with all the training and such... I would give up running the Boston marathon without even blinking an eye for my family! 

What payback looks like! - Week 12 of training

This week marks the second monster week of running for me.  It will end in a 20 mile run... the 2nd 20 miler of the training plan.  I did 45.24 miles of running this week and most of them were really, really hard!
As most of you know, my 1/2 marathon went great last week.  I felt great during the race and right after the race..... However, payback was coming.  I guess I can't expect to run like that and go right into the hardest week of training I have had thus far.
SO here is how payback goes in my world of running! 
It looks like sore muscles, stomach issues, tiredness, and lack of motivation!
Beware, this post isn't for the faint of heart.  ;0)

Monday was 10 miles, 6 of it at tempo pace.
Michelle and I started out the run.  I was going to run a 2 mile warm up, 6 miles at tempo pace, then 2 mile cool down.  But my legs were tired!  I was having trouble with my left leg feeling tight and turning over.  Payback! 
So at mile 2, I decided to do 1 more mile of warm up.... even though it was actually hot outside.
As soon as I finished my "warm up", I started into the faster miles.  Goal was to maintain between a 7:43-8:03 pace.  I ran the 1st mile, feeling good!  2nd mile, on pace but feeling a bit weird in the tummy. By mile 3, I knew I was having some serious stomach issues.  OOOOHH NOT GOOD! 
Payback!
Just in case you don't know, I have stomach problems sometimes.  The proper name is IBS and it never turns out well.  Especially when I am out on the trail with no bathroom in sight.  So I made the decision to try to finish what I started and try to hang onto some sort of pace.  Not the smartest plan....but hey, at this point I only had 4 more miles to go!  Four miles never felt so long.  I am sure I was a sight but at this point, I didn't care.  I painfully finished the run, kept the pace under an 8:00 minute mile for the tempo part, and mostly walked about a mile back to my car.  Then I was sick the rest of the day.  UGGG!

So Tuesday rolled around!
I met Bree at the NOMAD for a dreaded swim.  I was NOT feeling it today.  Was tired and sore from head to toe. 
Payback!
I swam 2000 meters in the cold pool.  I don't think I ever warmed up.  However, at the end of the swim, I did feel a bit better.
That night, we got the terrible news that a student in our church's youth group had been hit by a car... and it didn't look good.  I felt like someone kicked me in the stomach.  My girls are in the youth group with her and many tears were shed and many prayers were said for her that night into the wee hours of the morning.  There was not much sleep.

Wednesday morning rolled in and the news did not get better.  We got the call that Brittney (the student) did not make it.  As my children woke up, they asked about her and we had to tell them the news.    Brittney was in 12th grade... with her whole life ahead of her....and the first friend that was close to the age of my children to die.  What do you do when you pray and the prayer is not answered how you thought it should be?  You trust that God is in control.
We continued to pray for the family and started our day.  I saw a few clients then in my "lunch break" I went to do the circuit.  This is done at the gym and incorporates 1/2 mile repeats with strength training.  Needless to say, I did not want to do it.  But Boston is coming in about a month, and I have to finish this training.  So I started.  My quads were screaming at me and I actually had to slow down my speed repeats to a 7:17 pace, then I had to hold onto the treadmill as not to fly off the back. 
Payback for the race! 
After the 1st 2 repeats, I almost quit... but I decided to do 1 more and take them 1 at a time.  I did finish the workout with 5 miles and lots of strength training, but I was wiped at the end.

Thursday was a rest day from training.  I knew I would have to take it easy if I was going to finish my last 30 miles of the week!

Friday was a 10 mile pace run!
I was physically feeling a bit better.  Matt and Bree volunteered to go downtown with me for this run.  Matt and I drove to the DOWD YMCA and met Bree.  They both were doing 6 miles and I had 10 so we started together then split up.  All in all, this run went pretty good.  I was able to see both Bree and Matt at different spots on the run and when I finished, they were waiting for me.  My average pace for this hilly run was 8:26.  I tried to let the down hills pull me and keep the effort the same on the up hills.  It seemed to work.

Saturday was 20 miles!
I started this run at 0600.  I did what we call the BiLo loop.  This is about 5 miles.  My stomach was acting up a bit again so I decides to go to the bathroom  and take a gel before meeting the rest of the group. 
Then I met up with all my UCRR buddies and we started running.  The miles ticked off quickly and I was able to learn a lot of useful Baseball Stats from Jason and Troy!  Then Michelle chimed in!  WOW!  I was clueless in this conversation but it was entertaining. 
At mile 17, Michelle left and Troy said he would run me in.  I knew we were pushing the pace, but I was just hanging on wanting to get it done.  Troy, on the other hand, was chatting and singing "The Climb" as we ran up the last hill! When we finished, I looked to see the average pace was an 8:32 pace!  And the temperature was 71 degrees! 
I quickly ate a protein bar because my blood sugar was low and I was shaking.  I knew I had to wait until it stabilized before I drove home.  So I stood around chatting with everyone until I could safely operate a motor vehicle.
Then I took a shower, got my girls, and we went to Brittney's funeral.  It was sad for all of us, but I know that she is with Jesus and would not want to come back.... So, as a believer in Christ, I find comfort in the fact that she is happy and I will see her again someday.

And Sunday is The Big Attic..... and I wake up to find my Abigayle is sick with some kind of bad cold/fever thing.....  Oh NO!

Corporate Cup 1/2 Marathon Report - week 11

This weeks training wasn't all that exciting. I only ran about 24 miles. This is because I took this week as a step back week in my training. There are several reasons this was done.

1. This is what the plan called for! At this point, every other week of training is a step back week until I get to my training.
2. After last week's 40 something miles, I am tired!!!
3. I am running a 1/2 marathon on Saturday! I still did the scheduled runs, they were just shorter and slower to help me recover enough to run 13.1 miles on Saturday.

Monday was 6 slow miles.
Tuesday, I swam an easy 1500.
Wednesday I changed the hill work to 5 miles with a few faster strides.
Thursday, I swam 1700 good quality miles.
Friday, I rested from exercise.
Saturday I completed the 1/2!

So let me start from the beginning.
I normally don't talk about my job. This isn't because I don't like it. It is because I am a mental health therapist and everything I do I confidential. That means that no one knows who I see or what they tell me. I am a great secrete keeper! :0) I see a variety of people. However, I mainly step in when something isn't going well with a family. So I spend a lot of my time with children and teens.
I absolutely LOVE what I do, but it is stressful. I deal with my stress by running. So I have all my medals hanging in my office. Children love this. They always ask me about them, want to touch them, and want to take one home. However, I have never let a child have a medal until recently. She didn't ask to have a medal. She asked me if I could run a race for her and give her my medal. At her young age, she has been through (and seen) things that no one should have to go through or see. Her circumstances keep me up at night, so I said yes. I chose the Corporate Cup 1/2 to be her race.

I had planned to race this 1/2, however, my voice of reason (named Michelle) explained that I needed to figure out what was my "A" race.....This 1/2 or Boston. Well Boston is my "A" race.. So this race would be a fun and I chose not to run it all out. I thank Michelle for her wisdom! :0)
So the goal for this race was to pray for this little girl, thank every police officer on the course, and to have fun!!!
Saturday morning came.
As normal, I got up and spent time with my Lord.  I had a peanut butter and banana sandwich, peed several times, then hopped in the car with Michelle and went to the race.

Our church also had a group running in this race and another 5k in Charlotte. So what better way to show up at a race but by wearing the same shirt. The shirt has a big +1 on the front. This means that we are here to help people with physical, emotion, and spiritual needs, one at a time. For example, we have been going into the community helping people clean up, get food, and clothing after a recent tornado in our area. Helping 1 person at a time.
We take a quick picture and head to the starting line. I peed at least 4 times, but when we started the race, I had to pee again. But I would have to think about that later....

The Race!
My plan was to take this race 3 miles at a time!
The 1st 3 miles.
I used these miles as a warm up. I didn't want to go out to fast so I just tried to ease into it. I felt good and really didn't feel like I was pushing.
8:24
8:21
8:13
Then the 5k people turned off. The funniest thing about these miles was a little boy (about 9 years old) who was running the 5k. He did not want me and Michelle to pass him. He would speed up every time we got too close. We begged him to just stay with us and keep a steady pace... But he did not want to take the chance we would finish first. No worries little buddy, we are doing the 1/2.
Miles 4, 5, 6
These miles were just to get into the groove. Getting into a good pace. We passed Michelle's car and contemplated going and getting coffee. But for some reason we didn't. We had several people want to join the coffee excursion. So it would have been fun. :0) Right at mile 6 we took a gel. I quickly realized I did not drink enough water with the gel, but it wasn't too bad. At mile 8 we should pass another water stop.
8:04
8:16
8:01
Miles 7, 8, 9
Somewhere around mile 7 we see a friend running. She was struggling because she had a fever the night before. So she was sick and it took me 7 miles to catch her! Wow! This is where the real hills begin. I try not to think too far ahead so as not to get overwhelmed. The miles were click'n off and I felt great. I even told Michelle that I was surprised at how good I felt.  However, I was waiting to see when the race would get hard.... as it always does.
8:08
8:07
8:13
Mile 10, 11, 12
At this point, I knew I would PR. I felt so good! As I started up Morehead, I almost got overwhelmed. I was thinking about my little client and started to cry! I knew this would do me no good because I still had about 2 miles to go and they were straight up Morehead! So I sucked it up and kicked it in. Up to this point, there was no wall and I was glad I didn't have another 13.1 more miles to go!
8:12
8:05
8:02 -going up, up, up!
Mile 13!
This was my fastest mile! I smiled all the way in. I knew I had given it a good go! I could have gone faster and further, but I feel like I raced smart and had a good time. 7:52!!! Up to the finish line! As I passed through the line, at 1:47.25, I knew I would be proud to give this medal away! I had a great race! I finished strong! I PRed!  I even came in 4th out of 54 in my age group!! I thanked every police officer and volunteer on the course. And I had more to give!

I can't wait to see what Boston holds. I hope it is a day like today. :0)

Week 10 - 2/27/12 - 3/3/12

This week marks the beginning of my monster runs!  My 20 milers.  From here on out, I will be completing 20 mile runs every other week.  By the end of March, I will have completed 3 twenty milers and will begin my taper.... Good grief, this marathon is getting close.
I also started reading Jeff Galloway's book, Marathon, this week.  Currently, I do not follow his run/walk plan in the marathon but I found his insight into mental preparation intriguing.  If you have ever run any distance, you know that running is not only physical.  It is also mental.  I know that at each starting line I stand, I have always been physically prepared.  However, there are times I have stood at that starting line and mentally, I was not prepared.  These are the marathons I have bombed!  So I thought it would be good to start preparing, mentally, to run Boston.
In the chapter titled, "The Power Of Rehearsal", Galloway talks about the Left Brain vrs the Right Brain (p. 93).  He says that the left part of your brain is the logical part.  It is the part that will start telling you that you are crazy as you stand at the starting line.  It is the part that sends the negative messages that make you want to go back to your warm bed and forget the crazy notion of running 26.2 miles.  The purpose is for self preservation.  Running 26.2 miles is crazy and your left brain knows this.
However, at this point in time, I have been through too much to turn back.  So, as crazy as it is, I will choose to shut the left brain off and run.  This is accomplished by actively engaging the right brain.  Your creative part of the brain.  He gives some suggestions such as:

1. "Diffuse the stress by saying that your not going to push yourself."  Focus on the fun and how easy it will be.
2. "Focus on the positive effect of your marathon experience." How has this changed you...how focused you are....how you are a better person because of it.
3. "Gain a vision of yourself crossing the finish line." Think about the feeling you will have, the medal around your neck.
4. "Walk or jog around." This helps with relaxation and engages your right brain.
5. "Tell a joke."  Laughing helps to engage the right brain.
6. "Have a number of positive success stories."  In training, from others, from other races....I will draw on when I qualified for the race! :)
7. Breaking the race down into smaller events that are not challenging is helpful.
8. Rehearse the marathon in your mind, and envision yourself doing well even when tired.

All these tips, and more, can be found in his book.  I have enjoyed reading it.  I also followed his plan when I trained for my first few marathons and really had great experiences.
I also would like to add a few more thoughts to this though....

1. I have a friend that says, " Your body can handle so much more pain than you think."  This is true, so don't be afraid to push.
2. The more you accept the pain of the marathon, the better you will endure it.  The left brain is right.  Running 26.2 miles is hard and somewhat hurts.  If I am to do well, I just need to accept this.
3. If it were easy, everyone would do it.
4. I am the one who puts pressure on myself.... no one else does.  So just go out and enjoy the Boston experience.

So with all that said, I start my first monster week.  This week included 46 miles of running, ending with 10 wet miles on Friday and 20 soggy miles on Saturday.

Monday was a pace run:
Goal was to get in 10 miles with 4 being at my marathon pace.  It was wet and rainy when we started and despite my long sleeves and tights, I was cold.  I am sure 4 miles of my marathon pace was in the run somewhere.  However, they were not all consistently together.  Michelle did this run with me and we had to reroute, dodge trucks on the greenway, and tiptoe through mud.  My average moving pace was 8:31 and it took me 1:34.14 total time.
I also miscalculated and accidentally did 11 miles.  That's going to leave a mark!  Someone said that it is better that I went long than to come up short.  However, this is not true during the "Monster Weeks".  Doing more mileage than the plan calls for does not help. It will only make you more tired when you enter the weekend long run.
After the run, I felt great.  Nothing was hurting and I wasn't even that tired.  I went home, did some paperwork on the computer for my job, then got up to go pick up the girls from school.  When I stepped down on my left foot, I almost hit the ground.  The pain that radiated through my foot and into my leg was almost unbearable.  My neuroma was back!!!  I wasn't all that worried though.  If I could just get through the day, I would call the doctor to set up another shot!  GRRR!  I wanted to put the shot off as long as I could though.  This last one lasted about 9 weeks so I knew the longer I waited, the better.

Tuesday Swim
I swam 1500 today.  It was slow going but I was just trying to help my muscles recover from yesterdays run.  My foot was no longer hurting, but was tender.  I could feel the nerve, but it seemed OK.  If it hurt Wednesday, I was going to bag the circuit run and go get my shot.  I told Matt to pray and I started praying as well.
I also decided that I'm tired of being dehydrated...so I upped my drinking (of H2O).  I filled up a milk jug (16 cups of water) and drank 14 cups of it.

Wednesday was Circuit
I do this on the soft dreadmills at the Simmon's YMCA.  When I got up, my foot was good.  I decided to go try the run and see what happens.  As I started running, I could sort feel something...but I think it was my foot hurting because I had been walking weird on it. 
Because of all my water drinking, I took an electrolyte pill.  This was an AWESOME run!
Circuit consists of a 1.5 mile warm up, 5Xhalf mile repeats (at a 7:13 pace - 8.3 on the dreadmill), and a 1 mile cool down.  During the repeats, I do crazy strength training stuff.  It is so AWESOME with a total of 5 miles!!!  Then I went to work and saw clients until 2000!
Tomorrow I will start taking my resting heart rate.  I do this so I know it I am over training!  The procedure is as follows: before I get up, I take my heart rate for a minute.  I do this a few times and take the average so it will be more accurate.

Thursday was a rest day.  I'm glad it was because I saw clients from 0800-1800.  I was tired at the end of this day.
My resting heart rate was 47!  I also drank about 13 cups of water.

Friday was my short long run.
Resting HR: 40!
The goal was to do 10 miles.  Just run 10 miles.  I woke up to thunder storms and was wondering if I was going to have to complete this run on the dreadmill.  Matt and I dropped off the girls at school then headed to the DOWN Y to start.  By the time we got there the storms were gone.  It was still rainy but not thundering.  Took an electrolyte pill and I headed out to start my run.  I LOVED this run.  I did not take music and tried not to look at my garmin.  I did not worry about pace. 
I love to talk to God when I run.  I prayed for 10.12 miles (Averaging an 8:52 pace with a total time of 1:29.42).  It is amazing how quickly the time passes and how wonderful the run is when I get my focus off of me.
After the run, I went to visit a friend in the hospital.  She is our "Woolly Lamb" in our Sunday show.  She is one of the sweetest people I know.
Then I went home, took a shower and put on my compression socks for the rest of the day.
I drank 14 cups of water!

Saturday was my 20 miler!
Resting heart rate was 37!  I thought this was low so I took it more than normal!
Storms rolled through the Charlotte area all night.  We lost power several times.  My dog and my 11yo ended up in the bed with me and Matt.  So needless to say, I did not get a lot of sleep.  When I woke up at 0500, it was still storming. I decided to push my 0630 run back to 0900.
Michelle was going to meet me for some of the run so I thought it may be a good idea to go a bit early and get a few miles in.  I started running at 0840 and got 2 whole miles in before meeting up with Michelle and starting our run.  My Legs were tired, but not sore and the plan was around a 9:00 average pace.
Michelle ended up running with me until I got to mile 13.  I knew she was leaving and I had 7 more miles to go....I was tired, and had a fierce headache!  So bad I had to take some Advil.



Me getting ready to go back out for 7 more miles!

However, I engaged my right brain by pretending I had not run yet.  I told Michelle that I was going to go out and just run 7 miles.  And that is what I did.  It was actually a great run. 

I was tired at the end but that is to be expected.  I completed this run in 2:54.03 with an average 8:42 pace.  20 miler #1 DONE!

Next week is a step back week and I run a half marathon!