Three runs and a funny hat

So I am playing catch up with my posts.

I was pooped from the holiday so I took Friday as a slug day. I barely moved and catch up on my TV shows like Criminal Minds and Sleepy Hollow. It was like visiting with old friends. With all the running I’ve been doing I haven’t been able to watch much TV. I ate horribly and I have to say the day was wonderful minus the piles of laundry I had to fold. It is vital to take time to let your body recover from all the trials we put it thru on our way to fitness. My body hurt from the race.

Saturday was a different story. The dog let me sleep in. We didn’t start our run until 6:30am. It felt strange running in daylight. I started with a Gu and slammed some milk before I left. It wasn’t the salted watermelon. I went safe with a blueberry pomegranate. I’ve heard sometimes these running fuels can lead to upset stomachs and this was a long run. They are sort of like the consistency of jujubes than the gumdrops they look like.

The run itself felt pretty good. I felt comfortable right away. I tried to think positively cheering myself on when the legs started to tire. I reminded myself that discomfort is natural. After a while, I could just focus on my breathing. Breathe in fresh breath, breathe out the old breath. This time out, I had no route planned. I had a general idea of where I was but I followed a road that had no sidewalk suddenly and then found a trail that looked like it followed said road. It did not. It ended rather in the middle of nowhere. I found a road that I was trying to avoid because of the high foot traffic. In the midst of the confusion, Runkeeper told me that I was 5 miles in, time for more Gu. It was very hard to chew as my mouth was dry. I don’t really remember the mileage. I just ran, trying to stay in the 12:30 range. The second half of the run was much less relaxed. People had started to move around the city. Other dogs were about and the dog had to show how tough she was. I’ve trained a lot of her old habits out of her but that one still lingers. I do remember the last mile. I was feeling tired but I didn’t really feel my legs. I knew they were there and I had some knee and shin discomfort but it felt sort of far away. I finished with 10.3 miles. Sometimes, when I am doing these long runs, I want to cry. There are so many emotions that run thru me. There is accomplishment and pride and a little panic. Mostly, there is amazement that my body can do this.

There is a new ache. My back, my upper back. The tribulations of being a blessed woman. I know my core itself is good but I need to work on strengthening my back. I’ve tried doubling support but so far still a sore back.

Monday was a great run. It felt good. There was a little rain. Just enough to cool me off as I pushed thru the 5k. My legs felt extremely tired but they still felt good. I don’t know how to explain it but I felt confident in their ability to carry me thru this run. I also remember thinking I’m going thru a good run streak. Because there are good runs, bad runs, and ugly runs. Sometimes, you are lucky and have a good run streak and with Saturday and Monday, it felt like one was coming on. It was a nice easy run and I sped up for the last mile. That last mile was exhilarating. My new found power shone and carried me easily home.

We are in the homestretch. We are on today’s run.
Let me tell you that streak ended today. It wasn’t an ugly run but it wasn’t a good one either. It was raining when I started, rather heavy, only to turn into a mist and finally disappear at the end of the run. I was gasping for breath from the start. I tried Gu as this was a build up run. It was supposed to be a 6.5 mile run so I took one before I left and one at 3.5. The legs were heavy but I did not have the same confidence as I had yesterday. It was like I was slogging thru mud. The dog also was not feeling this run. She was running next to me and this made the run like an obstacle course with the leash slack between us. Finally, I wrapped the extra around my wrist loosely. A less tired me might of thought of that earlier after the first or second hop over the leash, but it was taking all my minds focus to keep the legs moving. There is a monster of a hill at the five mile mark. It starts slow and then builds up in severity. Another hill is rather deceptive at the last half mile. It doesn’t look bad but when my tired legs hit that incline, it takes a lot of interior cheering to keep me going. While I did well, my first full running mile started at 13:07 and built up to 11:04. It is hard to tell exactly what I did as I generally include my warm up and cool down walks in my time. The last thing I want to do is futz with my phone while I’m out. Especially, in the rain where the touchscreen gets a little dodgy with the water droplets. All in all, it was a good run even if it didn’t feel like it while I was running it.

I wasn't impressed with the GU and I couldn't figure out why everyone was such a fan. Then, I figured something out. I was eating like a fourth of what was recommended for the time I was out running. I probably won't eat two or three packs a run, but I might try eating half before my run on Thursday and half while I'm out in this soggy weather.

Also, why all the selfies? Because running is fun. And I hope my smiling face is encouraging to those that question that reality. I questioned it less than a year ago

My head has been a little stuffy so sorry if this was a little meandering. To make up for it, here is a picture of the dog with her Christmas hat ala The Grinch  

First Race

It’s been a while. I’ve not abandoned you. I’ve got a lot to recap

Wednesday is yoga day and aerial yoga day.  And today, it was race pick up day too. Performance Running is a great company with a few stores in my area. Everyone there seems to be very knowledgable both in experience and in the products. They have never made me feel weird because I’m a beginner. I’ve found the running community to be very welcoming overall, and the employees of this store are no exception. Pick up was easy. Got checked in with my bib, then off to get my fleece, and done. Of course, I had to do a little perusing. After talking to someone about the merits of salting watermelon, I got some Gu for my long runs, including the salted watermelon flavor.

In class, we focused on gratitude. It was very restorative with only a few “power” moves to get the blood moving. Of course, I snuck in some runner’s yoga too. After all, I had my first race on Thursday. I had a wonderful surprise. One of my first yoga “students” came to class. I was bookended by my first and most recent students. I felt extremely blessed and honored that these people choose me to help them with their yoga practices. Both are extremely kind and wonderful people. I really don’t like to call them students. I would like to think of myself as more of a guide or lead for them to develop their yoga. It was a great way to start Thanksgiving weekend.

Thursday was THE DAY! I’ve been training to increase my distances but this was my first race. I started running in spring and I was about to run 5 miles with a large group of people. Wednesday night I put lavender in our humidifier and it worked like a dream. I slept like a rock till the dog woke me up for the morning pee. After our little adventure outside, I went back to bed, setting the alarm, drifting back off to sleep. And suddenly bolt awake! It was too light out and I felt too rested. My alarm didn’t go off! I was running ten minutes behind. While shoveling a light greek yogurt in my mouth, it occurred to me that the alarm was set for Saturday, not Thursday. I took a shower to wash all the anxiety away, well, most of it. After getting dressed and not pestering my boyfriend too much with “let’s go,” we were on our way thru the city to the Lake. Lake Michigan is a fickle neighbor. You never know how windy it was going to be. Or if a sudden rain storm or snow will begin.

Thankfully, we got their 45 minutes early. I tried to convince my boyfriend we needed an hour but compromised for 45. I like to be early, get the lay of the land, and get comfortable with my surroundings. To be honest, 45 min was just about right since I had already grabbed my bib. There were lots of people. Some serious looking runners to a teen dressed up in a bacon costume. We walked thru the avenue of PortaPotties to the starting line. I did some dynamic stretching while observing everyone around me. Boyfriend and I checked out the runners in matching costumes and tried to avoid the runners with see thru running tights. I do not need to know you are wearing a thong.

Shirt I wore

It was time to get in the corral.  A man over the loud speaker insisted that walkers start in back, competitors in front. I tried to position myself in the middle. There was no “GO!” or starting pistol, just a throng of people moving forward. Some people were jogging, others walking and the speedy people were trying to make it to the front. I had started my Runkeeper and my Garmin but the race started a few minutes late, so their evaluation of me was a little off. I tried to keep to my pace but everyone was passing me. Bacon passed me. Turkey Tutu Twins passed me. Inflatable Turkey passed me. And I abandoned my pace. All these people couldn’t be passing me and me be going at my planned pace of 11:00. I had to be counting wrong. I found out later looking at my stats it was just everyone rushing. I knew that there were going to be people passing me but I didn’t expect that much. Eventually, I just settled in and did my best to keep jogging. I didn’t want to walk. I can jog 9.5 miles, so I can certainly do 5 miles. As I settled in, I found I had misjudged the race course and there was a very large hill. That hill took people out. But I kept going. I heard retching behind me and other racers on the side, hands to knees. I passed Bacon and the Turkey Tutu Twins. I passed very athletic looking people. I was in my head and my head was in my ear telling me I was in over my head. But I reminded myself I did this twice a week. I had trained for this and longer. I felt confidence and my legs grew more steady. Some people were still passing me. There was a 5k option and it was hard not to turn in. I was tired from my fast start. The wind was stealing my breath. I reminded myself I can and will do this. And no walking. I will finish. I think that’s when my training set in. I saw more and more people struggling on the side of the trail. There was my boyfriend driving by waving, cheering me on. I started counting again. Piano lessons and a metronome came to mind counting out meters. One guy would speed pass me and then be winded at the side. I ran behind a girl high stepping for a while. I heard a group of guys ask when the fun starts and I yelled behind me “With the cinnamon rolls!” And I made the turn and started my last leg. I was feeling my legs, there was no disconnection. I felt each footfall. My stomach started to flip flop. Apparently, my yogurt was not enough. I hadn’t stopped for the water, maybe I should have. The last leg felt long. Very long. The sprinkles had turned into a full on rain and my shirt was plastered to me.

Picture boyfriend took.

And then I saw the PortaPotties. I felt hope re-engergize me. I found that last push. I crossed that line feeling strong and nearly in tears. In spring, this never would have been possible. I couldn’t run a mile in spring. And I just completed my 8k race. The joy and pride was overwhelming. Not only that, there was a delicious cinnamon roll in my near future. My end stats were 54:39, which I think translates into 10:55/mile. I was 463 out of about 600 but there were some that didn’t make it in time before the course closed. Boyfriend insists I was in the middle and I should be kinder in my head to myself. He is probably right. :)

Pre-Race

Post race

My friends and family have two main responses. Half think I’m crazy. Heck, I would probably think the same thing of someone last year. The other half just tell me how proud and amazed they are. And the truth is that I think most have a mixture of the two. All I know is I am thankful that I did this and then got to enjoy three Thanksgivings with loved ones.

Happy Thanksgiving!

More to come. I have Saturday and Monday to recap. And will have a Tuesday too. Stay tuned tomorrow.

Getting Wrapped Up and Cold Weather Running

I love Wednesday nights. And what a lovely night it was. The light was fantastic. The photographer in me wanted to chase the sunset.

The light alone on the bare branches was a brilliant vermillion. 

I teach low aerial in the evening. Low aerial has a special place in my heart. I enjoy regular aerial yoga but low keeps me grounded and centered. Class varies between relaxed asanas so the class feels more like Yin yoga and a restorative but rigorous class. I like to choose something to focus on. Sometimes the floor is lava and sometimes we open our hearts up to the universe. Last night was about wraps and increasing blood flow. Think of it like a water hose where you build up a pressure and then release it letting a rush of water out. Arm wraps, leg wraps, we did as many as we could fit into 60 minutes. The students are wonderful and adventurous to where I can say "I've never done this, but let's try this." It was a regular and I, which led to a very organic class. It was also joined by my dog who made sure we were showered with kisses. We ended with a fully wrapped reclining hero and baby seal. Classes always make me feel rejuvenated. Dancer is a nice wrap and has become a regular asana in my class.

When I came home, my fiance had decorated the house for the holidays. I definitely feel the season in the house. Nevermind the bucket and the upside down table. We have a stubborn rug that will not straighten out.

We live in a lovely neighborhood; very residential with older and, sometimes, rather posh homes. Most of the streets are well lit and in good condition. The sidewalks can be difficult to run on in the early mornings. There are many old trees with roots trying to escape their concrete tombs. 

I was smart this morning, unlike Tuesday, and checked the weather. I ran in my windproof jacket and made sure my ears were covered. The temperatures were still quite mild but the wind was rather fierce. Technology issues delayed the start of my run but it got sorted out. The first mile is always rough. My mind keeps asking why we are up so early. My previous dog would have refused to get up at this ungodly hour. 

After that first mile though, it was all smooth going. My pace was quick and steady. Stoplights were all in my favor. My breath came easily until the last 1/2 mile but I still found a burst of energy to finish the run. Obligatory post-run selfie

Dog was a serial pee-er this morning. I was off my fastest time by 26 seconds. I am glaring in her general direction. She doesn't care. She is very cat-like in that way. Yes, she is laying on the back of the couch

I've had a few people say that they run and then look horrified when I tell them when and where I run. Yes, I run at 4am in the morning. Well, that's when I wake up. It takes another 10 minutes for me to get out the door. Yes, I run outside. With the right gear, outside is feasible for most of the year in this part of Wisconsin. If I lived up north, I might sing a different tune. It is peaceful then. There are just a few people out; bikers, runners and people catching the bus. The dog has issues on leash so the fewer distractions the less crazy dog barking at the end of her leash. She is an alpha dog even though she knows I am the alpha female and pack leader. There is a silence and peace that I do not get with later runs. And of course the sunrises are awfully nice when I'm out late enough in the morning to catch them. This is from a run in Wisconsin Rapids. While there are times I don't want to get out of bed, I wouldn't want to miss this for all the world.