Another 13.1 and done!

I had been putting off my blogging on my half marathon, out of respect for Boston. Exactly a week later, we have over 100+ people recovering from injuries in the hospital, a terrorist in custody and a city can finally breathe again. Now, a city, a nation and a community of runners can begin the healing process. With that being said.....


I won't go into as much detail on this half marathon as I did my first. Sorry to disappoint. It's not because I don't want to, but for some reason this race just wasn't as vivid to me. Maybe that's just how it is--your first half just stays with you that same way that your first time on a bike does, your first kiss, your first love, your first....well, you get what I mean. If you want an awesome recap of this run from another perspective, look in the right corner of my blog and read my run buddy's take! :)

It was an awesome day for a half. The weather couldn't of been more perfect. A nice cool morning that would warm up quickly as noon approached, but we would be done way before then. The morning of the race, I arrive and promptly bump into my chiropractor, which was great--I got to stretched out before the run. My run buddy comes to find me and so does my cave buddy who had decided to run with us at the last minute. I was completely honored that she would choose to run with me, especially since I didn't think her little competitive heart would be able to hang in the back with the slow folks for too long.

The feeling of this race was so much different than my first half. It was so much more low-key. The electricity that I recall from before was a mere sizzle. It undoubtedly was a smaller race with under 1,000 participants and it was only the 2nd year that this half was held, but combined with the familiarity of home and having my run buddy with me, you could say I was pretty chill. I had been training for this race for about 3 months. Although, I took it more seriously this time than the first, (I had to, my run buddy was following one of those half marathon run schedules) I still probably could of trained more appropriately, but regardless--I still put in a lot of hard work in the months leading up to this race.

The lineup to the start line was held without any fan fare. No huge corrals with hundreds of people crammed in. It was pretty much, line up, wait for the countdown and go! The first 6 miles were my strongest. I've come to really love running a 10k distance.My cave buddy had left us after mile 4 (I wasn't surprised). My run buddy and I pretty much held our 10k pace from our previous race 3 weeks prior (a bit slower, but still close) and were going pretty strong. We had been running at a nice conversational pace and I really enjoyed the first half of the run. After this point, the race had thinned out quite a bit, we weren't running in a big group anymore. We somehow managed to run off course about a quarter mile. Just lovely. Thankfully we found our way back to the course pretty quickly and went about our way. I'll try not to cry about those lost minutes too much. (waaaaaaahhh)

This course was way more challenging than the course I ran in December. While that course was relatively flat, this course was hilly. HILLS. HILLS. HILLS. It was never ending! For over 50% of this course, if we weren't going up, we were going down. Thankfully, we had trained on some hills on our long runs, so it wasn't as bad as it could of been. We hit mile 9 and I remember my run buddy saying, "the challenge really begins now." Until this point, we were holding pretty steady, but we both wondered quietly how the rest of the race was going to go. Neither one of us managed to peak over 9 miles during training, so we weren't exactly sure how we were going to hold up.  

My leg turnover was really starting to slow down past mile 10. Up until now, I had "kept up" so to speak with my run buddy and her long strides pretty well but now I was following behind her a good 20 feet. She would realize it every so often and slow down so I could catch up. We weren't talking to much at this point, except for the occasional complaint, grunt or explicit language outburst. I was thankful I had her to focus on, even as a focal point ahead of me. I had begun to have those fun mental thoughts again about 'why the hell did I want to do one of these runs again?'...and I would see her and that pretty much answers my question. It was her first half, we had promised each other that we would stick together. We had trained all this time and we were going to see this run through. There were moments that I could tell she wanted to break away and I was tempted to tell her to go--I really was, because she was riding a totally different runners high than I was at this point, but I was thankful that she stayed with me.  

We finished the race strong, passing quite a few people on the way up (another HILL) to the finish--a late burst of energy coursing through my veins. I had done it again. It's quite the accomplishment, that my love for running (although I didn't love it that much at that moment) could push me through those "I wanna quit" moments. I finished with a time of 2:53 a whole 17 minutes faster than my last half of 3:10 and on a much more challenging course! Another 13.1 completed. Another finishers medal around my neck. I had accomplished a lot. But what I think I appreciate the most out of the past 3 months, everything leading up to this run and hopefully more races to come--is the newfound bond of friendship I have now with my run buddy, forged in sweat, hard-work and determination. You just can't get that everyday.

Running as brought a lot of wonderful things and people into my life. I can't wait to see where else these feet will take me. Happy running!

 

A World of Runners United

My heart is heavy as I write to you guys tonight. I originally had planned to blog about my half marathon that I completed this past Saturday, but in the wake of the events of the horrible attacks at the Boston Marathon today--I'll save that story for another day.

This afternoon, someone decided to shake the world of running (and the nation) to the core by setting off explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Now, I know I haven't been involved in the running world that long, but I still know that this race is one of the most prestigious and coveted marathons in the country! There are confirmed deaths and many, many more injured. Not only runners, but fans & spectators of the great sport of running.

Since I first caught wind of what happened today, I have literally been sick to my stomach. I am heart-broken. Just crossing a finish line myself, it hits closer to home for me. I don't personally know anyone that was participating in the race, or any of the people that were there, but in a way--I feel as if I did. That the love of running itself, has bonded me to those strangers--they are my brothers and sisters. Bonded in our love for the sport, the grit it takes to finish a course, the determination and focus it takes to train, the exhilaration of the finish. I feel violated. And now I am angry.

I hope as the investigation continues and in the days to come, more information is revealed about who did this and they can be brought to justice. I pray that those injured or affected, heal quickly and that the God's love wrap them up and comfort them. I will be lacing up my shoes tomorrow morning and running a few miles in honor of those in Boston. I hope some of you will join me and do the same.

Below is a long quote that I stole from a friend of mine on Facebook. It's haunting, beautiful and gives me hope all at the same time.  We will move on from this, united.

Boston. Fucking horrible. I remember, when 9/11 went down, my reaction was, "Well, I've had it with humanity." But I was wrong. I don't know what's going to be revealed to be behind all of this mayhem. One human insect or a poisonous mass of broken sociopaths.

But here's what I DO know. If it's one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet. You watch the videos of the carnage and there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out. (Thanks FAKE Gallery founder and owner Paul Kozlowski for pointing this out to me). This is a giant planet and we're lucky to live on it but there are prices and penalties incurred for the daily miracle of existence. One of them is, every once in awhile, the wiring of a tiny sliver of the species gets snarled and they're pointed towards darkness.

But the vast majority stands against that darkness and, like white blood cells attacking a virus, they dilute and weaken and eventually wash away the evil doers and, more importantly, they damage they wreak. This is beyond religion or creed or nation. We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We'd have eaten ourselves alive long ago.

So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, "The good outnumber you, and we always will." - Patton Oswalt

I Run Slow, Time Goes Fast

I've got exactly 4 more days until my next half marathon!!! It is insane how fast the time has gone. It's been almost exactly 4 months since I ran my last one. I have made awesome gains in running the past few months and I look forward to seeing what I can push my body to do! I am stronger, faster(ish), my breathing as improved and I have a considerably stronger mental focus. I also have an amazing run buddy that will be with me, step by step, along this 13.1 and if I do have another mental breakdown like my last--I know I will have her there to lift me up.

My last long run before the race was yesterday. We tackled 5 miles -- which really compared to all the other long runs we have done, seemed like nothing. I made a visit to a local podiatrist earlier in the week and got some new inserts for my shoes and they made their debut on this run. My arches didn't really seem to like the new support very much, but I kept waiting for that tingling feeling--for that numbness to kick in around mile 2.5-3. but THANKFULLY, it never really showed up! Hallelujah! I had a little bit of toe tingling, but nothing like I had experienced before and I was relived. I got to enjoy the rest of the run so much more and I look forward to Saturday a little bit more--knowing that my issue for the most part should be a minimal nuisance. The little cloud that's been hanging over me has lifted away! YAY! but unfortunately I had another move into it's place. The dreaded cough. damn you cough. It started 5 days ago, but hasn't gotten any better. It's a dry, unproductive cough (I think from allergies) but last nights wheezing and coughing fit kept me up and to make sure and rule out possible bronchitis, I'll be at the doctors office tomorrow morning. Cross your fingers for me!

I have also been struggling with my eating choices the past few weeks. I was doing so amazing, packing my own meals and cravings were gone. THEN...my birthday happens and we spend two different weekends celebrating it and it's all been downhill. I got to "splurge" a bit and it's opened a door that I had closed for a while. eeeek. My taste buds had been reawakened to salty goodness! and sugary treats and I'm back to craving those things. It's insane how hard it is for your body to wean off those products, but one taste of it again--and your body craves it all the time! At least I'm not totally all out back to just eating junk all the time, but I need to cut back on my "treats" BIG TIME...and get back to where I was a few weeks ago. *I think I can. I think I can.*

It seems as if lately I've been taking one step forward and then two steps back. I keep telling myself it's just a phase and I will get back on track soon. I just need all the right things to fall back together and click for me. Hopefully, all that will happen before Saturday. The countdown is on.