My very first marathon

After months of training this past Saturday the day had finally arrived. The North Face Endurance Challenge Marathon in Madison - or to be more accurate Eagle, WI which is about 2 hours away from Madison (but Madison is hip and sells better on the advertisement). I had been getting more and more nervous the week of the race, where my thoughts would not allow anything other to be processed than visualizing the course and making sure I knew all the things I had to prepare and how I would handle them.

Surprisingly enough, I slept really well the night before and as I was preparing my breakfast on race day and getting the last things together, I felt really calm. Since there was also a 50 mile and 50k race that day, my starting time was not until 9am. On the one had, I was glad, because it meant I didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn, but on the other hand, it posed a problem. I had never done any of my long runs this late in the morning, so I didn't know how to properly fill my stomach to not get too hungry, since it would be later, when I finish and not overfill it.

I had asked Homebody and the little one to just greet me at the finish line, since I knew it would be many hours between the start and my finish and I didn't want them to have to drive out twice or hang out for such a long time. I drove myself to the race. The morning was very beautiful. After the weather forecast changing on me many times and me going "Oh, no not rain!", "Okay, that's better", "Wait, not that hot" the morning started off nicely! When I arrived the 50k and 50mile runners had already left and the marathoners were starting to trickle in. You could sense that everyone was a bit nervous and that combined with the fact that many people didn't know each other yet, there was an abundance of cell phones on the scene. I swear each runner was updating their Facebook status "Okay, marathon day is here" or "I am about to hit the trails - marathon style" or something like that or just texting or surfing the internet. Even more telling was that I only saw smart phones. If I would be doing a survey on the most popular phone, this would have been a good place to start.

Speaking of start, after waiting around for a while, walking, jogging and stretching to get ready, all of the sudden the race was about to start. Countdown and off we went. Or at least for 50 steps, then everybody reached a bottle neck and we already had to walk. People were joking and saying stuff like "Here goes the minute I counted on" or "Geez, I thought I would make it farther running than that". Those jokes set the stage for the kind of people that were part of this race.

It didn't take me long to find somebody who was running my pace and following him in his footsteps to not take off too fast. Since after a while, there weren't too many people around us, I decided to pull up next to him and introduce myself: "Hey just wanted to say thanks for pacing, and no I am not a creep following you so closely". Luckily he was happy to serve and for the better part of 10 miles we stuck more or less together. Our new found "friendship" almost went sour, when he paced right to the first aid station's bathroom and took it before me. I "hmpfed" and decided I could wait another 5 miles. For a short while thereafter our pacing group increased to six people. I didn't like the feeling of having somebody directly behind me and placed myself at the end of the group.

When I reached the next aid station, I started making the first mistake of my race. I felt like I needed more than just water an pretzels and drank something with flavor. Between this and the next aid station my stomach started to hurt when I was running. I had to walk here and there, but ran once I saw the next aid station. Second mistake: Now that my stomach hurt, I felt like it needed food and I ate a little bit of a PBJ. BIG mistake. Not only did my stomach not like it, but I actually hate PBJ and it took all my might to swallow and not spit things out in front of a group of people. After mile 17.5 it went downhill. My stomach never felt upset, but whenever I forced myself to run for a little while, it felt like I had a spleen in the front of my stomach that was about to rupture. Walking did not aggravate it and so the last 8.7 miles were spent mostly walking.

I promised myself to stay in good spirits and enjoy this adventure, because I knew it would be a while before I embark on a marathon journey again. Those distances just take too much time away from the little one and make things rougher on Homebody. I absolutely loved the company of all the other runners around. Everybody was cheering each other on and you could rely on people watching out for each other. My pacing buddy turned around a couple of times, when I scraped a rock with my shoe to make sure I hadn't bit the dust. One of our six team pace runners, hit the ground a couple of times and we were all there to get him back up and check that he was okay. Later in the race another lady and I checked in with somebody hunched over at the side of the road re-checking if he had the right food intake, which he obviously didn't since it was hitting the ground again. Oddly enough, it wasn't even weird at that moment - although I do think he was a little embarrassed. I had lots of nice conversations along the way and whenever people were asking me, how many marathons I had done and I said that this was my first one, they looked at my astonished and said "and you chose this one?".

Yes, I did and I proudly crossed the finish line near the end of the pack. I accomplished my goal. I finished 26.2 miles. I learned a lot and I loved all the people I met.

And the best of it all, I got to go to the runners tent afterward and get myself a free massage. Heaven I say. We should all be so lucky!

"Just run and jump"

This morning I headed out for my second to last really long run, before the marathon. 19 miles were on the menu. Since Homebody and I spent so much time ziplining yesterday as a celebration of our 10th wedding anniversary, I didn't want to take up too much time driving anywhere for my run today, so he could return to his studies. Instead I decided on running three loops (just over 6 miles each) in the county park behind our house.
When I walked out the door I made up my mind that I would try to do the first approximately 14 miles, without stopping at all (not even a potty break. For those who don't know, I have been known for designing my runs around the best pit stops). A little bit of stretching and loosening up and off I went.
I like heading out early in the morning, especially when I run in this park. I calculated that starting at 6am would give me at least one complete loop, without having to face too many owners with their dogs off leash (yes, there are many signs around the park asking specifically that dogs be kept on a leash, but even a picture does not seem to help the blatantly ignorant, which seems to calculate in almost any dog owner you meet in the park).
I was lucky. For almost the first two rounds, I only came across two. Once little fellow jumped up my leg, while Ms. Owner yelled at the dog to come back. It is kind of amusing that people do that, because you know that the owners who yell the loudest are the ones that have the littlest control over their canines. I especially laugh inside, when the dog decides that I am going faster than their owner and that it would be much more fun to run alongside me than going with them.

When I reached my goal point of 14 miles, I decided that I had already made it this far without stopping and might as well make it the whole way. During the last round especially, I could feel myself hitting walls much quicker than before. From the very beginning I had found my mantra of the run (one that I think I would like to keep for the future). Yesterday during the zipline tour after the initial nerves of being a little afraid of heights had settled, I had done really well throughout the tour and gotten to totally enjoy zipping among trees. For most of the ziplines, you get prepared and just slowly sit down in your harness and go. Not so for the very last one. It is called the "Dual Racing zipline" and you race your partner on the zipline right next to you. You can gain speeds up to 45mph and are caught be a breaking system in the end rather than having to break yourself. For this zipline, you are asked to not slowly sit down in your harness and instead run down two steps, along the platform and jump as far out as possible. Homebody and I were the first ones to go and to my own surprise, I didn't hesitate at all. All the details of my thoughts weren't clear to me in that moment, but I remembered every second of it during my run today. Whenever I felt myself being hesitate about continuing during those 19 miles, I kept telling myself to "just run and jump". I remembered the moment, I left the platform and the thought of "wow, I really did it", before I was caught be the harness. As soon as the harness caught me and I started zipping along, all I could think about was how much fun it was. That's what I visualized during my run today as well.

It worked for the most part. When I really hit the wall, I pictured myself as a football player pushing the blocking sled across the field. Except mine was a wall. There was one point at about mile 17, where I was caught off guard. My brain suddenly screamed "STOP" and my body was still moving. I must have looked very funny, because I stumbled and caught myself and kept going. I stuffed a salt pretzel in my mouth and pushed forward until the feeling vanished and I just became amused by myself.

If I could have, I would have high-fived myself, when I reached the end. Instead I just ran and jumped.

Still there

This past week has been a dreadful one in my running history. I couldn't quite figure out what was wrong. All I know is that despite my strongest efforts to keep running, I kept finding myself stopping long before my runs where over. On some days, I ran-walked to the end. On one day, I knew my brain was still way too cluttered from work and I accepted the fact that I simply needed to walk the miles to clear my head.

After that, I wasn't quite sure how to feel about setting out this morning for the 17 miles that where on my running schedule. I hadn't even made it a quarter of this distance this week. I told myself that I would just blame the week on the super hot weather (having my running time right after work, when it is still way too hot outside, is definitely a good excuse for this). And this morning I wasn't about to let that deter me.

So I sat my alarm at 4:30am. I thought I woke up before it, but once I got up realized that the alarm was on, but that it had been outdone by the air conditioner. I managed to get out of bed without the little one waking up. Success number 1!

At around 5:30am I started my journey on the Scuppernong section of the Ice Age trail. In not even half a mile I had already stopped again. The water in my hydration pack was sloshing left and right and I felt like I was being forced to sway side to side with the rhythm of the water. I feared I would run an extra couple miles (or I would be pulled over for drunk running) swaying so much, so I stopped and took the bladder out of the hydration pack to make sure all the air was sucked out. Aah, better! Note to self: Run around before the actual marathon and make sure the hyrdation pack bladder has no more air in it or you will be sorry! At about mile one, the Ice Age trail goes straight through the Pinewoods Campground. A very popular place this weekend. When I made my way through only a couple of people had embraced the way like me. The first one started it with a very important session at the closest pit toilet, while the other was farther away practicing Tai Chi in the field. The only one who actually saw me, was the faithful little dog who was waiting outside the bathroom for his owner. I think he was way to worried about his companion inside though to care about me passing by.

In order to make this run easier on my brain, I told myself that I was running only 8.5 miles ---twice. It seemed to work. The only thing I still had to block out was the thought about having to come back the route, whenever I hit a set of downhills. I had never been on this part of the Ice Age Trail and didn't know it would have several downhill switchbacks on my way out. I just told myself that on the way back at least my legs would be completely warmed up and coming back uphill would be much easier.

It was a great run. I just flew fairly easy. The variety of terrain kept my interest and I was glad to discover that the section that I would be doing for my marathon was less hilly than the one I had decided to start with today. I am very excited to see the single track trail that I will be taking.

At the end of my first 8.5 miles, I took a little spur trail up do to a scenic overlook.

The second 8.5 miles where not as bad as I had pictured them to be, when I made my way out. I was surprised to see how many downhills where in that section. They must have rebuild the trail while I was running, because I was sure I went mostly downhill on the way out and couldn't possibly have this many downhills on the way back. Amazing what they can do nowadays!

It was a great finish to a doubtful running week and I was glad to see that I still have it in me!

Change of plans

So I started my journey bright and early this morning. After discovering last week how wonderful it was to get my long run done at the crack of dawn, I decided to continue the trend. I am not sure though how many more times I will get away with it, as the little one just seems to have an internal sensor when I want to get up and doesn't let Homebody sleep any longer either. But for this morning, I was out the door by 5:30am. I drove the 10 minutes to the Ice Age Trail trail head, but as soon as I had stopped the car in the parking lot, I discovered that my plans were in need of adjustment. I hadn't even gotten out of the car, when it was swarmed with biting flies. They were everywhere. For a moment I contemplated stepping out of the car to see how bad they really were. But on second thought realized that there were too many and that the car would be filled with them, before I would have a chance to get back in. I drove out of the parking lot and to the trail head. Since it was so early in the morning, no other cars where on the road. I stopped the car at the trail head, in hopes that I would find less biting flies here. Yeah, wasn't happening. Knowing that the trail would lead along the Oconomowoc river, I knew I had no chance of escaping. So I turned around and drove back home. But I was determined to not give up on my Sunday morning 16 mile run. As I was driving, I already planned the route through the park next to our apartment complex in my head. I knew I could do 6 miles without having to repeat a trail. Do that twice and another four---mind you, my math isn't the greatest, but I think I got that one right--- makes 16 miles. Since it was still early, I got the first round and a half all to myself, before people started waking up and walking their dogs. But the first round I only shared with some deer, and a very skittish buck. The doe was very curious watching me run for a while, the buck ran away (or maybe he just crossed the pass really fast to show off and make a point in showing me that there was no way I could catch up with him). I also came across a wild turkey with about 6 or 7 little ones. Although it wasn't nice of me to scare them, it was nonetheless pretty breathtaking to see all the little ones flutter into a nearby tree. The adult took a little longer and then heavily followed after them. The rabbits, I think where the most annoyed by my early morning run. Especially the ones, I came across more than ones (since I was repeating rounds). I swear they sat at the exact same spot and gave me a look of "it's Sunday, chill out. Just go play somewhere else, but give me the peace I deserve, for crying out loud" (well, I never listened to my parents, so why would I listen to a bunny). No pictures were taken on this run, because I needed to proof to myself that I would do these 16 miles without much stopping and since I run in this park all the time, I didn't take any pictures today. You just have to imagine it this time....

Decisions

Things have been different, ever since I finished the trail half marathon in May and had to switch gears to start thinking about the marathon I signed up for. This one was going to take place on Milwaukee city streets. Because I had almost exclusively trained on trails I had to make the conscious choice to add some asphalt runs back into the game.
You can probably tell by my approach to writing this introduction that I didn't like it. Motivation started lacking and I found reasons left and right to do "just this one" on the trail. I had build up expectations of how exciting it would be to run one of the local bike trails 15 miles from end to end. Well, it sucked. Almost from beginning to end. I didn't like it. I walked good portions of it dreading every step of the final 15th mile, determined to at least not have it beat me completely. I high-fived the number 15 marker and was glad to see Homebody and the little one at the end.

Whether it was my bad attitude about this last run or it really was the harder surface, my ankles took at toll from this run and I had to stop completely for a week, as I was afraid I would mess up something so badly, I wouldn't even get to marathon time.

Lucky for me my boss was a physical therapist in his former life and I asked him for advice ('cause as everyone who knows me knows, I wasn't going to see a doctor). He pulled out his anatomy book and showed me exactly which ligament it is that is causing the issue. He said that I could continue running on it and showed me some exercises that I can do to prepare them for better running. Done. That evening I was back on the trail.

My thoughts have since circled around saying goodbye to the road marathon and instead signing up for the one I had eyed from the beginning. A trail marathon in September. But I since my last long run didn't exactly go so well, I wanted to wait until I set out for another longer distance this weekend.

I decided to explore a new section of our local "Ice Age Trail", a single track hiking trail. I was sold before I came to the turn around point. I left just at sun rise (5am) on a Saturday morning (yes, I am crazy, no need to ask). But seeing the first rays of the orange morning sun through the trees and running along the Oconomowoc river, was breathtaking. Unfortunately, the pictures do not do it any justice.


I didn't see a single human. My acquaintances were deer, wild turkey, chipmunks (one kamikaze one that dared to run out right in front of my foot to see if it could be faster across than I would be forward. It made it, but I sure hope it was worth the adrenaline for that little guy), squirrels and a frog. I knew then what I had missed on the road (yes, you can see all these animals on the road, but I do prefer them alive). The decision as been made and this morning I signed up for the marathon at the North Face Endurance Challenge in Madison (although it isn't really in Madison, but I guess that's what they like to call it).

New Horizons

Last weekend I went running with my two best friends. It was great fun and I was happy to see both of them enjoy my favorite trail just as much as I do. I got to show them everything trail running, even how to stumble and fall.

Was it graceful and a superb example? Honestly, I have no idea, because I can't remember how I fell. All I remember is that on the way down I was contemplating the best way to catch myself and by the time I hit the ground, I was laughing internally about my stupidity. I must have been inspiring though, because both of my friends tried to imitate and might I say, even tried to outdo me in my fall. Didn't quite hit the tree there, Erin and Dave didn't make it all the way to the ground either :-) Thank you for joining me on the run. I hope after my thoughts out loud here, you will do it again.

Today I meant to go running in the morning, but we were awoken by thunderstorms that lasted a good portion of the morning. So I had to switch things up and plan for a run in the afternoon. That meant more time to get nervous and think about the fact that my longer runs from this point forward are venturing out further than I have ever run before. I almost psyched myself out before it was time to go, but I just put my fingers in my ears and went "lalala", so I wouldn't listen to my own thoughts and went out the door.

Because the marathon I am training for will not be on trails, I now have to put some asphalt running back into my training, which to be honest, I am not too excited about at this point. So I decided to create a 14 mile run for myself today that incorporated both paved biking trails and a run along my favorite hiking trail in my absolutely favorite park. I started out running 3 miles on a paved biking trail. The sun was hammering down on the pavement and it didn't take long to feel sweaty and just a little uncomfortable. The weirdest thing about this run was that I was the only runner among tons of families out for a bike ride. They all seemed to look at me funny, but I just smiled and nodded and imagined that they were just all astonished that I was doing the distance on foot instead of on a bike and that they were glad they didn't have to be me. I switched from a side road biking trail to the major biking trail that I think I could take all the way to Madison if I would feel so inclined (which at this point I do not, just in case you were wondering).

The Ice Age Trail, my favorite long distance hiking trail in this area, turns off from the bike trail into Lapham Peak State Park. I was quite happy to take a turn from the bike trail and enter into single lane hiking trial mode. Because of the rainy morning not many people were out hiking.

I took some sections a little slower as the rocks were still really wet and I didn't want to add to the fall from last week. Being baptized into trail running once is enough for at least a little while (I can save the bloody knees and hands for the next trail race, because I am sure then it will look tough...). Now I felt like I was back at home. I took the trail the whole way through the park and out the back end.

A quick wave to the car that was parked at the other end of the park and then I ignored it as I ran by to continue my journey. I didn't want it to get too excited and give me a disappointed look if I didn't stop - like my daughter when I don't do exactly what she wants me to do. If I would have seen that look on the car, I might have changed my mind about continuing. But I knew it would get over the hurt by the time I return and so I kept going.

Although this continuing route is still the Ice Age Trail at this point it joints paths with yet another biking trail (there are tons of those around in this area). The scenery here was completely different. Roads, cars, and even some cute little restaurants to run by.

When I finished the 14 miles and got back in the car after stretching out (I was afraid that if I didn't stretch, I wouldn't be able to bend my knees and I wasn't sure the police officer would buy my story, if I get pulled over for speeding), all I wanted is to go home and get myself a high five from the little one and Homebody. I had to beg for the high five, but it still felt good.

Ice Age Trail - Half Marathon

Yesterday I had the honor of running my very first trail race. It seems like my half marathons are supposed to be surrounded by impossible events. The first time the morning of my marathon started with a huge thunderstorm and branches still had to be cleared out of the way before the race could start. This time, it was a little less dramatic. The little one has been sick for a good portion of the week leading up to my big race and the night before the race, she had the worst cough and could not sleep (and thus neither could I). An alarm was not needed to make sure I get up in time. I kept telling myself that I have read in several books that you should try to get enough sleep in the week leading up to a big race and that this should make up for a lack of sleep the night before the race. I was just hoping this would be true. Because of the little ones sickness, I drove alone to the race. She was in not so great shape, when I left and so we thought, they shouldn't come. It was sad to think that I wouldn't see Homebody and little one at the finish line, but if she wasn't feeling any better, we didn't want to have her out there for that long.

I have never run a trail race, so I wasn't sure what to expect in comparison to a road race. I can affirm now that the atmosphere at a trail is indeed more relaxed. There were only 160 half marathoners which made it much more intimate. When everybody was lined up at the start, the crowd could even quiet down enough to listen to the race director explaining the route and giving last words of advice. He didn't even need a speaker system, which apparently had experienced some issues after the 50 mile and 50K runners had started earlier.

He just counted down and off we went. The first big difference to a road race I noticed was that there was not such a great sense of urgency as you always experience in a road race. In a road race as soon as it starts, people are impatiently passing each other and trying to make sure to get in the right spot for their pace. This time this happened in a much more calm way. There was no rush to get ahead and this made me much more calm about first figuring out what my comfortable pace feels like.

The very beginning part of the race led us through a fairly flat area of the moraines. At the beginning there were three tattooed ladies in front of me who just chatted away. I could here them talk that they had been afraid this would be too difficult hill wise, because they hadn't run many hills, but that (at about mile 1) it wasn't that bad. I think I wasn't the only one grinning at their words, knowing that this was just a side shoot trail and the big portion of the trail with all the rolling hills was still ahead of us. After passing them, I actually didn't see them again.

The course consisted of two loops. My first loop went really well. I felt good and once the field had cleared out a little, I started to enjoy the beauty of the trail. At the end of the first round, there was a photographer laying on the grass taking picture. I didn't see him at first and jokingly said to him while passing "You're like a cop-car hiding in the grass". I hope it put a smile on my face, when he took the picture, because I just saw his work for other races on his page today and he takes awesome shots. If my shots turn out that good, he can hide in the grass for any races I do.

The second loop provided more challenges than the first one. My lack of sleep started to become apparent. I could feel fatigue set in. My hydration pack became my life line. I ate some saltine crackers I had brought with me. My mouth felt so dry at that moment that I must have looked like cookie monster, with dry pieces of saltine cracker flying everywhere out of my mouth (maybe actual cookies would have worked better...). Note to self, find something more moist for the next race. Every runner that I passed or that passed me was as encouraging as possible. We all told each other what a great job the other was doing. On some parts of the race, the longer distance runners had to come from ahead of us and we knew to cheer them on. The funny thing was that I congratulated several runners on their great performance and as they ran by noticed that they didn't have a race number on. I wondered if these were runners that were just out on a training run today and chose the route, because they knew everybody would cheer them on for their great effort. I mean that's not usually something you can get otherwise on a regular training run :-)

My last two miles were a challenge of willpower. Luckily, I came across the "lady in black" who helped me stay motivated for these last efforts. We played leap frog for quite some time. She sprint down the hills and pass me, during the next up hill I would pass her. At one point we ran next to each other and she said "You are such a killer on those uphills. You catch me every time". I said that I am so terribly slow at walking any hills that I don't know what else to do but run them. I thanked her for keeping me going and she did the same. It was nice to share that moment and it was nice to have somebody compliment you on running hills, when you already feel really exhausted. It sure helped me to not even think about walking the last three hills that led up to the finish line. It felt so good to cross. And "the lady in black" and I found each other afterward to congratulate each other on a good finish.

Beside the "lady in black" I was also welcomed by my friends (thanks for coming out!) and to my surprise by Homebody and the little one. They decided they didn't want to stay away and I was so happy for it. During the last hills, I had hoped to see their smiling faces. Thanks to all four of you for cheering me on and making my finish special!!!

I think, despite the more challenging terrain of rolling hills that I haven't experienced in road races and my exhaustion at the end, my vote is for trail races. The people seemed so much more relaxed and you just can't beat the serenity and beauty of the trail!

Here is an example of how a race or other challenge help extend our fitness or performance.  The area's Senior Olympics just published its even list for this year.  I ran their 10K two years ago and came in first, but only in my age class.  I am going to focus on the 10K this year as well.  However, they also sponsor dualathon, running and biking.  Time trials are going to held for either a 5K and 20K bike or 10 K and a 30 K bike race.  Hmm.  This morning I headed to the College track for my speed work (6X400) with 200 walking intervals, then jogged home and got on my bike for a 10K.  (hedged on the my blood sugar by having a peanut butter sandwich ready before I added the biking.)  Legs feel OK, but Saturday will be long run/walk: 6 miles.  We'll see how limber I am then.

this old man, he keeps running.

"Listen to your body and not your head."  I remember reading that somewhere.  George Sheehan the grandfather of the running movement said that after you run for a while you learn that the first and most important competition is with the voice in your head that says, "Stop."  I still compete with that voice.  That voice has been telling me to be content with being an aging runner, and to give back my fitness level and speed.  But my body misses the surge of exertion; my soul misses the satisfaction of completing a goal and even exceeding it.

Galloway said to do a fairly slow run first this week.  So I did.  Goal: 40 mins.  Ran 45.  To day he says run about 27/28 mins.  So I ran 5K+ route with a small hill.  Last time I ran this I did in 31.  Not today.  In spite of the voice telling me to take it easy and you don't really have to do this, my legs felt like running, my lungs welcomed the deep breaths, my heart kept up.  Time: 29.07.  Pace: 8.54.  Havn't seen that for a couple of years.

The men's chorus I used to sing with had a motto: for the love of the song.  For us, its for the love of the run.

5K's and Other Little Victories

Another entry.  The second in just a few days.  How very odd and consistent  of  me.  Who knew I could be so prolific?

As shared earlier in the family e-mail, Stephen, Hannah and I did a 5K over the weekend in Belleville, IL while we were visiting the area.  Stephen of course, ran it, and ran it in very good time.  Hannah and I took on the challenge together and though we walked it, we had a very good time.  It was fun doing it with my daughter.  It took us just under 55 minutes.  A better time than when I ran the 5K back in November.  I'm not quite sure what to make of that, but, hey, it's yet one more victory.  I'll take it.


The view from Corral C where Hannah
and I started the race.

It was a beautiful morning.  It started out cool and got quickly warm.  I overdressed and was sweating profusely by the end of the race.  The route took us through a lovely historic distric with well-kept century homes with beautiful flowers blooming everywhere.  Every now and again a family would be out on their porch or we came across them sitting by the sidewalk cheering people on.  How very cool!  One little girl of about 7 or 8 was handing out clover flowers.  I promptly tucked mine behind my ear but alas, by the end of the race it was gone, having disappeared somewhere along the route.

Nice T-shirts!  The race was sponsored
by Law Day.  Monies raised went to
Legal Aid.

I enjoyed having the time to just talk and talk with Hannah.  Having not seen her since Christmas, it was good to be together and just talk.  We talked about a lot of stuff. 






One of things that we talked about was an insight that one of my co-workers and I shared while, what else, complaining about  how to be more regular and disciplined about the fitness thing.  She is a busy young woman who is working full time, planning a wedding, and going to graduate school.  She was quite an athlete in highschool but after graduating somehow got too busy with other things.  She knows she "should" be more active, "should" take the time to eat more healthily, but finds herself so overwhelmed with everything else that fitness feels impossible.

I was sharing with her something I came across in my reading that suggests that when beginning to diet and get back in shape, that you should aim for about an 80% rate of follow-through.  This way you don't find yourself caught in that perfection trap.  You know the one:  "Well, I ate a candy bar yesterday" or "I missed a workout"  so "I might as well give up".  If your aim is 80%, you end up with some wiggle room before declaring yourself a failure.  My co-worker, who is getting her master's degree in social work, jumped on this concept.  She told me that in all her classes, that her instructors tell them that when they are working on writing up goals for their clients, that they need to aim for a 25% rate of success toward the goal the first months, 50% rate the following months and move progressively toward the 100% compliance.  Eureka!!  This sounds  infinitely more do-able, and seems like a person has a much better chance of feeling like a winner.  Instead of going from that couch potato to marathoner in one huge chunk... give yourself a chance to get used to the changes, to  move little by little to being a more active and health conscious person.

It's sounds kinder and more forgiving to me, the one who is always holding herself up against the perfection standard.  If I can redefine "perfection", perhaps I can make myself a happier person, as well as a healthier one.

Here's to small victories!

Urban Walker

When Bine and Lisa post their blogs, they include pictures of serene, woodland trails, or grand California vistas.  My exercise environment is vastly different.  For the next month or so, until it gets warmer, the mornings I devote to jogging take place downstairs on the treadmill in front of the morning news anchors, and then, if I'm a good girl, a downtown walk during the lunch hour on the city streets of downtown Canton, Ohio.  It's far from a solitary experience.  I share the sidewalk with the office workers from Nationwide Insurance, the staff from the Marriott waiting for the bus, and many of my clients.  I find it strange and oddly disturbing that while I walk because the doctor tells me I spend too much time being sedentary, all my clients walk because they cannot afford to get around any other way.  Even the bus is beyond their reach.  Unless of course, they have managed to score a bus pass from one of the many social agencies scattered about.  I only walk when the weather is nice, or when I'm feeling energetic.  They walk no matter what. 

The historic Palace Theater in downtown Canton.

Some of  them walk for miles and miles.  Many of them are already browned by this year's early sun.  They walk and walk.  Our Drop-In Center is a popular stop.  They are welcome to just sit, have a free cup of coffee, read the paper or one of the many outdated magazines that get donated.  In the cold and rainy weather it becomes a very important place, for the men especially.  The two men's shelters make everyone get up and out by 6:30 in the morning and they cannot come back until 6 at night.  There is always a line of men waithing for us as we come in. 

The front of my office building. 

 Notice the "No Loitering" sign which is universally ignored.

My clients seem very amused coming across me as I stride down the street, my headphones plugged in.  It didn't take long for them to realize that I wouldn't stop and chat:  I'm a woman on a mission.  But they all make sure to let me know later when they have made a "Judith spotting".  I don't know if the irony of the situation hits them the way it hits me, but they are very supportive, never-the-less.

It's a very different experience, this lunch time urban walk.  The scenery is not nearly as relaxing, but it makes for a great break in the day.

 

I have share my little victory this morning:  I got my minute back!  For some reason I lost a minute off my pace last year.  I went from 28.30 to 9.30 a mile. Then I couldn't seem to push beyond 10 min this season.  But doing the intervals and consistent conditioning has brought me back into the 28's.  This morning 'race pace" 5k tune up for this weekend: 28:45.

Old dog, not doggin it!  New tricks!

Getting back on the horse

This week I have a bad experience, not necessarily as bad while I was out for a run, but afterward. My run itself was somewhat challenging, but I pushed through it and finished the 3 miles midweek run. As soon as I stopped walking though and entered the house, I seemed to crash. My body decided it absolutely had enough. I laid down on the floor and that's were I stayed for the next twenty minutes. For the rest of the day and all through the night I was overcome by chills and despite sweater and blankets was not able to get warm. I wondered, if I had down something bad during the run, but it wasn't hot enough outside to be heat exhaustion or anything like that. I still felt off the whole next day and skipped my run that day.

Today, I wanted to do my scheduled run, but I was so scared. I didn't know what to expect. After a few days, I figured that my body had probably been fighting an illness and the run had just brought it to the surface, but since I never really had any other symptoms, I couldn't be sure.

I had a really hard time, deciding what I wanted to do. Originally, I had thought about participating in a training run for my half marathon in three weeks, but I didn't want to drive all the way out there, just to discover that I wasn't ready to run the distance. I also was afraid that my ego would make me run faster - being surrounded by other runners - than I should be running. Homebody suggested I should just go to the park by our house and run several loops to continue with the 11 miles on the schedule. I would know all the trails and could always cut it short, if I needed to.

It took me forever to get out the door this morning. My stomach was turned upside down, because I was so nervous to step back out there. I kept telling myself that it is kind of like having fallen of a horse and that I just needed to get back on. So I just kept getting ready, despite all the doubtful thoughts in my mind until I had closed the door behind me and was on my way to the park.

I knew I would start of with doubts in my mind, wondering if I would be able to manage the whole distance. I told myself to take it really slow and never let myself feel exhausted. Instead of letting a thought of fear "can I really make it this time?" creep in, I kept repeating "just get back on the horse and it will be fine" in my head. And fine it was. I told myself to enjoy the scenery and mentally go for a walk. As I made my rounds through the diversity of the park landscape, I kept reassuring myself that my runs will always be diverse, just like the landscapes.
I am very glad, I got back on the horse (but honestly, still hope, I don't fall off like this again..).

So my first posting on our collective blog is to be one of confessions and frustration.  As everyone knows, two weeks ago I went to the doctor as the first step in my new fitness program.  I had been avoiding for a long time admitting that I had "left myself go".  I've gotten lazy and complacent eating whatever I felt like, occasionally trying to ""get in shape.  My efforts over the past decade have been made in short spurts and then have just fizzled out. The last real push was this past summer when I started running with all of you. 

 Then I took part in the 5K over Thanksgiving and the whole experience just soured me.  Even though I try to tell myself that simply finishing is a victory, coming in last was so very demoralizing.  (Those two strolling, gabbing ladies I passed in the last 500 yds. do not count...I was last.)  All of it just served to remind me of how far I  have fallen.  I used to be fast.  I used to be skinny.  I used to be...young!

However instread of turning all of that into determination, it gets transformed into defeat and depression.  The climb back to fitness seems so daunting!

Despite all that...I'm taking yet one more stab at it.  I do so desperately want to recapture some of my energy and yes, my youth, once more.

But here's the confession:  a mere two weeks in, having lost six pounds (which should be inspiring and confirming) I find myself already feeling angry and defiant.  I want it to be easy.  I don't, don't, don't want to be so HARD.  If there was a magic pill, I would take it in a hot minute.

So the last few days I have exercised half-heartedly and with much grumbling.  Alreaady I am thinking of ways to cheat on the diet.  Yes, I did manage to stay away from the office goodie bowl, but I'm beginning to cut corners:  portions are getting bigger than they should be, a few "questionable" foods are appearing on my plate.  I've started skippping the half-hour walk at lunch.  (I need this half hour in order to complete the "hour, every day" that my doctor has said I need to put in to lose the weight I need to losel.)

This has all happened so soon!  My resolve is crumbling.  I am beginning to rationalize not giving it my best effort.  I want to cry, I am so disappointed in myself.

I know I am hard on myself.  I have this unrealistic need to be perfect, and this dear family, has always been my downfall.   If I can't be perfect at it, I don't want to do it.  So damn silly.

I want to be able at some point to join in those rhapsodic conversations that you all have when you talk about your running:  the scenery, the calm and release that seems to come over you, the sense of accomplishment.  But I am not there yet.  Not by a long shot.  I am bitchy and mad that I have to do it at all. 

I plan to stay the course, but in order to do so I think doing this is vital for me.  I need to complain and acknowledge just how hard it is for me.  Only by being honest can I move past it.

Over the hills and through the woods...

I guess sometimes it is helpful to pretend that I forgot how difficult or easy are certain route was, in order to get me to go out and do the same route again. Today was such a case. My training schedule told me that I had to go 10 miles. In order to not take up the whole morning, I decided to cut the driving time and go to our nearest State Park. None of the trails are 10 miles long, so I had to combine different trails together.

I decided to play a mental game to help me through the run. So I went the shorter route first and took the seven mile loop second. What I love most about trail running is that I feel way more relaxed about my running and don't panic, if I allow myself to stop in between. Today, I took a whole bathroom break after the first loop - that returned me back to the parking lot - stretched and then headed back out for the longer one. I think that was actually the smartest thing to do, because after 2-3 miles my legs love the stretching and fair much better with the rest of the run.

The part that I had "forgotten" was that the seven mile loop was grated "advanced", which meant lots and lots - and I mean almost all - hills. There is a reason it is called the Kettle Moraine area. I definitely feel I am increasing my fitness level, as I constantly have to use different muscles.

When I started out and up until the middle of the run, I wasn't so sure that I felt like this was a good run, but by the end I had changed my mind.

On the way, I encountered a man who seemed to have something like summer skies on. He had poles in his hands and was running with them. I was kind of amused and wondered, if there is all kinds of equipment out there for each kind of sport to be extended into all seasons. This seemed like an extension of cross-country skiing into the summer. I bet he used those a lot this winter. I have to say though, I was very impressed by the speed he managed to run in those things with.
Speaking of speed, I had the humble experience of being passed by a group of young runners at the top of a double hill. I stopped to let them pass, so I didn't feel like I was followed.
Okay, I confess it was the perfect excuse to stop at the top of the hills.

The run started out cloudy and still a little chilly, but then the sun came out and it welt pleasantly warm. I felt like that sentiment reflected my run today. I started of with a cloudy mind and ended with a smile on my face...

I am, for the most part, a self trained runner.  I  set out to run as a survival tactic after receiving the bad news of being Obese and a candidate for diabetes and coronary heart disease when I was in my mid twenties.  That's 38 years ago.  My running has been solitary and defensive, that is cautionary.  Not too much too fast too far.  In spite of my efforts and no doubt due to my inconsistency over the years, I did become diabetic and had coronary heart disease for a time.  As I've noted to Bine, I think, getting past the age that my grandfather died (62) was a real threshold for me.  At the same time, due to an injury to my right knee I had to  lay off running for 18 months.  By fasting I not only maintained weight but acutally lost weight.  Since then my running has been more for pleasure.

Now I'm wondering how to really ensure that I can keep running as a senior.  I am in my 60's for God's sake!  I bought Galloway's Book on Running to learn more about the walk run walk approach and am going to give that a go.  I am also to adapt his training approach to my routine.  As a diabetic, I am advised to do resistance training as well as cardio.   The resistance training is supposed to general with the goal of over all fitness and lean muscles.  Skinny is the thing!  So I run three days a week, lift three as my foundation.  but...I can still use the Galloway approach to increase speed and endurance.  The Walk/run/Walk is essentially intervals, so I will be adding that to one day's run every two weeks.  On opposite weeks I will work up to a really long run.  Hence today:  a conversation pace 4.5 mile run over 48 minutes.  Could have gone longer.  Very comfortable effort.  My regualar mil time decreased from 10 minutes miles to 9.30 last week.  That was my speed last summer.  I would love to get this down to 9, 9.15 which would make me competitive in local races in my age class.


Took Judith out for Easter dinner tonight.  she had seafood, appropraite to her new diet. I had sushi rolls.

Next week I will be playing construction worker in Birmingham Alabama, to help with tornado recovery there.  I hope I find the opportunity to run there. 

It's like pizza

This weekend my long run was a recovery run of only 6 miles, before picking up miles again over the next weeks to get up to half marathon distance by the beginning of May. Still, I decided I wanted my weekend getaway with a run down the Ice Age Trail. This trail has become my all time favorite. I love the small single track hiking trail that doesn't allow for much more space than me and my thoughts.

Since the run would be shorter, I dared myself to take the uphill course rather than going the other way around.

Well, what can I say some days you feel like you are gliding while you are running and some days you feel like an elephant stomping through the vegetation making awfully loud breathing noises. I was the former today. It seemed like I just couldn't get the right breathing pattern going and relax enough as to not feel like my feet were pounding the ground. There were several walking stretches in this run and I had the option of cutting the run short.
I took the middle turn between the long run and the short run, not knowing what mileage this would actually put me at, when I reached the car. As I was approaching the car, ambition overcame me and I didn't want to sell myself short on my already shorter run. So I turned my thoughts off in order to not have them interfere with the decision I just made and turned down another trail to add the still missing mile and a half.

As I was nearing the end of the run, I of course started to feel much better and my form was improving. I passed a man close to the end of the trail, who looked at me and said "looks like you are nicely trotting along here". It's good he didn't see me any earlier...

But in the end, running is like eating pizza to me...even if it is a bad one, it is still pretty awesome!



And when I went to the running store on my way home to buy more energy chews and talked to the sales clerk, we got to talking about training goals. I told her that I love running on the Ice Age Trail and she said "oh, so you are more into the technical running". That comment made my day, because it made me feel like a bad ass :-) Day and run saved for sure!

A new appreciation

I have to running stories from this weekend.

On Saturday morning my alarm went off half an hour earlier than it would during the work day to volunteer at "The Trailbreaker", where my friends would be running a half marathon. I have never actually been on the other side and volunteered at a race instead of participated. If you've never done it, I can only recommend it. It gave me a whole new appreciation for the work the volunteers are doing (not that I didn't already appreciate them before).
The biggest lesson I learned: If you are running a race and you know somebody who volunteers at the registration desk (especially if there is no pre-race packet pick-up and everybody has to pick up their stuff on race morning), don't be mad if they don't even remember your name. It's not personal; at that moment they probably didn't even remember their own name. Uum, yes I am talking about myself...It was actually my half marathon's coach's name from last year, that I couldn't remember in the craziness of the moment. She pretended to not be offended. I wish the craziness would come with a little bit of amnesia, so I wouldn't even remember my embarrassment.

After registration, I went outside and stood by the finish line, first watching the 5Kers finish their race and then slowly watching the half and full marathoners make it across. It wasn't one of the beautiful days we have had in the last weeks, and I wasn't prepared to freeze that much. But I was determined to take pictures as my friends crossed the finish line. With blowing on my fingers to keep them warm and jumping up and down, I not only made everyone wonder, why I didn't just go inside, but also managed to hold out until I could take the pictures I had waited for. And I got them in the picture. Yeah. Well, I concentrated so hard that I forgot to cheer as they crossed, but I guess you can't have it all. Cheers now! You two rock!


Sunday morning (today), I decided to test out the route I will be running for my half marathon in six weeks. After getting lost on my way there, I was glad, when I finally made it and could set foot onto the trail. It was a beautiful run and besides a man with some huge radio headphones, who wished me a nice run, and a couple of other runners at the beginning of the trail, I had the whole route all to myself. Didn't see a single soul and didn't mind.


It was an educational run for me as I learned a few things on the way:

• My half marathon this time will be nothing like the last one. I think I will be much prouder this time, as I will have conquered many ups and downs (hopefully just trail wise)
• Sandy spots are much harder to run on
• I am crazy, because I liked the hills much better than the flat 2 miles at the end. I guess, when there is varying terrain with rolling hills, you never know what awaits you around the next corner. It's like a child on an exploration, while on flat terrain you just wait for it to be over (this is a personal view and I don't expect anybody else to agree with me)
• I like running 9 miles more than running 2 or 3 (again, don't expect you to agree).
• I will trust my own instinct instead of a map or a gadget to tell me how to get to the trail head.
• I will trust my own instinct instead of a map or a gadget to tell me how to get back home from the trail head (yes, I didn't learn on the way there, so I had to not trust myself again) --sometimes it takes two wrongs to learn a lesson
• Next time I spend less time driving to a trail and more time running on it
• Nature is still worth it, see below.
  

Bragging

This past Sunday - I waited until Sunday to give the weather a chance to improve - I made my way to the Ice Age Trail again, this time running the route the opposite direction. It turned out to be a beautiful morning and worth waiting the extra day. The sun was shining and the temperatures were still comfortable. From the moment I stepped on the trail, I knew it would be a good run.

Knowing I had to go a total of 8 miles, I took my time and started out slowly. I had anticipated this run to be challenging, as I remembered there being lots of uphills this way. It turned out that my memory had failed me. Instead of uphills this direction provided me with several steep downhills, which proofed to be no less challenging. I guess my mind had made me feel like there were lots of downhills last time I ran, so I wouldn't give up. How nice of it to protect my motivation that way.

I took the opportunity to practice letting my legs turn over more quickly without altering my breathing rhythm. It made me feel more agile, which in turn made me feel invincible.

During this run I stopped to climb the fire tower, which was one of the reasons I had wanted to wait for nicer weather. The views were spectacular. All in all, it was just one of those mornings out that make you feel alive and energetic. Just look at the little collage from the run below. I have this one (and the photos from other runs) in my cubicle, which helps me survive a dull day in the office. Unfortunately, I didn't get to take a picture of the ten wild turkeys who seemed to be inspired by my actions and decided to also take up running - in the opposite direction, far away from me.




While stretching a little bit by my car afterward, I was approached by a fellow trail runner. There were other runners around and I felt very cool for being approached and thought that maybe it was my sporty look and my hydration pack that made me look tougher than the other runners. It quickly turned out that it was my bright yellow socks that attracted him, because they indicated my possible affiliation with the recent winter running series. This trail runner - as I discovered within minutes - had found somebody he could brag to about his recent success at the series. It's funny how it doesn't take much to search for something you can brag about yourself, so you don't look like less. I was even reluctant to state how many miles I ran, when he asked, because I didn't want it to sound too little. Foolish, I know!

Coming off this wonderful weekend run, it always seems like such a downer going for a run during the week. In my head the shorter runs during the week, are my plain training runs that allow me to get out there and do the longer weekend runs, I enjoy so much. I don't know if it is the feeling of freedom of not having to work on the weekends that make these runs so special or if I just like the longer distances. I haven't quite figured that out yet. Any personal insights on that one?

Luck of the Irish

Yesterday, as a celebration of St Patrick's day, I partook in the last of my winter series races. I am not so sure that the term actually fit the bill. Yesterday it was more like a warm spring almost summer day race. When I got up in the morning, I didn't see any snow on the ground, but instead saw some lightning in the distance. Just before I was about to head out, a light rain started and created the most beautiful rainbow in the sky. Our "race bunny in practice" aka daughter admired her very first rainbow from the living room window.

I have to admit that after running the other four races in the series, the enthusiasm for this one was quite low. As a matter of fact, I was a little sad not to take advantage of this gorgeous weather and be heading out for a run on the trails. It was probably smarter this way though, as I hadn't run since Tuesday, when I tweaked my knee. I actually had no idea how this race would treat me.
I had made the decision this week to go into the this race with the mantra that I want to run for life and not just for today. I told myself that practicing to run my own race in the midst of a crowd, instead of letting the crowd push me to run faster than I should, will be a beneficial skill to have come marathon time.

So I started the race off in a training instead of a race pace. It turned out that this might have saved me from even more of an energy loss in this 10K race. I knew that the race course was supposed to have a hill in it, but I hadn't anticipated having to run it three times. After loop two I could feel that I should have brought something with me to boost my energy. I made sure to stop at the water stations whenever I could, but could feel chills running through my body at the end. It gave me a good excuse to walk just a little bit up the hill for the last time.

There are several points I took away from this race:
*There is nothing quite like being lapped by the front runner in the race (at least he was sweating buckets and didn't just make it seem like a piece of cake; and being able to watch his running form was also worth it)
*When you run several laps on the course, you get to cheer on the last person as well (While I was running I noticed a lady who was just being a trooper! She was overweight and red all over her face, but slowly kept going her pace and seemed so determined. I cheered her on whenever I saw her. When I passed her on my last long stretch to the finish line, I told her how awesome she was doing. She still had one more lap to go. She looked at me and said, "I might be slowly going my pace, but I am not a quitter." As we were about to leave the race and went back to our car, the organizers were already taking down the race course markings. Just as we come to our parking spot, I saw this woman heading for the finish line. She had continued! I gave her another cheer and was glad I had gotten to share a moment with her on the race course).
*When you cheer on people you know on the race course and shout "almost there" or "just one more lap", admit it, you are trying to make yourself feel better as well and are just glad to have a reason to say it out loud
*High school aged volunteers on the race course are clearly there for entertainment and to crack you up while running your heart out (my favorite one was the girl at the water station, who handed everybody a cup of water and with a sarcastic undertone that clearly told her opinion of "you are doing this to yourself, buddy" chirped "Happy St Patrick's day".)

Now I can proudly wear my new sweatshirt as a sign of having raced all five races for this series!

Ice Age Trail Run

I feel like today I went for my first trail run ever. I ran at different trails before, but this topped all the runs I have done so far. For my 7 mile run today, I decided to run the Lapham Peak section of the Ice Age Trail. HomeBody and I dropped one car off at the point where I intended to end my run and he then drove me to the beginning of the section.
A quick kiss goodbye and I hopped out of the car. The beginning of the section leads through varies prairie sites, interrupted by a short section in the woods. As soon as I walked onto the trail, I was overcome by joy of the beauty that surrounded me.
This was also the first run, I gave my new hydration pack a try. I strapped it on my back and began the run. It is quite the windy day in Wisconsin today, which made running through the open prairie quite interesting. After the first couple miles I wasn't so sure of what I had gotten myself into.

Once I left the prairie and headed for the next section into the woods the terrain changed. First I had to run across a small boardwalk.
The trail narrowed and became a small single lane paths. The last snow has just recently melted with the little bit warmer weather over the last week. What did that mean for the running conditions? Areas of pure mud. Where the sun hadn't reached through the trees, there were spots where the ground was still cold enough to be hard, other spots had been completely dried by the sun, yet others still had some ice on them. I felt like a kid navigated from one challenging spot to the next. There were moments my feet completely slid away in the mud and I barely caught myself from landing face first right in the middle of it. What a great workout!

For the first time, I had to watch out for rocks which reminded me of hiking in Pennsylvania. All the changing topography made this run never boring and there was always something beautiful to look at.
Lapham Peak has a sort of fire tower in the middle, where you can climb up for views of the surrounding area. When I started out my run, I could see the tower in the distance.
In the middle of my run, I actually directly passed the tower and it felt good to know how far I had already run since my taken the first picture. I had thought about climbing to the top of the tower, but when I arrived there, a fireman used it for his workout. He was in full fireman gear, including oxygen tank on the back and went up and down the tower many times. And he didn't seem to enjoy being watched too much, as I could hear him huff and puff. When I saw him, I felt that if he can climb the tower in full uniform, I can keep running. First I had to make it down some stairs to the path again though.
I met some other runners on the way and couldn't happen but notice that they were all male. Have to get more women out there. When I came across a dog walker, he asked me, if I was training for "The Trailbreaker" which is a race that runs through Lapham Peak. I said no and that I was training for the Ice Age 50 (now that is only half true, since I will only be running a half marathon during that race. But I didn't feel like that in the short moment while passing another person in running, I had the time to explain this to him). So of course he thought, I am training for the 50 mile race. He looked at me and then in a comforting voice said "There is a psychologist out there for you somewhere". I could only laugh and kept going on my way. I have to admit it somehow made me feel good.
My run ended with about two miles on a biking paths. It was still a nice run on that path, but clearly pointed out the difference between "biking path trail running" and "hiking path trail running" to me and I think I have once and for all decided that I love the hiking kind variety.

The run ended up being about half a mile longer, but I didn't care. My runners high made me feel like I was on cloud nine when I stopped. I totally loved it (and my new hydration pack also gets five stars).