Five years running....

I am six days short of my 48th birthday which makes it 5 years of this running journey!

I am hitting this short milestone with fresh training for my second Half Marathon.   My inventory of all the races tally one Sprint Tri, one Half, two 5k's, one 5 mile, two 15k's, 2 color runs, 1 mud-run and a partridge in a...

Our first Half - I say "our" because the majority of these races have been a running-buddy effort - was  the second race of this running adventure.  It was a major challenge since it was the first timed race that "mattered."  I remember that we were just glad we finished before the truck picked up the strays.  So with our second 15k recently beating or first 15k time by 15 minutes I decided we should do the same on our Half!  Bright idea, huh?!  Who cares that we are three years older than we were before.  That really doesn't factor in.  I'll explain those details in a blog coming up!

I won't even let the cat out of the bag and tell you that I am seriously considering a Full Marathon for my 50th birthday.  It's crazy I know but it's more than just a fleeting thought, but I am not officially announcing it yet, so don't tell anyone.

I am more than excited that our Half is...

I have been obsessed with this Race company through Facebook for years, but they have never had one within driving distance until now! So we are registered and in training as I type!

Getting back into train mode was what I needed.  As always, when I don't have a registered race in front of me I tend to wane in my consistency.  And -as always, I start training with a concern I can't handle the challenge.  I feel weak and scattered and I was in that zone until Friday when I was able to break the ceiling and do six miles instead of five on my training schedule.  It was what I needed to convince myself I haven't lost my strength or ability.

 In fact, I have been so struggling mentally over being strong enough that when preparing for the 15k this last time I had to pull out some motivational coaching on I-Tunes to re-wire my thoughts!   It's like I needed runner's therapy!

Not this kind.

But this kind.

I had to revamp my playlist with music that doesn't weigh me down. Even this time I have added about six motivational coaching sessions.  They were really hard to find because no one wants a motivational that is like a meditation while you are running.  I need something that inspires me with energy and really there are only two that have that feel. 

So the field is WIDE OPEN for someone to get on that and make the bucks while helping us older ladies with big aspirations athletically. 

I'll post some more on this race preparation and it's challenges.  I have knee issues. I have weight issues.  I have digestive issues and  I'm not even mentioning all the hormonal things happening.  This is a blog about "over-forty  running" and these things are issues at over forty!  

So stay-tuned for the more over-forty running blogging.  I'll keep it real and show you how it's done.

And it doest look like this.

But like this.

and this

and maybe this

definitely that!

Not blogging but definitely running!

It's been a while since I blogged about running.  

Not for a lack of running, just for a lack of blogging.

When I started blogging, it was a new adventure.  

Now running is a way of life. 

For that- I am oh so thankful!

Since my run with Miles for Moffit, there have been a couple new running adventures.

A Color Me Rad 5K

This race was really not a race, just pure fun getting covered with color.  I highly recommend it!  If running is not just about physical fitness but mental release - then you have to add a Color Race to your list of things to do!   I'm currently registered for Run or Dye in Tampa in March.

Paddle Boarding

Ok- this isn't even in the running category- but it was a challenge.  Not that it was difficult physically but challenge my fear of the unknown and doing something so out of my norm.  I truly felt a sense of conquering!  Again - running is about facing limitations and overcoming them.  That's what I did on that board!   Again two thumbs up and a recommendation to add this to your list.

The Citadel at Cap Haitian in Haiti.

This was not running - but walking an incline that matched that of the Great Wall of China - and I've climbed the Great wall of China so I know! (I would love to know if anyone could ever RUN this!)  It was told to us that it would be seven miles straight up. So for two months I took hills and did a million steps in preparation.  It ended up being only a few miles as we were able to park higher up than originally told we could.  However, the incline was so ferociously steep and the pull of gravity so heavy, I have no doubt we wouldn't have made 7 miles.  It would have taken much more training than I did.  Still the sense of accomplishment after much huffing and puffing was thrilling!  The views were A-mazing.  This was an OFFICIAL CHECK OFF on my OFFICIAL Bucket List!   

After all these sweet new adventures I was left with a tenacious desire to do a lot more in the next 12 months to challenge myself and experience the unknown at a greater level.  

So- 

December 7th - me and my sweetest race buddies will be getting "PRETTY MUDDY!"

Don't RUN from cancer, RUN against it!

I'm running AGAINST CANCER and YOU CAN RUN WITH ME!

 Three years ago I had a brief experience that led me to MOFFITT CANCER CENTER in Tampa, Florida. I had a "cancer scare" with a diagnosis of Thyroid Cancer from my doctor.  The three weeks I waited before arriving at Moffitt Cancer Center were the greatest challenge I ever faced in my life.  All the questions and fears about mortality were in my face!

When I was told I needed to see an endocrinologist at Moffitt, I have to be honest, just the word Moffitt chilled my spine.  I equated that word with cancer.  The thought that I was going there stole my peace.  I was devastated.  I dreaded the thought.

But I will never forget the day we drove into the driveway of the Moffitt Cancer Center.  We were greeted by valets to park the car and I was impressed.  That may seem narcissistic to be pleased with such a luxury at a medical facility when you are facing an uncertain fate.  But just that service alone settled me in some way. That was just my first impression.

We made our way in, had our doctor visit, did my blood work and waited in each phase in a waiting room with others that had been in treatment for a long time and it was obvious they were fighting for LIFE.  My heart and mind were altered with a compassion that has ruled my thoughts towards anyone suffering with any type of illness, especially a cancer diagnosis.

I visited the Moffitt three more times before I was able to move on with my life without a cancer diagnosis.  I was "lucky," "fortunate" or "blessed" to have a conclusive NO CANCER result.  But there was no doubt that cancer had touched my life - in that it moved me to my core when it was even mentioned to me as mine.

I began running after I left Moffitt.  As I have mentioned on this blog many times, I ran for health and I ran to live and I still do.

                                              NOW I GET TO COMBINE IT ALL!
                                             I GET TO RUN AGAINST CANCER!!!
                                           And you can run right along with me on May 11th 2013  !

By going to my donation website set up exclusively for the race you can make a donation that will go directly to Moffitt Cancer Center.  Miles for Moffitt Race is my opportunity to give back and to give for all the others who will experience the fight of their lives at Moffitt!

You can click here right now and give. No matter one dollar or ten - it will all make a difference!

Your donation will help fund research and treatments for cancer patients at MOFFITT CANCER CENTER in Tampa, FL  fighting for their health and lives.

Your contribution is greatly appreciated!

Donate here.

Post Race must blog now.

Take one

Take Two

Yes, sometimes after you've been up since 4 am and ran 9.3 miles, self-portraits are difficult.

I thought I would do a sloppy, quick yet prompt blog on my race today, while I am still awake and before I get into a mindless relaxed state.

If you read my last installment, rest at ease, we found parking!  In fact it was so easy it scared us that our car might get towed.  The best part, it was FREE!  That's when I knew the god's of racing were smiling on us and yes that would be Jehovah, Jesus and the Holy Ghost in one!   (I'm tired so I'm going to be wise cracking through this entire writing. Sorry in advance.)

----"we" means Me and Lisa.

Right after the swift parking discovery there they were...a row of unused Port-a-potties!  If you run races you know what a blessed find it is to go into an UNUSED fresh one!   Then right to the start line, finding our estimated pace section.  Then very quickly we were off!!

The good news was the 15k was not jammed packed.  This gave us room to set our pace and run unencumbered.  We ran 3 miles, took a little breather, ran to 5 and then intermittently ran and walked.   We got caught in a walk/run cycle for several reasons.  One, we were talking so much, two we were giving ourselves lavish leeway and...ok there are only a couple reasons.

One interesting happening was we had decided to wear our water belts so we wouldn't need to go through any water stops.  We had found that they slowed us down last time and we wanted to take that out.  I was a little concerned because I don't usually wear my belt and didn't want to be hindered by it and I wanted to look cool and thought we might risk looking like novices.  But once again- it worked out!  The City of Tampa water system was tainted and was on a boil alert! So they sent out emails to tell us to bring our own water.  Therefore, many people were wearing belts even though Zephyrhills stepped in and provided pure water everywhere!  At least we looked cool and fit in!  The bad part about the boil alert was that Starbucks wasn't serving coffee.

Our gu-estimation for finishing time had been 2.5 hours.  We came in at exactly 2.  We were so pleased!  I can't tell you how good it feels when you complete a race.  Just a sense of accomplishment and pride in your effort.  We got out there and did it.

The race in general was a FABULOUS experience.  Gasparilla Distance Classic was very different from our Half at Disney.  Much more organized and pleasant.  Of course, running on Bayshore Boulevard is beautiful and a treat.  The crowds for the 15k were totally manageable.  The weather was perfect for the 15k because it was so early and once again, GOD (He always gets the credit!) kept a sweet hazy overcast to keep the sun off our backs!  SWEET!

When we were finished we stuck around to see some friends in the 5k.  THAT WAS AN EXPERIENCE in and of itself.  First, the 5k must have had 20,000 people!  There were four huge waves with a sea of runners in each.  It was a miracle we saw our friends.  Second, it was the first time being at the finish line watching all those runners cross the line.  There were so many amazing people and you knew they each had their own journey and story that led them to that finish moment.  Moms and sons running together cried and embraced. Women and men who obviously took all they had to cross wept. Teams of people running on behalf of a passed loved-one with pictures on their shirts of the person.  Most striking were the  pockets of Military and Vets who crossed the line together, some wounded with prothstetic legs, burned faces, and some with huge military backpacks.

We were very glad to have stayed to be a part of the finish line experience from the other side!

All together we were there for 6 hours!  Both of us were more than ready to get home!

AND lastly...

I had found a cute Nike Running shirt to wear and thought it so cute.  It's sometimes can be tricky running with a buddy.  You have to compromise throughout on the pace you will set.  Sometimes you are ready to bolt and she's not and then like clock-work she has gotten her second wind and has to push you to keep moving.  It's a give and take collaboration.  I guess that is half the fun!  SO when I saw this shirt I knew it was perfect for Lisa and I. 

However, I think maybe not everyone got it.  

And that is my Post Race Blog!

Pre-race Fodder

What are most racers talking and thinking about two days before the race?

Here are what my racing buddy and I are foddering on about.

1.  What we have been eating this week.  What we haven't eaten.  What we shouldn't eat.

2.  Where is the Expo?  We have spent some time trying to figure out if the Convention Center was the same as the Arena.  No it isn't.  Case solved.

3.  Where are we going to park for the Expo?  From the online map, the Convention Center Garage.  Case solved.  Unless, that is, it's packed from the several events going on at the same time there.  In which case...case not solved.

4.  Where is the start and where should we park?  These two questions combined because it's envitable the latter would be asked.  Case still not solved on the latter.

5.  Let's meet up somewhere then drive together to the start so we can experience even more moments of nervous anticipation together.

6.  Where do we park.  Oh yeah, still not solved.

7.  For goodness sake, let's just get to the running part!

And that folk's is pre-race fodder.

The use of cows in this picture is only in correlation to the "fodder" reference and
 NOT to the runners referred to in this blog, thank you very much!

PRECISION ENGINEERED TO RUN!

I have often heard, especially before I started running, that running ruins your joints.  I think that this entire rumor was perpetuated by non-runners if you know what I mean!

This morning I "ran" across this informative video on AOL that disposes the question, "Does running cause arthritis?"  If you ever had that concern click right here to get your answer.

I think it's really important to note that every runner needs to be wise.  You need the right equipment, form, nutrition and training schedule for your running to benefit your body to the upmost.

Our bodies were created by an awesome Creator.  We are truly wonderfully and fearfully made!  Yet you will never know that until you utilize every muscle and internal organs to their maximum.  It's like driving a BMW or fine tuned sport's car.  If you only drive it at 35 miles per hour on a straight road, you will never know how amazingly precision-engineered-for-performance the car is.  But if you take a few sharp corners, accelerate to 60 in a few seconds, hit the highway at 85 and break on a dime - you come to see what a fine vehicle you are driving.  Then going back to just any run of the mill car is just not as satisfying.

This is running.  This is working out.  This is living active and pushing your body to do things you don't normally do in your mundane weekly routine.  You discover how finely engineered your body is. Your heart, brain, muscles, ligaments, lungs, and your breath!  AMAZING!  Pushing your body is what you were made for!

So get up, get out and and experience the amazing fine tuning of your body!  It can take it!  It will thrive on it!

Enjoy!

The Power of Inspiration

There's something powerful about inspiration.  It can change the course you are on and give you ability and strength to continue and finish.  

I got inspired today on my Friday long run, the possible last long run before the 15k next Saturday.  I originally wasn't sure I would run today, since school was out  and I always take advantage of a sleep-in day.  In addition it had been rainy all night long and had gotten cold and those are always the excuses that win over a morning run.  But when I got up after I had slept in, saw it was mildly cold and just overcast  and felt the pressure of the  impending race only 7 days away I had no ability to deny myself the opportunity to train.

I'll be honest that I don't like running my normal trail later in the day.  I just don't feel as comfortable and safe.  In the early mornings there is always a flood of walkers, runners, roller-blades and even boot-camp classes going on.  But not so much later in the morning. So when I felt the "now or never get out there" come on me I had only one more option and that was to hit the busy streets.  I charted out 7 miles which actually took me on the busy stretch of populated road to the entrance of my morning run trail.  This trail I usually DRIVE to every morning, now I was going to run to it and back to the house!  

I put my light weight jacket on, put my phone in my hand instead of my arm case, put only one bud in my ear, reported my new course to my family and I was off.  Oh yes, I put a hat on, which I never wear because I feel like it's too hot, but I wanted to be incognito.  Why?  Stupid reasons like no make-up, being out in the open instead of hidden on a run trail - like anyone cares but I still have an ego.

Immediately I knew this all was the right choice for my last long run.  The course was full of distractions; honking trucks, whisking cars, uneven sidewalks, scattered debris to dodge, and even the need to improv my course to avoid stopping and waiting on the lights to change at the intersections.  To add to all that distraction the clouds parted within about two minutes and direct sun blazed down.  My usual trail is all shaded and I never have to deal with direct sun.  Sun means heating up doubly and that means early exhaustion and thirst.  I had no water with me so I had to make a quick dash into a corner CVS for a drink at the water fountain!

This couldn't be more perfect for me and my tendency to train so well but get over distracted and excited in the race and lose my focus, pace and control.  

I was so proud of myself.  Yes I said it - I was stinkin' proud of myself for pushing to the turn around at 3.5 miles without stopping to peel off my jacket and heading back as far as I could before my water dash at CVS.  I took 45 seconds of a walk in and out and finished my run at my front door. 

Now the inspiration part of this blog.  The last time I did 7 miles in training was for the half marathon.  During that training seasons I was doing the Jeff Galloway Run/Walk Method with intervals of run 3 minutes walk 1 minute.  This was the first 7 miles I have ran fully.  This is a HUGE BARRIER BREAKER for me!  I have always dreamed of running a long distance and now it's happening.  I've been working hard the last 5 months to initiate and build long runs. That's when inspiration came all over me that I CAN and I WILL go back to a half marathon running it out right and finish!   It can be done!  I could scream with thrill!

So I am determined after this 15k to enter a half and do it up right this time!  

And that is my report for the day!

A Registration Rush!

I am currently experiencing a REGISTRATION RUSH!   It happened the moment I clicked on "finish" and the "print waiver" form popped up on my screen!  My heart started pounding when I glanced down and saw the line "Bib Number.....4005"!

It's official!

I'm getting up at 4:30 am and driving over the bridge to Tampa to find a parking space downtown in some parking garage and then walking to a start area I have absolutely NO IDEA where it is.  I will join a crowd of strangers in the dark, all crammed together, just waiting until 6:45 am.  My wave, which will probably be way far back will move together like a heard of cattle with anticipation of some breathing space happening around the first mile mark.

Of course with me will be my faithful running buddy Lisa, whom I persuaded to enter this race with no more training than the 12 days we have now.  I will be all up and excited and she will be too and we will both have our usual pockets of "coaching each other through it"; mine in the first half and hers toward the end when my rush out the gate enthusiasm is now exhaustion!

Without shame I will admit I am doing this to rack up a medal with my collection and another t-shirt I won't ever actually wear again...ever!  My long range goal is to run every race from 5k to full marathon. I also want to be able to get a nice long race in at the beginning of this new year to let that accomplishment drive me the rest of the year through.  No doubt I know this will give me new material for my blog.  Lastly, because I feel bad for my new shoes who have never experienced the thrill of a finish line crossed.  (Is it a little weird that I personify my shoes?" Go ahead, say yes.  I can handle it.)

So, with that I say LET'S DO THIS!!!

#4005

New Shoes Transition-

The new shoe transition....

Painful.

Sometimes literally.

You leave a shoe that fit you like a glove, that's why you had them so long.  The arch was perfect support, the sizing kept you from rubbing off your toenails and the the soles were shaped to provide you a perfect hit and roll of the foot.  But now, you get a new shoe that fit when you tried it on in the store - but out on the trail, after repeated pounds on the pavement, give you blisters, hurt your arch and you trip as the rubber hits at an unexpected point off the pavement.

Painful.

Emotionally.

You had those old worn shoes so long and they have been along for the ride...or run, for a year maybe two or maybe five.  You and your shoes ran on new roads together, broke personal bests, pushed through a rough morning of no energy, charged a hill two more times, crossed a finish line, passed that young twenty year old, and doggonit stepped in that dog poo someone didn't pick up on the trail!

Painful.

Mentally.

Will these old faithful shoes feel abandoned?  Do they feel tossed aside now that they don't sport the new hot neon colors so "in" this season?  Am I justified in throwing them in the garage just because my repeated rubbing of my wide feet made holes from my pinky toes?  Should I throw them away or should I keep them as reminders of the segment of my fitness journey between total beginner runner and training for a full marathon where I learned to run with strength and focus? Should I take the old tie clip off and put them on my new shoes or just buy new ones?   So many questions...

The new shoe transition...

Trepidatious.

Will these new shoes break my flow?  Will they jinks my focus?   Will I get out there tomorrow and be all "I don't know how to run in these new shoes"?

Full of possibilities.

I'm going to have to get a lot of new neon shirts to go with these new neon shoes.

Transforming.

Look how old and nasty my old shoes look next to my new one.  Why did I wait so long to get new shoes?  What was I thinking?   Does the trash go out tomorrow? 

Hey get my shoe tie clips off those first.

And to think that 5 years ago I didn't even own a pair of good running shoes...

Leave no Hill unturned....

Running is a psychological therapist.  It exposes the deepest roots of your psyche.

You find out so many things about yourself, the real truth about yourself.  It causes you to face your limits and fears.  It shows you your weaknesses and then surprises you and puts a spotlight on your hidden strengths.  It makes you listen to thoughts from your unconscious memory that you keep yourself too busy to think of usually, but while your Ipod music fades from consciousness for a few minutes, there they are.  All pretense evaporates in the company of a run.

That's why I love 'the Hill" that is positioned not far from where I run on my trail.

This is not "the Hill" - it is however, very much like it.

It stands there totally exposed to the morning gleaming sun, while the rest of the area is shaded with Oak Trees.  Sometimes, it glistens with morning dew or has a thin haze of fog hovering over it's grass and when it does...it calls to me.

Yes, I said it calls to me.

Hills call to me.  They always have.

Don't ask me why.  They just do.  Not every Hill, just Hills that seem to have a cover that is undisturbed.  Like the morning dew.   It's so compelling.  Even if I have run a few miles already, if the Hill looks right and I have to finish my run with a few passes over it.  It really is a compulsion.  Thus, running at my particular running trail, with the Hill,  has made this all the more clear to me.  I must experience the Hill.

It's not like I didn't know it before.  I have many times lost all ability to control myself and taken "for the Hills" before.

Once on a Ski Trip with our Florida Youth Group, it began to snow relentlessly and my husband had to put snow chains on our church vans to get up the mountain to our cabins.  As we were parked at this gas station, he had made it clear in no uncertain terms that everyone was to stay in the van while he took care of the snow chains with the station attendant.  You know how young people are restless and he left me in one of the vans to keep an eye on them.  But as I sat there in that van I looked over across the street to this amazing hill with a foot of freshly driven snow from top to bottom and then it happened.  Yes, it happened - the Hill called for me.  It cried out for me to jump out of that van across the street and as fast as I could and run to the top and back.  I was not a runner back then but I did it.  I don't think I consciously gave it a logical thought because by the time I got back to the van in what seemed only like 30 thrilling seconds, my legs were like wet noodles under me.  I think I even fell at the bottom when I got to the flat surface of the road.

My husband told me later he was so angry as he looked over at some "youth" running up the hill against his explicit instructions and then heard someone call to him that it was me. He couldn't believe it!  Little, and young at that time, quiet, intimidated and insecure Carmen had bolted in freezing cold snowing weather to a hill while the group of young people stared out the van windows!

That's what running does.  It draws something deep out of you that seems to not even be there.  But running finds it, makes you realize it and live and breathe it!

And so my Hill reminds me every time I see it who I really am.  I am a woman who likes to run where no one else has before.  To make my own mark.  To conquer even if my legs give out on me.

What's your hill?

The Morning Run....

Anyone who knows me knows I am NOT a morning person.

It's not that I just love to stay up late and sleep in, but I truly have always, as long as I can remember struggled with going to sleep any earlier than 10 pm. I can remember being made to go to bed and laying there awake until about midnight. It's almost like an internal clock that is just set on that rhythm. No matter how early I get up and how strenuous the day's activity is and no matter how exhausted I actually am, I regroup around 10 pm with a second wind.

 Of course, whether it's cause and effect or not, anything before 9 am is a struggle for me. I literally am in a fog mentally in the mornings that even the best cup of coffee or protein shake can not lift.   I can function but don't ask me to use cognitive reasoning on any level. But anywhere after 10 pm ask me for a deadline project, write a chapter in a book, organize a closet, do a complicated algebra problem...(OK, I went to far on that one).....

Anyhow,   after 10 pm I spring to life with excess productivity!

So to now declare myself as a morning runner is so ironic! But I am. Indeed I am.

No matter how tired I feel when the alarm eases me out of my dead to the world sleep, I get up. Not because I know my son has to be at school at a certain time, but because I know after I drop him off and I will get a good 2 to 4 and maybe 5 miles in. In fact, I think my son has never had a tardy because I know I am going running! Even days, when years before I started running, I might have said, "let's just take the day off" and turn the lights back off and make everyone in the house go back to bed, I start the morning routine.

Why? What is it about running that it has had the power to transcend the internal clock of 46 years? What is it about running that inspires me so much that I go against the cry of my own body to stay in my bed? You got me. I have no true idea.

But I did see this post on Facebook today, the place from which all mystic answers come, LOL! No, really, it did kind of fit the feeling of my morning compulsion to run.

 The morning is jealous of your relationship with running. 

 The bed whispers, 

“Don’t leave. What do you seeing in running anyway?” 

 But somewhere in the back of your mind 

 is the thought of the perfect mile,

 politely telling the bed to,

 “Shut up”. 

 ...Hate the morning less and love running more... 

 - NB

Are you a morning runner?

Ready for Change!

"Little changes can lead to huge leaps and bounds in the overall destination!"

It's the beginning of 2013!

I need to reflect on 2012 before I project 2013!

Last year brought some transitions in my running and training.  After the Half-Marathon in early January, I only did one race, a mid-night 5k in Dunedin.  My running buddy, Lisa and I ran across the Causeway in the middle of night with a full moon beaming on the inter-coastal waters!  I can't wait to do that one again!  But when that was finished I didn't have another race in mind, so for the first time I didn't have a race to use as a goal or motivation in training.  I had to set my mind on the personal desires I had for my running.

I decided to do away with my Galloway Walk/Run method.  I was going to go for straight running at long distance.  I have always been secretly envious of long distance runners!  I had to discipline myself to not bolt out of the gate but to take a nice and easy approach.   I also found my perfect pace and learned to listen to my body when I hit my perfect stride and just keep it there.  I was so stoked to reach a run at six miles without any walk breaks! After many months I found that my daily normal run distance was four miles, doing a six mile long run once a week and that was a huge and joyous accomplishment!

Throw out the timer!

This all happened, I believe, because I threw out my timer...not literally...it's in my iphone, duh!   But I threw my mindset on timing out and concentrated on the long haul of finishing and it gave me distance in exchange.  So if you are looking for distance - forget your time and let your body take you there!  Sometimes it's really pushed on us runners to concentrate too much on speed and time!

Do what works for you!

I also took great pains...and that is what it was...in strength training.  I found a few awesomely intense workouts that worked for me in strengthening my core and more importantly my upper thighs!  The key words I want you to pay attention to is "that worked for me".  That is main ingredient to any success!   It's all about what WORKS FOR YOU not what works for everyone and anyone else!   The older I get the more I realize that nothing is cookie-cutter.  Stop trying to do the latest fad, the things that someone else is selling you and discover what fits you and you will most likely find your greatest success right there!

Take in more protein!

Lastly, I got my internal health in alignment regarding my Thyroid journey.  I found an amazing holistic MD who open my eyes to the importance of daily high Protein intake (I gulp down an awesome protein shake, or two, daily).  Ladies, let me tell you that I have watched my muscle mass increase, which had depleted greatly in my forties!  Protein is the answer to that aging problem!  I also got my thyroid numbers nicely balanced so that my energy and weight control is finally at happy levels!  All of this is a big piece of my health and fitness pie! (I'm not really sure pie should be used with the word fitness!)

Make small steady changes!

Although most of these transitions happened in the last 6 months of 2012 - it has led me to make some great overall CHANGES!   And CHANGE is really good!  Little changes can add up to huge leaps and bounds in the overall destination!  

Keep setting new goals!

So as I close the chapter of 2012 in my running and fitness logs I am very happy BUT NOT SATISFIED!  Although I don't really have a drive to do a big race I am searching for new and different goals.   I see some 5K's in my future with my hubby who has now entered the world of running as a beginner!   I also see more concentration of strength training as well as slowly increasing some distance.  I would like to see myself in a half-marathon again running all the way to the finish.

So - 2013 - I'm ready for you!   

WHY I RUN...

I am fully into my maintenance running!  Sounds weird - like I should be saying TRAINING!!!!  

I think running without a race in mind takes MORE discipline than training!   It challenges your commitment to running on a whole other level.   You have no "real" reason to get out there.

It just simply comes down to "should I go ahead and do this today?" and the answer is a resounding "of course- DUH!"

There is SO MUCH more to running than training or a race!

I can list just a few right now:

1.  It's cheaper than therapy!   The renewal of the mind that happens when you are running at a consistent pace for a distance is just incomparable.   To do something where your mind is "sorting through" all the crap that gets all jammed in there is like therapy or more practically like going through your computer files and putting all your pictures and documents in the right files after you have just dragged them to your desktop for months.

2.  It releases stress.   This includes stress that you don't even know you have.  You may be able to identify the stress in your life - like put a name and face to it.   But some stress is just normal life happening that builds up.  Stress goes somewhere in your body and sets up housekeeping. I am convinced of that!  Stress is an energy and mostly a negative deathlike energy.  When it comes in, it finds a place to "stick".  I believe - and this is just my little ole belief - that stress ("a negative  & killing energy") sticks and manifests itself in the form of sickness and disease.  It can find itself a place to stick on your thyroid (my personal stress home) or anywhere else and begin to accumulate and to kill what it sticks to.    So the vital thing is to find a "stress releaser" and running does just that.  It is like a "back door" where stress that has come in goes right back out!  All that pent up energy is released as you exert your energy into running.  The weight of the world literally is lifted.

3.  It helps you sleep.  This is probably because of #1 and #2.  I find if I am having a restless night I stop and always realize I haven't run in a couple days.  When I run my mind is at ease, my body is de-stressed and frankly I'm worn out and I fall into a deeper and longer sleep.  This is all the reason I need to get out on the trail!!!

4. It opens my Spirit.   This is something deeply personal.  When I run I am captivated for an hour or so.  While I'm running my time is locked in as well as my mind and body.  God goes deep into my "business" when I'm running.  I usually spend a lot of my time completely surrendered to whatever God is speaking to me.  I "get real" with myself and with God.   I can't tell you how many times I have gone down my list of "forgive and release" and it's a thorough work in my spirit!   I have to be honest and say I probably would have found a way to avoid that list in my usual prayer time. But God has used my running to work through some really rough things in my heart and if it weren't for running that would have never happened.

So I want to make it clear.  Running isn't something I do to SHOW OFF or get flattery or awe inspired "comments on my facebook posts"!   It isn't to get a medal or be able to make a list of "look what I can do" for people to see.   Running has saved my life and my sanity.  It has been a deeply and I mean DEEPLY spiritual journey.  I refuse to CHEAPEN it with any of that other stuff.   


So, I run.

What Happens After The Race???

This is what happens...LIFE!

For me at least.

I was so wrapped up in training for eight months, spending so much time and energy pouring into getting myself ready for 13.1!   As soon as the race was over and I had spent two whole days laying around and basking in my victory of accomplishment  and then I went back into my normal life and the focus of my life...motherhood and ministry.

The timing of the Half was perfect, in January!  It was right out of the gate of the new year and that meant everything that was starting up after the first of the year with my son's school & sports and everything  ramping up for our ministry did the same. Taking two hours every morning to run, always thinking about training and the race was not practical for me. I began to pour my creative time and energy into all of my new year's activities and tasks which meant all FOCUS turned from training to creating, launching and carrying out ministry.

My blog had to wait and once I did start writing it I was so far into my other focus that I was uninspired. Thus no part 3.  Talk about an eternal cliff hanger!

So this is what happened after the race - for ME!  Almost like a full balloon just released to fizzle into oblivion! The blowing up part was the best part of it for me!  I think this also tells alot about my philosophy of life.  I almost like the build up better than the event!

At least that is what happened to my TRAINING but not to my RUNNING!  Thank God.  Running is just a part of my life...I'm running my normal runs.

Now the saying is this:   The FINISH LINE IS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF A NEW RACE.   And I believe that whole-heartedly.  Every race shows you where you need to focus, what you need to improve and gives you a new perspective on strategy for running. You just pick up working on your runs where you left off in some ways.  The desire to continue to challenge yourself and increase and grow is a basic element of running.

  I feel a push in myself to work on shorter distance with a faster pace.   I completely abandoned my Run/Walk system and decided to start with a basic 4 miles straight with no walk and it's been a challenge but it's going great.   So this is what I work on every time I run now. I'm not timing, just pushing a consistent fast pace and timing will come later because I officially do not want to get in a training mentality yet.

I know that I will indeed do another Half, probably in a smaller venue.  But this won't be in the next few months,  I will probably shoot for the fall.   I may do a few 5k's and 10k's before that.

In the mean time...it's almost Spring and my hubby and I have already hit the beach two times.  You know what that means....abs and arms and butt baby!   These are my focus areas....running can only do so much to get you ready for the beach!  Hey, I'm a Florida girl in her mid-forties.  Give me a break!

The Big Story Part 3 - Race DAY!!!

3 am is beyond early for this non-morning girl.  I can stay up until 3 am but I struggle with getting up with any sense of cognitive connection at 3 am.  However as my alarm aroused me from my short sleep I pounced out of bed with my heart racing and flipped the coffee maker on to give me the hot water I needed for my oatmeal breakfast. Within just a few minutes I felt like I was in a panic mode, about what I am not sure.  I think I was fearing that my lack of total consciousness might make me waste time and end up being late.

I got all my gear on that I hadn't worn to bed  and gulped down my oatmeal, a few swigs of coffee and bounded out the door into the elevator to the lobby.  On the way down I picked up one runner who was quite chatty - obviously a morning person - ugh!  She talked to me excitedly until I reached the fountain and announced this was my meeting place for my running buddy.  She seemed disappointed to stop her conversation for five seconds until she started walking and talking to another lone runner headed to the bus. I waited barely a minute for Lisa and off we went wasting no time out the front door across the valet area and right into a line that went directly into a waiting bus and just like that we were in transport to EPCOT!  The bus was dark with a low humming of  conversations going on.  We unloaded and into the cool pre-morning dampness and walked to a gathering area already crowded with waiting runners.

Off in the distance was a large screen that showed a group of "cheering leading aerobic" enthusiasts warming up to excitable music.  UGH! This usually would have been irritating  but my excitement for this big event had already begun to wake me up enough to disconnect from my lifetime hate for happy early morning people.

We stood talking and scoping the surroundings when we spied about five long rows of Porta Potties  With responses like middle-aged Pavlov's dogs, we had the urge to use them and went and found a line.  It took only a few seconds when the wind shifted and the aroma of these rows of Porta Potties just about took us out.  But our strategy was take advantage of this convenience while it was yet available!

Then like a subconscious subliminal message had been sent through our microchips on the back of our number bib, a mass of people began to move toward and through the bag check-in area. This phenomenon continued for the next 30 minutes as tens of thousands of people walked...I mean shuffled, from the parking lot to the corrals located somewhere on a dark road.  I had previously been informed about this mass movement which had been referred to as a "death march" to the corrals.  I thought it was more like a call from aliens to earthlings to come to their space ship.  Apparently someone way up front knew what was going on and we all were just blindly following the crowd...so dangerous and close to a social experiment as it can get!   As a Leader it was out of my character to be in the back and not in charge but I went with it!

We were directed to our given corral and there we waited another 45 minutes while a big screen in our area "entertained" us with a joking MC with Donald Duck and Goofy.  Soon a woman would sing the Star Spangled Banner and the first wave would be signaled with Donald's ducky voice saying "GO" and the sky lit with fireworks and pyrotechnic flashes!  Total Disney!  This is why I was in THIS race!   Yay!!!  My love for Disney was gonna propel me through this morning!!

Lisa and I were in corral "F".  Not exactly a motivating connection..."F" for fail..."F" for FAR away - like waaaay in the back.  The corrals went from A to H.  So you get the picture.  The race officially would start at 5:30 and but our wave wouldn't cross the start line until 6:05.  I say it is "F" for frustrating.  And there you have it.  The feeling I had most the rest of race.

We crossed underneath the fire shooting start line and off we went into the dark down the main road.  I would say there were 13,000 people in front of us and 9,000 people behind us!  But I didn't notice at first because I was breathing in DISNEY!  I could see displays on the side of the road up ahead and hear exciting Disney music playing.  Yay for me I am running my first Half at Disney!

Then in the midst of that Disney magic I saw the first man peeing in the bushes. Wah, wah, wah! (Debbie downer music)...  Seriously!???!   Can you do that at Disney??  Desecrate Disney Property?...the happiest place on earth...the cleanest place on earth?  Walt would roll over in his grave!   Where was the allusion of perfection??? Then two more men down the ditch at the bushes...then a man too lazy to go all the way down the ditch to the bush line, he was peeing on the light pole!   You can do that at the Boston Marathon but Disney has provided Porta Potties every mile, I could smell them up the road - couldn't they have just ran to them??  MEN!

After that initiation we honed in on breaking out of the crowd to run our trained pace.  Lisa and I had been training for a good period of time before this race and we knew our time average and felt confident of a strong finish and a decent time.  But we started getting frustrated from the very beginning with our pace.  The crowds were thick and there were walkers everywhere.  We had read that in a large race it is a challenge to get into your full run for the first mile.  It takes that long for the crowd to thin out.  But in this race the crowd NEVER thinned out.  In fact I came to realize that with us starting so far back, other runners in the waves before us who slowed down were now bottle-necking together with waves from behind.  The crowd remained this way for 13 miles.   In addition to that,  the roads that were just wide enough to run in a large throng of people became even more squashed as the road narrowed into a sidewalk or tunnel!  This was the TRUE Goofy Challenge!!!

Then there was the frustration of the continuous need to pass slower runners with a lack of area to do so. The law of runner's etiquette is faster runners to the left and and walkers to the right.  Passing is always done on the left.  But this was not the reality of this race.  For 13 miles walkers were everywhere - right, left and middle.  Not only that but another etiquette is to only be in two's across.  Larger groups have to give way for people to pass.  Not in this race.   Groups were 4 across a lot of the time.

The majority of our race was spent in logistical maneuvering.  We hopped curbs to run on the grass until it seemed more dangerous with holes and dropped clothing items.  We weaved in and out between people sometimes shifting our bodies sideways and tapping people with an "excuse me".  We would split and I would go around one way and Lisa the other and then search for one another to join back together again.   Had we known this would be the main part of our running I think we should have trained more like football players!  Around mile 8 we realized we were probably NOT going to keep our training pace.  That was hard for me to accept.  We never broke into our training pace.  AHHHH!

The highlight of the journey definitely was THE MAGIC KINGDOM!  Dawn was just about to come upon as we passed through the Magic Kingdom Car Entrance.  We ran past the Contemporary Resort, one of the only hotels we have never stayed at, and down under the tunnel and through a behind the scenes entrance.  I almost didn't want to go behind the scenes and ruin my little girl fantasy but oh well!   We entered main street from the side and I tried to get my little video camera out and taking video of our entrance and of course couldn't get it to work at that moment. I quickly put it away so I wouldn't miss anything myself.  We made the all too familiar right turn to Tomorrow Land and ran past Space Mountain with flashes of years of lines and fast passes in my head.  Now the crowd was thinning with people stopping for character pictures.  But I wasn't thinking speed - I was taking this in!

We rounded to Fantasy Land and I got a good look at the new construction of a ride and there was the back of Cinderella's Castle!   When we ran through it every one spontaneously as if we had practiced it, screamed.  Then we came down the side and the instructions of another experienced racer who for-warned us to veer to the left and get a picture in front of the castle echoed in my head.   Man this was going to cost us time!  There was a line for these pictures!   We did it anyway.

 We took off  through Liberty Square past Country Bear Jamboree and then out a side gate to behind the scenes where they store the parade floats!  The crowd was thin as a long line formed to get a picture of a total NOT AT ALL LOOK-ALIKE Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow.

I have to just add one more "they never told me this" to the race day experience.  Runners are slobs.

  There were drink stations every two miles.  This was a nightmare scenario with such crowds because this caused a lot of slowing down and dodging people who were merging over to get water and merging back into a run.  But imagine with me for a moment in the race behind 12,000 people who have grabbed a water cup and thrown it on the ground!  A sea of squashed cups everywhere for over 100 feet every two miles!

 Then the greatest slob nightmare was around mile 8 or 9.  They were giving out "energizing gel".

  This disgusting total sugar gel was grabbed by about 15,000 people and either consumed then thrown to the ground or one slurp taken and then with disgust thrown to the ground upon which thousands pounce the remaining gel out of the package.   For almost a mile and a half running shoes were splatting and sticking to the pavement.  WAY TO GO DISNEY!

I have no idea how DISNEY was able to clean up all that refuse before Park Opening!   I am pretty sure they had to have Tinker Bell sprinkle fairy dust to get that job done!

Part 4 - THE FINISH AND AFTERMATH!