I have only been a runner since July 2008 and I am not what you would call "elite". I started this sport because it fit my schedule, my budget and it intrigued me...it was something that everybody COULD do, but that so many people would NOT do. Everyone has their reasons for disliking running, heck, I don't like it every now and then. However, just like with every great love, I keep going back.
I have learned a few things over these months that I would like to share: mistakes that I have made that I have learned from and will not make again!
1) Ibuprofen is essential.
Knees do not like runs over 8 miles. Your heart loves them, knees just want to kill you. Ibuprofen is your friend, just as much as rest, ice, compression and elevation.
2) Always check the Weather Channel when planning your running attire.
This lesson was learned when I ventured out on a Sunday morning at 7:00. Saturday was warm and balmy. Without checking the weather, I dressed for warm and balmy: shorts, tank top and thin technical tee. Had I checked the weather I would have known that a cold front was moving through at the very time that I was running and Hurricane Katrina-like winds would hit me about 1 mile from my house. I finished the run a different person: a Popsicle and believer in meteorology! When I checked the weather when I got home I found out there were 29 mph wind gusts and a wind chill of 34. No wonder everyone passing by me on the road was shaking their heads! They were probably thinking, "What an idiot!".
3) Find a good running partner.
To me a good running partner is as essential as water. Your partner is your motivator, the person that you know is waiting for you at 8:30 a.m. ready to run 11 miles with you in the cold. My running partner, Brandy, is not only a great athlete, but an awesome friend and someone who I enjoy being around. We spend a lot of time together and we know so much about each other: she can tell when my ankle hurts and when I didn't eat enough, I can tell when she is just not "feelin'" it. We motivate each other when it sucks and celebrate when we have a great run. That is the most important part of being running partners
4) Choose a training program and stick to it like religion.
Training is tough but rewarding. For me, training was not about losing weight, but about dealing with stress and improving my fitness level. Any by-products would just be an added bonus. A good training program gets you mentally prepared to run. When you know you have 6 miles to run, you get out mentally prepared to run those miles. Sometimes you wouldn't even think of running one step more than those set miles and I think that is okay. Running is 90% mental and 10% physical. Yes, you must have proper training in order to run long distances, but if your head is not in the game, you aren't going to get very far.
5) Eat, Eat, EAT!!!
Sometimes I forget to eat right. I get really busy and snack on a piece of chocolate or a cookie. I pay high prices for this when I go out and try to run any distance longer than a mile. I experienced true runners "bonking" one weekend when I didn't eat properly on a Friday night and attempted to run 9 miles without eating breakfast. What a dummy! I got through 2 miles and felt as though someone had beat me with a 2x4. Cold sweats, cramping, breathlessness...it was horrible! That day I vowed to do a better job with eating and always do a major carbo-load the day before a long run. My recommendation for breakfast before a run: oatmeal with honey and white tea sweetened with honey. It is like gasoline is to a car. I can run for an hour after that breakfast with no need for an extra food. Just find what works best for you and stick with it!
To all of my friends out there who have begun their journey of running: I am so happy for you and proud of the steps you are taking. I don't claim to know much, but I do know a few things and I hope they help you to not make the mistakes that I have made along the way. What you are doing for your yourself is amazing.
Until next time...
Get your run on!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Amazed....
Yesterday was a big day...ranking up there with college graduation, wedding, births of two children. Top 5 things that I have done, now adding 1/2 marathon. People are so right when they say, if you want to win something, run 100 yards, if you want to experience something, run a marathon...
The experience starts when training begins. Training is painful, difficult, punishing...much like a pregnancy. My friend Brandy and I ran mile after mile together, talking, getting to know each other in ways that wouldn't be possible over a cup of coffee. Brandy and I went from being friends that spoke in the halls at work, to being close, close friends. Brandy and I had a standing date 3 times a week. Over the weeks we logged around 125 miles of running.
The excitment building up to our 1/2 marathon is the kind of expectation that you have at the end of your pregnancy, race date is like your due date, the day you are going to work extremely hard with an unimaginable reward at the end. The day before the race I attended my first Health Expo, where I picked up my bib, time chip, race pack and t-shirt. The vendors were a runner's dream! Clothes for working out, belts for racing, cool head bands...it was my 1/2 marathon shower!!!
The night before the race I had a calmness about me. I knew that I had fueled up sufficiently, I knew my plan of action for the morning, I had read books and magazines telling me not to freak out or get nervous because racing is 90% mental. Physically I was ready, mentally I was ready. When the alarm went off at 4:30 a.m. and I got everyone up and out of the house by 5:15 I knew that one of the great challenges of the day was over...I was terrified of oversleeping or having to leave someone behind because they wouldn't get up. Turned out that Andy, my Dad and my sister, Amanda, were all just as excited as I was!
Dawn's early light had not shined down upon Atlanta when we corralled into our start line. At 6:58 the race announcer began to sing the National Anthem. I prayed for me and Brandy to have a good race day, for us to be strong and steady and finish. 7:05 our line lurched and began our march towards the start line. We began our race at Chamblee Marta station on Peachtree Industrial which curves around some of the coolest parts of Buckhead and Atlanta. Mile 1-3 (the hardest miles) went by beautifully. My legs got warm, we were passing people up, getting passed, chatting and enjoying the view. Miles 4-10 were hilly but awesome. Thank goodness for hill training at Tribble Mill Park. We got sucked into pacing with a group of Marines chanting their cadences. I couldn't help but feel awe in their presence. They motivated us to go a little faster. Brandy and I played a little cat and mouse chase with those guys without really realizing it. They would pass us up, then we would pass them...no matter what I loved it when they said to take the hill...I knew what was coming and I knew I could take that hill!
Mile 11 came and I knew that that was the longest I had ever ran. Instead of intimidating me, it gave me a huge rush of adrenaline. Adrenaline is the most powerful thing I have ever experienced. Since I have been comparing this experience to pregnancy, mile 11-13 were the pushing miles. You know that something incredible is coming. At the start line we had a talk about leaving each other behind if one of us was having a hard time. Brandy said we shouldn't feel bad if one of us was feeling it and the other wasn't. I knew that no matter what, I was not going to leave her behind and I hoped she wouldn't leave me behind if I needed her. She and I had trained mile for mile with each other and today was not going to be any different.
Our race was a mix of her pushing me and me pulling her. By Mile 12 I had so much adrenaline pumping through my veins I knew I could fly the rest of the way. I ran ahead a little but I could not leave my friend behind. She needed me, just like I had needed her so many times during our training. She needed me to tell her to step it up and get to the finish. In my visualization of our race, I never saw us finishing without each other. I always imagined having a MarathonFoto of us together. Side by side we turned the corner, Olympic rings in sight, finish line ahead! At the perfect moment we saw our cheering section: Andy, Dad, Amanda, J.C and Kiley! Sprinting to the finish line for both of us, feet touching the finish line simultaneously, 2 hours, 5 minutes and 51 seconds after we started. A new PR for Brandy! My only PR but a darn good one for a start!
We hugged, recieved our medals, wrapped in Mylar, ate a snack, snapped some photos and celebrated. At our cars, Brandy gave me a present that she had gotten from my Health Expo shower. It is a Christmas ornament that I will cherish for the rest of my life. It reads: Running is cheaper than therapy! Truer words have never been spoken....
The experience starts when training begins. Training is painful, difficult, punishing...much like a pregnancy. My friend Brandy and I ran mile after mile together, talking, getting to know each other in ways that wouldn't be possible over a cup of coffee. Brandy and I went from being friends that spoke in the halls at work, to being close, close friends. Brandy and I had a standing date 3 times a week. Over the weeks we logged around 125 miles of running.
The excitment building up to our 1/2 marathon is the kind of expectation that you have at the end of your pregnancy, race date is like your due date, the day you are going to work extremely hard with an unimaginable reward at the end. The day before the race I attended my first Health Expo, where I picked up my bib, time chip, race pack and t-shirt. The vendors were a runner's dream! Clothes for working out, belts for racing, cool head bands...it was my 1/2 marathon shower!!!
The night before the race I had a calmness about me. I knew that I had fueled up sufficiently, I knew my plan of action for the morning, I had read books and magazines telling me not to freak out or get nervous because racing is 90% mental. Physically I was ready, mentally I was ready. When the alarm went off at 4:30 a.m. and I got everyone up and out of the house by 5:15 I knew that one of the great challenges of the day was over...I was terrified of oversleeping or having to leave someone behind because they wouldn't get up. Turned out that Andy, my Dad and my sister, Amanda, were all just as excited as I was!
Dawn's early light had not shined down upon Atlanta when we corralled into our start line. At 6:58 the race announcer began to sing the National Anthem. I prayed for me and Brandy to have a good race day, for us to be strong and steady and finish. 7:05 our line lurched and began our march towards the start line. We began our race at Chamblee Marta station on Peachtree Industrial which curves around some of the coolest parts of Buckhead and Atlanta. Mile 1-3 (the hardest miles) went by beautifully. My legs got warm, we were passing people up, getting passed, chatting and enjoying the view. Miles 4-10 were hilly but awesome. Thank goodness for hill training at Tribble Mill Park. We got sucked into pacing with a group of Marines chanting their cadences. I couldn't help but feel awe in their presence. They motivated us to go a little faster. Brandy and I played a little cat and mouse chase with those guys without really realizing it. They would pass us up, then we would pass them...no matter what I loved it when they said to take the hill...I knew what was coming and I knew I could take that hill!
Mile 11 came and I knew that that was the longest I had ever ran. Instead of intimidating me, it gave me a huge rush of adrenaline. Adrenaline is the most powerful thing I have ever experienced. Since I have been comparing this experience to pregnancy, mile 11-13 were the pushing miles. You know that something incredible is coming. At the start line we had a talk about leaving each other behind if one of us was having a hard time. Brandy said we shouldn't feel bad if one of us was feeling it and the other wasn't. I knew that no matter what, I was not going to leave her behind and I hoped she wouldn't leave me behind if I needed her. She and I had trained mile for mile with each other and today was not going to be any different.
Our race was a mix of her pushing me and me pulling her. By Mile 12 I had so much adrenaline pumping through my veins I knew I could fly the rest of the way. I ran ahead a little but I could not leave my friend behind. She needed me, just like I had needed her so many times during our training. She needed me to tell her to step it up and get to the finish. In my visualization of our race, I never saw us finishing without each other. I always imagined having a MarathonFoto of us together. Side by side we turned the corner, Olympic rings in sight, finish line ahead! At the perfect moment we saw our cheering section: Andy, Dad, Amanda, J.C and Kiley! Sprinting to the finish line for both of us, feet touching the finish line simultaneously, 2 hours, 5 minutes and 51 seconds after we started. A new PR for Brandy! My only PR but a darn good one for a start!
We hugged, recieved our medals, wrapped in Mylar, ate a snack, snapped some photos and celebrated. At our cars, Brandy gave me a present that she had gotten from my Health Expo shower. It is a Christmas ornament that I will cherish for the rest of my life. It reads: Running is cheaper than therapy! Truer words have never been spoken....
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