End of the Season

Today was my last race of the year and it's a good thing too.  I managed to strain or pull or do something to my calf muscle during that first mile up the hill.  In spite of that slight and rather painful hiccup, I finished the race strong and even managed to shave off a few minutes from last year.  

In 2013, I was ready to drop and just about did when I crossed the finish line.  Fast forward to today and I was able to sail across that line and then turn around and watch the others.  I didn't get to kick in my afterburners thanks to that little hiccup, but that didn't diminish my accomplishments.  It was all good even if it was cold.   

I have come to the end my second year of running.  In the past 12 months I ran 16 races for a total of approximately 73 miles.  The goal I set for 2014 was to finish a 10k, which was originally the Bay Bridge Run. Somehow I got talked into running a 10k in February, a lot sooner than the Bay run which was in November.  Not only did I meet that goal, I exceeded it when I ran the 10 miler in October. Now it looks like I'm going to have to set another goal, so I guess it is time to up my distance to a 1/2 marathon.

Although my races are done for the year, I still have to contend with Sadist.  He has kicked my butt the past couple of torture sessions and I do believe he takes a great deal of pleasure in it.  He always has that self satisfied smile as I walk, or in most cases limp, out the door.  One of these days I'm going to kick his butt right back, but until then I'll just drive him nuts. 

Thanksgiving Blessings

In the tradition of the holiday season I thought I would jot down a few of the things I am thankful for.  I know I have visited this theme in the past, but it never hurts to remind one self of all the blessings you have.  So in no particular order, here is this year's things I am thankful for, the fitness version.

1. The friends I have made over the past almost 2 years since I have started running.  I have rekindled old friendships as well as began new ones.  If it weren't for these wonderful people, I know I wouldn't be where I am. 
2. The Sadist.  I may whine and complain about him each week, but in-spite of all that he has continued to believe in me when I haven't.  He can also make me laugh when I feel as though I have nothing to laugh about and finally he has helped me to find my balance in so many ways.
3. Pop.  He has supported me (and pushed and nagged) in so many ways especially when I was ready to quit. He can be annoying that way.
4. Races.  They keep me going when I would rather stay home curled up on my corner of the couch.  They give me an ongoing goal that 
5. The finish line.  I'm surprised that anyone still wants to run with me after listening to my ongoing whine.  (Thank you everyone for putting up with me.)  I have yet to find the "joy" in running, but I have definitely found the "joy" in finishing.  Crossing the finish line gives me a feeling of accomplishment I hadn't felt in so long.   It makes running just a little more bearable.
   
6. Sore muscles. I have spent hours cursing the Sadist for each of those sore muscles, but those sore muscles remind me that I am still kicking and doing quite well  Of course, I won't be telling him that.  He may find more muscles that I didn't know I had.
7. Balance.  When I started this quest, my balance was not the best.  I found it hard to ride a stationary bike without toppling off.  Now I'm a master at that stationary bike.  Maybe in 2015 I'll try out my mountain bike and see how I do.

2014 has been a very good year so far and I am looking forward to seeing what the future brings.  I have one more race and I'll be done for the year.  I've already been signing up for 2015 and one of those races will be a 1/2 marathon (smh).   

Half Maybe, Whole Doubtful

Loch Raven

Over the past weekend the Sadist ran his first marathon and of course he did the Marine Corp one.  As I checked on his progress via the web, I got to thinking about my next challenge.  Now that I completed the 10 miler it seems the natural progression would be to complete a half marathon.  It is basically one 5 k longer in distance, but those last 3 miles of the 10 miler were killer.  Do I really want to add on another 3 plus miles?  

Obviously, the longer the race, the longer it takes.   It took the Sadist over 6 hours to complete the 26 miles.  I can not imagine walking for 6 hours straight, let alone running it.  Generally, after my first two hours of running (with walking intermingled) my body starts to rebel.  Actually, it starts rebelling earlier than that, but so far I've been able to push through it.  The 10 miler pushed up and over my limits and it took me days to recover.  It was the first race where I didn't have the energy to kick into warp speed as I crossed the finish line.  I was just happy I was standing up or at least I think I was.  It's all a blur.

The idea of running a marathon is kind of cool, but the reality is not so much.  I am constantly pushing up and over my limits, but even I know I can go too far.  I always joke that for every mile I run, I go home and sleep an hour and the funny thing is, I really do that most weekends.  I'm not completely ruling out the marathon, but I am thinking it is very doubtful.  I know better than to say never.  I said that about running and look at where I am now. 

Whereas I am doubtful about the marathon, I'm a little less doubtful about the half.  This may be just the right challenge for me in 2015.  It won't be pretty and I'm sure my body will not be thanking me but to say I did a half would be amazing.  As soon as I figure out my next steps, I'm sure it will be posting them for all to see.  It makes it harder to back out that way.  :)

Rocking the Army Ten Miler

Over the past few weeks I have started at least 2 blogs only to not finish them.  This time I'm getting it done and I've done good.

I am so proud of myself.  I finished the Army Ten-Miler in a great time for me.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that I finished in 2:17:28.  Actually I was shocked and my pace worked out to 13:44.8 which is only slightly more than my pace from a 10k. Although it wasn't hilly, it did have some ups and down. It had its moments, most of which I rocked.  Those last few miles it got a little harder to rock.

Miles 1 through 6 went rather well with minimal stopping, mostly just for water.  After the 6th mile, things got a little dicey, but I kept going.  My time walking increased, but not more than my running.  By the 9th mile, however, I was mostly walking, but I did manage to run the last half mile to finish with a flourish.  For the first time, my afterburners did not fire.  My left foot was killing me and I just didn't have the umph by then. 

 

The best part was that Marcus and Terri were there to cheer me on.  It was great seeing them as I came down the hill between the 8th and 9th mile.  It provided just the right motivation as I was fading, at least for a few moments anyway. They even got a rather good picture of me running.  Usually, my running pics don't look all that good.  This one does and it is nice to have something other than a selfie.

If you had told me 18 months ago, when I started running, that I would complete a 10 miler, I would have laughed and swore that was impossible.  I guess this means things can be possible.  Those last 4 miles may not have been pretty, but I did them.  Go me!  

What a fabulous day.

Checking In, Finally

I have had the biggest writer's block.  I just have not been able to sit down and tell any of the wonderful stories I have encountered over the past few months.  So much has happened, at least in the running side of my life.  I have participated in three runs since the Baltimore Women's Classic.  They included the Dundalk Heritage 6k, the Electric Run and finally the Casey Cares 5k.  For two of the runs, I had a niece running with me.  This is really cool, except for one thing.  I really can't keep up with a 16 year old.  During the Dundalk Heritage 6k, I started off staying in pace with my 16 year old niece, only to find once I got in for a mile, my 44-year old body started complaining.  I finally had to tell her to just go on without me.  Although it wasn't my best time, it was respectable and I was happy with it, somewhat.   

For the Electric Run, I didn't have to worry about timing and to be honest, it wasn't my niece I had to keep up with. Terri would jog slowly along and then take off on a sprint.  It became a challenge to keep her from going ahead of me.  Of course she did this just to annoy my competitive side, but it did make it fun.  On a side note, I don't really think that was a 5k.  I've run enough of them now, that I kind of have a sixth sense of when I am going to be done and this one ended too soon.  Terri did beat me, but that is only because I stopped to take a pic of the finish line.  All in all that was a blast and I enjoyed running with everyone. They know who they are.  :)

Finally, Terri and I did the Casey Cares 5k and I'll be honest I do it mostly to see Markakis.  What can I say??  We did pretty good on the race and I bested my time from last year. That is always a plus.  I love ending the race at Camden Yards, it definitely adds to the race. Due to some chicken like behavior on my part, I didn't get a pic with Markakis, but I did get one with Hunter.  Next year I won't allow my yellow streak to show and I'll go for it.  I hope. 

That's been it for the past couple of races.  I haven't been in to see the Sadist in 2 weeks, so heaven only knows how my first day back will go.  I've been on business travel and that is never good for ones eating habits (and mine aren't good to start with).  I'll check in after I see him and let you know if I survived.  I'm not making an promises.  That man can be mean, I don't call him the Sadist for nothing.

Good Run, Bad Time

I ran the Baltimore Women's Classic 5k today and I'm a little disappointed. I know, I know, it isn't about the time, it is that I finished it.  I am thrilled that I finished and finished strong, but I'm not happy with my time.  I had one goal (aside from finishing) and that was to do at least 1 second better than last year.  I failed miserably and I really hate that.  I was almost 3 minutes slower, which makes no sense to me. 

I felt good in this run.  I felt strong and was very consistent with running, which I did more than walking.  I am happy that I did finish strong and that it felt good.  Usually that first mile is killer, but I was feeling energetic and well, as the crew would say, grumpy. Apparently running grumpy did not help me this time.  I'm just bummed.  My next run is a 6k in a couple of weeks and I better see some improvement or else grumpy will be the nicest description of me.  

There were over 3,000 woman running today and when we were lined up, I actually jumped up to see over the heads.  It wasn't until after I did it a second time that I realized I had actually jumped.  It may not sound very exciting and to probably just about everyone but me, it isn't.  Jumping is one of those things I have had so much trouble doing.  

My ability to jump and lack there of, is one of the common exchanges between the Sadist and I. I say I can't and he says I can. I'm not sure I'm going to tell him about this.  First, I don't want the "I told you so" and second I can just see all the new exercises focusing on that new skill.   I think I'll keep it to myself for a while.  What he doesn't know won't hurt me. 

In my new quest to log my meals, I did pretty good. I missed one day and well that was because I definitely went off the reservation with my eating.  Even though I am just worried about logging right now, I really don't like seeing when the calories are more than they should be.  Aside from my missed day, I stayed on track and even stayed within my calorie range.  

Logging my meals also helped me to make some better choices.  Every time I thought about grabbing, say a donut, I'd remember I would have to log it and I really didn't want to see it on the log, so I made it fruit instead. I really like fruit, so this is not a hardship.  Well one week down and many more to go.  Thanks Maria and Terri for taking this journey with me.  It definitely helps.

Back on Board

It has been quite a while since I last posted.  This is not to say that my life has been boring, just that I haven’t had the words to express.  In a nutshell, the last two months have included three races (one that was a 10k), the MS Walk and a birthday celebration.  Being the good girl I am, I continued my bi-weekly torture sessions with the Sadist.  They continue to be source of frustration and hilarity all at the same time.  How can a guy make me feel like I’m 90 years old and yet act like a 5 year old?  It amazes me every time.

Yesterday, he was in one of his rare talkative stages.  He is generally a man of few words and for much of the first year I wasn’t even sure he liked me (I’m still not convinced). During one of his stories I had to remind him to give me the weights and tell me what to do.  Of course I immediately regretted it as it was squat day from hell.  On Friday I had done over 300 leg presses and today we were back to torturing my poor legs.  My main challenge with squats is my inability to bend my ankle past 90° (I can’t pick up my toes).  This causes my right leg to do a lot of the work, which is noticeable, as the right leg is larger than the left.  It’s like I have legs of two different people, kind of like Frankenstein.    I worked at engaging my left leg, but when I did that my entire body shifted.  I was no longer center and when I tried to center myself while both legs were engaged, I toppled right over.  Poor guy can’t leave me for long when I do squats.  You just never know when I’m going to take a tumble.  Somehow I managed to complete all the exercises and I’m sure I’ll be feeling it not only in my legs but in my arms as we couldn’t do plain old squats.  He had to make sure the arms were tortured too. 

While working out, the subject of my weight loss or lack thereof came up.  I have managed to stay between the same two numbers for more than a year.  The only time it went down was when I got back from vacation.  I am definitely getting the exercise, so it is time that I actually do something about my eating.  Although I don’t think I overeat, I’m going to try and to put it to the test.  What I really need to do is keep a food diary.  I have done this successfully in the past, but not so much in the last few years.  It’s time to dust off that diary (metaphorically speaking since it is an app on my phone) and start again.  Is anyone interested in doing this activity with me?  I’m serious, I need all the help I can get.  Maybe if I had someone going through it too, I’ll have better success.  Message me if you are interested.  I really want to get off this stupid plateau.  It is quite annoying. 

Run with the Bunnies

Race number four of the year is over and done with and I showed that bunny a thing or two.  Last year when we ran the 1st Annual Easter Bunny Run I was not a happy hopper.  Poor Maria ended up dragging me for much of the race.  After coming off the success of my 1st ever 5k, I had tanked the 2nd.  That was not the result this year.  I didn't do as well as I had hoped but I did good.  I finished in under 40 min and again didn't feel like falling over.   To me that is a success.  There were a couple of dicey moments, but I didn't whine and I persevered. All in all I think I knocked that Bunny on it's butt.

During my finish line sprint, my legs did not want to respond.  I know that part of it was due to the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad Sadist  and yes to those familiar with the book, I am channeling Alexander and his bad day.  My torture on Friday seemed rather benign until Saturday morning, when the straight leg dead lifts and other relatively innocent feeling exercises reared their ugly head.  Even now two days later, I dare not sit for too long or my hamstrings seize up in pain and my lower back isn't much better.  

Usually by the time I see that sadistic man again, I somewhat like him. I think this week, I may just skip the whole, "you aren't that bad" feeling and his cuteness isn't going to make up for it  Of course he'll claim that my hamstrings are sore from the running and I won't disagree that is part of the problem, but not all.  The hamstrings were feeling sore before and during some of the run and luckily as the run progressed they actually felt a little better.  When I started the sprint my legs, especially the left, did not want to respond. Now, as long as I don't move or stay still for too long, I'm okay.  Luckily he is off this upcoming Friday and I get a break from him.  All I have to do is survive on Tuesday and all is good until, most likely, May. Something to look forward to along with another race and the MS Walk.  Woo hoo!

I think, I know, I DID!

Today I completed the Sole of the City 10k.  Yes, I said 10k, as in twice what I normally run.  This wasn't my first one (it was my second) but it was my first big one.  For the first 3-4 miles I chanted to myself, I think I can, I think I can and then it turned into I know I can.  At then end it became I DID.  During the last mile, I did revert to I think I can, but that is okay, since it became I did.  For only being my second 10k ever, I gotta say, I nailed it.  Not only did I beat my best time, I felt good doing it.  It was probably the first time I really felt good running.  Of course now that I said that, I have probably jinxed myself, so it could be the last.

A few runs ago, I realized that no matter how much I tried, running an entire race (no walking at all) was probably out of my reach.  Thanks to some of the challenges I have, my legs tire very quickly, especially when I push way too hard.  Unfortunately, I am stuck with the legs I was given.  (I know because I have put in a request for a new ankle and it was denied.)  So instead of getting frustrated because I had to take walk breaks, I just embraced them.  I did make sure I didn't walk more than I ran and I deemed hills (not little bumps) and cobbles as walk zones.  It wasn't until I got to mile 5 that my legs started to fade, so by mile 6, I was doing a little more walking, but I didn't stop and to be honest, I didn't want to.

My favorite site was seeing the American flag flying at the finish line.  I took one last quick walk break and then broke out in to a my end of race sprint.  I can't finish a race without it.  The cool thing was that I didn't feel like falling over after the race.  Don't get me wrong, I was exhausted and with good reason, but I wasn't fighting to keep myself upright or from puking.  I always have this fear I am going to keel over as I cross the line.  That would humiliate me to no end plus I'd probably get trampled by the other finishers. 

Next week is another run, though this time it'll be a short but somewhat hilly 5k.  Last year it was one of the ones that kicked my butt.  It's time for me to kick back and after this week, I think I just might be able to do it.  Check back next week for the update, because not only do I think I can, I know I can and I will.  :)

Another Year, Another Milestone

Ready to run.

Another year and another milestone met.  In 2013, Hannah ran with me during my first 5k, the Kelly Shamrock 5k, and I met that challenge.  Not only did I meet it, I exceeded it.  This past weekend I ran with Terri, Jenn and Cynthia that same 5k and again I met and exceeded the challenge.  It amazes me every time I complete a race, that I actually completed it.  Anyone who has ever ran with me has listened to me whine for just about the entire time about how much I hate running and that I am never going to do it again.  Yet, somehow, for some reason, I show up again and again.  My running partners do too, so apparently my whining hasn't scared them away, yet.

While I did whine and bitch about the whole experience, I somehow managed to do better than I did in 2013.  This was quite surprising as I was sure that was not going to happen.  I started off strong, but that didn't last too long.  I have to give credit to Jenn, who made sure I kept going even when my legs decided they were done and for putting up with my whines. I really do try to keep the whine in my head, but as I am running, I am also telling myself "you can do it, you can do it."  That does get verbalized as well, but not as much. 

A sea of green at the post race party.

As usual, as we got closer to the finish, my little engine started to pick up speed.  As we turned the corner onto Market and I saw the finish line, my afterburners kicked in.  If only they could kick in about 3 miles earlier instead of just during that last tenth of a mile.   I'm working on it, but so far the best I've been able to do is to have the afterburners kick in more than once in a race. 

A couple of weeks ago I managed to go 8 miles relatively slowly around Loch Raven, but with vacation and travel I have lost some of the advances I made.  My next race and chance to whine about hating to run is a month away and a 10k.  During my last 10k (and first actual race at that distance) I managed to beat my previous 10k time by 16 minutes.  I think my goal will be to maintain that time instead of trying to beat it.   

No more travels and hopefully, winter will exit as spring starts this week.  This should provide me with a chance to get back into training.