running mantras

Did you know...running is hard. I know, we have already discussed that I'm a slow learner. I was so reminded that running is hard on Tuesday night at the track. We were doing repeat 800's. I guess you should know that the 800 and I have a love/hate relationship. I love how strong they make me but I hate actually running them. Anyway, the story is, there were many more participants at track this week than usual and so most of them only had 4 repeats...Those of us that show up every week we had 6. And in theory it should have probably been more because we had done 18 200 repeats the week before and building the strength blah blah blah. Long story longer...after everyone dropped out after number 4 this whole thing got really hard. But I was able to tell myself on number 5 that I only have 1 more...you know that whole mind over matter deal. Then on number 6 I got through it because it really was supposed to be the last one. In the end I got talked into doing a 7th repeat. And like I mentioned I probably should have counted on doing that many anyway. And on that 7th repeat do you know how many times I said I was gonna step out, just finish the one lap? Far too many. However, it is a good thing I read all these blogs and talk to all these people that put these silly mantra's in your head and you just tough it out and finish...So guess what, I finished the 800 and it wasn't even my slowest one!

So it only took about 14 pages to describe where I was going with... running is hard -- but we all get through it! What mantra's do you use?

Some of my favorites...

"Shut up and Run" -- I have to thank Beth (from the blog SUAR for this one)
"It's when your uncomfortable that your body is getting stronger"
"This is fun (in a demented sort of way) and you are going to be happy you finished when your done"
"Your body will always tell you to stop...you need your mind to tell your body to shut up"
"Even if your walking or going slow at least your not at home on the couch."

Patience!

"...It's all about patience! When injured, we have no where to go , but forward and up! The journey is grueling, and sometimes not fair...but the wait is well worth the end result!" -- unknown

I read this quote today and no, I'm not injured but I thought how fabulous it would have been had I read this when I was injured. How many people I would complain to would not understand or tell me I was being too hard on myself etc...but if someone would have told me something like the above mentioned I might have had a different/better perspective.

But then maybe, just maybe we can take the above quote out of running text and say something to the effect that when we have no where to go but forward and up...the end result is well worth it in everyday life then perhaps our whole focus changes. Maybe then our jobs aren't so painful or taking care of the kids becomes a bit easier or whatever the case may be. I'm just throwing it out there that life doesn't always have to be painful and negative. Sometimes, if we just take a minute and realize that we are at rock bottom and life is only gonna get better then the positive side of us takes over.

After the whole knee / lower leg debacle I want to say that I healed the 'right' way (for me at least) and now my running is so much stronger. My track times are better, my long runs are easier, I appreciate the fact that I'm able to run at all. The races I've run are faster and I do feel stronger (although I'm not where I want to be yet I'm getting there.) So the patience was totally worth it, the low mileage that was completely different from what I thought, the swimming and biking and resting...all of it was worth the long, grueling, cruel journey.

In other news...My kids have exactly 7 days left of school, they are entering the next 7 days with mixed feelings of excitement for summer break and then sadness from being forced to move on to the next teacher / grade / challenge. You see both of my kids fall into what human naturally do, they become one with the situation and when forced to change (i.e have a new teacher) they are scared to death. We have entered school the last 4 years filled with tears, scared attitudes and very obvious fear. Usually all of these feelings are changed within the first week. Brooke has even gone so far this year to try and convince her teacher to move up to the next grade level. He, I'm sure, is flattered but has politely declined. Anyway, I've procrastinated long enough in getting the kids lined up with summer activities so yesterday I decided enough was enough. I would finally be a mom and get things set up. Hopefully they enjoy what I picked for them.

Running Palisade

As after any major race I write a post about how the race went...I've now waited 3 days, hoping to be able to post my official results but they haven't been posted yet. I guess I was also waiting to write about this one also to be able to make sure all of my thoughts were organized and stuff. I'm not sure I achieved organization but I was able to make many bullet points that I want to cover...

• The Training -- I trained hard for this one. I didn't miss a long run. I fit in longer runs during the week. I made most of the track sessions. All of my times were faster, and continued to improve. I was conscious of any pain and adjusted my training to accommodate such pain. I was told there were hills, so I trained hills...a lot... So before I even started I knew that I had done everything I could to prepare. My downfall to my training...the whether...many of my long runs the weather was nice, a little on the cool side... Lets just say there is a reason they grow grapes in Palisade. Grapes like it warm...

• The Course -- This course was far more beautiful than any other race I have done. Don't get me wrong, Georgetown was nice, many of the 5k's I've done have been fine...Colfax is...well...it's east Colfax, so however beautiful that can be. And the Denver / Rock -n- Roll is downtown Denver which gives its own type of beauty...Palisade has a natural beauty, like this is who I am and if you like it, great, if not your the one missing out. Running along the Platte River and the Mesa, in the Vineyards was very nice. The bummer...the giant, curvy hill. The race organizers did not try to hide the hill, they were very forthright with it. And even though I trained on hills that were bigger than this one, it was still hard.

• The Organization -- This is race had probably less than 1,000 runners which mainly means that it is easier to organize the race. Either way, it seemed like everyone was super relaxed and things were well run. There was plenty of water and cups at the aide stations, people asking if I needed gels or water or whatever, people to make sure we turned around at the right spot. I wish they would have closed the road we were running on, but I understand not closing the road also...sometimes vehicles can be very rude.

• The Trip -- This is the first race that I have traveled to so as I'm packing and repacking and debating what I want to bring, and what I don't need I was terrified that I would forget something important...I did not forget anything but I did have a pretty big bag and extra stuff. Usually, getting 14 girls organized and in the same location can sometimes be kinda difficult, but this trip went well. There was no rushing around and we made it to all of our obligations. The girls were all fabulous and fun. There was some snow during the drive, but we live in Colorado, that is to be expected. The hotel was beautiful and new and very nice. The wine tasting was fun, dinner was good. I don't have a complaint.

• My Race -- This race was a bit different for me, because I was on a little bit different of a schedule than I'm used to, I decided to try some new things (some worked, some I'm still debating), I was out of my comfort zone. That being said I still ran a solid race. It started out when I got up a little earlier than I would have, but we made it to the start line with plenty of time for the bathroom and warm up...which was all that really concerned me. Since it was a small race the bathroom line was fine and the start line wasn't too crowded. I started running with Jo Ann and we were doing well. She told me our first mile was 8:39...I'm thinking, crap...starting out too fast is going to kill me. Things were pretty uneventful until mile 3 when I had to stop at the bathroom. I have never had to have a bathroom stop at any race I have done, so that bummed me out. But I kept going. Mile 4 was when they warned us of the hill...and when I saw the hill it smacked me right in the face...like are you kidding me right now? About 1/2 way up the hill I met a photographer which irritated me only because I don't want to see how pained I looked, I remember how I felt. About mile 5.5 I met the leader already on the turnaround. Which bummed me out a little only because that meant he was a good mile and half in front of me. Wow, I still have a lot of work to do, is what I kept thinking. Things were again uneventful until the bottom of the hill and I was trying to remember where the aide stations were...Like I was thirsty...but not...After the aide station at mile 10 I told myself that I have about 25 minutes left...we can do this. That mile should have been easy because it was flat, in the shade (which was nice because it was warm and the sun was becoming a little brutal) and I think I sped up because I was passing people but it was still hard. At mile 11 you go over a bridge and I remember thinking there was another water stop in 1/2 mile so I hurried along. Thinking if I drank that I would be able to finish strong. Right after that was when the stomach started its thing again so I ran faster...I only know this because I was passing people again. When I turned the last corner so I could see the finish line there were 2 girls in front of me, one in a purple shirt and one in a green shirt...the green shirt was pretty far (like maybe 3 blocks ahead) but I was determined to beat them both. There was some giant amount of effort given there but I did it. I remembered all those track workouts and Lori reminding us that we have another gear...way down deep and the end of the race is the time to find it... My clock said 2:02...I had hopes and goals of breaking 2 hours. So I'm not happy with my finish in that aspect. However, my previous best is 2:11, so breaking that by 9 minutes with a bathroom stop is nothing to be sad about. I keep telling myself to be happy with it...It was a challenging course with a few minor issues (the stomach thing, the warm sun thing)...however, I'm still not happy...Guess there is another 1/2 in my future. By the way...some of the new things...I started re hydrating with coconut water along with a smaller amount of Gatorade. I ran in new shoes (like shoes that only had about 10 miles on them). I had a real meal, like right after the race, instead of hours after I finished running. All of this went extremely well...I'm debating if the stomach issue was because of the coconut water before the race, but I'm also thinking it could have been the LARA bar...My recovery so far has been good, there was no headache after the race. Very few minor sore muscles...Just a lower IT band tightness that hasn't given up yet. It will in time...

Don't take any of it the wrong way. I loved the trip...had an amazing amount of fun and the race was good. It was my time I'm not excited about. Who knows, maybe the official time will give me the benefit of the doubt...

Grateful part 2

So I said I would add to my list whenever I thought of more things to be grateful for...And maybe it isn't a list of new things...but just different reasons. And it was a challenge today to come up with reasons of things you are thankful for.

~~The running club --(last night I ran a 3:32 800 followed by a 3:27, there is no way on this planet that I would be able to do that without the club, so for their persistence in proving to me that I'm capable I'm forever grateful.

~~Louis -- because he allows me to go off exercising whenever I feel the need (which lately has been often) and never complains. Instead I get compliments on how dedicated I am...

~~My Kids -- Not only have they been understanding with the recent training regiment but encouraging. Also, they teach me something every day. They are so simple and I would love to transport that simple attitude into my life. I'm thinking they teach me more than I teach them.

~~My health -- Because in recent times, I have gone through many illnesses, injuries etc... I'm so happy to be pain / illness free. And I've read blogs and many friends are or have been injured it makes me appreciate when I'm healthy.

~~ My gym friends -- Just to be completely honest, if I thought there was any hope they would forget the way to my house I would sleep in most mornings, but because I know they are going to be there waiting I get my butt out of bed. And 98% of the time I'm happy that I did.

~~My Job and Co-workers -- Because I get some interaction with real people but that most of those people keep me laughing all day. Who doesn't want to laugh all day?

I guess that is a good list of new reasons for the day...

Respecting the Distance

I read a blog every day...some days the author talks about running and such and some days not. Either way I love her posts, they are creative and fun and sarcastic and I wouldn't know how to start my day without it. I only hope that my posts are somewhat similar. At least when I go back a few months later and read them they are ok. Not sure it is something I need to read everyday.

Anyway, I'm about 10 days away from the Palisade half marathon. I feel like I have had a great training session until this last week. I have had some major soreness, a little bit of knee pain and super tired. And in my state of running ALL the time I'm not sure how to scale back. Yes, I know that I should be on a taper, but just like any runner I'm not sure how to do that. I feel guilty about not running and completing workouts. I ran my last long run on Sunday. Long run of 14 miles. I did the 'hill' twice and added in a few more miles around the neighborhood. My time was 2 hours and 12 minutes. The most fabulous things about that is that my last 1/2 marathon was 2 hours and 11 minutes which basically means I should be good. However, back to that taper situation. I'm wondering the purpose on going out only to run 4 miles. But on the other hand I need to learn to respect the distance. After just running 14 miles, completing a track workout, 4 miles should be easy right? Lets hope so...

A few weeks my long run was 5 miles and I figured it would be no big deal. And in the end, it really wasn't. However, during the run I felt like I was having a hard time. When I finished, I was running a much faster time, therefor the reason of the difficulty. So I hope I've learned how to respect the distance!

Random thoughts

Every time that I have a great idea for something to 'blog' about I'm busy so then I think "when I have an extra few minutes I'll do that." Now as I sit down at the computer with an extra few minutes do you think I can remember anything that I wanted to blog about, update etc? The answer is simply no...I've got nothing!

At work we decided it would be fun to replace all the carpet in the place with tile. I seriously think I would rather shoot myself. The person we hired did fabulous work and the tile looks great, but it took forever. And moving all the stuff and trying to run the business in the meantime wasn't much fun. I got pretty sick in the middle of it all but I have mostly kicked that and since the showroom in 90% back together life is good. While all of that was going on I probably had some ironic not so fabulous thoughts about remodeling contractors and being thrown into the middle of projects I don't want anything to do with but all those thoughts have since escaped me.

Here is the new showroom...totally worth it!



My training has been going good...until I got sick...even then I probably had some sarcastic stuff to say. Probably a good thing I didn't have a lot of time on my hands! I think I skipped a few track workouts and then I haven't been swimming either...For some reason I didn't think it would be a good idea to contaminate the pool with all my snot and stuff. I think life might have also gotten in the way of a track workout or two so I decided I would do them a different day, all alone...That is sad and made me realize that I don't listen very well. I ended up almost doubling the workout. Oops! But I haven't missed a long run. No, instead I almost hacked up a lung or two but got those 10 miles in. And last Sunday, the long run was 12 miles and since I'm such a sucker for peer pressure I did Candelas hill twice...It hurt, but glad I did it.

Lucky for you (and probably myself) I don't take pictures of myself when I run!

Both of the kids are busy with their activities...Brooke is still dancing, still loves Mr. Jeff, Ms. Kate and the rest of the group at the dance studio. She mentioned to me she was to be on the competition team next year...Not really sure what that entails yet...But sounds expensive and like a lot of time at the studio...Tyler is playing both soccer and flag football right now. Yes, I am that gullible of a mom to sign my kid up for two different sports at the same time. But he is just so darn cute how could I say no?

We went to Moab over Spring Break...we took my dad's Raptor 4-wheeling and Lou was successful in putting the first scratches in it. Lucky for us, my dad is good natured about that kind of thing. We also did some hiking. Tyler wasn't feeling good that day so it wasn't our best day of hiking but we still had fun.

This cave a super fun for the kids...and the adults!

Just in case any one needed it pointed out, my sister is taller than me, I just didn't know it was that much!

Maybe I was standing on the low part of the hill? Maybe I'm just that short!

I don't think an explanation is needed!



17 and Full of Dreams

As I watched TV last night there was a sentence that started me thinking...alright more than one...but we will start with the one. The quote was something like (I'm paraphrasing because I didn't write it down word for word) "If one sentence helps a person through a rough time or gives someone hope that previously had none than that makes the hour of television worth it." I could not agree more. Do you know how many lyrics to songs or story arcs in a television show that I identify with? Because of something going on at work or at home or psychologically and here, since someone is singing about it or writing a television show about it they know the problem too...I'm no longer alone.

I'm not going to sugar coat and say that my days are full of unicorns and rainbows and everything is always perfect, but I will say that I have gotten through many of those non rainbow filled days because of a sentence or a song or whatever...Maybe it is as simple as 'I wish someone would say that to me' or how is it that a song knows just what I'm thinking?  Or maybe not, but I think we as a humans forget that it only takes a sentence or mantra or song to make life so much better or maybe just tolerable.

I remember working with a trainer one day...and obviously I wasn't doing the exercise the 'correct' way and she kept talking, rephrasing the same thing until I got it. And now, years later, I remember when I'm doing that specific muscle group I have her in my head telling me how.  I remember also, running the track in a particular difficult track workout that I had Katy Perry singing in my ear and so every time that song plays I go back to my day at the track and how the song helped me through and then I remember I've had much better days at the track after that. One last example, going through a difficult time during a relationship I was attracted to sappy, sad kind of songs and shows. I would listen to the songs over and over and watch the same episode of television over and over...And however it happened I moved passed the difficult time and moved on to much happier days. But still when those songs play I'm reminded how far I've come.

Last night it was also brought to my attention that when we are young we are always looking toward our dreams and becoming the person we want to be...And then somehow we grow up and we still look forward. We don't ever realize how far we have come or how we have somehow morphed into the person we once dreamed of. So today, I'm going to think of that person...That 17 year old high school graduate that couldn't wait for all of my dreams to come true! I encourage everyone else to do the same. To realize that we all grow everyday and to some of us we are too busy living in the future to realize how great things are in the present!