Races & Goals for 2013

I'm a girl who loves a goal.  Without goals, life would be boring, right?  I have so many running goals for this year it's hard to keep up with them.  They range from states, to times, to stretching my comfort zone to running with new groups.

Let's start with the comfort zone stretching and new groups.  Last week I ran with the Lululemon Hill Center group on Thursday morning.  I'm definitely a midpack runner and my fear when I run in a new race or group is that everyone will be faster than me.  I know this fear is irrational.  And that even if everyone is faster than me, that it's not a big deal.  I never considered not going to the run, but as the run started, I definitely considered going back to my car.  The work out was a speed/track workout and, though intimidating and slightly painful, it was awesome!  It felt so good to push myself.  I hope to make it to this run at least every other week when I don't have to get Jesse to school.  I also want to run with the Nolensville running club.  I'm scared of them too, but I have several friends there so hopefully, I won't get left behind.  At least not the first week.

When we did the Women's Half Marathon in Minnesota last August, I saw a group of sisters finish the race holding hands and wearing matching shirts.  Yes, I realize how incredibly cheesy this sounds.  But I want it all the same.  Since then I've been begging my sister to run a race with me.  I've finally gotten her to agree to run the San Diego Half in June.  And her sister in law is running it too.  I'm so excited.  I can't wait to start training with her and designing the most ridiculous shirts/tanks I can for the three of us.  I'm also hoping that after Mark has his hip replacement and recovers that we will be able to run together again this year.  Even if it's just a short fun run.

I have time goals I want to reach in 2013.  I PRd both the half and full distance in 2012.  And, of course, I need to beat those times in 2013.  My current half PR is 2:18.  My goal is 2:14:59 or faster.  I have a couple of goal races for that time.  I also want to finish a marathon in 4:59:59 (5:21 is my current PR) or faster.  I'm not completely certain I can do that this year, since the marathon I want to finish is Nike Women's in San Fransisco.  But that's my goal and I'm willing to put in the work to get there.  I've never been consistent with speed work or tempo runs, but I know I have to improve and commit to them to reach my time goals.

I want to do Nike Women's as a part of Team in Training.  Which means I'll be begging everyone I know to contribute to my fundraising.  Believe me, if it wasn't an organization I believe in and support whole heartedly I wouldn't do it.  It's an incredible cause that supports and changes the lives of people with blood cancer.  More on that in a future post. 

As for other races in 2013.  I've bought the Rock n Roll Tour Pass which lets me run in as many of their North American runs as I want.  I'm doing all halfs with the pass.  They include New Orleans, USA, Country Music, San Diego and Vegas.  I'm also considering Philly, Chicago, St. Louis and Denver if I can get the schedule and budget to cooperate.  Other halfs for the year include Mississippi Blues, Virginia Beach (as part of a double weekend with the RnR USA), Tom King (with my bestie Julie), and the Knoxville half marathon.

Today, Gail, Nicole and I ran the 11.2 mile loop at Percy Warner park.  In nearly 3 years of half and marathon training, I've managed to avoid this training run.  Not always on purpose, I should add.  I feel a tiny bit guilty that I haven't done it before today.  Running this course feels like a rite of passage in the running community.  It's one of the hilliest and most challenging courses you can get here.  But it's beautiful and it feels like you've really accomplished something when you are done.  See I'm stretching my comfort zone already.  It's going to be a great year of running. 

A Fresh Start

I've never been so excited for New Year's Eve.  And it has nothing to do with our plans to celebrate at midnight. 2012 has been full of challenges, heart break and hard times.  As hard as it has been for me, I can't even describe what a painful year it's been for Mark.  I think I will always refer to 2012 as Hell Year.  Several people have said to us that you get a year like the one we've had every 10 years or so.  I'm hoping we don't see another year this difficult for a very long time.  

It's not been all doom and gloom.  I love to travel and have been fortunate enough go to some fun places with our family and great friends.  I was able to set a new half marathon and marathon pr (hopefully, I'll be saying this again next year).  I love my job, and I've been blessed with an amazing year professionally.  Aside from Mark's hip, we are all healthy and I couldn't be more thankful for that.  And finally, our family also grew this year when my sister married the perfect man for her in April. 
 
My very wise and wonderful friend Daeon said to me earlier this year that if my family had a theme it would be "overcome."  I can't list the number of times I've reflected on this statement.  It's something Mark and I have held onto this year like it was some kind of armor.  I'm sure she had no idea how impactful her words were when she said them.  More than anything else, I'm thankful for all the amazing people we have in our life.  As hard as this year has been, there hasn't been one moment where we haven't felt well loved by so many people in our lives.

I'm so grateful for the symbolic fresh start that the New Year brings. The theme for 2013 is going to be a year of healing and strengthening for us.  Last week I spent almost a whole day writing out all of my goals - professional, personal and family.  I have some really big and exciting goals.  And I'm ready to get started on them tomorrow.  Happy New Year everyone!

Mark's Dad

On Thursday afternoon, Gail, Nicole and I were on our to Savannah, Georgia for a race on Saturday.  We'd only made it to Murfreesboro when Mark's aunt called and told me we needed to come to Knoxville and be with Mark's dad, RT, that he had been admitted to the hospital in serious condition.  We quickly turned the car around and I went back to pick Mark up.  All I could get her to tell me about his condition is that he has severe pneumonia.  But it was pretty obvious there was more to the story. 

I picked Mark up and we drove to UT Medical Center.  When we got here we talked to his dad for a little while and then sat down with his uncles and aunts.  They proceeded to tell us that his dad was diagnosed with lung cancer in June (yes, June!).  And that he hadn't really told anyone what was going on.  We think he wanted to decide on a treatment plan before telling us.  And yes, it was taking him a really long time to decide on a course of action.  Wednesday morning he had a doctor's appointment.  He had also not been feeling well.  They did another scan and found the cancer had spread to his liver and bones. 

Friday morning when we talked to the doctor she said it is stage 4 terminal lung cancer.  And there is really nothing that can be done.  If he recovers from the pneumonia enough we could discuss chemo, but it would only buy a little time and could make what time he has left very uncomfortable.  She also did tell us that even if he had taken action when he first found out, the outcome would most likely not be any different.  She called this cancer aggressive, ugly and evil.  I couldn't agree more.

Today has been a pretty good day.  He's currently sitting up in bed working on orders and other stuff for his store.  It seems like the pneumonia is getting better which is giving him more energy.  The whole experience has been a roller coaster of emotions.  Tonight we've been at the hospital for 3 full days, but it feels like a month. 

Jesse and Matthew came up on Friday afternoon.  I'm so thankful they got to see RT several times this weekend when he was feeling pretty good.  I'm also more grateful than I can put into words to Gail and Nicole.  They drove on to Atlanta Thursday night.  But on Friday morning, they came to Knoxville instead of going to race (did I mention they were supposed to be staying in a beautiful beach house?).  They were amazing with the boys.  They picked them up from the hospital and kept them all weekend.  Entertaining them and bringing them to the hospital when RT was feeling well.  Mark's aunt and uncle very generously got them a hotel room to stay in.  We've explained the situation and what the outcome will be to the boys.  They get it as much as they can. But I'm so glad they didn't have to be in the hospital with us all weekend. 

I love Mark's dad and my heart is breaking to think about losing him.  But it's absolutely heart wrenching to watch Mark.  Mark is an only child and his dad raised him basically on his own.  Thankfully, Mark is blessed with amazing uncles, aunts and cousins, but as for immediate family RT only has Mark.  They are very close and Mark is hurting so deeply. 

We have so many amazing friends.  I've had lots of calls, texts, emails and facebook messages checking in on us.  We are so appreciative for all of the support.  Most of all we are appreciative of all the prayers.  We are just asking for prayers of comfort and peace.  I've prayed so hard for the last three days.  Most of them start with Dear God Please...and that's about is far as I get.  After that it's all emotion.  I'm thankful he knows my heart and I don't need lots of words. 

We don't really have a good time frame for what is next.  We will talk to the doctor again tomorrow.  We've heard everything from it could be hours or days to a few months.  I would love it if Mark could have more quality time with his dad, but I don't want him to suffer. 

Life is so precious.  Please don't take it for granted.  Be sure everyone you love knows how much you love them.  Tell them often.  And all of those things you want to do, now is the time to start.

The Chicago Marathon

The Chicago Marathon was the most awesome race experience I've had so far.  All the stars aligned creating nearly perfect racing conditions.  I was feeling the best I had felt in months physically.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect - overcast, 30's to start the race and never over mid 50's.  Of course, I did whine about it being chilly at the start (to answer your question, yes I always whine about some facet of the weather).  Even with an ideal race morning, I still had a few doubts and my less confident self tried to talk me out of doing the race...I'm so glad I won the argument over her!

Nicole, Jeanie, Gail and I were all doing the race.  I practically begged Nicole to run with me...in a way that made it sound like I wanted to run with her.  Really, I knew it would be a better experience with someone than by myself.  Nicole and I had matching outfits for the race before we left home.  But with the chillier temps we bought very loud, nearly obnoxious capri pants to wear instead of shorts.  Thus breaking the first rule we ever learned from our coaches at Fleet Feet about racing - nothing new on race day! 

Wearing a matching outfit with the person I ran with was a great idea, making it a bright orange and purple outfit that you can't miss was a stroke of genius. Why?  Because for 26.2 miles, people commented on our outfits constantly.  Other runners, spectators, and volunteers all said something to us.  It was extremely encouraging.  And when you really want to punch something at mile 23, you can't help but smile when someone tells you they love your outfit.  We may never win a race, but I think we have best dressed covered.

It's no secret that I love the city of Chicago.  It's one of my favorite places to go.  Sometimes Mark and I daydream about moving there someday (as long as I can have a winter home at a beach).  The absolute best way to see a city is by running.  We saw so many parts of the city I hadn't been to before and I loved all of it!  My favorites were Lincoln Park and Chinatown.  At one point in the race, we ran past a large nursing home.  Lots of the people there were looking out their windows and waving.  I smiled and waved.  When I looked around every runner I could see was also looking up and waving.  It was a wonderful, heart warming moment.

The race had a vibe about it that I hadn't experienced before.  I've been to some well supported races before, but nothing like this.  I wore my ipod for the first three miles but never turned it on.  At mile 3 I took it off and put it away.  There was music through most of the course and the crowd support was astounding.  They estimated 1.7 million people came out to see the race. That just amazes me. 

And the crowd wasn't just there to cheer.  They were extremely giving too.  Many had extra water out and available for runners.  Some had tylenol or ibuprofen measured out in little cups, I had brought my own but loved the gesture.  I saw several people giving out pretzels - I did have some of those.  But my favorite was the man at mile 22 who had Nutter Butters.  I wanted to kiss him and propose at the same time.  Luckily for him, I'm already married, so he got the most heartfelt thank you I could muster.

There were so many race volunteers and plenty of water and gatorade stops.  I carried my water bottle, but would have been fine without it.  The water stops were also nice and long and great for walking.  The only downside was the stickiness from gu's and gatorade made it a little hard to walk through.  It wasn't terrible but by mile 20 or so it seemed like a lot of extra effort to get my feet off the ground.

Nicole was the best person to run this race with.  She enjoyed (or faked it) every part of the race.  Well every part except for the grated bridges, where she ran straight for the carpeted side.  I'm thankful they had it carpeted or I may have had to carry her over the bridges.  She sang and danced and high fived her way through the race.  Even when I was feeling like death (about mile 21) she kept singing and dancing with a little running mixed in.  It was infectious.  And it made me stop (figuratively, not literally, thank goodness) and think if you can't enjoy the race and have a good time then there's no reason to do it.

Going into the race my only goal was to finish the race and have fun.  With a couple miles left, I started calculating what I needed to do to PR the race.  Early on we had been moving along nicely, but I knew as we got closer to the end I'd probably slow down - not crash exactly, but close.  It was very hard to keep pushing it at the end, but I tried.  I finished in 5:21:35, which was a PR over my first marathon by just over a minute!  We were also able to finish the race in front of the man dressed like Captain Jack Sparrow, which was a small personal victory.

I'm so proud of Nicole and Jeanie who both finished their first marathon.  And also super proud of Gail who PR'd by more than 20 minutes!  Also, very proud of Mark, who was registered for the race but didn't get to do it (he didn't whine about that nearly as much as I would have). He managed to see us on the course 3 times on crutches - that is love! 

I loved the race and I will do it again. Before my first marathon I had said I would do one and be done. After it, I said I would do one a year. Now after Chicago (my second), I would entertain the idea of doing two a year.

Marahon #2 in one week

I can't believe the Chicago Marathon is one week from today, in fact, one week from right now I'll be running. And probably wishing I were blogging instead.  If you've spent anytime with me in the last four months, you know this training season has been long, painful and somewhat disappointing.  I've had to cut back my mileage several weeks and cut back my goal for the race.  I've spent lots of money and time in physical therapy trying to strengthen my core and prevent an injury.  I've felt sorry for myself and thought about quitting more times than I can count.  And sadly, I haven't been blogging about my training.  I was pretty sure I didn't want company at my pity parties.

Thankfully, I have amazing friends, coaches and running mentors.  Brandon, my PT, and Tammy, my running coach, have been telling me there is plenty of time.  I wanted to believe them, but struggled to.  Two weeks ago, I finished a 20 mile run.  And, they were right, trusting the training, I realized I am ready. I didn't worry about time or anything else and just had a fun run.  It was the first time I really, truly believed I would be able to finish this race.  And what a difference that little bit of confidence has made! 

Last weekend I ran the Women's Half Marathon here for the third straight year and had a blast.  And best of all it was pain free!  Last week and this week are both for tapering, dialing back the mileage.  I feel like my mileage has been dialed back all of training, but I'm still doing only what the training plan calls for and not more (even though more is really tempting).

I think marathoning for the second time is harder than the first.  This time I know what to expect.  I know at mile 13 I will wish this were just a half...that I could be satisfied with only ever doing that.  At mile 16, I will think there's not a chance in hell I can do 10 more miles.  Then I will quickly push that thought out and force myself to read signs and look at buildings and anything else to keep me from thinking about what's left.  At 20, I will be ready to curse the day I started running and every run since.  At 22, I will think 4.2 miles away might as well be Australia.  At 24, I will begin to think I might actually be able to do this.  At 25, I will say just 1 more mile - no 1.2 more miles, damn it.  At 26, I will pause (mentally, not actually) and just feel the last .2.  And at 26.2, I will feel on top of the world and ready to slay dragons!

Training for and running a marathon is the hardest thing I've ever done physically & mentally.  But it's also by far the most rewarding thing I've ever done for myself.  It's amazing how strong and confident you feel at the end of 26.2 miles. Now I'm just going to keep telling myself this for the next week.

Keeping Promises to Myself

One of my favorite things anyone has ever said to me about running was said by my friend Bill Evans, he said, "I quit 137 times in the first mile."  This statement describes exactly how I feel about the first mile of a run.  I despise it.  But when I get past it (or the first three miles, usually) the rest of the run is awesome.  That is except for the last few weeks.  I've developed a terrible pain in my hip/butt around miles 6 - 8.  I'm doing exercises, yoga, foam rollers, prayers and anything else I can think of to help it go away. 

Last year, training for the Dublin Marathon was easy (you know as easy as training for a marathon can be).  The additional miles came easily and I didn't really have any extra aches or pains.  This year has been an entirely different experience.  The Chicago Marathon is 60 days away.  It seems so close.  But in running time I know there's still lots of time to train.  I just need to get my body on board with this plan. 

I guess I shouldn't be terribly surprised by this training being more difficult.  The entire year has been has been more challenging than the last few. I would list all of the ways it's been difficult, but I'm trying to derail the pity party train.  I attribute some of my problems in my training now to breaking my arm in May. I broke it on trail run.  I swear runninng is not a dangerous sport, except for the two incidents this year that have lead to broken bones for me and Mark.  I had to take a few weeks off and pretty much went right into marathon training (not the way I suggest starting off your training program).

Check out some of my friend Paige's Fosterisms

On this past Saturday's 15 mile run, which was particularly difficult physically and maybe even more difficult mentally, I thought multiple times about quitting.  Quitting that run, quitting the marathon training, at a few desperate times I even thought about giving up running altogether.  I went so far as to talk to Tammy about riding back with her at the next to last water stop.  But there was something that wouldn't let me.  It was the promise I made to myself to train for this race.

I love to run.  It makes me a better person.  It relaxes me and energizes me at the same time.  These are the things I tell myself when I want to give up.  Keeping promises to myself is something our late pastor, David Foster said a lot. It's a motto I've adopted. And when there's something I don't want to do, it's what I tell myself. It's one of the reason I choose to start again when I want to quit.







Country Music Half Marathon

My first time to run the country music half marathon was in 2010.  It was my second half marathon ever.  It was hot and hilly and poured rain just as I was finishing.  I finished in 2:44:53 that day.  I promptly swore off ever running country music again.  I love the Rock n Roll race series.  I think their races are so well planned and runner friendly.  However, the course in Nashville is hard.

After Mark's surgery last month, I missed a race and was looking for a way to make it up.  I started thinking about running country music this year.  I kept hearing so many people talk about running it that it made me want to run it too.  And I wanted to see if it was as hard as I remembered.  Personally, I think races in the city you live in are harder because you know the course so well.  There is plenty of time to dread the next hill or think about how far away the finish is.

The race yesterday was hilly, hot and hard.  However, it was also beautiful, fun and inspiring.  I've done lots of half marathons and, by far, country music has the best crowd support of any race I've done.  I love hearing the people cheer, reading signs and high fiving kids along the course.  Nashville looks it's best when you are running it with nearly 40,000 friends. 

I know lots of people who completed their first half marathon yesterday.  I find myself getting just as excited for them as I do for myself.  I'm so proud of their race, but I'm even prouder of the hard work and determination they put in to train for their first race.  I've often read and heard people say the race is the reward for all the training.  It's so true.  If this was your first race, I suggest choosing another race in this fall of this year to sign up for.  After all you don't want to start over.  And being signed up for another race is great motivation to keep going.

My goal for the race yesterday was just to enjoy it.  I also wanted to finish faster than I did 2 years ago, which I knew wouldn't be terribly hard.  I didn't wear my watch, and I purposely ignored the giant timers (of course when you start in corral 20 the time is off anyway).  I focused on running the mile I was in and enjoying it.  When I found myself complaining or hurting, I refocused.  It was a great run.  And I finished in 2:34:43.

I really enjoyed seeing so many friends and celebrating their accomplishments.  It's been so fun to hear how everyone did either in person or on Facebook.  My favorite part of the race was seeing my family on the course.  Mark and the boys were near miles 5 and 9.  They were easy to spot because Mark was waving one crutch in the air.  I know it was physically hard for Mark to be there, and I'm so appreciative.  I'm also thankful for my friend Jeanie (and daughter Meg) who picked them up and wheeled Mark around all day.  It was great to see them cheering me on too!