I don't know how this Rock 40 party can get any sweeter... well it just did since I have WON a spot on the Sarah Shea Ragnar Relay Team in Washington DC this October!! If you are not familiar with Sarah Shea and Dimity McDowell, you are missing out on a lot of laughs, some tears and a whole lot of motivation. They are the authors of Run Like a Mother and Train Like a Mother, bloggers and podcast producers for Another Mother Runner and write for numerous publications including Runners World.
They have a facebook tribe of more than 30,000 and that is originally how I found them.
This year they ran a contest giving away 24 spots on their relay teams for Ragnar. Ragnar is a 196 mile relay race = two days. All I had to do was submit some form of entry to convince them to pick me for their team. After much thought and a few hours behind the screen I came up with my submission.
Winning is a thrill and I am excited for this adventure. I admit, that I dislike traveling and sitting...okay I detest it with a passion. But this is one experience I gotta have. There will not be another chance at this. Below is my submission that I based my "Finding Strong" comp on afterwards.
How strong am I? 20 Ragnar Repeats currently strong!
When I pleaded the importance of this race to my husband he changed his own mindset from, "you're nuts!" to getting it. Yep, love that man. I will be with 24 women that I already have a lot in common with, yet are strangers...and will obviously get to know them. That is my kind of event. Life is for living.
All I can add is that my little running hobby is taking me places and I intend to soak up every moment and opportunity. Find your Focused Drive and floor it.
I know this is one long race report. But this one deserves it.
What can I say about a marathon journey except to expect the unexpected and roll with it in the most positive manner possible. That is my goal every time. I surprise yourself with my willingness to shift course, which brings an unexpected well-worth journey. There is a challenge around every corner. I think that is why I love marathons and I really love the Bayshore marathon in Traverse City. Besides being only a 35 minute drive for me, the course is fast and beautiful and the crowd is enthusiastic and kept meeting us at different points along the course by the bus load. My run buddy, Evie, and I decided to go for 4:17 PR and I was the pace master to keep us going. This would mean a 15 minute PR for me and a 21 PR for her. The McMillian calculator said we could do it faster. So I thought this was "playing it safe" as well as a challenge. We knew that things could change mid-race and were prepared to accept what ever came.
Medals are not for eating, but we had to try it one more time.
We wore matching "Sole-Sister" shirts from Another Mother Runner and Fellow Flowers for running in our hair. I wore the orange flower and I just realized that it was assigned this by the maker: The Original. Bold Honoring the journey of friendship. Fiercely United...To cherish, to protect always.
Wow. How true it was this day.
It was awesome to have the crowd yelling "Go Sole-Sisters" throughout the course. And slapping free high-fives is always a charge for me.
At the coral line-up, we ran into a friend of Evie's who was running her first marathon and she decided to join us for the race. She was extremely talkative and we enjoyed her company for the first eight miles and then we lost her at a rest stop and she rejoined us mile 15. I loved her enthusiasm and that she was into slapping high-fives with the crowd with me. We had to space ourselves out to each get a chance to do that. Hysterical!
Pacing was going very well. Every time we sped up too fast, I pulled us back and we were well on our way until mile 18. There is where things went a little off course. My run buddy just wasn't feeling it and I totally understood that. She was having trouble breathing freely. Evie had had bronchitas 2 weeks prior and when you are feeling off your game hitting a faster speed than you are use to, as in a race, it happens. To her credit, there are many days she out-runs me, so I get it. She has run 7 Ultras and I have ran zero. She knows the mind game it is, but I had to make her dig deeper, so I did pull out thoughts that I knew would inspire her and have her pain feel not nearly as significant. I felt like I was playing dirty, but I came prepared. Digging deep can go to an emotional core to find that strength that we all have. She said it worked after the race and felt she needed to write about it.
Our newbie racer was complaining about pain and suffering more and more, and although it did not effect my mental state (because hey, try dragging your leg in pain like I did in last year's Charlevoix race, when I could hardly bend it and I finished it after 5 hours), I just kept shuttering her down. NO ONE needs any negative thoughts during a hard race. Especially when you are suffering like my run buddy was. A marathon is pain at some point, and you have to respect it and welcome some of it or you will never get beyond it or to your goal. I know she didn't mean to do this, but "no doubt" and pain talking is allowed on my race course.
My buddy let me know twice that it is was alright to move on to finish strong since I was obviously pulling us along. I told her "no way" the first time, and the second time I looked her in the eye and said, "There is only one Evie Ultra and there is always another marathon." I sincerely meant it. I am not about to write my journey any other way. It is a team event at times. And that just isn't the marathon I wanted. Running 6-8 miles alone to shave that 7+ minutes would have seemed like agony, loneliness and completely idiotic. Again, not who I am or want to be.
When she gave me the final, "This is all I got" at mile 22, I knew it was time to back off. That is our code. I looked at my watch and thought okay, we can accept this and cruise in at a 10-10:30 pace. 30 seconds here and there is just fine and still a good finish.
In the last half mile we found a familiar face. Karen: a teacher, track coach, amazing runner, friend and yeah we needed her right now. She coached us to the track and I have to say, boy is she GOOOOD
…she inspired me and got my mind in check.
I saw my family waving on that last quarter mile. There is a wonderful feeling I have every time I see my husband at a race. I look right at him and I feel like I am home, and I feel a calmness and happiness. It helps that my kids look pretty darn happy too. This man lets me train for hours on weekends and takes care or our children while I am away without any complaints. He doesn't necessarily understand it, but he supports my need to achieve and listens to my remarks on running. THAT takes a lot of patience. He has kind words for me daily and I could make a list that doesn't have must to do with this race report, so I will refrain. I am grateful to my lord for giving me this partner through life and I don't say it nearly enough to him.
We hit that last half mile in close to a 9 minute pace and sprinted (well sprinting to us at that point) down the track side by side. In the last 30 feet I looked at Evie and said, "Take my hand," and we crossed victorious arms up and holding hands. Now THAT is the marathon I wanted!
Evie was elated that she just ran a 15 minute PR and I had just ran another 9 minutes off mine. Hey man, I just beat Oprah by 6 minutes and I didn't have a pacer!
Crossing the finish line and proof that it's hard to capture the feeling of a moment, which was much better than the photo. Thanks Evie, for giving me this moment.
I have found a new love in of all things: hill repeats
What is wrong with me?? I was intimidated to start doing these.
Why? Because they are excruciatingly hard! At least, that is what my brain told my lungs and legs.
Enter hard rock'n music…and we have lift off!
The biggest obstacle was actually keeping track of the count. So I came up with something simple:
• Run down the hill and pick up a small rock at the bottom
• Run with it up the hill and place it in the mailbox
• I started with 6 and have added on weekly by one to two repeats (I am currently at 15, yeah me!)
• Repeat 2x-3x a week
The reviews I have read from North Country's mentor program echoes that the best training strategies include MANY hill repeats—followed by then by many more. I have to agree with that after running the half and I literally just want to survive and see my family again. Geese, need to get that thought out of my head.
Not only will this make me stronger, faster and condition my legs for the downhill beating I will take, but I am also gaining mental toughness. I feel like a fist pumping Rocky The Italian Stallion at the end. I am just missing the them music in my iPod to carry out this crazy.
With the Bayshore marathon this weekend, I am looking forward to see just how strongmy run buddy and I have become in these last 6 months. I already have a game plan for what comes next and will share those training changes after the race report.
I need to search for those that inspire, educate and make me want and believe I can achieve more. I don't have all the answers and this experiment of one is not nearly complete. I want the joy in moving forward and setting new goals...forever and always. But how to get there??? People living their lives motivate me.
Below are some of my recent sources of full throttle inspiration:
PODCASTS:
Another Mother Runner: I can't say enough about how much I have learned from Sarah Shea and Dimity McDowell on their many informative vehicles: facebook "Tribe" page, blog, books and available in voice in this podcast! I have laughed and chokes back tears during these podcasts and ticked by the miles effortlessly. They interview a variety of experts—and a few of the rest of us—to keep life in perspective balancing running and triathlete goals, career and family to make it all doable. Their facebook group is called the "tribe" and has more than 13,000 members that feel free to ask questions, share moments and obtain answers from anyone checking it. It's actually THE place I went to find support—and got it!—when I was considering running my first full marathon. It's where I learned about Body Glide, running skirts and TMI Tuesdays.
Ultrarunnerpodcast.com: These tale spinning interviews make me believe that all things (and distances) are possible. They make me feel sane! HA! Not only do they interview interesting people—ultra runners—with insight and real experience, but they let them share their journey without much interruption, except to add to the quality of the story. I find myself hardly being able to wait for the next one. I found myself laughing out loud and stumbling listening to Russ Thomas talk about his BAD-past eating habit of grabbing left over food off hotel trays. WHAT!!?
BLOGS:
http://keirahenninger.blogspot.com: Besides being a gifted trail runner killing it on the Ultra trails and beating the boys (yup, love her already don't you), Keira Henninger lives and breathes positive energy and is authentic in sharing her own struggles with self doubt, work and family. She is a nutrition coach, race director and a thought provoking writer on her blog. I particularly enjoyed her account of what to do with negative opinions that drag you down, but should not hold such value on your day or goals. Her advice: Hit the delete button.
This is her list of top 30 Life's Most Important Stuff. Read it and read it again. http://keirahenninger.blogspot.com/2013/02/a-repost-of-lifes-most-important-stuff.html
http://liftingmyspirits.wordpress.com: This amazing female body builder went from looking 10 years older than she was—think garage sale heavy grandma (see her photo on the left)—to looking 10 years younger than her age....and she is 50! Believe it! Sweat, eating right, positive energy and commitment oozes from her blog and I can't get enough. This woman has so much focus that she transformed herself in three years to a competitor.
http://trailgirl.blogspot.com: Catra Corbett is living color and go-go unstoppable energy. She went from being a addict 17 years ago to a frequent 100 mile ultra runner—running more than 250 ultras. She holds the women's record for completing the John Muir Trail twice (out and back), a total of 424 miles. Nope, nobody else can say that. For her 48th b-day she ran 48 hours = 140 miles! WOW! Is all I got!
BTW…she is a fellow Hoka One One shoe lover. So we have one thing in common. Go Catra, Go Catra, Go Catra
VIDEOS:
How Bad Do You Want It? Part 2: I love what the speaker says in this video. "Success in intentional… You have to be willing to stay up three days in-a-row to be successful…You have 24hours to be successful…" I couldn't agree more.
MUSIC:
runningmixes.com: Free music...let me say that again FREE Music! Download FREE DJ mixes for hours of running specifically geared to 180 beats per minute for that perfect cadence. There are some slower mixes available as well. I don't always have time to create something all new for my ears and feet, and this site has frequent updates and a variety of fresh beats. Load and go!
1:58:34 and 60 out if 260 in my age bracket of women.
Payday came at the Sarasota Third Watch Half Marathon after a trip to Disney with the family—entailing horrible processed food that I will not go into details of the gasteral effect if caused—and NOT getting much of a run in all week, referring to all that walking around at Disney my taper.
I am still in a bit of an awe that I was able to pull this off. It has been a goal for some time now. Going into this challenge I knew that this race would be my best chance to PR this year in a half since I need to pull my speed back for the Ultra training in the next few months. It would be a now or never mindset and although I have been faithful to my speed work I had never ran 6 miles in a 9 minute pace.
The Journey
I set myself up in the corral near the 2 hour pace setter and didn't allow him to get more than 50 feet away. The area was a little more crowded than I had experience before. So I had to watch my step to not get bumped or stepped on. This run was a mental struggle the entire time to convince myself that I was alright and still breathing well. There was one hill bridge that we crossed—twice. I had to keep saying "Believe." Mile 6 I felt pretty good and relaxed but by mile 8 I was glad to hear Josh Wilson's Carry Me on my ipod.
Being on a family vacation with my little ones, I was feeling pretty undeserving after constantly trying to keep them in line, behaving well and telling them "no". Maybe it's a a mom thing. Guilt seems to go hand in hand with being a parent. So Lord have mercy and let me be the best I can be at this moment. And seriously, please carry me across that line.
It really is amazing what the body can take and what the mind can feed it. I was fearful of bonking thru much of the race. And I kept thinking that I was just impressed to last this long. I fed my head a line I had heard over the past few months from my Jillian Michaels DVDs, "You have more to give." I certainly did this day even though I had visions of walking...I couldn't make my feet go any faster and walking or slowing down would mean total defeat. The GU station was at mile 10 and I really needed it at mile 5. Mental note: do not depend on a race to bring the GU to the correct spot. That is also about the time when a sweaty man brushed up against me going around a corner and slimed me… eeeewwww!
When I hit mile 11, I knew getting to the last mile would be epic. Almost to the last glorious mile where I could indeed hold this pace for just one more mile.
For the first time ever I had a surge in the last half mile to the finish line. Victory was in front of me. And that man with the sign for sub 2 hours was just a couple strides ahead and somewhere we had lost many of the people that once crowded. I wanted to harness the surge and stretch it out. Feeling this moment was the best finish ever. I saw my family cheering on the side and waving animal balloons—they were happy. I sprinted what I had left to get under the clock's 2 hour mark.
Almost immediately after I crossed that finish line my body readjusted to normal like I hadn't done a thing in the last 2 hours. Amazing.
FYI: The Sarasota Half Third Watch Marathon consists of around 2600 marathon runners and another 1000 in a relay. There are some beautiful views along the route, but watch out for face planting and ankle twisting on the bridge. I saw one woman take a full swan dive and skid across the pavement. I could hardly believe that she stood up and kept running.
Sarasota has a well organized event with free family entertainment and food & beer for the runners. It is the first time I have seen free face painting and balloon animals at a race! I can't say enough about their amazing dolphin medal.
Now, back to our regular program: I have slightly modified my training program in the last two months with moving onto Ripped in 30. I am sticking to week three in the DVD as it has a more intense quad workout—it hurts a lot! And, reminds my of the pain of running down hill sides.
I have been following the Train Like A Mother "Own It" marathon plan which folds nicely into my 50Ultra plan.
So next week I ROCK 40 years and created a special temporary tattoo that I just ordered for the occasion. I am looking forward to wearing this in ALL my races this year. And frankly, I am just glad that I settled on something. For crying out out, I have a really hard time creating anything for myself! I started with a Hard Rock Café style that was clean and simple, but decided it was too tamed for my mental race state and attitude. I needed more metal, and energy… like flames!! Can't wait for 40: new age group, new decade and time to ROCK!
Not to be confused with drunk-dialing to an X, run-dialing is when you make calls while running.
I have thought about doing this before and never acted on it. But today, I had 14 miles to slam out on a treadmill, and I called my BRF to chat in the last three miles. That's right. I did it and am admitting it. Since my husband had another commitment, I had to be at home with the kids. Although I do not love running in cold, snowy weather, the long runs are much more bearable with a run buddy than on a lame treadmill staring at a wall. I hate sounding so negative, but 14 miles on a treadmill sucks! I have done it before in a straight run without breaks, but I am out of practice for this mind bender. I tried several techniques to break it up, and then the idea of making the call came to life. Silly as it was, I knew she would be making the same 14 mile run sometime this weekend. So we could chat about how her run went and maybe she would be on her treadmill at the same time. She is use to me running and panting, what the heck—I dialed. She had finished her run already, but my reward was that 3 miles past like smooth skating across a rink. A fast 3 miles and DONE. She didn't notice when I had stopped because we kept on talking.
Equally amusing, is the amount of woman that replied to this posting on the Run Like a Mother: The Book facebook page when they posted it as a status update: 90 likes and 76 responses and counting. So I am not the only one struggling with this treadmill lameness and considering other ways to get thru it. Many responded that they tweet, text, read, surf the internet, or talk on the phone. Hmmm food for thought. What else can I do while running?
