Marathon Training - Week 11 Wrap Up

Aug 27th-Sept 2nd ~ 25.8 Miles

Day 72 ~ Recovery Run (3.4)
Day 73 ~ WRWM Coaching (3 miles)
Day 74 ~ Boot Camp
Day 75 ~ Base Miles (6.18)
Day 76 ~ Walked 3 miles (after packing the car)
Day 77 ~ Set up camp and ate camp food, then did planks by the river... on my rest day.
Day 78 ~ Long Run (Traded 14 pavement miles for 10.34 gravelly, hilly miles.)

FOOD PREP MEAL -  Chipotle Chicken Quinoa Burrito Bowl

Week eleven already seems so far away, that I had to go back and look at the pictures to remember everything I was feeling/enduring/or fighting to push through the previous week. I'm telling you, three days of quiet time on the river was everything the doctor ordered. Okay, maybe I could've done without the rum and the Fireball, but this girl had needs, and getting sloppy ass drunk was one of them. I'm such a lightweight, however, sloppy ass drunk is one rum and diet coke and a single shot of Fireball. Don't hate me because I'm a cheap date. LOL

It's pretty safe to say that each run felt pretty good. I think the only day I absolutely didn't want to do anything was Thursday, and that had everything to do with having to pack up the car and nothing at all to do with exhaustion from training. So massive bonus there. Boot camp Tuesday morning was even awesome. I had slight pain over my left knee, but Dr. Wonderful took care of that for me.

My long run wasn't 14 miles like it should've been. Mentally, I was there. I was ready to do it. I told myself that just because I wasn't at home didn't mean I couldn't do those miles. That was before I realized that getting out of camp was ALLLLLLL up hill, and I mean up long, tall, gravelly hills. So in reality, for the effort, I might've done 14 miles. I will say that it was a fun and somewhat frightening adventure. My love of horror movies made the adventure better than the run. I'm woman enough to admit that. There are more pictures on my Facebook and Instagram.

The Sunday recovery miles have yet to disappoint. I know its coming. I know that after running 16, 18 or 20 miles on Saturday there will be a Sunday when the thought of pounding pavement will reduce me to tears. Right now, I plan to enjoy the comfortable Sundays, while doing the cross-training needed to make this whole experience a lot less painful.

The best part of the week, however, wasn't the training or eating the bad foods, but the fact that my LARGE InkNBurn singlets finally fit me in a way that I'm not embarrassed to wear. I started out in an 2XLarge, so this is a huge deal for me.

UPDATE FROM THE PREVIOUS POST....

I'm not one who typically likes to wallow in my self-pity. After an inspiring email from my best friend in the entire world, you guys know her as Pookie, I decided to stop making myself more miserable than I needed to be. Or at least try to. To start that process, I reached out to a running buddy who nearly made me puke all over my Mizunos last time I ran with her. In her defense, she was trying to get me to finish a 5k in 28 minutes, in the middle of summer and on a full stomach. We figured out real fast the three things don't constitute a working combination for me.

Anyway, Kirsten is funny as hell, crazy, and loves to talk, and from what I hear can keep me on pace pretty damn good. She has agreed to do the long runs with me, and since she's all like "I can do a 50k for breakfast" I figured she was just insane enough to get up before the sun and run lots of stupid miles with me. Sometimes training is also about regrouping and finding what's going to work for you. Just because things didn't start the way they were supposed to doesn't mean they can't finish with a stellar ending. In December, I expect to have my stellar ending. To quote Michael Jordan...

"You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them."

Marathon Training - Week 3 Wrap Up

Day 16 ~ Cross Training (Spent swimming Spring River. Swimming against the currents was an awesome all over workout.)
Day 17 ~ 3.1 miles (Stars and Stripes 5k)
Day 18 ~ Rest
Day 19 ~ 4 miles
Day 20 ~ 4 miles
Day 21 ~ Rest
Day 22 ~ 10 miles

(Training schedule thanks to Breakaway Running.)

HUMIDITY that, kiddos, is the word of the week. It's been above 90% all week, and if you live in the south you probably know that feels like breathing through a sweaty sock. It's gross. Point blank. <-- ha ha! Wednesday morning it was as bad as 96%. Storms coming through the area have also been messing with everyone's sinuses, so if you can breathe at all right now, consider yourself lucky.

That's not to say everything about the week sucked. Running before the sun even comes up as been nice. It's been a great way to get the happy juices flowing in my brain before going to work. It's been a great way to wake up. Plus, beating the summer heat has been pretty cool too. The neighborhood around my house has some great hills so there's plenty challenge.

WORST PART ABOUT THIS WEEK: Besides the humidity... I didn't get any of my cross training in, save for the swimming on Sunday. The gym was closed Tuesday for 4th of July, so no bootcamp, and that pretty much set the tone for the entire week. I even skipped my beloved dance class. I skipped Seven every single day and there's really no excuse for that. It's literally less than ten minutes of core exercises that I can do in my freaking pajamas. Pajamas on the couch just sounded so much better. I'm holding myself accountable right now. Tomorrow, when I finish my three gentle recovery miles, I'll come home and do the not-so-intense HIIT training. Scouts honor...

BEST PART ABOUT THIS WEEK: Saturday's long run with Daniella. She's always so much fun to be around. She has a light about her, and an incredibly fun personality. I hadn't put that many miles down in a long time, and I felt it the second loop around Midtown. I wasn't properly fueled or hydrated really, but I wasn't racing. The extra miles were just a bonus. I had a great time. It was an awesome way to end the week. Oh! And churros! I love the night before a long run because carbs!

My week of training ended with me standing at the end of my street cheering on runners as they came upon the third mile of the Hope 5k. It' always cool when neighborhood residents come out to cheer runners, even if they're standing out there with coffee in their hands and fuzzy slippers on their feet. I was still drenched from my ten mile run, but I made it home in time to get my booty out there. I had my coffee and my Oofos. Life was good.

I AM BACK!

I know this blog didn't get going well the first time around, and that's totally my fault. I let the petty grumblings of someone I considered a friend and my own insecurities stop me from doing this, from documenting the work and EPIC FUN to be had when one decides to become a runner, but I'm here now to fix that and hopefully encourage someone else to make the brave decision to do something good for their body and soul. 

"Running is not, as it so often seems, only about what you did in your last race or about how many miles you ran last week. It is, in a much more important way, about community, about appreciating all the miles run by other runners, too." - Richard O'Brien

Community is truly at the heart of Memphis Running. I know that probably sounds strange and ten years ago, when I was living in a tiny Mississippi town and walking a four mile asphalt path alone every evening, I never would've thought that anything related to fitness could be so fun and rewarding. I learned this very quickly when I joined Women Run Walk Memphis in 2015 as a beginner runner. 

I'm reminded of that when I go to the fridge to check out my Breakaway Running (a local shop that is so incredibly supportive of the community) calendar and strap my shoes on for my scheduled miles. I'm reminded of that when a friend on Facebook says "going out for five miles, who wants to join me?" or I get a text that says, "can we run tonight?" I'm reminded of that when I'm struggling to get up that last hill and a stranger pats me on the shoulder, tells me "you've got this," and chases my ass all the way to the finish line. Exercising, jogging... those are chores we do to keep us healthy. Running is a way of life. Running is community. And I can't even believe I'm saying this because three years ago I would've rather had all my teeth pulled... but running is fun.

My new adventure in running is to complete the St. Jude Full Marathon. (Click on the picture to your right to donate. Pretty please!) I've never done a full marathon before and frankly, I'm a little freaked out, but I'm going to trust the process and follow the training plan. I'm going to listen to my coach, and I'll remember the advice of a friend... not a single mile you run will be half as hard as what those kids have to go through. Gah. I got chills just thinking about that. So here's to a new goal and a new start (though I'm already 21 days into the training.)

I would like to leave you all with this video, care of Rob Hunter and the Memphis Runners Track Club. I'll admit I was moved to tears when the Women Run Walk and MRTC Kids came up. I volunteer for both those programs every year, and this video made me super stinking proud of the work we do. This video made me fall in love with running all over again!

Race Day! The Hill & Dale 8 miler

I've listened to runners talk about how fun and exhausting the long runs in Shelby Forest can be. During the 10 mile races, I watched runners zoom across the finish line in less than an hour. One hour! After being out there, I don't know how the hell they do it. Those hills don't play, and they're one right after another. But the course is one of the most beautiful in and around the city.

Here is a video from the infamous switchbacks. It took less than three minutes to climb, but felt like it lasted forever. We ran down those hills, then attempted to run back up them. On the way, we passed a girl who'd fallen and hurt her hand. She was being walked back to the finish line. My heart sincerely broke for her.



After the run ended, I felt great. I didn't have any shin pain, which was something I'd been battling for a while now. My feet didn't hurt. Life was good! I survived! A few people cheered my name--wonderful people I'd met in the Memphis Runners Track Club. I stormed across the finish line with a battlecry. That's not an exaggeration. I ran so hard it felt like I'd been speared in the center of the chest. After all, that's what we do. Finish hard, like a freakin' warrior.



So, I pretty much spent all of Sunday in the bed or on the couch, on a heating pad. Not because I had a serious injury. Nope. I'm proud to report there were no foot, knee, shin, or hip pains for this one. In fact, I didn't really feel like I'd been bulldozed by death as I'd expected to be. The soreness was in the glutes, quads, hamstrings... all those big muscles in the top of the leg. Sunday felt like I'd leg-pressed my way to eternal damnation. I verbally compromised with those muscles every time I got up or sat down--yes, that includes the toilet.

All in all, I was pretty pleased with the entire day. It started with Confident by Demi Lovato and ended with me feeling pretty damn... confident. I felt like a real runner. I ran the switchbacks. That's kinda a big deal around these parts. I laughed a little as I typed that, but there's some truth in it. Someone told me that doing Hill & Dale was about bragging rights. Now I know why.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog...

Enjoy this one minute video of me freezing my butt off while trying to form coherent sentences.

Let me start by saying that making the video above was a HUGE step toward self-confidence for me. I hate my voice about as much, if not more, than having my picture taken. However, part of the reason I'm doing this is to break through all those stupid little issues I have with myself so I can love myself more.

The Beginning...

The decision to make a change, like a lot of people, came after seeing a particularly hideous picture of myself and absolutely hating the way I looked. The picture was from my nephew's wedding and I swore that picture would never see the light of day. I promptly pursued weight loss. I dropped about 80 pounds in 9 months. I wasn't smart about it. Sure, I exercised and ate like a bird, but I also took Phentermine and lost the weight way too fast. As soon as I stopped, almost all of it came back.

In 2013, I decided to go at it again. This time, I planned to be a lot smarter about it. I went out an bought myself a Fitbit and I stuck to a diet that was no more than a 1,000 calorie deficit. I got up almost every morning and went to the gym where I walked a couple of miles, then I went to work every day. I was doing the bare minimum, but it was something and I felt a million times better. I lost 20 pounds pretty fast. Then I plateaued and I got discouraged. I gave up.

Thankfully, my stubbornness didn't last too long. A few months, maybe. I bought a treadmill so I didn't have an excuse not to walk. I started doing 5Ks with a good friend and co-worker (I walked my very first 5K in March of 2014 and completed it in just under an hour.) We started doing Fitbit challenges with friends. Life was good and the weight was coming off again. Then another friend and co-worker said to me, "Come do the women run walk with me," and my first reaction was, "um... no." I had absolutely no desire to be a runner. Zero. Nadda. Zilch. That was in June. In September, I ran the graduation 5K in a little over 37 minutes.)

Now...

I participated in the St. Jude 5k in December, which was my first time ever running that race, and I have to say it was one of the most rewarding, most magical experiences of my running life. Seriously. The runner's high was incredible. I finished 3.1 miles in 34:17. My goal had been to finish in under 36 minutes and I can't begin to explain how proud I was for beating the hell out of my goal and setting a personal record for myself.

We're going into 2016, and I've already committed to doing some pretty hardcore races (for me anyway.) I'm doing the Hill and Dale 8 miler on January 2nd. I've signed up to do the Hot Chocolate 15k in Nashville. That's 9.3 hilly miles that I swore a month ago would kill me. And last but not least, the Navy 10nm, which is NOT 10 miles... and it's in the middle of summer. That one might kill me. 

The purpose of this...

A couple of the lovely ladies from my Fitbit challenges said I was so inspiring I should do a blog. I thought--think--they're crazy, but I'm a little crazy too so I figured what the hell. Why not? I figured I would do this for myself first, then for anyone else who might need a little motivation to kick start their fitness goals. Who doesn't need a little motivation, right?

What works for me...

I like goals. I like challenges. I like competition. And I LOVE rewards. For every week I've been a well-behaved little runner, I give myself what I lovingly call "fat-full Saturday." On Saturday, I still get up and go to dance class, still go out to The Greenline and run, but I also allow myself to eat whatever I want. I've earned it. And by giving myself that day to enjoy, it's easier to keep making good choices every other day of the week. I set small, realistic goals. When I meet one of those goals, I get a reward--be it a shopping trip or a tattoo or a slice of cheesecake. The reward itself doesn't really matter. It's recognizing that I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to do.

The biggest, best, most helpful thing I do for myself is surround myself with friends who have similar goals, who want to be healthy and lose weight. Those wonderful people add a whole lot of fun to exercising. Sure, being alone is great too, but having someone there to tell you to keep going really helps. I'm thankful for every single one of those people.