So, here it is, first blog post. So many things run through my head - How much to reveal? Will anyone read this? How much "crazy" should I show or should I even try to hid it? God, please don't let my mother read this.
A little background on me. I turned 50 this year. 50 years old. I still do not believe it, even when I hear myself say it. I honestly do not know how I got here so fast. When I realized that I was really going to turn 50 I decided it is high time to start doing a few things on the ole bucket/fuck it list . I have read enough and talked enough to know I do not want to play small anymore.
I started the year with the an anniversary of being a quitter...I smoked most of my life, hell I was damn good at smoking, but I quit. Nicotine is such a damn liar. Mentally I know it's bad. That is part of the allure too...its bad and oh so socially unacceptable....anyway, I reached the one year milestone in January of 2014. I can't smoke anymore, I need to be good at something else.
I signed up and ran my 3rd half marathon - the Cowtown. It was at the end of February, I finished it in 2:09:33. Not too bad for not having a clue, pretty good actually. Had fun. I did not know a soul running it but met some very nice kids from TCU waiting in line for the porta potties and they physically got me in the corral (we couldn't find the gate in and I am too short to get over the fence).
In March, a friend and I went to Hawaii for a week of Surf School...it was freaking AWESOME. It was hard, much more difficult than it looks and I never was "up" for long, but when I was, it was great. Met some wonderful ladies on this trip. First vacation type trip EVER without the hubs - girls only surf camp. Would do it again in a heartbeat.
In April I drove to Luckenbach, Tx (yes, the same as the song, THAT place) and ran my 4th half marathon - The Lone Star Half. Again, I did not know a soul running this race. My time was 2:13:19. I am supposed to be improving but this was not the case....looking back on it there are several reasons/excuses - it was a little warm, the roads sucked, it was hilly, I didn't sleep well the night before, yada yada yada. The REAL problem was me. I didn't have a clue about fueling or hydration. People tried to explain it to me but all I could see were added calories. I was coming out of a fat period of my life and did not want any added calories. All I consumed was water and a few raisins. 4th half marathon and still believing water and raisins are good enough. Happy but Clue*fucking*less. I was a cramped up mess when it was over. Had at least a 4 hour drive out of there. I didn't even get my free beer I was so cramped up. Good Grief.
Before I ran my 4th Half Marathon I threw my hat in the ring for the Chicago Marathon. It was a lottery drawing to see if I could get in, but I did. So I booked the flight and hotel ASAP. I also decided to get help on the training and not do it "Tammy's Way", which is usually a combo of what I think, what feels right from what I read and what I hear. I decided there are a lot of people out there with way more experience, at this huge monster that is a marathon, than me and it would be wise of me to use them.
In May I joined Luke's Locker Early Marathon training group. They gave us a training plan every week and on Saturday morning we got up before the crack of dawn and started our progressively longer runs. I loved the group as I always run alone. I met and made friends with several girls that I feel like I can call anytime.
In June we (better half and I) went to Seattle and then on an Alaskan cruise. I continued to meditate, pray and train while on the cruise....had a blast. We had an AWESOME suite - we are spoiled for life now. We have been on at least 10 cruises and never knew this level of suite/service existed on a cruise, until now. The wildlife was great in Alaska too. Very nice trip - so glad we went.
We had started a remodeling project while we were on vacation...the agreement was that it would be completed while we were gone and IF there were any issues we would be contacted via text or email. The house and yard we came home to was like the after math of a bomb...the remodel went on for a couple of months. We are happy with the results now but living through it was painful. I may have OCD tendencies and I like things in a certain order. Remodeling a house and living in it is straight up chaos.
After the cruise I joined an on-line group of ladies called the Inner Circle of Sole which is a part of Brooks First Marathon (blog and facebook). These ladies are committed to living larger and not playing small, setting big ass goals and busting ass to achieve them. I wanted to see what I could learn from them. I have never had goal I did not reach but I knew that I had a lot to learn about running, especially about running a marathon.
July, August, September - full of training training training. I run, lift weights and do yoga. I am learning to pace myself while running but it is a learned art. Others seems to be much better at it than me but I am making progress. I learned a lot about hydration and fueling before and during runs - I am sure I have much more to learn but what I know now freaks me out on how I used to "operate" on and before runs....mercy mercy mercy.
October. It's show time. Chicago Marathon is October 12th. We fly to Chicago on Friday, October 10 so we have a little time to settle in. I am pretty calm at this point - I have no doubt that I will finish but I am a little excited and scared of the unknowns - the weather, how much it's going to hurt, etc... Saturday I meet up with several ladies from the Inner Circle of Sole - so very nice to put faces with the names. I feel like I 'know' some of them from their postings before I even meet them.
I loved the Marathon. I loved the crowds, the sounds, the signs, the energy from the crowds and from the fellow runners. I just ran. I settled in and just ran. I never pushed it, I never felt like I needed to stop, I never hit the dreaded wall. It wasn't easy but it wasn't as hard as I feared it might be. I did see a lot of carnage along the way - people carried off in stretchers, many runners with IT band issues, hip issues, cramps, etc. I prayed for them and prayed to keep any negative energy coming off of them to reflect off me. I finished in 4:25:44. 4's have a special meaning for me and a set of three 4's are mine and make me feel like God is reminding me "I got you" and "you are on the right track, Girl" etc. So, I wasn't surprised at all to see those numbers in my time. I tried to soak up the feelings when it was over....and I wanted more.
That is enough catch up for now. So, end of my first post - the rest will not be this long, but might actually say more :)
Peace out.
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