Double Virgin Run

LOL - not like that!  Today is the first time, ever, that I ran at lunch time.  I liked it.  I am working from home so I had the opportunity and I took advantage of it.  I work from home frequently but it has never entered my mind to actually run at lunch time...the thought came to me when I woke up the let the dog out during the night..not sure why other than I didn't work out yesterday and I guess I felt guilty on some level. 

I need to shake things up and not do the same routine all the time...there is a fine line between the absolute comfort of my "routine" and the absolute boredom of the same shit different day I can get into.  Mercy, I am such a Gemini.

Today was also the first time I listened to a podcast, while running, called the "Mental Illness Happy Hour".  Pretty interesting so far.  Looks like most of these podcasts are at least an hour long...I will download a couple more, but I am pleased to say this certainly kept my mind occupied on my noon run.  Or maybe it was the combo of running at a different time of day and listening to something new and different ...who knows, it worked today.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving - I have a 5k in the morning.  I am kind of excited about it and I am thrilled with myself for NOT signing up for the half marathon - yeah!!!!

Love and Light.

Lessons learned from recent Races

I have completed 2 races in as many weeks - one 10K and one 20 miler.  I learned lessons in both.

The 10K went well, very well for me.  This distance is good for me.  I was able to maintain a pretty good pace - average 8:17.  I came in 2nd in my age group.  The lesson I learned is this - I am not to only one trying to pick people off at the end.  Hello?  I know, this seems silly but my focus has always been on ME over taking someone else.  In this race, I was BLOWN away at the end.  I did not even know she was behind me...never gave it a single thought.  There was really no one in front of me to pick off at the end so I was just cruising along, and this woman came outta nowhere at full speed...not enough time left for me to get up to the speed I needed to catch her, even if I could have <not altogether certain I could have caught up with her even if there was enough time>.  So, I came in 2nd in my age group instead of 1st.

Not too shabby though, for two 50 year olds to come in 4th and 5th overall females.

Lesson:  Do not cruise at the end of a race, there may be an unseen force coming for you :) Finish strong, every single time.

20 miler.  This race went well through mile 13.  I had 13.1 under 2 hours, which is a PR for me.  But this was not a half marathon I was running, it was 20 miles.  This race did not go well for me after mile 13.  I ended up walking, walking a lot.  I had music on, I tried singing along in my head, I switched to an audio book, that occupied me for awhile.  I tried going through my "I am so grateful for" list - I would like to say that kept me busy for a long time, but that would be a lie.

I was not mentally tough in this race.  It is embarrassing to admit that but it is so very true.  I wanted to quit.  If there had been a shortcut back, I would have had a hard time talking myself out of taking it.  It just blew my mind that just last month I ran a full marathon without even thinking of walking and here I am freaking walking in a 20 miler.  WTF?  It's not like I couldn't breathe, I wasn't hurting, I was really bored and just wanted it to be over with already!  

I did end up with 3rd in my age group (only because 2 in my age group went in as Masters).  

It so was not my best.  I don't have to "place" every time for it to be my best, I just have to do my best and this was not it.

Several things I learned from this race:

1.) I need to spend time before the race visualizing the race.

2.) I need to pay attention and eat enough in the days leading up to the race, 

3.) I need a plan to fight off the negative voice in my head.

4.) I need to plan how to deal with boredom effectively.

5.) I can not take any mileage for granted.  Respect all distances.

6.) I need to put my race bib on my leg, not my jacket as it is a PITA to remove it during a race and re-pin it to your leg.

Things I did well:

1.)  I finished strong - passed 2 runners well in front of me.

2.)  I wasn't happy with myself but I didn't leave - I stuck around until the event was over (even though I was totally by myself).

3.)  I got out of bed and ran/walked 20 freaking miles.

I need to learn my lessons well, and Rock On.

Cold Running for a Texas Girl

OK, I get it.  My version of cold and your version of cold are 2 completely different things.  Call me crazy, but I really don't like running is anything under 70.  That being said, I have to suck it up and just freaking do it.  I spent most of last winter in the gym, because I could.  This year I am looking to get over my fear of running in the cold.

I have been dressing in layers but the layers never really come off.  Yesterday I went out for a 55 minute run, honestly I had not idea what the temp was it just felt cold to me.  I recently lucked into some fleece lined running pants at Marshall's for $16.99 - can I get a "hell yeah" on that price?  Yep, I bought 2 pair.

I wore a pair of those, a top and jacket.  Had my ears covered. Stepping out of the house I realized it was colder INSIDE than outside - wtf?  Whatever, I had miles to run.  I assumed I would be taking off the jacket but I never felt the need to.

The run was uneventful - was supposed to be an easy run and it pretty much was.  Had an average pace of 9:12 for 55 minutes - covered 5.98 miles.

Walking home after the run I pass a boy probably in his 20's wearing a tank and shorts....he laughs at me and I laugh at him :)  He tells me I look "funny" and I tell him he looks cold.  I am sure he was thinking "old people are so weird".

My better half told me it was probably in the 60's. Maybe I will get used to it somewhat or maybe we can just skip winter here.  THAT would be fine with me.

Hey - did I mention I signed up for the Dallas Marathon?  It is December 14.  Chances are good that it will meet my definition of cold and I doubt they will move it inside, so, I gotta get over the fear of the cold and  just do it.  Here I am going out for a run when it is in the 60's.

Random Reveal, first blog post

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.