Hoka 10k 2018

Hoka 10k 2018

Monday, July 27, 2015

High and Lows- Week 3

It was a gorgeous week in Ohio!

This week flew by! Maybe it was because my work week was so busy but I feel like I was just sharing highs and lows from week two. I planned an easier week with decreased mileage so I'd have  fresh legs for my 5k on Saturday. I ended up with 39.44 miles (planned to run 33 miles). Oops. I ran four instead of three on Friday and ran an impromptu double on Sunday.
 
LOWS:
  • No runs with Jackie. :( Isn't there an unwritten rule that husbands of runners aren't allowed to travel on the weekends?  
 
HIGHS:
 
  • First track workout in three weeks. Now that I'm training for the full, track workouts occur less frequently. It was good to get on the track this week so my legs could get a feel of what my goal race pace felt like.
    Track workouts in the dark...it's safe, I promise.
     
  • We added Amber to our Wednesday clan this week. Need I say more?!
  • New adventures and new people. I've been going to Hip Hop Fitness on my cross training days. This week, Suzy met me at the Dublin/Powell class. It was her first time so, naturally, I was excited for her! I also ran for the first time with Lisa B. and met a couple of new folks at my 5k on Saturday.
  • I ran a 5k on Saturday. My first stroller free 5k since The Santa Race. Don't count on me racing one of these any time soon!
    The starting line! You're looking at the Top 4!
     
  • Sunday in general. I had another great run at Highbanks for my hilly route. We added some new friends to the mix this week!
    Post Highbanks. We look so happy for people that just intentionally tortured themselves.
     
    I followed that up with a stroller run in the evening. I had no intention of running a double but I wanted to take advantage of the gorgeous night and James LOVES the breeze blowing threw his hair. He was all smiles the whole time but refused a post run selfie.
    
    #jd3 did not want to be in a pic with me!
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The next week of training is going to be all over the place. I have very specific workouts but they won't be on my usual days at my usual times. I'll be at Lake Erie over the weekend! Although I love visiting the family cottage, I hate running in that area! I'll be doing my long run on Friday and running my hilly route late Sunday.

Three weeks down!!!


Saturday, July 25, 2015

Get Your Rear In Gear- Colon Cancer Coalition 5k


 If I learned any lesson today, it's that I hate the 5k! What a tough race. Run your tail off for 3.1 miles. I'd rather slow down a bit and run longer! LOL. I would like to think that, if it wasn't 9 a.m. and blazing hot, I would have felt better. My result was actually just under where I'm predicted to be based on my 1:40 half time (I use this calculator on Runner's World to predict race times/paces).
 
As I usually do, I'll share my A, B, and C goals for this race:
  • Goal A: 22 minutes. Period.
  • Goal B: Don't throw up while trying to get 22 minutes.
  • Goal C: Don't die trying to get 22 minutes.
 
Obviously, I was a little hard on myself with this one. I usually have at least two time goals but I wasn't giving myself that option today. I knew what I was capable of, I just had to make it happen in this draining weather on this hilly-ish course. It's a course of which I'm very familiar. I've run a couple of races on it and I've done some training runs on it. I think the familiarity helped me to focus more.

Pre-race coffee is a must for many reasons!
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I knew I couldn't get my legs moving that fast unless I did a warm up. Amanda and I met a few minutes early to get in a couple of easy miles. I never feel good during those warm up miles so I wasn't really sure if I was feeling ready. I was still very nervous and that's really all I could think about.

Discussing the course in all it's glory.
When they told us to line up, Amanda and I went to the front not knowing who our competition really was. I mean, great runners come in all different sizes. One of my biggest fears in these smaller races is that I'll line up at the front to avoid the crowd and end up with a horrible finish. You know, that skinny girl with no shirt on that "looks like a runner" but actually totally sucks?! Yes, that was my fear. To rid myself of the nerves, I decided to introduce myself to the people around me, ask them their goal times, and form support systems. Fortunately, two of the other people at the front had similar goals. So a girl in my age group along with a strong man in his 50's formed a trio to encourage each other to our goals.

I love meeting new people at races! My trio included a cancer survivor from Illinois and a fellow female runner from Boston.

On your mark, get set, go! I went out a little fast because I knew where the hills were and knew I might slow down at those points. I'm usually one to attack the hills but, even when I attack them, it slows me down a bit. My legs felt like jello initially but that went away after a mile. It must have been the start line adrenaline. My first mile was 6:51. Faster than my goal pace of 7:05 but I was ok with it because I felt fine and knew I might slow down a bit.
 
Mile 2 had a couple of hills before the turn around point and 1-2 more after the turn around. This was a tough mile for me. I couldn't maintain that goal pace through these hills. I was so thankful for a fast start because I bombed this mile: 7:22! Ugh. That lit a little fire under my bum for the rest of the race. I knew I had to stay focused to get my goal.
 
At that point, you just have to tell yourself, "I only have one mile left. ONE MILE." My legs started to feel heavy. I actually felt like I wasn't going to beat 22 minutes and that really bummed me out. The last mile was mentally tough. I knew when the final hill was coming and I knew I hated it. I've run up that gradual incline so many times and knew it would feel hard at that point. I tried to gain some speed about 1-2 tenths of a mile from the start of the hill but the walkers were making it difficult. I try to have grace with people who don't know race etiquette but it can be really hard at times! In my nicest "I'm about to die" voice, I asked the walkers to please move over for the runners. They were literally taking up the entire width of the trail. Just imagine Whitley Gilbert from A Different World saying "Ex-CUSE me!" Ok, I digress.
 
As I approached the last hill, I thought to myself "This is it. If I can just make it up this hill, I'm downhill then straight to the finish." Something came over me and I just ran my booty up that hill. As I started heading down the slight downhill, I still was not confident about a 22 minute finish. I looked at my Garmin and noticed my current pace was 6:45. That was all I needed to see. It was all heart after that. I simply did not feel my legs at that point. All I could think about was how hot it was, how much I wanted to barf...and then there was Amanda. I knew she would win this race so I asked her to run to the last corner as I was finishing and yell at me. The girl did not let me down. She said, when she finished, she threw her keys at her husband and said "I have to go get Lisa!" Her cheers helped me through that finishing sprint and to a 2nd place finish! I was never happier to be finished with a race. I was able to keep from passing out and congratulate the rest of my trio on a great finish!
 
My official finish time:
 
21:38!!!

2nd Overall and 1st in age group!
 
Overall, it was brutal. Props to all the 5k-ers out there! Thanks to all of my friends and family for the wonderful words of encouragement. Thanks to my mother-in-law for watching baby James so I could run a stroller free 5k. Thanks to my fellow runners and spectators for being so encouraging on the course!

My age group award!
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What's next for Lisa? I think I have about 4-5 weeks until my next race. I'll be running Emerald City Half in Dublin on August 23rd. Because my focus right now is my full marathon in November, this will be a training run for me in which I will incorporate some marathon race pace miles. Considering it will be August, I'm mentally preparing for another brutal race!

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Things I Want To Practice During My Long Runs


I learned a few things the first half of the year when I was training for Pig. Like most runners at some point, I had some GI and fueling issues. I've always had trouble making myself eat before those long training runs. I was fortunate that I was able to make myself get up on race day to get some calories in me before running the full.
 
I haven't done a long run over 14 miles since that race. I know that when I start to run more mileage, I will need to do a better job of fueling. Fourteen seems to be my limit when I'm running on last night's dinner and the half granola bar that I had to shove down my throat on the car ride there. So, in two weeks, when I do my first 16 miler, it is important that I make some changes on long run days. Here are some things I plan to try:
 
  1. Get up earlier and eat. EARLIER?! Ugh. I've already been getting up at 4:40 a.m. on Saturdays to meet my friends at 5:30. I can't imagine getting up earlier (especially since I already get up at 4:10 three days a week). I don't know yet how I will make this one happen. For Pig, I ate hard boiled eggs about an hour and a half or two before the start. That seemed to work well for me. I might even opt for some delicious, hydrating fruit. All I know is that bars of any kind do not do me well.
    What I wish I could eat before every long run!
  2. Try other hydrating supplements. Starting this past March, I switched to water only in my handheld. Over the winter, I used a 50/50 G2/water mix because I was told that it wouldn't freeze in the frigid temps. LIES. Anyway, I noticed that my belly was getting upset when I would drink the 50/50 mix. I figured out that the G2 was the culprit. This past Saturday, I decided to drink some of Jackie's regular Gatorade and it was totally fine! I'm going to experiment with regular Gatorade on future runs.
  3. Gels. I FINALLY found a gel that cooperates with my GI system: PowerGel Vanilla. I tried just about every popular brand from GU (the thought makes me barf), honey stinger, Clif shot, and Island Boost. Now that I've found something that agrees with me, I need to practice fueling during runs. I'm HORRIBLE at this! I went on my long run a couple of weeks ago with the intention of practicing my fueling. It was just a 13 miler but I wanted to get into the habit of taking them. Nine miles went by before I realized I hadn't taken my gel! I really need to make this happen.
  4. Salt tabs. I'll start by saying I have NOT done any extensive research on these. Honestly, in all my years of running, I never knew it was a thing (probably because I had only two crappy marathons under my belt). It's amazing how much I've learned about long distance running in the last year. I took my first salt tab during Pig. I KNOW...don't do anything new on race day....whatever. My pacer, Dave, kept telling our group to let him know if we started to cramp and he would give us a salt tab. I started feeling pretty tight around 19 miles so I took my first tab. Through the rest of the race, I ended up taking 1-2 more. I have no idea if it helped. I did cramp up pretty good the last 1 1/2 miles. Would more have prevented it? Who knows. What I do know is that it's something I would like to experiment with this season.
    What I want to prevent during long runs.
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What upsets your belly? What doesn't? What do you know about salt tabs?

Monday, July 20, 2015

Highs and Lows- Week 2


My 350th blog post!!!!
(this means absolutely nothing but seems like a reason to type a lot of exclamation points)
 
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Week two of marathon training is officially over! This week was much easier for me. Mileage was about the same as last week (41.24 total miles with 41 being my goal) but I only had one speed workout planned.
 
 
LOWS:
  • Lack of motivation to get up early and run solo. If I know I'm meeting someone, it forces me to get out of bed whether I want to or not. I STRUGGLE big time to get up early and run solo in my hood. I had my one and only speed workout on Tuesday, a tempo run. I'm usually a fan of tempo runs but, based on how I felt during my warm up, I didn't think I could hit my goal splits. I ended up doing well, but getting there was a battle.

HIGHS:
  • I explored a new route. When I meet people for group runs during the week, we always start at the same spot...mostly because it's convenient. I try to make up new routes so it doesn't feel monotonous. I felt a little adventurous this week and made up a route that I wasn't totally sure about. I came out alive and unscathed...although some might wish the opposite! ;)
  • I found time for a midday run. As I've mentioned before, I'm not a morning runner. I do it because I have to in order to spend time with my family. I had a short work day this week that allowed me to run in the early afternoon. I enjoyed the sun and all it's glory.
  • Being there for your friends when they need you the most. Two different groups of my friends set out on Saturday and Sunday morning. Both mornings were very humid with a nice breeze. Some of us were feeling burned-out from the high humidity, some of us in running funks, some hurting, and others indifferent. When a friend is down and they tell you to keep going, don't do it (especially on High Street that early in the a.m.!). What they might mean is that they want you there but they don't want to hold you back. It's a beautiful thing when friends come together on a run and support each other.
    Sunday morning hills!

  • New shoes. I realized I haven't put on a new pair of shoes since February. I never count the miles I put on my shoes. I just wait until my knees start aching. I decided to order the Saucony Ride 7's again. I wore them for the first time this year and really loved them. They helped me survive my PR marathon!
Saucony Ride 7
 
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That leaves me 16 more weeks until my 4th full marathon! It seems like it's still forever away! I'm looking forward to decreased mileage this week. I have a 5k on Saturday and would love to make it a PR! (I say 5k PR loosely because, out of all of the 5k's I've run in my 19 years of running, I have NO IDEA what my true PR is...as of the past 3 years or so, 23:19 is my PR and that was run during my recent half marathon  My other recent 5ks have been stroller runs with James. I know I'm capable of better!)

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Runner Burnout


Burnout:
  • exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration
  • the condition of someone who has become very physically and emotionally tired after doing a difficult job for a long time
 
(Definitions courtesy of Merriam-Webster not Urban Dictionary)
 
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I've had a few friends lately complain of runner burnout. Runner burnout is part of the deal. We all have those extended periods of time when we don't feel motivated. Those periods of time when we feel like our body just can't do it anymore. 
 
 I can think of three different times this year alone, that I've experienced runner burnout. This past winter was the first time I've attempted running in the frigid temps. I remember in February, after 2+ months of running outside in the cold weather, I rebelled. I was done. I think I did treadmill running for two weeks straight (except for my long runs)!
 
A couple of months later, just before the Flying Pig Marathon, it happened again. I was so fatigued. I dreaded those long runs. This, of course, is normal as you approach the end stages of full training. Thank goodness for taper! The decreased mileage and extra rest restored my mental and physical depletion.
 
Then, a month later, it happened again! I was in between running my full and running my next half marathon. Three strikes! It was at that point that I decided I'd be ready for a running break after I raced the half.
 
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  So what caused my burnout?
  • Monotony: During the winter months, it was becoming a pain in the butt to don all of that winter gear. Five days a week of 1-2 layers of tights, thick socks, base tank, t-shirt or long sleeve middle layer, a jacket to top it all off; balaclava, ear warmer, hat, head lamp...is this annoying yet?! Well it was equally as annoying to put all of this on day after day!
    Gear, gear, and more gear!

  • Fatigue: All those weeks/months of training and getting up early in addition to working full time and being a mom...it takes a toll on you mentally and physically.
    For me, it wasn't too much mileage; it was the weeks and months that got to me.

  • Lack of variety in activity type: Last year, I stopped doing my weekly Hip Hop Fitness sessions. There were many reasons for it (increased my running, class times clashed with my life schedule at the time, etc.). When I wasn't able to fit that into my training, I started going to The Y and cycling 1-2 days per week. I eventually stopped that due to my workload (job load, not running load) increasing. I noticed that several weeks into ceasing those activities, I experienced one of my burnouts.
 
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So how did I recover from burnout?
  • There was nothing I could do about the weather. I just had to wait it out. I just made sure I made running dates with my friends so that donning all of that crap didn't seem as daunting. I still complained every time! ;) It was a glorious day when all I had to prep the night before was a shirt, shorts, and a sports bra.
  • I eventually took a running break. I think I took only 2 full days off after Pig. Since I was 5 weeks away from running a half, I didn't feel the need to take an extended break. I figured, if I felt fine, I would run whatever I could tolerate. It did take me a good three weeks to recover. By that time, I was mentally checked out. I just wanted to make this next race happen so that I could do nothing for a few days. I ended up taking 5 days off after that half! Just enough to restore my love tank.
    All it took was a short break to fill my running love tank.

  • I started going back to Hip Hop Fitness. When I was on my running break, I made the decision to buy a 10 class pass to my favorite Hip Hop class. I figured, if I tried to make up an excuse, I would have to go or I would be wasting my money. I've been going once a week since my half (except last week) and using that as my cross training day.
    Mike Nicholson. Take his class or you'll regret it.

 
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Can you remember a time you experienced running burnout? How did you recover from it?

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Lies Runners Tell To Get You To Run

RUNNERS LIE.
 
They will say anything to get you to run with them. Here are a few that might sound familiar: 
 
  1. The more you get up early to run, the easier it gets! SIKE! I am not a morning person. NOT. AT. ALL. Prior to group runs, I would always run when I got home from work. It could be 90 degrees outside and I'd still go running. When I found out there were weirdos that woke up at 4 a.m. to run, I was like "WHAT?!" I have been running early for 9 months now. I am not used to it.
    So early. Ugh.

  2. You'll warm up after a couple of miles! (this referring to teens and single digit temps). I suppose, if you have the right gear, you can warm up fairly easily...sometimes even get toasty on those long runs. Even with proper gear, I've had some runs where I never warm up. It's just not in the cards. There have been moments when I thought my face was going to fall off even with my balaclava donned!
    A frosty February run!

  3. You'll feel better after it's done! Whatever! Sometimes you just know when a workout is going to suck. There are times when running becomes a stress reliever, an escape from reality. There are also times when your body is screaming "NO!" because of fatigue, you end up running anyway, and it says "Didn't I try to tell you not to run?"
  4. Running is free and everyone can do it! Sure, the action of running is free. Technically, I can just step outside and start going. Let's be real, though. All runners have gear...$80-$120 later you have a good pair of shoes, $100+ later you have a GPS watch or a smart phone with app to help keep up with splits (yes, I know you can just use a stop watch, which I did for my first 18 years of running, but most runners training for something want to know their splits). Then there's proper clothing, hydration, fuel, registration fees, etc. Running's not free, people!
    
    Essential for running. Not free.

  5. The course is flat and fast! I bet you could all list races or training courses that were supposed to be flat and ended up having "gently rolling hills" or, straight up, big a$$ hills. I will never forget my DC Half experience. LIES. ALL LIES! I love hills, but I also like to know that they are there! If I'm mentally prepared, I will conquer them like a champ.
  6. If you run in the morning, you'll have more energy and won't be tired. More lies. I have enough energy to get my post run donut then I'm done. DONE...;laksdnoehgasdgjkn....Sorry, just dozed off while typing this. Guess my head hit the keyboard.
My 5th love.


What are some lies you've been told?

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Highs and Lows- Week 1

I'm being extremely annoying with all of these posts this week!  I might even wait a day or two to post this one so people aren't irked by them.
 
I debated if I wanted to post my training for this season. Honestly, I don't think people care about the exact workouts I ran. People might be more interested in the program as a whole but not a week that has already come and gone. So, rather than listing my training log for the week, I decided I would share my highs and lows. You know...that good, bad, and ugly thing I promised with this blog. Within my highs and lows, I'm sure you can all figure out my training if you care!
 
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Week one of marathon training started with 41.43 miles! I've been hovering in the 30s since Flying Pig. No reason to run anymore than that when all I was focusing on was rest and training for a half and a 10k. I planned 40 for this week but life dealt me that extra 1.43.
 
LOWS:
  • My first actual workout for the season. Stupid weather and lack of sleep started my attitude down the wrong path. I woke up at 5 am to tackle my half mile hill repeats in my hood. Anytime I plan to run solo in my hood, I end up making an excuse and falling back asleep for an hour. Nothing was different about this day. I slept longer, got ready for work, and realized "I can't run this afternoon because it's going to rain like crazy!" Ugh. I was so annoyed. I made myself change back into my running clothes and get to Morse Road for that dang workout.
  • The weather in general. It controls when I run. It predicted 60%+ precipitation for my race pace run and I just didn't want to take any chances. So, I switched that run with my 2nd rest day. Flexibility!
  • My race pace run was tough! It wasn't a complete low but it did make me thankful that I have several more weeks to improve. I did 8 miles with the overall average in the range I'm looking to run. Now I need to train my body to do 18 more at that pace! EEK! (see highs for more on this run)
    
    The best Amanda I know. This fast friend of mine challenges me like no other. When you tell her you need a certain pace, she makes it happen and then some.

  • I'm hella tight lately. I've crossed over to the dark side known as the foam roll. I wish I could say it  hurts so good but I hate it. I'd be lying if I said it didn't help.
Is that my fart face or are my calves tight?
 
 
HIGHS:
 
  • I decided to start off with a bang and make my first day of training a rest day. ;) Why not, right?!
  • Wednesdays might become one of my favorite days to run (minus the fact that I have to get up at 4am). It's my easy day! You are guaranteed to enjoy yourself on an easy day. It's a regular date with my Marion and we're lucky enough to be joined by Dani this week.

Easy running!

  • Race pace run. Even though I decided to switch it because of the storms that never happened, it was totally worth it! I had an awesome workout, thanks to Amanda!!! I get so scared when I do these workouts. I had some awesome splits that increased my confidence in my ability. It didn't go exactly as planned and I got a little out of control with my "cool down," but I was happy with the result nonetheless.
  • Long Run. I made my first long run 13 miles. Some people might think that's too many but there's no sense in me going backwards when I've already been doing 12ish miles for my long runs. On our last mile, Theresa challenged us to try an 8:10 pace. Many words came to mind when she said that and "Yay" wasn't one of them! We ended with a 7:45 mile! Ha! It was fun trying to make myself barf.
One bagel for every mile, right?

  • Highbanks. This was my second visit to this park and I fell even more in love with it. This place is so gorgeous. It's perfect for my Sunday hilly runs. I loved it so much I went home and looked up trail races! I guess I need to break it to the hubs that I want to add that to my run list for the year.

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It looks like my highs outnumbered my lows which is always a good thing. I'm super thankful that I still have 3+ months to improve! Happy running everyone!
 

Monday, July 13, 2015

Follow up to "Words"

I just wanted to clarify some things about yesterday's post.
 
  • It wasn't about an attack on me, personally. Although, these same "adults" have treated me this way in the past. I'm not the only one that has been part of their games. I wanted to clarify this because I received a lot of encouraging words yesterday (which were appreciated, of course) but I wanted y'all to know this was not me seeking attention in any way.
  • I just want others to know they aren't alone in the way they feel. We are human. It is normal for humans to feel this way. The way you handle these situations is what matters. I don't always handle things in the way that I should. I can get hot-headed, angry, lash out, etc.
  • The animosity I felt yesterday, and many other days towards these people, is NOT RIGHT. No matter what these people do or say to me or my friends, I should not react in any way except love.
  • Loving mean people is hard...but guess what?! We are all mean at some point to someone. Don't you want to be loved even when you are a jerk? Yes, when people make the same mistakes OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN, it makes loving them so much harder...but that's what we are called to do. LOVE.
  • I also feel that, even though I'm called to love all people, that doesn't mean I have to be BFFs with everyone. It's just not possible. There are definitely people that you have to keep at an arm's length (or in this case, as far away as possible). Some people just aren't healthy for your life.
  • I try to see the positive aspects of all people but there are simply some people that just don't allow that to happen. I've given these people the benefit of the doubt several times but now I'm done. DONE. I will be kind, I will show love, but I will not pursue (in fact, I might avoid if possible!).
    

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Words

When my mind is bothered by something or someone(s), it helps to write down words that come to mind. I don't always know what words will be written. I just write down what I feel lead to write at the time. After writing down the words, I'll look up the exact definitions so that I can better relate it to my situation. These are the words I wrote down today:
 
 
  • Friendship- the relationship of being friends (a person you like, enjoy being with; a person who helps and supports someone)
  • Loyalty- a feeling of strong support for someone or something
  • Gossip- information about the behavior and personal lives of other people; talking about the private details of other people's lives
  • Malice- desire to cause harm to another person
  • Slander- to make a false spoken statement that causes people to have a bad opinion of someone
  • Two-faced- not honest or sincere; saying different things to different people in order to get their approval instead of speaking and behaving honestly
  • Insecurity-not confident about yourself or your ability to do things well
  • Animosity- a strong feeling of dislike
 
I'm not saying these are all feelings that I have or words that describe me. They are just words that came to my mind.
 
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It starts off well...friendship, loyalty. Then I have 6 horrible words that make you forget about the first two. I am 32 years old and I feel like I'm living in a world of babies. Immature adults (older than me!) that act like they have no clue how to be adults. It blows my mind the way people act sometimes. Not only do people act like fools, but they pretend it's ok and that it's normal.
 
And while we're on the topic of things that blow my mind, it also blows my mind that:
  1. "Adults" talk poop about other adults; said adults find out and try to confront them about it in order to have an adult conversation, then the said "adults" deny the action that is known as being true.....was that hard to follow?
  2. People can be so insecure that they have to hurt other people, particularly behind their backs, to make themselves feel better. What sense does it make to hurt others to make yourself feel BETTER?!
  3. Finally, it blows my mind that I can allow such people to cause animosity in my own heart. Did y'all hear that? I'm allowing these "adults" to cause animosity in my own, Christian, heart.
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My sincere prayer today is that I can shake these people and rid my heart of this animosity. Despite the way their actions make me feel, I pray I can ignore those actions and not allow it to make me feel this way. I pray I can stay loyal to those who are most precious to me...those who I call friends. I pray that my passion for protecting these friends doesn't cause this animosity that I feel at times.
 
Phew. That was hard.



Wednesday, July 8, 2015

What Are You Thinking?!

I was reminded of a time, almost three years ago, when I ran my second marathon. I was somewhere past the 20 mile mark of the Columbus Marathon...very injured, very embarrassed, and, apparently, verbally upset. I thought I said, in my own little brain, "I'm never doing this $h!t again!" What I found out one short second later is that I said it out loud. The man beside me said "Shut up! Yes you will!!"

Then, I wondered, what do my friends think about while they are racing?
 
In addition to the above, I often think:
 
Why am I doing this to myself?  Stay relaxed. Don't give up...there are people that want you to fail....and people who want you to succeed. I hope my pictures look good this time.
 
That's just naming a few. So I asked some of my runner friends, "What do you think about while racing?" The responses were entertaining to say the least! I decided to put them into department store categories for your reading enjoyment.
 
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Food/Drink:
  • when to take your gel.
  • "How many drinks can I slam when I'm done before I have to parent again?!"
  • "Can't wait to drink a lemonade and eat a ton of food."
  • "I wanted Starbucks so bad when I passed the store right on the race route. I basically cursed the race directors that put a Starbucks on the route."
 
Clothing:
  • checking out all of the cute outfits...and the ugly ones!
 
Health and Beauty:
 
  • "Please don't poop."
  • "I hope I don't puke."
  • "I wonder if I look like *$* when I run?"
  • "Where can I poop mid-run if necessary"
  • "Do I really look as bad as my cap city pic when I run?"
  • "I hope the girls don't smell me."
  • "I thought about all the ways to try to hold it in the last few miles!!"
 
Entertainment:
  • laughing at funny signs
  • needing high fives, etc. from spectators
  • "I like to just sing to my music."
  • praying to God
  • talking about people
  • "I tell people off in my mind because I always seem to have a better conversation/argument when I can have 10 do-overs."
  • "I think about people that are motivating to me when the race gets tough."
  • I repeat this "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
  • "I find myself always thinking about who my 'person' is going to be when I am racing. My 'person' is someone that I use as my visual to go after in the race. If I pass that person, I pick a new person."

Sports:
  • "Do not walk."
  • "Just get to the finish."
  • "That *b* better not pass me!"
  • "*$*, I hope I don't get tripped"
  • what my next race will be
  • how I need to push through my comfortable zone
  • "I get really pissed passing people who obviously put better finish times to be in higher corrals. Seeing people already walking in mile one *f's* with my mind"
  •  targeting people to pass and try to pass them until I'm done.
  • cursing the hills
School Supplies:
  • mentally calculating my finish based on current average pace
  • frustration about the course being too long or too short
 
Other:
  • "I don't think much."
  • "Why am I doing this?"
  • "Will this ever end?!"
  • "Why did I pay for this *$*?"
  • thoughts of gratitude that I am physically able to endure 13.1
  • Life...work through things that have been bothering me
  • the goal I set and not stopping
  • "I analyze peoples' gait and often decide that they are an injury waiting to happen."
     

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Do you have any thoughts that aren't on this list?!
 
 
 
  

 















Saturday, July 4, 2015

Hilliard Rotary Freedom Run 10k

Post race with James. He wanted to help mommy hold her medal.

This race has been on my radar for a while. I can't remember what prompted it. I must have been looking for a shorter distance race to do in July and found this one. I think it was perfect timing because I was fully recovered from my half last month.
 
As y'all know, I make an A, B, and C goal. Here were my goals for this race:
 
  • Goal A: Average a  7:20 pace.
  • Goal B: PR, preferably under 47 minutes (previous PR was 47:34...Spoiler alert after the fact: I think I just told you guys that I PR'd)
  • Goal C: Come out alive...but it better be alive and under 48 minutes.
 
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This was a small race, 125+ participants, that ran mostly on the Heritage Trail in Hilliard. If you are familiar with that trail, you know this course was flat as a pancake (or my chest after James stopped breastfeeding). There were a couple of "bunny hills," at least that's what Jackie was trying to tell us as she was barfing in her mouth. (side note: don't forget about my boobs...they come up later in the story)

This morning, I woke up feeling BLAH! I was stupid yesterday and ate a bunch of crap at a BBQ and it was weighing heavy on my belly. I had an upset stomach the rest of the evening and into the morning. On top of that, I didn't sleep well because James was up on and off throughout the night (bless my hubby for getting out of bed and dealing with it so I could try to rest). I tried to have a good attitude when I woke up. I thought "I'll eat my two eggs, drink some coffee, and visit the restroom a few times before I leave." NOT SO MUCH. I went to the fridge and we were fresh out of eggs. In fact, we were fresh out of any food that would do me any good. I had to settle for an itty bitty granola bar.
The granola bar I wish had been two eggs.

Besides this, I was a little concerned about my knee. It's been feeling funky over the last two weeks. Nothing crazy but enough to make my mind wonder. Definitely something I'll continue to monitor when I increase my mileage.
Pre race...discussing boobs and fat butts.

When I arrived to The Y for packet pick up, the volunteer said "You must be running the 10k." I wasn't totally sure how to take this but I went with it being a compliment. I confirmed my race and name and the same lady said "So, XL shirt I assume?" (this is where my boobs come in) I chuckled and told her "Yeah, for my huge boobs!" That got the old men at the table rolling. You would think I had won the conversation award until she came back with "What about your fat ass?!" Ha! Yes, direct quote from a stranger!

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The race was not chip timed so we took our friends' advice and got as close to the front as possible. At the starting line, we met a nice lady named Theresa. She asked if we were under 40. At first, I was thinking "PLEASE don't be referring to time!" Fortunately she meant age group! She was in the over 40 group (which still baffles me because she looks amazing) and was looking forward to winning her age group. I figured out she had the same goal as Jackie and me so we all decided to help each other out.

My goal was to practice pacing and keep my miles close to 7:20 throughout the race. I ran the first a bit fast (7:11) so I was able to adjust appropriately. My second mile was closer to goal pace (7:23) but I was feeling so sluggish already. Just two miles into the race, I knew I couldn't hold that pace the entire time. As the next mile ticked by, my pace got SLOWER (7:38)...EEK. I was so annoyed with myself at this point that I was able to speed up a bit for the next mile (7:30) and a little slower the next (7:34). At that point, it was all mental. I felt famished and fatigued from poor fueling.

Jackie and Theresa are the reason I survived the last 1.2 miles. We ran our couple of bunny hills and headed to the finish. Jackie knows me well and knows my favorite form of motivation during racing is to be assertive and a little mean. She was ahead of me  at this point and said something along the lines of "I can't hear you breathing! " which basically means "Get your booty up here, now!" I was able to kick out a final mile of 7:25 followed by the last 0.2 miles.

Ugh. The race felt so hard because I felt so BLAH. I'm not sure if I did a poor job tapering, maybe my legs were tired from Hip Hop Fitness...Either way, I cannot complain about my finish time:

46:20!!!

PR!

Woo Hoo! I was 4th female overall and 1st in my age group (thanks to Jackie who finished 3rd overall...was this a repeat from the Winter Run? or Santa Race? I don't remember. But Jackie is good at finishing in places that bump me up to award level! What are friends for, right?!)
Post race awesomeness

Pros: Flat course, great weather, nice competitors, great post race snacks

Cons: no chip timing, no spectators except at start and finish, poor use of signs to help us make proper turns in the park section of the course
My award :)

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What's next for Lisa:

I officially start full marathon training on Monday!! I hope I'm ready for round two. I've never done 2 fulls in one year so this should be interesting. My next race is Emerald City Half which will now be incorporated as a training run for my full.