Day 3- No Running
And I'm a mess.
I'm loosing my words.
I'm tripping over things. I'm dropping things.
3 days.no running.make tiger go crazy.
I'm reading...about Running.
I'm Reading the
Non-Runner's Marathon Guide for Women.
It's hilarious.
I'm also reading ChiRunning.
You'll have a full book report when I'm done (end of the week?)
I'm going to nap. send out some emails. Then come read and comment on blogs.
On a positive note, I finished writing my goals. Since I'm sooooo goal oriented, goal writing stressed me out, even with the goal coaching and support of everyone.
It's a huge relief.
I'm trying to be positive.:):):)
I'll come out alive.
look forward to my comments on your blogs.
Committed--and on the sidelines...
"Life is full of setbacks, success is determined by how you handle the setbacks" --This is a picture of me after the last race I did...
We'll take a pic after the marathon to compare pics.
So, I signed up for my full marathon.
I finally did it.
I bit the bullet.
I pushed the fear of failure to the side and paid my $85.00 to run in the marathon in 2 months and one day.
And I have to take a week off.
My ITB was really bugging me on Wednesday, and I didn't run Thursday because of it. Then, I set out for 26km this morning and only managed 17km. Physically, I felt fantastic. I could run forever!!! But mechanically my body was telling me otherwise. My shins were killing me, it felt like my knees were cracking, and my ITB seized up.
Shit.
I was fully prepared to run the last 9, but the Running group I run with (read: coach) decided they were going to be the voice of reason and tell me that running is just plain stupid and that I should "listen to my body." So I took the walk of shame to the bus.
I was a little sad.
But I am making a choice to heal my body and still run a pretty damn good marathon.
And I just did a bit of goal coaching, so the dream of sub 4 is still there, but it might not be realistic right now.
This is my plan for the week:
*Get a massage
*Ride my bike
*Swimming
*Non-weight bearing strengthening.
*Keep a positive attitude and heal quickly.
* Buy a new pair of shoes (even though I have orthodics I think that the cushioning in the shoes still breaks down)
And when I can start running again, I was talking to someone who trained for there first marathon in 1.5 months because of injury, and was splitting his long runs up throughout the day (20km am, 14 km pm.). I know this defeats the purpose but maybe for a little while after I fix my pains, it might be beneficial to try.
I know I'll finish the race. Cause I paid for it, and I want to wear my shirt.
So now I'm going to soak in an empsom salts bath, and have breakie.
Catch up with you guys soon!
Tiger
Taking The Edge Off
"The Greatest Glory is not in never falling, but rising everytime we fall"- Nelson MandelaSome people do things that aren't so productive to take the edge off, when you're on edge about something.
Some people eat.
Some people drink.
Some people spend money.
Some people take exessive amounts of tylenol or sleeping pills.
I run.
This is the story of a run. A run that was, in some ways painful, and in other ways calming and comforting.
My day was fine until my 'goal coaching' session. I was excited about this. Come on, lots of time to talk about me. Lord only knows that I love doing that. The only thing was, was that I wrote my goals down at 3am because I couldn't sleep. This is the time that your true thoughts and feelings come out. I ended up with a page and a half of goals, and didn't re-look at them until the session. When we were looking at them. Together.
And I started freaking out.
This is the side of me that I keep away from everyone else around me, excluding my best friends.
This is the side of me that I don't want to share with someone I don't know.
I managed to keep myself composed for the duration of the session. When it was over and I went to go back and get my stuff, I started to freak out. Those who asked me 'how it was' I responded 'ok' and left it at that.
And then I walked out of the store and started freaking out. I couldn't stop thinking about it.
"I have to let it go", I thought to myself.
I got on the bus and put a call into my best running buddy, Super Dano, and told her I would be late. She said she'd stick around, which was fantastic.
I got there, changed quickly, and realized I had no socks.
"Oh, well. People run with no socks all the time."
And off we went. We started talking, and catching up and told her that she should start telling me about her. She didn't, and I started about the day I had, explaining why I was feeling on edge. I then went on to tell her my story.
[My story is not something I will write here. Not because I don't want to share it with you, my Running Blogger Family, but because of the family members out there that are reading. If you realllyyy want to read it shoot me an e-mail.]And guess what? I learned more about her too. And we talked and ran and ran and talked. And then my feet started getting blisters, so I ran and talked and walked and talked and ran some more.
At the end of the run, we were both feeling calm.
The endorphins stimulated us being calm. And the talked helped too.
I appreciate running a lot today. Not just for the edge it helps me take off, but for the friendships it creates. For the wisdom that gets shared. For the stories that get told.
Tiger*
[wow. Can we say 'Debbie Downer'? My last 3 posts have been pretty negative. The happy, ridiculously perky Tiger is coming back soon. Next post. IIIII Promise]
Once Again...
A sub-par, less than fantastic run.
Warning: Partial Mental Breakdown Ahead.
SO I went out for 28 before I went to work at 2. I left at about 9. Started off fantastic. Good clip, felt good, was going to try using e-load
and water, as well as taking gels. By the time I made it to Port Credit, (about 8k) everything was falling apart. My
body wasn't tired, but mentally I was exhausted. At 8k! This isn't a good sign.
Brian Tracey, a motivational speaker, suggests that if you decide to feel a certain way conciously, you're body will accept it and within minutes you will feel like you are that way. That doesn't make much sense, so I'm going to explain. If you aren't feeling so good, but you conciously decide that you feel fantastic, you will soon begin to actually feel that way.
SO I tried. And I tried hard. (Note: I had still about 20k to go.) It felt sort of like there was an angel and a devil on either shoulder. The devil won. I couldn't pull myself together. It was incredibly frustrating. I ran on for another 4k. Then I turned around and walked. This is totally not me. I'm not the type to give up so easy. I
was tired, but still. Normal people would have toughed it out.
So Now I analyze. Because that's how I roll.WTF is wrong with me??? Why does my mind sabotage me. Seriously.
Actually I'm too tired to analyze. But I'm not just writing this off as a bad run. I'm going to try again. Monday, I don't work until 3pm. I'm getting my ass out of bed and getting that run done. End of story. If I start at 5:30, theres no way I ccan't cover the distance by like, 9. And I'm not bringing my Garmin. Just my, my ipod and the road.
I'm doing a 30k race in a month. It'll be good for training.
Speaking of training...wait...speaking of goals, I think I've revamped it.
I honestly just want to finish. If I have an A, B, C goal, I'm never happy with the B or C goal and I hurt myself trying to get to the A goal...
I got a little freaked after the 16k. If I get sick after 16, how am i going to do 42.2? What am I going to look like after the race? Am I going to be on the verge of death? Seriously. Will I be able to finish? This is the pre-race/mid-training doubt sneaking up I think. And it's a couple of bad runs that allow me to get there. Seee...sabotage.
And I guess it doesn't help that I'm on the cusp of injury...ITB is acting up again. And I'm ignoring it as best I can. And stretching, and icing. I'm going to Yoga tomorrow I think. If worse comes to absolute worse I;ll go see the P.T. But I'm avoiding it at all costs. I've also got "The Stick". It works well too.
So now Im going for my fit test at premier fitness, where they can tell me I have to spend 1000 dollars and loose 30lbs and 19% body fat. Haha fantastic.
I'll catch up before my run tomorrow!
Tiger
My First Race at Age 20
So, I did something very unusual today in many ways.
- I didn't plan. I didn't plan my pace, how I was going to run, if I was going to 'negative split' it. I just ran.
- I didn't wear a watch, garmin or any other form of timing device. I ran by feel.
- I didn't carry water. I drank water and gatorade (a cup of each) at every aid station.
- I didn't do 10 and 1's. When I reached the aid stations, I grabbed gatorade and water and started to run again.
- Ate breakfast in the car. About an hour before the race started.
Everything had an interesting effect on my body. This brings us to the meat of the race report.
Pre-Race:
Nothing exciting. I had chicken fingers for dinner. Went to bed at 12:30. Got up again at 5. Couldn't find my race kit, or bib. Or running shoes. Fantastic. Found all my stuff, and got my race belt. Got together and met my ride at the Running Room. I ended up eating the cheerios that were in the race kit on the way there.
We found a place to park and walked to the start. Got our chips and mingled around with people from Port Credit (whom I totally miss), then lined up where I was supposed to. They had everyone divided into colored corals. I was in the last corral if you could believe it.We just got ready to go. I didn't even go to the washroom. (I would pay for this later.)
And we were OFF! Since I was in the last corral it took me about 4 minutes to cross the start line. The only thing along the course were kilometer markers--there was only one clock at 8km. It didn't really mean much to me either. Haha. And since I wore no watch, I have no splits. I paced myself by finding someone in the crowd with a good clip and tried to match it. It turns out that at 8km, I find out that it's the Area Manager of the Running Room, and we talked for a while. I was glad to have someone I knew on the course. We kept playing tag when there were about 5km to go. She said I should kill the last 3. So I tried. Then she caught up cause I got water. It was really quite amusing.
Kilometers 5-10 were done around the Leslie Spit. Apparently thats the worst part of the marathon course. There are no trees and no shade. Thank goodness today was cloudy and rainy. (perfect race weather) At about 6k, I had to go to the washroom. Despearately. I saw someone run out of the porta potty, so I ran in. It was fine. It took me about 30 seconds. Then kept going to find the person I was chasing.
The way back was pretty un-memorable. I just remember being really tired. But these Brian Tracey CD's I've been listening too say that if you visualize yourself feeling great, you will. And it actually worked for about 3km. And then I was ready for it to be over. And there were only 2k left. 12 minutes, give or take.
The way the course is laid out, you have to turn a corner, and then run about 100 meters to the finish line. Before you turn that corner, it's like a dead-zone. Theres no air. I got this sudden urge to puke. And there was no stopping it. I got rid of the one gel I took at 8km, and the 8 glasses of gatorade and water.
100 meters from the finish!!!! So much for the finish sprint! So much for finishing strong. THe spectators (many of them runners themselves) urged me to shake it off and just keep running. And I did. But the final 100 meters took everything I had.
Sue, who I was running with, finished about 30 seconds behind me. I also saw Melanie, the manager of the RR where I teach. I talked to Sue for awhile, and I told her what happened, and she suggested I got to the tent to get some water and make sure I wasn't too dehydrated. And I was dizzy and too tired to fight. So I went. And I found some friends too.
On the way back, I got changed, and we drove in the car. What an adventure. Haha. Many of my Running friends said they would cheering me on when I do the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon...and that they'd reserve me a spot at the med tent. We're batting 50% now. Oh boy.
And apparently I wasn't crazy about the 'dead zone'. Others said they'd experienced the same thing. I think I was the only one who puked though. Booo.
So yeah! Happy birthday to me. I guess I just needed something to blog about. And NO I didn't go out drinking last night.
Thanks for reading friends. The 2 pics I have to come!
Tiger
Stopping To Catch My Breath
Both figuratively and literally.
I haven't checked my e-mail in 12 days. (Yes, it's possible to be away from the computer that long in this day and age.)
I haven't visited blogs in about the same amount of time.
I haven't posted a blog for awhile.
I haven't been able to breathe properly since Tuesday night.
So I'm stopping. And breathing!
My runs have been mediocre.
I hate being mediocre. Mediocrity is as close to the bottom as it is to the top.
Not great. Some were bad, others were just okay.
My longest run has been 16km. I should be at about 20 or 22. I'm not too concerned about this, however, because I can just cut 6k off a 10k tempo run and tack it onto a long run. This way I'm not increasing my mileage too much.
Im running enough. I actually ran backwards into a big telephone poll. Hard. Hahah leave it to me. Im biking a lot (getting more comfortable with the road. I put in one headphone on a dull roar so I can't hear the cars as loud.) and I'm probably not eating enough. I'm down from 126 to 115. In a month. But whatever.
Yesterday I ran in a bra top. I'm not necessarily comfortable in it. I kept wanting to put my shirt back on. I took the before picture. I'll post that whenever my best friend sends it too me. My camera is lost. Joy. And it has not batteries.
Sunday I'm running a 10 miler.
It's my birthday.
I'm going to be in a new age group.
No hopes of winning again until I'm 80. (not that they were that great)
I'm just going to run it for fun, and to get to know the race course.
Which means another week of only a 16km long run.
Or I could do it Saturday morning.
But I have the race Sunday. I know I can run 22, so I'll probably do that Monday or Tuesday, and then do another long run on Sunday.
Or not. Like I said, I'm not too worried. The race
is in 78 days, but thats still two months of intense training and healthy eating to get me ready.
And I have a decent base.
I'll catch up, maybe Saturday morning? Or Sunday after my race.
Miss me!
Tigrrr
Why Am I Not Superwoman?
SERIOUSLY!
I'm riding a bike to and from work (as long as it's not raining).
I'm running my runs 4 days a week.
I'm going to clinic runs and running with them (sometimes after running 16k myself)
I work 4-5 days a week. 6 to 8 hours a day. I know, Iknow, some of you might think it's nothing, but my goodness.
I.AM.BEAT.
I'm coming down with a cold.
ALLLLLL I want to do is sleep.
Seriously.
And still, I get up retardedly early.
And still ride my bike (as long as it's not raining)
And I still run by myself
And I still work and am happy and talkitive.
Aaaannndddd I go to my clinic and try to be motivating, positive and happy.
But i just want to sleep.
If I remember correctly, none of my clinic instructors were ever sick or injured.
They were always in perfect condition.
Seriously, I need some super human powers.
Cause I hate being human.
Update on bike:I'm sooo scared to ride on the road. I'm worried that cars aren't going to see me or are going to be on their cell phones or putting on makeup. So I'm going to slowly get used to it. I'm getting it fit tomorrow. My Torso is tooo short. Apparently thats one of the most important things in biking...Anyways, I'm off to sleep. I'll catch up with you guys Saturday sometime:)
Lovesss<3
