September 18, 2011 - 20 Mile Run, Part 2

Today was an amazing day of support from my running buddies. Jody and Maureen started out with me as we covered the first 8 miles. It was chilly this morning so I wore a long sleeve shirt to begin the run.

At mile 8 Jody and Maureen had hit their goal for the day and were replaced by Rita and Katie who wanted to run 12 miles. I quickly changed to a sleeveless shirt as the sun was out this morning. In case it is cold on October 9th I am going to have to rethink my attire choice for the marathon.

I feel so blessed to have these 4 women in my life who rallied around me today. I truly cannot imagine running 20 miles by myself with only an ipod for entertainment. We even knocked 1 minute, 38 seconds off my time! And that was with the long hill back up to my house, which in retrospect I don't care to do again. :-) Good thing Chicago is flat.

As usual my wonderful husband and young daughters were waiting for me with a nice cold ice bath. Jenna again was SOOO excited for Mommy to sit in the ice cube infused water. This time however I didn't let her come in with me (she makes too many waves). Ten minutes later I was feeling quite good for running 20 miles. We will see how I feel tomorrow.

The plantar fasciitis is back in my left foot and was with me from miles 5 - 20. I've been advised that new shoes are in my future. I will have to go buy them this week and begin to break them in on my shorter runs so I can use them on the weekends and for the actual marathon.

With the exception of my foot I did feel much stronger this time and that gives me more confidence for the marathon and these magic 6.2 miles that you are expected to run despite not training for them.

September 11, 2011 – 1st Birthday Party

After my 20 mile run last week I soon realized what that little pain spot on my left foot was, my plantar fasciitis was back. Over the next 2 days it got progressively worse and seemed to travel from the side of my foot to the center where it was a few weeks ago. Ugh!

I went back to rubbing the ice bottles on the bottom of my feet, went out and bought another pair of Dr. Scholl’s inserts, and tried to stretch as often as possible. I even got the rolling pin out again. Friday the 9th I did a 5 mile tempo run and my foot felt pretty good.

Today (Sunday) is a “down” week, only 15 miles to do :-). My neighbor Jody joined us for the first time as she is tapering down from her half marathon, Katie is in Chicago running the rock ‘n roll half marathon, and so Maureen and I set out to do 15 miles while Rita has 20 miles. Rita ran the first 5 by herself and then Maureen and I joined her for the remaining 15 miles. The temperature has dropped significantly yet there is still some humidity out there that can be troublesome.

After our run I rushed home to finish setting up for my daughter Rylee’s first birthday party (actual birthday is 9/12). With the exception of a little Lions’ football, I didn’t have a chance to sit down from the start of our run at 7am until 9pm when we finally got the kids down for bed. We had over 45 friends and relatives come to help Rylee celebrate her big day, I am thankful for my family.

And thankfully I felt great on Monday morning, no soreness or abrasions at all! Next week, my 2nd 20 miler!

September 4, 2011- 20 miles!

Over the last 2 weeks I’ve had no issues (knock on wood). My quad has been fine, no plantar fasciitis, and minimal skin abrasions. Last weekend Rita ran her first 20 miler, it was very inspiring as the last half mile she sprinted and left me in the dust.

So today was my turn, my first 20 mile run. I was so nervous I almost vomited 4 times this morning and I barely slept despite the 3 alarms I set the night before.

At 7am I started my run with Rita and her husband Ken who had 12 miles to complete today. It was our plan to do 10 miles then pick Katie up for my last 10 miles so I would never be alone.

Ken, Rita, and I had a wonderful run but went about a mile over so were a little late to Katie’s house. Katie and her husband Chris were in their driveway waiting for us like expectant parents waiting for a kid who broke curfew, it was so cute.

I soon discovered that Katie had awoke this morning sick to her stomach but here she was running with me anyway determined that my last 9 miles would not be done alone. We did a loop around her neighborhood which allowed her stomach to settle down and allowed Ken and Rita to hit their 12 mile goal.

When we returned Chris was still in the driveway “on deck” waiting to hear if he was needed to sub for Katie. Katie decided she felt better and told Chris he could go back inside. How amazingly thoughtful my running group is, all this so I wouldn’t have to run alone!!!

True to form Katie chose a route that put me about two-tenths away from my car and the instant my watch beeped “20 miles” I stopped with my signature hands in the air triumphant gesture. I did it! The most miles I had ever run! It took me 3 hours and 23 minutes but we did it.

Katie had another mile left to run so she let me walk to my car alone. About 10 minutes later she found me half in, half out of the driver’s side door. After asking if I was dead or stretching I responded “my glutes and hamstrings locked up and I can’t move.” After another 10 minutes of stretching I felt like I could get in my car so I texted my husband that I was on the way and crawled into the drivers seat.

I came home to find a very excited 2 year old and a very proud husband. During my final stretches on my living room floor my 2 year old said “surprise upstairs Mommy.” So I followed my husband up to the bedroom expecting the blueberry pancakes and turkey bacon I had ordered before I left that morning but nothing was on the bed. Hmmm .....

Then my husband led me into the bathroom where I came face to face with a tub filled with ice cubes, ice packs, and the frozen water bottles I used on my feet. My husband smiled an evil smile and said “Ice bath, get in and stay in for 10 minutes.” I can tell you the only person excited about this was Jenna who kept saying “In Mommy, In!”

As I eased myself into the frigid water the familiar hot knife pain gave me a jolt to the lower back. I shrieked and asked my husband to look at my back, and sure enough in the fuel belt zone a 2” x 3” section of my back had been rubbed raw by my fuel belt—great.

As I sat in the ice bath, with Jenna wading in (because it looked like too much fun for Mommy to have by herself) for what I believed to be 10 minutes I smelled my breakfast being made downstairs. Famished I hoisted Jenna out of the tub and told her to yell down to Daddy if Mommy can get out now and much to Jenna’s dismay Daddy said yes and I got out of the tub.

I have to admit with the exception of a tight spot on the ridge of my outer left foot and the fuel belt abrasion on my lower back I felt terrific the rest of the day. I had some mild muscle soreness but nothing major, I think I felt worse after the 17 mile run a few weeks ago. Perhaps that ice bath was the best thing for me.

August 21, 2011 – Test It Out

The last few days have been filled with ice, stretching, and rolling pins. Yes, I said rolling pins. My athletic trainer advised me to use a rolling pin to help loosen the quad muscle. I wish I had a camera to capture the dumbfounded look on my husband's face when he came home to find me on the living room floor with a rolling pin feverishly kneading the heck out of my quad muscle. After a few moments he finally said "you know you can bruise that quad if you push too hard," and walked off. Hmmm...really?

Against my trainer’s advice I did play beach volleyball on Thursday night. Afterall, it was the playoffs and my competitive side couldn't just sit there and let a sub play for me. The best part about the night was despite the quad still being tight as I moved in the uneven sand it started to loosen up. Good, good….and by Saturday the pain and tightness was completely gone.

On Sunday my plan had me running 18 miles. No way THAT was going to happen. So I told my running group to go without me because if my quad even started to cramp up I was shutting down my run. I ended up running with a good friend Scott, who back in 2004 partnered with Lynda and Cathy to get me into running. We ran at our same 10 min/mile pace but only lasted about 7.5 miles before my quad started tightening up. I left that morning in tears concerned about the 10.5 miles that I should’ve completed that day.

August 17, 2011- Second Injury

With renewed confidence in my body I continued full force with my running plan. But on Friday the 12th my right knee was really sore so I only ran 8.5 miles versus the 10 miles prescribed and decided to wade in cool Lake Michigan for a nice post run treat for my knee (I also paid the price for skipping the body glide that day, ouch). Saturday is my typical rest day which helped my knee recover for Sunday’s long run.

So Sunday I set out on my own to do 13 miles as the rest of my group were either in the Steelhead triathlon, another event, or away on vacation that day. This being a “down week” I figured I could run 13 miles by myself. So I cruised around St. Joseph and was nearing the last half mile on the St. Joseph Bridge when my right quad painfully locked up. What on earth? So I stopped and stretched it out and continued with the last half mile as it got tighter and tighter. Then during my cool down walk it painfully locked up again and I limped back to my car.

Luckily, the kids had spent the night at my in-laws so my husband could volunteer at one of the Steelhead Triathlon water stations and I could do my long run. It was all I could muster to hobble up the steps, take a shower, and drive down to Sawyer to pick them up. This quad muscle would NOT let go despite over 20 minutes of concentrated stretching. Then I made the mistake of placing a bag of frozen vegetables on my knee for the 25 minute drive down there, when I tried to get out of the car my quad said “no way, not moving.”

My quad remained this tight and painful through today. I decided enough was enough when after a botched attempt at doing speed work I called my husband in tears and said get me into see someone NOW. By 1pm my husband had arranged for me to see an athletic trainer.

The trainer twisted, turned, and flipped me in every direction only to inform me it was the teardrop shaped quad muscle that was stuck in a perpetual cramp and that stretching, hydration, cross training and a break from running was my prescription. He also discovered that my hips were out of alignment making one leg about an inch shorter than the other which could’ve exacerbated the problem. Hmm who knew?

He readjusted my hip, and I hobbled home to cry.

August 7, 2011- First Injury

I woke up after our 15 mile run last week in horrible pain. I could feel every inch of the bottom of my left foot from my heel to my toes. Going down stairs was almost impossible. I hobbled around barefoot for a while (making it worse) thinking it would loosen up like my sore muscles typically do. Finally in tears, I pulled up the internet only to find I have Plantar Fasciitis which is defined as: a condition that occurs when the long fibrous plantar fascia ligament along the bottom of the foot develops tears in the tissue resulting in pain and inflammation. Yep, sounds about right. And you would not believe the things you can buy to fix the problem: special round shoes, splints, boots, socks, and shoe inserts, hmm where to begin?

So I texted my sister-in-law Cathy knowing she had this ailment a while back. Her response included approximately 15 exclamation points and sent me urgently to our local running store to buy a Strassburg sock (and to ice my feet with frozen water bottles). A Strassburg sock basically pulls the toes up thus stretching the ligaments in the bottom of your foot. I was not happy to discover you were supposed to sleep in this thing. Well thank goodness our running store was out of my size because the price tag on that sock was almost $50! I left with instructions to come back in 2-3 days when their next delivery was shipped.

In the meantime I called Katie to ask her advice (and to cry on her shoulder convinced my running days were over) and she told me to stop in for a special boot one of her kids had used for the same ailment. A half hour later I happily left her house filled with words of encouragement, advice about rest and frozen water bottles (same as Cathy), the boot, and her cure to this ailment: a $8.99 pair of Dr. Scholl’s foot inserts made specifically for plantar fasciitis.

Over the next 3 days I slept (more like tossed and turned) in that stiff boot, rolled frozen water bottles over the bottoms of my feet 4 times a day, and purchased the $8.99 foot inserts. On Friday August 5th I woke up with no pain and decided to try my tempo run. I only ran 5 miles instead of the recommended 8 miles but was elated to discover my foot pain was gone!

On Sunday there were 5 of us running 17 miles and I made sure they all knew that combined Katie and Cathy had saved my running career.

July 31, 2011- Rubbed Raw

**Warning, embarrassing content below**

This was a nice week of running. Monday-Wednesday I was in Washington D.C. and had ran around all the monuments and the White House. I always thought that would be a neat route.

When I returned home it was still incredibly hot and muggy but because of my long runs in this weather I feel better conditioned for outdoor sports such as volleyball. It’s been terrific defeating exhausted opponents that were adversely affected by the heat. I think I am in the best hot weather shape of my life.


Today we ran 15 miles and I must say weird things are happening. I am learning that every runner experiences skin rashes, chaffing, blisters, or other problems while running long distances. You simply can’t avoid running for 2-3 hours in this heat without some part of your body disagreeing with your clothes or equipment.

It started with the sports bra issue. No matter what sports bra I wore there was always a rather painful 2-3” red chafe line on my chest just below my sternum. I tried athletic tape, Kleenex, and finally body glide, which helped.

Then there were the tiny blisters between my toes. On Katie and Rita’s advice I bought some running socks (cotton socks are apparently a big no-no) and some mole skin. Mole Skin is basically liquid skin you paint on, it protects your skin against rubbing and chaffing. Now I paint mole skin in between my toes to protect them from blisters.

Next are issues caused by my clothes, or lack thereof. I simply love that I have just enough extra skin on my inner upper thighs and under my arms to cause rubbing issues there too. Body glide to the rescue.

The most embarrassing area for me to talk about is the pelvic floor and back door. When I finally got up enough nerve to ask my running group how to protect this area they simply advised me that good old fashioned petroleum jelly is the best. A second option is body glide again but its a good idea to get a second stick of it to be used for that area only. And they gave me that advice without embarassment or even skipping a beat. Ok, I guess I'm the only self conscious one.

The inside ankle. When I get tired I get sloppy with my stride and seem to enjoy scuffing the inside of my ankle with the bottom of the opposite shoe, band aids work best there.

And finally the “fuel belt zone” as I call it, because you know you can’t carry around 32 oz of Gatorade and 4 GU gels packs around your waist without some consequences. At first I had some chaffing on the love handle area, then on the top of my actual pelvic bone, and finally the belly button (see below).

And the best part about all these issues? I get to discover what skin abrasion I have that day when I take my post run shower. YIKES!!! Ever been stabbed with a hot knife? Me neither, but the painful feeling I get when water hits the abused area is what I would assume being stabbed with a hot knife feels like. One day I actually yelled out in pain when water hit my belly button. Seriously? How do you get "rubbage" on a recessed part of your body?

My husband made the mistake of asking me one morning why I got up 45 minutes to an hour before I had to leave for my run, after all it’s not like I have to do my hair and makeup. When I told him it was to eat something and allow it time to digest he questioned me about all the “stuff” on our bathroom counter. After I explained what I did with the Band-Aids, mole skin, body glide, and petroleum jelly he walked away shaking his head. Why would anyone want to be a long distance runner? I didn’t have the heart to tell him I was actually afraid of our shower now.

July 18, 2011- Bronchitis

I have bronchitis, yuck! Doesn’t my body know I am training for a marathon and have no time for this? After my wonderful run last week, Monday morning brought me two sick little girls but I valiantly fought it off until Thursday when I started to get head cold symptoms.

On Sunday I ran 14 miles with my group again and loved every mile. It is amazing how someone can tell a story and before you know it you’ve run 4 miles and not even looked at your watch once. Plus I love that Katie leads the way, keeps our pace steady, chooses new routes I’ve never done, and gets us back to our cars without going even a tenth of a mile over our goal for the day.

It wasn’t 3 hours after our run that the cold settled into my sinuses and by Monday it was in my chest. A quick trip to the doctor = bronchitis. And due to the extreme heat and humidity in the forecast he prescribed an inhaler.

Tuesday the 19th my beach volleyball partner went down to the beach for qualifying rounds. It was still 90 degrees at 7pm that night and I could hardly breathe. The good news was we jumped up to the next division; the bad news was my legs were so sore from volleyball that I skipped my speed work on Wednesday. Our regular volleyball night is Thursday, after yet another night of sweltering heat and the new tougher competition I again chose to skip my tempo run on Friday.

I did learn that despite skipping 2 runs this week my running didn’t suffer. Lucky for me and my bronchitis this weekend’s run was only 10 miles. Thanks Jody for running it with me on Saturday instead of the usual Sunday run due to family staying at our house for a reunion.

July 10, 2011- New Running Group

Today is the first day of running with my new running group. I was so nervous I cried. What if I couldn’t keep up with them? What if they don’t like me? My fears were quickly quieted when Katie gave me a fuel belt and welcomed me to the group. This fuel belt secures around your waist using Velcro and holds four 8 oz. bottles that can be filled with fluid so you don’t have to worry about finding your water bottles in the weeds, brilliant!

Due to the heat we started at 7:30 a.m. (again, brilliant) and the first 5 miles flew by. I learned that Katie is training for the Rock ‘n Roll marathon in Chicago on September 11th, Rita is training for the Grand Rapids Marathon on October 16th and Maureen is training to run the half marathon leg of the Steelhead triathlon on August 14th.

But at about mile 7 I was so tired and had been nervously watching my Garmin not certain how to tell the group they were running 9:30 min/miles instead of the 10 min/miles they normally run. If you are a runner you know that even 10 seconds faster per mile can tire you out let alone 30 seconds faster. So I finally found the courage to say they were doing awesome and looked strong (I swear they weren’t even out of breath as they chatted away) but should continue without me because this pace was just too fast for me. I was so happy to hear them say thank you for letting them know and we all immediately slowed down. WOW, how awesome are they?

Even after 13 miles I was not a bit sore the next day—crazy! I love this group.

July 3, 2011- Where’s My Water Bottle?

I am so excited!!! My husband and I were invited to a Tigers game on Friday with another couple, there I met Katie. Katie is an avid runner and has successfully completed several marathons. She has invited me to join her running group on Sunday mornings! YEA!!! I was so excited I was in tears.

So I set off today to do one more long run by myself, the goal is 12 miles today. We drove up to my parent’s house in Zeeland for the remainder of the holiday weekend. Out in the country there wasn’t much of a route choice since all roads make a square and everywhere you look there’s nothing but cornfields. I chose what I thought would be a shaded, 6 miles out and back.

Again, I made the mistake of leaving the house later than I should (with 2 little ones sleeping in is the perfect gift that my parents like to give me while at their house) so the entire run was HOT HOT HOT. I again drove the route and placed water bottles every 2 miles in the tall weeds along the country road.

What a disaster, the sun was not blocked by the miles of corn fields as I had hoped, but the slight breeze that I enjoyed in the beginning on an East/West road was soon blocked by corn when I turned on a North/South road. I got so bored with nothing but corn to look at and probably the worst thing about today was I lost some of my water bottles in the weeds. The lack of water was such a mental blow to me that I truly thought about giving up and just walking the rest of the way home. That is when I saw the snake, running was definitely better because I am certain he had several buddies out there.

Thankfully at mile 7 my husband drove by on his way back from getting coffee in town and I asked him to drive home and get some water for me, my hero. He then placed a few more along the route right on the shoulder so I couldn’t miss them or lose them in the weeds. I was so happy to finish that run that when I entered my parent’s driveway I threw both hands up in the air and cheered. It felt so good to finish. I think I will do that at the end of every run, celebrate.

June 30, 2011- Starting Marathon Training

With the 10 mile run last Sunday under my belt I’ve finally accumulated enough miles to begin week #1 of my marathon training program. And I was elated to discover that the training program I adopted was a 16 week training program, not a 20 week program as I had suspected. Ironically, I was exactly 16 weeks away from my marathon. Praise God.

I diligently plugged in every long run, speed work, and tempo run into my running calendar and vowed to keep this schedule as if my life depended on it. The marathon training plan asked what my 10K pace was, that determined how fast my long runs, speed work, and tempo runs should be.

I thought back to the LMC 10K and my 10 min/mile pace. Now a 10 min/mile pace put my long runs at 11 min/miles and my speed work and tempo runs at such a slow pace I didn’t think that would be challenging enough. So I’ve decided to base all my runs on a 9 min/mile pace. I hope this is an okay thing to do...

Now I just need to find a running group to join on Sunday to encourage and push me to keep going as the miles get longer. I’ve asked several friends to email or call around to find me a group but so far no luck.

June 26, 2011- Afternoon Runs

Today I must run 10 miles. We are going to my in-laws house down in Sawyer again for dinner and for help with the kids. My husband and I both had commitments we didn’t want to compromise on, he is trying to complete his last Master’s degree and had homework and I must not cancel my long runs, so we’re asking for help with the kids.

I felt very guilty just showing up and just leaving my kids with my in-laws while I went for a run, so I waited until after lunch and after we got Jenna down for her afternoon nap. Big mistake. I didn’t begin my run until almost 2pm and it was a hot, sunny, and very humid day.
I had to stop multiple times and wished I had placed my water bottles along the route a little closer together than every 2 miles. At one point I even started carrying a water bottle in my hand, the sloshing got really annoying. I wonder how well those fuel belt things work. And I got SO BORED with my iPod. I am questioning how I am going to mentally and physically get to 26.2 miles if I’m bored and unmotivated at 10 miles!

Anyway, I finished my run and crashed on the living room floor drenched in sweat. What was most disconcerting was this really bizarre dull pain that had started in my lower back and seemed to be traveling to my kidney’s . Oh great, my kidney’s are probably starting to shut down. It took a good half hour and plenty of fluids to begin to feel better. I have got to start these runs earlier in the day.

June 20, 2011- Runner’s Safety

One of the unfair things about being a female is you must always be conscious about your safety. It is not enough to just keep an eye out for shady characters in dark parking lots. As a female runner I was advised early on by one of my running mentors Lynda that when you are on a run assume 2 things: One that every car on the road will hit you and two that everyone you meet on your run has the potential to hurt you. Cheerful thought right, any females reading this want to take up running now?

Lynda taught me it is a good idea to, at random times, think “If someone pulls up in a car and tries to kidnap me right now where can I run to be safe?” So when I started running I was always vigilant about who was around me, how fast/slow is this car coming up to me, where the next house I can run to for safety, etc. She even taught me to cross the street if someone “strange” approached even if you were on a well lit side walk. Her philosophy was “Do you care about that man’s feelings if you cross the street or do you want to be safe?” Good point.
So here I am, determined to get back into shape. Beach volleyball was killing every muscle in my body, especially my glutes and hamstrings so I just needed to diligently keep running because the 20 week time clock has started ticking on my marathon training program and I am already behind.

I set out to do 8 miles today despite the major thunderstorm warnings and a menacing gray sky. I ran along Jean Klock Park and started to get a little nervous as I saw the spectacular lightning show coming my way over the lake. Ok, must run faster. By the time I got halfway to Tiscornia Park (of course the farthest distance from my house) the thunderstorm was on top of me soaking me instantly. As I was trying to dodge raindrops and lightning strikes I sprinted for cover into the women’s bathroom at the park. Along the way I nervously noticed at least 8 cars of fishermen, who had taken cover in their vehicles, watch me enter the bathroom.

-Major Dilemma-
I was safe from the storm, but isolated in the bathroom…It took me approximately 3 minutes to use the toilet and make the decision that I’d much rather trust God would protect me from the lighting than to trust these men in the parking lot. So after saying a huge prayer I sprinted out of the bathroom and took the most covered route home. On the plus side I did make great time.

June 15, 2011- Lazy Break

After the GOTR 5k event of course I had to take a little break. After all I had been working 50-60 hour weeks and was mentally and physically exhausted. The second week in June my husband and I took a trip to the Caribbean where I pledged I would run every day in the sand along the ocean or on the resort treadmills……yeah, right. Here is what we did for basically the entire week: we got up, ate breakfast, walked to the beach, laid in the sun, walked to lunch, back to the beach, took a dip in the ocean several times to cool off, showered for dinner, walked to dinner, went to bed. I did however play at least 2 rounds of beach volleyball every day for exercise and participated in beach yoga, which down there is nothing but minor stretching. Oh yeah, I am in such good shape.

But the Silver Beach 2 x 2 beach volleyball league just started. Playing beach volleyball for 3 hours every Thursday night and running will snap me back into shape in no time.

May 31, 2011- Head Cold

I had that terrible cold for almost 3 weeks (and during the summer no less!). It started in my head, went to my chest, and made it almost impossible to breathe during my runs. So I did a really dumb thing, I stopped running. Though not entirely, I did run once a week for, at most, 5 miles but I felt so drained that it wasn’t fun anymore. I also justified my laziness by telling myself that May is always the MOST BUSY month of my job as we are in the thick of planning the Girls On The Run 5k event. So of course I had no time to train for a marathon, I just needed to get through May. I felt so guilty when one of my GOTR Coaches asked me at the Coaches Party at Santaniello’s Restaurant how my marathon training was going in front of over 150 people. Ugh! My response was “It’s going good…. I’m up to 8 miles (smile, smile).”

April 26, 2011- Ugh!

I am so sick. Two days after an incredible run I have a sinus infection/head cold. Both my girls are sick as well so I suppose that is where I got the bug from. I just want to sleep.

April 24, 2011- Easter Sunday

I have decided to casually adopt a 3 day/week marathon training plan. I do not have the time with two little girls and work to run 6 days a week like some of these crazy training plans require you to do. Plus, I enjoy my cross training days such as lifting weights or core exercises. Since this marathon training plan doesn’t truly begin until the end of May I figure I have time to pick and choose the runs I’d like to do and just try to gradually increase my mileage on the weekend.

Today was Easter Sunday so we went down to my in-laws house in Sawyer for an Easter feast and egg hunt with all the grandkids. I had to watch what I ate because I decided to run in the evening which was a huge bummer (I love holiday food). My brother-in-laws gave their feedback on the best 8 mile route in the surrounding area and I set out with my car to place my water bottles on the side of the road. I placed them every 2 miles and ended up doing some loops around the large country blocks to maximize water bottle placement.

It went great! I flew around the course, found every water bottle, and even did some 9 minute miles. After I returned I told my husband with a huge smile on my face “I’m back.” It was in my previous training that my long runs were 9 min/miles not the slow 10 min/miles I am forced to do now. This is so cool!

April 16, 2011- My LMC 10K

I did it! I ran in the Lake Michigan College 10K and made my goal pace of under 10 minute miles. It was moderately cold and rainy weather again and I didn’t care for the off road portion of the race (it got my new shoes all muddy) but it went well. The last mile was tough because I really tried to “leave nothing left in the tank” consequently my breathing never got into a consistent pattern and I developed a dandy side cramp.

But I had to smile when I passed the last water table that was being staffed by student athletes and overheard an argument. Suddenly a male voice said “Ma’am, how far is a 10K?” Clearly these guys wanted to get out of the rain and go home. Through my heavy breathing I muttered “6.2 miles” and continued to trudge ahead. Then I heard a “See I told you so,” sheesh, college kids. It wasn’t until later that I decided I didn’t care for the “Ma’am” part of the question.

At the finish line I waited around for the results and was shocked to find out I had won first place in my age group! YEA!! So I got to bring home a nifty medal. Ironically, the very first 5k I had ever run in was at LMC as well and I won first place in my age group then too. It wasn’t until a week later when the results were posted that I discovered I was the ONLY one in the 10k female 35-39 age group. Hmmpf. But the joy my daughter Jenna got out of the medal was worth it, she wanted to be just like Mommy.

April 9, 2011- Just Do It

So this Lake Michigan College 10K run brochure has been sitting on my desk staring at me for well over a month now. I know I can run a 10k but I am an extremely competitive person and I fear the experience will just be humbling and frustrating for me….

March 30, 2011- Grand Mere

The last few weeks have been really cold and rainy. There was one day my hair turned to actual icicles as I ran around the golf course. It was raining sideways, freezing, the wind was so strong. I remember returning to my house to find my babysitter giving me a strange look. I thought she was shocked to find out I had run in such dreadful weather but when I got upstairs to take a hot shower I saw the major raccoon eyes that probably freaked her out.

Today I went to my favorite running spot, Grand Mere Park. The number of hours I’ve logged in this park over the last 7 years is huge. My sister in law Cathy introduced me to this park (despite the fact that hunters may hunt close to the trails and she would shriek and duck every time we heard a distant gunshot). I used to run with my dog out there every weekend in the fall and winter (in the summer there’s too many ticks and mosquitoes). I even braved the woods back when there were all the “cougar” sightings in that and the surrounding area. Really people, a cougar in Michigan, sheesh.

There is something invigorating about GM Park. Today I did ran for almost an hour and felt so grateful for the peace and strength of the woods.

March 13, 2011- Jean Klock Park

The last few weeks have been really tough. The weather is terrible, my job has entered it’s really crazy busy season, and I dread running. Running was this light, fun, invigorating activity and now I dread even looking at my running shoes.

But, even on the days I worked for 14 hours and got up early the next morning with the baby I forced myself to run. I am Dutch, I paid for this marathon, and I am going to get my money’s worth even if I have to drink every cup of Gatorade in Chicago as I walk the entire route October 9th.

Today was an excellent day! Today I set out to do a meager 4 miles and felt pretty good…. So instead of going north back home I went south and decided to follow the cart path on the Harbor Shores Golf Course. And then instead of going home I decided I wanted to see Lake Michigan so I cut through Jean Klock Park. At the end of the run I had gone 6.2 miles at a 9:55 pace! This is awesome! I feel awesome!

March 1, 2011- I want to quit

Running is not going so well! I can’t seem to get past that 5k mark without being completely exhausted. I know I can do this, I trained for the 25k (15.5 miles) before my kids were born and I remember having that one day of elation when my body decided to accept what I was doing to it. I will do this. So today I set out to shatter my 5K distance, even if I had to walk.

So I chose one of my favorite runs that starts and ends at our house and passes by beautiful Lake Michigan through Jean Klock park. What I chose to forget is that we are on a pretty large hill and even though it feels great going down it, you always have to come back up to get home.

But I did it, I ran 3.49 miles at a 12 minute pace. I did not even get to Jean Klock park or see the lake because I was too tired and decided to cut my run short but that is beside the point. Feeling rather good about myself I excitedly told my husband about my break through. His response? He started out running the same route but despite the fact he hasn’t run in weeks he felt good, he added some miles, saw the lake, and did it all at a 10:14 pace. GRRRRR!!!!

February 17, 2011- I’m a What?

After having back to back kids I am carrying much more weight than I’d like to. I was actually disappointed that Rylee wasn’t a 30 pound baby. I think my home scale is lying to me. The good news is a “friend” told me she thought I could qualify to race as a Clydesdale. Some friend!

In the running works, a Clydesdale (or Athena, I like that word better) is for women like me who are “a little” over their recommended BMI. I would rather die than sign up for a race that triggers a mental picture of me and 5 of my “female friends” pulling a red cart filled with cases of Budweiser and a Dalmatian.

Ok, so no more scale, from now on it is only how I feel and how my old clothes fit…except none of them do. Nope, positive thoughts, everyone starts somewhere so here I am.

I had a mole removed the beginning of February and was really upset when they told me (after the procedure) I couldn’t run for 2 weeks. WHAT? I calmly explained that I have to run, I am training for a marathon. However, after listening to all the bad things that can happen to a deep incision in a weight bearing area if force was applied I was sufficiently freaked and have not run since.

So today was the first day I could run again and it was horrible! I did 2.94 miles at an almost 11 minute pace and decided that was it, I quit. It’s cold, I can’t breathe, and I feel like I am starting over. I actually feel like a Clydesdale.

February 8, 2011- Training Plans

A typical marathon training program is 20 weeks. And all of them say something like “this training plan is best suited for those who have been running 3-4 times per week for 30-50 minutes for at least 6 months.”

This is good and it’s bad. My marathon is on October 9, this is February. It’s good because technically my training need not begin until the end of May. It’s bad because there is no way I can build 6 months of endurance in 3 months.

My first goal was to do a 5k (3.1 miles) and I did that around Thanksgiving and thanks to the Holiday’s and wonderful Michigan weather I didn’t run much the rest of the year. But at least I’ve maintained. I am thinking my next goal should be a 10k (6.2 miles).

February 2, 2011- No Turning Back

So I did it, I signed up for the Chicago Marathon. 26.2 miles of running through the beautiful streets of Chicago. And just to lock in my commitment I booked a hotel room and signed up to be a Girls On The Run Solemate. I think I am going to faint.

I’ve always wanted to do a marathon. Don’t ask me why. In fact, I should’ve done one in 2007 when I was in the best shape of my life. I had trained hard for my second Fifth-Third River Bank Run (25K or 15.5 miles) held in Grand Rapids and had my personal best for a long distance race blowing my 2006 time away by 30 seconds per mile. But for some reason the thought of going an additional 10.7 miles was just too daunting.

So here I am, 4.5 months after having my second child, in the dead of winter, signed up for my first marathon.

Yikes! What did I just do?

Blog Disclaimer:
For the record I am not a "cryer." With that said, in the following posts you will find I appear to do it quite often (my poor husband). I have been so nervous about failing, nervous about being laughed at as I pour my heart out on the internet, letting my GOTR girls down if I fail, letting my friends and family down if I don't finish.....it is a lot to shoulder. I do want to thank you for your continued support and encouragement, hopefully I'll stabilize in the afternoon on October 9th :-)