June 1 kicks off the 12-entry series I'm titling Reasons Why I Run. I don't want to be that pushy runner telling everyone they should run. In fact, I detest the word should. Instead my purpose is to offer encouragement for remembering and honoring the seed of want when we do the things that drive us the most. Running has universal application to even the most seemingly mundane and/or not so glamorous endeavors.
Reason 1: I run in search of my beauty...coming soon.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Monday, May 28, 2012
Half Marathon Calf Cramp
My one-word resolution for 2012 is finish. Completing tasks and projects has been an all too common issue for me for the longest time. Since the beginning of the year, my primary focus has been to finish whatever I start no matter how small or large the project is. I've been able to check off items one by one and yesterday's Med City Marathon was one heck of a finish.
My sister and I ran the Med City Half Marathon and even drove the course the day before in anticipation of the reported first 8 miles of rolling country hills. Now, I'm a city a girl. The tiny hill on Minnehaha Creek that goes up Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis was the biggest hill I encountered throughout the entire 12 weeks of training. I'm now giggling at my silly huffs and puffs up that Lyndale hill.
Anyway, we arrived to the race 15 minutes before the start time, enough time to hit the port-a-potties and 2 minutes worth of stretching. Waking up at 3:45am to dress ourselves, pack snacks, dress 6 children ages 13-months to 10-years, and get ourselves on the road by 5:40 for a 7:00 am start in Rochester was quite the enterprise. Our pre-race adventure also included a police pull over for speeding. God Bless the officer for letting my mother go and wishing us luck.
The starting line energy was awesome! I love the rush of pre-race chatter, the great force of hope that comes from 2,500 + bodies waiting to be in motion, and the stories waiting to unfold.
Here's my story. We started off great. Without my beloved Nike+ GPS watch, I had no idea how fast we were running and therefore no mental whisper telling me to slow down. My sister did tell me when it no longer mattered that our beginning pace was 9'17. Those hills hit at mile 2 and we were running strong with a 9'30 pace going uphill. With my ipod for distraction and a few of Jeff Galloway's mental tricks, I was good. At every uphill, I imagined that the person's legs in front of me were pulling me along.
Things got hairy though soon after the 4 mile mark. My sister lost her her ipod while taking her GU from her Spibelt. We stopped so she could turn around and look for it with no luck. I wasn't too worried because she's so competent. I even thought if it gets bad, I could sing to her. God was in total command though because it had to be no more than a mile later when my ipod completely shut off and would not come back on. My thinking was Sugar Honey Iced Tea! With 2 miles left, how in the world would I mentally make it? Anxiety took hold of me. My left calf began to twitch and all I wanted to do was walk.
I'm so mad at myself still, even with all the perspective that 24 hours gives. At the 6 mile mark or somewhere before or after, the first charlie horse seized my calf and I had to stop and stretch. All of our pace dreams ran past us. From that point, I was stopping to stretch every 2 minutes. I had a similar calf cramp experience 5 weeks prior with my first 10 mile long run and knew I had to keep stretching out the muscle. I encountered one final charlie horse that laid me out completely on the side of the road, sand all over my back, with my sister standing over me pushing against my foot and massaging the extreme cramp away. She had to call my husband. A medic was also called and soon after, a truck with sirens rushed to us and skidded to a screeching halt avoiding other runners. I was so embarrassed! Needless to say, I was soon able to stand up and walk.
That had to have been the worst calf cramp of my life. Enough to scream out God's name. No way could I handle another one. And no way did I want another cramp that would prevent me from finishing my first half marathon. We made the decision to walk the rest of the race. We crossed the finish line together.
Time: 3'09
That's the story.
I knew as soon as I begin walking the rest of the way, that I had something to prove. First, I had to finish the race. Secondly, I knew there would be another half marathon in my very near future. It's so gosh darn wonderful to have today's drive and determination to start and finish another half marathon. I feel the drive and determination pumping through me so much harder than it did 48 hours ago.
Of course, 3'09 is not the half marathon finish I hoped for. I definitely feel, however, that my 12 weeks of training prepared me to finish a race. I am so grateful for the 2012 Med City Marathon.
What's immediately next? I'm going to finish crocheting my 13-month old daughter's blanket, and I'm going to prepare for this weekend's first book club meeting.
Oh yeah...I can't wait to run again.
My sister and I ran the Med City Half Marathon and even drove the course the day before in anticipation of the reported first 8 miles of rolling country hills. Now, I'm a city a girl. The tiny hill on Minnehaha Creek that goes up Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis was the biggest hill I encountered throughout the entire 12 weeks of training. I'm now giggling at my silly huffs and puffs up that Lyndale hill.
Anyway, we arrived to the race 15 minutes before the start time, enough time to hit the port-a-potties and 2 minutes worth of stretching. Waking up at 3:45am to dress ourselves, pack snacks, dress 6 children ages 13-months to 10-years, and get ourselves on the road by 5:40 for a 7:00 am start in Rochester was quite the enterprise. Our pre-race adventure also included a police pull over for speeding. God Bless the officer for letting my mother go and wishing us luck.
The starting line energy was awesome! I love the rush of pre-race chatter, the great force of hope that comes from 2,500 + bodies waiting to be in motion, and the stories waiting to unfold.
Here's my story. We started off great. Without my beloved Nike+ GPS watch, I had no idea how fast we were running and therefore no mental whisper telling me to slow down. My sister did tell me when it no longer mattered that our beginning pace was 9'17. Those hills hit at mile 2 and we were running strong with a 9'30 pace going uphill. With my ipod for distraction and a few of Jeff Galloway's mental tricks, I was good. At every uphill, I imagined that the person's legs in front of me were pulling me along.
Things got hairy though soon after the 4 mile mark. My sister lost her her ipod while taking her GU from her Spibelt. We stopped so she could turn around and look for it with no luck. I wasn't too worried because she's so competent. I even thought if it gets bad, I could sing to her. God was in total command though because it had to be no more than a mile later when my ipod completely shut off and would not come back on. My thinking was Sugar Honey Iced Tea! With 2 miles left, how in the world would I mentally make it? Anxiety took hold of me. My left calf began to twitch and all I wanted to do was walk.
I'm so mad at myself still, even with all the perspective that 24 hours gives. At the 6 mile mark or somewhere before or after, the first charlie horse seized my calf and I had to stop and stretch. All of our pace dreams ran past us. From that point, I was stopping to stretch every 2 minutes. I had a similar calf cramp experience 5 weeks prior with my first 10 mile long run and knew I had to keep stretching out the muscle. I encountered one final charlie horse that laid me out completely on the side of the road, sand all over my back, with my sister standing over me pushing against my foot and massaging the extreme cramp away. She had to call my husband. A medic was also called and soon after, a truck with sirens rushed to us and skidded to a screeching halt avoiding other runners. I was so embarrassed! Needless to say, I was soon able to stand up and walk.
That had to have been the worst calf cramp of my life. Enough to scream out God's name. No way could I handle another one. And no way did I want another cramp that would prevent me from finishing my first half marathon. We made the decision to walk the rest of the race. We crossed the finish line together.
Time: 3'09
That's the story.
I knew as soon as I begin walking the rest of the way, that I had something to prove. First, I had to finish the race. Secondly, I knew there would be another half marathon in my very near future. It's so gosh darn wonderful to have today's drive and determination to start and finish another half marathon. I feel the drive and determination pumping through me so much harder than it did 48 hours ago.
Of course, 3'09 is not the half marathon finish I hoped for. I definitely feel, however, that my 12 weeks of training prepared me to finish a race. I am so grateful for the 2012 Med City Marathon.
What's immediately next? I'm going to finish crocheting my 13-month old daughter's blanket, and I'm going to prepare for this weekend's first book club meeting.
Oh yeah...I can't wait to run again.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Stunning
If asked how my weekend was, my one-word answer is stunning. It began on Saturday morning by pressing snooze multiple times on my Blackberry alarm thereby dismissing my scheduled 6:00 am 12 mile run. Track season and my husband's work schedule has taken a toll on both of us and I was longing to share our bed space. We slept until 8:00 am when it was time for my husband to run - as is his usual mode of operation - out the door to a track meet. At noon my oldest daughter skipped off to a friend's birthday party and I put the three little ones down for naps. Count my oh so lucky stars, they slept for three and a half hours! The house was completely still. I finished a book and dozed off myself.
At approximately 4:30, I was hydrated, fed, dressed, and ready to blaze through 12 miles. I did it in two hours and 3 minutes with a mile pace of 10"17. I was so proud of the accomplishment, running the entire way, and feeling strong from start to finish. I immersed myself in a tub of ice cold water soon after returning home. With beer in hand to ease my mind from the chill, I was able to catch a sobering thought...
At approximately 4:30, I was hydrated, fed, dressed, and ready to blaze through 12 miles. I did it in two hours and 3 minutes with a mile pace of 10"17. I was so proud of the accomplishment, running the entire way, and feeling strong from start to finish. I immersed myself in a tub of ice cold water soon after returning home. With beer in hand to ease my mind from the chill, I was able to catch a sobering thought...
The world is a lot more doable after running 12 miles.
I thought about all of my goals and all of the things I haven't done yet and really badly want to do. The things that make me happy in life and all that makes me sad. I contemplated my faith walk. Gosh, it can be so overwhelming sometimes. In the midst of completing a 12 mile run and knowing around mile 2 that I totally had the remaining 10 miles in the bag, I wasn't overwhelmed. My legs ran and I ebbed and flowed with each mile and each hill.
That right there was the extent of my clarity. I showered, ate dinner, then enjoyed watching Bridesmaids.
Then came Sunday, Mother's Day, which has been a most delightful and buoyant day. The morning began with Happy Mother's Day text messages followed by gifts from my family. We dressed and ate breakfast at Baker's Square where the wait was five minutes. I received a free slice of pie! Afterwards, we delivered Mother's Day gifts. Came home, put the little kids to nap while the oldest cleaned the kitchen for a substantial amount of money. Me and the husband set out on an easy 3 mile run/walk running for 1.5 miles and walking 1.5 miles. It was rare and glorious time spent together. Then it was family time out together again picking up our fruit for the week with a stop for dinner. Dinner included yet another free desert, but the icing on the day was an anonymous customer paying a portion of our dinner bill for Mother's Day.
Overall, this has been such a blessed weekend. Life for me is sweet resting, running, and spending uninhibited time with my husband and four children.
Happy Mother's Day.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
When God Sends Angels
I'd like to take the time to share my thankfulness for today's run. Point blank, I was not feeling the heat. I was ragged at 2 miles and walking in the direction of home. A mile away, a man named David stopped and asked me the mileage of Lake Nokomis' foot path and how many calories I usually burn running once around. He even complimented my "runners legs." Of course I smiled at which point he asked if he could run with me. Instantly, I knew he was a God-send and I said yes. I needed a partner today. We chatted for a mile and a half before I headed home drenched in sweat and exhausted.
Although I am spent this week, I still love running and this is one of the reasons why. My legs are dragging, I feel like quitting, and God shows up in the moment. It was the strangest thing walking and dragging solo one minute and the next having the encouragement that comes from company. Running is my reminder to stay, stay, stay in the moment.
Come race day, I will think about David and oh yes, my "runners legs."
Although I am spent this week, I still love running and this is one of the reasons why. My legs are dragging, I feel like quitting, and God shows up in the moment. It was the strangest thing walking and dragging solo one minute and the next having the encouragement that comes from company. Running is my reminder to stay, stay, stay in the moment.
Come race day, I will think about David and oh yes, my "runners legs."
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