Road Trip!

Oct28

We all makes mistakes. We all look back and think well I should have done it this way instead of that way. These same things apply to a marathon. Some of them although not the correct choice for the marathon were the correct choice for a weekend away with my Mom and sister that I’m not sure I would change. If I was racing for the win, yes but I’m only running for me. The journey is just as important.

The Hotel

Not knowing the city or the lay of the land which would be true for any destination race does make it difficult. I did what I could. I got the hotel, Sheraton Pentagon City, from the Marine Corps Marathon list of hotels. I went on Google Maps to try and get an idea of where it was in relationship to everything. It was a little apart, but it was also a little more reasonable priced than those right in DC. Don’t get me wrong it was a beautiful hotel with very comfy beds, and an easy shuttle service to Metro. The downside is that once the race was over we then had to navigate a way back to the hotel to get my car. My sister checked us out and packed the car before they went out to cheer along the race. When it’s all said and done though I think the comfy beds were a good choice.

My second mistake with the hotel though is that it would have been nice to stay over the actual night of the Marathon. BUT I am a mother of three boys and a husband who works long hours, so I needed to be home Monday morning. The real downside to not having a hotel to go to after the race is that I had nowhere to shower. Now I don’t know about you but I don’t normally smell that sweet after a 5K let alone a marathon that I got rained on some. I did manage to change and wipe away some of the grime, but I really did not feel human again till I got in a shower at almost 9:00 PM. Best shower ever!

One thing that I did do right with the hotel though was to go in on Friday instead of Saturday. This way, we were able to get up at leisure Saturday morning and feel rested for the day. I think if I had to choose going in a day early is better than staying a day later.

The Tourist

I’ve never been to DC. My mother hasn’t been since she was in High School. This made us want to tour the city especially because I honestly don’t know when I would be going back. Would love to, but don’t know when or if that will happen. There is so much to see in such a short time. I think I only saw 1% of it before the marathon and honestly during the marathon I probably missed a lot too. But even with only seeing a small portion of it, I probably walked 6 miles on Saturday. Probably not the best thing to do the day before a marathon.

My sister’s boyfriends pre race plan includes spending the day watching movies and lounging. I made fun of him for this, but I think there is something to this. Although I do think that is to the extreme. Maybe we should have found a happy medium where we toured in the morning, but made in back to the hotel before 9:00 PM. We could have sat by the pool in the afternoon. Although again, I’m back to I wanted to see DC. So it’s a choice you have to make. I’m happy with mine and I can live with it. Besides, I got to see some amazing sites.

The Food

This is the part that I would and will change in the future. Since we were being tourists, we really didn’t know where we would eat. We just played it by ear. This was a BIG mistake. Although we found a great Irish Pub for lunch that was super yummy, we did not have such luck for dinner. The appropriate places were few and far between as I did not want to eat anything out of the ordinary and spicy. We walked and walked and walked searching for the elusive perfect non fancy, non spicy place to eat. Finally we just gave up and went into one. I ordered what I thought would be the best choice. On the menu it really was the best choice, but when the dish came I really did not enjoy it. I ate what I could as I knew that I needed to eat. It wasn’t enough.

The funny thing was that at this point my sister was meeting a friend who lived in DC and my Mom and I were going to take Metro and the shuttle back to the hotel. We get off the Metro line and sit down to wait for the shuttle. Look up and literally across the street is a California Pizza restaurant. Seriously. We run over grab something to go and race back to catch the shuttle. By this time though, I really don’t want to eat but do manage to eat some more of the yummy pasta.

When I told my coach this, she said this is why she always takes food when she is traveling to an event because you never know. She said some people think that it is strange that she travels with food, but I think she might be onto something here. Either that or next time, I will make reservations!

The Company

As some of you know, I got into Marine Corp through the lottery. I personally did not know anyone going, so I would have been flying solo without my family. I do remember though that the first thing my Mother told me when I got into the marathon was that she was going with me. Then my sister decided to join in on the fun too. They made the trip so worth it. Jen, my sister, even commented on how sad it would be to be there alone. She is so right. I could not imagine crossing the finish line and having no one to share it with. Besides it made for an awesome girls weekend!

How do you plan for your destination races?

Random Thoughts During a Marathon

Oct27

There isn’t just a lot of truth to this.

This is a fact!

But before we get to mile 26, lets go back to the beginning!

I started the race with the thought that I was going to go for my B plan of 4:30. My A plan is just a dream, but you’ve got to have one of those anyway. It was a cool morning with a very light drizzle as we were waiting for the start of the race. The race started and I was near the 4:30 pace group. We hovered around each other all day, but alas they finished where they were supposed to. I felt strong during the first half of the race. I remember thinking around the half way point how good I was feeling, how much my training had helped me get to this point, and was just having an amazing race.

My pace was good.

My legs felt strong.

I was on fire.

Then as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. My legs still felt strong. It really was never my legs that gave out on the run. As the saying goes, running is a mental sport. By mile 22, I was having a full on conversation with myself about how absolutely stupid running a marathon was. It went something like this:

Who ever started the first marathon was an idiot.

How stupid is it to run these things. I mean really, does it really matter if I run 26.2 miles.

What is the point of this?

Why am I doing this?

I dragged my Mom and sister to come watch me do this! What is wrong with me?

Then I hit another mile and realized that if I would just shut the hell up, that I might actually finish this race. The conversation changed to:

You are this close, you might as well finish this.

You didn’t drag you Mom and sister here for you not to finish.

You can throw up later.

You want that cool medal don’t you?

It’s up to you.

Then my sister met me for the last two miles and ran along side me. Even though that was my slowest mile, it was my best mile as she encouraged me to finish. I didn’t throw up although I thought I might. I didn’t give up, although a big part of me wanted to. Then I hit mile 25 and knew that I could finish it. Then I hit mile 26 and hit my fastest pace of the day 8:23. So there really is more left in the cup when you think it is empty.

My advice to anyone running a marathon in the near future is to make sure that when you hit mile 20, you tell yourself to shut the Hell up. They are right when they say that the Marathon really doesn’t start till mile 20 because that’s when the fun really begins.

So enjoy the ride.

Stay true to yourself.

Never give up and remember

You Got This!

Mission Accomplished

Oct26

Well it’s over with now. Can’t believe it. Happy, Relived, Sore, and now wondering what is next. But there will be time to sort that out. So there is SOOOOOO much to tell that this will probably take a few days to get through it all. I also want some time to reflect. Today will be about the numbers…

This was a personal record from Philly by 8 minutes and 6 seconds and as Dawn pointed out on a harder course. So yes, I was happy. Between you and me though I was shooting for an even 4:30, but you know it just wasn’t the day for that.

I felt strong in the beginning. Really strong. Literally by mile 10 I was thinking how much my training was working for me. It really was. As you can see by my splits, I was on the money right up until the 40K. I lost it a little but even in loosing it, I still had overall good splits. In retrospect, could I have pushed it a little more. Probably, but even with walking a bit towards the end due to stomach issues I still am pleased.

These are the numbers

Age Place for Females 45-49

344 out of 1318

Gender Placement

3291 out of 10,428

Overall Finish

9,445 out of 23,197

And a steady pace for most of the race.

I would say

Mission Accomplished.

I think this may be my favorite medal ever. Love it!

Stay tuned for more on this epic weekend as there is so much more to this race than the numbers, but being as I have been away for a few days there is much to be done at home.

Do you have a favorite piece of bling?

You Want Me To Tell You What!?!

Oct16

We all have goals.

We all have dreams.

We don’t always verbalize them though and put them out into the universe.

Even someone like me who seems to tell everyone more than they want to know. There is just something too scary about doing that. When I ran Philly, I had a goal in mind, but I really didn’t tell anyone. I did say that I would like to finish in under 5 hours. What I didn’t tell anyone was that in my mind, I really wanted to finish around 4:45.

Guess what?

I finished Philly in 4:46:20

Guess What?

In my mind, I wanted to finish around 4:45. I told that to no one. It was between me, myself, and I. It was less scary that way. This time apparently, I have to put it all out there. Now, I don’t mean here on the blog out there. I mean I have to tell my coach. She wants me to start thinking about and tell her Monday the following:

A: The dream race on the perfect day goal

B: the hard but doable goal

c: the day sucked but I’m still happy with my race goal

In my mind, I know what I would like the answers to be. I’m just not sure If I want to lay it on the line like that. My Coach says that this is her way of making you stay accountable. I’m not sure that I want to be accountable. She also said that A does not need to be feasible YET or it can just be something that is possible but ambitious. I think I will go with the later. I also have to be careful because if I put too ambitious of a goal, she might think that’s what I want to run in the NYCM next year.

So I think I know how I will answer these questions in my mind. I just need to see if I have the nerve to write them for her.

Do you say your race goals out loud?

Living the Dream!

Oct13

As you read yesterday, I ran the Staten Island Half this past weekend. What I didn’t mention in this post though is that I did it! Now I don’t mean I did the Half because you know that already. I mean that I completed my 9+1 plan!!!!!

Words truly do not express how I feel about this. It is like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders as this has been months in the making having started this journey in January with Fred Lebow Half and ending with the Staten Island Half. The cherry on top is that not only did I qualify for running THE NEW YORK CITY MARATHON in 2016, but also the NEW YORK CITY HALF!!

Now, I know that I could not have completed this task alone. I would not have been able to do it. As the saying goes, “I get by with a little help from my friends.” In this case, I got by with a lot of help from my friends. First of all this is the amazing group of women who inspired me to push myself not only in my running but to push myself to dream of doing things I would have never thought possible for me. These are the women who showed me that with hard work and dedication I can do anything I set my mind to. These are the women who took a newbie under their wings when I didn’t even know anything about needing actual pace for a race. Remember my story of my first half? I have to admit that although there is still so much that I don’t know, I am no longer a newbie. They helped me in ways they don’t even know by never making me feel less because I am slower than them or didn’t know what I was doing. They shared themselves and their knowledge so willingly with me. These are also the women who without making it so fun to run, I would have stopped. Yes, I now love to run. Yes, I now need to run, but that all started with this group of women who got me to this point. There is also the logistics factor because with them I was able to make it to these races. Yes, I probably could have done it without them, but I’m not really sure that I would have wanted to or it would have been so easy to do. These are also the women that I have so much respect, admiration, and love for.

As we all know, I did not grow up dreaming of one day running the New York City Marathon. I was someone who grew up hoping not to be picked last in gym class, but that is the beauty of growing up. You realize that all that doesn’t matter because you no longer need to wait to be picked for anything life has to offer. You create your own future, dreams and if you work hard enough anything is possible. I may have come late to the party of wanting to run the NYCM, but I have now made that dream a possibility. It is in my reach and I just need to wait because it will happen. Although, I’m really not one to sit around and wait for things to happen anymore. So in the meantime, I’ll be out chasing other dreams.

What are your dreams?

Puttin on the Brakes When All You Want to Do is Press the Gas!

Oct12

Yesterday, I ran the NYRR Staten Island Half Marathon. So there will be lots to talk about:) With my goal race only two weeks away, I was asked (instructed) by my coach NOT to race this one and to once again keep my eye on the prize. Now I know that the last time she asked me to do this, I really didn’t listen as carefully as I should have. That being said, I knew that this time it was more important. Again with the Marine Corps Marathon just around the corner. I was given a goal pace of 10:30 to 10:50. I will honestly admit that ahead of time, I was tempted to race it as I was told that it was a great race to PR on with only two sizable hills at mile 9 and 12. Then I thought about it some more and realized that it wouldn’t be worth ruining the marathon for this race especially with my Plantar Fasciitis starting to rear it’s ugly head again. Just not worth it.

So I tow the line with my fellow MRTT Mama’s telling them my plan of being slow and steady. I will be honest, it is much harder to go slow and steady mentally than you realize especially with what seems like everyone people passing you by. Luckily for me, Teri, had plans to run and additional 7 that day for her long run of 20. She knew that she should keep the pace slower and I was more than willing to help her help me. I will say that the start of the race was a little odd as they were starting corrals every 2 minutes to spread out the participants as there were more than 8000 of us. So in the beginning it was like being stuck in traffic. Stop and Go. Stop and go until finally we got to go. As with every race the adrenaline at the beginning makes you want to just take off especially when you have been standing around for a waiting. It is hard pulling back when you know you can go faster and the feeling of everyone passing you left and right just sucks.

Teri and I moved along at what felt like a nice conversational pace which was good because we chatted away. Again there is nothing that makes the miles go faster than chatting with a friend. She was even surprised that she didn’t miss her music as she normal listens while running. I go back and forth on the music during a race. There really is something about listening to the race – the sounds of the footsteps, the people around you, and all the other sounds you hear during a race. It was good for me that she was there because of her I payed attention to the pace as I know she is fast. There were a few times I had to say, “sweetie, were going to fast. I’m going to slow down, but you can go if you want.” We decided that around mile 9, she would push herself at the end a little harder. This worked out good because this was the same point of the first big hill. Since I wasn’t racing, I stopped for a picture which another runner offered to take for me. She took the first one and then asked for a power pose!

There is something to be not chasing time at an event, because you do get to see things that you might otherwise miss.

I know if I was chasing a PR, I would have missed these. Not saying that in future races, I won’t be chasing the time but it is nice every now and then just to enjoy the moment.

Once Teri and I split, I continued on my journey of putting on the breaks and keeping a steady pace. I was very happy that I was able to be consistent. That being said, once I hit mile 13, I raced to the finish line. I think every race requires a dash to the finish line which was over home plate.

I will also add that my coach was pleased with me not pushing it this race and holding back for when I will need it in two weeks. I will also add that even with my steady pace, at the end I was the one passing people and not the other way around.

Then the after race picture!

Not sure if we would have been smiling as much before we embarked on our more than 2 hour stuck in traffic on the way home trip. Although, I think we still might have been as we had some great conversation in the car.

Friday Five – Five Ways Running Has Changed me

Oct9

Friday Five Link-up with

Eat, Pray, Run DC, Mar on the Run, and You Signed Up for What?

For today’s theme, I have decided to go rogue….

5 Ways Running Has changed me

I was talking with Dawn the other day on a therapy session run day. Come on you know you have them sometimes too. Anyway, I was saying how running has changed me. I can no longer deny it. I am not the same person that I was when I first laced up my running shoes. It has changed me in ways that I never imagined that it would. It is more than just physical changes too which have been major.

Lowered Stress Level

No, running has not made my life easier, but what it has done is given me an outlet to relieve stress in a healthy way. Time to think things through if needed or time to get away from it all if needed. Sometimes both of these at the same time!

Confidence

Running has shown me that I am capable of so much more than I ever thought. I have gone from someone who couldn’t run around the block to someone literally running marathons! That changes your mindset. I have more than once said to myself that if I could run 26.2 miles, that I could do XYZ. That confidence changes you or at least it changed me. I became more assertive (in a good way). I learned to stand a little taller. I learned that I can stand on my own because ultimately in a race, you are the only one that can get you where you need to go just like in life.

Acceptance

I will say that I have always been a healthy person. It’s really in my DNA. I’ve been blessed with good blood pressure, cholesterol, and overall good health. I have though had a weight “problem” although I hesitate to call it a problem as it didn’t bother me much except in pictures. That being said, I have learned to accept the fact that the scale does lie. I am the same weight as I was before I started on this running journey. Maybe 5 pounds lighter, but things have shifted. I stopped obsessing about the scale and realized it is just a number. I may be the same weight, but I am not the same person. My 3 sizes smaller jeans prove that. I have realized that those who judge me by my size are wrong including myself. The size of my jeans do not have bearing on who I am as a person.

Friendship

Running has given me friends that I never would have had. It has brought people into my life that I am blessed to call friends. When running the miles, you get to know a person. You get to know them a lot because although we do talk about running a lot, when your out there for a long time other things do tend to come up:) It has also brought people into my life that I haven’t even met yet, but hope to meet one day. It has shown who my true friends are as they support me in my journey even if they don’t truly understand it.

Role Model for my kids

As a mother of three boys, I like the fact that I am teaching them by actions that women are more than just being a Stay at Home Mom. I am teaching them that a woman can and should be proud of their accomplishments. That a woman can be strong and accomplished and that she can do anything she sets her mind too. This is important to me, because when they go out into the world I want them to look at women as their equal.

I am also showing them that the things they want in life they need to work for and that setting goals is important part of that work.

How has running changed you?

Under Pressure

Oct4

So I’ve been off the radar with my blog updates for what seems like a long time, but in reality it has only been a week. Where has the time gone? What have I been up to? Well I will let you in on little secret……

I’ve been running:)

The closer you get to your goal marathon (or at least this is true for me), the more pressure you have. Not the pressure of training as with training it becomes more about the time. The pressure of finding the time as the runs are longer. It’s the pressure to find a few hours several days a week while doing everything else that needs to be done.

Under Pressure

When I first started my pretraining if you will. I was running a few hours a week and now some of my runs are hours.

This does not allow for much down time.

The pressure to try to keep up the house. Now, I’m not talking keep up the house so that you can eat off the floor. I mean the pressure of getting all the things that need to be done done.

Laundry. Grocery shopping. Getting kids to activities. Getting kids home from activities. Feeding family, showering, ect, ect, ect. You know the drill.

It is the pressure of doing all the things that need to be done actually done while maintaining a training schedule that requires more miles and more hours than when you came up with the brilliant idea of running a marathon.

That being said, I can see the silver lining. I am almost to taper time. It’s getting close.

The closer you get too, you have to realize that sometimes you sadly must realign things. You must make choices about what you can and can’t do. As my Coach has said to me, you must keep your eye on the prize.

Today, I should be running the Paine to Pain Trail Half Marathon. I registered very early in the year and this was going to be an epic adventure for Dawn and me. She did it last year and loved it. We were going to do it together. I had thought maybe I would still run it as a training run, but the closer it came to it the more I realized that it might not be the smartest thing for me to do right now. Also the closer you get to your goal race, the more paranoid you get that you will twist an ankle or something (again at least me.). So for this year, I had to give up my adventure with Dawn.

Although, I’m sure that she will still have an epic adventure! She actually decided to become a sweeper for the race. I can’t wait to hear all about it and am slightly sad that I am not there. Truth be told though I did NOT miss the early wake up call:) Dawn and I will have many more times for epic adventures and this was just not to be.

I am to the point in my training where I need to remember to enjoy the ride. I’ve put in countless hours and countless miles (that’s not true I do keep track). I feel as ready as I will ever be, but I have to not let the pressure trip me up.

How do you handle the pressure of training and life?

I Do Have My Eye on the Prize!

Sep28

Well I am getting close to the finish line of both my marathon training and my quest to complete the 9+1 to get into the 2016 NYCM. Both have become equally important to me and I want them both. Yeah, I’m like that.

Yesterday, I had the Bronx 10 Miler which I actually thought would fit very nicely in my training plan, but do to a hiccup in my schedule did not. I still needed to do it though because it was race number 8 out of 9. In talking with my coach, it was decided that I would push back my l6 miles long run a day till Tuesday. This is an important run as 12 miles with any luck will be at my goal marathon pace of 9:50 to 10:05. So it was determined that I would do Bronx slow and steady. My mantra was to be, “This is not my goal race.” I was told to keep my eye on the prize.

Was I disjointed that I wouldn’t be racing Bronx. You bet. Did I want to race? Maybe a little:) But I knew what was important. I was going to keep my eye on the prize. I lined up with my friends, but told them all I would see them at the finish line. Dawn was planning to push it and I was so excited for her, but I knew that we wouldn’t be able to run it together and besides she didn’t need me. Initially I thought about starting in a slower coral, but I wanted to start with my friends. When the race started, I started slow and steady. I ran the first 3 miles around 10:15, but I really wasn’t paying attention to my watch. I even stopped to take a picture around mile 5. I was not pushing it or at least I didn’t think so. Then I ran into a woman and her husband that I’ve met at several races through a mutual friends. I decided to run with them. Slow and Steady. We literally were chatting the whole time. I wasn’t paying attention to the time. I just was running. Slow and Steady. Conversational pace.

We cross the finish line together.

We pause for pictures.

I even meet an online running friend from the group Runners United NYC. I recognized her from her beautiful hair and went up to her and asked if she was ConfidentCurls and introduced myself as Accidentally Running Mama. Yes, just like that! Then we take a picture together and until meeting her in person I did not realize how tall she was as I already knew how short I am. It amazing how inspiring people can be that you’ve never met in person and there are actually a few that I only know online that I can’t wait to meet in person at the Marine Corps Marathon!

Then I meet up with my Mom’s Run This Town Mama’s. Excited to hear how they all did and that Dawn ran the race that we all knew she could run. Yeah, Dawn!! That is until she tells me that I’m going to be in trouble. She points out that I did exactly what she knew I would do which was not do a slow jog. Then I look at my time and realize that she may be right. I get home and look at my splits and although VERY pretty were not on the agenda for the day.

They are pretty. Aren’t they? Dawn laughed because she pointed out that my coach has me so well trained I do negative splits without even trying. There may be some truth to that, but I also know that every run is not this pretty. The truth though is that my coach has trained me so well that I was running this race at a faster pace, but I felt good doing so. I, really, was chit chatting away. I did not feel out of breath. I did not feel like I needed to stop. I was just plugging away. Now, maybe I should have paid more attention to how fast I was plugging away, but I really didn’t feel like I was pushing myself. Although I will admit that when I was getting close to the end, I did take it up a notch. Yes, I am one of those people that no matter the race or the pace; I will give it all I’ve got at the end.

Can’t help myself.

Makes for nice picture though. Don’t you think?

So now today is a Rest Day.

I will respect the rest day. I will honor it and keep it holey. Ok, maybe not that far but pretty close. Seems like I’m starting out on the right foot anyway. Because I do know that the only way I will not be in trouble with my coach is if I nail tomorrows Long Run. Yes, I do know that I am a grown woman who can do what I want when I want. That being said, the reason that I have a coach is to listen to her guidance and the things she tells me. She really is much smarter and wiser than me in the ways of running. She didn’t accidentally start running.

So rest, relax, and carb load today.

Has this ever happened to you?

Do you have Running Friends that you’ve never met in person?

I See You. Do You See Me?

Sep23

Shockingly I went for a run today. I have to say I was a little cranky on the run. I didn’t start off that way, but by the time I hit a half a mile, I became very cranky and if I had written this post while on my run there would be a few curse words involved. Why you ask when running usually calms me?

I was running along my normal route. Hugging the curb of the road as I always do. Ask anyone who see’s me running. I am not running in traffic. I am always very safe and cautious as I like to say that my goal is to come home safe after every run. . Running towards traffic with no headphones on. Doing all the things that I am supposed to be doing when a car seemed to be heading towards me. I even jumped up on the sidewalk because I wasn’t sure where he was going. I’ll be honest it wasn’t a “close call” ONLY in my mind and only because I was paying attention. I jumped up on the curb at the same time the guy swerved. It scared me though. Not sure why he didn’t see me, but I would venture to say that he was distracted.

Then I noticed something else tonight. There seemed to be lots of distracted drivers. Not sure if it was the time of day I went out since it was 5:00 pm. Maybe at this time of day, people aren’t paying as much attention because they are in a rush to get home. But I did notice on more than one occasion, drivers hugging the white line or even over the white line where I am running again hugging the curb. What’s up with that? It actually got to the point that I became pissed. One driver, I actually pointed to the line and yelled there is a line for a reason. It was ridiculous.

Now there are those usually non runners who will ask,

“Why not just run on the sidewalk?”

I’ll be very frank here and say because the sidewalks suck!

Really!

No lie!

The only time I ever fell running was when i was on a sidewalk.

Here are a few exhibits from today’s run.

Yup, this is a reason that I don’t run on sidewalks usually. You can see why I would choose to run on the road instead, can’t you? I find it safer.

That being said why is it so hard when I am hugging the side of the road for drivers to stay on their side of the line. They need to stay where they belong and I will stay where I belong. I’m really not out there to annoy you and I know that in a game of chicken you are the only one walking away. I do everything in my power to stay safe. Can you do me a favor and maybe do the same?

Remember

I’m someone’s

Mother

Daughter

Wife

Friend

Everything

So when you see me with my head held high and my feet moving across the ground,

Remember

Think

Take Caution

My presence may annoy you

but

Remember

I am Someone’s

Mother

Daughter

Wife

Friend

Everything

PUT DOWN YOUR PHONE!

DON’T LOOK AT PAPERS!

PAY ATTENTION!

I am there for Me,

but my family wants me home when I’m done.

This concludes your PSA for the day?

The Accidentally Running Mama

Run, Bike, Swim and Have a Life!

Road Trip!

Random Thoughts During a Marathon

Mission Accomplished

You Want Me To Tell You What!?!

Living the Dream!

Puttin on the Brakes When All You Want to Do is Press the Gas!

Friday Five – Five Ways Running Has Changed me

Under Pressure

I Do Have My Eye on the Prize!

I See You. Do You See Me?