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The Little Runner that Could

So I’ve recovered enough from yesterday’s marathon to be conscious. Just don’t ask me to go up or down any stairs.

I was hoping that my second marathon could be injury free- didn’t happen.
I wrote a few weeks ago that I had some trouble on my last long run before the taper. So I’ve been babying it since. It came back with a vengeance.

The first eight miles flew by. We ran through a little farming town. Lots of pastures and horses. In fact I swear the horses were looking at all of us saying, “Wait…people run? Well what do you need to ride us for?”

After the eight miles, we got to the canyon. But to start going down it, we had to run up first. Big hill. BIG hill. But, it was pretty funny to watch people try to barrel up full speed, then sputter to a walk.

Before I knew it, I was running through the starting line for the half marathon. I’d made pretty good time for the first thirteen miles, about 2:07 I think. I got excited thinking about not only beating 5 hours, but maybe beat 4:30. Cue right leg.

Before hitting the fourteen mile marker, the earlier training pains were back. My knee hurt on the side, and tight pulling shot up my flank and through my lower back. But I grit my teeth and ran through it anyway, sticking to my run walk method. Unfortunately, I probably altered my running form to compensate for the IT Band injury. By mile 18, my left kneecap felt like it had been whacked by loan shark from Jersey. I could run through the tight tearing pain up and down my right leg, but the sharp stabbing pain under the left patella was not workable.

What to do now? Give up and catch a ride to the finish? Not a chance. When in doubt, keep moving forward. At a much slower pace, but forward nonetheless.

The left knee pain immediately ceased with the walking, but the right leg was still sucking though. Just six miles left. I would finish.

I modified my walk into a speedwalk, and stopped taking the slow walk breaks every half mile. When I did the math in my head, with my great first half, I could still beat the five hour mark if I kept my pace around 12:30 per mile. That is more than a fast walk, that’s a jog. But the impact of a jog was too jarring on the knee. Oh well I had to try.

I can only imagine that I looked like a robot on speed. My leg was pretty well locked up, the knee not bending anymore. My arms were swinging a hundred miles an hour. My head lowered with what I imagined as a fierce look of determination on my face. Most likely, it really looked like a constipated bull with the grimace and flared nostrils.

In the last few miles, nearly everyone was struggling. Half were walking slowly, the other half doing the runner zombie shuffle. I can speedwalk faster than both of those. One man that passed me a few miles ago had lapsed into zombie mode. He recognized me as I passed him and dubbed me “the little runner that could”, impressed that I was still trucking even my walk now had a pronounced limp. I couldn’t afford to slow down. I still had a chance to beat the five hour time, but it would be close.

I gave my last burst of speed at a quarter mile to the finish. Ran past my hubby and two kids on the sideline, cheering and giving me the strength to push past the pain. I crossed the finish arch at four hours and fifty-five minutes after I started. The girl at the end put a medal around my neck and herded me to the side before I passed out.

My husband, bless his heart, was ready with the car and ice packs. It was over, the countless hours of running through dark mornings, rain, and other crap had finally paid off. They had prepared me to be in good physical condition, but more importantly, it gave me the will and discipline to keep pushing when it didn’t feel like I had anymore to give.

So here I am, the day after. My legs hurt like you don’t even want to know. But I’m still ecstatic that I reached my goal of a 5 hour marathon. I’ll tell you a little secret though… I would still be just as happy if I didn’t. As long as I shuffled across the finish line, it could have been an 8 hour marathon. The accomplishment would be the same. Finishing.

Thanks for sticking with me everyone . I really appreciate all the support I’ve gotten through emails, messages, and Facebook.

So what’s next? First, mastering the stairs without crying. Next, probably building up the muscles I’ve burned by the long distance running.

Time to tone up. After I’ve healed that is.

Utah Valley Marathon

It’s 3:45 in the morning and I’m on the bus that will take me to the starting line of the marathon. The start is up Provo Canyon and they don’t allow any parking or private drop offs up there because of traffic. So I have to wake up at 3 for a 6 am start time. But let’s be honest, I didnt really sleep last night anyway. 😉

4:40- just arrived at the start line. That was a really loong bus ride. And I have to run that?!!! Lol. Now just to hang out until the gun goes off at 6

5:55- 5 min to start. Let’s go!

10:55- done! 4:55 Unofficial time

I will do a big long post later. I’m too dead now

2 more days until … Gulp.

2 more days until I run the marathon. I’m going to be getting up a 3:15 to catch a 3:45 bus. Then I’ll get to wait by a fire in a barrel, trying not to freeze up Provo Canyon. Then, I can get smooshed like a sardine with the other 2000 people at the starting line. All so I can run for 5+ hours and burn roughly the equavilent calories to one pound of fat.

Why?

To prove I can. To prove to myself that I can do something that’s hard, painful, and sometimes makes me cry… and still push through and finish. It’s my reminder that I can beat anything. One step at a time. With lots of walking breaks. 😉

I’ll post all about the race either late Saturday or Sunday. Assuming my legs haven’t fallen off.

And in case you are wondering, the best things running a marathon? The finishers medal… And the after marathon meal. I’ve just burned 3500 calories. I can eat ANYTHING ;p

Facebook Faux Pas

Lately, Facebook has been driving me nuts. I decided to take a moment and post my thoughts on some good rules to follow when you’re using Facebook.
Especially if you are using it as a public figure, like an author, actress, etc.

First off, I’ve seen so many people posting big long privacy notices in an attempt to keep their pictures and their information private. Here’s a little internet tip: Once you post something on the Internet, it’s no longer private. Even if you delete it, it’s never really gone. It’s out there… somewhere. That’s why, if you really don’t want the whole entire world to see that picture of you from Friday night’s excess… don’t post it.

And in that theme, be careful what you say. Often times we spout off in the heat of the moment, but those moments can be really hard to take back. Someone may have copied and pasted, quoted, or otherwise used your words. So watch em.

In particular, hot button issues like politics and religion. Posting endless streams of propaganda against a political opponent is annoying, offensive, and oftentimes just plain incorrect. It’s my personal opinion the FB is not really the right forum for this. There’s enough spin on the news networks without adding it to FB. In particular, with elections coming up. A sure way to alienate friends. I will admit to unfriending more than one person after 20 daily political status updates.

FB can be a powerful marketing tool. That being said, it is not our personal infomercial. If you treat it as such, what are people going to do? Same thing we do with real commercials, change the channel. Use self promotion sparingly, like a garnish as opposed to the main dish.

A personal pet peeve of mine? Telling everyone how great you are. In every post. How your own book makes you crack up. Or cry. Or even worse… Regularly quoting bits of fan mail that claim you’re a better author than JK Rowling. If the work is good, it will stand for itself. You don’t need to toot your own horn day and night. Your lips will get tired.

Be genuine. Be yourself. Be aware that other people having things to share too. Comment and participate in their lives as well. In the end, if you’re dismayed about a post gone wrong, nobody liking your status, or feeling overwhelmed — remember that’s it’s just Facebook. Not rocket science. In the end what matters most are things in your life that are offline. Your kids, spouse, family… You know, you’re real life. 😉

PS. Emoticons are a necessary evil ;p

Snack Smart: Just a taste

How many times have I been looking forward all day to the brownie that I’ve budgeted for. Five seconds later, its over. The brownie is gone, and I want it back. Temptation is to grab another brownie, but I’m better than that. Most of the time. 🙂 This is what I’ve started to do instead.

I break my treat into four pieces to enjoy throughout the day. Think about it. When you inhale a treat, your tastebuds are really just tasting that first bite. So why not have that first bite… all day. Stick to that one brownie or cookie, but make it last for a while. You trick your tastebuds into thinking you’ve had more than you’ve actually had.

Extra tip for you mommies. Make sure you do not leave your partially eaten treat out for small children to find. They seem to think its fair game.

The Long Run: One more week – the anticipation is killing me

Next Saturday at 3:45 am, I will be on a bus to the starting line up Provo Canyon. Let the stomach jitters begin. I’m downing antacids by the case load. And over analyzing every little knee twitch and ankle roll. I don’t even want to jog to the mailbox anymore, for fear of screwing up my legs.

The odd thing? I’m pretty sure that the morning of, I will be as cool as a kumquat. There’s this peace that settles over me, because I know come hell or high water, I will cross the finish line. I might be on my knees, and it might be 3 hours after race closes, but I will still drag my butt across.

After all, I’ve already had the worst happen in a marathon. Last August, in my first one, my hamstring injury resurfaced at mile 8 and was debilitating by mile 13. I was forced to speed walk the rest of it. But I still made it. I required a bottle of advil afterwards, but I survived.

The secret?

Forgetting about the time and putting one foot in front of the other until it’s over. Also, the fierce determination that the 4 months of running training hell were not pointless. I will walk away with my medal dammit. 🙂

Now if only I can survive the next week without injuring myself or giving myself ulcers.

Balancing Act

Something I have always struggled with is balance. Which is somewhat ironic since I have the kanji letters for it tattooed on my back.

My balance issues don’t just stop with tree pose in yoga, I have difficulty balancing all the aspects of my life. Home, school, motherhood, writing, running… sleep. I am notorious for picking one or two, and going gung ho and ignoring all the others. Lately that has been marathon training and writing. At least 5- 6 hours daily is devoted to the two. My poor children are orphans and my house is in shambles.

Next weekend I run my marathon. It’s not an exaggeration to say I feel like I’ve been running myself ragged. I’m really looking forward to the change in pace. But I have been so all involved in the running and writing, that I am losing sight of all the other things in my life that need attention. I have been killing myself and stressing to finish this new book on some arbitrary deadline that I have created for myself. It’s not much fun anymore, and I am getting too close to the story and I think it needs some breathing room. I need to spend some time on other things. In particular, I really want to walk through my house without tripping on toys and clothes. Or tools… hint hint to my hubby.

So let the great house clean up begin. For the next two weeks I am dedicating a few hours everyday to cleaning the disaster formerly known as my home. Of course, when I clean, I still have trouble with balance. I tend to go with the torch it all mentality. If it’s not necessary in my daily function, it gets donated to someone else. My husband almost hates to ask me to clean, because he loses so much stuff afterwards. But he’s a pack rat and who really needs 5 old computer monitors anyway?

So wish me luck. Hopefully I won’t fall victim to the mountain of crap in my garage, and hopefully I can still find time to get an hour a day in on the WIP. That would truly be a good sign that my balancing is improving.

Chubby Wubby

I’m a wee bit concerned. My 5 year old is running around calling her sister chubby wubby. In a very cute and nice way of course. But still, I worry. Where is this coming from? TV? Or worse, my own preoccupation with fat?

I’m hoping it’s not the latter. I have tried hard not to bemoan my own “chubby wubby” rolls in the company of small kids. But this plays to my bigger fear, of having weight obsessed kids. It made my life miserable from about 12 yr old on. I don’t want that for my children. I want fit, healthy, happy kidlets- no matter the size or shape

I was about to sit down and have the chat about fat with the 5 yr old when I heard it. The gummy bear song on her iPod. The lyrics of which are “chubby wubby funny looking gummy bear”. Aha! The culprit was found

In an effort to avoid giving the kids my issues, I very nearly introduced it to her unnecessarily. Apparently one can be a bit too over vigilant. In the future I will just try to be easy breezy about it as I can.

Portion Control Made Easy

Once again, it is time for me to stand up and own my problems. I have an issue with portion control. A portion to me is whatever the heck is on my plate. I still have it drilled into me from when I was a kid and my mom would say, “Eat it all, there are starving kids in China.” Even if I’m not really hungry, I will keep picking at what’s left on the plate.

My solution? Only put on the plate what I can eat. At home, I’ll premake meals in individual portion sizes in disposable tupperwares. That way I can just grab one, reheat it, then eat the whole thing. And then I know I didn’t eat too much. If I’m eating out, I’ll get a to go box at the same time my food comes. Then I look at the plate and figure out what my portion should truly be. Then dump the rest in the doggy bag. Voila, I can now eat everything on my plate.

What about treats? Because no matter what diet you are on, everyone needs treats. Whenever I open a box or bag of cookies, I will go through and separate them into individual ziploc baggies with two cookies each. That usually equals 150 calories. Perfect for what I have allocated in my budget for treats that day. So now when I want something, I just grab a baggie and I don’t have to worry about my will power and looking down and finding half the box of vanilla wafers gone.

Give premeasuring a try. It’s alittle time consuming and OCD but well worth the effort.

Fitness Tip: Go outside

Hopefully it’s starting to get warm wherever you are. Unless you’re my friend Bindi from Australia. In which case you should pull out the ski poles.

For everybody else, it’s time to start skipping the gym and start skipping outside. Switch up your normal workouts with frisbee and touch football

Once you remember to put on the sunscreen, the sun can be beneficial Not only does tan fat look better than white fish skin, but people have been using light therapy to treat mood disorders for years.

So shake off the last bits of the summer blues. Be like Sheryl Crow. Go soak up the sun.