I've Moved!

I started a new blog, I think this one was jinxed! Come visit at...
www.runningaroundtherock.blogspot.com

Thanks, Nicole

Sick Day

Tuesday afternoon I decided to go to the pool for a swim. My plan was to do 1600m in about an hour. I know it's pretty slow but I'm a beginner. From the start of my workout I just felt super tired and by 1200m my vision was getting spotty.

So I jumped out of the pool and showered. By the time I drove home I really wasn't feeling so hot. Fast forward to the next morning waking up feeling kinda crappy with a pins and needles throat. Well one of the down sides of owning your own business and having zero emoyees is that there is no such thing as a sick day.

So I went to work and around 2 I started getting ready to close, cleaning and such. So I closed up and drove home dreaming of crawling into bed and resting. When I get home I look at the clock and it says 2:28... What the heck... That can't be right!? Yup you guessed it, I closed an hour early not even realizing it! In 4 years I have never closed for a sick day or even closed early... We'll see if anyone says anything today, I honestly never have too much business that last hour of the day.

I'm back at work today and feeling worse than yesterday. But I don't really feel like I have a choice. I hope that I feel better soon. I rarely get sick, and being ill really makes you appreciate your health.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Fresh Starts

I have been on a running hiatus for about 4 months now. But I now feel ready to get started again. After the marathon last fall I couldn't believe how burnt out on running I was. I can't help but think that part of my lack of motivation came from my disapointing finish at the marathon.

After the marathon Ben and I took a road trip down to Napa and then onto Vegas. When we got home I had gained about 5 lbs. And then after the Holidays I put on about 5 more. I've lost about half of it but have that weight to lose plus the 20 that I need to lose to get back to a healthy weight. I'm really hoping that this blog and it's readers will help me get back into fighting shape as to speak.

I know that I said that I haven't been running, but I have picked up a new sport... swimming! This winter I realized that I'm 30 years old and didn't know how to swim. Sure I could get in the water and make it to the other end of the pool with a dog paddle slash flutter kick type stroke. But I wanted to learn how to properly swim. And to be comfortable beathing with my face in the water. And guess what... I love swimming!

I leave you with a picture of our newest family member, Cooper!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Test

This is a test to see if I can figure out how to blog on this new gadget.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Halibut Point Rd,Sitka,United States

Victoria Marathon 2009 Race Report; New Years resolution to complete race report (check)

I realize that it's been over three months since the Victoria marathon, but would you really except anything else? Geez I don't even know where to start...

Julie (sister in law) Derek (brother in law) Ben (husband) and I took the ferry from Washington state to Victoria on Saturday afternoon. After we got checked in to the hotel we went across the street to the convention center to pick up our race numbers and tech. shirts. I was super impressed at how flawless and quick the whole process was. This race was super organized! We walked through the Expo, but it was way too crowded for me to enjoy so we left pretty quick without a single purchase. We got lunch, attempted to drive the course, and relaxed a bit before dinner. Dinner was... you guessed it... pasta! After dinner we said goodnight and set a time to meet the next morning. Derek and Julie were signed up to run the half marathon which was to start an hour before the marathon, but I wanted to go down early and wish them luck and cheer them on at the start.

Do I look scared??? I should be!

Fast forward to Sunday morning. I woke up feeling pretty calm and ready to get this show on the road. Everything was feeling pretty good breakfast was pumpkin granola with soy milk and I packed with me from home. When it was time to meet Ben and I headed down to Julie and Dereks room. When he answed the door he was in just his street clothes. We learned that his nagging cough was bothering him too much and he decided not to run the race. His wife is much tougher because she had been up half the night in the bathroom and still ran the race (even after getting sick on the course twice). She is one tough cookie.

We all walked to the start line after Julie took off we had some time to kill. I started to get cold and nervous at this point. I took a few NSAIDS to make sure that my sciatic nerve didn't give me too much trouble, unfortunately I only had a sip of water with them and this I believe caused me really bad heart burn the entire race, ugh!

Finally we were off and running right on time at 8:30 am...

Mile 1-7 Man was I ever feeling strong during these miles. The first 3 miles flew by at warp speed. I was running just over 9 minute miles. I knew that this was fast for me but didn't think that it would affect me very shortly. The 4th thru 7th mile I started to feel my sciatic nerve and lack of training over the past month.

Mile 8-13 I think these were the miles where I had the most self doubt that I would be able to finish the race. I know that if I would of had a cell phone on me I would have quite during this period. But the fear of never making it back to the hotel kept me going. I took my first walk break about mile 9. Did I really need to walk at this early point of the race? No. It was all mental I was starting to catch up with the half marathoners at this point and when I saw them walking I thought "hey, they're walking, I can walk". I really wish that I would have worn a hat with a bill so that I could have just stared at the ground and zoned out. By mile 11 I was walking all the hills and thought that I was really going to be the very last person to finish the race. When I hit the half way point I felt a glimmer of hope that I could get through the whole darned thing.

Mile 13-20 Lots of walking and negative self talk. Then there was the turn around point around at mile 16, there were a group of older men standing there and one of them said "never give up". And that was my motivation for the rest of the day. Just the way that he said those three words sounded so sympathetic and understanding and it really helped my mindset. Around mile 18 I was passing a lady who was walking and she told me that she had stopped training a week before and was happy to have made it that far. That got me thinking about the fact that I hadn't really ran in a full month so I should be proud of myself. It was also about this time that I tried to stop and stretch and when I went to pull my leg up to do a hamstring stretch my entire body revolted in a full body cramp (charlie horse). It took everything in my power not to sit on the curb and cry. Never Give Up.

Mile 20-26 By this time there were very few runners still on the road. I just really didn't want to finish last :( At mile 23 I met a girl with the race number 911, and we ran the rest of it together. We high five as we crossed the finish line.

Here is the 911 girl and I in the last 3 miles, ugh!

Husband was there waiting, Julie and Derek had to catch the ferry back to WA so they were already gone. We got back to the hotel and I took an ice bath ordered pizza and had a glass of wine.

Post Marathon:
I lost 3 toenails
I actually gained about 10 lbs. through the process of training
Felt nauseous for about 3 days after the race
Pretty disappointed with my time (5:25)
Instantly wanted to prove that I can do better next time and trying to pick a run for next fall (thinking maybe Chicago)

Almost There...

Hello, hello! I think I'm something like 4 days out from the marathon. Ben and I leave on Thursday. We're going to spend a couple of nights with his family in Washington and then drive up to Victoria with his brother and sister in law. I'm getting EXCITED!

Since my last post I developed a lot of pain in my sciatic nerve. I'm guessing it's my piriformis, but then again I'm not a Dr. This new ache was too severe to run through so I took a couple of weeks off. Instead of my 2nd 18 mile run I ellipticaled for 3 HOURS! Can you say boring? I also did the same thing the following Sunday when I was supposed to do 9 miles. Last week I did 8 miles just to make sure that I could run with the discomfort. It went okay, but I'm still worried.

On a side note I don't think that I ever mentioned what Ben and I are doing after the marathon. We planned a road trip for our 1st wedding anniversary. After we leave Victoria we are driving down the coast to Oregon to visit my grandparents and a friend of his from college. Then onto Healdsburg, CA in Sonoma county for 3 nights. Then to Vegas for 3 nights on our actual anniversary. Then we're going to camp in Zion national park for 3 nights. And finally we have very good friends that spend the winters in Bend, OR and we're going to spend a few nights with them as well. So with all those lovely thoughts in my mind I'm sure I'll have all the motivation that I need to finish the darned race :)

Because I'm such a crappy blogger I doubt I'll post again before we leave. I'll eventually get a race report on here, but don't hold your breath. Wish me luck!

Training progress

I may possible be the worlds worst blogger :) I just wanted to let my 3 readers know that I am still training for the Victoria Marathon on October 11th. I'm starting week 13 of my 16 week schedule. Last Sunday I ran my longest distance EVER! 18.06 miles... my pace is really slow (average mile 10.10). I'm not letting that get to me, I just really want to enjoy my first marathon experience.

I have an injury right now, but I'm just going to do the totally wrong thing and run through it. I pop a couple of advil before my lost runs and by mile 7 I feel no pain.

Honestly I've been loving nearly every minute of my training. There hasn't been one run where I didn't want to go. I think that my main motivation is my mental image of running and finishing the marathon that I keep playing over and over in my head. Another great motivator for me has been buying new gear. Fun stuff to experiment with on my next long runs. You know the little stuff like gels, socks, water bottles, body glide (yes, my new running buddy and a whole different entry on butt cheek chafing... Eek!) recovery stuff, I even look forward to different way to take ice baths.

All this leads me to believe that even though my body is not made to be a runner, my mind is. And as long as I have that in tact I'll keep on running!

I'll leave you with my newest right of passage... the black toe nail!