Running Through Summer

My friend Hollie called me in February and asked if I wanted to run a half-marathon with her in September. I laughed! I hadn't done more than a pathetic jog in approximately 21 years with my last athletic attempt being high school cross-country which I only ran to chase a boy. I told her I'd think about it and kinda secretly hoped she'd forget about it. She didn't and a month later I got another phone call and a little more nudging. Really, life was knocking me around with my teens and I just couldn't imagine trying to fit training into the already hectic schedule so I told her it wasn't going to happen this year.

And then life knocked me around some more and I really, really needed something that I had complete control over. Not necessarily because I'm a control freak (all the time) but because there was so much chaos going on that I needed my own thing that no one else could have a say in. I told Hollie I was in and signed up that day. Later, I wondered who the heck had possessed my body and done that but it was too late to back out and I grew to appreciate the wild goal dangling in front of me.

I started with a pre-beginner workout schedule which had me run then walk at 1 minute intervals for 20 minutes on the first day. That sounded easy enough until I was holding my chest and gasping for air. Gradually, adding a minute throughout the first few days and a few minutes at a time in the weeks to follow, I was able to run 2.5 miles without stopping and my first race was coming up and I my hope was that I could fake my way through a 5K.

Liberty 5K in Rexburg ~ July 4th
3.1 miles ~ 32:23

I was so nervous for this race! I was having flashbacks of high school and running in with the last runners and my bladder was a shivering nervous wreck. It was soooo cold and windy that morning but it turned out to be perfect weather during the last half mile as the adrenalin and endorphins kicked in and I finished the race. My friend Mary was also running and she became my mental inspiration. I knew if Mary could do it so soon after having surgery that I better dang well do it having trained for the last 4 months. My goal was to simply run the whole thing but I had a secret hope to do it in 30 minutes. I was so happy to reach my first goal that the extra 2:23 were a minor detail to work out in races to come.

Rock Roll & Run 10K in Idaho Falls ~ August 7th
6.2 miles ~ 1:02:39

Out of all the races this summer, this one was my favorite!
I was a little more confident about my running for the 10K but still nervous about bladder control and finishing last. Again, I surprised myself and after this race I was ready to tackle the half marathon training schedule.

The training schedule started 10 weeks before the actual race and gradually increased the miles I would run with 4 runs per week and the long runs on Saturday. My problem was the "control" of my schedule and it seemed that I had something every Saturday. One week I did a six mile run in the early morning and then headed to Twin Falls for my sister's temple sealing. Another Saturday I worked around the long run on a weekend trip to Denver for my brothers wedding. Still, I managed to keep up the schedule and the biggest help was checking in with Hollie on each run day. I knew I would need to report so it kept me going.

Running the Gap Half Marathon in Pocatello ~ September 4th
13 miles ~ 2:40:21

This became for me the hardest physical thing to overcome since delivery of a baby. It started great! It was a little later in the day for a start time than I was used to running so it gradually became harder and harder because of the heat. Hollie and I knew we were running at about the same pace but as I thought about it after the race I realized that her long legs ran that time in fewer steps than my short legged stride was used to.

By about mile 8 I was feeling dizzy which was probably from dehydration. Even though there were aide stations at every mile I only had a couple of power aide swallows which was what I was used to but I had not accounted for the extra heat so picked up more water at the next station and that helped. By mile 10 I was really struggling with my knees and I really had not expected that. My knees hadn't bothered me during the entire training, even on the long runs, but keeping a different stride might have had something to do with that. I kept encouraging Hollie to go ahead which she finally did and I watched as she gracefully and happily (seriously, she was way to chipper for someone running 13 miles) ran ahead of me and finished so close to her goal time. I, on the other hand, hobbled my way through the last 2 miles alone with people passing me, with me passing others who were worse off than me and my goal became to run the last stretch. Though my hope was to finish in 2:30 I was grateful to finish on my feet.

The most painful part of the whole race was switching from the hobble to a lame jog as I came in to the finish. Still, I did it!! I was so happy to see my whole family there (I didn't think they were coming because of LeRoy's back surgery the week before) and to see my parents and the d'Evegnee family there for support as well.

Run for the Cure 5K in Idaho Falls ~ September 25th
3.1 miles ~ 28:04

I limped away from the half marathon thinking that I had accomplished what I started out to do and that I was done running for another 21 years, more likely forever. But, after gingerly making it through the following week avoiding stairs at all cost, I signed up for another 5k just to get me exercising again. I didn't want to end on a limp and figured that the 5k was more my race than the half. I had been reading about a different approach to running so I was trying the run 1 mile/walk 1 minute/run 1 mile etc. method which was great to break my knees in slowly again and my times were actually getting better doing it that way. I learned that another friend, Terra, had signed up for this race as well but we agreed that we would run at our own pace. It was a great recovery race for me and I had my best time for a 5K.

I was beginning to love the race. Having a race date ahead of me was helpful for workout motivation and I was much more aware of what I was putting in my mouth. I thought maybe I would run one race each month, even through November, December and January because I found 5K's that were being held each month. Maybe if I kept up the running my lungs would adjust to the cold and it could be done. Not so.

Wish Walk Run in Idaho Falls ~ October 16th
3 miles ~ 29:24

The cold got me on this one. I think I was probably already getting sick and I had a full on chest cold by that evening so I'm not sure how much of it was the cold and how much of it was my already compromised immune system. Even though my time was still under 30 minutes it was a tough race to get through. My thighs were stiff and freezing so each step was like lifting a heavy weight. I also couldn't get my breathing under control which quickly caused me to lose my concentration and I just wanted it to be done. My biggest motivation was to not lose Terra and once I focused on that the rest didn't matter and I just plodded along behind her. This race took more out of me than the others, even the half, and I realized I was done for the year.

There are two things that I didn't like about running. First, the dreaded first mile. No matter how long my run was going to be it always took a bit for me to get into it and to find my rhythm. Having a good play list helped and getting the Nike-Ipod thingy to randomly (or at my request) tell me in my ear how far and fast I had gone was a boost.

Second, my thighs grew and I gained weight. I was totally bummed by this because I was putting so much effort into it both nutritionally and physically. I assumed that once I went back to pilates and Jillian that I would get into my pants easier but evidently going from a strict running schedule to sporatic indoor workouts doesn't really result in weight loss, especially when the nutrition part of it goes out the window and into the holidays.

I look forward to March when I can get outside to run again. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate like it did last year and we will have an unusually warm spring. My first race next year will be the Liberty 5K again and I'll go from there.