10K PR TODAY!

I can sum this up by the two Facebook posts I wrote today.

From early this morning: "Today is my 10th race since I started running. BUT...it's my FIRST race in the RAIN! Ugh! This is hard. I want to stay home, I admit it. 10K in the rain is just not sounding fun right now. But I'm tough, and I'll do it anyway. I already know it's not going to be pretty. I even thought about switching to 5K, but nah...if I'm going to do it, I might as well go for it and just get soaked!"

And here is my post after the race: "I actually got a PR today at my 10K! Lots of hills at the beginning, but nice and flat for the second half. The rain didn't even bother me. My time is 1:01.52ish, but Hoquiam says 1:00.15. So actual time is somewhere in between, but hey, better than my old PR of 1:05.30, so yay!"

Not everyday is one of success, but today it was, and it feels good to know that sticking with it has more results than just weightloss. It may or may not be important that I was the second to the last one to finish. Our local 10Ks generally only attract those who run competitively, unlike bigger cities that draw a larger crowd and a variety of times. If I had to guess, I'd say there were about 15 of us in the 10K. The rest ran the 5K or the 2mi. I still don't think my time is that bad--my average was 9.51 per mile! Putting this into perspective: in March, I ran my first 6 mile run in about 1:17. I really believe that quote at the top of the page--I'm racing myself. Sometimes I win with a PR, and sometimes I don't.

I saw this picture today, and I felt like it clearly sums up my experience so far with running:

So next Sunday, another 10K. Wish me luck!
J

How many races in one month?

First of all, I love this picture and quote. It is exactly how I feel!

I could do a 10K every weekend for the next 4 weeks, if I wanted to. The question is, do I want to? I've never been in this situation before. In fact, as I look at my calendar, it's more like I could do 5 races in the next 6 weekends, Thanksgiving weekend being the only one off. I was going to do a 4mi Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, but it turns out I'm hosting Thanksgiving, and since I've never cooked a turkey....I'm a little nervous.

So, tomorrow is a go for sure--local city 10K. Then Sunday is a 5K local Zombie Dash. Not sure on that yet.

Next Sunday is an event called Turn Back the Clock, which celebrates daylight savings. This one is a go as well--I'm signed up and running with a good friend. This one is about an hour away from home, and I'm looking forward to it!

The third Saturday is a local event to support Advocates of Foster Children. It's a Fun Run, and I want to support this group.

The fourth Saturday is another local city fun run.

All of these races have 5K or 10K options. My dilemma is that I have a hard time fitting in a long run on any day EXCEPT weekends. If I do 10Ks every weekend, I will not have the energy for a long run the following day.

So I've decided the next two weeks are a go. After that, I will show up at the local events and decide. I STRONGLY support local events because even though I've been running less than one year, I see the need to support local races, or they will disappear. I am not fast, so I don't like 5Ks. Heck, I"m not even fast at 10Ks, my goal is just to finish. But I always figure that if I'm going to pay for a race, I might as well get 6 miles out of it. But now...I don't know.

As for my weight loss, I'm down another pound, so just two more til I hit the 50 mark! Work and kids has been very hectic. I am a teacher, mom of two amazingly spunky children, and a wife of a Law Enforcement Officer. My husband's schedule is insane, so I'm like a single mom 4 days a week. It was also conference week at school, and I've been battling a virus for 3 weeks. Some nights I just can't get out there, and the nights that I can, it's hard to motivate myself.

But I got a new running jacket this week, and when it came, I was like a kid at Christmas. :) I had it shipped to my school since no one was home this week, and wow...if I was tired, that perked me up! I got to try it out last night, and I think I like it! It still has to pass the rain test. I can't figure out how to get just the picture, so here's the ">link to the Brooks Women's Nightlife Jacket II. It is on sale at Brooks.com for $65, regular $100. I bought a size up, XL, because it said go the next size if you have long arms. So I did...sleeves are great, but the jacket is a little big. I figure for rain running thought, that's OK.

So nothing like something new to get you motivated again!
Happy Running!
J

I have 3 pounds to go--reflecting back

It seems that I have broken through my weightloss plateau. I have lost another 3 pounds after losing nothing for 4 months, maybe even gaining a few over summer (gotta love s'mores!). But now, I'm 3 lbs away from -50. It might take another month, but I know I'll get there.

With the daylight hours shrinking and my daughter's activities increasing, I'm feeling anxious about how I will get my workouts in without impacting my children too much. For this reason, I don't have any half marathons planned until at least April. Instead I'm sticking with 10Ks. I've done 2 10Ks, and my times have been 1:05:55 and 1:05.30. Both had hills, and the 10K I'm doing at the end of October also has hills, so my goal is to finish under 1:05. So I must continue finding time to work out.

A year ago, I still owned a treadmill, so I would just go out to the man cave/rec room/what-ever-you-want-to-call-it room and I'd walk. I also had and still have an elliptical, so when the walking would get boring, I'd use that instead. I remember my goal being to walk 2.5 miles, and later it was 2.85 miles, and I know it took me almost 50 minutes to do that. That's where I was at physically, and it was all I could do. And I did it, 3 times a week plus at least 1x on the elliptical. But in early November the treadmill died, and plus I sprained my toe--bad--so bad I could hardly walk. After taking a week off and contemplating just giving up, again (I hurt my back in October), I decided to just see if I could do the elliptical, and by golly, I could! So I spent two months on it, 4 nights a week. It was parked in my living room at the time because my husband was working odd hours and I needed to be near the kids (the man cave is detached from the house).

So two nights ago, I came home from work, and I was STARVING. Therefore, I ate dinner without getting my running in. That meant that at 8:15 pm, I had choices.

A. Do nothing.
B. Run in the dark.
C. Elliptical, which is now in the man cave.

Husband was home, Ty was in bed, so I opted for C. It's been a LONG time since I went out there to work out, other than a few times with weights. But I turned on X-Factor on our old TV, and I started my cardio. Suddenly, the last year came flooding back. I haven't watched TV and worked out since I first started exercising over a year ago, whether it was in the house or in the man cave, whether it was treadmill or elliptical. And my show of choice was Biggest Loser! If Biggest Loser was on, I was on the elliptical. I'd also watch the Voice or X-Factor...that must be what triggered these reflections.

I remembered how I'd get on the elliptical at a level 2, and if I was really pushing it, I'd move up to a level 3 resistance. Now I start at level 5 and move up to 6. I remembered walking those 2.85 flat miles on the treadmill in about 50 minutes. Last night after school I ran 5 miles in 54 minutes, with hills. I thought about the sizes of clothes I've gotten rid of, and how soon I'll be buying more pants so I'd better wear the ones I have now while they fit!

And I thought about what it will be like to say, "I've lost 50 lbs." Now last night, I blew it. I was starving and ate later than I should have. These last 3 are going to be a fight, and sadly, running 20+ miles a week just doesn't do it for me anymore. Although I've changed my diet, I've done nothing drastic, which I'm also proud of. I haven't done any weird diet, shots, pills, or anything. I know some people have health issues as to why they must change their diet, and I totally respect that! So don't think I'm saying that you shouldn't try different things. I just had NO EXCUSE! My body was and is fine. I've had little injuries along the way, and a few bigger ones, but I've worked hard and kept at it. I still drink coffee, but I also eat breakfast everyday. I pack a lunch to school everyday rather than eating fattening cafeteria food or running to Safeway for greasy sandwiches. I keep a protein bar in my desk for after school to get me through to dinner. And I TRY not to eat late at night. One thing I can improve on is portion control, so that's my focus. But tonight is pizza night...and I'll have my thin-crust pizza, with a side salad. It's the choices I make, and if I continue to make good choices, those last 3 pounds will come off.

So I have 3 pounds to go. I've lost 47 pounds...I'll get those last three. When? Maybe by the end of October, or November...I have no time line. I've never rushed this weightloss. It will come off, with God's help, it will happen!

No races this weekend, just planning a flat 7-9 miles in the morning to enjoy this beautiful fall weather. So I leave you with this saying, and if you like it, check out Slow is the New Fast on Facebook. I love her posts!

Enjoy this beautiful weekend!

Jolene

The Bridge Run--I did it!

There are moments that stand out in your mind as highlights of your life. Not necessarily like your wedding day, birth of a child or Gotcha day (the day you meet your adopted child), but just moments where you say, "Wow...I just did that." More like college graduation, landing a great job, running your first half marathon...those kinds of highlights. Crossing the Astoria Bridge in the 10K Great Columbia Crossing was definitely one for me.

The weekend started on Friday. My kids went to my mom's house, and I was blessed with a migraine. The last time I ran was Wednesday. I went to spinning class on Thursday, and I was going to run on Friday night. I had this all planned out, but you know what they say about plans...Of all the stupid nights for a migraine...this was supposed to be my "easy 3 miler" night so I could take Saturday off and be ready to go on Sunday. Didn't happen that way. Instead, I woke up Saturday morning after taking way too many meds on Friday with an upset stomach. Nevertheless, I waited til daylight Saturday morning and did a slow and easy 3.3 miles.

And off we went, my husband and I, to Astoria, Oregon. Yes Goonies fans, that's where the movie was made! It was a nice getaway for the weekend. And we did what any other married couple for 14 years does when they are away from the kids...we went to Costco because there's no tax in Oregon. Yeah, we are that exciting! But really, we did manage to enjoy a few meals out kid-free, and this was the view of one of the restaurants we went to.

Finally Sunday morning rolled around. I actually woke up at 2:30 am with a dream that I missed the race! Oh boy, I have issues! I truly got up around 5:15 and headed down to breakfast with my friend D and her daughter M. 7:00 came quickly, and off we headed to the Port of Astoria, where we were shuttled by school bus over the bridge to the WA side to a rest area known as Dismal Nitch. Somehow, they fit 3,000 people over there! So at 8:00 am, there we were...race didn't start until 9. Fortunately, it was a beautiful day.

Finally it was close to 9:00, and I lined up for the race. Now I knew I wasn't fast, but I knew I wanted to run. Many people walk this race because this is the one time a year when you have this opportunity. They cap the registrants at 3,000 people, and you must cross within 2 hours. So I lined up toward the front, but not in front. There was a need for an ambulance at the start, so the start time was delayed for about 10 minutes...no big deal...but when the race started, it was utter chaos. Suddenly I wasn't moving, but the outsides were. When I finally hit the chip time mat, I tried to start jogging, and I looked up to see at least 1,000 people in front of me. WTH? How did that happen? I'll tell you how it happened, several of the walkers started in front of the runners! Then us runners had to bob and weave around the walkers. Somehow my husband, who thought he was behind me, ended up in front of me, and he saw me actually running along the ditch to get around the walkers. UGH! This is one case where a wave or corral start would have been nice.

These are pictures my husband took just before the bridge. In fact, all of the race pictures were taken by him. He walked the first half and jogged the second half.

After a mile on the highway, we hit the bridge. I still had some walkers to pass, and I'm guessing I was a half a mile on the bridge (1.5 miles into the race) when I finally got in a group with like-minded and like-ability runners. We all know I'm not out to smash records, but I did want to run this. My goal was to run that entire incline, which started at about mile 3.7 in the race. I knew I had to pace myself and conserve my energy. That's exactly what I did.

Not only did I make it up the inline (0.7 miles at 7% incline), I finished the race with a time of 1:05.30. Not earth shattering, but for me, 10.33 min miles, not too bad. I actually finished 30/82 for my division for females 35-39.

Someday, I'd love to run a 10K in under 1 hour. Someday, I'll do it. But on this day, I conquered a bridge. It had been a goal for 3 months, and I did it. All I could think about was how my old self wouldn't have walked this bridge. I'm afraid of heights, and this bridge really has low rails for most of it. The race is on one lane, no water stops, no bathrooms. All of those things were reasons to say no to this race, and I did. But one day I woke up and realized, what a unique experience! I have to do this! So, I did it. And that's what keeps people coming back is how unique and incredible it is to just walk across the bridge, or run, or whatever.

Will I do it again? I don't know. Of course, it depends on our schedule. And I would have to know that the start will be better. That was chaos, but it was the first year for chip time, so I'm going to hope that next year will be better because they will maybe line people up in a different way.

But one thing is for sure: The amount of volunteer work that goes into that race in amazing. Two states must work together, the buses that take people to the rest stop, the entertainment at the beginning and end, packets, etc...it was an amazing display of teamwork and volunteers for sure.

For now, I'm just glad that I attempted the Great Columbia Crossing, I met my goal of running it, and hey, I even got a 10K PR (I've only been in two, so that isn't saying much). Life is good!

After 3 races in September, I'm taking a breather. Next race is Oct. 27th, a local 10K with some good hills, so it looks like I'll be training for hills this month! But, daughter is now in 2 sports and playing two instruments, plus homework...and Tyson still has his issues too. Not sure how I'll make the time, but somehow, I will.

Thanks for reading!
Jolene