The Great Hike, and my afterthoughts

Summer came to an end, and school had a chaotic beginning, to say the least.

We had our last summer outing on Aug. 25th. My husband and I hiked up to a Mountain in the Olympics known as Colonel Bob. There are two routes up: One side known as Pete's Creek, which is about 4 miles virtually straight up. The other route is known as the "Quinault side" which is 7 miles from the summit. I need to give some background info before you get the real story--I'll make a long story short.

I grew up in Quinault, yet I had never hiked up to Col Bob. Dan and I did a basic hike through the long switch backs of the Quinault side when we were first married, but we stopped at the creek. In 2007, the area experienced a horrible storm, and it destroyed the trail. Due to government red tape and lack of common sense, the trail could only be cleared with hand tools--no power machinery, including chain saws. Finally in 2011, a crew went up and began the job of clearing the trail. But we heard there was another blow down, but it was passable. My original plan was to hike up and back on the Quinault side since that was where I grew up and originally was my first partial hike in the wilderness area. I remembered those switch backs, but hey, I'm in shape now, right? I'll be OK!

But then we realized that we had a unique opportunity. Because my parents live in the area, my dad could drive us the 20-30 miles to the Pete's Creek trail, drop us off, then my parents could leave our truck on the Quinault side. We could experience the ENTIRE trail! So that's what we did, and here we are, getting ready for our adventure.

When we waved good bye to my dad, this feeling of, "OMGosh, we are in the middle of no where...we are really doing this!" set in...So with our packs packed with food, 6 water bottles each, and emergency supplies, At 6:50AM away we went, and up, and up, and up. The only thing we forgot was our camera. We each had our iPhones, so at least we got some pictures.

One advantage to hiking in late August is that the creeks are pretty well dried up, like this one.

This is what most of the terrain on the Pete's Creek side looks like.

There is a point at which the Quinault side and Pete's creek side merge into the same trail, and then there is only one way up. The Mulkey Shelter is on the Quinault side.

Going up was great, but I realized I made three rookie-hiker mistakes. Mistake #1: I was getting a blister on my left foot around mile 2, which without realizing it meant that I was putting more force on my right leg...so soon my right knee started giving me fits. I was so worried about keeping my feet dry that I wore running socks instead of hiking socks--Mistake #2. Luckily I brought an extra pair of socks, so that seemed to help. But Mistake #3 was we forgot our trekking poles. UGH! That would prove to be one of the biggest mistakes of the day. And the last mistake, which isn't really a mistake, is that I wore my old running shoes, not hiking shoes. I don't own hiking shoes! But you'd better believe I will next time!

Getting closer to the top!

Snow near Moonshine Flats. This was all the snow we saw that day. Just a month prior, hikers were still hiking THROUGH the snow!

And at 10:30, we made it to the top of Col Bob. 4 miles, just over 3.5 hours. We sat and had lunch on top of the world, 360 degree views including Mt. Olympus, Lake Quinault, Mt. Rainier, and if you looked hard...the Pacific Ocean! Not to mention the amazing Mountains of the Olympics.

Dan with Lake Quinault in the background.

Not a great picture, but it proves that we did it!

So after a nice lunch and signing the book at the top, we started our decent, and here's where my exhilarating experience becomes something out of a Good-Hike-Gone-Bad story. First, going down is TOUGH! It doesn't matter how many miles you can run, you are in for a tough downhill hike. My husband had to hold my hand several times, and once I fell on a rock hard, and I just missed my tailbone, but I did manage to mess up my wrist a little bit.

When we finally got to Moonshine flats, we breathed a sigh of relief. We knew the terrain would get better and softer on the Quinault side (or so we "thought" we knew) because Dan had done the hike from that side several times many years ago. At Moonshine Flats we met up with a family who had come up the Quinault side, and they said it was brutal, and at points you have follow ribbon to find the trail. We sort of played it off, and off we went...but once again, we were going UP another mountain to get to the Quinault side. Should have seen it coming...

We had to climb a few logs, no big deal, and we thought, "Is this the blow down those kids were talking about? This is NOTHING!" We rested at Mulkey shelter, thinking we had about 3.5 miles to go. We'd be done in a few hours. My knees and toes were aching. And at this point, our iPhones died, so no more pics. Little did I know...

We got to the blow down area. We were walking along the side of the mountain, and at first I said, "Well, this is so pretty! This blow down area makes for a nice view." Such a tourist remark, I'm embarrassed to say. Like those people who think Wild Olympics is a good idea...but I digress. Anyway, there were places were logs were cut, and then there could be a 3-4 foot drop, which doesn't sound like much, but do this times 15, and add in dirt, no place to hold on, brush, logs etc...and we'd get out of one area and think we were through it...then there'd be another one! I wondered if I was being secretly taped for survivor. I would have failed.

Finally we knew we were off the side of the mountain when we got to the creek that we had turned around at many years before. We had no idea how much farther, but soon we hit the switch backs, but our pace had slowed considerably. I had lost my footing several times, and I stepped in a hole and rolled my ankle. But I'm tough and got back up.

Finally, at 5pm, we walked off the mountain. 3.5 hours up, .5 hour up there, 6 brutal hours down. I would NEVER tell anyone to hike the Quinault side until it is cleaned up, unless you enjoy that kind of thing. I couldn't walk right for 6 days, and it took a full week until I could run again. I lost a lot of progress in my running. But once again, I did something I never could have done one year ago.

I need to make one more rant about Wild Olympics: Wild Olympics is a plan for the Park Service to take more control of wild land. While the Col Bob area is not Park area, it is government owned. I experienced that blow-down area and thought, "THIS is how the government takes care of wilderness areas--they don't!" People enjoy spending time in the outdoors, and trails are a great way to do that. That means less people out getting lost, creating their own trails, camping in areas they shouldn't be, etc...It is important for people to experience nature so that the next generation will respect it. Yet I saw first hand how the government manages and takes care of wilderness areas. THEY DON'T! Please, please, if you are a Washingtonian, do not support this plan! Wild Olympics is a wolf in sheep's clothing. I love nature as much as the next person. I grew up fishing, camping, hiking, and experiencing the outdoors. I want it protected more than anyone else. But I need to see that the government can manage what it has, and it is obvious that they can't. If it's lack of resources, then fine...but why give them more land? It makes no sense to me!

Overall, it was a great experience. But next year, I'll stick to the Pete's Creek side!

Race last weekend

Last Saturday I did the 5 mile "Run 4 the Light" run at the beach near where I live. The course went along a paved "dune trail" along the beach for the last half, which was really nice. It was a fundraiser for a maritime museum.

I had to start off a little slower. I have this odd muscle pull on the front-left side of my leg just below the knee. If I take off too fast, it pulls (see the S'mores post). But I forget about it because it doesn't bother me on a day-to-day basis. But I started running, and AGGGHHH! It went. I took a few slow steps, took it easy, and within a a few minutes it worked itself out, and I kept going.

My 5 mile time at Lake Fair was 48:07, and that was a relatively flat course. This course was also flat, but not quite as flat as Lake Fair. There was one hill and then a few up-and-downs along the trail. My time ended up 49:45, so I can say it was still a sub 10 min mile pace...barely.

Waiting to start, and as you can see, Tyson had to come out to give me one last hug!

After the race!

This week has been a good training week. I ran 6 miles in my neighborhood on Monday; 6.5 miles on a new-to-me trail with a running friend; 6 miles with several hills and inclines on Saturday; and then Tues and Thurs I did 15-20 min elliptical then a 45 minute spinning class.

I am trying to get my eating under control. The harder I try, the worse it gets! I think the stress of getting my classroom ready for school is starting to get to me. Hopefully I can get myself back to a place of control and healthy food soon. We had a party, and now we have a ton of food left over that I feel compelled to eat. Well, I'll just keep running it off and hopefully it will all even out :)

This week will just be another week of exercise and running, but the plan for Saturday is a hike! Very excited about that. Then I have a few 10Ks lined up for September, which is really exciting because although I've ran 6+miles before, these will be my first 10K races! I'm looking forward to it.

Enjoy the week!

:) Jolene

My two not-so-favorite topics: weight and speed

Have you been watching the amazing running events in the Olympics? Elite, chisled-muscled athletes who can run these insane time, competing in the pinnacle of sports--the OLYMPIC GAMES!

Yeah, that will never be me. In fact, it won't be most of us.

You see, I've learned a secret about running...are your ready? Here it is: "You don't have to fast, and you don't have to be skinny. In fact, running doesn't necessarily make you skinny!"

Let's talk about weight first, since that seems to be the most fun to talk about, right? Yes, running will help you lose weight. Exhibit A: This is me from last summer taking my daughter to the American Idol concert. I have not shared this on FB or any other blog, so if you are seeing this, it means you are truly one of my readers, and I love you, so here you go:

Yep, that is THE picture. When Kirstie Alley said she didn't realize how fat she really was, that was me too. I had no idea. Here I am taking my daughter to a concert, and I truly had nothing to wear. I bought this cheap shirt thinking, OH, it's a T-shirt, it will look fine. I couldn't have been more wrong. And let's face the facts, it wasn't the shirt, it was me.

So from Aug-Dec, I exercised. I tried to start running, but I sprained my toe on the treadmill and had to do the elliptical for two months. Some people would have quit, and normally I would have too, but I set this crazy goal to lose 20lbs by December. Well, I made it to 18 lbs. Couldn't be too upset about that!

In January I started running, and at first the weight melted off. By June I had lost another 26lbs. Since June, I have lost no weight. In fact, I've gained 2 lbs. That's OK! I'm not going to stop running, especially since now that I've done some races, I see that people of ALL SHAPES AND SIZES run! It's not just the skinny, chisled Olympic athletes or the elite runners you see on TV commercials and magazine ads. It's EVERYONE--REAL PEOPLE.

So now I look like this...it's a blurry photo that Ty took on my phone as we were at one of his cleft appointments, but you can see the difference just in my face and arms:

Even if I never lose another pound, I'm not going to stop running. I may never be "skinny" or have that BMI that says I'm not overweight. I may still wear a pant size that is higher than the average for a woman. I'm OK with that because if you compare those two pictures, I think you can see the happier person. And I need to throw it out there...I love food. I love to eat. It's a battle everyday. Maybe if I did better with my eating, I could be a better runner...I'm not there yet.

Which brings me to the idea of speed. See this guy?

Probably not a speed demon, I'm just guessing. But maybe he is? That has been the other thing I've learned. You can be overweight AND FAST! I am not! But...I am gaining some speed. Speed does not equal fast, it just means my 12.30-13 min miles are more like 10.30-11.00 miles. It's progress. I could probably do even better, but I LOATHE speedwork. I just keep at it, keep going, throw in some shorter faster runs with a longer run each week, and it's helping. Again, look at my pictures. Who is the happier person?

I read one John Bingham's books, I think it was called "The accidental athlete". I highly recommend it. He talks about running in the back of the pack. It's actually really fun! Even for walkers and walk joggers, they are also competitive. One of my friends told me, "I saw these women, and they were NOT going to finish before me." That was her goal, and that's why races are fun. Once you decide you are out there for yourself to be all that you can be, regardless of speed, it's so much fun!

If you are ready to start, I highly recommend starting with walking. That's where I started. Don't overdo it, and explore some couch to 5K workouts. Sign up for a 5K when you feel ready so you have a goal. I will promise you...if I hadn't made that crazy half marathon goal, I'd have quit a long time ago. Goals are important. And of course, without my Lord and savior, none of it would have happened. I love it when God takes me on these crazy life journeys!

In fact, I have a 5 miler tomorrow! Wish me luck! I may not hit that 48 min mark, but I'd like to finish under 53 min.

Keep moving, keep smiling!
Jolene

I ran it! Results of yesterday's 5K

I woke up at 5am, breakfast and coffee ready for my 8:00 5K race...or so I thought.

This was a 5K fun run, and it was part of our city's "Art Walk" festival. It was supposed to start at Totem Park, and lot of us were like, "Where is Totem Park?" We figured out that it is the bottom of a bridge that has a restored totem pole. OK...

So, again, small town, lots of parking at the nearby stores, no need to be too early. So I drive down the bridge at 7:30 am, and NO ONE is there! WTH??? OK, where is Totem Park, seriously? I park at the local outdoor store, and it's one of those moments I'm so glad I own an iPhone. I pull up the race page...race starts at NINE O'CLOCK! UGHHH! So I call my friend D and she gets a good laugh.

Eventually it all comes together, and at 8:30 we line up for the race. My friend D and her daughter M also entered the race. D does about 2-3 races a month, and she pushes her daughter in every single one. Before the birth of M, D did all sorts of Tri-events and races, so she is getting back into it, and it's awesome to have a friend to enter events with! She is actually the person who got me to do the St. Patrick's Day Dash in Seattle (the one in which I had the flu..grrr....)

Myself, D, and sweet little M after the 5K

Another friend, C, was also there, so it was a lot of fun to finally enter a race with her too. And another person I met on a FB running book page also entered the race. Unfortunaly, there weren't as many people as I had hoped for. The organizers did a good job, and hopefully it can attract more next year.

My knee/leg was feeling good, so I decided I'd go all out, and all out I did! Too much. I started off way too fast. I passed a lady at about mile 1, and then she was a good 50 yards behind me. Unfortunately, in the last mile, I had no steam left, and she past me. It was a lot of fun and a good reminder why I do not start fast. I had nothing left to kick into gear with. It was another good reminder as to why I shouldn't run the day before a race--my legs were heavy by the last 1/2 mile.

Results? I'm very happy. My goal, due the the circumstances, was to finish under 31 minutes, but I knew I could pull of around 30. My time ended up being 28min 28sec! Yep, 28:28, 9:30ish pace. I was far more tired after this race than I was the 8K (5 mile) race last week, with a pace of 9:41. But, I am happy with the time. In fact, out of 4 in my age group, I was 2nd--14 seconds behind the gal who passed me at the end! We had a great chat at the end...it was a fun race!

Now, my goal is to get back into longer distances again. My next race is another 5 mile race on the coast on Aug. 11. I'd like to maintain my time of 48 minutes. Overall, I just want to get some longer runs in. That's what I enjoy the most! Until then....

Thanks for reading!
Jolene

For the Love of S'mores

That title will make sense in a minute. First the good news.

Last Saturday I ran a 8K race (5 miles) about an hour or so from my house. It was a flat course and a great way to really see what I could do. I haven't been running as far or as long as I did during my half marathon training, but I've been picking up my pace, so that's been exciting. I was hoping to finish under 55 minutes for 11 min mile pace...that was a SMART goal. But in reality, I knew if I pushed it I could do it in under 53 minutes, not much more though.

When I crossed the finish line, I wasn't sure of my time because the clock was for the half marathon that was going on simultaneously. But I looked at my iPod and it said 48:47. WHAT? That would mean my pace was less than 10 minute miles, and honestly, I could feel it. I pushed it pretty hard, but I made sure I had fresh legs that day so I could push it hard. So when I got home, I checked my chip time. Are you ready? 48:07! That is an average 9:41 pace! Me? Again, slow for some, but for me...well, amazing!

So the next day we left for camping, and I normally don't run the day after a race. But I wanted to enjoy the next day of camping, so I set out for a recovery run. Bad idea. Several stops, got stung, etc... so I took Monday off.

Tuesday morning, I decided to set off on a long run (well, what is now a long run). I have no idea what my distance was, but I know I was out for 1:05. Again, that seems funny for a long run, but again, I also know I've picked up my pace because I was exhausted!

Tuesday night I was walking my dogs back up to the campsite, and my husband was driving down to my sister in law's site. We met up, and he said he couldn't find the s'mores supplies we had just bought. Me being me, I said, "THEY ARE IN THE YELLOW BAG! OH forget it, I'll just RUN to the site and get them. I can run faster than you can drive there and back." Which was true with a 5mph speed limit, I could run faster than he could drive. So I sprinted, and I'm thinking to myself, "Wow, this is awesome that I can run to a campsite, which I never would have done last year," and I got to the site, and ZING! The lower-outside of my left knee gave out. I felt a pull, pang of pain. "OH SNAP!" I thought...but I didn't say snap if you know what I mean. I got back, and told my husband that I hurt my knee, and it might be bad. Yet, I could still walk on it without pain. All for s'mores...the love of s'mores...and the love of my kids, who would have been really disappointed without the chocolate for their treats, and we can't have that while camping, now can we?

We got up Wednesday morning, and I had no pain. We packed up camp and went home. After dinner, I decided since I have a 5K coming this weekend, and I want to try to finish in under 31 min, I'd head out to a park with a flat loop. Upon arrival, my iPod went goofy...should have been my first clue. Finally fixed that, and I began to pound the pavement.

Step, step, step, step, AGAGHHHHAHHAGHAHG! What in the world....oh it must just be tight...stretch...step step step step step AGHAHAHAHAHAGGGGHHHHH! What the.... OK, rub, massage, work out the kinks, it'll be fine....step step step AAGGGGHHHHH! OK, this is not fine.

I walked back to my car...the whole 40 feet. Yes, I could not run barely 5 steps or 40 feet. There was no way. The pulling pain in my knee was brutal. I drove home, and walked in the door to the words, "Well that was fast." and I cried.

No swelling, no discoloration, just a pain I could only feel if I ran. Was this it? Was I done running? I'd had aches and pains, and I was even sidelined a few times, but this was scary. So it was ice and ibuprofen time...and that's what I did. I also researched every part and muscle on and around the knee. I kept self diagnosing, which was hard again because I couldn't pin point the pain.

So yesterday I decided to see if I could handle a spinning class. I didn't push it 100%, but I did survive the class with little to no pain. More ice, more ibuprofen, and more rest.

Today, feeling good, so I wanted to test this out to see where I am with this injury, so I went for an easy run. My first mile was a 12 min. mile (which included walking down a hill which I usually have fun running down--but I'm going easy)...dang, haven't run like that in over a month, but it felt good, so I kicked up the pace a bit, and ended with 3.5 miles in about 38 min, so the pace was just under 11 min miles. And I feel good! Again, more ice, and that area does feel tight, and it's a tough one to stretch, but massage should take care of it.

Praise God. I will run the 5K tomorrow, but not for a PR (Personal Record), but I probably will PR because my only other 5K is 35:15, so even at a jog I can beat that, but my goal was to do it in under 31 minutes. Not sure that is a smart thing to try to do, so I'll just go out and have some fun and praise the Lord that I'm there.

In fact, everyday that I run is a blessing not promised to me. And I realized I need to thank the Lord for all He has given me. He has provided me with all need, and he has given me running when I needed it most. I praise God that my health has been restored, my energy levels are up, and I'm setting a good example for my kids. This little injury is a good reminder that nothing in this life is a given.

Thanks for reading, and I'll post my 5K experience tomorrow! (There is a part of me that is perturbed I can't go "all out" tomorrow. It's a flat course!)

Jolene

The Saga of the Perfect Running Shoe

I saw this picture yesterday, and I had to post it on FB because it was very much ME the other day.

I have been struggling with shoes. Last summer I went to good ol' JC Penny and bought a cross trainer shoe...and I'm almost positive that's how I killed my toe to begin with. So when I decided to start running, in late December I went back to JC Penny and bought another pair shoes, this time a little more spendy and were "made" for running. They were Nike Dual Fusion, and to be honest, they are so darn cute, I wear them all the time (which tells you, I no longer run in them). The funny part of this is that I was supposed to go to a running store, but I chickened out. I didn't feel like I belonged there, so I stayed with what I knew. That was my first of many mistakes. But admit it, they are cute!

After about a month of running in my Nikes, my knees were just aching. I knew I couldn't keep it up, and my friend assured me that the problem was my shoes, which were fine for everyday wear, but not for running up to 12 miles a week like I had been at the time.

So mid February, I did it: I went to a running store. I came out with my first pair of REAL running shoes: Asics 2170s.

On my first run, I hated them. They felt very heavy compared to my Nikes, and my friend explained it was because it was a minimalist shoe and now I'm in a more stable shoe. OMGosh...there is so much to this! (Oh little did I know then...) But I kept at it and soon the knee pain subsided, and I was on my way. I did end up with a foot injury, and I had custom orthotics made. That's another story...

I wondered when I would need new shoes, and everyone said "You just know". So mid May, I felt my knees ache again, so I went back to the running store and bought the same style shoe, only in a different color. The running store has a 30 day policy that if you don't like the shoes, you can bring them back with the receipt and exchange them. But hey, I didn't need to keep that receipt right? These were the same shoes, so all should work out, no worries.

The shoes I now refer to as The Devil Shoes

And I ran in them, and something didn't feel right. My ankles ached, my knees ached...I felt like I was back to square one. I even started to feel some shin splints--what the heck? And of course my friend said, "Well, you kept the receipt, take them back..." Ughhhhh....no I didn't. BIG MISTAKE! So I went to Wal Mart, bought some gel insoles, and put those in the 2nd pair of Asics. No bueno, so with the half marathon approaching and my custom orthotics lost in space, I put the gel inserts into my first Asics, and the knee pain subsided, ankles got better, and life was good again. I ran the half marathon in those purple asics with the Wal Mart gel insoles.

So finally, the following week my orthotics arrived and I took some time to break them in, and I knew the day was coming that I would need new shoes. The old shoes were ripped on the inside, and hole was forming on the top where my big toe would rub up against the material. And even with the orthotics, they were just done. I tried running in the newer white Asics again, and the knee pain came back. I have particular issues with the outside of my right knee.

So last weekend my family was on an outing, and my husband is getting ready to start running, so we wanted to get him some new running shoes. But you know where I'm going with this...I walked out with new shoes. I was hesitant on what to do because I loved the first pair of Asics but not the second pair. I put on another pair of the same Asics (in another color), but something wasn't quite right. Then I put my feet in some Sauconys--Guide 5.

I fell in love. They were softer and felt less bulky than the Ascis. So I walked out of the store with these, and Dan walked out with...nothing. All of his friends told him about the pressure point tests, treadmill tests, etc... and this particular running store didn't do these tests. I told him I didn't really care, but if he wanted to do them, I'd find a store.

A friend had told me about Road Runner, and I found one. When we walked in, we saw the treadmills, and that was what Dan wanted, and since I'd never done it before, I wanted to try it too. Then I was nervous...I just bought a pair of shoes one hour ago...and they are not cheap. What if they're the wrong ones?

So what did I learn? Well, I learned that I should buy shoes in the neutral plus category. The Asics were stability shoes, which probably were OK when I first started running because I was heavier. But the new ones were pushing my leg in, causing the outside knee pain. And guess what the new Sauconys I bought were? Yep, stability shoes. So I tried some neutral plus shoes on, and the heavens parted: Saucony Triumph 9.

But the only way to really know and really feel a difference was to try each shoe on opposite feet and feel the difference. These neutral plus sauconys were so much softer, where the yellow ones were more rigid. So I walked out of Road Runner with ANOTHER pair of shoes. :) Not cheap, for sure.

I went out in the new shoes last night for 6.7 miles. No knee pain! I did another 3.4 today (in 35 minutes I might add...10:18 min/mi pace--which for me is outstanding), and my knees and ankles feel great. So since I do run an average of 20 miles per week, I should be rotating my shoes anyway. My plan is to take the Guide 5 pair back and exchange it for another Triumph 9. I was told it takes about 24 hours for a shoe to reform, so by alternating shoes, you actually add to the life of the shoes. So that's what I'll do!

Now I'm having arch issues in my left foot, but I think that's because I've been wearing the orthotics a lot, and I didn't wear them this afternoon in the Nikes (that I still love to wear with jeans) and I pulled something--it's nothing ice and ibuprofen won't fix. I'm not running much, if at all, tomorrow anyway.

Anyway, finding the right shoe is not easy, and it's expensive. I can still use those white Asics for spin class and elliptical machines, so at least I still can use them. I cannot use the Nikes for anything except everyday wear, which is great because I'm not using my workout shoes for walking around. And my orthotics fit into every pair of shoes I own, so that's a great benefit. So hopefully I won't need to buy more shoes for another 6 months...let's hope! And then I'll probably love something else. But for now, these are it!

The long and short of it is this: I have learned that the right shoe can make or break your work out. My feet are pounding pavement, and I need to take care of them, and if I take care of my feet, I'm taking care of my knees, back, and everything else. They will keep me on the road...and that's where I want to be.

Keep running!
Jolene

Beautiful Trail Run!

For the 4th, we went "home" to the Quinault area and stayed with my parents. I was raised out there, went to school and graduated from there too. It's a very small town that has changed immensely in the last 30 years.

But one thing that hasn't changed is the beauty of the area. It is a temperate rain forest, and with all that rain (about 12 feet a year), there are the most beautiful green forests. There is a series of small hiking trails that my friends and I used to walk a lot back in the day, and i think when I was 19 I might have even ran on them a few times, but only a few miles.

Yesterday, I do believe I ran about 4.4-ish miles. That's an estimate, so could be more or less, I truly don't know. I took a few wrong turns, but overall had a blast! I stopped to take about 12 pics, so I'm not looking at my time/pace because this was just a fun day out. The trail itself was rough in a few spots, with some muddy areas from recent rain. It's a lot different than pounding pavement because you have to watch for roots sticking up, rocks, mud, and over grown areas. But you also get to see this!

Yes, it was a beautiful day for a beautiful run through the woods. Sometimes, you just need to get away from the pavement and hit the trails, and I plan to do that more often!

How do you measure health?

I just felt like this picture fits this post!

Last August when I started to work out and exercise, I never dreamed that 11 months later I'd still be sticking to it. What was different this time? Well, first it was seeing the pounds come off. That was cool to see 18 pounds come off in 4 months. And I just felt better. Then I made the half-marathon goal. Nothing like putting yourself out there, right?

Just before the half, I had lost 44lbs. Somehow, I gained two pounds back. I'm not overly worried about it. I had to carb load for the half, and then after the half it took a good 4-5 days to get my appetite back to normal limits. So you might wonder if I'm not losing weight, why stick with it?

I'll tell you why: I'm not measuring success in pounds anymore. I'm measuring the benefits in other ways.

1. Energy level. I don't lie around tired anymore. Sure I take a break here and there, but for the most part, I feel better. I get up in the morning feeling generally pretty good, and I have a good energy level until bed.

2. It's mental. It's now to the point that the level of guilt I feel if I don't work out exceeds how good it feels to be lazy and skip a workout. I can't explain horrendous the feeling of "I suck" when I skip a workout. When I say skip, I mean I could have fit one in but didn't. But yesterday, I spent the day with Ty in Seattle, leaving at 8am and getting home at 6:30. Clearly, that was a day I'm not beating myself up over. In fact, I planned that as a day off. But if I have the time and don't do it, then I feel very guilty.

3. I enjoy it...most of the time. To be honest, I don't enjoy running 5 days a week. I love to throw spinning in one time a week. I don't mind elliptical every couple weeks. I find ellipticals boring, but to change it up isn't bad either. Usually 1 day a week, I don't want to do it, and the later in the day I wait, the harder it is. But for the most part, I do enjoy it, especially running outside.

4. Fitness improvement. At times running can get too competitive against myself, and I get mad at myself if my time didn't improve or I'm not making improvements as quickly as I had hoped. I'm still figuring all this out! But today was the perfect easy run. I did an easy 5 mile run in one hour. 3 months ago I would have been cheering at 12 minute miles, now it's "easy". That's improvement!

5. Meeting people. I have met an entire group of people who like to run. We share our successes, running times/paces, and it's all good and safe. I have now run with 4 people I never would have otherwise. Good stuff!

So if I look at the scale, and I use that as my measure for exercising, then maybe I've failed in the last month. But all I have to do is look at that list, and I know that success isn't always measured in pounds. The pounds help in the beginning for sure, but now it's so much more.

The biggest con...no clothes fit. I have to buy something new each week! I have a closet of clothes that do not fit...I guess I need to sell them so I can afford more clothes! :) I still want to lose 15ish pounds, but I'm in no hurry. They will come off when they come off! I'll just keep at it!

And you should keep at it too, because it WILL pay off in more than one way!

Happy Independence day!
Jolene

What's Next? New Goal, and it's SMART!

I read that many people feel a little lost once they conquer their half marathon goal, and I was no different. I took it easy at the beginning of the week, letting my body recover and allowing some aches and pains to subside. In the meantime, I continued to look for races and tried to decide if I wanted to do another half marathon, or if I wanted to tone it down. Neither were good options.

Then I questioned whether or not I even wanted to race anymore. I will never "win" against anyone else. Is it smart to pay money just to run? But then I thought about the few races I've done, and it's been FUN! They each have a flavor and feel to them, and it's a great way to measure yourself against...well, yourself!

So what would it be? I finally figured out my next two races, and from there I made a goal. My next race is in 3 weeks, and it's an 8K. I am not taking this one very seriously. I mean, of course I will do my best, but my goal really is to finish in under 55 minutes. Today I did that easily on a treadmill (OK, not easily, but I did it).

My next race is in my mind "The Big One". It's a 10K on August 25th. At first my goal was to run it in 1 hour. So this morning I read up on it and researched running plans, and I realized THIS IS DIFFERENT than training for the half. For the half, I wanted to finish. Now I've set a time goal, so this is a much different intensity. I have to make my legs go faster. I have to do intervals, speed work, and I'll be honest, I don't know that I'm going to like this. But nevertheless, I made an 8 week plan. The farthest I ever run is 8 miles, which seems really funny to me, but today I did 10K (6.2 miles) at intervals of 10 minutes and 11:20 minute paces (alternating songs, nothing scientific), and it took me 1 hour 6 minutes, which is the best time I've ever run 6 miles in actually. It was an average of 11 min miles (which doesn't make sense either, but who knows...)

Which brings me to SMART goals. I had to ask myself:
S--Specific--yes I have a specific goal--10K on Aug. 25
M--Measurable--yes, I have a distance and time to measure
A--Attainable--Maybe?
R--Relevant--Yes, a good balance of the intensity and distance I desire.
T--Time-Bound--Yes, 8 weeks

So let's visit that A for Attainable. I am not sure that in 8 weeks I can shave 6 minutes off my 10K. I think I can run 6 miles in 1 hour. I don't know if I can get that last .2 in under that hour. So I have come up with a new goal.

On Aug. 25, I will run 10K in as close to 1 hour as possible. I'm actually thinking 1:02 is a good goal. That would be 10 min miles. We will see how these 8 weeks go, trying to train while camping and other summer events.

Again, this is MY goal. I know many people look at this and probably laugh. I'm not laughing. I'm dead serious. In fact, I looked for pictures of myself, and there are very few because I hated to be in pictures. But here are a few.

Aug. 09 Getting ready to leave China

Taking Ty for a walk after palate surgery.

And at my heaviest, 1 year ago, June 2011. This was 6th grade moving up, and I cropped out the students. This one is hard to look at for sure.

And this was last week, one year later, June 23, 2012:

So as long as God stays with me and keeps me healthy, this is my new goal. I'll keep posting when I can. This blog is to ENCOURAGE others because believe me, I have every excuse NOT to work out. I have every excuse to be lazy and lay around. I have every excuse to eat what I want when I want (I DESERVE to eat junk, right?). But my thinking is not about deserving those things...it's that I DESERVE better. My body, my husband, and my kids deserve better. But I have to want it. God has given me a potential, and I'm pretty sure it isn't 7 minute miles. So what is it? There's only one way to find out!

Thanks for reading, and I encourage you to get out there and do it! If I can, so can you, and I truly mean it. It's taken a almost a year to see a true difference. There were/are days I don't want to do it. If you're just starting, and you don't like to run, find an exercise that works! Maybe that's for another post...

Jolene

Half-Marathon--I did it!

The Week Leading Up to the Race

Let me start by saying that this has been one miserable week. Last Friday, I started coming down with something. My son had been sick with a fever, and he ended up with a severe cold and ear infection. He kindly passed it to me, one week prior to my half marathon! I did everything possible--zinc lozanges, airborne to boost vitamins, cold meds...I even went to the doctor to in fact find out I had a sinus infection, but my doc will not give antibiotics for that. Awesome. But he recommended a neti-pot----ewwww! Well desperate times call for desperate measures.

By Thursday I was perking up, but since I had missed my long run from the prior weekend and had been doing much shorter runs, I was nervous. I headed out for 3 easy miles since it was a taper week (or in my case, extreme taper), and it felt much better than the 4 on Monday or the 4.5 on Tuesday. I took Wed off to let my body heal, and I think that was the best decision I made.

And meanwhile...my husband caught a cold and fever! UGH!

Off to Seattle

So Friday, my husband amped himself up with cold meds, and off we went to the big city of Seattle. One of our outings was to eat at the Space Needle to celebrate our kids' birthdays! It was absolutely POURING rain! Great...my week had been going "so well" already, so this would just cap it off nicely. In fact, I thought of backing out since I had been sick and didn't want to make it worse.



Finally, the big day!

I woke up bright and early today, dressed for rain, and off I went to the starting line, which was a 10 minute walk from our hotel. It was NOT RAINING! Praise the Lord! The gun went off at 7am, but it was a corral wave start. I finally started at 8:04. But the nice thing was that the person who facilitated our adoption of Tyson recognized me, and we chatted at the starting line, so that was a real blessing and definitely a highlight of the day for me. Thanks Myriam!

My finishing goal was 2 hours 35 minutes, and I wanted to run all of it; but I did give myself permission to walk steep hills only. This would be just under 12 minute miles. I knew I could do it, but I would have to run steady. So off we went, and it was an immediate downhill, a bit flat, and up a hill. This would be the theme of the day. I started off slow while everyone flew by me. But soon, I was the one weaving and passing. I learned quickly I was corraled with the "walk-joggers" and the crazy thing was, I had moved up in corrals! With hindsight being 20/20, I wish I had moved up even more.

Just before the 5K/3.1 mile mark, I was getting too warm in my jacket. I wore my jacket because I just KNEW it was going to rain after reading all the weather reports. So that meant trying to take off my bib (with 4 safety pins) and re-pin it. I tried doing this while running. I did manage to get the safety pins off...but repinning was another story. So, stop #1--repinning my bib and tying my jacket around my waist, only to start running and have my jacket fall to my feet. So, I stop again and tie that puppy tight! So I lost some time there, and my 3.1 mile split was 00:39:18. EEKS! Not at all where I wanted to be.

And as I was running, I realized I needed a quick bathroom break. It wasn't an emergency, so I just kept my eye out for a short line at the porta-potties. I found one at about mile 4, so Stop #2: bathroom stop. I lost a few minutes there, but it could have been so much worse!

OK, so I then realize I'm at 4 miles and 52 minutes. Oh boy, if I keep this pace up, I won't finish for 3 hours! So I decided to make up time...but then, I round mile 5 to see a HUGE HILL! This was NOT on the elevation map. I didn't expect this at all, and it was like a series of 2-3 steep hills all in a row. Yep, I walked that baby, and then it was just as steep on the other side going back down. OK, time to get back on track.

I crossed the 10K/6.2mile mark at 1:18. WHAT? This is slower than I had been training! Those stops and that hill killed my time. I still had 7 miles to go, and just to double my time would put me 2:36, plus one more mile would be 2:48. OH NO! So I decide right then and there to step it up. I knew more hills were coming, and I'd trudge through what I could. I smiled for the camera at the halfway point, and right after that were blue signs that showed pictures of fallen soldiers. It was an emotional moment--very sobering, realizing that I was running a race and these men and women gave their lives so that I could run that race. Then at about mile 8, my tailbone started bothering me. What was this? This had never bothered me before! It was pretty painful, but I just kept going. The extra hills were getting to me. Then we ran through the I-90 tunnel, and came out at the ramp toward Safeco and CenturyLink fields. I think those two spots were my favorites of the course.

My time at the 10 mile mark was 2:02. Yep, made up time! I ran about 4 miles in 44 minutes, so my pace increased, and I was almost back on track. But still, to get 3.1 miles in 33 minutes, I knew I'd be pushing it, but it wasn't out of reach. And then at mile 10, another hill that was not on the elevation map! Ugh! I had to walk it, I knew if I ran it, I would run out of steam by the end. Again, I lost some time. So at the top of that mile, I decided to push as hard as I could but still have steam to finish without stopping. That was my goal. I had never run past 11 miles, so when I crossed the 11 mile mark, at that point, it was all mental. One foot in front of the other. When I hit mile 12, I knew I wouldn't make my 2:35 time, so I decided I would stay in the 2:30s and NOT hit 2:40. When I first started this journey, my goal was 3 hours. Then about a month ago, it was 2:45. Then two weeks ago, it became 2:35. When I got sick, it became just to finish. The times are in my head, and they may be slow to some people, but for me, they are what I decided to try to do.

The last mile seemed like the longest, and of course, they had to throw in one more hill at the finish line. I crossed the finish line at 2:38:29. 3 minutes past my goal, but under the previous goals I set for myself. AND...if I took out the bib incident and stopping for the bathroom, I probably would have made it. So I'm going to consider today a success, and now I have something else to work toward.


Will I do another half-marathon anytime soon? Ask me when my toes aren't still tingling, knees don't need ice, and tailbone has healed! LOL All in all, what a great experience. Never in my life did I think I'd do something like that. It has helped me lose 44 lbs, eat healthier, and just overall be a happier person. It just goes to show, anything is possible! If I can do it, anyone can! But of course, I didn't do it alone. God has been my ultimate trainer through it all. He teaches lessons that go beyond running. Once again, I am reminded to trust in Him fully and completely, and He always keeps His word!

Don't forget, I'm still collecting donations for little Caleb for a few more days. The link is on the right, and every little bit helps!

Jolene