When Running Becomes a Struggle

What do you do when you find yourself in a funk?  I have been running consistently for over a year now and have loved to sometimes hate every minute of it.  But now I'm finding myself kind of just slumping around the roads.  It's been kind of frustrating.  Some of it I know is the small amount of pain I still have in my IT bands.  Most of the time they don't hurt, but every once in a while (longer runs, faster runs) I feel the tightness.  I'm babying them.  I'm preparing for two more races coming up.  One being the Going the Distance half marathon on April 4th being put on by Startline Racing (use code RET to get 10% off their races--excluding their 3rd party races), and the other one is the Run3rd 5K on April 11th (use code RUNEATTWEET to get 10% off and to be entered into a giveaway for a Sean Astin autographed DVD of Lord of the Rings happening April 1st).  I have to say, after these two races, I think I need to just have a little fun with my running.  I think I've realized I'm putting too much pressure on myself.

I didn't think I'd find myself in this place.  I've always been pretty realistic about my goals, and I still don't feel like I'm doing anything wrong.  I've just realized I'm loosing some of the fun of just running and enjoying it.  My eating has been off and I haven't been strength training since Nov and I also know that's taking a toll.  I've mentioned on Instagram that I've changed gyms and have decided to start swimming again (maybe a sprint triathlon in the future?).  I was a very good swimmer as a teen/young adult, so I'd like to gain some of that back.  I'm also trying to work out a plan to find good days to get back into the gym to lift as well as using the things I have here at home to rebuild my strength (tires, battleropes, core work, HIIT training).  My neighbors are used to watching me do weird things like taking selfies and garmin pics after running, I may as well go back to pushing around my big tire so they have more to talk about!  Hubz and I are also looking into starting the 21 day fix.  Everyone I follow on Instagram who's used it has loved it.  It's worth a try to get myself back on track eating right, and it'd be nice to have my husband join me.

We have a lot on our plate right now at home and it's stressing me out.  I'm really hoping that in a couple of weeks things start to calm back down as we start getting answers to some looming decisions.  In the meantime, I will be doing my best to keep myself on track, enjoy each day, and remember what the most important things are in this life. My husband, my children, Jaylee and my health.

Also, if you live in Arizona and need something to do on March 28th Run Eat Tweet AZ has a Nuun sponsored meetup going down that morning!  There will be different run distances available for the runners who need more mileage or the runners who'd like to start with something simpler.  The longer runs start at 7:00am and the shorter runs start at 8:00am.  There will be tons of giveaways, guest speakers and then head out for BREAKFAST after!  We are after all, a social run group right!  Hope to see you there!

Who or What Inspires You?

Where do you get your inspiration from? I read this article and it really resonated with me, so let me introduce you to someone who inspired me. I have this super awesome friend. Her name is Michelle. One day I noticed she was posting a workout here or there with her husband on Facebook. She'd post a picture of her husband and herself at the gym, she was posting what she was eating and doing on My Fitness Pal. I'm not sure what prompted her to start sharing things, but I'm glad she did. She was diagnosed with Multiple sclerosis and she wasn't letting that get her down. She was working. Hard. And I thought, if this amazing girl can do it, then I can too. I haven't looked back since. She was such an inspiration to me. She would start up a live run with runtastic and I'd be able to click in and cheer for her! I loved it! Every time she'd run I'd think, I totally gotta get out there and do it too. 

I'm grateful for the days when my awesome friend started posting what she was doing on social media. It helped inspire me to start moving and doing the same things. I'm even more grateful that she is the one I ran into at the finish line of our first half marathon at the Phoenix marathon. We didn't run it together....but we ran it together. It was not lost on me that she was the one friend I was able to hug on that line. She was my first inspiration. The one who was strong enough to start sharing her journey. The one who decided if her husband could do it, so could she. The one who showed me, that if she could do it, so could I.

So I will continue to post my runs, my workouts, the goofy games that cycle through on instagram. It's a way for me to stay motivated, to connect to others doing the same things as me, to be accountable to myself. I'll do it, because I like to remind myself, that I'm capable of doing great things, hard things, fun things. I love the "likes" and comments that sometimes helps propel me to my next workout. I do my best to interact with others in the same ways. Because in the end, even though we're all on our own journey, we're really all in this together.

Thank you Michelle for sharing that part of yourself with us! I think you're amazing! And I'm so glad I get to call you friend.

Pictures borrowed with permission from Michelle. Wishing like crazy we had gotten one together, but we'll always remember 😊.

So What's Next For Me?

When I first started running again I wanted to do the Warrior Dash. That was my key race. Then I decided I didn't really want to do a lot of mud runs, and kind of lost interest in the whole idea. Maybe one day. I switched my focus to the Phoenix half marathon hoping I'd be able to successfully complete the race. I did better than that, I hit one of three time goals, despite being ill most of the race and the last minute kinks that happened during the end of training.

I loved racing! It was like the culmination of all the time I put into training. I still want running to be fun, so I'll pick and choose what kind of races I'll do based on how I feel, but I want to continue to race a little. Ultimately running is still a way to escape, clear my mind, dedicate miles to sweet Jaylee, and take better care of my body, but having some fun goals in between, I think, helps to shake things up a little.

On April 4th I'll be running a half marathon with Startline Racing. I was originally going to run the full, in honor/to dedicate, of my friend. After all the kinks thrown into training in January, and the discomfort I still have, a full is off the table....for now. I'll chase that down another time. But it's still a goal of mine.

The week after that race I'll be running the Run3rd 5k with some other members of my run group Run Eat Tweet AZ. I'm so excited about it! It benefits the children in the school district I work in and my children attend school in, which makes it mean so much more to me. Sean Astin will be at the race! He's the guy from Goonies, Rudy, Lord of the Rings.... I'm hoping to snag a picture with him, how neat would that be! If you want to be entered in to win a DVD of Lord of the Rings AUTOGRAPHED by Sean Astin use code "RUNEATTWEET" which also saves you 10%! The first drawing already happened on March 1st and Goonies was won! The next drawing happens on April 1st, so don't miss out and get entered now! Virtual option available.

After that, things are kind of up in the air til Oct. I'm trying to decide on a course of action for training, cross training, and eating. All things have gotten off track, and I've started doing things that aren't working for me and picked back up some bad habits. That needs to change.

Another thing I'm working on is running fuel nutrition. What I used in the half marathon did NOT work for me. It wasn't the trigger for being sick, but it didn't help. Right now I'm leaning towards Cocogo for hydration, and Pocketfuel Naturals and Sunrype for nutrition. Natural fuels, natural foods. All three products are some of my favorites and I hope to one day be an ambassador and represent their companies! If anyone else has an idea please clue me in to what works for you, because I need a lot of help in this category. Either comment here or hit up my instagram and comment there. Any advice will be completely appreciated!

Thanks everyone for stopping by!

I Ran My First Ever Half Marathon

So, I ran a HALF MARATHON!!  My first one ever. My first big major race (I always forget I did a mud run a handful of years ago, and I did do the 12K's of Christmas under someone else's bib, but it was a smaller scale race.)  I trained for 16 months in preparation for it.  I wanted to be able to do it, but I just wasn't sure I'd actually be able to get my body to run 13 miles!  I started small and just kinda ran a little and lifted a little and occasionally went to the track for my "speed work". 

Then I got the bright idea to download a training schedule from Runkeeper and follow that.  I started with the sub 10K to get used to the slowly climbing mileage and quicker paces.  I "nailed" about half of the workouts and completely bombed the others, but it was working.  I was getting stronger. Faster.  I was pretty good about lifting weights and walking with friends and swimming as "cross training" in the beginning.  The day came, and I ran on my own, the turkey trot loop that our neighborhood uses, and didn't come close to my goal time, but hey, I was able to run it, faster than before.  Success!  Then I moved onto half marathon training in Nov.  It started out great.  I ran the ACTUAL neighborhood turkey trot in Nov, relatively sick with bronchitis, and basically rocked it, and then just continued on with training.  I did the 12k's as a training run, and really did a bang up job there too.  Then life happened.

I stopped making time to stretch, I stopped going to the gym, I didn't cross train anymore.  December is nutzo month and I was squeezing runs in between other activities and meetings that were happening all month!  And then injury struck.  Intense pain in my legs.  So bad that walking became a problem.  I ran the Phoenix Half Marathon course just as the month of December was wrapping up and felt pretty confident, finished out the month with a mileage goal and by following the training plan as laid out by Runkeeper, and then couldn't walk anymore.  I threw in the towel and took 3 weeks off, went to the ER and no one could tell me what was wrong.  After talking with a friend we thought together...probably IT band pain.  Well by that point, I knew my goal of a sub 2 hour half marathon was gone.  I just couldn't get back those missed three weeks, and there was still just enough pain, that I couldn't speed up without adding to the pain.  And then I got sick with upper respiratory illness...again!

Anyway, flash forward to February and I re-picked up training and set a new goal.  9:30 overall pace, which would get me about a 2:05 finish time.  It was still a bit lofty, but something that I thought would be a good base, but I wanted to at least land sub 2:15.

Race day February 28th came.  I got up, ate a little breakfast (not much, it makes me kinda sick, but just enough to have some fuel in my body, got dressed in the clothes I had laid out three hours before, grabbed a banana, and headed out the door with my husband who was dropping me off at the buses.  I got to hang out with a pretty awesome couple of peeps laughing and joking, and shivering in the wind while waiting in lines for biffies (does that make us biffie buddies now) and for the start of the race to happen.

6:15, it was time to line up for the race, we ran to the start (for selfies of course) before heading to our spots based on time pacers and waited for the countdown.  I was alone.  That was okay, I trained alone, so I knew I could run the race alone.  I had "practiced" the course a handful of times.  I knew, sorta, what I was getting into.  I stood staring at the start line, misty eyed, thinking about what I was about to do!  I was out there at 6:30 in the morning about to run the streets of Mesa with thousands of others who had put in at least as much work as me, if not more!  We started and I felt great!  I was going to stick with the 2:10 pacer, but I felt so great, I forged ahead.  I was going 9:30!!  Success, my Goal B was going to happen!!

And then mile 2 happened.  I didn't feel real great, but still, I was cruising, so no major thoughts about it.  Then mile 4.  I needed to go to the bathroom, I knew I did, I almost stopped, and then I saw the lines and figured, nah, I'll just run through the growing discomfort happening in my gut.  Then I saw two of my sisters in law and a couple nieces and a nephew!  What the heck were they doing out there!  They didn't see me at first, I saw them, and then pointed at them, because I thought for sure my eyes were playing tricks on me.  I ran over and high fived them, because that's all I could give them for something so cool they did for me.  And although I still didn't feel very good, I forged on in my quest to become a 2:05 half marathoner.  Then a little after that I heard my name shouted to the left of me.  I glanced over and there was my MOTHER IN LAW AND FATHER IN LAW!!!  What was happening?!  She hadn't been feeling very well for a couple weeks, why was she out there!  Oh man it made my day.  She held up her phone, so of course I smiled huge and waved.  I couldn't believe it.  Just a few feet after that I met up with my friend who ran with me a couple minutes cheering me and handed me a pancake!!  I was laughing and crying!  How do you run laughing and crying?

By mile 6 I was suffering and absolutely couldn't put off a biffie stop any longer.  There was a small line, but I got in pretty quick.  Not much relief.  I charged ahead attempting to regain my speed.  I glanced down at my watch, feeling my body not moving nearly as quickly and realized, I may not ever see 9:30 again, but I'd be damned if I didn't try.  I was working. Hard.  Then my name again somewhere close to mile7 or 8...at this point I can't remember.  My mother in law...AGAIN!!  It was a sight for sore eyes.  I didn't feel good.  I was quickly derailing, and I needed a face I knew.  She was there. And I needed her to be.  Mile 9.  I was sick.  There was no denying it.  I was so sick.  I had grabbed a goo before then hoping it would help boost me up to the end.  But to no avail, I was failing fast.  Mile 10 and 11 became a run/walk/run/walk/run/walk....  it was terrible.  I felt like I was in the way of the other runners.  I tried to stay on the sidewalk out of the way.  My paces were so slow.  I was so upset, but I really couldn't do it.  Some of it was mental, but most of it was very legitimately illness and misery.  Then somewhere in mile 10 or so, another sister in law with her two tinys!  My niece and nephew didn't see me even though she was pointing.  My time was shot, but even if it wasn't, I wasn't going to let them go without a sweaty hug from Auntie Sarah!  Little nephew told me as I was walking away "We came to find you!"  I love him!

Mile 11ish is where my apartment is.  I won't lie.  I turned the corner and expected to see my children and husband, but they weren't there.  I looked longingly at my parking lot thinking, I should just go home.  I do not feel good.  I can't do this anymore.  A friend who had ran into me along the course shouted my name and snapped me out of that trance.  I glanced in her direction and then there were my babies.  There was my husband.  They had just walked down the street a little.  I started crying.  They were there. And I was sick. And I couldn't go on.  But then, I could.  I could finish.  It would be ugly, but I knew I could finish.  The look on my husband's face.  I'm sure the running stuff annoys him, but there was pride on his face in that moment.  He was proud of me and what I was doing.  And then I knew, he probably orchestrated my inlaws being on the course to some degree and I flooded with gratitude at that moment for the people in my life.  I ran.  And I walked, and I made up a tiny bit of time.  And as I was coming down the straightaway into the chute, there were my sisters in law who were around mile 4, at the end. Yelling my name, recording and waving, and I knew, I had it.  I hit my Goal C. 2:14!!

It was painful, and awful, and horrendous and glorious, and wonderful and exciting and the most fun I've ever had in my whole life.  I had conquered something I wasn't ever sure I would be able to.  It wasn't how I wanted it to go, but what in life works out perfectly?  Almost nothing.  I'll hit goal A one day.  In the meantime...I'm a first time HALF MARATHONER!  I finished what I set out to do.  I gained a better respect for the runners like me who put in the hours, blood, sweat and tears to hit goals and test their limits.  I am a runner.  I have a family who loves me and supports me, who cheered for me and who lifted me up when I was in the darkest depths of misery in those painful 2 hours worth of moments.  It's my first race story, and it's a great one! I can't wait to do it again.