Always An Adventure

The "Finding Amy...Again" journey has taken me on quite a few different "exercise adventures" over the past few years.  

It started at Clay Fitness + Nutrition, where, from day one three years ago, I was taken far beyond what I believed my body was capable of. This adventure, of course, continues to this day and my body is still challenged to exceed my expectations with every class I take!  

I've done several 5Ks over the past few years. My favorite was the Hilton Head Run For the Heritage that the Spicy Chicken & I did in 2011. Not only was it completely flat (my kind of race!) it was the first race we'd done together since the 1999 Denver Governor's Cup 10K. It was, consequently, also the last race we did together. Hmmm...

I also had a great time doing the Featheridge/Clay 5K Run to Rebuild with Moe in spring of 2011. Okay, maybe "great time" is a slight exaggeration, as this was her first true race and she may have cried once or twice along the way. But we did it, and even have the pictures to prove it!

Training for the Charlottesville Ten Miler this spring was probably the toughest adventure I've taken so far. Running distances does not come naturally to me. Hard as I tried, I never reached that "I love this!" moment so many runners speak of. I did, however, occasionally get to "I like this", which I deemed as success, considering I started from "I f'ing hate this!". Shin splints (which I later found were stress fractures) attempted to sideline me along the way, but with Callie's help I made it to the Finish Line. There are rumors that I uttered something like "I can't wait to do this again next year", but thankfully there's no actual proof!

This leads us to my latest adventure - the Susan G. Komen 3-Day.  Unlike other events, the 3-Day is truly not a race - it's a journey - a 60 mile journey! You wouldn't think you'd have to train for just walking, but you do (think blisters). Even then 20 miles doesn't seem like that big of a deal. That is until you realize that you're doing it all over again the next day AND the day after that...60 miles is a heck of a journey, and I cannot wait to take it!

My adventures have gone from a jog around the block, to 5k, to 10 miles, to 60 miles. What will your next adventure be?  

Happy National Running Day

Happy National Running Day! 

Ok, so National Running Day was actually yesterday but I have a cycling class on Wednesday's so in my effort to not overtrain (stop laughing) I held off my celebrating until today. 

And guess what?  It was glorious!  Scout and I went back to the Meadowcreek Parkway (which I guess is now called the John Warner Parkway, who my dad claims was married to Elizabeth Taylor but I'm not sure I believe him).  We've had a lot of rain lately so it's been pretty humid, but today there was a light breeze and a little cloud cover - fabulous.  Since I am truly in the infant stages of getting my runner on again I decided to do run/walk intervals.  I do this very scientifically - running for the duration of one song and then walking for the next (much easier than having to look at my watch). Add to it that my poison ivy has gotten so much better that I can actually move my legs without falling into a scratching fit and I think we can call today one pretty damn successful "Day After National Running Day"!

So, how about you?  Did you celebrate National Running Day with a great run?  How about Day After National Running Day?  If not, no worries.  I've heard Weekend After National Running Day is a great time to celebrate, too!  Just get on out there - I promise you will be happy you did (and so will your dog!).

The Lone Runner

I've made mention before that though I run I do not consider myself a "Runner".  To me  Runner is someone who enjoys running at a much greater level than I do - who can't wait to get out their shoes on and get out on the road - who doesn't whine and cry nearly as much as I do.  You know who you are.  I'd give a shout out of admiration to each and every one of you if I wasn't worried you'd be so inspired that you'd head out on a run before reading the rest of the post (you know the important parts - the stuff about me...).

I used to think that there was a special "Club" of Runners that looked down on people like me who bring up the rear in the 5Ks, are proud of 11 minute miles and do races with the goal of crossing the Finish Line. But during the past few months of training I've found this just isn't true. I've been astounded by the number of friends - even friends of friends - who have offered to help me train.  And trust me, all of these people would be in "The Club" if there was such a thing.

Until this week, however, I've never taken any of them up on it.  Why?  Because I've been scared.  I'm not part of the The Club, remember?  And though people scoff when I say "I'm NOT a good runner", the truth is, I'm not saying it to be a martyr - I'm NOT a good runner.  I run because it's something I can do from the front door of my house - someone else's house - a hotel - or wherever I might be - and all I truly need is a pair of shoes (and we all know I have those!).  I do not run because I'm a Runner. 

This week, however, I finally gave in and met my friend Meghan.  Meghan will tell you she's not a good runner but trust me, this girl is one heck of an amazing athlete.  She rocks everything she does including WINNING the age group for her first ever triathlon! Another one of Meghan's many great qualities is communication.  The girl can talk.  And, as you all know, so can I.  So needless to say it was non-stop conversation the entire run.  And you know what? It was amazing!  Before I knew it we were passing the turn around point and I wasn't even tired! 

I do have to say that I am struggling big time with shin splint pain right now so am having to walk a little so it was easier than usual from that too, but what made the difference for me on Tuesday was undoubtedly Meghan (I forgot to mention she also happens to be the most positive, encouraging person I've ever met). And, if that's not enough, her husband is also a super stud athlete and occasionally blogs about his triathlon experiences at  http://tritoblog.blogspot.com/ - check it out.  I promise you will be inspired!

Moral of the story? Don't be afraid. You don't know what you're missing out on.

The Frozen 5K

This is what I would've called the post I wrote after the "Fast Before The Feast" on Thanksgiving morning had I not chickened out. 

The weather forecasters were calling for "the coldest Thanksgiving Day in a decade" in White Bear Lake, Minnesota that day.  The  HIGH was supposed to be 12 degrees - and yes, that's Farenheit! Seriously? In Charlottesville I start running indoors when it gets below 40! At first I was I was determined to not let a little cold get me down. The chill in the air when we stepped off the airplane, however, quickly reminded me that even though in my heart I will always be a Minnesota Girl, the rest of  my body is not quite as convinced.  

I met my friends at a bar the night before the race completely convinced that it was too cold to run and figured they'd be on board.  Guess what?  They actually thought it would be FUN!  I should've known better than to think Jess, my long-time buddy Chris's adorable, size zero, runner girlfriend and my tiny, super woman, marathoner BFF Jenny would wimp out.  But Chris?  He's a professional golfer who dislikes the cold almost as much as I do. I thought for sure I could talk him into bloody mary's in the warm confines of a local bar.  But even he was on the "freezing your ass off bandwagon".  What was I going to do?  

After an evening of taking a lot of grief for being a wimp (and several other unrelated inadequacies) I was actually starting to believe I could do it.  Jess gave me a guilt-ridden speech about how she signed up for the race to support me and my journey (yes, I almost cried) and my friend Beth's husband had me writing victory blog posts in my head and visualizing myself coming across the finish line wearing a Charlottesville T-shirt with frozen tears of pride dripping down my face (though in my mind I kept seeing snot icicles instead).  

I went back to my parents house that night and changed directly into every layer of running clothes I had packed - shoes included (why didn't I invest in those SmartWool socks???).  It was nearly 1:30am and I had gone out that night thinking I wasn't going to do this race so I hadn't exactly prepped properly (my pre-race meal does not usually include bloody mary's). I figured I'd need to be ultra-prepared and even threw on my shoes. I set the alarm for 6:30am (a mere 5 hours away!) and settled into bed with visions of frostbite dancing in my head.

When alarm went off the next morning I wearily rose from the bed, walked straight out the back door onto my parents deck, took one slow, frozen breath in, and returned promptly to my warm, cozy, down comforter-covered bed with every intention of getting back up in "just a few minutes".  

And that was the end of my Frozen 5 K dreams.  I awoke a few hours later feeling refreshed and completely guilt ridden.  Chris, Jess, and Jenny (with her two sons!) all completed the race with great times and minimal effects from the hypothermia.  Jess managed to come in 40th overall out of 380 (yes, there are that many crazy people out there!) - and 6th for females with a time of 23:43!  And my buddy Chris (who, though a star hockey goalie in his youth had never run more than 1.5 miles prior to this race) followed not too far behind her at 28:27. Jen and the boys all averaged about an 8 minute mile, too.  I was clearly out of my league! 

While I left Minnesota on Sunday sans souvenir race tee and my pride, I did come away from  with a few valuable lessons learned.  1) I do not like the cold.  2) My friends are really awesome runners,  3)  I should not commit to something I cannot complete, and 4) Some traditions - like the one where we spend Thanksgiving at the condo in Hilton Head - are really good ones!  Join me there in 2011 for the The Hilton Head Bridge Run - where temperature will not be an excuse!

It's Time

In a few minutes I will be walking out the door to the "Real Girls Run" - my first race in about 6 years.  I use the word "race" only because this is what it is technically is, but for me there will be no "racing".  For me it's just a little 3.75 mile jog along the Rivanna River.  

Who am I kidding? It's so much more to me than "just a little jog" for me.  I am terrified. While I am starting to enjoy running, I am still NOT a runner.  And even though I am starting to enjoy running I actually loathe running with other people.  It's "only" 3.75 miles, which I realize really isn't that far - my BFF did a frickin' marathon last weekend and she's still alive - but she is a runner (and is absolutely amazing!) - and for me 3.75 miles might as well be a marathon - it will feel like that to me at least.  

Truth be told it is taking everything in me not to crawl back into bed right now - that and the fact that I've blogged and tweeted about doing this damn race to millions of people so there really isn't any turning back now.  On the other hand, the beauty of being an on-line writer is that most people don't even really know what you look like so maybe nobody would notice if I wasn't there?  They probably wouldn't notice, nor would anyone really care, except me, that is.  I guess it's time to face my fears. 

See you at the finish line!