Moving On

It looks like we didn't get into the marathon that we had wanted after all. It's a bummer but we are finding that is the way life works and you have a choice to either let it get you or pick yourself up and keep going. So, we are going to keep going. Move Forward. Choose to look to a new goal and be happy for the lessons that we have learned. 2010 will bring new accomplishments, strength and a marathon that we can finish together. I love my running partner and all that she stands for! Thank you Manda for being you, this has been a journey that I have loved and cherished. I couldn't ask for a better example, running partner or friend. How did I get to be such a blessed Mom? 2009 was amazing... 2010 will be even better!

Thanksgiving Training

Our Thanksgiving became somewhat comical when our oven broke the night before Turkey Day. It made it a little more challenging to cook and hold onto that feeling of gratitude but overall it was a great day. It was a day that reminded us of the real things in life to be thankful for- friends, family and blessings from a loving Father in Heaven. It reminded me of my own running... maybe not picture perfect but I sure am grateful that I have the ability to work at it and it comes together at the end to make a beautiful experience.
We had a 7 plus mile run that week. We had Rick drop us off out of town and we made the run home. Most of the way we were on a trail but did venture off of it during the last part. One of the obstacles that we are facing right now is that Manda's skills are so much ahead of my own. The more we train, the faster she gets and I seem to stay at the same speed. I am filled with guilt that I am holding her back from achieving her potential. She assures me that I am not holding her back and that she chooses to go at a slower speed because she just loves me that much and enjoys making the journey together. I do love her kind heart.
Only rarely does she get into a mode of complaining about things, she really is usually an optomist at heart. However, this long run happened to be one of those rare moments. This is when I found that her speed was a blessing... I commanded her to run ahead of me and not let me hold her back! =)She did as I asked and ended up doing the last part of the run with a friend as I trailed behind. For her, the seven miles seemed pretty easy and seemed to pass by quickly. For me, it was a little more challenging but I was able to finish it. She kept saying "Wow, that wasn't bad at all- I could of kept going a lot further". I was just grateful to have finished. Proving once more, that she really is an optomist and strong. I guess it doesn't matter that she is so much stronger than me. The real lesson is that we found the courage to do what we set out to do, helped eachother get started, kept an eye on eachother and were there at the end to say, "Well done". I guess I will just have to swallow some pride and let her inspire me to keep going and count my many blessings that she is always at the finish line encouraging me, and return the encouragement in any way that I can.

Weekly Wrap Up- Two Big Accomplishments!

Our last run this week was a 5-miler. Not bad, I have several of those under my belt now and I wasn't worried about it. I don't know what happened this week, but it was the hardest 5 mile run I have done, at least in the beginning. It was bad. We had decided to go on a route that has become one of our favorites and we are trying to take advantage of it before the snow starts to hit and it isn't available. It started out in a small town that is nestled in the rolling hills and has some tremendous scenery, the trail itself is therapeutic just to look around and enjoy the view and the fresh smell of the trees. Usually I can lose myself in the scenery and forget about the trail being a gentle incline for the first 2 miles. This time my legs would not let me forget the incline. Before we even hit the 1 mile mark I was ready to quit and I might add that I was even going slower than my normal snail pace. Quite honestly, had my running partner not been with me and telling me to stop whining I probably would have quit. I stopped jogging for a couple steps and she was riding my tail and told me, "You can walk for a minute when we get the the 2 1/2 mile mark, until then get going". Wow... I have created a monster!
I struggled, I hated it, I was irritated with the little punk pushing me along but I kept going. By the time we arrived at the point that I was "allowed" to walk for a minute I honestly didn't feel the need to walk but due to my rebellious nature I did it just to spite my running partner who just kept going on without me. I mean, who was she to tell ME, the parent, that I needed to buck up and keep going? I know... I need to grow up! I only walked for possibly- one minute to a minute and a half and then got over my rebellion and made myself jog again. The magic that seems to always happen had arrived. I just can't emphasize enough how hard that first mile is for me, every time! This run just was EXTRA hard, more than usual but as my experience has proven time and time again, it gets easier if I keep going.
Had Manda not pushed me I wouldn't have accomplished MY BIG MOMENTS of the week. A few weeks ago we were on a run and passed by a lady going the opposite direction on the trail who was jogging at a pretty good pace while talking on her cell phone. I was in awe that anyone could talk on the phone and jog at the same time. Heck, I am in awe if I can talk at all and jog at the same time. I know that some people say they sing to help them keep rhythm... that is way beyond my comprehension still. I can only breathe in and out and I am doing good to do that much! Then it happened, my phone rang, and I saw that it was my husband who has been out of town all week, so I picked it up. I ran for the next 10 minutes or so talking on the phone and it wasn't bad at all. Silly accomplishment for some people I realize, monumental for me. It was a great moment.
Second Accomplishment came shortly after hanging up with my husband. I took the lead (which I never have) and felt strong. I picked up my pace and could breathe through it quite easily. Then I heard those powerfully magic words that I never thought I would hear, "MOM, what is your deal, why are you going so FAST? Could you please slow down a little?" Can you believe it? The words "MOM" and "FAST" in the same sentence!!! Shocking, I know. I found a little pleasure in the fact that the little punk that was pushing me along when I wanted to quit (thank goodness.. I really am grateful for her) was now telling me to slow down. It was a good run.

P.S.

In all fairness, I must confess that Manda did finish the run in front of me (Way in front of me!). By the end I could feel a blister coming on in the outer part of my arch (weird place, huh?) and was upset with my "new shoes" again. I have decided that I am going to bite the bullet and hit the stores once more in search of a better fit. I wish I could blame the blister on her finishing in front of me but I can't. The little twerp found the energy to sprint at the end. Gosh, she is annoying. =)

9 Week Countdown

We only have 9 weeks left before the marathon. I am actually pretty excited, not even nervous at this point, as long as we stay on our training schedule. No injuries would be helpful as well! =)
We had a few minor challenges this week so far but nothing too terrible. The wind was an interesting challenge. Manda and I took a run and on the way to our half way point where we turn around we were saying how great the run was going. After our half way point we just stayed next to each other and laughed about how well we thought our run had been going. When we turned around we realized that the entire way to the half way point we had the wind pushing against our back. You don't really realize how windy it is until you start running against it. I couldn't believe the challenge that the wind created. It seriously felt as if I had to push something in order to run. I just kept telling myself not to get worked up about it and concentrate on my breathing pattern and making my legs move. It was hard but we finished without stopping. It was a good feeling to know that we just conquered one more run.
The next run for this week I learned another important lesson. Caution: This one is a little more awkward- read at your own risk! =) Let me just say that I was introduced to the world of chafing. OUCH! When Manda and I did our triathlon and had to run after swimming, poor Manda was introduced to it. I am WAY more sympathetic to what she went through now. I made the mistake of wearing loose fitting cotton garments and loose fitting jogging pants on our last run... won't do that one again. For my LDS friends, there is a reason that I usually only wear one kind of under garment- they are a blessing! =) Good garments, gold bond and I hear body glide are a girls best friend!
On a good note- my new shoes are finally broken in! They no longer hurt my toes when I run. Yay... but I still miss my old shoes, they were amazing. I have to say that my Adidas were definitely more of a custom fit from the beginning to my feet than the Nike's have been. But I am just grateful that we are past the pain.
Manda and I are thinking about ordering running shoes with spikes on them to get us through the winter... anyone have any experience with those? We can also train indoors on the treadmill, but we have grown to love running outdoors so much that we really want to stay away from the treadmill as much as we can. However, when the temp drops below 30's, I think I am heading indoors.
I am excited to hear that a couple more friends are joining the jogging madness. It feels so great! Make sure to keep me updated on how you are doing. Have a great week and see ya on the trail!

The Balance Beam Called Life

When I was a young girl, I loved gymnastics. I could eat, sleep and drink it. I loved to run, twirl, bounce, flip, roll, tumble, stretch, bend and split. I loved to watch something and then try it. There were a few times that I was lucky enough to go to clinics or classes that had such splendid things as a balancing beam. Growing up in a small town and being such a country girl, the balance beam was just pure fanciful delight that was not commonplace in my world. I remember getting up on it and wondering how people were so precise and skilled to land difficult moves on such a narrow piece of wood? It amazed me.
Today I find myself just as astonished and in awe of people who seem to manage their lives so skillfully. I still feel like that small town country girl in love with gymnastics, staring at the balance beam amazed and yet fearful of falling and getting hurt while attempting a routine. I have decided that just like that balance beam that I would watch others use and make it look effortless during a performance, the reality is that it took a lot of practice and a lot of falls in order to master... such is life. The real athletes just had to get past the fall (or at least the fear of the fall) and go for it. If they fall they just pick themselves up, evaluate where they went wrong to prevent it from happening again or work harder at making their body obey their mind and climb right back on.
It is a myth to think that you can just jump on that balance beam and never make a mistake or take a fall. This is life. It is hard to find the balance that we need and it takes a lot of practice, skill and determination to master. A few weeks ago I took a pretty good fall from the beam when I found out that our marathon registration was closed. We were discouraged then life came at us in full force. Manda ran a fever for 7 days straight, a couple of the kids got sick with fever and throwing up, 3 callings in church demanded some attention, a fall harvest that needed cared for, one very demanding school schedule that screamed for more attention and a house that sobbed for pity and upkeep from its caretaker all overtook my training schedule that felt pretty hopeless anyway.
When an email came the other day stating that it looks like we will be able to get into the Texas Marathon after all, my first impulse was to scorn myself with the "See, you should have listened to your feelings, you big Idiot" talk and chastising myself for not sticking to the original plan and continue training for the full marathon on January 1st. After contemplating for awhile, I decided to allow myself to learn a life lesson instead and pick myself up once again. I am not going to be too hard on myself for not being ready for a full marathon on January 1st, instead I am going to recognize that it is still tremendous progress to run a half marathon on January 1st and continue to work towards a full marathon later in the spring. I am on a path, I am in training.
It is too easy to get caught in the routine of the life of a mother, wife, daughter and every other role that we take on. There has to be a balance in order to win. Too often I have witnessed those who completely succeed in one area only to give up success in another area. I have seen people who are spiritual giants who neglect the care of their physical bodies. I have seen people who win the fight over their physical body to only lose their spirituality. I have seen people who become so obsessed with book study and education that lose sight of faith and I have seen those who have practiced such blind faith that they do not work at gaining knowledge. I admit, there are times that we have to sit back and evaluate and ask ourselves, "What really is important and what do we want to focus on?". Sometimes that even requires taking something else off the list. But chances are that our list of priorities can still seem bigger than our allotment of time. I think this is where that skill, determination and practice can come in and help us to climb back on that balance beam of life or let it defeat us.
I have found myself asking, "What it is that I want to focus on?". I also have compiled a list that can seem overwhelming. The truth is that I don't want to be a successful runner enough to sacrifice my family, faith or country. I want to be there for my children and create the warm, loving home and family that they need and the family that I have always envisioned. I want to serve my Heavenly Father and find time to feed myself spiritually because I do not feel that my life would have very deep meaning if my body were strong and my spirit were weak. I want to serve in my community and country because I believe that it is my responsibility as a citizen to create the community that I desire not the role of a government. I also want to honor the gift of life and strenghten my body and this requires me to take time to care for it as well. How is this possible to accomplish so much? I admit I do not have all the answers yet, but I also must say that it is my deep belief that if God has planted this seed in me and it will produce good fruit, He will also help me to find the answers that I need in order to succeed. I am going to practice, find the life coaches that I need, pick myself up when I fall and hop back on that balance beam we call life. I want to master this routine!

How can I combine some of my to-do list to be more successful? I feel like I have found some answers and still searching for others. This is where I am calling on my life "coaches" (yes, that's you) to help me find all the answers that I need. I feel like I have to make sure to follow a schedule, be consistent and combine the blessings of new technology and training. More on those later... please share your thoughts!

Week Three, Lesson 1

So many lessons learned this week... Lesson 1: Sometimes, you just have to say good-bye. Manda has been telling me for several weeks now that I need to get new shoes because it is irritating to run next to me and hear my right shoe squeak. They are about a year and a half old but look like they are in excellent shape-very little visible wear. I only wear them on my runs so they look okay. But, as we are putting on more and more mileage each week and the runs are getting longer it was time to say good-bye and buy new shoes. Now normally, this is not a time of sadness for me. After all, I am all girl when it comes to shoes. Woo Hoo new shoes!!! (normally) However, it was a little sad at the thought of getting rid of my first "real" running shoes. These shoes have seen me through a lot of difficult challenges and have been with me through some big landmarks in my little running world. Plus... they are REALLY comfortable and fit my foot well. I decided to shop online and see if I could get an identical replacement, but as luck would have it I can't seem to find them.

So, I had to go with plan B and hit the sporting good stores to find the new perfect fit. Mission sort-of accomplished. I did walk away with a pair of cute new running shoes (that were a steal of a deal on sale). I tried them out on our next run which happened to be a 4 mile run and they felt pretty good. I tried on several pairs in the store and went with some Nike trail runners that had good feeling balance, absorbency and great arch support. They still aren't my good ole' Adidas that I have such fond memories with and I can certainly feel a difference in my toes. I have a somewhat wide foot and my new shoes are just a little more snug feeling on the front of my toes (width wise) and I feel it after completing my runs. It isn't too uncomfortable, but coming from my ole' reliable pair to the new ones I can feel a difference. Of course, I am sure that if I continued to wear my ole' squeakers it would catch up with me in my knees and hip. For now, the Nike's will have to do. Any suggestions out there from experience? Do you think my new shoes will "break in" and feel more comfortable or should I shop again and perhaps keep looking for my good ole' Adidas replacements?

One of my darling, "Running Hero" friends suggested that I write my mileage on the bottom of my shoes and save them. Sounds good... but I haven't been good at logging my mileage until recently. Something that I am learning is a pretty cool thing to keep track of. It is rewarding to see the miles that you have accomplished. My next pair will be retired with the mileage written on them! Maybe I will just write, "#1" on my ole' squeaky pair. Manda bought a pair of New Balance and she loves her new shoes, so at least one of us walked away content with the purchase. I think she'll end up missing "squeaky" though. Now the only squeaking she'll hear is my lungs during that first mile and half each time we run.

Lesson 2

Do you ever find that you have to learn the same lesson over and over again in life? I guess that it is a sign that you haven't really "learned" it if you have to be taught the same thing over and over and over and over again. This week, I learned or re-learned another life lesson. Same lesson, new application.

While casually talking on facebook with one of my "Running Hero" friends in Texas, he mentioned that he was on the waiting list for the Texas Martahon. Being the complete blond I am, it was going through my head, "Poor guy, that's too bad that he didn't get into the marathon that he wanted". Then panic hit, and I started thinking, "What is the name of the marathon that Amanda and I are planning on doing?" Followed by, "Oh no, I should check again on the registration process of OUR marathon!" Do I really need to go on? Yes, I am sure you have all figured out by now that the marathon that Manda and I were planning on running is called... you guessed it...THE TEXAS MARATHON. The event is full and registration is closed even though we are still several months away from the race. So, here we are in our 3rd week of training after lots of pre-training and our names are on the waiting list of desired marathon. For now, we will continue with our training plan unless we hear that there is no hope of getting in.

I started looking at other options just in case we have to readjust our plans. Don't you worry... we are running a stinking marathon! It might not be our originally planned date or event but we will continue down the path. We were wanting to run the Texas Marathon for a couple of reasons:
First, the emotional attachment to Houston. Houston is just home for my kiddo's. Manda is a senior and marathon training is a big part of her "Senior Year". We have been dreaming of this for quite some time and it was going to be considered her senior trip to return back "home" and run our first marathon on home territory.
Second, my emotional attachment to FLAT ground to run my first marathon. Northern Idaho seems to be one giant hill after another. The only way to escape hill training is to do all your running on a treadmill. Otherwise, you are bound to find some hills. Trust me, I look for the flattest area that I can find to run on but if I want to be outside I am either going to have to run some hills or just do circles on the track. No thanks! I am certain that I would get bored on the track, not to mention, I would most likely lose count of how many times that I have gone around. A little extra burning in the leg is worth it to run on the trails that we have found. We just can't complain about the scenery. It is a little slice of Heaven. Having said that, I am still holding on to hope that we will somehow get into the Texas Marathon and be able to run our flat marathon in the mildly warm temps of January in South Texas.
If we can't get into OUR marathon, we could plan (and register right away) for a half marathon that runs in March in South Texas and run a full marathon here in Idaho in May/June. One of the challenges that we have found in the marathon world is that most marathons run on a Sunday. Sunday is a holy day for us and is our Sabbath. So, the challenge is finding a full marathon that runs on a Saturday and won't kill us with giant hills. Big lesson learned: Register as soon as they open up an event for registration. One of these days I will learn and I will actually stop procrastinating. =)