Tri, Tri Again!

You know you are in deep water (pun intended!) during the swim segment of a triathlon when:

• You can’t see your own hand in front of you because the river water was black and gross;
• You can only see the first 100 meters of the course;
• You didn’t check the course route and you think it’s a 500 meter swim, but it really is 800 meters;
• You nearly swim right into a safety canoe…twice.

On 6/22/2013, I went to Philadelphia to compete in my fifth (!!!) triathlon. I had never been to Philly before, and I was really looking forward to the entire weekend – complete with Amish food (yum!) Rocky Stairs! I was nervous about the race because until that point I had not been swimming or cycling as much as I had for past races. My fears were ill-founded because the distance running I have been doing prepared me for the endurance of the sport.

I am proud to report that despite the above mentioned conditions, I did not need to stop or hang onto the life rafts on the swim course. It wasn’t my fastest swim, but it was by far my furthest.

The cycling was mostly flat and fast. I had significantly increased my pace time for the nearly 16 mile ride. I was leap-frogging a Clydesdale competitor, and ultimately I took the lead and kept it. I saw more crashes on this course than I ever have before, so I am kinda happy that my faster race pace is still slower than most of the competition.

The 5K was also flat and they handed out ice-cold towels on the course. During this tri, I had enough pick-up-and-go to knock off a minute from my fastest triathlon run time!

My final races times were: 800 meter swim – 24:04; 15.7 mile bike 1:08:53; 5K run 37:10. Overall race time: 2:18:42

Do you know what I have my eye on now? The Nation’s Triathlon (International Distance) next September! That would be 1 mile swim, 25 mile bike ride, and a 10K run. 😀

Until then, marathon training has officially started – 18 weeks until the MCM 2013! Rocky would approve!

Running Montage!

In honor of National Running Day (who knew?!) I am posting some pictures from past races!

  

 

Marine Corps 10K

 

Keep Your Feet Moving or Someone’s Gonna Steal Your Shoes!

“Keep your feet moving or someone’s gonna steal your shoes.”

~Thank God It’s Friday! arguably my favorite Disco-themed movie from the 70’s

The need for orthotics has created a new problem for me – finding running shoes compatible with orthotics in Women’s Big Foot Size (11.5). This has become a month-long quest, and I am not entirely convinced that the search is over.

The journey began when I put my orthotics into my old running shoes and went out for a routine mid-week run. I noticed my ankle felt fine, but the tendons on the side of my leg felt like they were being pulled and stretched. Not good. When I looked down at my feet, my feet were slanted to the outside of my shoes rather than flat. Really not good. I needed new shoes.

When I took a gait analysis test at the Nike Half Marathon, my tester seemed very knowledgeable about shoes and orthotics. He recommended a neutral running shoe known to work well with orthotics (Brooks Dyad). I kept this information in the back of my mind for my trip to the running store.

At my usual DC haunt, I explained what I was looking for, and tried on four or five pairs of shoes to no success. It became clear to me that the guy I was working with didn’t really understand my problem and thought I needed a newer version of the same shoe. (Remember tendons and slanty feet? Newer version of my current shoes was not what I needed.) Ignoring the guy who didn’t understand my problem, I tried the shoes recommended by the expo guy, but they were too small… and the next size up were too big. I left without any shoes and considered a new approach – Zappos.

I ordered four pairs of different neutral running shoes from the online retailer, and tried them on the treadmill at work. I returned all of them because either size was off or my ankle hurt. (Sad face.) Back to the drawing board.

I decided to try another running store and hoped someone would understand my plight. Fortunately, the nice attendant understood my problem, but the store didn’t carry Women’s Big Foot Sizes in the store…so we turned to men’s shoes. I was there for an hour trying on different shoes on the treadmill, and we found two strong contenders – Brooks Glycerine and Asics Nimbus 14 – both heavily cushioned neutral shoes.

I went with the Brooks because the brand and I have had four years of successful running together. So far, I have gone on two 3.5 mile runs and I am feeling cautiously optimistic. The test on whether the shoes are keepers will come on Saturday during my 6 mile long run. If not, it’s back to the store for the Asics.

Let me tell you, I definitely had sticker shock when I bought these suckers. You know what? My feet are worth it, and I plan to keep them moving so no one can steal these shoes!

My Two Flat Feet

Some people have two left feet – I’ve got two flat ones.

Being flatfooted didn’t seem to bother me when I was growing up, but I noticed that I started having pain in my feet when I was in college. While it was uncomfortable, I never felt the need to seek medical advice.

It all changed in Ukraine when I woke up one morning with a swollen ankle. I had assumed that I must have injured it the night before while stumbling around in the dark trying to get back to my apartment. I rested, but any time I walked the pain seemed to get worse. I was on my way to Kyiv later that week, so I stopped in the doctor’s office and told them I thought I had sprained my ankle. The doctor took one look at my feet and said, “You realize you are flat footed and need inserts, right?” Huh? What did having flat feet have to do with a sprained ankle? I was incredulous. Clearly, I had injured myself and some insert wouldn’t solve my problem.

The doctor took me to a store in Kyiv, and within 20 minutes I had styrofoam inserts for my shoes. As soon and I put those inserts into my shoes, all of the pain that I had been experiencing melted away. It was a breath of fresh air – I suddenly wanted to walk everywhere! I had a brand new outlook on life – all from some foam in my shoes. Who knew?

Fast forward 7 years. I was out on a routine 4 mile run in January, and I felt sudden pain in my ankle. Immediately, I thought I had sprained it – or worse. I rested for a week and then I was out running again. WHAM! In March, the pain returned. At that point I had a mini-meltdown. The Cherry Blossom 10-miler, Nike Half Marathon, Pittsburgh Half Marathon were all coming within the month. I was devastated thinking that I would miss them. I made an appointment with a foot and ankle specialist in DC. His assessment? My orthotics. Not for one second I thought the swelling and pain I was experiencing was caused by my flat feet. The doctor suggested that I start running with orthotics.

Getting used to running in orthotics took weeks, but I was able to run my back-to-back half marathons. I am really glad to have discovered my source of pain, but it is creating an entirely new problem – finding new running shoes. (To be continued…)

 

Pittsburgh Half Marathon Recap

Runners of Steel!

One week after setting my half marathon PR, I was back on the road for my second 13.1 mile race (compliments of winning a free entry!).

I have to admit, the Pittsburgh Half Marathon is arguably my favorite race. Partially because of hometown pride, partially because it is a challenging course, and mostly because it’s a community-supported event. Initially, I was going to type out another mile-by-mile recap of the race, but I decided to post the highlights instead:

• Cheer teams featuring pit bulls in tutus (the Human Society), greyhounds, Native American dance troops, a lone bongo drummer, and a drum line
• A full choir performing on the steps of its church
• Local businesses handing out gummy worms and oranges to runners
• Food trucks offering free food for race spectators
• Neighborhood parties with beer
• A pastor giving pre-race blessings and allowing runners to use the church’s bathrooms
• Bands/musicians every one or two miles and plentiful water stops
• Eat ‘n Park Smiley cookies for post-race snacks
• A finisher’s medal made from steel
• Restaurants offering runners free beer
• Unintentionally messing up my bib name (again), and hearing people cheer – “Go CP!”
• Giving a high-five at the finish line to a marathoner who qualified for Boston by 24 seconds
• WE ARE – PENN STATE chants from other runners and spectators alike
• Crisscrossing the city over 6 different bridges
• Owning the mile-long climb from miles 11 – 12
• Getting to run and catch up with one of my best friends from college!
• Seeing friends and family at the finish line!

Race time: 2:58:54. 

Nike Women’s Half Marathon Recap

After I finished the Pittsburgh half marathon two years ago, I swore to myself that I would never run 13.1 miles again. My knees and back hurt for a week, I wasn’t properly trained, and it didn’t seem like I would want to do one again. Two years later, I ran back to back half marathons. The draw for this crazy feat? A Tiffany & Co. finisher’s necklace and a free race entry. Holla!

Despite a nagging ankle problem (blog post forthcoming), I felt ready for the inaugural Nike Women’s Half Marathon DC race. The course route was familiar and flat, my goal was 2:45:00, and I was excited for the little blue box.

The race weekend started with packet pick-up on Thursday, and I must admit, the Nike Expotique was not what I had come to expect from large-scale races. They had hair dressers, makeup artists, bra fittings, and gait analysts instead of vendors with running gear, nutrition, and shoes. I was underwhelmed by the entire experience, with the exception of my honest gait analyser, who recommended I wear a neutral shoe with my orthotics and told me that under no circumstances should I run in a pair of Nikes given my foot structure. (Now, that is honesty!)

On race day, the start seemed crowded and chaotic, but the energy level was strong. To meet my race goal, I wanted run with a pacer until at least mile 10. I found the 12:13 pacer (Christy) and I planned to stick with her as long as I could.  The first three miles were slow, and I was shocked that many people were walking within a half mile of the start line. We came to a complete stop several times, and it took us almost 45 minutes to get to the 5K mark (10 minutes slower than our intended pace!).

Around mile 3.5, we had a nice crew of 4 or 5 runners and we picked up the pace to make up for lost time. I felt pretty awesome until mile 7, but I could tell I was starting to lose energy. I kept up with the pacer until mile 9, and then I needed to stop to walk. Two minutes later I had lost my pacer and I was on my own. Unfortunately, this happened on Hanes Point where there were fewer supporters and cheer teams to keep me motivated.

Between miles 9 – 11, I started to worry that I wasn’t going to be able to make my race time. I was taking many more walk breaks and when I was running I could feel it was slower than before. However, when I got to Pennsylvania Ave. and could see the Capitol building, I rallied for the last two miles.

Ultimately, I finished in 2:46:33, a minute and a half off of my goal time (boo!) BUT it is a whopping 30 minutes faster than my last half marathon! And I received my Tiffany necklace!

Post-race wearing my finisher’s shirt and Tiffany necklace, rewarding myself with some P.F. Chang’s!

20-year Fruit Embargo Ends

I have always liked the taste of oranges, but the smell is another story altogether. If the orange was already pealed or cut, I had no problem partaking in the citrus, but if I were the person who had to peel or cut said piece of fruit, I just wouldn’t do it. I didn’t like the fruit THAT much. For this reason, it was about 20 years since I really ate oranges with any regularity. I remember distinctly sitting in grade school after peeling an orange for breakfast (and washing my hands twice) that I could still smell the orangey smell on my skin. Ick. It seems that no matter how much I washed my hands, I could still smell it, and it grossed me out.

Bananas and I have a different history. I have always loved bananas, but the year I turned 25, bananas didn’t return the affection. I started getting the worst stomach cramps I had ever experienced after eating just one banana. Since I was in Ukraine when this started happening, I assumed it was the Ukrainian bananas. I was wrong. After returning state-side, bananas were still off the table, literally. I would be doubled over for an entire afternoon after eating just 1 banana. No one could explain it, so I gave up even trying to eat them, despite wanting to.

Many people thought my animosity toward oranges and bananas were ill-founded and just bizarre. I get it. Most people love the smell of oranges and can eat bananas without health concern. I couldn’t.

In 2013, I decided to tackle my relationship with these two pieces of fruit. For oranges, it stemmed from fruit diversity in the winter – I couldn’t face eating just apples every day. I decided to give oranges a try (again). After all of these years, I still love the taste and I can still smell it on my skin. Instead of avoiding oranges, I have just decided to get obsessive with scrubbing my hands post-peeling. (Peel, scrub, scrub, sniff, scrub, scrub, sniff, scrub, scrub, scrub). It seems to be working. For bananas, I bought 1 banana and I cut it into thirds. I blended the third with my morning smoothie, and so far so good. It seems I can handle small amounts of bananas blended. I have not yet graduated to just eating a third of banana – I want to give it time.

I am pretty happy with the overall outcome of ending the fruit embargo. I am sure once spring and summer fruits make an appearance, I will once again drop these two fruits, but for now, reintroducing them is working quite well.

She Gone and Done It

After what could be considered the most stressful hour and a half of 2013, I am proud to announce I am officially registered for the Marine Corps Marathon 2013 (MCM)!  <Cars screech to a halt> Say what? Yep. I did it. I said I was going to register, and (with the help of four friends on varying electronic devices) I did.

Oh. You want the incredibly stressful backstory? I am happy to oblige!

On March 27, 2013, I was sitting at my computer in my apartment watching the minutes  slowly tick by. At exactly noon, I pushed the “Register Now!” button on the MCM website which took me to Active.com. Active asked me to sign in, and that is when all hell broke loose. I guess 40,000 of my closest running friends across the world were also sitting at their computers at exactly noon on March 27 trying to register for MCM as well. I got error message after error message.

My two friends who were with me frantically tried to log onto Active.com via cell phones and ipads. Nothing. I was literally starting to sweat. 12:15. Couldn’t even load the MCM webpage. 12:30. Error messages kept popping up on my screen. I was almost ready to give up hope…and then my friend was able to get into the Active website to enter all of my information! Hark!  A sigh of relief flooded over me, and I thought it was going to be smooth sailing… I was wrong.

I entered my credit card information, hit “submit,” and…error message. I was devastated. I thought: Will I need to enact “Operation MCM Plan B” – to start training for the race and then buy a registration from someone in August? That was not ideal, but it was plausible.  I was sick of all of the different error messages I saw – there had to have been at least six different ones!

Meanwhile, my friends across the country were also trying to register and I was frantically texting and calling them. One had luck and was registered! (There was hope!)The others were still dealing with error messages and network problems. I refreshed my credit card information for half an hour to no avail – I never received a confirmation from Active that I was registered.

My friend who was able to register called me and offered to try on my behalf. I swear she had a magic computer because in what seemed like no time at all (and with minimal error messages) she was able to register me for the race! Wait, what? I WAS REGISTERED FOR A MARATHON!

Who knew that registering was going to be part of the training? Not I! But now that the registration battle is behind me, the real work begins. My next mission is to find a training plan that works for me, so stay tuned for my research!

Born to Run – LP’s Top 20 Fav Running Tunes

I took the week off from running last week because my foot/ankle/shin was bothering me. I really wanted to get out and move, but I knew that if I was seriously injured, I needed to rest. During my week off, there was one thing I missed almost as much as just moving and being outside – my running tunes!

Thanks to a WeWa tip from a member a few years back, I keep all of my favorite tunes on my “running” playlist and I will only listen to them when I am working out. Taking the week off from exercising meant no pop, Green Day, and 80’s songs. I know people are always looking for some new ideas to mix up their playlists – so I thought I would share some of my favorites!

1. “Dancing in the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen is my most played.

2. “Amsterdam” by Guster

3. “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga

4. “The Grouch” by Green Day

5. “Rocky Theme Song”

6. “One Week” by Barenaked Ladies

7. “Lose Yourself” by Eminem

8. “Here it Goes Again” by OK GO

9. “Firework” by Katy Perry

10. “Summer of ’69” by Bryan Adams

11. “Waving Flag” by Chani

12. “Everybody Dance Now” by C+C Music Factory

13. “It’s My Life/Confessions Part II” mashup by the Cast of Glee

14. “Me Against the Music” by Britney Spears with Madonna

15. “Eye of the Tiger” covered by Green Day

16. “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” by Kelly Clarkson

17. “Wild Dances” by Ruslana (Ukrainian)

18. “Mr. Brightside” by the Killers

19. “My Way” by Limp Bizkit

20. “50 Ways to Say Goodbye” by Train

What is your favorite workout song?

I Was a New Years Resolutioner

When I went to my anger management class (ie. boxing) this week, my instructor was “taking it easy on us” because of all the newbies. While it was a good workout, it was not nearly as grueling as it was in December. Then, when I went to the office gym to walk at lunch, I was hard-pressed to find an open treadmill. “Ug, all of these New Years Resolutioners are taking up valuable real estate!”

December 2008

It is easy for me to forget that in 2009 I wanted to lose weight and get healthy. How can I not remember my first time at the gym – taking 25 minutes to walk a mile? I spent weeks and months competing with the regular gym goers – Running Girl especially – to get to the “good” treadmill first.

What is it about the new year that makes people more motivated? A person can make a change at any given minute, but there is something about the new year that makes us want to start anew. Maybe its mankind’s way of keeping life neat and orderly, with a predetermined beginning, that we like. In reality, life is more complicated and there really is no nice and easy way to start new habits.

Four years ago today, I joined the WeWa community. While at the present time I am not at my lowest weight, I have lost and kept off 90 pounds. After a holiday hiatus, I am back on the correct path of tracking food, planning meals, and exercising regularly (34 miles run so far this year, and counting)!

 December 2012

Instead of getting frustrated with the new gym goers, I should wish them luck in reaching their goals. Hopefully in a month or two they are still taking up valuable treadmill spots making progress on their own resolutions. If you are a Resolutioner and you stick to your goals, you really can change your life. I should know – I was a New Years Resolutioner.