The Little Engine That Could and Could Not! Hinson Lake Hear Me Roar!

Well...I cannot believe it is already the end of September.  Time has really flown.  I've been quite the silent blogger of late.  I plan to change that starting today :)   I've been running quite a bit, but last week was the first week I have felt like the real me.  Between the worst allergy season in North Carolina and this little thing called menopause, I've been battling just to get up in the morning and get through my workouts.  This has left little time to try and somewhat write a cohesive blog, so now that I'm back; watch out!

I have been consistently running and I feel like my back/piriformis issues are very manageable these days.  Hallelujah!  I've been good at stretching and teaching a few yoga classes a week.  Now that the humidity levels are starting to dissipate, I anticipate a good fall/winter of racing!

First race is in 2 days.  Yup.  2 days.  Hinson Lake 24 hour Ultra race.  I couldn't be more excited than I am.  It is currently Thursday afternoon and I am COMPLETELY packed for my race adventure (clothes, food, and probably too many other creature comforts).  I think because I am completely packed I felt confident enough to actually sit down and write.  Since I last blogged several other things have happened:  My daughter, Mandi, bought a house and got engaged!  We are thrilled beyond words at the exciting life she and Jordan have set up for themselves. Wedding date: June 7, 2014.  This is will joyful time and energy spent.  Another bit a news was not as thrilling, but we are beginning to see the positives; Dan lost his job almost 6 months ago and after the initial shock, great things have happened.  Many have rallied around him and he has several things "in the works".  I have enjoyed spending more time with him and LOVE having him around the house.  We've been lucky enough to take quite a few mini-vacations; a wedding in St. Louis, hiking in the mountains, and some beach time.

Hinson Lake 24 hour Ultra is a new race for me.  To be totally honest, if it weren't for some friends (Josh & Iris Sutcliffe) moving to the Pacific Northwest, I would not in the race at all.  It sells out quickly.  Yes, for you non-runners, there are other crazy people like me out there.  Anyway, I am used to the Crooked Road 24 hour Ultra, so this is going to be even more exciting.  Crooked Road has a .95 mile loop course and Hinson Lake has a 1.5 mile loop course.  I am so excited to be running more than a mile per lap.  It will definitely help my mental psyche.  I am returning to Crooked Road in November for my third year in a row, and I'm excited to see all my ultra running friends I've made there.

What is my goal this year?  Let's recap what I've done so far at Crooked Road: 56 miles in 2011, 75 miles in 2012.  My goal at Hinson is a little lofty, but I am super focused.  I am attempting 90 miles this year at Hinson Lake.  Yes.  I said it out loud to the universe.  I believe in stating your intentions out loud and on paper.  I am armed with the desire and determination to make it happen.  Now I just need for Saturday 8am to get here.  I will be posting in the late afternoon on Facebook (trying to save my cell phone battery in case I need to chat during the night with any friend who may be experiencing insomnia on Saturday night).  I have several friends that go to bed really late at night, and several friends that wake up very early.  I am hoping to bridge the gap with any insomniacs!  Hint-Hint!

My dear friend, Dena, will be running it with me.  She is just as crazy (and I feel that she's the crazier one) as me.  She has declared some goals, but I don't want to speak for her.  She is the one who chatted with me on the phone in the wee hours of the morning at Crooked Road last year.  She was talking with me as I completed my 75 miles.  I can't wait to help her get her mileage this year.  She is an amazing runner and an even better friend.  She is even nice enough to share her hubby as crew chief for us both.  Blair is one of those people that makes you smile after spending any time with him.  It's a good thing, because we will be spending LOTS of time together.  My BFF Melissa is coming down to help out in the afternoon and I couldn't be more excited to share my passion for running with her.

I am bringing my new Hoka One One shoes and can't wait to try them out for the long haul.  I have packed 4 pairs of shoes, but I'm hoping that the Hokas are it.  We shall see.  The temperature is not supposed to dip below 54 Saturday night, but the high will be 79.  That's a little warm for running, but I will do my best to hydrate each loop.  I will be armed with lots of fluid, Fellow Flower in my hair (black one), Marathon compression socks,  and my Runningskirts skirt!

It feels great to be back writing, so I plan on setting aside some time each week to recap the running adventures I call life.  Catch you on the other side of 90!

Get Real.  Get Moving!
Cindy

A Tale of Two Legs

How can 1 body feel like 2 different people....what I mean is my right leg has disassociated with my left leg and I'm in a tizzy trying to mend the fences (or the space between).  I have been keeping detailed exercise logs (which is new to me) and there is still no rhyme or reason as to the source of all my angst.  My piriformis likes to rear its ugly head these days without warning me.  I can be going along fine and then WHAMMO!  out of nowhere I succumb to limping with electrical currents coursing down my leg. The currents all ball together in my heel making me feel like there is a stone lodged under my skin.  I can be running, sitting, stretching or doing just about anything when it hits.  Sometimes I tune into what's going on when I'm running trying to find that magic moment when the zingers start.  This is a sneaky syndrome!

Let's recap since I ran Diva half marathon.  I took 3 days off to rest and recover because my leg was a little twingy (is that a word?) on the way home from North Myrtle.  When I say I took 3 days off of running, that does not imply that I was simply sitting on the couch eating bon-bons and watching tv.  No.  I took a break from running and taught 4 Les Mills BodyPump classes, 1 Silver Sneakers Cardio class, 1 Yoga class, and 1 Pilates class.  Yes.  I took it easy. :)

I ran 6 miles with Catherine (affectionately Cac) on half trail, half crushed gravel at 7:34 avg mile.  Felt great.  Did 10 sets of stadium steps that night at our youngest son's Lacrosse game during half time to stay warm.  Felt great.  I actually LOVE doing stairs & hills.  I am not so keen on flat, where you can see for miles and miles knowing you have to get there at some point.  Ran a recovery run with Christie (one of my Sole Sisters) for 4 miles and ended the week with an 11 miler on the greenway at a 7:58 avg. mile.  I limped a little Saturday afternoon so I decided that from now on I will just not sit down (except to type blogs!) unless I'm watching a movie.  I think people would be afraid if I stood up in a movie theater and just stood there the whole time.  Besides, people think runners are pretty weird interesting anyway.  That ended a nice, sweet week with a little aggravation, but not much.

On Monday I ventured to the track.  I love the track.  I think I have finally figured out why I love the track so much (I'm 47 now, so I'll let you do the math).  I don't mind that "out of breath" feeling on the oval.  Wanna know why?  Even if I have to stop, bend over and try not to throw up, I'm right there. I'm not a million miles from home/car.  Okay, a million is an exaggeration, but you get my point.  Somehow my brain has decided that it is okay to work yourself to death on the track, but not okay out on the open road.  Maybe I need to find a treadmill race and I'd be 'all over it'?  I might have something there....new trend sweeping the country......treadmill races!  That would be pretty boring, but it might just happen.  Back to the track:  1 mile warm-up, 12 quarters, 1 mile cool-down.  I picked a ridiculously humid day.  I was all by myself.  Fun times, although I think I usually run a little faster if there are people around/with me.  Anyway, I was just excited to get them done: 

Warm-up mile:  8:10
First 4 laps (30 seconds rest in between each lap)  mile 1:  6:27 (conservative so that I could assess the sneaky piriformis)...took a minute break after 4 th.
Second 4 laps (30 seconds in between each lap)  mile 2:  5:49 (opened up even more and felt pretty good.....took a minute 10 seconds break after 8th
Third 4 laps (35 seconds in between each lap)  mile 3:  5:43 (hung on and gutted it out, sweat flying)
Cool Down mile: 8:00

I am grateful I was only doing 12 400M because the skies opened up just as I was walking to my car.  Some rain would have felt good but the torrential downpour would have been messy.  I feel like my speed is coming back and I feel like I'm ready to be in the 5:20's again in the mile.  My left leg is ready for it, my right one still has not committed.  Ran great on Tuesday and Wednesday and did a recovery run on Thursday. 

Friday I did zero. nada.  It felt great.  It was a fabulous day because we got to spend it with Danielle (our daughter) at her graduation from UNCW (Wilmington).  She graduated from the Teaching Education Department and we are very, very proud of her.  She is currently job hunting.....so if you know of any elementary schools hiring, send me a note!

I will get back to running now so I can end this blogpost with one last personal story.  Pretty uneventful week after returning from the coast.  Then I decided to run a local 8k on the greenway (the same greenway that houses the majority of my long runs).  Everything started out so well.  Saw lots of friends and learned a few things about racing locally.  First and foremost:  an 8k is equivalent to 4.96 miles.  After conferring with several friends afterwards, the race was 5.34 miles.  But, it was for a good cause, so all is right with the world unless you were dealing with an angry piriformis.  Here are my splits:
Mile 1   6:39 - about 3/4 mile into the race, my piriformis said hello and I was in pain trying to push that right leg alongside the left.  I pulled back in my comfort zone and proceeded to smile and wave because I knew it was not a day for opening up. I had so many zingers I actually jumped 3x.
Mile 2   6:54- great chatting along the course because it was 2 out and backs.
Mile 3   7:01- trying not lament that my half marathon splits are faster than what was happening
Mile 4  7:11- well...no excuses here. I thought they forgot to put the turn around people out there because I knew we were going well beyond where we were supposed to go because I know every quarter mile marker on the greenway.  I kept slowing down until I finally saw the leaders coming towards me because I kept thinking they were lost.
Mile 5 6:57- well....at least I picked up the pace because there was a nice steady uphill during that mile. 
.34  mile 1:28- 36:12 Official Time (2nd Female overall)

Evidently I didn't look all rosy coming up the hill to the finish

                        I wore one of my favorite Lululemon tops with some comfy Adidas shorts


I have taken some time off of running this week to cool down my leg a little.  I taught 3 yoga/pilates classes this week which has helped.  For my next race, I'm going to KT tape my piriformis even if it is feeling great.  I will not trust that right leg for a while.  I will continue to stretch, ice and roll (SIR) and be glad that the pressure of having a bad race is now over.  I will not let this define me.  I know I have lots left to do in the running world.  I'm looking at my track meet schedule and looking at my entries into 2 - 24 hour ultra races this year.  Hinson Lake in September and Crooked Road in November.  I'm ready !!

On a personal note, my daughter, Mandi, just got engaged last night to her boyfriend (Jordan) of almost 4 years and we couldn't be happier and prouder of her.  She continues to be a shining light in my life and we are incredibly happy.  I hope she doesn't mind that I posted this photo of her teary eyed but extremely happy!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week.

GET REAL. GET MOVING!

I Want to Flirt With Pain, Not Dance With It

I've been rather silent in the blogging world.  That is usually a good thing or a bad thing.  Right now it is a good thing.  I've been busy doing/living and haven't had much time to sit down and write about it.

Since the day after New Year's Day, my hubby Dan has been on a clean eating path.  Well.  Maybe not completely clean, but pretty darn close.  He's lost over 12 pounds thus far and I couldn't be prouder of this commitment.  He's been working out regularly as well, so some of the bodyfat he's lost has been replaced with lean muscle tissue.  Congrats to him.  The only downside is that I've had to be super organized and plan lunches and dinners on a daily basis.  We ate out twice in the month of January.  That's a new record for us as we like to dine out approximately 1-2 times a week.  Dan has been good about eliminating beer (for the most part) and indulging in an occasional glass of wine.

My daughter, Mandi, also moved back in the house the beginning of the year.  It has been fun to see her mature into this beautiful, young woman who I adore so much.  With her, came my favorite grand doggy, Skittles.  She has been a delight to have around and keeps Cameron and Louie on their toes.  Here is me cuddling with Skittles on the couch.



The New Year also seems to have inspired me to purge/organize the house.  I have been milling about cleaning drawers/closets here and there with no real direction, but I am enjoying the 'feeling' of getting organized.  I guess it is similar to planning, training and then racing in running.  There is no better feeling than knowing you trained adequately and you left nothing out there on the course.  Which, by the way, brings me to the real jist of my blog today:  I want to flirt with pain, not dance with it.

I seem to be at a crossroads and sometimes being too knowledgeable about something can make a mere hill feel like a mountain.  I used to revel in the craziness of feeling like I couldn't take another step.  I used to drink in the feeling of knowing I gave it my all.  For goodness sake, I was so focused on the finish line during a race (in high school) that I gave it everything I had and lost a little control of my bladder. Yuck!  But it is true. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm training hard these days.  This week I've had a good mix of tempo runs, recovery runs and cross training.  I am doing hill workouts again, but have yet to step on the track.  I did a couple of speed workouts on the treadmill.  Here is my little workout room that I love to occupy in the privacy of my own home.  See that little piece of equipment on the far left of the photo?  That's one of my most prized possessions:  Back inversion table.  That is what has saved me from spending countless dollars on back, IT band,  and hip rehabililtation issues.  I don't know what I ever did without one, but then again I was 40 when my hubby bought it for me. Anyhow, back to flirting with pain.  I am a motivational speaker....why can't I light a fire under my butt and as the saying goes, 'Just Do It'  (which, by the way, is trademarked, so I'm going to make sure I give Nike all the credit-why can't I come up with something inspirational that ensures our financial future?).  I will address this issue further when I return from my pacing duties at the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon next weekend.  I am going with a great group of Ladies from the Woohoo Crew and the Sole Sisters.  I will certainly have lots of photos to post from the race!  Here is Skittles wishing she had a matching pair of Kinvaras, and a walk.