Win the Race

In 23 Hours, I will be setting foot on my next half marathon adventure.  All the countless training walks.  All the bits of jogging.  All the time in the gym.  All the miles.  It all comes down to tomorrow! 

I am already in Seattle.  I pick up my race packet stuff today.  I also plan to look for new shoes, although I will not be wearing them for this race.  I cannot express how excited I am.  Going around with various friends, being introduced to people, and each time, "This is Darlene.  She is doing a half marathon this weekend.  How cool is that!"  And then I realize, WOW!  People are really proud of me for this.  I am excited, but I did not expect to get the excitement from other friends, too.  Even the non-walker/runner, non-competitive types are talking about this with me, and are genuinely interested.

I talked to one of my cousins on my ride to Seattle.  No, I didn't drive, I took the bus.  She told me to win.  HA!  But then I talked to another friend, and she explained winning in a better way.

"You don't have to get first place to win.  You are already winning by doing the race and doing your best.  As long as you feel you did well, you win.  No use competing against anyone but yourself!  With that in mind...Win the race!"

I AM going to WIN the race!

Nay Sayers

I try to be a relatively positive person.  Yes, I have my down days.  There are plenty of days where I feel like the world has taken a giant crap on me.  I try not to feel like that daily though.  One exercise I have for myself is simply remembering the good in a day.  I try to recognize one good thing that happened each day, even if the only good thing is that my cat snuggled me. 

Some days though, the negativity is not within myself.  Some days, the negativity is a gift (lol) given by someone else in their attempts to sabotage my happiness.  There are times that the bearer of such words is doing so in their feeble attempts to be friendly, supportive, or something positive.  Reality is, these words are not always received as such. 

"Are you sure you can go that far?"

"Is this really something smart for you to do?"

"Why would you do something like this?"

YES!  I can go that far, and farther!  YES!  This is something smart for me to do because it means I am taking care of myself!  I do this because I can and it is healthy for me to be active!  Oh, and I do it because I set a goal for myself, challenged myself to do it, and now I am accomplishing that!

I have learned for myself that there are some people I just don't share things with as I am met with more negativity than it is worth.  Those people tend to be the ones who learn about big items in my world after the fact.  I can doubt myself enough without someone else imposing their doubt on me, too.  I suggest to you, if you have nay sayers in your world, share your excitement with them after the fact.  This lets them be proud of you, and allows you to be able to avoid listening to their doubt.

One day, 18 hours, some odd minutes until my last training walk/jog, the Turkey Trot 5K.

Four days, 14 hours, and some odd minutes until I begin my next half marathon.   

Tapering...

Being so close to a race, it is recommended that distance walkers/joggers/runners taper their workouts.  This means that they start slowing down, doing less mileage, and putting less strain on their bodies so that come race day they are fresh and ready for anything.  I am also tapering myself down.

I did a few miles yesterday.  I will do a short 4 mile or so walk on Sunday with Chewy as we are meeting my walking group and only doing a little bit of a walk compared to my typical Sunday.  On Thanksgiving, Chewy is doing a 5k with me that morning before we gorge ourselves on all sorts of tasty treats.  That 5k will also be my last real walk/jog before the race that Sunday.  I am sure I will do some other short walks here and there, but nothing like what I have been doing up to this point. 

Just because I think this is fun, for 2.5 miles of the race, the course will lead me onto the express lanes of Interstate 90.  I guess this is one time I can run/jog in traffic.  No worries, I will manage some pictures while on this adventure.

My Feet Shrank

10 Days, 5 hours, and some odd minutes until race time :)

I did a 4 mile walk/jog today in lovely 36F weather through a gorgeous park in the middle of my city, which also has a wonderful river running through it.  The cold was not so bad, other than helping me realize that I might want a pair of gloves and a hat or ear warmers for the race.  Honestly the only time it got really cold for me was when I saw a parked car that was surrounded by a frozen puddle.  I guess I have really become one of those crazy walker/jogger/runner people who is out there in the freezing cold. 

To round out my adventure today, I figured I should go check out the local running store.  Back in September, I bought myself a pair of running shoes.  They are wonderful, comfortable, and supportive.  One other defining detail:  they are wide width.  Three months later, and they are starting to get a bit loose on the sides, and that is even after I put some mileage down on the pavement and cinching them up tight.  I asked to be fitted, and surprise!  I am no longer a wide width.  Well, at least I am not a wide width in the shoes that I enjoy.  I did not buy new shoes today.  Have you looked at the price of running shoes?!?  $100 is a good start for something decent.  I am hoping to find some sale that is closing out last year's model, or some other sale at a runner's expo.  In the mean time, I will do the half in these shoes, but probably get a thicker sock to make them fit a touch better. 

Two Weeks, One Day...

Two weeks from tomorrow, and I hope that by this time on that day, I will have long crossed that glorious finish line.  Medal proudly worn as I earned that! 

Tomorrow is my last long walk before the race.  This should give me ample time to continue my short walks, and some shorter long walks, yet not completely fatigue myself before the big day.  One thing I will be doing is making sure I am more healthy before going into the race. 

Let's go on a trip back to late August of this year...
I spent one week living as a human test subject in a sleep laboratory for an area university to study effects of fatigue on mental processing. Yes, I got paid for this, and fairly well.  To be honest, this whole experience should just be blogged sometime.  Eating was a huge issue while in this lab.  All things were controlled, down to what we could eat and when.  I have some food allergies and preferences, so I have learned that if I have to let someone else feed me, I am safest by telling that person I eat a vegan diet.  Truthfully, I have a severe dairy and hazelnut allergy, and avoid most meats, but I do eat fish.  So while residing in the laboratory, everyone was fed microwave dinners.  I cook about 85% from scratch, so eating so much processed food for this week was terribly difficult!  I was barely eating.  I am used to whole foods and having fruit and vegetables at every meal.  I can go into the ugly details, but I will spare you.  What I will say is that by the end of this experience, I had a horrible electrolyte imbalance, and would cramp so bad that you could watch my muscles clamp down and contort my legs, down to my feet and toes.  I also had trouble eating.  I needed my whole foods.  I needed more protein.  I needed more produce.  I just couldn't consume enough to be making a total difference right away.  And one week after getting out of the sleep lab, I was doing my first half marathon.  Yes, you can say it.  Even I will say it, "Idiot!"  I swear I do not have a death wish, lol.

This time is different!  I am not doing a sleep study prior to the race.  Eating is no problem when Thanksgiving is just days before the race.  I will not be running at such a horrible nutritional deficit going into the race.  I will not pretend I have some perfect diet, trust me, I love some mac and cheese (well, my vegan version of it) and pizza.  Oh and pasta!  I LOVE pasta!  I will make sure to pay attention to my hydration and electrolyte needs.  And most of all, protein and fresh veggies and fruit will not be forgotten.  I feel that this will help me significantly in my race.

Two weeks one day and counting down... 

I Got My Butt Handed Back to Me...

19 Days and counting until the race in Seattle.  Or 17 days until I am off to Seattle!

Today is a rest day for me.  Nine miles, plus gym and pool time were done on Sunday.  Then a friend asked me if I would like to try Pi-yo with her.  Sure!  I will try anything once, or several times before I give my final vote on it.  We made plans to go to Pi-yo on Monday evening.  No problem.  And look, those new pants I bought the other day were the perfect attire for me to wear and be able to move at this class.
 
Pi-yo had potential.  I thought, okay, so this is a class where you take Pilates and yoga, mesh them together, and spit them back out with faster paced music and quicker movements.  This will be great!  The one time I took a yoga class, I was bored with the silence.  I have taken Pilates before.  It was a better fit than yoga, although a total ab kicker! 

OMG!  Pi-yo is intense!  None of this, sit in silence, meditate, think of your breathing as we hold this pose for some long period of time stuff.  No, this was everything but that!  The warm up started out slow, but quickly picked up the pace where I was beginning to wonder if I had been brought to my sacrifice.  The instructor was wonderful, friendly, and very energetic.  She was so helpful in showing alternative positions for people who may not have the strength yet to pull off some of the moves, or have a physical ailment that prevents them from doing some of them.  Soon I was sweating.  Sweating to the point I had drops fall off of me and land on my yoga mat.  I was pounding the water.  I was in awe!  This yoga/Pilates hybrid disguises itself as something so sweet and innocent, with a touch of intensity.  No, those are lies!  If you knew what a sadistic thing Pi-yo was, you would not be there ready to try it.

If Pi-yo involved walking, or even jogging, I would own that.  Instead it owned me, or more specifically, it owned my butt, abs, and upper body.  I was thankful for some of those alternative positions, but I gave it my all to try doing the real ones.

Pi-yo 1, Darlene 0...  

I totally plan on going back for more!  That was fun, and really was so much more than I expected.

Three Weeks til Show Time!

I have three weeks until the Seattle Half Marathon and WOW! am I getting excited!  My transportation is already booked.  My lodging is getting finalized today.  And because I deserve it, I bought myself a pair of pants today.  They are not every day pants, but they are pants I can wear in the cold to do my walking.  The kicker:  Last time I bought pants for myself, they were a size XXL.  And most everything I am still trying to wear is of that same size range, even though we have talked about how they don't fit.  Today, I bought a size LARGE!  Well, I guess that explains why nothing is fitting, LOL. 

I never really thought I would be so excited to do a road race like I am for this one.  I think part of this excitement stems from setting the goal of doing a half marathon, picking the race, training, watching my progress, and now I feel good!  Really good!  And come December 1st, 2013, I will feel even better because I will have completed my 2nd half marathon :)

Less Than a Month Away

We are in the brisk, cold, wet month of November.  We have already had our first snow here in Eastern Washington.  Actually, we have had snow twice now in my town.  Truth be told, I have never liked the month of November because it is so dark, grey, and dreary.  I know it does not make any sense, but I find it to be the darkest and most dreadful of all the months.  Oh, and I think the birthstone looks like crystallized urine that is disguised by the name Citrine.  But this November is different.  I will love this November!  This month is a count down month for me.  The grand finale will be on December 1st when I take on the Seattle Half Marathon!

I am feeling pretty good about this.  I have done a lot of hill walking as of late because of some personal stuff going on.  Family member in the hospital and the free parking is several blocks away, and of course, uphill.  I have realized that if I compare my walking from back in September to now, I have made some wonderful strides.  I have learned so much about myself, my personal quirks, and also what works for me over the last several weeks.  I would also be lying if I did not mention that I am nervous.

I know I can do a half marathon as was proved in September.  I guess I am nervous with the idea of the weather, which I know is going to be cold, wet, and rainy.  I worry about dressing too heavily to stay warm, and then having to strip during the course to never see my clothes again.  And here is the silly one:  Wet shoes!  I know, I know!  It is December in Seattle, of course my shoes are going to get wet!  I guess that part didn't totally click in my head until the other day when I was walking to an appointment in the slop (rain and snow mix falling from the sky), and my skate shoes were soaked.  Yeah, I will be wet by the end, rain or sweat, lol.

For the most part I am excited!  I get to walk in one of my favorite cities.  I get to add another half marathon to my list that I have done.  I will not be walking in horrible humidity.  I get to see how training has paid off this time around.  I get to have a break from the insanity that has been the last few weeks, and have a me moment.  I get to visit with a few friends in the area.  Did I mention that I get to walk in one of my favorite cities? 

Twenty four days until we add another 13.1 miles to my list! 

October's Mileage

I set a goal for myself of walking 40 miles during the month of October.  I felt that this was a stretch since I had gall bladder surgery at the end of September, and was not going to be cleared to resume full activity status until October 15th.  I came up with the 40 mile goal by adding all my long walk mileage plans together, and factoring in the rest of the short walks.  Surprisingly to me, that 40 mile goal was blown out of the water...

I logged 64.79 miles for the month of October!

I am quite proud of myself.  I know that this month will not have the same mileage, and I am okay with that.  This month will include some longer walks, and many more shorter walks as I will be tapering my walking down towards the end of the month to prepare for The Seattle Half Marathon on December 1st. 

Also part of bragging rights on my end.  I did a 5k at the end of October.  Yeah, I know, for someone who does a 5k several times a week, what makes this one special?  Honestly, the fact that I jogged about half of it.  No, I didn't jog half of it at once.  I broke it up into smaller chunks, but I still jogged.  I was not sore or tired at the end.  Actually, I went to the gym with a friend of mine after the 5k.  It is clear that my walking is paying off in the endurance aspect for me.  I won't say that I plan on jogging the half marathon, yet, but I will get to that place eventually.