FYTO5K: Delay of Race

So you may remember that I was planning on running Adam's virtual 5k on Saturday. But then, life got in my way, instead, and it ended up getting pushed til Sunday. Oops!

So, you may be asking yourself, just what was I doing instead of running on Saturday? (or you may NOT be asking yourself, but I'm going to tell you anyway...)

I was doing...THIS!

lots and lots of hair...GONE.

My hair appointment took longer than anticipated, probably because I changed it big time. And then we have friends over to share a big pot of chili, and too many beers, and well, running just never happened.

Sunday morning, we had a really lovely time at church, the pancake breakfast and the book fair. All the kids were remarkably well behaved (even James who's been sick since Thursday). I can't remember when it's gone that smoothly. So nice!

So Sunday evening I got together with a girl from the running club and we did 8 miles in the dark. It was still and not too cold, and it was so nice to get out there again. So I dedicate the first 3.1 of my 8.07 miler to Adam's FYTO5K. The time was right around 33:30, and my pace remained pretty steady throughout the 8 miles, so I was HAPPY. And tired.

The weather is forecasted to be in the 40s ALL FREAKING WEEK. Bring on the miles!

Unplanned Rest....Week?

Last night I was reading Adam's post about taking an unplanned rest day, and I kind of giggled to myself. I realize I am not nearly as hard core as a lot of runners, but a rest day rarely bothers me, even in the middle of marathon training. As a matter of fact, I am at the tail end of what has been an unplanned rest WEEK.

After the race on Saturday, I bent over to get a pan out of the oven (Julia is obsessed with shrinky dinks at the moment) and I couldn't stand up. My lower back was in total spasm. Ouch. This hasn't happened in a long time. But the last time it DID happen, it scared the shit out of me so much that I babied it like crazy the rest of the weekend. It actually felt a ton better already on Sunday, but I wasn't taking any chances, so no running earlier this week.

On Wednesday night at strength class, it was still sore, so I took it easy on the weights and skipped out on a couple moves that my back didn't like. Yesterday, the day got away from me. And today, James is off school. Which brings us to a week with no running.

But you know what? I am 100% cool with it (except for ITCHING to run because today looks PERFECT outside). Maybe it's because after tomorrow (when I will run Adam's virtual Freeze Your Thorns Off 5k) I will have run more miles in January than I did last year in November, December and January COMBINED. Maybe it's because marathon training starts again in 2 short weeks.

Maybe it's because I'm LAZY.

In any case, the break has been kind of nice. And my house is happy because of it....

Double Tagged!

Lauren and Amy both tagged me for the 11 random things meme...after a weekend of insanity followed by John's birthday and a championship tournament basketball game yesterday (which they lost...sad face) I'm going to take on both of these at once...

Here are the rules:1. Post these rules
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer
5. Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them
6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people!

I'll be breaking the rules some, but lets start at the beginning:
1. I have been coloring my hair for a REALLY long time. Lately, I'm realizing that I'd be full on silver if I didn't. Part of me wishes I was brave enough for that, but then the sane part takes over and I go back to the salon again.

2. While I really miss having a pet, and while the kids would LOVE it if we got one, the more practical side of me realizes that I can barely keep up with the dependant living beings I already have.

3. I am one of those people who could eat the same thing every day and not grow weary of it. I see a lot of that in some of my kids.

4. I would read books all the time if I weren't so compulsive about getting to the ending. So I am forced to wait until I can devote enough time to finish the entire book before I start one.

5. I am the antithesis of crafty, but I can crochet. I crocheted my kids' baptism gown - all 4 of them wore it. I was pretty proud of that...

Julia

6. People laugh at me when I tell them I have this weird fear of biking, but it's true. I don't think I've been on a bike since middle school. Not sure I remember how. I am quite sure that part isn't helping me overcome this fear...

7. After the race Saturday, I listened to Riyanti and Dave talk all about the places they've travelled in their lives. I have never been outside of North America. Someday that will for sure change - I can't wait!

8. While I am a terrible housekeeper, I secretly love to do laundry, and I hate it when John "helps" because he totally messes up my system.

9. I worked at a canoe outfitters in the BWCA summers all through college. I think I would live there still if I could.

10. When I first signed up for the Chicago marathon in 2010, I never expected to fall in love with running. Or that I'd still be doing it 2 years later. So often, I start a "thing" only to lose interest later. I'm so glad that didn't happen this time!

11. I love to drive really fast. I rarely get the opportunity anymore...

Now on to Lauren's questions:

1. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? Australia
2. Do you have a goal / legacy that you’d like to leave behind? Just my children - I want to raise good, happy people
3. What is the food you eat most frequently? I eat cheerios almost daily
4. What is the best meal you ever ate? I got engaged over dinner. I have no recollection what I ate, but it was the best day of my life at that point.
5. Favorite Run? Grandma's marathon 2011
6. Who did you last talk on the phone with? John
7. What is the last book you read? Janet Evanovich - Smokin' Seventeen
8. Open- or closed-toe shoes in the summer? open
9. What’s the coolest race swag or prize that you’ve received? Nothing remarkable, sadly.
10. Do you consider yourself to be shy or outgoing? Nervously outgoing?
11. Do you live near or far from family? As close as we've ever been, which is still a 90 minute drive.

And Amy's:

1. What is your #1 best memory – the one that will always make you smile? As an adult, it's a toss up between my wedding to John and the birth's of all my kids. As a kid, it would be Christmas Eve at my Grandparents' house, complete with fake Santa and the ensuing mountain of presents.
2. If you could do anything (career wise), and money was no object, what would that be? If I could afford it and could find the time, I'd go into forensic pathology.
3. What is the most awesome place you’ve ever visited? Hawaii is magnificent.
4. What is your go-to comfort food? Taco Bell.
5. What is your guilty pleasure (that you’re willing to admit to in a public forum?) Vampire smut novels. Love them.
6. Favorite way to relieve stress? Running. Followed closely by driving while singing really loudly.
7. Favorite book? Too hard to choose. Although I always return to Gone With the Wind.
8. Favorite movie? The Princess Bride
9. What are you good at that hardly ever gets recognized? (example, are you a masterful karaoke singer? do you plan a mean harmonica? is your hidden talent hopscotch?) Why yes, I AM a masterful karaoke singer :) (I so wanted to be in a band when I was young)
10. What did your 10-year-old self want to be when you grew up? Do you still want that? (Are you that?) Either a pediatrician or a veterinarian. But I think I would get too emotionally attached to my patients.
11. What’s holding you back? Usually, only myself. But I'm getting there...

I'm not playing the tagging part, sorry...thanks, though - this was FUN!

Race Report: Polar Dashing For Team Gab

So, last week I signed up for Giraffy's virtual race (and giveaway!) to support the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation in honor of her daughter Gabby, who is fighting leukemia. Great cause, great prizes, and since I'm a girl with a remarkably low racing budget right now, it fit right in as an affordable way to make me run a half marathon. Yes, sometimes (read: most of the time) I still need a goal to keep me moving.

The race director kindly gave us a month to get our race complete. But as it turned out, I didn't even need a whole month! Riyanti emailed me last Thursday night asking if I was interested in a bib for the Chicago Polar Dash 1/2 Marathon. You see, they'd had to reschedule the race due to weather, and now her friend could no longer make it. All I needed to do was show up. YES!

On Friday, it snowed here. Kind of a lot. No worries, everything was still a go. We met Saturday morning with another running club member, Dave, who'd offered to drive into the city. It was sunny and beautiful as we left, but as soon as we hit the city, the lake effect snow started to fall.

We scored great parking, and they had all kinds of tents set up so we didn't have to wait out in the wind and cold. We ended up walking back to the car instead of waiting in the gear check line which served as a really nice warm up.

We lined up way in the back. Riyanti and I had no illusions about racing this - it was going to be a nice steady long run. In the snow. My goal was to finish feeling strong and to have a great run together. We kept assuring the other that it was ok to go on ahead, but I think we both knew that we were in it together for the long haul.

The first few miles were kind of rough. It was narrow and crowded and hard to find a rhythm. When we finally hit the lakefront path (where the majority of the race was to be run) it was full on snow covered and terribly difficult to find your footing. Thankfully, that didn't last all that long, and the rest of the way the path was pretty clear. It was still kind of "body-stressful" though - I felt like I was being really cautious, the entire way.

The mile marker signs were really throwing me off - they didn't make logical sense to me, having looked at the course map just that morning. Once we reached the turn around for the 10k people though, and they made us ALL turn around, I realized they'd changed the course into a double loop of the 10k, probably to save so many volunteers as they only had to man half the aid stations. Ok, no huge deal.

The good thing about turning around really early was that the wind was no longer freezing my left cheek off. It was such a relief! Finally we were able to settle into a better groove. We took out first walk break at about 5 miles in, had a gu (the race didn't start until 9:30, and I realized that breakfast had been a REALLY long time ago) and drank some water. And stretched out a little. We were both feeling a little creaky, but ok. The walk helped a lot.

There were only 2 things about the course that I really struggled with. The first was that the made the halfers run through the finish chute. Yes - we crossed the finish line twice. That was mentally crushing - kind of sucked the life out of you. But we kept on...with the 10k people all done now, the course really opened up and we had a really nice next few miles. BUT...

When we got to the original turn around, they had pushed it way back. Well duh, 10k plus 10k does not add up to 22k. But at that point in the course, it was SO much a mental beat-down. It didn't help that we'd skipped the last water station thinking we'd hit it on the way back. Or that the trail led up and over a hill and a broken part of concrete that you were forced to jump over (jumping at mile 10.5 equals not so much fun). Or that this part of the trail wound around such that you couldn't actually SEE where exactly the turn around WAS.

It all made for a giant ball of suck.

But that was the worst of it, really. We made it back to the water station and walked and gu'd and chugged water and powerade. After that I felt much better. But my hammy's were starting to protest - I hadn't actually RUN this distance since October. My legs were screaming "what gives lady?!?"

At just past 12, Riyanti need a pit stop and I needed a stretch break. It was JUST what I needed and we ran the rest. I felt strong when we crossed the finish line (for the second time) which was all I wanted out of the day. SUCCESS. At 2:36:19, it was my second slowest half ever, but given the conditions and my training and expectations, I'm still really happy with the results.

Dave finished not too long before us, so he got pics

bling!

As we were running, we both said that one Chicago in January race was enough. But looking back, you never know. It was fun to be out there in the snow. It did suck to have them taking everything down and be out of hot chocolate when we finished though. I understand (those volunteers must have been freezing) but it's still disheartening to run for more than 2.5 hours and be left out of anything hot at the finish.

All in all? A well run race in some crazy conditions. I felt bad for the lead guy (who ran into Riyanti at one point) as those fasties were forced to lap us more than once. But they did the best they could in very un-ideal conditions.

You can still get in on Giraffy's race - go check it out!

What Day Is It?

I have a love hate relationship with holidays. I love having everyone home, but my schedule gets all jacked up and I have no clue what day it is for a week following. So.

I guess it's Tuesday?

First thing - I guess blogger has enabled embedded replies to comments as long as you have COMMENTS embedded. Which is great, except when I switch my settings, I can't see any of my old comments. And some bloggers out there who've switched, I can't comment on. But not others. Weird. Anyone have any good advice on how to navigate this?

***

What a lovely quiet weekend! There was Olympic Trials and marathon stalking and running and shopping and a date night even. And a pj day. And a Daddy daughter dance!

2 of the cutest people I know :)

***

Running lately has been feeling bigger than I am. Running reminds me of all the good in my life, but it makes me reflect on all the bad out there. Between Beth's cousin, my friend who's currently undergoing a stem cell transplant for multiple myeloma, my parent's friend (who is several years younger than I) who is dealing with the ramifications of a brain tumor, my running friends who CAN'T run due to injury, well, the list is long. There's been so much of this lately, that I am reminded that while my bullshit may feel overwhelming at times, my bullshit is pretty minor in the grand scheme of things.

I went out on Saturday afternoon (because I couldn't bring myself to get up early) for a snowy run with some running club people. It was a lovely chilly sunshiny run with great company. Riyanti was supposed to run the Polar Dash Half in Chicago, but they rescheduled it due to the weather, so she ran a half anyway, just to. It was perfect.

Things to remember on a chilly day: my mom has Raynaud's, and I need to watch out for this - my fingertips were blue when I got home, and numb. Also, wool socks and my feet have a 6 mile limit. My toes were warm, but that didn't make my blister feel any better.

Three Things Thursday

1. I have loved all the posts about self worth and body image lately. As a challenge, g asked us to post a photo we feel GOOD about. After digging through pictures, I realized that my favorite recent picture of ME is just 2 posts below this one, from NYE with my family. It's the first picture of myself in I can't tell you how long where I am completely uncritical of myself. I've been working hard. I can finally see it.

2. As much as I haven't been talking about it, I've been running a decent amount. Even with no training plan in place, I've been logging some quality miles. As of 1/8, I'd already run more this January than the entire month of January 2011, and just because I want to. Contributing greatly to my success has been the Spring-like weather we've been having. Which is coming to a close, but it was good while it lasted.

3. We are expecting 8 inches of snow here today. And as crazy as my sister thinks I am, I was SO SO looking forward to running in the snow this morning. Alas, all we are getting right now is that 34 degree nasty cold drizzle that I hate. Is it wrong that I am putting off my run so that I DO get to run in the snow? Do you like running in the snow as much as I do? Or do you think (like my sister does) that I am a complete whack job?

Good Enough

I'm stuck.

There is a post that has been rattling around in my head for nearly a month. It all started with a comment I'd left on another blog that of course, I can't find. I'm pretty sure it was on Kimberly's blog. But the long and the short of it was the tremendous hit my self esteem took after having my first baby.

I felt unimportant. Unattractive. Unworthy. UnEVERYTHING. The "un" was crippling.

Backing up, once the middle school years passed (you know - the years during which EVERYONE feels awkward and ugly, even the beautiful people) I'd never suffered self-esteem issues. I felt good enough, the majority of the time.

But only good ENOUGH.

After having kids, I didn't even feel good enough.

Since I started running, I 've gotten back to "good enough." I was pretty happy with how I'd been feeling about myself this past year. Confident even. I said as much in my goals post.

Then I read ginny's post on Friday and I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach.

I spent the rest of the day chewing on just WHY that post had hit me so hard. I settled into a quiet, just thinking. The quiet lasted through the day, and on the car ride home from Jack's basketball game, it struck me.

Good enough is no longer good enough.

So I'm resolving to spend this year reminding myself that I'm more than good enough. That at times I am fucking outstanding even. My quest to be "better" will not dissuade me from believing in myself and my inherent outstandingness. I owe that to ME.

***

Later that same night, armed with my new found understanding, John and I headed upstairs to bed. As I pulled off my tshirt to put on my pj's, he looked at me.

A slow smile spread over his face.

I thought maybe he was appreciating my new, stronger physique. Enjoying the gun show even.

Then he asked me, "Is your fly open?"

Yup. Had been all through basketball. Outstanding, indeed.

Looking Back & Looking Ahead: 2012 Goals

One of my favorite things about blogging is going back and reading old posts. That said, I don't do it all that often. In marking off another year complete, I spent this morning reading about my 2011.

It was pretty epic.

Taking a look at the goals I set for myself a year ago:

1. 1000 miles - COMPLETE! I ran 1001.33 miles in 2011.

2. Lose 8 pounds  - COMPLETE! I lost 10 pounds in 2011.

3. Run a marathon in UNDER 6 hours - COMPLETE! I finished Grandma's marathon in 5:02:28.

4. Be a better, more organized housekeeper - FAIL! The basement project derailed this goal. I'll be revisiting it.

5. More one-on-one time with each of my kids - COMPLETE! I did really well at this in 2011.

6. More cross training - IN PROGRESS. I've gotten MUCH better about this, but it took until the very end of the year.

I ran PRs in every distance I raced this year. I gained significant speed over 2010. I gained stamina and endurance, and more importantly CONFIDENCE. I'm not sure I'll ever repeat the kind of personal transformation I made in 2011. I joined a running club and made some GREAT friends, which only added to the success of my running year.

I'm a little sad it's over, truthfully.

So what's ahead for me??

I will likely NOT be racing as much this year. We are in a financial spot that is less than ideal, and racing has to give a bit. I have three races on the schedule so far, and I don't see much more happening. But you never know.

The WI half holds my half mary PR and a special place in my heart. I loved this race and am excited to do it again. Grandma's marathon will be my "A" race this year. And unlike last year, I know so many people who are running it (including 2 from my running club!) and I am determined to break 5 hours. I'd really love to break 4:50, but we'll talk about specifics as it nears - sub 5 is non-negotiable.

As for Chicago, this race will NOT be about me. I'll be running with my sister, who is gunning for her first full marathon. I'm excited to accompany her on this journey.

So just a few things for 2012:

1. Run 1000 miles. (having a number holds me accountable and keeps me moving)

2. Run a sub-5 hour marathon.

3. Run a new half PR.

4. Continue strength training.

5. Reorganize and maintain a clean house. I will keep typing this until I can make it a habit. My kids are big enough. I'm out of excuses.

6. Support my sister to the best of my ability, even if it means kicking her ass a little. Run every single step of Chicago by her side (unless I can't keep up - she IS speedier than I am).

Here's to making 2012 every bit as epic as 2011 was. Bring it!

Starting 2012 Out Right: Holiday Wrap Up & RTTF Resolution Run

Another holiday season has come and gone, and I'm torn between mourning it a little and being glad to get back to my routine. We had a quiet, lovely Christmas, with Christmas Eve spent with my whole family at my parents' place, and Christmas Day spent in true Welch fashion - in our jammies. Perfect. There was food, and cookie making, and presents, and I really enjoyed getting into the spirit this year.

The week between holidays started out kind of tough for me. I'm not sure if I was just sad to see Christmas go, or if I took an unintentionally hurtful comment to heart too much, but in any case, I was cranky. Lots of good running helped that so much. That Friday, I ran my 1000th mile with Kim and Chris (another running club friend). It rained the entire day, but by the time I headed over to Kim's I was too excited about it to worry about the weather.

1000 miles DONE!

Even better, when we got back to Kim's place after finishing our run, much to my surprise I opened the door to this, along with "Chariots of Fire" blaring in her living room:

you can't see, but there were balloons all over the floor too

we celebrated with grasshoppers...what, you don't mix drinks in your fuel belt bottles?

It couldn't have been any more fun or special. I felt like a super star, even while we were getting lapped by the fasties on the trail. It was the perfect ending to a fabulous year of running.

New Year's Eve was a family affair - we spent the evening at a friend's, had "second Christmas" and just let the kids run wild while we enjoyed more good (but not FOR you) food and good company.

On to Amanda's virtual Resolution Run!

 Today I participated in our running club's annual New Year's Day fun run as my "resolution run." We ran 3 miles with the group, and then had a pot luck lunch at our running club president's house.

The run was kind of "meh" for me - I ate horribly the night before and had too many beers. Kim pulled me along though, even when the wind was trying to knock us backwards. I finished the 3 miles with an average pace of 10:09 minute miles, so I gotta say, I was pleased with that all things considered.

just a part of our crew - I am the ninja on the right next to Kim in her badass tights

post-run, but pre-food :)

It was the perfect way to start off the new year, which I hope is at least as great as 2011 was for me. I have some goals brewing around in my head, so I'll be visiting that soon. Happy New Year to all my "friends in the computer!" (my husband's label for all of you)