Category Archives: running

stuck in utah and a small victory

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I spent a few hours at the SLC airport yesterday, waiting for my delayed flight…delayed flight that never was. Fog in Chicago ended my hopes of getting home yesterday and so, I am still in Utah. The good news is that I am “stuck” with my family and a bunch of good friends, so it’s not so bad. And, while I was supposed to hang out with the lovely Sarah and her boyfriend in NYC, I will get to see her when she returns tonight. And thankfully, they were staying in my apartment in New York, so my plants aren’t dead and my mailbox isn’t overflowing.

While I was sitting at the airport for hours, I ran into my darling cousin Maddie who was on her way to see her sister, Ali, and her new niece. Then, as luck would have it, my favorite running partner, Anne, was at the airport with her husband waiting for their flight to DC. I hadn’t met him before and I hadn’t seen Anne in almost two years (since we ran the SLC half marathon together in April 2009). They came to my gate to see me off just as I found out I wouldn’t be going anywhere and kept me company while I waited for Southwest to call me back and my dad to return from P-town to pick me up. And, had I waited just a little longer before going back through security, I would have seen Puz, who was on his way back to Germany via Paris (that will be me someday).

All in all, the hours in the airport were far from wasted. And then, because I was in town last night, I was able to attend Jenna’s bro-in-law’s b-day party and see a lot of my favorite people from NYC; Jenna, Alisa, Sara, and Kevin.

Now, when I found out my flight was canceled, I realized I would be able to get my run in…fast forward a few hours and I have almost forgotten about running entirely.  I got home, ate dinner with my fam, and then headed over to the party. I wasn’t planning on staying very long, but I do love my NYC friends and I do hate missing out on anything… At about 8:30, I thought, “If I want to get my run in, I should probably head home.”

But then I was having fun talking to everyone and I hate missing out on social time. I texted my brother around 8:40 to make sure I’d be able to use the treadmill (it’s in my brother and sister-in-law’s bedroom). No response. And so I kept procrastinating. Finally, at 9:00, I knew that if I didn’t leave right then I wouldn’t have time to get my three miles in. It was decision time.

These are the moments when it’s so easy to say, “It’s just this one time. I won’t skip tomorrow, but today I really want to hang out with my friends.” The problem is that there is always some excuse. Always. And so, as hard as it was, I left my friends and headed home to run.

The good news is, I got the run in. The bad news is I am very out-of-shape in the running department, so the “run” was a little painful and even slower than usual. I just have to remember that it’s all progress as long as I’m doing it. And now, for the songs that got me through yesterday’s run:

I Want You Back – The Jackson Five
Stop – Jane’s Addiction
The Way You Make Me Feel – MJ (apparently, Michael and I were having a thing yesterday)
I Think I’m In Love With You – Jessica Simpson
Summer Love – JT

There were others, but those are the ones I remember that helped me keep going. I had forgotten just how much I love Jane’s Addiction. Maybe because liking them makes me feel very old. Anyway, I got the run in and felt very satisfied as I went to sleep last night. Today…no running. Just strengthening…toning video, here I come.

and this is the part…

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When this blog turns into more of a running blog than anything else.

Yesterday should have been my first “official” day of training for the Canyonlands Half Marathon with an easy three mile run. However, because I’m not used to prioritizing running, when Alisa texted to see if I wanted to go to a movie of course I said yes because I wasn’t really thinking about the fact that I still needed to run three miles.

This is probably the hardest thing for me when it comes to training (or exercise of any sort). Prioritization. Yesterday, I didn’t want to go running until later in the day. I got up and started working on EST (I’m still in Utah thanks to the great blizzard in New York). Then, I took my “lunch” break and got ready for the day (as in shower, blow dry, flat iron, makeup) in order to meet Brian for breakfast. The fam was going to dinner that evening and I wasn’t about to do the whole “get ready” routine again, so running would have to wait.

And, as already mentioned, after dinner I went to a movie and then didn’t really plan on running because it was dark (the headlamp is in New York…yes, I own a headlamp) and really cold. The treadmill at my brother’s house is in his bedroom and I no longer have a gym membership in Utah. So, no run. Of course, when I did get home, Justin and Cherity were still awake and we ended up talking into the wee hours of the morning (okay, it was 12:30 am, but that is late for me these days). Yes, I could have done my run, but I wasn’t thinking about that when I was busy chatting away with my brother and his lovely wife.

So, Day 1 of training didn’t happen because I didn’t make it a priority. And that is how life works, isn’t it. We do what we make time to do. While I sucked it up yesterday, I made sure to prioritize for today. I got up for work (in my PJs) and then, when I finally decided to change into clothes…I changed into workout clothes and stayed in then until I ran and run I did. Today was 5x400s at 5k pace. I pushed it a little too hard maybe (this is another problem I have), but felt good when it was over.

When I was pushing through my last 400 at an 8:30 pace (this is basically sprinting for me), the perfect song came on; Too Much – Kylie Minogue. It was exactly how I felt about my first training run (incidentally, it’s about falling in love lust, but whatever).

And with that, on we go.

(A post about my vacation coming soon…and for that, this blog might transform into a “mom” blog momentarily because I am a very proud auntie.)

running

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My life the past few weeks has been crazy. There has just been so much going on; so many people to see, so many things to do. I’ve been throwing parties of various types at least once a week and going to others. There are the work friends, the church friends, the out-of-town friends, and the best friends. And while I am so happy that I now feel like New York is home, after this past week of go, go, go…I was spent. And let me just state for the record that it takes A LOT for me to be spent, so you can only imagine how busy I have been.

On Sunday, I began a complete melt down. Well, it might have started Saturday night. Or maybe Saturday morning. Oh, well, you get it. Unfortunately, there were still a lot of activities that I had committed to, and…well, if you don’t know how I feel about breaking a commitment, let’s just say that it is extremely rare that I back out of something if I’ve made a commitment and it’s something other than just “hanging out”. Not only that, but I didn’t want to miss out on all of the fun things that were still to come. So, I put on my big girl pants and, as my family likes to say, sucked it up.

Then Monday rolled around and, still exhausted from all of my weekend activities, I had a day from hell. Well, really just two hours, but they were the two hours at the end of the day and two hours past when I had intended to be leaving the office. Without getting into it (because it wouldn’t be ethical for me to discuss these things on the interwebs), I will just say that people are sometimes really stupid…which is a big part of why I have a job, so I can’t complain too much…except to say that yesterday was not the day I wanted to deal with this particular issue.

When I finally got out of the office I texted Sara to see what was going on. With Sara leaving today, I definitely wanted to hang out last night. I got on the train and headed home and, as is my ritual, started reading. As it were, I happened to read this talk (a sort of speech) that was given by one of the leaders of my church. There was one line that captured the gist of the talk and was exactly what I needed to hear:

“If life and its rushed pace and many stresses have made it difficult for you to feel like rejoicing, then perhaps now is a good time to refocus on what matters most.”

As I considered this on my way home, two things occurred to me. First, I have not been spending nearly enough (read: any) time on my personal progression. Second, while my life is seriously amazing and I want for almost nothing, I have been running so fast that I have not been able to enjoy it. Even during my “downtime” I end up either having several things I need to get done or I’m so spent all I can do is sit and stare at the t.v.

So, last night, after making plans to see Sara today for lunch, I decided to just be at home, alone, and go to bed at a normal hour (unlike tonight). Of course, I couldn’t sleep, and because I was just laying in bed for two hours, I finally had enough time to think and…well…let’s just say it was a rough night. But I figured some stuff out and was able to get a little clarity and a little focus.

On my way home tonight, I decided the one thing I needed to do was go running, so I changed into my workout clothes and headed to the gym. I got on the treadmill, turned on my music, and left everything behind. And I remembered how happy I am when I’m running…not running around, but literally running. The whole world changed in those five miles. I don’t know how else to explain it but that. Something about the combination of some of my favorite music and physical exertion just does it for me. So many things that I’d been stressing about just stopped seeming so important. I was able to clear my head and refocus on what really matters.

It’s so easy to lose focus in life as we worry about “missing out” on things or strive to obtain success the way the world defines it. And it’s not that we are making bad choices. I would say that all of the things I have been doing over the past few weeks have been good things. It’s just that they have sometimes been at the expense of the best things. And that’s what I needed to remember. That’s the place that I needed to get to…a place where I was humble enough to realize that my way wasn’t working and I needed a little intervention. And that’s what tonight did for me.

As I ran home from the gym (not because I still wanted to be running, but because it was butt freezing cold outside–thank you east coast), Alicia Keys’ Empire State of Mind (the one where it’s only her) came on. I love this song, partly because I think it’s a great song, but partly because this song has become my New York theme song. I swear it seems to pop up at the exact moments when I remember how lucky I am to have the life I have and live in this fabulous city, and I can’t help but smile. And tonight, it was just a little bit sweeter.

final month of love post

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So, I figured I should get this in before April.

This past weekend, I headed down to Moab with my brother, sister-in-law, niece, nephew, dad and step-mom. Justin, Cherity, and I were joining a huge group of our classmates in running (fast walking in my case) the Canyonlands Half Marathon and Nev (my dad) and Sharon came along to watch the kiddies. It was so much fun (even the half marathon part)! We had this great condo and the kiddies got to see their parents run by.

With all of the other MBA kids down there, we had lots of opportunity to go hang out with them, but we all decided to be homebodies and just spend time as a family. I think I’m starting to realize just how far away New York is going to be from my brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews and, while it will be great and technology makes it not so far away (isn’t video chatting the best!?), I do want to take advantage of the time I do have with them all.

Feb 28 – I love my family!!!

another half…this one much better than the last

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My medal from today…I love it, although this photo could be better. I just didn’t have the patience for pictures today.

This week has been absolutely insane. Between finals, meetings, social obligations, unexpected family visits, seemingly stupid decisions about things like the Travis concert and a random new business opportunity, I have had no time. None. And what do I do when there aren’t enough hours in the day? Take them from the night. Sleep has not been super high on the priority list (one “night” I found myself finally getting to sleep at 4:30 am…only to get up at 7:00 am for a meeting).

All of this is to say that last night, before heading up to Salt Lake to meet up with Anne (my second trip to Salt Lake for the day), I really had little intention of actually running the Salt Lake City Half Marathon. I was exhausted and I hadn’t been running since Moab, which was three weeks ago. I don’t think I posted much about that race, if anything…probably because it was a miserable experience. Miserable! One more reason not to run a half marathon this morning.

But then I started driving. I thought about Anne, who’d flown all the way out here from D.C., and the fact that I said I would do it with her. Not that she flew out here because of me (she was doing it anyway), but I had made a commitment. On top of that, I wanted to run with Anne. It had been way too long. Anne will forever be my favorite running buddy (with Christy and Jen right behind, oh, and Hannah) because we ran our first marathon together…as blogging friends. So, sometime between P-town and SLC I made up my mind to just do it. After the horrible experience that was Moab this year, I figured I could handle anything. And while I haven’t run in three weeks, the last time I did, I finished a half marathon–notice I didn’t say “I ran a half marathon.”

We got ready for bed (thanks to Anne’s fabulous sister who put us up for the night) and I was setting my alarm for 4:55 am I wondered, again, what the hell I was thinking, but at this point I was committed. We got up, got ready, and headed out.

A quick side note: 1.5 years ago, when I ran my first (and only, thus far) marathon, it was days of preparation…having nothing to do with training. I had my fuel belt (mine is actually by Nathan), Shot Bloks, SportShield, Gatorade, Nike+, camera, hat, etc, etc, all ready to go. Fast-forward to today. Nothing of the past except for SportShield (I will never run distance without it) and music, only even that has changed: an iPod shuffle. I have no pictures. I ran with no fuel belt. I even forgot my one pack of Shot Blocks. And now, instead of my Nike+ to tell me how I’m doing, I use…a watch. Yep. One that does lap splits. And I’ve added (because Anne showed me how) Kinesio Tape to my knees, a la Kerri Walsh. I think I kind of feel like a runner. A real runner.

Don’t you love my sexy knee cap?

Anyway, we got ready to go and headed to Gateway where we could park and catch Trax to the starting line. We got up there and had just enough time to drop our bags (all warm clothing inside of them) and get to the start. In fact, I was tying my shoes when the gun went off. (For those of you who have never run a long race before, if you are not an elite runner, it just doesn’t really matter when you cross the starting line. That’s why they do chip timing.)

I was a little apprehensive about this race. I hadn’t checked the course at all, but I knew that it was all on city streets. Every long race I’ve ever done has been out in “nature” with only the last few miles “in town”…and I hate the monotony of the last few miles. As it turns out, I had nothing to worry about. Salt Lake is full of so many great neighborhoods with these fantastic houses, that I was happy as could be (until we got to State Street).

But I’m getting ahead of myself. I had two goals for this race. One was to run as long as possible before walking. The other was to finish faster than Moab (the last time). The mistake I made (or one of the many mistakes I made) in Moab was starting out way to fast. My first mile had been at a pace that I can’t even sustain for two miles. It was stupid. So today, I was determined to go s-l-o-w at the beginning.

The excitement of the race makes most people start out too fast (most inexperienced people, I should say). It was really hard to be disciplined. Eventually, though, I figured out that if I could comfortable talk to Anne, I was going slow enough. And talking to Anne was seriously the highlight of the race, with running into Zach right up there. (We met Zach through blogging while training for St. George in 2007. During that race, he came running after us to say hi. Today it was the opposite.)

We seriously just cruised right along. Just after mile 5 Anne’s darling mom (who I’d met for the first time in St. George) met up with us, holding cute signs with our names on them, and prepared with all kinds of sustenance. We opted for some grapes. And we kept going. I think it was right around this point that I decided I could run the whole freaking thing. I had been talking about it, but then something clicked, and I knew that, if there was any possible way, I would run all 13.1 miles.

We ran together for 7.5 miles before Anne needed a potty break. We didn’t get to go before the race because the lines were too long, but since I didn’t have to go, I left Anne behind. I know that might sound bad, but that’s how we’d both prefer it. Neither one of us likes to feel like we’re holding the other person back. It’s too much pressure.

The race went on. Eventually, the first-place FULL marathoner passed me. It was kind of awesome. I’ve never run a combined race before, so this was a new experience. It was inspirational, really. All was going well until just before mile 11 and the stupid State Street hill, as you head north toward the capital building. I made it to 11.75 before realizing that I just couldn’t run the rest. So I walked…but I promised myself it would only be the 1/4 mile to the top of the hill. As I approached the crest, I focused on a cone and determined that I would start running when I passed it. And run I did. The rest of the race. With enough every level to sprint the chute. And the sprint at the end was almost ethereal.

And I was done. I finished under my goal (both the clock time and chip time…there was a 4-minute discrepancy) and I felt great. Okay, minus the cramps in my gluteus medius (yes, that specific) and my right calf.

Anne came in not too long after me and that was that. Oh, except for the part where we got Ben’s Cookies. At times, the thought of those cookies was what kept me going.

All in all, I am really proud of us! We did a great job…under trained as we both were. And I feel pretty good…other than the fact that I might need a hip replacement. J/K. It’s just killing me.

So, here’s the list of things I learned/was reminded of today:

  1. I love my new iPod shuffle! (Purchased with credit card points.)
  2. Kinesio Tape = Happy, happy knees.
  3. My distance running pace is whatever pace that allows me to keep talking while running.
  4. I’m so glad my dad used to drive us around looking at houses on Sundays…it made today super enjoyable.
  5. The Salt Lake Marathon (and half, 5K, and bike whatever) is pretty awesome.
  6. I can easily run 13.1 miles without needing to use a port-o-john.
  7. I love running with Anne.
  8. Reverse splits are possible.
  9. I don’t need a fuel belt for this distance.
  10. I am so incredibly grateful to have a body that will allow me to do things like this. I realize that not everyone could for various reasons; although we did see a woman today running with a prosthetic foot–one that was made for running.
All of my race bibs and medals…pinned to my bulletin board. I love them.

Races to date: nine 5k’s, one 10k, four half marathons, one full marathon, and one 178-mile relay over the past 2 years and 4 months. I’m feeling pretty good about myself right now.

The medals (in various materials)…St. George is my favorite! It’s made out of stone.

And with that…goodnight! Time to get some much needed sleep…except for the fact that I need to finish a paper tonight. Or maybe I’ll just wait until tomorrow. I’m exhausted.