A blog about my journey of training to run a 1/2 marathon with Team In Training and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and beyond.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

It's been a good day

I have had my fair share of bad running days lately. It has been hot, hot, hot! Which in itself can make for a rough run. I have been going later at night to try and beat the heat, but it's still soooooooooo hot that I'm drenching in minutes. And I'm going to be totally honest here, the later I wait to run, the easier it is to not go. After work, the kids, the house, the hubby, I have a million reasons to call it a night and not go, but I go anyway.  I have also been having some body issues. Not body image issues. Body issues. My left ankle is pulling pretty hard and my right leg, from the ankle to the knee has been seizing up. The muscle gets so tight that it feels like it is going to snap. I'm not even going to talk about my sausage like fingers and swollen cankles. The heat is usually so good for my Lupus, but lately I just look like I'm the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. But today....today was a good day.





 I got to get up early and head out with my runHers ladies in Norman. I did 2.25 miles in 40 minutes. Not great, but better than it has been. I have been really frustrated with my running performances lately and my blessed friend, Drea, keeps reminding me that "It doesn't matter how fast you go, as long as you go". I know. Still I am ready for my body to stop fighting me and just do what it's supposed to (aka. what I want it to do). Still 2.25 is a start. After my run, I had just enought time to wash the stink off and head to Edmond to Redline Jiu Jitsu for a women's safety forum. Thanks to everyone who put it together. It was a really great experience. We heard a lot of useful tips, learned a lot of great techniques, and it was fun!  Like our instructors said, being aware is the first step. So thanks to RunHers, Sheila, Jennifer, Redline, Edmond PD, and everyone. I am proud to be apart of a group of women who want to be empowered. I am also proud to be a part of a community that cares enough about its members and their safety that they take the time to educate us and protect us.

Then......

My new friend Am (apparently, all my friends' names start with A, so just guess which one I'm talking about) told me about a sale at my favortie running store. I asked the hubby if we could mosey on down there and check it out(because he knows if I go, I will buy. EVERY TIME! So he tries to keep me reigned in for my own good)....and not only did he say yes (SHOCKER!) but he said that he wanted to get some new running shoes, so that he could start running with me. Not with me with me, but with me. Yippee! Like most things, I knew that if I just kept on him, I would eventually get my way. And I have been on him to start running with me for some time now. ; )

 So we got him some new shoes. He's partial to New Balance, while I, myself, am usually a Saucony girl. However, the guy made me try on a pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12 and... I have yet to take them off my feet. If they run even half as good as they feel then I have found my shoe soul mate. Just the icing on the cake is the fact that they are RED, WHITE, and BLUE! (insert chant of USA! USA! USA! here) I originally tried on a pair of bland looking pink ones. I was ready to buy those. I REALLY want to buy the really cute, brightly colored running shoes. However, most of those just don't offer the support I need for my feet. So I have learned that I can't ever buy running shoes based on how they look, but how they feel and are they going to help me finish. But then that beautiful, wonderful man said those 9 magic words, "Let me see what color choices we have available". Whaaaaaat?! I get a choice?! There were 3 choices: Pepto pink, Boring Blue, or Oh, Say Can You See-Olympic Edition TangoRed, White, & Blue. Was there ever really a choice?! uh, no. Not to mention that my two toughest critics immediately lent their support to the cause by screaming, "Blue & Red, Blue & Red! Like the Lympits" (aka the Olympics).


They are already enjoying their new home. I may even try to sneak in a late run tonight, just to welcome them properly. : ) I'm hoping that my legs will start screaming USA! with every stride instead of their usual, We hate you.

So today.... today was a good day.

Peace, Love, and Lympits! Go USA!

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Color Me Rad...AKA hot and dirty


Yesterday was the Color Me Rad 5K here in OKC. I was so excited that my molecules were practically vibrating. Why was I so excited? You mean besides the general awesomeness of a run where they douse you with paint? Oh, there were so many reasons. It was a fun run so I didn't have to worry about time. I got to try out my new running capris (more on that later). There was paint to be thrown AND I got to check a race off of my bucket list.  We started off all clean and pristine with our matching white duds and our rockin' 80's glasses. Drea brought me an awesome zebra striped bandana to complete my ensemble.



They didn't really keep you to your assigned start time. They just kind of herded us to the start line and set us free. They pelted us with paint out of the gate. The race route was okay. It had a giant hill that I wasn't expecting and lots of open terrain with no shade, which in an Oklahoma summer = HOT, HOT, HOT! There were stations of pigment paint (which is a powder) and stations of paint that they sprayed on you. The pigment flew all through the air, so if the person next to you got hit, you were getting some on you too. I woke up yesterday I really congested. I felt better by race time, but I must of still breathed a little through my mouth because at one point Drea informed me that my tongue was blue.


By golly, it was. The wet stations felt great and helped cool ya down. There was only one waterstop which made the race a little harder than it should have been. But thanks to Drea and Bruno Mars, I powered through. The atmosphere was fun and excited.  Big thanks to Drea for hanging out with me, and Aubs just for being you. And to all the peeps that I didn't get to hang with because it was so crazy, next year we will assemble and dominate.
And I promise that there will be no more tongue pictures at the next race. :)


Now, as for my new running capris, I am totally, completely, absolutely in love with them. My recently departed running pants will always have a special place in my heart, however my new ones are just the bees knees. Thank you Amanda for talking me into them. They are comfortable, stylish, and best of all they squeeze all mywiggle spots so tight that they do not jiggle for I run. Thank you UA for your Women'sHeatGear® Lunge capris : )

Thursday, July 5, 2012

What do I do now?!!!

If you are a runner, you have tons of running gear. You probably have shorts, pants, capris, compression pants, dri-fit, tight-fit,long-sleeve, sleeveless, vests, socks, headbands, hats... This list could go on forever. But no matter how much you own, you always have your absolute favorite pieces. The ones that you would rather dig out of the laundry and wear dirty than wear those perfectly clean ones over there. The ones who have been seen you at your worst and have been there for the best. They are comfortable and comforting, like a dear friend who just happens to soak up your crotch sweat so you don't chafe. Well, tonight I say goodbye to my dear friend, my tight-fit capris.


They have been with me through the thick and the thin, and apparently, the very thin. We shared one last moment together as they hugged me snuggly when I bent over to pick up my shoes and then, just like Rose, they let me go even though they swore they never would. Sad thing is, for one brief moment, I seriously try to convince myself that crotchless, assless running capris were the new craze. The husband found me sobbing in the bedroom floor, frantically trying to sew them up.  He has since pried them from my hands and disposed of them in an undisclosed location where they may rest in peace.

Good-bye old friend. We've been dirty together. We've gotten sweaty together. You know me intimately, unlike anyone else ever has. You will not be forgotten.  A sappy montage of happier times is playing in my head and in my heart. 



RIP (literally)
2010 -2012


Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Freedom to Run

There are days when I just don't want to put my running shoes on and head out the door. Yet most days I do it anyway. Today was one of those days. Today is the 4th of July, Independence Day, and one the of the few days that I am off work when I don't have anything that I HAVE to do. But I got a call early this morning from A asking if I wanted to go running. Sure, why not. I knew that it was going to be a rough and ragged run since my joints have been misbehaving as of late, with their puffiness and soreness. It did not disappoint! I was just a few yards in when my body started rebelling. I tried to ignore it the best I could, but no one in my family is quiet or shy, and that apparently includes body parts. It nagged and yelled at me the whole time and then just to slam home its point it puffed up so that I felt and looked like this after my run.



What you don't believe me?! I'm prone to exaggeration for dramatic effect? The hell you say! I swelled up like a marshmallow in a microwave. I could barely get me wedding ring off afterwards. My poor, poor little sausage fingers and toes. My 4 yo even asked me, "Momma, what's up with your fingers?" Kids gotta love how honest they are. : ) They are now back to normal, or else there would be a LOT more typos in this blog entry.


My running buddy, A, was the only reason that I finished this morning. Thank goodness for her. However, I am thankful that I have the freedom to run and in whatever workout clothes I see fit. I am thankful that I have the freedom to share with you all the gory details of my running journey. I am thankful for my freedom. If you are thankful for yours, take a moment today from your barbeques and fireworks to thank a serviceman or servicewoman for their bravery and committment to this country. If you are serving or have served this beautiful country, THANK YOU!!! Everyone have a happy and safe 4th of July. Peace, love, and fireworks.





Monday, July 2, 2012

When the safest thing you do is run....

When the safest thing that you do is run... you got a pretty adventurous life. My job is pretty adventurous, raising two young kids is VERY adventurous, and lately my weekends have been adventurous. The hubby and I took the weekend and spendt some long overdue time alone with some of our grown-up friends.  I was worried that I wouldn't be able to work in a good run while we were gone. Little did I know that nature had other plans. We went to float "The River" with friends. Sometimes the river is up and it's all smooth floating. Sometimes the river is down and you get an insane workout like I did. There were patches where the water was high enough that you just floated along, a paddle here and a little paddle there, but mostly, over the last 3 miles or so the water was so low that we had to drag a raft filled with coolers along the riverbed. I would dig in to drag the raft and the rocks would give way. It's was like running on really hard, lumpy sand. I worked so hard that my toes hurt. My individual toes hurt. Thanks goodness for friends, who turned such a hard workout into fun times. Love you guys, but next time, we are just going to run a race and call it good.