Longest Run So Far

I am happy to report that training is going well. A couple of weeks ago, our team ran the longest distance so far... 13.5 miles. Yup, a half marathon!! We started out at Freestone park and ended up on Germann road in Chandler. It struck me as such an accomplishment to run to Germann road since I knew how far outside of the "city" this was at one time. I remember when this part of Chandler was full of dairy farms and fields. It was quite a smell! Now the dairy farms have been replaced by overpasses, apartments, and subdivisions. Can you believe Phoenix and surrounding area population grew by over 115,000 residents in one year? Whoa! That is huge!

I signed up for the Big Brothers Big Sisters half marathon in Flagstaff, AZ. Hmmm.. What did I get myself into???? It must have been after a really good run that I decided to do this. I tried running at 7000ft this past weekend, it was NOT easy. After my intense, gut wrenching run in Eagar, I decided to read what the Flagstaff half marathon was all about. "STEEP hill to the observatory where they discovered Pluto". OMG, I am going to die!! The good thing is I'll be able to see San Francisco Peaks at all times while gasping for air!

I decided to do it anyway, what the heck. I'm not looking for a Personal Record, I'm just doing it for the experience. It's too late in my life to try to be the fastest runner in the world. I might as well enjoy the view. :)

A Different Point of View

Today was our first all group run at South Mountain Park in Phoenix. There were about 30 or more runners, plus another 10-20 cyclists that were preparing for the Team In Training triathlon. It was a grueling 10-mile run (5 miles out and back) of rolling hills. I keep complaining about the temperature, but it was brutal. On the 5 mile return, it was close to 100F at 7am. I imagined running in San Francisco, looking out at the ocean and feeling a cool breeze.

After the run we had a chance to meet with the other teams, plus the honorary team members for the fall season. I was really grateful to be able to hear each of the honorary team member's story. Before I joined TNT, I ran for myself or for my egocentric need to win. Now I realize I'm doing something much larger outside of my little world.

Imagine having a chronic leg cramp only to find out it is leukemia. Thinking about the fatigue, the pain and all the other side effects related to cancer treatment made me grateful for my health. Oftentimes we take our health and our bodies for granted. I am the first to admit, I push myself too hard without enough recovery. What I've learned throughout this program is to respect what my body can do.

There are millions of people out there who's only wish is to rid their body of disease. For all the rest of us, we have the choice to have a healthy lifestyle.

Until next time... We are getting close to the 16 mile run, I'm so excited!

It's Getting HOT

Happy Father's Day!! It's already the third week in June and the big day is coming up fast. Our vacation was canceled, so all the worrying I did about training in my last post was unnecessary. On the bright side, I was able to train with the Arizona Team In Training group this week.

First of all, it is hot in Phoenix! Highs in the triple digits, up to 110F. I met the team for a 4 mile evening run on one of the hottest days of the week. The temperature was 103F when we got started. I kept thinking to myself "This just doesn't seem right". I'm committed though, people with cancer don't give up because it's hot! I did ok at the beginning, but at the end of mile 2, the water I was carrying felt like it was in a pre-boil stage, my left calf muscle was cramping and my stomach was upset. I ate an apple before the run, which is a really bad idea. Scratch off any fruit from the pre-run meal list.

I had a moment of self-doubt that night. What did I get myself into?? I ran four miles, and I felt like I was at my limit. How am I going to run 26.2 miles?? This moment as only temporary. After a good night's rest, I was looking forward to the next evening team run. I am not going to give up, if anything, I will run twice a week in the evening to build up my endurance in the heat. :)

Our long run started at 5am on Saturday, which meant I had to be awake by 3:30am. The weather was very nice, nothing like the sauna I experienced earlier in the week. I had Podrunner in one ear so that I could set a good pace. It worked out really great! By the end of the 7 mile run, I felt like I could've kept going for another four. My confidence is back and I'm excited about my decision.

The only drawback to all the running is the condition of my feet. My big toenail is about to fall off and the bottom of my feet are peeling. Very attractive!! I'm waiting for the day when look down and realize that my feet belong to a cavewoman. I made an amazing discovery to help with my peeling feet though. BODYGLIDE. Best $7 investment I've made so far.

Next week, 10 miles at South Mountain. Rolling hills, it should be interesting...

Vacation Time!!

Vacations are awesome, unless you are training for a marathon. Thoughts about training keep popping up in my head. Where and when will I run? What if I don't run, will I lose all the training I've done so far??

We are getting ready for our yearly camping trip to Idaho and Montana. We will be flying in Mark's Cessna 182 to West Yellowstone, then maybe to Schafer, MT, and on to Johnson Creek, ID. It's hard to train on our vacation when the major event on the agenda is hammock time. Going on a solo run is not a good idea, not because I'm afraid of being abducted by someone, but mostly because I'm afraid of bears, cougars, and moose. I don't run very fast, and I don't know if can pretend to be dead when being mauled by a bear! But if I can get some cardio fitness at the higher altitude, then it would be great prep for the training runs in Phoenix.

We went to Springerville, AZ (elev. 7000ft) this past weekend. I packed my running shoes, extra clothes, and a water bottle. What did I do? I pulled weeds for about a half hour, climbed the driveway a couple of times (14% grade, I'd like to point out) and my heart was beating in my ears. Exhausted and out of breath, I read my book for the rest of the day. I wrote it off to being a recovery day. It's amazing how the elevation change can make such a difference in endurance.

Very special thanks to the Team In Training donors. Almost halfway there!!! To Mr. Anonymous, thank you for your donation, you can now post your comments in the blog. Just remember, no politics. Running jokes are allowed. ;)

It's All About Balance

Sometimes the smallest goals are the hardest to achieve. Like losing the last 5 pounds or not being late to a meeting. It seems impossible to make it. I've been trying to increase my weekly mileage by 10%, but I just can't seem to get there. This week I only ran 20 miles. But I did some cross-training and it was a nice break from the ground pounding effort it takes to run.

Spinning, you either love it or hate it. I would say I love it. The dizzying, heart-pounding, stomach-wrenching feeling of spinning is not for everyone. After 45-minutes of intervals, I have to wonder where all the water on my face and on the gym floor is coming from. It is hard to convince people to come to the class, especially with the screams of pain that are heard throughout the gym from some class members. The great thing about spinning is learning to control your heartrate. During the last few classes our instructor has been trying (and he is very sincere about it) to teach us how to control our heartrate by breathing. I have not been able to master this ability. My heart seems to have a mind of its own once I reach 85%-90% of my maximum heartrate despite my effort to breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth. Another plus to spinning is that YOU are in control of how hard you want to work. The resistance on my flywheel may be 1/8th of what the person next to me has. I'm ok with that, the last thing I want to do is keel over from a heart attack. I haven't seen any defibrilators in the gym either.

So, on days when I'm not running or going nowhere on a stationary bike, I do yoga. It's an awesome feeling to surrender to the pose and give all of my body weight to gravity. What's also great about yoga is learning to focus. Many times I find my mind jumping from one thought to the next, not really focusing on the present moment. All I have to do is tell myself "I am here" and bring my attention back to where I am NOW. Not where I want to be or where I was. If I'm going to run mile after mile after mile, it's good not to think about how many more miles are left to run, but where I am at that moment.

It's all about balance. As much as I want to reach my goal of 30 miles a week, I truly enjoy the peace from yoga and the challenge from spinning.

"Unofficially" Training

First of all, I'd like to say a big THANK YOU to all those who have donated towards my Team In Training fundraising effort! I am very grateful for each and every donation.

I woke up at 5am on Saturday for my first unofficial training run with the TNT group. The run didn't start until 6:30am, but I needed two cups of espresso before heading out the door. The Arizona team has two training groups. One in the East Valley and one in the West Valley. I met with the East Valley group in Gilbert and ran a 4.5 mile loop south on the canal from Lindsay and Guadalupe to Warner, which was the turnaround point. I recorded the route with my Garmin Forerunner 205.



A little background about the Forerunner. I work at a company that designs high-sensitivity GPS receivers that you will find in several consumer products, including the Garmin Forerunner. A group of us from work started hiking the trails at South Mountain in October 2006. We never really knew what trail we were on or how far we went. And since we work for a GPS company, there's no reason for us to get lost hiking at South Mountain! So to support the economy and increase our product sales, I bought the Garmin Forerunner 205 for $250 at REI. Yes, I know one purchase isn't going to send our stock price soaring, but that's how I justified spending over $100 on a luxury item. It's very cool though. I have my Forerunner display set up to show the pace, distance, length of workout and current time. At the end of the day, I upload the data to my computer and can get plots with our distance, elevation gain (really cool when hiking), pace and speed at each position of the workout. I can also upload the data to motionbased.com, which will provide the Google Earth kml file. This helps us to see the trail we hiked and scope out any others we'd like to try next time.

Back to running... There were about 20 walkers/runners in our Team In Training group. We talked about hats, hydration belts, and socks. The best accessory to long distance running is the fuel belt (www.fuelbelt.com). It doesn't bounce as much as the Camelback, and I found out that the Camelback will trap body heat as you run. This isn't much of an issue in the wintertime, but is definitely a problem during the summer months in Phoenix. We also talked about Bodyglide to avoid chafing during running (like from shorts, straps, any place where your body constantly rubs while running). I've never had a problem with chafing in all of the running that I've done, but then again I've never attempted 26 miles. Maybe Bodyglide will help me run faster! Wishful thinking.

I ran with Joshua who is training for the Maui Marathon in September. I had a bit of a muscle twinge in my left hamstring from a previous run, and I was worried how it would go at the group run. It turned out not to be a problem once I warmed up. As suggested by our coach, we tried to keep conversation going throughout the run to increase lung capacity. It seemed to make the time go by a little faster. Our average pace was 10:26min/mi. My goal is to finish the marathon under 4 hours, so I will have to pick up the pace a bit. This was a short run too, it'll be interesting to see if I could keep a 9:30-10min/mi pace during the 10-13mile runs.

I also met Amy, my TNT mentor (and a UNM alumni I would like to add!). She is running in the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon on June 3, 2007. What's interesting about Amy is that she was not a runner before joining the Team In Training group and now she is on her third marathon. It's inspiring to know that you don't have to be running your entire life to be a marathoner. Good luck Amy!

It was a lot of fun, I'm looking forward to the next run!

How it all got started...

I haven't always been a runner. I was a chubby kid that watched Scooby-Doo and ate ice cream after school. As I got older, my weight would swing between being really fit to being really fat... It was only until I finished college that I really started taking care of my health. My health-conscious attitude started with the yearly blood test required by my health insurance. The results of my first test opened my eyes. I had a cholesterol level > 200 and I don't even want to talk about my triglycerides. I thought my blood test would come out excellent, I weight train 6 days a week, have protein shakes after each workout, drink green tea, there could never be anything wrong with ME, never! But something was wrong with what I was doing, so I started to think about what I was eating and how I was working out.

I needed more cardio, that was for sure, and running was convenient. Tons of treadmills in the gym, I could choose any one of them, any time of the day. I was determined and driven, I decided I will start with 5 miles on the treadmill. Ha! Not that easy, who was I kidding! After a week of achy legs, feet and stomach muscles, I decided 1.5 miles would be good enough. Plus if it took 25 minutes to do this, I'm ok with it just as long as I didn't stop.

Fast forward to January 2006. The marathon craze started. Everyone was asking me if I would do the P.F. Chang's Rock and Roll half marathon. No way! I could never run 13 miles, especially since I am so slow, it would take me all day! But my inspiration came from a lady at work who lost 30 pounds all in preparation for the race. She wasn't interested in anything other than accomplishing the goal. I was so impressed by her determination and courage to do this on her own. I made myself a promise that I would do the P.F. Chang's half marathon in 2007, no excuses.

Then the serious challenge began. Ok, so now I REALLY need to do 5 miles on the treadmill. I still didn't care about my time, not really interested on being first to the finish line, I just didn't want to stop. Five miles was not easy. It took one hour to do it, and I would have to take walking breaks. Almost every day in 2006 I got on the treadmill, logging 3, 4, or 5 miles at a time (I have to say, I love my TRUE treadmill). I had a few long runs, nothing to brag about, not even on a blog.

Then the day of reckoning. P.F. Chang's Rock and Roll Half Marathon, January 2007. It was bitterly cold in Phoenix that weekend. Record lows and rain the day before the race. I was not prepared, luckly my boyfriend bought me a long sleeve running shirt at the Expo. I was filled with anxiety as we waited to start, shaking from head to toe. I don't know if I was shaking because it was cold or because I was afraid that I couldn't finish. I was also nervous that the people behind me would be pissed that I was so slow! Then the race started. By the time I knew it, one mile came up and we saw the first band. I was excited, people were cheering us on and I was passing other runners at a comfortable pace. Then three miles, six miles (still excited), 10 miles! I stopped a couple of times to tie my shoe (you would have thought that I would have figured out the double knot the first time). By the eleventh mile, my legs were numb, I heard a couple of young girls scream, "just two more miles!". Two miles? I can do that! But my right knee was killing me, my hip flexor was screaming and it took all the energy I had to push myself those last two miles. Then I crossed the finish line. I can't believe I did it.

Then reality hits. Oh, the pain! My hip flexor was in serious pain, I couldn't put any pressure on my knee. I just wanted to transport home (for Star Trek fans). Beam me up, get me out of here! The parking maps sucked and I had to walk another 3 miles to get to my car. I was freezing by then, the temperature was 45F when I finished, all I wanted was some heat. But I was still floating from finishing 13.1 miles. Wow, what a feeling!

I couldn't run a mile a week after the race. I tried massage therapy, yoga, glucosamine. Three weeks after the race, I could hardly sit or walk because my right knee was killing me. This sucks! What do I do now? I didn't want to hear cross training because I didn't want to bike or swim, I wanted to run! I started acupuncture at the Southwest Center for Oriental Medicine in Phoenix with Sherri Taylor. Oh, it is so awesome. I'll have to do another post solely on my experience with acupuncture, but I have to say, my knee pain was virtually gone after my third session. Thank you Sherri!!

Five months later, I'm still running on the treadmill, but I started cross training with Patty, Jose, James and Raja by hiking and taking spinning class. Overall it's healed some of the imbalances I had in my legs. So now that I'm feeling better and injury free, I committed (yes I know, it's a scary thought) to run the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco (yup, 26.2 miles) with the Arizona Team In Training.

More to come, the challenge has started all over again...