Running in gloves...

Both of my half marathon triumphs have been held during the winter, so running with gloves is nothing new to me. Although, around mile 2 or 4, I typically ditch those gloves. The gloves I ran in today were on my feet! I know?! Today was my first official vibram fivefingers run!!! I went 1.6 miles in 16 miles!! I learned a lot in my first attempt:

1.) if you run on a rock/stone you will feel it immediately and attempt to over correct

2.) The road is super rough

3.) it definitely feels different to run in vibrams than in nikes

4.) my ankle isn't completely healed from the 5 mile sprained run in DC...

I'm sure I will continue to learn new things every time I strap on my vibrams and venture down the trail/road!

But it is nice to be out and running in the shoes that inspired my running goals... Born to Run and it's emphasis on the benefits of barefoot running was why I registered for the Philly Half Marathon last April before having set out on my first "jog"...

I am excited to continue training in my vibrams and race my first 5k in minimalist running shoes on May 7!

Running in unfamiliar lands is fun

My family's life has been struck by tragedy... so training has rerouted itself to NJ for a few days... running is one of the best ways I have found to relieve the stress of life... and this week has brought more unexpected stress than we could have anticipated...

I ran an unfamiliar trail near my sister's home in Haddon Heights, NJ... it was along a stream... I had no idea where it would lead or how long it was, I just started running and followed the path... it was nice to break the routine of NC training... and if it's not a monsoon in the morning, I will explore the other side of the park and possibly the large lake as well...

running in new places is always fun, you don't get board because you've never seen it before... I think that's why I do well in races because I don't know how far I've gone or how far i have to go, and I can be distracted by the scenery...

Although i haven't run in the fivefingers yet, I have worn them to Ruby Tuesday for brunch and out to pick up my nephew from school... my feet are getting more used to them... soon I will attempt to run...

The next step in my running career...

Vibram Fivefingers....

Since I am rapidly becoming a running officianado (lol!) I needed to pay homage to what started this wild fascination....

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall was the beginning of something amazing. I read this book on recommendation from a fellow running friend... and halfway through I signed up to run a half marathon six months away. Having been an avid anti-runner for many many years, I had a lot going against my ambitions, but I allowed near insanity to guide me from couch potato to mildly competitive runner in just six long months of training.

In this book was the first time I saw the words "Vibram Fivefingers" and the name itself fascinated my curiosity. I had to know what all the fuss was about. These are the funniest shoes I ever laid eyes on. I had seen them on some super crazy running people last March at the DC Marathon (I was a finish line spectator, really in it to see my friends and have brunch lol). I had to leave my job and move to a new state, but my goal was to buy these fantastic shoes with my first paycheck at my new dream job. And then I was officially unemployed for six months (eek!).

(Disclaimor: I am an independent Arbonne consultant, so I had a home business, but moving to a new state where you don't have any connections makes relaunching a network marketing business super difficult, not impossible, but harder than a guaranteed paycheck to use toward new running shoes... now my business is booming but it took work to get here!)

So, I ran two half marathons without my coveted vibrams but I was not discouraged. One day I knew I would be a minimalist, a barefoot runner, if you will. There are not too many things I am confident about regarding the future, but that was one. In walks my mom. She's the best. It was her birthday yet she said to me "For finishing the race in such a great time, I'm going to buy you those crazy shoes you want." WHAT?! I love her! She isn't the richest woman in the world, and she doesn't have to buy my shoes for me when I'm 28years old. But this is mom's way of showing how proud she is of me, how much she supports what I'm trying to do for my health. She is fantastic. And then a facebook post led to a friend finding VFs for $50!!! OMG. I placed my order monday, and on Friday... they arrived....

My first outting with my new friends will be Monday afternoon... details to come... :)

Back on the trail

Yesterday, I stopped by my local "Fancy Gap Outfitters" to try on some vibrams so find out my size.... so I could order them for 35% off online... the sales woman was VERY good at her job, had me trying on a bunch of minimalist shoes... gave me a free book on Barefoot Running... so I put both shoes on hold... left the store... regained my sanity... came home, ordered my vibrams for $50 online... and sat contemplating what to do about those amazing NB minimalists waiting for me in Mt. Airy... they felt so good... like love for my foot... like my feet had met their sole mates.... it was beautiful, I think I heard birds singing and saw fireworks (or I heard Katy Perry singing "firework").... so what to do?? Do I invest $100 in a pair of running shoes, to cross train (if you will) with my new fivefingers, or do I realize that I am out of contacts and it will likely cost double the amount of those PERFECTO shoes to get new ones (considering I need to have an eye exam to get those nifty eye ball fixers)? Oh the dilemmas of a baby runner....

also... there are people starving around the world... and I'm considering spending $100 on yet ANOTHER pair of shoes... shoes that will allow me to feel like i'm running barefoot... Am I insane?

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In other news... I ran 2 miles on the track today... it felt good... I'll probably keep those 2 miles up every other day or so to get ready for the 5k in May... and then focus on Philly... :-)

NEXT!

While spraining my ankle wasn't the best way to run half the race, it's quick recovery made me realize that exercise is really helping strengthen my body... and with that... I registered for the Philadelphia Half Marathon on November 20th! I have 6 months to train so it should be a little better than trying to squeeze training into two good weeks in the winter.

Also, I'm going to run this race to raise money for Cancer Research... although I haven't chosen which organization to donate it to yet. But expect to see more information about how you can donate coming soon!

So, who is with me?? The Philly course is a lot less hilly than DC and I really enjoyed running through parts of Philly I hadn't been to before... register before April 15th for the cheapest prices!!

www.philadelphiamarathon.com

Post-race: let down... future goals

After limping around for a bit, the ankle is feeling better than ever... or at least back to normal... so I over indulged in WAWA while in NJ and also more coffee/lattes than I normally do... plus the food... so yummy... and I haven't exercised beyond a mild morning stretch since Saturday...

but

TOMORROW PHILADELPHIA MARATHON REGISTRATION OPENS~!! WOOHOO!!!

November 20th.... Philadelphia, PA.... 7am.... half-marathon.... I am so there...

Which means, I start training tomorrow... after I register... :)

RACE DAY: insanity, running, pain, Personal Best

Okay... I had planned to write a post Wednesday that was my "pre-race weekend" thoughts... however, i ran out of time... sad face

so now i'm going to squish it all into a post-race commentary... yay for "change of plans"

WEDNESDAY:
Wednesday began a very long span of four days culminating in a beautifully long sunday afternoon nap!

I worked til 2:30pm then went to the park for a "jog" to remind my legs what I wanted them to do for me... but it was 81 degrees... so brisk walking was my compromise... then there was dinner at Little Italy (love me some carbs) and a thirty degree temperature drop during a hurricane of a thunderstorm... packing, "cooking", paying bills, balancing checkbooks, laundry, and spending time with the pets before my long trip.... wednesday ended at 1am thursday...

THURSDAY:
Thursday was one of the longest drives ever... started with working from 11-2, then drove 5.5hours from mt airy, nc to Arlington, VA... but it was a good time to think and mentally prepare myself for the feat i was going to undertake two days later... although let's just say i was doing too much TWD and the ride back will be seriously less distracting (which is a great thing in the entire scheme of things).... Left NC at 3pm, arrived @ Jen's house around 8:40pm... good times... we went out for a late dinner and chatted .. returning home to find the lights out until 2am... good times...

FRIDAY:
Friday was expo day... but first, DUNKIN DONUTS! Ah-maize-ING.... it's so much better when they make if for you (sorry DD express at the Hess)... met up with the UD running girls at Union Station, enjoyed some sustenance, drove to the armory for some bounty!
Got my race bib and t-shirt then some other free stuff (bandaids, chapstick, ice pack, backpack - united way, energy supplements, pain relief gel, coupons, etc.). I entered to win an all expenses paid trip to the Kilimanjaro Marathon... although since I haven't heard from them I doubt I won, sad face. Friday night = carb load at Potenza (with the rudest waiter ever) but delicious bread and pasta....

SATURDAY:
Saturday morning the alarm went off at 5am. That was evil. but we got ourselves together and headed downstairs to catch the shuttle we thought was free... turns out it wasn't, so we attempted to hail a cab at 6am... then walked two blocks to another hotel to get a cab there... no one was answering at the cab service, walked two blocks back, then one block up to the metro entrance, metro arrived at 6:29am... race started at 7am... but the metro was packed so no worries on the lateness... checked our bags, stretched, sang a little "FIREWORK" by Katy Perry, used scary porta-potties... joined the wave of people walking toward the starting line, gave each other last minute encouragement, started the ipods... picked up the feet... and started running!

Needless to say, my lack of hardcore training made each mile feel like it took FOREVER to complete... and the lack of mile markers on the course did not help my mental ability to pace myself... but i kept the tunes up loud and just trucked along.... up and down hills... heinous hills... checking out the sights along the way...

we ran through areas of town I knew well and other areas I'd never been to (even though I lived there for three years), it was great to see all the early morning risers who came out to support friends, family, loved ones, and those random runners who didn't have their own personal supporters (SIGN: WAY TO GO, [your name]).

Around Howard University (I honestly can't remember if it was before I got there or while I was running through it) I felt the worst pain in my ankle... and I knew it wasn't just a muscle I needed to stretch... so I pushed through... hoping to keep running and the pain would subside... it got worse... so I attempted to figure out where we were based on signs people held up for the marathoners (btw, it is difficult to figure out percentages while in pain, thirsty, and running up hill... but thank you to whoever it was who hung the bright pink sign announcing the marathon was 30% over at that point). Either my math was off or theirs was, but either way, somehow I convinced myself to continue running through the pain... that it was just a bit further and I would be okay... 2.5ish miles later I saw a sign for mile 10... and I pulled out my cell phone and called my father... the conversation went something like this

Dad: Hello?
Me: Hi.... dad....
Dad: Good morning, sweetie, how are you?
Me: Uh.... not... good... I... neeed... you... to pray... I'm at ... mile.... ten.... and my ankle... hurts so bad... i don't know what's wrong.... but i can't do this on my own...
Dad: Oh oh oh ok I will pray, r u ok, you can do it, i'm gonna pray
Me: Thanks... i gotta go now... i'm running... love you
Dad: love you too, honey...bye

I prayed for God to take away the pain, or at least give me the strength to run through it... the pain never went away but I made up my mind to get to that finish line running and just run myself into the big white medical tent...

Finally, I saw the sign for the half/full split... and then the big red "FINISH" banner.... and I turned up the speed... I passed 13 people in a very short space.... and almost ran passed the girl handing out the medals as I focused on that "MEDICAL" sign... I went right in, sat down, a fantastic athletic trainer got ice bags and a gauze bandage and set me up with my foot elevated, making a quick diagnosis of "sprained ankle"... i texted the girls to let them know my location... eventually we all met up at the armory... and my friends (God bless em) became my human crutches and piggy back rides... I love those girls more than they'll ever know...

Post-race lunch was delicious (pancakes and eggs)... then metro back to the hotel, quick shower, jen drove me to my car that had stayed at her place in arlington, and I headed to NJ for an Arbonne workshop....

Oh, and yes... I ran faster than my Philly time... almost reaching my goal of 2.5hours.... I offically clocked in at 2hours 32 minutes 55 seconds :) PRAISE THE LORD :)