I just found out, I'm running a half marathon! I'm blowing past 10K and going straight for a half marathon! Woohoo! I am running the "Rose Bowl Half Marathon" on February 7th, I'm very excited by this if you can't tell.
In other news, I was very close to not going on my run tonight because I was feeling very tired. Fortunately, with some great motivation from my boyfriend and him agreeing to ride his bike while I run, I did it. AND I did the full 45 mins when I wanted to cut it down a bit. Surprisingly, it turned out to be one of my best runs. I'm not sure how that happened when I was so tired, but I thought that was pretty awesome.
So a good run and a pending half marathon, nice night!
Just wanted to share. Goodnight!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Life's Hurdles Vs. Building A New Habit
One of my main goals in training for this marathon is to make a habit of running on a regular basis. This gets difficult when life comes at you full force in the form of Christmas, New Years and oh yeah a stomach flu. Fortunately, I'm taking this goal and my training seriously and have somehow managed to make it through. Yes, I admit, I've missed a run here and there during the week -- BUT! I haven't missed any of my group training long runs OR any of my hill training sessions with my team.
Christmas was great, lots of time with family on Christmas Eve, Christmas day and the day after Christmas. I successfully ran according to our training schedule on Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas. Had this been the "old" Melody I would have said forget it its the Holidays, I'm going to eat anything I want, sleep in and get to that run later. But the "new" Melody decided I'll take advantage of my day off, wake up at a decent time and go run in the sun on a weekday (instead of 7 or 8 at night like normal). I'll feel energized and good about myself and heck, not have to worry a whole lot about the junk food I may eat. For me, this decision was very important. Pre-TNT I had done "recreational running" but wasn't a runner. What's the difference? I would run when I felt like it, when time allowed. I'd get serious about it for a few weeks, but then something would come up and it would fizzle away. That's the key point! Now, stuff is coming up and I'm still committing myself to getting out there and running even when I'm tired, even when I think I don't have time. Because you know what? I always feel better afterward, and somehow there just seems to be more time when you cut out TV or goofing around online. I'm becoming a runner.
So I made it through Christmas, New Years should be a cinch. WRONG! Two days before New Years Eve, when I'm supposed to have people over to camp out and watch the Rose Parade.... I get a stomach flu. It was awful. Somehow, that Tuesday I made it through my entire hill training. My stomach felt a little funny but I thought it was all in my head. I came home from training and as soon as I walked in the door I knew something was wrong. My stomach suddenly felt like someone dove their hands into my stomach, grabbed all of my organs and was wringing them out like a wet rag. So for the next several hours I was in various stages of an unpleasant stomach flu... not pretty. The next day I slept and stayed in bed for almost 24 hours. I barely ate and spent most of the morning and afternoon battling a fever. Luckily I managed to recover enough to have a fun New Years, but I definitely felt weak. That Saturday I had a 6 mile run. Again, "old" Melody would have said forget it, stay home and in bed just in case. Instead I realized I felt well enough to run and should. Although I must admit my 6 mile run after New Years day... AWFUL! But it was for most of the team so, hey at least I did it.
Anyway, to make a long story short, life happens, but it shouldn't stop me. I faced these hurdles and soldiered on. I'm building my new habit and trying to make it concrete. This way when I no longer have a team behind me or a marathon ahead of me, I'll still get out and run. I already have my next hurdle to face. On March 1st (three weeks before my marathon) I'm moving! These next two months I have to deal with showing my current place, finding a new place and (ugh) packing. It'll get hard, stressful and tiring, but my hopes are to use my running as a stress reliever and something to do for myself. We'll see how it goes.
In the meantime, bare with me and my erratic posting (and non-posting), but know that I am STILL RUNNING!
Christmas was great, lots of time with family on Christmas Eve, Christmas day and the day after Christmas. I successfully ran according to our training schedule on Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas. Had this been the "old" Melody I would have said forget it its the Holidays, I'm going to eat anything I want, sleep in and get to that run later. But the "new" Melody decided I'll take advantage of my day off, wake up at a decent time and go run in the sun on a weekday (instead of 7 or 8 at night like normal). I'll feel energized and good about myself and heck, not have to worry a whole lot about the junk food I may eat. For me, this decision was very important. Pre-TNT I had done "recreational running" but wasn't a runner. What's the difference? I would run when I felt like it, when time allowed. I'd get serious about it for a few weeks, but then something would come up and it would fizzle away. That's the key point! Now, stuff is coming up and I'm still committing myself to getting out there and running even when I'm tired, even when I think I don't have time. Because you know what? I always feel better afterward, and somehow there just seems to be more time when you cut out TV or goofing around online. I'm becoming a runner.
So I made it through Christmas, New Years should be a cinch. WRONG! Two days before New Years Eve, when I'm supposed to have people over to camp out and watch the Rose Parade.... I get a stomach flu. It was awful. Somehow, that Tuesday I made it through my entire hill training. My stomach felt a little funny but I thought it was all in my head. I came home from training and as soon as I walked in the door I knew something was wrong. My stomach suddenly felt like someone dove their hands into my stomach, grabbed all of my organs and was wringing them out like a wet rag. So for the next several hours I was in various stages of an unpleasant stomach flu... not pretty. The next day I slept and stayed in bed for almost 24 hours. I barely ate and spent most of the morning and afternoon battling a fever. Luckily I managed to recover enough to have a fun New Years, but I definitely felt weak. That Saturday I had a 6 mile run. Again, "old" Melody would have said forget it, stay home and in bed just in case. Instead I realized I felt well enough to run and should. Although I must admit my 6 mile run after New Years day... AWFUL! But it was for most of the team so, hey at least I did it.
Anyway, to make a long story short, life happens, but it shouldn't stop me. I faced these hurdles and soldiered on. I'm building my new habit and trying to make it concrete. This way when I no longer have a team behind me or a marathon ahead of me, I'll still get out and run. I already have my next hurdle to face. On March 1st (three weeks before my marathon) I'm moving! These next two months I have to deal with showing my current place, finding a new place and (ugh) packing. It'll get hard, stressful and tiring, but my hopes are to use my running as a stress reliever and something to do for myself. We'll see how it goes.
In the meantime, bare with me and my erratic posting (and non-posting), but know that I am STILL RUNNING!
Monday, December 28, 2009
A Perfect Ten
So another month of training has come and gone. Training is going by pretty quickly and somehow I'm making it through the winter. Hopefully the weather doesn't get too bad. I've somehow managed to avoid rain on my running days. I have a feeling that will catch up with me at some point. So far we've just had to deal with running in the cold. This past weekend it was 40 degrees out when we started our run. Our hands were literally burning/stinging from the cold. It wasn't till about mile two that I finally started to warm up. We actually saw a couple people run by with FROST on their beanies. Note to self: if there is actually frost outside, maybe a long sleeve shirt isn't a bad idea even if I tend to overheat...
Anyway, my biggest accomplishment this past month that I am most proud of is I ran TEN miles! I finally reached double digits. It was a good run too (minus the cold). I was struggling a little last week because my hip started bothering me the Sunday after our 8 mile run. All week I was concerned about it and tried to baby it. I didn't run Monday, did hill training tuesday but at a much slower pace (still hurt a bit after that), nothing on wednesday and a light jog on Thursday. The babying helped! Saturday, I did my ten miles and my hip cooperated. Even after our run, it's still holding up. I've been using a foam roller (similar to REALLY hard styrofoam that you use to massage your muscles) to relax my hip and it's been helping a lot. So as a reward to myself, I get to finally use my gift certificate for a massage that my boyfriend bought me for my birthday. Ten miles down, only 16.2 more to go! =)
Another accomplishment this month, is somehow I raised $1,700 in a month bringing my total fundraised to a little over $2,400! Really amazing! After Thanksgiving it just started accumulating. This is before I've even been able to participate in group fundraisers with my team. All just from family, friends and co-workers. I feel very lucky to have so many people show their support for me and this cause -- during the holidays AND during a recession--- it's nice to feel so supported and I'm very grateful.
One last highlight of this month. I finally met my other honor teammate, Tyler Cordova. Tyler is 7 years old and was diagnosed with leukemia in 2007. This kid is amazing. He has such a personality - upbeat, lively, energetic. He's not shy, gives his opinion and tough. He just went through a stem cell transplant a few months ago and is still recovering. If it wasn't for the signs on his young body, you wouldn't know this happy kid was going through such an intense medical battle. I was very impressed by him and his family. I was also glad to hear that a match was found for him through the bone marrow registry (now called "Be the Match"), a registry I joined six years ago at Stanford. Who knows if I'll ever be a match for someone, but it's nice to know the registry works and is saving lives. It's also nice to know that Tyler was able to spend Christmas at home instead of a hospital.
In short, I've accomplished all my goals I made last month:
1. Several MORE hours of running - oh yeah
2. My next personal mileage hurdle -- 10 miles. DONE!
3. More muscles (less fat?)! slowly but surely...
4. More running gear including a much needed hydration belt --- Way past just the belt
5. About $1,800 more fundraised - less than $100 left!
Alright, so what goals do I want to shoot for in this next month:
1. Focus more on nutrition - food to fuel the machine!
2. Figure out my energy food of choice: beans, "goo", blocks, bars...
3. Integrate more injury prevention exercises into my weekly routine
4. Exceed my $2,500 goal
5. More miles on my feet!
Anyway, my biggest accomplishment this past month that I am most proud of is I ran TEN miles! I finally reached double digits. It was a good run too (minus the cold). I was struggling a little last week because my hip started bothering me the Sunday after our 8 mile run. All week I was concerned about it and tried to baby it. I didn't run Monday, did hill training tuesday but at a much slower pace (still hurt a bit after that), nothing on wednesday and a light jog on Thursday. The babying helped! Saturday, I did my ten miles and my hip cooperated. Even after our run, it's still holding up. I've been using a foam roller (similar to REALLY hard styrofoam that you use to massage your muscles) to relax my hip and it's been helping a lot. So as a reward to myself, I get to finally use my gift certificate for a massage that my boyfriend bought me for my birthday. Ten miles down, only 16.2 more to go! =)
Another accomplishment this month, is somehow I raised $1,700 in a month bringing my total fundraised to a little over $2,400! Really amazing! After Thanksgiving it just started accumulating. This is before I've even been able to participate in group fundraisers with my team. All just from family, friends and co-workers. I feel very lucky to have so many people show their support for me and this cause -- during the holidays AND during a recession--- it's nice to feel so supported and I'm very grateful.
One last highlight of this month. I finally met my other honor teammate, Tyler Cordova. Tyler is 7 years old and was diagnosed with leukemia in 2007. This kid is amazing. He has such a personality - upbeat, lively, energetic. He's not shy, gives his opinion and tough. He just went through a stem cell transplant a few months ago and is still recovering. If it wasn't for the signs on his young body, you wouldn't know this happy kid was going through such an intense medical battle. I was very impressed by him and his family. I was also glad to hear that a match was found for him through the bone marrow registry (now called "Be the Match"), a registry I joined six years ago at Stanford. Who knows if I'll ever be a match for someone, but it's nice to know the registry works and is saving lives. It's also nice to know that Tyler was able to spend Christmas at home instead of a hospital.
In short, I've accomplished all my goals I made last month:
1. Several MORE hours of running - oh yeah
2. My next personal mileage hurdle -- 10 miles. DONE!
3. More muscles (less fat?)! slowly but surely...
4. More running gear including a much needed hydration belt --- Way past just the belt
5. About $1,800 more fundraised - less than $100 left!
Alright, so what goals do I want to shoot for in this next month:
1. Focus more on nutrition - food to fuel the machine!
2. Figure out my energy food of choice: beans, "goo", blocks, bars...
3. Integrate more injury prevention exercises into my weekly routine
4. Exceed my $2,500 goal
5. More miles on my feet!
Monday, December 14, 2009
My First 5K
So Saturday was my very first 5K race ever and I must say it went really well! It looked awful out and was raining off and on, but I had fun nonetheless.
I got to our TNT tent a little early, put on my shoe tag and my first race bib ever! The shoe tag is pretty neat. There were blue mats laid across the start/finish line and as soon as your tag crosses the mat, your chip is activated and your time starts. It was funny running across the mats and hearing all the beeps from the tags going off.
The 10K runners were running before us and as the last few runners were coming in it started to POUR, HARD. Thankfully it
stopped right before we started lining up. It may have been sprinkling during the run, but honestly I don't even remember!
The run itself was AWESOME! I listened to my coach and slowly built up my speed and I didn't focus on trying to weave through the crowd (it really was crowded at the start--if I had tripped I would have been trampled). Before I knew it we reached the half way point... the whole race went by so fast! Not too far after the last turn I saw Coach Kiley cheering me and my running partner Pola in. Once I saw him I started sprinting in. I knew the finish line was close and I could see it getting closer. But, you know what? I am NOT a sprinter. I could feel the muscles in my legs tiring and I had the oddest sensation of my insides contracting. I slowed a little before the finish, but was still still running faster than I ever run. Lesson learned: Don't start sprinting too early. I crossed the finish and saw that I came in under thirty minutes. WOW! I surprised myself. My official time was 28:54. Compared to my initial pace assessment time, which was the same distance, I cut my time by FOUR minutes. From 32:56 to 28:54... my coach said that's HUGE for such a short distance. I must admit, I'm very impressed by myself. It's nice to see that I really am at a new fitness level.
After our run. Me, Pola and Coach Kiley peeking through in the back.
I got to our TNT tent a little early, put on my shoe tag and my first race bib ever! The shoe tag is pretty neat. There were blue mats laid across the start/finish line and as soon as your tag crosses the mat, your chip is activated and your time starts. It was funny running across the mats and hearing all the beeps from the tags going off.
The 10K runners were running before us and as the last few runners were coming in it started to POUR, HARD. Thankfully it
stopped right before we started lining up. It may have been sprinkling during the run, but honestly I don't even remember!
The run itself was AWESOME! I listened to my coach and slowly built up my speed and I didn't focus on trying to weave through the crowd (it really was crowded at the start--if I had tripped I would have been trampled). Before I knew it we reached the half way point... the whole race went by so fast! Not too far after the last turn I saw Coach Kiley cheering me and my running partner Pola in. Once I saw him I started sprinting in. I knew the finish line was close and I could see it getting closer. But, you know what? I am NOT a sprinter. I could feel the muscles in my legs tiring and I had the oddest sensation of my insides contracting. I slowed a little before the finish, but was still still running faster than I ever run. Lesson learned: Don't start sprinting too early. I crossed the finish and saw that I came in under thirty minutes. WOW! I surprised myself. My official time was 28:54. Compared to my initial pace assessment time, which was the same distance, I cut my time by FOUR minutes. From 32:56 to 28:54... my coach said that's HUGE for such a short distance. I must admit, I'm very impressed by myself. It's nice to see that I really am at a new fitness level.
After our run. Me, Pola and Coach Kiley peeking through in the back.
Friday, December 11, 2009
First Race Ever!
Tomorrow morning I'm running my very first 5K ever! And it's most likely going to rain... also a first! Can't talk long, got to go to bed, should really already be asleep! Just wanted to get it down before the race. Think good thoughts, I'm worried about the rain since I've never done it!
This is the race I'll be running: www.christmasrun.com
Yay for a running first! GOOD NIGHT!
This is the race I'll be running: www.christmasrun.com
Yay for a running first! GOOD NIGHT!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Relentless, Surprise & Burn Out
It's been an interesting past few days. I've had ups and slight downs. At group training on Saturday I was awarded the "Relentless For A Cure" singlet to wear during our practice. The singlet, from my understanding, recognizes your hard work and commitment to TNT - through your training and fundraising (with checks I'm nearing $1,900). It was nice to be recognized by the staff, I really appreciated it. So for our run I wore the "RFAC" shirt. The shirt itself is meant to be passed on from week to week so it's a one size fits all deal, which meant I got to run wearing a dress/tunic. I thought that was funny.
Saturday was also our six mile run. Coach Kiley told us the course and for the first time I thought, "wow, that is pretty long". This time we started in Hahamonga Park, ran down to the Rose Bowl, ran around the full bowl, back up to Hahamonga Park, on the trail for a bit and around an old baseball field and then finally back to where we started. Took my pace group one hour and 30 minutes. At about the 45 min mark I was getting tired and by the time we reached the aid station (our first!) I was in need of the gatorade. We only stopped for maybe a minute, but man did that make a difference! Gatorade and starbursts... who knew! At the end of our run I thankfully found out that a lot of other people had the also felt like the run was long and were getting tired sooner than they expected. Turns out we ran closer to 7 miles, probably over. Pola, in my pace group has a GPS watch that said we did more like 7 and a half. Either way... we went past six! No wonder I was so dang tired!! I remember when I used to have a goal of running six miles, well I did and blew past it! That feels pretty good. A little sore the next day, but good overall.
After our run we had a doctor come in who is a runner himself and knows a lot about runner's injuries. He spoke for a bit and then brought out his table and gave "muscle imbalance" examinations to any one who wanted one. That was NEAT, very cool! I laid down on his table and he would bend and maneuver my legs in different positions. He held my ankle and would push on my leg and I'd have to resist against the pressure. We started on my left and it was VERY strong, solid as a rock with hardly any movement. He said that was good. We then moved to my right leg. As soon as he pushed, my leg went to jello and slipped under the pressure. I laughed because it was so drastic. We tried again thinking maybe the pressure caught me off guard - nope. My leg fell again. Surprise! Turns out my inner leg muscles on my right leg are not nearly as strong as my left. This explains the odd sensation I was starting to get in my right knee as well as the pain I've been having in my right arch. Fortunately, Dr. Smith showed me some exercises I now have to do twice a day to strengthen my leg. On a funny note, Dr. Smith also examined my feet and could tell right away that I danced, apparently one of the bones in my foot is much more "prominent" than usual.
So Monday I decided to take the day off from my training for no other reason than to avoid burnout. I needed a longer break than just a Sunday rest day. Kind of odd timing after just getting the "relentless" shirt, but I was sensing the negative feelings starting to creep in. Most days I wake up, go to work, drive home, change, go run, come home, eat and go to bed. Then repeat about three more times before anything changes. Honestly, the extra day of nothing was all I needed. I'm feeling much better and now we're adding hill training along with cross training in our weekly schedule, so I think that will help add a little variety in my life. I think it was just a combination from being tired, bored with the usual and having just come off a very long run.
Again another long post - and I still have more I want to write!
Saturday was also our six mile run. Coach Kiley told us the course and for the first time I thought, "wow, that is pretty long". This time we started in Hahamonga Park, ran down to the Rose Bowl, ran around the full bowl, back up to Hahamonga Park, on the trail for a bit and around an old baseball field and then finally back to where we started. Took my pace group one hour and 30 minutes. At about the 45 min mark I was getting tired and by the time we reached the aid station (our first!) I was in need of the gatorade. We only stopped for maybe a minute, but man did that make a difference! Gatorade and starbursts... who knew! At the end of our run I thankfully found out that a lot of other people had the also felt like the run was long and were getting tired sooner than they expected. Turns out we ran closer to 7 miles, probably over. Pola, in my pace group has a GPS watch that said we did more like 7 and a half. Either way... we went past six! No wonder I was so dang tired!! I remember when I used to have a goal of running six miles, well I did and blew past it! That feels pretty good. A little sore the next day, but good overall.
After our run we had a doctor come in who is a runner himself and knows a lot about runner's injuries. He spoke for a bit and then brought out his table and gave "muscle imbalance" examinations to any one who wanted one. That was NEAT, very cool! I laid down on his table and he would bend and maneuver my legs in different positions. He held my ankle and would push on my leg and I'd have to resist against the pressure. We started on my left and it was VERY strong, solid as a rock with hardly any movement. He said that was good. We then moved to my right leg. As soon as he pushed, my leg went to jello and slipped under the pressure. I laughed because it was so drastic. We tried again thinking maybe the pressure caught me off guard - nope. My leg fell again. Surprise! Turns out my inner leg muscles on my right leg are not nearly as strong as my left. This explains the odd sensation I was starting to get in my right knee as well as the pain I've been having in my right arch. Fortunately, Dr. Smith showed me some exercises I now have to do twice a day to strengthen my leg. On a funny note, Dr. Smith also examined my feet and could tell right away that I danced, apparently one of the bones in my foot is much more "prominent" than usual.
So Monday I decided to take the day off from my training for no other reason than to avoid burnout. I needed a longer break than just a Sunday rest day. Kind of odd timing after just getting the "relentless" shirt, but I was sensing the negative feelings starting to creep in. Most days I wake up, go to work, drive home, change, go run, come home, eat and go to bed. Then repeat about three more times before anything changes. Honestly, the extra day of nothing was all I needed. I'm feeling much better and now we're adding hill training along with cross training in our weekly schedule, so I think that will help add a little variety in my life. I think it was just a combination from being tired, bored with the usual and having just come off a very long run.
Again another long post - and I still have more I want to write!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Running Through The Holidays
One of my goals was to keep this blog current. As evident from the last week...I've been slipping on that goal. BUT! I have not been slipping on my running! I managed to complete all my runs including the one on turkey day AND the Saturday after!
I meant to write on here on Thanksgiving day, but of course ran out of time. Thanksgiving morning I woke up at 7am and went for my run. I was at my boyfriend's parents' house and his mom decided to go with me. That was great because I had someone with me to endure the early run and to guide me around the neighborhood. It was windy out and at one point we were running uphill with the wind pushing against us, that was so hard I was literally laughing. Thanksgiving was great and this year I found myself genuinely thankful for my health, I know how important that is and I don't want to take it for granted --- so run a marathon!
Everything has been great the last week and a half. Our last group training we did 5 miles. We started at the Rose Bowl and connected to Hahamonga Park then ran back. I felt pretty good, but felt my energy draining at the very end... possibly the turkey? I might need to start carrying energy food or gel as we start to add more mileage. Runs during the week have been good too, but it's getting COLD!!! I had to buy more running clothes so I wouldn't freeze... Black friday I took advantage of the running gear on sale. I've also finally gotten a hydration belt and have been running with it to get used to it. Kind of odd, still not sure if I like it. Overall my body is holding up pretty well. We've been doing injury prevention cross training on Wednesdays and I'm getting better at making sure my body is warmed up before I go running. I do need to stretch more though, the other day I got out of bed and almost toppled over because my calves were so tight.
My biggest news is that I will be running my very first 5K (and very first race) in ten days! I will be running in the Santa Monica - Venice Christmas Run http://www.christmasrun.com/ I'm a little nervous only because it's my first race. I find it funny that I'm not nervous about the distance anymore - yay me!
In other news, my fundraising doubled in the last week. THANK YOU EVERYONE! That was an awesome Thanksgiving surprise.
I meant to write on here on Thanksgiving day, but of course ran out of time. Thanksgiving morning I woke up at 7am and went for my run. I was at my boyfriend's parents' house and his mom decided to go with me. That was great because I had someone with me to endure the early run and to guide me around the neighborhood. It was windy out and at one point we were running uphill with the wind pushing against us, that was so hard I was literally laughing. Thanksgiving was great and this year I found myself genuinely thankful for my health, I know how important that is and I don't want to take it for granted --- so run a marathon!
Everything has been great the last week and a half. Our last group training we did 5 miles. We started at the Rose Bowl and connected to Hahamonga Park then ran back. I felt pretty good, but felt my energy draining at the very end... possibly the turkey? I might need to start carrying energy food or gel as we start to add more mileage. Runs during the week have been good too, but it's getting COLD!!! I had to buy more running clothes so I wouldn't freeze... Black friday I took advantage of the running gear on sale. I've also finally gotten a hydration belt and have been running with it to get used to it. Kind of odd, still not sure if I like it. Overall my body is holding up pretty well. We've been doing injury prevention cross training on Wednesdays and I'm getting better at making sure my body is warmed up before I go running. I do need to stretch more though, the other day I got out of bed and almost toppled over because my calves were so tight.
My biggest news is that I will be running my very first 5K (and very first race) in ten days! I will be running in the Santa Monica - Venice Christmas Run http://www.christmasrun.com/ I'm a little nervous only because it's my first race. I find it funny that I'm not nervous about the distance anymore - yay me!
In other news, my fundraising doubled in the last week. THANK YOU EVERYONE! That was an awesome Thanksgiving surprise.
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