September 8, 2013
I know I am going to second guess that title next week but as for now... it's true!
Yesterday I went for my "long" run but it's a down week (meaning next week will really kick my butt with 12 miles) and I was only scheduled for 7 miles. I grabbed a friend training for a half marathon in November and took her on her longest run to date... or well, walk. The miles were quite a bit slower than my normal with an average pace of 16.5 and only 1 running segment. I felt great throughout the whole thing. The first couple miles were just 2 good friends chatting about life and then we put in music and off we went. Of course I was sweating, but at no point did my mind jump to the comfy zone I live in where I can't wait to get to the end. My legs never wanted to fall off and then trail behind me kicking me.
Afterwards I had no pain and didn't need a nap or days to recover. That's just crazy.
Next week, however, scares me a bit. I like the down week but now jumping up to 12 is crazy plus I am going to need to step things up a bit soon so that I shoot a little past the highest mile being 20 miles prior to marathon day. Adding 6.2 miles more than I've ever done before is a little to risky for me. I'd like to do 23 or 24 miles for my longest pre-race run.
What's hard is that I am now at a mileage that is really too high for a 10 year old to run. I mean, we aren't running, mostly just walking fast. When it comes to walking, there are virtually no studies that say there is anything against his going, but only if he wants to. Erik will have to determine if he wants to continue to join me. He is such a great motivator to keep me going and it is great bonding time that I am going to really miss him. It's been very difficult for me to imagine him not with me during the marathon so I guess this goes along with the whole "nothing new on race day" philosophy.
So, lately I've really only blogged about training but in reality tons of stuff has been going on including I had a great deal of medical tests done. Since the week of my birthday in March, I have been experiencing frequent migraines, nausea, heart palpitations, chest pains and like an elephant has been sitting on my chest. Some of these symptoms are only when running which is why I needed to go and get checked out before running a marathon. It's been a pretty scary time. In addition I was dealing with situations at work that just became more than I could take and I decided to quit. This week I went back to my doctor to go over all the results from the past 6 weeks of medical tests and found out that everything is good. No heart damage. No Angina. No lung problems. He said that whatever is wrong is NOT Heart or Lung related.
That being said since August 23rd,my last day of work, I haven't had any migraines or any of the other problems... INCLUDING when I am out running. My doctor is convinced that since this job started in February and the issues started in March, then everything stopped when I quit, that my job was the culprit responsible. It's insane that a job can literally have that big of an effect. In any case I now have a clean bill of health and I felt great during and after my walk yesterday.
I also got a new job which will allow me to work from home starting next week. It's not a travel job, but its customer service. The pay isn't great but being able to work from home saves a lot of money in work clothes, lunches, gas, etc and I will be home when Erik comes home from school! It's a huge perk of the job.
We have had a huge learning curve since Erik came here. We meaning Paul and I as parents, as well as Erik. We are all learning about each other, how to do things differently now and how to identify things that need to change to be better. Me working at home is going to help with the juggling of so many new things for our family which is still under a year old. Every day is a new day to wake up, make mistakes, and go to bed. LOL. Most parents get to figure this part out without school and homework but we didn't have that luxury. Our luxury, however, is Erik. And no one else has an Erik!
Stay tuned until next time.
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Running with a Purpose
September 5, 2013
So if you haven't learned this yet from knowing me or reading my blog, let me make sure this is clear... no blurred lines... no lack of clarity...
I Hate Running. (Even if by running, I am actually speed walking) I in no way disrespect those that DO LOVE running, but I am not one of you and often can't understand you.
No I do not get runners high.
No I do not find it relaxing.
No I do not enjoy breathing in the fresh air of nature. Well I do... just not while running.
Maybe one day I will, but as of now... I stand by the fact that I am doing it. And Yes, I am running a marathon (or speed walking... lets not mince words here).
So why do it? Well I guess, the answer is probably deeper that the old "Why not?" First of all I have always held such a huge respect for distance runners and especially those that can complete marathons. The amount of dedication it takes to train, the self motivation, the endurance... it's amazing. I want to fall into that group of people whom I hold such great respect for. I mean really, there are so many things that I would LOVE to do but really just don't have the opportunity to. I remember an old episode of Friends where Monica had her identity stolen by a woman who took chances. She got her to audition for Cats on Broadway and walk into a drop in dance class... those are things that are not available to me here... at least not that I know of, but marathons are available to everyone. Why would I deny myself the chance to fulfill my own idea of greatness. And the fact that I am doing it, being something I hate, makes me that much more proud of myself.
Another reason is because... well, I can. I have two legs. They move freely. Currently they may not be that strong but through training they are getting stronger. God has given me two functioning legs and completing a marathon means I am going to take these gifts from God and move them one in front of the other for 26.2 miles. I'm sure there are many people out there who would give anything for the chance, but their chance was taken from them. For those people, I will complete this for you. Especially those who chance was taken while trying to complete the Boston Marathon earlier this year.
Thirdly I run for my son, Erik. As I previously explained in a blog, Erik is struggling in school. It's hard. He doesn't want to go. He would rather just not do it because thats the easy way out. He would rather run. I am showing him that some things are easier for some people than others. Running is easy for him, but not for me. Just like he needs to keep practicing to get good at his homework, I need to keep practicing to get good at my running. His report card will be his prize and my medal will be mine.
Lastly, I want to make this marathon really mean something. I mean, it means something to me and hopefully it will mean something to Erik. Maybe it might mean a little something to people who know about my story. But when December 1 comes around and that 11th, 12th, 16th, 18th, 22nd, 24th miles come along and I hurt and I want to stop and give up, what is going to motivate me? What will push me? What will remind me that this is bigger than me and my goals and lessons for my son through actions? I have decided to dedicate each mile to someone or a group. During that Mile I will pray for that person/group to motivate me and get me out of my own head, thinking about myself, and instead thinking of someone in need of prayer. Several slots have been filled by people in my circle of friends. I've dedicated a mile to my husband's cousin battling breast cancer at a young age and newly married. I've dedicated a mile to the orphanage Erik came from and all the orphans around the world that need families. Since I hope to complete a 15 minute pace, I am dedicating the 15th mile to the Boston Marathon Victims as this will be at about the 4 hour mark when the bombs went off on that fateful day.
So I ask you, if you would like to be considered for one of my miles or know someone else that should be, share the story with me. As we get closer to race day I will post the actual mile dedication chart so that everyone will know what I am praying about during each stage of the race.
This isn't easy for me. Don't get this twisted. I am finding myself in more pain on a regular basis these days. This will require more out of me physically than anything I have ever done before. I will be pushing my body for a straight 7 hours. In fact I will probably be at mile 7 when the 1st place competitor crosses the finish line. I will only be at about the halfway mark when the awards are given, and by the time I cross the finish line there will likely be very few spectators. With there being a time limit and only 2,000 people eligible to complete the full marathon, which filled up back in July, most runners have done this before and more than once... so I might even be the last person to cross the finish line. I am determined to not get picked up by the bus. I will finish. Even if I am last. And whatever my time is, I will be proud of that time because I will at that time have become a Marathon Completer and no one at any time can ever take that away. I've already bought a T shirt that says "I just completed my first marathon" and another that says "the pain is temporary, the pride is forever". No matter the pain, or the hatred for training for the sport, come that day, across that line, I will be filled with a joy that can only come from completing something I always wanted to do, but never really thought I could.
I encourage anyone if there is a star out there that is within your ability to reach, Go Reach It! Name It! and then go do it again!
~Future Marathon Finisher,
Jenn
So if you haven't learned this yet from knowing me or reading my blog, let me make sure this is clear... no blurred lines... no lack of clarity...
I Hate Running. (Even if by running, I am actually speed walking) I in no way disrespect those that DO LOVE running, but I am not one of you and often can't understand you.
No I do not get runners high.
No I do not find it relaxing.
No I do not enjoy breathing in the fresh air of nature. Well I do... just not while running.
Maybe one day I will, but as of now... I stand by the fact that I am doing it. And Yes, I am running a marathon (or speed walking... lets not mince words here).
So why do it? Well I guess, the answer is probably deeper that the old "Why not?" First of all I have always held such a huge respect for distance runners and especially those that can complete marathons. The amount of dedication it takes to train, the self motivation, the endurance... it's amazing. I want to fall into that group of people whom I hold such great respect for. I mean really, there are so many things that I would LOVE to do but really just don't have the opportunity to. I remember an old episode of Friends where Monica had her identity stolen by a woman who took chances. She got her to audition for Cats on Broadway and walk into a drop in dance class... those are things that are not available to me here... at least not that I know of, but marathons are available to everyone. Why would I deny myself the chance to fulfill my own idea of greatness. And the fact that I am doing it, being something I hate, makes me that much more proud of myself.
Another reason is because... well, I can. I have two legs. They move freely. Currently they may not be that strong but through training they are getting stronger. God has given me two functioning legs and completing a marathon means I am going to take these gifts from God and move them one in front of the other for 26.2 miles. I'm sure there are many people out there who would give anything for the chance, but their chance was taken from them. For those people, I will complete this for you. Especially those who chance was taken while trying to complete the Boston Marathon earlier this year.
Thirdly I run for my son, Erik. As I previously explained in a blog, Erik is struggling in school. It's hard. He doesn't want to go. He would rather just not do it because thats the easy way out. He would rather run. I am showing him that some things are easier for some people than others. Running is easy for him, but not for me. Just like he needs to keep practicing to get good at his homework, I need to keep practicing to get good at my running. His report card will be his prize and my medal will be mine.
Lastly, I want to make this marathon really mean something. I mean, it means something to me and hopefully it will mean something to Erik. Maybe it might mean a little something to people who know about my story. But when December 1 comes around and that 11th, 12th, 16th, 18th, 22nd, 24th miles come along and I hurt and I want to stop and give up, what is going to motivate me? What will push me? What will remind me that this is bigger than me and my goals and lessons for my son through actions? I have decided to dedicate each mile to someone or a group. During that Mile I will pray for that person/group to motivate me and get me out of my own head, thinking about myself, and instead thinking of someone in need of prayer. Several slots have been filled by people in my circle of friends. I've dedicated a mile to my husband's cousin battling breast cancer at a young age and newly married. I've dedicated a mile to the orphanage Erik came from and all the orphans around the world that need families. Since I hope to complete a 15 minute pace, I am dedicating the 15th mile to the Boston Marathon Victims as this will be at about the 4 hour mark when the bombs went off on that fateful day.
So I ask you, if you would like to be considered for one of my miles or know someone else that should be, share the story with me. As we get closer to race day I will post the actual mile dedication chart so that everyone will know what I am praying about during each stage of the race.
This isn't easy for me. Don't get this twisted. I am finding myself in more pain on a regular basis these days. This will require more out of me physically than anything I have ever done before. I will be pushing my body for a straight 7 hours. In fact I will probably be at mile 7 when the 1st place competitor crosses the finish line. I will only be at about the halfway mark when the awards are given, and by the time I cross the finish line there will likely be very few spectators. With there being a time limit and only 2,000 people eligible to complete the full marathon, which filled up back in July, most runners have done this before and more than once... so I might even be the last person to cross the finish line. I am determined to not get picked up by the bus. I will finish. Even if I am last. And whatever my time is, I will be proud of that time because I will at that time have become a Marathon Completer and no one at any time can ever take that away. I've already bought a T shirt that says "I just completed my first marathon" and another that says "the pain is temporary, the pride is forever". No matter the pain, or the hatred for training for the sport, come that day, across that line, I will be filled with a joy that can only come from completing something I always wanted to do, but never really thought I could.
I encourage anyone if there is a star out there that is within your ability to reach, Go Reach It! Name It! and then go do it again!
~Future Marathon Finisher,
Jenn
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