I Found My Running Mojo

After expressing my frustration with running lately and my decision to take a much needed break I am happy to report that I am ready to run again. It has been almost three weeks since I have laced up my sneakers for  a run, and although I was definitely not planning on taking so much time off I really needed to. After running in my moms Brooks Pure Cadence just before my running hiatus I decided to get a pair for myself. I liked the idea of wearing a lighter weight shoe and had read how a lot of people who overpronate and usually run in the Adrenalines were able to easily switch to the Pure Cadence.

My beautiful bright new shoes just arrived and as soon as I got them I wanted to try them out. But I knew that I needed to transition into them before setting out for a regular run in them. So I did a three mile loop in them alternating walking and running. My stomach was a little funky during the run portions but regardless it felt amazing to back out there. I was going so slow that I turned off my garmin and just went by feel. It was really refreshing to not be constantly checking my watch. I want to try doing some of my recovery runs without a watch during marathon training so that I don't go too fast.

Later that night, my boyfriend asked if I wanted to go shopping for new running shoes with him. He is more of a cyclist but has been getting into some running lately and wants to eventually run in Vibrams. We went to a local running store and while he tried on shoes I wondered around and tried not to buy everything there. In the end I only ended up getting some more gels and chews to try, but boy was it hard not to go crazy. 

After spending a good hour there I officially was ready to run again. Luckily for me my boyfriend and I are supposed to go for a run on a trail near his house this weekend. And only two more weeks until I am done with finals and school for the semester and am able to return to my favorite running routes back home!

Avoiding the Pool

Even though I am in my third week of triathlon training (weeks one and two), I have yet to make it to the pool. Actually, the last time I went to the pool was back in December. I was hoping that starting triathlon training would motivate me to finally get myself to the pool for a much needed chlorine high. I have made plans every week to go to the pool for a workout, yet I still haven't gotten my swim on.

Excuses for not swimming

• The swim is by far my strongest leg of the triathlon and I am well aware of it. When I wake up in the morning exhausted with no motivation to get out of bed I often tell myself that I can sleep in since I don't have to worry about the swim portion. So far I have sacrificed swimming for running, studying, club meetings, but primarily sleep. 
• The locker rooms on campus are notorious for theft. I know this is a dumb excuse but it still worries/scares me. I have a lock but I lost the combination so I need to buy a new one. This is really nothing more than an excuse and something that I can easily remedy. On the to-do list for this weekend: buy a new lock.
• The indoor pool is crowded and cold. I have always loved swimming outdoors but was never a big fan of swimming indoors. Luckily for me, UMBC just opened their outdoor pool. I can no longer use this excuse!
• I don't want to have to carry around my swim stuff in my school backpack. This can easily be remedied with the purchase of a lock, so that I can leave my swim bag in a locker for the day and pick it up before I go home. 

Solutions!

Not make excuses any more, duh! As I was leaving campus today I walked by the outdoor and was craving a nice swim. I realized I am trying to force myself to wake up early to jump into a cold pool for no real reason. UMBC's outdoor pool is open for a few hours in the afternoon and a few hours in the evening every day. The main reason I love swimming outdoors so much is that I get to feel the sun beating down on me but am not hot because I am in the pool. I absolutely love this feeling and I think that if I try to schedule some swims for when the sun is shining and the air is warm I will happily hit the pool for a swim.

Rock N' Roll USA Half Marathon Race Report

First off I just want to say how amazing yesterday was. It was a tough day but also a great one. I woke up at 5:15, which is pretty early for a college student who start class at 10 every morning. I was pretty tired when I woke up but I was also really excited. I made two frozen waffles and a small bowl of oatmeal for breakfast and had a little bit of water to wash it all down. After eating I got dressed, grabbed all of my gear, and hit the road with my dad. We left my apartment around 5:50 and made it to the metro station by 6:30. We bought our metro tickets Friday when we went down to the expo and I have to say that was such a good move. The lines to buy tickets were all so long. I stopped at the bathroom at the metro and by 6:40 we were on the metro heading into DC.

There was so many people at the metro stop in DC that it took us about 15 minutes to just leave the building. Luckily the DC Armory is right next to the metro stop so that didn't slow us down too much. Friday night I was reading race reports from people who ran the race last year ans saw that the Armory was open on Saturday morning so I headed straight for the Armory to get in line for the bathroom and warm up a little bit. The line for the bathroom was pretty long, definitely longer than the lines for the porta-potties, but I will take a longer line and clean bathroom any day. While I was waiting in line I put my bib on when I discovered that I only had three safety pins. I started freaking out but luckily gear check had a bunch of extra pins. After that debacle I headed over to my corral right around 7:50. Little did I know that I wouldn't end up even crossing the start line until 8:45.

While I was waiting in my corral I realized I had to go to the bathroom again but I didn't think I would have enough time so I decided to just hope it would go away. Bad decision, I know. After waiting around for 40 minutes it was finally time for my corral to start. Before I knew it I was crossing the finish line and starting half marathon number two! I didn't really have a goal or plan for the race but in general I wanted to take it out pretty slowly and then try to pick it up later in the race. My first mile ended up being my slowest! I was happy to be running but those first few miles felt terrible. I just felt tired, heavy, and slow. I was a little worried about what this meant for the rest of the race but I kept telling myself to only focus on now.

this was my favorite view throughout the race

Even though I live in Baltimore, I have never been to DC so I was really enjoying the sights and just exploring a new city. Running is definitely my favorite way to check out new places. Around mile four, though, my stomach started hurting so badly I couldn't focus on anything except for where the nearest bathroom was. Around mile 5.5 I saw a runner dart into a Subway to use their bathroom so I did the same thing. I hated passing the on-course bathroom in the early miles and seeing such long lines. I needed to go to the bathroom but I didn't want 10-15 minutes added to my time because of waiting in line. Luckily I only added two minutes and five seconds to my time by stopping at Subway. Even though the stop added time, it was so worth it. I felt a million times better afterwards and I ran the entire rest of the race quicker because of it.

Not long after I stopped the hills began. There was one rather long climb but I was feeling so great from stopping that I powered up the entire hill! I felt so strong and ready to take on the rest of the race. But after that hill was more hills. I don't mind running hills but I was worried that the downhills would anger my IT Band like in Baltimore. Although I had a little bit of pain here or there it was nothing too bad. I saw my dad around mile 6.5 (I think) and I couldn't have been happier to see him. I wasn't expecting to see him along the course so that was a nice surprise that put a little pep in my step.

A few times during the last 5 miles of the race my legs would start to feel like dead weight. I was hoping to break 2:20 but with the bathroom stop I knew it would be close. I ended up giving my legs multiple pep talks throughout the race which actually seemed to really help. I am not sure why but the phrase summon the will to fight came to mind. I ended up repeating this phrase over and over in my head during the last few miles. I have always thought of myself as mentally weak when it comes to sports and pushing through pain but I proved to myself yesterday that I am a fighter.

During the last few miles of the race it started getting a lot warmer outside. I was looking for water everywhere and drinking 1-2 cups at each station. I had brought a water bottle with nuun in it as a backup but by this point it was pretty warm also. The last few miles are kind of a blur to me now honestly. I just remember my legs getting more and more tired and me pleading with them over and over to finish. We are almost done. I decided to try to pick up the pace as much as I could over the last mile and mile twelve was actually my fastest mile of the day! Once I only had about a quarter of a mile left I tried to sprint to the finish but this part was uphill and my legs wanted nothing to do with it. Once I could see the finish line I sprinted as best I could and raised my arms as I crossed the finish line.

My official time is 2:21:53. I was so happy to have set a PR, but I would have broken 2:20 if I didn't stop to go to the bathroom. My argument, though, is that if I hadn't stopped I would have run slower in general from the discomfort so it is nothing to get worked up about. After the race I grabbed all of the food that I could, found my dad and sat down and relaxed. I was surprised with how much better my legs felt compared to Baltimore. We stayed for a little after the race to watch Switchfoot perform and then headed back home. I am on spring break this week so he drove me back to our house in Pennsylvania. And because I was pretty tired last night, my boyfriend and I are celebrating St. Patty's day tonight!

Look Within

Why do I run? I have been thinking a lot about this question lately. I love running, but I have been having pretty crappy runs lately. On top of that, I have been so stressed from school that all I want to do at the end of the day is crash on the couch, not go out for a run. I want to run, but I have been really struggling with actually going for a run. I need to figure out what motivates me to run and what my goals are in this sport. Some people run for weight loss, others to race. But what do I run for?

I run for myself. Yes, running helps with weight loss and can help whip your body into rocking shape, but that is not enough for me. The feeling I had during the Baltimore Half Marathon was one I can't even describe. I felt like I was on top of the world. After that race was over all I could think about was how I wanted to do it again. I wanted to feel like I was doing something I could be proud of and that gave me a sense of pride. More importantly, I felt confident. This may not be something very important for some people, but for me it is.

Everybody runs for different reasons, and that is okay, but those reasons should come from within. If you are running for reasons that aren't personal you aren't going to love running. Trust me. I have learned the hard way that to work hard towards something you need to emotionally invested and be passionate about it or else you will only put in the minimal effort. Figure out what motivates you, what lights that fire within you to strive to be the best you can be and run with it. Pun intended.

For me, running has to be something that I enjoy. If I am not having fun, I will not want to continue to do something. Running also provides me with a lot of challenges that make things less monotonous. I love to see my hard work pay off, and running is one of the best ways to do that. The quote "running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it" by Oprah really sticks in head here. Running is always presenting us with new challenges, and it is how we deal with those challenges that determine our success.


Why do you run? How do you find motivation? Do you ever struggle with finding the motivation to run?

2012 Goals

I hate making New Year's resolutions. I am one of those people who never follows through with them. Instead, I find setting specific goals to be more successful. I also do a better job of setting goals for myself each month than just at the beginning of the year. With that being said, I do have a few goals that I am setting for myself now.

Train for and race a triathlon or two. Or three. 2011 was a year of figuring out what I wanted to do sport-wise now that I am done swimming competitively. I ran a half marathon in October and plan to keep running but 2012 is going to be the year of the triathlon for me. But not only do I want to start doing triathlons, I want to start training for them. And I want to train smartly. I want to go into the tri season feeling confident and ready to race.

Break two hours in the half marathon distance. I ran my first half marathon with little training and finished in 2:23:03. I am confident that with proper training and some long runs I can break two hours. I know that would mean a 23 minute PR but I barely trained for Baltimore and my speed has really been improving lately.

Complete a bike race/ride. My boyfriend is a biker. Last year he did his first century ride, which I volunteered at. I was really inspired watching so many people out there biking 100 miles. It is pretty safe to say I will not be biking 100 miles this year, but a 50 miler or metric century (63.5) ride is definitely on my radar.

Spend less time watching TV and on the computer. Ever since I started blogging back in the spring I have spent so much more time on the computer. Don't get me wrong, I love blogging and being a part of such an amazing community. But lately I have spending too much unnecessary time on the computer that would be much better spent doing something productive.

Learn to love my body and feel confident about myself. I have always struggled with having low self-esteem and I am sick of it. When I am training for a race I feel unstoppable and I want to transfer that feeling to every day. I know this is something that will take longer than one year to complete but I think now is the perfect time to start.

Get back to eating healthy. I have been really neglecting this part of my life. I used to be so good about eating healthy wholesome foods but lately I haven't been the best. I'm not going to lie here, having a boyfriend has made it pretty difficult to create healthy meals. But that should not be an excuse.

Do those things that absolutely terrify me but will be so worth it. Sometimes all it takes it twenty seconds of intense bravery to do something amazing. I hate missing out on things because I am scared of failure. I want to look back and be so proud of the courage I had.

Be a better friend and girlfriend. I have been dating my boyfriend for two and half years now so sometimes things can become routine. We rarely fight and I want to keep it that way. Sometimes I can be unsupportive, jealous, and controlling. These are all things that I really want to eliminate to continue my relationship with the most amazing person I have ever met.

Inspired by the Ironman World Championships Once Again

The Ironman World Championships were on NBC earlier today and if you didn't watch then you really missed out. The special not only showed the professional athletes but also those age groupers who finished last.

There was coverage of Chrissie Wellington's come back to win the entire race for the fourth time, making her undefeated at the Ironman distance.

There was coverage of Craig Alexander fighting through cramps and muscle spasms to break the world record and become the oldest person to win in Kona.

And then there was coverage of the average age groupers who juggle a family, a full-time job, and other hobbies with Ironman training.

As much as I love watching the pros, it was the old man who was trying to finish his 22nd consecutive Kona in the allotted time slot that brought me to tears. I forget how old he was, but he pushed his body so hard he kept falling over in the final mile. His body literally kept giving out on him, yet he never quit.

The Ironman World Championships make me proud to be an athlete and excited for what I have in store when I start my triathlon journey. This race is a truly spectacular event that everyone should watch at least once.

I am going to take this inspiration with me to my workouts throughout this upcoming week and remember never to quit no matter what.

I Don't Really Feel Like a Runner

I posted a while back, just after I finished my first and only half marathon, that I finally felt like I was a runner. Well let me be honest with you, I haven't been feeling like much of a runner lately. I have been really struggling to get motivated and it is making quite sad.

Running had become an outlet for me, something that I did to relieve stress and find my happy place. Lately, though, running has been stressing me out more than relieving stress.

As dumb as it may sound, I know a big part of my struggle is that I hate my current running course. You may suggest that I just switch my running route, but the problem is that I don't live in the safest of areas.

One of the reasons that I love running so much is that all you have to do is lace up your sneakers and head out the door. I don't mind driving to a local trail for some quality running, but I have a hard time justifying driving 45 minutes to go for a 3-6 mile run.

To add to this dilemma, the area I live in is sort of hilly. Hilly enough that my IT band is always angry after I go for even easy shake out runs. Frustrating.

And don't even suggest running on a treadmill. Despite how many problems I am having with finding a nice running route, I get bored on treadmills in less than 5 minutes. Not even worth trying.

I really haven't been very motivated lately and I hate everything about it. I decided to create my training plan for my upcoming half marathon and start training next week. Hopefully that will be the motivation I need to get my butt back out there running!

When I Am Stressed, I Forget to Run

Truthfully, I haven't been running as much as I would have liked to since running the Baltimore Half Marathon. Don't get me wrong, I have still been running 3-4 times a week. But I would have liked to run more consistently.

This time of semester is where I start to feel burned out though. Just about every week I have at least one test and paper or major assignment due. I love school and working hard, but it really drains me.

I have been having a difficult time finding the motivation to work out because I am always so stressed and tired. I know that working out will help combat these two problems, but I am still struggling.

I also like having something to train towards. My next real race isn't until March and I don't want to jump into a training cycle too early. Without following a training plan, I sometimes forget to run.

This weekend, though, I am going to try to create my training plan. I am thinking about including a pre-training portion that won't be as intensive but will still keep me on track.

I am currently just looking forward to the Thanksgiving break I get next week, and the semester being over in a few weeks once I get back.

Some Inspiration

Happy Friday everyone! It is supposed to be cold and snowy here this weekend so I thought I would share some motivation to help with running in this weather: