Kelsey Creek Warm Up and Cornering Vid

Puppies, Pis and Pip

I enjoy teaching people to run. I love when there is enthusiasm after someone runs their first mile or being there with them when they complete their first 5k or PR a race. As a running coach these are exciting moments that, to me, are akin to being a mom and your child reaches a new milestone. Chest puffing pride abounds. So what happens when you are a mom and a running coach and you try to get your kids to love running too? There has only been a modicum amount of chest puffing in my house in this regard but I've found the secret.

Kids run. Sometimes they run a lot. Kids enjoy running most of the time when they don't realize they are running. Make kids run for any reason other than fun and you are asking to get an earful of whining. Maybe deservedly. I have tried to get my 2 kids, ages 5 and 9, involved in running. They have had some desire but I almost squashed it when I tried to make them do it,  even when I thought what we were doing was fun. So I eventually learned after some tears and a lot of "why are we doing this?" and I backed off. The kids seem to like that I run. They know I am a coach and often accompany me while I water stop my runners. They always seem to enjoy when I come home with a new medal and they have spent countless hours on the race course cheering mom on. I thought I could lure them into running races with the promise of a medal but it seems most kids races either don't give a medal (a big mistake in my mind) or they are clearly inferior. I know there are arguments to be made about the value of medals, who should get them and when but when talking about kids and racing, especially younger kids, I feel they are a great incentive to get them involved. Since they are hard to come by in regular races I have turned to virtual races.

 

Virtual races are great to do with kids because you can run them anywhere, at any time of day, you generally have a few days to complete them and you more often then not get a medal. Score, score, score and SCORE! The last virtual race I did with my kids was the Pi Day 5k created by Gametiime. Since I knew my kids could not run a 5k all in one shot my plan was to run one mile a day over 3 days with the last day adding a little extra 0.1. The kids were so excited to earn their Pi Day medals and schwings that they were rearing to get out there (our neighborhood) and run their distances. I let them run/walk when needed and the beauty of doing it anytime really helped them complete their goals. My daughter was able to finish up her last mile with me and my running group (they were running our planned Pi Day 5k group run) and eat pie! My son had a previous engagement so he ended up running his last mile, by himself, in the pouring rain. But he did it and he was very proud of himself. I was proud of him too with plenty of chest puffing that morning.

 

 

Now Gametiime has a new virtual race, The Puppy Run, and when I showed my daughter the awesome puppy medal her head nearly exploded. If you were to know my daughter (and Pip Running namesake) you would know that she loves dogs and cute, fluffy puppies are the bees knees. The Puppy Run medal with the dogs feet forming a heart was really too much for her and we were doing this race. The medal is to be hers. The bag and Frisbee are great too but the medal, and the race name of course, is what is getting her and my son excited to do this. Our 2 dogs are too old to run this with us but I'm sure the medals will be named Courage and Rocco and we'll notice lots of other cute dogs on our runs that remind of us Courage and Rocco. I am planning to have the kids run this race similarly to the Pi Day 5k. I'll have them break up their runs if they need to, run/walking is allowed and mom will give them subtle tips to help them run longer. The time doesn't matter at this point so much as completing their goal, earning their medals and participating in something as a family.

Virtual races are awesome.

Edumacation

I have had a pretty good couple of weeks lately. Well, couple of months really. I have been working with my coach on helping me get back my running mojo. We meet once a week and I have to say having someone force you to do things you should do but don't do is really helpful. I'm getting that left arm to cooperate and hills are still evil but I can tackle them now. I'm really trying to remember my stride and breathing to keep things coming together. That makes me feel good and feeling good about my running makes me feel confident as a coach.

Many things lately have been going on with my coaching. Not so much that I've picked up tons of new clients but I had 3 certification classes scheduled for this year that I've been pretty excited about. The first class was through Rocktape to become FMT Level 1 certified. I've been having a ball taping up my clients (and myself). So far, so good with the reviews of my tape jobs. I feel it's just something a little extra that I can give my clients. The taping this picture is for one of my clients Katey. She has problems with edema in her knee and calf after running. I was excited to learn about this edema taping in class because I immediately thought of her. After she was thoroughly examined by a couple of doctors she was given the all clear of any medical issues and the taping seems to help keep her swelling down. Now I am only taping her knee because the calf swelling seems to subsided after the 1st application.

The next certification class I just took over the Mother's Day weekend. I went through the Lydiard Foundation's Level I&II Certification Course. This was a really educational, interesting and fun course. I'm still waiting to do my final test to receive my official certification but I cannot wait to explore this method of coaching and hopefully start implementing it next year when I am done with my races. We got to meet Lorraine Moller who was the Bronze medalist in the 1992 Olympic Games. She and Nobby Hashizume were really fun and of course gave us a ton of information and Lorraine brought her bronze medal for us all to see. That is one heavy metal! I met many great people and I hope I get to work with many of them in the future.

The final certification course for the year should be Newton Level II Cert. I am taking a Healthy Running course this summer and after some procedure and video taping I can apply for my cert and pass muster. I am pretty excited about this course because there is a large section of form which has become very important to me as a coach. Also, there is a section regarding shoe wear (go figure) and I will get a new pair of Newton's out of the deal. Plus the kids are getting another trip to Portland and they have been dying to go back.

Finally, some of you may have noticed a couple of Learn to Run Clinics/Meet the Coach events. This is something I am trying to get going to help all those people that are on the fence about learning how to run.  Many of us have been that person that is interested but too scared to join because we think we are too slow, or to fat or are all Phoebe running through the park. The goal is that interested people can see that we are normal people in this group that look like them and have/had all the same concerns. Everyone is welcome to come to this event so even if you've been through one of my classes I would love for you to be there!

WTF just happened

The last month or so have really been a whirlwind full of ups and downs for me. I have had a lot going on with creating and launching my new website, Pip Running, setting up a Groupon campaign, setting up classes at Renton Community Center, reformulating my run schedule/pricing, launching my newsletter, scheduling coaching workshops for myself and starting my own marathon training! Phew! I'm tired.

The website is something I have thought about doing for awhile. I wasn't sure if I would try to hire someone to design it for me or just try to wing it myself. I have winged setting up sites before so I knew how daunting it could be especially with no actual coding knowledge. I was lucky enough to be listening to Mark Maron's WTF podcast when I heard the ad for Squarespace and remembered to check it out. I thought the websites looked nice and it seemed doable. I spent a week solid working on it and fixed bugs and stuff a long the way. It's not perfect and on the backside for setting up the calendar and store things could be easier but I'm pretty pleased with it especially with my limited website building capabilities. Check it out and let me know what you think.

The whole reason I really sat down and built the website was so that I could start doing Groupon or Groupon type campaigns. Obviously I wanted to attract more runners to Pip but I really want to start building up the trainings so that all the mid-week stuff could just be free, fun, maintenance runs. That is my plan and hopefully the little community will start to grow and Pip Running shirts will be seen all the local trails. After I complete some of these workshops that I have scheduled I think I would feel more confident exploring more online coaching as well. The Groupon campaign is launching in 10 days and fingers crossed it all goes well! There is a lot of satisfaction in getting people to run and having them fall in love with it. It won't be everyone but that handful that does it is really fun to watch and be apart of it.  Spread the word!

All of this was going on and when I would do my solo runs something was off. The runs seemed to be a lot harder than they should have been. Things weren't moving right and I was getting pretty down on myself. The coach needed a coach. I started working one on one with my Flash and Dash Speed/Form class coach Ben Rixe. Seems like I was running into a common problem (no pun intended) that my own workouts were suffering. Let me tell you seeing yourself on video can not only be very frightening but pretty eye opening! This is something I want to start doing more myself as a coach. No one wants to see themselves but after a few dozen times of watching yourself you will get desensitized to how your ass looks in those tights and will be able to focus on things such as arm swing, foot strike and forward lean.  I'm feeling better these days and started seeing improvement immediately.  Now about my ass in those tights...

Did I Really Just Agree To Do Another One?

 

When I finished the Portland Marathon in October I felt great. Other than my calves being ridiculously tight I had very little in the way of soreness. I never hit a wall when we were out running and it seemed the farther we went the more upbeat I felt. We were getting closer to the end and I was getting closer to accomplishing this goal. It was a pretty great high especially coming of a month of injury and another month of trying to build my miles back. So immediately I thought I will need to do this again, without injury, so I can experience a full marathon training and one where I aspire for more than just finishing. I've ridden that high and that thought for many months. Eventually I decided with another friend to try to run the Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon. We have talked about it for months and any thoughts of my running Ragnar this year I put aside because this was the race. One problem. The race sells out every year, the number of runners is very limited and we had yet to sign up. It's hard to plan your training for a big race when you are not even sure if you would be able to run it. Not to be deterred we continued to plan as if we were in like Flynn.

March 2nd! March 2nd was the first day released for registration. Promptly at 7pm we could try to register online. Only 200 runners would gain entrance. By this point my first running partner had to drop out. She is on the indefinite injured list. While I was sad to hear she would not be able to run, and all our training prior to the race was out, I am happy to report that another was foolish enough to take her spot as my training partner. What are we getting ourselves into?

March 2nd has come. We ran Hot Chocolate this morning and I cannot tell you how tired I am. The last stupid hill in the 5k wiped me out! How am I going to run 23.1 more miles in July?!? Granted this lovely marathon is a gentle downhill for most of the way and I will go through 20 weeks of training from now until then but it freaks me out a little. I'm not too disappointed in my Hot Chocolate time either. Could have been a PR I think if not for that last long hill up Denny (or maybe it was another street they all have hills).  So 7pm had come and Emily and I were feverishly trying to register online. I was just checking out when I got a text from Emily that said she was in. Just as I got Emily's text something crashed on my end. I was out! I tried refreshing several times and opening another page. I was texting Emily that I had crashed! I had crashed! Time was slipping away and I had crashed and might not get registered. I was freaking out a little. Emily texted that she was still in and she would try to register me.

Just as Emily got me registered my page came back up. I would have had to go through all the steps again to register but I was already in. I decided to poke around a little at who got registered when I received notice that the race was sold out. Minutes is all it took. I was only of the lucky (that remains to be seen) few to make it into this race.
Now I've got to run it.

New Beginnings

What's been going on at Pip Running? Lots! In January I started a Slug to 5k Training Group. This was a small group of 4 ladies plus one current client who was rehabbing. By the 3rd week I lost 3 (one transferred to later class, one wasn't ready & one moved to the class below). The class was small but we were progressing.
 

A few weeks later I started another training group. This one was a Half Marathon Training Group with the goal race being BMO Vancouver on May 4th. I have 3 ladies in this group. They are a fun group of very motivated women. For reasons I'm still not sure of I decided to schedule these 2 groups on Saturday morning. For a few weeks there I was doing double duty. Eventually it just made sense to move everyone to the same flat, trail. Hello Ron Regis Park!
 

8 weeks later Shannon graduated from the Slug to 5k. The other lady never could make it to class but fortunately we've been able to keep in contact. I am always so proud when someone goes through the training and reaches their goal and I always especially enjoy being there for people when they do their 1st's. While all this was going on I was also working with the Renton Community Center to have a training group through there. The goal race for this group was the Seahawks 12k/GLOW 5k coming up in April. The Seahawks had just won the Super Bowl and I thought this training would be really popular. We missed being published in the RCC guide and the only offering I could do was a morning class and of course of those that inquired they wanted evening. Doh! Unfortunately while this was going on with the community center I did have my own Seahawks Slug to 5k evening training starting the same day but no one who inquired knew to look into Pip Running for evening classes and I didn't know who inquired. However I did speak to one lady and now the current Slug to 5k is made up of refugees from previous classes.
 

So now there are two classes going plus all the usual runs. Somewhere in all that running around I have been planning on running another marathon. I'm sure that's why I scheduled everything on a Saturday. There had to have been a good reason.
 

New Pip Running Merchandise!

I finally got the order placed today for the new Pip Running tech shirts. These are the shirts that are being given to the new Slug to 5k and Half Marathon Training clients. They are also available for sale. $20 per shirt/Unisex sizing. The quantities are very limited. You can use the PayPal button the the rights to order.

2014 Will Be Quite A Year...I Think But I Haven't Planned Anything Yet

Well now it's January. Now I suppose I am to make some kind of resolution for the new year. Lose 10lbs? Eat healthier? Hit the gym more? I don't know. I really don't believe in making New Year Resolutions. Not because none of these things don't need focus because they probably do.  I want to say more so because I am lazy but that is not really it either. I don't like to make insincere goals for myself and I definitely don't like to make public insincere goals or resolutions. Once I decide that something is a goal or resolution then it becomes a personal challenge to me. It just takes me awhile to work it out in my head, make my plan and figure out how I am going to coordinate what needs to be done. A date on a calendar does not make that goal/resolution happen I make it happen.

Which leads me to what I've been mulling about. I am not one to come up with a list of things that I need to complete by a certain time. I have a loose idea of things that 1. I know I can do 2. Someday would like to be able to do 3. There's a snowball's chance in Hell it's going to happen but...then along with that loose idea of things I also have a loose idea of how loose item 1 can happen but this loose list only goes to a looser idea of how item 2 can possibly happen. So for running, which this blog is mostly about, I have loosely thought about expanding Pip Running. I have run an ad in the neighborhood flyer and I am collaborating with a few people on a few things. I have loosely thought of getting a legitimate website and the wheels are starting to spin on possible future training groups. Ahhh. That is already a lot of work on inside my head. Then I am supposed to think about, formulate a plan and then execute a plan on the 2 half marathons I have committed to running in 2014? My passport renewal is still in flux but it is getting there. Maybe a 3 trip to a government office will be my lucky day. I should really get down there. My marathon "plan" is even more loose because...well that date has not been released yet. I had a personal goal to run a 1000 miles in 2013. The number wasn't a hard number necessarily. I just wanted it to be over 1000. After tallying through 10 spreadsheets I figured out I ran 1303.96. Another person may have ran that 0.04 when they saw that number but I like to play it fast and loose.  Beyond those "goals" I have no idea what I am doing.

As a running coach I often talk to my clients about setting goals for their running.  It is a great motivator to have this carrot of a race dangling out there and the races with the training and group runs really help keep you focused. On a personal level I really work best off the outline.  So no New Year's Resolutions for me. I am still going to eat carbs, curse like a sailor and drink wine. I would like to resolve to become more organized and get laser-like focus on my goals. But that seems like a lot of work so I think I am just going to loosely decide to just run.

A Christmas Story!

For December I decided to do something I have never done before. I decided to run a Virtual Race. You may be asking what is a Virtual Race? A Virtual Race is a race that you can basically run anywhere you are and sometimes at whatever time you want. The distances vary and the length of time you have to complete them varies as well. The fees are small compared to regular races and they generally go to charity. It seems like many of the Virtual Races offer medals and to be honest it was the medal that convinced me to do this Virtual Race: A Christmas Story 30th Anniversary 5k/10k Run. 

I worked with a friend named Melissa to create an event for Pip Running and our friends. We had a group of 9 or so people running between both distances and Melissa already had a pre-run route that started from her house, through Downtown Renton, past Boeing along the Cedar River Trail then back up to Melissa's house where we had a wonderful pot luck brunch and running clothes swap. 

As I said before the fees for Virtual Runs are generally pretty cheap but this race was not. The starting price was around $55 and then jumped up to near $75 with shipping. Yikes! That was a hard race entry to swallow because I, of course, waited too long on the early bird pricing and paid the $$$ pricing. I set up the event though what else could I do. Of course we did not expect everyone to pay that high fee so Melissa made medals for all the runners. I know many people scoff at race medals and they don't run for them but I ran for this one and got a super unique bonus medal in the deal.

Both of them are hanging proudly on my medal rack.  They are both a Major Award after all.

Half Marathoners!

They did it!

I haven't talked much about it or them but this Fall I had my first half marathon training group. The group was started to train for the Seattle Half Marathon which was happening on December 1st and let me tell you I love/d these guys!

Training started in September for these guys while I was training for the Portland Marathon in October. The mutual training worked well for my running schedule and once the marathon was done in early October I was able to something I call "car coaching". Car Coaching is where I am able to meet my group at several points along the route and be there water stop, moral support and if necessary ride back to the start. Once their miles started getting longer this also gave my husband and I a great chance to get runs in together. Mike would run half the route with the guys (while I car coached) then I would run the 2nd half while my husband did water stops.

I have been very fortunate to have some really great clients and it is really hard to express how much I enjoyed training this group and how proud and happy for them I was when they finished their half marathon. This was a first for several of them and I trained them on a lot of hills.  To see some of them come so far from having to walk/run 5 flat miles in the beginning to being able to run the full 13.1 hilly miles just made me so proud. We felt like a family that day and I have to admit it was a little bit like the morning after Christmas when it was done.

More training groups have been planned and I can't wait to feel this way again!

The "F" Word

The day that I have dreaded for probably 2 decades has come and now gone. It did not come in like an lion but rolled in like a wave already broken. Yesterday I turned 40.

The number is still hard to pass through my lips and people don't seem as surprised as I hope they would be when they hear my age. Even with the number being hard to say, mentally I am mostly OK with it. 39 was a big year for me. I started my own business, I ran 2 major races (one of which was my FIRST marathon) and my youngest started preschool. Mentally and physically 39 had been my best year and I think it really was just setting the bar for the next 10 years. People that turn 40 like to say 40 is the new 30 but for me I really feel it is the new 20. I wasted my 20's in crappy jobs and being so worried about being single that I did not spend that time working on me. I feel younger now than I ever did at 25 or 26 and so in my 40's I am hoping to further my education and my business. I may have gotten it a little reversed but when you plan on living as long as I do then age really is just a number.

This is the new 40!

But My Garmin Says 27 Miles!

Well we DID IT! Months of training, weeks of injury and many, many doctor appointments and the Portland Marathon has been conquered. Ok it's done so let's move on. Ha ha you don't get off that easy.
















I will save you the play by play but I will give you a good overview of the day. Sunday morning I met Jamie in the lobby of the hotel and walked over to the start line together. We met up with Rachel, Erica and Corey in the corral so we could all start the race together. Rachel, Erica and Corey were all doing the half marathon but for the first 11 miles both groups ran together. It was great to see the girls and they all wore their Pip Running shirts which felt amazing! Shortly after we took off Rachel and Corey fell back into their comfortable running pace and Jamie and I ran with Erica for awhile. Lesson learned: be less generous with your finish time. We were in one of the last corrals and took off with the walkers. While I'm sure they are as a whole nice people they were very irritating to negotiate around when you are running a race. The time on our first couple of miles was all over the place do to the "obstacles".

I felt pretty good when the morning started. I knew I would be out there for awhile and faced the miles as a job that needed to be done. My foot was no longer hurting so I just had to handle whatever came up as it came up. We eventually lost Erica and Jamie and I ran through the first 13 miles. There were some interesting distractions such as the pirates shooting off cannons, ladies talking on cell phones and trains moving parallel to us giving you a sense of running on a moving sidewalk. My calves and hip flexors were already tight by the 12 or 13th mile and somewhere around mile 7 I could feel a blister forming. I tried to focus on my form, remember to lift my knees and remember that I had blister Band-Aids in my hydration pack (thank you Beth Baker for the story of you and the blister Band-Aid) and packed in a bag for Mike to bring when he met us on the course. We met Mike and the kids at Mile 12 and I put a Band-Aid on the forming blisters and was able to move on. I tried to keep in mind that I should be fueling and around Mile 5 I started taking Shot Blocks and drinking my watered down Gatorade that filled my hydration pack. When I met Mike at Mile 12 I pulled out my peanut butter pretzels and started to eat those for the next couple miles. Mile 12 was the last chance for Mike to see us for the next 6 miles so I'm glad he was able to negotiate his way around the course (with both kids) before our next scheduled meetup at Mile 18.

Jamie and I filled the next 6 miles with chatting, walking large hills and running over bridges. On the one big hill of the race, right before St. Johns Bridge, most of the people were walking up. Many, including ourselves, stopped at a scenic point on the hill and took pictures and then we took pictures for other people. One day Jamie will send me those pics. By this point my calves were so tight they felt like they were in vise grips or that they might snap but it didn't hurt too much to run. The stopping and starting was hard but once I was moving they were OK. By mile 18 Jamie had developed a blister so thankfully Mike was meeting us. She blister Band-Aided up, I had some Smokehouse Almonds and I kissed and cuddled the kids. Ailbe kept stealing my almonds but I got a few in before we took off again. Mike was going to meet us again around Mile 21-22. As we came up to Mile 20 our favorite partner in crime Donna was there!  It was so great to see her. I think Jamie's spirits were down and having this ball of positive energy that is Donna with us was great. She jumped right in with us and ran and walked the next 5 miles with us. She came really prepared too. She brought Kleenex, wet towels to wipe our salty faces and she said she had her car full of food/drinks. Our marathon angel.

Mike was there again at Mile 21 and this was a fun meeting because the kids ran with us for a block or so. I wish someone I know got a pic. By this point we were in the neighborhoods in Portland. Strangers were camped out in their front yards or in lawn chairs along the road cheering us on. We were able to customize our bibs when we registered and it was so great to hear strangers saying "You can do it Susie Q!". I high-fived and cheered my way through the next couple of miles. Around Mile 23 we met up with Jamie's family and I think she really needed to see them. Her family all had white shirts on which they wrote supportive slogans to support her. Off to Mile 25 and our final meeting with Mike and Donna's departure from us. Once we met up with Mike, Jamie and I dropped our hydration packs off with him and ran our last mile in elation. We were almost done! On the final bit of our last mile Erica, Rachel and Corey were waiting for us. They finished their half marathon 3 hours earlier but they hung out, thankfully on a beautiful day, for us to come in and ran that last quarter mile or so to the finish chute with us. I was so happy to see them and loved that we ran together.






















Finally we were at the finish chute and we were crossing the Finish Line. It was great to get our medals, space blanket and finisher's shirt. The Finishers Chute was pretty empty by this point so we were able to walk through like champions and pick and choose our bounty. Fruit? No thank you. Chocolate covered donut holes? Yes please!

Jamie was able to cross another "40 Before 40" goal off her list and I could welcome my 40th birthday feeling wonderful. As my training mileage really started to build I became injured. Top mileage before injury was 17 miles and post injury maybe 12. I did not know how I would feel during those 26.2 miles but knew I had the base miles and experience to finish. Never a doubt I was going to finish.  I ended up feeling pretty great.  Mentally throughout the race I never felt down or that I couldn't finish. Yes might calves were tight but I could still run and really just ran the race loving everybody but especially loving my body for being strong and putting up with this bullshit I was putting it through.

I am planning my next one now.  When I told Mike he rolled his eyes. Gotta love him. I really can't wait to see how it goes with what I hope to be a full training.

 

A Tribute To A Husband

My first marathon is a little more than a week away. My foot/ankle are now pain free when I run. I have trained as much as I could under the circumstances, recovered as much as I could under the circumstances and tried to forget about the huge endeavor I will be taking on as much as I could under the circumstances. 

As I was driving to the gym this morning I was reflecting on the process and the journey I have been on this year with starting my coaching business and taking on the gigantic tasks of having a Ragnar team this year and training for this marathon. This made me think of my husband Mike. A real partner in every sense of the word. He has put up with a lot. I mean A LOT! I am gone more in the evenings than home now. We rarely have dinner together as a family and the patience and flexibility to be able to meet up with me at various parks or to be home by a certain time has not fazed him much. Maybe he doesn't like doing it, I don't know, but he WILL do it. I have stolen his Saturday mornings for coaching and commandeered Sundays for my personal training. His Monday schedule is adjusted so he is home early enough so that I can go to bootcamp and Thursday nights, while they are pizza nights, they are also my group run night. Although I am generally home to put at least one kid to bed on more than one occasion he has to handle both plus showers. So when I think about this running journey I have been on I can only think of how I could have not done this any way without him. My kids have put up with a lot too but really they only miss out on Mommy for dinner and occasionally a snuggle before bed. Mike has had to put up with his wife literally running out the door as he is pulling in. It is not totally unprecedented that I have stood in the garage in my running clothes waiting. I'll give him a quick smooch then jump in the car to meet my group.

BK (before kids) we weren't morning people. We would lounge around the house on the weekends often hanging out in our jammies into the afternoon. Once we had our kids, although they may have gotten up earlier than we would have liked, they adapted to the lounging on the weekends, watching cartoons and maybe getting dressed around noon. This year since I have been in constant training sleeping in on the weekend is 7am. More often than not we are up and running before the kids even wake up. The cruelest thing that could have happened to Mike was to get up even earlier during the week...and then it did happen. I started taking on private clients and we would meet at 7am twice a week. Yet he complains very little and sets the alarm clock. Sometimes he will go back to sleep with a pillow over his head and it does look just as pathetic as it sounds.

I thought I should think about this as I'm running my marathon. All the sacrifices a family has to make so one person can accomplish a goal. I think in the long run (always a long run) it is worth it. I think it is so important for my kids to see their mom active, train for a goal and finish it and to be there with their mom as I accomplish the goal they have sacrificed for. It becomes a family goal and a family triumph. I will mostly be thinking about Mike though and how much I would rather be with him at that moment. Looking for him and the kids every mile throughout the race will get me through until I see them. I hope the kids are cheering and that Mike is proud of his wife and knows how much she appreciates him and loves him for all the support.

Footsicle

It's been a couple weeks now since I have been cleared to run. I did not run any real distance for at least a month and it shows. I had a few set backs from when I was cleared. My second run out was the Sunday before Labor Day and I attempted 6mi- 3 out and 3 back. By the time I got to 3 out my right foot hurt so much with each step but I was 3 out so I had to get back. I ended up doing intervals of 3 min run with 1 min walking. It seemed like I was out there forever but I finally made it back to my car and promptly texted Dr. Monti. I felt so defeated and felt I was right back where I was a month prior. I came home, put my foot in ice and sulked a bit and briefly would let uncertainty about completing the Portland Marathon seep in.

I got to see Dr. Monti on Tuesday and by the time I saw him I was feeling better. Monday morning I had my usual Monday Morning Group Run with Pip Running and I was able to complete 4 miles. Not the fastest 4mi but to have the ability to get back on my forefoot on my right foot is wonderful. It really makes running easier when both of your feet are doing the same thing.  My foot and ankle still hurt. The pain seems to move around from behind my ankle bone to the side of my foot to the point on my forefoot where it bends when my foot pushes off to the fatty part on the right side of my foot right below my ankle bone. Dr. Monti said I am still a mystery but it seems that my peroneal muscles seem to be involved and I believe the Superior Extensor Retinaculum and probably the Inferior Extensor. However, since that dreaded Sunday before Labor Day I have been able to add miles and although it is still painful it is not too painful. I have been trying to work on my endurance which was trashed with not running for so long. My longest run so far has been 9 miles. It was broken up but I was happy to have it done. I am shooting for 11 this weekend.

I am still worried about Portland and joke that I will be running a 7hr marathon.  If I just knew my foot/ankle would not be hurting I would feel more relieved but with just weeks until the race that idea seems unrealistic. Now I just have to have a plan to manage the pain during the long time out there. I know I can do this.

Running Tip: If you wear a sock while icing your foot it hurts a hell of a lot less.

Laughing Through the Pain

Ragnar is over. I had a rest day. Now training for the Portland Marathon needs to continue and so it did for a couple of weeks.

I was feeling really great 3 weekends ago. Jamie and I had completed our 16-17mi training run the weekend after Ragnar. I bought the new Newton Energy running shoes in a post training run glow. I felt I might need something more padded for the marathon so I had been waiting for these to come out. They were definitely more cushy than my usual Newton Distance tried and trues. I was not sure if I needed a half size bigger though so I thought I would wear them on my runs during the week. After 4 days I felt my muscles were a little sore but nothing too bad but I decided to switch back to the Distance shoes for my Saturday and Sunday long run. Saturday was fine. Still some ankle stiffness but nothing I haven't felt before. Sunday was our 18mi long run. Jamie and I (with the help of some of our great friends) decided to run Lake Washington Blvd up onto the I-90 trail. Mary, Donella and Erica headed out with us but turned around at 4mi. We met Donna at mile 6.5 in Factoria and she was to continue on with us onto the I-90 trail and back to Factoria. From there Jamie and I were going to finish the last 6mi together. When I started the run my right foot felt weird. It didn't hurt to run but it felt like it could use a cracking or stretching. I assumed it would loosen up after awhile and I thought it did but around mile 9 or 10 I got a really severe bolt of pain running across/through my foot. It really hindered my running and I had to keep stopping and would try to run through the pain until it got too severe then would stop again. Finally I really realized I was not going to be able to finish this run. Not without really injuring myself and with Portland hanging out there I couldn't do that. The last thing Ben, my running coach, said to me was "Don't get hurt". Aghhh! I felt awful for screwing up Jamie's training run. We both felt good and this run was going to get done and it was going to rock. Once we got back to Factoria we decided to take Donna up on her offer to get her car and drive us back to ours. Total mileage for that run was 12 miles.

I saw Dr. Monti from Elite Sports and Spine the very next day. What I thought would be an injury that might have kept me off my feet for a week in now progressing into its fourth week.  Ben has greatly modified my marathon training schedule that includes completing maybe of my miles on an elliptical. For instance last Sunday I was supposed to run 20mi on the old training plan. On the new training plan I did 6mi on the elliptical. I'm still not really clear what is up with my ankle/foot. I took an x-ray last week and nothing showed up. I think I have Dr. Monti perplexed as well but I think we both think it has something to do with my wearing my new shoes too much too soon but I am slowly getting better. Such a rookie move! I asked him today if we could just fix it and we both had a good laugh. Laughing through the pain. I cannot say that these last few weeks have not been frustrating. Knowing that Jamie had to run that 20mi by herself this past weekend and physically not being able to run it with her was a real let down. I have had to cancel most of my weekly runs and I have been very hesitant to take on new clients. Thankfully the ones I did take on, thinking I was going to be better when they started, are new or walk/run. Portland is a snowball getting bigger in my rear view mirror but Ben assures me I will be able to run it (as long as my ankle/foot are healed). I am cautiously optimistic but I am trying to keep with his new schedule with the elliptical and/or aqua jogging.

So as of right now I am still a work in progress and my schedule and plans seem to change everyday. I am very determined to get through Portland. I was hoping for under 5hrs but I am also readjusting my time expectations as well as my training.

Eat, Sleep, Run, Repeat. Ragnar of Bust!

Well it's done. Months of planning, training and stressing came down to last weekend and now it's over. Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage felt many times like an albatross around my neck and I could not wait to get it done an move on. But as with any awesome experience it's the little events that happen along the journey that make the experience so wonderful...but it was tough!

Lets talk about the run. I trained, ran good distances, ran multiple times a day on tired legs and even added strength training. I felt really prepared. I expected my run time to increase with each leg to some degree and I was OK with that. In hindsight I really should have worked on hills more. Hills are no one's favorite and despite how good I felt on them during previous races I was cocky and really should have worked harder on them. I also felt reasonably confident in my ability to run in warm weather. It definitely is not my favorite weather to run in (that would be about 30-40 degrees) but I have had very few issues lately with running in warmer weather. I wear my hydration vest and I generally feel OK. This year Ragnar was hot! It was humid and warm and it just took the wind out of my sails. Well that and the numerous blisters I was given while running on hot asphalt in my minimalist shoes. 4.1 miles on my first leg felt like 14.1. I later went through almost 2 boxes of blister Band-Aids trying to prep my feet for my 2nd leg.


Leg 2- The Disaster!

I worried about my second leg. I wasn't worried that it was at night or 8.9mi long or that I was tired. I was worried about my blistered feet and wondered to myself how they would fair.  The run did not start off well. When I got out of the car at Exchange 23 it was windy and very cold. I had used the portapotty before Emily came in and the wind went right through me on the walk of shame. Before I even walked the 100 yards or so my teeth were chattering. I quickly went through the small pile of running clothes I brought and was frantically thinking of what I should wear. I purchased a sweatshirt at Exchange 6 and was currently wearing it. The idea of wearing a sweatshirt on a run sounded like the worst idea possible but as I did a mental inventory of the clothes I brought- short sleeve tech shirt, short sleeve tech shirt, short sleeve tech shirt, sundress...the sweatshirt was sounding better and better. I decided to wear it. I threw my hydration vest on, my feet were bandaged and I wore my trail shoes for a cushier run. When Emily came in I started off and from the first few steps I knew it was going to be a lo-o-o-ong run. By the 1 mile mark I was sweating and very hot. The sweatshirt worked! It would have been so great to hand it off to my team but oh, the first few miles were a non-support leg. This means my team was not supposed to leapfrog me as I ran. My feet hurt. I was running on puss filled pillows on my feet. I was tired. How did that happen? We were at a major exchange that night. We were all in the van trying to lay down. Couldn't do it. Could-not-do-it. Donna and I ended up chit chatting then Micah was cracking jokes. We managed to scare a team member from another team who was trying to sneak up and tag our van. Donna and I saw her creeping up so when she went to tag our van I pounded on the window and yelled at her. Then she screamed, then Jamie screamed! Ooops I didn't realize Jamie's head was resting against that window I just pounded on. Sorry Jamie. We all had a good laugh after that. Everyone except Emily who WAS actually sleeping in the back of the van. Guess when you climb mountains you learn to fall asleep anywhere.  I digress though. Back to my run. I thought I would just leave my sweatshirt on until Mile 3 when my van could meet up with me. I had my vest on and it would have been a hassle to get everything off plus the hills were killing me. Saw a couple of dead rats. They must have tried to run some of those hills. I saw some vans pulling off in driveways or little gas stations along the way. I so hoped I was going to see my van but I didn't. I knew I wouldn't see them until the non-support section was over but as I kept passing team vans I kept hoping more and more plus did I tell you I was hot? I really wanted to just complain and tell someone how much my feet hurt or how hot I was. I finally passed Mile 3 when I realized I was not seeing  my van and I did not see a large parking area where vans were converging. Must not be Mile 3 when the non-support ends. I trudged on. I walked some of the hills and wondered if I would be able to make the whole run on these feet. Not really sure what the other option would have been. Finally, Mile 5 comes around and at this point I am so depressed and almost mad at my team because they didn't stop. I finally see them and they are huddled under a blanket on the street corner. I just wanted to yell at them "Where the fuck were you?" but I knew it wasn't their fault. I also knew I would start blubbering like a baby so I kept all talking to an absolute minimum. I did get to take off my sweatshirt. Finally! Ahhhh! That cool air felt nice. I took off after telling them to leapfrog me every mile. Between Mile 5 and 6 as I was running I felt the blisters in my feet go -POOF!- and I remember thinking that's gross and thank god I had my blister band-aids on. I wondered if all the puss was being contained and how gross it was either way. I also started to realize that my feet were feeling better and those Cliff Shots I took awhile back were finally starting to kick in.  I had been passed by a few people earlier on but then I was mostly by myself. Now there is a girl on the road, with her team van. I was a bit in a daze and not really sure what was happening but I noticed she was running. I decided to just pace her. I wasn't going to get any kills on this run. I think she felt me breathing down her neck so eventually she slowed a bit and I passed her. I GOT A KILL! I GOT A KILL! WTF?!? How did that happen? Whatever, she's passed and she was my kill. I was starting to feel like this could be doable but I was also starting to feel like I had to use the bathroom. Ugh! Will this run ever end?!? Thankfully I spied a Texaco. I argued a little bit with myself that maybe I should just keep going but then I argued that this could become an emergency situation and I would be kicking myself in the ass for passing up this golden opportunity. Fear won out and I stopped. Now I was feeling good. I had a kill so I headed out again through the town and I was starting to pick up my pace. After a short time I see this little guy come up along side me and pass me. He looked like he wasn't doing too well but he was traveling at a good clip so maybe he was doing OK. I thought to myself "Whatever. I'm your kill. So what?" and I kept going. Eventually I came up to this girl trudging along. She was definitely at the end of her rope so I decided to sidle up next to her and chat a little bit. We agreed the leg was long and were glad that it was going to be over soon. There was hope coming up on the horizon.  My team was still checking on me every mile now and I just waved them on. No need for tears at this point as I just passed that girl and now she was my SECOND KILL!  I was so elated that I came cruising through the town and come across that funny little guy that passed me earlier. We were nearing the end and we both felt it. I felt like I was tearing through there and as I round a corner & see a volunteer calling in runners. I am so close to the end! Woo hoo! I realize that volunteer was Jamie's husband Jason (oh yeah it's Exchange 24!) and I waved like a school girl. Look at me! Look at me! I'm finishing and I am going to pass that little funny guy. Coming through Burlington(?) High School towards the finish and I have my THIRD KILL (I think. I really don't remember now because I was just so happy to be finishing. So I either had 2 or 3 kills on this leg) and handed off to Corey. Never so glad to be done with a run in my life.
Leg 3- The Finish

 My last leg was fun. It was fun because it was the end and spirits were high. Most of the team was very lucky because they had nice overcast skies for most of the day. I thought what a difference from the previous year where my last leg was blistering hot on the side of a highway. I still have the tan lines on the back of my calves from the sunburn I got from running those hills. This year I was runner 12 so I was bringing home the bacon for the team. I felt we were ahead on time and we were going to finish in the daylight. Two things I did not anticipate happening. Around Jamie's leg (runner 10) the sun made an appearance then decided to take the stage and it got warm and humid real fast. Jamie started off her leg in grey skies but ended her leg in full sun. This did not bode well for my all black outfit I was going to run in. By the time we got to the last leg we were in a woodsy area, I felt good because within an hour we were going to be done and I just felt right. Once Emily passed off the slap band to me I took off and it was hot. I thought to myself "It is hot" and told my van to meet me in 1 mile. I did not carry my hydration vest on this run because it was only 4.1 miles. Up the road and pretty quickly there is a hill. This is how this run was going to go. At the start of the 2nd mile I told my van to meet me at the top of the hill I was starting to ascend. It was definitely less than 1mi but the hill was steep and I was going to need water. As I am trudging up to the top I notice that the hill plateaus for a short bit then starts uphill some more. I just knew my team was going to go to the very top of the hill...and they did. Thankfully the Running Evolution Team "Superhero Alter Egos" was at the top of the first hill and they gave me bubbles and water and a little moment to chit chat in the shade. It was great! Thank you so much. The uphill continuation was pretty steep and I realized that it was completely in the shade so I decided to walk it. I wasn't sure how much more was in the shade or how many more hills there were but I thought it might be a good idea. I ran the last bit up the hill where my van was waiting. I grabbed some water and told them to meet me in another mile. They thought maybe they should just meet me at the end due to parking but it was hot and we agreed another half mile. I grabbed some sponges that were soaked in cold water, shoved 2 in the front of my bra & 1 in my back strap and headed out. Oh man it was hot. I eventually squeezed one sponge over my head and started a nice, long downhill decent. I ran into two other girls. One was going at a pretty good speed so I just kept going at my pace but I caught up to another girl, we chatted for a minute and then I passed her. Another kill! Woo hoo! At the bottom of the hill my van was waiting. I think that girl ended up passing me at the bottom because I stopped for my van but it didn't matter I already passed her. Once I left the van I was heading for home. I eventually passed that girl again and ran through town in Langley. I was noticing what a cute town it was and reminisced about the pizza place we ate at last year. I was getting hungry. The last mile up to the finish seemed to be all uphill. My van mates were waiting for me about .75mi away from the finish and they ran with me. I couldn't stop to walk now since they were all with me. Keep on going. As I get up another hill I see we are coming up to the finish and there is a tunnel waiting for me and a whole lot of cheering. Team Superhero Alter Egos and Van 1 were there cheering us on! What great motivation. We high fived our way through and I was headed through the gate into the finish. Then I hear "Susan wait!". My team was trying to catch up from the tunnel and once I saw most everyone I headed off again through the finish and I was done. We were done and it felt great. There was pizza and beer at the finish. I saw it. All we needed was our medals and to snap a few pics. We were done!