Inspiration - what pulls me through

Well I survived the ½ Marathon.  It was a new route, not that I had ever ran the other route, so it didn’t matter to me.  I was told that the new route could potentially increase your time.  Whatever.... that is a mute point for me.  I just wanted to finish in three hours.

I am a pretty organized person.  I sent a blanket email detailing the route, where I expected to be and what time.  We got up in the morning with everything ready to go.  All we had to organize was where to meet my brother and sister-in-law pre race.  We had a first potty break at the Lord Elgin Hotel.  Lucky for me there was only 2 people in line when I had to go.  When I left the potty, the line went all the way to the check in counter.  It got so bad that women were going into the men’s room.

So my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and my hubby and I walk towards the corrals.  Lucky Andre – he is in the second corral. We wish each other good luck and Marc and I head out to my corral – second last one.  The starting pistol goes off and it took me 9 minutes to cross the start line from so far at the back of the pack! I started slow which was great, that’s what I wanted, but the slow seemed way to slow for me so I may have been slightly ahead of my planned schedule.

As I ran through Chinatown, Little Italy and Westboro all I kept thinking of was how delicious the air smelled.  Oh how some Pho, a cannoli and a bagel would have been so tasty! Since I was thinking of food, I mentally went through my list of WW ladies I knew and envisioned them running with me.  They would keep pushing me past the smells.  I am so never ever ever going to run Krispy Kreme race in Atlanta – ever!!!

 I am so grateful to the kids lining up for a high five, the strangers cheering me on, the friendly faces of the volunteers handing out water and Gatorade.  They see you and give you the encouragement to stay strong and keep going.

I have been cross training and been feeling a little tired for the past couple of weeks, doing less and less on the running side.  So when I hit the 16K marker, I ran into a brick wall.  My husband and I planned to see each other at two spots.  I was looking forward to seeing him with a short distance to go.  No such luck, we just didn’t see each other.

After crossing the Alexandria Bridge I knew there was final small climb to make and at that point I thought about walking, however when I started to flatten out near the Chateau Laurier I saw a soldier walking. This soldier had a prosthetic leg.  As I approached him, I reminded myself that if this dude could do it, than I could. I stuck with him for a few steps, thanked him for what he’s done for our country, told him how awesome he is and to keep going.  Off I went, feeling very inspired to finish with pride.

At the 19K mark I spotted my Dad and took a few seconds to stop and give him a hug and kiss. I can’t describe the feeling I had from having my Daddy looking out for me along the race route.  What I do know is this is where I got the umph I needed to get through to the finish.

That last 500 meters was a tough run. I was worried about my hubby, because we hadn’t spotted each other.  Because we missed each other, I sucked it up knowing that the sooner I could finish, the sooner I would be able to see him.

When I finished I found my hubby and briefly got together with my brother-in-law who finished with a personal best, and my other brother-in-law and sister-in-laws who were also there for the finish.  I swore it was my last 1/2 ever.  Yet by the time I got home and had a nap, I started thinking about another 1/2 or full marathon. Crazy you say. I am planning on running 15K in July in Utica NY. So, ya, I am really going to have to see how I fair out in that one before planning any other runs!!

Thank you all for your support for this race! I am very grateful to each and everyone for your kind words, your support and advice!  You are an awesome support system. BTW 2:37.57.6

Change is Good - So I am told

Being raised in a military family, we changed addresses often, not as much as some, but more than others.  I don’t have a childhood home – and that is okay with me.  If I could get away with it, I have my furniture replaced every couple of years, I’d buy a new car as soon as I paid off the current one, I’d change my clothes 3 times a day at work.  I don’t need consistency, I can cope with change.

So why is that I find myself resisting a change in my running methods.  I have the National Capital Race weekend in 2 weeks.  I feel so not prepared.  I must admit when I did my first ½ back in September, I had this feeling too.  It feels like I won’t even get 5 K in.  I know that is not true, it’s just that nervous, icky feeling – and I don’t like it!

I know I have been building my endurance with spinning and swimming, I just have no desire to get out there and run.  It just feels like boredom with running is creeping in.  The runner’s high I get when I finish any run is still there. It’s the getting my backside in gear to get out and do it where I lack the motivation.

I have always enjoyed my running solo.  I was able to clear my head of dust and cobwebs – it can get pretty crowded in there if I don’t dust regularly.  I didn’t have to talk to anyone; I didn’t have to worry about increasing my pace.  I could go at my own pace.  I now myself wondering on my runs if I am not challenging myself enough or maybe have even set my sights too far ahead of myself that I am trying to look beyond the NCR weekend and heading towards the beer tents at the Boilermaker run.  Maybe my shoes just aren’t the right ones and the aches in my legs are from them and that’s why I don’t want to get out there and run.  That I will find out more next week when I venture into the technology world and get hooked up to some thingies that will measure my gait etc.

So I am going to tackle one thing at a time.  So even though I am not a fan of the Running Room format, I will make my way down this Sunday morning at the crazy hour of 8:30 am and do a trial run.  I will learn rather quickly if the ticket I am missing is running in a group.  And maybe, just maybe, I have to kick it down and run more often so I can remember the great high I get from the run.  I won’t know until I try out all my options.

What I love about this journey is that I get to change my mindset often.  I started out a solo runner and now I may have progressed myself to the point where I need to make a small change – like group running or even just a running buddy or even just my shoes.  No matter what it is, a change has to be made and I will embrace it!