Why Training is Important

Training is important because bad days happen. Bad runs happen. Slow runs happen. To decrease the chances that they'll happen during a race, you need to stack your odds. Run more.

I was undertrained for the 1/2 marathon in November. I survived, though.

I flat out DIDN'T train for this weekend's 10 Mile race. And I almost didn't survive. I certainly didn't put forth my best effort. It was a bad run. It would have been a so-so training run. But, sadly, it wasn't a training run.

Can you finish that 5k? Sure. But wouldn't it be better to ROCK that 5k? How do you ROCK a race? Training.

Always Looking Forward

It's barely 48 hours after the Soldier Field 10 Mile race. While the actual running part of the race was a little disappointing, the support from the DetermiNation team was incredible. It was amazing to feel like this race was MY race. In a crowd of 13,000 people, this race was MINE. Maggie rang a loud bell in excitement when she saw I raised $1,000. There was coffee. There were photos. There were people who had been affected by cancer, who HAD cancer, who were fighting cancer, who were running next to me.

As we turned the corner toward the players tunnel I thought again about the seven names on ribbons on my back. I started to cry, and then my throat slammed shut. I heard a high pitched whistle and was scared to realize it was coming from my throat. I looked over at Stephan and grabbed his shoulder. A woman saw me and asked if I needed her to call a medic. I shook my head no. It took 2-3 minutes but I used all my exercises and worked through it.

We finished in just over 2 hours. Of course- slower than I wanted. And what happens when Anna doesn't reach her goals?? She keeps working. She charges ahead.

She immediately registers for another race.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Too...... tired..... tooo..... sore......... Dear Anna, train for your next race, please! Love, your quads.

Finishing on the 50...

A 10 Mile race is not nearly as stressful as a 26 mile race... but getting downtown, making sure I have everything I need for Stephan, Sawyer, and myself. What time do we need to check into the corrals? Which corral should we be in? Do we need gear-check? Where will we meet our family at the end?

And all of it will be over this time tomorrow. Crazy. I'm super excited, super nervous, and super pumped to be back on the 50 yard line where this whole crazy ride started!!

Didn't Show up Naked but...

I had my first ever "running" dream last night. I was at the Soldier Field 10 mile race. Stephan had already started, but I decided to take my time and be a little lazy. I just watched everyone pass through the starting line as I talked to people. A little while later, I started seeing the finishers come back around. I thought maybe I should start this thing... but it was too late. I had missed the race. It was dark outside and the course markers had all been taken down.

I still tried to run it, but one of Stephan's friends stopped me, invited me to sit at a coffee shop and discuss why I was trying to run a race in the dark with no markers.

Race Day Commeth

We've got our bibs (with our names on them!!). I've got my D'Nation shirt and bib. There are hotel reservations. Three days until the 10 mile!!

If you get it.... you'll get this.

This just might motivate my run today!!

Homework

Don't read my blog today.

Read this one.

MO - mo - mo - tivation

Last week's 5k was not awesome. There were a lot of hills. I finished in 31:27. My PR is 31:16. I was bummed. Realistically the more hilly terrain means that I actually did BETTER, despite the shorter time. So I wrote this letter.

Dear Me,
You are bummed about 11 seconds. Get over it.
Love,
Me


It sucks when you feel like you were making progress, and then something small comes along and makes you pout. Or hang your head. Or tweak your knee. This week I've been running intervals all week- just putting in the miles and the speed. Faking it until I make it. I know that great feeling is going to come back. But for now I'm just on autopilot.

Piano Playing and Speed Work

In 8th grade my very last piano teacher pointedly pointed out to me that I needed to practice the piano more than I played the piano. I didn't take kindly to that. I don't like practicing. I like playing. I like the feeling of sitting down and letting my fingers do something on their own while my brain works and I listen to nice music.

Also.

I like putting my shoes on, letting my feet do something on their own while my brain works and I listen to nice music on my iPod. This is why I haven't gotten any faster in the last 2 months. Actually, I've gotten slower. I haven't done a single speed/interval training workout since February. They're just not that fun for me. I like logging the serious miles. "5" looks a lot more impressive than "2". "5" burns more calories. "5" brings me closer to the 1,500 mile mark on my post-surgical foot.

I could totally just play at running from now on. I might do that. I HATE interval training. Speed up, slow down, push the pace, but only for 60-90 seconds.... blah. Too much thinking there!!

Petty Theft

I steal things from my Facebook friends. Now I've started to steal things from the friends of my friends. Today I found a quote that made me laugh so hard I had to share it. Since it fits in with what I blog about, I'll share it here! (Was that enough preamble??)



“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” ~ Zig Ziglar


So, there's that. No, motivation doesn't last. It's the reason the bikini top I purchased last month is hanging from my bedroom lamp. It's the reason I check out who read my blog every day- so I can be responsible to someone. I get the most motivation out of being accountable to people. To Stephan, to blog readers, to the 5k that will be reported on my Athlinks profile.

Similarly, I shower so I don't offend other people. See? It's all connected.

Finally! Trail Run!!

It poured today. Poured down cats and dogs. There was thunder. There was a lot of lightening. But an hour before I wanted to head out, the rain stopped. The clouds parted and the sun came out.

Running shoes on. iPod set to stun. Perfect temperature. No people. Seriously, there weren't any people on the tail. It was really creepy. When I started running I mostly used the adrenaline that hit when I started thinking about all of the serial killers that could be hiding in the woods. Maybe homeless people who are hungry and would kill me for my meat? Bored teenagers? Drug addicts?

I didn't listen to music. I turned around every few minutes to check the trail. And then....!!! There was a lady with a dog. A very nice dog. And nothing happened. There was some mud!! And I landed in it. I knew that I was supposed to shorten my strides and slow my pace, but with the immanent threat of the homeless and deranged I couldn't slow down.

And then I was back at the car, sweaty, makeup still on from work, hair a mess. But done with my first ever trail run! I put my mud soaked shoes in a grocery bag and drove home barefoot. Proud. Successful!!

Cx*

(I might have to institute a new "no posting after 11pm" rule soon.)

I'm just back from the Healing Touch Midwestern Conference. Wow. Holy Wow. I met a personal trainer/RN/public health nurse who wants to combine Healing Touch with high level physical activity. Which is... you know... something I'd like to do.

I met TWO women who have published books for children that teach them about energy and how to calm their own bodies and minds.

And this was just the first few hours!! Cool.


*my version of nursing short-hand for "connection"

Go Runner Go!!

So this is the cutest thing ever! Apparently Sawyer James (of "He's making me waffles!" fame) donated to DetermiNation for me!

23 Days

I know that there are exactly 23 days until the Soldier Field 10 Mile run because every time I log into the American Cancer Society's fundraising page, I see the stats.

So far I've raised $775 out of the $1000 goal I'm shooting for!!

That's amazing. I have amazing friends and family. Truly amazing.

What? You didn't donate yet? Oh, and you want to know what the website is??

Well, here ya go!! Click it!!

"A Normal Person"

I was talking to someone this week who has recently had a pretty life-changing event happen to them. In my mind I was wondering how long it would be until they felt like a Normal Person again. My brain did a double-take at the phrase.

First of all, I'm brushing off all of the standard lines like: "No one is normal!" "Who would want to be normal?" "Normal is boring." I'm not talking about generic normalcy here. I'm talking about the ability to have a day where you just do your stuff and get it done and fall asleep at the end of the day... that kind of normal.

When someone dies, you think about them all the time, and every moment is punctuated with their presence (or lack of). That's not normal. But after days, or months, weeks, or years, you return to 'normal'. Right? Hmmmm (as Sawyer would say).

Can I just guess that whatever the big event is that shook you our of your Normal life changed you forever? It's not "Normal" that you're looking for anymore, but more of an equilibrium. The person who went through an excruciating disease will always have the physical reminders, the scars, the missing pieces of his or her body. But the mind will eventually let it fade into the background.

But the brain AND the body have been transformed by the experience. Right? So it's not that someone wants to return to Normal. It's that they are ready to finish this current transformation.

Right?

***Stephan read this last night and said, "Wow. This is the kind of stuff I say at the bar after 4 drinks!"

*******I'm editing this to include this link to an article and video from Runner's World titled, The New Normal. It's  a very clear graphic way to know what he was going through.