Flying Pirate Half Marathon 4/22/2012

When I planned out my races for the beginning of this year, this race was not included. In fact, I only intended to do two this spring. However, when I got an e-mail from my friend Laura's weight loss group leader about participating in this race since it would be Laura's first half marathon, I decided I had to be there to support her. And since I did not just want to be on the sidelines, I decided to make this one of my long distance runs in preparation for my half in May.

Thank goodness I decided that it was only going to be a long distance. Earlier this week, I got the news from Laura and Joanna that it was going to rain...100% chance of rain! Yikes!!! And I also for some reason when doing yard work determined that I needed to drop a brick on my foot. Ouch! What in the world was I thinking! My poor foot has been killing me all week! Since Jason had already taken off time for vacation and we had already paid for the hotel and the race, there was no backing out. And have I mentioned that my youngest nephew, Trent, chose this medal as his own! So, come rain or shine, pain or injury, this race was going down in the books as finished. Trent needs his medal!

I did my best to prepare for rain. I tried to prepare for blisters since I have been having issues lately on my longer runs. I got new socks to try which were a bit more cushioned. I even put moleskin on the areas that I have had problems with. I went to bed very early only to be awakened by some arguing bikers in the next door room. Joy! Thank goodness they either resolved their issues or the phone call to the front desk put a stop to it.

I got up a little after 4 a.m. and got started getting ready. With breakfast eaten, phone in a plastic bag, iPod in a plastic bag and everything else ready to go, I headed out to pick Laura up about 5:15. We headed over to parking and then got on the very first shuttle to the start line.

The shuttle to the start line let us out within short walking distance to the start. We headed over in the rain and hit the port-a-potty lines (okay, so with the rain there were no lines!) Then we headed to the covered building to wait for the corrals to line up. We got into our corral and waited for the race to start. It was still raining and I was pretty damp.

I wished Laura luck as we started out. With my foot already bothering me where I dropped a brick on it, I had made the decision to walk before we started. So, I headed out at a pretty good pace. Somewhere around mile 2 both of my feet started giving me issues. I knew it was my toes and I knew it was likely blister issues. I was trying to stick it out but at mile 3, I stopped at the medical station with the intention of checking the foot that was giving me less problems. When I pulled the shoe and sock off, I knew I was in trouble. I had blood and not just a little. The blister had popped and was bleeding. I got a bandaid on it and some moleskin and decided to check the other foot. It was much, much worse. We got it cleaned up as well and I put both shoes back on and headed back out on the course because the lady at the medical tent said she didn't think it was TOO bad.

So, I got back on the course and decided to slow my pace quite a bit more to lessen the intensity of the pain. I also decided that I needed a good distraction. So, I found two fun people to enjoy the lovely torrential downpours with! I really enjoyed Jennifer and Chantelle. Chantelle was originally from South Africa and her husband had told her that a half was only 10 miles, so she didn't train for her first half. She was pretty ticked by mile 10 and had come up with many ways to torture him for it! LOL. Jennifer was on her fourth half. We chatted and complained about the non-ending rain for quite awhile.

Little did I know that we would enter the neverending forest for the longest 4 miles of my life! It was a creepy little area and we were certain there were serial killers lurking about around there. Definitely should not have been at the end of the race! I would have preferred starting there than finishing there for sure!

The continuous rain and puddles were not a great comfort to my very sore toes. Every time I hit a puddle the toes that had blisters stung so that was not helpful at all. I continued on and prayed for the end of the forest multiple times. I grew irritated at the volunteers on the course who gave tons of misinformation about mileage and water stations and medical tents. Mostly, I was seriously drenched, no drowned, by the rain and I was tired and I was ready to get off my feet and take the shoes off!

But I soldiered on, helping Jennifer and Chantelle along. They were definitely a comfort to me in that I would have been way more focused on the pain had I not found them! So, when it came to the point we were finally finishing, I had gotten a little bit farther ahead and I stopped, turned around and waited for them to catch up to me, so we could cross the finish line together. After 10 miles together, we ran very slowly our finish line.

I was greeted by Jason and Laura. We headed over to the tables and picked up post-race snacks and then headed to the car to get out of the rain! I have never been so happy to put on warm, dry clothing in my life! And taking the shoes off was awesome, but my poor feet are so sore and so torn up right now, I think I will likely be off of them for awhile!

I was happy with the course right up until the forest. Since I am not a trail runner and not a huge fan of trail running, that made me pretty miserable. However I am so super proud of Laura for finishing her very first half marathon and doing it in under 3 hours. She did amazing and I am glad that I was able to be here with her!

As for me, I am calling for at least a week of rest and recovery for me and my feet and then I will be back out to get some more mileage in to get ready for Myrtle Beach next month!

I Love My Kids...

Okay, so I did not give birth to them and I am not raising them, but well, I am going to claim them anyways. I absolutely adore my sister's kids! There, I said it! This past weekend I was able to spend some good quality "Aunt Lissa" time and it was nothing short of awesome!!!

When I arrived at my sister's house, I had just pulled in and opened the car door and was greeted by my favorite 6 year old, Trent, running across the yard to me. He jumped into my lap and gave me the biggest hugs and kisses ever!!! It was by far the best welcome that I have received ever!! Talk about feeling completely loved and adored!! I asked Trent where his siblings were and he informed me that the others do not love me as much as he does and that is why he was the only one to run to greet me! I found that completely adorable :)

After my amazing greeting from Trent, I did receive several hugs and kisses from Trevor, Tyler and Kelsey. I also got lots of quality talk time with the kids. Friday night, Trent crawled on top of me on the sofa and looked through the pictures on my phone. He talked to me about my half marathons, lifting weights, and medals. He even picked out specific medals that he really wanted :) I love that kid!

Trevor and I talked about running and reading and a couple other things. He is big into football and also loves watching wrestling, so I got to hear about that as well! It's hard to believe how much he has grown up. I can barely believe that he is going to be 12 this year, but he is. He is so mature.

Tyler had lots to tell me. He usually does. He is a wealth of information both useful and useless...he chatters on like a chipmunk :) He is a good kid and has a good heart. He told me all about the fun that he has been having with their new puppies, Roxy and Rusty. We also talked about his Flat Stanley that I will be mailing back out to him.

And Kelsey, my sweet princess, and I had some good girl talk. We talked about manicures and pedicures, dresses and being a drama queen (her Tervis Tumbler says that and she found it awesome that I was drinking my coffee out of it!) She told me about her dance recital that is coming up. She is taking tap, jazz and ballet and she is really great! She is all legs and I look forward to seeing the video of the recital so I can see her dance!

My sister got married on Saturday in Virginia Beach. Her new husband is a great guy and a very welcome addition to our family. He also has a son, Brok, who is a great kid. I look forward to getting to know him better over the years and letting him know that Aunt Lissa loves him too! He and I talked a bit as well. He is very polite and also a very welcome addition to the family!

Aunt Lissa got a bit more quality time with Trent and Kelsey since they spent the wedding night with me in my hotel room. The two fought over who was going to sleep in the bed with me and I decided that since Trent was younger that he would. Kelsey accepted this but when it came time to go to sleep, she got a bit upset. So, Aunt Lissa decided to move the two double beds and make one really big bed so we could all sleep together. I couldn't bare upsetting either of them, so it worked out really well! I did however get to sleep in the crack for awhile and then both kids are such wild sleepers that I ended up getting smacked and kicked quite a bit throughout the night! It sure is a good thing I love them :) LOL

Anyways, I really enjoyed my time with the kids. I may not have any children of my own but these are definitely my kids. They have my heart and soul and I am completely wrapped around their fingers. Aunt Lissa would do anything for them.

When I was driving back Monday, I missed them so much. I also started thinking about when I could visit them again or if I could possibly convince my sister to let them come to stay with me a bit over the summer. I really hope that I can talk her into that one! Either way though, I need to get more time in with my kids!

Aftermath of my Double Workout

To say that I possibly may have overdone my workouts on Monday is to say that I was my normal self. LOL. Yes. I managed to get two workouts in Monday. I hit the gym early for a killer upper body workout with Tripp. Of course, he managed to pick my most hated exercises to focus on for that workout and multiple sets and reps later, I was completely and totally trashed and still hate them (mostly!) Then, he gave me a workout plan for my lower body workout with Lindsay. He wanted me to KILL her in 30 minutes and then put her through about 12 minutes of cardio.

Well, I am not certain if I killed her. I almost made her puke and to be quite honest, I almost puked multiple times during the workout. So. I think it was a pretty killer workout. In fact, my poor quad cramped when I went to show her walking lunges and I was not sure I was going to be able to get back up! And my legs were so very sore Monday night and yesterday and they are just plain miserable today!

I was so exhausted physically on Monday that when Tuesday morning rolled around and it was time to get up, I was still dreaming. I dreamed that someone was in my house. I could hear noises just as if someone was in the house. My subconscious reminded me that the alarm was set and since I had not heard it go off that I was indeed home and safe. However, my mind was struggling to wake me up and get me to move my body. I could not open my eyes or move a single muscle in my body in the dream. I struggled with the idea for a few more moments until my mind said screw it, the alarm is set, just sleep. I woke up a short time later and realized, I need better dreams. And probably more sleep!

I will probably hit another double workout in the future. Two-a-days are quite insane but I know I pushed myself to the limit and held nothing back. That is a good day and a great workout. Now, I have several very busy days ahead to the weekend and I am looking forward to enjoying some chill time over the weekend. Then next week, I will likely put in at least one two-a-day and see what next week holds.

I actually signed up to be a race marshall at the Palmetto Half Marathon which I think will be fun and interesting. It will be my first chance to see it from the view of the spectator/side lines/cheerleading sections. I am psyched that I decided to volunteer. I have no idea what my duties will entail, but I guarantee you that when the runners pass by me no matter where they are in the pack, they will feel encouraged!!!

Anyways, lots to do. So, I am going to head to bed.

Running Is Hard...Recovery Is Harder...

Even though my poor body is completely and totally trashed, all I really have wanted to do for the past two days is get back to training. Physically, I absolutely cannot run and I cannot lift. Mentally, I am ready to get back to work. This is one of the most frustrating parts for me. I know I have to wait and give my body enough time to fully recover from the torture I just put it through, but I also know that I have lots more work to do.

Yesterday, I had a strategy meeting with Tripp to discuss what my next steps will be. I will be honest, I knew exactly what he was going to say about a lot of things before we had lunch. But I needed to hear him say those things to me. He has a way of reminding me of things that I know without making me feel stupid for needing to hear them again. One thing he likes to remind me is that I already know everything I need to do...I am not new to this. I have been doing this for awhile now. Even so, it is always good to have him give me the mental kick in the butt that I need!

So, I have a plan of attack. I know what I need to do. And now I am ready to get to work. Unfortunately, until my body is a bit more mended, I cannot start working. My hope is that by tomorrow my upper body will feel well enough for me to hit the gym...we shall see. I already know that the lower body is going to need an additional day, so I am prepared for that. I plan to do some stretching tonight which should help everything quite a bit. Depending on how badly the legs feel, I may hit the foam roller tonight...definitely will be doing it tomorrow.

I am thankful to have a good friend who will help me to refocus when I need it. He has always been great about getting my head back in the game. And even when I screw up or don't do what we both know I need to, he continues to encourage and support me. I am thankful for that!!

NC Half Marathon 03/25/2012

I signed up for this race with one thought in mind...I will get a PR. LOL. Silly Melissa! I really wanted to do this because my Dad was a huge Nascar fan and well, the medal was super cool looking! The idea of running on the speedway was super enticing, so I figured why not. It's an inaugural race and I am all good for a fun race.

To be quite honest, before the race even got here I had issues. (What's new!) I had to take some time off from training in the gym and on the road because I was experiencing some back pain, super tight hamstrings and a little bit of exhaustion. I was tired...all the time. So, before the race even got here I was going in with issues. I got two and a half hours of massage done to help out the hamstrings which alleviated most of the back pain. But my sleep was way off...lots of insomnia!

And then, I made rookie mistakes going into this. Feeling as tired as I was, I slacked on my normal packing preparations. I did not bring my knee support that I wear occasionally (hence I had some knee issues during the race). I did not get enough potassium in the week (to two weeks) before the race. I also went into the race slightly dehydrated which is highly unusual for me. I forgot tissues for the port-a-potty (there was a lack of pre-race bathrooms and since I was early I got lucky there!) I didn't sleep well the night before...it was worse than ever before. All in all just a rough start for this race.

Since we were in Charlotte, we made a stop by my favorite tavern there, Solstice Tavern for lunch. Then we popped in to see Matt Terry at Fu's Custom Tattoos to get a date in the books for some more work on my tattoo. I have yet to get my 3 flowers from last year. So, we scheduled an appointment for June in which he will do 6...yes, 6 flowers!! Crazy, I know, but I want to get it caught up :) And by June, I will have completed two more races!!

We hit the expo on Saturday after lunch. It was a very small expo with really only two vendors and there was not much else. They had promos for the Divas Half Marathon at Myrtle Beach and the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon which are their sister races. But other than that, there was packet pickup. So, we did not spend a whole lot of time there. I could have done the Richard Petty driving experience but opted not to since I would be running the Charlotte Motor Speedway!

I did my best to get to sleep early Saturday night. I was terrified for some reason that I was not going to wake up on time. I set the hotel alarm, got a wake up call and set the alarm on my phone. All alarms staggered at different times in case one got missed or I happened to fall back asleep. Yep, I am that anal :) LOL! I took something to help me sleep that night and got maybe two hours of sleep before I started waking up every hour on the hour.

By the time 5:30 rolled around, I was really tired and could have used a cup of coffee. I got myself up and moving. I ate a small breakfast...which was the first of my rookie errors. I ate less than what I normally eat before a run. I didn't get enough in my system before the start. I would learn how badly that would affect me later in the run.

We got to the track early which was good because I was able to get into the bathroom line from the start. There was a huge lack of bathrooms and no port-a-potties. Hopefully since it was an inaugural event, they will fix this in the years to come! And then it was kinda confusing because people were hanging out in the garage at pit row and some people were on the track. It was a bit odd. Eventually after hanging out in pit row for awhile, I headed out to the track and got lined up.

The hip was sore this morning. It was a bit chilly out and I could feel it in my hip. I tried to stretch it and warm it up but nothing made my hip happy today. It probably has a little something to do with the fact that I had a leg day on Thursday before the race. I thought I was taking it a bit easy, but apparently, I was not! Yay me!! So, hip pain and glute pain were not fun at the start of the race!

The race started late which was unusual. Supposedly someone sang the national anthem but I never heard it! I started off pretty strong, still trying to ease the hip into the race. It was tough and I thought it had started to loosen up a bit, but it was actually getting tighter which was crazy! I distracted myself with running around the race course. I mean, cars speed around this track so I enjoyed that part. I got to see several cars along mile markers. I met Tammy pretty early in the race. She was recovering from a broken foot and moving along about my pace, so I asked if I could hang with her.

Tammy was my hero today. I learned relatively soon into the race that not only was my hip and my glute in severe pain, but I started to feel a bit nauseous. I have never puked on a race course, but today I wish I had because I think I would have felt better. I tried alternating water and gatorade at the stops. By mile 6, I pulled out my honey stinger chews and ate half of them. I had hoped that perhaps I just needed some fuel. I still felt a bit sick. So, I decided to slow down the water and gatorade and the chews to see if that helped. I managed to keep everything in which was by no means a small feat.

I am certain I slowed Tammy down quite a bit. Luckily, she had a similar mindset to me...it's all about the finish. Neither of us cared about PRs and we both just wanted to finish. I kept telling her if she needed to leave me behind since I was getting slower with the pain to go ahead but she hung with me all the way! Thank goodness!

The hills in this course were a bit insane!! Every time we went up another hill, my body screamed "why are we doing this?" And I just soldiered through because stopping was going to be more painful (or at least that is what I tell myself!) About mile 10, my feet were hurting so bad and I could not figure out why at the time. Then mile 11.5, I slowed a bit more because I almost passed out. (I didn't say anything to Tammy because I didn't want to stop!) I slowed a bit and tried not to overdo it. I pulled out my Sport Beans and had a few of them to try and help out in case the blood sugar was off. The nausea returned! When we finally saw mile 13, I was more than relieved. I was overjoyed. The closer we got to the finish line, I thought "I can drop dead as soon as I cross!"

About the time we were closing on the finish line, my favorite song by Kelly Clarkson came on,"What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger." I teared up a bit and turned to Tammy and pointed to the cones just a bit ahead. I told her when we got to those cones, we run. I had already used what was in my reserve tank. I had nothing left but I was so going to run that finish line if it killed me. That song was on for a reason. So, we ran. It was not a pretty run by any means! But we ran that finish line and got our medals. After they placed the medal around my neck, I realized how insane that was because my poor body started to just falter. I was barely able to stay upright. I was barely moving at all. And I just seemed to realize that I would have to walk at least a mile back to my car.

Tammy called Jason and he met us back in pit row while we were getting bananas and grapes. I found a chair and sat down. I was trying to figure out how I was going to get back to the car. We started walking out very slowly...the only reason I know we were moving is because I was gaining ground (just barely!) Luckily, a golf cart was headed our way and graciously took us back to the car.

We grabbed a couple pics at the car. Then headed to the hotel where I took the first of two ice baths and some ibuprofen. I have either severely bruised one of my toes or I am about to lose the toenail (since I painted them last week, I have no idea what it looks like, but it hurts and the toenail is seriously loose!) My calves, hamstrings, quads and glutes are trashed. My feet are so sore and I am waddling like a duck. My upper body is tight and in a lot of pain too. I got a lot of sun but I don't think I got burned. I may have had a bit of heat exhaustion or just dehydration after the race. The ride home was definitely uncomfortable. After my second ice bath, I slept for a couple of hours.

All in all, for an inaugural race, it was good. It was hot and being on the blacktop made it hotter! I am thankful for the camaraderie of fellow runners and especially for Tammy who helped me finish today. I love the running community and the fact that there are those of us out there who know that there is more to a race than hitting your PRs. Sometimes it is about helping others cross the line in spite of pain and suffering...that big medal sure does feel good around your neck. Almost makes you feel invincible!

I have two more races coming up...I am certain I will make some changes to my training but for now, I am going to rest and focus on recovery.

Best thing ever was that my dear friend Tripp informed me that I am a clutch competitor. He told me I perform better under pressure than anyone he knows. It was awesome to read that when I finished my race. I look forward to some great strategy sessions with him for my next two races!!

Life Lessons

I have started quite a few posts lately but for some reason or another, I have not posted anything. Life has been crazy, busy, uncomfortable and odd. For those who do not know, I am no longer working at the nutrition store. It was a difficult decision but ultimately though it is a field that I love and I was very good at my job, the situation did not quite work out like I had hoped it would. Oddly enough, lately I feel like I can say that about a lot of things in my life.

I have had a week and I am really looking forward to the weekend and some rest and a lot of fun. I spent most of the beginning of this week a complete and total train wreck. There was a lot of crying, some self-pity, some self-hatred, and just a whole lot of me being completely broken. I cannot pinpoint exactly what was going on that caused all of it or if everything just hit me at the right point when I was all hormonal to begin with. Either way, it happened and it has not been an easy time, but it got me to thinking about a couple of things.

After spending a couple of days just out of control, I realized what if this season that I am going through is not about me? What if everything I am going through is to in some way or another put me in the right position for someone else who needs me? What if the things I am experiencing are there so I can be there for someone else? Sure, I likely have a lot to learn through all of this, but I found it interesting that certain things have happened that likely would not have happened if the current circumstances were not going on. So, maybe it's not all about me.

However, one thing I have absolutely determined is that right now while everything is out of control, I am going to let it go. That's right...the control freak is going to let it go and just see where it goes from here. I have spent way too much of my life trying to control everything. Deep down I think that habit comes from fear. I think I am afraid of not being in control because I don't know what to expect next. And what is wrong with not knowing everything about everything? Maybe it's the only way for my brain to actually shut off. And maybe it's the only way for me to stop trying to do it all alone. Perhaps one of my worst traits is that I have a hard time asking others for help. I feel like I am burden on others, a pest, like my problems are irrelevant to my friends and family. I don't know why I feel that way but I have been like that for a very long time. I have been told that I could never truly be a damsel in distress...I would never allow a knight in shining armor to come in and save me because I would be like the drowning victim and fight it the entire time. So, maybe now is a time for me to learn that I am not in control and that I do need to ask for help before things become too insane!

So, perhaps this season of my life is here to not only teach me some things about myself and help me to break some bad habits but more importantly, perhaps all the stuff that is going on is really so that I can be available to others. Perhaps the reason behind all of the insanity is that I am helping someone else while I go through this storm. Perhaps I need to be completely broken for a little while so that I can figure out how to put all the pieces back together without the negativity and fear. Perhaps I have a lot to learn about trusting others to be there for me when I need them.

Right now, I am just going to focus on being open to what I need to learn from all of this. I am going to work on being me...minus the stress and negativity that has been overwhelming me. And I am going to stop blaming myself for things that have nothing to do with me. Enough is enough. It's time to let it all go and reclaim what I know is out there for me.

Every Little Thing Is Gonna Be Alright...

I have been singing this Bob Marley song in my head for the past two days. Some things have changed in my life lately. The main one being that I have had a HUGE reduction in my stress levels. I won't go into a lot of details about it, but I will say that I am pretty happy to have the largest source of stress in my life reduced.

I have some great plans coming up. I am going to be having lunch with some good friends this coming week that I have not had the opportunity to do lately. And at the end of the week, I am heading up to Virginia to spend some overdue quality time with my Mom, sister and my niece and nephews. It is going to be AMAZING!! I have missed them all so much the past several months and I am going to have a blast with them!!

So, though I have had some changes that were not quite expected this past week, I know and believe that "every little thing is gonna be alright." I have no regrets.