Smile Pretty For The Camera

If there is one thing I love more than testing my strength and stamina and running a marathon it's volunteering for one while taking pictures and cheering on other runners!  It is such an amazing experience to be witness to such mental and physical strength (especially when its cold and rainy outside)!

Today was the Idaho Wine Run which offers the 5K, 10K, 1/2 Marathon and Full Marathon distances. I was stationed at Aid Station 8 which got all of the distances.  Every single walker and runner came through our Aid Station, and boy was that fun!  Boise has an incredible running community, and I LOVED seeing so many of my friends.  Either we were running or we were volunteering.  I saw friends from church, friends from volunteer work, friends from a chiropractor office I used to do massages at, and friend I met through running.  It was incredible!

The day started cloudy but nice.  Early in the race, we had a bit a a rain sprinkle. But by the end of the race, it wad down right raining and chilly!  We were at our Aid Station from 9:30 and closed up at 2:00 when the 2nd and 3rd last marathoners came by. The last marathoner was still an hour out (at least) and was being followed by the sweeper in a car with all the aid she could possibly need.

There were some incredible stories out there on the road today.  My friend Kimberlee was finishing up her 44th half marathon.  There was one woman who was running her first ever 5K and swore the course was up hill both ways.  (It may have been!)  There was a woman running for first 1/2 marathon with another friend and we cheered them on.  There were several families out there running with their babies in strollers; that is a great fete when you are pushing up those hills!  I think my favorite was the full marathoner who was 6th from last I believe.  He had been living in Nicaragua and had been on a diet.  He lost over 50#.  He flew in just last night; landed at Midnight. Only had a couple of hours of sleep.  At the beginning of the race it was warm so he had taken off his shirt and ran topless.  But then the rain and the cold front came in.  He had been used to hot humidity; which is NOT what he was experiencing today.  Someone had given him a towel to wrap up in.  Coming up the hill to our Aid Station he stopped to stretch out the cramps he was experiencing. Once he got to me, he was all smiles. At the actual Aid Station, he stopped to visit with us as we continued to check on his health.  Dennis (our Aid Station captain) offered him a dry, warm shirt, but he decline. His body was cramping from the cold and jet lag...AND it was his FIRST marathon!  Such an inspiration!

 




Another man came running up covered in a towel.  He had been experiencing cramps so badly, he had fallen onto the street.  Someone had stopped their car and let him in so he could warm up.  He had also been running topless.  Someone gave him a shirt. Then someone else gave him a towel.  And somewhere along the line, he had picked up a beautiful black lab who ran all the way to the finish line with him. (The dog had a collar on but no tag.)

The last 3 people in the marathon were all women.  Then 2nd and 3rd to last women were incredibly strong.  Both insisted that they were fine and didn't need any dry clothes or help.  They just wanted to be done.  Sore.  Wet. Cold.  They kept going.

The most inspirational story out there is probably the one I didn't get to hear.  The woman that came in very last.  Having been in that position before, I can only imagine what was going through her mind.  I saw her at her very start, and she was last then.  She was walking up that very first hill out of the winery.  By the time we were leaving, the rain was coming down hard.  It was cold.  And I'm positive she was walking and pretty slow.  I'm positive she was hurting.  Yet, she was still moving at mile 22 and heading toward that finish line.  I don't know what time she finished, but I'm sure she did.  She may have been last, but she was certainly a winner today..just for finishing!

What a great way to spend my Sunday!  Congrats to all of the finishers for all of the distances.  It doesn't make a difference if you did a 5K or a Marathon distance.  It doesn't matter if you walked or if you ran.  What matters is that you started and that you were out there while others just laid on the couch today!  Each and every one of you are heroes in my book!!!

Back in the Saddle!

After a few cold and rainy days here in Boise, we got a bright sunshiny day today!  But the trails still need to dry out.  Instead of running, I went for a bike ride. This was my first bike ride since I did the 400 mile ride back in June.

It was a little chilly so tights and long sleeves were required, but it was such a pretty day!  I was so happy to be back on the greenbelt with my bike. I had no idea how much I had missed my bike or how much I had missed riding on the greenbelt. Back in June, I was so tired of looking at the greenbelt and so tired of riding my bike. *laugh*

Today was a new day! I really had forgotten how beautiful my city is.  I had also forgotten how BUSY it is, especially at the parks during the school year.  At Julia Davis Park, there are 2 museums and the Zoo.  It is the Mecca for all school buses on field trips!  Then there are all the charter/private schools around downtown that use the parks for different things or the greenbelts to walk on.  And right across the river from Julia Davis Park is Boise State University so there is all that traffic too.  Then you get to add all of the runners and cyclists out enjoying such beautiful weather!  It was BUSY and so much fun!  I loved seeing all of the people out there.  I loved seeing the huge amounts of children out there enjoying their freedom from the typical classroom settings.  There were so many smiles out there today.  Then of course, there were my favorite giraffes at the zoo and all the squirrels and geese!

It was also a great day for detours and working on the greenbelt.  A few miles after I started on the north side of the greenbelt, the greenbelt was closed between 2 parks so I had to go ride on Chinden Street (too busy), but at least I was going in the right direction to easily get on and off the street.  I just didn't want to have to come back that direction. So on the ride back to the car, I took the south side of the greenbelt.  That was okay, except for the retired people in their scooters who insisted on either taking their half out of the middle and swerving and not listening to my yell of "on your left" or just cutting me off and making me swerve to miss them (and the obstacles poles at the same time).  Once I passed the scooter brigade, I came across a big ol' truck taking up the entire greenbelt.  It was some kind of work truck.  As I got closer, I noticed a line going from the truck up towards a tree to my left.  Then I saw a guy at the tree with a saw trying to saw the tree down.  The guys at the truck told me to hurry and go under the line.  Nothing like playing limbo on my bike while riding off the path (which reminds me I should look for thorns in my tires now).  Once I cleared the line, I heard one worker tell another worker that they need to block of the path where I had just came from because that tree was coming down any second.  Great.  I just missed being plummeted by a tree!  That would have made for a great story!  Hey! I was wearing my helmet; I was prepared!

Thankfully, I made it  back to my car unscathed; after all, I do have an ultra marathon next Saturday!  I also finished this ride with the fastest pace I have ever peddled!  13.87/miles per hour!  My previous fastest time 13.18/miles per hour and that was a fluke; all of the times around that ride were in the 12/miles per hour mark.  Anyway, as I rode today, I experienced my fastest mile ever which was just over a 2 minute mile!  I was so excited!

It was a great ride today!  Now to reel in the work outs and let my body really rest for next week's race!

Can Someone Please Turn The Lights On?????

This morning's run brought to you by the two syllables  CRAA and ZEE.

I started my run shortly after 6:00 AM and it was DARK!  I was doing okay on the street that leads to the trail head, but once I got to the parking area at the trail head, I heard a "biggish" critter in the brush.  That always spooks me a little bit.  I started going through the list of critters that would be out and about at night and which ones are most likely to be rummaging around in the woods.  And I tell myself, "It's okay.  It's probably just a raccoon."  That doesn't really help.  I kept going.

I got onto the trail and started to try and run a bit when I looked up onto the mountain side.  There I saw 2 little glowing things.  I blinked my eyes and I rubbed them and looked again. I was really hoping it was just a mirage!  But nope!  There they were.  Two little beady eyes staring me down!  CREEPY!!!  You know those fake glowing eye ball lights you see at Halloween?  It was like those.. only REAL!  What kind of creature was behind those eyes???  YIPES!!!  I had no idea.  It was beyond dark and all I could see were the glow of the beady little eyes!  I ran past it, and look behind me.  I was really hoping the eyes didn't follow me!  Sure enough, I didn't see them again.  But the goosebumps on my arms didn't go away for a while!

You know that saying "It's always darkest before the dawn"?  Ya, I think I finally understand what that truly means!  I had my new head lamp on, and it really didn't do much at all.  I could see that there was nothing big and dark on the trail. I could see where the trail ends and the brush began.  But other than that, the head lamp did me no good.  I could not see the little nuances of the trail. I could not see where it might have had a little hump. I could not see where it dipped.  All I could see was flat light reflecting off of the beige sand.  This is a trail I run all of the time, and I am happy that I know it the way that I do.  However, with that said, I still had the hardest time seeing today.  It was worse today than it has ever been.  I really had to slow down through parts of the trail because I just could not see.

Those pictures were taken about 30 minutes into my run and the sun was starting to come up a little tiny bit.  When I started, you couldn't even see the difference between the night sky and the mountains.  But you could see stars!

Finally, the sun came up and I was able to run which made me feel TONS better!  I also came across a few more runners which helped.  Being out there in the foothills in the dark and alone with creepy beady eyes staring you down does not help the self-confidence one little bit!  *laugh*  I just keep telling myself that running in the dark is good training for the Frenzy when I will be starting in the dark.  After the frenzy, I am done with running in the dark..just sayin'!

Rainy, Cold, Up Hill, Down Hill, Rolled Ankle, Slow and Fast...

It was quite the day up on the Frenzy Course today!

Down at the starting line, I kinda had my doubts about my wardrobe choice for the day.  I wore my long running tights and a light long sleeved shirt, but by the time we started making the smallest of elevation gains and the wind and the rain started in on us, I decided I made the right choice!

It didn't rain for long, but the clouds stayed with us all day.  The temps went from the 50's at the starting line to "I'm just really cold" up at the top of Ridge Road.  Then there was everything in between!  But for the most part, the temps were PERFECT for a scheduled 22 mile run!

When we planned this run, Mary said, "I know I'm slower than you.  So feel free to run ahead of me."  This is what back-of-the-packers do...the "compete" for who is slowest.  *laugh*  I assured her that I was not out there to break a time record; I just needed time on my feet and I was more than happy to hang with her.  Besides, I don't think she is that much slower than me (if at all)!  As far as I am concerned, she is pretty much a rock star.  She has a daughter a year older than me, and she is out there doing what all the "youngin's" are doing, and she smiles the whole dang time!  People tell me I'm a "bad ass"...but I believe that award goes to Mary!

Anyway, our day started out great.  We were pretty even paced for the most part.  I enjoy Mary's company very much. Neither of us like to run in the dark, so we were perfectly happy to power hike up the first hills until the sun came up.  Of course, there were still more climbs after the sun came up so we just kept on power hiking until we got to Watchman.  Then we got to run down hill which is always fun.

Nature called...and I am proud to say, I survived my first "squat behind a push" moment while on the trail!  Go me!  (And yes, you needed to know that!)  Ever since I started trail running, I have been amazed at the grace and ease that these women have with just "finding a bush".  They are so dang quick at it.  It's an art form I tell ya!  I still need practice!

We made it to 5 Mile Gulch...the big climb.  Mary started shouting, "I LOVE 5 MILE!"  Perspective and mind set is everything.  So instead of hating this heck of a climb, she had decided to love on it.  She even started singing Zippidy Do Da!  It didn't take her long to pass me.  My legs were feeling like toast. But worse than that, my head was feeling dizzy and my tummy was feeling nauseous.  I have NEVER climbed that hill as slow as I did today.  This is the first time in my training that I seriously questioned my ability to finish this race come race day.  I was so sick on that climb.  I just kept telling myself, "One foot in front of the other."  I would stop to try and calm my head, breathing and stomach down.  Then I would feel the lactic acid in my legs as they started to burn.  Oy!  Not a fun feeling!  If I moved I felt sick.  If I stopped I felt pain.  There really was no win-win option..other than to keep moving to reach the top and end the torture!

The thing about 5 Mile Gulch is that when you have finished that climb and reach Ridge Road, there is another sadistic climb for a mile along Ridge Road.  By the time I got to Ridge Road, I felt very green.  Mary said it would be okay if we skipped the out and back on Ridge Road and just headed down...and by down, I mean further up some more climbing before we could get to the down part!  We stopped for a while at the top of 5 Mile Gulch trail head so I could eat part of my Payday bar, hoping this would settle my stomach.  (Even the thought of drinking water was making me queasy.)  After a few bites, we were back on the move.

It was FREAKING COLD up on the ridge!  BRRRRRR!

Finally, we were able to start heading down hill.  I still wasn't running, like I normally would.  My body was still trying to calm down and recover from the climb.  Eventually, I was able to start running, more out of necessity than anything else. It's a pretty steep downhill and running becomes mandatory at some point :).

When we reached the trail head for Orchard, again Mary offered a short cut.  We could skip the climb up Orchard to 5 Mile Gulch and just stay on Rocky Canyon Rd for a few more minutes until we reached the car at the bottom of 5 Mile Gulch trail head.  I was already feeling guilty for skipping the out and back.  I was feeling stronger now.  So up Orchard we went.  For whatever reason, today's climb on Orchard felt easy and relaxing.  The very beginning is a bit of a climb but for the most part, it was just relaxing and felt great to be able to do it.  When I reached the intersection with 5 Mile Gulch, I knew it was all down hill!   Yay!!!

I started to run down hill, and I didn't get very far before I rolled my ankle again!  With a hop and a "Son of a GUN!" and a few more stabilizing steps I was able to get the pain under control and start running down the hill again...just a tad bit slower this time.  Mary trailed behind me, and I thought.."She is a mountain goat up 5 Mile Gulch and a bit slower on the down hill; and I'm the total opposite." We each have our strengths, and that is what makes this world such an amazing place. It is also what makes for great running buddies!

We finished our (now) 20 mile run in 7 hours and 22 minutes.  If we had done the other 2 miles, it would have added another 40 minutes putting us JUST over the 8 hour time limit for the first 22 miles.  Although, Mary's watch said 7 hours 20 minutes, so she would have made the 8 hour cut off.  And to be fair, while on 5 Mile Gulch, I did spend a bit of time on the phone with my husband without stopping the clock. *laugh*

Oh well. Its all good.  We could fret about the time it took us or be grateful for the time on our feet.  We chose to be grateful for the time on our feet, which is what we both really needed for this training day.  All in all, I finished the run feeling strong and like I could have finished the whole 50K. I'll take that as a WIN!

And We're Back!

Sometimes it takes all the courage you can muster to walk through those doors.

Today, I walked back into my regular Weight Watcher's meeting facility.  I started this journey back in March 2011.  I went for 52 weeks straight and lost 65#.  I went longer than that, but the 52 week journey was the original challenge, and actually the 65# came after the 52 weeks.  Then when I bonked my head in January of this year,  I stopped going and didn't return until April. When I went back in April I weighed in at 193#.  I had gained 12 pounds.  I went consistently until June 2# when I finally reached my lowest weight (again).  Then life happened and I stopped going again.

I really do not have any reason to have stopped going.  All I have are excuses.  And as discussed several blogs back, my eating habits have gone to hell in a hand basket.  However, back at the end of May, I also took a birth control shot with the sole reason of preventing my monthly period from coming while I was on vacation.  I knew that this birth control shot could make me gain weight; I just willed it not to.  I'm not entirely certain if the shot had anything to do with this round of weight gain or not, but I can tell you that today's weigh in found me at 192#.  I'm back up 11 pounds from my lowest point.  Ah well.

Those are just numbers on a scale.  While they have their place, there is much more to this "getting healthy thing" than what the scale says.  However, since I AM in Weight Watchers, there is definitely a scale focus.  Reaching "goal" or "life time" means reaching a certain number on a scale.

Before I walked through the doors, Paula, my meeting leader saw me and I could hear her shout "oh my!!"  And she quickly came around the corner to welcome me back with a huge hug saying "the rock star has returned".  My reply was, "I'm not sure I feel like such a rock star, but I am back."  She then went on to brag about how many miles I ran on the trails yesterday.  We are friends on Facebook, but she never says anything.  But I guess she reads my stuff *laugh*  Then as I was weighing in and seeing just how much I have gained, another woman came in for her weigh in and she said, "You look great!  You must be getting close to goal!"  My reply was, "I'm FAR from close."  (Now why couldn't I just take both of these compliments instead of dismissing them???  I have work to do!)

My original goal was set for 148#.  Paula suggested that I go to my doctor to see what weight my doctor would be comfortable in saying... "Martha has reached goal."  Based on my activity level (and I suppose my muscle mass), Paula believes 148 is too low for me to set as a goal.  I also think part of this decision has been on the way my weight has fluctuated and stayed within 10-12# over the last year or so...and not being able to break through that barrier.  My lowest weight was 181#. Paula suggested that my goal weight should be 170#.  My friend Jenn and I went back to WW this week with the goal of each of us losing 30# which would put me at 162#.

Like I said, these are just numbers on a scale.  Another way I judge my weight loss is the Body Mass Index (which can be off a tad because of muscle weight). However, the BMI will tell you if you are morbidly obese, obese, slightly obese, overweight or normal.   I remember the day I wet from Morbidly Obese to just Obese. I was ecstatic!  *laugh*  I would like my BMI readings to say that I am just overweight (which will happen at 174# and normal is 145#..which I haven't seen since I was 19 years old).   Maybe that sounds bizarre, but like I said, it doesn't take muscle ratios into account.

I would also like to have more energy and less muscle aches and pains.  I would like my skin to clear up.  I would like to find my mojo again!  *laugh*

So there ya have it.  I'm back in Weight Watchers with a doable goal.  30#.  Here's to a fun adventure with my friend Jenn and a few others from Facebook!

I Feel Pretty....Oh So Pretty.....

And I pity any girl that isn't me tonight!

Today was such a great day!!!  Nearly 8 months after bonking my head, I FINALLY got to get all prettied up in my FABULOUS sparklies and dance with my belly dancing sisters!

Coming back from this concussion has not been an easy thing.  I know you have all heard me talk about it so many times that I'm positive you are tired of hearing about it.  The brain continues to amaze me.  This week, for the first time in a very long time, I had a pretty bad day when it came to cognitive thinking.  We have had entirely too much stress at home lately, and on Thursday, my brain was just D. O. N. E..... DONE!  It took all day for the brain to just relax and rejuvenate.  I went running on Friday and I felt a bit sluggish, but ended up running one of my fastest times for that particular route, so I guess I was doing okay.

When this morning came, I could hardly contain myself.  Ever since I went back to Belly Dancing classes in August, I have been working my tail off to learn 2 choreographies.  One of them included zills (finger symbols).  At first we didn't think I would do the zills (too much for the brain to process...keeping rhythms, while dancing, the music, choreography...) but I wanted to give it a try. Funny enough, I learned it faster than I did before I bonked my head.  However, there are other things that my brain is having a hard time remembering.  And to be honest, there have been days when the choreography just disappears like it was never there.  It's been an interesting experience.

But this morning, I got all dressed up with my costume, sparkly eye liner, sparkly hip scarf, big skirt, flowers in my hair.  I was ready!  I practiced my class dance and I had it down perfectly.  As for the group dance, I just figured I would hang out behind other people and I would be fine.  It was a great plan.  But you know what they say about plans.....

  

I forgot my zills at home, and as it turns out that was probably a really good thing.  When we walked up on stage for our group dance, I realized the stage was sloped downwards behind us.  I didn't think it was that big of a deal  until the music came on and we started to dance.  Music, plus movement, plus choreography I managed to do okay. But once I had to add the balance issue of an uneven stage, I was toast!  At least twice I had to catch myself from falling over.  I could not remember the choreography to save my life.  I felt like a hot mess up on that stage.  Just keep smile and moving; it will be over in a bit. In the words of one of my friends from Belize, "It's a good thing you are pretty." That is what I kept telling myself up on that stage today. *laugh*

When I got back up on stage for my class dance, we had turned a different direction (since our audience was sitting in the shade to the right of the stage).  Now the downward slope was to my right. I could handle that much better!  I performed my class dance perfectly and with a HUGE smile on my face!  I have NEVER felt that confident and amazing dancing  before!

By the time our hour of dancing (of which I danced 2 choreographed dances and 1 open dance) was over, I was tired.  It was all I could do to get home and change.  I laid down on the couch and was out for the count. My brain really, truly had had enough.  The nap was good.  Whew!

Then this evening, my friend posted on facebook, "Who doesn't have plans tonight and wants to do something awesome?"  Knowing he was part of the burlesque troupe that was performing tonight, I knew it had to be something amazing. I didn't have any plans.  As it turned out, they needed someone to work their Merch table. I had 15 minutes to get dressed in something sexy and get out of the house and head over there!  Sweet!

So tonight, I got to smile, flirt and sell merch and raffle tickets for the best burlesque troupe in town.  I had so much fun tonight!

Truly, I love the performing arts......and I got to start and end my day all dressed up in sparklies surrounded by some of the most talented people I know in this city!  I'm feeling entirely grateful and blessed!

Every Day I'm Shufflin'......

The alarm clock went off at 6:00 AM.  I had just rolled over and looked at my clock at 5:30 and thought, "Oh man!  30 more minutes. I should just get up cause falling asleep for 30 more minutes and having the alarm go off is NOT going to be fun!"  But I REALLY wanted that extra 30 minutes!  In that last 30 minutes, I was dreaming about dancing with Tracy at a party and a friend of mine came up and said, "Martha, I just got a vision of you and your head.  What you are experiencing isn't symptoms of a concussion but a Memory Tumor."   Nice thought to wake up to, eh?  *laugh*

Anyway, I rolled out of bed at 6:00 AM and threw on my running clothes.  I got out to the trails close to 7:00 and I started running.  The breeze was gentle but it kinda made me wish I had a long sleeve shirt on.  It was a bit chilly, but within my first mile, I was dripping sweat.  That didn't take long!   It also didn't take long to come across a gentle and humble reminder that I am not alone in these foot hills/mountains.

I can't explain it, but from the very beginning of my run, I felt really strong today.  The last several runs, I have felt sluggish and couldn't figure out why I was so slow.  My normal pace for this route was 15 minute miles, but it has been between 16-18 minute miles for the last several runs.  I have no idea what was going on.  I thought maybe it was my diet.  It could be my ankle.  It could be any number of things.  One thing is for certain, whatever it was,  it was not making me happy.  But today, I felt like my old self!

At home we have been having some rather serious drama that has been bogging me down emotionally. I have NOT been wanting to get out and run.  I have not really had the energy.  But I know I have the ultra marathon coming up so I need to be out there running..even if they are just short distances.  I had been very worried that all of this emotional stuff was going to keep me from getting through the ultra.  Running endurance races is more about the emotional strength than it is your physical strength, and if I am starting on low or empty, I am just not sure how I am going to make it through the entire race.  But today's run showed me differently!

I felt great!  I even ran up some hills (which is against my training plans for the race).  My runs down hill were very fast and felt AMAZING!  At one point in time, it said my pace was a little over 9 minutes per mile.  ME???? Seriously??  I saw the general pace of my running going down.  It was at 15:24/mile.  Then it was at 14:44/mile.  And it kept going down!  It got down to 14:05/mile and I thought...."What if I could get it below 14:00/mile pace??? I have NEVER done that on a trail!"  (To be honest, I think the last time I did that kind of pace was on the Lake Lowell Marathon in 2011 when I set a PR for marathons.  In the first part of the race, I was told I was going really fast (for me) and that they were worried I wouldn't be able to keep up the pace I had set my goal for by the end. )

Anyway, I kept running.  I needed to finish 6 miles and I wanted to do it in UNDER the 14:00/mile pace!  I kept my phone in my hand and watched the distance creep up and the pace/mile go down!  I pushed myself hard.  I didn't want it to read just 13:59; I wanted to give myself some room!  I kept running!  I watched it go down. Then it creeped back up cause I stopped to walk.  Nope.. I wasn't going to have any of that.  I started to run again!  Finally, I reached my 6 mile mile with a sustained 13:42/mile pace!  

Here are my splits:

1 mi

15:08

136

2 mi

17:20

331

3 mi

13:34

26

4 mi

12:54

-84

5 mi

11:59

-281

6 mi

11:18

-113

WOOT!  WOOT!  A new Personal Record (PR) for me!!!!  Gotta love running down hills!