We do it because it's hard :o)

We don't do it because it's easy, we do it because it's hard.  I thought this just came to me in a dream but apparently JFK just speaks to me in my delirium of long runs, lol:

"We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard..." ~JFK

Today I ran with my run group for the first time in a long time.  Over the past few weeks, my travel schedule has been a bit hectic so I've been out of town on the weekends, I've been sick, and I've been out late Saturday nights (read: still drunk Sunday morning).  The Houston half rejuvenated me a bit, so I was determined to run with the group today.  I'm so glad I did.  I ran over 19.5 miles and as always it was so much easier because of them.

My run group bright and early!

For my first marathon I was so excited about accomplishing my marathon goal that the increasing mileage itself was enough to stay motivated.  How exciting to go longer than I'd ever gone before every weekend.  I had to take walk breaks sometimes, which was new for me, but I was able to complete 16 miles without stopping and that was enough to get through the race with a good time.  The second marathon, I realized I was lacking in the motivation department.  I needed some help.  I talked to my runner friend about how to find a running partner (she doesn't run the same pace that I do) and she directed me to two FREE running groups in Austin.  I started running with one of them last year (Hill Country Running Co).

I've found that run groups have some advantages and disadvantages.  When I first joined my group my biggest worry was the amount of stopping we did.  On my solo long runs, I carry a water pack of some sort because I have to in order to have water.  The run group sets up water along the course, so you don't run on the go, you stop at the water stations and refuel.  People tend to stop and chat and catch their breath for a minute, which I wasn't used to doing.  In the races I run through the water stations, drinking as I go, for as long as I can, so mentally it's nice to do the training runs without stopping too.  Not going to happen on a group run.  The good thing is you don't have to carry water :o).

Another disadvantage is pace.  On a solo run you run however fast or slow you feel like running.  If I want to slow down, I slow down.  If I want to push my pace, I do.  I walk when I want to walk, and I stop when I want to stop.  When you run with a group (or a partner), you have to think about other people.  I will usually break off and just finish at the end, but those tough middle miles, you have to wait for (or try not to slow down) other runners.  It's a courtesy thing.  There are days where you will feel like you can't go any faster and your partners will help you through.  So on the days you're feeling strong it just feels right to return the favor.  Fortunately the long runs are more about distance than pace, so often I'm more happy to get the miles in comfortably (relatively speaking) than I am worried about pace.  I'd rather slow down or speed up a little and run 20 miles with a group than trudge through them alone.

The distance covered can be an issue too.  I usually follow training plans I find online even though the group has it's own training plan.  This is largely because the group training is slightly aggressive in my opinion and I am generally not ready to run the distances they run initially.  They also build up their distance faster than I like to (I prefer smaller jumps in the long run mileage from week to week).  So sometimes the group is running 20 miles but I'm only ready to run 14.  I've been able to work around this by running with the half marathoners in the early runs when my mileage is closer to theirs.  In the later runs, I usually start with them and then add on a few miles to cover the additional distance I need to.  I may have to run by myself for 5-10 miles but it's better than running alone for the entire thing.

Start time is a good thing and a bad thing.  The group starts between 6:30 and 7:00 am.  I like to go out so in previous years I wouldn't drink on Saturday nights (or I'd stop drinking by 7:00 pm or so).  This was kind of a drag, especially when my partner was in town.  Last night I went to a friend's birthday party.  I had one drink and came home early.  So the group does impact your Saturday night if you tend to drink or stay out late.  The good thing is, because we start out so early, we finish early.  During the week, I sometimes put off running for so long that I don't finish my running (and start my day) til mid morning.  As the long run mileage increases it's really nice to be forced to get up and get it going.  We're usually done by noon.  In the warmer months this is especially nice since we mostly avoid the direct sun and the hottest part of the day.

Overall run groups are great.  They make 20 miles a little easier less hard :o).

You can do anything!!

You can do anything.  No, really you can.  It sounds so cliche but I assure you it's true.  You may have to work hard.  You may have to sacrifice.  But you can achieve anything you decide to achieve.

A lot of people, friends mostly, have asked me how I started running.  I'm a normal enough girl.  I'm just like them...  Except I run.  So why do I run?  I grew up in Colorado, one of the healthiest places in the country.  Everyone has an outdoor hobby (running, biking, hiking), and it is rare that you see someone who is overweight.  I grew up watching these people.  I knew that one day I wanted to be like them.  Something about them intrigued me.  My neighbor in elementary school used to run around the neighborhood.  I'd see her on the streets regularly.  When I did an internship at the University of Colorado my mentor was a cyclist.  She looked like it (fit).  These people were amazing to me.  We live in a culture where exercise is a chore.  We dread gym class from the time we are little and the mile run is the worst day of the quarter.  I was always intrigued by these people who seemed to see it differently.

In high school I signed up for track my senior year.  I was a sprinter in middle school.  I was actually pretty good I just lacked the interest and parental guidance to stay involved.  4 years later, I was no longer a sprinter.  I ran the 800, and I never broke 3 minutes.  But I enjoyed it.  To get in shape I initially would run 2 miles on my mom's treadmill each morning.  It was so hard.  But I felt so good afterwards.  After my first year of college, I came home for the summer and just decided to go for a run one day.  It had been such a long time and something about being home just made me want to.  I just ran and ran.  Then I clocked the mileage in the car.  I had run 3 miles!  It was by far the farthest I'd ever gone without stopping.  So I set a goal to keep it up all summer.  I can't remember exactly what it was.  It was something like run 3 miles 5 times a week.  And I did it.  Every week the momentum just built.  The more runs I completed the more I wanted to do.  And then it began.

That summer I met another student (now a good friend) who had completed a marathon.  I was in awe. 26.2 miles.  I just couldn't imagine.  So I put it on my to do list :o).  A year passed and I found myself back in Boulder Colorado for another internship.  There's something about that place.  I started running again.  This time I was not enrolled at CU so I didn't have a gym.  Instead of 30 laps on the track (can you believe I did that 50 times in a summer??), I ran outside.  I did this all summer, going to bed around 9:00, before all the other students, so I could wake up and start my day off pounding the pavement.  I would do an out and back that totaled 3 miles.  And then I started doing 5 miles.  I was gaining endurance.  I was becoming that runner I'd always wanted to be.

My college is in a country town in northern Louisiana.  People there do not live an active lifestyle, much less organize road races.  But it's about four hours from Dallas :o).  In my mind I decided the path to the marathon started with some small races (5Ks) in Dallas.  I envisioned myself racing on the weekends, going further and further distances until I was a marathoner too.  It didn't happen.  I was a very busy person as an undergraduate, but the main road block to my running success was me.  I made becoming a runner much harder than it actually is.  We make time to do what we truly want to do.  I didn't make it a priority.  I pushed my running goals to the side and focused on other things.

The many effects of a nonactive lifestyle is another blog entry entirely, but the most obvious one is weight gain.  The following summer I left for an internship (note that it was not in Colorado), and I came back to Louisiana the heaviest I'd ever been, up until that time and since.  I was very unhappy with my new weight so I decided to 1) start tracking my calories and 2) start a 10K training plan.  As I think back to that time now, even though I had no idea what I was doing, I did a lot of things right.  I implemented specific things.  I didn't just say I wanted to lose weight, I figured out a plan that would result in weight loss.  I also didn't look for a quick fix.  I don't think I ever considered weight loss fads, I knew I had to do it the right way, through diet and exercise.  I also didn't come up with a number of calories to limit myself to everyday.  I only used a website to track my calories, and that alone caused me to make healthier choices.  I remember I stopped eating refined grains and simple carbs.  Wheat pasta, wheat bread, nothing white.  Obviously I know a lot more about this now, but I had the right idea.  I didn't actually plan to run a 10K, but the plan I found seemed doable and I enjoy completing things like that.  It was like a checklist of runs to complete.  Over several weeks the weight came off (~20 lbs! oh, to be 21 again, lol), but more importantly I had experienced how easily I could build up to a 10K:

1. Print a training plan.
2. Do the training plan.
3. Run the race.

At the end of that school year (May 2008) I did just that.

Getting ready the morning of my first race

Running the Bolder Boulder 

A little over a year later, I ran another 10K (Oct 2009) and 6 months after that (April 2010) I followed the same simple instructions to run my first half marathon.  And then, in December 2010, I officially became a marathoner :o).  Now I've completed 5 halves and 3 fulls.  I have another full next month.

My second race, Run Austin Run 

You can do anything.  No really, you can.  It may not happen overnight.  The first time I ran more than 2 miles was the summer of 2005 so my journey to becoming a marathoner took more than 5 years.  But I completed it.  People will try to discourage you.  Sometimes it's not intentional and sometimes it definitely is.  A lot of people (who don't run marathons) have tried to tell me that our bodies weren't made to run marathons, and that it's bad for your knees, etc. (a blog for a grumpy day cause I actually really hate that lol).  But there are plenty of other people who will support you and give you the resources you need to succeed.  Starting is the hardest part.  We often put far more energy into thinking about things and procrastinating than it takes to actually get them done.  So just get started.   Make "one day" today.  You can do anything.  No really, you can.

juice casserole

So I decided to cook red beans and rice for dinner.  I made it last week but halved the recipe so I still had half an onion, half a bell pepper etc. so I wanted to use up the ingredients before they went to waste.  Well this prompted a desire to use up some other leftover veggies I had so I decided to go ahead and juice them.  Isn't the joke that casserole is just leftover everything mixed together?  Well I guess I made juice casserole.

I had some very wilted celery, soft blackberries, about 4 clementines, half a lemon, parsley, swiss chard, and some tomatoes.  You will recognize all of these things from the 3 day reboot list.  The 3 day reboot that I did over 2 weeks ago...  Yeah.  I decided the tomatoes would be a bit much but I put everything else through the juicer and hoped for the best.  Again, worst that could happen is it's terrible and I throw it away which is what would definitely happen if I left the veggies whole.

While it wasn't the prettiest thing to look at, it wasn't too bad lol.  Better than the potato juice lol.  I put it in a small glass just in case, but I have drank most of the pitcher it yielded (again I juiced the pulp- there was a LOT of soggy pulp).  It mostly tasted like celery (I did have a lot of wilted celery), but the oranges and blackberries maybe (?) gave it some sweetness that made it decent.  It was definitely a green juice like the one I had on day 1 of the reboot, but I probably enjoyed it more since 1) there was less of it, 2) I had other food on my palate, and 3) the veggies were old so the taste of the greens wasn't as strong.

Operation don't throw out any food: #success!!

Orange juice

This morning I made orange juice :o).  I had quite a few clementines left from the other weekend so I figured I'd use them before they went to waste (recall that this is how I envisioned myself using the juicer lol).  I peeled five oranges and pushed them through.  It made about 2 tablespoons (an exaggeration but still).  So I put 7 more through.  I had a decent amount of juice but the pulp seemed pretty heavy/wet, so though I said I wouldn't I had an idea about how to juice the pulp and get more juice out in a a clean way.  Juicing the pulp makes a mess because if you turn the juicer on and then dump in the pulp, the spinning basket shoots the pulp out of the juicer toward the ceiling.  Now the reason you are not supposed to put food in the juicer before turning it on is because the juicer can get "stuck" or jammed with the food.  So since the pulp is already soft I figured maybe this wouldn't be the case if I put it back through.  I poured the pulp into the chute, put the food pusher in place, and turned it on.  I got out a fair amount of additional juice (worth the extra effort) and no mess!

The juice was much sweeter than I expected, I guess because orange juice from the store probably isn't made with clementines.  But it was good; super fresh and no preservatives :o).  I don't think it has any pulp at all, but it's a little foamy at the top so I drank it using a straw.  I'm finding straws are a good thing for juicers (my neighbor uses a little mesh basket to filter out pulp and foam).

Aramco Houston Half Marathon

This morning I ran the Aramco Houston Half Marathon.  I only have great things to say about it!

I would definitely recommend this race!  It was my first time running it (my 5th half I think, I'm starting to lose count), and I honestly have no complaints.  I normally try to take mental notes of my gripes about races as I trudge through the miles but I don't remember having any negative thoughts on this one.  The race was all about the running which is all a runner can ask for.

This race was very well organized from start to finish.  There is a lottery system to enter.  You enter the lottery and insert your credit card number and if you win the lottery you get billed lol.  Kinda strange to be happy about seeing a $100 debit on your charge card.  Anyway, I'm not sure how many people enter the lottery, but on my first try I had luck and got picked :o).  #winning!!

I went to the race expo yesterday afternoon.  I really appreciated the long expo hours; it was open til 7 pm Friday and Saturday.  It was held at the convention center in downtown Houston.  I hate downtown areas because I hate paying for parking and searching for free parking.  It was good to get familiar with the start line area though.  I actually parked illegally so I know that I was in and out of the expo in 10 minutes, including the walk to and from the car.  Everything was laid out nicely and I was able to quickly get my race packet and my t-shirt.  I did have trouble finding my bib number.  They emailed them pretty early and I couldn't find it.  I was able to look it up from the website, but if I had one suggestion it might be to have a booth for looking it up.  Pretty small thing nonetheless.

This morning I got to the convention center a little after 6 (start time was 7:00).  I generally try to get to my races at least an hour early because the bathroom lines are inevitably long long long.  My friend was able to drive right up to the convention center so I didn't have to do a lot of walking around.  And then a miracle... SHORT BATHROOM LINES!!! I have never seen anything like it.  I think they had potta potties set up inside the center as well as outside and it was freezing so maybe a lot of people were just inside, but I was out of line before 6:30.  Unheard of.  I waited near the building until 6:40 to try to minimize the time I had to spend in the horrible elements.  While I was standing there I met a nice lady named Wendy who walked to the start with me.  There wasn't a lot of signage directing people exactly where to go, but there were plenty of volunteers out and I found my way to my corral pretty quickly.  Actually the half marathon and the marathon had separate start lines which I had never seen before.  Seems like a good idea; less congestion.  A reverend prayed (gotta love Texas), and then somebody sang the national anthem (she was phenomenal; they said she had performed at presidential inaugurations- unlike the singer at the Dallas Marathon :-/).  The race started on time (we were all freezing so that was definitely a major plus) and we were off.

The water stations were great.  There wasn't signage to warn you they were coming up (which I prefer) but I didn't have any issues getting to them.  Great volunteers.  One of them even pinched the cup for me which I thought was above and beyond (it's easier to drink out of the cup if you pinch the top to a point).  Houston people are nice and I know this, but while I was running a marathoner poked me to say she'd been pacing off me for 4 miles and I was running a great race.  So nice!  The half marathon U-turn was clearly marked with signage and volunteers.  And the finish was split into two lanes, one for the marathoners and one for the halvers.  I thought this was genius, especially since the first marathon finisher finished right when I did.  It's good he had room to win his race in peace.

The winner surrounded by his entourage.  He was Ethiopian as were all of the top finishers, male and female.

Best post race provisions ever!  Finishers shirt!!!  I love finishers shirts!!!  And it was Under Armour!  #winning!!  The Dallas Marathon also has finishers shirts and that is my very favorite thing about that race.  Most races only give you a participant shirt.  Another pleasant surprise was the post race meal.  Eggs, sausage, a biscuit and gravy!  Sponsored by HEB (I love HEB)!!  And super friendly volunteers!  They had cold drinks and hot drinks.  Not sure what the hot drinks were (coffee I'm sure), but I saw chocolate milk, soda, and water for cold.  Definitely the most options I've ever seen.

If you can't tell I was really impressed by the race organization.  Had to rave a bit.  Would definitely run this one again.

The actual race was great too.  I woke up and it was ~50 degrees which is pretty good.  Unless it's raining.  And windy smh.  The forecast said it was going to get colder as the day went on.  SIGH.  I left my hat and fleece at home in Austin (not smart), so I wore a light jacket and capris.  Gloves would've been nice to have too.  My hands were freezing (the hands are always the first to suffer), but they warmed up by mile 3.  At the start the rain started pouring down.  SIGH.  My feet were soaked in the first five minutes.  But the rain let up for the most part and it was still a great race.  I always run better in the rain and today was no exception.  If you want to race fast you have to train fast.  But training fast hurts.  So I don't lol.  I have slowed down quite a bit this year, averaging about 10 min miles.  I was very conscious of my time after the first couple of miles (gotta love the Garmin), and was able to maintain a 9:30 pace.  I finished in 2:05:03, less than 2 minutes off my PR.  I started to run out of gas around mile 10 but my friend had told me she'd be at mile 11 so that helped me push through.  I passed a sign that said 1.5 miles to go and I think I died a slow death.  It felt like forever away.  But I think that's how a good race is supposed to feel.  I started out the 13th mile a bit slow but made a mad dash to the finish in the last half mile.

I'm still trying to figure out the nutrition piece of racing.  I've gotten better about carbo loading.  I started paying attention to my carb intake on Thursday.  I accidently got drunk on Friday night (ha ha) so my goal yesterday was to rehydrate.  I had pasta for dinner, not a lot but a decent portion.  I also had two gatorades and plenty of water.  I woke up in the middle of the night having to pee.  Hydration, success. I did have some GI issues earlier yesterday.  I had some nachos at a sports bar earlier in the day and i spit out a small chunk of white cheese because it just didn't taste right.  I'm not sure if the GI issues were a result of that or something else (like the gazillion drinks I had Friday night followed by the gazillion waters I had yesterday).  This morning the issues seemed to be gone.  I had half a gatorade, a banana, and about four inches of a sub sandwich all before 6 o'clock.  I also took a 5 hr energy shot.  I think the energy shot is a mental thing lol.  I took 2 Gu's, at miles 4.5 and 9.  All of this seemed to work for me (like I said I started to run out of gas at mile 10, but was able to push through).  I used the bathroom before 6:30 and didn't have to go during the race.  When I finished I was able to go get my medal and t-shirt but then I wanted a bathroom lol.  If this had been a full marathon I would not have made it four hours lol.  Maybe this is just part of it, I don't know.

Anyway, great race!  3 down, 1 to go!

The 3rd of 4 finishers medals

Me post race

Juice Recipe Reviews III

The "sunset blend juice" was the scariest for me to try.  The ingredients just did not sound appealing to me.  At all.  (A sweet potato?? Beets???  Gross!)  But I had already bought all the ingredients, the potato was looking a little sad, the red bell pepper was looking a lot sad, so I figured better to make the juice, hate it and throw it out than just throw out the ingredients off top.

It actually is not all that bad.  Notice I didn't say it was good lol.  It's very pretty to me.  Has a nice rich color (nutrients).  It's sweet.  There is a funny taste that I don't really like.  At first I thought it was the beets.  Now I think it may be the bell pepper.  I was surprised at the amount of juice that came out of the potato.  I read that you should not put any potato through the juicer except a sweet potato.  Maybe they are just juicier.  Anyway, I'm satisfied.  The recipe yielded about 2 glasses of juice.  I think I can handle one tonight (I have a lot of better smelling/tasting things cooking in this kitchen right now), and I may just pour the other glass for tomorrow (it will probably get thrown out just being real).

Anyway, first juice in a week.  Might try this one again without the red bell pepper.  Probably not though lol.

UPDATE: I actually finished this juice today (three days later) lol.  It got better each day as the flavors mellowed out (which was prob just the nutrients escaping from the glass into the universe ha ha).  Anyway, not bad.  May make it again one day far far in the distance.