everybody needs

"everybody needs a friend like you to get behind them".

That's what she said.

A follower of this blog.

And I thought, "You know, she is SO totally right.  I'm so epic I can't stand it."

That thought was followed quickly by, "too bad I'm only one person."

AND then what happened?

I freaking remembered that I'm only one person who has a blog full of people to talk to....

So there's my task to you people.

Get behind someone.

It could be someone you know, or someone you've never met.

Maybe you encourage them to smoke one less cigarette today.  Maybe you go for a walk with them.  Maybe you send them a note that says, You're cool & beautiful like Alaska, or hot like Texas, if you prefer TX.  Maybe you tell them they don't suck.  Maybe you write a 640 word blog post dedicated to why you think they are going to DESTROY their marathon.  Or, maybe you don't.

The thing is that you never know what small thing that you say will be the THING that is the turning point for someone.

I believe in my heart that a few simple words can make a huge difference.

I know this to be a truth.

It's such a small thing.

pay it forward.

Marathon Advice from The Witch Dr.

I saw my Witch Dr yesterday.


I love him.

You know he's ~like~ a serious Iron Man triathlete who runs sub 3 hour marathons?
yeah.  He knows athletes.

But that's not the only reason


I love him.

Here's why 


I love him.

We had a little chat while he was casually manipulating my foot about how the pain first presented.  And I told him I'd had an epic pain free 20 on Saturday.

Then...

I confessed that I ran 16 of my 20 miles at race pace, and waited for him to say, "boo."  Instead he broke into a HUGE grin and said, "YEAH!  Now THAT's what we're talking about!  Love it... you must feel great about the marathon, huh?!?"  um. yeah. i did, until i worried i'd hurt myself.

"No worries, this isn't panic worthy."

5 minutes later I stepped on the foot and while it wasn't pain free, it was pain reduced.  Diagnosis was along the lines of, inflammation caused by too much crack smoking.  He had some advice...

"...baby it this week with ice, and plenty of cross training, don't run through the pain.... then finish your training on schedule, ease into your taper, and CRUSH the marathon."

Witch Dr., I heart you.

little setback

Dear 20 Mile Run...

Dear 20 miler,

I’m sorry I crushed you like that….  Next time I’ll let you have a little more say in how it goes down.  Today, I just didn’t hear your protesting over the sound of the bada** soles of my sweet new shoes hitting the street….

Yeah, that’s ~pretty much~ how it went down.

 

I got up, ate breakfast, AND took 4 TUMS as part of my ‘nutrition’ strategy.  TMI details on why I did it, but suffice it to say, I determined that it was at least worth trying.  I have 1/2 a post dedicated to my nutrition strategy already written, I promise I will overshare next week.  

I was totally discombobulated when I got out of the car today, had to run back to get 1/2 my belongings. I ran into discombobulated 3L… arg!  This was NO WAY to start a 20.  So I stopped a second and regrouped and made a joke about something inconsequential.  Then I knuckle bumped my WonderTwin, turned on my watch... and just like that - I was good to go. 

Before I knew it, 3L, KC, T, Kristi, WineNotWhine & I were out on the roads for 20 miles.  Our first mile was nice and easy 9:40’s. 

And then what happened?  Well….

It was cool.

I was with my domestic partner.

Uh, it was cool?  

I have no excuse except that I don’t know how to read the new watch, so I ran on feel.  And I felt good.  Sure it seemed like we were passing a lot of people but, I was running on feel so…

PinkJ, SpeeDee & Lyon

ROLL CALL!!!  Here, here, here, here,…. Yeah, we were hilarious coming out of the 2^nd SAG.  The course was familiar and industrial and neighborhoods and, after running a blistering 8something pace down the Grove Hill, we dropped T at mile 10….

And picked up SpeeDee, PinkJ and Lion at 10. 

I intended to slow down.  Um.  So not how it went down.  

After Belle Isle we had a few wicked climbs… and I was with the Posse climbing through the city, thanks to WineNotWhine insisting on “SUPER HERO FORMATION”.  WnW is so cute that when we passed some construction workers on a coffee break they called out, “Hey, wait up!”  With those 3 men watching us like we were the frosting on a cupcake WnW throws her arms up and says, “c’mon” and did a little shimmy.  So I threw my arms up and joined her.  ~The whole shack shimmied~ 

SAG again, Q again, Southern Comfort, laugh again & then off again.  

Kristi & WnW

Now, we’re getting tired but we’re not really slowing the pace much, and then what happened?  Well, it’s Typical GBA**.

A runner passed us. 

A beautiful male runner.  

With Lickable Abs. 

And I sang, “This ain’t no country club… This is L.A.”

And the NEXT thing I knew we were all singing Sheryl Crow while running sub 10’s through the city of Richmond at mile 16 of our 20.  

PinkJ, Lion, SpeeDee, g., 3L, WnW, Kristi & KC

~High~ and smiling I quoted VWB, “I never knew training for a marathon could be this much fun.”

We finished strong.  Life was good.  And did I mention we were FREAKING HIGH?

We had to snap some photos at the end of the run…. cos... 

see above about ~high~

Running Mates KC & 3L

And we had to hit Starbucks on the way home, of course. 

 

<---  And, um, then of course… we had to call a PLANK OFF at the Starbucks.

Cos that’s how we roll.

~savor the run~

A Letter to Rene'

Dear Rene',

Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience. 

--Paulo Coelho 

You know, I just love Paulo.  I think he must be a runner.  No, seriously I have no idea…  


The truth of the matter is he often writes about love, courage, and the opportunity to combine the two with taking risks.  Isn’t that what we do out here?  Marathons and running and socks and shuffleboard alike.


On Sunday you will run your 2nd marathon.  I know things haven't gone to plan, but when have things EVER gone to plan?  So this lesson isn't about speed or BQ.  It's about learning what there is to learn about marathoning so that next time, when the training does go well, you'll have some useful knowledge to take forward with you.


Lesson like ~

...sometimes you need more COWBELL, because, that’s just how we roll.

...sometimes it s really about being badass.

...Cinderella proved that a woman’s life can be changed by a good pair of shoes… and for those who don't know, Rene loves.shoes.

So this weekend, lace up your shoes with love in your heart and courage in your mind.  If you savor every step, then no matter the end result, you will have succeeded.


Live in the moment.  Learn from the experience.  And, as always,


~savor the run~


g.


(and an aside to Rene’s Posse – take care of my girl while you’re out there Taking Names and Kicking A**)

Cornerstones

My run is like a brick.  It’s solid.  I know where to find it.

It is the cornerstone of the foundation of my self.  My run isn’t going anywhere.  Even when it’s watching me longingly through the tinted glass at the Y pool, or shooting daggers at my ride, it’s always there, waiting for me to come back.

My run is place to lay my worries, with the knowledge that if I want, I can choose to heat them and gently tap them into the shapes of acceptance.  There are times though, when my troubles are too cold to bend under gentle guidance.  So I lay them out on the road to be hammered under swiftly pounding soles.  And I have done that.  I have pounded the asphalt until sweat blinded me, just to prove that I am good enough.  I have run over gravel that popped and crunched under my Adrenalines.  I have left more frustration and stress and soul cleansing on the streets of Richmond than they ever deserved to see.  I trust in the autumn thunderstorms to cleanse the roads for me.  My worry blends with the oil that slicks the shiny black pavement and runs into the gutters.

My run is not invincible.  There are things about it that make it susceptible to damage.  It has points of weakness, and there are times when it feels fragile. 

It is easily bruised.  It needs protecting.  If I play too hard, the run suffers.

It has a delicate ego though.  If I play too gently, it thinks I don't believe in it.

Like a relationship nurtured through its seasons, I often say that "one should never take their run for granted".   I savor my run as we work to create memories.  We learn from one another, and we try like hell not to damage each other in the process of building a life.

I like think that my run and I are entering our adolescence.  The soft puppy love and hand holding has passed.  Now we are grittier.  We’re inclined to say things like, “let’s press this and see if we can make it hurt without hurting ourselves”.

It is, admittedly, a violent kind of love with sweat soaked skin dripping from exertion.  It sports the occasional bruise.

And marathon training?  Well, that's like parking a car in a dark field away from prying eyes.  Without the lights of civilization, one is tempted to try things that test the limits of societal bounds.  So innocent as it all starts.  Fingers brush across laces and a thrill lances into my core.  A hitching breath catches in my throat.  Deep down inside, I might hear a bell that asks, "is this a good idea?" but the desire, the promise, the pleasure, and the glorious satisfaction are all too enticing to ignore, so the bell is overridden.  Breath mingles, and heat rips through me like a pulse of electricity, singeing any lingering doubts on the road to damnation.

Pain mingles with pleasure, and on some level they become impossible to separate.  Sometimes that pain comes to me in the form of fear.  It burns as it's torching me from the inside.  Other times it’s physical pain that I can articulate on a moan as aching muscles beg for attention.  

Regardless, I never regret asking my run to test the limits.

We push each other toward pain and pleasure alike.  My run is the cornerstone, the anvil and the easily bruised flower petal all at the same time.  It's the hammer to wield.  It’s gritty and real, and it takes me to dark places I never imagined I'd explore.  It is the pain I endure.  It is the fear that I conquer. 

~savor the run~

So, how bad do you want it? -- GBA gf

Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.-- Vincent Van Gogh


Well I’m sorry Vince, can I call you Vince?.... today’s greatness WAS the result of something a bit impulsive… in an over planned kind of way.

See, here’s how it went down. 

In March, my coach and I were talking about prioritizing my racing.  At the time, wearing a boot, I said, "I’m just going to concentrate on TWO races.  My Sprint Tri = B race. Richmond Marathon= A race".

Q said, “…and I want you to run a 5K ‘C-race’ in September time frame, just to remind the legs that they know how to run fast.”

On Monday of last week I was sponsored to run an 8K on 10/1.  Two reasons my sponsor sent the dough.  1)  Bright Beginnings YMCA program could use her $cash.  2) There’s something poetic about sponsoring a runner who’s deathly allergic to Shellfish to run the West Point VA Crab Carnival 8K… don’tchya think?

I told a total of 3 people that I was racing this weekend because I didn’t want the pressure, and yet, I woke up nervous. 

I’d never even run an 8K.  I made a sub 40 goal.

And, I can run slow for 20 miles, but what does that mean at an 8K?

Regardless, I showed up, and feeling heavy I pinned my bib# on and went for a warm up mile.  At the end of the mile I did a few minutes of strides alternating with easy, and during those strides, my running became effortless.  

The small race started with a “on your mark…get set….GO!”

Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance. -- Samuel Johnson


The game by the end of the first mile became chicking the men ahead of me.

By the time I was 6^th overall in the standings we were nearing the turn around of the perfectly flat out and back course.  The collegiate level athlete in 1st gave me a First Female shout out and a coaching tip/heads up on location of my competition.  At the turn around I realized Girl #2 was 20 feet behind me, maybe...  For a nano-second I thought, damn, I really wanted to win.  And then I came to my senses.

If you want it bad enough, you will work to get it.  So, how bad do you want it?  -- GBA gf

I wanted it.  Around 3.5 my pace was 7:15ish.  I focused on running the tangents of the road, on my forward lean and on arm swing.  By mile 4+ I was struggling to hold this pace but was too determined to slow down much.  

I sounded terrible.  I’m sure I looked worse.  WTFC?  I wanted it.

I have never been the one to hear the words, “LOOK, IT’S THE FIRST FEMALE FINISHER!” before.  I’ve said those words at the many races I’ve volunteered this year.  To hear it?  Wow.  It’s ~ like ~ wow. 

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

The highpoint of my day?  Yeah, I admit, being called up for the awards ceremony was pretty freak-tastic.  But, overhearing the local high school cross-country coach say, “that little one can really run” and realize he was talking about me was right up there too.

So speed is relative, right?  I beat the other women… sure…  But here’s the real news of the day. 

I crushed my goal. 37:41...  

Suddenly all those long term goals that I have look realistic.  And all those short term goals I have look really short sighted to be honest with you.  I think I’m going to crank it up a notch around here and see what happens.  Yeah.  I said it.

Self-trust is the first secret of success.  – Ralph Waldo Emerson