People Running Everywhere

Have you ever watched a marathon? No, I don't mean on T.V. where they only show the herds of runners in corrals from an aerial view and then zoom in on the elite. Have you ever REALLY watched a marathon? In person? To see all the different kinds of people that run? Tall, short, Asians, Latinos, Blacks, redheads, 16 year olds, 80 years olds, people who are extremely fit, people who are fit, people who are trying damn hard to be fit and then people who are not so fit who are struggling with weight, who have trained like the rest but are battling other battles besides the marathon on race day and are taking a step in the right direction by just being there. I can’t believe how many different people there are running marathons and other races. People who you'd see on the street and never once think they looked like a (marathon) runner. It amazes me how strong people are. It amazes me how the human mind stereotypes what a runner looks like only to have people shatter that notion into a billion different kinds of runners.

Every time someone runs past I think, "I wonder what their story is? I wonder why they are running?" They all have amazing personal stories. Sometimes if you run besides them they will tell you their stories to kill time and sometimes they'll wear their stories proud on their shirts,"Just Married!", "3 Months Pregnant!", "In Memory of Mom". They are all amazing. Regardless if they take 2 hours to finish a marathon, 4 hours or the allotted 6.5 hours. The ones who are the most amazing are the ones who keep on fighting to finish before they start breaking down the course. I promise you, you will never think "I can't" again and you will never be as inspired as you are at that moment as you watch these people accomplish their goal, their own personal goals that make them all runners.

No matter if they are running 4 minute miles or 14 minute miles, they are all running and therefore they are all runners. It is amazing that something like running can unite so many people to come and PAY to run knowing that most of them are going to walk away with nothing but a t-shirt. AND of course the pride of knowing they finished, broke a personal best time, had an amazing mile split or caught up to that runner at the very end. It is truly an amazing experience. And I hope it to be an amazing experience for me on Saturday as well.

No, I'm not running a marathon tomorrow but I am running my 2nd 5k race of the year. My race in February was my baseline and I have been looking forward to this race to see if I have improved at all. I am already really proud of myself. In 2009 I only clocked in 51.2 miles for the entire year and this year after only 3 months of running I have clocked in 133.3 miles!!! That alone is a personal victory for me. However, I want much, much, much more. I am currently about 1 minute slower per mile than last year and have not shown significant improvement in my pace since my first race. I hope that when I hear the gun go off that my adrenaline will help pump me to the finish line. It is almost nearly impossible for me to replicate the feeling that comes over me after the start of a race. I'm really hoping that I will see the improvement during the race.

Along with hope comes fear. I fear disappointment. No one puts more pressure on me than myself. When I want something and I work hard to attain it, nothing is more disappointing than failure. I hate failing at anything. I get upset if I fail to get the kids to the library on time for story time. You can imagine how devastated I feel when I don't achieve a personal goal that I have been working very hard to achieve. I don't plan on winning a medal or coming in 1st. I don't even care how I do overall in comparison to everyone else. I just care about my time. I'd like to finish in 27:51 and run an 8:58 pace. It seems like a very difficult challenge at the moment and I'm trying to prepare myself to accept I may have to wait later in my running season and extend my goal to the next race. BUT I'M GOING TO TRY and I will remind myself that no matter how slow I am, no matter how much I weigh, no matter how much my thighs rub against each other, no matter how much knee pain I may feel, I am a runner. I can persevere!

I hate when runners complain about their injuries all the time and blame their poor performance on everything that went wrong. I will try to not be like that and I will look past my aches and pains. I will run the best that I can and accept what I can accomplish tomorrow. My next race after tomorrow will most likely not be until May 23rd and I will try to remember that I will have another shot for self improvement on that day.

If you have a couple of minutes watch this video by Jeff Kline. He's a personal trainer and coach and owner of PRS FIT. He inspired my recollection of thoughts on all the different people who run and what makes them runners.

Look for my next post about running accessories I absolutely have to have!!!

Reaching Out from Jeff Kline on Vimeo.

The Persistence of Time

When I think of time I think of it in many different ways. In general when I think of time I always think of Dali’s beautiful painting, La Resistencia de la Memoria (The Persistence of Memory/Time) that depicts time as being irrelevant.  For the most part I do agree with his assesment of time.  However, right now I live in a world where time is very significant.

But usually on a daily basis I think of time as how it pertains to running and when will I be able to run.  What time do I have to get up to squeeze in a run?  Do I have time to get a run in before dinner is ready?  What time will I have to get up to run at sunrise?  What time will I have to run before sunset?  What was my pace? What was my overall time? Was it my fastest time? How much time to I have before I have to be back home???

Ughhh. That saying, “Time is never on my side” couldn’t be truer. When I think about everything I have to go through to squeeze a run in it amazes me that I actually get it done most days that I set out to do so. Believe me; no one is more shocked than me. From the minute the alarm goes off at 5:40 am the grueling race begins. Depending on how long of a run I’m planning that morning I know I have to get moving out the door between 6 and 6:15. I then have to be back in time to get showered, dressed and help get the 3 kids fed, washed up, teeth brushed, dressed, hair brushed, and in the van by around 8:40 to be at school by 9. It’s an amazing race to say the least and I am very blessed to have a wonderful husband who helps get them out the door too!

If I can’t get up in the morning to go for a run I will try to do it between 9:15-10:45 while the kiddos are in preschool. It’s a win/lose situation because I feel a little less pressed for time and more awake but I have to push a jogger which isn’t as nice as running freely. My last chance to get a run in is usually in the p.m. but it breaks one of my golden rules. I won’t allow my running to come in between family time. I consider the evening to be for dining with my family and relaxing with my husband. Unfortunately, it is my FAVORITE time of day to run in. I tend to feel amazing running as the sun sets on a cool almost cold evening when I can barely see the hustle and bustle of everyday life, when the darkness blurs the mind-numbing clones of houses in my subdivision. I tend to run more relaxed, with energy, faster and overall better. But rarely do I take pleasure in that kind of a run unless I absolutely need to get away and out of the house.

So, early morning runs it is! Some people think I’m crazy and others think it is great. The fact of the matter is that I don’t have a triple jogger and wouldn’t want to push one anyways so unless I run at the crack of dawn, I just wouldn’t be able to get it in.

I know that some my question my sanity or think “I’m hardcore” but really I am not. I wish I was hardcore and could run several times a day and have varying workouts.  But for me it is all about time and finding time. The other day my friend and I ran on a horribly windy day where pushing a stroller down a hill was as hard as pushing it up it! It was crazy, I admit it. But had I not done it, I wouldn’t have had any time for me that day. I wouldn’t have had the chance to make myself a stronger runner. The same goes for running in the cold and running in the heat (which I absolutely struggle with). Your body has to learn to run and deal with the elements, especially here in Chicagoland. If I decided not to run on a day which was too cold, too windy, too hot or too wet I wouldn’t have logged over 117 miles in since this January.

I also often wonder if people think I’m being unfair to Maya (my almost 19 month old). She is the one that has to sit in a jogging stroller while I’m running in freezing temps, rain, wind etc. I assure you I have a top of the line stroller with all weather gear that helps keep her happy. I could never run with a screaming child. It would kill the moment for me. Luckily she either babbles, takes in the sites or sleeps. I do my best to keep her happy in there and for no more than she needs to be. I ALWAYS want to make sure she is safe. But actually, today I wondered if someone was going to call DCFS on me!

Today was one of those days where I knew if I didn’t try to get a run in when the kiddos were at preschool, it just couldn’t happen. My husband has been out of town and won’t be back until tomorrow night. I had decided that I would suck it up and not run because it was hailing, thundering and absolutely pouring out there. I went, dropped the kids off and then headed home to clean. As soon as I pulled in the drive way I realized that it had cleared up to a fine drizzle. I ran in the house threw on my impermeable gear, put Maya in the jogger with the rain cover and went on my way. I had to deal with the wind picking up and wished I was wearing goggles but hey, at least I was getting my run in, right? All was good until about half way through I start hearing voices coming through the emergency speaker system in our town and then of course the emergency sirens come on. I first decide not to panic as it is a Tuesday. When the sirens don’t stop, then I start to panic! I am a worry wart by nature and this situation brought on a lot of horrible thoughts. What if there was a tornado coming? What if there was another hail storm coming? I had heard on the news that there were “micro-bursts” in the area and now I was just totally panicking. I felt like such a horrible mother! Then, finally the siren stopped. After a couple of minutes I realized I was probably right at first thought and that it was just the monthly test siren.

The whole incident made me realize how desperate I am for time. What I’ll do to get a run in for the day. I’d never put my children or myself in danger but I know that at times it must seem that way to others. I know I got a lot of strange looks in the sub today. But hey! I’m a busy mom of 3 young kids who has no time and has to make time. I take what I can get. What motivates me? Time. Knowing I get “me time”, knowing that in the long run I will live longer, be healthier and have more time with my husband, children and grandchildren to enjoy life and knowing that perhaps I can fight time with making time.

Here is one of my favorite Nike advertisements. It says it all!

Don't Jump to the Starting Line Before Breaking a Sweat

I love to run, but lately it is a constant reminder of how old I'm getting. Sometimes that is a good thing, other times it is not. For example now that I’m older I have built up plentiful reserves of endurance. It seems I can be sick one week and only run once then jump right back into it and take off on a pleasant 8 mile run. What’s the downside? Well, at this point in my life I feel like I’m starting all over as a runner. Despite the fact that I’ve been running since I was about 10 years old and ran straight through college and adulthood, I feel like a newbie runner who is struggling to figure out exactly what she wants out of running. It’s as painful for me as looking at myself naked in front of the mirror. Do I want to go out there and enjoy myself and “take a jog in the park”? Or do I want to go out there and TRAIN to be FIERCE?


Of course I long to be fierce! However, I often wonder if I can ever get back to running at a pace which compares to my past accomplishments. I look back at my past accomplishments and I remember in college (the fastest times of my life) thinking how I wish I was faster, how I wish I could be at least in the top 3 of my team. I had to settle for making it as a 7th runner. Now I look back at that and think, “DAMN! I was fast! I was GOOD!” I’d come home from college in the summer and would run some road races. Every community run had a medal or a trophy waiting for me at the end of the race. It almost didn’t seem right to enter those races after I’d been training year round in college. How I cherish those moments now.

It has been a long time since I’ve thought about winning. It has been a long time since it even mattered to me. Running has become an escape for me. I put my shoes on, do some quick stretches, start my watch and begin meditating. I think, and think and think. I find peace. I escape. I don’t look at my watch, I don’t care how fast I’m going and I occasionally remember to run close to the shoulder of the road. Otherwise, I just run. It has been a way of running for me for a while now, at least for the last 5 years. What changed me? Motherhood did. (I’m thinking of making a running t-shirt with that slogan.)

Motherhood made me relish the time away more than the pace I was running. Motherhood also made me appreciate that time away and made me relish every second I was gone. I love my children and value every moment I spend with them, but running is my therapy to survive raising 3 children born in a 27 month period between May 2006 and September 2008.

Now my youngest is almost 2.  Lately, I have been craving more.  I'm hungry for improvement.  I 'm ready to think more about me.  Yesterday I decided I wanted speed more than I wanted endurance. I want to be fast again. I want to run faster than my husband again. I want to run in front of the pack again. I want to win medals and trophies again. I want to be breathless at the end of my races. I want to feel like I’ve laid it all out on the road, given the race every ounce of my being and left with nothing more. I want to run to my full potential. And yesterday I started to do just that.

I put my watch on pace mode and I struggled through the first mile. I said, “Run faster!” and my body said, “NO WAY!” I said to myself, “It’s only 4 miles!” After repeatedly running all over the place in the 10-11 minute mile pace during the first mile, I found the strength to push forward. As I watched my pace change I gained more confidence and pushed harder. I couldn’t help to think that my run would have been better had it started during mile 2 and ended after mile 4. I guess this old lady needs to break a sweat before jumping to the start line. Toward the end of my run I was running 8 minute mile pace at times and smiling from ear to ear. Don't get me wrong, the run sucked!  But it was also AWESOME.  No meditating, no peace, just focus and will.  Yesterday was the beginning of something good. I believe in me again. I know if I stick with my training and work hard, I might be able to recapture a little bit of the glory days. Go Mamma, go!