Rock and Roll Ramblings

I am just babbling a little bit today, so bear with me for some ramblings from the racing and training circuit.  :)


I did not make my goal time at the Denver Rock and Roll Half Marathon.  And honestly?  I don't care.  What I got out of this race was so much more valuable, and that will be what helps me finish my ultimate goal in January.  I ran like a runner yesterday.  A slow runner?  Sure.  But I for the first time in my entire life, I ran an entire 10 k without stopping to walk. (and then desperately waited in a long bathroom line, followed by a long bathroom, uh, session that took a chunk out of my time but what can you do?)  That's right, the girl who, 4 years ago, could barely run two blocks at a time ran 6.2 11- to 12-minute miles without stopping to walk. And I am getting better every single week.  I had some of the same old injury issues later in the race that slowed me down, but I feel ok today, a sure sign that my body is stronger, and I am loving my training and the way I feel.  I am one happy little runner right now.   A real runner.  I have been trying to be one for four years, and yesterday the transition became complete.  I now want to be a faster runner, or a longer runner, or a stronger runner.  But as it stands right now, I am taking the runner title and making it mine.

The race itself was such a fun course on a gorgeous day, and I had an absolute blast. I wish I could do it again. Maybe tomorrow. :)  I do love my medal, pictured above.  While I am always a sucker for race bling, this one is super cool.  The white paint glitters like snow.  Plus it is from my home city.  Can't beat that!

On deck, I have the Hoover Dam Half Marathon in two weeks on the 30th in Vegas.  I will be out there celebrating a good friend's bachelorette weekend and cannot wait to see what I have been missing all these years holed up inside a casino instead of exploring another state of the union. ("Welcome to the Dam tour...Please don't touch the dam walls")  What should I wear as part of my running ensemble to celebrate Halloween in Vegas??

Some of the most exciting news of the weekend?   My awesome husband will now be doing the Disney World Marathon with me on January 9th.  He has never run more than a 10 k, but he is one of those athlete guys who can just about do anything he sets his mind to.  I was initially kind of wanting to do this marathon as my own thing, a solo accomplishment if you will. Mostly, this is because all of these races have been so personal to me.  People might laugh, but at the start of every single one of these races this year (and I am done with 11 of 15 as of yesterday!), even the little 5 ks, I stop to think about why I am doing this and what it means to me, and about the amazing woman my mom was and how I don't want me, or my kids, or any other person in the world to suffer the way she did.  I think about how obesity is a disease and how people feel there is no way out except for a life-threatening surgery with a horrible success rate and severly damaging side effects.  I think about how if my mom could see what I was up to this year, that she would be my biggest support, and I even feel like I could have talked her into a sprint tri or a 5k if she were still around and how we could do this together. And I always shed a few tears, and other runners stare at me thinking, "why is this chick so emotional about the freaking Bolder Boulder?!"   The point is that it always feels super personal.  But guess what.  Mike is on the inside of that.  He is my team and my support and he was the one who stood right next to me while I got sad and fat and angry after my mom's accident.  And the one who had my back when I signed up for that first sprint triathlon,even though it seemed like a ridiculous prospect.  He even re-taught me how to ride a bicycle. (You can forget.  It's possible)  Why would I not want that guy next to me crossing the finish line?   I can't wait.  He is going to be amazing and we are going to be able to tell our kids we did that together.

In other ramblings. I have been reading a lot lately about power to weight ratio and really want to focus on the rest of my weight loss.  I struggle as a 200 pound-plus runner because I am so starving all the time from all the calorie-burning.  For my height I should be 190, and I really want to lose that last almost 20 pounds before Disney.  I get into this damn rut almost every time I get around the 210 mark.  I start to fit into my favorite jeans and see my stomach muscles and feel light on my feet.  So I basically quit worrying about my nutrition. I work out like a fiend, but it is not enough.  To achieve the proper power to weight ratio, you gotta be at your proper weight.  I hate it, but it is time to crack down.  I will be finishing this marathon within a reasonable time with my husband by my side, and that won't happen if I am hauling an extra 20 pounds of baggage around Disney World.  Mickey wouldn't like that.  So, as training starts to go really well, I know I can make it even better with a solid nutrition plan that will get me across the finish line looking and feeling great. Its on!   More in two weeks after Hoover Dam!!