Time is on my side

Sometime in 2013, a rash of "40 before 40" lists popped up with my friends, inspired by my great friend and Platonic Life Partner (and bad idea bear) Kari Kidrowski. I usually hate these things - sorry all friends who wrote kickass lists. I'm not sure why, but they've never quite appealed to me yet. And yet, I was driving home from Kalamazoo a few weekends ago and I found myself daydreaming about what would be on my list.

I'm coming up on 35 in April, and I've got some good things on the horizon, but I think there are plenty left to be accomplished. I reserve the right to add, delete, edit, censor or chuck this list altogether. Would you expect anything else?

1. Travel to Europe Boom! Done, Dec 26, 2014 - Jan 4, 2015

2. Roast a turkey successfully

3. Run a 10:00/mile. Just one. :)

4. Read Ulysses (I faked my way through a test on it in undergrad. It's time to read it) 

5. Can fruits and veggies for our own pantry

6. Run another marathon in another city

7. Start to learn Spanish

8. Learn to play a new instrument (piano? guitar? bass guitar?)

9. Censored

10. Brew my own beer

11. Learn to do a headstand

12. Finally take that vacation to the Bahamas 

13. Run a trail half marathon Done! 8-22-2015, North Country Trail

14. See Paul McCartney in concert (on deck, October 17, 2015)

15. Redacted

16. See Troy, Jessica and the kids more than once a year.  An annual goal, but managed it in 2015

17. Have a 30 day running streak November 27 - December 26, 2014

18. Uhh yeah... no

19. Try out for a local theater production

20. Run a sub-2:30 half marathon

21. Finally meet some of Mike's Navy friends that we haven't visited together

22.Create a living will/advance directive - encourage family members to do the same

23. Become a proficient and confident swimmer

24. Super Secret ;)

25. Vacation at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! April 2015!

So I only got to 25, even after letting this sit for a few weeks. I'll add more as I they come to me - hopefully not everything will be an athletic pursuit. I think 5 1/2 years is enough time to get most of this done. Really, I just need one AWESOME running year and I'll knock several out.

Holiday Run Streak is in progress!

Excuses, excuses

No excuses. It's an interesting phrase that gets tossed around in running - especially in conjunction with inspirational stories of overcoming adversity, disability and extraordinary circumstances. It's framed as - if the guy who lost a leg can run a marathon, what's your excuse? This person lost 100 pounds by running, sensible eating and the POWER OF GREYSKULL. Why can't you get it together?

PS: I want to be She-Ra

These stories, meant to be inspiring and empowering, can come off as stress-inducing or guilt-trippy. Especially if you're like me and find yourself clumsily falling into a shame spiral at a moment's notice.

But that's not the point - it isn't a contest of who has faced the biggest challenge and TRIUMPHED!!! but rather an individual, day to day quest to get a little better and a little stronger.

After the Bayshore Half Marathon over Memorial Day weekend, I found myself with the incredible pain, moving from site to site on my lower body. It started with knee pain from pre-Bayshore that subsided after I completely stopped running for two weeks. It then migrated to shooting pain in my hips, making sitting, laying, sleeping and of course RUNNING, out of the question. As I started physical therapy, it seems that lower back weakness and inflammation may be the real culprit. I've now spent a pretty penny on x-rays and PT co-pays and have missed out on the first half of summer running.

And the voice inside of me says: a little back pain and you can't run? Why aren't you cross-training more? Getting your diet in order?

Answer: I don't know.



So I've found myself nearly back at square one with running and weighing the most I have in about 5 years.

The good news is, my body hasn't forgotten everything. I'm able to run 3 miles pretty easily and I'm ready to start upping my distance to 4 or 5 miles for "long" runs and continue maintain one or two days of short running during the week.

As for my pace, well... that was never much to brag about to begin with. So in an effort to honor my body for its abilities instead of putting myself down for my limitations, I've boldly embraced the title of Pace Group Leader for 12:30 minute/mile (and up) in our Moms Run This Town group runs. Why fuss over how slow I am when I can help a new or slow runner feel welcome? I know how lonely the back of the pack can be, so the tortoises need to stick together!

Moms Run This Town Group Run 7/28/14

So now it's time to keep on keeping on, get back on the horse, cause it ain't over til the fat lady sings and this is where the rubber meets the road. 

(Are these cliches doing it for you? I could do this all day. Beggars can't be choosers, you know.)

Running against the wind

Double digits is always a mental barrier. When you're a kid, turning 10 is, like, the hugest thing ever. When you're a newbie runner, crossing from running 7 or 8 miles to 10 MILES is huge. And while I've run 10+ miles many times, the first time back after a long layoff always screws with your mind.

But there I found myself on Saturday morning. 10 miles on the schedule and no real way to weasel out of it. I started my "10 week half-marathon training plan" a week late, so it is already beyond crunch time. I woke up in plenty of time, but my belly felt sour and I was dragging. Suppose it's time to remember to eat like a runner on Friday nights - instead of fried perch, tater tots and beer. I texted the group to go on without me - I'd go later on my own. After another 90 minutes of sleep, I got ready and headed to the lake.

10 miles. First double digits since the Marine Corps Marathon.

By the time I was ready and actually setting off, it was 11:00 am. The morning sun was fading. It was warm and breezy - around 60 degrees. It was rough going. I stopped several times in the first few miles. My feet hurt, my calves were cramping, I just needed a break. 

I was playing "the game" for the first several miles. 

"I have to run farther than last week (7 miles), so I need to do at least 3.5 for the out and back. Well, just a 5 or 6 mile run would be enough to make the day worth it, right? Ok, Grand Trunk is about 2 miles. Once I get there, I can stop again and go to the bathroom if I need to. Ok, you could always turn around at mile 4 and have 8 done." 

After 2 miles, I was on the bike path and away from the road. The sky started threatening rain and the wind whipped up. So the inner monologue changed. "Just get to the Y (about mile 4.5). Then if it's storming, you can have Mike pick you up. Or you could turn around there for 9. What are you? An IDIOT??? Run 4.5 miles and not 5??"

Between the 3 and 4 mile marks, I came across the first creeper of the season. Apparently the middle-aged creeps like it when the weather is warm enough for runners to only wear t-shirts and shorts. I knew I looked good as a sweaty, cranky mess, but it's always nice to hear it from someone who then asks where you're running to and how much farther you have to go. Umm... I'm going anywhere you aren't, buddy.

I made it past the YMCA and continued on to Heritage Landing and the Mart Dock for the 5 mile mark. Although the 2 podcasts I'd been listening to were interesting (Ask Me Another and Very Bad Wizards - about ethics and psychology, NOT Harry Potter), they weren't keeping my mood up and feet moving. Time to get out of my head and turn the tunes on. The Pitch Perfect soundtrack hit the spot as I turned around to head back. The hard part was over. Mentally, I only had to run 5 miles. Then it was just getting back.

The way back felt easier too, even though my body was struggling. A hot spot started to form on my right arch and my shoulders and neck were tensing up. The sky continued to look ominous as a few drops teased here and there, the wind picking up. But my pace was better, my mood was better, and I was only taking one minute walking break per mile. 

As I counted down, 3 miles to go, 2.5 miles to go, the rain started coming in fatter drops. The trail ended and put me back on the sidewalk in Lakeside with 2 miles to go. I plodded along, 1.5 miles to go. The blasted wind of Muskegon Lake that always blows in your face, no matter what direction you run. At 1 mile, I picked up the pace and the rain did too. I ran up the final hill in Bluffton, straining to see the big lake at the end. Pushing to the top, OAR blasting "it was a crazy game of poker," I lifted my face into the rain, and reached 10 miles.

Boom. Barrier broken.

Beautiful day for a run!

Here Comes the Sun

Did you think I forgot about you all? I'll admit, it's been a dark, dismal, lazy winter.

It's been a long, cold lonely winter.

I thought it was rough running last winter - I was a fool - FOOL! In 2013, the phrase "Polar Vortex" was not in my vocabulary, and I had never experienced a cold day (vs. snow day) off of work, and did not remember was -25 wind chill felt like. After four solid months of dreary cold, I'm a sadder but wiser girl. And slower and fatter.

But enough of that. Daylight savings time has arrived, removing one of the obstacles to outdoor running - dark. And it may crack 45 degrees here today. So begins the season of snowmelt. Snowmelt is really just code for flooding, but it does mean that every day we see a little more pavement and a little less dingy, dirty snow.

Little darling
I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling
It seems like years since it's been clear

What makes this year different from last is that my first scheduled race is Memorial Day weekend instead of April 6th, so I'm not in training trouble yet. I have another year of running under my belt, so there's a little less fear of the "getting back into it" this time around. However, I have some additional extracurricular responsibilities that will force me to be more structured in my scheduling if I want to get my workouts done. The time I spend as the Michigan Jaycees District 2 Director may take away from some of those lazy Saturday "I'll run when I feel like it" mornings. I also spend more time in my car and eating at restaurants, which can be a recipe for weight gain. But no worries...

Running Jamie is back. And I know that it the days of frozen temperatures are not yet behind us. In fact, they will be back within 48 hours. I know that it will probably snow on my birthday.

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right

But today? Today I splash in the icy puddles of the 90+ days of snow on the ground FINALLY melting. Today I tread *more* carefully, because there's nothing more slick that water on top of ice. Today I run in the 6pm sunshine, because I earned it - paid for it with the lost hour of daylight savings time.

Spring is coming.