I think; therefore I run.

As the fourth of July approaches this weekend, I began to reflect back on my start into distance running. My running began simply enough. Last summer, 2009 I was unhappy with the weight I had added due to a travel schedule, with my job, which had me eating out in the company of co-workers. That, plus being sedentary at work, not exercising, and the metabolism decline of middle age along with coming home to put my feel up at night added some weight I just did not care for.
So, on July 4th in hot, sunny Florida, I decided the best way to begin to lose weight was to walk it off. I set out daily to walk at a very brisk pace for one full hour. If I did walk briskly enough I could cover almost four full miles. Upon my return home to Alexandria form my vacation; I was delighted to see that the company I worked for had tossed out a challenge for employees of my region to compete in the P.F. Chang half marathon in Phoenix, Arizona in January 2010. I am not one to walk away from any challenge, so I immediately tossed my hat into the ring and stepped up my game. I was going to run the half marathon. Sure, I’d never run a block, but I was going to conquer 13.1 miles in six months time.
One of the qualifications to run the race with my company’s team was that participants had to raise a minimum of $300 for the Lymphoma Leukemia Society. I knew that would be a very easy proposition for my friends and family to support. Additionally, I stepped up my walking and began to try to run as well. My neighbor, Lori Welch, was a God send because she is a runner. She runs and exercises regularly so, to head out early in the morning with me was an easy transition for her. What it meant for me is that I had a coach, trainer, running buddy, and a good neighbor to push me as I trained. And, she pushed, pushed, and pushed me! Then she pushed me some more. I will always be grateful for her friendship and mentoring during my ramp up. In addition to running, I started revisiting the local YMCA where I have a membership, and I also reengaged my personal trainer there. So, it was off to the races!
I have many friends who are runners and I began to discuss logistics and training. I received very valuable input and tons of support. My first race was with Lori. We ran a 5k in October. Correction; she ran it and I walked/ran/walked the race. The beauty is that I did it and had a “time” by which to measure all further runs. As I said, I had lots of good input from my running associates and then the “friendly” input from folks that were interested in my goal, but really did not know much about running a long distance. These folks, at some time or other, had some distant family member or acquaintance that had maybe at one time run some distance. I was able to separate the chafe from the wheatJ. All in all it was fun and funny to hear the stories.
I ran a second 5k in November on a very cold blustery morning. That race was run with good friends Chris and Patti Busque. I ran more than I walked, but I was still not quite capable of running three full miles. Lori, however can tell you that as she and I continued to run through Old Town Alexandria and the Mount Vernon trail, my stamina and distance improved greatly.
I have some wonderful memories of runs with Lori. My most favorite and the one that exhausted me was from Old Town Alexandria across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge to National Harbor in Maryland. We are still in a tug of war over the distance we covered. I like to think it was about 11 miles, and Lori says it was less. My body at the time disagreed! One thing I do agree with is that every time Lori and I went out to run we came home tired, but invigorated from the experience. There is nothing better than running through Old Town with a potty stop at Starbucks.
Lori and I spent many hours at the Y together. We both have different workouts that we like to accomplish, while there, and the one common denominator is that we work up ferocious sweats and are buffing up our bodies. I have learned a lot from Lori during my transition as a runner.
Of course during the fall, I was still traveling and along with business attire I was packing exercise clothes and running shoes. What a change up for this old girl. One particular trip I forgot my shoes and went to Wal Mart at the crack of dawn to make a quick purchase. Shoes in hand, I returned to the hotel and had the pleasure of a coworker joining me for my morning exercise. She was in flip flops, but went along for solidarity. By then everyone within earshot of me knew I was training for a half marathon.
I started tracking my progress on Face Book and I was quickly raising my funds for the Lymphoma Leukemia society. I only needed to raise $300 for my company to cover my airfare and hotel for the race. I was blessed with generous friends and family members and raised in excess of $800. And, I kept my Face Book friends updated regularly with my training for the race. I knew since I had put it out there, I could never back away.
Running has become my obsession. In all honesty, I was concerned that I had bitten off more than I could chew. The longest I had ever covered was 10 miles. I was told to train to 10 miles and that during the half marathon the excitement and the crowds will carry me through to the finish. To train, I mapped out a four mile circuit by my home in Alexandria and would cover it twice. I would time myself and then calculate another five miles of time to determine how long it would take me to finish the half marathon in Phoenix. I estimated I could finish the half marathon in 2.5 to 3 hours. Not bad for a first half (if I did indeed make the finish within my calculations).
The winter of 2009 was harsh and it made it very difficult to train outside. I did manage, but many times it was through slush and around gigantic piles of snow. Lori as always was running with me…usually ahead of me. Did I say how much I appreciated her?
In November, I went to Tampa to visit family for Thanksgiving. Of course I spent free time there running the lovely flat streets of my neighborhood. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I was at the local grocery store picking up ingredients for Thanksgiving pies. I was walking to my car on wet pavement with cheap flip flops on my feet when I slipped on the white line next to my car. I rolled onto my left butt cheek and snap rolled my right ankle. A lovely gentleman came to help me up and I was not at all upset about my groceries that were rolling around the lot, I was afraid that I had sprained my ankle and the rehab and down time would prevent me from running in Phoenix. I was crying like a baby and he thought I was upset about my groceries.
I got home and limped around the kitchen mixing and baking my pies all the while using a bottle of white wine as a liquid pain reliever. My lovely niece Tara, who was just finishing up her doctoral degree in physical therapy, was staying at my home while she participated in one of her internships. When she came home, I had her look at my ankle and she determined it was not sprained, but needed to be pampered regardless. So, I immediately started using ice to reduce the swelling and purchased a good ace bandage which helped me to tolerate the initial 24 hours of pain. I was off my foot for a good long week and worked instead on upper body conditioning with my trainer. I gradually introduced running on the treadmill into my workout sessions. I was very careful because I could feel the pain as I ran. I would walk on the sidewalks to keep up with outdoor training and when I would try to run I had to back off. Eventually the foot healed and I was able to go feet on the street again after about three weeks.
The January race was looming and I was constantly worried that I was not going to be prepared. I took a further step and hired a masseuse who practices Thai Massage. Working with Roy was fabulous because he was stretching my muscles and keeping me limber from all of the training I had undertaken. I had not realized how tight my muscles had gotten by having no down time from the gym and the street. I began to see him regularly leading up to the race.
During part of November, December and January I was off from work, so I was spending hours and hours at the gym and running. I definitely lost the weight which was the catalyst to start this journey.
All the while, I was receiving great tips about my upcoming half marathon. The one tip I liked the best was from a friend Caren Mulay who reminded me to smile while I ran so that the cameras would catch me smiling. That was the best tip!
The trip to Phoenix was drawing closer and the weather in Washington was getting worse and worse. I decided to fly to Tampa for a week so that I could run in better weather and feel better prepared for my half marathon. I left Washington, DC in 14 degree weather and landed in Tampa in 14 degree weather. It was just as cold there as home. The blessing was that there was no snow to dodge as I ran. I had to buy some warm running gear and that was damn near impossible in sunny Florida. I did manage to find a heavy running jacket and with that, managed to stay warm on the streets. I was ten days away from the trip to Phoenix. I was nervous and still not sure what to expect when I ran through the starting gate for the P.F. Chang Rock N Roll Half Marathon. I did know that it was going to be one of the biggest adventures of my life. My funds were raised and my shoes were broken in. I had selected the clothes I intended to wear in the race along with those that I would throw away along the course.
I was eating a pre race diet and planning the race carb up. I was leaving nothing to chance. Most of all, I wanted to finish. I wanted to finish without injuring myself or my pride. I constantly reminded myself that there was a medallion in my future. I would finish the race and I would be awarded a medallion as proof that I was a finisher. I visited Roy for a pre race massage the Tuesday before I flew to Phoenix. I also followed the advice of expert runners to stop exercising and running by Thursday for my Sunday run. They pointed out that if I was not prepared by then, no last minute preparation would help and I would be likely to hurt myself. So, I stopped. What a strange few days prior to the race. No running, no gym, no wine, just pigging out on food to build my race stamina.
I flew to Phoenix on the Friday before the race and spent the day relaxing by the pool with a good book. I was allowing myself to acclimate to the weather and the time change. My stomach was full of butterflies as I had expected it to be. I was embarking on a 13.1 mile race. I definitely could not turn back. I was hydrating, relaxing, and awaiting the arrival of my many friends who would be running with me. I also kept questioning myself. I was wondering if I had trained well enough or was I too old for this race. Would I make it to the finish? I knew that even if I couldn’t run the entire course, I could walk it in. Nothing was going to stop me from receiving my medallion.
I kept calling my sister in Florida as well as close friends to talk me through the jitters. I kept feeling as though I would cry at any given moment. I was amazed that I had undertaken this feat (feet, ha). And, there I was; heading to an expo to pick up what was to become the first of many bibs, runners packets, and tech shirts. My adrenaline was in overdrive.
The sage advice of runners was to go to bed early because whether a novice or veteran runner; pre-race excitement would have me kicking the sheets. I had the television on for noise and was reading and working a crossword puzzle to keep my mind otherwise occupied. I wanted to think of anything but running. I did have the pre-race terrors. I wondered about oversleeping. I wondered if I had hydrated well enough. I worried that I had not consumed enough crabs to sustain me through the race. I worried that even with the well laid plans to travel to the shuttle drop off in the wee hours of the morning that there would be the last minute calamity of a flat tire.
I woke well before my 4:30 am wake up call. I made coffee, took a warm shower and ate nothing. I trained by running “empty”. I am not much of a morning eater anyway and after reading all the literature about “not changing anything at your race,” I figured there was no sense putting any food in my already nervous tummy.
Downstairs in the hotel lobby there was some confusion as coworkers were working on the logistics of cab rides and buddying up. Fortunately, my group of friends had that worked out well in advance. Patti Busgqe’s mom lives in Phoenix. Patti had her mom’s car so we had a ride to and from the race. It was 45 degrees as we left the hotel and headed to the finish line to grab a shuttle for the ride to the start line.
What an amazing sight. 37,000 runners milling about to run either the half marathon or the full marathon, I knew there was definitely no turning back.