I ran a half marathon today. Yep, I did! It was quite possibly the most incredible experience of my life. I first did the Couch to 5k app in the fall of 2011. I ran my first 5k on New Year's Day 2012, and then never ran again until I restarted C25k in August of last year. I did a 5k every month starting in October, and had no intention of ever running farther than that. I even said that at work one day, but that night my cousin Pauline asked me if I'd like to do a half marathon with her this fall, and the seed was planted. In March I ran a 10k, and the following weekend I went out to do another 6 mile run. I felt good, and ended up doing 8, and the following week I did 9. Everyone was telling me that, if I could run 9, I could run 13. At around that time, I found out that the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth holds a half marathon in October. I went to college at Dartmouth, and absolutely love the area. I signed up for that race, and convinced my best friend Toni, who now lives in Massachusetts and has been running forever, to do it with me. I was so excited about running that race for so many reasons. Obviously Hanover, NH holds a special place in my heart, and running a race with my best friend, whom I rarely see, would be amazing! However, I was very heavy and out of shape when I was in college. To go back to that place and run a half marathon would help me bury some ghosts and make me feel like I'd really overcome the weight issues that have haunted me for most of my life. My concern though was that I would have a hard time maintaining my motivation to run if I didn't have a big race for 6 months, so I signed up for the ODDyssey Half Marathon in Philadelphia, and jumped right into training!
Yesterday, my friend Gail and I left for Philly at about 3pm. I have to say a huge thank you to Gail! She and I met at WW a few years ago, and have become very close. She has been so supportive of my running, and seemed as excited about the race as I was. I was so grateful that she agreed to come with me...it would not have been as much fun if I'd been alone. We went to the runners' expo, where I picked up my bib and t-shirt, and bought some socks and a tank top. Then we checked in to the hotel, and went out for an incredible Italian dinner...carb-loading!!! We polished off 2 baskets of bread, a Portobello mushroom appetizer, pasta (mine was lump crab meat, scallions and shrimp over mushroom tortellini in alfredo sauce), and shared the best cannoli I've ever had! We walked around Philly for a bit, and then got decaf iced coffees to take back to the room. I took a shower, was asleep by 10pm, and got a great night's sleep. I woke up at 5 and had a whole wheat bagel with almond butter that I'd packed for the trip. The bus to the starting line left at 6, and got us there by 6:15. They corralled us by pace, so I was in the last group to start (10 min/mile and up.) My biggest concern was that I'd start too fast and fizzle out, which I have a tendency to do. I have to say though, that I ran my PERFECT race! I averaged about 11:10/mile, which is about 1 min/mile slower than I usually average on shorter runs, and that is ideal! I did run the second half of the race faster than the first, which is what I tend to do...pick up speed as I go. At no point (well, except for the humongous hill at mile 12) did I feel like I was too tired, too sore, etc. The course was relatively flat and beautiful! We ran through parks, past historical buildings, over rivers, past lakes, and I took in everything! I sang along to my music, read the funny signs people held up, waved at the cameras, and even gave a lady a high-five! After the horrific hill, I was at the home stretch, and right before the finish line I saw Gail holding a sign that said, "Run Rose, Run!!" When I crossed the finish line and was handed my medal, it was one of the happiest moments of my life.
Few things in life exceed expectation, but today did. I could not have run a more perfect race for me, and I took in every aspect of my first half marathon. It is an experience I will never forget. I am so incredibly proud of myself...I went from doing a beginner's running app, to figuring out how I needed to train, and what I needed as support (clothes, sneakers, nutrition, hydration) to run my best race. No one coached me, no one taught me. I read, I tried, I asked questions on line...I did it. From a girl who couldn't walk around the track in HS without getting terrible shin cramps to a woman who has completed a half marathon (in 2 hours, 28 min and 42 seconds...my goal was under 2:30)! This is my dream, and it has come true.
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
That Elusive 3!
Today is National Running Day. So funny to me that I even know that, let alone that I rearranged my tapering schedule so that I could run today! For those of you who don't know, the week or so before a big race (my first half-marathon is Sunday...aaaah!), you are supposed to cut back (taper) your miles, to give your muscles a chance to rest and fully recover. I was supposed to do 2 miles yesterday and 2 tomorrow, but I skipped yesterday so that I could participate in National Running Day today. I have met so many incredible people on FB running groups...such supportive, positive, knowledgeable, funny people! I truly feel like I'm part of this huge community, and today was our day to celebrate by going out and running...so I did!
After my run I headed over to WW. Today was my first weigh-in of the month, the one that "counts." Since I have a note from my doctor, my goal weight is 150 (the highest WW would let me go without a note was 146.) I knew I was nowhere close to 150, so I wasn't worried about having to pay. However, I lost 4.6 lbs last week, which is a HUGE number. I also ended the week at -20 points (whoops!) I hadn't weighed myself at all this week, so I really had no idea what the scale would say, but I figured I was due to gain something. When the receptionist told me that I'd lost a pound, I looked at her in amazement. Then I did some quick math in my head, leaned over to her and asked, "So I'm in the 130's??" She said yep, you're 139.8. It was at that point that I started clapping! The last time I was in the 130's was on March 16, 2012, when I weighed exactly 139.8. That is almost 27 months ago. I've been close at times, but I honestly thought that I would never see that 3 again. But I did...it happened today.
Recently I had some friends ask me to please not lose anymore weight. I want to make it very clear that no one needs to worry about me losing too much weight. I had French toast with peanut butter mousse for breakfast, and 2 slices of pizza for dinner. However, my lunch was a salad, my snack was an all natural fig bar, and everything was entered into my tracker. I also ran this morning and did yoga tonight. It's all about balance for me now. It's not so much that my eating habits have changed drastically over the past year or two. Rather, I've increased and varied my activity, and I keep very close track of what I'm eating, and what I'm burning. It's just math really, and it's working.
It's also helped me incredibly to put the focus on strength, flexibility, stamina and consistency, rather than weight. The fact that I was clapping on the scale makes it obvious that the numbers still matter to me, but the pride I feel comes more from what I'm able to accomplish than from how little I might weigh on any given day. I also want you all to stop and think about my weight. I am 5'4" tall, and weigh 139.8. If you just heard those numbers, I don't think you'd think of someone at their goal weight, or of someone happy with how she looks. I think we've all been led to believe that, in order for a 5'4" woman to look fit, she needs to weigh 120 lbs. That is just not true. There are so many factors that play into how much you should weigh to look and feel good. Once I realized that, the number lost a lot of power over me. I have absolutely no problem telling anyone who asks how much I weigh. That number is just a number. If I am healthy, happy, and comfortable in my own skin, then it should not matter. It still does, but it's power over me is only a small fraction of what it once was. I'm in control now, not it.
After my run I headed over to WW. Today was my first weigh-in of the month, the one that "counts." Since I have a note from my doctor, my goal weight is 150 (the highest WW would let me go without a note was 146.) I knew I was nowhere close to 150, so I wasn't worried about having to pay. However, I lost 4.6 lbs last week, which is a HUGE number. I also ended the week at -20 points (whoops!) I hadn't weighed myself at all this week, so I really had no idea what the scale would say, but I figured I was due to gain something. When the receptionist told me that I'd lost a pound, I looked at her in amazement. Then I did some quick math in my head, leaned over to her and asked, "So I'm in the 130's??" She said yep, you're 139.8. It was at that point that I started clapping! The last time I was in the 130's was on March 16, 2012, when I weighed exactly 139.8. That is almost 27 months ago. I've been close at times, but I honestly thought that I would never see that 3 again. But I did...it happened today.
Recently I had some friends ask me to please not lose anymore weight. I want to make it very clear that no one needs to worry about me losing too much weight. I had French toast with peanut butter mousse for breakfast, and 2 slices of pizza for dinner. However, my lunch was a salad, my snack was an all natural fig bar, and everything was entered into my tracker. I also ran this morning and did yoga tonight. It's all about balance for me now. It's not so much that my eating habits have changed drastically over the past year or two. Rather, I've increased and varied my activity, and I keep very close track of what I'm eating, and what I'm burning. It's just math really, and it's working.
It's also helped me incredibly to put the focus on strength, flexibility, stamina and consistency, rather than weight. The fact that I was clapping on the scale makes it obvious that the numbers still matter to me, but the pride I feel comes more from what I'm able to accomplish than from how little I might weigh on any given day. I also want you all to stop and think about my weight. I am 5'4" tall, and weigh 139.8. If you just heard those numbers, I don't think you'd think of someone at their goal weight, or of someone happy with how she looks. I think we've all been led to believe that, in order for a 5'4" woman to look fit, she needs to weigh 120 lbs. That is just not true. There are so many factors that play into how much you should weigh to look and feel good. Once I realized that, the number lost a lot of power over me. I have absolutely no problem telling anyone who asks how much I weigh. That number is just a number. If I am healthy, happy, and comfortable in my own skin, then it should not matter. It still does, but it's power over me is only a small fraction of what it once was. I'm in control now, not it.
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