What's A Girl to Do?

There are two things that can kill a good run quickly. One of them is stomach issues and the other one is chafing, AKA: your thighs rubbing together! I don't think guys have to worry about this as much as women, but I don't know. Every man I know who runs could cross their legs and their thighs still wouldn't touch. For me, however, this is a HUGE issue, especially in the summer. Knowing this, I have been on a quest to find a pair of shorts that would fix this dreaded problem. I went to Ross the other day and got a pair that were made of a stiffer material than my other running shorts. I thought the weight of the material would keep them from riding up in the middle, thus creating a layer of protection. Wow, I was waaaaayyyy off on this one. I wore them today for the first time with the intention of going for a 4-5 mile jaunt. It wasn't more than a mile into it when all hell broke loose. Not only did they ride up worse than my other shorts, the thick cording on the bottom cut into my thighs like a knife. I was only able to make it 3 miles and that was with the last mile being a walk. It was awful!

After I got home, I came to the realization that I was going to have to go the Spandex route to get full protection. Ultimately I think I knew this all along, I was just hoping it wouldn't come to this. Now I am by no means a large girl, but I do live by the motto: Spandex is a privilege, not a right. Normally I don't care what I look like when I run. I buy running gear for it's comfort/durability/fit, not what it or I look like in it. Spandex though is a whole other story. I am very self conscious about my thighs in form fitting apparel, especially when doing an activity that causes your body to "jiggle" for extended periods of time. So I went to Target this afternoon just to see what they had. Low and behold I was able to find a pair of Lycra dri-weave shorts that not only covered my thighs, but made them appear smooth and defined. On clearance no less. So I bought them. I haven't tried them out yet, but I hope to soon. I'm leaving for Washington D.C. tomorrow and will be gone until Sunday. Due to our packed schedule and the fact that I will be walking five to six miles a day, I do not plan on doing any running this go around. Once I get home I will begin my first week of actual training for the race. So this week will be a nice rest before the pain begins.

Training Plan: The First Six Weeks

I thought I might has well go ahead and post my training plan for the first six weeks. I got this from Runner's World Magazine last year. I adapted it to my needs and I'm sure it will change a bit from time to time. The first six weeks are the Base Phase. You begin with only 20 miles a week and build up to 35 over the six weeks. This is the easy part of the training. My running week starts on Monday and ends on Sunday with my long run. In addition to running, I will also be incorporating strength training twice a week. The plan allows for up to three rest days per week. I will definitely take one day off a week, and the others I will play by ear. If I feel I need another rest day during the week, then I will take it. My goal is to be more under trained than over trained come race day.


Mon/Tues/Wed/Thurs/Fri/Sat/Sun

Week 1: 3 miles/3 miles/ST-strength /4 miles/30 min & ST/Rest/60 min

Week 2: 2 miles/ 3 miles /ST/ 4 miles/ 30 min & ST/Rest /75 min

Week 3: 2 miles /4 miles /ST /4 miles/ 40 min & ST/Rest /90 min

Week 4: 2 miles /4 miles /ST/ 5 miles/ 40 min & ST/ Rest/ 1:45

Week 5: 2 miles /5 miles/ ST/ 5 miles/ 45 min & ST/ Rest/ 2 hr

Week 6: 2 miles/5 miles/30 min & ST/4 miles/30 min & ST/Rest/2:30


Thursdays I will be concentrating on doing hill repeats and tempo runs. As you can see, some days I am running for distance, and other days it is for time. I am hoping this will change things up a bit. That is the one thing about training, gets very redundant and is easy to get burned out.

Why I Love Running

I never thought of myself as a runner until I was seriously into it. On my run this morning I was thinking about why I like it so much now, but not so much earlier in my life. For one thing, I weighed a lot more ten years ago. I was able to lose about 35 pounds and that in it self made it easier to run. Running is not fun when you are in bad shape. It hurts and is hard to stick with. Once I got that weight off, it was so much easier to run a mile and then build upon that.

Once I had built a base, I found that running was an excellent stress reliever. Countless times I have come home after a crappy day at work and told my husband I'll see you in twenty minutes, I have to go for a run. When I come back after such a run I feel a thousand times better.

Another aspect I like is the outcome of my success sits fully on my shoulders. I have had a lot of disappointment with different things over the years. For example, I had one main goal when I was playing softball and that was to make the all-star team. The one year I should have made it, I didn't. It was very political and it was all the coaches daughters who made it whether they were good enough or not. There are no politics when it comes to running. If you don't train hard enough to make it to Boston, then you have no one to blame but yourself.

Finally running is a great way to explore a new place. I love to run when I am on vacation. You never know what you're going to see. One day when we were camping in Santa Cruz, I was running along the beach and stumbled across a seal that was on the shore sunning its self. If I hadn't been running I would have missed it. Running also helps you find things in your own neighborhood. I know every "back way" in town. Whenever there is road construction or something like that, I never sit in traffic because I know a way around it. Bottom line is running rules!

All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned From Running!

Running has taught me so much over the past few years. Number one lesson is that it's hard! Running long distances is not easy, but the rewards can't be beat. I think it can probably be compared to childbirth. The feeling you get as you cross that finish line is probably comparable to hearing that baby cry for the first time. Then after it's all done, you forget about the pain and do it all over again the next year.

Lesson number two: Running is mostly mental. I love the saying, "It's mind over matter. If you don't mind, it don't matter!" It's your brain that can make you or break you. When times get tough you have to focus on the positive and not on the suffering. This was one of the reason I had such a difficult time during my second marathon. My lower back started bothering me really bad and instead of letting my mind tell my body what to do, I let my body tell my brain it was done. I still finished, but I would have had a much better time if I would have shifted my focus to a more positive place.

Lesson number three: Sometimes you just have to compromise. My normal mentality is it's all or nothing. This can't always be the case with running. Sometimes you have to bargain to get what you want. There have been plenty of times when I wanted to shorten my distance or stop altogether. When I find myself going in that direction I make a deal with myself. For example, I tell myself, if I run up that steep hill, then I can walk the rest of the way home. It's a method that works well for me.

Lesson number four: Respect the Run. Never think you can outsmart the Run because when you're not looking, it will come up and smack you down! It's kind of like the ocean.

Finally I would say I learned that running is unpredictable. "Life is like a long run...you never know what you're gonna get!" One day you can have the best run you've ever had. Then you go out the next day and you feel like someone has tied 100 pound weights to your feet. No matter how well you have trained, something unexpected can always happen.

Running: The Early Years

When I was young, I would often go to races with my parents and compete in the children's fun run. The distance was usually a 1/2 mile. I won a few ribbons back in the day. I'm not really sure how, but I did. As I got older, the distance increased to one mile. Let me just say, my first mile race might as well have been fifty! It seemed like I was running forever and the finish line was never going to come. But I eventually made it and started trading my mile races for three milers. If one mile felt like fifty, three felt like 100! In sixth grade I joined cross-country after I didn't make the volleyball team. That was the year I ran my fastest mile ever, 7:09. My dad always said he would give me twenty bucks if I could break seven minutes. I'm still working on that.

Three miles turned into 26.2 and now I'm going to bring it to an end at fifty. I'm definitely going to stop at that. I have no desire to go longer. Once this test is complete, I plan on going back to shorter distances. I do want to run the Boston Marathon and maybe the New York. There are so many great races out there. If I can find a place to train for the swimming portion, I wouldn't mind trying a triathlon. Basically I really want to push myself beyond just marathons. While I know finishing a marathon really is an amazing accomplishment, it just isn't enough for me. My husband thinks I should concentrate on bettering my times and not increasing the distance. Maybe so. I'm sure I'll be wishing I had chosen to go that route when I'm running a marathon distance every weekend for a month.

You're Going to Run How Far?

When you tell a person you're a runner most of them respond with something along the lines of "I only run if I being chased," or "you're crazy." Ever since I started telling people I am going to run a 50 mile race, I have heard a lot more of the later. Maybe I am crazy? To be honest if you would have asked me a few years ago to run 50 miles I would have said you're crazy!

I grew up in a house where both of my parents were runners. My mother mostly ran for fitness doing three to five miles five days a week. My father, on the other hand, was much more competitive. He was the "Marathon Man!" Growing up, he did at least one marathon a year if not more. The California International Marathon is the most notable. He has run and finished all 26 of them. Last year he even won 3rd place in his age group. As a kid, I use to love going to watch him run the CIM. We had our ritual every year. My mom and I would drive and park about a mile from the start. We would climb up a small hill and wait for the hoards of runners to come streaming down the hill and make the first turn of the race. Clapping and cheering I would anxiously scan the crowd looking for my dad's red bandanna. If I didn't spot him first, he would yell up to us and we would go crazy screaming his name. Once he passed, we would keep cheering on the other runners. My mom would say over and over "look at them, they just keep coming!" When all the runners had passed, it was time to go and get breakfast. On to McDonald's to get the hotcake and sausage meal with hot chocolate and a box of cookies to go. Now I know that doesn't sound like the greatest breakfast, but fast food was a rarity in my house so this was the equivalent of going to the most expensive restaurant in town in my eyes! With our bellies full, we would continue on to the finish line. The CIM ends at the State Capital so parking was always a bit challenging. I remember making quite a few trips around the block before we would find a space. Once we got to the finish line there was nothing to do but wait anxiously. This was always hard for me. It was usually pretty cold and I was eager to see my dad finish. When the time clock started approaching a certain time, my mom would always say, "keep an eye out, he could be coming any time now." If too much time went by, I would start to worry that something had happened to him. That's the thing when you run 26.2 miles, there is always that chance you might have to drop out. Thankfully that has never happened to him and sure enough I would see him coming down the street. I'd hoop and holler, yelling "Go Rubber Duckie!" (the nickname came from a marathon year that it was pouring rain, I was like four or five and for some reason I thought it would be funny to call him a rubber duckie. Stupid, I know, but it stuck and I still say it today.) After he ran across the finish line, I'd run to congratulate him. We'd all take pictures and he would give a detailed account of the entire race. To this day, I still can't wait for the first Sunday in December so I can go cheer Dad on at the CIM.

People would always ask me if I was a runner like my dad. Up until four years ago I would always respond with, "Heck no, he's crazy! I would never want to run a marathon." Let's just say I've changed my mind since then. I started running at the end of 2005 as a way to lose weight. My sister also started running. She decided she was going to try a marathon. Well I certainly was not about to be outdone by her, so I too said I would run one. Then my mom got on board (she had previously run three other marathons, 2 CIM's and the Boston). So all four of us trained, ran, and finished the 2006 CIM. I finished in 4:30, thirty minutes faster than I had anticipated. I wouldn't say that I was hooked on marathons at that point, but I was definitely intrigued. I ran and finished the 2007 CIM the following year but it was an extremely heartbreaking race. Based on my training, I thought I could do it in about 4:15. This turned out not to be the case. For some reason it just wasn't my day. My body basically quit on me about nine miles in. To this day I do not know how I was able to finish only 6 minutes slower than the previous year. At that point I decided I was going to stick to shorter distances. That was until I read an article in my Runner's World magazine about ultra marathons. Basically any distance over 26.2 miles is considered an ultra. It gave a five month training plan and recommended some of the best races to do. As I continued to read, I found the Helen Klein Classic. An easy 50 miler along the American River bike trail that encouraged first time runners. Some how I got it in my head that I could do this. So am I crazy? Probably! But on October 31, 2009 I am going to challenge myself to do the impossible. I am going to run 50 miles in less than 12 hours!

I hope you will join me throughout these next five months. I'll take any support and encouragment I can get. So here's to 50 miles! Cheers!