gotta do what you gotta do

Yesterday morning I went out for a short 6 mile run and forgot my gloves. My hands were completely frozen which for me is normal as they tend to always stay cold. What was I thinking leaving without gloves? Well I have 3 pair...yes 3 already packed for this weekends Night time Marathon in Indianapolis and I didn't feel like going upstairs to get them. I thought how bad will it be.....well it sucked and I cut my run short about a quarter mile under 5. I then told myself this was a good thing because now I will finish off my run and add a little more to it this evening....I will then have a chance to try my headlamp out which I will have to wear in the marathon Saturday night. Santa brought it to me and I've never ran in a headlamp. Well just my luck after work it started raining....it wasn't a hard rain but it was night time it was cold and even after I dressed myself warm I couldn't bring myself to go out that door. At that point it wasn't at all about skipping a couple miles it was about what is wearing a headlamp going to feel like. I decide I will wear it on the dreadmill....and that I did. I went 1.5 mile on the dreadmill in about 15 minutes...It did indeed feel funny on my forehead and when I was done just after 15 minutes there was a red indention from where the headlamp was on my forehead. 5-6 hours of this compared to 15 minutes will take some mental endurance. I think the funniest thing was when I told my mother and my friend Chris that I went ahead and tried it out on the dreadmill both of them made the comment "In the dark" haha and for the record no I didn't run on the dreadmill with a headlamp in the dark...the point was just to see how it was going to feel. My plans for Saturdays night run are to wear a headband that covers my ears cause it is going to be cold and I am thinking the the headlamp will rest on top of that band on my forehead and help a little. I am really excited about doing the run in the dark....I'm a little anxious that it is a trail run in the dark and Im really not use to trail running so I am going to have to just relax take my time and keep my head down. It is going to be pretty muddy after all the rain last night and today and one report is calling for a little snow. The race begins at 6pm and there are 500 people running and of those about 73 are doing the full marathon. The also have a half and a quarter that evening.
http://www.planetadventurerace.com/trail/winter/

Don't make it difficult

There are all these "fad diets" out there right now that it just drives me insane. I always struggled with my weight, however in today's world my high schools days I would never have been considered overweight but back in the 80's if you were 10 pounds heavy then you were FAT. So I grew up from a young age being told and teased by classmates about my weight....I'll never forget in high school a boy told me that if I lost 10 pounds he would be my boyfriend....funny thing was I always remembered that and it hurt. About 15 years ago I reminded him of that and he was apologetic and we are still friends to this date. If you are told long enough that you are too heavy then you will surely become too heavy or the opposite! After my son was born I ballooned well into the 220's I'm 5'7 but have a muscular build...when my son was in Kindergarten I decided to try the low carb diet and exercise......I don't want to say this "worked" for me but it was a quick fix for awhile. I lost about 60 pounds and felt really great....people noticed people spoke how wonderful I looked and then I got comfortable with that and put it all back on plus 20 some pounds within the next couple years. I know people are only trying to compliment you and make you feel good and it does at times but when you hear it over and over and over you start to get insecure and wonder damn how bad did I look?
What happens with these "fad diets" is that we are not learning how to change our behavior nor our habits and for me I got comfortable and went back to my eating ways. By 2002 I was weighing in at 244 pounds and working my way into a size 24. I had stopped smoking 3 packs of cigarettes a day the year before and I wont blame stopping smoking on weight gain but I am sure I put some on due to that. Enough was enough.....again I did the low carb since it "worked" for me the first time.....if you really think about it when people tell you "I did low carb and it worked or I did the Special K diet and it worked" etc etc but lets be real - If it "worked" for you would you be heavy again? DUH I of course was one of those who still thought those thoughts...it worked before lets do it again. This time I incorporated much more exercise and lost 85 pounds in just over 5 months. I knew with my habits and my personality I would have to do more then that to keep it off this time. I needed goals to work towards and that's when I started biking, running and doing short distance triathlons. I would sign up for a race and knew I had to train to get thru it. I also knew I needed good carbohydrates in order to fuel myself to train and participate in these events. Soon after I decided to also become a ACE personal trainer and was hired on at our local club as a trainer and instructor. This was in my spare time as I was a business owner and was plenty busy....but by having this new occupation I knew I could help others with their journey and they would in fact be helping me so I could set a good example. If I could do what I was doing I knew anyone and everyone else could also...they just needed the encouragement and someone to show them how to believe in themselves. Throughout the past 9 years I have for the most part kept my weight off.....At one point I put on about 20 pounds which was after knee surgery and also just finishing Ironman number 3...you tend to eat more when training for those events and if you are not careful when that training stops you need to get your food intake in check as well! I got serious again back in August and since then have lost the 20 I gained plus am down an additional 17. This is the thinnest I have ever been and I feel wonderful. I don't see myself as a size 6 and I don't know if I ever will.....so many years of being told you were fat does something to your mind.....but I do know I am healthy. I now follow weight watchers points plus program-during my intense training I try to pull in the extra fruits and veggies rather then crappy carbs. So what is this post about.....let me back up.
Without changing your lifestyle and habits your success rate is about 10%. This holds true in so many of life's "addictions" but I think food addiction is probably one of the hardest to concur. Alcohol, drugs, gambling which are a few addictions that are very tough to battle but if you really think about it the lifestyle change that you need to make is quite simple, - don't go into bars where you are tempted to drink, don't go around friends that use drugs that will also temp you to use, don't go to a casino where you are tempted to gamble. With a food addiction you can't just say don't go near food...you have to eat to fuel your body to in order to live. I want to take a look at some of these "fad diets" that are out there....and I call them "fad diets" because they are NOT teaching you to change your long term eating habits. First lets look at the Atkins or Low Carb diet and now a spinoff called the Paleo Diet - all of these too have "special foods that you can purchase".....yes I lost weight on the low carb diet myself but after the first failure and I say failure because when I stopped eating the low carb way all my weight and then some came back on. I did not learn how to properly add carbs back into my daily nutrition nor did I care to learn how to add them back in, to me I had lost 65 pounds YEAH ME and I went back into my old habits and before I knew it all my weight and then some came back on. Now being in the fitness industry for the past 9 years I hear all sorts of different stories, another example is the "Special K" diet.....eat a special K product for breakfast and lunch and a normal dinner and you will lose weight.....uh sure this will work because when you add the calories of the special K products you ate for breakfast or lunch and a normal diet you will have a calorie deficit.....burning more calories then you consume is how you lost weight.....but what have you learned from this? Can you honestly believe you can eat cereal products for breakfast and lunch and a normal dinner the rest of your life? The latest is this Body By Vi ViSalus Shakes....if I have one more person ask me to sell them in my gym or promote them I think I will go ape shit. I keep my cool and I just say "I'm sorry I don't believe in that" Seriously folks....can't you see this is just a money pyramid. Again....how is this teaching you to change your eating habits? Drink a shake substitute for a meal? Can you eat this way for the rest of your life? Then I hear those words from those that are losing some on it...."Once I get the weight off I will keep it off" BUT.......not a single one of them can tell me HOW? Are you going to drink these shakes the rest of your life? Take the 90 day challenge and see for youself......this right here is a set up line for failure.....someone that is overweight will take this as in 90 days you will be thinner and healthier if you stick to our plan.....you better believe it if you stick to drinking shakes instead of meals for 90 days you will lose weight-again this is due to the "calorie deficit" you will NOT being consuming anywhere close to the amount of calories that has put you in your current state of health....if you follow anything for 90 days you will see results.....but what is going to happen after 90 days.....they dont even tell you about that....its' a 90 day challenge and most people CAN commit to 3 months out of their lives if given a challenge. I am kinda curious to research alcoholism and drug addtion therapy just to see how many after 90 days dont continue? I know if I can can get a client to get past the first 4 weeks the chances of a longer term commitment is very promissing, after that 90 days where they do start to see some change in body size and how they feel about themselves is the toughest....and it goes one way or another....they get comfy and tell themselves I got this, I can keep it off now but go back to their old ways.....the succes rates are extrememly low.
The Paleo diet seems to be taking off in the crossfit community. The funniest part of this diet is most folks that preach this way of life then turn around after a big workout and poison their body with alcohol? WHY? I will agree that today's food are full of refined carbs and sugars the paleo program encourages those to remove all kinds of grains, starches and even dairy. Diary is in fact a very high muscle building protein. How do we know what the true paleolithic eating habits were? Sure there was no food in cans or boxes, no fast food restaurants or convenience stores, no preservatives, chemicals,white sugar or anything artificial all that existed is what could be gathered and hunted. I also don't believe there would be one type of paleo diet do to the fact that even back then there were different cultures, climates and geography. The only think I can see that was missing from their diets that we now have today are processed and refined foods....the foods were all natural and derived from proteins, fats and/or carbs. The carb intake would be low due to the fact their were no refined sugars or processed carbs but some studies claim the paleo diet could have consisted as high as 40% in carbs...which is way higher then what is being preached today. Its not that difficult....it's all about eating less and getting yourself moving.

Screw Guilt

This weeks runs have all felt kinda blah....and this morning it took forever to get myself out of bed. I laid around till - well I'm afraid to say but I laid in bed till almost 1pm! I then had a craving for a giant cheeseburger so I drove to Ashland KY and fulfilled that craving at Five Guys, I also got french fried....I'm here to tell you with all the starving people out there I have no idea why the smallest fry they have is like an entire sack of potatoes! I was hoping by the time I got home I would find a little MOJO but that still hasnt happened. My quads are a little tired today as I did some leg work and a short bike yesterday and I am really looking forward to a long long run tomorrow. The weather today has still be dreary with temps hovering around 29, grey skies and some spits here and there of snow. Each time I get up thinking that I will change into my running clothes I think of something else I need to do and talk myself out of it.....I also tell myself I'm not in the mood to get sweaty and hot today. So far the excuses have been working. I then look at my monthly training plan and how each week this month I have had an excuse for one of my runs.....I then kinda feel guilty for that but try to rationalize that my body is telling me to Screw Guilt and it just wants an extra day right now and it's ok.

Title Change?

Today my ankle was bothering me...I havent had any ankle pain so this was new and I dont remember twisting it on the trail yesterday but it was a good enough excuse for me to bag my 14 miler today :-) I decided to go to the gym though and do the expresso bike and EFX and some weight training instead. I have discovered all this run concentration has lead to lack of bike fitness...even though I teach spin class 3 times a week its still not the fitness I was getting when i was riding the expresso bikes! expresso.com The ride that I did today has lots of elevation and is a 10 miler...it took me 45 minutes which was almost 6 minutes slower then my personal best when I was biking more. Now I have decided on my off days I must go and ride the expresso bikes after my spin class or at some point during those days or when Ironman training kicks in its gonna be rougher.
As I was on the EFX I started thinking about the title of my blog....I called this My First Ultra due to the fact that I was going to blog about my training journey for my first 50 mile run in the middle of April....I had no intentions when I started this blog of doing a 50K before hand and when my friend Chris presented that race to me I said cool sounds like fun I'll do it....and so I did. So now I have already technically done "My First Ultra" LOL but not a FIFTY MILER so I guess I will keep the title.
Alot was on my mind today with my long runs going to be increasing the to 22-26 mile on Saturdays followed with 10-14 on Sundays....Im a little concerned about the long long runs just because its gonna get so lonely out there. My friend who was running long with me is the one that broke her ankle about a month ago...she is going back to Dr on the 17th so hoping she will be able to do some short ones and be back at it in no time. The break wasnt as bad as first expected but she will still have to start back slow. The other person that was running my Sunday recovery runs hasnt been able to join me for about 6 weeks now. I have tried to sign up for marathons and such on as many weekends that I can find them close to home just to have others to run long with...the next one is the night time one in Indianapolis on the 28th of this month and then the end of Feb in Columbus is one that does a one mile loop over and over (fun fun LOL) hey but its with people and there is support on the course! Then in March I have 2 marathons and a 25K and then middle of April is the big daddy! Im not sure how I will deal with the long runs when I am forced to be inside....I am already thinking about this Tuesday...there is 100% chance of rain and temps in the 40's so dont know if I wanna run in the cold rain yet...If there is a 90% chance of rain I try to look on the bright side and say thats 10% chance it wont and have been lucky so far and found a window within the day to get a run in. Tuesday is only 14 miles so I will deal with it when the time comes....but I cant help to think what will I do when its a 24 miler! LOL

Frozen Sasquatch 50K Race Report

Drove to Charleston with my friend Chris the day before...she did the 25K which was her longest distance in a couple years. We got to the park trying to find the packet pick up and couldnt figure out where it was....we were about 15 minutes early but you would think there would be some sign that a race packet pickup was somewhere? We drove back to the entrance of the park and saw a car sitting so decided we would sit also. Shortly after a truck pulled in and had some boxes in the back end but then he backed out of that parking lot and into a driveway across the street. We saw him take a small cardboard thing and lean it against the fence by the road and decided maybe this is where the packet pick up was. A few minutes later a few others showed up and started to walk across the street. Sure enough the hand written sign said Frozen Sasquatch Packet Pick Up. We waited in the garage and I kinda felt uncomfortable....seemed like the few folks that were in there knew each other and we tried to make some small talk while we were waiting for them to get organized. We finally got our stuff and left. We went to the hotel from there and just ordered Papa Johns pizza. I didnt sleep well and during the night woke up very thristy alot....Chris said she did also so the pizza musta really been salty. When I got up in the am I ate a panera bagel and drank a diet dew. I was starting to get anxious and had no idea what I had gotten myself into. We drove to the park and I ate a banana on the way to the park. The lot was pretty full already when we got there and not knowing even what way the run went we found a place close to the "finish" line. Now I wish I woulda parked down at the other end due to the fact that my car's trunk was my special needs place for the second lap so I had to go alittle further to get to the car and then back track to the second loop.
The run begins and we were towards the back...it took off down the road and then onto the main road of the forest for only about .25 mile then starts a crazy ass climb. There was no running here at all and there was no way to walk a fast pace because you were at the mercy of everyone in front of you. A couple people tried to pass around but the track was a true single track trail and super rocky and super steep so there was no way around. Instead you just make some nice friends and tell jokes all the way up. I was told it was a little of 600 foot climb and im guessing this covered only about a half or 3/4 mile. Once you were at the top things opened up a bit. I ran with a couple guys for a couple miles chit chatting and on the way up another crazy climb I met a couple great gals from Akron. This was around mile 3 or so and I think I ran with them and close to them for the rest of the first lap. I dont remember alot of the first lap and the locations because I was so busy being entertained by other people it kinda just flew by. When I got done with lap one I stopped at the car to atleast change socks, they were wet, muddy and full of grit. I had brought some other trail shoes but they are white and there was no way I was changing shoes!! Off to the second loop. I start that big 600 foot climb with nobody in site. 150 people were registered for the race and I believe by looking at the results there were 103 in the 25K and 47 in the 50K with only 42 finishing the 50K. So on the second lap it was pretty lonely for awhile. I could hear people every so ofter but didnt see anyone until I got to an aide station. The girls from Akron were leaving the station while I was coming upon it. When I was leaving the station the lady working it said can I get your photo with sasquatch...I said sure where is he and she said right there behind you....LOL Low and behold was a giant sasquatch cut out! I said was he here the first lap and they said yes....I didnt see him at all! When I got to the bottom of a big downhill where the trail turns back into a road and a big rocky type road (which sucked!) there was a truck and 2 guys with 3 cairen terrier type dogs. 2 were on long tie outs and one that looked younger was lose. The younger was really friendly but almost tripped me and wouldnt leave and the ones on the tie outs were freakin vicious! They growled and barked and jumped at me and I kept trying to move away as the pup tried to trip me and the guys said nothing....then one that was on the long tie out jump and bit my freakin thigh! I screamed he fucking bit me! And they didnt say a word.....just ahead was an out building so I ducked behind it to tinkle and check to be sure the dog didnt break any skin and it was just red. When I finished John had ran thru. I had passed John awhile back as he was waiting and trying to encourage a friend who just wasnt feeling well that day and was finally told to go ahead. John is a 67 year old ultra runner from Charleston WV area. He has been doing ultras for numerous years and trains on these trails. This would have been around mile 20ish and we stayed together the rest of the run. He was awesome! He knew every bit of the trail and would tell me we had a couple long jaunts then a short one then we would go onto a fire road and then another short trail then aides station. I was all about the last aide station...this was the station about 2 ish miles before the finish and they were cooking soup on a fire in the cans. On the first lap they offered me soup and I wasnt ready for it but I told them I would catch them second time around. For 8 miles I thought about that soup!! and when I got there it was the best soup I had ever had in my life :) Before we got to that station I was running low on water....this was the longest between stations and the weather was unseasonable and 50 degrees. John had some candy bars and offered them to me and at first I declined as that just didnt sound good and he said paydays are great...so I said ok....he gave me a fun size payday and it rocked!! The perfect amount of salt and peanuts and sugars....then about another .25 -.50 mile he said how bout another candy bar...i have babe ruth...I said thats my favorite!! So here is another bite size babe ruth....never woulda thought about either of those as nutrition for a run but I will be bringing them with me for the next one! One of the sweepers and another runner met up with us just before the last aide station and they told John they had passed his friend who wasnt feeling well 10-12 mile back...he didnt make it that day :( We got to the last down hill which was treacherous...I was scardt of all the downhills...i had never run trails in reality and I was affraid of tumbling over and over the side of the mountain and then being so careful as you try to go down just jars the crap out of your knees and quads. My knee bothered me some and I made due with it and would turn sideways and try to go down hill that way. Then we saw the finish!!! I was so full of adrenaline and shock of actually finishing and finishing in the time allowed!! My first lap took 3:45 and the second lap took 4:15. I knew the second lap would take longer and I was fine with that. I felt amazing!
I must say I was so shocked the next day that my knees didnt hurt one bit....i had some tenderness in both quads and my glutes and a little in my right calf and Achilles area. On monday I still felt some tenderness and did 45 min on the efx and taught spin class. I managed a massage that afternoon. Today I went out and hit the road for an 8 mile run and managed to average a 10:14 pace. It felt better running for my quads then just walking around.

Frozen Sasquatch 50K

Right now I am utterly speechless....I had the time of my life - yes just like the song! I feel unbelievable today, my knees are not bothering me at all and just have some tenderness in my quads and glutes but have been cleaning house, laundry went shopping and such. I'll write a better report when I can sort things out so I dont sound like I am rambling too much....but who am I kidding I know I will still ramble and jump around everywhere while I type!

Into the Unknown

The week after Christmas my family had a "Christmas Family Reunion" at Wrightsville Beach NC... Weather was wonderful but so far Ohio weather hadn't had too many bad days up to date but I did have a terrific long run at 8am in 65 degree weather! My knee bruised up pretty bad towards the end of the week....I honestly dont know why it decides to bruise when it does because my mileage wasnt any longer then before? It tends to bruise about once a month on the medial side where the bone on bone rubs together. This time it seemed to bruise a lot more then previous months. You can feel ALOT of scar tissue around the bruised area as well....lots of crunching action. I didnt eat well while I was there but that was pretty much expected. When I got home I gained 3 pounds but it is gone now. There were 28 of us in a 10 bedroom house....there were some healthy food choices but when your father comes in every afternoon with 2 dozen FRESH cupcakes from Coastal Cupcakes....it get difficult. I honestly think from Mon thru Sat I averaged 4 cupcakes a day!
This Saturday marks the day of my first Ultra.....it is a 50K in Charleston WV called The Frozen Sasquatch. I dont want to say I am nervous but rather anxious....anxious of the "unknown" I went today and did a short 4 miles on the single track trail in the forest...it is rather technical with all the roots, rocks, trees down and leaves still covering the trail. I became concerned about what the trail will be like in Charleston and if I will have enough time because I only averaged around a 14:40 pace for this short distance. I can't imagine a 50K being as technical and elevation climbs as this 4 miles for the entire distance but I guess I will see in TWO days. There is a totally different feeling about doing this 50K then I have felt with any of the Ironmans I have completed.....I think it has a lot to do with still being at my house 2 days before and reality really hasnt set in. With Ironman you arrive several days before due to packet pickup, bike racking and just settling in and with this 50k only being a 2 hour car ride we wont leave until the day before. I received a running water backpack for Christmas but decided not to try it Saturday because I am not use to it at all...so I will take my fuel belt and plan to take the belt that holds 2 waters then just refill them at the aide stations. I will bring gels with me and possibly some peanut m&m's. The other fuel I will take from the course.