The Anti-Running Runner

For years, this blog ( The Anti-Running Runner ) has been a place for me to document my love/hate relationship with running. As a new mom, I've struggled to keep up with posting regular blogs, but I'm still running. After going through back and heel injuries for almost two years, plus new baby, running now looks a little different for me. I'm no longer training for half marathons. Not yet. I hope to get back there eventually, but my focus has been running between 3-5 miles about 3 times a week (sometimes walking/jogging intervals). If you've pushed a jogging stroller, you might relate to the sensation that while pushing that stroller for 3 miles, it feels like I've gone farther. It's also hot hot hot right now. I also don't have as much time for running as I used to now that I have a baby. When hubby and I run together, he pushes the jogging stroller. That's also a gift for me to have stroller-free running moments. Here we are near downto...

The Running Girls Novelette Launch Date 9/17/16 What's the story about? Here's the tagline: Two girls with nothing in common except the 500-Mile Summer of '89 Challenge. Clara is an average student and below-average athlete. With some inspiration from her cross country coach, Clara decides to take on a summer running challenge: complete 500 miles in three months. The problem? Her parents don't want her jogging all those miles alone, but Clara doesn't want to run with the girl they suggest. Joan is weird, and something seems to be mentally wrong with her. Except none of Clara's other friends run. Will she complete the challenge, or does being stuck with Joan mean she's destined to fail? Where did this story originate? A couple of weeks ago, my running partner, Terry, and I had just conquered a six-mile run through Clearwater that included the Sand Key bridge. Needless to say, we felt strong and fabulous. On the drive home, my phon...

Recently, I was offered an entry into a Spartan Race. Wait...you're giving it to me?? Clearly, this person doesn't know me. Back in 2011, my hubby, my dear cousin Alyssa, and a bunch of hubby's buddies all did the Tough Mudder. I had the opportunity to join them, which I declined vehemently. I know the Spartan Race is not the same as the Tough Mudder, but I do know it's the same idea. Defeat obstacles and dive into the mud when there's no good reason to do either. Granted, this must be fun for people, because tons and tons of participants do Spartan Races and Tough Mudder every year. And they talk about how much they LOVE it. Here are a couple of photos that I took at Tough Mudder in Dade City, 2011. I was happy to be behind the camera and NOT a mud diver. Dunking under spinny tire things Getting electrocuted. Yeah. No thanks. A happy post-race crew. Guess what? I was happy, too! To Mud or Not To Mud Is it weird that I'd rat...

The hubby and I took a week-long trip to Oregon in December that included a three-night stay at a cabin on Mt. Hood. Cousin Alyssa and I thoroughly enjoyed a jog on the back roads near the cabin. I'll let the pictures tell the story. It was awesome. Next up, race report of the Clearwater Half Marathon.

Today I wanted to run to the beach. It's a treat for me, but there's a cost. Ten miles. And I don't get to end at the beach, that's just the halfway point. But I love running to the water. There's just something about it. And most of the route (miles two through eight) is really beautiful. This morning I left around six thirty. Not early enough. It was soooo hot and humid already. I knew from the first mile that the run would be a challenge to finish, and that I'd end up walking some of it. Things I should've done differently: ~Gone to bed earlier last night ~Woken up earlier this morning ~Drank more water yesterday On Tuesday, I got up intending to run about four miles, and ended up doing seven. NOT normal for me. But some kind of fluke cold(er) front had settled over St. Pete. The cloud cover kept me from getting any direct beatings from the sun (not the case today). I thought this was probably the last cool day I'd have for a while. I sho...

Yes, we finished! When I left off, Alyssa and I were halfway done. We had gotten water twice so far, and we both felt pretty good. At Mile 14, we saw a porta-potty and both decided we needed to use it. There was no line (always nice) and it was clean. Afterward, we got water at the station and went over one last small bridge heading inland.  The next two miles, we went through some neighborhoods with lots of shade. Although we had none before, I hadn't felt overheated. I think the temp at that point just broke 60. I took my first nibble of Shot Blok at the Mile 16 water station. Just before Mile 18, we hopped onto the Pinellas Trail heading north back toward Clearwater. The full sun quickly warmed us up, but I wasn't too hot. I mean, it was still at least twenty degrees cooler than the last marathon. And all that water I drank the day before helped, I'm sure. But poor Alyssa was feeling it. I should mention that she didn't really train for this race...

At 6:30 AM on Jan 19th, hubby dropped Alyssa and I off at Coachman Park. A ride to and from any race is such a blessing. Alyssa and I have decided it's essential for a marathon. We don't recommend driving yourself if you don't have to. A side trip about my pre-race eating habits: I have finally learned what works best for me and my uber-tender running stomach. It tells me loud and clear what it does and doesn't like. The problem? During long runs when I haven't eaten the way my body wants me to, what I have often felt is motion sickness. At least, that's the closest thing I can compare it to. Once in the fall during a late evening run with Hea (18 miles), it felt like that creature from Alien was about to burst through my diaphragm. Mainly because I ate a sea salted almond around mile eight. Body rejected. It should've been an unsalted almond, but now I can't eat any type of almonds before or during a run. The other thing I've learned is tha...

After running three marathons that went from bad to worse, I thought it must be impossible to enjoy a marathon. I'm overjoyed to be proven wrong. Of course, training and eating right makes a difference. The right shoes make a difference. Some of those things affected my previous marathons, and I finally learned what my body wanted to eat, how it wanted to train, and what shoes were best for me. A lot of prayer has gotten me through each of my marathons, and there is something wonderful about how terrible they were before Jan 19th. It's much easier to say that in hindsight, of course. I had to rely on Jesus, lean on him, draw strength from him in my weakness. It's a great place to grow. From the moment I started distance running in college, I became the Anti-Running Runner. It was this burden that I knew I had to carry if I wanted to get through any of my jogs. There were always things that helped, like running with Alyssa and other family and friends. But it's al...

Why??? Are you crazy??? That is the question. Why would Alyssa and I do another marathon so soon after the Marathon from Hell ? There are some good reasons for us to do the Clearwater Marathon on Jan 19th. At least we think so. REASON #1 - FREE We had a free race coming after the Halloween Halfathon in 2012 where we didn't receive medals until later in the mail. We received a sincere apology AND a complimentary race from the race director (unexpected and very kind) to any of their events, so we naturally chose a marathon. REASON #2 - HAS TO BE BETTER THAN THE LAST This race can't possibly be worse than the Marathon from Hell. REASON #3 - PHYSICALLY, SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO IT We're pretty trained up already. REASON #4 - COURSE WE CAN HANDLE The course is mostly flat (and we believe them) with a few bridges and spectacular views. REASON #5 - A CHANCE TO CATCH UP This is probably our last big race together for quite a while. We'll be staying together the ...

To pick up where I left off... Around mile 11, I started feeling it. I'm convinced it was full-on 85 degrees at that point, it was so hot. That same feeling I usually get around mile 18 came and I was already struggling. Alyssa promised to stay with me, and we slowed the pace. Jenni went ahead on her own where she experienced those heat stroke symptoms I mentioned in Part I. It felt like a really long two miles to get the halfway mark. In my mind, I kept thinking, We have to do this again. Ugh. And then we were introduced to the sand pit. That's right. A sand pit. Not hard sand, but a half-mile stretch of really loose sand that none could go around. The only answer was through. Shoes sank in, making it almost impossible to run through it. We sort of skip-walked through. At that point, I realized that I was not happy. I was struggling before, and now I was getting angry. Because the website made absolutely no mention of the half-mile long sand pit that we would have to go t...

Completed marathon #3: X-Country Marathon in Alafia River State Park Nov 17, 2013 Started with hubby, Alyssa, Jenni, Hea, Mike, and Zach. The course was two 13.1 laps around the park. Completed half due to injury: Hea Completed half due to no desire to finish this ridiculously unfun trail race, plus didn't care whether he ever finished a marathon in his life: hubby That means we lost two out of seven people in our group alone. There were likely a lot more DNFs at this race. I imagine there are worse marathons. The Sahara Desert Marathon, for example. The hills in places like San Francisco make it difficult to even compare to the X-Country Marathon in Florida. There are inclines, not hills. Therefore, I resisted titling this post Worst Marathon Ever. It was my worst ever, but there are so many factors contributing to why some races are tougher than others. This one was tough, first of all, because it was 85 degrees and humid. Total fluke. No one's fault. It didn...

There are seven Team SPOR Runners doing the X-Country Marathon tomorrow at Alafia River State Park. Hea, Mike, Zach, Alyssa, Jenni, hubby, and me. I'm trying not to think about it because I'm quite nervous. But I know it will be fun, especially with our great group of people. I've been focused on my fiction writing lately, so I haven't been updating on my training, but I'm as trained as I can be. Now I just need to relax and give it to God because it's out of my control. Hea and I did 21 miles together three weeks ago. I've got a blood-blistered toe to prove it. After horrible 16 and 18 milers, I was relieved the 21 went as well as it did. No major issues (didn't feel the toe until it was over). The following Saturday we did 12. Last weekend hubby and I did 8. Oh, tapering. So lovely. This last week I carbed up and today I'm doing my eating regimen that I discovered works best for me on runs longer than a half marathon distance. Every two ho...

Hubby, Hea, Mike, and I are in full swing with marathon training. We also have three other friends who will be running the X-Country Marathon with us in November: Alyssa, Jenni, and Zach. We have a team! So we came up with a team name and shirts. Hea and I before the 14 miler TEAM SPOR RUNNERS because some of us live in SP (St. Pete) and some of us live in OR (Orlando). I know, it looks like we left of the T in SPORT. Or, as one of my forum friends described it, that the E in SPORE is missing and we're a "group of escaped infectious lab test subjects from some fungus-based zombie disease, a la The Last of Us." In my mind, SPOR rhymes with Thor so we can raise our fists and shout, "By the power of SPOR!" Anyway, Friday night Hea, hubby, and I ran 14 miles. We had fun, chatted a lot which helped the time pass, but it wasn't easy. Especially since next Saturday we're scheduled to run 16. The miles just keep going up and up. I still haven...

I've been MIA on this blog for a while. My focus has been writing and editing my fiction efforts, but I promised to share my first marathon adventure, so I'm finally going to do it. AIR: My First Marathon Disney January 2009. It was the week before my wedding. No lie. Seven days after running my first marathon, I walked down the aisle and married my best friend. I DO NOT recommend this to anyone. Wedding time frame part, not the marrying best friend part. That I highly recommend. In my defense, I signed up for the marathon prior to getting engaged. The wedding date worked out best for whatever reasons. I can't even remember why now. The six months leading up to the marathon/wedding were probably the most stressful of my entire life. Marathon training takes so much time and energy. So does wedding planning. On a positive side, most of my family came to cheer my marathon finish because they were already in town for the wedding. That was a huge blessing. My dearest...