The Anti-Running Runner

My First Big Sports Injury Have you ever been injured? Me, too. Back in 6th Grade during gymnastics, one of my attempts at a full twist left me with a broken thumb after a bad landing. And it hurt. (I'm in the third row far right) With a cast and a promise of healing within six weeks (and learning to write left-handed in school), I discovered that I was ready to move on to other sports. Gymnastics was fun, but I wanted to do track and volleyball (which meant quitting gym), so the time of reflection helped firm up my decision. It's one I've never regretted. Centralia High School Track Freshman Year 4X100 Relay (Me, Molly Parker, Sarah Hahn, April Schilt) St. Pete High School Varsity Volleyball Senior Year (me front and center) I've had no major injuries since then. Little things here and there, but I've always bounced back pretty quickly. That time I ran into sliding glass door and most likely broke my nose stands out because it was really...

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...

I know I said MARATHON FROM HELL post would be next, but I'm interjecting with a quick Christmas race update....and then I swear the marathon post (in two parts) is coming! On Dec 14th, I ran this fun Christmas race with many family members. What a blast! I was sad to miss the Jingle Bell Run 5K that I've done for the past three years in a row in St. Pete. But... Running through Sea World was amazing. Alyssa and I ran together the whole time. Aunt Elena, Aunt Alicia, and Uncle Warren walked the race together with Alicia's friend, Kim. This would actually be a great race to walk because there's so much to see. They had beautiful Christmas decor. We got to see the dolphins. There were lots of picture spots. So wonderful and fun. And it snowed on us. Alyssa had spoken to several friends who were running the race, but she didn't expect to find any of them in the crowd of 4,500. We're at the starting line (rather, in the crowd about a quarter mile away) and ...

Sorry for the shameless plug, but I will be back to talk about the WORST MARATHON EVER! shortly now that my book is finally published. Paperback now on Amazon just in time for Christmas! Lance & Ringo Tails: The wild adventures of a dog and a cat as told by their human Paperback: $9.99 on Amazon and CreateSpace   Kindle Edition : $3.99 (Prime members borrow for free) Exclusively featured in this collection. To buy your copy, use the links below. Paperback: $9.99 Amazon CreateSpace e-book: $3.99 Kindle Store (Prime members with a Kindle device borrow for free)

I visited my family in Yuma, AZ for a week in August. Mom, Dad, and a sister live out there. I happened to fly in the night before Dad's birthday. He turned 62. So naturally, we got up and ran six miles together on his birthday. Fact: I had to work hard to keep up with Dad. He likes to say he was trying to keep up with me, but he's just being nice. I'm so blessed to have a running family. So many people in my fam run (most a lot faster than me). Dad and I are training for marathons. He's doing the Yuma Marathon in January, and I'm doing the X-Country Marathon in November. He's done...I want to say five marathons now. I'm not positive about that, but he did his first marathon in his fifties. For about a year, he had knee problems and took a break from marathons. Now he's back and feeling great. At Gasparilla one year, he ran a 3:55 (yes, a sub 4-hour marathon).  He was ten minutes off the Boston Qualifier. Now that he's over 60, he has...

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...

Due to the recent tragedy at the Boston Marathon, I'm holding off on sharing my first marathon experience. That post is coming next. I don't usually comment publicly about current events or politics. I talk about my faith in Jesus Christ every once in a while. When I do, I try to share my relationship with him and how it relates to my running rather than preaching to others. Outside my usual boundaries, I'm compelled to share my thoughts regarding the acts of terrorism near the finish line in Boston. I'm so sad and so horrified. My heart broke when I saw the news coverage. I couldn't watch some of it, and I couldn't look at most of the pictures. It was too horrific, and I wasn't even there. Now that one suspect is dead and one is caught, I want to scream at them, how dare you? How dare you try to destroy what I consider one of the most beautiful expressions of the human spirit to strive and persist in adversity, even against the cry of one...

It’s been over a week, but I’m finally getting to blog about the Women’s Half Marathon in St. Pete! First of all, the weather could not have been more perfect. The cloud cover kept the sun away while a nice breeze kept us cool. It was actually too cool before we started, but after a mile we were grateful for it. Alyssa, my dear cousin, stayed with me during this race just like the Halloween Half three weeks prior. We chatted the entire time again (can you tell we are thisclose?) and missed most of the mile markers. That is the best way to run a race if you can, in my opinion. The only drawback was at the starting line. The corrals fed from the front. Meaning when we tried to get into corral 2, everyone had crowded to the front to the point that there was a line to get in. We had to elbow our way through the bodies, which is awkward and rude, but the only way we could get in. The space is always in the back of the corral, where they usually feed in people for races. So...

I'm very behind on blogging. That is to say, I haven't blogged for a while, and that makes me feel like I'm behind. I am running. Slowly. I've done a couple of 10 milers and one 12 that involved a lot of walking. I ran a little in Minnesota but mostly relaxed while visiting my wonderful in-laws and enjoying fall colors. I have the FWA conference this coming weekend. I'm not sure how much running I'll get done this week. My next race is Oct. 28th at Ft. Desoto. My dear cousin, Alyssa, is running the Halloween Halfathon with me. We're dressing up, too. She ran a marathon in Minneapolis a couple of weekends ago. We JUST missed seeing each other. I'm so proud of her because she beat her PR and almost broke 4 hours. My Uncle Gabe and Aunt Marita ran the 10K. Uncle Dave and Aunt Elena (Alyssa's parents) cheered everybody on. I love having a running family. Slow motion. That's how I feel when I run. I've come to accept that's just the...

I got a new running skirt for $10 at the Gasparilla Expo. I love getting running stuff at expos because they usually mark down their products. Sometimes way down. Lance and I ran today and I wore the skirt for the first time. I really like it. I can't even say why, except that it was fun to feel feminine while running. I love that picture of the beautiful and sleek runner with a great stride that says: "This is how I feel when I run." Then at the bottom there is a little girl veering rather than running and her face is skewed: "This is how I actually look." I know that is so true because out of hundreds of photos from the photographers who come to races, I think I've only looked good in about two of them. I guess it doesn't hurt to try to boost the feeling when there's nothing I can do about how I actually look while running. It even has a key pocket! I have good intentions for my running, but I don't always follow through. I want to mak...

After doing two half marathons two weeks apart, I’m reminded of why I’m not eager to do another marathon quite yet. The time it takes to train, the pain, the agony, the misery, the crying… Anyway, I’m happy to report that the St. Pete Inaugural Rock N Roll Half Marathon was a blast. Team Hea and Bria ran together with my college roommate, Brenna. We stayed together and enjoyed the great route and the scenery. Even though we started in different corrals, somehow Hea found us in the crowd of 10,000! She knew which corral we were in, so that probably helped. The one downside: the temp was 40 degrees! That’s right, it was 70-some degrees on Saturday and on Monday, but a freakish low temp swooped in Sunday and stayed for the length of the race. My layers: dri-fit short-sleeved shirt, dri-fit long-sleeved shirt, cotton hoodie, black tights, shorts with pockets over the tights, and gloves. I carried some Ibuprofen in the pocket, but nothing else. No iTouch this time. I expec...

Every race is an adventure, but some more than others. I realize I have a lot of adventure stories from past races that I'd like to blog about sometime. Stay tuned for those. Last weekend, I ran the Miami Half Marathon with my dear cousin, Alyssa, and her friend, Jenni. Both of them ran the full marathon. Because the full and the half start together and stay together until mile 12.5, I only had to run the last half mile alone. While this wasn't my best half marathon (2:35), I always feel accomplished when I finish. I pray a lot during and I'm so grateful each time I cross another finish line. Alyssa, Jenni, and I chatted throughout, admiring the gorgeous waterfront scenery. This was the most beautiful marathon we'd ever done. The temp was around 71 degrees most of the race, and it was overcast, but also very humid. That made it challenging, along with the fact that I didn't sleep the night before! That doesn't normally happen to me. The adve...

Last Friday, I ran my last long distance prior to the Miami Half, between 11-12 miles. It's a nice feeling to get a long distance run out of the way, and then focus on shorter runs and resting days and carbs. Two weeks ago, I ran the last 10 miles of Hea's 20-miler. She's doing her first full marathon in Miami. Team Hea & Bria get to start the race together, but she'll be doing twice my race distance. We had a really enjoyable run together. Her boyfriend rode a bike the whole 20 miles, and even carried things for me when I joined them. It was a huge blessing to have him along. I keep thinking about doing another marathon, but I'm so happy that I don't have one coming up. It takes so much time just to train for a half, and way more to train for a full. Alyssa and two of her friends, and a group of Hea's friends will all be doing the Miami Marathon. For many it will be their first. I think we'll all have a blast together. And I'll get to fi...