marathon training | sporty mama life.....

Psalm 139:17 Taken in Brookings, OR

I am thankful for vacations. I am really thankful for vacations that seem to pop up JUST in the right time. Summer is winding down. School is starting back up. The routine and schedule of fall and winter is starting. It’s that last little slice of the freedom of summer.

This came at just the right time for me, because rest was on my body’s mind.

Training has been going great! Until, it wasn’t. I had a very high mileage week, that started strong, came winding around the mid-week strong, feeling awesome and then….Saturday!! My 10-miler turned into a 6-miler that was 12 minutes S L O W E R than the 7-miler I did the day before. Huh? Scratch your head and do that math! TWELVE minutes slower! I could tell when I left my house that things weren’t feeling “so great” and when it came time for me to turn around, I knew this run was &%$*!!!! I came home completely used up. Sick. In pain. Total bonk! I was irritated. I pouted. I even told the Hubs, “I know why people hate running. If it feels like this I WOULD HATE IT TO” In fact that day…I did. I hated it. Hubs sat dumfounded in hearing my words. This man has been with me for over 19 years, I honestly don’t think he has ever heard those words leave my mouth before.

I showered, didn’t stretch, never do (hello, we may have a problem here) and sat down for about 30 minutes. In silence. I am a thinker. A contemplate-er. A talk-it-out’er. A resolve-er. And then…my optimism (ya know…the one that’s ALWAYS there) showed up. I immediately thought, hmmm I am bound to have a bad running day here and there.

I’ll be back out again tomorrow!!! (Dang optimism)

Didn’t happen.

**Side note** I am not a “get sore” type of person. It doesn’t matter the sport, the distance, if I’m doing yoga, lifting weights, doing Insanity, running, cycling, swimming….I don’t get sore. Hubs hates this about me. But it’s a fact Jack (yes I just watched an episode Duck Dynasty)

Well, the next morning when I woke up to run…I was sore. Sore in weird spots like, my ankles. My left hip. My stomach. I actually felt kind of sick. Not the kind of sick you feel as in over training. This was different. This is where the vacay fits in, because we were leaving in 3 days. I think I needed the rest. From what, I have no clue. But a rest none-the-less.

So off we went. The hubs and I, on a little three state, coastal vacation. It was perfect! It was just the rest that I needed. We left Idaho for Bend, OR on our first day. We love Bend. I could live in Bend, OR. The next day, we headed to California. It was nice being home, and seeing family and friends. Even had a little sneaky-surprise party planned by my oh-so-sneaky best friend. Good thing we have been friends for 100 years or she would’ve NEVER been able to pull it off. And boy, did I make things difficult for her. HAHA! (sorry K, I do love ya)

Sun Dial Bridge in Redding, CA

Leaving Redding, we headed for the coast, and just took our time driving the NorCal coast on Highway 101 and into OR and WA. The Oregon coast by far, has some of the most stunning scenery I’ve seen. I love all of the lighthouses. I love just being ON the ocean. There is a huge magnetic draw for me, towards the sea. It’s when I am most happy, most at peace. Along the way we stopped where we wanted, when we wanted. Really had no agenda or itinerary, all the way to Seattle. It was fabulous! Life is extraordinary on no schedule. Especially when you are on the coast, in the sand, with your best friend (this time referring to the hubs) We laughed (a lot) prayed (a lot) read, talked, walked, visited breweries, hiked, ate amazing food, visited the memorial of Nirvana’s Curt Cobain, visited several lighthouses, picked sea glass and moon stones and some times, just sat in utter silence. The weather was the best we have ever had driving the coast. It rained one day, but the rest were blue skies and full of sun! I didn’t think about running the whole time. OK…that might have been a white lie…but I didn’t “stress” on the fact that I wasn’t running, and was just enjoying the moment. I did wonder (for a split second) if taking that much time off was going to hinder fitness.

Along The Way Cannon Beach, Newport, Yaquina, Patricks Point, Pacific City, Sea Lion Caves, Gold Beach, Bandon, Coos Bay, Seaside, Astoria, Crescent City, Eureka, Arcata

One of my favorite pictures from the whole trip

Gorgeous Lift Bridge outside our room in Florence, OR

Went to a glass blowing studio and Hubs made me a Glass Float in Lincoln City, OR

Visiting the home town and Memorial of Nirvana’s Curt Cobain. Aberdeen, WA

Aracata, CA

Sea Cave

Seattle

So back home today, I went out in this wonderful fall-like rain, and did a nice casual run. Just to see how the body was feeling. It felt incredible.

I’m glad I listened. Glad I took the rest. Marathon is 8 weeks away. And guess what? I love running! Even when I have a bad day, or sometimes a bad week. It’s bound to happen.

Just started Week 8 of marathon training. It is going awesome! I have had a couple hic-ups along the way…..like…skipping much needed track workouts! Bad. BAD!! But as of next Tuesday I have a tried and true partner to keep me accountable at the track, early morning, once a week. Life-Saver! I know I neeeeeed to do it…why is it so difficult for me to do!?

My body is feeling so good. Recovery has been phenomenal! I’m happy about that! I am really loving just training for one sport…for now.

I had such a great week last week. First! I had my cousins from The Burgh (Pittsburgh) here to visit. They have never been to the Pacific NW. It was fun to see our gorgeous area through their eyes. We had a great time catching up, meeting their boys…it’s been 6 years since I’ve been home to Pittsburgh and they were minus 2 fabulous kiddos while we were there last. We took a trip over to Montana for lunch. They are on a 50 state quest..so I figured if they were THIS far, they needed to see MT. We took the hour drive to have lunch in tiny St. Regis and then came home. I wish I had a picture of my seat in their rental car. I was between their boys, who were in car seats. HA-HA! I wedged in between them, in complete Heaven. Ya see…their boys…total heart stealers. I ate it up! Their time here seemed too short and we are already looking forward to seeing them this fall when we head home (to my home) for a Steelers game!!

Also last week the Fall, September issue of Runners World magazine donned the shelves. WHY was I so excited for THIS particular issue??? I mean, I have read RW cover to cover for years, and although I am always excited to open my mailbox and get it out…THIS time, I was jumping for joy!! I was featured with four others in the Training Special as a Rule Breaker. “Five Outliers Prove That to Run Well You Don’t Have to Follow the Laws All the Time” Now, I think the title alone gives away something about me, and the life I live. I have never been one to really conform to anything unless I wanted to. Even when younger, I wasn’t much of a “follow the crowd” kind of girl. I made my own way. Meandered to my own drummer. Charted my own path. Did my own thing. Made my own rules (within reason) and oftentimes BROKE the rules (again within reason) The Hubs has called me a “rule breaker” since we met. So when I was contacted about writing about “breaking the rules” I was allllll over it and thought, “what could be more perfect?” My page was about being a Vegan athlete, and how I break the rules in eating all the time. So many have said, I could not run and race successfully while eating a completely plant based diet….well here ya go! I proved that wrong. And RW’s specialists agreed with me!

I had an awesome time writing the article, which I actually wrote WAY back in March while sitting on a beach in Costa Rica, having several back and forth e-mails with Runners World the months leading up to publication, and a great phone interview with RW about 6 weeks before it hit the shelves. The whole experience was so fantastic. And then to see the actual article, in print….that was amazing! Kind of surreal to me to see my writing published, world-wide! They did such a great job with the graphics, picture and how it was laid out. I loved the way they showed my food diary. They were very careful with details. And LOVED that it was a full page.

My person copy will be framed in our office!!!