Sub-Two or Bust

I signed up for the summer/fall season of MarathonFest!

When I joined MarathonFest in the summer/fall of 2016 to train for the NYC Marathon, I was rushed to get to 10 miles after my minor surgery in April of 2016. Desperately trying to feel better, I switched from Cimzia to Remicade during that time as well. I basically had two months to go from being out of shape to being able to run 10 miles in order to keep up with the the NYC training schedule once the season started in 2016.

I want to do it differently this time around. I don't want to be rushed. I plan on sticking with half marathons this season and at the moment I'm only registered for one. Rather than starting when the season starts in June, I currently plan to build most of my running base outside of MarathonFest for the next few months. I want to get faster so that I will be able to join a faster pace group.  I'm aiming to start running with them regularly in September when my mileage increases for half marathon training. My goal for the OUC Half Marathon in December is to finish in under two hours. That means I would need to average a 9:09 pace for 13.1 miles. I can only run one mile at that pace. In fact, my first mile today was a 9:04. (my second mile was a 9:47). I have a little over six months to train hard and build the endurance it will take to maintain the pace during my first mile today for twelve more miles. This seems realistic, right?

When I achieve a sub-two hour half marathon, I will seriously consider committing to train to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I hate commitment, but this kind of excites me!

Runner's High

I'm going to just jump right into this post. I ran the Space Coast Half Marathon on Sunday, November 27th in 2:28: 06. It was a good race with three ladies from my MarathonFest group. It's never fun to race while I'm on my period, but I made the most of it. No real cramps; however, around mile 9 I started to slow down because I wasn't feeling well.  I finished a few minutes after the other ladies in my group and caught up with them for a picture after the race. We enjoyed some post race chocolate milk and soon afterwards I found myself in a porta-potty barfing the chocolate milk and perhaps even dinner the night before. The girls were great. One of them gave me a baby wipe so that I could clean up a bit, and then they walked with me to get some water. I cut the post race party sort because I wasn't feeling well. I wanted to wait for Kim to cheer her on at the finish line, but instead I texted her to tell her that I got sick and I would wait for her in the car. I was really happy with a sub 2:30 half marathon! I'm really happy to see my hard work of training for the last several months paying off.

Less than a week after the Space Coast Half, I ran the OUC Half Marathon on Saturday, December 3rd.  I met a few people from my running group for a group photo before the race. Almost everyone split off and did their own thing except for Michelle (my Ugly Stepsister), Sara, and I. Sara stayed with Michelle and I until mile 6, and then she let us take off. She did catch us briefly while I was enjoying my second cup of beer along the course right before mile 10, but again she told us to go ahead. I was actually the one pacing us most of the race. Even though we talked about how we were feeling every mile or so to see if we needed to adjust the pace, we both agreed to keep pushing. We posted a 10 minute mile during the seventh mile of the race. After that, I tried to make an effort to slow down a little. Michelle makes running fun by talking nonstop, telling stories, telling jokes, and getting to know the runners around us. She forgot her salt tablets and I knew when she got quiet around mile 10.5 that she wasn't at 100%. She didn't say she was struggling and I kept a steady pace even though there were times I had to look back to make sure I didn't lose her. Once we turned the final corner and had the finish line in sight, she said "Go, Lauren, go!" I knew that was her telling me to take off and sprint towards the finish line. I finished in 2:24:55!!! Another sub 2:30 half! Plus, it was over 3 minutes faster than the Space Coast Half the week before. Michelle didn't finish too far behind me. I went to give her a high five right after she crossed the finish line and she opened her arms and gave me the biggest hug. She thanked me for pushing her and said that if it wasn't for me she wouldn't have been able to post the time she did. Afterwards, she told me that she was cramping up (salt tablets help prevent her cramps), but didn't want to say anything because she didn't want to slow me down. 

OUC was a great test run since we plan to run the Disney Marathon together. Racing is always different from training runs, so it was good to race together and see if we want to change our strategy.  I have mad respect for the way she pushed through the discomfort and finished strong.  We agreed that our pace will be intentionally slower at Disney. I'm thankful to have someone to run with that pushes me as much as I push her. Since we are part of a Track Shack training program, we had VIP access, which included fancy porta-potties, and an area with food, tables and chairs.We met up with Sandra from our group and we enjoyed the sandwiches and cookies in the VIP area. I met Michelle's wife, son, and brother. It was great to finally meet her wife whose brother is struggling with Crohn's. We chatted about his current situation and medication and I gave what advice I could knowing that everyone's disease is different. She thinks that I represent the hope of the good days that are ahead for him, and I pray he finds relief from the horrible symptoms of Crohn's disease. He is also a runner and I completely understand the separate pain that can come from not being able to do what you love.  Although I'm beyond grateful for my health, I can't help but have a sense of survival guilt. I am not taking these healthy days for granted.

Ragnar Trail Relay is up next!

Crazy Loves Company

I feel like I should warn you in advance. In the next five months, it is extremely likely I will be littering my blog with posts about running as my marathon training kicks into full gear!

I did the Echo Half Marathon on Sunday. I had a 10 mile run planned on my schedule, so I decided I might as well register for a half. I stayed with the 2:30 pacer for the first 9 miles, and averaged an 11:27 pace per mile for those 9 miles.  I slowed down on the 10th mile and after I passed the 10th mile marker, I walked most of the last 5k. My official finish time was 2:46:01.  I can't complain considering I slowed way down on the last 3.1 miles of the race because I wasn't fully trained for the entire half marathon. I'm excited to start MarathonFest this week! They will host group runs on Tuesdays for speed work, Thursdays for hills, and Saturdays for long runs. You might be wondering why I paid for training when I'm already able to do a half marathon before the training begins.  Well, running long runs solo is boring and I tend to doubt myself rather than finish strong. I really want accountability to stay on track and I want to be challenged in ways I wouldn't likely challenge myself. It would also be a bonus if I meet other runners going to NYC.

I'm hopeful to meet new running friends. Plus, I'm excited to challenge myself on group runs by pushing my pace out of my comfort zone. I can't wait for the gym I joined to finally open so that I can get to work on getting in the best shape of my life by November.

On Thursday, I'm going out to lunch with my previous supervisor in Payroll.  We were never into small talk so it should be an interesting outing.  As far as I know she hasn't filled the position I left yet. I really want to ask her questions about FMLA, but I don't know if I'll find the courage to because it might involve talking about Crohn's. I still struggle to discuss Crohn's with people I don't consider friends. It just seems too personal.  We will definitely talk about running. I know she's been running four days a week. I'm going to see if I can talk her into running a 10K. If she bites on the 10K, I'm going to try to convince her to run a half marathon. You know crazy loves company and if she's already running four days a week, she might as well be training for something.

La De Da

Please, excuse my arrogance.  I often wonder how awesome I would be if I didn't have a chronic disease. Positive self thoughts have not been coming easily to me lately, but yesterday I feel like I had a break though. I crossed the finish line of the Space Coast Half Marathon yesterday! It was also my third year in row of crossing the Space Coast finish line, so I qualified as a Milky Way Challenge finisher and received another super cool medal. If you've ran any kind of distance, you know it takes as much mental strength as it does physical strength.  It took me 3 hours and 42 minutes, which was exactly a 17 minute per mile pace. I can't even be upset that it was my worst half marathon I've ever completed time wise.

Kim and I did 10 and 30 intervals with the 3 hour and 30 minute pacer, where we ran for 10 seconds and walked for 30 seconds at a time, until mile 9. I know the intervals seem ridiculously easy, but after 9 miles I couldn't keep up. My legs were on fire, my back hurt, my feet were screaming at me, and my arms were in discomfort, too. Yes, it took me 9 miles to hit "the wall."  I was expecting to hit the wall much sooner, but I think keeping a slow and steady pace from the start helped to lengthen the distance to the wall. Kim told me, "You can do it. You're doing great." My reply was, "I know." The truth is walking those last four miles seemed killer, but I didn't once think about quitting. After all I know pain and the pain I experienced on the course was minor compared to the pain I had after the MRI.  I knew I just had to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Once we passed mile 12 I asked Kim if we could run a little to make it to the finish line under 3 hours and 45 minutes. She said, "What's the point? We're already sucking." I know my race wasn't pretty, but ouch. We didn't run until we saw the finish line in sight, but we did pick up our walking pace for the last mile. I'm thankful Kim sacrificed her race to stay with me because I don't think I would have done as well without her.  After the race, I apologized for sucking. Even though I was elated that I finished and somehow in my twisted head I felt like a badass for crossing that finish line!

Kim was my support while others told me, "You have no business doing that race."  La de da, whatever... I needed to cross that finish line! Strangely, I feel like it gave me a positive boost to my mentality. Although I'm still doing the post half marathon shuffle, once the soreness has gone away I think I may try to start running again. After all, running is a great anti-depressant.

Side note: I'm still constipated, but my belly hasn't started hurting yet.

Falling Baby Dolls

I walked 2.5 miles with my Team Challenge peeps this morning for the Turkey Trot. We kept a 17 minute pace, which felt like a super fast walk to me. Kim even went with me to "evaluate" if I should be doing the half marathon tomorrow.  I was surprised how well I felt. I didn't struggle to breathe and my legs felt stronger than I expected. Kim and my Team Challenge peeps agree that I should at least walk the half marathon tomorrow since there is a 7 hour time limit for the course. This makes me happy because after picking up my race packet yesterday, the pre-race excitement is running through my veins.

Of course, there's a catch. I'm constipated. I haven't pooped since Wednesday. I took laxatives on Thursday and Friday, but I still haven't pooped. I won't be taking any laxatives today because I don't want them to start working during the race. I just hope my stomach feels okay tomorrow. Two weeks ago I was pooping about every hour and now I can't even poop. This disease makes no sense. My bowel habits are almost always on my mind.

In other news, I remembered the dream I had last night. As much as I sleep I rarely remember my dreams, so this is exciting for me. Tons of naked baby dolls were falling from the ceiling and whoever collected the most in a minute won. I never saw anyone else trying to collect the baby dolls in my dream though. It was just me running around picking up as many naked dolls as I could. It hurt when the falling dolls fell on my head, so I was trying to avoid the falling dolls in the process. It was the longest minute ever... Super strange.

Energy

My energy is still lacking, but I think it is slowly improving. I have signed up for the Team Challenge virtual Turkey Trot to benefit the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America. I'll be meeting up with Team Challenge peeps Saturday morning after Thanksgiving to get our trot on. I know I'm in no shape to run, so I plan to mostly walk.  I haven't exercised in months and my low iron and hemoglobin levels make exercising seem harder than it should be. I'm signed up for the Space Coast Half Marathon on Sunday after Thanksgiving. I told everyone I'm not doing the race. When I told them, it was what they wanted to hear and I also had no intention, at the time, to do the race.

Well, I'm starting to feel slightly better and I've started to consider doing the race. In fact, I'm doing the Turkey Trot with Team Challenge to test the waters to see if I think I could do Space Coast. I really want to do the race, but I don't know if my body is in agreement.  My body tends to be my biggest antagonist. I've done half marathons before without training. This is a little different because I'm not quite as healthy as I usually am. I don't know if I should start the race without knowing I'll definitely finish, or if I should only start the race if I know for sure I'll finish. Shouldn't I try? Isn't it better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all?  If I decide to do the race, I know it won't be easy. I can't say for certain that I'm mentally strong enough to fight through the inevitable walls that I would hit.  I feel like I need to taste the victory of the finish line even if it will likely be my worst half marathon to date.  That sweet taste of victory might be enough to motivate me to make it across the finish line.

That Thing I Used To Do

Do you remember that thing I used to do? That thing called running? Yeah, after three months of not running or working out at all, I decided to go for a run last week. Of course it was hot, it's summer time in Florida. I only went for a mile and a half and I walked toward the end. It was good to get back out there. Even though I was so sore the next day it was unbelievable. For crying out loud, I went for less than two miles.

Now that I've established I am in no physical condition I've decided to start training... again. I am so out of shape I have trouble thinking of myself as a long distance runner.  I'm starting back at the basics, which I should be used to doing by now. I have to build back up my base mileage. I know the hard work I'm going to have to put in and I know somewhere along the way I'll fall in love with running again.  Historically, I'm not very good at sticking with a training schedule, but I always start with good intentions.

I have registered for a couple of races as motivation to stick with the plan. I have the  Cocoa Beach Half Marathon at the end of October, the Space Coast Half Marathon at the end of November, and a half marathon in Mobile, Alabama at the beginning of January.  Here's to getting back out there and creating a healthy routine so that I don't become a lazy old lady.

Running and School

I ran the Space Coast Half Marathon on Sunday. I knew going into it that it wasn't going to be a good race for me. My period graced me with its annoying presence the day before the race and my stomach was not in the mood for 13.1 miles. Though I will avoid porta potties when I can, they actually are life savers and don't really gross me out anymore. The hardest thing was squatting with fatigued legs to avoid contact with every surface. My training got derailed by my wicked stomach pain a few weeks ago, so my longest run before the race was 6 miles. I used the race as a training run and ran the first 7 miles straight with only walking at water stops. I did three and one intervals from mile 7 to mile 9 and then I walked the last 4 miles to finish in 2 hours and 54 minutes. The course was beautiful, but my race was anything but pretty. I'm looking at it as a solid 9 mile training run. The space shuttle bling was out of this world! I'm looking forward to the OUC half marathon this weekend and hope to have a solid 11 miles during the race. The following weekends will prove tricky to find time to train because I'll be visiting Taylor, be at Disney celebrating my sisters' birthday, and then I'll be in Texas. My focus is still on the Disney full marathon in 39 days, so I'll be packing my running gear, and saying no to alcohol, going to bed early, and waking up early to get my mileage in.

Oh, hey, it's finals week already. That came out of nowhere. I took two finals today. The grade for Supply Chain was muted, so I don't know what I got on my Supply Chain final yet and I got a 90 on my Real Estate final, which means I passed Real Estate with an A!  Today, I took a final for the last time in the main campus, college of business testing lab. That was a bitter sweet moment walking out of there knowing I'll never have to take an exam in the that testing lab again. I have an in class final on Monday at 1pm, and then my semester will be over!  Next semester my class is at Valencia West campus, so Monday will be my last time on the main campus for class. I remember being intimidated by the thought of going to main campus. It's huge. It's where students go to graduate. What if I can't? My fears were quickly calmed. I will be walking out of my final exam on Monday with a new found confidence. I can do anything I put my mind to. My peers are not necessarily better than me. I out performed them during most of my college career. I don't know if I'm still one of the top 20 finance students at UCF, but I was in that ranking at some point. In fact, I will no longer underestimate myself.  Hard work pays off and it's a liberating feeling to see the fruits of my labor. Now, my mindset is: What if I can? I can and I will!

Thanksgiving Eve

It was a typical Wednesday for me. I worked half a day, and then went to UCF for my class. I think my group finished our project, so now all we have to do is submit it before Tuesday. Although I did most of the heavy lifting in our group project by gathering the data at the Bloomberg terminals on campus, setting up our model in excel with equations, and running our regression analysis, the other two girls in my group did well at styling the format, explaining our outputs, and making it look professional.  I have my last class of the semester on Monday. Two of my finals (Real Estate and Supply Chain) open up in the testing lab on Wednesday, December 3rd. My plan is to take those two exams on Wednesday, but I do have until Friday to take them if I don't feel prepared enough by Wednesday. My last final will be an in class exam for Portfolio Analysis on Monday, December 8th at 1pm.  I am counting down for this semester to be over! I'm really only expecting to get an A in Real Estate. In Supply Chain and Portfolio Analysis I'm expecting a B. I'm slipping a little bit, and frankly I don't care as much as I thought I would. I'm just ready to be done.

Hopefully, I'll find time to study between family tomorrow and my half marathon on Sunday. Training hasn't gone as planned for the past two weeks, which disappoints me because I was doing so well. At least, my stomach pain has stopped for now.  I'm up to 146 lbs. My poop has been unbelievably beautiful. My turds have been so big that I question whether they really came out of my ass. Though I'm sure they were still way smaller than your turds. Heck my turds are smaller than my four year old cousin's turds. I seriously get jealous of her big turds. I actually feel good after a bowel movement. I'm going to try to race smart and pace myself by running with my sister Kim or with Coach Janice from Team Challenge. I'm excited to get out there and finish the race! I need a this small victory to prove to myself again that no matter how many times my body knocks me down, I can always get back up and accomplish incredible, physical feats. I hope I never lose the courage to get back up and try.