Sunday, February 19, 2012

Surfside Beach Half Marathon 2.18.12

We were on the road by 5:00am to allow enough time to get down to the beach in the weather.  I thought I would be able to sleep on the road but the heavy rains made me too nervous.  I was thinking the cost of a hotel room might have been better than driving through that!  We only made a couple of brief stops but still cut it very close.  By the time we finally made it to Stahlman Park I was getting really nervous because it was twenty minutes to start time and I needed to get my packet and do all of my little pre-race things. 
The half marathon was scheduled to begin at 8.  Because of lightning we ended up delaying the start until 9:20.  Thank goodness packet pick up was indoors because it gave us a dry place to wait out the lightning storm and watch the poor marathoners who started at 7 and were running through all that heavy rain.  Roman enjoyed eating pretzels and playing pick-up sticks with the twist ties on the chip timing table while we waited.  It was a good time hanging out with my friends before the race and discussing how crazy we all were to run in this.  Finally it was time to head down the ramp to the starting line.  It was a mess.  There were huge puddles and lots of mud.  It took a bit to slosh through it all to cross over the timing mat and then we were off.  Somehow I lost my friends so I lined up and started on my own.  It wasn’t long before Kim passed me and another minute or two until Kelly caught me.   We spent the majority of the race together.   I really enjoyed having her company.  There were a few times when it was tough to keep up with her but I think it worked out well for the most part to have each other to pace off of.  The course is run entirely on the beach.  We headed about two and a half miles down to the first turn around.  The rain had let up for this portion of the run.  It wasn’t long before I had to tie my jacket around my waste.  It began to lightly sprinkle when we hit the turnaround point and we launched onto the six and a half mile stretch down the beach to another turn around point.  This stretch was the most challenging run I have done in a long time.  We were heading into the wind for this stretch and the rain began to fall quite heavily for the majority of the time.  I got really cold and was glad I had taken my jacket.   At some points the sand was very soft and we were sinking with each step so we needed to stay close to the tide where the sand was packed the most.  At first we were dodging the tide but eventually it seemed to take more energy to run away from it than to run through it and I just let it catch me.  This, of course, kept my feet freezing for the most part.  At one point I was tempted to take off the shoes and run barefoot but there was too much debris on the beach.  In fact, I missed most of the mile markers because I was watching the ground.  The soft sand, the dodging of beach debris, the running through water both ocean tide and many a raging river of rain water draining down the beach coupled with the strong resistance of the wind and heavy rains made this quite a work out.  My legs were really feeling it. Finally we reached the turnaround point and were headed back toward the finish line. In an instant the wind was gone and I was blazing hot. I tied my jacket around my waste again and was disappointed that I didn’t feel in assistance what I did in resistance from the wind.  By now the rain had let up and the sun even peaked out for a little while.  I really enjoyed this stretch of the course.  My legs felt great and with the wind to our backs I felt really strong and running felt easy.  It felt good to go ‘fast’ at this point.  With about two miles to go Kelly fell back and I pulled ahead.  I was really surprised because early on I thought she would be the one to pull ahead of me.  Without the resistance of the wind, I was really trying to push myself to finish under three hours.  I was really feeling it but was able to push through until the cramps set in.  For about the last mile I would run and run until the cramps were too much and then walk them out and run and run and walk out the cramps.  When I saw the finish line, I still had a chance to finish under three so I ran as hard as I could.  It was really hard to kick in at the finish because the beach was so muddy at the finish chute that I had to slosh through it as quickly as I could safely do.  I crossed the line with 2:58:49 on my Garmin. The race results showed 2:59:07.
After some really strong Gatorade and pictures with my friends the ocean was looking very inviting.  The best part about running near the beach is the ocean.   I took off my shoes and socks and headed in to let the waves hit my legs.  It felt wonderful.  I rinsed the sand out of my shoes the best I could and here is where I went wrong.  I put the shoes back on.  This was a very painful task and I would not recommend it.  Having to point my toes to put my feet back in the shoes was enough to tie my toes up with cramps.  Flip flops next time!!! Flip flops!!
Despite the challenges this race posed, it was probably the most fun I have had at a race so far.  The sound of crashing waves in my ears, soaked to the bone with rain, kicking sea shells, splashing in puddles, sloshing around in the mud, fighting the wind- carefree.  There aren’t many days like that.
Finally we are off


Me and Kelly running into the storm



You can see how strong the wind was!

Sloshing to the finish line

Mission accomplished

Tough enough to beat that storm!!!

Mother Nature's Ready Made Ice Bath

Me, Marta, Kelly, Kim
Showing off our bling!!


Sunday, January 8, 2012

Texas Marathon New Year's Day 2012 in Kingwood Texas

After months of anticipation and training, weeks of nervousness, and a couple of nightmares about missing the race, New Year’s Day finally arrived.  I was amazingly calm that morning.  We made it to the race site without getting lost, packet pickup was fast, and there weren’t any lines for the port-o-potty.  I lined up at the start line and wasn’t even nervous.  The race announcements were made and the medal (HUGE 1.5kg medal) was revealed. Then we were off.  The course was a repetitive loop course with four loops for the full marathon.  My plan was to do a run walk interval of 5:1 minutes and try to stay on pace for a sub six hour finish time with even or negative splits and fuel with power bar gels every 45 minutes and water.
Let the madness begin

Loop 1 – split 1:30:09

The main goal for this loop was to take it slow.  It was really hard to go slow because my legs wanted to go faster.  The course is run on greenbelts through Kingwood so it is basically a sidewalk.  Thank goodness the participant count is limited because it was tricky to try to get around the walkers and other runners without getting in the way of the faster runners.  It was a little intimidating when the fast half marathoners cruised by.  I noticed some chafing on the inside of my arm as I was headed back to the starting area to complete this loop.  I kept looking for Glenn at each water stop to see if he had staked out a ‘spectator’ camp there.  As I approached the underpass under Kingwood Drive I was hoping that he was there and that he still had my body glide.  I ran through the tunnels and there he was and much to my surprise, my TNT coach and friend, Steve was there as well.  I stopped and applied some body glide to my arm and then Steve ran with me to the turnaround point.  They announced me over the loud speaker by name and home town- nice touch.  Steve was announced too and he didn’t even have a bib.  I hit the turn around right on pace for a six hour finish so I felt pretty good about that.
Steve and Me at the turnaround
Loop 2- split 1:31:47

This was my favorite loop.  There was quite a bit of traffic as we headed back out.  Steve stuck with me until we made it back to Glenn.  He hung out there and from what I hear they were a big hit with the participants because Steve had brought his cowbell.  It was a good place for them to camp because I know they were very encouraging to a lot of people.  It felt like my sock was bunched up under my toe so I stopped briefly to take my shoe off and straighten out the sock.  Another lady stopped as she was passing so I could hold onto her for balance to put my shoe back on.  Runners are so awesome.  Before I knew it I was at the turn around point and ready to head back to the start.  I even said “Wow!  I am already here?”  There were volunteers camped there marking us down as we passed. They confirmed I was really there and I headed back around Lake Houston to complete the second loop.  Before I knew it I was under Kingwood Drive again and Steve ran with me again to the turning point and back to their camp.  I am pretty sure I smiled the entire time through this loop.  I was beginning to feel tired toward the end but strong.  I had a bit of a positive split but it wasn’t too bad considering the congestion.  By this point there was a steady flow of traffic in both directions and I really enjoyed cheering everyone on as we passed one another.  Our names were printed on our race bibs so we could call each other by name.  Some people had nick names on theirs.  I think my favorite was ‘Eye Candy’.  I laughed out loud when I read it.  There was a mom running the half marathon pushing a double jogger.  DOUBLE JOGGER!!!!!  I can barely do one mile with one child in a stroller. The race crew makes a bright pink sign for every participant and they are hanging on the trees near the start/finish area.  I found my sign at the end of this loop. It was pretty exciting.  They really go out of their way to make you feel special!
Tree of encouragement

Loop 3- split 1:37:29

I was still feeling strong but was getting tired by this point.  Cheers for fellow runners were less verbal and more thumbs ups and fist bumps.  I was doing well sticking to my 5:1 intervals and the run intervals were still feeling short and the walk breaks long. There was a guy chanting what sounded like a Native American ‘Hi OH YA’ or something like that.  Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to get through it.  I have to admit I was glad when he was out of ear shot.  It was a little distracting and it sounded painful. Somewhere between mile 17 and 18 I started to get some cramps in my right foot.  I stopped to walk it out about the same time that my coach from Fitness for Life class at Lonestar College North Harris lapped me.  He stopped and walked with me for a bit, congratulating me on my first marathon and encouraging me to keep going.  It was so nice to see you Coach JenisonJ.  After the cramps set in I took my gel ten minutes early and started taking sports drinks at the aid stations.  Up to that point I had only done gels and water. This coupled with a little stretching and slowing the pace helped to prevent the cramps from constantly plaguing me.  It was risky since I hadn’t trained with both sports drink AND gels so I knew I was risking the trots but luckily my GI system handled it well and there were no emergency pit stops or dashes to the woods.  Steve finished this loop with me and I ate some peanuts at the turning point for a little extra salt (Another risk- I am such a gambler ;) HA!)
Just tunneling through
Loop 4- 1:48:44

Here is where the details begin to get fuzzy.  As I passed Glenn for the last time near the underpass, Roman ran a few feet with me and wanted me to take him out for the loop.  When I say he wanted me to take him what I mean is he wanted me to carry him.  Another runner was passing and she said “Mommy is almost done.”  It was pretty cute.  That was a long time for him to be out on the trail driving his cars in the dirt and ringing cow bells (of which he now has his own).  After that they headed back to the finish line where he played his heart out on the playground. For me this loop was the longest.  My pace had slowed but I was still feeling pretty good.  I thought “This isn’t so bad, shouldn’t I feel worse by now?”  I finally made it to the turnaround cone and the volunteers said “This is it.”  I thanked them for hanging out all day for us turtles.  That is when things started to go downhill.  I headed back out around the lake.  Somehow that lake managed to double in size since my last pass.  I hit mile marker 24 and I am pretty sure my watch said 5:48. “Not too bad” I thought. That was where I guess I hit the wall.  I was very tired and it was hard to fight the temptation to walk and even harder to pick up the run after my walk breaks.  Mile marker 25 welcomed the return of the cramps and I ended up having to walk quite a bit of that mile.  Stretching seemed to make things worse so I just tried to walk the cramps out the best that I could and run as much as was tolerable.  It was most uncomfortable.  At about the last half mile I was so ready to finish that I decided to keep running through the cramps.  I saw the mile 26 mile marker and put on the gas the best I could.  As I approached the finish area I could hear the cheering and then the announcement “Finishing her first marathon Emily Johnson of Conroe, TX”.  And just like that it was over.  I was directed through the finishing chute where I received my pig with my finishing placement and my medal.  Then I was directed to sit on some chairs so they could cut off my timing chip.  I opted not to sit. It seemed like a bad idea. There was pizza, cookies, and soda at the finish.  I was starving but I could barely choke down one slice of supreme pizza and an oatmeal raisin cookie.  Eating was a bit of a challenge for the rest of the day.
Finish Line


Me and Coach Steve (and one big medal!!)
Stats                                                    
Chip time: 6:28:11
Gun time: 6:29:17 
Overall placement 192/221

Women overall 75/90

Age Group 22/23  




Thoughts

In Spirit of the Marathon Dick Beardsley said “The minute you  cross that finish line, no matter how slow no matter how fast, it will change your life forever”.  I guess I have watched that movie too many times because I don’t feel all that different.  Don’t get me wrong.  I feel accomplished.  I set a goal to finish a marathon and I accomplished that goal.  I finished what I started and that is really saying something.  I know that I can do hard things.  If I am in a rough spot I can look back and say “I ran a marathon.  I can do this.”  Running this marathon wasn’t the euphoric experience that I was expecting it to be.  I just knew I would cross that finish line and burst into tears.  But I didn’t.  I was tired. I was hungry.  I was grateful for the ability to accomplish such a feat. I was grateful to be finished.  I suspect that the change didn’t magically happen as I crossed the finish line.  It occurred gradually over months of training and preparation.  It was the journey that changed me- not the destination.  I look forward to more marathoning and more changing for the better.



Holiday Runs

Oops. I typed these up in word over Thanksgiving where I didn't have internet access and forgot to post them. I guess it is fair to say that nursing school has taken my brain hostage. I even forgot my brother's birthday until the day before. That doesn't seem like the end of the world until you learn that my brother and I share a birthday. Yikes!!!

Monster Dash 10/22/11
This race was completely spontaneous so I have been waiting to see if there were any photographs to purchase but I don’t think there will be. This was my first obstacle course race. A friend of mine had a last minute bib for me to fill so I didn’t have any special training or preparation. Kim called me on Friday and we were running together Saturday morning. This was a complete blast. We were going up and down hills, through tunnels, crawling under netting, wading through a mud pit, and doing sit ups and push-ups in the ‘boooot camp’. The final obstacle was called hot shots. I was expecting to have to jump over fire but it was actually a shot of what appeared to be peanut butter and a gummy worm. It wasn’t. It was some kind of Jell-O salsa. I took one taste and threw it in the trash. I am glad I didn’t eat the whole thing or I would have lost it on the race course. I didn’t get as dirty as I thought I would. I was really thrilled to be in good enough shape to spontaneously run and finish a race, especially one as challenging as an obstacle course. Thanks so much for inviting me, Kim!!!
Muddy shoes
Airbrush tattoos

Me & Kim

GE Run Thru the woods
It is becoming a Thanksgiving tradition to head over to the Pavilion and ‘run thru the woods’. I had set a goal to finish in under an hour. My Garmin clocked 5.08 miles in 57:32. Official
chip time was: 57:28 . Mission accomplished. Neil Diamond’s “America” came up on my iPod
during the race. I couldn’t think of a better song to run to on a day about gratefulness. I am thankful to live in this wonderful country where I have the freedom and opportunity to better myself and take care of my family. I am so thankful for my family, for my job, for my education (the never ending one!), and for the ability to get up every Thanksgiving morning and race for five miles. Happy Thanksgiving.


Kittie, Me, Teresa, Steve, Kim, Kelly, Marta


Having fun with the ER mascott while waiting for pancakes

Sunday, October 9, 2011

10 For Texas















I was so excited to be able to do 10 for Texas in The Woodlands. I had my mind set to do it months ago when we learned there would be no marching band contests on the calendar. It was even more special to run it with the girls. Having come to terms with the fact that I am just slower than I was last year, I decided to be conservative with my finish time goal. The combination of record heat and drought, nursing school, increasing stress, and sleep deprivation on top of being a wife, mom, and working is lethal to my pace. It can't be helped. I will have the hot runner body and work on that BQ (haha) after the letters R.N. trail my name.

So it was a great race. I set a time goal of 2:10 and a more important goal of finishing strong and not cramping. I did my best to hydrate and fuel in the days preceding the race and went to the starting line confident. We met at Potbelly's so we could line up and start together. On our way to the starting line we were stopped by a photographer for one of The Woodlands magazines. So exciting!! Unfortunately, we lost Kim in the crowd somehow and she wasn't in the picture. One of the highlights of the day was the singing of the Star Spangled Banner. There were some technical difficulties and the singer had to start over. When the microphone went out again the entire crowd started singing. It was awesome! There were sooo many people lined up I thought it would take five minutes to get over the starting line. It only ended up being about a minute and a half. Kim and Kelly were ahead of us but Teresa, Tara, and I managed to stay together for roughly the first half of the race. At about mile three I realized that I had started out too fast and decided to slow the pace to where it felt sustainable. Maybe one of these days I will actually NOT start out too fast. After mile 4 I decided to stop with the run/walk intervals and just walk at the water stations. I found a groove and was afraid to lose it with the walk breaks. It seemed to work although it was a risky move as I have been doing the 5:1 intervals during training. After about mile five Tara moved ahead of us and I lost Teresa about half way between five and six. By this point I realised there wasn't anywhere for Glenn to park and cheer along the course and I wasn't going to see them until I reached the finish line. There were lots of people cheering, the little kids were the cutest. It was just after the six mile mark that another highlight of the race occurred. I was expecting Teresa to catch up to me and when I caught someone approaching out of the corner of my eye I thought it was her. Nope the shirt was yellow. It was Coach Steve!!! My was I happy to see him. He wasn't able to race with us but that didn't stop him from crashing the course for a quick 30 minute run. Amazingly enough I possess the skill of running and side hugging simultaneously. There we were running sweaty cheek to sweaty cheek. It was just the pick me up I needed to get me through to the end. I guess it could have been the power gel. No. It was Steve. The last mile was really tough. There was an incline and a head wind. But, I fought the urge to walk and thought that Lake Woodlands was the longest road in the world (as I often thought during training). A girl in a red shirt passed me and said we have to be getting close. I checked my garmin we only had about a quarter mile to go. After I turned into Market Street I decided to go ahead and kick it in to finish strong. As I passed her she said "Go get it." Obviously I don't spend enough time in Market Street because there was one more turn than I was expecting and here I was going at puke pace. I made the last turn and red shirt girl is approaching me. That is when the inner competitor in me kicked in and there was no way that chick was going to beat me to the line. Naturally I gave it all I had and made it over first. YES!!!!! My official time was 2:11:30. I was a little slower than my goal but I finished strong, I didn't cramp, and I listened to my body and it was a success. My legs were tired but they carried me to the end. You can't get better than that!!


Tara, Teresa, Kelly, Me, Kim

Team in Training!!!!! Heels and Hills and Him Half Marathon

I have been back into running for nearly two years now. Until this past May I trained and raced alone. Now I can't imagine it without my new 'running family'! A young boy at church was diagnosed with Leukemia this past spring. In my desire to make some type of fundraising effort, I found the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training and signed up to train with The Woodlands team. I will never forget our first practice heading out from the library and running down The Woodlands waterway. It wasn't a particularly spectacular or memorable run (although it was beautiful!) but it was cool enough to wear a jacket and kicked off a season of training through the HOTTEST summer on record!!! We slowly built up our mileage on our early morning Saturday runs and alternated Wednesday evening practices between the track and hills. I don't know which was more torturous but I loved every minute of it.
I had originally signed up to train for the Nike Women's marathon in San Francisco but roughly mid season had to change events due to a scheduling conflict. Two weeks ago was the Hills and Heels and Him Half Marathon in Irving, Texas. It was my third half marathon. It was a lovely weekend kicked off with an Inspiration dinner with all of the Team in Training participants from both the Dallas and Texas gulf coast teams.
We trained through the heat and had to race through it too. It was terribly hot during the race and there wasn't much shade. I tried to start out slow and hold my pace to 13 minute miles or slower and it was tough because my legs wanted to go faster. After two miles I tried to follow my legs and ran a little faster at roughly 12 minute miles. Boy was that a mistake!!! After mile 5 I knew I wasn't going to get a personal record and was regretting not running with my team mates and just enjoying the event we had trained for together. Around mile six, I caught up to Lexie and a couple of girls from the Dallas area and hung with them until around mile 7. That is when it really started going down hill for me. My pace slowed and I was slowing down into the 14 minute mile range at times. I had been doing run/walk intervals of 5:1 and that five minutes kept getting longer and longer. I was ready to walk around three minutes and I was on my own again. Around mile ten I started cramping. My calves were tying up in knots and it felt like my feet were curling up into balls in my shoes. It was pretty miserable. I stopped to stretch, ran on my tip toes, and walked on my heels- anything that would give me some relief. There were many times when there was no choice but to walk. I tried to eat the pretzels I had in my fuel belt but I couldn't swallow them. I was really regretting not carrying my own water belt. I will never make that mistake again!! It was shortly after all this started that my team mate Teresa caught up to me. I was so happy to see her. She gave me some gatorade to help with the cramping and some much needed moral support. That last mile was the worst. I walked most of it and had to stop to stretch several times. It was when I made the final turn into the finishing area that I realized how it is possible for people to not finish a race. Ordinarily when the finish line is in sight all fatigue and pain are surmountable and I am able to kick it into gear and get myself over that line. As I tried to do that the pain in my legs wouldn't allow me to run. Thank goodness for the Team in Training coach at the finish line area who was able to rub out the cramp in my calf and I was able to run. It was pretty heart breaking to have the finish line in view and not be able to run to it. It was nice to have my team mates there to cheer me into the finish. It really helped me through those last few steps.
I am so glad that I joined this team and made these wonderful friends. We had two great coaches: Steve and Kelly, two awesome mentors: Doug and Crystal and some really neat ladies and running buddies: Kittie, Kim, Lexie, Marta, Tara, and Teresa. Thanks to you all for sharing with me this summer of fun and fatigue.

Thank you to my friends and family who supported me through this journey.



Sunday, July 24, 2011

Sizzling Summer Half Marathon



There are lots of reasons to run. Some are selfish and some aren’t. On my selfish list are reasons such as: I don’t want to get any fatter, I need to get rid of some stress, and I need to have some ‘me’ time. This year some of my non selfish reasons are to run in honor of others. It is Pioneer Day weekend. I really wanted to do something physical in honor of the pioneers who sacrificed so much for their faith. It is truly inspirational to me. I don’t have the time to take a four day trek across Oklahoma like the youth of our church did earlier this month so I found the Sizzling Summer Half Marathon on the day before pioneer day-PERFECT!!! One evening I was on the race website looking up some information and noticed that the race would be benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). This happened to be about the same time that we learned one of the kids in our congregation has Leukemia. He is a nine year old boy nicknamed Bear. I saw his pictures on facebook and was so impressed with his high spirits. He is all smiles while being connected to hundreds of probes and even made chemo therapy fun by ‘IV surfing’. I wanted to make this race a double devotional in honor of Bear’s fight and in gratitude for the Pioneers. In my search to make a difference for Bear I found the Team in Training group and started training with them and raising money for LLS. One of my fundraising campaigns was the “Build –A-Racer” workshop. It was sort of a two in one. The first part was a haircut. An extreme haircut and the second part was opening up my race ‘outfit’ for a vote. Unfortunately, the race outfit segment was a bit of a flop. I am thinking it was probably a blessing in disguise. I have been having visions of a sweaty electric blue hair color spray cocktail dripping in my eyes and bloody chafing wounds from angel wing straps under my arms. In honor of all ten voters in my campaign, I really wanted to do something. I started to make a tutu to race in when some advice from the wise running mama’s helped me to see the light. I saw the words chafe and arms in the same sentence and reconsidered. 13 miles is a long way to have my arms scraping against sand paper- I mean tulle. So, I decided to go back to the original reasons I registered for the race and ironed FIGHT LIKE A BEAR on the back of my shirt.
It was a hot day for a race. When we left the house in Weatherford at 5:30 am it was already 82 degrees. When we got to River Legacy Park in Arlington, the packet pick up line was long and moving slow. The start/finish line wasn’t set up yet and apparently the water stations weren’t either. Unfortunately, this lack of preparation/organization caused the race to start thirty minutes late and we didn’t start until 8am. The issues didn’t stop there. There were no mile or course markers. Most of the 10k participants ran extra miles because there was no sign or course marshal to direct them to turn around. There was a lot of confusion on the course in general. In fact, the word is that the half marathon was about one mile short. As disappointing as it is, I believe it may be true. I finished in 2:44:57 and while this is nearly seven minutes slower than my first half marathon, the heat was an energy drain and about half way through the race I was projecting a three hour finish.
Blunders aside, it was a good experience. The course was beautiful and mostly shady. There were some hills but they honestly didn’t phase me. I didn’t feel any more tired on a hill than on any other part of the course. I guess all those hill night workouts are paying off! It was the heat that was my ultimate nemesis. Of course, I started out too quickly. Classic blunder! I knew it was going to be rough in the heat so my plan all along was to do the race in run/walk intervals. I started out with intervals of 5:1 minutes. About halfway through I dropped it down to 4:1 and by the end I was down to 3:1 and an occasional liberal walk break! It was really difficult without the mile markers so I had to just keep going from one walk break to the next. Toward the end it was getting more and more difficult to pick up and run after the walk breaks. When I found myself really wanting to quit I thought of Bear with all the testing and chemo he has to endure and I thought of the trek kids pushing and pulling their handcarts in the heat of the day and of the pioneers who left their homes in the East and walked across the plains burying husbands and children and love ones along the way. Certainly if they can endure all of that, I can run for three minutes! Even if I was aiming for a PR, nothing could have stopped me from greeting the cutest water hander-outer of all time. He was so devoted to his responsibilities that he handed me the cup and ran back to the table to restock. Excuse me! Mommy needs a hug and a kiss!!! Apparently he was very frustrated when runners wouldn’t take his water. I think the racing bug has set in with him. I was never so happy to see the finish line and just as I picked up the pace to get over the line, my left calf muscle cramped up. Ouch!! I had to run the last few steps with my foot flexed. I visited the massage tent in the post race area. I thought he was trying to kill me it hurt so badly. But, it did the trick and it didn’t bother me for the rest of the day or on my recovery run this morning. He suggested I look into magnesium supplements and advised that I do plenty of moving the rest of the day and take in plenty of fluids. I am glad that I took on the challenge of this race with all its imperfections. It is what ultimately led me to my involvement with Team in Training. The fundraising is stressful but, being part of something charitable is very fulfilling. I am really enjoying being part of the running community in The Woodlands. I have made some great friends and I know my fall race times will reflect the improvements I have made and will continue to make from the help of my new friends and coaches. I will just stay away from inaugural events for a while (and late start summer races)!



Bear's swollen lymph node






Testing Testing





IV surfing




Cameron's (far end) trek family with their hand cart




Pioneer children sang as they walked and walked and walked and walked....and walked.



Getting ready to head to the starting line





Roman the cute boy handing out water





Water anyone?





Little Mr. Prepared




Big thumbs up still early on the course





Post race tribute





Tribute before the race




Beautiful mostly shady course at River Legacy park



Finished!!!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Memory Lane

As I was eating my crazy bread with lunch today, it brought me back to my high school cross country days. It was only the one time. I don't know why I still remember it but the coach bought us some crazy bread for a post workout snack. I am not even 100% sure of the workout we did but I sure do remember the snack!! I imagine we ran some switchbacks in the canyons but I couldn't be certain. Speaking of old cross country days, my old team mate ran her first marathon this very morning!!! Way to go, Sheri. If I were home right now, I would probably be digging through my cupboard looking through old pictures and looking to see if I kept some type of record of my old high school finishing times. I am not home, so I thought I would do my digging on daily mile and look back on some of my better race/run reports from before I started recording them on this blog. Here is what I have found:

Most spiritual. This wasn't an actual race but it was the longest I had gone at that point in my return to running. Funny, this year for Pioneer day I will be running a half marathon!
http://www.dailymile.com/people/EmilyBJohnson/entries/2611826


Biggest disaster. This actually was a race. I still have a faint scar from this, too. http://www.dailymile.com/people/EmilyBJohnson/entries/3071849


Biggest Adventure. The first of (hopefully) many 'racations'!http://www.dailymile.com/people/EmilyBJohnson/entries/3824006


http://www.dailymile.com/people/EmilyBJohnson/entries/3842467


I am so glad to have found running again. It has been a rough couple of months for us and I really don't know how I would have handled it all without this sport. I truly hope that I never stop participating. I need it and I love it. Happy Trails.