Post-Marathon Thoughts

Well, I'm alive. Barely.

So, the race didn't go very well. Turns out that you have to actually train for a marathon. In my two marathons, I've now made every rookie and veteran mistake imaginable.

1.) Rookie mistake: I trained well but went out way too fast and bombed at the end of the race.

2.) Veteran mistake: I figured I had this whole marathon thing down and didn't train---like, at all.

Wisconsin marathon time (5/5/12): 4:24:46

Chicago marathon time (10/7/12): 5:19:29

Almost an hour slower. Wow.

I'm disappointed. I'm not happy with my time but I have to admit that this was a very humbling experience. Turns out that if you want to do well, you have to actually train for it. It's a good metaphor for life.

I kind of scoffed at the "slower" runners before. But now I know: Every mile is a battle, whether or not you're fast or slow. In fact, I'm now a firm believer that slow runners have to fight for longer and are therefore stronger people.

Despite my time, I still had fun! My 5 goals remained in my head and I have to admit that they got me through the race. I really enjoyed the course and I made sure to keep my head up and enjoy the crowds and the energy of it. Chicago really is a great city and the marathon highlighted the best parts of it!

My two favorite signs seen on the race course:

1.) Do Epic Shit

2.) You've been training for this longer than Kim Kardashian was married

So, I'm going to learn a few lessons, pick my head up, and keep going. Marathons take guts and commitment and pride. And so, I'm proud of myself.

Sean and I on race morning! 

Blisters after the race

Post-race Chinese food!

Pre-Marathon Thoughts

The Chicago Marathon is tomorrow. Wow. Wow.

I have not been looking forward to this marathon. My summer training, in one word, sucked. The heat and humidity really bothered me and I am going into this undertrained.

But I got excited for the race yesterday. Really excited. All of my friends were asking about it. My office even put together and signed a good luck card for me! I was so amazed and flattered by their support.

My first marathon (the Wisconsin Marathon in May) was small. I was running with only a handful of people for a lot of it. But Chicago? The Chicago Marathon is huge. And I'm learning that the whole city gets behind you! Everyone comes out and watches it. My friends who aren't running the race will be making signs and following my progress with some pretty cool racing apps (check out RacerChaser).

So, yes, I'm getting excited. Finally.

I went to a talk about last-minute marathon tips. Coach Mark said to come up with 5 goals---even if one of the goals is getting to the start line. So, Coach Mark, here are my 5 marathon goals:

1. Get to the starting line
2. Get to mile 5
3. Get to mile 13
4. Don't worry about the time. Run/walk as I see fit. No watches.
5. Head up. Smile. Enjoy it.

Chicago, I heart you. See y'all out there!

Race bib

Good luck card from my company! I love my job!

Instagramming and Running

I went on a long run on Saturday.

I knocked out 12-miles along my favorite route---heading south on the Lakefront Path.

My run consisted of Instagramming (is that a verb?) more than running and it was the most fun I've had in a long time. (Ahem, loser.)

Join in on the fun! For your viewing pleasure:

Chicago skyline from the Shedd Aquarium

Soldier Field

Flags at a memorial for fire fighters

Sailboat in the harbor. This boat had a full, uniformed crew. So cool!

Chicago Yacht. I'll take one, please. 

Cursed

My summer marathon training is cursed. Cursed, I tell you!

Saturday morning I woke up at 4:30 am all gung-ho and ready to conquer 15 miles. I even laid out my running clothes the night before. 

And then I was instantly doubled over, sick.

So, yeah. I didn’t run Saturday. But as soon as I felt better I managed to go to yoga!

On Sunday I ventured out on my own and ran 6 miles. Hurrah! I know that 6 miles isn’t even close to the 15 miles on my training schedule, but considering that I haven’t run for weeks (not kidding, it has been weeks) then it’s not too bad. I ran through my new neighborhood to try to get know the area a little better. In Logan Square, there are these pockets of neighborhoods with gorgeous homes, big leafy trees, and laughing children. But the main roads are dirty with vacant storefronts, trash everywhere, and a crazy amount of broken glass. My apartment is on the intersection of two major roads. Sad panda.

Back to the point. Right now, my marathon training is in salvage mode. I’m already waaaaaaay behind and I’ll miss the crucial 18- and 20-mile weeks because that’s when I’m on a vacation in Lake Powell. I cannot run there, as we are literally on a boat the whole time, but I did just buy some swim goggles to keep up my fitness.

So, new goal: Keep with the biking and yoga, continue running as best I can, and, well, just go out and enjoy the marathon. I know I’m not going to win the thing (*snort*), or even set a PR, but I can enjoy the training and eventually the race if I just relax, do my best, and have fun.

Fun? Fun, you say? Watch, there will be a post as I freak out about the race---again---in just a few weeks.

Friday

I promised I'd post every day. I'm now posting at 11:30 pm---just before the new day---because I want to keep my promise.

But today was just a day. It was just Friday. Nothing special, which isn't a bad thing. Ya know, just a day.

I'm running tomorrow with my running group for the first time in a long time. It has been over a month, to be honest. We're supposed to be halfway through our marathon training program and I haven't gone on a training run in weeks.

This is bad.

I try to always keep a base fitness with soccer and biking and yoga, but we're running 15 miles in the morning. I think that I can get through it, but it will hurt. A lot.

I guess it's now time to get serious about this whole marathon thing. Again.

I'll report back tomorrow. Unless the run kills me, which is very possible.

RUN-GER

I have always wanted to be a writer, but I rarely write. I’m too scared or embarrassed or whatever. But you can’t get better if you don’t write. So here I go.... back to the blog. There’s so much to talk about.

I’ll start with the biggest event that has happened recently: I completed my first marathon!

My goal time was 4:30. My race results were:

I'm so proud of myself for beating my goal time! However, there is room for improvement.

I made the classic rookie mistake of going out waaaaay too fast. I tagged behind two people and before I knew it we were doing 9-minute miles and I felt great! If I was doing the half marathon, I would've PRed. That is, until I hit mile 18. I then slowed down at mile 22 and basically crawled through miles 24-26 (look at my 19-mile split versus my finish time). Oops. My bad.

Beyond that, here are some of my thoughts about the training and the race:

1. Wanna know a great way to NOT lose weight? Train for a marathon. Besides now having a giant ghetto-booty, I lost muscle and got flabbier in the whole training process. The run-ger (running+hunger) was unstoppable. Not even one week after the race and I’m hitting the weights again---and I already feel better!
2. There’s no way I could have done the program without my training group. I trained with CARA and I loved my group and my group leader! I admittedly was horrible about my mid-week runs but I was able to get through the long runs because I couldn’t embarrass myself by falling over or stopping in front of 20 people. Marathon training is all about the long runs. Whatever get us through it, right? Pride is a powerful thing.
3. People who are “runners” are funny. They’re both elitist and yet they embrace newcomers. I had so many runners and friends congratulate me on training for and later completing my first marathon! Their concern and support was surprising and absolutely wonderful!! However, behind the scenes they also like to compare times and gloat about past races and how many miles they “conquered” in a given week. The worst part is that I could recognize these traits because I pass the same judgement in soccer! It’s interesting to be on the other (read: "loser") side of the spectrum. I can only hope that I'll one day be fast enough to be an elitist runner.
4. The course in Kenosha, WI was really nice. It wove through pretty lakeside neighborhoods and some open spaces. I'm glad I picked a smaller race for my first marathon.
5. I never keep my race medals. I'm very superstitious about superstitions. I avoid all of them. I refuse to knock on wood, etc, etc. However, I think I might keep this medal. I fought hard for it, damnit!
6. Am I going to be a regular marathoner? Probably not. Despite this, I am excited to start training for the Chicago Marathon in October. Now that I know what the training schedule is like and now that I have made some of the classic mistakes, I think that now I can become better focused and---fingers crossed---faster.

Overall the experience was a good one. I learned a lot about running and about myself and that's the whole point, right? Right. Tell that to my aching legs.

Andrew flew out from Colorado to come support me! He surprised me with a Snickers bar for after the race (my favorite candy) and massaged me and took me out for margaritas and queso and was overall just wonderful. LOVE!

Even though I called him "the worst pacer ever" in my mile-24-I-hate-my-life rage, I adore Sean. I couldn't have gotten through the race without him! I don't know how he was able to manage running 6-miles with me after he had just PRed in his own half marathon race. This sexy runner amazes me!

Things I’m Learning

1.) Corporate America is all about “teams.” Everyone is on a team. E-mails are addressed to teams. Clients are calling in to speak to their team. Two people, a department, a company… all are teams. There’s no “I” in team, but I need a break from all these damn teams.

2.) I’m not a great runner and yet I’m training for a marathon. Turns out that most marathoners are not great runners. Whew! I thought you had to be an Olympic athlete in order to accomplish this. Nope. Turns out that many of my friends who have completed multiple marathons have walked in a number of them. It’s all about the experience.

I foresee the experience of my exhausted body literally crawling across the marathon’s finish line. 

Road Race

I love running road races throughout town. Shockingly enough, my favorite time to run is during the winter. Typically the races are smaller and the temperatures are cooler---which means more fun and better race times!

Last weekend I ran the ColderBoulder which is a 5K that loops around the University of Colorado campus.

Giving the photographer the hairy eyeball

In doing some research, I noticed that my 5K races have been consistently around the 26-minute mark---about 8:30 miles. Not too bad, but I'd like to improve.

So, I'm saying it here and now: My new goal is to run a sub-24 minute 5K (8 minute miles). Let the training commence!

Triathlon Recap

See this? This was not my triathlon experience.

Let me explain how my first triathlon went: I survived.

That's about all I can say.

No, really, I had a lot of fun with my friends. I also realized that triathlons aren't my thing. At least not right now. I hated training for the tri so much that I ended up not training at all. I was more out of shape coming into the race than I had been for months. Not good.

Right now I am absolutely thrilled to get back to my normal soccer/running/lifting routine. It's like heaven.

After the race with my lovely coworkers

Do I regret doing the tri? Absolutely not. Will I do another one. Not anytime soon. Maybe when I'm 55 or something and need low-impact training.

The bright side: Another event crossed off the bucket list.

Next task: Actually create a bucket list.

Excited to be close to the finish. This is probably the most energy I exhibited all morning.

Soreness is next to Godliness

My knee is mostly healed. I can work out! I feel like a complete person again! And...

I'm sore.

I'm really, really sore.

As in, my typical 5-mile runs are now a 2-mile waddle and I can barely walk up a flight of stairs the next day.

But the soreness is refreshing. It means I can move again; and more importantly, it means that I'm getting stronger. Honestly, I'm a weakling. (I think I could bench more as a 110-lb sophmore in high school than I can bench now.)

With my injury, I've had to develop new workouts and methods. It makes going back to the gym fun and exciting. Routines can get old and stale quickly. The treadmill is boring as hell. BoooOOOOoooring. My new fun treats: weightlifting and yoga.

Let me be clear: I Will Not Look Like A Body Builder From Weightlifting! It doesn't work that way. Need me to say it again? I Will Not Look Like A Body Builder From Weightlifting! To further my point, I'll let the guys do the talking:

From my favorite egomaniac, Dave:
Hey, Chicks, You're Doing it Wrong
These Chicks are Doing it Right

Also, this is the general lifting program I'm following.

Here's my typical routine:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday
6:00 am, ride my bike to the gym--Weightlifing and Running/Elliptical
Each day is a different split: Chest/Triceps; Legs/Shoulders; Back/Biceps
I'm gonna be honest: lifting weights among the guys is hot. H-a-w-t. I could be wearing old, oversized soccer clothes or some great Under Armour capris that show off my booty and the stares are the same. It's unanimous from the male species: girls lifting weights is hot. And my close-up view of the men ain't too bad either.

Want to know what else is fun? Biking. Except the stares aren't the same. Bomb downhill to the gym on your bike at 5:30 am with no cars to be seen. Then, after a brutal leg workout, try to ride home--uphill--with a million vehicles making their 7:30 am commute. Meanwhile, all the drivers are staring at your slow, wobbly ass. I swear that people walking their miniature poodles are faster than I am on that bike. I passed by a road speed sign once--I was going 8 mph. That's right, 8. Booyah!

Moving on...

Tuesday, Thursday
6:00 am--Yoga video at home
Here's another misconception: Yoga is not for pansies. I can repeat that again, but I'll spare y'all. Done right, yoga kicks your ass. I suffer through the beginner's video. The burning, shaking, I-refuse-to-let-that-cougar-in-the-video-beat-me kind of suffering. That's right, lady-with-the-fringed-bangs. You're going down!

With all the cooking I've been doing lately, I need the gym. This way I can have my cake and eat it, too.

Exciting... Not Really

I haven’t posted anything lately because, honestly, I don’t have any new and exciting news. And you know what? I love it.

I feel like I’ve been running around like a chicken with my head cut off for years. Sometimes I love the packed schedule, the friends, and the excitement. Sometimes I hate it.

Though I guess this "mini-break" is forced. I sprained my knee (MCL) a couple weeks ago and so I have to lay low for a while. The doc said 6- to 8-weeks. I have to admit that it’s hard to take a break when my life is so active. I can’t play soccer, run, or ski, and even going to the gym is hard at this point. Stick me on a recumbent bike with little to no resistance and tell me that I can’t run or lift (or break a sweat, really) = very unhappy Claire. So, I haven’t been working out speak of because it’s just torture.

On a good note, my awesome and stylish friend, Emily, and I went shopping to update my wardrobe! Never having seriously shopped at Nordstrom’s before, I have to say that I’m now in love. With some digging around, we were able to find some classy and affordable outfits that are work-appropriate and that I feel comfortable wearing. As a habit of buying larger sizes from when I had put on my Freshman 15 in college, most of my clothes were far too big for me. It's nice to wear clothes that actually fit! (I'm a size 4---wha??)

But trust me, most everything new is still made of cotton. If I’m allowed to wear jeans at work then I’m going to take full advantage of that, damnit! This has also forced me to branch out and get items that have color. Yes, color. Can you believe it? But don’t fret, I still have enough black and grey in my wardrobe to last a while.

Below is the casual, classic style that I am trying to embody. Well-tailored jeans, a nice, structured top or jacket, and generally a put-together look that's still comfortable and classy. Easy, right?

As the saying goes, dress for the position you want, not the position you currently hold.

I am the first to admit that I’m genetically challenged in the style department but I'm working on it. Shopping takes a hell of a lot of time (ugh!) but with my friends’ help I think I can make it happen.

To further my education, I’m actually going to a Runway Show this week in Boulder. Can you believe it? I’d much rather be at a car show, but like I said I’m branching out. I’m getting edumacated. On the downside, I’ll be surrounded by fussy, high-maintenance women all evening and I hate women. Patience, Claire. Patience.

I’m a Running Celebrity

Not really, but it’s fun to think so.

I ran a 5-mile race last weekend with my friend. I thought I was crawling along at a 12-minute/mile pace (seriously, little kids and people pushing 300-pound strollers were passing me), but it turns out that I had a pretty strong time of 42:23 or 8:29 per mile. Pizza and beer at 2 am the night before probably didn't help. My friend, of course, won his age division with a time of 32:32. The punk.

There’s still one race left in this three race series and then on to a half marathon. Check it: http://www.winterdistanceseries.com/.

Some photos from my most recent race. Beware: I’m not a “pretty” or “glamorous” runner. And sorry about the watermarks---I'm poor.

Notice the awesome sunglasses? That’s because I still have a black eye. It’s stellar.

And since we’re on the topic of running pictures, I’m going old-school on you. Here’s a picture from an 8-mile trail race I did back in 2008.

Damain and his crazy German antics crack me up to this day. Then there’s Amber right on our heels shouting that we’re out of shape and slow.

This is why running is so awesome—it's a good workout surrounded by great people. What else can a girl ask for?

It's The Little Things

I got a package today...

Guess what was inside?

New running shoes!

They're so shiny and pretty.

I'm gonna have to plow through some muddy puddles; and soon.

It's the little things.

Priorities

I’m trying to figure some things out. Like, you know, life...

First of all, I’m determined to have more free time. Determined. And yet, if I have too much time on my hands I get bored. Last night I went home early, blissfully read an entire book and then went to bed. And now I feel guilty for being so unproductive.

So today I’m asking myself one question:

How do you prioritize and still not worry about the small things?

Here are the things I want to focus on, in no particular order. The point is, as a matter of fact, to actually get these things in some kind of order:

- Work
Ugh. No comment.

- Soccer
I’m giving up two of my three indoor teams. Decision made. I’m doing it. I’m not playing well and I just need a break. And yes, it will be that hard to walk away, even for a season or two.

- Running
My goal is to run another half marathon this summer and even, ideally, a full marathon. To be honest, a dream of mine is to take a trip to Montana and run in the gorgeous scenery. How cool would that be?
Montana marathons
Colorado marathons
Marathon training (gulp!)

- Reading and Studying
I work in publishing, yes, but I could always improve my grammar and copyediting skills. I’d also like to seriously study for the GRE (even though I can’t afford grad school and the thought of taking on loans scares me to death).

- Yoga, Skiing, Hiking... Anything Outdoors
I can’t sit cross-legged and I’m better at water skiing than I am at snow skiing, but still. I live in the mecca of outdoor sports and I love them!

- Cooking
I’m slowly getting better at cooking as I try new recipes, but it takes time, commitment, and money.

As you can see, I love hobbies. I support hobbies. They keep you sane and stable.

So how do I find the balance again? Where do I prioritize?

Where do I even begin?

*****

Update on “The Goal”:
I’m off target this week and it’s only Tuesday. I’m having trouble concentrating (obviously) so we'll see how things develop.

Conference Preparation

I have to admit: I’m both excited and surprisingly apathetic about the upcoming African Studies Association conference. There will be only a few exhibitors and I’m sure that a number of professors and students will not make the trip to New Orleans due to departmental budget cuts and the end-of-semester crunch. Despite this, I’m still looking forward to meeting a number of our authors and finally placing faces to the endless e-mails and phone calls.

On a good note, I have some great outfits picked out! And “professional” hair, of course. I’m planning to bring two suits from The Limited and some classy shirts from Banana Republic—hurrah! (Yes, some days I am still a girl when it comes to these things.) Where I’m stuck is what to wear on the casual set-up and travel days. My normal Boulder attire—jeans and an old running shirt—probably won’t cut it. This is where being raised with two older brothers is a problem. I have absolutely no fashion sense.

The thing I’m most worried about? It’s not seeing New Orleans, missing some of the sights, or even making a complete dork of myself at the conference. It’s that the hotel doesn’t have a gym! No treadmill. Anywhere. I just ran a 5k this morning and had a great run and even a new personal record—in a blizzard! So now I’m even more motivated. I want to hit another personal record in the ColderBoulder in December. Besides, running will allow me to eat everything in sight in a city known for its cuisine.

Am I becoming a Boulderite? Already? Say it ain’t so!

Anyway, back to New Orleans and the conference. My goals:

1.) Eat lots of great food and try new dishes
2.) Make a lasting impression with our authors
3.) Meet some more industry professionals
4.) See some live jazz
5.) Most importantly, stop worrying and just enjoy myself

Sounds easy enough, right? Right?

(Crickets…)

Wish me luck.