Attitude problems and first attempt at official course

First of all, I'd just like to say that I'm really looking forward to running in winter again. I am extremely sensitive to the heat and I lose a lot of electrolytes, even running short distances. Running in the summer for me is a Herculean task; running in the winter is a frolic (my husband hates it, though).

Saturday's run was no exception. At 90F, it was one of the cooler runs we've done this month (unfortunately). We ran the first part of the Tyler Rose Half Marathon official course (see our progress here). It's a heck of a course, all uphill and mostly in the sun for the first two miles. We also had to cross two pretty tricky intersections (Houston/Glenwood, Houston/Vine).

A little after two miles in, Matt's watch malfunctioned (we didn't realize it until about a mile later). We lost ALL of our time data. Neither of us had bothered to check the time when we started, so we had no way to extrapolate our actual pace. I did not handle this well at all. When he first broke the news, I was really confused... confusion then became panic, which turned into accusation, which slipped into despair. I very nearly quit within two blocks of him telling me, but finished in a petulant snit. I had not marked the miles very well, so we ended up running 3.11 (basically a 5k).

My attitude obviously hurt his feelings; some of the issue had to do with my tone (it's really really hard to sound sweet and obliging when you've been pounding up a steep hill for what seems like eternity). Most of it had to do with me taking him for granted.  That sucks.

He told me that it's hard enough for him to come out and run with me at a much slower pace, in adverse conditions he can't control (he's a treadmill runner), for a goal he never intended to set for himself (half-marathon race)... it's even harder when he feels like he has to persuade me out of a grumpy mood (almost) every time, or endure being griped at (near) constantly.

It's something I've got to work on, and stat. I don't have any excuse to treat my husband poorly, whether I'm aching and dehydrated from a tough run or dealing with elevated hormonal chaos. I definitely cherish his presence on the runs, even when things go wrong or I feel aggravated by communication breakdowns. I really don't know if I can reach this goal without him, but I sure know that I don't want to.

When we run, it's a rare opportunity for us to spend time with each other sans distractions. No electronics, no relatives, no strangers competing for aisle space, no traffic. I don't want to lose that or waste it.

In good news, I've raised $50 for myself:

Goal achieved!

Earlier in the week, I set a "secret" goal to break 40min at the Komen Tyler 5k today... And I did! Well, really I crossed the line right at 39:59. I was flagging a bit at the end, but when I saw the clock (at 39:55) I knew I had to kick it into high gear. My only regret is that I didn't see the clock sooner, because I had a lot of life left in me.

Overall, I am beyond thrilled. The weather was perfect (for me, anyway... My husband hated it!) It was about 64, overcast and humid. I was somewhat concerned about the slickness of the brick streets along the course, but we kept our footing the whole way through. I saw a handful of folks I knew, mostly younger. Some ladies from our church took a picture of my husband and I, so I'll add that to this post when I get it via email.

We ended up exceeding the plan a bit, which resulted in a good first half but a lagging second. Here's the breakdown:

• Ran 10 min (hit mile marker at about 9min50, awesome!)
• Walked 3 min ran 12 (hit mile 2 at about 9min30, so we ran/walked it in about 12min30)
• Walked 3
• Ran 5
• Walked 1 (started flagging after the last of a bunch of hily sections)
• Ran to finish

Total time: 40min

So, in addition to meeting my secret goal I also learned that I am definitely capable of running under 10min mile. Next week, we scale it back a bit to keep me from overextending myself and ruining this whole experiment. In the meantime, here's a picture of our post-race noms (not counting the honey-granola frozen yogurt we snagged at a vendor booth near the finish!)

                               

UPDATE: PICTURES FROM THE RACE

(Left: Me in the red pants, with two ladies from my church. Right: My husband and I, after the race. He's so cute.)
   

Pre-Race blues: Looking ahead

Well, it's T-9 hours till race time and I'm getting ready to hit the hay about two hours earlier than normal for a Friday night. We registered, paid, and picked up our race packets today at Brookshire's. I laid out my shoes, a ballcap, and some colorful clothes to wear tomorrow ... can't forget the sunscreen.

A few things have me a bit bummed tonight. One is that my wrists and elbows feel pretty inflamed and painful today, maybe a 6.5 out of 10. It's probably a combination of my hormones, the weather (lots of rain rolled in tonight), and the fact that I practiced a Tom Waits song on the guitar for about 25 minutes. The good news is that my weight bearing joints feel pretty good (well above average) tonight, and I am optimistic about their performance tomorrow.

The other thing is that my husband doesn't enjoy races; he doesn't want to pay for the privilege of running. So, he's not really looking forward to tomorrow and he spent a bit of time this afternoon grumping about it. I love having him with me because he pushes me to perform better for longer, and he provides just the right combination of encouragement and distraction.  I should be grateful, I expect, that he's running these with me in spite of his disdain for them. I know he doesn't mean to demoralize me when he complains about various aspects of racing (the cost, the people, waking up early). I guess it would be worse if he just refused to go.

I don't think that running is particularly fun for him; he's more utilitarian about it. I hope one day we can reach a point where racing together IS actually fun, and where he gets as much out of running with me as I do with him. I don't know. 

The race is tomorrow morning. It should be nice and cool in the a.m., and I've got a good plan for the race. The secret goal is to break 40, and if I'm extra cute I might convince my husband to take me out for post-race pancakes. :) Wish me luck!

Running log, Wednesday

Tonight's run was a rematch with the Tyler Komen 5k course. My husband and I walked over to Bergfeld Park as the sun was setting, making it considerably cooler than Monday.  Two things were different tonight. First, I tried to keep a more moderate pace from the get-go (about the bpm of Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now"). Second,  we alternated between running and walking during the first half of the course instead of waiting until the end. It started out run 5/walk 3, but in the second half we shortened the walk break to two minutes and then ran the last 11. I was really happy with my breathing, didn't have any issues with my recurring side pain, and minimum discomfort in my joints (mostly ankles/feet). Although I attribute some of the joint pain to my body adjusting to road running, I mostly blame my hormones. I'm supposed to make an appointment soon with a rheumatologists to get checked out for arthritis (or some other systemic inflammation).  We definitely pushed to the end, and it was a really great triumphant feeling. Finish time was 42 minutes (running and walking combined), which is as good as any time I've run the 5k distance before. I'm actually pretty encouraged by that. My goal for Saturday is primarily to finish the race and maintain my pacing, but I SECRETLY want to break 40 minutes. So, we'll see. Sunday, I'll post my workout plan for next week. I expect we'll be jumping into week 6 of the Couch to 5k program from coolrunning.com, and we just might find a way to sneak in some yoga/pilates classes so I don't have to strike up ridiculous poses in my living room.

UPDATE:
I couldn't respond via comment, so I thought I'd update this blog post with the answer instead.
I'm running the Komen Tyler race for the cure, a 5k. Today's the last day to register at Brookshire's on Rice Road, by or before 7:00pm. You can also register and pick up your race kit tomorrow morning at 6:30am. The race starts at 8:00 for timed and 8:10 for untimed runners.

(http://www.komentyler.org/komen-race-for-the-cure/)

Running log

My plan in the future is to do an update once per week on my running progress (with more snippets in between, maybe, if I find something neat about cross-training or nutrition). But, since I haven't posted a training schedule to keep me accountable yet, I thought I'd share a blurb about tonight's run. So, I was following the Couch to 5k program from Cool Running to prepare for our 3rd annual North Texas Warrior Dash. Unfortunately for ME, my body decided it was a great time to get bronchitis. This weekend was the first time in about two weeks that I was able to run since the diagnosis. It could've gone worse; my leg muscles were lazy and my groin starting twinging a bit, but my heart and lungs did fine. In about an hour, I'm going to join a friend to run the course of the upcoming Susan Komen 5k. I figure that will give me a decent indication of where I currently stand. I will select a training plan based on the cumulative results of this week's runs. Wish me luck. I'll post an update when I get back.

THE UPDATE
Well, folks... we've got a lot of work to do. I ran/walked/stumbled my way through the incredibly beautiful and hilly Komen Tyler Race for the Cure 5K course (which covers some of the same ground as the Tyler Half). It was pretty rough - but exhilarating. I expected my lungs to hold up fine, but my joints to act up. Silly me. My joints were fine and my leg muscles didn't give me any trouble, but my lungs were screaming. This might be a byproduct of the bronchitis, as I've still had a bit of chest tightness and a small cough.  I definitely got extremely dizzy in the last third of the course, although that might have had something to do with the heat.

Overall, I'm happy-ish with the run. My plan for the Komen race this weekend is to run 3 min/walk 1 min from the start of the course. This should allow me to finish the race consistently, without gasping for air and spinning at the end.


The glamour shot...