Running isn't Glamorous but God's Grace Is

This post is going to fall under the category of TMI but that's ok, there is a lesson in it.  And if you are a guy, you might not want to read or our friendship might be tainted.

I've been a runner off and on since middle school but it wasn't until I obtained a fuller figure and had a few babies that I got to experience some of the uglier sides of running like chafing and poor bladder control.  In fact, when I started running again after I had Sage I made a comment on FB that said, "My boobs, bladder and bowels all survived my first postpartum run" and it was quite a hit among my mama friends which leaves me to believe I'm not the only one with problems (probably the only one missing the filter that keeps these things to myself).

The first 5k I ran after I had Dakota I pretty much peed on myself at the finish line and sadly, that's not the only time that's happened (hey, it's really hard to get spandex down when you are sweaty).  Then there was the time last summer that I was running in Hilton Head.  It was July in SC so it was pretty hot.  I had just tried a new energy chew (which is not a good thing on my temperamental stomach) and a few miles in my bowels were screaming at me.  Running was no longer an option because if I ran too fast then I was going to have an emergency.  There were no bathrooms anywhere and no bushes.  After walking a few miles I stumbled upon a house under construction with a port-a-potty.  Score.  Unfortunately it was a work day and there were men on site.  I looked at one and said, "I'm sorry but I have to use this."  He said, "Trust me, you don't want to do that."  I said, "Trust me, I have no choice."  I did my business and after a while a guy was knocking on the door making sure I was ok.  Definitely not one of my proudest moments but it was way better than waddling back to the house without pants.  Which leads me to today's story...

So in case you don't know, I'm training for my 3rd marathon which means that my Saturdays are usually full of long distance runs.  Today's run was scheduled to be 22 miles.  I'm just 3 weeks away from my race - it's all downhill from today - except for the actual race, I'm pretty sure it's all uphill.  Anyway, today's run just happened to be the end of my "special time of the month" or so I thought.  Since running for 4 hours with either a tampon or pad is not comfortable I decided I was done enough to go without anything.  I also for some reason was wearing light grey pants instead of my usual black.  At about mile 7 I decided to look down at my legs and realized that I had a major situation on hand.  I was just hitting Shelby Farms and every family in Memphis was there.  I quickly dove into the women's bathroom and hid and contemplated what to do.  I was still 15 miles from home and I knew if I called Jacob to get me I wouldn't get my long run in (I had already missed last week's).  I did my best to clean up, washed my hands and started to leave when I freaked out and went back in the stall. I'm not exaggerating when I say there were people everywhere.  I tried to convince myself that it wasn't noticeable or that even if it was I'd never see these people again.  I then heard a knock on my stall and saw cute little pink sandaled feet underneath.  I said, "Somebody is in here."  She knocked again and said, "I have some shorts for you."  I peeked out the stall and there was this little Hispanic girl handing me a pair of black shorts saying again, "I have a pair of shorts for you."  She looked at her mom who said something in Spanish and the girl said, "It's ok, they are clean."  I took the shorts, which fit perfect.  I couldn't stop thanking the mom and would have said more but there was a language barrier.  Y'all this is one of the most encouraging things that has happened to me lately.  God knew I was upset and stressed and He sent this sweet little girl to bring me comfort in this moment.  I spent the next several miles in awe.

I don't usually take selfies while running but don't you just love all of the wisteria that is in bloom??

Today was not one of my better runs - in fact after my watch died at mile 17 and my ipod started acting squirrely, I pretty much had enough.  I even tried to call Jacob (5 times actually) to come get me and I couldn't get him.  I walked a good bit of the last 3 miles with a grumpy (hangry?) heart but I made it home and ate a bowl of ice cream.  Running is not easy and it requires a strength and diligence that I know only comes from Him.  As I bebopped my way through Cordova today, God reminded me that I am His and He cares about every aspect of my life.  He showed me He will provide but He also showed me that I might have to push through the pain even when I don't want to.

My apologies if I grossed anybody out but this blog is about real life - and real life isn't always pretty.  

Marathon Ramblings

My marathon took place on Saturday in Nashville.  After the one I was supposed to run in December was cancelled, I was able to use my registration to run another race that still benefited St. Jude Children's Hospital.  It really was such an awesome experience.  I wanted to get my thoughts on paper on this bright screen while they are still fresh and since I had 4.5 hours to think, you can imagine there is a good bit swirling around in my noggin.  Also, since I received a medal, I feel like I get to do an acceptance speech, so here goes:

I'd like to thank (in no particular order):

• the Academy
• Everybody who donated to St. Jude on my behalf.  St. Jude is an incredible, incredible organization and I'm thankful that the race I participated in is helping save lives.
• My daddy for getting me into running back in middle school.  He used to pay me $1 per mile but refused to pay up for the hundreds of miles that went into training for this event.
• Martha (and my daddy and husband and kids) for coming to cheer me on, and for taking pictures!
• My children for giving me a reason to run.  I want to be able to play sports with them and run with them and I also want to teach them to stick with things that are hard.  Plus, they made REALLY cute cheerleaders. 

• My husband for watching the kids on many Saturdays while I knocked out longer runs and for being the greatest supporter of pretty much any task I say I'm going to do (some of which I accomplish, some of which I don't).  He's pretty amazing.

• My mother and father-in-law for their support and love towards me.  Sidenote:  My FIL started doing triathlons in his mid-fifties.  He really is an inspiration to me.  Just because I was in my 30's and in really bad shape after 3 babies I was reminded by looking at him that it's never too late to take control of my health.  Not that your 50's are old or anything...
• God.  For life and grace and creation and the ability to run and play.  I could not have done this without the physical, emotional and spiritual strength that can only come through Him.
• My fellow runners at UABC.  I love that I have a little circle of runners from church that support one another and complain together and even run together.
• Jeff & Mary Frances for the ride to the race and for answering my many nagging questions and for general support.  Jeff and I ran the first 11 miles together.  Another sidenote:  Jeff and Mary are also inspirations.  Neither of them would probably have considered themselves "runners" until a few years ago when they also decided to take control of their health.  Jeff has now run 11 marathons and Mary has done several half marathons.  

• All of my sweet friends that sent me words of encouragement during this process and who were praying me through my run on Saturday.  Those prayers were definitely felt.
• The makers of BioFreeze.

Now, onto my "ramblings" (ha, you thought I had already begun):

-  I truly believe that ANYbody can train for and complete (notice I did not say "run"?) a long distance race.  Whether it's a 10k, half marathon, full marathon or ultra marathon, I REALLY do believe that if you set your mind to it and want it bad enough then it's possible.  But it will take work.  Lots and lots of work.  Aside from having a major medical condition that might prevent you from participating in an endurance sport, there is no reason that you cannot do it.  The key is to start really slow and easy.  You don't want to injure yourself or burn yourself out right at the start of training.

-  Spectator signs can be funny.  Or stupid.  I love that there was such a large amount of cheerleaders at this race.  They definitely entertain and encourage.  Some that I remember from the day:  "Toenails Are For Sissies" (I've personally lost 3), "Short People Run Faster", "If Marathons Were Easy They'd Be Called Your Mom" (I've never liked "your momma" jokes), "Pain is Temporary, Pride is Forever" and "Whine Now, Wine Later".  There were also many signs referring to running like a Kenyan and several about twerking (thankfully Miley and Robin weren't anywhere to be seen).  A sweet friend from architecture school had a sign with my name on it and I didn't know about it until I saw it on Facebook.  Boo.  It would have made me smile.

-  I made it to about mile 20 before I busted out my headphones and music.  I was struggling by this point and needed a little pick-me-up.  It was hot and hilly and we were going through a park that felt like we were in the middle of nowhere.  For the most part, the people-watching and live bands kept me entertained.

-  I should have paid more attention to what was on my iPod because at about mile 23 Anna started singing, "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" and all I could think of was, "Yes, and I'd like to eat him (sorry Olaf)."  It was really hot at this point and singing about frosty characters wasn't doing as much for me as Pharrell was.

-  Biofreeze and Ibuprofen pretty much saved my day at about mile 18.  I took the vitamin I for overall soreness and the Biofreeze took away my leg cramps.  During training I struggled with leg cramps anytime I ran more than 16 miles.  Even though I took all of the electrolyte and sodium tablets recommended, I still couldn't shake them.  Come mile 18 my legs were really seizing up and I just happened to be near a medical tent.  The guy sprayed Biofreeze on my legs and it was like I had just received a parachute from a sponsor in the Hunger Games.  After that I was able to sprint (ok, more like shuffle, crawl, walk, hobble) the remaining 8.2 miles.

-  My goal was to beat 4:30 for my time.  I got 4:31.  I am a little disappointed which is actually silly because that's a pretty good time.  I wouldn't be disappointed except for the fact I thought I beat it.  I passed the pacing team for 4:30 a while into the race and I knew they never passed me.  After I finished, Jacob told me they came in about 5 minutes after me so I was convinced I had made it.  If I would have known I was a minute over my goal I might not have shuffled, crawled, walked or hobbled so much at the end.

-  The starting line for this race was CRAZY.  I was in corral 23 and each corral supposedly had 1000ish people.  The race started at 7 and I didn't even cross the start until 7:41 (think of the people in corral 30-something)!  Then, once I started running there were people all up in my business slowing me down.  It was a little overwhelming but exciting at the same time.

-  I'm all for people doing run/walk programs during these type of events.  In fact, when I started training, I did a scheduled program like that.  What does bother me is when somebody is running in front of me and then stops to walk and I suddenly have to swerve out of the way.  People need brake lights.  Or, it would be nice if they just moved to the side before stopping abruptly.

-  The first time I saw my family cheering for me (at mile 17) was the highlight of my run.  I'm so glad they were able to come.

-  Back when I was training, I told my friends Jeff and Sarah that I would never do another marathon.  They said, "That's what we all say."  I know what they mean now.  While there were moments that I was thinking, "this is stupid" (hey, I was hot and tired) the overall excitement and feelings of accomplishment win.  It's kind of like having a baby - after he/she's born, you forget about the pain of labor.  So, I've already started thinking about where I'd like to do the next one but it's not going to be for a while.

-  If I had a nickel for the number of times I heard runners (myself included) complain about the hills then I would be able to buy myself a new pair of running shoes.  It was really hilly.  At first I took them as a fun challenge and pushed myself up them.  By the end I was more like, "another hill, are you kidding me??" and I just walked up them.

-  I don't understand how people wear some of the things they run in without major issues.  I'm not going to expand on that thought but coincidentally they were the same people stopping at the med tents for vaseline.

-  Clif Bloks are my weapon of choice when it comes to energy treats.  I've tried Gu before and it wasn't pretty.  Once you find something that you like and is kind to your stomach, it's best to stick with it.  I personally like the margarita flavor and tried to refuel every 6 miles.  I kept Gatorade in my bottles and took every water that was offered to me.

Well, that's all I got for you.  I'm sure I could share more pieces of wisdom nonsense but blogging isn't yet considered an endurance sport and you ain't getting a medal for reading this far.