VICTORY! Jersey Shore Anniversary half marathon recap

It's a beauty

I am overjoyed, yesterday was a perfect race in every way.

The sun was shining, the temperature was perfect, the crowd once again amazing - everything in place for a great day.

I got up nice and early: 4:30 AM to make my trek southward down to the Jersey Shore. I chewed on a well-earned bagel (mmmm gave those carb-y ass-fateners up long ago but figured I'd have one for "fuel") and guzzled my coffee to go.

Once on location, I found Frannie who decided to make this half her second.

We found our places to run. I decided I wanted to run this race in 2:30 (or around a 11min mile) - a lofty goal as my long runs on a good day say that I am around 2:37. My last race in September I did in 3:03 and the a year ago I did this very race at 3:19.  Sure I'm a slower runner but a runner none-the-less!

Anyway, I must've used the potty about 50 times (well at least 3 times) before the start. And son-of-a gun wouldn't ya know it, by the time I was crossing the start line I had to go again. While I was deeply trying to enjoy the moment and I was - I couldn't help but be distracted. Instead of focusing on "the need for speed," all I could think of was, the "need to pee."  So, for the first time ever, I jumped on a potty line in the middle of a race between mile 2-3.  UGH. I probably lost around 5 mins. or so but I did feel 1,000 times better.

SIDE NOTE:  I know you hardcore folks will just pee on yourselves and save that time. As tempting as that was, I decided against it. Though never say never.

Back to the race. I felt strong mentally and physically and was knocking out miles left and right. It was such a far cry from my last race - for the first time I really felt like a runner. And a runner that wasn't just trying to finish but to finish with a purpose.

OH THIS IS WHAT WE TRAIN FOR. For moments that feel like this.

Into the last mile - Friend Amy caught me excited to see her

The last two miles were run along the ocean and I promised myself that I was going to save something to make those miles really count. That last mile, I turned my music off and ran like I'd never had. I was wooing with the crowds, pushing myself to go as fast as possible, adrenaline doing it's thing and fist pumping like a crazy, middle-aged Jersey girl the whole way! Nike+ data says I was running at a 9:03 at one point during that last mile which is insanely fast for me, never mind to be pulling it off at the end of a 13 mile race!

About that 2:30 goal? That goal that I was worried would be too much to achieve… Hmm, well how's 2:24 grab ya?  11:01 pace… Now if I hadn't stopped to potty, I would've been sub 2:20 and prob. around 10:49 pace! WHAT? SHUT UP! :0)

VICTORY

Thanks to all of you who've been a part of this journey. The Jersey Shore marathon is one I plan to participate in every year. It's really well organized and just awesome. I would encourage anyone to try this one.

Some signs that made me laugh yesterday:

"Worst parade ever!" "Run faster, Snookie is gaining on you!"  "No matter what, last year was worse!" (Last year it was record breaking heat 90 degrees and humid)

And thank you to my bff Amy who came to see me at the finish line -- it meant a lot to me.

Onward and upward - in just (holy freakin' crap) 33 days I'll be taking on 26.2…

XO
Jen

2010 a new runner's journey in review

Jen & Ang share victory at the Jersey Shore

I love me a New Year. So shiny, so new - so bursting with opportunity and "anything is possible-ness." A chance to look back at the previous year and appreciate the good, reflect on the bad and savor the great.

So as we count down the last few hours of 2010 I take this time to reflect on the 525,600 minutes that transpired for me:

The first few days of 2010 were tough, I lost my dear sister-in-law Ritzie from complications of diabetes. Her death was shocking and she passed way too early. Her passing reminded me that life is so short and that we must grab hold of our moments and take control of our health, the best we can. Her passing inspired me to continue on my weight loss journey.

January found me studying Jack Canfield, a self-help guru, who's book, The Success Principles really rocks. Through this book and its suggestions of writing out life goals - led me to putting "run a 1/2 marathon on the list..." Not sure where that came from, or if I was just filling space but there it sat on my life "to do" list.  The book urged to take action on your "to do." And while I took action on other things - that one just kinda sat there - alongside, go to the moon - it was kind of farfetched.

Come February, a best buddy of mine, Angela had just run the Surf City half marathon, and here that goal was on my list. On a whim I did a google search for New Jersey + half marathon and found The Jersey Shore half for May - I counted on my fingers - 4 months, a lifetime away - that sounds good. I don't know what came over me but without ever having run a day in my life, plunked down my credit card and signed up.  And so my running journey began.

With 42 days of training under my belt - I ran my first 5K on March 21st. And though my I huffed and puffed and had to run/walk/run those 3 miles - I crossed my first finish line - in 40:57. I held back tears - I might've well have just won the Boston marathon - I was so proud.

April brought training and more training - putting in the time and building up the miles to lead me to that big first race...

And on May 2nd, in record breaking heat and with my friend Angela (who flew in from LA to run this by my side) - I did it. I ran (and walked) my first 1/2 marathon. And a runner was born.

Later in May, I ran my second 5K with a good friend Frannie who was inspired by my blog to start her own running journey. She finished slightly faster than my 35:53 finish - a full five minutes better than my last 5K!

I struggled to find my running groove through June, July and August - the heat, a toe injury and a lack of something blocked my way.  Even with an upcoming September half marathon, I was off my game.

On September 27th, I ran my second half, again with Frannie and again she finished better. I ran strong until I hit a huge wall at Mile 10 -- I hobbled the last 3 miles and vowed "never again." What was the point? I was so disappointed with my 3:00 hour time, even though I had finished a full half hour better than the first one.

I was done. I would run for fun... No more marathons for me.

Yeah right - two days later, I signed up for the Jersey Shore half in 2011. Of course I did.

October was a nice comfy month of happy, easy running and feeling good - then in November...

November brought marathon fever - and the NY marathon. I got itchy. I couldn't get the idea out of my mind - maybe I should try to run a full - hmmm?  While pondering that, I crossed an 80 pound weight loss finish line, and ran my third 5K. I ran it in a pretty good PR time of 32 minutes - and knocked 9 minutes off from my first 5K! Jason named me a role model in his blog and it became official... I would run my first full marathon in San Diego.  And I got to training.

December brought long run days, learning to suck it up, dreadmill runs and snow... And today it brought my longest run ever - in fact my longest distance - I'd never even walked this far - 14 miles. And I did it in 2:41... Which is something I'm feeling pretty proud about.

And here's my New Year's toast to my fellow runners - I wrote it with an Irish accent in mind but use the accent of your choice ;)

Run with pride, may your shoelaces stayed tied, nice weather supplied and your heart your guide.

XO

Jen

Happy New Year!

Before & After Part 2 The Emotional

Jersey Shore half 2010

The post before this, I showed some of my physical transformation and while I still have some ways to go, I'm getting close to goal.

But more exciting than the physical transformation has been the emotional & mental "before and after" that I didn't expect to gain from running:

Before:
I can't run, I'm not athletic, running sucks.
After:
I can run, I am strong, running doesn't suck that bad and sometimes I even like it.

Before:
I'll never lose weight, I have no follow thru.
After:
I can commit to training, to believing in myself and had a whole winter of going from not being able to run for 13 seconds to running for 13 miles last May. I'm even capable of losing weight. There's nothing I can't do if I'm willing to work for it and take the steps to get there.

Before:
I have to accept things the way they are even if I'm unhappy.
After:
I have the power to change things I don't like, I just have to give up excuses and find solutions. (Even if it's snowing out I can run around my kitchen table 2000 times and get my run in -- no that's not awesome but there's always a way.)

Before:
I have soooo much stress, life sucks, I have to drink or overeat to deal.
After:
I have some stress but life is great - I just need to run it out and, think and regroup.

Before:
I felt like a loser through much of my life, often looking for the negative
After:
I look for the positive - I'm a winner :)

Running has given me so many life tools - coping skills, confidence, goal setting ability, friends and health- I had no idea it would give me such a great "after" life.

What about you? What's your before and after story?

XO
Jen

81.8 pounds- my three year marathon

I am down 81.8 pounds.

I know this is shocking but I'm having trouble finding the words to express what this means to me. I have put in the work, changed the way I eat and run regularly now.

I am no longer that chain smokin, tequila swillin', depressed, "I can't do anything" type person. That girl is long gone.

Oh, I'm no saint - I still sometimes eat too much or have one too many glasses of wine or shots of tequila... I don't always run as far or as fast as I probably can but that's OK.  I've been learning how not to beat myself up.

I am not as afraid to fail anymore. I'm more afraid of not trying. (Though I try to make failing not an option as a rule.)

This weight loss journey can truly be compared to a marathon. A long one. It hasn't been easy, there's been many a mile that it seemed I'd never see a finish line. Many a time where the road was long and hard. Many a time I actually had to walk and catch my breath, heal a wound, reassess my approach.

But, I never wanted to quit. At this point with the finish line in sight, I finally have a true understanding of what it means to "enjoy the journey." Every mile has brought a sense of accomplishment and a new lesson learned, every mile I've found both struggle and joy - and I've been lucky to have many people supporting me to get here along the way.

As I ran my "long run" eight miles yesterday, I kept myself motivated by thanking the universe for everything. My feet, my heart, my lungs my legs, my iPod :) All the things that kept that running route attainable yesterday. I kept mentally high-fiving myself, mile by mile, emotional over seeing how far I've come - far enough to be able to run for 8 miles, comfortably, relatively pain free and gratefully.  Every day that I'm lucky enough to run is a good day indeed.

And every mile means something.

Today I thank the universe for the gift of this journey - I thank the universe for even giving me those damn 81.8 pounds because without them, I would've never discovered how strong I am, strong enough to be able to move every one of those pounds out of my way.

XO
Jen

VICTORY... I ran 13 miles but why do I feel so eh?

jen & frannie at starting line

First off, yay me! I did it! And yay Frannie! She did it too!!  Congrats and kudos to her for her first 1/2 marathon - she made it look easy and ran like a champ.

So, it's no longer a fluke that I did it once because lo and behold, I did it again! Crossed that finish line and ran 13 miles. I even got a little choked up when I turned the corner and saw that big beautiful thresh hold waiting for my screaming legs to cross. And boy were they screaming.

I started off pretty strong. In fact, stronger than I had anticipated. I figured I'd run 3-4 miles and then walk a minute, but 3-4 miles came and went and I was still running. So then, I was going to run to 5 and walk, then 6, then 7-8 passed and we were still pretty much running (aside for a slow up for a second for a sip of water thru a station or two.) I felt like I was keeping a slowish but manageable pace to endure the run. It literally isn't a sprint - and all that jazz.

At 6 miles I took a picture of the time for my progress:

Hey, not too shabby - this is a 13 minute mile and about a 4.6 mile pace. I was pleased. I even know that it was probably slightly better because it took Frannie and I a couple of minutes to actually cross the start line. Though I know it's still slower than the average bear, it was still significantly better than the Jersey Shore marathon and I felt like it was a comfortable rate to sustain me through the whole thing. OK. I was starting to believe that maybe I had a shot to run the whole thing.

Well around mile 10ish, my legs wanted to quit. In fact I'm pretty sure they fired my whole body or tried to walk out on me but they had no choice but to bring me on home. OMG, ouch, ouch, ouch. It hurt to run, it hurt to walk, it hurt to breathe. I think it even hurt to listen to music.  And those last 3 miles it was all I could do to get there. And I did, I got there - there was no turning back... or taxi's available.  And I'm happy about that...

Allow me to introduce you to my insanity....

But, my time was pitiful. 3:03.  Ugh. People can walk faster than that. It's a 14 minute mile. I think out of 2,000 people only 40 people finished after me. If that. Yuck. I know I should be proud that i did it but part of me feels like such a failure that I couldn't finish faster. Part of me despairs, how could more than a thousand people be better than me? What am I doing wrong? Why don't I train harder? Get stronger, go faster? The insecurities, the perfectionist in me, HATES being one of the slowest of the bunch - yet, I ran a freakin' marathon - ya know? Why can't that be enough? I'm not one to keep up with the Jones's when it comes to cars, homes or other possessions so what's the deal here? Why does this bother me so much?

I don't know. And yes, I can appreciate the accomplishment - I truly can. I knocked a full 20 minutes off my time from the first one I did - (a 15:14 mile... back in May) And yes, I can tell myself every which way to Tuesday that 3 years ago I was 75 pounds heavier and couldn't walk at 2.8 on a flat treadmill without getting winded - I can remind myself that a year ago at this time it wouldn't have crossed my mind to even try to WALK a 5K - never mind that I'd be running not one but two 1/2 marathons... That I only started ever running in my life nine months ago - but still. I want more, I guess.

So though, my legs are still on strike and my feet still ache - I'm pretty sure that I'll be enduring another 13 miles of joy and hell in my future because I simply cannot allow my last race be a 14 minute mile... and I just blew $75 on those new sneakers that I didn't wear yesterday because Angela, voice of reason, reminded me just how incredibly horrible of a disaster new sneaks on 13 mile day could be. (Thank you for those words of wisdom from the bottom of my heart and soles of my feet.)

I better give my legs a raise in pay because I'm gonna need them to go the distance next time - and so the journey continues.

XO
Jen

PS: The Jersey Shore half spoiled me -- the signs by the locals, the cheering crowd, the constant water and gatorade, the medal - not so much at this one.

PSSS: Sorry for this very loooooong blog, you know I can be chatty sometimes.

Less Than 24 hours to run 13 miles - new kicks

Well, here we go again.

Less than 24 hours from the big day.  Funny how different it feels from the first time. But none the less, I'm excited, nervous, and looking forward to tomorrow.

At race time, I imagine it'll be pretty perfect running whether as the projected high for the day will be 70 - I'm estimating around 60 degrees for a nice brisk start.

I "treated" myself to new sneakers - though truly, after logging as many miles as I did on the other ones, I know they are more like overdue necessities.

While I was tempted by the pretty colors of the Asiacs and the funky cool Nike's I ultimately settled on another pair of Saucony's - they not only carry my size (an unfortunate 10.5 women's) (You try to find 10.5 in running sneakers, almost impossible.) but they have the support my over-pronating feet really need. So though they look pretty much identical to the ones I already own - it is what it is.

I was in for a sweet deal - the Saucony Progrid Hurricane's I've been eyeing were on sale from $139.99 to $99.00 at Sports Authority PLUS I had this great coupon for The Sports Authority: SAVE $25 off $100 purchase to boot. I added a pack of "thirst quenching" gum to my purchase to bring me over $100.00 and used my coupon.  Got sneakers for around $75.00.  Awesome.

Feel free to print the coupon in the link - it's good until January 2011!!  :)

So wish me luck. I might not be quite as trained but I will do whatever it takes to cross the finish line. Tomorrow at this time, I'll be reporting back about my second VICTORY.

XO
Jen

8 Miles and only 6 days until the next half. Oh my.

INSPIRATION - I can do it again

Well, today I ran 8 miles. I feel pretty good considering that I feel half-assed trained. Calf is a little sore, hips feel a slight bit stiff but I actually feel better than I did when I originally ran 8 miles in my first round of training for the first marathon. The last time I hit 8 miles in training, I had to ice and elevate for an hour, nap for 2 hours and it pretty much spent me for the day. Today, I actually came home and went about my business.

So, though I reached 8 miles, I am a little nervous about this shing ding on Sunday. I wish I had started taking training a little more seriously sooner. While I'm happy about the 8, I definitely was starting to feel it in my legs and I'm not sure how I'll add another 5 to it.

Oh well. I'll do my best. I often look at my medal and my hat from the NJ shore marathon for inspiration and remember that half the battle is won with my mind. The other half will have to hope that my legs don't seize with cramps and my feet don't fall off ;)

And speaking of inspiration, this was great inspiration that my friend Karen posted on my Facebook wall today - thought I'd share it.

As they say, if you want to do something, then do it.

Congrats Angela! And it's "only" 4 miles - 3 times

YAY to Angela Lee the "prime mover" if you will for my deciding to try to run a 1/2 marathon in the first place. She's added yet another medal to her belt and here's the very cute, 5th Anniversary edition of the Disney medal she earned for running the Disney half this past weekend:

So I have a few short weeks to get into enough running shape (well at this point; run/walk/jog/crawl) shape to do my upcoming half. I did four miles today, which wasn't awful (I think I could've done 5 if I had more time and motivation) but still not easy. But I did it and I keep thinking, I just have to do those four miles 3 times and I'll cross the finish line.

My goal for Friday is to get up early and do a long run of 6 miles. I think if I can get 6 in on Friday and a long run of 8 next week, I should be OK.  I think.

XO

Jen

DAY 1: The REST OF MY LIFE AS A WINNER! VICTORY!

I DID IT!!  I DID IT!!  I DID IT!!  I ran 13.1 miles!!  YAY!!!!  AND the universe really tested to see if  I was for real about this journey or just messing around.  Oh yes, it did.

After my burger and fries last night, I couldn't sleep.  I kind of tossed and turned until 3:30 AM until I got up and was sick to my stomach.  REALLY?  One cheese burger and I'm up all night with nausea and heartburn.  UGH!  No sleep and tummy ache.  BOO.  Luckily, after being sick, I was able to get a good solid two hours of sleep in which was more than I thought I'd get.

No sweat.

Then we get up and the rumors are true.  Record breaking heat and humidity.  Honestly?  Come on, now.  Mother nature, work with me here!!

"PAIN IS TEMPORARY

PRIDE IS FOREVER"

That was a quote that someone had posted and it was my mantra that got me through this run -- 

the locals were fantastic, hosing us down with water:

Putting out signs for us:

Little kids high fived, boy scouts gave water, old and young hooted, hollered and cheered us on and without that - it really could've been miserable.

My running partner, coach and the greatest friend ever, Angela pulled me through the WHOLE TIME.  She took pictures, motivated me and really has no idea what she did for me.  Not sure I can even put it in words.  THANK GOD that she was with me.  It was the most special experience of my life.  My gratitude is unexplainable.

I ran some of the run with this guy - he's done a marathon in every single state in the country TWICE.  And his total marathons (FULL MARATHONS) are 160!  He was running the full today.

So here I am at the Finish Line.  A day about 3 months ago, this journey started - and here are Angela and I crossing & with our medals.  I'm overwhelmed. 

Thank you for giving me a reason to keep writing, for reading this and for encouraging me to never give up.

PAIN IS TEMPORARY

PRIDE IS FOREVER

Truer words never uttered.  This is just the beginning.

XO

Jen

PS:  I almost forgot!  I did it in time -- under 3:30 - official time not available yet but we came across around 3:20 something!!  

DaY 63 - 18 days to go - conversation is overrated...

With heavy clouds overhead this morning and the threat of rain on the horizon, I took my four miles to a treadmill today.  I must say that four miles inside is the worst.  I feel like my long runs it's a necessity because I require so many props right now (water, gatorade, towel, CPR kit in case of emergency...) and three miles goes pretty quick but four miles is just long enough to be boring inside.

Inspired (and a wee bit jealous) of my friend Ulla who recently started running too - and who just blogged about being able to run a ten minute mile -- influenced me  to work on speed today to keep things interesting and challenging.

I know I broke the rule of being able to have a comfortable conversation more than once today.  I kept pushing myself to run for several minutes between 5.0-5.5 -- the trouble was that my "recovery" time also had to increase and by the end of the work-out my overall running time was still about 4.44 mph.  It's not a bad number, I suppose.   The same four miles I did last week averaged at 4.2 mph so it's wee bit faster.  Guess that's part of the journey.  I can't wait to be running a consistent 5 mph.  I feel like that's "real" running.  Even though I have the red face, sweat soaked gym clothes and panting to prove that 4.44 is no stroll in the park (for me at least.)

I know I've talked about the site before but to reiterate, mapmyrun -- is free and awesome.  I love that I can even keep track of my workout stats with it.  For example, I can see that we are not even half way through April and I've already logged 41.16 miles and burned 4,549 calories!!  Holy crap, that's motivating and exciting!  

Training Summary: April 2010

Total Distance:41.16 mi.	Total Calories:4,549 (kcal)	Weight Change:2.0 lbs.
Average Sleep:7 hrs.	Average Morale:High	Min. / Max.:172.0 lbs. / 174.0 lbs.

April 2010

So that's all I got... the next time I write about running it'll be because I ran nine miles.  UGH.  Not gonna lie, that sounds a little bit like hell.  But I also know that nothing is going to be sweeter than once I can put that one under my belt!!

XO

Jen

Day 56 - 25 days to go... A run in the sun, not so fun.

OK, major mistake.  After running in a temp controlled environment (the gym) and in slightly cooler weather outdoors up until today - I made a bad decision.  It was 82 degrees, slightly muggy,very sunny and 3 PM... and I thought that would be a good time to run.  Without water.  Wearing black.

My bad.

It's probably not that big a deal if I had worked up to this temp but being that it was 20 degrees warmer than anything I had ever run in, I really felt the heat.  I wound up walking way too much during the last mile or so - I was dizzy and soooo thirsty that I might have stuck my head in a puddle if I happened upon one.  Of course, the park I ran through kept giving me little mini teases of water fountains that I would run out of my way to, only to find them not operating.  Remember that cartoon where wandering nomads in the desert would hallucinate mirages of palm tree shaded ponds?  That was me.

I didn't bring water because I didn't want to be bogged down running and holding a water bottle.  Maybe that was an error.

Even a little cooled down soup would've been welcomed.  Hey, did someone mention soup?  Did you know you could vote here and make me super souper!?  it was souper hot out today but please vote anyway!

Aside from the heat, the other annoying thing I forgot to take into consideration was the fifty schools (well really 4 schools but still) that all let out during my run.  I love kids and all but trying to weave in and out of a sea of brooding high school students loitering about is not my idea of fun.  It's actually my idea of torture.  In addition to clogging up the sidewalks - they immediately make me feel old and dorky.

But alas, the heat, the kids, the mirages of water didn't kill me and I'm still standing.  I still ran four miles (OK probably ran 3 and walked one or something...) but I did it and learned some lessons - I finished with an overall pace of 4.1 mph which tells me that the time I was running must've been pretty good because I walked a lot and thought my pace would wind up slower than that.

Do you runners bring water with you on your runs outside?  Do you carry it in hand or is that some kind of fanny pack/tool belt things that you employ?  Is it cumbersome?

XO
Jen

Day 55 - 26 days to go... Words of wisdom?

Today was a rest day but I had some interesting things happen.

1.  I was interviewed for a blogging position for a fairly big web-site.  I feel pretty confident that it went well and hopefully they'll let me know soon.  (WOW - people get paid for blogging!?  And to think, I just do this for fun!)

2.  I had an interview with our town newspaper The Nutley Sun Newspaper for my "Souper You" fame (lol)  - I let them know when I received word on my finalist status, figuring maybe I could garner up some local votes.  Megan called and we chatted for about 20 minutes.  She was kind and asked me about running routes, why I liked running around our community and finally my words of wisdom for others.   Words of wisdom?  First of all, I didn't expect to be asked about running so much - like I was some kind of running expert or something.  Soup.  I was ready to talk about soup.

So, I kind of choked on this one.  I never really considered having my own words of wisdom here.  I've spent so much time begging you all for advice on sneakers, pre-post workout meals, stretching protocol, warm-up technique, song selection, gadgets to use -  I download my training schedule and everything is pretty much on autopilot.

My weight loss has been slow and up to now I've always considered my battle with weight and exercise a pretty good failure - to have someone ask for my 'words of wisdom' in this arena was not something I was prepared for.  I thought we were going to talk soup... And how you could vote for me here:  souper Jennifer

So what did I tell Megan?

Something about no matter where you are at or how big your goal is - you can take one small step at a time to get there.  How I started as a size 16 (on this journey but my highest size was a 20!) who could barely run for a minute and 55 days later can fairly comfortably run 4 miles on a normal day and will be pushing myself to go 8 miles this week, 9 next and eventually 13.

I guess, upon further thought, it's about perseverance.  Knowing there'll be people who run faster and further, knowing that there'll be uphill climbs, forks in the roads and set backs but going balls to the wall and doing it anyway.  Taking big dreams, making big goals and figuring it out as you go.

The day I signed up to run 13 miles back in February - I had no idea how i would go from no running to running 13 miles -- i just knew (and continue to know) that somehow, someway, I will cross that finish line.

XO
Jen