Atlantic City half race recap: Running with love on a beautiful day

Yesterday I completed half marathon #10! 

And this one was special because this was my husband Marty's second half (his first can be read about in his words here).

We headed down to Atlantic City on Saturday afternoon after Marty's sister arrived to watch our son Ben overnight for us. 

Side note - going to AC without gambling and partying is like a kid going to Disney and not going on any rides but I sucked it up and put blinders on. I was there to run.

Heading down I was in a cranky mood. I was anxious about this half. The doubt moved firmly into my brain and took me hostage. I haven't really had a great experience for the last few halfs and was beginning to wonder if this distance was for me worry. I tried to swat it away.

We checked into our hotel and headed to the Expo. As soon as we walked in we were greeted by the race director of the New Jersey Shore marathon. I told him how that was my very favorite race (and the first I ever did, so his race is very special to me) and he was soooo nice. We chatted for a while and he wound up giving me a free tech hat (I love!) and even sent me an email today saying how nice it was to meet us. 

We kicked around the expo and I was disappointed to find that most had packed up already (we got there on the late side) and no one left was selling what I needed. Was going to try salt pills because of the cramping I'd been experiencing.

Oh well.

We then wandered around trying to find something kind of safe to eat (you know me with all the tummy troubles - finding pre-race food is always a joy.) This was taking time and my shoes were beginning to give me a blister!  And this was not helping my cranky mood. We finally found the perfect spot to eat and happiness ensued. (I never learn to plan ahead -- my bad).

We ate went back to the room and was in bed by 8:30 PM  - settled in with a nice episode of Dateline and a giant bottle of water.  Living it up in AC woo hoo.

The next morning I woke up with a stomach ache of course. And was cursing mad about it. Always something. We headed from our hotel and walked about 4 blocks before I realized that I forgot my coconut water (which I drink in lieu of sports drink) We had to sprint back to get it. UGH. I was fighting a bad mood and anxiety and this stuff wasn't helping.

And then we lined up to run. The weather was perfect, the crowd electric and you know what? I was ready.  

I started to run with Marty by my side. I was to pace us. Marty likes to shoot out of the gate and it's my job to keep him under control. So I did that. 

As I started to run on this beautiful day, my bad mood started to melt away. 

And today I wasn't just running with Marty, I was running with someone else too. Today I made a conscience decision to run with Heather. Heather Boyum was a Rochester Moms In Motion member who cruelly lost her life at the hands of drunk drivers. I think of Heather often. 

I put the pink Moms In Motion bracelet on my wrist in her memory, I wanted her there. 

And she was there, mile by mile. Whenever, for one minute I had a moment of my thoughts wanting to turn negative, I had to only glance down at Heather. Heather would 'tell me' how lucky I was to be running today, the weather perfect - the sky blue, crisp and clear -- and running next to my husband and best friend.  If I feared a cramp, Heather would tell me "so what? Shake it out. You'll make it, looking good.  Get us to the finish line!" If I had a tummy ache she'd say, "So what? Poop, puke, pee whatever… you wouldn't be the first runner to have such issues, now enjoy your day! -- you GET to do this, you don't have to do this… you know how many people would want to trade places with you right now?" 

Somehow, Heather just kept reminding me over and over again to appreciate this race, this day and the joy in it all. And I did. That bracelet and thoughts of Heather (whom I never met by the way) just kept pulling me through. 

Heather was a much better running buddy than hubby by the way. He refused to take off his head phones because he needs music and no chatting. Hmmph.

I felt really good and by the last two miles was enthusiastically happy like I have never been during a race. Fittingly, during mile 12 "Beautiful Day" by U2 came on my iPod and Marty said I was loudly singing along (OOPS I thought I was just mouthing the words…!) I mean it really was. The ocean lapping the shore, the sounds and sights of the boardwalk (finish line was on the boardwalk) and all of my luckiness to be running that day. I finished super strong and smiling.  

I've got a renewed love for this distance and my fear has melted. 

So thank you Heather. I know you're an angel and you got me to the finish line and I dedicate that glorious run to you. Hope we can do it again sometime.

Marty, Heather and I did the race in 2:38 - a 12:01 pace or something? But it was perfectly fine. We stopped to pee and I had to loosen my laces so we were probably 11:55 or something. We knocked some time off our previous race time (2:51 at The Jersey Shore.)

A few things to note -

In preparation to this race I hydrated heavily for three days leading up to the race and also upped carbohydrates a little more and potassium/sodium heavy foods. (all with hopes of fighting those dreaded cramps!) 

I also took salt packets and did 2 little ones and 3 gels -- overkill? Maybe but I didn't get any cramps so I don't care. I also carried coconut water with me and drank that during the last 5 miles… the first half I drank water at the stations.

I also ran significantly slower --maintaining mostly 11:30 - 12:15 min miles and then kicked it up at the end. I was pacing Marty so I still have to experiment with what my happy avg. pace might be.  Probably as of right now 11:15 to 11:30, if I'm being honest but who knows? I have plans on committing to a real strength training program (as my MIM running coach, Dana keeps trying to prescribe us…!)  and perhaps training a little more for the next season.

Hope you had a 'beautiful day' too!

XO

Jen

PS: I also donated my running miles to this beautiful little girl - Miracle - Angels all around me! 

Running a race without racing

First medal with Angela

PR!

That's always a kinda goal in the back of my mind going into any half marathon. At very least, I'm always thinking about running the best I can and 'leaving it all out there.'

This Sunday will be different.

This Sunday I will be running the NJ Shore half marathon in Long Branch.  I LOVE this half. It's extremely special to me.

First of all, it's in the Dirty Jerz. My home state, it's my bro yo.

Secondly and more significantly, it's my anniversary half. In 2010 I toed that starting line with anticipation, a little bit of fear, wonder, hope and determination… later that day, I crossed the finish line a half marathoner - a runner, it was the first real goal I'd ever made and completed and it changed my life.

Last year, I took a full half an hour (maybe more) off my initial time.

This year, time will not matter. I will not be PR'ing and I might even finish worse than my first year!

And it's awesome.

Why?

Because I'll be doing this half with my husband. This will be his very FIRST half. I will run at his pace which is probably around what I was doing when I first started running. Marty run? Run a half marathon? This is a miracle - I am so grateful for. A good habit he just might've (well definitely) caught from me. ;)

I had the privilege, pleasure and bestowed kindness to run my first half alongside one of my best friends, Angela. I know her engine was revving to run the speedy pace she could. She walked when I had to, stopped for water when I needed a break and took pictures when I wanted to pose with mile markers. That first half was epic and it was made more special because my friend selflessly ran every step by my side.

This Sunday I will do the same for my hubby. Cheering him thru every mile, reminding him to hydrate and fuel up - I'll take pictures for prosperity and I'll keep him moving when he (maybe) hits the wall right around the 10 - 11 mile mark (at least that's where it happened for me!) And then I'll get to experience that once in a lifetime joy of crossing that finish line by his side.  His life changed forever. And mine too… I'll have the privilege and joy to be there for his first time. Every step of the way.  How awesome is that?

PR? Who needs a PR?

Have you ever paced anyone?
Did someone pace you for your first race or races?
If you are interested - read about my very first half here and last year's 1st anniversary run here.

XO
Jen

PS:  I LOVE you guys. thank you for the outpouring of love, support and cheerleading with the film. It really is gonna take this village to raise an awesome film and words can't describe how appreciative I am of you guys.

PSS: Still owe you a BL post… might not happen. Truthfully, after the walk-off and all, it was kind of an anti-climatic finale. I'm yawning over the thought of a post. Kim looked awesome. I will say that. Sick body. Wow.

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

Ten Freakin' miles! Yippee

OK, this is an exageration, but how the wind felt to me

Today I felt like one BAMF'er out there.

I'm recovering from some weird flu like thing (chills, aches, swollen glands) that ruined Turkey day and holed me up yesterday, but feeling 85% back, figured I'd give the long run a go.

With slightly less energy, wind howling in my face, chilly conditions, an annoyingly runny nose the whole time (and horrors - no tissues), I stared down my long run day of ten miles and took it on.  Pace was 11:56 and just under 2 hours but I felt super victorious. The last time I ran ten miles was for my half in September and I had hit an awful wall right before ten miles, so I had that mental thing to get past too.

And I did it. I did it strong. It was the very first time in my entire life that I'd ever run for that kind of distance without walking at all, that accomplishment makes me feel really happy.

Oh there's a lot of mental cheerleading and stuff going on in my head. Many mantra's. They got me thru.

So that's pretty awesome.

And in slightly more annoying news - I gained FIVE pounds at WW this week?  WTF!? Even without the long run on Friday I ran 12 miles and cross trained twice. I didn't eat Thanksgiving (no dessert, no alcohol) thanks to the flu... I'm baffled. I eat clean and lean and it just doesn't add up.  I always have a lot of points at the end of the week, I don't eat anywhere close to all the points I accumulate from all the exercise (HELLO, today I earned an extra 16 points for the long run - that's almost a whole day of food!)

I'm not upset, just confused. OK and a little annoyed because I was so happy about 81.8 pounds and I'm going backwards. And of-course there's always this guy in the meeting, "Well, I'm totally shocked but I lost 2 pounds this week and I ate everything not nailed down..." Good for you buddy.

GRRR.

I'm hoping being sick and drinking a lot of salty broth yesterday to soothe the throat is what's tripping up the scale this week, we'll see. I can only keep on eating right, training and doing the right thing. I have to think the good will catch up.

My saving grace is, I feel good in my skin, I feel strong, I feel accomplished, I have the knowledge that I'm doing a million good things for me...  so while I'm slightly annoyed I do not let the scale ruin my day anymore.

XO

Jen

PS: After reading this post, my friend Jackie sent me this article about weight gain and exercise - I'm doing a lot more lately, so perhaps this is it? Make more sense and at very least, is very comforting! Thanks Jackie!  Gain Weight with exercise

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!!