She's gone country - a weekend in Nashville

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"And if all you ever really do is the best you can,
Well, you did it man"

Those are lines from Montgomery Gentry's "Something to be Proud of" which they played at the post race concert, and I couldn't help getting chills (not just because the arena was freezing).  I think everyone who was there celebrating a finish to the half or full marathon had given their best, and we all had something to proud of. 

 

I'm a big country music fan, so I decided to head to Nashville for the Rock n Roll Country Music Marathon and Half Marathon.  I had considered this race back in January and then decided against it, but while I was waiting in line at the Disney Princess expo for my number, someone told me this was one of her favorites so I decided to register.  I was planning to meet Mom and Dad there, but Mom hadn't been feeling great lately so she made the smart choice and stayed home for the weekend. 

Pretending to sing at the Ryman (the original Grand Ole Opry)

Nashville was an awesome race.  The course was pretty hilly and challenging (I heard quite a few unhappy people after the race), but I have never run in a race with so much crowd support!  I was reading signs that were literally making me laugh while running, high fiveing little kids, seeing whole neighborhoods gather to cheer us on, getting offered oranges and water...it was awesome.  Apparently some people were even offering beer on the course but I missed that (and wouldn't have gone for it anyway), but still pretty hilarious.  The city and all its residents were just so welcoming, and they made the hills and miles fly by. 

The race got off to a shaky start.  We had some hotel drama the night before we were leaving, but got last minute reservations to the Gaylord Opryland hotel.  I'm not really sure you can call it a hotel.  It's over 2,000 rooms, with waterfalls, boats, fountains, fountain shows, restaurants, etc INSIDE the hotel.  It was just gorgeous! 

That is inside the hotel

Once we checked in, we headed to the Expo to get my packet.  It was really well run and pretty enjoyable (though my size small tshirt feels like a medium or large, but that's ok).  We went back to our hotel, had Olive Garden for dinner, got to bed early and got ready for Saturday.

The sponsor, Brooks, apparently had a sense of humor.  Love it.

Though our hotel was a little bit outside of downtown Nashville, they had a shuttle you could pay for that would take you straight to the race.  Except the day of, they said they were only selling tickets to runners (not spectators) and my dad couldn't join.  Luckily I was not the only one upset and they decided to allow ticket sales for everyone.  Crisis averted.

Dad and I got over to Centennial Park where the race was starting, and the porta-potty lines were insane.  It took over 30 minutes, which I think made people practically miss the race.  But we had a nice chat with the people around us and actually found out the woman behind was from Virginia Beach.  What a small world!  So the time flew by and we headed over to my corral.

 That may just look like a crowd, but that's a small portion of the porta-potty line.  It was crazy!

I seem to have a way of ending up in Corral 4 every time!  There were about 35 corrals, so I was happy to be decently close to the front and avoid terrible crowds.  The corrals were still packed, but I think the start of the course was wider than the corrals so I never felt like I couldn't run at my own pace.  But let me say, people around me were fast!  I went out pretty conservatively since I'd only done one brief 3 mile run since Dismal Swamp Stomp and the foot adventures.  Once I started running though, I was feeling good!  My foot wasn't perfect, and around mile 3 I started to get some painful twinges that had me nervous.  But they seemed to fade away and it really only hurt when I was pivoting around corners.  

 It's like a game of "Where's Waldo", except with me instead of Waldo.  Hint: I'm behind the guy in the striped shirt.

It was a gorgeous day but a little bit hot, and around mile 7 or so I started to get worried that I was going to hit my infamous "wall" that had appeared in the last two races.  On race day, you should never do anything you haven't done in training - never wear a new outfit, never use anything new, and never eat anything you haven't eaten in training.  Well, I had never tried a sports drink during a run.  I calculated the risks - having an upset stomach from the sports drink, or getting too exhausted from the heat, and decided to give the Cytomax (like Gatorade) a try at the water spot.  Guess what?  I did fine!  I had barely any since I still haven't mastered the running-while-drinking-out-of-a-small-paper-cup routine, but it must have been enough because I was rockin' now.  And I decided to try some GU gel and had no problems again.  It was a risk, but so worth it.  And though I felt like the race never stopped being hilly, they were rolling hills, and I seemed to handle them well.  The constant crowds and cheering got my spirits high and kept my feet going.

This race included about 30,000 of my closest friends

I cruised to the finish feeling great.  Certainly not my best time (1:49:41), but given the difficulty of the course and my foot problems going in, I couldn't be happier.  I saw my dad almost immediately at the finish, and he stayed parallel to me (outside of the runner gated area) as I got my medal, got ice on my foot, and got the plentiful amounts of food and water and Cytomax at the finish.  

 

Then we went over and they had ice baths for your feet.  Can I just say that this is the greatest idea ever?  Made my feet feel so good!  And we saw Matt, who I hadn't seen until that point in the race. 

The most wonderful ice bath ever, and my traditional call to Mom to tell her that we're one step closer to kicking psoriatic arthritis' butt.

Then we went over to the celebration area and enjoyed our complimentary finisher's beers and music for awhile.  Overall, just a really fun finish to a race.

And the medal?  Fantastic!

We spent the rest of Saturday to Monday enjoying Nashville.  Saw Montgomery Gentry (free concert for finishers), saw lots of great live musicians, walked around the Vanderbilt campus, saw the parks, enjoyed the view by the waterfront, relaxed, and talked.

I wish Mom had been feeling well enough to come to Nashville, but I enjoyed spending some time with Dad.  If you haven't picked up on it by now, both of my parents are just amazing people and I'm so lucky to have them in my life.  

 When you're in Nashville, you have to take stupid tourist pictures like this, right?!

As for the foot?  Well, it's not 100%, but I'd say 95%.  The night before the race, Doctor Dad checked it out and still got me to practically kick him from the pain.  Yet somehow after the race, it was much less painful.  I guess I'm just meant to run!

So far, the races I have expected to be the toughest have been the best and vice versa.  Go figure.  Yay for race #5!

 Don't you think Adam would have looked great if I'd bought this for him? 

Pre-race Update

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I gotta say, I'm mad at my foot.  I coddled it.  I tried really ugly shoe things and braces and taping it in ways that made it hard to walk.  I didn't run for awhile.  Yet still, the foot isn't quite where I was hoping by now.  It's not bad at all, but I'm still limping a bit.  I did a very short run for the first time yesterday, and it seemed to be okay for awhile before I started to get some really sharp pain, so I stopped.  Doctor Dad checked it out when I went home last weekend, and thinks I pulled a ligament in my foot (which he found when I practically kicked him because it hurt!).  The great news is it should recover fine and it's not at all serious.  But in the short term, I gotta go easy on it.

So here's the plan.  I'll still be heading to Nashville on Friday no matter what for Rock N Roll Country Music (Half) Marathon.  I've got a great trip planned - why would I want to miss that?  I'm planning to complete the half marathon - maybe jogging, maybe walking, who knows.  I checked it out, and the course time limit is four hours, so unless it REALLY starts hurting I should be able to at least limp my way to the finish.  And if somehow I can't finish, so be it.  There's plenty more months to complete my twelve races. I will be there excited that the Challenge has encouraged me to see a city I've always wanted to visit.  And if we're lucky, we'll get to share the story of what we're doing and spread some hope to a few people who just might need it.

I've also realized maybe I should take some of my races easier.  I have twelve races, right?  So maybe some are jogs, while some are still races.  My body needs time to heal and recover.  The whole point of this is to be doing good things for my mom, not hurt myself.  It will not be easy to not give it anything less than 100%, but I will learn.  It's just another (awesome!) challenge.

Stomping through the Dismal Swamp

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 It was a gutsy move.  But as they say, no guts no glory - and for me, no regrets.  After my finish time at National, I was so curious to see if I could repeat it.  So as I found a place to start at the Dismal Swamp Stomp, I noticed a guy holding a 1:45:00 pace group sign.  This essentially means he would plan to run the race at exactly 8 min/miles and help guide runners to a 1:45 finish.  This was a pretty optimistic goal, but I decided to start with that group and see what happened.

Me near the start (I'm in the pink shorts)
 

I was doing great in the beginning!  I even got a little bit ahead of them for awhile.  I'm not quite sure how that happened, but by the time I noticed I had lost them I was already far enough ahead to just stay where I was.  But then I just hit a wall, something that I think most runners will say has happened to them at least once in a race.  I'm not sure exactly what caused it, but it was getting a bit windy, it was warmer than any other race I've run so far (which isn't saying a lot), and very humid.  Those horrible storms with tornadoes were starting to roll in, and even though we beat them, it was still a little bit intimidating for fear the rain would start.

 

That's the clock time.  My official time was 1:48:31, which is very exciting! 

By the time I made it to the finish, I was pretty rough - to the extent that I attracted the attention of the medical team and struggled to stand.  Ouch.  I told them I was fine and eventually got a little laugh out of them when I was asked how I felt and responded with "like I just ran a half marathon."  And my parents were there to greet me at the end!  I had these tshirts made and the three of us all wore them (though i raced in an Under Armour wicking shirt).  It's so cool to get to see my mom enjoying the challenge and seeing how much we care about her. 

Some of you are probably saying that this challenge isn't about time, and you're right.  Because for you, it's not.  I'd hope the people reading this blog will be just as excited to help cure psoriatic arthritis if I run a 6 minute mile or a 12 minute mile.  But for me, it's a way to prove that I'm trying and all these efforts are worth it.  As the April to June race schedule gets crazy, I'll probably decide to take them easier.  But this was very fun to push myself.  Don't you all know by now that I like a good challenge?

The only slightly bad news: about an hour after the race, I went to put weight on my right foot and felt horrible pain.  After hobbling around for a few days, I decided to be safe and went to an urgent care center to get an X-ray.  The good news is my foot looks perfectly fine and I should be good to run Nashville on April 30.  They did give me this lovely shoe to help keep my foot flat and let it recover.  I'm taking some time off from running right now, but I usually do that anyway after a race so it's not a big deal.  Then I'll be back better than ever!

I hadn't been home since December, so it was great to spend a weekend in Virginia Beach.  My parents and I had so much fun, and I ate all my favorite foods, which I'm ashamed to admit includes Bojangles.  Really though, how can you not love it?  I love DC, but I'll always have a huge love for my hometown and cherish the weekends I get to visit.

There will be more posts to follow specifically about this, but wow.  My friends are great.  We have raised almost a thousand dollars already, which will match to two thousand dollars!  Please keep spreading the word and following us on Twitter and Facebook.  My next race is April 30 in Nashville, so if you happen to be running it or have advice let me know.

Announcing the 11,12,13 Challenge: National Psoriasis Foundation!

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This might be the best blog post yet, so get ready!  National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) is officially our charity!  The irony of posting this is that..nobody is reading it.  Even though I've been posting about my races, this blog hasn't been release publicly yet (except for a few people very involved in the Challenge, and as a way to tell the charity what we're doing here and get them on board!).  So yes, I've been writing to myself.  It was just that we didn't have the charity set up, and I didn't want people seeing the blog until everything was ready to go.

But now we're ready!  NPF is a wonderful charity and couldn't be more supportive our goals.  They have agreed to spread the word through their various social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook, write about us in their newsletter, and help us find the best ways to be involved in the community - among many other opportunities.  I have been working closely with Linda and Jeremy, and let me tell you, they are two great people!  I'm sure you'll be reading more about them in the future, but for now let me just welcome them to the 11, 12, 13 Challenge team and say how excited I am to work with them. 

Some of the opportunities I will be involved in include joining them for the DC Walk to Cure Psoriasis in September 2011.  This involves a 1K (.62 miles) and 5K (3.1 miles) walk, so this is a great way to get involved even if you aren't a runner.

I will also be joining them in their "Climb the Hill for a Cure" day where I will spend two days working with other volunteers for NPF and learning the best ways to help support psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.  On the third day, we will go to meet with members of Congress to tell our stories and advocate for psoriasis. 
Pretty awesome, right?  I had no idea when I started this challenge the places it would take me, and now I only wish there was more time in the day so that I could do all of this (while still keeping my job, of course). 

And with my enthusiasm, there's also nerves.  Not because I'm running 12 half marathons - right now, that seems like the easy part.  For me, I have such a huge opportunity to make a difference, but that also puts a lot of pressure on me.  You all know by now that my dad will match the first $13,100 worth of donations - but just how does one go about getting those $13,100 of donations, while running 12 half marathons, and working, and trying to have a life? 

The answer - I need your support!  So I'd appreciate it if everyone could help spread the word so that we can take a big punch at psoriatic arthritis.  It can be as simple as sharing the blog link on your Facebook page or emailing it to friends.  Or maybe you own a business, or have a friend or parent that does and would want to be one of our sponsors (which of course means good exposure for them too!)  Or for the more ambitious people, running a race and joining the team.  We are always looking for others to join our adventure and take on whatever may be their challenge.  Maybe it's walking your first 5k or maybe it's running a marathon, so find your own challenge and join me!

National Half Marathon

National half marathon is a tale of two stories.  Story #1 is my time.  After my first Disney world race, I though I would never hit that time again and it would be my eternal half marathon PR (personal record for the non-runners out there).  Then in the princess half, I beat that time by just over two minutes.  I was shocked and thrilled (especially after being sick).  But certainly that would be my PR!  Then national half marathon came around.  I beat my Disney Princess time by about 3 1/2 minutes, finishing in 1:45:31.  I am still in total disbelief about this and SO happy.

It was cold!! And all clothes left on the course get donated to homeless shelters, so it's nice to stay warm at the start (and look ridiculous).

But now for Story #2.  I was placed in corral 4 (or pink, or D, or something like that) which I found out was 8:10 to 8:40 min/mile expected time.  Perfect for me.  The race was crowded at the beginning, but compared to trying to get out to a good start in Disney World, it was a piece of cake.  So I did what I was used to and started passing as many people as I could.  Only this time, the people in my corral were actually running the time they were signed up for.  So I quickly found myself running much faster than expected - except I had no idea.  How is that possible, you ask?

-The people that set up the race decided not to post any sort of mile marker until mile 10.  You could guess when you were around mile 5 because the relay teams switched off (half marathon relays are made up of three legs of 5 miles, 5 miles, and 3.1 miles), but by that point I had already gone way too fast.  I haven't run a lot of races to know what is normal, but from the number of people complaining, I'm pretty sure that most races post signs at each mile, so this led to a lot of people running too fast or too slow. 
-But I have a Garmin watch, so I should have seen my pace, right?  Well, my Garmin watch couldn't correctly connect to satellites in time for the start of the race, so I never knew for sure if it was working correctly and just assumed it was wrong when it showed my pace.  Though it turns out, it was mostly correct.  It's a great piece of technology and I highly recommend it to someone racing a lot, but it's almost so cool that I'm still learning to trust it.  And somehow, being surrounded by all these fast people, my body didn't realize it was going so fast.

You can probably see where this is going.  First half of the race I was booking it!  Second half, not so much.  For the first time, I walked during a race.  Mainly just 10-15 seconds when I was really struggling, but that tells you how I was feeling during the second half.  It was by far my least impressive performance in that sense, but no need to dwell on that because it still turned out well.  And even if it hadn't, bad races are bound to happen when you run 12 in a year.

Once again though, something great happened.  At one point as I was walking on the right side of the course so I didn't interfere with the people running by, some kind woman gave me a little pat on the back as she passed and said something to the tune of "you can do it, come on and go!"  And I did.  Not that it was the last time I took a quick walk break, but I got my head back in the game thanks to the kindness of some stranger.  As for the woman, I only wish she had an idea how much her quick comment helped me out, and now I'll try to do the same for others in a later race who look like they need a little encouragement.  Runners may be an intense bunch, but it's like you're part of some club and everyone is instantly friends, and I have found that most of them are some of the nicest people you will meet. 

I felt the need to explain all that though, because the point is that you can have a great time without necessarily running your smartest or "best" race.  I still managed to finish in 1:45:31, putting me right around 8:03 minutes/mile.  That's a half marathon time I NEVER dreamed I could complete, and I'm very excited.  The 11, 12, 13 Challenge is not about time, but of course I still want to celebrate the victories when the training pays off. 

This picture does not include me, because they couldn't find me.  But you can see why we might have missed each other!

The only slightly sad part: Adam and Kristen (my sister) and my friend Amanda (who ran Princess with me) had come out to cheer me on.  I was expecting to see them somewhere around mile 5 - they try to decide ahead of time where they will be so I know to keep an eye out, because it's easy to get in the zone during a race.  Kristen was going to wear a bright pink sweatshirt so they were easy to recognize.  But somehow, I never saw them!  Maybe because I went out quickly they hadn't gotten over there yet, or maybe we somehow just all missed, but it was disappointing.

Anyway, I couldn't be more happy that they all came out to cheer and I still got the boost just from knowing they were out there in ~30-35 degree weather to cheer me on.  My friends and family are the core of this challenge and what keeps me going.  Kristen and Adam were up at 4 AM to get ready for the race and take me over, and Amanda woke up to come cheer us on around 7:30 AM on a Saturday.  That's just amazing.

And speaking of great friends, Matt ran this race too!  What's even crazier is that he ran the NYC half marathon last weekend, so this was his second race in less than a week!  That is real toughness right there.  Afterward, we relaxed for the afternoon and went out to a nice celebratory dinner and drinks.

 

 And the woman who told me to keep going?  It gave me hope and inspiration, which is what I want to do for others who are struggling with a long-term disability, or have a family member who is.  The 11, 12, 13 Challenge is now a quarter of the way complete for me - and I'm only feeling more and more enthusiastic about it.

Everybody needs a Vacation

Last week, I went to Atlantis in the Bahamas.  If you’ve ever been, you know it’s a wonderful place – it’s not only a beautiful hotel, but it includes gorgeous land, water parks, tons of pools, and more delicious food than you can imagine.  We had an amazing 5 day vacation and never left Atlantis once (except during a run). 

My family has been going there for years.  Since my mom could never ski or do adventurous trips because of her back and joint issues, vacations were generally in warm weather places and involved lots of laying by the pool.  Believe me, I’m not complaining.  And with her more recent psoriatic arthritis diagnosis, they’ve been even more key.  For her, the psoriasis part is very minor and is mainly concentrated on her scalp.  But she also gets sores on her arms and legs that benefit from being in the sun, and some doctors even recommend certain UV treatments for patients.  Plus, everyone just feels better when they get some time in the sun.

I felt a little bit guilty about booking a vacation the week before a race when I knew it would involved lots of eating…

 And hanging out by the pool and beach...

 And, let’s be honest, a few drinks in there too. 

Oh, and did I mention lots of food?

Then I realized that to complete this challenge I have to run a race a month.  That means that I can’t do everything perfectly leading up to a race.  So I relaxed and we all had some fun, and I spent some time that I'll remember forever with the most important people in my life.

But I wanted to let all of you know that I did go running…twice!  Adam, Kristen, my dad and I went out one day, and then Kristen and Adam joined me for another run later on in the trip.  Neither were very long runs, but I always taper before a race anyway so that was fine.  It was great to have company and people to keep me on track before my race.

As you can see, it's no secret that I live a very blessed life.  My parents worked very hard to make sure they could provide my sister and I with everything we needed to lead successful, happy lives.  For that, I couldn't be more grateful.  But I have no doubt that any member of my family would give it all up in a heartbeat to see my mom feel better and to be herself once again.  And that is why we are doing this challenge.  My dad has volunteered to donate $13,100 to psoriatic arthritis research in hopes of finding better treatments and helping those who suffer from the disease (if we can get the donation match, so let's get going!).  I put a ton of my time and energy outside of work to this challenge, and my sister is doing the same.  And Adam and Matt have put in more effort that I could have ever dreamed of, as well as tons of family and friends who have supported me and run races and kept me motivated. 

Princess for a day!

What could be better than getting the chance to be a princess for the day?  Race #2 was again in Disney World - there aren't a lot of races offered nearby in January or February so traveling was in order.  Not that going to Florida in February when DC is freezing is punishment.

Before I talk about the weekend, I should update you a bit.  After my half marathon in January, I started to get some really bad pains in my left calf that kept getting worse.  I was having some really challenging runs but continued to train despite some recommendations that I should take some time off.  If you know me, you're probably not terribly surprised by this. 

On top of that, in early February, I did a typical run of about 8-9 miles on Sunday and was fine.  But when I woke up on Monday, I was feeling pretty bad.  By Monday afternoon I decided to leave work a little bit early because I was getting worse.  I ended up missing the rest of the week from work (well, I tried to go back on Thursday but was immediately told to go home) and just felt terrible.  I went to the doctor and they said I had an ear infection and possibly something else on top of that.  I spent the week essentially coughing like crazy, feverish, and unable to get off the couch for more than 20 minutes.  I had planned to run a 14k that Saturday (for Valentine's Day), but it was clear that wasn't happening so I just changed my focus to the half at the end of the month. 

So a week and a half sick, then a week and a half where I got in three terrible runs, and then it was time for the half marathon.  We had a great weekend planned for Disney with Jeff and Amanda, so it wouldn't be a big deal if I walked and jogged - I just wanted to finish.

OK, now back to the weekend.  This Disney trip was a little bit different because the race was on Sunday instead of Saturday.  I took a half day from work on Friday, then sat at Reagan for an hour or two while they tried to get planes off the ground despite gusts of 60 mph.  We ended up getting to Florida a little late but all in all it could have been a lot worse.  We had a quick dinner since we got in late and rested up to enjoy Saturday. 

Saturday started by going to the Expo to pick up our race numbers and tshirts.  I had done this for the previous race, but this time there was a long wait.  Though it was annoying to wait so long for your number, I got to talk to two other women in line who had some great running advice and shared some race experience, so I actually ended up enjoying it and might adjust my race schedule for some of the races they suggested.  After that, we explored Downtown Disney, had a nice pasta dinner at the restaurant at Old Key West, and got to bed early.

Race day rolled around and we were in surprisingly good spirits for waking up at 2:40.  Amanda and I headed to the starting line and left our princes to cheer us on.

Remember how I expected this to be a terrible race?  I'll never quite understand it, but I felt great.  Sure, there were the ups and downs like any race.  But I felt SO much better than the race before.  Maybe taking the time off was actually just what I needed after months of training.  It's now been a little while since the race, and though my pain is back, it seems a LOT better and I'm hoping to fight it off this time around.  Who would have guessed that being sick might be a blessing in disguise?

And in a way, that's exactly why I'm running this challenge.  I'm learning to see the good in every bad thing that happens, because there's always a reason.  I'm not there yet, but I'm trying - and I've never felt better. 

So Amanda and I finished and it was time to celebrate and enjoy.  Amanda and Jeff are Adam's friends from college, so I've known them for a few years now.  I've always known they are fun to hang out with, but this weekend I learned that they also make great travel buddies!

We had such a great time just laying out by the pool, talking, exploring Hollywood Studios, eating Mickey Mouse waffles and ice cream, and overall just enjoying the weekend.  And Amanda is a great runner, so I'll see if I can't convince her to run more with me in the future. 

Another wonderful weekend, a great race, and one step closer to completing the 11,12,13 Challenge.  This challenge continues to be a huge positive influence in my life.  As I said before, I did this for my mom at the start, but I'm learning a lot about myself in this journey.  And I couldn't do it without such great support from my friends and family.