Backing up a little…I was so excited for this race. I couldn’t wait to run 26.2 miles as a stronger  and more mature runner than I was almost three years ago. The long training runs and singular focus on running circled through my mind as I drove down to Miami on Saturday. I visualized myself crossing the finish line and enjoying hard work and dedication pay off.

The expo was full of vendors and well organized. No issues (or lines) picking up my packet, bib, and t-shirt. I ended up buying The Stick, which has been on my wish list for years. For anybody that doesn’t know, The Stick helps you massage your muscles by rolling this semi-flexible rod with independent inch segments. You can roll over lightly or knead deeper and actually feel out trigger points. I enjoy getting massages but don’t have easy access ($$) on a regular basis so this seemed like a good solution.

After the expo, I headed to a friend’s house to catch up, get dinner, and get a good night’s rest. Thankfully I slept really well and race morning had finally arrived and I was out the door by 4:45 AM. An hour later, there I was in my corral surrounded by other runners who were dancing and talking among each other trying to ward off pre-race jitters. Unfortunately, the pace group I’d been hoping to run with was no where in site (usually you can spot a stick with the goal time as a flag).

The predicted race start in the high 50’s was more like high 60’s creeping into the 70’s. I was already wiping off sweat due to the humidity before even running. Welcome to Miami…in January. Fireworks went off to signal the race start and 10-15 minutes later my corral was moving forward.

My goal pace was right around 8:35 min/mile but I was wanted to hold slightly under 8:30’s for the first few miles to help with extra time added from hills (aka: bridges) and slowing for water stops. The first 6 miles felt easy…right on track. This was going to be fun. Then, for some reason, my body started to struggle to hold 8:35 min/miles. Considering, I’d just run a 1:40 half marathon 2 weeks earlier, this was unexpected.

I held on for a few more miles and then the pace started to slow down and I couldn’t figure out what was going on. My stomach started to feel nauseous and my mind started to feel dizzy. My quadriceps and hamstring muscles felt tired. My piriformis in both gluteal regions started flare up. Apparently, I irritate this muscle by pronating while running and I irritate it further when stressed or by sitting/sleeping on really soft surfaces. Basically, I clench my butt when I’m stressed. No fun.  Especially because the piriformis muscle sits right on your sciatic nerve and when inflamed it can irritate that nerve causing a shooting pain down your leg.

At the half marathon point the runners separated. Half marathoners (basically everybody on the course) to the left and marathoners to the right. I contemplated for the previous 3 miles just calling it a day and veering to the left. I was miserable. Somehow my pace hadn’t dropped off too much by that point because my half time was around 1:53, close to my goal.

From there, it just got worse. My pace slowed significantly and mentally I just wanted to quit. I knew at this point I wasn’t touching 3:45 and if things continued to go this way I wasn’t going to break 4 hours. My plan went from a 20 minute PR to just finish. I decided it would be more disappointing to DNF (Did Not Finish) since I could technically keep running.

The marathon community was great. Whenever anybody would walk (like myself at a few points), somebody would cheer, clap, and smile at them to keep going. Within two seconds that person would usually pick it back up to a run.

Thankfully, the course was set up with an aid station at every half mile point which means every half mile you had something to look forward to (aid station or mile marker). Half mile by half mile, I pushed onward and eventually crossed the finish line somewhere under 4:20.  I’d be lying by saying I wasn’t disappointed in my time and race but it was a huge psychological accomplishment to finish despite my body falling apart. The next few hours my body continued to feel nauseous but eventually I felt human again.

There are no excuses just lessons and a promise to myself to try again. Philadelphia marathon…here I come. For now, triathlon season is calling my name.

Lessons Learned

1. Training in Florida does not prepare you for the humidity in Miami. The ING Miami Marathon is a great race but I don’t suggest it for a PR marathon.

2. Training partners are motivating but put in a few long runs alone because you might be running by yourself on race day.

3. Stick to the training plan. By far, I’ve never put so much work into running so I should have at least ran a best time but there were still a few long runs that got cut short because “life got in the way”.

4. I need to cross train. I was running 5-6 days a week and next time it will be more like 4-5 days of actual running with more cycling and swimming. I thought it would help to focus on running but there were too many workouts on tired legs.

5. Accept every race isn’t going to be a great race. I spent 20 miles beating myself up for struggling through this marathon. I just couldn’t get into the mindset of “let’s just do this for fun” once I realized my body wasn’t cooperating.

6. Be proud of just finishing. After the race, a guy who’d ran the half came up to me with congratulations for finishing the full. He said he saw a lot of people walking around with the orange bibs (signifying full marathoner) with the blue medal (signifying finishing the half marathon). Thank you random guy for making me feel better.

Thanks to everybody for the support and good wishes! I slept 12 hours last night and feel so much better. Off to study more for the nursing boards. My future boss sent me really nice welcome card in the mail last week. Such a pleasant and sweet surprise. I can’t believe I start work next week! Yikes!

How do you like that heel strike and the pained look on my face?

In the pool, my body automatically makes the necessary adjustments over the course of 100 yards to add or drop mere seconds. When I was swimming competitively, my internal clock would hit 100 yard after 100 yard within tenths of a second of the same time for a mile. On the road, I’ll think I’m going an 8:00 min/mile and really be going anywhere from a 7:00 min/mile to a 9:00 min/mile. Sometimes I’ll try and pick up the pace by 15-20 seconds and I’ll end up dropping a minute or even slowing down. It’s like my body doesn’t know how to respond to what my mind demands of it while running or cycling, at least not the way it does in the pool. Basically, I’m a fish out of water.

Hopefully, I won’t focus too much on the fact I’m not a “runner” on Sunday in Miami! I got my bib number, 3130, for anybody that wants to check in on the race. Tracking ING Miami Marathon. I drive down tomorrow for packet pick-up and I’m getting more and more nervous. Thank goodness there will be a slight temperature drop; it should be in the 50’s race morning and will only rise to the 70’s by noon. Humidity will be a factor but I’m already used to that.

On the job front, I start work in an intensive care unit (ICU) in a little over a week! Very excited about the opportunity to work in critical care. Until then I’m studying a lot for the NCLEX (nursing boards). Looking forward to a paycheck to support my racing habit, rather than savings and student loans. It’s a nights position, so I’ll be working three 12 hour shifts a week (7pm – 7am) and to be honest, I’m genuinely worried about being tired all the time, gaining weight, and training. Despite the opportunity to work days, nights seemed like the better learning experience and the pay differential will really help with student loans and maybe even a new bike.

When do you feel most in your element?  Are you new to all the triathlon sports and still waiting to feel natural?

One topic that kept coming up last night was what to wear. The major dilemma with racing when the temperature drops here is how to dress, especially for a race. Florida doesn’t get cold often and even then the weather usually warms up within an hour or two. Tights or no tights? Arm warmers or a long-sleeved shirt? Layers or no layers? Don’t laugh but the all of this worry because it was a solid 45° at the start this morning. Personally, additional clothing is pretty restrictive so I warmed up with tights and a jacket but ditched them after warm up and then tossed my $1.50 gloves and beanie in a few miles into the race.

The race plan today was to get a good “tempo” run in before my upcoming marathon and help pace my friend to a sub 1:45 PR. Our goal was to not get caught up with the front pack (my legs don’t know the difference between a 7:00 min/mile and a 9:00 min/mile so this is always a possibility) and hold back right under a 7:50 min/mile pace for the first 2 miles and settle into 7:40’s.

The starter sounded and we were off running. This was my first race with a Garmin so I was excited to see how that would help me with pacing and thank goodness because my legs felt like we were going slow at a 7:30 min/mile. My friend and I already acknowledged there would be no talking besides to “slow down” or “speed up” throughout the race so when I got the signal from her that she liked the pace we just kept going.

The weather was truly perfect for running, not too cold, hot, or humid. The course was really flat, scenic and well-marked with cones, volunteers, mile markers and split clocks. The miles ticked by as we stayed right around 7:35 min/mile. Around mile 4, a girl in pink asked if she could join because she liked our pace and we just silently stayed together as we weaved through other runners and kept a steady pace. For nutrition

At mile 8, we had a lot of “wiggle” room as I like to call it in case our legs started to tire but we stayed strong with only two or three miles above 7:40’s. Every 3 miles, my friend and I would give each other a high five but other than that there was minimal communication. I can’t say I’d race every race with a friend but there is just something about matching somebody stride for stride. If she fell back a foot or two, I stayed on pace until she caught back up and vice versa.

The energy on the course was great. At 1,900 entries, there was enough space to spread out but you always had people nearby. There were some pretty nice cash prices that brought out a significant amount of elite runners and I’m always blown away to see how effortless they look at such a fast pace.

It wasn’t until mile 12, where I started to struggle mentally because I haven’t done hardly any speed work since November. To be perfectly honest, I was worried about hitting under 1:45 for the half. My weekly tempo run got cancelled until Daylight Savings changes back and speed work just isn’t fun to me without somebody else (excuses, excuses). Regardless, we pulled out a 7:30 min/mile for the last mile and I crossed right at 1:40:20 which is only a minute and half off my best time, so I was pretty happy.  My friend had a fabulous finish with a surge of speed the last half mile putting her at a 5 minute PR with a 1:40:04 (so proud!). Our other friend had a great half marathon dropping almost 18 minutes from her first half a year ago.

We enjoyed the post race food of course and enjoyed the beach for a little while but decided the weather would be better after a shower and a change of clothes. After some really good pizza and soup at an Italian Bistro we walked along the downtown area in Naples enjoying the beautiful day and cute little shops. With about 10 different ice cream parlors in a one mile stretch it was hard to resist. I’m a sucker for gelato and couldn’t make up my mind with all the interesting flavors so I settled on the odd combination of Strawberry with Black Pepper and Dulce de Leche with Sea Salt. It hit the spot before the 3 hour drive back to Tampa.

All-in-all, I’m really thankful for my friend convincing me to spontaneously sign up for the race this weekend. It was a confidence booster and simply a fun time. This was such a good experience and a very well run race that I just might have to do it again next year. The price is right too ($35 before Dec 1st and $50 before Jan 8th).

So what’s the next thing my friend is trying to peer pressure me into? The Gasparilla Challenge in March. It starts off on Saturday with a 15K followed an hour later by a 5K and then on Sunday the half marathon followed by the 5K + 3K. Somehow, I feel my resolve weakening already…

Now that I’m winding down marathon training, it seemed like a good idea to join a friend for some laps at 6:00 AM Monday morning. When triathlon season rolls around in March/April, I’ll be back in the swing of swimming regularly, or so I plan. After a short warm-up, I jumped right in to a set of 100’s and my arms felt good until about a 1,000 yards. Oh right, you haven’t swam for 3 months, your arm muscles are going to ache a little.

I called it quits after 2,000 yards and felt pretty happy that I was easily able to hold 1:22’s on a 1:30 interval for a set of 10 x 100’s. See my Swim Workout 101 if this is gibberish. 

The next day, I joined a few friends for another swim workout. This time there was somebody about my swimming speed and my true “swimming shape” was immediately put into perspective when I found myself needing to speed up in warm up just to stay with him. We got really creative and did another set of 10 x 100’s @ 1:30 after warming up. First 100 yards in 1:10. So, don’t want to hold this pace for the next 9 x 100’s because I’m sucking wind already. I said this to my friend and he replies back, “No slowing down! We aren’t going to positive split this set.” Ok, slave driver. The next couple of 100’s I held between 1:12’s and 1:13’s and my body resisted with burning arms and a deteriorating stroke. At this point, I wasn’t happy because I’m the type that likes to ease into training but pride wouldn’t let me slow down. I finished out the last few 100’s with 1:14’s and was breathing pretty heavily after we were done with the set. Thanks for the invite, so glad I joined you to have my butt kicked.

It’s laughable that this set was difficult when I look back on what I used to be capable of when I was training 6 days a week with doubles and a team full of people to push me past my limits every practice. This is when you need perspective though. It’s a good thing I experienced the consequences of taking 3 months out of the pool last night and an even better thing I swam with somebody who pushed me. If I focus on how “out of swim shape”, then I’ll just get down on myself. Yesterday was a starting point for this upcoming season and the next time I’ll push to stay under 1:14’s the whole set or focus on not letting my stroke fall apart. Each practice will be an improvement and that, I feel, is the proper perspective.

I’ve been trying to figure out ways to get myself motivated in the water. Here’s what I’ve come up with:

1. Train with somebody and preferably with similar speed to push me

2. Swim with a local Masters swim team and maybe even swim other strokes besides freestyle

3. Pick a Masters swim meet to race in over the summer. I need several months to get to the point where I won’t be embarrassed to step up on a racing block again

4. Sign up for the 12.5 mile Swim Around Key West in June before February 1st. I have a few people interested in swimming the whole thing or being part a relay. There is no way I’d slack in training for this event. Should be “fun” if you are interested!

How do you find motivation to swim, especially since the swim ratio is rather small in triathlons? What about former swimmers, what is it like getting in the water post-competitive swimming days?

The woman training for Boston had similar pace goals in mind as me, so we stuck together and chatted about different things while getting to know each other. It’s amazing how time flies over 2 hours when you have somebody next to you.

I took a gel every 6 miles and will probably do that for my race since my stomach starts to act up with more than 4 gels and I didn’t fade throughout the run. My nutrition of choice for the past few years has been Hammer (I love Raspberry and Montana Huckleberry). I’m not sponsored by Hammer, I just agree with their research, product quality, and business practices and to me, it’s one of the few gels that isn’t too sugary.

As we settled into a pace, we inquired about personal bests and how we got into triathlons or running. Her marathon was faster than mine and my half marathon was faster than hers. When she found out my half marathon time, she immediately tries to nicely convince me to pace her to a PR at the Naples Daily News Half Marathon next Sunday. The race wasn’t on my radar but slowly she kept persuading me how it would be fun race and a great “tempo run” two weeks out from my upcoming marathon.

Guess who signed up for a half marathon at 11:30 last night? Yup…I caved to peer pressure. We are going to shoot for a 1:42:00 which is about 7:47 min/mile pace on a flat course. Should be fun!

The 15 miles with my running friend went really well and we went over a two different causeways several times and averaged 8:40 min/mile with the hills. She got coffee with the other woman while I finished up my last 4 miles and I was encouraged that my pace stayed between 8:30-8:40 min/mile without somebody beside me. My legs felt a little sore after the run but overall there were no major aches and pains.

This morning I ran an easy 4 miles with no difficulty and feel more encouraged for my upcoming race. The revised plan is to stay with the 3:45 pace group (8:35 min/mile). The pace doesn’t worry me for the first 20 miles. The last 6 miles, however, have been difficult for me in the past and there’s no way to tell, in my mind, if my legs and fitness are strong enough to not hit that wall again.

Have you given into peer pressure recently with racing or training? How do you know you’re marathon ready?

On a side note, I really enjoyed reading the comments from my World of Opportunities post about graduating nursing school. It was really encouraging hearing other people’s career search stories and it sounds like some people are still searching. Thank you for the responses.

When I coached swimming, I tried to teach fundamental concepts about goal setting based off what I was taught as a competitive swimmer and what I learned through experience. It’s been a few years since I reexamined what goals meant to me. At one point, goals were my obsession. I broke down every split 25 yard of a 400 yard race and could recite the different paces I held every workout throughout a season. As mentioned before, triathlons gave a new chance to have a healthy outlook on goals but over the past few years I developed an aversion to setting goals I truly cared about. It can crush your spirit to give “blood, sweat, and tears” towards something and fall short.

I can vividly remember one season  training my heart out for a Junior National Qualifying time in the 400 IM (100 yards butterfly, 100 yards backstroke, 100 yards breaststroke, 100 yards freestyle). I needed to drop 4 seconds in order to make the qualifying time, which was a stretch but a reasonable goal given the right training. As luck would have it, I became really sick as the last qualifying swim meet approached. Obviously, there was no way I would drop out of the competition. Regardless of a sore throat and general malaise, I dropped 2 seconds. Under normal circumstances, 2 seconds is a big drop in the pool but it was still 2 seconds short of my goal. To add insult to injury, one of my teammates swam the same event and qualified for Junior Nationals only minutes later. I should have been happy for her but I was only jealous and my heart was crushed…I hadn’t swam fast enough. All that work and I didn’t qualify. That night my fever ran to 104 F but that was no excuse in my 16 year old mind for not achieving something I’d worked months for in the pool and visualized millions of times. What was all that work and dedication for anyways?!

When I considered signing up for the ING Miami marathon a few months ago, a Boston Qualifying time, a 3:35 for my age group, was on the forefront of my mind. Unlike age group swimming, running and triathlons don’t have as many time based goals so Boston has its appeal because not just anybody can qualify. This is a significant drop from the 4:05 marathon I ran in 2009 but I knew following an actual training plan there was a chance.

Well, life happens sometimes and following a training plan has never been my strong point. I’ve hit more long runs than I did back in 2009 but the race is only 3 weeks away and 26.2 miles isn’t something you just wing (unless you are crazy and I know quite a few crazy people). So am I disappointed that my goal of qualifying probably won’t happen at the end of this month? Yes. Am I crushed in the same way I was at 16? Not at all. The race hasn’t happened yet but I have adjusted my goal towards a more realistic 3:50 (still a 15 minute drop) and will set my sights on another marathon in the near future.

This time around I learned a lot about myself as a runner and really have to take into consideration what has been happening in my life over the past few months. At 16 years old, running a 104 F fever was not a good enough excuse for falling short of a goal. At 25 years old, moving, graduating, job searching, studying for boards, and a few other life changes are good enough reasons for me to adjust goals. Sometimes life happens and you have to stay on course without excuses when working towards certain destinations. Sometimes, you have to realize that some goals aren’t the end-all and be-all of life.

I train and race because it enhances my quality of life and to learn about myself and pushing my limits each season. My self worth, however, doesn’t depend on achieving goals I’ve imposed on myself anymore the way it did when I was 16. My joy is truly in the process of trying to achieve those goals.

My family came to the pinning ceremony and it was so nice to celebrate with people that have loved and supported me throughout the course of this program.

Which program did I just finish?  It’s called an accelerated or second degree nursing program. There are a lot of universities around the country that offer the option to complete a BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) for people that already had bachelors degrees.  The program covers all the same requirements of a traditional BSN program but in 15 months (average) rather than two years.  Keep in mind all requirements for a bachelors degree were met through the first degree and any additional prerequisites.

This was very appealing because I graduated a few years ago with a BS in Biological and Physical Sciences.  After switching from research to pre-medicine to teaching, I realized that nursing was a career that would allow me to pursue my passions for science, health care, education, and opened me up to a world of opportunities without sacrificing my work-life balance. It’s possible to be a great physician, wife, mother, triathlete, etc. at the same time but medicine requires a deep passion to get through medical school and residency.  When it came time to apply to medical school, I just couldn’t find that passion to push me through the next seven years and I realized there were so many other options that might fulfill what I wanted out of a career.

A nurse practitioner I worked indirectly with two years ago opened me up to the world of nursing and described the variety of roles and opportunities available through nursing. To that nurse practitioner, thank you for sharing your knowledge and excitement. To anybody that loves their career, share it with others.  You might be opening them up to a world you love.

After researching, reading, and talking with other nurses, I decided to pursue my BSN and continue to learn about the field as I gain experience and decide which direction I want to take. Right now, I’m considering nurse practitioner, nurse educator, clinical nurse specialist, and research. Most likely, my career will include multiple roles, patient populations, and specialties. The only thing for certain, is I won’t ever stop learning, caring for and educating patients, or trying to make a positive difference in the health care industry…these are my passions.

If you have any questions about nursing, please contact me (tricourt@yahoo.com) and I’d be happy to share some of what I’ve learned over the past few years.

So for now I’m actively searching for jobs, studying for the nursing boards (NCLEX), training my heart out, and catching up with friends and family.  I’ll be racing the ING Miami marathon at the end of January.

I hope everybody is excited about the holidays…it’s finally starting to feel like Christmas around here despite the gorgeous warm weather. 

Did you always know what you wanted to be when you grew up? Did you change your mind 50 times and still don’t know? Are you doing something you’re passionate about or something that finances your passions?

Since I only have a handful of long runs in the past month I had no clue if my goals for the race were realistic.  My first half  was in 2008 at the Philadelphia ING Half Marathon and I surprised myself by running a 1:41:54.  I’ve only run one true half marathon since and that wasn’t a fun experience.  Yesterday, I put in 12 hours on my feet at the hospital and didn’t really sit down with the exception of lunch.  Wasn’t sure how this was going to effect my race.  Normally, I might brush it off and just race but I’ve been consistently working at running since Beijing and really cared about beating my time to prove I’ve gotten even slightly faster in the past 3 years.

We arrived with plenty of time to pick up our packets and warm up.  While warming up though, legs felt tired and heavy.  Slowly, I started to calculate a more realistic goal than a PR but tried not to think too much because adrenaline sometimes overcomes fatigue.

Florida is known as a flat state which means training usually takes place on flat ground.  I wasn’t too happy at first when I found out the course changed from last year as a flat out and back trail run to a series of 3 loops with multiple turnarounds and dreaded inclines.  It was, however, a fun challenge and made for an interesting course.

The course started off with a nice sized hill that I cursed knowing I’d run up it again two more times.  With the turnarounds and hills, I figured my pace was right at 7:30/mile.  My legs didn’t feel as tired and my breathing felt steady.  At mile 1 my watch read 7:00. Shit. Slow down. Don’t race this like an idiot.  It was difficult not getting caught up with the 5K runners so I was thankful when we finally split off.  Somehow I missed mile marker 2 and wasn’t sure how well I adjusted my speed.  A women pulled up next too me and I contemplated trying to keep pace with her until we passed mile 3 at 20:59.  Come on Courtney, you really need to slow down. I backed off slightly to give her a lead because it was too soon in the race for me to push myself and I was already a minute and half faster than my goal time.  She took off and kept about a minute or two lead for most of the race.

Finally, I started to slow down and settle into a better pace around mile 6.  At this point in the race my feet were hitting the pavement harder (they do that when I’m tired) but I still felt strong.  At the half way point, I tried taking a gel but almost gagged since my body wasn’t craving anything.  Around mile 9 right after finishing the second loop, I started to fear the consequences of taking the race out so fast.  Faster than a responsible and experienced runner would have.   I was in 3rd place by this point about a minute behind 2nd and a minute in front of 4th place (1st place female was crazy fast and finished in 1:22….gotta love the drastic difference in speed you find at local races).  Despite really wanting to drop back and give into fatigue, I decided disappointment from not trying my best would be worse than pain for 30 more minutes.  Besides, there was a small cash prize for finishing in the top 3 .

Thankfully, I stuck it out and crossed the finish line at 1:38:59 according to my watch and a 1:39:04 for the gun time.  It felt great knowing I pushed myself as hard as possible.  Now I just have to focus on mature racing because I can’t pull that during my marathon in January.

My friend, Colleen, had a great half especially considering she’s been a biking maniac lately.  And I’m really proud of a few friends that ran their first 5K today.  So it was fun hanging out enjoying the post-race food and beer.  Since we were still hungry and “thirsty” we headed over to a local pub that opened up early.  Overall, it was a great day and now I’m off to study and work on school projects/papers.  One month until I graduate!!!!!

Did anybody have a race this weekend? 

I ran a 15K (9.3 miles) a few weeks ago as my kick-off to longer runs. My goal was sub 8:00 min/mile pace because up until then my longest run was averaging 6 miles, smart plan, I know.  No pressure though.  If I couldn’t hold that pace, I would just back off.  My legs were pretty good at maintaining a steady pace under 7:50’s and after mile 6, I realized the anticipated crash wasn’t going to happen.  It helped having people around me and I just focused on picking people to pass.  I finished with a total time right around 1:12 and was happy with the run.  Sorry for the lack luster race report, I’ll dazzle you next weekend with my half-marathon where I hope to PR by breaking 1:40.

Long Runs – So far my longest training run has been 12 miles with  steady 8:35 min/mile pace throughout.  I’ve surprised myself by being consistent and actually enjoying the increase in mileage.  This past triathlon season, I struggled to get excited about most of my runs but last Friday at 5:30 AM, it was raining as I started 12 miles and didn’t let up the entire run.  For some reason, I didn’t care because it felt great to just concentrate on running. By concentrating on shorter and more intense workouts this summer, I forgot what it was like to throw all other thoughts and worries aside and just run.  Swimming used to be my escape.  One of the best pieces of advice my coach gave me was one day at swim practice crying because my boyfriend broke up with me via e-mail a few hours earlier.  He told me, “Leave everything at the gate because when you are here in the pool, you are here to swim.  Nothing else matters: not your parents, not school, not some stupid boy. Let this be your two hours to escape the world.” My recent long runs reminded me of this.

Fast Women – For a few months my boyfriend and I have joined a few friends for a tempo run every Tuesday and have enjoyed getting pushed by faster and stronger runners.  Jessica is fabulous to run with because she has a great combination of a fun yet serious attitude towards running, plus she’s fast.  Our first tempo run hit me hard.  Dying feels like an understatement.  I kept up with Jess for a little over a mile and then faded.  Each subsequent week was better and my body has started to adapt to a higher intensity of a 3-4 mile tempo run.  That is until  Mary joined us last week.  I invited Mary to join our weekly run after meeting at 1-day relay.  The plan was to hold 7:30 min/mile, which was a little slower than our usual pace.  Half a mile into the run I was frustrated that my body was having such a difficult time with 7:30’s.  My legs felt heavy and a side cramp started but I didn’t want to lose Jess and Mary.  I held on until we had a half mile to go and did my best to stay close behind.  Forgetting my watch, I didn’t know until we finished that we were actually holding 6:55 pace. Looking forward to running with these ladies again for some more butt kicking.

Recovery – My new schedule has made it difficult to incorporate recovery runs.  Ideally, I’d have a day of rest or an easy 4-5 miles after a hard run but instead, I’m on my feet for back-to-back 12 hour shifts.  It’s been a great learning experience but I’m exhausted after waking up before 5 AM and getting home after 8 PM.  Trying to fit any type of workout in on these days will require more dedication than setting out for a long run on my day off.

How is your training going?  Are any workouts more difficult than others to fit into your schedule or get excited about?

On a different note, I wanted to share my dorky creative side with you. I love Halloween but I don’t get the whole excuse to dress up scandalously.  This picture I saw on Post Secret sums up how I feel about costumes.

Here are some of my creations over the past few years.

H2O                                         DNA                                   Rum & Coke

Book

Ironic because a few weeks ago one of the runners on my 1 day relay team referred to me and two of our other athletes as elite runners, which made me chuckle.  The 1 day relay is a 50(ish) mile relay that took 6 runners from Bradenton to Sarasota to Venice. I got invited to join the team because I am a local athlete/blogger.  Our team consisted of Callie (who just had an adorable baby 4 months ago), Theresa, Casey, Colleen, and Mary.   Before that morning, I had only really known Colleen from our college triathlon club (TriKnights) but by the end of the day I had gotten to know four other great women plus Mary’s husband who drove us around all day.  We had quite the variety of background and abilities which made for an interesting day of “cat and mouse” on the course with the other relay teams and conversations about why we train and race.  The average pace per runner varied from 7:30 min/mile to 11:30 min/mile.  I love the challenge of competing against other athletes while others in the van were more focused the challenge of a healthy lifestyle and competing against themselves. It was a nice change from the normal stress I put myself during a race.

For some great recaps and pictures from the day check out what my fellow teammates wrote:

Callie from The Wannabe Athlete

Mary from Food and Fun on the Run

Theresa from Active Eggplant 

There was another race going on that day in Hawaii known as the Ironman World Championships or “Kona” for short.  There were outstanding performances from all levels of competitors from the pros to the age groupers.  Since my post is focused on elite athletes/elitism I am linking to the inspirational recap of Saturday’s winners, Craig Alexander and Chrissie Wellington.  Their determination, mindset, and raw talent are just a few of the components that shine through when you read the challenges overcome and the beautiful display of athleticism throughout the day.  One quote I saw and loved from Chrissie Wellington was, “There’s a lot of emphasis in our sport on times but for me, the time is irrelevant. I judge my success on whether or not I have given the race every ounce I could – I did that today with all of my heart and soul.” Not only did she just win her 4th Ironman World Champion title but she had an incredible race despite injuries sustained during a bike crash two weeks ago.  Chrissie Wellington is without a doubt an elite athlete.

Source

I don’t have a problem with people labeling themselves as runners or athletes because to me, the definitions are open to interpretation.  Back in college, I remember having an argument with somebody who wanted to make our triathlon club more elite and discourage “non-athletes” from joining and training with better athletes.  It made me furious because I felt our club could accommodate both first timers and competitive triathletes. We aren’t even a college sanctioned sport yet!

In my experience, I’ve come across more people that are hesitant to label themselves anything after one season of training or a handful of races.  If you believe you’ve truly earned the title then go ahead and call yourself a jogger, runner, marathoner, etc.  This might be really kumbaya-lets-hold-hands of me but what more can you expect from somebody that is finishing up nursing school?  I’m an optimistic sap that likes taking care of people. I will clarify that there is a huge difference between  “running to finish” and holding sub 7:00 min/miles for a marathon with regards to training and talent.  

So what’s the point of this post?  I spend hours in the hospital with people that are DYING because they smoke or refuse to exercise.  I take care of people that are too obese to perform basic daily activities and take care of themselves.  So I’m pretty damn proud of people that didn’t grow up with an active lifestyle like me and took on the challenge of training for a sprint triathlon or a 5K.  I’m proud of my mom for overcoming her fear of open water swimming so she could race with me once a year.  I’m proud of my uncle who had a heart attack a year ago and is running his first half marathon in January.  I could probably write an entire post on people I’m proud of for taking their health into their own hands so I’ll save that for later. 

In conclusion, I have an immense amount of respect for the amount of work and talent it takes to be a true elite athlete like Chrissie Wellington.  While I consider myself a competitive person, I will never join the ranks of the elite.  For the elitist athletes out there – you’re entitled to your opinion but I’d rather make people feel welcome to the sport.