Fall training at its best

Ahh October. My favorite month of the year. Cooler weather, guilt-free candy eating, pumpkin spiced everything and the start-up of another race season. What's not to love?

But first, let's recap all the goings on since the August post.

1. During the year, I started developing some issues with blisters, seemingly from my running shoes. With the help and patience of the wonderful owners and staff at the new St. Pete Running Company store, I was able to test out several new shoes to find the right fit. Ultimately, I went with these:

The Saucony Kinvara 5

Very roomy toe box to minimize blisters, super light weight and comfy. I went up a size and 1/2 instead of just one for extra room which seems to be working for the most part. As the marathon approaches, I'll rethink a higher mileage shoe but for now, these work well for training.

2. Half-Marathon and Marathon training officially started last month! Woohoo! This becomes a whole new ball-park of running. No longer are the days of 'I think I'll run 4 miles today because I have the time and the weather is perfect.' These distances take a well-thought-out plan, discipline and sacrifice (eeek!). When everyone else is out on a Friday/Saturday night, I'm the one running in the dark, eyeing you, secretly wanting your glass of wine...  Each weekend from now until mid-January will be a pre-determined long run to build mileage. That could be anywhere from 8 to 22. It sounds scary and even though this is my third marathon training plan, it is scary!!

3. Unfortunately life has a way of derailing plans. Bria (my running partner in crime) and I had  successfully built up to 10 miles......when I get hit with the flu. I don't get sick often, maybe once a year, but when it happens, I'm down for the count. Week 1: dying in bed, only getting up every couple hours to work (that's right, no sick days for pet sitters). Week 2: hacking up a lung and snot....everywhere. Luckily, I have a husband who's not grossed out by anything! Week 3: weak as a kitten but otherwise getting back to normal. Soooo 3 weeks of no running then jump back into 12 miles. Hard, but thank the Lord for His strength because I did it! It's all uphill from here...literally.

4. And of course balancing work with play is a must!
                              M and I did a couples painting which now hangs in our living room.

I loved the experience at Painting With a Twist so much (fun fact, the owners are a pet sitting client) I went back to paint the Eiffel Tower.

I completed the task of putting the wedding and honeymoon pictures into albums. Such a great feeling to check that off the list. I'm ready to celebrate our 1 year anniversary in December! Where did the year go??

I also went to Busch Garden's Howl O Scream twice this year! 

 And just this past Sunday, Me, hubby and Bria ran the Florida Road Races Halloween Halfathon.

It was the perfect race weather, plus everyone dresses up in costume so of course I was a cat and Bria Wonder Woman! The event was fun, well-organized and we now have a sparkly new medal.

That's it for October. Have a super fun Halloween and get those miles in!
Until next time, Happy Running!

August ~ Heat Smarts

Hi sun. This is Heather. Remember me?  Listen, I know it's August and you're just doing your job but could you back off a bit? Thanks.

This may or may not be a conversation playing in my head while walking dogs or running in the hours between 8am-8pm. I'm super ready for Fall or what we call in Florida; slightly less hot Summer. At this time of year, the best way to not die whilst getting in a daily run is to continue to do it! Some years, I said screw it and took to the treadmill in my lovely air conditioned work-out room. Bad idea. The minute you return to running outside, it feels like you're drowning in humidity water and the sun is beating you into the pavement like a jackhammer. The sad truth is, the more you run in the heat, the better acclimated you become to it.

A few weeks ago, I had a lighter work load and decided to create a running challenge for myself.
6 days~6 miles each day. This was such an exciting prospect, especially to accomplish in the summer, that I decided to start Sunday night instead of Monday. 6 miles done in the evening, no problem. This was going to be easy peasy.

Dialogue in my head:

Monday  -  Oh God, it's hot. At least there are water fountains every 2 miles, thank you! What mile am I on? 3? Ugh. Should have brought the running belt with extra water. Now what mile, 5? Man, I'm thristy. Dowsing my head with cold water didn't help either. Definitely bringing the belt tomorrow. 

Tuesday  - Yay Bria is running with me in this madness! Cloud cover...score! Running belt, why are you so tight? Love the water, not liking the belt. Note to self: bring only hand-held water bottle tomorrow. Yay Bria! Retreat to Hea/Bria's world conversation.

Wednesday - Sun, why do you forsake me? Who's idea was it anyway to run 6 miles during the day for 6 days?? Sounded a lot better at the beginning of the week. What mile am I on? Fourve? Uhhhh ....blank....

Thursday - Just do it. The faster you run, the quicker you get home. ....blaaaaaank..... cute dog

Friday - Woohoo, day 6 and cloud cover! I love this challenge! Why not go through Saturday? 7 days - 6 miles. Let's do this! 

Saturday - bbboooghurrrsss......hot.......why?......torture.......mmmm, pizza..........blank......

And done! For some reason this is fun for me, even through the highs and lows. Maybe because it feels amazing to have a goal and accomplish it. Or maybe I'm masochistic. All runners are to some degree, right?
Now get back out there! The heat isn't going anywhere. Be safe. Run smart.

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Next blog: I switch running shoes!
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 Happy Running!!!

Chapter 1.2 Back Story Part 3

A year and 1/2 into this illness, I had given up on doctors or getting better in the near future. However, I stayed true in my Faith and kept a positive outlook of hope. A few months later I was chatting with a client about the illness and she spoke highly of a doctor in Tampa who worked wonders with Acupuncture. I had considered alternative medicine in the past and decided to give the doctor a chance, knowing this would be the last doctor I saw, as my resources were bled dry. I prayed for healing and continued to pray throughout the weekly treatments.

Six weeks later, I am the person you see today. Running (pun intended) at 90% capacity on most days. It's no cure by any means, but it is closer to normal than I ever thought possible for someone living with CFS. I try to explain it in terms of a battery holding a charge. My body is a battery that lasts about three weeks. Acupuncture is the charger. I feel pretty good as long as I get 'fully charged' every month. I still have to be careful as to how much energy I expend in a day. Frequent rest breaks are a must. Luckily, my job allows me to do so. I thank the Lord every day for the life he restored in me.

The best part about semi-normalcy is being a runner again! It even has a bonus effect on my health. The more I run, the better I feel. Maybe it's the harmful toxins sweat out or the strengthening of bones and muscles or the lubrication of joints that provide relief somewhere inside. All I know and am satisfied with is in caveman terms Run = Good.

Over the last few years, I've learned a lot about running gadgets, technique, nutrition, stretching, recovery etc. I'd love to share a little bit of what's worked for me in the coming posts in the hopes of encouraging you to give this wonderful exercise a try. Or if you're already a runner, maybe it will encourage you along the way and inspire you to run farther and faster than you ever imagined. Join me on my journey through the training, races, defeats and victories in this magical world of running.

                Me and Bria training for what would be known as the infamous X-Country Marathon in              2013!

Chapter 1.1 Back Story Part 2

In 2005, I was finishing my Master's Degree while simultaneously starting a pet sitting business.  

A whirlwind of change occurred after that. The economy was booming and my company took off. I took every client who called within a 20 mile radius. My work days started at 6:30am and ended around 10:30pm, driving around 100 miles daily. Something that started out as a way to make a little extra cash had turned into a career. On top of working, I was in my early 20's enjoying an active social life. Involved at church, playing on a co-ed softball team, running several times per week and dating. I was planning new goals for running. Training for my first ever half-marathon. Life was good.

I loved pet sitting, however, caring for pets is a 7 day a week, 365 days a year commitment. No days off, no calling in sick. If I was ill, tough, I worked through it. The hours I was putting in with work and play left no downtime to recover. A year later I became sick with the flu, continued working 10-12 hour days, then my body shut down. I don't blame it. I was young, not invincible.

Now normally, you get sick, go to the doctor, take meds and feel better in 3-7 days. This is what I did. But I didn't get better. After one month of feeling like I had the flu, the doctor ran tests and concluded I had Mononucleosis. Where in the world did I get that? I went from having a flu virus to Mono? After 6 months, I started seeing countless doctors for answers. My symptoms were flu-like; weak, so tired I could barely get out of bed, horrible muscle aches made worse by movement, foggy headed, constant sore throats, etc. No one could explain what was wrong. I looked perfectly healthy on the outside, but felt like I was dying on the inside. I started doing my own research and came across a condition called CFS or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It fit everything I was going through. It was similar to an auto immune disease that can be triggered by multiple causes, one of which, a viral infection. One year after the viral onset, my primary doctor diagnosed me with CFS. Victory! I had an answer! Now what?

Nothing. Most doctors had never even heard of CFS. There was no cure or treatment. Only management of the disease. I saw specialists, was given pain and antidepressant meds (just in case it was all in my head), off label drugs for Fibromyalgia, etc... Too many to list. I tried a few but never for long. I'm a firm believer that certain prescription drugs mask pain and cause serious side effects. Not to say they aren't right for everyone, they just didn't improve my condition. In fact, the side effects worsened it.

Over a year had passed and I wasn't feeling any better. I was forced to cut back significantly with work, lying in bed in agony between pet sit visits. Barely working part-time. Running was out of the question. I tried very hard to run, even if it was a mile or two, as the doctors all said it would improve my condition. It didn't. I was confined in bed, exhausted for 3 days after a short run. I gave up socializing and any extra activities. Everything was draining and painful. I joined online chat forums with people experiencing the same thing I was going through, searching for answers and options I hadn't explored yet. These people lived with CFS for 5, 10, 20+ years with no end or cure in sight.

I tried staying positive but almost everything I cared about had been taken away. A rewarding career and business were hanging on by a thread. An active social life and friendships were diminishing. Most of all, I could no longer run. The biggest passion of my life was cut off abruptly. There were so many questions and not enough answers. Would I ever be healthy again? Have a normal life? Run again? It was bleak.

~Continued in Chapter 1.3

Chapter 1: Back Story

I never ran much 'just to run' as a kid. Sure, there were games of tag, capture the flag, cowboys and indians, running for my life after taking a cheap shot at my big brother, but not so much running on its own.

Growing up, my real passion lay in team sports. At 5 years old I started tee-ball in summer and soccer in fall. I was the only girl on a boys soccer team, playing keeper and learned at a young age that a.)boys can be mean when they feel a girl is invading their territory (obviously pre-pubescent boys) and b.)I had to play hard and ruthless to earn their respect. To this day the tendon on my right ring finger can pop out of place easily thanks to a full kick swing in the middle of a save.  

After a decade of only softball and soccer, I branched out to basketball in middle school (proudly making the team after having full on puking flu at tryouts), flag football in high school and teaching step aerobics and practicing tennis in college. A lot of conditioning AKA running was involved but I only ever saw it as practice. Never running just for the fun of it. 

Towards the end of my college days at Eckerd, I really needed a fun outlet to stay healthy and active. I started running on the treadmill in the gym and around campus which wasn't that far. Maybe 3 miles. For the longest time, 3 miles was my go-to workout. 

When my best friend, Bria, was down from Flagler, we would run together frequently. She was much faster than me with her years of running high school track and pole vaulting plus completing 2 marathons before I even entertained the possibility of running that far. She was patient, jogging as slow as I needed, and shared a lot of her wisdom/trial and error knowledge. 

The best thing I learned from Bria was that running could be fun. Period. Full-stop. It wasn't a means to an end. It was meaningful in any way you made it in your life. No matter how fast (or slow in my case) you were, how far you ran, how sweaty you got (a lot!), the whole point was you were out there doing it for YOU. It felt great afterward. Hello runner's high! It came with a sense of accomplishment. A feeling that I'd never felt while playing on a team. I was alone, pushing myself as hard as I felt up to that particular day, in my own head most of the time (some weird things cross your mind out there) and pounding the pavement until my body had had enough. I was hooked. 

Then it happened. A life altering event that (gasp) I had no control over and burst my running bubble.

~Continued in Chapter 1.1