Ramblings

I like to do stuff just to do it. I planned a trip to China not particularly because I had a huge yearning to go to China, but because I really wanted to check it off my life list. I like to do stuff. I wanted to go, but I wanted to go just to go. I think life is too short to leave off anything just because it seems hard, or far away. There are some problems to my approach though. It can mean that if something doesn't interest me, it means I don't want to do it. I drag my feet. I avoid it like the plague. But that's not really the best solution. It also means that I often do something, like a triathlon, just to the point of surviving it. Sure, I finished a triathlon, but I didn't really do very well. I trained just enough to squeeze by, but not enough to triumph. And the biggest problem that I usually encounter is that once I finally finish it, I discard it. I cross it off my list and wipe my hands off (or take a shower, if it's dirty enough).

Marathons though, I've stuck with. I've done five now and I'm going to keep doing them. Maybe I won't always do them incredibly fast (fastly?), but I'm going to continue to do marathons until my knees have to be replaced and even then I'll do some more.

AND MORE RAMBLINGS.

5ks. I've never been a fan. 3.1 miles? Why bother? But I signed up for a series of 5ks on Fridays in April by my new apartment. And it was SO MUCH FUN. My goal was just to improve my time every week. I did meet this goal (ok I skipped one week, but I did do 4) and I did much better than I expected to. I ended up coming in 22nd out of 745 women in the last race, clocking in at 22:20. TWENTY TWO MINUTES. That is 7 minute miles!

Maybe now I will do more 5ks. I would really like to get faster overall. Maybe if I keep doing fast 5ks, my marathon time will improve!

WHO KNOWS??? THE WORLD IS NOT READY FOR ME TO CONTINUE DOING STUFF!

Who needs New York?

New York. What a stupid, ugly, crowded city. Who would want to do a marathon there anyway?

....me....

Sadly, I did not win the lottery to run in the NY Marathon this year. And because I had to wait until yesterday to find out, I missed registration for the Marine Corps Marathon and the Chicago Marathon, neither of which require a lottery system. I could have a guaranteed spot in either, but instead I have to consider options like Philly, Baltimore, or Richmond. Or I could do the Nike Women's again and lose my ankles to the hills. But I probably won't do that.

Now, do I hold a grudge against both London and NY and never apply to their lotteries again? Decisions, decisions...guess I better go visit each city to see if it's worth it. London in June. Maybe NYC in July?

DC Marathon, 2011

Last year, I PR'ed in the DC marathon. This year was not quite as fast. However, I really wasn't properly trained, so I was happy to finish at all.

DC Marathons really beat me up though. Last year I had to go to the medic tent at the end for anti-nausea medicine. This year I had to go to one during the race and have them wrap my knee. I've never had knee issues, so it was painful and worrying to suddenly develop one. I've also never stopped at a medic station during a race, so I was worried they would tell me I couldn't keep running. No fear though! The girl who wrapped my knee was incredibly nice. I told her, "you're my hero!" which maybe weirded her out a little, but there is no way I could have finished the race without having the knee wrapped!

Currently, I am experiencing no knee pain, so don't worry about little old me.

This weekend is the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile run. I can't wait to run with my mom again! We had so much fun last year and I'm really looking forward to doing it again. Also, I moved from the hood of DC to Pentagon City (yes, I can see Macy's from my apartment) and therefore I could sign up for the Crystal City 5k Friday races in April...so now I have 3 races in the course of 8 days. I'm positive that this will help me kick start my running, prep me for the 24 hour race in July, and in general make me a better person.

High hopes.

What women want (are you overcompensating for something here?)

There is a great scene in the terrible movie "What Women Want" where Helen Hunt's character is thinking of a pitch for Nike's women's division. In her head she's describing a woman running: "She's running. It's early, it's quiet. Just the sound of her feet on the asphalt. She likes to run alone. No pressure, no stress. This is the one place she can be herself. Look any way she wants, dress, think any way she wants. No game playing, no rules."

This is how I feel about running. You can be yourself. No one is judging you. That is running. You're not the person who didn't get into grad school, or the person who messed something up at home or at work. You're the runner.

Sometimes, the only reason why I continue to run is because I feel like it's the only thing I'm capable of doing. Sometimes every other part of my life feels like I'm failing or stupid or incompetent. Running saves me from that. When I tell people that I run marathons or that I'm training for an ultramarathon, then they listen to me. Then they think I'm important. The truth is that I'm not even that good at running, but at least when you're running all that matters is that you reach the finish line.

Hey - read this article

Hey everyone who thinks they don't need to exercise:

Read this.

Get on a treadmill.

That's all.

Feeling old

I have been seriously sore lately. My feet hurt. My hips hurt. I was moping around thinking about all the serious, irreparable damage I've probably done to my body when suddenly it hit me:

I'm probably just getting old.

I mean, let's face it. The body of a 22 year old is unfortunately much younger than a body of a 25 year old. Especially a 25 year old with insomnia. Now, I know I'm being slightly melodramatic here, but isn't part of it just that my body is wearing down slightly with age and the running aggrevates this?

I've been an incredibly lucky runner. I have not sustained any serious injuries and I still have ALL of my toenails. I've never even lost one. Although my feet hurt, they have not become all scummy and ugly like some runners that you see. I've learned how quickly you can heal from minor cuts/rubs that you might get while wearing a sports bra or slightly too short socks (usually less than a week). After 42 miles in 24 hours last year, I walked right out of the hotel. I didn't shuffle. I walked. (ok I didn't run either, but let's give me SOME credit).

Sometimes I feel like I'm really missing out on part of the running experience by not having these horrible stories to tell (I lost my toenail in the middle of a date and he found it in is salad!). But as I grow sore, I'm more than thankful that I have had almost 3 great years of running pain free.

Now that I am finally starting to feel the effects, I am trying to be more careful. Instead of skipping the stretching completely, I've been trying to throw some in there (not too much though). I'm trying to focus on eating better meals instead of going with "I can eat whatever I want because I'll run it off," because ultimately, running will feel better if I have the right nutrition in me. I'm trying to sleep more and be gentler on my body.

But let's face it - there will just be sore days. I've never been one of those people who would push through an injury if I got one. I don't eat complete garbage all the time (although there are and probably always will be the occasional dinner of ice cream sandwiches) and in general I eat pretty healthy foods. I do recreational yoga on a more regular basis than I'd prefer to admit (at LEAST once every 3 months). So why don't I just cut myself a break, take a bubble bath, and continue my running?

Why, I think I will do just that.

Let's get some stuff straight

Ok, let's get it straight.

I'm not going to bow out of the DC marathon next month.
I'm not going to stop running.

I am not going to stop running.

It's been kind of a tough winter. I've been tired and sore and fat. But I refuse to give up on running marathons or more. This is going to be my 5th marathon! I love running in DC. I love RUNNING.

And let's get some more straight while we're on a roll.

Listen up, friends, enemies, and strangers: if you ride out the elliptical at the gym for 45 minutes, do NOT say that you just ran 5 miles. You did NOT run. You ellipticalled. Good job. I'm sorry, but that machine practically runs itself. You are not running. It DOES NOT COUNT. People keep telling me that they ran 5 miles in 40 minutes and I'm just in awe - wow, there's nothing wrong with America! We're not obese! We're doing great! NO. We ARE obese and I'm sorry but you cannot claim that you ran. Yes. You went to the gym. Good job. It's a step. But it's not running.

I have to say that even though I haven't been running as much as I should be, I'm still super defensive against people acting like they ran when just WENT ON the elliptical. I do that on a rest day.

Boo to everyone. I just had 2 ice cream sandwiches. I also had green beans. So it balances out, right?

Darn it, I didn't think so either.