A Run for Kathleen...

...Or Warrior Angels Battle Buddy Boogie 5k ....

One of my goals for this month was to run a race in honor of Kathleen Kerrigan, my friend who bravely fought breast cancer.

It's relatively easy to find a run in support of ending breast cancer in October, since it's breast cancer awareness month.

I decided to run the Warrior Angels Battle Buddy Boogie mostly because it's a local charity to Fort Bragg.  It is a charity run by a breast cancer survivor in the Fayetteville area and directly supports women affected by breast cancer on Fort Bragg. I chose this charity because I really liked the idea of supporting a cause that directly affects my sisters in arms. You can read more about the charity at the link below!

http://www.warriorangels.org/

On with the race...

I pre-registered for the race, which guaranteed me a t-shirt. I picked up the shirt, which is actually really cute, there were no race numbers or chips as this was a fun run.  What was available was blank race bibs and pink sharpies, where you could write a message about your run. I wrote "Running in Honor of Kathleen Kerrigan" and pinned it to the front of my shirt.

Also, it was a relatively small race, so arriving an hour early was a little unnecessary. After stashing everything in my car, I just hung out waiting to race and keeping warm. It wasn't actually that cold, but I was in minimalist mode, and didn't bring a sweat shirt or anything and it was just around 45 degrees at the start.

The race organizer said a few words and recognized a few of her fellow survivors and we all headed to the start line.

I picked out a spot about a quarter of the way from the front, powered on my iPod (Kathleen's Playlist!) and waited for the race director to say "Go!"
It's been ages since I've run a 5k and admittedly I've forgotten how to pace such a short race. My "strategy" was just to run as fast as I could for 3.2 miles and see what happened.
As soon as the I heard the word Go, I set of at what I thought was a moderate pace and was surprised to find myself picking my way to the head of the pack in the first 50 meters or so.
Technically, I know this wasn't a race, it was a fun run, but I just thought it would be so cool to come in first for Kathleen.
I inched my way up until the only people in front of me was a pack of very fit looking men and no women. I thought surely this can't be it? But I just kept running.
Just as I hit the first mile, a young, fit-looking blonde girl passed me. I considered trying to keep up with her, thinking maybe she would burn out. Instead, I decided to just keep her close and hope to catch her at the end.
Keeping with that strategy I logged mile one and still felt strong heading into mile two. And focused on thinking about all the fun times I had with Kathleen.
The course turned slightly hilly at the halfway point and one of the fit-looking guys bonked on the hill and the girl and I both sailed past him while on the uphill climb.
I when I saw that I hit the 2.5 mile mark I decided to turn up the speed and I really concentrated on running faster to try to catch the girl in front of me.
I was really working on speed, when I saw the finish line ahead of me. What? I sailed through and the race director handed me a pink carnation and said "Congratulations!" I replied with "Is that the end?"
She looked really proud and said "Yup!" I didn't have the heart to tell her that according to the GPS the course was only 2.58 miles long. I figured, well, it's for fun and headed off to get some water and eat some yummy fruit salad.
So I ran 19:14 and finished as the second female. Not too shabby I suppose, but I really would have liked to finish first.
The good news, is that I finished a goal for October. Now on to goal-making for November!

In Summation: Cancer=A Theif; Kathleen Kerrigan=Awesome Friend; Short Race Courses=Confusing; 5ks in General=Seem Short; Faith in Mankind=Somewhere on the remaining .62 miles of the Angel Warrior Battle Buddy Boogie...a shame, perhaps I could have found it.

Achievement Is It's Own Anticlimax...

...Or....I'll Take Goal Accomplishment for 1000, Please...

One of my goals for 2011 was to run 1000 miles. This was my third year running to make this goal and I've finally accomplished it.

Goal accomplishment...it's a little strange. Like Maya Angelou says in the quote in my headline Achievement is it's own anticlimax. I accomplished this goal, at least through my perception, very little effort or even focus. It's so weird. Basically, I just kept running, because everyday, I set a distance to run, and then I just did it.

Recently I was sharing my run-log with a fellow amateur athlete (AW) and she asked me, "how do you punish yourself in this log when you get lazy and skip runs? What you write in your journal?"

Now, admittedly, I skip runs. Mostly due to travel or some work nonsense. But as I flipped through those journal entries, indeed those types of days happened, but I only had one day marked 'lazy, no running.' One day out of more than 200.  I know all the days I squeeze out a run, I don't really want to do it, but I somehow make it happen. I know that when someone asks me, "how was your run?" I often utter the words "well, it's done now." There are many, many times I simply do not feel like running and seriously do not want to put one foot in front of the other. But I reckon that the fact is that some how running cleanses me and offers some sort of cure for what ails. I have a keychain which reads, "running is cheaper than therapy." I'm not sure if this is true, but it's certainly reliable, if you can make yourself get out there. As I said before, running is my friend and believe that I'm not a 'good runner' because I'm  'me,'  but I am a 'good me' because I'm a runner. 

It seems so weird, to me, that I crossed the 1000 mile mark, actually, the 1003.96 mark on a very non-special run, on a non-special day. It was a typical Friday four-miler and it wasn't until I logged them into my running journal did I realize I had even accomplished the goal. I fully expected to have to come up with some kind of ridiculous running schedule in December to make it across the 1000-mile finish line. I didn't expect for it to happen while I wasn't paying attention. I guess that's what makes it seem anti-climatic, but I am quite happy none-the-less. I even bought myself some fancy spa treatments to celebrate!

I would be remiss to leave out my running partners have really helped me, so a special thanks to Mighty Mouse and the K-Turn-Kid. I know each of you had your own goals, but unwittingly you helped me accomplish mine and almost more than two months early! Thanks guys!

Next up on the goal list is a Run for Kathleen. This is going to happen on Saturday, so look forward to that race report, it's a 5k. I can't even remember what a respectable time is for that short of a distance.
I still haven't made a decision about a Springtime marathon. I'm not even sure if I'm going to run one, I may just hang up my marathon shoes. We will see.

In Summation: Goal Accomplishment=A Little Surreal; Celebratory Spa Treatments=Fantastic; Running Partners=Ace; 1000 Miles in 2011=First Good Thing So Far for the Year; Faith in Mankind=At the Bottom of Charity Bin with a Pair of Old Running Shoes

Failure and Frustration, Future and Friends?...

…Or Color Me Sisyphus…

I wish my absence from the blogosphere was because I've been running and having so much fun that I simply didn't have time to write. Regrettably, this is not the case. Basically, work, health, moving and if that wasn't fun enough, we moved my work too. Hopefully, this is the last blog where I have to mention moving. Anyway, on with the running...

Failure....
It seems my utter lack of initiative has invited failure into my life...again. I failed to choose an Autumn race, and because of this I failed to focus on a training program. I thought I could train and then just add the race later, but with out that finish line (literally) the training is just too hard to maintain without an intended purpose. So, lesson learned there...

Summer this year in North Carolina came with oppressive heat. Some days it was just impossible to log any extra miles. I reckon I could have went to the gym and ran in the air-conditioning, but this type of discipline apparently is only present when I have a race planned.

This summer has been a DNF and a Boston Qualifier in 2011 is over for me.

Frustration...
I'm so disappointed in myself because I let the speed I gained during my New River train-up slip away. So, not only did I miss an Autumn qualification attempt, but now I have to start from square-one

Future...
I've been contemplating the above frustrations and failures and I've come to the same conclusion as Albert Einstein, "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." I think I need to make some changes. So far, this is what I've come up with:

1. I've decided to concentrate on speed, to do this, I plan to run some shorter races (1/2 marathons; 10ks and maybe some 5ks and any 10-milers I come across). I figure if I use this time to get a little quicker at shorter distances this should still help me when I start my training for the next 26.2. If I even try another 26.2.

2. I've been considering a running partner. I think that running consistently with someone who's a little faster than me could help me tremendously! I've experienced this before when I had a running partner in Belgium (I miss you Michelle Whetzel!)

3. I still need some goals. I've not looked seriously into an marathons, but I know that if it's going to happen in the Spring, I will have to start training in December. I still have time. I've researched a couple of 10ks, 1/2 Marathons and even a 10-miler. But I haven't committed to any of these races.

4. My one solid goal so far is this: I will run a race in October. Most likely a 5k or a 10k, maybe longer. Recently, I lost a dear friend to Breast Cancer. I will run a race in her memory.

Friends...
So, I've been trying out running partners.

I've been running relatively consistently with my work colleague, The K-Turn Kid. Earlier in the year, I was consistently running faster than him, however, he's recently surpassed me. Running with him offers a challenge and is hopefully helping me out a bit. At the very least it's getting me out on the lunch hour for a run as opposed to working through lunch.

I've also been trying out a running partner on the weekend for my longer runs. This running partner, Mighty Mouse, brings not only knowledge but talent to the table. He went to Clemson University on  Cross Country and Track scholarship. He also has loads of race experience and little patience for any belly-achin'. He pushes me not only with speed, but with distance.  So far he's been a great running partner, but we often have scheduling conflicts. So the hunt is still on...

Qualifying for the Boston Marathon is becoming quite the Sisyphean task for me. I just feel like I keep trying over and over, and failing...over and over....

In Summation: Failure = Continues to haunt me; Frustration= Rooted in disappointment; Future = Still so very uncertain; Goals = Hazy; Cancer = A thief; Friends = Good if it pans out; Faith in Mankind = Buried in a box I dropped off at the Goodwill.