Vacation, Part Deux

The week back after taking vacation is usually pretty bad work-wise. Mine was no exception. Lots of stuff going on, things falling apart, the threat of city-leveling explosion... you know, all in a crappy day's work. I survived, but the stress of it all made me not want to do pretty much anything.

Back to the Vacation story.... where was I? Oh yes, we had landed in Seattle, and nothing bad had happened. It was almost lunch time Seattle time, and WAY past lunch time Duluth time, and so the first order of business was lunch. At IHOP. Which I hadn't had since I was in college oh so long ago. The Boy inhaled his food, and some of Aaron's food, and then some of Grandpa's food. I am no looking forward to when he's a teenager. Once we were all full and no longer grumpy, we made our way to Grandma and Grandpa Abramson's house.

The grandparents live in North Bend, which is where the TV show Twin Peaks was filmed. Which is pretty cool. The two older boys instantly named one of the two mountains near North Bend Buttcrack Mountain. That joke never got old for them. I wish I would have gotten a picture of it, but it never occurred to me to do that.

My first impressions of the Seattle area:

• It was warm. But not oppressive warm. When you got out of the sun for the most part it was quite pleasant.
• The trees are HUGE. Like insanely huge. Didn't know trees could get that big. And the ones I saw on the first day weren't even that big.
• The scenery was nothing like anything I had ever experienced, even in the Northwoods. I was in awe.

That first day Grandpa had gotten us tickets to the Day out with Thomas in the next town over. Which was cool, because boys love trains. And, well, it's Thomas. They had all done it in Duluth, but this one was way better. Albeit hotter. Some pictorial evidence:

 With Sir Topham Hatt

 Riding on Thomas

The view out the window at one point

The train ride itself wasn't too long, but the views were so amazing. Definitely worth it.

After doing the whole Thomas thing, we went to get ice cream at the local equivalent to Dairy Queen and then back to the grandparents house. I can't recall if it was an early evening or not, as we were all exhausted from getting up so early, the plane ride, and all the activity of the day. But we had some awesome pizza for dinner and it was really nice to get out of town. And Day Two of the Seattle adventure was yet to come...

The Rest of the Week's Runs

Running has been a lot harder than I feel it should be after taking not that long off. I don't know if it's the humidity, or running so early in the morning, or what. It's a bit disappointing to be going SO SLOWLY, but I need to cut myself some slack and just keep on going - eventually it will not be so hard. On Wednesday I ran 3.04 miles in 29:52, for an average pace of 9:49. On Saturday I got a bit lost (stupid dead end roads) and ran 3.95 miles in 40:09, for an average pace of 10:11. Here's to a new week and the change to improve! 

Miss Me? Also, Vacation Part 1

I know, I know. It's been almost a month since I've posted anything. I guess I needed a break from running AND from blogging. But that break is now over, and that means I need to find things to write about. Which shouldn't be too terribly hard.

One of the big things that happened over the past month's blogging hiatus is the hubby and I took a week's vacation out to the Seattle area. With all three monsters. No, we are not insane. Well, mostly not insane. I guess this blog is as good a place as any to chronicle the adventure...

In reality, the adventure that is the Vacation started about a week before we actually went anywhere for said Vacation. The weekend prior, Aaron and I went down to the Cities for his work and took my car since it has working A/C. Which means that it just had to break. The trunk decided that it just didn't want to open anymore, and the awesome engineers at Ford decided that a person doesn't really need to get in their trunk if the fob, dash button and key don't work. And the dealership couldn't get me in until the Friday we were leaving, at which point they said it wouldn't be fixed until the next week. So my car had a vacation at the dealership, and we all rode down to the Cities in a car with no A/C.

So, Friday was finish packing, eat dinner, load up the car and head down to a hotel near the airport so that we could catch a 7 AM flight. At the airport by 5 AM. Up at 4 AM. I think we were all a bit cranky, but very excited. The two youngest had never been on a plane before so it was all exciting and new. Our flight was delayed a half hour, which wasn't too bad. And once the plane was in the air, Aaron's two yahoos promptly fell asleep, and The Boy entertained himself for all but 45 minutes by reading books. He did end up sleeping for about 45 minutes of the 3 hour flight.

Notice the looks of exhaustion.

 

We flew Sun Country, which was surprisingly very nice. I felt like I had way more room than on pretty much any other flight I've taken (except for Midwest Express flights - does that airline even exist anymore? Those seats were SO HUGE!). And you got free soda/juice; they had snacks to purchase. The Boy got beef jerky. Those three hours flew by, even though it was a big more turbulent than I care for.

 

This is getting pretty long, so I'll end here. Don't want to bore you too much...

 

Yesterday's Run

After exactly a month off, I went for a short run on Monday morning. And, boy was it HARD! I didn't think I got that out of shape. Maybe the heat and humidity at the butt crack of dawn made things even harder than they should have been. But I got out, so that counts I guess. Yesterday I ran 2.51 miles in 24:29, for an average pace of 9:45. I just have to keep things going now... 

Where do we go from here?

Well, it's been a week. I'm pretty much back to normal, physically, and have been for a couple of days. I still have pain in my left quad, but that was there for a while before so I'm pretty sure it will take a while to get better.

Psychologically? I still feel really good about how I did in the marathon. I've gone through in my head what I could have done better, or differently.... But I can't go back in time, and so it makes no sense to do the coulda-woulda-shoulda game.

I've spent this last week catching up - catching up on sleep, and things that needed to be done like mailing thank you cards, and with spending time with those I love. That's the weirdest thing right now - the amount of time I have to do other things.

Next week, I'm going to start going to the Y again. Not sure if I'll do any running this next week, to try to give my poor leg a little more rest maybe. But I struggle with what I'm going to do next. I like having a big goal to work towards - it gives a reason to why I do something. I also want to try more new things, but am unsure where to start, what to do.

I can't become complacent, procrastinate. I need to keep moving forward.

I have over 500 miles under my feet so far this year - how many more will I be able to go?

And it's over

I am still a jumble of emotions today, two days after mostly running Grandma's Marathon. I feel like I need to put something down now so I don't forget some details.

The day started out cool and foggy, just like last year. The temperature was ideal. The humidity, not so much. I could tell when the humidity went down in that I was able to breathe more freely, and my steps were lighter and without as much effort. It wasn't very often that this happened, unfortunately.

I got a ride to the starting point with friends instead of taking the bus. This was pretty nice because it was way more comfortable and a lot less stressful. Plus I was with friends, so that was pretty cool too. Here's a picture of us before we head out on our way to Two Harbors:

We're looking way too happy considering what comes next

The area at the starting line was, to me, surprisingly large. There were plenty of port-o-potties so I didn't have to wait too long to get in and out. For how much space there was at the beginning I was amazed at how cramped it felt. The music at the starting line... left much to be desired. It wasn't the kind of pump-you-up music that I remember from the half in the previous years.

And then there was the race itself. I started out way, WAY too fast - the first 5-6 miles were at sub-8:30 pace. It wasn't that hard, but the extra effort at the beginning, when I was supposed to build up to a faster pace, really sapped my strength later on. The humidity did a number on me, but it wasn't as emotionally draining as it was last year. Probably because my cheerleader Ben stayed with me through the half way point. Which really helped me keep going.

Starting at Mile 15 I walked through the aid stations, just to make sure I was hydrating well and to give my poor, old, achy body a rest. Once in town, it was easier to get through between the aid stations but it was by no means easy at all. My body hit a wall around Mile 22, where the pain was just so intense I had to will myself to continue on.

I think the highlight of the race was when I saw my wonderful husband and The Boy on Superior Street. I knew about where they were going to be standing, so I started scanning the sidewalk when I got close. I started to panic when I didn't see them and didn't see them. And then, there they were. I'm starting to tear up right now just thinking about it. I know I would have started crying then if I had any tears in me, but there wasn't any. I stopped and gave The Boy a hug, and I think I said something like "This hurts so bad!" with a catch in my voice (little did I know Aaron was recording me coming up to them - but I should have guessed he would). Aaron told me he was proud of me and that I could do it, so I continued on, stopping to walk for a little bit a half block later because I couldn't catch my breath because I wanted to cry so much.

The last 2-plus miles were a blur, and then I saw my boys at the corner to the final stretch, which was a surprise because I totally forgot they were going to do that. I got my finisher's medal, and my shirt, and a flower, which was really nice and made me almost cry again. I quick got my gear bag and went to meet my cheering squad and then to go home.

Yesterday, the pain was pretty intense. My whole body ached. The refreshed chafing on my left arm was so tender I didn't want to move that side of my body. I had two strange blisters, one on each foot, but those didn't bother me too much. Stairs continue to be especially hard, in that my left quad is very VERY angry with me. And my right hip.

And how am I feeling about how I did? I am so proud that I finished, that I pushed through when all I wanted to do was curl up and die. I finished a lot slower than I thought I would, but then again I didn't really comprehend before the physical toll running 26.2 miles puts on your body. Now I know, and I feel so happy with just finishing.

But will I do it again? Not for a very long time, if at all. I am no spring chicken, and the time commitment it takes to train for a marathon is so insane. But I rose up to the challenge that I set for myself, and I was successful, and NO ONE can take that away from me.

 The Boy with the medal. He is very proud of his mama.

Saturday's Run

On Saturday, I ran my first full marathon, 26.2 miles, in 4:12:48. And now I need another nap.

T-minus

So, it is less than a day before the start of my first full marathon. And I am feeling... kind of excited, scared, anxious. Not too achy, which is nice. My sinuses are still a bit congested, but not completely horrible.

The last group run was on Tuesday. It was rather bittersweet. It is nice that I will now (in theory) have more time to do things other than running. But at the same time I am definitely going to miss the people and support that I got from the group. Especially my three amigos - Ben, Cassie and Mae. I don't think I would have made it this far without them.

Another pretty amazing thing happened on Tuesday at running group as well. Well, amazing for me that is... I volunteered to be interviewed for a segment on a local TV station about my training for the marathon! Historically, I would not have even thought about doing something like that - putting myself out there for pretty much the whole world to see. But now... now, I am embracing things that make me cringe, and it was actually kinda fun. And the head of my department at work saw it on TV and was like "Nice interview last night" and not even in a snotty way! For now, the story is still online:

http://www.fox21online.com/sports/feature/great-outdoors/runners-are-ready-go-grandmas-marathon

So today I took the day off from work, and I will be relaxing and trying to not get all crazy. But I got this - even if I don't meet my pie-in-the-sky goal I will finish, and finish strong. I will have challenged myself to something bigger physically than I have ever done before and succeeded. I will have completed this first leg of my journey that started the same day as this blog, on September 1, 2013. And I WILL be amazing.

Hell yes!

 

Tuesday's Run

Went to the canal, spit for good luck, then had a yummy beer. This run was just what my soul needed. I ran 2.74 miles in 23:53, an average pace of 8:44. I am ready. 

Anticipation

And, so, with less than a week to go, I am starting to feel the pressure. The need and desire to kick butt and take names on Saturday at what will be the biggest physical challenge I have ever attempted to undertake.

And I am so scared I feel like I'm going to vomit. And I still have this week to go through before the big day.

It is kinda hard to put into words why I am feeling so scared. I guess I can tell the story about last year and running the half marathon during Grandma's weekend.

Last year I also trained with the DRC marathon/half marathon training group. It was the first time I trained with anyone else - I had always done it alone with a bit of success. But with the group... my training was consistent. I was motivated to do more. I had the support of great people to push me along. I was getting stronger and faster. I won a 10k race, which was completely amazing.

And then there was race day. I felt the same fear and anxiousness last year as I do right now. I was in a worse place emotionally then, feeling like a complete failure and that I wouldn't be able to finish as fast as I wanted, or maybe even at all. I put on a happy face, though, and tried to will my way into a better frame of mind. It didn't work.

This depression from a race was, and is, just weird to me. Running has been my solitude, my mental and physical release, the thing that has helped me stay sane. But for some reason I am putting so much pressure on myself, that the very thing that I have come to love is causing me so much heartache and despair.

At the race I started out well, if not a little fast. It was really foggy and cool out, decent running weather (I don't do well in heat). I don't know how far I went before I started feeling like I couldn't catch my breath. Each step was a labor, oxygen not being able to get into my lungs and to my legs to move me forward. I started thinking about how it was true, that I was a failure and that there was no way I'd be able to achieve my goal. I started slowing down. I'm pretty sure I was close to tears at times. Some part of me compelled me to continue even though I didn't want to go on.

And then I finished. Slower than I had wanted. I felt defeated. I felt like a failure. I PR'd by over 12 minutes, but I felt like it was a sham. I was not tired. I felt like I did after a training run. I didn't leave it all out there.

And I was a mess for a while after that.

And now, this year, today, I'm starting to feel the way I did last year. Like a failure. Like I won't achieve my goals. Like I'm useless. And I don't know if I'll be able to snap out of it. Add to that a left quad that just won't get better and now a right ankle that is a bit achy....

Part of me wants it to be a week from now, so that it will be all over. Another part of me doesn't want today to end.

I am living in the anticipation of what will be.

Thursday's Run

Another easy, taper run. It was very windy and cool, with a rain starting towards the end. I went 4.12 miles in 37:41, for an average pace of 9:09.

Saturday's Run

The last Saturday training run is along the end of the race course, from the store to the finish line. It's helpful for people that are doing the race for the first time, to see where they need to go on that day. For me, it put a knot in my stomach thinking by the time I get to DRC that I will have gone almost 24 miles. 24 miles. With over 2 more to go. On Saturday I ran 3.84 miles in 32:26, for an average pace of 8:27.

Oh, the horror!

This post is going to be all about running. No other whimsical musings, not wedding/family talk - just running. Because for the next 9 days, that is pretty much all my life will be about.

*excuse me while I go find a place to hide and hyperventilate a little bit*

Alright, back to matters at hand. Now, when I say this post is going to be all about running, it will be in fact about something that I have not had to deal with up to this point in my running life. Something that is so horribly painful and disgusting that I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

That's right - I'm talking about chafing.

You see, this spring I've been having a little bit of tenderness on the inner portion of my upper arms after long runs. I figure it's due to the fact that my guns have gotten a bit bigger and more defined with all the lifting I've been doing, and while running they are now rubbing against the seams of my tank tops. It was no big deal, just a little tenderness that would be completely gone the next day. That is, until last Saturday.

Oh, Saturday. My last long run before the marathon - 16 miles. No biggie, been there, done that. The weather, however, was not cooperating. Downpour rain when we went out. I've never been one to run in the rain, but I needed to get this last run in, especially since I missed to 20 miler the week before. So out I went.

Apparently, even with wearing tech clothes, the constant motion of my wet clothes against my fragile, pale skin was not a good thing. Pretty much every place there was a seam my skin was rubbed raw. My stomach. My right leg near my knee where the shorts ended. Under my right boob. Along my left collar bone. But, worst of all, are my poor arms.

Both arms, but more so my left than right, look like I was attacked by some crazed lunatic with 60 grit sandpaper. There was no blood initially, but man did my arms sting when I started sweating from cleaning house Saturday afternoon.

And there's no relief. Putting on deodorant - pain. Sweating - pain. Wearing a shirt - pain. Putting on lotion - pain. And to make matters worse, after Tuesday's run my left arm was rubbed so raw that it did start bleeding.

So, now I am wearing a ginormous band aid on my owie to try to get it to heal quickly and not be in extreme pain every time I think about moving. And I will now be slathering myself, everywhere, with Body Glide in 9 days so that, no matter the weather, I will not have to endure this agony every again.

The things I do to myself. But in the end it will be all worth it.

I hope.

Saturday's Run

The final long run. The subject of this post. 15.92 miles in 2:20:02. Average pace 8:48. Not too shabby.

Tuesday's Run

And now the beginning of the taper. My left quad has been bugging me since the last hell Martin Road run, which seems like it was forever ago. And Tuesday was no exception. I just hope whatever this nagging ache is will be gone soon. The run was to be 6 miles easy. I ran 5.83 miles in 51:57, for an average pace of 8:55.

Thank you for your patience

Holy cow. I did not realize that I haven't put up a post since May 25. Well, I kinda did, but it honestly doesn't feel like it's been that long.

So here I am. Miss me?

If you, my humble reader, didn't know, I got married last weekend. On May 31. 5/31. Yes, it was done on purpose. And how was it, you ask? It was awesome. Do you think I'd say otherwise?

The day started out with rain. Torrential rain. I was staying at my friend, and maid of honor's, house. Which has a steel roof. So once the rain started I was up with no possibility of getting back to sleep. Which is fine, because I wanted to go for a run in the morning to wish my fellow running group peoples good luck on their long run. That Saturday was supposed to be my last 20 mile run before the marathon and for obvious reasons I had to not do it. I wasn't happy about that, but in this instance getting married was WAY more important than running. And, of course, it rained while I was out on my run so I got pretty wet.

After hearing a lot of "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be getting married?" statements, I went back to Inga's, showered, ate breakfast, and then went to get my hair all did. And, man, did the hair person do an AMAZING job! I don't know how many times I heard that day how cool, beautiful, awesome, etc. my hair looked. I felt so pretty. Everything was going right on schedule too, which was really nice because I hate being late.

After hair it was back to Inga's to get dressed and eat lunch before heading up to Gooseberry Falls State Park. I should have known something was up when I had issues zipping up my dress when I put it on. And, no, it's not because I had stress-binge-ate too much in the previous weeks. But the zipper went up, and I thought nothing of it.

Flash forward to eating lunch. While inhaling my grilled cheese sandwich, I realized I hadn't put my shoes on yet. Grab shoes, put on, bend over to buckle - RRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPP! Oh shit. The zipper had pulled apart. In a panic I went upstairs to try to get the zipper to go down again so I could zip it back up. After way too long and Inga using a pliers, we realized the zipper was toast and we had to resort to Plan B. Why didn't this happen one of the billion times I had tried on my dress previously, I will never know. But the flash decision was to sew the zipper shut because there was no way a new zipper was going to go in on time.

So, there I was, close to bawling my eyes out, cursing the stupid dress and for being too fat and for my dumb luck and wanting to crawl into a hole and die.... And my two amazing friends Inga and Kris talked me down from the ledge and reassured me that everything was going to be OK. The only problem was that there was only one Inga to do the sewing, and it was taking a long time to make each stitch (the fabric was really nice, zipper - not so much). Kris called in the cavalry, name of Christine, and with a beer in my hand, two lovely women with needles, and an hour and a half, I was officially sewn into my wedding dress. And, of course, there's a picture to prove it:

Yes, I am smiling in this picture. I owe these two people so much.

 

I was late to my own wedding, not like they were going to start without me or something. And Aaron.... he was so handsome, like a dream, so understanding and caring...

 

The rain held out until after the ceremony was over thankfully. We got some amazing pictures (and I've only seen a few of them) and had a good time with our family and friends. Dinner at Valentini's was AMAZING (if you're in Duluth you NEED to go there - amazing Italian food). The cake was so good too. And then there was the pub crawl...

 

Instead of a traditional reception we invited our friends and family to join us on a microbrewery pub crawl down Superior Street in Duluth. And it was so much fun. The highlight of the night was the special small batch beer that the brew master at Carmody's made especially for us - Wedding Night Porter. It was a cherry-vanilla-cardamom porter that tasted of heaven.

 

I know there was more that I could write about, but this has gone on long enough. Suffice it to say that Saturday, May 31, 2014 was a day that I will always remember, and was quite possibly the perfect wedding day for us.

 

And so I am now Mrs. Erin Abramson. Which is just perfect.

 

May 27 Run

Since there are quite a few of these, I'm going to just do a quick summary of what went down. This day was a time trial, and my left quad was not happy with me after the long hilly run the previous Saturday. 6.01 miles in 50:39, for an average pace of 8:26.

May 29 Run

6 mile easy run in preparation of the (supposed to be) 20 mile run on Saturday. 6 miles, 53:22, average pace of 8:54.

Wedding Day Run

Ran from Inga's house to Brighton Beach to say hi and bye to my running peeps. Oh, and I wore my new running shoes, which are so awesome and comfy. 5.71 miles, 51:14, average pace of 8:58.

Tuesday's Run

This was a goal pace workout of 2 miles goal pace, 3 minutes jogging x 3. Running friend Ben and I ended up cutting the last 2 mile goal pace short because we were extremely hot and dehydrated. 6.21 miles, 55:17, average 8:54 pace.

Thursday's Run

Did not happen. It was supposed to be hill repeats on 7 Bridges Road, but I came down with some sinus-head-cold thing after the wedding, which by Thursday had morphed into a chest cold. And I was not about to run up and down a hill, in the rain, not being able to breathe. So I didn't run. So be it.

 

Number 100!

It's hard to believe that this is my 100th blog post. It seems just like yesterday that I started this journey...

And it all started because I wanted to change, to challenge myself. I will admit that I have been slacking a bit lately in trying new things, in challenging myself. But I've been a bit busy lately.

It's just 6 days until I marry my partner, my best friend, the one with whom I want to spend the rest of my life. It's not an instantaneous thing, this whole wedding planning. Even if it is the non-wedding of weddings. And planning takes time, unfortunately.

It's a 27 days until I run my first full marathon. And I want to do my best, so training is something that takes a lot of my time and effort. It's not just running - I'm lifting and doing core work. It's exhausting on every single level. But the results I've seen are nothing short of amazing in my eyes.

And then there's the rest of life. The Boy, and the other monsters that I've grown to love. Work. Play. And sleep sometimes.

It's exhausting, but it's my life. And I can honestly say that I've never been happier. Is it perfect? No, I'd be delusional if I said it was. But it's pretty stinking awesome.

Thursday's Run

Thursday was an easier run than Tuesday, but it felt a lot harder. It probably didn't help that it was horribly hot outside either - when you're used to running in close to freezing or colder weather, when it gets to be in the 60s F and 70s F it's almost unbearable. But I finished, and my average pace for the workout was about the same as the last time I did it, so even with the immense amount of sweating I did alright. The workout on Thursday was 15 minutes brisk and 5 minutes jogging, repeated 3 times. On Thursday I ran 6.95 miles in 60 minutes, for an average pace of 8:37. Not too shabby.

Saturday's Run

Oh, the long run once again. And once again this run was on the super duper hilly roads north-ish of town. Unfortunately, my intestines were not having anything to do with running yesterday morning, and so it was a pretty crappy run, pardon the pun. There were no catastrophes, but there is probably nothing worse that trying to move yourself up and down hills when your insides are cramping so badly that you want to curl up in the fetal position. I did finish. And I only walked up one block of the last steep hill. I didn't break any records but I toughed it out, with the help of my friends. On Saturday I ran 15.36 miles in 2:26:43, for an average pace of 9:33.

Something old.....

10 days. Until the BIG DAY.

And, no, I'm not talking about the marathon. That's a month away.

Holy crap. It's a month away.

Breathe....

So, yeah, remarkably calm about the wedding. Now freaking out about the marathon. If it's not one thing, it's another....

Anywho, back to the topic of the wedding. Specifically, traditions surrounding weddings. Even though we are going the non-traditional route (only inviting immediate family, no reception, minimal fuss), there is a part of me that insanely clings to some of the traditions involved with weddings. Like the cake. And I've been thinking about the whole something old, something new tradition as of late.

Aaron would probably joke that I'm the "something old" being brought into the ceremony. Which is true, but doesn't really fit the role the tradition refers to. And pretty much everything I'll be wearing is new. And there is a lot of blue going on. And borrowing something just feels weird.

But there is this part of me that feels like I need to cling to some sort of tradition... even if it doesn't make sense.

And then there's the part of me that thinks that none of this stuff matters, that all that matters is that  we get married and start a new phase in our lives together. And really isn't that the most important thing of all?

Tuesday's Run

I don't know why I thought Tuesday's run was going to be shorter. I apparently can't do math anymore. Tuesday was a goal pace workout - 1 mile GP, 2 minute jog, 1 mile GP, 2 minute jog, 2 mile GP, 5 minute jog, repeated twice. Just the goal pace running was 8 miles. But I think I now have a good idea what an 8:30 pace feels like, since we were pretty spot on at 8:30, give or take a little bit of speeding up and slowing down from hills, etc. Considering my actual goal pace is 8:40, I did pretty well. But then it was only 8 miles... On Tuesday I ran 9.42 miles in 1:22:03, for an average pace 8:42.