8 Miles

Saturday was an 8 mile walk in Sonoma and then we had an all-team and honoree picnic. Seth went with me and he helped at one of the water stops, which was pretty nice. It was a beautiful course, through redwoods, vineyards, and gorgeous houses.

Although it was frustrating, I did my best to start out really slow this time, because I didn't want to get my cramp. So, while everyone else was flying off down the trail, I was poking along at the back. I kept telling myself that I was being wise, not proud, but it didn't always help. I was told by a few people, though, that I can be sure that I won't be last by thousands on event day.

My cramp did come, despite my slow warm-up, but I walked through it again. The hills tried to kick my butt, and I did some crying, I'll tell you, but the last 5 miles were pretty good. After a while, my cramp tends to go away, and there is just residual tingling. We'll see what the doctor has to say Thursday.

Thankfully, the other woman who is walking the Maui Full wasn't that too far ahead of me after her potty breaks, so I had company on the way back, which was good. That is usually the source of most of my frustration: being alone and the last one in. Most of the rest of the team is doing Nike, so they do a mile less, and many are also doing a half-marathon, so I think that they do two miles less for now. You know I'm very competitive, though, so it's hard for me to be last, no matter the reasons. This is a big reason why I've stayed away from sports in the past.

So, that's part of my spiritual growth that's happening with this training: killing my pride, thinking of others, learning about perseverance and obedience. I think that I've been fairly good at not feeling sorry for myself, but I do pout to God sometimes when my leg starts acting up. But we got some updates on a few of our honorees who really aren't doing too hot right now, and I know that they wish they could be out walking like I am, so I suck it up. Some of them are in constant pain all over, so I can deal with some pins and needles for a while. I see the change in my heart and mind about this race- the part that is doing it for myself decreases while the part that really is doing it for them increases. When I was almost done and my body was getting tired at the 7 mile mark, I thought of Dennis and Phil and I thought, "I'm doing this for them!"
I do hope that I get to meet them someday soon.

Victory is mine!

Today was a very productive day. I went to the doctor and she was very cool, but wants me to see a sports orthopedic specialist- whatever the official name is. She thinks it's basically shin-splints with bonus numbness or chronic compartment syndrome. So we'll see.

I did my walk anyway this evening, and it was just wonderful. I was to do a 15 minute warm-up and 45 minutes at my medium pace, so I went real casual-like for the warm-up, then did my stretches and picked up a bit. No cramping, no numbness! At my turn around point, I picked up the pace a bit more and ended up making some excellent time. As it stands, I'm averaging about a 15-minute mile, including warm-up and stretching, which is pretty good for this point in my training. I know that I can go faster, but I want to have a steady pace, not just fast. If I do no improving except for endurance, I'm looking at about 7 hours for the marathon, and I would rather be under 6 hours. Onward and upwards!

Week 3- On my own

Well, I wasn't able to go to the team workout this morning, so I did my walk on my own, and it turned out okay. Seth had to work in Napa, so I looked up a park near where he would be and planned on doing the 2.7 mile loop a few times. I had to do 7 miles, so I figured I'd do the loop twice and then another part of it or just walk in the neigborhoods on the way back to the car.

When we pulled up to the park, it was not at all what I expected. It is an open space preserve, so it is rolling hills and fields between vineyards. Very pretty, but also very difficult. So, with the sun beaming down on me, I set off up the fire road on the quest for the loop. Well, there were trails going every possible direction, and none of them really seemed to be "The Trail", so I just randomly picked directions.

My leg has been doing that wonderful cramp in the calf again, so I had to stop a few times to stretch, but I got through it. I really didn't think that I was going to make it at first, but it's really cool to see the changes in my body and how it works. After a horrid first 45 minutes, I hit my stride and felt fine. The terrain was just too hilly, although it wasn't straight up or anything, but gradual. At one point, I had to do that controlled fall thing down a fairly steep part of the trail, but I felt better at the end. I was extremely grateful for flat pieces when I got to them.

After a water refill and more wandering, I found a fairly flat piece and went in a loop there 3 times before I headed down the road to the car. I'm not sure if I did my 7 miles, but I know that I did work my butt off. Since I didn't know which combination of paths through the grass added up to 2.7 miles, I just decided to walk for 2 hours and let that be enough. I'm trying to build up my endurance, so I figured that I'd go for time. Had to have some goal. I actually think that I did end up doing 7 miles, plus hills, plus heat, so I figure it was quality training. I had to do some praying and singing to get me through some parts, but I ended up enjoying it and feeling really good about the whole thing.

I then had to hang out in the car and wait for Seth to be done with work, but I was really feeling good. I had a bag of ice and a frozen water bottle which I applied to various parts of my body both for cooling and soothing purposes-- mostly the feet! I had stretched at another park on the way to the car, and with that and the ice, I really felt fine. When I got up after sitting for a while, I was pretty stiff, but overall, I feel really good.

I did decide to go to the doctor to see if there is anything officially wrong with my calf cramp/ankle/foot pain situation. Although I can get through it, I don't want to be stupid. My foot has been falling asleep during workouts and is actually sort of tingly right now, too. So, as much as I don't want to go, I'll make an appointment, hopefully with a sports medicine specialist, and make sure I'm not hurting myself.

Training is hard 'n stuff...

I've had a slightly frustrating week, with the return of The Calf Cramp. I've been able to get past it, though.

This evening I went to the track for the first time. Even though the walking coach wasn't there, it was pretty good and I pushed myself more than I have before. My mentor kept telling me that I'd be totally dead afterwards and asked me if I was super tired when we were done, but I really wasn't then. I was fine the whole way home, took a shower, all was well. Then I sat down. Oh, and it was just a world of hurt. I was *supposed* to make dinner for Seth, but by the time he got home, I was just sort of a whining mass of hurt, sitting there on the chair and icing my butt, ahem, sorry "saddlebag area" and my feet, knee, ankle. My dear husband took pity on me and made dinner while I took a hot hot bath. It was wonderful. Both the dinner and the bath.

One of the women that I've ended up walking with a few times is both a mentor and an honoree. She appears to be in her 50s, has been cancer-free for 21 months now and is working on her third half-marathon. One of the first chemotherapies that she had was discovered by researchers with LLS.

A man that I met Saturday was diagnosed with leukemia three years ago and is now what the doctors call "stabilized", but he has finished a marathon, a triathalon, and a century ride. It may sound corny, but it really is inspiring to meet and train with these people. I want to talk about them and tell their stories because it is about them. Yes, I want to get in shape and go to Hawaii. I'm not pretending to be completely selfless. But the more that I learn about our honorees, I feel more and more invested in the mission and really want to make them proud. I want to raise as much money as I possibly can to help more people. Okay, I'll stop now- but I do mean it. :D

Week 2

I just got home from my second team training, and it was pretty good. We were on a trail by a swamp, so it wasn't really the ideal conditions, but no cramps and I made much better time. The only snag was that they weren't too clear on the exact course and what we needed to do to get in our mileage, so I'm not sure if I actually did 6 miles or not. It doesn't matter a lot- I did my best and definitely improved over last week. I'm stretching A LOT and drinking lots of fluids. Heck, Seth isn't here to rub my feet & legs, and I'm actually okay. And I haven't fallen into bed yet, so great strides have already been made!!
Next week? Seven miles, baby.

Update on Sunday:
I was obsessed with knowing how far I actually went yesterday, and looking up the trail mileage didn't satisfy me, because we also walked on the street after the trail. So I had Seth drive me down to the trail today (it's only about 35 minutes) and we measured the distance from the trailhead to the spot on the road where I turned around. As it turns out, I only did 5.5 miles instead of 6, but I can live with that. I just didn't want it to only be 5 or less.
*pshew* That issue is resolved!

And so it begins...

Small note first: future entries will be shorter, I assure you.

Well, I had my first big training yesterday out at Mare Island. I dragged myself out of bed at 6:30am- this, my friends, shows you the level of my commitment. When I got to the marina around 7:45, there were about 6 other women there, and we all huddled around a few of the cars and started chatting about who was doing which event. The runners seem to outnumber the walkers, and most people are training for the Nike Women's Marathon. I only remember one other person, my mentor, Shona, who said that they are going to Maui. Of course, I only talked to a handful of people, so who knows? I would say that there ended up being about 40 people there- all women. Well, there was one man, but he's a mentor and is on the cycle team, I do believe.

Anyway, we all signed in and got our instructions on water locations, course details, etc, and probably set off around 8:30. My job for the day was to walk 5 miles. Get out to the 2.5 mile marker and then turn around and come back. So, how did I do? Not so hot, I'm afraid to say. I started off at my slightly amped up walking speed, and I was able to keep that up for about, oh, three minutes. Cramp in the left calf.

I stopped and stretched, but nothing happened. Kept walking, still in pain. Stretched some more, people were passing me, but still in pain. At this point, I was seriously discouraged. I was thinking, "Am I not going to be able to do this? Can I not even walk a one friggin mile? I mean, I walk most days around town here, and I've only had this happen one other time. People were encouraging me, but I really felt like a huge loser. But I kept going. After I made it past one mile, and I had a group of women with me, I figured that I could make it to the end, especially since the water was at the 2 mile mark. Someone had mentioned that localized cramps can be due to dehydration, so I had hope. I also remembered that I walk on the outsides of my feet sometimes, so once I started trying to correct that, it helped a lot. What really helped was getting some Gatorade and pretzels in me.

Here's what you must remember: I'm not an early riser, I'm a new athlete, and I don't always listen to my own wise words. So I hadn't eaten and I hadn't been drinking anything. Stupid? Oh, yes. Have I learned? OH, YES. After the blessed drink, I stretched a bit more, got a bit of advice from a woman who is off to a big Alaskan marathon next week, and continued on with her until my 2.5 mile mark. My cramp was leaving at this point, and I felt a zillion times better. I felt stupid being the last person in (aside from the Alaska-bound, who had 4 hours on their schedule), but I also felt good because, once the cramp left, I was back up to my fairly good speed. I wasn't tired and, aside from the residual cramping, my legs didn't hurt or anything.

On the way home, I did have to pull over and stretch some more, afraid that my leg was going to seize up on me and cause moaning, crying, and an accident. I threw myself on the floor and had Seth rub my calf right away, he made me some breakfast, and I slept for 3 hours. Today I am sort of sore, but an easy walk should help a bit, and it also feels good.What did I learn? Eat, drink a LOT, stretch and then do it again, get new shoes, and I know that I can do this. And I can do it fairly well.

p.s. I think that where we were is a location that the Mythbusters use often. I haven't verified this.