Confessions of a reluctant runner, a DL 1/2 & PHM PTR. 7/5 race recaps and final thoughts

[afwdwfan]

I emailed the race again and while they never confirmed if I could have run, they did refund my money which is pretty unheard of so I was happy about that.

Well, the drama from that morning stinks, but I'm glad you got a refund.

It should have been fine. Except, when I landed, at 10pm, I arrived to find my car DEAD! I tried to open the compartment Jeff had stashed a charger in and for the life of me couldn't get it. I hit a wall and just wanted to go home, so I did.

Yuck.

What was supposed to be a fun adult outing with my BIL running his first race turned into them bailing on us entirely, it pouring rain and us skipping the beer garden to go back to the airport to deal with my car (after we went and bought new jumper cables on the way).

Sorry they bailed on you... and that you had to go back for the car.

This would be Jeff's first race since all the knee drama. I did have a very cute St Patricks day outfit on but...it ended up covered up by my rain jacket.

How is Jeff's knee holding up now?

This shows the difference between a Disney race and a larger sized non Disney race, but still a "fun" run. I don't do nearly as well in the non Disney ones, though I still do fine. A "serious" race and my placement definitely moves down further.

As long as you're having fun... and doing well, and it seems that you are. At least I think you are or why else would you keep doing it? Congrats on another PR, given all the circumstances!

 

[eandesmom]

Wow! You did such a great job! I'm in awe of your abilities. I tried to run in Jr HIgh, but shin splints got the best of me. I wish I could to something like that now, but I think I destined to the pool or the dreadmill in limited times.

The pool is fabulous exercise!

Shin splints are no fun. I have struggled with them off and on. For me, once I got the right shoes (ok who am I kidding, the right shoes still seem to elude me) but...better shoes, foam rolling, strength training in other areas and shin splint stretches I have been able to keep them away. I can tell shoes are wearing out though if they crop back up. The dreadmill actually seems to bug my shins a lot more than the trail/road does, go figure.

I tried to run in both Jr High and High School and it was a disaster. I wanted to be able to run and was always jealous of those who did but it was beyond miserable every time I tried. In retrospect I can see I simply didn't stick with it long enough to get better at it, it is not remotely easy at first. I guess the blessing of age is the willingness and commitment to hang in there even when it totally sucks as the alternative seems worse. LOL! I do think that is the bulk of it for me versus any kind of natural ability. Because trust me, none of it still really seems "natural"!

 

[eandesmom]

Well, the drama from that morning stinks, but I'm glad you got a refund.

Me too!

Yuck.


Sorry they bailed on you... and that you had to go back for the car.

Yeah, that part was absolutely no fun!

How is Jeff's knee holding up now?

It seems to be ok. He has been VERY good about daily PT, ice and rolling and it seems to keep the issue at bay. He gets some twinges here and there but was back to his normal pace at the 5K which was a definite improvement. He is a bit concerned about doing the 12K but I think he will be fine as long as he keeps up all the horribly tedious, frustrating and depressing maintenance stuff. He's gotten back up to 5 miles so the extra 2.5 ish shoudl be doable as long as there isn't a set back between now and then. He wasn't willing to sign up for a 10K though that is offered during my half and will probably not be a fan of my 5K possible idea for mothers day. There is a mothers day half that looks fun and htere is a 5 k during it. I was thinking the gang could do the 5k and then treat me to mimosas after. But it is the week before the 12K so that might go over like a lead balloon. LOL! Not sure I want to do it...but not sure I don't either.

As long as you're having fun... and doing well, and it seems that you are. At least I think you are or why else would you keep doing it? Congrats on another PR, given all the circumstances!

Fear. I do it all out of fear. Afraid that if I stop I will never start again and attempting to stay semi fit and healthy is pretty important to me. It is the easiest cardio that fits my life and injuries, a lot of other things are simply out. I do races out of fear as well. I fear if I don't have something scheduled to make me accountable, I'll just sit on the couch or putz on the computer. It is a lot easier to blow off a workout or run if I am not feeling well if I don't have a race to stay accountable for.

Fun? For the most part no, I wouldn't say it is fun. It isn't any more fun than cooking dinner or going to work each day. It can have good moments but for the most part it is a chore I need to do to achieve what I want to achieve. The races help keep it interesting and varied and there are definitely fun moments at those.

Of course, they are usually AFTER the run.

LOL!

Don't get me wrong, there can be some cool or zen moments while running or moments where I go "hey this doesn't entirely suck" but I also try really hard to make the whole experience as enjoyable or fresh as possible, running on pretty trails or in new places. Like yesterday. I did one of our "normal" runs. I really should have run farther than I did given the race I have scheduled coming up and I didn't really have a long run on sunday since we did the 5K (and then had torrential rains the entire remainder of the day). Or I should have done speedwork, which sucks in the dark.

However, I didn't really want to run farther than the normal route, in the dark by myself. Jeff was going the normal route, but that route has a stair climb at the turnaround. I have only done it once mid run. I did it yesterday. Jeff was maybe going to do it so I figured I should probably as well given that I was cutting things short and avoiding the speedwork.

It SUCKED and I was super slow and worried about falling. But...it's good for me. And it was different which is something. I can tell it would help me. That made it interesting...and motivating...but not remotely fun. I am going to try to add that in once a week. Until I decide I hate it more than speedwork. Or it gets lighter out later lol.

 

[afwdwfan]

"hey this doesn't entirely suck"

Ok, that was awesome!

I do get where you're coming from though. I'm so not a fan of running. I mean, running to me is punishment. I remember in high school at football practice one day, they made us run the cross country course... in full pads. I think that is the exact moment that I was determined to never run anywhere again if I don't have to.

I do need to look into getting some better cardio workout though. I used to be really active... I'd play softball a few times a week during the summer... and yeah, that's not exactly a great workout. But I'm always outdoors and active during the summer and it gets me running some while playing anyway. Couple that with basketball 2 nights a week during the winter and I was really in pretty good shape until about a year ago.

But I've been fighting knee pain and just a general lack of time. I've cut my sports activities to 1 night of softball per week last summer and 1 night of basketball this winter. And then I've skipped a few weeks here and there because my knee hurts, or my back hurts, or I've had somewhere else that I've had to be. I mean a couple of years ago, I'd probably play basketball going pretty hard for 2 - 3 hours 30 nights or so through the winter. This winter, I think I've played maybe 7 or 8 times. And I can feel it too. I've gained close to 20 pounds over the past year or so and I really need to do something about it and get back into shape. Finding the energy and will power is becoming difficult though.

 

[eandesmom]

Ok, that was awesome!

I do get where you're coming from though. I'm so not a fan of running. I mean, running to me is punishment. I remember in high school at football practice one day, they made us run the cross country course... in full pads. I think that is the exact moment that I was determined to never run anywhere again if I don't have to.

that was pretty much how I felt when I tried it (XC) in HS.

I do need to look into getting some better cardio workout though. I used to be really active... I'd play softball a few times a week during the summer... and yeah, that's not exactly a great workout. But I'm always outdoors and active during the summer and it gets me running some while playing anyway. Couple that with basketball 2 nights a week during the winter and I was really in pretty good shape until about a year ago.

But I've been fighting knee pain and just a general lack of time. I've cut my sports activities to 1 night of softball per week last summer and 1 night of basketball this winter. And then I've skipped a few weeks here and there because my knee hurts, or my back hurts, or I've had somewhere else that I've had to be. I mean a couple of years ago, I'd probably play basketball going pretty hard for 2 - 3 hours 30 nights or so through the winter. This winter, I think I've played maybe 7 or 8 times. And I can feel it too. I've gained close to 20 pounds over the past year or so and I really need to do something about it and get back into shape. Finding the energy and will power is becoming difficult though.

It is HARD! I've had very active phases in my life and very non active. It often has tied to who I am with. The E's dad was very inactive and it made it easy for me to be the same. When all that ended I found myself a solid 40 pounds overweight and completely out of shape. Took me quite a while to find a groove that worked with being a single mom and working full time but I did, and lost the weight. When the boys were little, it was a lot easier, I could work out at the office as we had a gym, and I could do pilates at home after they were in bed. When Jeff and I got together I started going to the gym with him, kids were little enough that the childcare there, worked.

Then came elementary school and middle school. The kids had activities and homework at night and trying to fit in a workout of any sort and feed them, get them where they needed to be and help with homework combined kids too old (and too busy) for the gym daycare any more definitely helped that weight creep back on. It was easy to simply say I couldn't fit it in at all on school nights. Then I got laid off. I had time in the day now and that was great. Then I started work again and the cycle started right back up along with the weight except now I couldn't work out during the day at all. Several years ago I hit a wall and simply decided I really couldn't stand where I was at and somehow HAD to fit it in. For me, actually making a schedule with Jeff that works around the kids activity schedule (and sticking to it) has made all the difference in the world. If anything in some ways, running has made it easier to get more workouts in overall though I will say my gym workouts have suffered in quality as they are now largely spent doing PT type stuff to ensure that I can run lol. It's now been a routine long enough that if it slides too long, I feel it and get cranky which is motivating. It has meant a lot of flexibility and giving up on certain things. At the end of the day I cannot do it all. If I want my kids to do all their activities and homework and still let me work out some school nights it does mean we do not eat together every night. It means I am not as on top of laundry or dishes as I should be. Those are tradeoffs I can live with at this point and I would like to think it is a healthy model for the kids. We try to have other routines that are set to balance it out. 2 family nights that are set in stone each week, one out and one at home. Kids that actually have chores to share in the workload because we are all busy. And sometimes, we can get the kids in on things with us. For a while we had them going to the gym with us on weekends, now Eric does some running with us and i hope that continues and increases.

As Jeff and I age...we break a heck of a lot more easily. But even just walking 5 nights a week for 30 minutes can make a huge difference your overall health! It sucks. PT and the like is a major time suck. But the alternative simply isn't palatable so we try really hard to do what we need to, to stay semi fit. It can be frustrating for sure. I don't think we work out that much. We try exercise 5 days a week but generally it is for an hour, or less. Maybe once a week is it longer and that is usually only me, on a run. Finding that 5 hours is a challenge but it is worth it. I only started running because I literally ran out of options due to other injuries. Even when I hit that wall (fall 2011) I only was getting in, at best, 3 days of workouts. It was an improvement but it wasn't enough. Eventually I hit another wall called acceptance. LOL!. It wasn't until I added in the running in spring of 2013 (as I finally accepted PT would never get me back to the other cardio and strength things I liked) Fear of the alternative has kept me running and because that kept me committed...eventually it became tolerable and occasionally enjoyable. It certainly became less sucky!

 

[afwdwfan]

Yeah, I totally understand what you're saying. And I really need to just suck it up and figure something out. I've got to get back down to where I used to be weight wise. I know that has to be a big part of the reason I'm having knee pain. Yet that knee pain makes me want to not move sometimes, so it is just an ugly cycle. I may need to just make myself get on the elliptical and get some low impact work in.

I still don't know that I could ever get into running, but like you said, it is probably one of the easiest types of workouts you could ever possibly fit in. I mean you can pretty much do it any time and anywhere.

And I'm glad that over time, it has become less sucky.

 

[CarolynK]

Cute outfits!!

 

[eandesmom]

Yeah, I totally understand what you're saying. And I really need to just suck it up and figure something out. I've got to get back down to where I used to be weight wise. I know that has to be a big part of the reason I'm having knee pain. Yet that knee pain makes me want to not move sometimes, so it is just an ugly cycle. I may need to just make myself get on the elliptical and get some low impact work in.

It is an ugly cycle, I know what you mean. I have definitely been there, especially with my neck. So frustrating. Have you had the knee looked at or tried PT or foam rolling? The elliptical is better than nothing.

I still don't know that I could ever get into running, but like you said, it is probably one of the easiest types of workouts you could ever possibly fit in. I mean you can pretty much do it any time and anywhere.

And I'm glad that over time, it has become less sucky.

Never say never. I really truly felt that way my entire life. I despised it but also kind of wished I could enjoy it as it just seemed easier than worrying about gym hours and class schedules! It is easy to fit in most of the time (unless you are traveling for work and the location isn't really safe to go out and run in or something like that) and when you are traveling it is a really neat way to see things in a different light. Or, if you are really lucky like I am, it actually can open up a networking opportunity at work events. Two events now in a row where I've made a work connection over runDisney in particular and two where there were group runs scheduled. Yesterday was super cool, I'm at a conferencein Palm Desert and signed up for a 5K run, it really was a 5K "race" and not the fun run I was expecting. Maybe up to 50 people did it and it was pretty refreshing to have a business network option that wasn't golf or tennis (neither of which I play!). So much fun and something different which is always a good thing. Not to mention a riot seeing all these type A business people get pretty competitive out there and everyone checking their various running apps or gps watches to confirm times. Hysterical and a fun way to meet people.

Cute outfits!!

Thanks! I think that is as much as I will ever do, and it will likely be less in the future but it really was easy to run in and I am glad we did it.

 

[MEK]

OMG - that bay to breakers crowd looks daunting. Maybe you need to tie yourselves together. Yes - you are definitely going to lose him for sure, but thank goodness for cell phones.

I love the bling. The medal is actually very cool.

 

[afwdwfan]

You've actually got me considering the 10K or Half during Marathon weekend. I kind of like that idea of having a goal... accountability to get my butt back into shape. The conference that I attended in San Diego last year is in Orlando this year. And if I go a couple of days early, I'd be there marathon weekend. Maybe I'll be saved from my temporary insanity by the lack of spousal approval.

 

[eandesmom]

OMG - that bay to breakers crowd looks daunting. Maybe you need to tie yourselves together. Yes - you are definitely going to lose him for sure, but thank goodness for cell phones.

I love the bling. The medal is actually very cool.

Except....Jeff doesn't carry his cell phone when he runs. Ever. We are going to have to figure out a meeting spot in case we get separated but in reality, he's going to have to run at my pace as there is NO way I could run at his!

Had lunch with several folks who have done it this week and had some interesting stories for sure. I need to watch out for the naked runners apparently....

You've actually got me considering the 10K or Half during Marathon weekend. I kind of like that idea of having a goal... accountability to get my butt back into shape. The conference that I attended in San Diego last year is in Orlando this year. And if I go a couple of days early, I'd be there marathon weekend. Maybe I'll be saved from my temporary insanity by the lack of spousal approval.

LOL! Ok that's funny, I had the same thought (lack of spousal approval) and in a moment of insanity ran the idea of me doing Avengers by Jeff. His response was..

"I am not not ok with it".

LOL!

You should do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There will be a ton of people you know there and you'll already have flights covered, a perfect way to do it. Maybe start with the 10 to ease yourself in? Or go all out and do the half, but then you'll want to do a local 10K so you aren't at the back of the back fighting the crowds. It is so much fun.

It's been really fascinating to me how it has opened up a different world to me. I'm at a conference now, heading back tonight. As usual there was golf and tennis for the more traditional networking things but there was also a 5K run and then a hike. The 5K was really truly like a "real" 5K race! Cones, distance markers, oranges, bananas, swag(sunglasses lol) and water at the end, probably close to 50 people! Cracked me up. A bunch of type A folks all comparing their times at the end. It was an absolute blast.

As was the hike although my clients at dinner later thought I was nuts. What else is new, right? LOL!

 

[APears]

Love reading your Trip Reports, just caught up on this PTR! I'm a CM at Aulani, happy to read you'll be visiting for spring break. Hope to see you around!

 

[eandesmom]

Love reading your Trip Reports, just caught up on this PTR! I'm a CM at Aulani, happy to read you'll be visiting for spring break. Hope to see you around!

Very cool! We will definitely look for you (except I'll need to know where exactly to look lol). Getting very excited.

 

[eandesmom]

Confession time.

I really shouldn't have

Really

But I did

I couldn't help myself

I'm going.....

COAST TO COAST!

And signed myself up to run the Avengers Half this morning.

Much as the challenge will be cool being the inaugural year and all that I don't expect myself to do it 5 years in a row to get legacy status and the price point was frightening. Jeff did consider the 10K and had he bitten, I would have done the challenge but this is a much more financially responsible way to do it. He still may come but now isn't committed to it.

I could have waited, there are still spots for the half, and even for the challenge but that 10K? Sold out FAST! kids races too.

Can you say...

DOUBLE BLING!

LOL.

Now the question becomes....do I renew my AP at DL? It would really only make sense if I did a DL race in 2016 that fell in the timeframe. AKA Star Wars.

Not sure I can push my luck quite that much!

 

[MEK]

I knew you would find yourself a new race. That's awesome. Going bicoastal will be fun. Happy planning!

 

[PrincessInOz]

YAY! Well done for signing up.

Happy planning.

And in your shoes, I would totally renew the AP = More. Trips.

 

[Pinkocto]

I'm very excited for you, I can hear the excitement in your voice, but I have no idea what a Coast to Coast means??? You don't literally run from one side to the other do you? Hopefully I'm not coming across as a total stupid head...

 

[franandaj]

That's awesome! Now please let me know the date so I don't book our band to play Disney that weekend! We played there that weekend last year and it was crazy traffic wise. Some people almost missed the performance!

 

[afwdwfan]

Cool! I'd say go for another one. The Star Wars race really looked pretty awesome to me. But then again, that's the first Disney race I've ever seen so I've got nothing to compare it to.

 

[CarolynK]

I also have no idea what a Coast to Coast is??