Relentless Forward Motion (a.k.a. Running towards 40)

[momof2minnies]

Hi Amy,
Good Luck this weekend! I wish I was going to be there and meet all you guys.

I hope you have good weather,it was 86-88 all week last week.Not a drop of rain,of course that may not be a bad thing at those temps.

Thanks for all your support this past year it has made a big impact on my ability to accomplish what I have in such a short period of time,

Good Luck,
Linda

 

[toystoryduo]

Best wishes for the Minnie this weekend! Have a great time, Amy!

 

[AmyBeth68]

Hey guys...I'm SOOO sorry about being a major journal slacker. I have not meant to ignore my journal or yours. Life has beaten me up a bit the past few weeks...so I can definitely say this trip to Florida is desperately needed . I hope to see some of you in sunny florida (Kimbo, Stacie, Stacy and Scotty). ANd I promise to check up on my other buddies here when I get back (Linda, Tracy, Beth, Deb). You all have been an inspiration and great source of support for me. Thanks a million!!! Take care of yourselves over the next week and I'll be posting with pics when I get back.

 

[MIdanceMom]

Hey Amy,.

Yes, you've already left, but I still needed to wish you luck. I'll be From Michigan!

Safe journeys,
Beth

 

[kimwim8]

Hey girlie! It was wonderful to finally meet IRL! Thanks so much for cheering me on at the race. It was a nice pick-me-up! Hope you had a great time at the 15k and the rest of your time at WDW. Can't wait to see some pics.

 

[corinnak]

Hi Amy! I didn't see your personal penguin this weekend - or was he in your checked bag? It was so fun to meet you and cheer with you at the finish line for a while. It seemed to me it could have been a little less humid, but other than that, what a great weekend, eh?

 

[toystoryduo]

Hi Amy,

I'm looking forward to hearing about your trip to WDW and the 15K and 5K! Hope you have a great day tomorrow!

 

[momof2minnies]

Hi Amy,
Can't wait to hear all the details!How did it go?
Linda

 

[Caitsmama]

Amy, hey girl! It was so nice to get to meet you this weekend!! You already know how i feel about all that --

I just popped on here to answer your question on my journal -- no, i can't go to Marathon weekend in Jan. and then go back for March - LOL As much as i would LOVE to!! (How many annual passholders are there in Rhode Island?! LOL) b/c we go in November for our family trip for the week of Thanksgiving -- so i think i would be pushing it.. LOL
But, my mom and sis have decided they want to do this annually, meaning SOME kind of Disney race -- so i am sure we will be at more in the future.. i just wish i lived closer!!

 

[MIdanceMom]

Hi Amy.

I can't wait to hear about your races. Hope you had a wonderful trip.

Hope all is well,
Beth

 

[hockeygirl]

Hey Amy! I can't wait to hear about your trip to WDW. I was reading on Scott's blog and it sounds like you guys had a blast!!

I wish I could have been there with you guys, but just couldn't afford it this year!

Looking forward to your race report!

 

[AmyBeth68]

Hi everyone

Wow...the trip to WDW was SOOO much fun . Have I told you guys how much I ADORE Coronado Springs? It's my favorite non-DVC resort on Disney property. Honest! The landscaping is beautiful..the pools are awesome...best "food court" on premises (although it's much better than a traditional food court) and the transportation to and from is a breeze. Rooms seem larger than the average moderate...but maybe I'm wrong about that. I love the amenities...TONS of pools, full service swanky bar, health club on site. You name it. Anyway....CSR is worth a visit and their prices can't be beat. $125 for a night? Amazing!

As always the food was incredible. You guys all know the restaurants so well that putting a food report on here wouldn't necessarily be helpful but I will say that Jiko is incredible. Just as good as I remembered!!! Kona Cafe for lunch is also wonderful!!!

The races:

5K - Pre-race I met a bunch of AWESOME WISHers . Specifically from the journals here i met Corinna, Kim, Stacie (who I've met before!) and Susan her sister , along with Caitsmama Stacy and many many others from the events thread! What a great and rewarding experience to see so many green shirts all supporting one another and putting faces to names.

As for the race itself...It was a great speedy little course that ended with us running through Epcot. I had decided that with uber-fast Scott there to push the pace I might be able to PR. At this point I believe my fastest 5K time was somewhere around a 27:00 so I was gunning for 26:00. We nudged our way up to the front of the pack...we wanted to keep the elite runners in our sights for as long as possible to help give us a quick first mile. Cindy (CynthiaCindy) from the WISH team lined up with us. We took off and maintained a very fast first mile, clocking in somewhere around a 7:40 I believe. The next two miles we were able to maintain 8's although Cindy pulled ahead and kicked some serious 5K butt finishing I believe in the 24s if not faster... but we finished strong too! YAY!!! The overall time was 25:32 for an 8:13 mpm pace. I was so happy to have accomplished goal number one and was ready to take on the 15K.

15K: Unfortunately, I woke up with sore quads . NOT a good start for my day. Then....there weren't enough porta-potties at the race start which was discouraging to me for some reason LOL. I never did get my last minute nervous jitters run to the porta-potty as the lines were nearly as long as the course itself LOL. Anyway....the race started and our goal was to put in 3 quick miles of somewhere around a low 9. First mile...9:32...NOT the start I wanted. It went down hill from there. My legs were heavy but I managed to hang in there around a 28 for the first three miles. I maintained that pace for a few more miles but the humidity, the course itself (running the dreaded switchback of the marathon course) and just my overall mood was not helping at all. Then around mile 6 I turned to Scott and said...I've got nothing left. Mile 6 and I'm done. My legs were cramping...my body just wanted to stop and walk. It was awful. I felt totally and completely wiped out. I took my gel but it didn't really help at all. I think I waited too long to gel...I think the fast race the day before took more of a toll than I imagined it would....I think that for some reason my body was just not wanting to run . So I dropped my pace by nearly a minute for the next few miles. Then finally a few Wishers came up behind us in World Showcase during the final mile...it was my buddy Angie from the events thread. Seeing her gave me a boost and I finished a little stronger. Overall time was NOT what I had hoped for. My original goal for the race was to finish around 1:23....I had lowered those expectations to a 1:25 the weeks leading up to the race....but had figured I'd be pretty darn happy with 1:29 if I pr'd my 5K the day before. Sadly I finished at 1:32 . I was REALLY disappointed and frustrated with my performance. All of my training runs leading up to the race were faster. My last Half Marathon was faster. It was just a very demoralizing experience for me. I know what I'm capable of but my body just gave up out there.

Days later I look back and realize that something wasn't right. I ended up being a bit sick the past 5 days. On Tuesday when I came home I wasn't feeling well at all. I think maybe my body was just stressed, trying to fight off a virus . And also...the 5K was a huge push for me...that is not a comfortable pace and I felt it the next day.

I'm taking some time off from running. Not much..but I need to step away from it and figure out what I want to accomplish with this "hobby" of mine. I'm not naturally a good runner. It tends to hurt a lot when I'm out there...and basically I'm a wimp and really don't like pain . It also isn't a "fun, relaxing, way to lose yourself from your problems" kind of thing for me. I'm not zen or zoned out or able to find that elusive runner's high. Which...btw...I totally do NOT believe exists. It's a lie other runner's make up to sucker you into this dreadful sport . Anyway...what do I want out of running? I want to figure out how to actually enjoy it. I love biking...I love pilates....I'm going to put some focus on those two areas and figure it out from there. I'm still going to be training here soon...I plan to run the DL Half marathon. But I'll be perfectly honest with you...at this moment....the idea of training for and running another Goofy is appalling to me . Goodness...what was I thinking???

*sigh* Sorry for the downer there. But I just need to step back and refocus.

 

[Caitsmama]

I'm not zen or zoned out or able to find that elusive runner's high. Which...btw...I totally do NOT believe exists. It's a lie other runner's make up to sucker you into this dreadful sport .
.

I'm with ya on that girl!! I have yet to see a runners (or joggers or walkers) high.
But, i am still trying..

Hope your spirits are better - and i think that is a good thing that you are taking time to refocus -- sometimes we just need a time alone with our thoughts. (And a big ol' mixed drink helps too)

 

[postesf]

Hey chickie! It was so good to see you and Scott!!! This time we actually got to hang out and we had a blast! I'm really glad it worked out.

Congrats on PRing your 5K. You guys were speedy! I'm sorry you didn't reach your goal for the 15K. You still had a great time. I remember the morning of, you mentioned that you didn't really feel like running. Try not to be too down on yourself. You still did awesome!

Just my opinion, but it seems you just push yourself way hard to get faster and faster. Maybe if you just ran it for fun ( a bit slower ) you would enjoy it more. There is nothing wrong with that. Your leisurely pace is still rocking fast!

I hope you've been able to step back and figure out where you want to take this running thing. You can do whatever you put your mind too!

My pics are uploading right now so hopefully I'll have TR in my journal soon and on the events board sometime tomorrow.

I'm really glad we got to see you and hang out at MK!!! You guys were a lot of fun. One of the highlights of our trip!

Take care of yourself!!!
Stacie

 

[corinnak]

Hey Amy!

Let me just say that even though 5K doesn't sound like much compared with some of the distaces you've done, when you race it hard, don't underestimate what it takes out of you. I don't think having two great races time-wise back to back is realistically going to happen most of the time. The body has to recover - you can't get blood from a stone! Not sure why anyone would want to, but anyhow...

I'm going to agree with Stacie that just running for fun might be something to try for - I know I like running at a happy pace better than at a push-it-till-you-want-to-puke PR pace. I will be curious to hear if you can find your way to loving running through an examination of your affection for pilates and biking.

You are making me consider CSR for a future trip - The pool there does look amazing. Did you try the water slide?

 

[toystoryduo]

Happy Mother's Day, Amy! I hope you had a great day yesterday!

Congratulations on both races and your PR, Amy! You did an awesome job!!!

I hope that you're feeling better.

Have a great week ahead!

 

[deekaypee]

I read your last post a couple of days ago. And since then I've been waiting for the right words to come to me about your post, the precise thing to say, the perfect balance between supportive and kick-your-buttness with a touch of humor thrown in for good measure. You know, the magic words that will make everything better for you--because that's what you deserve.

And I got nothing. I couldn't think of what to say, in part because I think you've said it all and in part because nothing I say can really get at what you're feeling. And in large part because I suffer from performance anxiety, and there's no Viagra for my writing impotence. So, luckily for me, you go ahead and get all self-reflexive, coming up with your own answers so quickly that I've got motion sickness. Whew! Thanks for saving me from the pressure--I wasn't handling it at all well!

Now that you've done the hard work of figuring out what you're going to do on your quest for the fun run, I can feel free to tell you that I think you're doing the right thing. You're looking for love, and what better goal? Of course, you've got some pretty strong suitors competing for your attention. There's the biking and the Pilates. I pretty much think the Disney thing is high on your love list, too. So what is it about those things that you love, love enough to make central to your life?

Seriously, I'm asking. Not only because I'm selfishly mining you for your personal stories in order to help me figure out what I love about what I do and how to pursue my passions. There is that reason, of course, and I am certainly eager to use you for inspiration, the motivational vampire that I am. But I'm also asking because I believe if you write down why you love these things--which you love enough to literally change your life in order to pursue them more fully--you might just discover what it is about running that makes it fulfilling to you.

I think tell us and yourself these reasons are worth a try, anyway, even if it's so navel-gazing, journal as therapy that it makes me almost regret suggesting it.

 

[postesf]

I like your new plan!

I also like what Debra said!

I hope you are feeling more settled now and happier!

Stacie

 

[larry's girl]

Hi, Amy. Just wanted to pop in and say how much I enjoyed meeting you in person at WDW last week. I so appreciate all the encouragement and support you have given me over the past several months, and it was a thrill for me to finally be able to talk to you in person!

Your plans for running sound reasonable to me. I think if it is too much like work, we can start to resent the time we spend on exercise, so your ideas for putting fun back into your runs sound like they are right on the money. I hope you have a great time incorporating that into your biking and Pilates routine - just know that you are a true inspiration to me, every day! I look forward to keeping up with how things are going with you over the summer. I really hope we get a chance to see each other again in person some time soon, but in the meantime, we can always chat on WISH!

Thanks again for being such a great WISH friend. Have a good day!

Susan

 

[postesf]

Amy!