I. Am. Tired. This is my 5th half marathon in 4 weeks. I also didn’t think Georgia was that far. But after driving through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi to get there I realized it was a smidge further than I thought.

My mental game wasn’t very strong heading into this one. Like I alluded to earlier (not subtlety) I think I’ve just crammed a lot in a little amount of time. All the driving and travel is tough but I was trying to take advantage of the weather before it gets too hot. Regardless of my apathy, I figured I would still give Georgia the ol college try. It’s worth noting that sometimes in college I didn’t try as hard as I should have. (Friday morning classes were tough).

Memorial Day in Cumming, GA dawned…with no dawn. It was overcast, hot, and rainy. I’ve never run an entire race in the rain.

It has its pluses and minuses. The plus being the constant cooling effect (affect? I missed that day of class apparently). The minus being the wet socks which led to blisters and also chafing. Now, if you haven’t run distance you have probably not experienced the chafing but it is real and it is horrible.

And you’re welcome that I shared that harmless pic instead of the real life damage that occurred.

The race was fairly small. The race director, Tim, was really nice. There was no bag drop so he let me put my stuff in his truck. I was also one of maybe 5 people from outside of Georgia. The race capped at 525 participants.

The race started fairly normally until about a half mile in. And then, it happened. The first murder. A toad was just minding his own business trying to cross the bridge when he got trampled. The resulting carnage wasn’t pretty. It reminded me of middle school science class when I dissected a frog and all the innards were strung out. And this happened at least 2 more times that I saw. Now, my mind often wanders when I run but I have never been so preoccupied with the event that I have stepped on an animal. I remember even running Willow Fork Park in Katy, Texas where I would sidestep caterpillars. Or I would see a nice, fat roly poly and stop to pick it up. (I know, I’m basically 12).

So there was that. And then something else appeared on the path. A giant pile of dog shit. Or maybe it was from Bigfoot. Basically it wasn’t something you could not miss, and yet the homedude in front of me somehow did. It felt like time slowed as I saw him stick his left foot square in the middle of it and then begin the revolution of his leg backwards….towards me. I pulled some moves straight out of the playbook of Patches O’Houlihan and dodged, ducked, dipped, dived and dodged and somehow avoided being shit slapped by the flying dung. Not cool man. Not cool.

There wasn’t a lot to see along the path until I came across “motivational signs”.

They had these all along the path with different mile denominations. So according to these I earned two plates of nachos and a bagel. Now I like bagels but at ten miles in I certainly am not thinking about eating a bagel when I’m done. They should have put the cheeseburger for the runner and the bagel for the walker. Also, what cheeseburger is only 300 calories? I would slap some sweet peppered bacon and a nice fried egg on top and enjoy a 500 calorie burger that tastes awesome.

So all these food signs had me hungry. I hadn’t felt well that morning so only ate a half a protein bar and was feeling the deficit. I usually run with jelly beans but was out so grabbed some other stuff. I was very hungry but the world gave me a whole bunch of no. I tried my hands, my teeth, multiple areas of the package and got nothing.

Well I finally dragged my tired, hungry and honestly cranky self towards the finish. It got better there. My kids decided to run me in which was really special. Bond thought it was so cool to cross the finish line with me and promptly took my medal.

We went back to the hotel and I assessed the damage to my body. My stomach was a mess and I was just in a lot of pain. My foot and knee hurt, and I was blistered and chafed. Also I had dropped and broken my phone after the race. But the show must go on, or in this case we had Mets tickets so I rallied.

While at the Mets game I got a reminder to be grateful for all my body can do, even when it’s not feeling 100%.

This veteran, Johnny “Joey” Jones, threw out the first pitch at the Braves/Mets game. He lost both of his legs above the knee and suffered damage to his right forearm and both wrists when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan. His job was to disarm and dispose of IEDs. While walking off the field a mother thanked him for his service telling him that she had lost her husband Tom Kennedy in the war. He immediately offered the first pitch ball to her son. I was lucky enough to be sitting close enough to witness this. Truly amazing and inspiring as to what kindness, giving, and selflessness really look like. I’m honored I got to watch this moment.

After the game the trek home began. Those of you who have spent any time around me know that I drink Diet Dr Pepper like it is necessary to sustaining my life force. All I wanted after the race was some so we stopped at QuikTrip. And this:

Okay, fine. Let’s try again at a fast food restaurant.

Nope. Denied again. But I remembered what I had seen at the Mets game and reminded myself to be grateful. I also was in the middle of reading a book about attitude:

I finished this book in one day. Whether you are into running or not, it’s a great lesson on the power of the mind and it’s effect on your performance as well as your overall life. I highly recommend it.

Looking back I wonder if I would have had a better performance if I had gone into the race with a better attitude and not been thinking so much about being injured, or the weather, or the pain. But I can’t change the past so I plan to learn from Georgia.

Lessons-

1. To be grateful for what my body can do even when not operating at 100%

2. To cultivate a positive attitude

3. And to always avoid stepping in behemoth piles of dog shit

What’s next? June is a light month for me. I’ve got a Margarita 5k in OKC next weekend and then I’m doing a Gauntlet challenge with my sister. I believe it’s like a giant obstacle course. I’m going to try to take it easy and rest my leg. My next half is in July in Oregon. That is, unless I sign up for another one before then…it’s been known to happen with me.

 

 

Another twofer! I ran the Fargo Half Marathon on May 19th and miles 3-4 crossed over into Minnesota. So that counts, right? Right. (Changed at a later date to just count as North Dakota).

I picked my mom up in OKC and began the journey to the top of the United States. Now I don’t know how many of you have been to Fargo, ND but it is a long ass ways away. I stopped counting how many total hours of driving it was round trip once I surpassed 24.

Luckily along the way I got to meet some neat people. Like this guy:

He kindly invited me to make a mandatory donation to the state of Nebraska. Nebraska has 60 mph speed limits….whoops.

But after Nebraska comes South Dakota! Big fan of the speed limits there.

Although there is one thing I don’t like about South Dakota. The severe lack of Diet Dr Pepper. Apparently you have to pay an extra fee/tax to have it so most gas stations don’t. Luckily I had gotten some in Iowa although there I had to pay a $0.05 bottle fee. What the WHAT? But alas, I’ll pay pretty much any cost to get my fix.

We arrived in North Dakota on Friday afternoon and went to the expo to pick up our race packets.  On this run I decided to do something a little different. Coming off of Nebraska I knew there was something wrong with my foot and didn’t think I would be able to do anything special time wise. I got an email from the race about a week out that said if I signed up for the 5k the night before then I would get extra swag. Well that was a no brainer. Normally I try and rest my legs going into a race but this time decided not to worry about it. PLUS my mom was doing the 5k as well. The temperature was in the 50s but dropping quickly (that morning it had been in the 70s). The 5k started at 6:30pm and I was singularly motivated to get back inside as soon as possible. The cool thing about the Fargo races is that they ended inside the Fargodome.

Now previous to that day my PR in the 5k was 27:25 from June 2017. One of my goals for 2018 was to break 27 mins. Well, I surpassed what I thought I could do. I wasn’t checking my watch, just trying to get out of the cold and when I crossed the finish line in 24:41 I literally thought my watch had malfunctioned. I think my music also helped. The song Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons came on right as I was heading towards the finish line. Music is so powerful for me.

My first 5k was back on 11/19/16 and I ran it in 34:00. Almost 10 mins off of my time since I “became” a runner. I impressed myself.

Once my mom finished we went out to dinner at a local restaurant and then went back to the hotel to relax. The next morning was the half marathon. It had gotten colder and worse…windier.

My foot was hurting and I already felt like I had accomplished a success for this trip so decided to relax my pace and enjoy. It was a decent course with minimal hills. Good crowd support and GREAT candy. As a bonus some stranger made me a sign! (Well it’s actually probably for another Alicia but I took a pic because it was cool).

The wind got brutal. At one point I got bitch slapped by my own braids. (Weapons of mass destruction pictured below….and gotta give my mom mad props for the do, I don’t have the skill).

I finished in 2:16 so still not bad. And finishing inside was awesome. We were greeted with a sweet spinner medal and  pizza, bananas, chocolate milk, and cups of cookie dough!! Now, I’m a big fan of cookie dough. So much so that in the 5k I had worn a tshirt that said “My Love Language is Cookie Dough.” Clearly someone was listening! That is the best post race food I have seen so far.

They also gave us hoodies which I really liked. Normally you only get a T-shirt. It was a very nice expo. I don’t plan to head back to North Dakota any time soon but if I was in the area for some reason I would definitely run this race again.

After the race they sent us photos and I got one that I really like. I think it was taken around mile 12 and I was hurting . But I think my face, and the tension clearly in it, captures my determination and commitment to the distance. I’ve been told to respect the distance and even with this being my 12th half marathon, I still get intimated at the start line. It’s never easy, but it’s always fulfilling. I don’t stop when I’m tired, I stop when I’m done.

Next up is Georgia on Memorial Day. And the picture below perfectly sums up my motto regarding basically my entire left leg as I’m now having knee issues as well. I’ll probably take some time off after this race to heal up, but hopefully it’s nothing serious.

So in the last 9 days I’ve run in 3 half marathons.

The first was Tulsa Golden Driller with Run The Streets. It’s a running mentoring program that I’m very thankful to be a part of. Basically we help young adults ages 12-18 prepare to run a half marathon in 12 weeks. 58 of them completed the half marathon this season and it was a wonderful accomplishment by each and every one of them. If you are interested in learning more or donating to the program go to http://www.runthestreets.org. It’s entirely funded by donations.

Here’s a link to the video of the race:

 

The second was the OKC Memorial Half Marathon. It was definitely one of the best races I’ve ever done. My time was 2:01 which I was really happy with since I had just run 13.1 the day before. The course had the best support I had ever seen. And the water stops were every mile which in the Oklahoma heat was needed. And I got to run it with 25,000 of my closest friends….like this guy.

I wish I knew what he was thinking. Were his nipples chafing? Was he overheating? Was he trying to show his pecs to the camera? I guess I’ll never know. Interesting running form though.

I plan to run OKC Memorial again next year. I saw several people I knew along the way, I had family and friends out there as spectators and fellow competitors and just had a blast.

And then this past weekend was Nebraska.  I was worried going into it. My knee had been bothering me and a lot has been going on so I wasn’t in the best place mentally going into it. That morning though I decided I was finally going to break two hours. A former professor of mine had told me to “bring the heat”. Which he said later means to leave it all out on the race course. Well, Nebraska brought the heat. It was in the mid 60s at race start and they didn’t get us going until 7:25am (race was supposed to start by 7). The first couple miles though I got into the rhythm and just kept repeating motivational sayings in my head. Reading signs always helps and there is seriously nothing like a high five from a child to keep you pumped up. The course was tough though. Not a lot of shade and some decent hills. Coming through the last quarter mile towards Memorial Stadium I knew it was going to be close so I sprinted. But I did it. And I’m proud. I think that physical preparation is important but mental strength is what can mean the difference between success and failure and I had decided not to fail that day.

Running into the stadium was really awesome. I wish OSU had something similar.

I got to ring the PR Bell!

After the race I met up with my Aunt and we went to eat at The Green Gateau, a little restaurant in Lincoln. It was on the race course so we got to watch the race continue which was really wonderful. I ordered chicken cordon bleu crepes which were delicious. And the waiter brought me a carafe of tea because post race hydration is something to take seriously. (I wish it had been sangria but you know, had a long drive home).

Shortly afterwards I headed back to Oklahoma. On the way I was talking to someone and they asked how I was feeling. I responded that I was tired. (I had said the same thing earlier when the gentleman who handed me my medal in the stadium asked me how I was feeling and he said it was the first honest answer of the day). Well this person responded and said “well you may be super woman but you’re not that super.” Now that’s a bit of a contradictory statement and I think was meant well but all I could focus on was the “you’re not that super” part. This is someone who SHOULD think I’m super. It really bugged me, and still does, but then I thought back to the race. I was running next to the 4:00 full marathon pacer and he kept losing people who wanted to wait on someone. He would say “run your own race”. So I’m focusing on that instead. I know I’m not doing anything miraculous or life changing by running 50 states, it’s been done before and it will be done again. However I’m learning so much about myself. It’s making me physically stronger, mentally sharper (except immediately post race when I’m basically unintelligible until I find a drink and a snack), and I’m meeting so many amazing people. I’ve seen so many examples of bravery, kindness, and the indomitable will of the human spirit. The running community is one I’m proud to be a part of. And I’m just here to run my own race.

I started 2018 with the Little Rock Half Marathon. Why did I pick this one? Because of the big ass medal.

I honestly wanted to run the full marathon (and plan to next year) but didn’t run more than 5 miles at a time in the 12 weeks leading up to it so I was woefully unprepared physically. Mentally I was good to go though. The lessons I learned about knowing my bodies limitations from last year had been forgotten so I was “READY!!!”.

The expo was huge and conveniently located at the hotel I was staying at. (Which overlooked the finish line!)

I even saw people I know. The running community is huge and yet it’s amazing how often I see a familiar face even away from home.

The race weather was projected to be perfect. 50s and overcast with a small chance of rain. Unfortunately the weather men/women got it wrong. It was 40 at the start and then at about mile 5 or 6 it started raining. And not a light, cooling drizzle, it was the kind of rain that makes your socks squish and your hair stick to your eyes. And even though that part really sucked (I hate wet socks) I had the best time at this race.

I was really inspired by some of the other contestants. There was an out and back stretch where we were passing some of the slower runners and I saw a guy who was probably in his 80s walking the half marathon with a cane. There is not much that is more motivational to me than seeing someone push themselves to do their absolute best against odds that are stacked against them. He was dead last but was strolling along with a smile on his face.

Also the crowd support was awesome. So many great signs. I really like the interactive ones.

I had some tasty snacks along the way. My personal favorite, a lady literally handed me a box of tator tots from Sonic. You better believe I ate those right up. Carb loading is essential both before and during running after all. And it’s weird how I never question where food comes from or how sanitary it is in a race situation.

I ended up finishing in 2:16 something. Not too bad considering I wasn’t prepared and the weather wasn’t ideal. To celebrate I looked on Yelp and found that the #1 rated restaurant was walking distance from the finish line. So I strolled to Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken and ate….fried chicken.

Next up? Well I’ve got a few half’s in Oklahoma just for fun but my next new state is Nebraska in May. Before that I’ve got the T-Town Half, the Golden Driller Half and the OKC Memorial Half. The Golden Driller is the day before the OKC one so I’m sure that will hurt so good. I’ve never done two half’s one right after the other. Wish me luck!

To finish off 2017 I decided on Arizona. I used to live in Prescott, AZ when I was younger so knew the chances of it being warm in December were good. I am a creature of warmth. Which is funny because I typically post better times when I run in cold weather…but I still don’t like it.

I found a race called The Phoenician Half in Scottsdale. It was the inaugural race and run partially on the resort. Of course it sounded beautiful. And it was…for the first three miles. The next 8 or so were run along the Arizona Canal Trail. Basically a dirt packed road. It was clogged with runners who weren’t a part of the race and at one point I passed a port o potty that was so disgusting I literally gagged on the flies circling it. Blech. Protein? Gross, can’t believe I just thought that. I channeled Dodgeball. Dodge, duck, dip, dive, dodge. If anyone saw me I’m sure it looked like I was having a seizure of some sort.

I was still hurting from Route 66 but decided to go for it anyways and push myself because I knew it was my last race for a while for many reasons. To name a few:

1. Christmas cookies
2. It was cold in Oklahoma
3. Christmas cookies
4. There were no more flight sales on Southwest
5. Christmas cookies

The race was fairly non-eventful. I did decent considering my body wasn’t listening to my mind. I kept trying to distract myself with stories so that I wouldn’t feel the pain. The mind can go to some weird places when you have that much alone time. When that stopped working I reminded myself that a champagne brunch was awaiting me at the finish line. Although at one point I truly thought about swimming across the canal as a short cut. Luckily the smell was a strong deterrent to keep running. Today was not the day to compete in an aquathlon. (Full disclosure, I had to google that word. I put duathlon and turns out that only applies to biking and running combos).

Once I crossed the finish line I was greeted with a 4 inch medal (sweet!) and tables and tables of brunch food (sweeter!). But the really cool part was my Mom was there and had come to watch me. We were both staying with my Aunt and it was fun to have some people there to cheer me on.

For Christmas I got a 50 States chalkboard so I could start tracking my progress visually. And basically I spent Christmas break planning some of the states I would do in 2018. So far I’m signed up for Arkansas, Nebraska, North Dakota and Minnesota. I’m definitely going to add more though. 2017 was a good year though. I ran 6 states so “only” 44 more to go!

This is the half marathon that taught me about limitations. I was fresh off my full marathon finish from 7 days prior (you read that right and can probably predict where this is going) and thought to myself: Self, you can do anything. So go ahead and knock out the Route 66 in Tulsa. With the famed “gently rolling hills” and you will get a sweet jacket and check Oklahoma off the list.

I felt injured after the marathon but thought it was probably typical post marathon pain. I had never done one before so figured it was normal to be walking like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I was sore and dealing with knee and hip pain. But I channeled my inner Mike Gundy. I’m 34, I’m a woman! I didn’t think I would PR or anything but thought I would do okay.

Whelp, I was wrong. Ran about a mile before stumbling to a limping walk. Limping. At mile 2. At first I thought I was hitting “the wall” a smidge early. Thought it was a mental thing. You know that moment when you are wearing Nike’s and just can’t do it? (Neither do I, I was wearing some Saucony footwear that day).

But I’m not a quitter, damnit. So I decided I would walk my ass to that finish line if it killed me. And it was cold and I was feeling sorry for myself and then I saw it (not a Sonic….but second best, a Starbucks!) So I crossed traffic and ran (I’m using that word liberally at this point) in. Luckily I’ve got the app on my phone so could get myself a delicious chai tea latte. You should have seen the looks I got. I was in full running gear, with a number on my chest, stopping for a bathroom break at Starbucks (WAY better than a port o potty) and a tasty, hot beverage.

That was around mile 8. I sipped on that drink for the next 5 miles. Also, full disclosure, drank some Fireball from some random person’s “water” bottle. Turns out the party is at the back of the pack.

I did meet some cool people who were helping a veteran carry his gear and flag. He was struggling and they were offering snacks, Advil, hydration, etc. People are awesome.

And that’s what I love about races. You never know who you will meet or what their story will be. Towards the end I walked ahead and saw a lady crying quietly. Her dad was just admitted to rehab the day before and she was doing the race to feel like you could overcome anything if you put your mind to it. I stayed with her until the finish line and we crossed together. I learned it’s not all about your time, it’s about the journey and those you meet along the way. Some you help, and some help you, and I love being a part of this running community.

Also. Sometimes you need Starbucks and Fireball instead of Water and Gatorade.

Next up was The Mother Road Half Marathon. It starts in Baxter Springs, Kansas and ends in Joplin, MO. Two for one! And before anyone says that’s cheating I have two comments. 1 – I made up this challenge for myself so I make the rules and 2 – I am running this again in 2018 so I will cover both states again. Boom. (Edited to change this as now I’m just counting it as one state).

This race was 13 days after Washington so much less down time than I would normally like. However by doing this I would qualify for The Half Fanatics so may as well. It’s a group of people who love doing half marathons so I thought it would be fun to be a part of, plus it helps you get discounts for races and paying to run is becoming a large chunk of my budget so every little bit counts.

The race was fairly small and started before sunrise. Decent crowd support. Thoughts that went through my head during the race:

1. Why did I wake up at 4:30am for this?
2. Mile 5 – gently rolling hills my ass. I thought Kansas was flat. I asked some bystanders to give me a ride up the hill as they were sitting on the back of their truck. They laughed like I was joking. I wasn’t.
3. Mile 7 – the wind hits. I see a dude that is like 7 feet tall and try to catch up with him to block the wind. Too bad the 7 foot tall dude is faster than me.
4. Mile 8 – I’m getting used to the wind and treating it like nature’s AC. And then I see a sign from heaven – SONIC! I could use a tasty beverage. I feel around for my credit card in my runner’s pouch (aka a sweet fanny pack type getup). And then I see it…. “CLOSED FOR RENOVATION”……WHY?! WHY?! The injustice of it all!
5. Fine, whatever. Would have been hard to run with a 32oz beverage in hand. I try an energy chew instead. It’s gross and sticks to my teeth. More energy? Hard to tell. Fruit tasting burps? Check.
6. Mile 12. Almost done. There is a dude twice my age ahead of me. Need to pass him. Thankfully I do.

Overall it was a fun race. As mentioned earlier I have already signed up to run it again next year. Although this time I’ve already tricked my sister into signing up to do it with me! Bahaha…

A photo of the bling:

One thing I love about running, you meet all kinds of interesting people. Include those who like to smoke a nice cigar mid-run.

Whelp, not sure what to say about this photo. Maybe I was trying to fly up a hill? Or hallucinating?

So after I ran my first half marathon I thought…I need another big goal. Something that will keep me going. So I came up with two.

1. Avon 39 – a 39 mile walk to benefit breast cancer
2. Run a half marathon in all 50 states before I turn 40

At that time I wasn’t ready to commit to a full marathon because I didn’t think I could do it (hardy har har) so running a shorter distance in 50 states seemed easier. Maybe it is easier when you compare 13.1 miles to 26.2 miles but not when you do 13.1 miles a minimum of 50 times and not to mention the cost of traveling to all these races but I digress. I had a GOAL and minor hurdles such as distance and cost weren’t going to stop me. (I’m currently considering a second job to pay for this GOAL).

So I started googling and I found my next half. Beat the Blerch in Carnation, WA. There are two reasons I picked this one. The first reason: my good friend from college lives close by and I thought I may be able to convince her to do it with me (Thanks G!) and the second reason: you get chased by people in fat suits, there are couches along the way if you get tired and most importantly at the fuel stations there is CAKE! This was a race after my whole heart. So I signed up immediately. If you find yourself interested here’s the website: http://www.beattheblerch.com/

So race day arrived and it was cold which is perfect for running. Although I tend to complain about the cold beforehand. I do not like being cold…ever. We picked up the race packets and the bag was full of candy. Typically you get GUs (which if you have never had one imagine gurgling Jello and trying to run at the same time) and nutritious protein bars that taste like flavored cardboard. But getting candy and a sweet shirt?! I knew I had picked a phenomenal race. They had some interesting merchandise for purchase which I will share pictures of below. And one of my favorite parts was getting to take a picture with one of the Blerches who would soon be chasing me. Before the race we prayed to Doritos and Funyuns. And they threw marshmallows at us for some pre-race fuel. A benefit to being 5’10” is having the ability to snag the marshmallows out of the air as I am often taller than the other runners.

I snagged a PR that day by over 18 minutes. The course was beautiful, the weather was cool, and most of all I was having so much FUN that I didn’t realize how much I was pushing myself. I had a blast and would highly recommend this race to anyone.

Next up: Kansas/Missouri

I did it! Weeks and weeks of training and I completed my first full marathon on November 12, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas.

My running journey began on November 19, 2016 when I ran a 5k with some coworkers. At the time I hadn’t run in years and couldn’t finish the 3.1 miles without some walking. My time was 34 minutes.

Then my sister thought it would be “fun” to do a Turkey Trot 10k. I hadn’t really trained but thought what the heck and ran/walked that in 1 hour and 8 minutes. But I was proud. I had started something.

From there it kind of took off. I wanted to push my body farther and see what it could do. I signed up for a quarter marathon on January 7, 2017 and was able to run that without stopping in 22 degree weather (living in Houston that temperature still makes no damn sense). After that I felt like I could do more. I signed up for a half marathon in March and the Avon 39 in April. I was able to run the half marathon without stopping and trudged through 39 miles of walking for breast cancer awareness in the Avon 39. I was officially addicted to running and wanted to continue to challenge myself…so I had the crazy idea to sign up for a marathon, and I DID IT.

In one year I’ve gone from not being a runner, to not knowing who I am without running. I’ve cut over 6 minutes off of my 5k, over 12 minutes off of my 10k, and over 18 minutes off of my half marathon. I’ve run 22 races, including 4 half marathons (my 5th this Sunday) and 1 full marathon. I’ve gotten healthier and stronger. More important than the physical gains are the emotional ones. Running is not about being better than anyone else, it’s about being better than I used to be.

If running is something you’ve considered, I encourage you to try. Because you can. End of story.