November 2, 2012

We survived our second 10K last Sunday in Sycamore IL. It was a really nice race, extremely organized, and there were 1526 racers!!!! I was 53rd out of 64 of the women in my age catagory!!!! The fastest women in my age group was 45:14 - APSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!! My time was 1:12... It could have been better but I fell the first mile in, did NOT get hurt but about 1/2 doz runners helped me up -- VERY VERY nice!!!!! LOVED the start of the race - they shot a cannon (yes real cannon) about 6 times... scared Lisa and I to death!!! We started at the armory in Sycamore. On the whole it was fairly flat, the rough part really was coming into the park toward the end. They had speed bumps in the roadway so I had to be VERY VERY mindful of my stepping. So even with the fall.. I probably could have been down to 1:10 or so... This is better than the last 10K in Monroe but that was some serious steep hills and grades - time was 1:15. Getting closer to finishing the 1000 mile challenge I am currently at 881.85 miles since 2/14/12.... only 118.15 to go!!!!!!! I did have one "down" day this week. It was after the race and then John's class (that ALWAYS kicks my a...). But that is good!! Now I am back and feel great!!! I hope this weekend to be able to get in some fairly long runs. Maybe not a real long one but at least some 5 to 6 milers in... That will get me over the 900 mile mark and well on my way to finishing the goal.... It will be very interesting to see how many miles I can really get in before the end of the year... My next races are a 5K Jingle Bell and a 8K in Winnebago. Both of these are this month. I hope that the weather holds and it is not too horrible cold or rainy or snowy... But time will tell! This time of year is the BEST for me with running. I love that it is not so hot outside that I get SO over-heated and fatigued. Yes, I still get very hot in the cooler weather but it is so much easier on the recovery. I know that I am improving with my overall stamina and that is FANTASTIC!!!! It is difficult to go out early in the morning. It is pitch black outside and cool especially when you have a nice soft,warm bed that very very inviting... So I have been doing more evening runs because the warm bed has me in its clutches. I do like the early morning runs because it gets you all energized for the day. We celebrated Halloween this week. I did not pass out the candy. Brian, my husband, did that. I stayed AWAY from the candy and just worked on my sewing/quilting. So I stayed true to my nutrition and had my salad and a piece of vegan pumpkin pie -- yummy!!!! I have discovered a new nutritional love --- raw oatmeal... It is GREAT!!! I took it with to the race and it was perfect... You take some regular oatmeal and mix with a cup of yogurt and add some fruit pieces and let it set in the frig overnight. It is great protein and calcium. After a long and hard run, I tend to have an upset tummy. So I want to eat but really can't. So this was the PERFECT food... I could just slowly eat it and it was calming to my tummy. Everyone has to find what works for them and their bodies. I know that my nutrition has been a GIANT factor in my progression. Not just losing over 120lbs... but everything - fatigue, cognitive issues, neuropathy, and all the other WONDERFUL MS issues... I have gotten to this point through A LOT of very HARD WORK!!!! I never say never and ALWAYS willing to try... To me, to give in is like giving up... that is ALLOWING the MS to win... to HELL with that!!!!! Not going to happen on my watch --- when MS came to me it did not know what a stubborn, pain-in-the-ass, Irish-gal it was dealing with.... So just go and do it -- whatever it is ... go.....