Spin Your Wheels

The Cause: All funds from Spin Your Wheels directly benefit the pediatric patients at The Children’s Center. The Children’s Center is a hospital that provides medical and nursing care, rehabilitative and respiratory therapies, and education to children with complex medical and physical disabilities.  Another great cause!

August 13, 2011- I was ready to spin my wheels for 54 miles with over 1300 other cyclists.  My training plan was to have fun and keep a steady pace throughout while practicing my race hydration and nutrition.  With temperatures in the 70s and little wind off we go at 7am.  Wow, today is beautiful!  Thank you God for this awesome weather and hundreds of other cyclists to enjoy it with.  In the first two or three miles I caught up to Jill, our TNT and LLS campaign director.  We talked the whole way and before I knew it, we were at mile 27 (the turnaround point).  I loaded up on cold water and snacks and was ready to head back.  I averaged 17.1 mph and finished in 3 hours and 6 minutes!  Yeah, I told you my bike was fast!  It was an exciting day for me and I was thankful to see the improvement in my cycling and strength. 

Afterwards we were welcomed, with hot off of the grill steak tips, Subway sandwiches, and Jamba Juice smoothies.  Yumm!

It is surprising to me how much I am getting into this whole cycling gig.  The bike tours are quite enjoyable and I can see Justin and I getting to ride in many of these in the future.  The atmosphere, the people, the exercise, oh and don't forget the food!

Later that day the muscles in my legs could tell that I went every bit of 17mph for every bit of 54 miles.  Any other day, it wouldn't matter.  What was I thinking when I signed up for the Arcadia Lake sprint distance triathlon the day after?  Tis' the season I guess.

Biking to Okarche!

Saturday August 6th, 2011 six people from our Team in Training group met at Lake Hefner at 8am.  It was already hot, but I was up for whatever the day would bring.  I had asked earlier in the week how many miles we would be riding and 40 was the response.


We started off at an easy pace and stayed together.  Once we got onto the highway, it was whatever speed we could muster.  Megan and Taylor were up ahead of me (figures) and I lost sight of them (also figures) at about mile 16.  At mile 20 I couldn't see them in front of me and I couldn't see anyone behind me.  Did I miss Okarche? Then my Garmin (fancy running and biking GPS watch) read 21 miles.  I have for sure missed Okarche, I thought.  I crossed the big grassy median and headed back.  Then I saw Robin.  Yea! She assured me that we were headed the right direction.  When we got to Okarche we had ridden 29.4 miles.  Unless my math is wrong...29.4 miles times 2 equals more than 40.  This ride was turning out to be a little longer than I expected.  We refueled at a local convenience store and regrouped.


It was very hot by this point and we had a long way to travel to get home.  I stuck with Taylor and it really pushed me to keep up with him, especially in the 105 degree temperatures.  All in all we had 4 or 5 flats, but managed to have enough tire repair "stuff" between the six of us to manage.  With a few variables, it took 3 hours and 55 minutes to finish 58.8 miles.  I caught my 56 mile point (my race distance) at 3 hours and 45 minutes.  I think I can shave some time off of this during the race, but at least it is something to go by.


Well, I am writing this on August 11, 2011 with only a month and half left before the RedMan.  It is hard to imagine a 6 to 7 hour race when my longest training is 4 hours.  I guess just knowing I am doing the training and working hard I should be alright.


Stay tuned for posts about this coming weekend.......... a 54 mile bike on Saturday and a sprint triathlon on Sunday.


Fundraising goal:  I am just under a hundred dollars away from my goal and I am excited about the progress.  Check out my progress or donate online at:  http://pages.teamintraining.org/ntxok/retriokc11/jprattlp2h

Tri OKC Splash and Dash

A local triathlon club, Tri OKC, puts on informal events known as splash and dashes at Lake Arcadia. It is a great way to get some open water swim time with a group.  Another great thing is Tri OKC have people out in kayaks called spotters and they keep an eye on everyone just in case you get tired and need a rest or need some help.  I went on July 28th, 2011 to try it out.  The course is set up to where you can swim 500 meters and run 2 miles, but you can swim, bike, or run all that you want.  I swam 1260 meters (about 29 minutes) and ran 15 minutes.  It is easy to swim crooked in open water, so I had to spot the buoys often.  For some reason I wasn't kicking much and I had to remind myself constantly of the correct technique.  It is easy for the old habits to creep in when you get out of the pool and into open water. 

I met some nice people during and afterwards.   They provided tons of snacks, hydration, and hot dogs afterwards.  I look forward to the next one!

FLAT out tough!

Bike Clinic

Last Saturday, July 31st, our TNT group met for a quick, one hour training ride and a bike maintenance clinic.  Steve Schlegel, owner of Schlegel Bicycles (also the place where I purchased my hot ride), hosted the ride and bike clinic.  He walked us through how to change a flat, how to lube your bike chain, and some quick tips on hydration and nutrition for the half ironman. 

Come Monday, I felt that since I knew how to change a flat, I should go ahead and purchase what I needed just in case I had a flat. 

Online, I had found out about a group ride starting in Edmond and it said it was for all experience levels and two regroup points.  When I had only had my bike for about a month, I call the "leader of the pack", only to be nicely told don't come and that I would be left in the dust, but it would make me better.  With this information I held off..... until now.  I knew I would need another rider to go with me that would be willing to stay back with me when I was left behind.  I don't bike alone on the open road.  One of my TNT training partners, Alisia was ready and willing to go. 

At 6pm it had to be every bit of 110 degrees.  I watched in the parking lot as a bunch of fit, hard bodied cyclists got out of there vehicles.  Uh oh, this is going to be a fast ride I thought.  Next I see Steve then Megan.  Megan is one of my triathlon coaches.  She was a navy seals rescue swimmer and is an excellent triathlete.  I asked Megan how long we could keep up.  She said "I have a hard time keeping up with this group." Enough said.

Alisia and I had planned on doing a shorter version of their route and just follow as long as we could.  Nice guy Larry introduced himself in the first couple of miles of the ride and told us the route so we wouldn't get lost and reminded us that this was a "drop ride".  Meaning that they don't wait on you.  He said there used to be a couple of regroup points but they won't be regrouping today (pull over and wait until everyone is caught up). 

Early on we went over some railroad tracks.  I had stuffed a little water bottle in my top bar pouch just in case I needed a little extra.  The water crowded my cell phone and GU, so when I hit the tracks, my cell phone shot out.  I thought, we'll never catch up.  I pulled over and put my bike in the grass and ran to get my phone (running in bike shoes is not the easiest thing).  By the time I get back on my bike, I see Alisia up ahead waiting on me, but no one else.  Boo hoo, huh?  I guess if you are going to do a half ironman you just got to be flat out tough.  Then what am I doing, I am more flat out crazy! 

So we raced hard to catch up, elevating my heart rate quite a bit.  Guess what, Larry had told them I had lost something and all twenty of them pulled over and waited.  Yea, we get a second chance at this.  Already winded from catching up, here we go again.  Averaging 18.6 miles per hour with hills and all, we managed to stay with them for 10.5 miles and then got caught behind a stop light.  My heart rate was in the 160s during that time and I was happy to have stayed with them that long. 

Alisia and I reached the halfway point and headed back to the starting point together.  Not only was it flat out tough, it was FLAT out tough.  Yep you guessed it...I had a flat.  While narrating aloud (this helps me) I used my spare tube, tire levers, a CO2 cartridge and changed the flat. Yea! It even worked afterwards!

Well, it was about a 20 mile ride averaging over 15 miles per hour.   It was great training and I am better because of it.  The next morning I woke up to go train, but the heat had given me a headache, so I listened to my body (a valuable skill that I learned how to do in massage school) and I stayed in bed for a couple more hours.  I would be ready to go the following day.

Norman Conquest-Conquer the Hills and the Heat

Participation funds from the race provides children with developmental disabilities scholorships to attend Camp Clap Hans, put on by the J.D. Macarty hospital.  Great cause!


43 MILE BIKE
July 16th, 2011-  They were not kidding when they said conquer the hills and the heat.  The 43 mile bike tour in Norman started at 7:30am.   I was concerned about all the hills that every one was talking about, especially 46 miles of them  (I thought it was going to be 46 miles, but my Garmin said 43).  Most people talk about the heat while cycling, but that doesn't seem to bother me much, now in running, that is a different story.  My temperature guage is best suited for running in Hawaii.  Feeling the ocean breaze, smelling the fresh fragrant air, running through the botanical gardens, playing chase with the tide as it comes in, being saranaded by the birds.  Sorry, I got lost in my other life momentarely.  My longest ride so far was 30 miles.  I was ready for a personal distance record.


Right off of the bat I almost squeezed someone into the curb as I was trying to turn and wave to Daddy, Asher, and Abram. " Focus, Janna, focus", that is what I had to tell myself as I pedaled slowly with hundreds of other cyclists.  We took up the entire road for as far as you could see, it  was exilirating.  It was no time and someone had a small crash in the bulk of everyone, then another slipped on some water over the road.  At this time the road was rough, too rough for me I thought.  The crowd had thinned slightly, then I hear the sirens of the EMS come roaring by me.   We were only a few miles into the ride, when one guy didn't make the corner and went down. I am glad I didn't see it happen.  As I past him, I looked back,  to find a guy in his middle ages, setting up, cuts on his knee, road rash on his arm, blood coming down his cheek.  But what I remember most is his face, he had a lost expession that words cannot describe. (Sorry, family to scare you with the story, it scared me too!)  Immediatly a sick feeling came over me and my internal dialog started.  Should I be doing this?  These roads are rough, I don't like this.  I wanted to just turn off and do the 10 mile short course.  Two nice ladies, Kathy and Dawn broke my internal turmoil when they approached me about my Chesapeake jersey, though off and on throughout the ride the man's face would come back to me and I would pray for him. 




Elevation chart of the hills.  My elevation gain was 1388 feet!

After the roads smoothed, I was calm, the crowds were thin, and yes there were hills, many hills.  Going up one of the hills I was actually going 5.5 mph.  I am not sure how I could go that slow and not fall over.  I kept waiting for my legs to get fatigued from the miles of hills, but they just kept pedalling. The cool thing was my cadence was higher then last weeks duathlon, yet I my output was the same.  This was very encouraging, I was getting better and stronger, yeah!


When I was descending some of the hills, I felt like I had a motor on my bike.  THIRTY MILES PER HOUR, that's right, I was going that fast.  I thought:  When I was a kid, my big brother John fixed his go-cart up with a new seat, bright red paint, new handle grips, and a fine tune up.  Do you know what he did?  He gave it to me for Christmas with a big bow on it!  I will never forget that day.  It is one of the most special gifts anyone had ever given me.  It wasn't just the fact that it was the coolest go-cart ever, and the pastures were now mine to roam. John and Dad had secretly put a lot of time into it, and it is something that John had passed on to me that he had truly enjoyed.  Ok so let's tie this all together.  My go-cart would go 30 mile/hour.  Believe me, I never went that fast, that was too fast.  So here I am out here on a bicycle going 30......craaaazzzzzy! After one of the big descents I was going 28 after the road had flattened out.  About 25 to 30 cyclists in a group came flying by me like I was setting still.  Wow, how are they going that fast? I felt like I was riding a bicycle on a nascar track.  And no, I am not into nascar. 


It took me 2:57 to complete the conquest taking my time.  I averaged 14.5 mph.  


6 MILE RUN
Unfortunately, for me the race had just begun.  I do mean that.  The race is in the run.  I have always heard that, and I am a believer.  It was 11:00am by now and 103 degrees with a heat index of 125 degrees.  It was a perfect(or not so perfect) opportunity to get in a solid run after a long bike.  Remember, in a little over two months I will have to swim for about 45 minutes, bike for about 3:45, and then run a half marathon.  I headed out with my fuel belt and strong legs.  I was pacing at about 9:43 or so and was happy to be feeling good.  I kept hydrating along the way.  At about 3 miles out I stopped at a 7 Eleven to go to the bathroom and then refill my bottles.  FYI:  7 Eleven does not have cold water in their bathrooms.  I doused my head and face with water trying to lower my body temperature.  You would think I was taking a shower in there, with all of the water on the floor that I cleaned up afterwards.  Out the door and I am feeling refreshed with the hot 7 Eleven water and the small break I just had.  Refreshed until about mile 4.5 and here we go again.  I am already out of water from drinking it and splashing it on me.  I am hot, it is HOT! So in I go to a nice cool Jack In The Box.  I refill my bottles at their COLD fountain and off I go.  As soon as I take off I pour ice cold water all over me.  That did the trick.  I kept hydrating and pouring water on me enough to complete my 6 miles.  I finished in 59:50, a 9:58 pace!  I told Justin that I could have ran a half marathon if it was cold.  He said "you mean if it was cooler?"  I said "No, if it was cold."  I felt strong, it was just too hot.  I am very thankful for the excellent training day.  I am getting there.

Kudos to the race setup (with exception to the rough roads in the beginning).  The volunteers were very friendly and the race was well organized.  I enjoyed cold ice water, gatorade, a couple of cookies, and oranges at the nice shaded rest stops provided.  After the ride and run, my buddy Asher and I went in to get a great lunch to go.  The only thing that appealed to me because of all of the exertion, were the gigantic bratwurst hot dogs (I guess I was needing the salt), whole grain rolls, and chocolate chip cookies, and pickles.  I loaded up two of everything to share with Justin.  Oh, and I won a drawing for a girft basket frome Canes Chicken Fingers too!

Du Draper Twice Race- 1st Place!

 

Lake Stanley Draper





GETTING READY!

THE 1st RUN It was 7:00am, already in the 90s and the gun went off.  For the first time, I started up front.  Not because I could keep up, but just because I wanted to watch the fast people run fast.  Usually, you line up with your pace group, to keep people from having to go around you, but today I just wanted to dream a little and think I would be able to keep up someday.  The race was a 10k run, 48k (30 miles) bike, and a 5k run.  The course was an out and back 5k twice, around the lake twice, and another out and back for the final 5k.  My expectations were to finish somewhere between 3.5 hours and 4.  I would be happy with a 10 minute pace on the 10k, a 2 hour bike ride, and a sub-eleven 5k.   I signed up just for good training and to have some fun.  Looking around me, I didn't see many novice triathletes like me.  I was judging by how fast people flew by me and of course their "tri" attire.  I was sporting my Team in Training tech shirt and my husbands' tri shorts. 

I got to cheer on Dan Tigert (pro triathlete and helpful team member at Schlegel bicycle) as he was running in the lead.   

Not long into the run, I felt the blisters start on the arches of my feet.  I knew my feet could take the first run with blisters, but I was not looking forward to the final run with them.  During the run, I remembered that I had my five finger shoes in my transition bag, phew that will save me in the final run.  See the picture on the right for the hot spots on arches on the inside and outside of my feet.

I finished the 10k in 53:11, an 8:34/mile pace! You would think it was a 15 minute pace because it seemed like everyone was ahead of me, including a guy with a mo hawk, that later became "Mo hawk Man" (a name that I kept to myself). In transition, I took off my shoes, got out my backup shoes so I wouldn't forget them the next time around and grabbed my bike off of the rack.  Ooops, there goes my helmet onto the ground along with my sunglasses.  Helmet, that would be nice.  Ok so rewind.  Sunglasses, helmet, bike, now we are talking!   If you are still staring at my feet, you can stop now.

THE BIKE Thirty miles (two loops around Lake Stanley Draper), this was going to be a new road bike PR.  I actually have ridden 33 miles on a mountain bike untrained. Afterwards, I suffered from frostbite fingers, a sore bottom (I didn't own a pair of cycling shorts), and an anti-bike spirit.  My mountain bike started  collecting dust. 

I was relieved to be on the bike and not running.  It took me 7 miles before I caught up to someone and passed them.  I passed 5 more people, including blue shirt girl that passed me in the run, and I was trying to chase her down.  Where is everyone else............as far as I could see, no bikes.  I pointed my foot down and my calf started to cramp.  I didn't do that again!  I hydrated and fueled heavily and felt good.  

I stayed in aero 95% of the time and my bottom was numb from it, and still kind of is.  I don't think that is normal......  I think some adjustment needs to be made to my aero bars because it wasn't as comfortable as I feel it should be.  When finishing lap two and turning into the marina, the left side of my abdomen started to contract and cramp.  I tried to move around so I could get it stabilized in order to get it worked out before the run.  I hopped off my bike, said hi to Coach Ryan who was volunteering and ran into transition.  My bike time was 1:43:05.  I didn't go all out, and I average 17.46 mph on the bike.  Nice!

The Last Run  Have you ever tried to put on vibram five fingers and your toes start cramping?  I wasn't used to all of this cramping.  I had to take my time to get my backup shoes on.  I was off for the final run.  No problem with my blisters.  Yea!

My legs didn't feel bricked, I am getting used to this I guess.  I was hot and tired though.  People that I crossed paths with looked exhausted, they would finish way ahead of me, but they were spent and walking.  I kept running, I guess I had saved enough energy to finish strong.  On the last water stop, I motioned the volunteers to just pour the water on me.  Four cups, they splashed all over me, and commented that it was the swim portion of the duathlon. 

On the final stretch, I notice Mohawk Man up ahead.  I was gaining on him.  I was pushing hard to the finish and for some reason I started to pull back to let him finish ahead of me.  What was I thinking?  So in a split second I decided to go faster and beat Mohawk Man.  I wish I had a picture of the back of his head, because that is all I saw of him.  My run was 29:54, a 9:37/mile pace.  My splits were Run 53:11, T1 1:05, Bike 1:43:05, T2 :53, and Run 29:54.  Total 3:08



  



Yea!



At the finish I saw my support crew.  They are the best I told you.  I couldn't wait to celebrate with hugs and kisses.  We hung around for a while to get pictures and as we were headed to the car, the announcer called my name.  I had won my age group!  An OKC Landrunner once said if you race in enough races and some of them are small enough you will eventually place.  Ok, but between you and me there was only two in my age group that was participating in the long course, but hey that's ok.  It was excellent training and I won an awesome sunhat that you can see pictured below.



Smiles awaiting me at the finish line!






Receiving my styling hat!

 



Lake Arcadia Spring Creek Park

Spring Creek Beach at Arcadia Lake

1:14 Bike, 00:17 Run
Headed to swim at Arcadia Lake via bike with my support crew following me.  I needed to get in 1:15 in on my bike prior to swimming.  There were some great hills, but I was a little discouraged to see that 8mph was all I had in me while climbing them.  Good training, right? Right! There were plenty of switch backs in the parks so it was more of a cautious ride.  I arrived at Arcadia Lake, finished my ride and got a call from my new Team in Training friend Emily, only to find out that the beach is closed due to e. coli.  WHAT E. COLI?  And I was about to swim in that.  I have a nursing infant, could he get e. coli too.... I don't think so, but it just ran through my head.  I can't wait until the triathlon at Arcadia Lake.  Hahaha. Really, I am just thankful that they actually test the water.  Justin and the boys headed for a great sandy and shaded playground. A small TNT group, Emily, Taylor, Nate and I went for a run.  For me it was only 17 minutes and I didn't want anymore of that heat.  Emily, Taylor, and Nate wanted a little more and got in about 4 miles or so in.  Way to go guys!


Emily and I



My Support Crew

Balancing intense training in with family has its' obstacles.  You have to have a pretty awesome support crew on your side to make it successful......and I do.  I am up at 4:40am and at the gym by 5:00am on most days to get in my swimming followed by cycling and/or running outside.  This seems to work out best for the family because everyone is still in bed......hopefully.  Lil' Abram seems to know when Mommy's out of the house.  He is Justins' 5:30am alarm clock on some days.  Sorry, honey!  We have two group trainings per week; a swim and a bike.  These group outings have been really good for my time with boys.  A little time away keeps me refreshed while at home.


I feel like Justin and I have always been intentional about working in our training with family time in order to remain present and keep priorities straight.  For instance, last week I had a couple hours of training at Lake Hefner with the group.  We load up the double jogging stroller, my bike, plenty of water and bunnies and crackers and off we go.  I rode my bike and Justin pushed the boys in the stroller followed by some serious play at the Stars and Stripes playground. 


If I walk into the room with some type of gear on Asher says "Mommy's been swimming." "We're going to playground, I better get my shoes on and get in the stroller."  I love that.  The impression it has on the boys shows in our playtime too.  I thought I had the day off from working out this past Wednesday, but Asher had other plans.  The train is actually a good hamstring workout since Asher is so fast on his tricycle.  I don't have any pictures, but I am also a tricyclist. :)


It affects our attire:

And even our artwork:

So there you have it, the best support crew around! 

TriathaMOM

Well, here you go.  On Mother's Day weekend I signed up for the RedMan Half Ironman.  Yes, it is a triathlon, and it is a big one.  Justin is a triathlete and I figured it was time for some more adventure, or craziness.  I am training for the Redman Half Ironman Triathlon as a member of Oklahoma's Team in Training Program.  Team in Training is the world's largest sports training program and is a part of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  Their mission is to find a cure for blood cancer.  I am trying to help!  I have two Aunts with lymphoma and one Aunt with breast cancer in which I will race for, as well as others with blood cancer.  Sue, Shirley, Norma, Pops, Johnny, Kevin, John, and many others.....I will not let you down.  If you would like to help go to my TNT website at http://pages.teamintraining.org/ntxok/retriokc11/jprattlp2h.

I do feel like I am cheating on running, because the triathlon involves swimming and cycling as well.  Oh how I wish I was a swimmer or a cyclist.  (I swam some when I lived in Hawaii, but now I am wishing I would have went swimming with my friend Mary who swam quite often in Hawaiis' beautiful waters.)  The half ironman is a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run.  Many times since signing up, I have thought "What was I thinking? Was I thinking".  Well, I got a new bike (which is awesome by the way).  It looks really fast, so I thought I had better live up to it's expectations, so I got going. 





LOOKS FAST, HUH?


I had about three weeks under me of training in the three sports and I thought I should try this triathlon thing out.  The Rt 66 El Reno sprint triathlon; a 500 meter swim, a 13 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run. Justin, was there racing with me.  The day before I thought "What was I thinking?", the morning of I thought "What was I thinking?".  The gun for the men's wave went off.  I lined up just as they had getting ready for the women's wave to start.  I was watching some of the other women lining up to take off running through the water.  They would be at least 50 meters ahead of me by doing this.  They were not behind the imaginary line as the men were.  The gun goes off.  I take off swimming, I change my mind, I start running.  BAD IDEA, BAD IDEA, and BAD IDEA!  It took me a very long time to catch my breath while swimming because I could only take a breath every other stroke.  After I finally caught my breath, I settled into a nice rhythm.  As nice of a rhythm that a self-taught swimmer could have.  Not bad, I liked this.  I approached the beach, gave my one of my TNT coaches (Ryan Ellis) a high five (he happened to be volunteering at the event), got my wetsuit halfway down and ran up the stairs.  Plopped down to get the wetsuit stripped off of me, and back up to run to transition.  On went my shades, helmet, and cycling shoes, and on the bike I go.  Some passed me and it was obvious that they were used to cycling, but hey I did pass a few people thanks to my bike I think.  I got to see Justin up ahead at the end of the bike, but I knew he would be off for a super speedy run.  In transition two I had to scoot my neighbors bike over to get my bike on the rack. I changed shoes, grabbed my hat and race belt, and here goes the run.  Where are my legs?  How hot is it?  Is this only a 5k? I would have been crazy to have tried the Olympic distance at this point.  I truly felt like I was running a 12 minute pace or slower, but I kept going.  After about two miles it finally got a little better.  Then, I saw the finish.  I saw my biggest fan, my husband, and I finished strong.  My splits were Swim 11:03 T1 1:30 Bike 45:57 T2 1:22 Run 29:34 (I was sub 10 minute....yeah!).  My total time was 1:29:24.  I AM A TRIATHLETE!

     Justin and I prerace




Hottie 157 Transition Ready!

 


My transition set-up.

I did it! Phew, I'm tired.

           

  

G

A Couple of Races and I Feel Like Supermom

Growing up as a runner in a small town has its challenges.  Countless times people pull their vehicle over and ask if I needed a ride.  It is hard to finish a run when all of your neighbors prefer you rode shotgun instead of pounding the pavement.  Those that knew me well would think "There's Janna, out dodging potholes again."  Believe it or not, I loved running up and down those country roads.  It's that love of running that brings me here, right now.

The first person who I had ever met who had ran a marathon, I met when I lived in Hawaii.... Rebecca Boswell.  Never did I even think of running a marathon.  I just ran, just ran for fun.  Along the beach, to work, through the gardens of Hawaii, to Waimanalo.  I really thought I might cripple myself by running a marathon...no really I did think that.  The not so beautiful word "bunion"  kind of scared me off from the powerful word  "MARATHON".  I am not sure why my leisure 10 mile runs didn't encourage me to give it a try. 

While pregnant with my first son, I continued to run.  I figured it would help my delivery and my recovery, and I knew it would help me in general.  Yep 9 months pregnant and still running.  While I was pregnant with Asher, I got to see my husband, Justin, work hard week after week training for his first marathon.  Right in the middle of his training, our first son, Asher was born.  With a new baby, Mommy demands, work, and life, Justin kept training and finished his first marathon in the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon.  "Wow, I want to do that" I thought. 

It all happened after becoming a Mom.  When Asher was 10 months old I started training for my first marathon with Justin.  Several shoe stores along with a foot doctor suggested that I use motion control shoes and orthotics because of my gait, arch, and bunions (because I am not fond of that word I will use the word "feet" from now on).  So yes, I bought those heavy things and started training.  Any runs from 6 miles plus, my ankles and feet would hurt and be sore for a few days.  What would 16 miles do to them?  I didn't know.  But I had to try.  After completing my third 10 mile training run the soreness stopped.  I have since read that your tendons strengthen and adapt to your training, so I assume that is what happened to me.  God really designed us well! 

I am not a social butterfly.  I wish I was, but I am just not, and that is me.  For a lifetime I've worked on this.  I have found a few things that make me more social.  Massage therapy (yes, I am a massage therapist), my children, and running.  I come alive, I am me.  That is when you see the real me.

Back to the marathon.  I didn't miss a single training run. I used my trusty Timex Ironman training watch to push me or to slow me down with it's heart rate monitor function.  My goal was to finish feeling good.  I paced at a 10:19 pace for the first half, then I pulled back to average a 10:33 per mile pace because of the heat and my heart rate.  I finished the OCMM 2010 in 4:36:32....one second faster than Justin. I didn't hurt.  The next day I felt great.  I could do this again.


Justin and I at Mile 16, Lake Hefner

The marathon and the training had restored my sense of adventure after becoming a mom.  I felt like supermom!

There were some athletes that inspired me along the way: The Oklahoma City Landrunners, Justin, Asher, Rebecca Boswell, Ashley Elias, Amy Palmero-Winters, Joan Benoit Samualson, and Dean Karnazes.  My favorite book "Born To Run" was a key motivator in my training.  Thanks to all.

So another pregnancy later, it was time to run a little faster.  I had Abram on January 17th, 2011 and eight days later, I went on a one mile jog.  I was back, and running faster than ever in no time.  I was busy.  I didn't know what kind of routine I had.  I just knew any day that I got to shower and brushed my teeth was going to be a good day. I needed all the sleep I could get so I didn't run in the morning.  It forced me to run later in the day pushing my awesome BOB Duallie stroller, filled with a two year old and a newborn in a car seat.  For a few weeks, I didn't run on my own, I only pushed the stroller.  I got stronger and faster. 

And oh yeah, I got rid of those heavy shoes.  I started running in the shoes that I was just wearing around the house; Vibram Five Fingers.  To add to my minimalist shoe collections, I was introduced to Newtons.  My feet are not yet pretty, but since the shoe switch, my feet have improved dramatically.  Thanks Vibram and Newtons. 

So here I was 3 or 4 weeks postpartum and I thought I would train for the half marathon coming up in a couple of months. I did, and it wasn't that hard.  During the half, miles 9-13 were hard for me to keep a good pace, but I didn't give up.  It would have been so easy to let go of my goal and just slow down.   In the last half mile my trusty partner, Justin paced me.  I remember him saying that in the last stretch we were going to have to pick up the pace.  I said "don't tell me until it is time to go faster".  I was silent for the last couple of miles, just focusing on keeping a fast enough pace to make it in 2 hours.  We were on the home stretch and he told me "let's go, we are going to make it".  I was moving my legs as fast as I possible could.  Justin said "one minute, fifteen seconds"......"forty five seconds"...........my hands started getting tingly......."thirty seconds"........."fifteen seconds"....my head started getting tingly.  Wow, I was about to pass out, but didn't.  My heart rate was at 172 and I had pushed as hard as I could.  I left nothing on the course.  We finished with a time of 2:00:38.  Justin was so strong.  He helped me reach my goal.  He is my hero.

3.5 Months Post-partum and Running Hard

So bid deal, what now?