California International Marathon

Yippee! I did it, I finally ran a marathon and enjoyed it. I also was able to actually exceed (by 1 minute) my goal time of 5:30; 5:28:52 - a PR for me. I'm SO excited!

I usually do a run/walk ratio of 1/1 for my marathons, but decided to try and run all the downhill sections of this one. Because of that, I started out a little fast, but not too much. The first mile was 10:41; but then I leveled out and kept the rest within my range.

This marathon is advertised as a pretty easy one and I believe it is. Not to say it isn't challenging in some areas, because there ARE a few hills that can get you down, if you don't prepare for them. Fortunately, where I run is rolling hills so I didn't really have too mamy problems with this race.

It was nice having so much support along the course. My last (and only) 2 marathons had pretty much no support, which I'm fine with, but I really enjoyed having people support me along the way.

I noticed a blister forming on my fourth toe of my right foot at about mile 8. I should have worn a pair of toe only socks in addition to my 2 pair, but I forgot to pack them. The blister broke at about mile 20, a new, weird & painful experience for me. :) I've never had a bloody sock before. LOL Still, it actually quit hurting after a while and I did fine.

I was concerned about my breathing since I have had a cold for about a week, and I did have some issues with coughing after mile 20, but overall, I was fine. The problem I had started about mile 19 with my legs just feeling like they were giving out. This made it harder for me to run so I did a lot of speed walking then. Disappointing, but I still met my goal!

I kept close to the 5:30 pacer and actually was ahead of her for the last part of the race. I was overjoyed when I realized I would meet my goal pace.

I was able to finish the last .1 of the race running, so I finished strong and I'm sure the photo at the finish was better than if I walked it. I loved the announcer at the finish - he was great, even commented on my pink Newtons. :) I especially liked it when he said I was 56, but looked 29. I think I'm in love. hahaha!

This was a great race and one that I actually enjoyed running. I'm really glad I picked this marathon. Next marathon - Salt Lake City Marathon, April 17, 2010!

When I run long runs, my hands swell extremely. Anyone else have this problem?

Here are before & after pics:

Stretch, Stretch, Stretch!

I've had a few people ask me about the stretches that I do daily so I thought I'd give you a recap of what I do. The stretching exercises I do are very simple and basic and only take me about 15 minutes out of my day. I never stretch before a run or bike ride, but always after. On the days I don't run or ride I still stretch, but I wait until my bath to do so. That's because I want my muscles to be warmed up before I stretch them.

I begin with sitting with my legs together in front of me and bending over and touching my head to my knees. (Trust me - this took lots of weeks before I could go down this far) I hold it for a count of 8 and I do eight of them.

Groin or inner leg stretch: Seated, put the soles of your feet together. With your elbows on the inside of your knees, gradually lean forward and gently press your knees toward the ground, holding for 8 seconds, 8 reps.



Next, I do piriformis stretches:

Sit with one leg straight out in front. Hold onto the ankle of your other leg and pull it directly towards your chest.

I also do this piriformis stretching exercise:

To stretch the piriformis muscle, start by laying on your back with both knees bent. Cross your right leg over the left, placing your right ankle on your left knee.

Next, reach down and grab your left thigh with both hands, and pull back towards your chest. You should feel a stretch on the outside of your right hip.

Hold the stretch for 5-10 seconds, and repeat 5-10 times (I hold for 8 seconds, repeat 8 times)

I do a simple calf stretch, sitting with my legs straight out in front of me, and no, this is not me. LOL I gently pull on my toes to stretch my calves, holding for 8 seconds, 8 repeats.


There's also this one:



Sit with both legs straight. Loop a rope around the ball of one foot and grasp each end of the rope. Flex your foot back toward your ankle, toes toward your knee.

Hamstring stretch: Lie on floor with legs straight out in front of you. Use a rope like the calf stretch, wrapping it around one foot the same way, then lift that leg straight up as far as you can in front of you, keeping the other leg flat on the ground. Hold for 8 seconds, 8 reps. Do the same for the other leg.

Gluteal muscle stretch: Sit with legs straight out in front of you, bend one leg and cross that foot over your other legs and put it next to the outside of that knee. Wrap your arm around the bent knee and twist your body toward that knee, gently pulling that knee toward your chest. Hold for 8 seconds, 8 reps; repeat for other leg.

IT Band stretch: 3 sets, holding for 30 seconds each time.



Place the leg you want to stretch behind the other one.

• Keep the foot on the floor and push your hips out to the other side.
• Hold for 30 seconds
• Never bounce when stretching, always ease into it gently and try to relax.

Quad stretch: 3 sets, holding for 30 seconds each one, make sure you keep your balance by holding on to a steady object with the other hand.



Exercises for the foot and ankle:

THE MONOPOLY GAME:
Put 10 small objects on the floor--like marbles or Monopoly pieces--and place a small cup nearby. Using your toes, pick up the pieces one at a time and put them in the cup. I do 3 sets of ten for each foot. I use marbles.

THE DRUNK FLAMINGO:
Standing on stable ground, balance on one foot with your eyes open. Once you can do that for one minute, try it with your eyes closed. I do this at the gym on a balance pad. I can't manage it with my eyes closed though.

Back exercises: Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat to the floor. Cup your hands just under your knees. Using your arms for support, gently pull your knees to your chest. Hold for 20 seconds, then lower your legs to the floor. Repeat 3 times.

I know it seems like a lot, but it really doesn't take much time and is well worth the effort. I have never been able to touch my toes; couldn't even reach halfway down. Now I can put my hands flat on the floor.

Bizz Johnson Trail Marathon - A Unique Experience

Another marathon completed, not as I wanted, but still COMPLETED! I am learning as a runner, that things don't always go according to plan, and I have to be flexible. I knew going into this marathon that it would be iffy that I would even be able to do it, much less finish it, but I WAS hoping I could at least run most of it. It was not to be, sadly. However, I DID finish it, even though I had to walk most of the distance.

The Bizz Johnson Trail is a lovely place to be, no matter what you're doing. Running a marathon on it seemed like such a great idea. I knew that the altitude might be a problem, but was hoping to overcome that by getting to Susanville a few days early to acclimate. I arrived on Thursday afternoon about 4:45 pm, after a 7.5 hour drive from Salem. Friday I picked up my bib # at the Historic Train Depot and then spent the rest of the day just relaxing at the motel. The Bizz Johnson Trail is an old railroad bed that runs through The Lassen National Forest from Westwood to Susanville, California.

Saturday morning I volunteered at an aid station for the 1/2 marathon. I had never done any volunteering at a race so it was a new experience for me. The volunteer coordinator, Marissa, was wonderful, as were Brian and Wendell, who are race directors for Pacific Coastal Trail Runs. Everything was explained very well and then I was asked to drive my car to the location, not a problem, but so much for my clean car. lol It's very dusty up there! Howard (my volunteer friend) and I had a great time providing drinks & snacks to the runners as they came through. We were located at mile 4 of the half marathon; at what would be mile 17 of the marathon. It was nice to see at least part of the course ahead of time. Here's some pictures of that area:



When we were done, we went to the finish area to see if they needed any help there. It was nice to get a look at where I would be finishing the marathon (I PLANNED to finish!).



That night, a twitter friend, Michelle and her husband Glenn arrived. They are from the Portland, Oregon area and had just run the Portland Marathon the week before. They were going to run this one also! It was great seeing them again; I had met them at the Newport Marathon. Here we are the night of the marathon, after dinner.



The marathon was the next day and we were leaving the train depot at 8:00 AM on buses, the marathon started at 9:00 AM, a little later than I'm used to. We were bused to Westwood for the start; some of us remained on the buses (which, by the way, were charter buses - so great!) to keep warm because the temperature at the start was 29*. I love running in the cold, but we knew that the temps were gong to reach at least 66 by the end of the day so I dressed accordingly. - shorts and a sports bra top. I also wore gloves & arm warmers. The gloves & arm warmers came off before the first hour was up. It warmed up fast. At the end it was 70* - that's an increase of 41 degrees!



Notice my Newton running shoes. This would be the farthest I had ever gone in them. They are great! I also wore my Zensah calf sleeves. They help so much!

This was a small race - only 445 registered, but about 9o didn't show up so we started with about 360 or so. We did a quick out & back of McCoy Road to make the race a complete 26.2. (The Bizz Johnson Trail is about 25 miles long.) I was feeling pretty good, kept my pace at about 12:30 for the first mile, 13:00 for the second & third, hoping I could take it easy for the first 7 miles since they were slightly uphill. Mile 4 was at 13:30, and then about mile 4.5 my Garmin started beeping that my heart rate was too high. That meant it had to be over 200, since that was what I set it for. I was also experiencing heart PVCs (I get them all the time - non-life threatening) so I knew I wasn't going to be able to run anymore, at least not during the uphill part. I began speed walking, but still couldn't get my heart rate down. I started feeling really depressed, because I had wanted to finish in about 5.5 hours. No way was that going to happen now!

I kept toughing it out, speed walking and finally started to feel better about mile 10. I attempted to run a few more times, but realized that the altitude was just too much for me. I normally run at 500' and we were over a mile high - started at 5300', went up to 5619' and then slowly came back down to 4200'. So much for getting there early to acclimate. :) I also needed to remember that I had suffered a concussion just 3 weeks ago, so my body was still in recovery mode.

Once I accepted that I would be walking the majority of the marathon, I began to enjoy it more. I knew I would finish it and just hoped to do that before dark. hahaha! I kept getting passed by everyone so I wasn't sure if anybody was behind me, but I didn't really care.

At mile 14 I starting having a silent migraine, which is painless, but affects my vision. I just kept on walking and it went away at about mile 14.5. Yes, I'm probably crazy, but I am MORE stubborn! :)

The aid stations are placed 2 miles apart, which is really nice if you're running mostly alone, because it gives you someone to talk to once in a while. All the volunteers were great and so friendly and encouraging.

At about mile 20 or so, I caught up with Amber, a 28 year old who was running her first marathon. We ended up passing & catching up to each other for a couple of miles and then just stayed together for the last few. I was glad for the company even though we didn't talk a whole lot - we just wanted to put one foot in front of the other AND to be able to breathe also. :) I'm glad she was there because for some reason, the volunteers at the aid stations at miles 22 & 24 decided to leave early. They left the supplies, but didn't stick around. I'm not sure why, but it was weird.

Amber & I kept encouraging each other - "I know the mile marker is just around the corner." and "We ARE going to finish - look, there's mile 26, .2 to go!" At approximately mile 26.1, there is a detour off the main trail to the finish at an area called Hobo Camp. We had a small uphill section & then it was downhill for the last 500 feet or so. I let Amber go ahead of me - her small son & husband were there to cheer her on. I was one second behind her. I remember smiling as I crossed the finish line. I had done it, completed my second marathon. I didn't care how I did it, I had done it! My time was 6:45:12. No wonder I was so tired, that's a LONG time to be speed walking, with no breaks. Whew!



I remember telling Marissa at the end that maybe someday I would actually "RUN" a marathon. LOL.

I will never get tired of the feeling of accomplishment on completing a race, especially a marathon. I makes all the pain worthwhile. I know I've done something that few people ever do, and something I thought I could NEVER do. It is SO true about runners getting a high after running! I love it!

Yes, I will do another marathon - I'm registered for CIM on December 6. Who knows - I may actually get to run most of it. Whatever happens, I WILL finish!

Oh, and by the way, I WASN'T the last to finish - there were 8 people behind me. The last to finish completed it in 8:16:40

This is a wonderful marathon, but I don't think I will run it again. The altitude, coupled with the long drive down, just makes it too difficult. However, I've learned to never say "never". :)

This is a picture of Mt. Shasta taken on the way home Monday. I felt like I could reach out and touch the mountain. It's SO lovely!

Ouch, Ouch, Ouch!

Well, it finally happened - my first bike crash; and not just a piddly little fall, oh no, I have to do everything in a big way!

Saturday, I needed to ride 27 miles to offset my lack of running 9 miles (3x run miles=bike miles). I got up at 5:30, prepared to go out about 6:30, but it was still dark so I waiting until 6:55. I was wearing my running shorts, bra top & tank top, but when I went outside it had started pouring down rain and the wind was blowing. So I went back inside, took off the tank and put on my waterproof rain jacket.

I was intending on running my usual North-South route which takes me North for half the distance and then back South on the same road. Since the wind was from the South, I just couldn't handle running against it again, so I decided to take a different route and kind of made it up as I went. It would take me into the small town of Aumsville, about 5 miles away, & then I would figure out which way to go. As I look back, I realize I should have gone against the wind. LOL

I crossed the overpass over Hwy 22 and began my descent into Aumsville on 1st St. I remember a truck with a trailer pulling out of a street ahead of me, I noticed the shoulder ended and I started riding on the road. I saw Gordon Lane on my left and thought of my brother in law, Gordon.

Then, I woke up on the ground with a gentleman asking me if I wanted him to call 911. Pretty befuddled, I mumbled something about getting back on my bike to finish my ride. Yeah, right! He said I had a bad cut above my eye that would need stitches so I nodded to call 911. Then I started thinking about how much it would cost. So typical of me. :)

This man was SO kind, he got my son's cell number from me and called him; then he made sure the road was blocked from cars, put his coat over my legs & later under my head. What a Good Samaritan he was.

I remember my helmet strap was choking me so I unclipped it but kept the helmet on. Thank God for helmets! Everyone needs to wear one when riding a bike, EVERYONE!!! I also remember unhooking my bottle carrier from around my waist & pulling it from behind my back. It was killing my back!

I suddenly became VERY nauseated and knew then that the ambulance was a good idea since I most assuredly had a head injury. My neck was hurting too and my upper back ribs, plus my hand (all on the right side of my body). Nothing else was hurting and I could move my legs, feet & toes fine. I remember having dry heaves, but thankfully did not throw up. I'm so glad - did not want to lay on the ground beside that. hahaha!

I was in and out of consciousness but do remember the first responders and the ambulance crew. They were great, but kept asking me questions!! I didn't want to answer anything, too nauseated and my head hurt! LEAVE ME ALONE! Well, that obviously wasn't going to happen so I began to tell them to check my Road ID on my shoe. They were not familiar with it and still kept asking questions. They asked me if I was taking medication and I said, "Yes, Lots. Check my Road ID" then they asked if I was allergic to medications and I said, "Yes. Lots. Check my Road ID". A pattern was developing! For the life of me, I couldn't remember anything except I'm allergic to Codeine & Nortriptyline, but I couldn't even say that. They finally gave up. Smart move on their part. hahahaha!

The paramedic gave me anti-nausea medicine which helped some, but I was still in a groggy state when I reached the hospital. It's nice to go to the ER in an ambulance, half conscious, because there's no line, no waiting. LOL

I told the nurse about the Road ID & he removed it and check online and VOILA! there was all my information. He was very impressed and said he had been telling his runner wife to get one, but she kept putting it off. He said she's getting one now for sure!

I got more nausea medication and then Dilaudid for the pain. It worked, but it made me super sick so I got more nausea medication, a different kind, which finally worked. I had a CT scan of head and X-rays of chest & hand. No broken bones, just bruised and a concussion, plus 10 stitches above my right eye. Got to go home!

Here's the progression of the shiner



I have to say how great my son was. He went and got my bike, helmet, etc and then came to the hospital and stayed with me the whole time. He called everyone for me and took care of me at home. He even had to wake me up during the night. This was his first time doing anything like this and he showed such concern, but wasn't mushy. He's just like me, joking when it's appropriate and serious when necessary. I'm proud of him.

I have absolutely no recollection of the accident. I faintly remember hitting the ground, but nothing before. The next thing I remember is waking up and being asked if I needed an ambulance.

We thought the man there had seen the accident, but he was at a diner and as he pulled out of the parking lot, he saw the crowd and me on the ground, drove there and blocked the road so no cars would run over me. He then stayed, called my son & 911 and didn't leave until I was taken away. It's so nice that people still care. He even called my son today to see how I was doing! This is a perfect stranger.

I believe God sends people like that. All Christ Followers have the opportunity to respond in that way, just like Jesus would do. How many of us actually do it? AND to call back and check up on me! A true Good Samaritan just like in the bible.

I thank God for sending him. I also thank God for protecting me. I had no covering on my legs at all. If it hadn't been raining, I would have had nothing on my arms either. I fell in such a way as to land on the upper right side of my body, on the hardest part - my head. :) At least that's what I've been told - I have a hard head! NO injuries to my lower extremities at all. It would have been a mess if I'd slid on the pavement on my bare legs. I also had gloves on which protected my right hand. God is good.

I hope I never remember the accident so I won't be afraid to ride again. As far as I can tell, I must have slid in the rain as I crossed the RR tracks. They are at a 45 degree angle to the road there and would have been a hazard.

Always remember to check out your route before hand or at least go slow in the areas you're not sure of. I was going at least 14 mph so fell pretty hard. Just the Thursday before I remember thinking that I could get hurt really bad if I fell off my bike. No kidding!!!

I am still really sore and have a wonderful black eye & the other one is getting nice color too. I overdid it today and am now paying the price. I'll stay in bed for sure tomorrow!

God bless you all and have a wonderful day.

Gina

His Strength is Perfect

On my 40 mile bike ride Wednesday, I was NOT wanting to ride, at all. I had ridden the previous two days and was really tired. I forced myself out the door and on to my bike. I really wanted to quit at 2 miles, but kept telling myself, just a few more miles...

When I realized that I was actually going to complete the entire 40 miles (at about 20 miles in) I began to have a portion of a song go through my head, "His strength is perfect when our strength is gone; He'll carry us when we can't carry on; Raised in his power, the weak become strong; His strength is perfect, His strength is perfect." I realized that I had made it this far because of the strength of Christ. I had been praying the scripture, "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13) and He HAD given me strength!

So often I feel like I can't make it, that I have reached the end of my rope, but I've found if I call on Christ, He is always there to help me, to give me the strength to make it. I was able to ride 62.2 miles on my bike today and I again had that song going through my head. I decided to try to find the entire lyrics and to my surprise, that scripture was part of the song!

I can do all things
Through Christ who gives me strength
But sometimes I wonder what he can do through me;
No great success to show, no glory on my own
Yet in my weakness he is there to let me know . .


We can only know
The power that he holds
When we truly see how deep our weakness goes;
His strength in us begins
Where ours comes to an end
He hears our humble cry and proves again .

Wow! That is SO true. When we decide to let go and let Him take control, then He can begin to work miracles. Yes, we must do our part, most definitely! But when we've reached the end of our strength, then He is always going to be there to support us. How awesome is that?

I know that I could not have finished the 40 miles or the 62 miles without His strength; nor could I have run my marathon or finished any of my runs without His presence and strength. He expects us to work to the best of our ability, but to be aware that we DO have limitations when we are on our own. However, with Him beside us, we have NO limitations to what we can do. I love that!

Thank you, Jesus, for your strength! Thank you for always being there to help me when I need you!

God bless you today and everyday.

Gina

"Half Century" Bike Ride!

Note to self: "NEVER, NEVER, NEVER (did I say never?) map a bike route that includes going South from Silverton on Cascade Hwy!" One (and only one) good thing about it is that I got a good hill workout out of it. Every time I think I have ridden lots of hills, I find another route that has more of them. ACK! I couldn't just turn around and go back - it was the wrong direction and I would have had to ride 60 miles today instead of 50. Oh well, live and learn. LOL!!

I am amazed that I was able to ride so far, more so since the last 20 miles were basically hills, long & steep hills. Did I say "long"? They were SO long. At mile 31.2 I started a hill and finished it at mile 33.4 with an elevation gain of 227'; then again at mile 36 started another long one that ended at mile 38.8 with a gain of 400'. This went on for the rest of the ride until I reached within a mile of my house.

Here's a shot of what I thought was the top of the first LONG hill! It just keeps on going...



But the view from the top is worth it!


The weather report said it was supposed to be 54 and cloudy so I stupidly believed it and wore tights & a long sleeved shirt. It was sunny the whole time and of course I overheated. I removed my shirt, but was stuck wearing the tights. It was a busy road so I didn't want to ride au naturale. :)

I also ran out of water at mile 37, something I never do either. I wasn't thirsty for the rest of the ride, but really needed to eat my other gel, but not without water, so my energy level fell way off.

So the last 20 miles were the ride from hell, :) but I survived! My average speed wasn't too bad - 13.9; actually that is pretty good, only .3 mph difference from my 40 miler!

Wow, I can't believe I rode 50 miles! I am definitely feeling tired, hungry too. I burned 2201 calories so I guess I can eat pizza for lunch!

Have a great day! I'm going to. :)

New Bicycle!

Since I'm on a temporary leave from running due to an injury to my thigh muscle, I thought I'd begin biking in earnest. I biked a bit last year when I had a stress fracture, but quit when I joined a gym and started pool running & using the stationary bike there. I had been using my daughter's old bike, which is a boy's bike and has off road tires. So I thought I'd look for a new one. What a hard job!

I just thought I'd go to Walmart and get one there, but looked and realized I had NO idea what kind of bike to buy. So I decided to go to a bike shop and looked online to find one in my city of Salem, Oregon. I found one downtown and went to look. Well, that was a brief look since they were all WAY out of my price range. Hey, I just want a bike that will last with me using it 3 times a week for cross training. I don't need a racing bike or a mountain bike or a $1,000 bike, ok? I talked briefly to the sales guy & then left, disappointed.

From there I went to Sports Authority and talked to the sales person there. He was very helpful and showed me a hybrid (women's) bike that was on clearance for $280. It was even pink! He suggested I look at another bike store also downtown to see if they had a better selection so I put off getting the bike that day. I should have just bought it then because after looking at the other store (AND circling the block & parking a block away, walking there on crutches!) I found they didn't have any bikes even close to that price or that kind. So it was back to Sports Authority where I got the same sales guy and purchased the bike. He was able to get it into my PT cruiser so I took it home that day. Here's a picture:



Here is a picture of the one I was using before:



Now, here they are side by side:



I realized after I bought this bike that my daughter's bike wasn't even a full size one, plus the tires needed air! Shows how much I know about bikes. lol

I went for my first ride today and made it 20.42 miles! I DO like the bike and am SO glad I got it. My leg did pretty well as long as I was pedaling hard, but if I tried to pedal downhill with no pressure it hurt. My route has lots of hills, one being a 14% grade uphill so my quads got a good workout & will probably be sore tomorrow, but it's ok. I'm just so glad to be outside exercising again.

I can't wait until I can run again, but will continue to bike 3 times a week for cross training. I am finding I love it. And YES, I do have a helmet - wouldn't run without one. Now I need to buy a kickstand (it doesn't have one???) and a lock so no one steals it from my front porch. I'm all set!

I've found it is important to be prepared for whatever you do, but you HAVE to have the right equipment or you can't maximize your experience!

And NO, don't expect any duathlons or triathlons from me. I'm happy just running races. Biking is for fun & cross training and as for swimming - not my sport! :)

Have a blessed day!

Gina