Goals Are Good

I always tell my clients that it's important to have a goal in mind for your training. Whether it's a race or a specific time goal or something else, it's helpful to have your sights set on something. It helps with motivation, it can give your training direction and it's fun to dream of things we'd like to do.

So, I'm taking my own advice and setting a few goals for my own running. I decided that setting some goals for myself was the only way I knew how to really help myself deal with the loss of our baby. I have to recover, I have to get back on my feet. And the only real way I know how to do that is to lace up my shoes.

I know I've talked about how emotional it's been for me to hit the roads again. It has been difficult coming to terms with running again. That's another reason why I decided to set some race goals because if I didn't have something to work for I didn't know if I would be able to overcome this difficulty. I tell you, it's working.

I registered for my very first ultramarathon. What's an ultra, you may ask. An ultra is any distance longer than a marathon. I'm doing the Seneca Creek 50K March 6, 2010. That's just over 31 miles. It's here in Montgomery County Maryland, so I don't have to travel and I can train on the trail. I figured it was a good introduction into ultrarunning.

I also registered for the Myrtle Beach Marathon in February. I'll be using it as a training run, as it will be the last real long run before the 50K. I've heard good things about the race so that's something to look forward to. More importantly though, I've never been to Myrtle Beach before and I figured this would be a good way to see the place :) While I know it will be February and it will be cold and windy, it's still someplace other than home and I know it will be fun. My husband and I are looking forward to getting away already.

There you go. I feel like there's something to look forward to. And while it's not what I originally thought I would be doing at this point of my life, it feels good. I feel like I'm finally starting to recover.

Running CAN be fun!

When some people find out I'm a runner, they tell me how much they hate running. Really? You HATE running? I can see how it can be difficult, we all have those runs where everything just feels bad. But hate is a strong word.

When I hear that someone hates running I just know they're not doing it right. Whether it's not wearing the right shoes, clothes, sports bra, or running in a boring area, there are a number of reasons why running can stink. But once you figure out what works for you, running is about as fun as it gets (for me anyway).

Case in point, I have a pretty cool job. I get to run for a living as a coach, I get to plan awesome running events, and I get to market and promote an industry that supports my habit. For instance, last week I got to hang out and run with one of the most well-known runners in the business, Bart Yasso. Bart came by our store for a book signing and fun run. He's a super nice guy and if you ever get the chance to read his book, do it. He's had quite the adventure.

This past Wednesday we had a fashion show at the store. That's right, a running apparel fashion show. We had our hot models showing off the latest and greatest in cool-weather running gear. It was a fun night and we all drooled over the sweet new clothes. See, we runners can have trendy fashion parties too ;)

Last night was our Halloween fun run. I have to say I had a blast with this one. We recruited a bunch of people to dress up as zombies and we planted ourselves along the running route. The runners didn't know we were there and we scared the you-know-what out of some of them. I think it was a close call as to who had more fun, the runners or the zombies.

And today, my Girls on the Run group meets. We'll be running around in our costumes having a ball. It just doesn't get any better than that.

See, running CAN be fun, you just have to do it right ;)

Happy running!

New Job, New Possibilities

I have a lot of jobs. I have my personal jobs (mom, wife, etc.) and my professional jobs (running coach, writer, etc.). One of those professional jobs is the Director of Marketing at Fleet Feet Sports, Gaithersburg. It's not really a new job, as I've been there for over 3 years in some capacity. But it's been about 6 weeks that I've been there full-time doing their marketing.

It's a sweet job. I am in the running community 100% of the time now. I sleep, eat and breathe running now. It's pretty awesome to be able to make my passion my profession. Not many people can do that. What's even more amazing is that I work primarily from home, so it gives me more time with my family. I'm really very fortunate.

Why am I writing about this? Well, I am very excited about a few new projects in the works at the store. I'm not revealing any of them just yet, but I wanted to plant the seed, so to speak. Those of you in the DC area will be excited about them as well. So, stay tuned!

Happy running!

Men Are From Mars, Women From Venus?

Do men find physical activity emotional at all?

I'm asking this out of pure curiosity. Because for me, and many other women, physical activity can be very emotional.

With all that I've been going through, being physically active has brought on a lot of emotion. Some good, some bad. But emotion all the same. For me, I kind of feel that the crying I do on a run or in yoga class is me leaving a bit of my pain on the road or on the mat. Those tears represent me letting go and I feel a little better when I'm done. Both because I've had a killer workout and because my heart is filled with less pain.

I know from speaking with other women athletes that this is common for women. Even those that aren't going through a traumatic experience. Just the act of completing a physically demanding workout can bring emotion on.

I understand that big moments will bring on emotion such as finishing that first big race. I'm talking about more run-of-the-mill emotion. Emotion you weren't expecting.

Do men feel this? And please don't take my curiosity as an affront. I am genuinely interested in this. With this being the first very emotional time in my life, I've never experienced this before. Physical activity never brought on this type of emotion before. Is that the key? Do you have to go through a traumatic event in order for emotion to be so on the surface? I don't think so.

Please, guys, I really want to know if you ever feel emotional either during or after a workout. And I don't mean just crying and weeping all over the place. Would an especially hard workout make your emotions come to the surface more than something else?

On the Road to Recovery

In my last post I told the world that we were expecting baby number 2. Sadly, we lost our baby on July 24th.

While it is still very painful for us to talk about, I felt it was important to discuss it here. Emotionally it's been excruciating. And physically, it's been horrendous. I was in the second trimester and this loss was very hard on my body. But writing about it is a release of difficult and painful emotions. And the "anonymous" aspect of a blog is very helpful.

To help me deal with this, I returned to running. My body went through a lot with this pregnancy and it will be hard getting back on the road, but running is something that helps me feel normal.

For my first few runs, running has felt foreign. In my mind, I'm not supposed to be running now. I am supposed to be pregnant and not out on the roads. I have been very emotional and cried during most of my runs. But then I had a run this week where it started to click. That old feeling of comfort was there and I was able to get through it without getting emotional. It felt good.

I think it's important for us to not only talk about these difficult times in our lives, but to try to return to places of comfort. For me, I don't usually talk about difficult situations, especially one so personal. But the loss of our child is something I have to talk about. This grief is something I've never felt and at times it's overwhelming. If I don't release some of the emotion and talk about it, I may explode.

In finding a place of comfort for me to go, I return to running. That familiar place of lacing up my running shoes, heading out and letting my mind take over. Listening to my feet hit the ground, feeling the sweat bead on my forehead, listening to my breath. It all reminds me that I'm alive.

I'm writing this to let you know that in times of sorrow and despair, turn to your running. I think when things are hard and we feel distraught emotionally, we turn away from being active because we aren't physically able to handle it. And I did too. Partly because I had to wait to be active again, but also because it was something I had to accept as part of moving on and healing. Being able to run again meant I had to accept that I did in fact lose my baby. Not running is something I associate with being pregnant: I can't run when I'm pregnant. But starting to run again is starting my healing process. I have to let go of my pain and my sadness and running is helping me do that. I can leave my pain out on the street.

I want to thank everyone who has offered words of comfort and support to me and my family. It means a lot to us to know that we're not alone.

Running a new race...sort of

It's been a while since I've posted last. It isn't because I haven't had much to contribute. Truth is, I've had plenty to talk about, I just wasn't ready to discuss...

I'm pregnant with our second child. This is an exciting time and a hard time because I can't run at all. My previous pregnancy with our son was difficult and my doctor doesn't want me running at all during this pregnancy. I actually was running for the first 6 weeks until he told me not to :(

But I know it's only temporary. In fact, I've already started making plans as to what I'll be training for once the baby comes.

My most memorable races are the ones I did right after the birth of my son. They aren't memorable because I PR'd or anything. It was just an opportunity for me to revel in all my body could accomplish. To get philosophical, I was really enamored by the fact that I could carry a baby, be on bed rest for 3 months (I told you it was difficult), give birth, care for an infant, then train and complete a 10-miler and half marathon all within a year's time. I certainly couldn't have done it without my wonderful husband, but it's nice to know my body can do all that.

And now it's getting ready to do it again. I'm not trying to say I'm so great and look at what I can do. I'm just really impressed at the strength of the human body and what it can accomplish when you really work at it. I tell my clients that when they're feeling down about being injured or having a tough time getting through workouts. Your body will do it. You just have to relax and let it.

Anyway, I am officially on the bench for the next few months. But I'm still coaching so there will be plenty of musings about the trials and tribulations of my clients.

Happy running!

Don't like the word "beginner"

Yesterday marked the goal race of my beginners group. They started back in March, trained for a long 10 weeks, and finished their first 5K yesterday. I call the program "beginner" because I've designed it for people who have either never run before or haven't run in a very long time. But I feel that the word "beginner" some how sells these people short.

I just feel that the word "beginner" just has a negative connotation. That beginners essentially don't know what they're doing and are not as important as "real runners" (see my post below for my thoughts on that). That is just wrong. My group was pretty large this go around. And sure there were people that dropped out for various reasons. But for the most part everyone stuck to it and reached their goal. They were eager to learn and try things out. In fact, they are probably more open minded than more expierenced runners.


For me it's not even about them completing the 5K, though that is wonderful. It's watching them come into their own as runners. They become more confident, happier, excited about our runs together. It's really amazing. A number of them have caught the bug and are planning their next races. And I know this newly found confidence is affecting their lives outside of running.

So I told my group yesterday after the race, through tears of joy, that they aren't beginners but rather, they are just beginning their journey. There is so much ahead for them, in life both inside and outside of running. Especially for those of the group that seriously doubted whether they could complete the distance. They now know they can do anything they want to and fear shouldn't hold them back.

Here's to those of us beginning our journies into something new. Don't let fear and self-doubt hold you back. Anything is possible if you just try.

Happy running!