Day 561: Grant's Wish

Day 561: Grant's Wish - One Year Anniversary!

This was suppose to be written and posted on May 31, 2014.  However technology has not been my friend recently.  My computer was slowly dieing a horrible death and would daily decided which programs or features I was allowed to use.  Therefore, I could find this website, read posts, title a post, but not compose one.  Hmmm, frustrating.  Especially as this race marked my one year anniversary of racing.

So, computer issues aside, there are so many things to celebrate about the last year of running.

First, I am faster than I was a year ago!  (I know I'm still a turtle compared to most runners, but I'm now a very fast turtle!)  I finished over 5 minutes faster this year with a time of 43:08.  Still missing the all allusive 40 minute 5k mark that will move me from turtle status to something a little faster (not sure what yet).  I plan to attain that 40 minute mark this year at the Sundowner knowing I was about minute off during that race last year. 

Second, I made it one full year of races without any injuries!  No rehab! No crutches, or wraps, or anything but a few well deserved sore muscles. 

Third, I finished 5 different races!  Did you catch that?  I FINISHED 5 races!  I didn't just think about running and racing.  I didn't just hope to race or hope to finish.  I did it!  I trained, registered, showed up, ran, and crossed the finish line. 

So, what are you celebrating this race season?  Me?  Running free for one year!
Lisa

Day 512: The Hardest. Race. Ever. Done!

Day 512:

The Hardest. Race. Ever. Done!

 

The "Toughest 10k in the Midwest" is done! 

I ran. 

There were hills. 

Lots of hills. 

I finished. 

I met my goal.

1:30:49

Funds raised = $205

 

So, what more can I say other than thank you! 

Thank you to all the runners at Southfield Church who have helped me train for this race.  Especially Bob Coyne who put together all the workouts.

Thank you to my family for putting up with all the hours of work that goes into training for any race.

Thank you to all those who donated to Abolution International and giving new meaning to being free to run.

Thank you Mom and Doug for showing up to cheer me on at mile 5.5.

Thank you Haley Hurd and her cheering crew for brightening a very tough mile 2.5.

Thank you Daisy Austin for being an awesome friend, running partner, and photographer (that's her picture of me above).

Thank you Ray and Alice Capps for being there at the finish line to cheer me home.

Thank you Vicki Braun and Joie Austin for running the last .2 miles with me.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and follow my running journey.

 

What's next you may ask?

Finish the other two races in the Run3

Half-marathon in the fall!

 

Taking a well deserved nap now,

Lisa



Day 506: The Scariest Race Ever (So Far)!

Day 506:

The Scariest Race Ever (So Far)!

 

Saturday, April 12, 2014 is the date. 

 

Rockdale Ramble, also known as the toughest 10k in the Midwest, is the name. 

 

10 kilometers (or 6.2 miles) is the distance.

Am I ready? I thought I was until it came time to start my preview run of the race course yesterday.  Circumstances conspired against me and I ended up running my preview alone in the middle of the afternoon.  It was warmer in the afternoon than in the morning, but that was really the only redeeming point of the run. 

 

With map in hand, I sat on my couch, dressed to run, trying not to hyperventilate.  Runner me kept telling myself, "You've trained for this!  You've spent the last four Saturdays running up and down hills so you could run this.  Let's go!"  Hyperventilating me kept staring at the map saying, "How far did you say that is?  I've driven down that road.  It goes on forever!  What were you thinking?"

 

Finally, I got up and drove to the starting line.  Hyperventilating Lisa voted for driving the route.  Runner Lisa answered with you have to at least walk it. 

 

Well, I did run most of the route and walked when I had to stop and read the map. I made it back to my car and really wished I had been able to do this with my group.  I know that I would not have been able to keep up with any of them, but at least someone would have been waiting for me at the end. 

 

But I. Did. It!  I ran the course.  I found all the hills.  (And yes, every hill in Illinois is located in Rockdale.)  I faced my fear!

 

So, earlier today I posted this on Facebook:

 

As many of you know, I am running the Rockdale Ramble 10k. This is the longest and most difficult race I have ever attempted (so far). To celebrate this, I joined with WBGL and Abolution International and am raising funds to fight human trafficing. I am asking all my friends and family (those on Facebook and those who are not) to help me by praying for the girls who are healing from the horrors of slavery and/or by donating to help build a home in Nashville that will house rescued girls.  

 Here's the link to donate: http://www.crowdrise.com/TeamWBGL2014/fundraiser/lisabutler2

You see, even though this blog is called A Runner's Journal, the web address is runningfreefinally.  Today, I am free to run.  And today there are girls out there who are not free.  Period.  I am free from injury, worry, and fear.  There are girls who are not.  And there are girls out there who have been rescued from slavery and are facing their fears right now in order to heal from the scars left on their souls.  I want to honor them by helping my favorite radio station raise money to build a house for these girls to live in, learn at, and have the time they need to heal.  Will you join me?

Facing fear together,
Lisa  

Day 491: Hill Training!?!

Day 491:  Hill Training!?!

So today was the second time I have ever purposely run up a hill in order to train for a race.  It was a good thing I was with a group because it was hard!  The really cool thing was I actually had a running partner and I'm not talking about one of the faster runners slowing down to keep pace with me either.  We had a new person join us today who only recently started running again after being sick most of the winter.

Together we tackled the one mile warm-up.  Then challenged each other to run up the short steep hill 5 times (everyone else did 10 reps).  Followed by a half mile recovery lap before moving on to the long gentle slop; 3 reps for us, 5 for everyone else.  Then one more half mile lap before the really steep and tall hill 2 times! 

Looking back at today, I should have taken pictures.  It was cold and wet, definitely not the best weather conditions.  Plus the grass was soggy from all the recent snow melt.  So instead, I found some pictures on the Internet. 

This is what I imagined I would look while hill training:

Here is what I really looked like after the first 3 runs up a hill:

Yep, that was me.  Bent double trying not to heave my breakfast all over the trail. 

Now, my legs just feel weak and sore.  Tomorrow I'll go for a nice long run (I hope). Maybe if I keep this up I will reach my goal of running the Rockdale Ramble in 90 minutes.

Hills are my friends,
Lisa

Day 489: It's Spring! Finally!

Day 489:   It's Spring!  Finally!

Today is the first day of Spring and International Happiness Day.  So, what does any "normal" person do?  Why, run of course!  I just got back from a much needed run.  Not only  have I been cooped up because of the weather, but I ended up taking 8 weeks off for the flu, car accident, jury duty, and then a hip injury.  It got so depressing that I just started dating everything 2015 in hopes that the misery of 2014 would end sooner.

 

Then I came across this post from Life in the Day of a Runner on my Facebook page:

 

 

What motivation!  For me, running isn't really about losing weight (even though that would be a nice side effect), or being fast.  It's about being a better person - a better mom, a better wife.  Running lets me clear my head and discover what is really important in life. 

 

- Breathing:  Take a deep breathe and relax.  God's got this.

- Vision: Take time to not just look around but really see the things and people around you.  (There was one Canadian Goose standing on one leg with is wings just slight spread out from his body to help him balance.  I wouldn't have seen that if I was speeding around in a car running errands.)

- Endurance:  Life is hard and sometimes we just have to endure really tough periods of time.  Without endurance, I would never make to the other side much less a finish line.

 

So, in the words of Brian Metzler: Just run.

 

Running toward the important,

Lisa



Day 408: First Run of the Year!

Day 408:

First Run of the Year!

Wow!  Did I really wait eight whole days to go for my first run of 2014?  I can't believe I waited this long.  I guess between the holidays, having the kids at home, and the weather, finding a time and place to run has been hard the last few weeks. 

Running in winter seems to be a lot more challenging than running in summer.  In the summer, I just wait for the sun to start to rise or set, bring extra water and find a shady trail.  In the winter, I need to run before the sun sets, like at high noon.  The sunnier the trail the better.  And layers, I can't emphasis enough the importance of gauging the right number of layers.  Then there are pesky little things like snow and ice.  This year has seen a lot of snow and ice. 

I think we have had something like three significant snows.  (And what I mean about significant is sidewalks need to be shoveled before I can run on them.)  The last snow fall happened Sunday dumping 11 inches of snow, then blowing it all around while someone misplaced the north pole leaving it hanging out over the Great Lakes region.  I mean seriously, it was -15 degrees on Monday.  Tonight it might be above zero, but not by much and more snow is forecast for tomorrow. 

So, like I said finding a place and time to run has been hard.  Outside is really not an option right now.  I don't own a treadmill and the track is in another town 20 minutes away.  So, I'm curious, how is everyone else handling this cold and snowy winter?  Are you still running outside?  Have you broken down and dragged out the treadmill?  Or are you like me and have to find an indoor track that doesn't charge much?

Feeling the winter runner blues,
Lisa

Day 400: What Running Taught Me in 2013

Day 400:  What Running Taught Me in 2013

I just past the one year mark in my running journey.  I can't believe it was only last fall that my journey started.  Over the last 12 months, I have run four races, recorded running 187 kilometers (on dailymile.com), and learned some really cool life lessons while on the road. 

Lesson One:  Running is an individual sport, but an individual doesn't run alone. 

The first (and best) thing I did when I started running was to ask if anyone in the group wanted to run with me outside of the group runs.  You see, I knew this running thing would be tough for me.  I was (and still am) over weight and injury prone.  I knew that my chances for failure were high.  I needed someone to hold me accountable for the mid-week runs.  I needed someone to talk to while running.  I needed a running buddy to kept me from feeling alone.

The same thing holds true in life.  We are all living our own individual lives, but none of us are living our lives alone.  Each of us need friends to hold us accountable, to talk with us and encourage us.  Life is tough and the chance for failure is high.  Meeting together every now and then in a group isn't enough.  Daily interaction with a buddy is where growth happens.

Lesson Two:  Set a goal and celebrate it! No matter how small.

This wasn't my first rodeo.  I have taken up jogging before, and exercising, and eating healthy, and every other New Year's resolution that has ever been made.  And I have failed spectacularly!  So what made this time different?  I set a goal with a reward and then celebrated it.  It wasn't a big goal. I only had to stay in the running program for four weeks.  That's it!  Run three times a week for four weeks.  And because it was the beginning of the Couch to 5K program, most of that "running" was really walking.  Simple right?  By the end of week two, I was ready to quit, but I had a reward waiting for me if I stuck with it for two more weeks; my first pair of running shoes.  Not cross-trainers, not tennis shoes, running shoes. 

I did it!  I ran/walked for four weeks and got my shoes.  (I love those shoes.)  Then I set another goal for four more weeks.  This time I got clothes.  (Winter running gear.)  The next goal was a race (with an injury thrown in there for good measure).  None of these were big, but they were motivating.

Now, my big motivation is a glass of chocolate milk after every run.  Chocolate milk is a luxury that I have not afforded myself since the days of school lunches.  Every run is a celebration of simply being able to run.

Lesson Three:  Be inspiring.

Okay, so this one happened late in the year and actually will probably end up being a goal for the next year.  After my third race, I started running into other people, some of them runners, who wanted to know why I run.  So, like any good storyteller, I told them about my journey.  Each time it was a little different depending on who I was talking to and how much time we had to talk.  But each talk ended the same way, "You are an inspiration."  Wow, me? An inspiration?  Well, I guess that is part of my motivation for writing this blog.  I wanted other beginning runners to know that although running is hard it is do-able.  But an inspiration?

In hindsight, that's what motivates me to run.  During the race I missed due to injury, I saw runners encouraging other runners.  Runners going back out to run with a slower runner.  People cheering for everyone including the last place finishers.  That's what I wanted to be.  I wanted to be a runner who encouraged other runners, who would run with a slower runner and help them get to the finish line. I wanted to be there cheering for the last place finisher simple because they finished the race. 

So, as 2013 ends and 2014 begins, I vow to run with a friend, celebrate every run, and be inspiring.  My year of struggling to learn to run is over.  My year of encouraging other runners has begun.

Looking forward to being inspiring,
Lisa