Stomach Knotting Excitement

In 14 hours I will run a 5K that is monumental in my life's journey.

Ok wow that statement is big.....could it really be true????

To me.....yes it is very much true...and in multiple ways. New Years is a time when we all get reflective and resolute. Some of us ponder all the things in our lives that we don't so much like....and make resolutions to make them better. The one I made last year wasn't that kind of resolution. It was one that was designed to push me to be more than I was at the moment I made it. I had found running in 2010.....and used it as a way to help drop weight and feel more healthy. I started training in August for the Ragnar Relay in January of 2011. In the process of taking on that much running.....running helped me find myself. So last New Year's Eve I made a resolution that would help me continue to challenge myself all year. I resolved that I was going to run 100 miles "competitively" in 2011.

How many of us keep those resolutions though? Every January I am cursing all the people who resolved to lose weight and invade my gym and keep me from my treadmill. And by mid-February they have all given up and I have my gym back. And as far as resolutions are concerned....I am usually one of those people. (Although the gym wasn't ever one of my resolutions) :) But this year was different.

Tomorrow morning I will lace up my running shoes and hit the pavement in Ashburn, VA at a race called Ringing in Hope (kind of appropriate). And when I cross that finish line, I will have completed just over 101 miles in 2011. I feel so much excitement over that. This will be the first New Year's resolution I have EVER kept! I pushed myself to run distances I never used to imagine. I remember just contemplating a 5K and thinking how far it felt. Now when I am training, I run a 5K as a MINIMUM distance. This race will not only mark the challenge of the last year of my life, but will celebrate me as a runner. A word I would never have imagined using when describing myself. And more importantly, it will celebrate my accomplishment. One that is representative of all I have overcome in my life since I found running just by simply pushing myself to be more than I am in the moment. Just like I do every time I lace up my shoes.

Thank you for your continued interest in my journey. I am so happy to share it with all of you.

XOXO - Jenn

Let the Countdown Begin

No not until Christmas Day....although if you ask my 10 year old....there are only 4 days left :) I am talking about the countdown to the Ragnar Relay from Miami to Key West with 12 crazy Team MDAA members!! Only 15 days remain until I am in a van for 2 days with 5 of my craziest runner friends!

The next part of my post has mixed emotions for me. I am excited to tell you about the change in my runner position and the new routes I will get to see as I run this year. But the reason for me changing positions is a sad one. Unfortunately, due to an injury, one of our veteran Mia-KW runners had to drop out this year :( Jeff's presence will definitely be missed this year in Van 1. As a result of his need to drop out, I asked to change to his runner position. Jeff had been runner #2 with a very cool slate of routes for this year. While the total mileage is actually less than I was supposed to run, it is still 18 miles (2 more than I ran last year).

I am beyond excited for these new routes. The first leg of the race that I will be responsible for is 4.4 miles through the city of Miami. Admittedly, there isn't really much that excites me about this leg. Its on running trails, near a city, and I will likely be running around 7 AM. But it will be a good way to start the race :) The second leg is an entirely different animal. And yes, I intended that to be a pun. Why?? Because my second leg of the race will be 4.7 miles total, of which 3.5 will be on the Everglades Trail. Get the pun now? Oh yes...that's right....gators! Jeff and another teammate (Mike) ran this section last year and we did pull over and get out of the van to try to spy gators....and oh yes we did! I am entirely NOT worried about gators actually being near me when I run.....its just a VERY cool concept! Don't ya think? And finally my last leg of the race is a 9.1 mile stint across the famous 7 mile bridge!!!!

I can't believe I get to run the distance of this bridge. So cool. Just check it out! (photo courtesy of Daniel Schwen)

Needless to say, I am excited about the race. I am still coming up short on my fundraising....so any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. To donate, visit this page :) Thanks for your continued interest and encouragement!

XOXO - Jenn

Color Me Disappointed

Sorry for the quiet....but I was wallowing in my disappointment for a few days. I was SOOOO excited on Friday when I was preparing for crossing the finish line of the 5K I found as well as completing my first New Year's Resolution ever. But alas.....it didn't happen :( I got up early enough....ate all my race morning food....was dressed for the weather....and even had a friend's borrowed GPS so I would be able to find the race without any confusion. Set myself up for success! Then I got to Arlington for the race. And that's where my streak of good luck ended. The tiny parking lot did not have room to accomodate all the runners. Ok no problem, I thought to myself, still plenty of time to find parking. Uh no...fail. By the time I found parking and then sprinted (or rather let's call it a warm up) to the start line/packet pickup....the race had already started. That's not a deal breaker though. When you are racing, you get a timing chip, so you start when you start and finish when you finish and they let you know your time. I dashed to the registration table (there was no early packet pickup for this event, you just got your stuff on race morning) and asked for my number and swag bag. (I figured its only 3 miles, I will just run with the bag). This is where the final thread of disappointment took root. The woman at the registration table told me that my registration wasn't good for racing, just casually running the course. I looked at her like was some kind of mythological creature with multiple heads. I must have looked like a puppy trying to understand a high pitched sound because I am sure I tilted my head in just that way dogs do. She repeated. I am unsure of how the rest of the conversation went because I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes and I just wanted to finish speaking with her without letting her see them. I got my "swag bag" complete with T-shirt and returned to my car to drive home.

You might be asking yourself why I didn't just run? Well the point of this race was to get my last 100 miles of competitive running. If they weren't giving me a race number or an offical time.....its not competitive....it's a training run. I could have just gone and done the training run. Might have made me feel better. But I couldn't. It stung too much. I went to my car, called my dad, and sobbed :( My supportive daddy told me that whatever I needed to do to get my 100 miles in, he and my mom would help in whatever way they could. So....I went home....found another race....and registered. See you on Dec 31st in Ashburn. I will ring in the New Year celebrating my accomplishment from the old year.

Special thanks to my dad. He and my mom are amazing! I couldn't not ask for better parents, friends or supporters. I know I am a lucky girl!!

XOXO - Jenn

First Time Resolution-Keeper

In February I publicly declared my resolution for 2011 in this post. I had resolved to run 100 miles "competitively". After the Hot Chocolate 15K I ran last Saturday, I am now 1.96 miles from that goal. I had planned to run a 5K on New Year's Eve, thinking it would be a nice way to bookend the year (my first race was the Ragnar last year starting on the 6th of Jan) and complete my goal at the same time. But a good friend pointed out to me that December weather is unpredictable. How upset would I be if I got to within 2 miles of my goal and wasn't able to complete it due to inclement weather. That comment definitely struck a cord with me. So early in the week I scoured the internet resources I use for finding races and found myself a 5K that happens THIS Saturday. I am now less than 24 hours from keeping my first New Year's Resolution EVER! I am thrilled!!! Can't wait to share with you how the race goes....I am aiming for a personal best (PB) tomorrow as a way to ever further celebrate my accomplishment. See you on the other side of my resolution completion!! :)

XOXO-Jenn

The Run for Chocolate

There are two different ways I could write this entry about the "Hot Chocolate" race I ran this past Saturday. I could spend the post complaining about the race organization and the "epic fail" that the event has been described as by runners and media sources in DC. Or I could tell you about my personal experience and how I had an incredible race and a great time with my friends. Knowing me the way you probably do by now....you know I will choose the more positive one :)

So....I got up at the crack on dawn on Saturday morning....after going to bed later than I planned and not sleeping all together too well. I donned my running gear (complete with new running leggings under my shorts to keep warm) and made myself my normal race morning breakfast. For those of you that don't know....that's a cup of coffee, peanut butter bagel thin and a banana. I had laid out all my race day materials the night before but went through my mental checklist anyway and made sure I had everything I needed. I even had enough time to add one more "new" song to my running playlist on my ipod before I set out to meet up with my friends.

By 6:30 AM I was in Julia's car along with Sue and we were on our way to the National Harbor to arrive early enough for Sue to do the 5K (Julia and I were running the 15K which had a later start time). The 7 miles we had to travel from our meet up spot took WAY longer than it should have. All this thanks to accidents, road closures, and heavy traffic all funneling into the National Harbor....which was so not able to handle the 20,000 runners that were allowed to register for the race. We got there so close to the 5K start that Sue actually had to jump out of the car before we parked. Turns out they delayed the start so long that she didn't really have to....but we didn't know that at the time.

It was COLD Saturday morning (36 degrees when we got to the start line) but I didn't feel cold after our brisk nearly 2 mile walk to the start line. And that would have been perfect....except things went terribly terribly wrong on race morning for the organizers....and the 15K started over an HOUR late! The time went by quickly though because Julia and I chatted with one another and with other runners but in the meantime....my muscles stiffened up and when the race finally started....my shins and calves really hurt. So we waited quite a while....but finally we got to run. The first 4 miles went by in a breeze...well except for the tightness in my calves. But with Julia by my side....I just kept chugging along. As we got nearer to the 5 mile mark though....the sense of impending doom that was the long uphill climb started to settle in. I walked a lot of that hill. :) And when I got nearly to the top (at the 5 mile mark) I checked the running app on my phone for our pace. We were near 10:30 and there was a very sweet text message I had received since the start wishing me luck. That made me smile and helped me push on. We came around another half mile and returned to the starting line. But at this point we were just more than half way done. The half mile downhill went by SO quickly. We just let out legs go and flew! I was weaving in and out of other runners....eager to take advantage of the momentum. And at the bottom of that hill...at the 6 mile mark...I started to run out of gas. Julia reminded me about the Clif Energy Shot I had in my pocket. We had both taken one at the 5K mark and it was about time for another. I quickly squirted it into my mouth and by mile 7 I knew it had hit me. After the race Julia said she could tell when it had hit me too....that I just took off :) We kept on...winding up and down more hills and along the harbor by the water. Nearing the 8 mile mark we passed a volunteer who cheered us on like a former drill sargeant might. It was encouraging. And Julia pushed me to push hard til we crossed the 8 mile. In that moment I might have uttered "I hate you" to her under my breath. LOL Now we were in the final push. Whenever I get inside the 2 mile mark I always have these moments in my head where I start the logic. Its just 2 miles....I do that in my sleep. Here we were with only 1 1/4 left and the last 1/2 mile all uphill.

While I loved that hill between 5 and 6 when we got to fly all downhill....I knew it would be tough on the way back. I was WAY too in my head about that hill....I was dreading it too much. And when we flew through the tunnel and around the corner to where we could see the finish line. I knew it was time to hit that hill. I walked some of it. But Julia was there....cheering me on that we were almost there. We crossed the 9 mile threshold and there was the finish line ahead. They were calling out runners names...and I didn't hear mine but it didn't matter....I couldn't wait to cross and be done. And when I looked down at that phone app after we got our water. I nearly jumped for joy (okay I actually did later).....not only had we beaten the 1 hour 45 min time I wanted to finish in....I had set a personal best pace time for any race greater than 5K!!!

I didn't get any chocolate the day I ran for chocolate....but I got something better. A personal best pace time. Another great run with a great new friend. And our own personal after party with Julia and Sue. Both of these ladies are on my Ragnar team that will run 200 miles in January. I cannot wait!!!