Blizzard of ’93: 1 Steph: 0

I counted up my progress in marathon training. As of this Saturday, I have completed 226 miles of running/walking/stomping/swaggering. That’s remarkably close to 10 marathons!!  I’ve been quite proud of myself for mostly keeping up with my training schedule. Sure, there have been days when I planned to get up early and that… well, the whole “early to rise” thing just didn’t happen. And there were times (on vacation in Orlando, while driving back across the country) when I didn’t prioritize the run. I usually made up for it or successfully rationalized my reasons to forsake running shorts.

But this week was different. I shocked myself by waking up and getting to the gym around 5:30am for my runs, or doing the outdoor trail. So while I can’t say I was stoked to log 15 miles (or 32,492 steps, according to a sweet-tweet from Katie), I at least felt prepared to test my new running shoes. Unfortunately I was only 1.5 miles in when I began to feel a nagging ache in my right hip. I slowed down, tried to stretch, and even pushed on my hip in the hope of squashing the pain. It was not meant to be.

By the time I had completed 2.5 miles at a blisteringly slow pace, it would be fair to say I was very angry at said hip. Each step hurt, and each step on my right side yielded a shot of OUCH up and down my leg. Following the advice of friends who have weathered injuries on their own, I gave in to the pain (and to that little voice that begs me to stop any time I exercise), hung my head, and opted for a hot shower.

What happened? Why was I able to run over 200 miles with no pain, and all of a sudden my hip up and decides to misbehave? I thought about it, and I have a few explanations. First, I stopped doing yoga when we got back to Washington, so my body hasn’t had a nice stretch in about three weeks. Second, a bad memory from the “Storm of the Century” decided to rear its nasty little head…

If you grew up in the south or on the east coast, you may remember this winter. Yes folks, Wikipedia will back me up on this one—in 1993, a crazy storm cell made for 3 snow days in Gainesville, GA. We’re from the poultry capital of the world, so you know we have to make sure our storms have names worth remembering; hence, “Storm of the Century.”

Imagine, if you will, little Stephanie. She was in 5^th grade, and was stoked to go spend the night at a friend’s house. After Mrs. Hawkins picked all the kids up from school, we got to go to the grocery store and stock up on snacks. I remember that we got Clearly Canadian water (strawberry and peach flavors), Handi-snacks, dunkaroos, and gushers. Bring on the snow, right??

And Old Man Winter delivered. 

I’m not sure exactly how much snow we got, but it was more than enough for sledding, snowball fights, and making a mega-snowman. My friend had snowsuits and goggles, and we made excellent use of them! Enter my bad memory… 

What happened in NC

Those of you who know me well are aware that I am coordination-challenged. And I have “grace” tattooed on my back for a reason. That reason may well have started during the Storm of the Century. Elizabeth, her brothers, and I were all suited up and taking turns on sleds. I had on goggles, a hat, and mittens. I looked as badass as a 10 year-old can in a hot pink snowsuit. So I got on that sled and started down the hill. Through my sweet snow goggles, I spied two trees at the bottom of the hill. In my mind, my sled would go right between those trees, no problem. In reality? I fought two trees, and they definitely won. Instead of steering or rolling off the sled, my goggly face slammed into one tree, and my right hip made hardcore impact with the other tree. The result was impressive: two black eyes, an inability to walk, and a squawk heard for miles. My parents’ friends had to bring their HUGE truck to pick me up (shout-out to the Pinsons, 18 years later), I felt like a fool, and the bruise on my hip didn’t show up for two more weeks. Luckily, those snow days let the black eyes heal a bit before facing other 5^th graders! While I didn’t need medical treatment for my hip at age 10, I’ve been nagged by it from time to time. When I tried to do ballet on my own, it made an annoying and uncomfortable popping noise. When I trained for my MS Challenge Walk last year, I felt a pretty intense tightness there. And yesterday, it wailed at me.

My solution? Take it easy, stretch it out, and start yoga again. If you have any other tips, PLEASE share.

It's gonna be a long one...

I love to walk. Especially when I'm supposed to be running. So, in an effort to break up 26.2 miles into bite-size chunks and placate my love of walking, I'm working out my run / walk strategy for this thing. When I first joined in on this whole marathon business, my run:walk ratio was about 4min running: 1min walking. I say "running" liberally here as it was more like plodding.

After the 10-miler I ambitiously scheduled to do before work Friday morning it sunk in just how far I've come in a really short time. 4 minutes is now way too short of a span for me to feel like I've earned the right to walk. 10 minutes is now the minimum and I stretch it out to 20 minutes if I'm feeling good. Hooray for progress!

Friday morning's workout was also the inaugural run with my new AmphiPod hydration belt and electrolyte replacement drinks. Although my belt is not nearly as fashionable as Steppy's it suited my needs just fine. I was pretty worried about spending 10 miles with a couple water bottles bouncing around my waist but it worked like a charm. Also fully appreciated throwing a couple Strawberry Lemonade Nuun tablets in with the water. My legs may have been about to fall off but my energy level stayed high.

Gu is now my other weapon against fatigue in the long runs. Considering it has such a gross consistency, that Gu gel sure is awesome. Will test out how the Gu Chomps settle in my tummy in next week's long session. Lord knows I'd love to chow down on 10 bags of those gummy delights but I'm worried they won't settle well since I yakked up gummy bears during a 3 hour paddle a couple years ago.

So here I am all decked out with my AmphiPod, Nuun tablets, Gu packets, Garmin 305 & iPhone ready to take on these double-digit runs. About 3 miles into it a couple Navy SEALs wearing nothing but combat boots and gym shorts pass me like I'm standing still. They do it again after I've made my turn for home and have about 3 miles left. I'm pretty sure they did double my mileage then spent the day on the Obstacle Course I pass on the drive to my cushy office chair. You go boys! Looks like I've found a new inspiration.

A snake and a fox and mini crabs—Oh my!

Eeeeeeek went the steppy!!

I was astounded by the beauty of my parents’ neighborhood on my long run this morning … and I had the opportunity to get up close and more personal than planned with nature. As I completed my first loop I made the mistake of taking my eyes off the sidewalk. Given my history of graceful maneuvers, I should have known better; then again, I’m me… I looked around, slightly mesmerized by the landscape maestros grooming the green… they have the craziest machines and brushes to make each part of the course look its absolute best. When I returned my gaze to the area in front of me, I jumped high in the air to avoid a green and black snake on the path. Well, I freaked the little guy out more than he scared me, because he immediately pulled the “roll-over-and-play-dead” technique. He stayed there for zip point 3 seconds, then raced off toward the water. Good thing I wasn’t wearing a heart rate monitor—it probably would have shorted out!

 I recovered and moved on to my favorite area on the course. This location features the clubhouse, practice areas for perfecting the golf stroke, and a pool. You may be thinking that I decided to take a dip in the pool, but we aren’t members of the “club.” No, this place is my favorite pitstop because it happens to be where most golfers start there day. And any self-respecting southerner knows that one must have a cooler full of ice when s/he plans to be outdoors all day. The ice machine is out in the open, and it features a water fountain. So, I stuffed my hat and my tank top with ice, gulped some water, refilled my bottle, and went on my merry way to the marina. As I was about the cross the street, I noticed a scrawny Conan lookalike on the green. Yep, a red fox was checking me out! He skittered across the road before I could snap a picture... too bad, but I sputtered out to everyone I passed on the path that I had just seen a fox.

Called a gray fox, but it looked red to me!

teeny crabbies!

I then moved on to the marina, another awesome part of the run. Why? Because there’s a potty there, and I drank two cups of coffee before I headed out, not to mention the water and ice I took in on the run. By then, my head and shirt were ice-free and soaking wet, and I had to GO… NOW. That’s about the time I heard the sound of autumn leaves rustling in a brisk wind. One problem with that sound, though—it’s August, not November, and the air was dead calm, with no nice breeze to cool me off. I look down to find dozens of fiddler crabs scuttling out of the way and toward the docks. These little guys have bodies that are between the size of a penny to a half-dollar, and they were not excited to be moving so quickly so early. Well, to be honest, neither was I!

But I had planned to blog about GEAR in this post. Please note, I am not a natural born runner. Though I own the book and am reading it, I was not Born to Run. In fact, I have used many excuses to explain my utter lack of speed, grace, and general running prowess. Wrong shoes. Cotton clothing(A, you were right on the money). An overall dislike of sweating, spandex, and shorts. Humidity. The sun. Less than stellar nighttime vision. Heat. Cold. You name it, I’ve used it. Well, given all my fun new running gear, I can’t use those excuses anymore. Why?

• Well, I got the right shoes… I talked about those on Father’s Day. They are fantastic, and I feel like I’m running on little blue clouds.

Sweet logo

I own this shirt!




• Cotton is no longer an issue. Although I had a few dri-fit things from Nike, and had listened to my Dad extoll the virtues of Coolmax for years, I found a new favorite fabric. It’s made of cotton, bamboo, and lycra. It has an spf rating of 50+, wicks moisture, breathes well, is utterly soft, and is anti-odor. That’s right, it doesn’t stay soaking wet and reek after a long run. Plus, they make tops and bottoms for all types of weather, and you can’t beat the colors. Do you remember the Claritin commercials, where they’d lift the edge of the tv screen to show brighter, happier, healthier colors? Well, Thriv clothes come in colors that remind me of the Easter M&Ms, with the Claritin-clear effect. In other words, AWESOME! Plus, their logo is a panda face in a sweat drop, and they operate out of New Orleans. Does it get any better?
• Well, if you want to know where in the hell you went, it sure does. I got this sweet Garmin Forerunner 405 watch with reward points from my credit card, and it pretty much kicks ass. It tells me distance, speed, altitude change, calories burned, and even whether or not a turn is coming up (after all, I should be focused on the ground in case more snakes are lurking in my path, right A?). AND, if I get around to reading the instructions, it has a heart rate monitor that is supposed to improve my life immensely. All that information is wirelessly transferred to my computer, where I can check out my history using google maps. Like I said, pretty kickass. Plus, it’s GREEN. 

  

  My new buddy ;)
  

nano nano nano

• Speaking of green, Casey noticed that my green nano was pretty overloaded. At 4gb, I filled it with podcasts and too much old stuff to download new music. So, for our first anniversary, he bought me a brand new GREEN nano that is the size of a cheez-it but holds 4 times more than my old-but-awesome mp3 player. It has a fun little clippy thing and a touch screen. How sweet is that?!?! Good job hubby, good job.
• And against his better fashion judgment, Casey also bought me a hydration waist pack. Read between the lines here, people… fanny pack with a water bottle. I wear it shamelessly. And this one doesn’t bounce, which reduces the frustration factor by at least 7!
• I always go out with a hat and sunblock—with cancer in the family, it’s just the sensible thing to do. The nice thing about the hat is that if I see another person while I’m running, I can hide the agony on my face by looking down until right at the last second, then I can look up, flash a smile, and say hi without anyone realizing what the pavement-pounding is really doing to me.

  

  My sweet fanny pack-- jealous??

What about you? What’s your favorite gear? I’m in the market!!

One month later...

frozen butterbeer!

So it’s been quite a month!! Casey and I celebrated one year of legalized name-sharing and Katie cheered on her favorite Coppola while he rowed his heart out. Katie went to the land of chocolate and cheese and we visited the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Let me tell you, frozen butterbeer is the nectar of the gods (follow the link for awesome pics and recipes by someone who knows what she's talking about). 

And when you don’t want something sweet, Universal Studios is happy to indulge your alcohol tooth with Hog’s Head ale and Strongbow Hard Cider in commemorative mugs from the Three Broomsticks.

plenty of adult options!

Then I headed back to Pullman to teach impressionable minds about psychology and the art/science of personality. They learned their shape, color, traits according to Tibetan wisdom, nonverbal communication, handwriting analysis, and some old-school science experiments, some of which are the reason a doctoral student like me has to be, like, ethical and follow IRB. I understand their perspectives that ethics can be lame; on the other hand, they can keep you from being sued, which is positive.

It was awesome to be back in Pullman! Aside from the weed jungle monster that was my backyard, I got to see some good friends, “work” on my dissertation, and use an open window as air conditioner at night. See below for the before & after photos of the yard—thank goodness our landloard cut it because the weed-whacker definitely raised a white flag when I tried to tame the beast…

before...

After

You may be thinking, “Isn’t this a blog about running?” Well yes, yes it is. And I have been running. I think I turned a corner in my training. I’m now jogging more than walking. That’s right folks!! I am very, VERY proud of myself for this. I credit Pullman weather. For two weeks, it was about 45 degrees outside when I was running. This means that I needed to get my butt MOVING in order to not shiver myself into oblivion. And yes, this is a full 40 degrees cooler than my Savannah runs, even though it was the same time of day. So I was able to try out some hills in addition to my jawbone’s favorite trail. On my last day, I logged over 10 miles in under 2 hours, which I never thought would happen. Did my high school P.E. coach ever think it would happen? As the gnome who lives within the Magic 8 Ball would indicate, “Outlook not so good.” 

Did this sudden shift stay with me upon my return to Savannah? Well… let’s just say I’m still jogging more than I’m walking and leave it there. You should ac-cen—tuate the positive, right? Right?! As for my next post, get excited, because I’ll be talking about fitness gear. With photos!!! YAY!!!

Anniversary Time!!!

As most of you know, Casey and I (Stephanie aka 1) got married on July 3, 2010 in Portland, Oregon, surrounded by family, friends, and peacocks. It was a hectic day, starting with early morning decorating at the location, hair & makeup, and bustling to make it to Horning’s Hideout on time… I didn’t get to pamper myself much because I had 3 minutes to bathe, then I got to put on my dress in a glorified lean-to. Let me tell you, it was AWKWARD to have no idea what I looked like… no mirrors out there.

This year couldn’t have been more different. Although I woke up early again, this time it was to take Conan for a walk. Then Casey and I drove out to Tybee Island to run on the beach. That’s right folks, we were on the beach running by 8am on our first anniversary. No hanky panky there! I should have known it would be an *interesting* experience when I sprayed sunscreen on the mister and he squealed and shivered because it was too cold for his delicate skin…

We opted for a barefoot jaunt, and my marathon guide told me I needed to log 50 minutes running. Casey proved to be the epitome of a perfect running buddy. He was so observant, pointing out details I had missed: the sand felt “weird;” there was an abundance of “poky sticks” in the “weird” sand; and didn’t I know that the Atlantic Ocean boasts jellyfish that are simply itching to jump out of the water to sting him? I decided to ignore these statements, focus on the beauty of the beach, and start running. We made it about 150 feet, and Casey squawked because he stepped on a landmine. Yes, a landmine. Most of the human race describes these things as seashells, but for Mr. Wilmore, they are jagged, dangerous landmines. Then he reminds me that he loves shoes. He always wears shoes. He noted that “everyone else out here is wearing shoes!!” I offered to turn around so he could sit by himself on the beach, put on some shoes, or figure out a way to buck up so we could just do the damned run. He said he would tough it out. Yeah… not so much. 7 minutes later:  

Casey: “Dammit another landmine got me!”

Stephanie: “Baby, just pretend you’re playing Call of Duty and dodge the motherf*ckers. I have faith in you.”

Casey: “Don’t you Call-of-Duty-reference me! Like that will make this better! This sucks!”

16 minutes in: “Seriously, aren’t you hurting too? There’s no way you haven’t been landmined yet!”

19 minutes: “This sucks!”

21 minutes: “I think I’m getting a blister…”

22 minutes: “Did you hear me? I said I think I’m getting a blister.”

27 minutes: “F*ck this, I’ve got a blister.”

Needless to say, we did not make it the full 50 minutes, although my abs got a nice workout from laughing. And we both got blisters. Lesson learned~ if running on the beach, wear shoes and bring duct tape to maintain sealed lips.

We went to the Breakfast Club on Tybee for a nice feast, then headed back to Lachlan Lane, where we took a 3-hour nap with all three kiddos. I booked the Dresser Palmer House for the evening (we stayed in the wisteria room, and the site photos don't do it justice!), and we enjoyed a truly fabulous dinner at Garibaldi’s Café, where we had enough wine and beer to not feel the blisters as we walked back to our room. A massive shout-out to Jessica and Chandler, who made us a reservation and paid for the best creme brulee I've had in years, with an atmosphere to die for!! We wandered back to our room, where we watched crazy Sasquatch trackers on Animal Planet. Not as good as the Crocodile Hunter, but really, who can touch Steve Irwin? "There's a rabid wallaby over there in the corner. I think she's angry... I'm gonna give her a hug!!!"

So all in all, a marvelous way to spend a day with the one I love. We got to laugh a lot, remember good times together, and we’re both ready to welcome the future with open arms. As long as the future doesn’t include homicidal seashells.

Outside our room at the Dresser Palmer House!

This is where we will go in October....

October 23, 2011 is the big day! This is where we are headed (to our doom?). Stay tuned!! Columbia Gorge Marathon  Hood River is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful places I've seen. That should distract me from the pain of the run, and provide ample excuses for why I need to take so many breaks (I mean, I HAVE to take in the view, right?). Some of the natural eye candy Katie and I will be able to enjoy:

The other decision-maker for my participation in this race was the food, as described on the site:

 "We will have a food tent at the finish line, featuring Taco del Mar, hot soup and homemade bread from Lou Gehrig. Apples and pears from  McCurdy Farms will also be offered. Food will also be offered to spectators at the price of $7.00 per person. This means you may purchase a ticket to enter and enjoy our finish line food while you cheer on the incoming racers!"

From the Shoes of A:

I always joked about running a marathon after hanging up my paddle as a way to get rid of those pesky, over-developed kayaker muscles. However, in the first year and a half of retirement I found life as a couch potato far more enticing. I still lost the muscles I'd worked so hard on developing over the years but was not exactly pleased with what replaced them. Yet exercising just for the sake of exercising still didn't motivate me. My lazy butt needed a project.

So then comes this Facebook update from Stephanie stating she had signed up to run a marathon. Paid the entrance fee and everything. The clouds parted, the stars aligned and lightning struck. An adventure with Steppy has never led me astray. At least this one would be good for our health!

On October 23, 2011 we will be lining up along the Columbia River Highway for 26.2 miles of fun. Got a LOT of work to do between now and then!

Things I have learned since starting this whole marathon business:

1. Cotton kills - especially cotton socks after just a few miles.
2. Spandex saves - the only fun chafing produces is the fun your friends poke at you as you waddle around post spandex-less workout. Time to re-invest in my stock of spandies!
3. Never underestimate the power of fear - my terror of the snakes in the running trails outside my house can dramatically improve both my form and speed!