Running-girl's Blog : 2008 : May

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Running-girl's Blog

May 2008

Running The Last Mile- The Mental Challenge of Running

Posted by Running-Girl May 21, 2008

Running The Last Mile

The Mental Challenges of Running

The sun's rays pierced through the tree branches above. The intense heat softened the patched asphalt to a sticky taffy. The black tar ripped away from the soles of my shoe with each step. My perspiration rolled to the corners of my mouth. The taste of the salt reminded me of the last few ounces of water I had left in my bottle. The last few miles of my 20-mile run felt like a never-ending trail of twists and turns.

My 20-mile run is my last long run before my event. In 2 weeks, Ill be running the San Diego Rock n' Roll Marathon with Team In Training (TNT). I have been thinking about my last long run since last week. I've been dreading it because of the thought of running 20 miles by myself. I couldn't make it to Team In Training's group run in Monterey last weekend so I had to make up my mileage on my own.

I decided to run at Sawyer Camp (from Bunker Hill to San Bruno Avenue and back). If you've ever been to Sawyer Camp, you'll know that the path winds and every turn start to look the same. Every time I approached a turn, I kept thinking that the end of the trail was right around the bend. I got excited...until I got past the bend and saw another turn... and another turn... and another. By this point, I just wanted to finish. I got tired of seeing one turn after another. Each winding path gave me a false sense of hope that the end was near.

To keep my mind distracted, I decided to say a little prayer for myself. Realizing the path wasn't going to end, I started to pray for my husband, my kids, my parents, my extended family, then my friends...After running out of people to pray for, I figured that I must be near the end. I finally decided to look at the mile marker-1-1/2 miles to go. Yay! I decided to pick up my pace thinking I could get to the end quicker. Over the course of my run, the temperature was quickly rising. It was unusually hot for this time of year. The intense heat got to me.

The next ½ mile was the longest mile. I kept thinking about my personal honoree, Minnie, and how she struggled with her battle with cancer. I thought about the discomforts and pain she endured during her treatments over the years. She's still fighting today. I thought about her strength and undying faith in the Lord.

I thought of our team honoree, Doug, and the shirt he wore to one of our meetings. It read, "If you think training for a marathon is difficult, try chemotherapy!" I kept on running, constantly reminding myself that this was nothing compared to what cancer patients go through. Finally, I reached the end of my path.

But wait! I needed to run another 1.5 miles and back to make my 17-mile trail into a 20-mile run. I stop. I sigh. "Only 3 more miles," I say to myself. By this time, the sun was at its peak with temperatures rising to unbearable records. I already finished 42 ounces of water (which, by the way, I had to lug around). I had a few sips left in my water bottle. In this heat, I needed at least 8 ounces more of water to finish my run. With no water left in my bottle, I decided to run to the ½ mile mark and turn around. I ran 18 miles-- 2 miles short of my goal today. Hey, I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid.

I called it a day. It was a challenging run, but I didn't suffer from any injuries, body aches, heat stroke, nor dehydration. So, I congratulated myself for a good run. I convinced myself that what's more important than completing my goal is running safely!

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The Running World- Cult or Culture?

Posted by Running-Girl May 3, 2008

Being a part of Team In Training (TNT) has been a great experience for me. The participants of TNT have a commonality- 1) to impact our own lives by training for an endurance sport, and 2) to impact the lives of others by helping to raise money to fight cancer. TNT is a wonderful organization full of spirit and comradery. Being a part of TNT makes me look forward to my runs and my training. I enjoy running with my fellow teammates.

You can often spot a fellow TNT participant. You'll find them in their team shirts or caps. Sometimes you'll find them running with their names printed on their shirts. If you look closely, you can spot a tag on their shoe bearing the name, Team In Training. You may even find a badge pinned somewhere on their clothing or shoe honoring a loved one who is battling cancer. It's not uncommon for TNTers to sport the colors green and purple together, which most fashion afficionados would shun. TNT participants usually can recognize each other. Our secret handshake "GO TEAM!" (well, not so secret now), is often exchanged as we pass by each other. The secret handshake is one of many rituals we go through.

I have this ritual that I go through a week before an event or a long run. For five days prior to my event, I would eat a healthy serving of fresh fruits, vegetables, chicken, fish and grains. I make sure my stomach is satisfied at each meal. I make sure I eat 3 full meals a day with 2 satisfying snacks in-between. Two days before my run, I will eat a dinner of spaghetti with turkey meat sauce. The night before my run, I will eat my traditional dinner of brown rice, baked chicken, steamed green beans or broccoli. My morning breakfast, an hour before my run, will consist of an almond butter and acai or blueberry jelly on whole-wheat toast, banana, and an electrolyte drink. My water pack is layed out and prepared with an electrolyte drink (GU2O or Cytomax), Shot Blocks, tissue, a band-aid, cell phone, and ID. In my after-run bag, I carry extra clothing and socks, towel, water, and a protein bar. My dry-fit clothing and cap will change each time, but one thing remains the same. I will always wear my double layered, blister-free sock! Sounds crazy? I know.

I sometimes find it disturbing that I go through this ordeal for a run. However, even if running is an individual sport, we, runners, pretty much follow similar rituals and have similar beliefs and that we've established through our own experience and through experiences of others. So I am reminded that I am not alone. I've discovered that running is a culture in itself.

Webster defines culture as the "integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon man's capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations." We runners like to share tips and advice on how to improve our runs, run successfully, and to run safely. And that's what we do at TNT.

The funny thing is that the more I run, the more runners I encounter, and the more interesting the running culture has become. It leads me to question the world of running. Is it a cult or is it a culture?

Webster defines cult as a system of religious beliefs and rituals regarded as unorthodox. Some of the behaviors I've witness on my runs show me how unorthodox the running world may be. Here is a list I've compiled to show you what I mean:

ACCEPTABLE RUNNING HABITS NOT ACCEPTABLE ELSEWHERE

wiping your face and nose with your shirt
taking your shirt off in public
pouring water on your head
peeing wherever you can find a bush
running around in your bra (women)
following the person of the opposite sex while breathing heavily
carrying food in your shorts
digging around in your shorts for your keys
stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to stretch
running through sprinklers on purpose
stashing water bottles in ditches in 3-mile increments
running in place while waiting for the light to change at a busy intersection
running with nothing but shorts and a t-shirt and maybe gloves in the middle of winter

So tell me, is it a cult or is it a culture? Because I am an active part of it, I'd like to vote for the latter. Yes, I admit that I may follow a few of these practices. Okay, tease me. Nevertheless, I find running fun and very rewarding. So come join me. and together we can add to this list of acceptable and unorthodox behavior. Welcome to the runner's world....