Running: Doctor Says No; I Say Yes

Yesday I went to the doctor.  The majority of the remaining part of the day was spent crying.  Right now there are so many unknowns in regard to my health.  I was told not to run because that will make things worse.  However, I know my body and how it feels.  No doctor can feel what I am feeling.  I have not run since Friday and feel like I am going crazy.  Not knowing what will happen, I am not going to run today or tomorrow.  Depending on how I feel, I might lace up the running shoes on Thursday.  Sometimes my own sanity is more important than what a doctor says.  Even if my body is failing, my mind still needs to be healthy, which is what running does for me.

Fueling for a Run: Artificial vs. Real Food

I recently read an article posted online by a dietician that was encouraging athletes to get their energy from natural sources rather than pre-packaged ones.  As I read through the article, it seemed very impractical.  After each recommendation, I wanted to ask, "Do you know someone who does this?!?"  because I sure don't.  The highlights included:

Recommendation: Using honey straws instead of GU or gels
My Opinion:  I actually compared the nutritional value of honey vs. GU Roctane (the kind I use).  Both have roughly the same amount of calories, however, Roctane has more sodium.  I like knowing that I am getting sodium when I have Roctane because sodium prevents cramping.  Cramping is not fun, and makes people run slower.  Also, Gus are easy to run with, as many running shorts have special pockets specifically for them.  However, carrying honey straws?  I would be worrying about them leaking on me during a race, that is if I found somewhere to keep them.  There is no question here - I'm for GU 100%.

Recommendation: Using dried fruit, animal crackers, pretzels, fig newtons, bananas, apples or oranges instead of chomps
 My Opinion: I don't use chomps, but I occasionally eat ShotBloks while running.  Once again, I think it would be incredibly difficult to carry any of the items mentioned above with me while running.  I don't wear a SPIbelt or anything like it but even if I did I don't think those items would fit in it.  I can say that I've been hungry on a run before and thought about what I wanted to eat when I was done, or what sounded good right them.  The items above, all of which I eat, have never crossed by mind on a run.  Once again, I'm 100% in favor or using chomps.

Recommendation: Peanut butter and jelly or peanut buter and honey sandwiches, oatmeal cookies, Larabars, or trail mix instead of bars.
My Opinion: I eat some type of bar almost every day before I workout, or in between the gym and driving to the path where I run.  They are convenient, give me the every I need, don't make my stomach hurt, and come in a variety of flavors.  My favorites are Luna and Clif.  I really don't know why a person would eat oatmeal cookies before running.  I know trail mix does not work for me - nuts before running don't sit well in my stomach.  Larabars are bars, so I don't know why they were put there.  I don't really like Larabars because I find the consistency gross.  Once again, I'll take my go-to bars that taste good and are convenient.

Recommendation: 100% fruit juice diluted with water and a pinch of salt instead of sports drink
My Opinion: Why?  Pretty much if you follow the recommendation you are making a homemade sports drink.  I guess if you didn't like any of the flavors then it would be beneficial, but I'll stick to my Cool Blue Gatorade after each run.

Recommendation: Low fat chocolate milk instead of protein shakes.
My Opinion: For once, this is the first recommendation that I know people actually follow.  Many of my running friends refuel after their long runs with chocolate milk.  I, however, don't like milk so I never do that.  I also don't like protein shakes, so both things don't work for me.

I found the majority of these recommendations to be not realistic unless you would like to wear a fanny pack while running.  Personally, I'll stick with my artificial food, save myself time, and have better runs.

What is the oddest recommendation you've heard?

Ragnar Relay 2012 Race Recap

Going into Ragnar, I wasn't quite sure what to think.  I've never done an ultra event of any kind before, and I was nervous about my body.  How would it handle running 32.5 miles in a day or so?  I knew what Ragnar was like from my other 3 experiences on 12 person teams, but this one was going to be different.  And different it was.

I was in full sleep taper mode for Ragnar, getting 5 hours and 4 hours the nights before the race.  We finished school on Thursday, while the race started on Friday.  We met at the ungodly early hour of 5 AM at a teammates house, about 30 minutes away from my place.  That means I got up at 4 AM Friday morning.  We drove to Madison for our 10 AM start time, knowing it was going to be a lot of fun and challenging at the same time.

My team was "Girls Just Wanna Ultra Run"
This was the front of our team shirt.

Our team decided that we would each run 6 (shorter) legs for the race.  I am very happy we made that decision.  With the heat, it would have been much harder to run back-to-back runs.  I was lucky runner #5.

Run #1  (Leg 5) - 6.3 miles in Cambridge, Wisconsin - 7:37 pace 
Time started: 12:56 PM on Friday
My goal was to run all of my legs around a 9:00/mile pace, my typical long run pace.  However, I knew when we started, my first leg would be faster because I was excited.  This leg was mostly in the country and pretty boring.  When I finished, I realized just how fast I ran and knew that I was going to need to slow down if I wanted to make it through all 6 legs.

The back of our Ragnar team shirt

Run #2 (Leg 11) - 5.8 miles in Dousmann, Wisconsin - 7:39 pace
Time started: 7:17 PM on Friday
I loved this run because it was entirely on the Glacial Drumlin trail.  I got the bracelet on the trail and ran for 5.8 miles.  The trees were nice to look at it was quiet.  It reminded me of the path I typically run on in Chicago.

Run #3 (Leg 17) - 3.9 miles in Greenfield, Wisconsin - 7:17 pace
Time started: 11:46 PM on Friday
My frist nighttime run made me nervous.  I has to run through a dark part for about half a mile before getting on to streets in the town.  Knowing that it was going to be dark, and I don't like running in the dark, I told my teammates that I was going to run this leg fast.  So fast, in fact, that my first leg was 7:03...a little too fast.  My teammates told me when I was done running that when they drove by, I looked like a cartoon because my legs were going so fast.  I'm not sure about that, but I knew I wanted to be done.

Run #4 (Leg 23) - 7.1 miles in Racine, Wisconsin - 7:44 pace
Time started: 3:48 AM on Saturday

Fatigue was setting in at this point.  I started to think about how my previous run might not have been a good idea.  This run actually ended up being my favorite of the race.  It was quiet and peaceful and light near the end.  There were some awesome houses to look at, too.  When the van drove by me at mile 4, I flagged them down.  I went low on this run and wanted some Gatorade.  After a brief chat with them, I felt better and continued my run.  GU just didn't sound good at 4 AM.

Run #5 (Leg 29) - 4.9 miles in Waukegan, Illinois - 8:04 pace
Time started: 9:34 AM on Saturday
This run was pretty boring.  The majority of it was on a bike path that was not shaded.  To please my teammates, I took a bottle of water with me when I started the run, even though I really didn't want to.  I ended up drinking every last drop in it.  My legs were tired.  My mind was tired.  I wanted to be done, but knew I had one more run to get through.

Run #6 (Leg 35) - 4.9 miles in Evanston, Illinois - 7:58 pace
Time started: 2:22 PM on Saturday
I was so happy to be starting my final leg.  I was tired in every sense of the word.  At this point in the relay, there was another female ultra team near us.  My goal was to pass the girl from their team, along with the chubby shirtless man wearing the fuel belt.  I succeeded at both of those tasks.  When I finished, I was so relieved to be done.

Final Thoughts:
My legs surprised me.  I went into the race feeling rather out of shape, but somehow ran a sub 8:00 pace for all of my miles.  I can also say that being on a 12 person team is incredibly different than being on a 6 person team.  I had a lot of fun and it is a good experience.

Stats:
Place: 2/6
Time: 30 hours, 23 minutes
Overall team pace: 9:12/mile
Team kills:  194
My kills: 60
Times I was killed: 0

*That is right, I was undefeated!  60-0 for the kills

Memories Made: too many to count
Regrets: none

What I've Been Up To

It seems like forever since I've posted anything on my blog, but really its only been 2 weeks.  Time goes too quickly.

Since the beginning of June, a few things have happened.

1. I ran a 5k and had a personal worst.  That is right, it was the slowest 5k that I've ever run.  I ran faster after not running because of a stress fracture than I ran in this race.  It didn't help that I went into it with lofty goals, didn't know the course, and had a week of 100% fast miles.  My poor time was due to a few things: having to run on small boulders for 0.75 mile of the course, a massively steep incline at mile 2.5, an incline (but smaller) from 2.5 to the finish, and a course that measured 3.25 miles long on my Garmin.  But that is not all.  There was an 8k race that started before the 5k.  The 5k, scheduled to start 10 minutes after the 8k, got delayed because "there are some serious runners in the 8k race that are concerned about their times."  When I heard this, I thought great, I get to run around the slower runners for the first mile or so.  And that is exactly what happened.  But here's the good thing.  As sucky as that race was, it didn't affect me too much.  Awful races make the good ones that much more sweet.  Plus, 5ks are plentiful.  I can run as many as I want.
2. School is out for the summer.   I could not be happier!  I was exhausted by the end of the school year and am in dire need of some time away from 10 and 11 year-olds.  I'll be tutoring some this summer and working a lot of some school things.
3. I ran the Madison to Chicago Ragnar Relay on an ultra team (6 people) this past weekend.  I'll be doing another post specifically related to it soon.  We got 2nd place for female ultra teams.  I had 60 "kills".  Needless to say, it was 30 hours of fantastic running for me.

Back on the Bike

Today I got to go on a bike ride with friends.  I had not been on my road bike since last August.  It had been far too long.

After volunteering at an aid station for a local 5k race this morning, 8 of us got on our bikes and rode 20 miles on the path.  There was one almost-going-to-eat-dust moment, which was saved by handlebars on a bike instead.  And then I decided to go on the grass and ended up gracefully dismounting on my feet.  Other than that, all was well.  The bike ride ended with a trip to our normal coffee/bagel place.

I forgot how much I like to ride.  I am a complete novice and know next to nothing about biking, but it is completely different from running.  When I ride, I can go fast and feel the breeze.  Many times while running i feel slow...like I'm barely moving along.  But on the bike it is different.

For me, biking takes lots of concentration because I'm new at it.  I'm sure if I rode more and had more experience, I would feel much more comfortable on the bike.  But, that is not where I am right now.  However, even though it takes a lot of concentration, doesn't mean my mind didn't wander.  Two key thoughts from today's ride:

1.  I am going to do a triathlon for sure.  Most likely not this year, but next year.  I am not going to make the switch over to only doing triathlons or doing mainly triathlons, but I want to try one.

2.  Last year I completed two duathlons (run/bike/run).  One was the weekend of the Illinois Marathon this year, and the other one is in June and I'll be out of town for it.  Therefore, I can either find a few others to compete in.  Do they have longer distance duathlons?  The two I've ever done have been short (2/14/2 and 2/11/2).  I'd love a longer one...like 10k/30miles/half marathon one distance.  Please let me know if you know of any.

I hope you enjoyed your three day weekend!     

One Year

As I was running yesterday by myself, I was thinking about life.  I find it truly amazing how much life can change in one year.  I think every facet of my life has majorly changed, too.  Not just little changes, but major things.

Family
My brother, who I am pretty close to, moved from the city where we were raised in Iowa to Colorado.  This means that instead of seeing him whenever I go to visit my parents or grandparents, I will see him one or two times a year.  I'm going to Colorado to visit him in August. 

My sister lives in LA and I got to visit her in March.  My sister and I are as different as night and day.  But, I loved visiting her in LA.  I liked it when she was in Iowa over the winter holidays.  And, in the most surprising of circumstances, I feel like we're becoming friends.  She is a journalist, so I've sent her random things that I found that made me think of her.  She's sent me some things, too.  Also, I was in an online video from the ChiTown Half Marathon and then got a few paragraphs published about me after the Illinois Marathon.  I sent the links/pictures to my family members.  She always responded with the most thoughtful words. 

Friends
It is hard to build friendships in an area where you know no one.  It took me 2 years to develop a circle of friends.  However, from that circle, I know only talk to 2 - my best friend from college (who I do not associate as part of that group), and one other person.  I don't want to go into details, but something happened and I parted ways with the group, never seeing or talking to many of them again.  Do I regret it?  Not one bit.  I don't want to be around people like that.  I would rather be friendless.  Which, it felt like I was, for awhile. 

In the past 5 months, I have made new friends.  People that I enjoy being around.  People that make me laugh.  People that i know I will have a good time with.  People that accept me for who I am and what I like to do and how I like to spend my time.  People that I can see being friends with for years down the road. 

Running
Last year, I ran by myself, 99% of the time on the treadmill.  I could not imagine going back to those ways.  I joined a running group last June and it changed my running ways.  Not only have multiple people become my friends, they've become my supporters, cheering section, and teammates.  The club gives me so much more than I can give it.  I attribute much of my running success in the past year to being part of a positive club.  I know I would not have been able to PR every single distance if it were not for them. 

School
School is stressful 98% of the time.  I teach well-off kids.  Unfortunately, that means that many of the parents are high maintenance.  However, I like teaching still after 5 years.  This year I got to teach a new subject and got to drop a different one.  This switch has made a lot of difference.  Math is my favorite class to teach, it always has been and always will be.  I guess that will never change.

Emotions
This past year has been a roller coaster of emotions.  I would say that I am happy the majority of the time, but there was a time in the late fall where I was completely ticked off.  Although I've gotten over it for the most part, when I really think about what happened it bothers me.  I cannot state enough how much communication is needed in the world. 

I could list other areas of my life, but I don't want that information visible for the world to see.  Looking back from last year at this time to this year, I can definitely say I am a happier, healthier person.  I'm curious as to what changes the next year will hold for me.

Has your life changed a lot in the past year?

Rockford Half Marathon 2012 Race Report

Half marathon #11 is done.  And there are many, many stories to tell about Sunday's race.

 Let's start with the weather.  If you live in the Midwest, you know that it was incredibly hot yesterday.  I am not sure what the high was, but I could feel the heat radiating off of the pavement.  Thanks to no shade on the course, and a change of plans (see marathon #3 comment below), it looks as if someone painted a tank top, shorts, and ever-so-stylish compression sleeve white line on me.  Oh, I can't forget the sunglasses tan, too.  Someone told me that it reached 94*.  Perfect conditions for a PR, right?

PR I did...by 8 seconds.  I was hoping to run a 1:35.  I had done some math in my head the previous week and 1:35 sounded like an ambitious but good number for me to shoot for.  I heard from friend's that it was supposed to be hot on Sunday, but I didn't realize how hot until Saturday night at 11 PM when I decided to check the weather.  Low of 73 and high of 87 with nothing but bright, sunny skies.  Knowing that I could not kill Mother Nature, I decided to change my plan.

The race started at 7 AM, which was good.  I thought that I could run the first 10 quick and run in the last 3 at a comfortable 7:30 pace.  It worked, for 1 mile.  I felt awesome at mile 1.  By mile 2, I was already sweating.  I didn't have time to do a warm-up before the race, so mile 1 was it.  I don't sweat a whole lot, but I was dripping by mile 2.  However, I still felt good and was running sub-goal pace.  Miles 3, 4, 5, and 6 went by relatively easily.  I attempted to take a GU at mile 7 but the thought of that substance going down my throat was awful.  I managed to take 2 little globs of it before throwing it away.

Then, it started to get really hot.  It was uncomfortable to run.  At mile 9 my goal was to finish.  I didn't care about PRing,  I wanted to get this run over with as soon as possible.  My pace had drastically slowed due to the heat.

At mile 10 and 11, I walked through the water stations.  I knew I needed to drink more water.  I took 2 cups at each station and made sure I consumed it all.  However, to occupy my time I started to do some math in my head. I knew a PR was still possible, so I tried to go fast.  But, fast when it is that hot out is really not that fast.  At mile 12 I ran next to a guy for a minute before passing him.  As I ran by, he called out "Hey, did you run the Illinois Marathon?"  I told him yes.  He said to me, "I recognize your shoes and your stride."  Which, according to my friends, is code for: I looked at your ass during the Illinois Marathon so much that I remember it.  Thank you, kind friends.

I finished the half marathon and was so happy to be done.  The official stats:

Official Time: 1:40:06 (*PR by 8 seconds)
Overall Place: 30/742
Gender Place: 5/???
Age Group Place: 3/71

After finishing my half marathon, I grabbed some water, ice, and got my camera and some Shot Bloks from my checked bag.  I changed into a different tank top and ran to mile 12.5 on the course to take pictures of my friends who were running the full marathon.  The original plan was to take pictures at mile 12.5 and then meet them at mile 23 to run in with them.

However, thing didn't go according to plan.  I saw my friend S first.  He said that my friends J and M were back a little bit and M was struggling.  She wanted to quit.  When J and M got to me, they took my bag of ice and were so happy for it.  J and M were attempting to go for Marathon Maniac status, so this was there 2nd marathon in as many weeks.  I told them that I would run a bit with them.  I ran and walked with M.  We stopped and walked and talked with everyone at the aid stations.  We took pictures by the mile signs.  We talked about a wide array of topics...everything from college to training for races to marathon bucket-list races to family.  J and S were always within sight, if not at our sides.  It was a total team effort to finish. The four of us crossed the marathon finish line, holding hands, together.

Even though I had taken my bib off, when I crossed the finish line they tried to give me the full medal.  After expelling that I had already run the half and have my medal from that, and was just running the full in support of my friends, the people (and my friends) insisted I get a full medal, too.  I tried to give it back, but they wouldn't let me.  I'll be getting a 3rd medal in the mail, too, for placing.

I signed up to run a 13.1 mile race.  I knew the course and hoped the weather from last year would be the same (cloudy, springing, with the temp. being in the upper 40s.)  What I ended up experiencing was record heat, running/walking 27 miles, and helping my friends achieve their goal.  I am far more proud that I could help them out, than the PR I got.

Sometimes you just have to be thankful that you can run rather than worry about what the clock says.

Diabetes Blog Week: Diabetes Device

Today's topic is about devices:

Today let’s tackle an idea inspired by Bennet of Your Diabetes May Vary. Tell us what your Fantasy Diabetes Device would be? Think of your dream blood glucose checker, delivery system for insulin or other meds, magic carb counter, etc. etc. etc. The sky is the limit – what would you love to see?


My dream device is to have a functioning pancreas again.  That way, I would not have to check my blood sugar, give myself insulin, count carbs, or have high or low blood sugars.  Life would be rather ordinary...something I have no memory of experiencing.

I think the medical field should invent some sort of pancreas necessitate.  That way, when a pancreas starts to give out, they can necessitate it.  It would be similar to what they do with a heart.  This amazing machine would also be able to completely restore malfunctioning pancreases, like the one i have in my body, to complete normalcy again. 

I hope they find a cure soon.  If they did, I would be first in line to get it. 

D-Blog Week: 1 Thing to Improve

Today's Diabetes Blog Week topic is:

Yesterday we gave ourselves and our loved ones a big pat on the back for one thing we are great at.  Today let’s look at the flip-side.  We probably all have one thing we could try to do better.  Why not make today the day we start working on it.  No judgments, no scolding, just sharing one small thing we can improve so the DOC can cheer us on!


The list of things I could improve upon is endless, mostly in part because I'm a perfectionist.  But, there area  few simple, manageable things I could do to improve my diabetes care.

First, I could use more of my fingers to test my blood sugar.  I only use six fingers (not my thumb or pinkie on either hand).  I test around 8 or more times a day.  I've been diabetic for over 22 years.  I've only ever tested on those 6 fingers.  My fingers are getting tired and worn out from testing.  I could easily improve the happiness level of my fingers if I were to test on all 10.

Second, much like the first, I could change my pump infusion set regularly.  I've gotten into this really bad habit of changing it when it needs to be changed, instead of when it should be changed.  This means that I sometimes wear pump sites for 5 or more days.  It takes longer for my body to recover from longer pump sites and also the insulin is not absorbed as well in days 4 and 5.

The two things I listed above are small changes that would benefit me.  I hope to improve upon them in the future.

D-Blog Week: 1 Great Thing

Today's topic was rather challenging for me:

Living with diabetes (or caring for someone who lives with it) sure does take a lot of work, and it’s easy to be hard on ourselves if we aren’t “perfect”.  But today it’s time to give ourselves some much deserved credit.  Tell us about just one diabetes thing you (or your loved one) does spectacularly!  Fasting blood sugar checks, oral meds sorted and ready, something always on hand to treat a low, or anything that you do for diabetes.  Nothing is too big or too small to celebrate doing well! 


When I first read the post, nothing came to mind.  I haven't perfected any bolusing, don't rage bolus well, struggle with lows and highs.  After some serious thought, I discovered something.

As those who read my blog know, I run.  I run more than your average person, and like running and exercising more than the average person as well.  I also belong to a running club.  In the club, there are all sorts of athletes - old, young, those who run 5 minute pace for 20-mile runs and those who run 15 minute/mile pace for long runs.  There is quite a bit of diversity in the club, which is something I truly enjoy.

On Tuesdays, the club has practice on a local track.  There are two groups, which more or less break down into a fast group and a slow group.  I'm part of the fast group.  When I first started running track with the club last year, I got some suspicious looks.  I wear my insulin pump so it is visible to the world.  Sometimes the tubing sticks out and it will occasionally make noise.  I originally got a lot of "why do you wear a pager?" questions about my insulin pump.

After explaining that it is an insulin pump, that I have diabetes, the type 1 kind and have had it since I was 4, people often give me the same response.  It goes something like "I'm impressed you run so well with diabetes."  Or, "I could never run if I had diabetes."

I have about a 1-minute response that I say to almost everyone regarding running and diabetes:

"I love to run, and I have diabetes.  Having diabetes does not mean that I cannot run.  It means that sometimes I have to eat while running and other times I will feel like crap, but that depends on my blood sugar.  Diabetes has actually helped me become a more disciplined and better runner...."  plus a few more sentences.

I guess 1 great thing I do is tell people that people with diabetes can run, and can run.  Diabetes does not limit what I (or you) can do.