Sober Racing

Let's kick this one off shooting straight out of a canon, fireworks and all. I officially finished the SeaWheeze Virtual Half Marathon this past weekend!

When we left off last, I was post-MRI and had the plan to resume running the following week. That return to running after roughly two weeks off felt great. I felt strong and wanted to just zoom through the town. My knee pain returned later that week and I had to take a few days off. About three days before race day, I had to bail on a run about a 1/2 mile in. To say the least, I threw getting a PR out the window. I trained really hard these past 10-12 weeks. I hit paces I never thought I would. Heck, I PR'd my mile two weeks after running an ultra marathon. The old me would have been super upset. The new me takes it with a grain of salt. I have a very "at least try" attitude nowadays more than I ever have.

I took Friday off of work, which is still weird because I'm working from home, but I treat every race the same. I pretty much spend most of the day doing a whole lot of nothing. I elevate my legs, stretch, do my daily yoga, and take an Epsom bath. I typically watch a movie to pump me up and since it's come out, that movie is The Game Changers. I think most would ask if I get sick of watching a documentary about vegan athletes but I don't. I read Rich Roll's 'Finding Ultra' as well, which was also inspiring, especially since I'm trying to transition to more of a whole-foods, plant based diet. I'm pretty much already there aside from some treats here and there. One of my favorite treats to make comes from The Game Changers website! Appropriately named 'Damn Good Cookies', the best no-bake cookies I've probably had. Take a gander here. My pre-race dinner is always the same: spaghetti. A lot of it. As we sat at the table, my husband asked me how I was feeling since he knew my knee problems were weighing on my mind. "I'm feeling fine. We'll go out and try and see how far we get!". I say we because he bikes along side me, carrying my water, Nuun, and my nutrition. I'm rather lucky to not have to worry about anything except running.

We set out just after 5:00am Saturday morning. The sun doesn't rise nowadays until almost 6:00am. We've been under an excessive heat warning for what feels like forever. This race also has made me realize that I'm never training/running a race in the summer again, ha! 

I threw on my Noxgear vest (code BRITTERS for 35% off), my headlamp, and off we went! My knee felt a little uneasy to begin with but that subsided. I planned on doing four loops, measuring a little over 3 miles each time to equal 13.1. This way, I could avoid stops and pass the house just in case I needed a bathroom. I think this is the first half marathon that I didn't have to stop and pee during. Maybe that was mild dehydration? Who knows. The first two loops went well. The third one was when the heat set in. The humidity level was 50% that morning, which is much higher than we're used to. Typically, it's less than 15%. I took some walking breaks. My legs started to feel heavy and my right glute was really talking to me. I think they were confused because we hadn't run this far in quite some time let alone anything over 3.2 miles since having to take a running break due to my knee issues. My knee started to feel some discomfort around mile 10. I was actually surprised it lasted that long. Once I made my final turn to finish the race out, I did a slow run up to my street. While this was my slowest half marathon, I wasn't even upset. I was happy to finish another race. I was happy to be able to even run when there are so many who can't. Checked it off in my training journal and closed the chapter on distance running, at least for a while. It's funny to think how pumped I was to set my eyes on ultra running and now my patience runs thin on anything that lasts longer than an hour. I have a fire lit in me to conquer shorter distances and see what barriers I can break with anything from the mile to the 10K. I don't completely hate distance running but I've had my handful of marathons and halfs to make me happy for now. 

So what's with the title of 'Sober Racing'? This past weekend (Saturday) was my 100th day sober. From what started as something I wasn't really trying to do has become a rather big accomplishment to me. Most races, I'd pour a beer but this time, I made a cup of coffee. My history with drinking is a whole other story I'll tell one day. Do I think I had a problem? I don't know, honestly. Some days I think I did, some days I think I didn't. Either way, I'm happy to be sober. I still have yet to be around others who are drinking but obviously, we're in a pandemic still, and being at restaurants and bars is something I'm not doing. Makes me think of the days I quit smoking. Yep, I did that too. I had to stop drinking for a week to help because having a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other was just common sense. Dear lord, I'm so glad I got through that habit a long time ago. I have 30 bottles of wine in my wine fridge still that I could easily open if I wanted to but I have no desire. Now, my obsession with sparkling water is another conversation. I treat this the same as my Veganism. If you drink, that's fine! You do you. I don't think of anyone different if they decide to have some spirits in their life. If you think you need help, don't be afraid to reach out to SAMHSA. There are tons of support groups online as well.

What's on tap next for training? I'll take this week off of running. Coach said if I feel good, I can start doing some mild cycling mid/late week. My next goal is a virtual Turkey Trot in November. Do you have any goals for the remainder of the year? Has it been hard to commit to anything due to the state of the country we're in? I'd love to hear about it.

Keep On Keeping On

Today is the beginning of week 4 of basically not leaving the house. No going to the grocery store. No going out to eat. Hell, I even just drive the car out of the garage only to put it back in after going around the block to make sure it still runs. How are we getting food if I'm not going to the store? Delivery, when it's available, which seems to be never nowadays. I pretty much order multiples of whatever I can get of the essentials: almond milk, bananas, apples, eggs for my husband. I have a plethora of chickpea cans, which has come in handy to make hummus and "egg" salad sandwich spread. We even started making our own almond butter!

 

Why I never did this to begin with blows my mind. If you have a high-powered food processor, you can do this too. Bake 3 cups of almonds at 350 for 10 minutes. Let them cool for a little, at least until they aren't hot. Throw them in and spin it around. It takes a little while to really get it to the creamy consistency so be prepared to have some patience. It's much more rich than the stuff we buy in the store, mainly because there's no oil or any other added ingredients. I probably just saved myself $20. Holla!

 

My husband is a pro Redditor and found a link to a local service who supplies food from local farms. It's like "farm to table" but to your house. Your Farm Foods has been a life saver. I revolve all of my meals around whatever vegetable I plan on cooking. Plus, to have access to different types of potatoes, onions, and even beans is awesome. I also scored two loaves of fresh baked sourdough. Makes me feel good to support the farm families and I plan to keep ordering from them even after this whole pandemic is over with. 

Okay, but what about running? It's still happening! I started week 7 of training today. The (now virtual) race is still on. The only time I leave the house is to go for a run or a walk with my lovely other half. I've pretty much stuck to the surrounding neighborhoods as much as possible with the occasional route through our little town area to say hi to the shelter cats. I haven't been on the trails in a few months now. While this would typically make me sad, I'm surprisingly okay with it. I'm okay with it because I think people are being morons and overcrowding outdoor spaces like our trails and parks. The last time I checked, being outside doesn't make you immune. You can't social distance yourself when you're on one of the most popular hikes in the Phoenix area. It's like watching the news in the summer and wondering how many people they had to airlift that day from Camelback because they didn't take any water. I saw someone post the other day basically pleading with the Phoenix government to keep the trails open because "we need them". But we really don't. They'll be there when this is all done, which won't be for a while because of non-compliance. If you ask me, you are part of the problem if you find yourself driving into a park or trailhead and decide to carry on even if other people are there. You can easily go outside of your own home and run on the road by yourself way away from other people. Some will say "well that's not what I do!". Guess what? It's time to make a new normal for the time being. Phew! As you can see, I've been a little red in the head lately about this. Social media has made me literally scream from the stories I see of people still running in groups. "Look at us social distance running together!" as they stand apart. No. Just stop. Your group can wait. Your health cannot. Flatten the freakin' curve already. /rant

Virtual racing is huge right now and it actually makes me super stoked. Some will say it's a joke and always has been. I beg to differ. It's funny because the other day I reminded myself that the first race I ever did was a virtual race and then I did another one right after that. 

If I remember correctly, this was in 2014. It was a 5K and a 10K. I remember being so proud of myself for running a 10K. Back then, I think it took me well over an hour. Little did I know I'd crush my next go round in 2017. You know what's awesome about virtual racing? Lots of things. You can wake up whenever you want to. You have your own private bathroom (depending on where you run), no getting on a bus, no drop bag issues, no crowds, no getting annoyed at that one person you knew lied about their pace to start earlier. I actually would love to do more virtual races in the future. I think it still gives those something to work towards. I know many need the atmosphere of cheering crowds, crossing the timing block, going through the finisher chute, but I guess I've come to be grateful for whatever, at this point. I'm about to run for 12 hours around my block. Is this what I wanted for my first ultra? No. Am I not going to take it seriously because I think it's "not really a race"? NO. It is a real race and we're really doing the damn thing. All I want to say is, keep on keeping on. Run as if virtual races were now all that we had offered to us until forever. Create your own atmosphere of encouragement. I told my coach today that I'm falling back in love with road running. Back in February, I told myself I was so over this. That would be my last road marathon. Never again. Yet, here we are, in a situation none of us could have predicted. I've become grateful that I have two feet that can carry me for miles. I appreciate the open road. I have new goals that are getting fired up in my brain that don't involve trails or ultras. Guess I'm going back on my word. A new pair of Hoka One One Clifton 6's showed up today. Guess that means more road miles. Guess that means I'm still making myself feel like a champion no matter what the future brings.

"Never give up something you can't go a day without thinking about." - Winston Churchill