My Marathon Experience

I am baaaacckkkk!!! Has everyone missed me and my charming personality? I knew you did! 

I took a long hiatus after my debut into the world of a bikini competitor. I had other goals to complete that required a lot of time. I had a marathon to finish! No not Netflix but a real life, grueling 26.2 mile type of marathon.

I joined a group of like minded individuals to endure the Beat the Blerch marathon this last September in Carnation Washington. This race completes me on a soul deep level as the aid stations actually have tasty snacks like Nutella sandwiches and cake. One of the stations had potato chips! Banana’s be damned!

I put a lot of hours and miles into my marathon training. Two to three days during the week were spent running “short” distances and every weekend a loooong run. I would then spend the other days of the week in the gym cross training or in the pool to give my joints a break. Towards the end of my marathon training the only thing I wanted more than anything was to be done. I had spent so much time doing *something*. I had to be running and before that in the gym or I would not get the results that I wanted. If I didn’t run in the days prior to the race then race day would not be successful. I was tired. I was painful. I was ready to be done.

So, race weekend appears and my mom and I load up the car and drive up to Carnation. It was a fun trip up and we reserved a yurt right on the race course so commute would be quick. It was relatively dry the day before as we tucked into our carb load and then to bed. Nerves and an increasingly loud squeaky mattress kept me up for a while before I was able to drift off into sleep. Race day my eyes pop open and what do my ears hear? Rain. Goody. I get out of bed with hopes it’s my imagination (it’s not) and start dressing in my running gear. Happy that my overpacking nature is serving me well today. I apply my anti-chafing cream (weird with another person in the room by the way), get my rain jacket and lace up my sneakers. It’s time to run.

Like every race, the excitement from the pack mentality is exhilarating! We listen to the opening speech (the monologue from Independence Day) catch some marshmallows that were hurled from the platform and we are off. The rain is still falling but after half a mile I am HOT. So I am now committed to running with a jacket tied around my waste for 26 miles. I really had a difficult time finding my stride for a bit but after a few miles I am able to space out and get into my groove.

Mile 17 arrives and I hate seeing it. Mentally calculating how much further I have to go. If we stopped at 18 I could do this but the thought of 8 MORE miles almost breaks my brain. After 18 I start to fall apart. My body is getting increasingly painful, my feet are soaked and I am so very tired. But I slog on. Once I hit mile 20 I conceded to walking. My knee hurts when I run but my hip hurts when I walk, I find blood and realize I am bleeding on my stomach. That’s what happens after 20 miles of a shirt barely touching moles, they bleed. I have rocks in my shoes and I am an eyelash width away from tears at the thought of 6 more miles. I shuffled and despaired for 4 miles and saw the light at the end of the tunnel. I started to run more. I wasn’t going to make my goal of under 5 hours but I WOULD make it over the finish line under my own power, damn it. I can see the finish line now. I put on the biggest burst of speed I could muster, I had to pass that couple walking after all.

 

I did it! I completed 26.2 miles under my own will power. It took 5 hours and 37 minutes of shambling, shuffling, and determination to make it across that finish line. The endorphin dump and victorious feeling eased my aching joints and raw skin. Would I do it again? Oh gawd NO! Am I happy that I did it? Absolutely! And I plan on bragging about it forever (sorry not sorry).

The Feelings of Competing

This blog post is LONG overdue. As some of you know I had my very first bikini competition in May 2016. I did better than I ever dreamed I would do. My goal was to get up on stage and do it and if I placed that was just frosting on the cake. I entered two divisions; Novice Bikini and Open Bikini Class F. Novice is for those who have not competed or placed before. Open Bikini is open to anyone who would like to compete, F is my height division. I decided to do both divisions because I really wanted to get a tiara! But if you are trying to save money and enter only one division enter open. Open is really what counts, no one really touts a novice trophy in the big pond.

I came away from my show with two pieces of hardware; 2nd in Novice Bikini and 1st in Open!! Talk about blowing the goal out of the water! I was so excited! I worked my tail feathers off and it was apparent and I won!

To get up on that stage was one of the most exciting and scary things I have done. I was really doing it. I was really going up in front of a ton of people and then asking seven strangers to judge me on my looks and my sassy nonverbal skills.

All the girls I went up on stage with were really great. We were all so excited and back stage everyone was friendly even if we were all going to be gunning for the same trophy in just a few minutes. In a sport that can be perceived as a vanity sport I met a lot of really great people. I feel like I was adopted into a family of sorts. We cheer for each other and give encouragement to each other. It is a God send to have like-minded people around when “normal” people look at you like you have lost your marbles because you are weighing an apple.

After all that training finally came to fruition I was excited to have some time off. Unfortunately, I am a dummy and set my sites on a marathon later in the year. I shifted my training from lifting to running. I still lifted just not as aggressively. I was ready to be not as regimented with my time and my diet. I needed to take the time to bask in my victory and eat cake. It was actually very difficult to let the measure everything, track everything mentality go. I could see where eating disorders could arise out of this sport if you were not careful.

 My boobs came back. I put my body fat back on and the world turned warm once again. I am so happy that I did it. Some days there were tears and some days I was angry. I was so tired and ready to be done. But there is not one day that goes by that I regret it. If you are on the fence about competing I say do it! Nothing will make you stick to a diet and exercise goal quite like a competition. You don’t have to win trophies and tiara’s to be a bad ass.

What motivates YOU?

What is one of the things that keeps you out and moving?  Do you have goals you want to reach?  A race to complete?  A weight to achieve?  An ex to make jealous (I am not judging you)?  Do you find that just having that end goal keeps you driving through the days that you do NOT want to be out working on it?

For me knowing that I have an event coming helps to keep me motivated but it is not the end all be all.  I know I have races coming up and I should probably train a little harder but I always think I have more time.  To my defense the half marathon is in October, I will start kicking butt and taking names in June….after vacation.

One thing that helps me keep going is my kids.  I want to be able to run, jump, skip and keep up with them.  If I am asked (suckered) into coaching a sports team of theirs I want to be able to show those other kids a good example.  If coach asks you to do burpees she will do them too.  The kids where only five years old and I only asked them to do three, but man you should of heard the groans and laughs from the parents behind me.

Another thing that keeps me going, that I noticed on accident, is moving really helps me when I am upset.  Last November, my Grandfather passed away.  Unfortunately, it was not a quick process.  He teetered on the edge of this world and the next for over a week.  We knew it was coming but we didn’t know when the other shoe would drop.  Death doesn’t really bother me, it’s a part of our journey, but I was very close to my grandfather.  And even though I know he was ready, it didn’t make it any easier for me.  I felt restless and agitated inside.  Lacing up my shoes and pounding the bike path help to give it an outlet.  And it was raining, no one would know if I started to cry.

On those runs I would start to think about how thankful I was to be able to move.  There are people who just want to walk.  Imagine how they would feel to be running?

I don’t run fast or lift a lot.  I don’t love it while it’s happening.  It doesn’t feel particularly good to be doing it, while doing it.  But I do it and afterwards THAT is the pay off.  My muscles feel like they have expended the crazy energy that could get out no other way.  I am thankful that I am able to move my body.  And even though I may not be able to run a 10 minute mile I still get out and move.
Every day move your body with intention and be thankful for what you CAN do.  You don’t have to go fast, you don’t have to PR every time, you just have to go.

I dedicate this post to my sister.  She recently tried to knock her brain through her butt and is currently on bed rest until her concussion subsides.  I will run one for you sis :).