Born to Run

I just finished reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. I started reading it when I was sick, and truth be told, it held the inspiration I was looking for in these final weeks! Here are my favorite quotes that I'm going to repeat to myself over and over again as I prepare for the 20-mile run approaching this weekend!

"There's something so universal about that sensation, the way running unites our two most primal impulses: fear and pleasure. We run when we're scared, we run when we're ecstatic, we run away from our problems and run around for a good time." (pg 11)

"The endure a challenge like that, you had to possess all the Tarahumara virtues - strength, patience, cooperation, dedication, and persistence. Most of all, you had to love to run." (pg 41)

"That was the real secret of the Tarahumara: they'd never forgotten what it felt like to love running. They remembered that running was mankind's first fine art, our original act of inspired creation. Way before we were scratching pictures on caves or beating rhythm on hollow trees, we were perfecting the art of combining our breath and mind and muscles into fluid self-propulsion over wild terrain. And when our ancestors finally did make their first cave paintings, what were the first designs? A downward slash, lightning bolts through the bottom and middle - behold, the Running Man" (pg. 92)

"He took some vicious falls and sometimes barely made it back to his hut on his own two feet, but he just gritted his teeth, soaked his wounds in the icy river, and chalked it up as an investment. "Suffering is humbling. It pays to know how to get your butt kicked." (pg. 110)

"Think Easy, Light, Smooth, and Fast. You start with easy, because if that's all you get, that's not so bad. Then work on light. Make it effortless, like you don't give a shit how high the hill is or how far you've got to go. When you've practiced that so long that you forget you're practicing, you work on making it smooooooth." (111)

"Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own; sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction." (112)

"You can't hate the Beast and expect to beat it; the only way to truly conquer something, as every great philosopher and geneticist will tell you, is to love it"(124)

"Nearly all runners do their slow runs too fast, and their fast runs too slow" (207)

"So simple," he said, "Just move your lefts. Because if you don't think you were born to run, you're not only denying history. You're denying who you are."

Recap: Past Few Weeks

I thought it was time for a bit of an update on how the training is coming! I've hit a few obstacles over the past few weeks, but things are looking up now and I'm feeling more encouraged than discouraged. It started after my longest run so far this training season - 15.8 miles. With Kellly's "ish" mileage every weekend, it's always fun to look at my watch when the run is done and find out how much further we ended up running than we were supposed to! After the run, I felt great. It was my first trial run with salt pills and my energy was much higher. 

But thennnn... see Monday morning at work: Typing away on my friggin computer and all of a sudden I took a breath, and my back started spasm-ing! My back maybe have been spasm-ing, but I think my brain was spasm-ing even more. FREAK - OUT. Literally, my first thought was, "Sh*t, how am I going to run today?" I had to stop running for a week and of courseeeee the first day I got back and went to track practice, I got sick! YIKES. In the words of Sarad, I tried to "Calm the Eff down," but I felt discouraged and frustrated. I felt like I was going to lose stamina and I hated not being able to participate in all of the team practices. This is supposed to be fun - and it IS fun, and that's why I didn't want miss practices. 

Long story short- 2 1/2 weeks later, I'm back in the running game. Slowly but surely, my focus has switched from trying to break a certain time, to making sure I'm stretching 2x/day just to get the mileage in that I've missed so far. I ran a little over 12 miles this weekend, and while the team was running 15, I drew encouragement from my own relative accomplishment, rather than concerning myself with what distance the rest of the team was running. I'm hoping that I can continue to draw positive energy and mentalities from each of my long runs (and there aren't many left!) from here on out. I feel like I have a new attitude and appreciation for the workouts. I've been looking more forward to them with the thought that I'm just happy I am physically able to complete the workouts! 

Speaking of which, when I was sick, Sarad asked me to create 2 mantras, one real and one joke.

Real: "Because I Can." - Most of you probably know the various reasons why I am running for TEAM, but after having a lymphoma scare myself last year and after my grandmother passed away from breast cancer, I realized that I needed to run in honor of my health and to help find a cure for the disease which affects way too many people

Joke (although it's not such a joke since I came up with this because I found myself repeating these words in my head running up Heartbreak Hill): "Oh Shit, Oh Shit, Oh Shit"

Or, I was thinking about just imagining this little girl when I needed it: Mantra Video

On that note, I'm out - but not without first thanking everyone. I have to give a fundraising update - together we have donated OVER $8.000 to Team in Training and as a complete team we have already surpassed $750,000!!!!! 

Oh yea, also, I'm hosting a fundraiser at Chill ice cream for all of you Bostonians. It's on Wednesday March 14 from 6-10 pm. Chill will be donating 20% of sales from that night to TEAM in Training. So come on by with lots of friends and buy some pints! :) 

Here's to 3 more pain free (fingers crossed!) long runs before our long awaited 20-miler! I cannot wait for mama subu to spectate that run. I'm just trying to get her pumped up and ready for race day. I'm thinking about giving her some swedish fish or pretzels to hold, since our usual weekend buffets will not be available on race day! Thoughts? :)

and I will run 100 miles...

First off, our coach told us today in our weekly team email that this week we will have run over 100 miles this training season so far! I guess that makes sense when you break down the weekly mileage, but, hot damn, that sounds like a lot of miles! 

Secondly, I don't know if it's because of all those miles or perhaps a result of recently increased stress, but last night I had my first marathon nightmare. I hear people at work lamenting over their disruptive work nightmares that they had the previous night, and normally I can't relate. I am not someone who remembers my dreams frequently and so when I do, I feel like they must have meaning. It's as if some extraordinary power is sending me a sign that this dream HAS to be true.  It's disconcerting nonetheless...

I dreamt that I was running the marathon with a couple of running pals, but every time we passed a store or a water station we had to stop and go inside or wait at the water station sipping our drinks, talking to everyone. Running was the last priority. Every time we veered off course, my tension was rising and I started exclaiming, "Guys! The clock isn't stopping for us while we are here!" I kept trying to run on my own, at my own pace, but I had no choice, whenever they stopped, I had to stop also. It was terrible! No one else seemed concerned with the clock. I have no idea if I finished the race, and that's the worst part!

So I guess, not a REAL nightmare, but when I was in it, it sure did feel like one!

As this weekend approaches, the increased mileage is definitely creating more anxiety! This week exceeds the most I have ever run - 15 miles! I'm excited to enter unknown territory, but a bit concerned with how my body might take it! I am going to start taking salt pills during the long runs to try to avoid my 4 pm low blood sugar episodes that I've been getting on Saturdays despite eating/drinking enough. Because I sweat abnormal amounts, I think I am losing too much sodium. So we'll see how this next experiment goes!

...cause photos are fun, here's one more from today!

Mile-stones

Hello! And I apologize to the many few readers who have been missing my posts :). Last's weeks run was quite the test - both physically and mentally. The snow was a'fallin and the streets were a'icing. It was also a hill day - 12 miles up those darn Newton hills. Mentally, I felt great after, astonished at what the team accomplished and proud that I was able to push through the toughest run I have ever been on. The rest of my Saturday literally consisted of me + food + couch + sedentary stillness.


TODAY, however, was not only the greatest weather for running (sunny, clear sky, 45 degrees), but it was also a major mile-stone (ha, love this horrible pun) in our training. 13.1 miles, yes that is right, a full half marathon! For many people it was their first time ever running this distance and so the coaches and mentors threw an after party and were full of encouragement throughout the entire run. See the picture below for an awesome shot of our homemade medals! While this was not my first time running 13.1 miles, I have definitely not run this distance frequently. I ran my first and only half marathon in May and probably ran about 3-4 runs at that distance while training. I feel the heat coming - the miles getting longer and in just 2 short weeks, I will be entering unknown territory... Duh duh duh.... 15 miles! 

Overall, I'm feeling the strongest I have ever felt (only a few aches and pains that I think are pretty normal) and every week we finish another week of training and I can't believe it. My weeks are measured by how many sprints are accomplished, how many on-the-go snacks can fit in my bag, when to fit that next run in with my new running buddies, and how to transport all of my gear to and from work without looking like that jerk on the T taking up too much space (although I think I've already got that covered). OH yea, and also how the hell am I going to fit in that damn cross training?!? Work + Running are not good companions. 


Each week also marks a new mission moment - a story of inspiration, courage, hope, and also reality - a constant reminder to why we are all out there. But with these stories comes camaraderie, friends, health, and a little bit of craziness. Because one thing I've learned so far is that every runner is just a little insane - but together, there's comfort in numbers, and that my friends, is what makes this training not only manageable, but enjoyable and something that after a long week at work, I look forward to. 


So again, thank you to all who have donated so far to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I can't even explain all of the stories I have heard so far this season - but I will tell you that the money we are raising together is helping and directly saving people's lives. So if you would like to, please consider donating at: 


http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/boston12/jbushell


[[I'm only $435 away from my goal!!]]


and here's some entertainment for all of you: 
Sh*t Runners Say


anddddd on that note....
-Jbu

What does one do after a 10 mile hilly run?!.....

ICE BATH!!!!! supah chilly.

Chocolate Milk to Bring in the New Year

It's been a little while, but the running has continued! We haven't had any team practices over the past 2 weeks due to Christmas and the New Year, so the runs have definitely been a bit lonely now that I like discovered that I actually like running with people. 


Running Updates:


- I got off the treadmill and made it to one of the outdoor track workouts last Tuesday night. It was probably about 20 degrees outside and for the warm up laps my feet felt numb. But the time does seem to fly when your toughing it out with others. Andddd.... a track workout followed by burritos is never a bad combination. I could get used to that...


Last week's 8 miler felt really great... truthfully, surprisingly good.   I ran out and back along the Newton Hills, covering the three big heart break hills. I figure that it's good practice since come marathon day, we'll be hitting those hills after running 20 miles. (can't wait). 


Today marked the last single digit long run until April 16th. When I think about it like that, it seems daunting and slightly unattainable. But as Sarah and I were trucking along Beacon Street this morning, I feel thankful for already having found someone who runs at the same pace as me and shares similar fears: What do you eat before a long run? How do you ignore the fact that the Boston Marathon has an incredibly large pool of elites? How many "Gu's" do you plan on running with? How do you stretch this muscle that you never thought was a muscle until you started feeling some pain there? AND most importantly, where should we put our gallon of chocolate milk as we go out for our run so that it doesn't go sour? YES YES I said it. I have leaped on the chocolate milk bandwagon after some skepticism. I don't believe there is a better post-run drink in fact. I'm hooked. You got the protein, sugar, potassium and deliciousness. Solution: chocolate milk remained in my fridge. In the future, we leave it outdoors, it's sure as hell cold enough!


We left my apartment this morning and decided to warm up with a lap around the reservoir. It was pretty foggy and misty, just a little bit such that it actually felt kind of nice since it is about 40 degrees outside. The fog persisted throughout the 9 miles and by the time we got to heartbreak hill all we could see was a faint green light at the VERY top of the hill, far off in the distant. I felt like I was in the Great Gatsby.... ha....


But the chocolate milk was safe and sound in my apartment and post-stretching, rolling, and kneading, we downed some milk a la chocolate and with that, I say, here's to double digits and more importantly, here's to a healthy New Year!