Cousin Catie

Maybe it was being around so many bloggers last night. Many of them inspired me to start my own blog. Still leaving luna Chix run I had the urge to write something! So here it is (please bear with me if this makes no sense, my brain is all over the place today) 

I started running with Luna Chix Boston last year but due to work I only made a few. This year I have made it a priority and am hoping I won't have to work Wednesday nights. I really love getting together with a group of people and doing something that I love: running.  Last night one of the leaders told me I reminded them of a little cousin, always bursting with energy and with a smile on my face. They gave me the nickname Cousin Catie. Another woman in the conversation said "I just met you and can already tell your smile is contagious and you make people around you feel happy" (Something along these lines)

What a sincere and thoughtful compliment. It meant so much to me because it's something that means a lot to me. I love making people laugh. Maybe it was growing up as an only child. Whenever my parents had dinner parties and I was the only kid there I would perform for the guest. I loved making them laugh and smile. 

Growing up compliments from my dad always seemed to be about how I looked or if I didn't look thinner there was silence. The compliment last night meant so much to me because it's something that means so much to me:  making people laugh and feel happy when they are around me. 

My "unofficial" Fourth Half Marathon!

When Kirsten decided to sign up for her first half marathon I said I would train with her. The last few months have been the first time I haven't had any half marathon to train for in over 6 months. So despite not being able to actually go and race with her, I said I would somehow do 13.1 miles with her. I looked up virtual races all of yesterday, just as an incentive to really go through with it. However, there were none available.

Last night I thought about maybe only doing 10 miles instead, however this morning I woke up at 4:59am and knew today I would run 13.1 miles. However the whole situation was a set up for a disaster. I had only 4 hours of sleep, I am in the beginning stages of my annual "Summer cold" and I have had major GI issues the last couple of days, especially this morning. And I still wanted to go out and run a half marathon? Yup. Slow. That was the plan. And believe me the first couple of miles were SLOW! My lower legs were super tight, I felt super sick to my stomach and my cold was acting up. I doubted how this would all end up, but I kept with it. Then at mile 2-3 ish (can't remember exactly when) a miracle happened. I was running along the Charles and a woman in pink started her run. What was so special about this person? We were running at the same pace, and she was doing walk/run intervals like me. We frog hopped each other, I would pass her, then she would pass me, over and over again. She made me speed up! She stayed with me all the way until mile 8 and then I passed her and didn't see her again. If it hadn't been for her, I don't think I would have PRed like I did today. I was proud that miles 5 through 11, excluding 6 were sub 11 min/miles!

At around mile 10 I was feeling really crampy, from drinking too much water too fast. In addition to my stomach feeling yucky already, it wasn't too pleasant. It was then that I remembered Kirsten's 10th mile was dedicated to me. How could I let her down. So I kept going. I kept going. I was going to get sub 2:30 a goal of mine. And guess what I did!! This is my longest run that wasn't a race. Despite not feeling great at all I did it, and I got my best time ever. It only gives me hope that my next half marathon will be even faster :)

Splits:
Mile 1- 12:39.8
Mile 2- 12:38.6
Mile 3 - 12:20.8
Mile 4- 11:18.2
Mile 5- 10:38.3
Mile 6- 11:31.5
Mile 7- 10:54.9
Mile 8- 10:31.8
Mile 9- 10:45
Mile 10- 10:56
Mile 11- 10:59.2
Mile 12- 11:21.9
Mile 13- 10:51.8
Mile 14 (.1 mile)- :56 (average pace 9:43 min/mile)

13.1 miles- 2:28:25 average pace of 11:20min/mile

I'm also beyond happy to report that Kirsten rocked her first half marathon. I spoke with her last night and she has caught the runner bug and is thinking about the next half to sign up for.

Meet Mini and my runniversary!

For the years I have been on Dailymile following runners and hearing all about these watches called Garmins. What the H-E double hockey sticks are they talking about. A Garmin is essentially a GPS watch that tracks your speed, pace, heart rate and so much more! I have heard runners complain about their Garmins, rejoice over how well it worked and question if they were as fast or slow as it told them. When I started training for my first half marathon I thought about purchasing one. However, still unsure if I would even be able to stick to running I decided to not purchase one. I tried to use my iPhone as a GPS, using every single running app out there, but they either didn't record the distance or gave me BIZARRE speeds and distances. Once it told me I was running 5:30min/miles for 26 miles, when I had only run 10 miles at a much slower pace! I got fed up with this and ended up just tracking my own maps and using a stop watch on my iPhone to record time. However, this got annoying because it meant trying to remember every turn I took, and not allowing me any freedom to just run, without knowing the miles.

At first I was nervous to purchase the Garmin. First off I have heard so many stories of them not working and having difficult relationships with them (yes runners have relationships with their GPS devices). This made me scared that what if it didn't work, just like the same way my iPhone fails me every time, I would be back to square one. Finally these suckers aren't cheap! My solution to these problems? It may or may not work, but it will work better then my iPhone, and finally it's my runniversary I deserve a little something special. So, everyone (whoever you are that reads this blog) I want to introduce you to someone new in my life. Her name is Garmina "Mini" W. (yes I named my Garmin, I told you runners have relationships with such electric devices).

That brings me to my next point. This month is my runniversary month. When I think about when I start running I have two dates that count as my runniversary. First is June 2012 when I started running on the TM on a weekly basis building up my miles over three months until crew started. When crew started I was forced to stop running as much. My next runniversary, which is a little more significant in some ways, is in November 2012 when I started training for my first half marathon and since then have been running 3-4 times every week. These two runniversarys are important to me because they are both the longest time I have kept with running, especially the one in November. I still have a hard time calling myselg a runner. I'm not fast, and I don't do it to compete against others. I do it to compete against myself.  However, it's still hard for me to call myself a runner. I'm not fast. But like my favorite quote goes:

"If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run." 
--John Bingham

The first time I ran 4 miles!

All in all, running has brought so much joy into my life and has taught me a lot about myself and my capabilities, both mental and physical. Most importantly running has helped me start to love myself again (cheesy, I know, but the truth).