How I Celebrated National Running Day...

That's right everyone, today, June 6th, 2012, is National Running Day!

I know that everyone celebrates in their own special way...some by running, some by thinking about running, some by vowing never to run.  I celebrated by taking a short run (unfortunately, I only had time for a little over a mile today, but at least I got one in) and then by signing up for a couple races!  The Rock 'n' Roll Race Series was honoring the special day by offering $20 off almost all of their races.

By the way, the offer is good until midnight tonight, so if you've ever dreamed of running a R'n'R race, sign up today!  I've been wanting to run the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon for a while...unfortunately, it seemed to be the ONLY race that wasn't included in the discount.  After pouting for a minute or two, I decided twenty bucks wasn't going to keep me from wanting to run this race in the end, so I signed up anyway!

I did notice, however, that the Rock 'n' Roll Portland Half Marathon was included in the offer, so I signed up for that one too!

All in all, I'd say it was a pretty productive National Running Day!

I Run...Because I CAN!!!

Why do you run?  And how did you celebrate National Running Day?

Yummy Homemade White Wine Sangria!

I haven't done a "wine inspired" post in a while, and since I made a batch of my wonderfully tasty white wine sangria this weekend, I thought it was the perfect time to share this yummy yummy recipe...and yes, I know the pitcher looks a little empty...I may have taste tested it a few times to make sure the recipe was blog post worthy!

White Wine Sangria: (sorry, don't have a cute, fun name for it)
In a large pitcher add...

• First, boil 1/2 cup sugar in 1 cup water for 5-7 minutes to create a simple syrup for the sangria, cool in the fridge until chilled, then add to pitcher

• 1 bottle (750 ml) of white wine...I find Riesling works best because it's a little on the sweet side, which is what you want in a good sangria (don't go all the way to Gewurztraminer or Moscato, they're a little too sweet)

• 1 cup orange liquor, such as triple sec, orange schnapps, or Grand Marnier.
• 20 ounces soda water...I personally like the extra little kick a lemon-lime soda brings to the mix, so I use Fresca instead, but you could use 7-Up, Sprite, or just plain ol' soda water

• Lots of sliced, fresh fruit...some of my favorites in this recipe include kiwi, strawberries, raspberries, oranges, lemons, limes, red or green grapes, and granny smith apples...basically anything that looks tasty and fresh at the grocery store will work.

Mix everything together in a pitcher, then put in the fridge until chilled.  Pour into a wine glass, put in your favorite movie, kick your feet up, and enjoy!

What's your favorite drink to ring in the summer?

Rock 'n' Roll Portland Half Marathon

This past weekend, I had a couple firsts happen for me...1) I took part in an inaugural race; 2) I ran in a race with an Olympian; and 3) I broke 2 hours in a half marathon!

The Inaugural Rock 'n' Roll Portland Half Marathon consisted of a field of over 11,000 strong and included one very important runner indeed, the incredibly talented Kara Goucher!

Now, while I never actually got to see Kara Goucher in person, and I was absolutely nowhere near her during the race (she finished only slightly ahead of me...lol, yeah right, in my dreams...she kicked my butt!), I did run the exact same course that she did, and there was a stretch where we were both running at the same time (although definitely not in the same places along the course haha), and it's just cool to know that I ran in the same race as someone who is going to be representing the United States in the 2012 Olympic Games in London in just a few short months...GO KARA (we're totally kindred spirits now)!!!

I had been looking forward to this race for a long time, as I signed up to run it almost half a year ago...so I was up bright and early at 5 am Sunday morning, ready and raring to go.  I had even gotten my racing belt ready the night before I was so anxious to run!

I made my way downtown and got to the start line a good hour before the race started, but with so many people around, I was never lonely.  Plus it gave me a chance to take in the sights and get my jitters out before the gun went off.  I was feeling great that morning, and I was bound and determined to get a PR.

I am always so amazed at how wonderfully friendly people are at races, willing to take your picture and chat with you simply because you are a fellow runner...such a fantastic community of people to belong to. 

As the race drew closer to starting, I got into my assigned running corral, #5, which was farther away from the start line than I had anticipated...

...thank goodness for timing chips eh?!?!

One of the nice things about the race was that groups of runners were released in waves, a couple minutes apart, so there wasn't one huge crush of 11,000 racers all trying to push across the start line at once.  After approximately 8 minutes of (impatient) waiting, it was finally corral #5's turn to start the race.  As soon as we started going, my adrenaline was pumping and I was excited to be moving...but soon realized that this course would not be the easiest one I had ever run.

For one thing, the first half of the course was almost entirely uphill.  For another, there were several rolling hills in the second half of the course that really took it out of me.  Yet still was the total elevation gain of almost 600 feet and the fact that the entirety of mile 5 was one long uphill battle.

All of these factors served to thoroughly exhaust me throughout the race, but I was, as I mentioned before, determined to PR this race.  So I pushed myself hard, pacing with runners I thought would help me reach my goal, and as I got to the last straight away stretch on Naito Parkway, I picked up my pace even more, so that by the time I had the finish line in sight, I was at a full out sprint to the end.  When I crossed the finish line, I was almost positive I had PRed, but as the clock displayed the time from when the first runners started the race, I was unsure by exactly how much I had lowered my time.  Coming into the R'n'R Portland Half, I had just PRed two weekends earlier at the Tacoma City Half Marathon with a time of 2:05:35.  As I had my medal placed around my neck and my foil blanket wrapped around my shoulders...

...I was sincerely hoping for something right around 2 hours.  Little did I know, as I stepped up to the engraving station to have my name and finishing time inscribed on the back of my medal (very cool extra at the R'n'R Marathons) that I was in for the surprise of my life.  I took my medal back from the engraver...

...turned it over...

...and discovered that not only had I PRed, but I broke 2 hours with a time of 1:58:57!!! (I know it's hard to see, but the medal does say my name under Finisher...it's my medal, I promise!)  I was so happy that I almost started crying and was extremely tempted to hug the engraver, but stopped myself when I realized just in time that most strangers do not appreciate being bear hugged by weird, crying, sweaty females.

My stats for the race...

Bib #: 11224

Finished In: 01:58:57

Pace: 09:02

Overall Place: 2501/11033

Division Place (25-29): 177/897

Gender Place: 1141/7744

...some of the best stats I've ever had after a race! I was extremely proud of myself.

Some of the other cool swag I got at the end of the race (though I have to say the medal was the best part)...

...the official shirt we got at the expo before the race (the front)

...though I couldn't bring myself to wear it until after I had finished (the back).  And then I got myself an official "finisher's" shirt at the booth afterward...

...I liked it specifically because it said finisher on it (the front)

...which, as much as I liked the other shirt, it did not say (the back).

And this was the cool mug I got for buying the shirt, which made me doubly happy that I bought it!

Overall, the race was a huge success for me, and it allowed me to add one more notch to my running belt...a place in the Half Fanatics!

That's right, I'm now officially Half Fanatic #2440!  Can't wait to take my new singlet out on it's inaugural race!

What do you consider your most successful race and why?

TCHM Conquered..

...aka I kicked the Tacoma City Half Marathon's ASS!!!

I have to admit, when my alarm woke me up at 5am this morning, I was a little nervous.  I was sort of afraid that my body wouldn't be able to take the rigor that completing 13.1 miles requires just 3 short weeks after my surgery.  But once I showed up at the Fleet Feet tent and started seeing all my running friends, nervousness slowly but surely started transitioning to excitement.

Me with my super awesome running buddy Katie, who kicked some major butt on the marathon and raised over $1500 for Running for Tyler! GO KATIE!!!!

Cora (rocking some awesome arm sleeves), Theresa and I before the race.  Theresa was amazing...she ran the entire half marathon with me to make sure I was okay and she motivated me up a couple pretty steep hills toward the end of the race when my stitches were hurting and my motivation was draining!

All of us HFMT (Half/Full Marathon Training) runners at the start line before the race with Fleet Feet Pete (the shoe). I'm the one in the orange shirt...haha, just kidding, I'm the one standing third over from the left, just to the right of Kiel, who is kneeling near Pete.

With the amazing Kendra, aka Mamasita, before her marathon start.

While the main goal of the race was simply to finish, I'm pretty competitive and tend to push myself pretty hard (even when I probably shouldn't).  So at the start line, Theresa and I lined ourselves up behind the 2:10:00 pacer, which would put us at right around 10:00 mile pace.  The gun went off, we slowly started to move toward the start line, and as soon as we crossed the start line, I started my Garmin, pushed play on my iPod, and we were off (keeping the 2:10 sign in our sights).

Theresa and I synchronizing our Garmins as we crossed the start line...okay, so we didn't actually synchronize watches, but how cool would that have been?!

The race wound through downtown Tacoma, around Wright Park, past Tacoma General Hospital (where I had been only 2 weeks prior, battling my second bout of pancreatitis), down along Ruston Way, and then back into downtown Tacoma for the finish.  There were a couple hills at miles 11 and 12 that got the best of me and I had to walk for a little bit because at that point my stitches/side were starting to bother me a little, but other than that I ran the entire race.  And as soon as I saw that mile 12 marker, something sparked within me, and the mantra "I can do anything for 1 mile" spurred me into a faster pace, and as I rounded the corner with 0.2 miles to go and the finish line in sight, I found that final ounce of energy and was able to sprint to the end.  I crossed the finish line in 2:05:35 (that's an average of a 9:35 mile pace, and incidentally, we finished IN FRONT of the the 2:10 pacers!), which is a PR (personal record) for me, and apparently I helped Theresa get a PR too (although she motivated and pushed me through the entire race, so I'm not sure who did more for who!)!  Not too shabby for 3 weeks after gallbladder removal surgery.

Me with my finisher's medal...technically it's only half a medal, apparently I can get the other half if I run the Tacoma Narrows Half Marathon in August.  I think just owning half of the full medal will bother me, so it looks like I'll be signing up for yet another half this year (counting today's, I'm already signed up for 5 half marathons, 1 full marathon, and the H2C Relay)!

All of my race day goodies...I can't wait to wear my finisher's shirt with pride.  I DID IT!!!

Less Than a Week to Go...

It seems like I've been training FOR-E-VER (said in the voice of the kid from "The Sandlot") for the Tacoma City Marathon...well, maybe not forever, but at least since January...

...but seeing as how I have some of the worst luck ever, it would figure that after working so hard for so long, and training my little heart out, I would need to have emergency gallbladder surgery less than 4 weeks before the race!  And it would also figure that my doctor would tell me last week that, while I am cleared for physical activity, I am NOT cleared to run a full marathon less than 4 weeks after surgery.  I'm not ashamed to tell you that I almost cried in the doctor's office right then and there.  Seeing my frustration at being told that I couldn't do something that I'd been working toward for so long, the doctor did tell me that I WAS allowed to still participate in the half marathon...so long as I promised to walk when I got tired and didn't pressure myself to run the entire 13.1 miles if I wasn't up to it.  So back to training I went...and realized that it only took 2.5 weeks to feel like I'd lost all my fitness and aged about 40 years.  Not even during my 18 miler 4 weeks ago did I huff and puff and sweat so much as I did on my first run back after surgery...which, I might add, was only 2 miles!

I was feeling extremely discouraged, until multiple people took the time to remind me that I did just have major surgery (which hadn't been easy on my body) and the fact that I was out running less than 3 weeks afterwards was a true credit to just how good of shape I was actually in. I realize that we are all our own worst critics, so I often need others to remind me that it IS okay to not be perfect.  Sometimes life throws a curve ball your way, things don't go according to plan, and what you thought was going to happen has to change.  We need to let ourselves know that this isn't always a bad thing, and sometimes rolling with the punches can bring just as good of an outcome as we were expecting in the first place.  The doctor could have easily said that I wasn't allowed to do physical activity at all, but she didn't.  Instead, she recognized in me the physical ability to be able to go out and complete a half marathon less than one month after a surgery that I wasn't expecting to have.  And so I have slowly, but surely, gotten back into my training plan, and will hopefully have a couple more runs under my belt before the race on Sunday.

HMTP (Half Marathon Training Program) Resumes...

Tuesday: Doctor's Appointment...cleared for physical activity and told I could start out with 2 miles and slowly build from there, so long as I listened to my body and didn't push myself to the point of exhaustion.

Wednesday: 2.1 miles in 19:05...okay, so I was so excited to get back out and run that I probably pushed myself a little too hard, but other than wanting to collapse at the end (just kidding, it wasn't THAT bad, though I was pretty exhausted afterward) it felt AMAZING to get back out and run!

Thursday: Stretch/Rest...First day back to work and first track meet back to coach...super long day and very tired at the end of it, so no run for me.

Friday: Stretch/Rest...It's amazing how two full days of work will take it out of you! After track practice that afternoon, I was unfortunately just too tired to run, so I decided to rest up so that I was ready for my first training run back with the group the next morning.

Saturday: 5.5 miles in 55:20...I was able to run the entire time, which felt great, but I was definitely tired at the end since my body wasn't used to that much physical activity, so I kind of, sort of took a 4 HOUR NAP later that day! Oops!!!

Sunday: Stretch/Rest...No run scheduled for the day, so I rested and relaxed after my activity from the previous day.

Monday: 3.0 miles in 28:27...yesterday's run was nice.  I keep feeling better with each day, which is definitely encouraging.

I have two more training runs this week, a tempo run tomorrow and our last group run on Saturday morning, the day before the race.  With any luck, I'll feel great on Sunday morning and go out there and kick some half marathon butt!  Because, after all...

Anyone else running a half or full marathon this weekend?

NWM 2012 BABY!!!!

Ok, not to sound too much like a silly little child, but...I GOT IN, I GOT IN, I GOT IN!!!!!!

Ever since I've gotten into running, I've been on the lookout for fun and intriguing races to run.  Last year, I was turned on to the Nike Women's Marathon that has been taking place in San Francisco, California for the past 8 years.  The race is an extremely popular one, due in no small part to the fact that the "finisher's medals" are Tiffany & Co. necklaces designed exclusively for the women who run and complete the race.  Another not insignificant selling point is the fantastically beautiful race course, which starts at Union Square and ends along the Pacific Ocean.  With these, and several other, amazing perks, it's no wonder that this is a sell out race every single year.  In fact, the demand to run the race is so great that in the past several years, they have turned the registration into a lottery system: there is an open window time frame where women can submit their names, and then once the window closes, they choose 25,000 women who will get to participate.  Now while I'm sure you're thinking "wow, that's a lot of people, it must be pretty easy to get a spot", I've heard that at least twice that many people submit their names for the lottery.  

Now when my friend Leila told me about this race last year, we had missed the sign up window by literally days. I was bummed that I didn't even get the opportunity to try to sign up for it, so I promised myself that I was going to be diligent this year about finding out when the registration window opened so that I could get my name in for a shot at this fantastic race.  April 9th arrived, and even though I was in the hospital and in a great deal of pain (it happened to be the day before I had my gallbladder taken out...see previous post) I was on my computer at 9am submitting my name into the lottery.  The lottery window remained open until the 20th, and then all I could do was wait with my fingers, toes, eyes, arms, legs and everything else crossed, hoping and praying that I got one of the coveted emails saying that I had been chosen to run.

They had warned us when we signed up that if we were to receive an email letting us know that we had been selected, we wouldn't get it until the end of this week, which I took to mean Saturday or Sunday.  So when I got to school this morning for my first day back to work since my surgery, I wasn't expecting anything more than work-related emails when I opened up my inbox. *Quick side note, look at the cute little welcome back elephant that my students left up on the board for me to find this morning...

...aren't they the sweetest students ever?!?!?!  I almost cried when I saw it, it was so nice to be missed!

Anyway, I started up my computer this morning, and what do I find in my inbox but an email from Nike Women's Marathon with the subject line: 2012 Nike Women's Marathon Random Draw Results.  I stared at the title in disbelief for several long seconds before I finally, with a shaking hand, clicked open the email and read these glorious words...

Dear Teresa Antonoplos,

Whether it’s your first or fiftieth race, there really is no other feeling quite like standing at the starting line.

We’re so glad that in 2012, you’ll be sharing that moment with us.

That’s right, you read that correctly. You’ve officially been selected to run in the 2012 Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco. Congratulations!

I'm not ashamed to tell you that their was some shrieking and hopping around in the next couple minutes, and I shared the good news with all of my classes.  So even though I won't be able to run the Tacoma City Marathon next weekend like I have been intending to since January (stupid gallbladder!) this race will more than make up for it!  San Francisco, HERE I COME!!!

 Anyone else get into the Nike Women's Marathon this year? Have you run it in a past year?

MTP Derailed Temporarily...

You read that title correctly unfortunately ladies and gentlemen...the marathon training has been postponed for the next week or two due to (drum roll please): GALLSTONES!!!!

That's right sports fans, a little 5.4 millimeter gallstone decided it didn't like being cooped up in my lil' ol' gallbladder and wanted to go exploring, and in the process got stuck in (and therefore blocked) one of my bile ducts.  Now I don't know how many of you have ever had an escaped gallstone, but I can tell you (and I promise you can take my word for it) it is not a pleasant experience!  Mine was particularly painful due in large part to the fact that the blocked bile duct set off a sort of chain reaction that inflamed my gallbladder and caused me to develop pancreatitis.  Not fun at all!

The thing that is particularly "galling" (pun intended) about the whole thing is that I'm only a few weeks away from the Tacoma City Marathon, which I've been training for since January, and now may not be able to run.

I should have known that something was wrong earlier than I did...my runs during Weeks 10 and 11 were definitely some of the worst I've had since I started my training program with Fleet Feet Bonney Lake.

Week 10 Overview: This was a rough week for me, I did all of my runs except for my long run on the treadmill at the gym because I was feeling so crappy.

Monday: 3 miles in 30:35...my knees were still pretty sore from the 17 mile run the Saturday before, so to the gym I went.

Tuesday: 4.5 miles in 43:45 with two 1 mile tempo runs in 16:54...I was able to do my tempo runs both at 8:27 pace, but I was extremely winded in between them, and my stomach was in a lot of pain, which made it even harder to breathe.

Wednesday: Stretch/Rest

Thursday: 3 miles in 27:26...pushed myself really hard, but my run felt terrible.  I was in a ton of pain, stomach-wise, and it made it very hard to breathe during the run.

Friday: Stretch/Rest

Saturday: 18 miles in 3:01:32...my stomach issues (which I was mistaking for an ulcer at the time) made it so difficult to breathe that I was winded within the first half mile and stayed that way the entire run.  My running buddy Katie even commented on the fact that I was more winded than normal, and without her pushing me, I probably wouldn't have been able to finish.

Sunday: Stretch/Rest

Week 11 Overview: I didn't get very far into week 11's training runs because I got sidelined with my gallstones.

Monday: 3 miles in 28:28...it was the first day of my Spring Break, so I decided to do my run outside.  The weather was great, my stomach was not.

Tuesday: Stretch/Rest...ended up driving down to Bend to visit Michael.

Wednesday: Stretch/Rest

Thursday: 8.1 miles in 1:23:00...combined the mileage I missed on Tuesday to what I needed to run Thursday so that I could get everything done.  Little did I know it was the last (and extremely painful) run I would complete that week.

Friday: The last straw for my poor body...all the food I had been eating for the past week and a half had been making me extremely sick.  I had been chalking it up to indigestion and what I thought was an ulcer and trying to push through the pain.  But when Michael took me out to dinner that night and I couldn't even keep 5 bites of my clam chowder down before I had to rush to the bathroom to throw it up, he said enough was enough and he was taking me to the hospital whether I liked it or not.  So to the emergency room we went on Good Friday evening.  I was in an extreme amount of pain, but still convinced I didn't need to go to the hospital (I have a very irrational fear of seeing doctors...they always seem to give me worse news than I'm expecting). After describing my symptoms to the doc, he said that it actually sounded like a gallbladder issue to him, and probably had nothing to due with stomach acid/ulcers, as I had previously thought.  So to the ultrasound room I went, with Michael in tow (not exactly the place you want to have to go with your boyfriend who is terrified of the idea of children) and the ultrasound technician started taking pictures of my stomach and gallbladder.  She discovered that my gallbladder was full of HUGE gallstones, and that one particularly crafty little devil had escaped and was blocking one of my bile ducts...

...it's the round spot right in the middle of the picture.  She got pretty excited and told me that it was the largest gallstone that she had ever seen outside of the gallbladder (my doctor later informed me that it's not a good thing when your ultrasound technician gets that excited) but that I had bigger ones still inside it.  After seeing the pics, the doctor said I was going to have to have surgery to remove my gallbladder and potentially even the stone (if it didn't pass on it's own) because I was at a higher risk to keep having this problem happen since I had already had one stone escape.  So I was admitted to the hospital and blood work was ordered to see just how bad everything was.  Michael even got the pleasure of sleeping in a chair in the ICU with me for the evening...lucky boy!

Saturday: Blood work came back revealing that I had developed pancreatitis as a result of the blocked bile duct (which explained a good majority of my pain) and I was put on IV fluids and antibiotics to get rid of the infection.  I met the surgeon, who was a very nice man, but who informed me that he didn't feel comfortable operating on me until the infection had cleared up, so as not to inflame my pancreas any more than it already was.  And so the waiting game was on...

Sunday: Blood work numbers still way too high, no surgery for me.

Monday: Blood work numbers still not exactly where the doctor wanted them, so again, no surgery.  I was starting to get extremely frustrated by this point because a) I just wanted this whole process to be over with and b) I was exhausted.  Just a little piece of friendly advice: if you're looking to get some rest, don't go to the hospital!  I was woken up every 2 hours during the night so the nurses could check my vital signs.

Tuesday: Surgery Day!  My blood work was finally good enough that the doctor was convinced it would be safe to operate, so in I went, and out went my gallbladder.  Woke up groggy and in a lot of pain, but the surgery went well and the doctor said there were no complications.  They performed a laproscopy on me, so I have three small incisions in my right side and one in my belly button.  They had to pump my stomach full of gas in order to perform the surgery, so I looked extremely bloated, which wasn't pleasant.  And since I couldn't really walk, I had to have these weird air pressure leg cuffs around my calves to massage my legs to simulate walking so that I wouldn't form blood clots.  I was a sexy sight that day!

Wednesday: Once the doctor came and checked on me and the nurses were able to see that I could eat small amounts and take my medication without getting sick, I was released.  Michael's parents came and picked me up and took me back to their place until Michael got off of school.  He then went and picked up my mom at the airport, who had flown in to take care of me.  I was put on a soft food diet, which means I can't eat anything with a consistency much more than mashed potatoes for the next two weeks.  After that, I can try to incorporate more normal foods into my diet.  But now that my gallbladder is gone, I have to be very careful of what I eat, since I no longer have the organ that helps process fatty foods...so no more fried foods and really rich foods for me (basically, no more tasty food!).

Thursday: Wasn't feeling well, having thrown up twice during the night because my medication was a bit too strong for my stomach when I took the full dose, so I wasn't really up for travelling.  So my mom and I stayed one more day with Michael and his parents, just relaxing and trying to get a handle on my pain and nausea.

Friday: Was finally able to head home.  Michael was so great during the whole experience, and so were his parents, but there's just something about being in your own home to recover that makes you feel better.  You don't have to put on a brave face, you can be as miserable or as lazy as you want, and no one knows it but you.

Saturday: Had a couple visitors in the forms of Jessica (who brought me some gorgeous tulips) and Jayne who helped my mom and I run an errand for my vehicle.  My mom mowed my lawn for me and cleaned up some of my flower beds and even had the time to make me homemade soup, clean my bathroom and kitchen, and do my laundry...she is Super Woman, I swear!

Sunday: Enjoying the last day of relaxation and motherly attention before she heads back home to Boise tonight and I attempt to head back to work tomorrow.  Most normal activities (like getting dressed or walking around the grocery store) still leave me pretty winded and tired, so I'm not sure how well I'll be able to do at work tomorrow, but I'll do my best, and if I need to get a sub for the afternoon, so be it.  I figure I have to try to go back to work though since I already missed a full week after Spring Break due to this stupid gallbladder issue.  Fingers crossed I can make it through the day!

So that's the story of how my marathon training got derailed temporarily...here's hoping that I heal fast and can get back to running as soon as possible.  Who knows, I may still be able to run TCM (all be it, slowly) after all...think good thoughts everyone!!!!

Has an injury ever gotten in the way of something you were trying to accomplish?