So What?!?

So, you may be wondering, what made me decide to embark on this journey and blog about it?  Here it is . . .

 

In our society, it is almost as if once a woman reaches forty, she has now passed some mystical pre-expiration date code and can no longer remain on the prominent shelves, but rather be moved to the back of the store onto that little discount shelf.  You know the one, often sought out by those who are desperate or willing to take a risk on something past its prime.

 

Take the movie industry, where they tend to pigeon-hole women over a certain age.  Actresses in their forties play the supporting mother role, rather than the vibrant and sexy lead.  And yet, they will often pair an older male actor with a young twenty-something actress as a love interest?  I am not talking about movies that deliberately make a statement about age difference.  I am referring to the unapologetic pairings, such as the 39-year age difference between the lead actors of Entrapment.

Then, there is the plastic surgery trend. At the White Water center this past summer, I was placed in a rafting group with a woman who had so much work and botox that her face looked like the Tim Burton version of the Joker, less the garish makeup.   I had to avoid looking at her until I could be sure that my incredulity would not show on my face.  She turned out to be a sweet woman after all, but I still could not fathom why she felt that making her face look like a Fright Night creature feature was better than showing a hint of her age.  

 

Don't get me wrong . . . I am not anti-enhancement AT ALL.  Ladies, if a little lift, tuck, or laser can enhance your confidence, then I say go for it!  However, once you cross that line into Frankenstein's wonderland to avoid mother-nature, I feel like you are doing yourself quite a disservice.  (The same goes for  you gents who fall into this trap, as well.)

 

It's not just Hollywood.  Take a moment to think about this . . . how many gal pals do you have that turn "29 and holding!" each year on their birthday?  How about the femme fatale who goes in to a mild depression with each milestone birthday, lamenting her youth passing her by?  Or how about your former go-to fun pal whose biggest adventure is now trying some amazing new fabric softener, as if now that he/she is fortyish, it is time to chill and consider what kind of welcome reception to throw for the grim reaper.  Any of these sound familiar?

 

Well, here and now, I am calling BULLSHIT!  I refuse to be relegated to the back corner!  My expiration date is a long way off and there are many prominent shelves upon which I demand to be displayed!!!  Wait, I think I've taken this grocery analogy too far . . .

My point is that approaching or passing forty is not a limiting factor.  Let's stop this nonsense and embrace our age and experience and dare anyone to hold us back.

 

I am not afraid to say it . . . I am 39 years old, soon to be 40!!!  I am fabulous!  Are you?

Post-Charleston Review

Since I am going to experience so many races this year, I thought it would be worthwhile to review the races & locations we visit.

First stop:  Charleston, SC

I totally love Charleston.  It is a favorite destination of mine, since the city has a lot of charm and personality.  There is a lot do, from sightseeing and tours to nightlife and fine dining.  Having said all of that, this was not my favorite visit to Charleston, through no fault on the part of Charleston itself.  I just did not get a chance to do much beyond the race.

I did enjoy hanging out in North Charleston after the race.  Shout out to Evo Pizzeria.  Who can resist a place where you hear the phrase, “I’m sorry, we don’t have Bud Light since we only serve craft beer, but you might enjoy . . . “



A sight for sore eyes . . . for a sore body, at any rate



After the race, we were so wiped out, that dined at the hotel restaurant (which was still excellent – thank you Marriott Charleston) before heading back to our room to rest our aching bones.

 

Race Review:  Charleston Marathon & Half Marathon

Let me start with the good:

• The race shirt is one of the most attractive race shirts I’ve ever received in a nice long sleeve technical tee
• Access to indoor bathrooms at the start and finish was also very nice.  I am sure some runners appreciated access to showers at the finish, although I did not take advantage
• This finish party was pretty cool.  They closed off an entire downtown area, had a band & DJ, and quality refreshments (free beer, shrimp and grits, fruit, danishes, water, etc)
• Great announcers at the finish line calling out the runner’s name
• Personalized bib numbers
• Some of the course was really very scenic

Jeff enjoys a post-race beverage

 And now, the not-so-good:

• I’m just going to say it . . . Worst. Race. Support. Ever. (in my experience)  Specifically:

  • Mile 1 (where according to my Garmin I was a full two minutes ahead of pace) -  workers were already pulling down caution tape.  Barriers were still up, so no biggie, but . . . 
  • Mile 2 – I was moved to the side-walk in Battery Park so they could reopen to traffic.  There was some pedestrian/pet traffic, but wide sidewalks here, so still, not too egregious, yet . . .
  • Mile 3 – briefly caught up to closed course, only to be moved back onto sidewalks within .25 mi.  This was a downtown retail area with narrow, uneven sidewalks and more pedestrian traffic . . . getting frustrated, now
  • Miles 4 & 5 – still on the sidewalks, now in a high traffic generic commerce area.  At this point, not only did they not have police officers manning the major cross roads, they did not have race volunteers, either.  This hit me when I was almost run over by car when the light changed as I was mid-intersection.  For obvious reason, runner safety is very important to me.  By this time I was outraged. 
  • Miles 6 – forced to hug the side of the road (where there were no sidewalks at all) that was not quite closed, they had slowed/stopped traffic that filled the road beside me until I finally rejoined the closed course after Mile 7
  • The first and second water stops were packing up as I passed rather than still serving
  • There was no sign of the promised Jelly Beans at the 5.5 mile water stop, as had been promised – I guess they were out?
  • Stages set up along the course featured either invisible, sound-free entertainers or I did not make it by in time to be entertained.  Jeff experienced the same level of entertainment, so it must have been meant for the superfast people
  • This was all during the first 8 miles where, I want to reiterate . . . I was within the ^%*#% pace limit!!!  I BEAT the ^%*#%  by almost a full minute per mile!!!
• Other than poor race support, some of the course was just industrial and ugly . . . disappointing for a city as scenic as Charleston
• Not a very good Expo, which could have benefited greatly with some signage.  It was on a large, multi-building high school campus with just ONE open entrance.  We came onto the campus on the wrong side and meandered until we figured out where to go.
• Lost & found consisted of clothing scattered on the side of the road (to be fair, maybe it was better organized before we got to it)

Here is the thing . . . I don’t really care about the Jelly Beans or being entertained on the course.  I just feel strongly that races should provide a full race experience to all participants who meet the race requirements.  Furthermore, there is no excuse for lax safety.  

I will admit my perspective may be a little skewed since I am a back of the packer (that means I am slow).  Knowing this, I always check pace requirement prior to registration.  There are many races whose pace requirements I know I cannot meet.  I totally respect that and I do not register for those races. 

If you are going to publish a minimum pace/time, then for goodness sake, HONOR it!!!!

Phew.  End of rant.  Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

Better Support than a High End Sports Bra

As I mentioned last time, Charleston was not my best half marathon performance ever.  Having lived through the experience, I decided to settle in with a tasty reward as I waited for Jeff to finish the FULL marathon.

Cheers!

That’s right; I am not in this alone.  When I first considered embarking upon this crazy journey, my fantastic SO, Jeff encouraged (goaded) me to go for it.  Then he committed to support me through it all. 

I may have brought the crazy, but he is taking it to another level.  He has decided to be there with me, doing all of the races, but he plans to upgrade at least four of them to FULL marathons.  He is crazy awesome!

His support includes posing with interesting characters so I can get fun photos for my blog

So, back to Charleston . . . after a couple of high quality beverages, I hobbled (sore, remember?) over to the finish line to cheer him on.  He finished in just under five hours.  While not a PR for him, either, it was a solid finish.

 

In addition to the support from Jeff, I have several fantastic friends and family members who will be joining me during various races this year.  My peeps ROCK!

Are you interested in joining me for a race?  Let me know.  I have a Facebook group where I have my target races listed. I can add you to the group.

Come on!  You know you wanna!

Still Alive!

It's been a few days, so I don't blame anyone who may be wondering if I am still alive.  It is official . . . I finished the Charleston Half Marathon and I did not die!

Was there an actual risk of death?  Maybe more than I would have thought based on course safety, but that is a topic for another discussion.

I may have already mentioned, that I spent most of December in one state of illness or another (sinus infection and flu), so I did  not get any training in, thus, I was not as prepared for this race as I should have been.  Also complicating matters was this race’s funky time requirement.

The half marathon required all participants to maintain a minimum pace for the first 8 miles.  After that, pace did not matter.  So, I just needed to finish those first 8 miles on pace, and coast the rest of the way.  Simple, right?

Maybe not.  You see, I am a slow starter.  What that means is that my body takes a while to warm up.  (Just trust me on this, I’ve been here before).  In fact, I typically start half marathons by walking briskly the first couple of miles to warm up, which allows me to perform better throughout the entire race and have enough left to finish happy.  Happy is good.  Unfortunately, my brisk walking pace was not going to cut it, so I needed to develop an alternate strategy for this race.

I knew I was going to have to start this race by going directly into my run/walk intervals.  (I’ve told you all that I alternate between running and walking, right?)  I didn’t want to push so much those first 8 miles that I would have to crawl for the last 5 miles.  Considering my lack of training, crawling was not out of the realm of possibility . . . fortunately, it did not come to that.

I developed a plan with the following considerations:

• I set a brisk target pace indicator on my Garmin to alert me if I was not walking fast enough.  Usually on rest segments I let my body dictate what feels comfortable, but I knew this time I did not have the luxury.
• I increased my run interval by 15 seconds for each run.  However, I set a target pace to alert me if I was running too fast.  That is correct; I actually forced myself to SLOW my run pace. 

Ready to go!

Did my new strategy work?  Mostly.

I was easily able to maintain the minimum pace for the first 8 miles.  My average pace was a minute faster than the minimum.  I kept pushing myself, telling myself that once I hit mile 8, I’d allow myself a long recovery walk break.  Well, my walk break lasted the remainder of the race.  The last mile was one of the longest miles I’ve ever travelled, but I did find some kick to run to the finish. 

This was not my best half marathon performance ever, but it was also not my worst.  I missed my personal record (PR) by only 7 minutes.  However, I felt pretty done at the end and I was definitely sore.

Would I have liked to have had a better finish?  Yes.  But, I am not displeased with my performance.  After all, this is technically a solid training run for next month right?

Wish Me Luck!

This weekend is my first race of 2013.  I am more than a little nervous about since I spent most of December battling first a nasty sinus infection and then a lingering bout of the flu.  Needless to say, my training was more than a little off-track.

The good news is that my last half marathon was as recent as December 1st, my fourth for the year, making 2012 my biggest run/walk year to date.  

My Mistletoe Half Marathon posse.  (Pictured Anna, Jeff, & myself)

Yes, I said run/walk.  I AM a chubby girl, after all, so I do not run the entire race, rather I alternate running and walking throughout the race.  At this point I do more walking than running still, but my pace has been getting better, my endurance is improving, and I enjoy the races.
 

I know there may be nay-sayers out there who think this is cheating or being a poser (I am not being dramatic – I have heard these comments before).  Here is what I have to say to that, Negative Nellie . . . the run/walk method is a technique espoused by author, renowned marathon trainer, and, oh, did I mention former Olympic runner, Jeff Galloway.  So, upon whose opinion do you think I place more value??  A Negative Nellie or an OLYMPIAN?  I think the question answers itself.
 

As I was saying, my last half marathon was on December 1st.  Those of you who do quick calculations in your head may have already noted that if you consider beyond 2013, I am actually do 13 straight months of half marathons.  What?!? Let me take it a step further . . . right now there is talk about doing a very big race in Jan. 2014, so it will likely be 14 consecutive months of half marathons!  CRAZY!  That’s me!
 

The madness begins/continues THIS weekend, my friends, so wish me luck, send me positive vibes or whatevs!  
 

Peace Out!

Way to go Coke!!!

Part of being fabulous is living a healthy lifestyle.  So, I have to give a shout out to Coke today.

Ok, we all know that there are better beverage options than soft drinks.  But then the success of the soft drink industry shows that doesn't stop us.

I've got to give Coke props for recognizing this and making an effort to promote healthy options.  Do they still make high calorie drinks?  Yes, they are a business with a product that sells, after all.  But they are not hiding the nutritional content with their new labelling system.

Check out their new promo:

http://livepositively.com/comingtogether/

Way to go Coke!

BTW...this is not a paid endorsement.  It is just something random that caught my eye in the news today and I wanted to share. 

It approaches . . .

There it is . . . up ahead, looming just around the corner . . . lying in wait for me.

  

It won't be an ambush.  I know that it is there.  I've always known.  The question is . . . how will I face it?  Will I try to fight it?  Do I meet it with resignation?  Denial?  Weary acceptance?  

Not this chick!  I have chosen to embrace it and celebrate it.

In June of this year, I turn forty and it will be fabulous!

Am I the thinnest that I've ever been?  Heck no!

Has my body made some biological adjustments that I don't particularly like (grey hairs and drooping skin)?  Of course!

However, even at my "advanced age" I have never been in better physical shape when you consider my level of exercise.  

I have never been more confident in who I am as a person.  

Combine this with the wisdom, knowledge, and experience I've gained over the years and I am never more prepared to continue my life-long efforts at self-improvement.

So, bring it, big, bad four-oh!  I will not be your bitch . . . rather I will own you.  To put you in your place, I am going BIG!  

In honor of turning 40, I am taking on a personal challenge to complete a half marathon each month of 2013.   I may be a short & chubby gal with a sweet tooth who spent over half her life allergic to exercise, but I've learned a thing or two over the past couple of years.  Is it going to be tough?  Definitely!  Will it be worth it?  Ask me when I reach my goal.

For now . . . GAME ON!