Big Sur- My personal celebration to a successful marathon!!!

 As I sit down to type my celebratory blog  of my completion of the Big Sur International Marathon reality hits me as it was this day last week that it all happened. Already a week ago, wow!

Race Expo

  Big Sur - Yowzer! What an event?! Amazing!!! If you have ever considered a marathon to be in your future or your looking for another to add to your repertoire this baby needs to go on your bucket list! This is post event Yvonne speaking! Pre event Yvonne arrived at the race expo with grave concerns that I might actually throw up upon picking up my race package! Thankfully as we toured around the race expo and I got all my pre/post tickets and shuttle bus tickets my pre-race jitters started to disappear and instead I was filled with excitement and a sense of calm! This was the place where I was going to prove to myself how good I could be. 

Its Official!

Bring on race day and this baby starts up early. Your race starts at Big Sur itself so all race participants need to be shuttled to the start line. By 3:45am I was sitting on a big yellow school bus heading up to Big Sur and the race start.  With the bus ride being during the wee hours of the morning the drive is completed in darkness. In my case this is a bonus as I like to go into my races oblivious. I don't want to know after this corner is this hill, after that hill is the really big hill etc. Reality is regardless of what the course looks like I have to run it so I would rather be surprised vs knowing what is coming up. 

Finally its time to start the race..... while waiting for our tiered start to happen a flock of doves flew out of the valley beside us. That had to be a good omen for a great day or at least that is what the group around me determined. Anchoring the good omen we saw doves again around the 5 mile mark.Oh yes, mile 5 where the beautiful scenery begins......

First view of the Ocean

As the miles clicked along I heard everyone's advice of "enjoy the experience"! You will all be glad to know that I actually listened. I stopped to take pictures and made a point to look at the scenery not only in front of me but at some points to stop and take a look at it from behind me. As we neared the famous bridge with the pianist the fog was strong, winds were blowing and it was cold. With the thick blanket of fog you were running along the road hearing the piano and knowing the famous landmark is somewhere just up the road. The bridge was a monumental moment for me as it is the picture on my vision board.  As you come up to the bridge initially I was shocked with the reality of  "that's it! are you freakin kidding me" - my inside voice! Regardless it was still an amazing moment and yes a photo op!!! Upon running across the bridge I heeded the advice received by many and looked behind me and voilà that image of the bridge was much more impressive!

My celebratory self portrait on the famous bridge

Looking back on the bridge! 

  Upon running through Hurricane Point! Gotta love the name.... 2 miles of uphill with an elevation increase of over 400 feet. Winds hitting upwards of over 30 miles an hour.  Due to my enjoyment of being oblivious I did not know about the hills on the course into late into my training. I had game planned to walk the hills and run the rest. Race day someone must have lent me their legs because I have never met the legs that I was running with that day. My legs were unfazed by the hills and just wanted to keep going. I had to consciously focus on my plan and was actually picking spots on the hill where I would force myself to go from a run to a walk. Stick with the plan! Stick with the plan would ring through my mind but still I would near the summit and would be off and running again. At one point I actually looked down at my legs and flat out asked "who's legs are you?!" very promptly followed with a "thank you legs".

 As I knew going into this race I was much more mentally prepared than I had been in my previous marathon. Believe it or not I "never" mentally hit the wall during this entire race. On the 20 mile marker was a picture of a person running into a brick wall. At this point I realized not only was I not hitting the wall but I had never even looked for my second wind. At mile 23 I was figuring out where my next marathon should be and how I was going to find anywhere to compete with this one. As in all marathons everything was not perfect. There is too many miles to cover without something going wrong! I had been warned the night before about the camber of the roads. I attempted to run in any flat spots I could find but my ankles were not strong enough for the unevenness of the roads which led to very tight muscles in my ankles, shins and legs! Upon hitting mile 22 my brain was raring to go and wanted to run sssooo bad but my legs were working very hard to not cramp up. The last 4.2 miles went like this..... stretch, walk, run- repeat! As I neared the 24 mile marker I was wanting to run but not willing to risk the chance of fully cramping up that close to the finish line.  I kept with the tried and true- stretch,walk and run! Then woo hoo there it was the finish line. With a strong race finish and most importantly a "HUGE" smile on my face I accomplished what I started out to do!!

Officially I was already a marathoner but due to the difficulty of my finish I personally did not consider myself a marathoner. I was a person who managed to complete a marathon but now I am officially a "Marathoner"

Thank you! Thank you! to everyone involved in the Big Sur Marathon! I have never seen so many volunteers at an event. Everywhere you went from the race expo, pre/post events and the actual events themselves. The people living on the highway that came out to show their support! What a great community to live in. Thank you! Thank you!

Big Sur this time next week!!!

Wow!! Can you believe by this time next week I will be a proud finisher of Big Sur Marathon?! Oh yes and I will be wearing new hardware in the form of a finisher's medal.... oooo yeah!!!

It feels like forever ago that I came up with this great idea to run another marathon. Then I made my idea even greater by picking one of the top marathons in the world to run in.  Seriously! Lil ole me is going to be running in Big Sur, California. Taking in the amazing smells of the ocean and even more incredible views. Traditionally when I run I tune out and don't see the sights while I am running. Every once in awhile something will catch my eye but otherwise I am pretty focussed on the forward motion and getting 'er done. This marathon is going to bring a whole new experience to running. Please, oh please, tell me that the beautiful scenery is going to distract me from my screaming muscles and my brain asking me repeatedly "Why are we doing this?" "What were you thinking?" "What made you think this marathon would be more fun than the last one?" Yes there will be lots of self talk. 

This last week has been a roller coaster of emotions for me. I have gone from moments of seriously wanting to throw up. Full on anxiety of "What have I done?" I even had a moment where I wondered if it was too late to change to the half vs the full. Don't worry that thought didn't last long enough to even fully develop in my brain before it was tossed aside. At least for my first marathon I was naive and didn't know what to expect. This time I know the marathon deserves my full respect! It is one of the toughest challenges I have ever done in my life and I am bound and determined that this one will be a much more positive experience. In my first marathon I was a faster runner but this time I mentally stronger and at the end of the day that is what gets you to the finish line!

At the beginning of this year I created a vision board. The month leading up to new year's I started collecting pictures and sayings that inspired me. When I started pulling out my collection these two clippings came out together exactly how they are posted on my board- yes I do believe in signs....

This week I eagerly accept a rest week and next Sunday will bring what next Sunday is going to bring but I have some game of my own to show! After all "this is the place where I'm going to find out how good I can be" 

Reflections on running and life.....

Hi my name is Yvonne and I am 40 years old and about to complete my second marathon!! How cool is that?!

On my long run this week I realized that here I am ready to take on the challenge of "The Marathon" again in a couple short weeks. Never would I have imagined when I was younger that I would have had the ability to do this. As long runs give you "lots" of time to ponder I thought about the younger self vs the older self. Imagine if in my 20's I introduced myself to a pair of runners and a learn to run clinic. I can not tell you how much of a difference it would have made in my life.  I honestly believe if I had become the runner I am today in my younger years that I would not be where I am today. Not necessarily a bad thing as I am very happy where I am but I do believe that it would have opened an entire world to me. The crossover of challenging yourself physically and the power you receive back from it is amazing.

As a young Mom of two kids I basically hid in my house other than when I was working. I think back to the life that I led and have no idea how I did it. Why?! did I not pick up my runners and toss the kids into the stroller and hit the streets?! Randomly drop to the floor in my living room and do push ups?! I know I "thought" about it but that was it?! As time went on I did start to hit the streets walking and getting out there so please do not think I was a couch potato but everything was limited to what I "knew" I could do. I am so appreciative of the day that I decided I was going to challenge myself to something that I honestly had no idea if I could do it- Run!

Running was only the beginning. Learning to run leads to races, leads to marathons, leads to finding adventures around every corner. Never would I have imagined in my younger years that I would be living this amazing life. Climbing mountains, getting my yoga certification, mixed martial arts training, running an obstacle course in the mud. There is always the idea of the Ironman out there- how amazing would that be?! Fitness competitions? Who knows?! Now when I hear stories of high adventure it is always with a thought of mmmm maybe that it something I should try?! Ice climbing?! Mt Kilimanjaro?!

 With an amazing life comes amazing friendships that only encourage you to grow more and find new things to try.... I see it on a daily basis when I am asked how my training is going or what my new adventure is?  Comments of "Wow, good for you but I could never do that" "I would love to be able to do that but..... "  Forget the "but" and get out there!!! Stop watching reality TV shows and become your own reality.  There is so many amazing adventures to be had and each time I turn around I see another possibility! If I can do it, you can do it!!! You will be amazed how your leap of faith in yourself will encourage others to try as well.

Big Sur- 2 Weeks!

So hard to believe that only a few months ago I was out enjoying a ridiculously short 3K and thought up the fantastic idea of running in another marathon. Now here I am 2 weeks away today!!! Wow!

Thankfully last week was the end of the long crazy runs and this weeks was much shorter. As I headed out the door yesterday talking myself into what a "great idea" going for a run was. I encouraged myself with the fact that my run was only 22K, yep only 22K. In the very next breathe reality hits as I realize that is longer than a half freakin' marathon. Funny how you can get a skewed perception of distance.

I am very excited to report out that the first few K's were rough the body wasn't too happy about running and then woo hoo! Everything came together. At 10K I ran into a different perky pony-tailed girl and there was no way that this one was going to pass me! Thank you to whomever you are as you were the motivation I needed. Thank you to all the young, pony tailed girls out on the streets whom I was NOT willing to have pass me therefore I rocked the last half of my run actually completing the last half at a faster average pace than the first half!! Another great sign that my body is ready and it should rock "Big Sur" Oh yeah baby!!!

Ramp Up to Big Sur- Week 3

 Yesterday was a "vital" day for my mental preparedness for Big Sur! With the never ending hurdles of the last few weeks I needed mentally to have a good run so I could with confidence say "You are ready"! 

Going to bed the night before I did a short mediation and focussed on getting a great night's sleep and thinking of how successful the next day would be. Regardless of the hurdles I was going to finish successfully! Upon opening my eyes after an amazing nights sleep I realized all my "technical" socks were in the washing machine. For those of you who are not runners; you can create work arounds on most anything EXCEPT your shoes and your socks! I was determined that everything was going to go well and thank you to Nike DriFit those babies were dry in time to hit the pavement. First hurdle averted.

I was met for the beginning of my run with two of my many amazing friends. Thanks to Audie who came out to run the first portion of my training run. A "huge" special thank you to my friend Devan. You can not find a more true cheerleader of the human spirit than Devan. Although Devan's big (LOL) next race is an easy peasy 10K he was out there to run with me. I never expected anyone to volunteer to run the ridiculous amount of distance that I was intending to run. After all who volunteers to do that unless you have a race coming up. Well it appears my amazing friend does. 

The run itself  had an great start. The weather was beautiful. A little on the chilly side which is a good thing, and no wind! Yep you heard no wind! Amazing!!!! and beautiful sunshine! Off and literally running we go.... things were pretty uneventful until about 22-24K when the brain starts to kick in and play tricks.  It amazes me that in a 30 second time period you can tell yourself: "You got this!", "oh my god this is horrible", "feeling strong, feeling strong" " okay this sucks"! 

A mission was needed to be accomplished and there was no stopping! We continued on..... my pace was getting much slower but thankfully the legs were still moving. At 28/29K Devan and I separated. I was desperately waiting for my I Pod to tell me "6K left". I have no idea why but I needed to hear that number and knew when I heard all would be okay. The announcement came through the head phones and up went my pace. Don't get too excited it here, it probably increased by a 1/10th of  a second- LOL! At 30K I had this young girl with her bouncy ponytail fly past me. At first this got my "ggrrr" on and my brain instantly thought " really she is not running that fast we should catch her", my legs on the hand thought was hilarious and refused to work with my brain. So off went bouncy ponytail most likely proud of herself for having past said runner. My saving grace- I have determined that she was probably 3K into her run while I on the other hand was "30k" in! Today I will give her, her victory but next time..... the game is on!!!! 31.4K the dreaded happens. I out ran the life of my fully charged I Phone! Panic- how do I know my distance now?! Quickly the brain triggers into thoughts of prior runs and what the distances were.... I added a few side roads in and actually enjoyed the peace and quiet of no music. Although I still have not determined what my exact mileage was I am confident that I hit 35 and would have be close to 36K+. 

Yesterday I proved to myself that I am not only one step closer but 

"I GOT THIS BABY"!!! 

4 Weeks or O EM GEE.... 28 days

Hyperventilating here......4 Weeks or O EM GEE....who's kidding who?!  28  freakin days before I am running 26.2 freaking miles!!

I knew going in this would be the month where my dedication would need to show through. Its the busiest time of year for my work with multiple "important' things and season coming into play and my mileage should be through the roof! Insert panic here.... the last few weeks have been horrible for my training. Nothing like an injury here, a flu here and then a nice smash to the face (another story). Add in a complete lack of sleep and you have an under trained individual heading into the month prior to her marathon. See I am even typing in third person. Denial is an amazing thing... one problem?! Denial will not be running TWENTY SIX POINT FREAKING TWO MILES!!! No I will be the under trained athlete doing that crazy feat! Haaaaaaa!! 

The great thing about SMART goals when it comes to fitness is the ever important "A"= adaptable! Well adapt and adapt I have done. I altered my training to include riding my bike to get in my long distances. Although my legs fully believe that running and then bike riding are completely equal to running the full distance, mentally I am just not buying it. With each of these hurdles that have been thrown at me I "need" mentally to have a real tried and true long run and it is going to happen hell or high water! I am voting for the hell vs the high water, LOL! So whatever you are doing this upcoming Saturday morning please think of me as I will be putting on my kicks and running 34-36K regardless of weather, illness, injury whatever.... 

As little engine said "I think I can!" "I think I can"

Ramp Up to Big Sur Week 7

 Oh yeah! Oh yeah! the body is finally coming back together and more importantly my week of fake it till you make it has also kicked in!!! 

After a tad bit of anxiety last week for missing a few weeks of training and then reviewing my training calendar to see that I did not have a run higher than 32K on my agenda?! With the instant feeling of "oh my! That's not good" Time to call in the support troops.... my awesome friend Devan was very kind to point out to me that half marathon training is only 12 weeks and here I was at that time 8 weeks still left of my training. Plenty of time to change up the program and make the adjustments needed. Yeah! 

While reorganizing my training plans I had an epiphany- it appears I can be quite delusional?! I know shocking!! During one of my many internal marathon conversations with myself I clicked into my lack of reality and training. As I was re-piecing my training calendar back together my internal voice clicked in "what was I thinking?! Did I honestly think that I could come up with a training calendar that would lead to this marathon being easy?! Its a marathon its not intended to be easy"  An Etch a Sketch moment later and I am back in the real world. A Marathon is hard! and its intended that way that's why it is called a "marathon"!