16th Half Marathon in the Books!

It started out pretty- but by the end I was rethinking why I even run to begin with! lol This was a very unusual race for me. First of all I started out great - had no breathlessness or any of the normal-for-everyone warm up feelings of yuck. Before I knew it, I was at the first mile marker and my Nike app told me I'd done it in just over 11 minutes. I was shocked because I thought I was running at a comfortable pace.

For the first 7 miles it was a picture perfect race. I was holding strong and at the 7 mile marker I was at less than an hour and a half. That's nearly monumental for me. Then by mile 8 -close to 9 it all went away. My body decided I'd gone too far too fast and it began to revolt. I decided to push it since I was still in line for a half PR. I know... it was a very bad idea.

For the first 6 miles I was under 13 minutes except for mile 3 which was a 13:06. I ended up with a 13:19 minute mile average - which all things considered is not too bad.

I had a weird emotional breakdown at one point. I heard the drums from a distance but thought I'd be okay. I came up on a drumline that was playing some cadences. It's the first time I'd seen a drumline live since my son was seriously injured in an automobile accident. We had watched videos from time to time to help stimulate him, but I hadn't seen one live. He was a drummer before he suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2008. I am his caregiver - he is not able to do anything for himself, let alone play the drums. It caught me off guard and I crumbled up and cried for a bit... then decided he is the reason I started running to begin with - so I ran away as fast as I could.

After I finished I had several indications that I had pushed it too hard. A lot of times I have chest pains after I exercise, not while I am exercising. I had LOTS of pains and felt horrible for a long time. I'm sure I overdid it and will need to rest for the next 3 days or so to catch back up.

What did I learn? Even if I "feel okay" it's not okay to push it period. I cannot take that chance anymore. From now on in training and in racing will monitor my speed more closely to ensure I am staying under certain limits. I think I need to buy a garmin to do that! All I needed was an excuse! lol

As I embark on full marathon training this little "wake up" race was probably good for me. It reminds me that I have to take it a little easier. I will add miles slowly - even though that chaps me! AND I'm going to remember to add speedwork in slowly and with discretion as well.

But for today - I won again. This is my third half marathon this year - post CHF diagnosis. Even though I didn't do it right today - I kicked its butt one more time and the medal is hanging on my wall to prove it. I haven't been real smart the last week or so; but I will make necessary changes as I proceed. But I still recognize that every step is a victory and with each step I continue to win.

Hello - It's Been Awhile

I am sorry, I had to take a break and get myself focused. However, I haven't stopped, and I've been quite busy really. There's been a lot going on and honestly, I've been living out the every step's a victory mantra. There's been lots of struggles and tons of ups and downs. But I have to say each step toward a healthy, whole life is still victorious. As a matter of fact, revisiting that is why I decided to get the blog back up and going again. I did get a website set up, you can check it out if you'd like. I still have to get the blog up and going on the site It won't be like this one, it will have more general information about healthy eating, exercising and things that are not as much about my own journey, it'll be more educational. Check out the Every Step's A Victory site and let me know what you think so far. For me life continues to be a struggle, I think that may hold true for most people who deal with a chronic condition. It seem...

Cardiologist Update

So I guess I'm just going to have to get used to going to cardiologists and doctors. My primary care sent me to a cardiologist at the Oklahoma Heart Hospital. I think I like this guy (as much as I can like docs). He was very kind, and looked me in the eye when he was talking with me and I liked that. Of course I gave them my standard "abnormal but not bad" EKG. I also explained about my meds and how the other doc wouldn't call me back. He told me not to trust a doctor who didn't call you back. (I was surprised.) He said it's an integrity issue and it sends the signal that they don't care when they don't call you back. I agreed. At the end of the appointment - he gave me a gentle hug and promised to take good care of me. That was nice I thought. (Even though I'm not too keen on "being taken care of.") My blood pressure was great- didn't even mention taking meds for that. I have to say that's a HUGE win. I believe the drastic ...

Cowtown Challenge Done!

This was one awesome weekend! I did finish the Cowtown Challenge by doing a 5K on Saturday and a half marathon on Saturday. In between I rode bikes around with one of my friends. I enjoyed the camaraderie of all the runners and the general atmosphere around the Cowtown is just awesome - Oh - and I met Jeff Galloway himself! He is so kind and encouraging - just like Mark Bravo. I really felt very under-trained for this particular event. I hadn't run much in the last two weeks and had only done one 9+ miler in the last month. I usually have a few 10 milers in, but not this time. But - it all worked out. One of the biggest struggles I have is simply not knowing what my body is going to do on any given day. I have to keep my attitude straight and just be "okay" with whatever I have to work with. Doing a race while traveling adds another struggle - trying to eat out without taking in too much salt. Hey- the struggle is real! One night we ate at Chili's and I asked fo...

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