This one sneaked up on me. I knew I wasn't feeling my best, but boy did my body give me a run for the money this morning. After I got off my meds last month I gained about 8 pounds and have only been able to lose a little bit of it. So, it looks like I may need to talk to the cardiologist about going back on the diuretic. I may give it one more week with some major changes to see if it helps first. I felt like I was running (if you wanna stretch and call it running) through mud this morning. I had a spurt or two of feeling "okay" but never did feel good during this race. I kept an eye on my heart rate and it never spiked, but it seemed to have a more difficult time coming back down. It was running a bit higher than normal and taking forever to slow down when I'd start walking. I ended up walking A LOT! Frustrating. The Go Girl itself was very well organized and as always - very well done. Except they changed the course from last year and I swear they did it so t...

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 ...

Okay so I tested up a belt in taekwondo over the weekend but it brought some emotions with it that caught me off guard. I actually bottomed out after I got home. Of course I was nervous about testing, but I've been told that just shows you care. I did okay and got the new belt....but I got really depressed afterwards. Why? I don't guess I know. The blue belt is the lowest rank of the advanced belts and just one step closer to a black belt. But for some reason instead of encouraging me - I found the opposite to be true. I began to doubt I could get a black belt. Honestly, I just bottomed out. I still have a long ways to go and many things to learn so I have no idea what was eating at me so. I really just felt defeated; with no justification for it. I also keep stalling out on my marathon training but mentally I'm still pursuing it. I know it's going to take longer than it does for most but I am determined to do it right this time. I really think I tried to cram a f...

I've been running but sort of been on a hiatus from racing. It's been a nice break actually but it's been more of a financial decision. But now I'm starting to itch ...ready to get back out there. I was looking at my fall schedule and penciling in some fall races - hoping to get back to a few half marathons this fall. As far as full marathon training, I'm still there mentally, but have a long (very long) way to go physically. I'm hoping for some good half marathons this fall to get my miles back up there so I can slip right into full training. That's the goal anyway. Right now, I've made adjustments and I'm actually doing well - even though I'm not doing a lot of long mile runs. This is very frustrating to me - but life happens. I heard a long time ago that delay is not denial. But I am getting older here.  I'm set my goal now on next year's OKC Memorial Marathon I think. That gives me plenty of halfs between now and then. Now to ge...

The other day my grandson and I took an impromptu tour of a couple of playgrounds close to my apartment. He decided he wanted to run with Gigi.  So we ran! He also got tired and rode on my shoulders for awhile but then was all rested and ready to run again. It was a fun, active evening. Times like those seem like they are so purposeful and meaningful. Unlike many of the training routines athletes cling to. It was so enjoyable to just run with my grandson and have fun without feeling horrible physically. By the time we were headed home he asked me if he could be my running buddy. Of course I told him he could! Who could say no to that face? Here's to many more miles to run! The last few weeks for me have been very discouraging to be honest. (I usually am!) It seems like it's been one thing after another. As most of you know I am a caregiver for my adult son who has a TBI and he suddenly got sick and ended up in the hospital for a few days. Since he is nonverbal I don't l...

I have been running for three years now and actually next week will be the third anniversary of my very first 5K - runners you know the one when running gets in your blood? Yeah, that one! Well, this spring I did three half marathons in 72 days and I think I am finally ready to go for the full marathon. My goal is next April's OKC Memorial Marathon. I've done four half marathons now and will probably do a couple more this fall if I can find them in my area. Mentally I have already begun training. This means I really have to change up my diet and training schedule. I pretty well live in that mode anyway but tackling a marathon seems way out there for me and so I have to make a few adjustments. I hope to keep up this blog and share my training triumphs and woes. One thing I have noticed already is that it is difficult to work on everything all at once. When I started adding miles to prepare for half marathons, my speed suffered. It's a whole different mentality altogether. ...

It sounds funny to say it, but the most difficult part of training is staying on track. If you relax for one day, the next day it is even easier to relax. It takes staying with the training program one day at a time. As I am preparing for the OKC Memorial Half Marathon I am having to really concentrate on staying focused. And the funny part is - it's something I actually want to do.  But I know that if I do not stay on track every single day (including rest days) I will still complete the half marathon - but not as easily as if I stay with my training program daily.  If it is difficult to be consistent with something that I actually want to do - think about how much more difficult it is to do things that have to be done - but that are not chosen. To get to any goal - it will take doing what each day requires. What are you struggling with today? Is it difficult because you are looking at the whole picture? I have to look at a whole 13.1 mile run to know how close I am to tha...