It was that time again. It was my dad's birthday and the annual Cuyahoga Falls Natatorium 5k, for the family was upon us. I was super excited for this day and ready to retain my title, as family champ. I had even given my family a handicap by doing a full distance triathlon (or ironman for those who don't give a sh*t who owns the name rights) the weekend before.
Those over 50+ years of age had a great shot at PRing, but those of us under, well not so much.
A-train was about as nervous as I had ever seen him. He was dreading the race as he was pretty much doing the abbrevitated couch potato to 5k training program, completing it in less than 24 hours. I had celebrated too much throughout the week and felt a wee bit heavier than normal and sluggish. God, this was going to be fun.
After getting our numbers and schwag, one of which is a really nice dri-fit shirt (score!) We opted to run backwards to the 2 mile marker and back for a warm-up. We partook in some family friendly trash talking and teasing while we lined up at the start. The temp was 50-60's and sunny. It was a perfect day, just like last year. A-train and I are way through the 500+ participants, but not quite far enough as we had to run around people for the first 1/2 mile.
A-train pulled ahead of me about 5-10 seconds and although I wanted to push the pace to catch up to him, I felt it a much wiser choice to stay where I was at. The first mile I split 7:38. I was hoping for 7:40-7:50 pace on the day, so that was good. The course is set-up so your first mile should be the fastest and last the slowest with the uphills or inclines, whatever you want to call them.
I spent a large part of the race trying to get my intensity up without blowing up. All summer, I had trained to go long and under control, only doing a few hard paced runs. I felt "off" and out of sorts. I kept remining myself "You've got a lot of endurance. You aren't gonna get tired in 3.1 miles, just go with it." It didn't matter. I still backed off on mile 2, complacently settling into a pace that felt a little hard, but nothing pressing. I was rewarded with and 8:00/mile. Damn!! I got what I deserved though. Although some runners were still coming back to me, probably just as many had passed me.
I tried to surge like last year and push myselft that last mile and it worked. A-train turned left at the corner and looked back. I thought he saw me so I waved (afterwards, he said he didn't). I made the turn too and started pushing. One-by-one people I started to pass people. I even made up ground going up the hills. Training for Rev had made me stronger than I realized. And then it happened....
On the last climb, I caught A-train. He was tired and when I pulled up along side him I encouraged him to pick it up and come with me. He waved me on. I didn't want to make it any worse, so I pushed up the climb to the top. At the top, I forced myself to keep the pressure on to the 3 mile marker and split 7:56.
As I made the final right turn to the finish, it occurred to me that A-train may come back on me and run me down at the line. I was okay with that. He was doing this for me, because I had asked him and it took a lot for him to swallow his pride and suffer through a 5k when your so far from the runner you used to be. I continued to push the pace all the way to the line, but one girl came SCREAMING by like a fighter plane and I was not going to fight her. The last thing I needed to do was let my ego take over and hurt myself by being dumb. The last 0.1 was :54 seconds.
Finished in 24:27, avg. 7:53/mile. I just eeked out A-train by a few seconds.
I saw J.R., owner of Ritchies Sporting Goods at the finish, gave him a big hug and said "hi," before
A-train and I went back to look for my mom. We saw her at the top of the last climb. She looked too good. I jogged in with her while A-train went back for my dad. The RD M.R. of Northcoast Multisports was nice enough to make an announcement "here come the Heier women" which was awesome. Mom actually, ended up with a PR and went sub-13 min/mile -- FINALLY! I am so proud of her.
I ran over to the car and grabbed A-train's camera phone (and I would post pics if he would send the darn things to me!!) and snapped pics while he was finishing. T.S. and a few of the ladies at the final turn started singing happy birthday to my dad as he came around the last turn. Dad finished with a PR and without getting hurt on his birthday -- Whoo Hoo!!
In the end, I retained my title as family champ. Next year, I am gonna 3-peat baby!!
Showing posts with label training mom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label training mom. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Thursday, March 5, 2009
And The Beat Goes On
Entering what seems like her millionth week of training, but is actually 7 or 8 (uuggh, I can't remember, I barely know my own name and the current day!!) my mom has made it through unscathed with only minimal problems.
I guess one of the biggest issues is that her new suits are a bit big on her and her old suits fit just fine now. Poor thing, she to has failed at what so many women struggle to do and that is to maintain their weight. It is so common today to hear women complaining about how much weight they are losing and how no matter what they eat they just can't keep the pounds on (SARCASM).
Another problem is her bone density. Since, she is doing all this weight bearing activity she is decreasing her chances of being given the gift of osteoporosis (again SARCASM).
On the flip side, she has been blessed with a few tight muscles and some minor aches and pains to help balance all this out. Her long run of 7 miles has nearly doubled the distance she will be running in the marathon relay, so now the focus will be on time, or lack there of.
Her runs were 3 times a week, but her plan has now bumped her up to 4 days and her first race is only 9 days, yep 9 days away!! She is in plenty of shape to do the 5 mile, but she promised my dad she would do the 2. I have offered my services to run with my dad in the 2 and then with my mom in the 5, but apparently I am chop liver. My dad cannot do the 5 and my mom does not want to do both races (even though she could).
So what do I sign her up for? Her plan calls for 8 miles that day AND more importantly she needs to earn her post-race beer at Shooters. So what race do I sign her up for ... THE 2 or THE 5 miler...hhhmmmm...thoughts??? anybody????
I guess one of the biggest issues is that her new suits are a bit big on her and her old suits fit just fine now. Poor thing, she to has failed at what so many women struggle to do and that is to maintain their weight. It is so common today to hear women complaining about how much weight they are losing and how no matter what they eat they just can't keep the pounds on (SARCASM).
Another problem is her bone density. Since, she is doing all this weight bearing activity she is decreasing her chances of being given the gift of osteoporosis (again SARCASM).
On the flip side, she has been blessed with a few tight muscles and some minor aches and pains to help balance all this out. Her long run of 7 miles has nearly doubled the distance she will be running in the marathon relay, so now the focus will be on time, or lack there of.
Her runs were 3 times a week, but her plan has now bumped her up to 4 days and her first race is only 9 days, yep 9 days away!! She is in plenty of shape to do the 5 mile, but she promised my dad she would do the 2. I have offered my services to run with my dad in the 2 and then with my mom in the 5, but apparently I am chop liver. My dad cannot do the 5 and my mom does not want to do both races (even though she could).
So what do I sign her up for? Her plan calls for 8 miles that day AND more importantly she needs to earn her post-race beer at Shooters. So what race do I sign her up for ... THE 2 or THE 5 miler...hhhmmmm...thoughts??? anybody????
Thursday, January 29, 2009
"Run Easy is an Oxymoron"
That's what she typed in her last email. She doesn't even read Runner's World, but the fact that she hi-jacked one of their advertisements/quotes made me laugh (no, running isn't easy :)
Week 3 of training is in the histroy books for her and she once again hit another milestone by completing her newest long run of 4 miles. That fear of trying something new and sucking at it or not being able to finish struck again. I told her the same thing this week that I had last week. What were you going to do, stand out there until someone gave you a ride? No, of course not. One way or another you were going to complete the run. She chose to finish the last mile with a negative split.
Her confidence has been boosted now as she realizes she has the endurance to complete here leg of the relay. The question now is how hungry is she and what kind of time goal will she set?
She still doesn't feel like a runner, but she exhibits many of the characteristics already. She refers to this as "training" not practice. She never goes for a "jog" as she knows it is a run. She is now fast enough that she can vary her pace with fast days and slow days. She even refers to her easy days as "only 2 miles" when she once struggled to WALK 1.5.
There is of course the downside of running. The cold weather and increase in training volume I believe are causing some stiffness. She has also metioned an ache in her knee. We have decided she should keep training if the pain recedes, but if it should bother her on future runs to take some additional rest days. She does a warm-up and cool-down as instructed with some easy stretching, but nothing is fool-proof.
This week she has a long run of 5 miles on tap for Saturday or Sunday (she hasn't decided yet). She is a tad bit nervous as the weeks continue to build her long runs in her training program and looking ahead makes her feel discouraged. I think deep down though she is pumped about adding many more milestone to her running resume. That little voice in her head telling her "You can do this!" is getting louder with every mile she runs.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
My Mom Is A Runner!
Starting with the obvious, it has been a few days since my last entry. Things have certainly changed and although I have so much to tell. I shall only reveal the gold medal of changes in my life and the new direction for my blog this year.
My grandfather, on my mother's side was diagnosed with late stage lymphoma in the fall of 2007. Heartbroken we all made trips home to Wisconsin to see him and encourage him to continue fighting the cancer. Miraculously he did it! That's when it came to me. As my mother and I sat hanging out in her living room late in the spring of 2008 I broached my idea.
THE IDEA:
Everyone in the family (my grandfather's 5 daughters, their husbands, their kids and their kid's kids) should all return to Wisconsin for the Pine Line Marathon in April and run 3-5 relay teams wearing shirts that honor my grandfather and his perseverance over the years. Surprisingly, my mother jumped at the idea. I was a tad shocked and figured the idea would stay just that, an idea, but she contacted her sister, my AD and she too loved the idea. Needless to say we now have recruited 4 teams of 6 relay members from our family to return home to run for my grandfather on April 25, 2009.
AD and I have taken to dividing up the teams and providing long distance motivation and answering any training questions participants may have. We even devised a training plan for my mom, who is running a leg of 4.3 miles.
Now here is the kicker. My mom only ran track her senior year in high school and the farthest she raced was 1 mile. She has also been a smoker for 30 years!! We had been encouraging her to quit for many years, but were unsuccessful. However, she made the decision that if she was to run this relay she would not only have to increase her fitness, but she would have to quit smoking.
My mom had been walking on and off with "The Bails" a few mornings each week starting with a mile in December, but when New Year's Day hit she took the plunge. She asked us for a training plan and committed herself to this. She has cut down to smoking half as much as she was and has gone from walking at an easy pace to run/walking. This past Sunday a milestone was reached. She covered the farthest distance run/walking EVER in her life of 3 miles. She also completed every run on her schedule for the week. I am undoubtedly the proudest daughter on the planet.
WE INTERUPT THIS BLOG...Just got a message that she completed another run this morning right on pace. YAY MOM!!!
Anyway, it is so amazing to see her evolving as a runner. Yep, that's right, MY MOM IS A RUNNER!!! Just like me. She doesn't like running in the cold, but she hates it less than the dreadmill. She worries she might go out too fast and not make it back on a long run, but she does. She struggles to overcome her addiction with smoking, but she is doing it and not giving up.
Her first race is St. Malachi in March. She will be doing the 2 mile with my dad. She has watched me do the "big" races (Akron Marathon, Akron 2-person relay, Cleveland Marathon and Philadelphia Marathon) and been a part of the excitement from a spectators view and now she is going to get to feel the excitement as a "racer."
I can't tell you what it means to me to see my mom out there pushing herself to a better life. She says she thinks about me and how watching me cross the finish at Philly inspires her, but I then remind her that it was my family and their strength that helped inspire me!!)
So if you haven't guessed it I am going to update my blog with her story. She does check my blog so please feel free to leave comments for her or training tips (it would be greatly appreciated).
My grandfather, on my mother's side was diagnosed with late stage lymphoma in the fall of 2007. Heartbroken we all made trips home to Wisconsin to see him and encourage him to continue fighting the cancer. Miraculously he did it! That's when it came to me. As my mother and I sat hanging out in her living room late in the spring of 2008 I broached my idea.
THE IDEA:
Everyone in the family (my grandfather's 5 daughters, their husbands, their kids and their kid's kids) should all return to Wisconsin for the Pine Line Marathon in April and run 3-5 relay teams wearing shirts that honor my grandfather and his perseverance over the years. Surprisingly, my mother jumped at the idea. I was a tad shocked and figured the idea would stay just that, an idea, but she contacted her sister, my AD and she too loved the idea. Needless to say we now have recruited 4 teams of 6 relay members from our family to return home to run for my grandfather on April 25, 2009.
AD and I have taken to dividing up the teams and providing long distance motivation and answering any training questions participants may have. We even devised a training plan for my mom, who is running a leg of 4.3 miles.
Now here is the kicker. My mom only ran track her senior year in high school and the farthest she raced was 1 mile. She has also been a smoker for 30 years!! We had been encouraging her to quit for many years, but were unsuccessful. However, she made the decision that if she was to run this relay she would not only have to increase her fitness, but she would have to quit smoking.
My mom had been walking on and off with "The Bails" a few mornings each week starting with a mile in December, but when New Year's Day hit she took the plunge. She asked us for a training plan and committed herself to this. She has cut down to smoking half as much as she was and has gone from walking at an easy pace to run/walking. This past Sunday a milestone was reached. She covered the farthest distance run/walking EVER in her life of 3 miles. She also completed every run on her schedule for the week. I am undoubtedly the proudest daughter on the planet.
WE INTERUPT THIS BLOG...Just got a message that she completed another run this morning right on pace. YAY MOM!!!
Anyway, it is so amazing to see her evolving as a runner. Yep, that's right, MY MOM IS A RUNNER!!! Just like me. She doesn't like running in the cold, but she hates it less than the dreadmill. She worries she might go out too fast and not make it back on a long run, but she does. She struggles to overcome her addiction with smoking, but she is doing it and not giving up.
Her first race is St. Malachi in March. She will be doing the 2 mile with my dad. She has watched me do the "big" races (Akron Marathon, Akron 2-person relay, Cleveland Marathon and Philadelphia Marathon) and been a part of the excitement from a spectators view and now she is going to get to feel the excitement as a "racer."
I can't tell you what it means to me to see my mom out there pushing herself to a better life. She says she thinks about me and how watching me cross the finish at Philly inspires her, but I then remind her that it was my family and their strength that helped inspire me!!)
So if you haven't guessed it I am going to update my blog with her story. She does check my blog so please feel free to leave comments for her or training tips (it would be greatly appreciated).
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