ONE STEP AT A TIME  

Last week I ran the Seacoast Half Marathon.  My goal was to qualify for the NYC Marathon, unlike Boston you can qualify with a half.  The 1:48 I needed was not overly challenging for me to achieve.  However, the fall is my busiest time of year with work on top of creating my new Health Coaching business I am working long hours and driving hundreds of miles a week.  I always make time for my running, no matter what.  Which means often times running in the dark in places I am unfamiliar, racing to the shower and jumping in the car to frequently drive over 100 miles to my destination.  Yes, I am a typical runner at times, getting the miles and compromising the post run stretch or pre run warm up.  Which means an extra tight me on top of already an extraordinarily inflexible body.  

Going into the Seacoast Half, my usual Achilles Tendinopathy had crept up again, typical this time of year with the driving and my negligence to stretch, in addition i had a tight hamstring on the opposing leg as I was pulling with that hamstring more to protect my Achilles.  

Going out with Julie and then Tony finding us to run along the 7:45 pace for the first 6 miles was a bit quick for me with my issues.  My ability to acknowledge my issues regarding racing the appropriate pace was non-existent.  Sadly I know better!  Consequently my hamstring pulled tight at mile 6 with 7 more to go.  My only choice slow down and be present to my form, one step at a time.  I was able to manage the pain much better this way, amazingly the next 3 miles went by fairly quickly.  I lost my ability to focus on one step at time at mile 9, as a result my hamstring pulled tighter.  Choice…stop or slow down and maintain form and focus being in the moment, one step at a time.  Again, I was able to endure without feeling more compromised.  As I pulled up to mile 12, I derailed again, as I started to think about the finish one mile away and my 1:48 time I wanted for NYC.  At the pace I was running I should be able to cross in time, but barely.  My focus became the finish I lost my ability to maintain being in the moment.  My hamstring pulled even worse, I recognized my gait was now compromised.  It was all I could do to pull up the 2 hills toward the finish.  The last 100 yards is a downhill finish I usually fly down that last hill, this time a hobble was all I could manage, yet 1:48 was the number that was posted as I crossed the finish.   

Every race and many times a difficult training run brings another opportunity to learn and grow from the experience.  In this case, being in the moment, one step at a time, I was able to endure and race with a pulled hamstring.  I let myself relax, postured my structure to support me and allowed my body to do what it could keeping my gaze focused slightly ahead of the direction I was running.  When I became derailed at the end and was unable to get back into that zone I compromised my hamstring worse.  

Secondly, at 50 years old it is more apparent to me that flawless form continues to be critical for me, now the added piece, A MUST, is that I need to improve my flexibility, mobility and strength.  I had not wanted to truly acknowledged the importance of this piece.  I will continue the path of running forever, yet the journey now must include building these other components into my training, even if it means running fewer miles when I am short on time to include this part of my training.  It’s Up to ME, to run or not to run, my new best friends, Mat, Roller and Bands.  

Photo credit:  DEAN KARNAZES lives his Ultramarathoning experiences with this motto of One Step at a Time, photo from  JESSICAJOYDURFEE@LIVE.COM

The Joy of Learning to Run as an Older Person

The following was written to Chris after she recently informed me of a new direction some of her work is taking. I would have loved such a focus group less than three years ago when I started learning to run.  Little did I know it would become my life-- and yes I am still working full time.

I definitely fit the demographic of Chris Jankins' new Baby Boomer active life focus!   You should see my FB posts related to being active!

I achieved all my running active goals this past year in spite of a stress fracture that had me in a boot cast from Dec. 2013 to March 11. I achieved my first Half Marathon on Sept. 28 in Concord and ran a 10 Miler Race leading up to it.  On Nov. 6 I get my Millennium Running Series jacket, completing 7 out of 8 races in that series. (jacket was earned if you did 6/8. The first one New Years Day, a mile, I did in my boot cast, not running of course but walking as fast as possible but I got a time and was not last!

To get back into run shape I led a very successful WeightWatchers group through C25K with the help of my friends from March 24 to Hollis Fast 5K in June.  Folks begged for another group this fall so we are doing a shortened version, we start week 3 Monday.

Wish I could be there on Monday but we run (in the dark) 6-7 PM.  Alas, Hampton still too far for me on a regular basis while I am still working. I am working with a trainer twice a month.

I was perfect for this target audience less than three years ago.  While I could not run I wrote a visual/photographic essay book about my running.  I have enough from this last year alone to do another.

I still would, as I told you, do another Chi Running workshop with you if time could ever work out.  I need to set a new goal(s) for myself. Not a marathon, but something that will allow me to improve my running form, time, hill work, intervals, and keep me in the ballpark of a 6-8 mi run distance at least once a week to keep that conditioning, improve my time for a next Half I will do sometime, and work toward maybe 20 miles sometime just to work toward something.  Have not figured the goal yet. Posture getting better but still not where I hope to get it.  Form can always need work.
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2 weeks ago I ran a 10K with a couple of my C25K group success stories and my spouse who does not run but walks some 5ks, walked the 10K race, why I include that picture.  He is 74, I am 69, why I pushed to achieve my Half before next summer's 70! Giggle.

Kathleen