This Crazy Life of Mine | Tag Archives: run

I Run 4 Daisy

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Nanci

Every time I go out and run, I know how fortunate I am to be able to do so. Not everyone has that ability. My own father, who was in a car accident at the age of 21 and was then in a wheelchair until he passed away at the age of 77 did not have that ability. Quite often, if not always, I think of my dad when I run and about all that he could have – and would have – done if he was able to walk.

Last year, I came across a community called I Run 4, thanks to social media and several blogs that I follow. I noticed several runners saying how they run for so and so, and I looked into it. After reading more about the group, I decided to add my name to the long waiting list and wait for a match of my own. I wanted someone to run for also, someone to motivate me when I run long miles for training. After a very long wait, I finally got my match back on May 18th. And now, I get to run for Daisy, who lives with her mom and dad in Greater Manchester, England.

Daisy is such a little cutie, she just turned 2 back in April. Daisy was born by emergency caesarean after being starved of oxygen for up to 30 minutes. Her condition at birth was called Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE). Because of the amount of time she was without oxygen, Daisy suffered severe brain damage. As a result she is unable to suck or swallow so is fed via a tube, she is on 24hr oxygen, requires suction to clear the secretions from her mouth and throat, and she has hearing and visual impairment due to the nerves to the brain being damaged. Daisy has spent long periods of time in hospital – three months in Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital this winter. Most recently her brain damage has led to the diagnosis of spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy.

Daisy’s mom says in her eyes, she is a beautiful, happy little girl who loves to be cuddled and played with. She is never happier than when someone is wiggling her arms and legs because she likes the movement. She enjoys being in a hydrotherapy pool or the bath, listening to nursery rhymes and songs, and looking at black and white books. She smiles when she is being cuddled and played with and is starting to use her eyes more. Daisy also goes to school three days a week!

Here are a few pictures of Daisy…

I have many miles to run this year and I am happy to run them for adorable little Daisy!

Who do you run for?

Choosing a marathon training plan…

Posted on April 24, 2014 by Nanci

Now, that’s a sentence I never thought I’d say! Ever since I registered for the Space Coast Marathon, I’ve been thinking about the training much more than the actual race. Let’s face it… Running 26.2 miles scares the heck out of me, but I really think I’m more worried about the training part than anything. In 18 weeks time leading up to the actual marathon, I will run approximately 460 miles for training. My longest run will be 20 miles. I have never run a mile over 13.1 before.

To help with the enormity of all of this, I knew I wanted some advice on which training plan I should follow. And I knew exactly who I wanted to ask… My rock star runner friend Beth who blogs over at Discombobulated Running. She is also one of the first people I told when I finally decided it was time to do a marathon. Somehow she already knew I was going to do one and was just waiting for me to say something. This is why I knew Beth was the one to ask about training.

Beth and I at Best Damn Race Orlando 2014

First and foremost, my goal for my very first – and possibly only – full marathon is to finish. I have 7 hours to finish and it just might take me all of that. I am not setting any time goals going into this because this is unchartered territory for me. I know that no matter how much training I do, there will still be walking.

Secondly, I am going to do everything I can to not get injured while training. I know the long runs are the most important aspect, so if I need to miss a shorter run during the week to be safe, I am not going to beat myself up over it.

Thankfully, Beth met me one morning for coffee to go over a couple training plans and she let me ask questions and she shared her advice with me. I know she’s not a coach or a professional, but she has been a big cheerleader in my running this last year, not to mention she has run a bunch of marathons herself and I trust her. Oh, and she’s also training for a full Ironman. Told you, she’s a rock star.

When I trained for the Women’s Half Marathon last fall, I modified and used one of the Hal Higdon plans. It worked well for me, I felt great going into that race, and I PR’d by over 20 minutes. So, I decided to look over his plans again and I printed out two of them to go over with Beth, Marathon Novice 1 and Marathon Novice 2.

She suggested, and I agreed, that I go with the Novice 2 plan because it has pace runs. She also suggested that instead of taking Mondays as a rest day, I switch Tuesday and Monday around and use it as a shakeout run, then rest Tuesday.

I will make a few tweaks to this plan, much like I did the half marathon training. All my long runs will be on Sunday instead of Saturday because that is my weigh-in day at Weight Watchers. I also need to get creative with the cross training, which I will do on Saturdays. Since I don’t swim or bike, this will be challenging, but I also know that T25 will help with this.

I also need to find a half marathon to do roughly half way through. Depending on what races are going on, I may have to adjust that accordingly.

Here is the Novice 2 plan as found on Hal Higdon’s site. I will do a separate post on my plan as I make it my own.

Another piece of advice Beth gave me is to make sure by the time I start Week 1 of training, I have built back up to that mileage. This will be important in NOT getting injured along the way.

Training officially starts the end of July. Between now and then, it is my goal to build back up to running 3 miles a few times a week and 4-5 miles on the weekend to build up to the Sunday long runs. I have not been running nearly enough because I’ve been so busy, but I want to make it a priority again. I miss it.

I am thankful for the running friends I’ve made over the last year and a half. I am not sure I could even think about taking on such a challenge if it weren’t for the inspiration I get from them. I am also thankful for hubby because he is there with me on his bike when I do long runs. I’ll definitely need that for this!

What training plan did you use for your first marathon? Tell me one piece of advice you wish you had known when you trained for your first marathon.

Race Recap ~ Iron Girl Half Marathon

Posted on April 20, 2014 by Nanci

I have to start this post by saying that running a half marathon after *not* running for three weeks is not the smartest thing to do. I do not recommend it. But, I was registered for it and despite my lack of running prior, I was very excited about it.

Iron Girl is in Clearwater, very close to my home, and the course follows just about the same route I run on Sundays. It starts in Coachman Park, up over the Memorial Bridge and causeway to the beach, over the Sand Key Bridge, into Sand Key Park, then south on Gulf Blvd. for a bit before turning around and heading back again. Of course, this means that we have to run back over those same bridges to get to the finish line. It’s a bit of a challenge.

We lined up at the back of the start line and waited. I saw my friend Jessica fromTampa Mom Runs and we chatted for a minute. She was running with her adorable mom – how awesome is that?

Corinna and I started the race together before I took off over the first bridge. I knew that my run to walk ratio on this one would be very different, so I just went with it. I ran when I could and walked when I had to. I heard a women behind me at one point talking about how she met her time goal earlier this year and since then she’s been having fun. I realized that is exactly how I need to look at this race, my 10th half marathon. I had already PR’d twice this year with times I had never imagined, so I was going to have fun with this one and not worry about my time. Best decision ever.

I took a photo of Clearwater Beach as I ran by. It was a gorgeous day out, although a little warm. This is one of many reasons this is such a great course…

I made it over the Sand Key Bridge, also running it all the way over. Once I got into Sand Key Park, I knew I was going to have to make a pit stop at the bathroom. Rarely does this happen to me but my tummy was not happy and I was thankful there was a real bathroom in the park. When I came out of the bathroom, I just happened to see Corinna run by – perfect timing! I had been watching for her since I left her on Memorial Bridge but never spotted her. We would stick together the rest of the race and finish together.

From this point on, we did run / walk intervals. Corinna’s knee was bothering her and my foot was not happy with me. But we talked up a storm and that’s always fun too. When we finally headed back over the Memorial Bridge and made our way to the finish line, I think we were both ready to be done. I had fun but my foot was ready for me to stop.

I also wanted to mention that the Best Damn Race cheering squad was on the Memorial Bridge. Hubby joined them! It was nice to be cheered on in both directions on the bridge by the Best Damn cheering squad. Thanks to Jackie for letting me use this great photo she took…

As we approached the finish line, I saw Jessica again, as well as my friend Jackie who attends the same WW meeting that I do. She had run the 5K, so congrats to you Jackie! I was thankful for her because she took photos of us afterwards and it was fun to see her outside of our meeting. She’s been running and wants to build up to a half marathon. I know she can do it.

I ended up finishing a minute slower than last year and I am a-ok with that. There was a lot of walking, it was hot, and I was not prepared for this one. But, I had fun. I love this event and the course and can’t wait to do it again next year! The medal this year is so pretty and colorful. I love adding medals to my collection. And this one has my favorite bridge on it. Can’t beat that!

Rarely do I like the professional race photos. I’ve only bought a few when I first started racing. I tend to look like I am in pain or not happy when I’m running and that is far from the case. But this time, there are two that I absolutely love. The one of me waving at the finish line (to either Jessica or Jackie) is probably my most favorite finish line photo ever. This photo represent exactly how much I love to run. It just makes me happy!

It’s hard to believe I’ve completed 10 half marathons now. It seems so long ago that I did my very first one, but it was just in March of 2012. I’ve changed so much in these two years of racing. I decided to do a side-by-side photo of my first half and tenth half, and that change is evident. Besides the obvious difference in my weight, running all these half marathons (and other races) has brought about a self-confidence that I didn’t have before. Completing a half marathon is a big deal. Completing ten of them is an even bigger deal. I am so proud of myself.

So what is next? I am done with races for the spring and summer now. But I will continue to run and in July, I’ll start training for the Space Coast Marathon. The idea of running a full marathon is still very surreal to me, but I know the girl on the right in that photo can do it. Ten half marathons has proven this to me.

**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary entry to Iron Girl Clearwater – all opinions shared are my own.

How many half marathons have you run?

Race Recap ~ Sarasota Half Marathon & Relay 2014

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Nanci

Sometimes, it seems like just yesterday I ran my very first half marathon. And all of a sudden, I am getting up at 3:20am on a Sunday to drive 60 miles to run my 9th half marathon. How did that happen? I’m always pretty competitive with myself and have some sort of goal in mind, usually with the hope of a PR. But after celebrating PRs at my last two half marathons in just the last 6 weeks alone, and then not running for the last two weeks, I knew this one was going to be for fun. I love the course and the views for this one. I also had the memory of this one being the first race last year where I finally broke 3 hours for a half marathon. After picking up my shirt and bib on Thursday, I was very excited to run this one again. I love the shirt and the colors!!

I arrived early enough to find a free parking spot not far from the start / finish line, which is located at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Center, right on the water. You can see the John Ringling Causeway in the distance. I am partial to races along the water, so I just love this.

I had plenty of time to walk around and take care of business before the start. Thankfully there were plenty of port-o-potties. I also ran in to my friend Caitlyn before. We joked that we were both tired and not really ready for 13.1 miles, but we were going to do it. Just before it started, I also ran into Meghan and Nadine, who were running the relay. The race started just after 7 and we were off. Once again, I decided to not listen to music and enjoy the surroundings. The course heads south on Tamiami Trail and then over the John Ringling Causeway. This might be my favorite part of the course. I love running bridges, however hard it may be, and I looked forward to running around St. Armand’s Circle. After St. Armand’s Circle, as I was approaching the causeway, I caught up to Caitlyn. It was shortly after that I took my first walk break. I always try to run at least 4 miles before I walk because I feel like once I take a walk break, I want to take more. I was very happy to catch up to Caitlyn and we ended up running for about 4 miles together. It was fun to chit chat with her and the time passed quickly. Around mile 8, I ran ahead. The course took us past the Ringling Museum of Art and through a beautiful neighborhood along the water. I took several more walk breaks during this time. The sun was high and bright in the sky and it had warmed up quickly. I also had Gatorade at each hydration station, in addition to the water I had with me. Between Mile 11 and 12, I had this amazing view and I stopped to take a picture of it. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful area and I really don’t think I will ever get tired of such views.

Finally – FINALLY – I made it back out to Tamiami Trail. A very nice woman, who’s name I forgot (!!), was along side me as I was taking a quick walk break. She said we should run it in together. We did just that, talking for a little bit, and then when I turned around to thank her after we crossed the finish, she was gone. Runners are so friendly, I always enjoy that. I was ready – and happy – to be done. My time was far from my last half marathon 2 weeks ago, but it was still better than this same event last year. Regardless, I was very happy with how I did and my time. We can’t PR every time, and I enjoyed running with Caitlyn for several miles on this one.

After calling hubby to let him know how I did, I caught up with my fellow Best Damn Race Ambassadors so we could all go to breakfast.

Beth, Meghan, Katie, Me, Haley, and Nadine

Katie, Me, Nick, Haley, Meghan, and Nadine

We also took a Tampa Bay Bloggers photo since so many of us ran the race. Clearly, we love photos. I think we’re a fabulous bunch.

Beth, Meghan, Me, Caitlyn, Haley, Chrissy, Denise, Brad

Me and Caitlyn

I am very happy with how I ran and finished this race. It’s a great event, I love the shirt and medal, and the camaraderie is priceless. And here are my official results…

What is your favorite thing about running races and the running community?

**Disclaimer: As part of the Tampa Bay Bloggers network, I received a complimentary entry to the First Watch Sarasota Half Marathon and Relay in exchange for my honest review. The opinions shared are my own

This weekend…. Sarasota Half Marathon!

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Nanci

It’s been a whirlwind of races the past month. Between Best Damn Race Safety Harbor, then Gasparilla Distance Classic, and then Best Damn Race Orlando, I’ve been a busy little runner. The past week and a half though, since Best Damn Race Orlando, I have not been running at all. My back has been telling me to take it easy, and I have been. But I am itching to run. And even more so, I am so excited to run the First Watch Sarasota Half Marathon & Relay this Sunday!

Last year I ran the Sarasota Half Marathon on a whim, after seeing the amazing dolphin medal. Besides loving medals, I love dolphins and when I saw the medal that was up for grabs, I knew I had to make it mine. I knew the race had a BIG bridge but I didn’t care. I was training for Iron Girl and figured if anything, it would be a great training run.

What it turned out to be, was the first half marathon I finished under 3 hours. I was a sweating, crying mess when I cross the finish line in 2:48:12, so darn proud of myself. It will always be a favorite running memory of mine.

I knew I had to do it again this year. It’s a beautiful course and there is another great medal with a bridge and dolphins. How could I pass this up?

I also know many runners who will be running this. That’s another thing that makes these events so fun…. Seeing your running / blogging friends who enjoy the events as much as you do!

This will be half marathon #9 for me. I’ve PR’d the last three that I’ve run. I am going to run this one for fun and enjoy the course and see what happens….

Will I see you out there? Let me know if you’re running!