Ten Healthy Body Truths | Traci D. Mitchell

Concise, and good things to remember.

Ten Healthy Body Truths | Traci D. Mitchell.

Boston Marathon Re-Cap #1: numbers and notables.

I will start off with the numbers (and some standout moments) for those of you who are uninterested in the narrative experience. It doesn’t seem right to post comparison statistics considering the context of the race. And since 99.5% of those running were certainly not racing (that other .5% is reserved for the top elites and those whose goal was to end up in a med tent. And yes, I totally made those numbers up). But, on the other hand, this is what we do.

Best pre-race mantra goes to my friend Erin who kept repeating “beer tent, not med tent”.

We did get that beer, eventually and excessively. (photo credit: Alejandra Villegas-Faucher)

Anyway, numbers.

My Boston finishing stats: 

Entry seed (Bib number) 15911

Division (gender/age): 863 / 4752 =  top 18%

Overall Females: 1126 / 9307  = top 12%

Overall Field: 5396 / 22480 = top 24%

There are a lot of different figures floating around regarding how many people got medical care, or deferred. According to the BAA website 874 runners crossed the starting line but not the finish line. That’s 4% of the overall field. If that figure doesn’t mean anything to you, let me translate:

THAT IS A LOT !!!

So, I finished, and I finished healthy. I did not finish in 3hr15min. But I will, eventually. The only real downside is that I no longer have a BQ!!!

I am not really sure how my Garmin says I ran further than 26.2 and in less than my official net time (actually, I probably had auto-pause on…and I did stop like 15 times)…but whatever, you can still pretty clearly see how things went.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	3:43:07.7	26.45	8:26
1	8:29.5	1.00	8:30
2	7:52.8	1.00	7:53
3	7:37.5	1.00	7:38
4	7:11.8	1.00	7:12
5	7:30.4	1.00	7:30
6	7:25.8	1.00	7:26
7	7:30.1	1.00	7:30
8	7:57.2	1.00	7:57
9	7:55.3	1.00	7:55
10	8:01.3	1.00	8:01
11	8:18.6	1.00	8:19
12	8:12.3	1.00	8:12
13	8:10.5	1.00	8:11
14	8:15.7	1.00	8:16
15	8:38.6	1.00	8:39
16	8:32.5	1.00	8:33
17	9:15.9	1.00	9:16
18	10:06.4	1.00	10:07
19	9:01.0	1.00	9:01
20	9:10.0	1.00	9:10
21	9:22.2	1.00	9:22
22	8:24.6	1.00	8:25
23	9:23.1	1.00	9:23
24	9:16.2	1.00	9:16
25	8:51.4	1.00	8:52
26	9:03.1	1.00	9:03
27	3:34.0	0.46	7:47

I think that mile 18, which claims the slowest split, was the mile where I realized that I wasn’t sweating anymore, and also saw 4 runners drop to the ground right near me with no warning. It freaked me out to the point where I considered stopping. From there until the end I went through every hose and water tunnel I could find…which might explain the extra mileage. Criss. Cross.

I think if I can replicate my pacing for the first 4 miles, but then lock it down, when I go to Midland, Michigan next month, I will have a good race. Oh yah, that reminds me; I registered for a marathon on May 20, in Michigan. My plan is to get my BQ back, and hopefully run a sub 3:20. The event is actually called “The Qualifier” so I am feeling pretty good about the decision.

The weather notwithstanding the thing that concerned me most going into this event was the long wait between getting up in the morning (4:30am) and starting to run (10:20am). That time actually flew by. Even once we were in Hopkinton the time went by quickly.

Waiting to walk to the corrals.

I did a lot of things during the marathon that I never have done during a race before, here’s a sampling of those deeds in no particular order:

• Ate 4 freeze-pops and 1 popsicle
• Took ice by the fistfuls from total strangers
• Drank water from unsanctioned aid stops
• Drank beer from a spectator (in a dixie cup).
• Walked at 12 water stops
• Decided that “just to finish” was a totally reasonable and respectable goal.
• Had to force myself to NOT take water because I could feel it swashing around in my stomach x 3
• Witnessed 4 people poop their pants (no, I am NOT exaggerating)
• Chewed on ice chips for what seemed like 10 straight miles.
• Would have gotten in a fist fight over ice-chips had it been provoked.
• Stopped for hugs and photos at the top of Heartbreak Hill when I saw my friends.
• Spent a ridiculous amount of money on mementos. (jacket, hoodie, shoes, charm, stein, shirt, shirt, shirt…oh boy)
• Did not look at my splits after mile 8.
• Saw Dick and Rick Hoyt.
• Stopped to stretch and shared interesting banter with drunk spectators x 3.
• I didn’t cry, not even once, I even cry at 10ks….so this is serious.
• Actually, that’s a lie, I teared up twice when I saw 2 different mobility impaired athletes pushing their wheelchair with one foot, backwards, the whole way. I stopped and said hi to each of them. I am sure they thought I was an idiot.
• Oh, and, finally I RAN THE F-ING BOSTON MARATHON! It’s not everyday you fulfill a childhood dream.

Play by play to come…

*AB

Trajectory

Here’s another photo from Monday: you’re welcome.

The following is my post from AT: Your Life today.

Everyone wants to see immediate progress, they want to go from dream to success in one tidy step.

Unfortunately the path to success meanders, and it can be very messy.

Many extremely successful professionals took many missteps, and were even fired from jobs or dropped out of school before finding their success.

Microchips and software didn’t become addictive games and apps for your smartphone in one attempt. They came, most likely, after many versions tanked in sales, or were scrapped altogether.

Weight loss is the same. If you expect to lose 2 lbs every week until you reach your goal weight, you will be very disappointed. You might lose 2 pounds some weeks, but others you’ll loose 3, or a half pound, and some weeks you’ll gain. But in the end, it feels just as great when you get to your goal.

For myself, the path to running a marathon at the standard I know I can has been anything but a straight line. I have trained for, or at least tried to train for, a half-dozen marathons. I have only completed two. I qualified for Boston, then broke my foot, I got in again, and the weather was unaccommodating. Now I find myself without a qualifying time to give it a go next year. So, I am running another BQ (boston qualifier) attempt in one month….eventually I will meet my marathoning success. But as my path to get there zigs, zags, skips, jumps, reverses, stops, and starts again, I will continue to embrace the process and learn as much as I can.

In your journal today, jot down some of the things you want to achieve, and what success looks like.

Then embrace the crooked line that will get you there.

*AB

Preview

A preview of things to come (whenever I finally sit down to write a “race” recap).

A few BM highlights and my two cents on footwear.

I bet half of you thought I was going to talk about poop right now.

The rest of you are aware that the tiny part of my brain that is not overly focused on toilet humor is obsessed with the Boston Marathon (B.M. get it?)

Below is a small highlight reel from this weekend. I will have a race recap posted by, hmmm….let’s say Sunday night. My neurons still aren’t firing properly, and I’ve used the day to get somewhat back to feeling organized and stable before returning to work in the morning.

The good news is that I went for a run this afternoon. 3 miles, 8:10 pace. I felt sluggish, but nothing was significantly sore or tight. My heart-rate was elevated more than it should be for the pace. I attribute that to the fact that in the past fours nights I never slept more than 4 or 5 hours. I think if I get a solid sleep tonight, and hit the spin bike in the morning, then I’ll be able to get a quasi-tempo run in on Friday.

Why am I approaching my recovery so aggressively? It is true that as I get a little distance between myself and the bizarre satire on modern warfare that was the Boston Marathon on Monday, I am feeling better about the experience, and my finishing time.

But the fact that I am no longer a BQ-er is not a very nice feeling, not after the disappointment of having to bail last year, and training for 27 weeks (and driving everyone around me nuts because of it!).

Everyone have been so supportive that I feel like a schmuck to lose the coveted BQ.

I BQ’ed at my first ever marathon. Not because of talent, but because I refused to run the distance until I knew I could hit that benchmark. I thought that if I didn’t BQ on my first attempt I would give up on the marathon distance all together. I knew myself well enough to know that I jsut wouldn’t be that driven.

Turns out, I was really wrong!

Even though I have dreamt of running Boston since childhood, and even though I qualified, trained then bailed, registered again, and finally got to run the course….I am WAY not satisfied.

I want another go at the course, I want to run WELL on the course.

There is a marathon on May 20th…I am going to try to get to that start line, and BQ at the finish line….

OK, enough with the arrogant pity-party.

Oh, non-Boston related news: This afternoon I got a package!

I loooove color! Perhaps now I will run just like Meb (that's what they want you to think, right?)

These are from my first-ever-only-ever race win last month. You can read out it here.

I think I am going to like these shoes. They aren’t made for walking around in, they feel really awkward, but I can see how they will totally promote an efficient stride. I would caution people eyeing all the hype around mid-foot and barefoot schtuff….don’t buy shoe’s with the expectation that they will magically improve your stride (yes, I am talking to you newbie-overweight-heel striking-vibram five finger wearing-runners). Improve your form FIRST, then change your footwear, progressively. Otherwise YOU WILL GET HURT. Love your feet, take care of them, or they will not let you run!

I have been working on slowly training myself into a more efficient stride and strike for almost 2 years now. It’s been a slow progression, I still has a way to go (possibly) and I still have to really focus when I get fatigued. But in terms of running shoes I have reached a point of no return…shoe’s with anything higher than a 6mm heel-toe drop really bother my lower legs now.

OK. Ok, I think I opened this up with talk of pictures here are a few….I didn’t do a great job getting lots…but I hit the essentials (race photos to come later).

The finish line on Saturday (under construction).

The last turn. Left on Boylston. Chills.

The 5k shake-out. Turns out I should have made this my "A" race.

The mile races were excellent.

Attempt at race day breakfast...mostly a failure.

The wave 2 ladies from the Boston Bound training group...ready to head to the corrals.

And now, rather abruptly…I shall go eat dinner and leave you hanging.

*AB

 

 

Carnage. Fire-Hydrants. Marathon.

I will do a proper race re-cap soon. However, I frankly don’t feel like it just yet. The marathon was a war-zone, albeit one we all paid and waited in line to experience…

I finished a whopping 30 minutes behind my goal time. It was so difficult that it’s comical.

*AB

Unfortunate news

The BAA sent a weather alert (heat advisory type) out to runners this morning.

We’re looking at not just temperatures in the 80 plus range, but also totally dry air, and a head-wind.

Fantastic.

It’s possible I have to totally re-think not just my choice of clothing, but my entire race strategy and finishing goal.

Motivation (it’s what comes before you act) often confused with GOALS.

(I seem to be on a blogging binge this week…can’t image why!?!?! -insert sarcasm)

The following is re-posted from the healthy living site my sister-in-law and I have been working on since the first of this year.

Motivation (lack there of) is such a common excuse for not getting fit and healthy that I thought the following should be repeated. I sent this content out as an email way back in January. Also, as I have been preparing for the Boston Marathon (this Monday!), I have struggled to control my diet the last couple of weeks. You could say I have lacked the motivation, which seems preposterous, because, what bigger motivation can there be for a runner than running the Boston Marathon! The fact is that it’s a lack of setting up motivators that has led my diet to be less than a runners’ ideal. The consequence? Feeling bloated and marshmallow-y at the starting line.

What is motivation, anyway? 

Again and again people lament about not being able to find the motivation to do the things they want to do, or think they should be doing.

People often say things like, “I want to exercise more, but I’m just not motivated” or “I need to lose 10 pounds but I don’t have any motivation”.

Embedded in those thoughts and statements is the idea that motivation is this enigmatic thing, that it is either a quality that resides within a person, or it is some ephemeral entity that visits people and pushes them along.

I am happy to share with you that motivation is neither of these things. Motivation is simply something in your environment that evokes a particular response. For example, a whistling tea-kettle motivates you to turn off the stove. Being hungry (or your stomach growling) motivates you to find something to eat.

What’s great about knowing this is that now you can set-up your environment so that you take action toward your goals! A lot of people who want to lose weight put pictures of models and celebrities in places where they will often see them. I very much caution against this practice! I equally caution against placing your own “before” pictures on the fridge to stop you from reaching for snacks. Don’t put things around your environment that might lead you to criticize yourself, or make you feel like your goals are too big to conquer. That is the opposite of motivation.

Instead, put signals in your environment that remind you of the progress you are making, and that make you feel great about whatever stage in the journey you are at now.

For example, I may not be a 3-hour marathoner now, but that is my goal. So within my line of sight when I wake up in the morning is a collage of race bibs and photos from my best races so far. If I wake up and am having a hard time getting out of bed to go for a training run, that collage reminds me of how far I have already come, from running a 10 minute mile to under 7. That usually lifts my spirits, gets me excited about running, and before I can think anymore I am out of bed and lacing up my trainers. That, is motivation. A signal in my environment saying to me, “you can do it, go on, do it!”

Another common (misguided) practice in motivation is buying or keeping clothes that are too small. If your jeans don’t fit, or your clothes are uncomfortable, go get ones that fit! Buy clothing that makes you feel good, that feels good on you, and that you are not self-conscious about! Respect your body, LOVE your body. A great side-effect of this practice, rather than punishing your size 12 body with size 6 jeans, is that your overall stress level will be lower, because you aren’t constantly uncomfortable or thinking about how you need to lose weight. If you are less stressed, you’ll make better choices, and likely eat healthier, or less, or both. That is motivation!

Now, go on, set yourself up for success!

*Annabelle

For more healthy living tips, recipes, and exercise programs check out AT: Your Life !

BOSTON BOUND – Annabelle’s Story – Run and Cheer, #RunChi with #FFCheer

I was interviewed, and now I feel WAY awesome.

BOSTON BOUND – Annabelle’s Story – Run and Cheer, #RunChi with #FFCheer.

4 days (minus) !!!

*AB

Good Omen, or Gambler’s Fallacy Trick?

Last night was our very last Boston Bound training run at Fleet Feet. A rep from Adidas was there and he raffled off some Boston jackets. And I got one! Huzzah!

I was really quite stressed about buying things at the expo….it’s all so expensive! Well, the big ticket, must have item, is taken care of now.

Thanks Adidas and Fleet Feet!!!

4 days!

*AB