Guest Post: I am an Ironman

October 28, 2013 by scootadoot

On Sunday, Sept 8, 2013, I completed the Wisconsin Ironman.

Wisconsin is a full 140.6 mile Ironman which means a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and then you run a marathon. At least that’s how I used to explain it to people. (I would come to regret that phraseology later on.)

While the race started at 7 in the morning, the journey to get there started about 8 months earlier.

Many people tell you that it’s not finishing an Ironman that is as impressive as getting to the start line. This is because you train more than you can ever imagine training for something in your life….at least for us “recreational” athletes. My personal mindset was just to push through the training. And try not to kill myself in the process.

Let me note that I am not a life-long athlete. Before signing up for an Ironman, I had done one sprint tri two years before and hadn’t trained in the swim or bike since. I had six marathons under my belt, but it had been a couple years since I trained seriously and injury free. I suggest a year or two of tri-training before you undertake an Ironman. But it’s possible without it. I’m proof.

Since I had no clue what I was doing, I thought it best to hire a coach. I interviewed a couple of coaches and chose to work with Ben Proko of Trifit-XT. Ben has plenty of experience and his coaching style is nothing but supportive. His method uses metabolic data to assess your physical capability and he sets your training zones from there. I am an engineer. I like data and targets and measurable outcomes. Sold. Ben and his wife Katie (also a coach) were both important to my mental well-being.

Ben started me on a routine that basically repeated every week, just with increased time per activity. I ran, swam and biked three times a week each, and also did a strength routine 2-3 times a week (until I got closer to a race.) Yep. That’s 12 workouts a week. Two each day. Six days a week. And just like that, my entire life became about training.

At this point, I’d like to remind you that I still had a job. In order to get into the office at a reasonable time, I was generally up around 4:15 am, got one workout in, went to work, and then left to do another workout. This would often take me to about 7:30 or 8 pm, at which point I ate dinner, did laundry (LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of laundry), and packed my workout bags and lunch for the next day. By 9pm, it was time for bed. That is how your entire life becomes about training.

While I’m lucky that my workplace is flexible, my job is demanding and results-oriented and is sometimes designed to bring conflict into our organization. I do not have a cake-walk job. I missed some workouts…over 8 months of training, I missed quite a few. Ben set the priority for me that running and biking needed to come first and so that’s where I put my first effort. But slowly the strength workouts dwindled (um, yeah…even before Ben took them off the schedule) and it wasn’t unusual later in the program to miss a swim a week. It’s a lot to try and do. But if I had to work late and miss a workout, I worked late. You have to find balance.

Before we get to the big race, I want to mention the half-Ironman I did in Galveston in April because it set my expectations for the full IM in September. The water was a fraction of a degree above where they would let you wear booties and gloves…just at 65 degrees. My wave got into the water at 8 am (to start at 8:05 am) and the cold water was an immediate shock.

I calmed down and felt ok. Then I tried to put my face in the water. Nope. Not gonna happen. I couldn’t breathe properly (or at all, really) with my face in frigid water. Great. The gun went off, and I tried to swim. Nope. Still not able to get my face in the water.

Within a few minutes I realize I’ll wear myself out hyperventilating so I grab a kayak. Yes, I grabbed a kayak two minutes into the swim. I am so cool. It wasn’t a panic attack. My head was saying, “Really? Really? Like you’re going to quit now? Just start moving forward and get through the water so you can get on your bike.” And I did. I swam about a third of a mile with my head out of the water, then FINALLY settled into some sort of breathing pattern. I eventually started passing people from my age group and finished with about 10 ladies behind me. I chaffed the CRAP out of the back of my neck from swimming with my head out of the water, but I survived. I did the swim in less than an hour even with semi-dog-paddle technique and kayak-hugging.

The bike went well (Galveston is flat, but super windy) and during the run I came into my element. I ran while all those fancy-attired cyclists were suffering. I passed bunches of people. BUNCHES. And I felt great. I flew into the end of the race having done it in under 6:30. I was feeling phenomenal and proud as anything of myself. And at the end of the chute were two good friends from my running group in New Orleans, Betsy and Aaron. It was the perfect finish. Perfect.

Fast-forward 5 months and I arrived in Madison, Wisconsin for the full Ironman race. I was worried about the swim and confident about the bike and the run. (Silly me, it would turn out.) The Madison course is one of the hardest Ironman bike courses in the world. I chose it because the weather would be good and I had relatives close by in Chicago to cheer me on. And I didn’t know how hard the bike course was. I suggest doing more research before choosing your first race. I entered the wrong race for me. Where am I going to get big hills near Houston, Texas? But for now, I was here and ready to complete the course in front of me.

The morning of the race, I was quietly nervous. I knew I could do this. I knew it. I think you can already guess how worried I was about the swim. But the rest of the race could be done with sheer will and determination and reliance on 8 months of training. I had finished marathons in heat and hills with little-to-no training. I knew I had the ability to endure what was ahead.

Ironman events require that you finish within 17 hours. The race starts at 7 am, and you have to finish by midnight or you don’t get your medal. There are also cutoffs for each of the sports. The swim has to be done within 2 hours and 20 minutes from the starting gun (and Wisconsin was a mass start, so everyone had that same requirement.) If I made that cutoff, I knew I had the race.

As 7 am approached, we slowly made our way into the water and swam out towards the start. For me, the deep water start was desirable. I got accustomed to the water and now just needed to relax in the crowded mass start.

The gun went off. And I started to swim. I was in a regular breathing pattern immediately. HOORAY!! Even if I was breathing every two strokes instead of every three, there was no panic, no hyperventilation. Within a few minutes, I knew I had the swim, and therefore the race. I said a prayer of thanks to the tri gods. Now I just needed to settle in and move steadily through it all….which is hard in the swim because there are no lane lines in the lake. You try to sight something in front of you, but people are crawling past you and they realize they’re off course so they turn and you t-bone them. And then when you’re done quietly cursing them, you realize you’re off-course and you turn and someone t-bones you. It’s fun. Most people just keep moving. There are more aggressive conflicts in the front of the pack, but I’m not in the front of the pack. When I finished (in an acceptable 1:45), I was ecstatic!

Just out of the water I saw my tri-training partner Anjy who came up all the way from Houston to be there on the side of the course. She and I both stress out in the swim and it brought an even bigger smile to my face that she was right there cheering. I ran out of the water and up the helix (a pretty word for “multi-story parking garage ramp”) and at the top I saw a bigger group, including my boyfriend Jim, an amazing triathlete that I met during my 8 months of training. Jim scooped me up in a hug and spun me around. He was thinking what I was…that the swim was over and I had the rest of the race.

Jen greets boyfriend Jim after her swim

I moved through transition and got onto the bike. It was a little disheartening that there were so many bikes gone by the time the time I got to mine, but later we heard rumors that over 200 didn’t even finish the swim…either missed the cutoff or crawled out of the water onto a boat. It was good to be moving in a comfort zone. The weather was in the mid-70’s and there was total cloud cover (I hate direct sunlight), but it was windy. We had a tailwind out to the main loop that we biked twice, and then it was a headwind back when you’re most tired. The hills were terribly hard but there were huge crowds at the top of the biggest.

Madison is a race where you constantly have to think and plan. It’s hard to take fuel when you’re climbing a hill or rushing down a slope so you have to plan to eat on just a few flatter surfaces. I had done a training camp in July where I rode the Madison course and that was definitely a good thing to have done. I never bothered to know marathon courses, but this was definitely different.

All over the course I had incredible support from family and friends. My mom, aunt, all four cousins and my college roommate drove up from Chicago. My sister flew in from Albany with her boyfriend. Anjy and her husband were up from Houston. I have never felt so deeply wealthy in my friends and family as I did on that course. They rode a bus out to the bike course to see me through two loops. It took me 6:47 to finish the hilly, windy bike course and they saw me probably just 20 seconds or so total. How’s that for a dedicated fan base?

Jen zooms past her fans

The ride back from the loops was like a death march. We were all tired and riding back to Madison into the wind in somber silence. But I made it, got through transition, and stepped out to start the run.

This is where the words, “and then you run a marathon” bit me in the ass. That’s a horrible way to visualize it when you’ve already been on the course for 9 hours. It took some effort to push that thought away and put one foot in front of the other. After all, in Galveston, this is where I made my mark. I was a runner, first and foremost! I thought about my running club, my closest running friends, my running partner Nick, and those who had turned triathlete like me. They were all following my GPS tracker and I couldn’t let them down. This would be the best part!

Or not.

The first two hours felt pretty good. And then I slowed down. WAY down. I didn’t hit the typical wall in terms of feeling overall sluggish and slow. I wasn’t dehydrated. My legs were just DONE. I was a runner, but not so much after 112 miles on the hardest, hilliest bike course I could find. My friends and family were out on the marathon course and since it’s a double loop, I got to see them about 4 times. I tried to make sure I was running when I passed them, but they knew and I knew I was slowing way down. A few of them stepped in and ran with me for a short while.

The second loop became about survival, about finishing. I walked a lot. I was nauseous until I gave up on Gatorade altogether and drank coke. I discovered that grapes are the best thing EVER to eat at the end of an Ironman. I had been here before in marathons…where you know you will finish, but that the finish line is a long way off. I just moved through. DNF was never a thought. And soon I was within a mile of the finish.

On the way up the busy street to the capitol square, I passed people who had had WAY too much to drink, who pounded me on the shoulder and high-fived me too hard. I was too tired to voice complaint.

When I hit the streets around the square, less than half a mile from the finish, I saw Jim with Anjy and her husband. A block later, I saw a couple of my cousins and my aunt. More familiar faces were in the finish chute. My family had spread themselves out along the last stretch and brought me in. It brings tears to my eyes now to think of it. They very nearly carried me.

I crossed the finish line in 14:15 with my arms over my head in victory. I cried a little. I hollered in triumph. I was done. Volunteers catch you and deal with medals and foil wraps and finishing shirts and hats. They took my picture.

Jen finishes the race!

I realized I was disappointed. How crazy is that? I didn’t feel the euphoria I experienced in Galveston. Maybe it was because the last couple of hours were so slow, and that had surprised and disappointed me. But then there, at the end of the chute was my cheer squad. I saw and hugged Anjy first as she had been there with me at 4:30 am too many Saturdays and Sundays to count.

Then I saw Jim, who knew from his own hard training history what I had been through to get there. (Jim would also catch the brunt of my skepticism over my performance in the days to follow, God bless him.) The rest of my family and best friends closed around me and I felt richer than anyone there. I had survived 8 months of insane training balanced with a tough job in a new city…I even earned a promotion which I was offered the day I drove into Madison. I had achieved balance.

As I stepped out of the chute, the thought occurred to me, “Is that it?” Eight months of training, and 14 hours passed in a flash. THAT’S how people end up doing this over and over again. I think I probably will, too…someday. For now, I am truly content to sleep in and relax in the evenings…though I’m already starting to train for the Houston marathon in January 2014. But that’s nothing. I can make it through anything.

Because I am an Ironman.

Jen is a senior commodity manager at Momentive Specialty Chemicals. She’s completed six marathons and numerous shorter road races and loves the triathlon, consuming good books and delicious food and traveling.

Guest Post: Life’s A Beach Triathlon

October 11, 2013 by beewhobabbles

This past Saturday I conquered my first triathlon! It was called the Life’s A Beach Triathlon and was held at Daytona Beach, Florida. Despite its laid back name, this race was anything but easy in my opinion. I figured it would be a good starter triathlon to see if I even liked the whole swim, bike, run thing. I have been doing the running thing for a few years now and made my marathon debut last January at Disney. After completing my first marathon I realized that distance was not my favorite. Honestly, it was so boring! After mile 18 I just wanted it to be over with. But after doing many types of races I now know what I like and what I don’t like. I like smaller, local races and ones where I am entertained. I love races with obstacles and funny themes. I run to have fun and be in shape and I am not out to prove anything to anyone. This race appealed to me in so many ways and I had been contemplating a triathlon for a while, so it was impossible to pass up.

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When I arrived at the race I went straight away to the transition area so I could set up my bike. I was there early so I was able to snag a spot on the end of one of the racks. In my transition area I had 2 small towels, running shoes and socks, shorts, shirt with bib number already attached, a bottle of water for washing my feet, sunglasses, headband and my helmet. I had practiced my transitions the night before. I set everything up in my living room and practiced the order in which everything would go on. This was extremely helpful and took a lot of anxiety away from race day.

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After everything was set up I headed to the marking tent where they take a sharpie marker and mark your body with your race number. My race number, 198, went on my upper left arm and the front of my left thigh. They also mark your age on your calf. Fantastic! Now everyone knows I am 33.

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With every race there is always a possibility of being injured. Since this race was located at the beach, we were told beforehand about the possible dangers of swimming in the ocean. The first one was sharks. Fun! This is why I signed up for the second wave for my start time. I figured the first wave of people would scare anything away in the ocean. Smart huh? The second was a flesh eating bacteria that was found in a river south of Daytona. I didn’t have any open wounds so I figured I was good there. I was also wearing swim goggles and had no intention of opening my mouth in the water. Yuck! The last danger was being stung by a jelly fish. Every time I think about jelly fish I think of the Friends episode where Monica gets stung and Chandler has to pee on her to make the sting go away. Out of all the threats I figured this one would be the most probable. There were jelly fish washed up on the beach all over the place, so I knew they were out there. So despite all these risks I charged on and was determined to complete my first triathlon.

Swim: This triathlon started off with an “anything goes” swim for 200 yards. People had all kinds of flotation devices out there…noodles, rafts, inflatables and fins for their feet. Personally I wanted to do the race without any aides. I practiced once a week at the pool swimming laps and am very comfortable in the water, so I didn’t feel the need to have any swim aides. I lined up with my wave on the beach and as soon as they sounded the alarm I was off into the water. The first thing I noticed was the temperature of the water was perfect. I was worried it was going to be on the cooler side but it wasn’t. I was about halfway done with my swim when I felt the sting. I was swimming parallel to the beach when a huge wave crashed right into me and I felt the stinging on the right side of my torso, back and arms. I could not believe it! I got stung by a jelly fish!! I knew immediately that’s what it was. I finished my swim strong and made my way to shore. After we got on shore we had to crawl under some nets and then head on to the transition area to get ready for the bike portion. Even though I got stung by the jelly fish I did not feel like I needed any medical attention so I just kept going. (Later on when I told my mom about this, she was not happy with me, but you know how moms are.)

The first transition, also known as T1, went very smoothly. I stood on my orange towel and used the bottle of water to wash all the sand off my feet. This was a tip I got from my friends that were also doing the race. They had done this race before but down in Sarasota, so they were able to give me some great tips. After washing my feet I slipped my socks on, then shorts, then shirt, running shoes and lastly, helmet and sunglasses. I then had to walk my bike down to the beach and as soon as I hit the sand I was off.

Bike: The bike portion of this race was a 5 mile ride IN THE SAND! Because of the sand they insisted we use a mountain bike instead of a road bike. This was another reason this race appealed to me. I already had a mountain bike so my equipment costs were minimal. It was 2.5 miles down the beach and 2.5 miles back. No training in the world could have prepared me for riding my bike in the sand. I tried to ride as close to the water where the sand was more compact and easier to ride on. A few times a wave got me and my shoes and socks where completely water logged. There were tons of jelly fish all over the beach so I made sure I ran over a few to get my revenge for the one that stung me. (Insert devilish laugh.) I just passed the water station and was on my way back when I realized I had my bike in 7th gear (the hardest gear my bike has)! I quickly changed it to 2nd gear and flew the rest of the way back to the transition area. At the end of the bike portion I saw my family cheering me on. They were waving, jumping up and down and screaming my name. It was awesome!

The transition from bike to run, also known as T2, was a little easier. I just had to ditch my bike and helmet in my spot and make my way to the start of the run course.

Run: The run portion of this event was a 2 mile run on the beach with obstacles. To start off we had to weave through some plastic flamingos. About a mile into the run it started raining. I honestly don’t know where the rain came from because it was a bright, sunny day at the beach. The rain felt amazing. It helped wash away the sand and salt water off of me. Next on the course were some tunnels we had to crawl through and last was jumping over lounge chairs. The course was two laps, so once you finished lap one you had to do it all over again.  After doing the two laps the only thing that stood in my way of the finish line were stairs, 2 hurdles and the limbo. That’s right…the limbo. This race certainly did have a sense of humor. I crossed the finished line with a time of 1:16:03 and proudly accepted my medal. Victory!

I DID IT! YAHOO!!! I conquered my first triathlon! I absolutely had a blast doing this race. It was fun and I liked switching between the different types of events. It kept me from getting bored and the time flew by. I think the next step is for me to find a used women’s road bike and work toward a sprint triathlon.

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P.S. If anyone is wondering how to treat a jelly fish sting, put an antibacterial ointment on it three times a day and it should heal in a few days. The only thing you really need to worry about is if the spots get infected. And for those of you who don’t know, here is what it looks like.

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Sara is a wife, mother, triathlete, etiquette expert, and creator of adorable tooth fairy pillows. You can find her at The Classy Crafter.

Guest Post: Non-runner to half-marathoner

October 2, 2013 by scootadoot

Six months ago, I wasn’t a runner.

Today, I’m a half marathoner.

The story of how I went from non-runner to half marathoner begins and ends with the same person: Chick Vic.

Vic and I both work at the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, NY, and she’s the newsroom captain for our team for the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge, an annual 3.5-mile race that draws 10,000-plus runners who work for Rochester-area companies.

In early April, I was at a conference in St. Louis for work when I got an email from Vic saying when this year’s race would be. She sent it to me, I presume, because I had expressed some interest in running and had tweeted some about my difficulties on my once-a-week treadmill runs at the Y.

Even though I didn’t really enjoy running at that time, I had always been intrigued by the Chase because my colleagues all seemed to have a great time every year. By the time I left the conference, I had decided to reschedule an event I had planned for the night of the Chase and register to run. I left the hotel in St. Louis the morning of Sunday, April 7, walked past runners competing in the St. Louis Marathon and headed to the airport with no idea that I’d soon have plans to become a marathoner myself.

Eight days later I was at work when bombs went off at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. As with most everybody else, I was sickened by what happened, but the thing that moved me to tears over the next couple days was the power of the running community. The stories of runners who pushed exhaustion aside to help those who had been injured. Of the finisher who gave his medal to a runner who had been stopped at mile 25. I was so moved that I decided that I wanted to be part of the running community.

Two days after the bombing, I tweeted out a new fitness goal: To get myself into good enough shape to run the half marathon in Rochester on Sept. 22.

I had no idea what this would entail. I had never run a road race before. I had never run “farther” than six miles before. And I say “farther” because I didn’t actually go anywhere; my only runs to that point had been on the treadmill.

I spent the rest of April researching how to train for a half marathon. Vic and some of the other distance runners I work with gave me some advice, and articles online provided a wealth of information. Ultimately, I decided that I would modify Hal Higdon’s Novice 2 program, extending it by four weeks so I could start it right after the Chase.

I immediately increased my running from once a week to four times a week to get ready for the Chase. And I started to run outside some. The results were immediate. I started to run faster. I started to enjoy running. I started to think about running all the time. I started to look up other races I could run. I was hooked.

Getting my first taste of racing at the Chase just cemented my addiction to running. The atmosphere before the race was incredible. I lined up with Vic and several other members of team D&C. For the first couple miles, Vic, Traci Bauer and I ran as a group, a tremendous help to me since I had almost no experience pacing myself. I pulled away with about 1.5 miles to go as they cheered me on and when I saw the finish line I got a jolt of adrenaline and was able to sprint to a 30:43 finish.

The rest of the summer was some of the best fitness self-control I’ve ever exhibited. My training plan called for four runs a week for 15 weeks, so 60 total. I did 59 of them, skipping one three-mile run in July because my knee hurt.

I ran three more races between the Chase and the half marathon: the Firecracker 5-mile (44:22) on Fourth of July, the Jungle Jog 5K (25:23) a few weeks later and the Summer Fest 12K (1:09:20) at the end of August. I loved all three races. The feeling of crossing the finish line is one of the best imaginable, and my times in the races made me feel like I had a good shot at hitting my goal for the half marathon: two hours.

Ben finishes the Jungle Jog 5K in July

The unexpected part of the summer was that my journey to a half marathon became more than just me, my training program and some advice from friends.

A little before the Chase, Vic mentioned that Scoot A Doot was holding a giveaway for PROCompression socks. I didn’t really know anything about compression running socks, but I like free stuff, so I entered (I didn’t win, but I ended up buying four pairs of PROCompression marathon socks over the course of the summer).

As many of you know, getting entries to the giveaway entailed following Scoot A Doot on Twitter and Facebook, tweeting about the giveaway, etc. That led to me learning about more giveaways, which of course I entered. Which led to me following more people on twitter and following more blogs. Which led me to chatting about running on Twitter with people I may never meet and getting tons of encouragement from an online running community I never even knew existed.

It was, and is, amazing. The thing that pushed me into running was that I thought it would be great to be part of the running community. I was right. The specifics of what that would mean just weren’t exactly what I expected.

When I finished my final training run before tapering, a slow 10-miler the Sunday before the race, I felt incredibly content. Whatever happened in the race, I had already fulfilled the fitness goal I set out in that tweet five months earlier: to get myself in good enough shape to run a half marathon.

The morning of the race, my nerves weren’t as bad as I might have expected. I was glad I had already run four races earlier in the summer. I knew what routine worked for me and I just made sure I gave myself plenty of time to get ready. My wife dropped me off down the road from the start line about 25 minutes before the race, which was perfect.

As I wandered around among the thousands of people gathered around the starting area, I saw Vic. We hadn’t planned to meet at the start (she was actually looking for a different friend she was going to run with), but I was glad to see a friendly face. She reassured me that I’d do great and, as the start time neared and she still hadn’t found her friend, she said she’d run with me until she felt like she needed to slow down. This was just supposed to be a training run for her as she prepares for the New York City Marathon.

I won’t go into as much detail as she did in her recap last week, but she never slowed down. We ran side-by-side, almost step-for-step at times, and chatted for 13 miles. It was so much fun. I think most non-runners, and even some runners, are skeptical when people say running can be fun. And certainly, not every run is fun. This one was. I enjoyed every minute I was out there on the course.

Some people asked me if I had a time I was shooting for. My response was always the same: two hours would be nice, but it’s not a big deal if I miss. I was lying. I wanted to be under two hours badly. As we ticked off each mile, I become more and more confident that I’d make it. We were setting a great pace and felt comfortable doing it.

Also as the miles went past, I became more confident that Vic was going to keep up with me the entire way. At some point I asked her what her PR was. “2:03:something.” I got even more excited for a potential sub-two-hour finish. It’s one thing to set a goal, work for months toward that goal and then achieve it. A intensely satisfying feeling, to be sure. It’s something else entirely to have somebody give you encouragement and advice every step of the way toward that goal and then, unexpectedly, be able to help them reach a goal of their own. It was wonderful running karma that all the help she gave me in preparing for my first half marathon led to me being able to help her break the two-hour mark.

As the finish line came into view, we could see that we had plenty of time to cross before the clock would read 2:00:00. I got my usual finish line adrenaline surge and Vic, sensing that I suddenly had a lot more energy, told me to go. I sprinted to the line and crossed in 1:58:56 for a net time of 1:58:38. I got my medal and turned to cheer on Vic, but she was already across, finishing seven seconds behind me. Traci (whom we had seen briefly about halfway through the race) finished nine seconds after Vic.

Ben sprints to the finish at the half marathon

We hugged. We high-fived (badly; we were tired). We grinned from ear to ear. We got some post-race food and drinks. We took pictures. We discussed the race. We reveled in our achievement.

Over the summer, when I told people I was training for a half marathon, they frequently looked at me like I was crazy and/or told me they could never do that. I used to feel the same way. Then I started running. I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

The sub-2-hour club: Vic, Traci and Ben

Ben is a husband, father, runner and editor. This week he started training to run his first marathon in February at a race to be determined (but hopefully in Florida). He can be found on Twitter at @bjacobsroch.

Guest Post: Heather dishes on the Inaugural Disneyland 10K

September 5, 2013 by scootadoot

I spent most of my childhood living within a 30 minute drive of Disneyland, I have been to the park more times than I can count. In 2011, when I was ready to take my running to the next level, it made perfect sense to make the Disneyland Half Marathon my first.

I absolutely love the challenge of the half marathon but I’ll be honest, the last two miles can really be a struggle for me; the 10k is where it’s at.

When runDisney announced the addition of a 10k to Disneyland Half Marathon weekend I knew I had to run it. Early registration was offered in January at the Tinkerbell Half Marathon Expo. That’s when Tony and I registered.

Finish Line for 5k and 10k

We got to Disneyland about 2:30 on Friday afternoon and headed straight to the expo to pick up our bibs and shirts. Throughout the afternoon the Twitterverse was abuzz over crowding and long lines at the expo, but when we arrived we walked right up to the bib pick up booth, got in another line for our pre-purchased park tickets then headed upstairs to the expo floor where we received our shirts. We walked the whole expo and from start to finish were out in less than an hour.

Saturday morning we were up bright and early and made it to the holding area for 10k participants right about 5:15am. While we were waiting for the 5k to kick off, I had the chance to catch up with some of my friends who were also running.

Anya and Heather (aka, Figment and Aurora)

It was a very hot and humid 80 degrees as we lined up towards the back of corral D. The race started a bit behind its 6:15 scheduled time. Corral D and E seemed to meld together and we got the go ahead to starting line at 6:29.

At the start

The course was extremely crowded as we ran down South Disneyland Drive, past Katella and circled around the Convention Center. After we passed the first marker and made our way back towards the parks on Harbor it opened up for a bit.

DCA!

Mile 2 brought us into Disney’s California Adventure park and, although it was a bit crowded, I was able to maintain my normal pace. As we came around to the boardwalk area, all bets on me running for time were off. It was such a pretty day (despite the heat) so I decided many pictures were in order.

Fancy to see you here!

Tony and Heather

Even stopping to snap photo after photo, the miles seemed to fly by. Before I knew it. we were heading into Disneyland and approaching mile 4.

Running along the backlot of Disneyland provided plenty of photo opportunities of parade floats. Once we entered Fantasyland, we found Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter waiting by the mile 5 marker.

It’s a mad TEA PARTY!

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum and the Red Queen were also nearby.

Heather strikes a pose with the Red Queen

Through Sleeping Beauty’s Castle we went, out of the park into Downtown Disney, which was filled with cheering spectators and fellow runners. We ran down the home stretch on to the finish line beside the Disneyland Hotel.

I was so happy I decided to register for this race. I think it offers runners who don’t feel quite ready to tackle a half marathon a great mid-way distance event. And like I said I absolutely love the 10k!

It was a bit crowded and slow moving in points of the course, but everyone seemed to be having such a great time and we are all there because we love Disney.

As for me, I will be registering for the 10k distances as long as runDisney offers them. And yes, I was bummed I just didn’t sign up for the Dumbo Double Dare. But those 10Ks – they will be my low key, get silly and take pictures along the course run as opposed to shooting for my personal record half marathons.

Tony and Heather at the finish

Heather is a mom, runner, crossfitter and contract administrator. She blogs at Heather in the Middle and can be found on Twitter at @hsb0372.

Guest Post: Anya takes on the Dumbo Double Dare

September 5, 2013 by scootadoot

When my girls at Scoot A Doot asked me months ago if I would write a guest post for the Disneyland Half Marathon and the Dumbo Double Dare I, of course, said “yes!” I thought it would be an easy-to-write recap of an epic day. Little did I know how epic my day would end up (and how difficult it would be to put into words).

The Dumbo Double Dare was a challenge presented this year by runDisney where if you ran the Inaugural Disneyland 10K and then the following day ran the Disneyland Half Marathon you would receive an extra medal (and some extra pride).

Two weeks prior to Dumbo I was playing soccer in an over 30’s Women’s tournament and was tackled HARD. I flipped and the first thing to hit the ground was my left shoulder. Immediately I knew something was wrong. I couldn’t lift my arm and the pain, oh the pain! Later, as we sat in the ER, it dawned on me that I would not be running the races that I had so diligently trained for.

Before my shoulder injury, I was feeling so good and prepared for the Dumbo Double Dare! Based on my training runs, I truly felt I could PR both the 10K and the Half Marathon.

In my over 28 years of playing soccer this would be my worst injury. My Orthopedic Surgeon informed me that I had separated my shoulder, torn some ligaments and had some nerve damage. He followed that with the best news I could have heard: I could probably run the half marathon, it may hurt but I would not do any further damage! Since I had already come to terms with the fact that I would NOT be running Dumbo this was all amazing news for me! I was cleared to use a stationary bicycle, so I hopped on and cycled my heart out. The Thursday before the race I was finally cleared to run both events. I did a short run and it was awful. My shoulder hurt so bad that I got nauseous during the run (it probably didn’t help that it was 90 degrees that day). The good news is that every day my shoulder was better than the day before, so I had hope that it would feel better by Saturday morning.

We packed the car and drove up to the Expo on Friday morning.

Me at the expo in my awesome Scoot A Doot t-shirt

How cute are the bibs for the Dumbo Double Dare?!

Fast forward to the morning of the Disneyland 10K. As I stood in my corral I was so nervous to take those first few steps! I had an amazing cheering section (my wife and dog) and a ton of support from family and friends so I knew that no matter what happened that day I would be okay.

I ran the first mile very carefully and quickly realized that my shoulder felt good, my legs felt good, my lungs felt good and it felt so good to be running again! When I crossed that finish line- I crossed it with the biggest smile ever! I checked my time and I PR’d the race by 6 minutes! I don’t run too many 10K races so it was a PR that was long overdue, but it still felt so good to get it!

Here I am with my 10k medal – loving life!

I woke up the next morning with my shoulder aching a bit and my legs feeling a little sore from the day before otherwise I felt good and I was so excited to be running the half! My wife, Laurie, and I left the hotel and walked to the starting line – with our little dog in the basket of Laurie’s bike.

People loved seeing him and kept calling him “Toto”

Once we got closer we parted ways and I headed over to Corral C to get ready to get going. This was my first runDisney race that I would be completing without Laurie next to me (along with the 10k).

It was very dark and crowded, but everyone was so friendly!

The energy at runDisney races is incredible and contagious. I was once again very nervous but all the excited people around me helped to clear my mind. It was an abnormally hot and humid day in Anaheim and my legs were already a little sore, how would I do in this race? I knew I would finish, but how bad would it hurt?

They did a countdown and sent us off with some fanfare and Mickey and Minnie waving to everyone. I tried to take photos but my water bottle was very full and I could not hold it in my left (injured) arm for very long. I tried to take photos with my left hand but that was a total failure! I did manage a few photos through Disneyland and CA Adventure- but they were very blurry.

World of Color and Mickey’s Fun Wheel! If you squint your eyes, it looks normal.

Running down route 66 at Cars Land

My favorite part- running down Main Street Disneyland!

At this point I was moving at a very cautious pace. My legs were feeling a little sore, but my shoulder was feeling good (unless I held the water bottle with my left arm to take pictures). I decided that I would just keep going and tuck my camera away. But not before getting the one picture I really wanted:

Me with the Dumbo ride, while completing the Dumbo Double Dare! Bonus: sunrise over the Matterhorn.

At around the 4 mile mark you are out of the parks and you embark on your journey through Anaheim. If it wasn’t for some amazing High School Bands, Cheerleaders, Dance Groups, and friends and family of the runners, this section would have been a very boring run on the streets.

I had last seen Laurie in between California Adventure and Disneyland and as I approached mile 6 I spotted her again! It was so great to see her, as I needed a morale boost. Every step was hurting and it was so hot out, but seeing her (and our dog) helped me forget that. She rode next to me for a ways and then left to meet me somewhere else (I never knew where she would be). As she rode next to me she snapped this shot with the GoPro camera (which subsequently ran out of battery):

One foot in front of the other!

And I took this picture of her:

Why oh why didn’t we have her dress as Dorothy from the Wizard of OZ?!

I started having to dig down deep in order to keep myself going. My doubts were setting in, could I go another 7 miles?! I just kept telling myself that I could do it, and it worked as I kept going.

At the mile 8 mark something amazing happened. I saw this guy and took my last picture on the course:

The 2:15 pacer!

I knew that the 2:15 pacer started a ways in front of me in my corral. This meant I was going a little faster than a 2:15 half marathon! My PR was 2:16. Was I REALLY going PR pace?! Right then I heard Laurie yelling for me. I ran over to her and said “did you see the pacer?!” she immediately knew what I meant. She had been doing runner tracking so she knew what my pace was but I did not (until I saw the pacer). I forgot to look at the clock when I started so I didn’t know how many minutes to subtract and I made a few guesses but nothing was official. It’s always best when I don’t focus too hard on my pace (you’ll see why). Laurie took this picture of us before I took off again:

I’m smiling! Could I actually PR?!

This was around the area where there was about a mile of classic cars. This part was so awesome! So many people there with their extremely cool cars (eye candy) cheering for total strangers very early in the morning!

Mile 9 was just before Angels Stadium. Right around here I lost the pacer as he was in front of me and I could no longer see him. I was feeling pretty deflated. I had tasted a PR, I had it in my grasps and I felt like I had let it go. I felt like maybe I should just walk, but I quickly talked myself out of that and just kept moving.

As we entered Angels stadium I got chills! I had done this race twice before (2009 and 2010) so I knew this part would be incredible. The stands are packed with cheering Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and many screaming families and spectators. The noise is deafening yet uplifting. Not all of us are professional athletes (clearly) so having a stadium filled with people yelling for you and everyone around you feels pretty amazing.

Shortly after we left the stadium we hit mile 10. Mile 10 for me, usually (I have run 10 other half marathons), is where I get the most excited. It is the point in the race where I know I have made it. The point where I feel I am done with the hardest part of the race. This day, alas, I did not feel this way at mile 10. It was tough and I was really pushing myself to keep moving.

I don’t know how I made it to mile 11. It wasn’t pretty but I just kept repeating my mantra “I am alive” reminding myself I was okay, I was breathing, I was going to do this. I hunkered down and pushed myself harder than I have ever pushed myself. I wasn’t going to stop. Right around here I saw Laurie once again. She saw I was struggling and she asked me if I was hurting, I told her I was (but she knew this already). She told me to keep going because I was going to finish! I could do it! I honestly would have stopped and walked if I didn’t have her voice in my head over and over telling me I could do it. Let me be clear, there is nothing at all wrong with walking during a race. We walked almost all of the Princess Half Marathon, but this race was just different for me. I was so thankful to be able to run! Laurie also knows me so well if I really looked like I needed to slow down or stop she surely would have stepped in and said so. I trusted her and I just kept going.

At mile 12 I was absolutely shocked. I caught up with the 2:15 pacer! He was stopped and waiting for people to catch up. My guess is that he was ahead of schedule. That was my cue to stop doubting and start pushing. I ran. I ran HARD. He would NOT catch me again! I would get far enough away from him that if I needed to slow down I would still be in front of him. I have never pushed myself so hard. When I took the last turn to the straightaway to finish, I knew I was close and I sprinted.

I sprinted past the screaming/cheering spectators that lined the course near the Disneyland Hotel. I sprinted past the mile 13 sign. I only slowed down to high five Minnie Mouse before I crossed the finish line. I couldn’t believe how hard I pushed- and what was my time?? I immediately checked my email because I was having my official times tracked and sent there. There it was: 2:10:32. I had PR’d by 6 minutes!! I was in shock!! I made it to where they put the medal around your neck and I was such an emotional mess. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that I had actually finished this race after thinking that after months of training hard I wasn’t going to be able to run it- and on top of that I finished with a new PR!

Right after I got my half medal, I burst into tears. Tears of joy. Tears of exhaustion. Tears because I did it! I tried to compose myself while they gave me my Dumbo Double Dare medal.

Wearing both medals felt great!

Shortly after I crossed the finish line my phone died. When I plugged it back in a little later I got this text from my mom “Anya, you are my hero”. She had apparently been tracking me and she sent me that text right as I crossed the finish line. Cue the waterworks again. Boy, was I emotional!

The breakdown of my race (from the tracking emails):

Just as I had trained! Negative splits!

There’s something magical about the runDisney races. I have always had such an amazing time when I run them, and despite this one being such a difficult race for me I finished with a huge smile on my face! I don’t think I could have PR’d so close to my injury at any other race. I am so thankful for every single stranger that cheered for me. Thankful for all the volunteers who worked! Thankful for the volunteers helping me fill my water bottle again. Side note- I drank 2 full water bottles during this race (that was a first for me as well) on top of Powerade at most of the later stations and 2.5 GU’s. I am also thankful for all of the Anaheim police who were out controlling traffic on the course. I am even more thankful that I had Laurie racing around on her bike to cheer me on. She truly is the reason that I was able to finish. I love the Disneyland Half Marathon and I am so excited to have a shiny new PR as well as 3 shiny new medals from running the Dumbo Double Dare (that’s a lot of shine!).

How amazing are these medals?!

Of course I had to wear my Dumbo medal for this picture!

Oh and our dog? Apparently it’s exhausting riding around in a basket!

Good night, little man.

This race really showed me that I have the strength to reach my goals if I get out of my head and just go for it. I will never give up on myself again. This race was such an emotional victory for me. I feel like I really became a runner (like, a runner) this weekend. I have so much support from the people that love me it’s overwhelming. My friends and family were so awesome cheering me on and congratulating me. They are my inspiration. I am also proud of the training I have done this year. It is a true testament to my training that I was able to take 2 weeks off from running (and basically all exercise/movement) and still complete 19.3 miles in 2 days. I still feel
so good!

Oh, runDisney you got me again. What a wonderful time I had! I will be back!

Anya is an avid sports fan, career soccer coach, terrible chef, and an occasional blogger at http://runningisakick.wordpress.com/ You can also find her on twitter at @AnyaBC18

Guest Post: Kimberly and Kyle take on the Philadelphia Chocolate Tour

July 30, 2013 by scootadoot

Scoot a Doot note: Hey gang! Meet Kimberly and Kyle.

Kimberly was the winner of our Philadelphia Chocolate Tour giveaway and chose Kyle to join her on the excursion. We asked if they’d like to blog their experience and Kyle jumped on the task. (And now I’m singing Sugarhill Gang.)

Last weekend, before we joined Team Scoot a Doot for Jog ‘n Hog shenanigans, Kimberly and I embarked upon a voyage of gastronomic delight throughout the streets of Philadelphia (quiet, Springsteen). That’s right, folks, we jumped on the chocolate bandwagon!

Kimberly had the good fortune to win the Philadelphia Chocolate Tours giveaway a few months back, and we decided that since we were already planning to head up to Philly for some ice cream-fueled nonsense, we might as well make a weekend of it.

Things kicked off at the Reading Terminal Market. Our tour guide, Jeffery, lead us inside the Terminal to the Famous 4^th Street Cookie Company.

Of course the first thing we sampled was the classic chocolate chip cookie. What else would you expect? And you know what? It was delightful.

You simply cannot go wrong with a chocolate chip cookie. It can’t be done.

From the terminal, we hauled our cookies (pun intended) over to Verde, a small boutique that houses Marcie Blaine Artisanal Chocolates. Literally. In the back of the shop, amongst all of the way-too-cute purses, and jewelry, and dresses, is a small kitchen where the confections are made.

This shop features a ton of great flavors and uses organic, locally-sourced cream and butter, as well as honey and produce, to create their confections.

There was even a bacon-flavored truffle. Bacon. Amazing.

We sampled two kinds of chocolate bark: Pub Crawl (with pretzels, smoked almonds and cashews) and Cherry Ginger. Both were very good, but my penchant for anything ginger made the latter my fave.

It’s a good thing the samples were small, because I’m about 98% sure I could have eaten A LOT more of that noise.

After evading the temptations of the chocolate and the absolutely adorable merchandise throughout the store, we continued on our trek. The next stop? Teuscher Chocolates of Switzerland. Yup. That’s right kids. Fancy European chocolate.

All of the fancy chocolate.

Our sample? Heaven. Wait. I mean, the Dom Perignon Gold Crème Champagne Truffle.

Yeah, like I said. Heaven.

Basically, that little ball of chocolate was probably the most decadent thing I’ve had. Ever. In my life. I don’t know what that says about my life… except that it’s pretty awesome.

Leaving Teuscher was tough, because basically, I wanted to eat everything in that store. So much delicious chocolate. But, we had to make our way to the next stop. A stop I was most intrigued by. A stop where we would sample chocolate hummus.

Before you get all weird and freaked out about it, let’s preface this by saying that Kimberly, who has a strong dislike for traditional hummus, loved this stop. It’s fair to say that I did, too.

FreshaPeel Hummus creates a number of sweet and savory hummus flavors, from lemon kale to pumpkin (which legitimately tasted like pumpkin pie). We sampled all of these, but the best, the best, flavor was Chocolate Cherry. The proprietor mentioned that you could enjoy this hummus on a cracker or on fruit… I immediately jumped in and said “also on a spoon.” Because, quite frankly, that’s all I’d need. It was that good. Trust me.

You could even feel good about pigging out on this particular chocolate treat, because it’s hummus and it’s generally pretty healthy. Or at least that’s how I rationalize it. I have no qualms about this.

Following the hummus magic, we stopped at John & Kira’s, a small, innovative company that combines delicious treats with promoting positive social change. Their French-style chocolates are created with ingredients from family farms and urban gardens. Which I think is pretty cool.

We were fortunate enough to sample quite a few confections at this stop, but my favorite was probably the Mighty Urban Garden Mint bar. Mint and chocolate is always a favorite flavor combination, but this sort of transcended all other mint-chocolate situations. This was aromatic and the mint was really, really fresh. I wanted more of it. That small little chunk was not nearly enough.

Our last stop was probably the perfect way to end the tour. It was a hot day and we’d been walking a lot, so gelato? Yeah. Perfect.

Capogiro is home to the number 1 gelato in the world. According to some (probably) arbitrary contest, but I digress. Regardless, this gelato is the best I’ve ever had, so the title is relevant.

We sampled four flavors of chocolate gelato: Moka, Cioccolato Scuro (rich, dark and serious), Ciaccolato con Caramello (chocolate with caramel), and Cioccolato.

Of the four flavors we sampled, my favorite was probably the Cioccolato Scuro, because in my book, the darker, the better.

Basically, there are few things better in life than frozen chocolate treats. Gelato is no exception. Especially not this stuff. Out. Of. Control.

All in all? The tour was a delight. Kimberly and I were so happy to have been afforded the opportunity to indulge in such a tasty treat thanks to the benevolence of our favorite Scoot chicks. We second the motion: if you’re ever in Philadelphia, do a chocolate tour. Do it! You won’t be sorry.

Guest Post: Jessica’s first TRI is in the books

June 7, 2013 by scootadoot

We run because we love it.

You’re lucky if you never reach that day where that Wednesday tempo run on your training schedule starts sounding about as fun as scrubbing mold out of that water bottle you forgot to rinse, but it happened to me last summer.

Three marathons in, running stopped being fun, but quitting wasn’t an option. I was starting the process toward my fourth 26.2, and my heart wasn’t in it.

So as my job was bringing me to Rochester, New York, I changed things up, and Sunday evening I typed the words into my blog: I am a TRIATHLETE. (Related: I am a duathlete and I am a marathoner).

If all goes as planned, on July 14, I will be a half-iron lady.

I’m thrilled not only by my results but by the fact that I felt SO prepared, thanks to a great group of friends who advised me

The deets: Overall time – 1:47:21; 820 yard swim – 24:00; T1 – 3:12; 13.6 mile bike – 50:00; T2 – 2:00; 3.1 mile run- 27:40. I finished 168 of 260 overall, and 12 of 20 in my age group.

(Note: This is the cleaned up and shortened version of this blog. Click here for the exhausted, rambling, Keuka Lake Riesling-induced version.)

(Another note: Thinking about a tri? Read all the way toward the bottom, where I offer some tips.)

PREPARING

When I started this madness I thought I could get away with a one piece and a hybrid. By the time I got done loading my road bike, my wetsuit, clips and the other goodies into my car, my trunk looked like this. Remind me never to call running expensive and equipment intensive again.

I stayed in the dorms at Keuka College. Saturday night I sat on the same dock I’d be spotting the next morning from the distance. Could I actually do this? I was out of bed before 6 the next morning, set up my transition using tips from the wonderful coach Mary Eggers. I made my first rookie mistake, I left to stretch, forgot transition closed an hour before my wave, and had to ask the transition crew to hand me my swim stuff, giving them the “it’s my first time” smile.

SWIM

At Mary’s clinic the previous day, she told us horror stories of open water competition that left me wondering if I should have done less lap-swimming and more aqua kickboxing.

With the joke, “ok ladies, if you end up passing a slower guy, remember this is a non-contact sport,” the last wave of Olympic athletes were off, and they let the mere sprinters into the lake to warm up. As others took the dive, I put my big toe in, and it took all my willpower to not be That-Person-Who-Jumps-Back-With-Her-Tail-Between-Her-Legs.

62 degrees is a lot warmer on dry land.

So I inched in, first to my ankles, then my knees, then my waist, then I finally took the plunge and almost came up in shock. You get used to it, the people around me said. I might as well had “first-timer” written on my forehead. I stayed in until they cleared the water. I caught up with two other first-timers, and for a half hour we waited.

That was the worst part.

I only learned to swim in August, taking a few lessons at the Y then progressing on my own. This was my second time in open water – the first time, as I was coming to shore, I came up for air and ended up face to face with a dead fish. I may have screamed a little. Ok… more than a little.

The silver caps, younger females in the sprint race, were finally up. 30 seconds. 10 seconds. Horn.

I didn’t get kicked in the face. No one swam over me. Mary’s spitting-in-the-goggles-to-get-rid-of-fog strategy worked beautifully.

But I was swimming like a drunk on New Year’s Eve, all over the place. Nice blue line at the bottom of the pool, I’ll never take you for granted again.

Four buoys helped split the swim up on the way out, but getting back we were just citing an arc that was deceptively far away. Somehow, I made it. No broken nose. No bruises. No dead fish. I stripped off my cap and goggles, ran up the stairs, and into transition.

BIKE

The beautiful Flower awaited.

Flower is my lovely Cannondale Synapse, a gift from Uncle Sam who was quite kind to me at tax time. She’s named after her first race, the Flower City duathlon.

The wetsuit came off, the bike shorts, tank and clips went on, and inhaling a Honey Stinger I ran my bike out. I’m still getting used to the new clips, so I avoided embarrassment by the mount sign. Narrowly.

It was an easy 14-mile course with a few hills. And that’s where I learned the beauty of all the indoor cycling I did this winter – I crushed it on those hills, passing people left and right.

Less than an hour later I was back in transition. I re-racked Flower, and put on the Asics, knee straps and compression sleeves.

Money can buy speed on the bike. I didn’t have the advantage the people with fancy tri bikes had, but at least I was off the hybrid.

But running? It’s all you.

It’s only a half hour of your life.

RUN

I’m assuming this is a family-friendly blog, so I’ll keep what I was saying as I took those first few steps of the run to myself.

It was not pretty.

My legs didn’t know what to think at the sudden change of movement, so they just went numb. I sucked down a mint chocolate GU, saw my legs beneath me and trusted they knew what to do, since I couldn’t feel them.

The pain eased up after the first half mile, but as much as I told my body to slow down, I couldn’t control my speed. It was a weird autopilot kind of thing.

I had used my phone app for the bike, but as I came through transition, my hands were sweaty and shaking so I left it behind and ran without GPS. We were running along a back road by the lake, and even though everything hurt, I just wanted to be done.

I thought about my old friends in Ohio, I thought about my new friends in Rochester, I thought about my pups Lizzie and Brandy. At the moment it seemed like an eternity, but in retrospect, the last 27 minutes went quickly.

Mary was announcing. Shaky and dizzy, I crossed the finish line with that weird exhausted kind of grin. “Everything hurts but I feel great.”

I did it.

I got some ice cream. And a delicious bottle of Yates Cellars semi-sweet Riesling, which would be gone later that evening.

THINKING ABOUT A TRIATHLON?

From one newbie to another, here are a few things I was glad I did:

1) Swimming lessons: I signed up for basic lessons at the Y, but lucked out, with two triathletes guiding me, I learned things like spotting and working with your arms to save the legs.

2) Equipment: You don’t need top of the line, but without my road bike and wetsuit I would have been at a serious disadvantage. Shop in the winter for a wetsuit, I got mine at half off.

3) Seek out all the advice you can. Don’t be afraid to ask silly questions.

4) Practice, practice, practice! Nothing can prepare you from that horrible feeling going from bike to run. But you can learn how to deal with it!

5) Get in open water. Even though I only swam in a lake once, this one time practicing helped me out so much on race day.

6) Learn the transition rules! All my stuff had to fit into a space about one foot by three feet. Plan it out ahead of time! What will you need when?

WHAT’S NEXT

So what went right? I was prepared, had quick transition times, was ready for the hills and finished strong.

Where can I do better? More open water practice, if I can quit the zigzagging I can shave some serious minutes off the swim time. I should also practice mounting and unmounting on the bike with the new clips. Oh, and I should learn flip turns in the pool, no more being spoiled by that wall every 25 yards.

June 16, I’ll be doing double the distance at the Quakerman triathlon at Orchard Park. Then one month later I’ll be at the Musselman half iron in Geneva. I’ll finish the season with the Highlander Cycle Tour (Corkscrew Century) in September and the Wine Glass Full Marathon in October.

“But Jessica, I thought you were sick of marathons?”

Perhaps I needed a break, because tomorrow is my nine-mile training run, and I can’t wait for it!

Bring it!!

Follow my blog for more random musings as the big race day approaches. Hugs to the lovely Scootadoot ladies for letting me guest post, and happy miles!

Jessica Alaimo is a journalist and a three-time marathoner living in Rochester, New York. She completed her first triathlon June 2, and is training for her first half Ironman July 14. Outside of training she teaches indoor cycling, enjoys gluten-free cooking and competing for a spot on the couch with her two retired racing greyhounds, Lizzie and Brandy.

Like her shiny brand new Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/jessicatris703 and follow her on Twitter, https://twitter.com/jessicatris703

Guest Post: My Rocky Relationship With “Running” and Running for a Cause

May 13, 2013 by scootadoot

On Again, Off Again

Ah, running. How you and I seem to find each other every few months. And it’s always the same ol’ story. I’m taken by your charm, your charisma, your appeal. Pretty soon (maybe too soon?), I believe it’s love. For awhile, we’re getting together nearly every evening: We meet up at the gym or along the picturesque waterfront. We become inseparable for a month. “I’m committed to you,” I proudly proclaim one morning. “You’re my one and only.” You don’t say a word. I guess you know what’s coming. You’ve seen it too many times before.

“I have to work late,” I hurriedly say to you a couple weeks later. “What?!” I ask defensively as you silently stare back at me. “I have a deadline!” I explain with conviction. “Besides, the weather’s kind of damp. If you and I hang out tonight, I may catch a cold. And then I’ll be out of commission for days!” Yes, that’s it. Even if I was ABLE to run tonight, I shouldn’t. It’s better this way. (Justification is a funny little thing.)

The next night, it’s something else. A dinner date with a few close friends. You gently remind me that that I don’t have to be at work until 9:45. Why not consider a jog before work? “You make a good point,” I admit. “A morning run is totally feasible.” And I do it! I really, really do it. In fact, I like it so much that I excitedly announce to you that a.m. jogs are going to be the new normal.

That lasts for three days.

Over the next month, our get-togethers wean down to about once a week. Then to once every 2 weeks and before long, you and I are history. It’s a fairly amicable breakup, but no one here is a winner. I feel like a failure; you feel used. For a couple months, we have no contact. Then we bump into each other one Sunday morning and start up our rocky relationship all over again…

Running for a Cause

Last spring, I was in a really good place with running (we’d been hanging out religiously for a good month and a half. Deep down, I knew it wouldn’t last. I’d do the breaking up for sure, but I was enjoying things while they lasted). The reason I was feeling so committed was because I was training for the Phillips 5K Run/Walk, an event put on by the Christopher and Susan Phillips Foundation. The Foundation was started in July 2011, when my dear friend Sharon Phillips experienced the most unthinkable of tragedies: She lost her mother Susan (64) and her brother Chris (27) within days of each other.

As Sharon waded through her grief, it became clear that their deaths could not, would not, be in vain. And so, the Christopher and Susan Phillips Foundation was born, with a single, solid mission: To help others. It just made sense—Christopher was studying to be a nurse and had also volunteered as an EMT; Susan was a Pharmacist Technician at Walgreens for nearly two decades, and customers used to ask for her by name.

Sharon Phillips and her boyfriend Geoff Lenat at the Wine Tasting Fundraiser at Villa Rose Winery in Madison, NJ (October 2012)

Sharon Phillips and her boyfriend Geoff Lenat at the October 2012 Wine Tasting Fundraiser at Villa Rose Winery in Madison, NJ

Since its start, the Foundation has hosted a multitude of fundraisers including the Annual Wine Tasting Fundraiser in both 2012 and 2013—each year, the event drew hundreds of people, and the money raised helped go toward scholarships for two graduating students of Jonathan Dayton High School—the alma mater of the entire Phillips family.

And the 1^st Annual Phillips 5K Run/Walk was held last year at Watchung Reservation in Morristown, NJ . On a beautiful June morning, friends, family, and complete strangers took to the trail while volunteers and supporters lined the route, the starting line, and the finish line.

Sharon Phillips gets the runners ready at the Phillips 5K Run Walk at Watchung Reservation (June 2012)

Sharon Phillips gets the runners ready at the 2012 Phillips 5K Run Walk at Watchung Reservation

That day, I ran well. Not my BEST time ever, but when you factor in the typical trail obstacles (sticks, stones, hills, and the risk of spills), I did A-OK. This time, I wasn’t running for any type of fickle reason. I was moving and sweating and breathing and believing—all in the name of Chris. And Sue. And Sharon. My dear friend Sharon who, even on days when it feels nearly impossible, continues to put one foot in front of the other.

Frank Phillips, Sharon's father, awards a medal to one of the winners of the race.

Frank Phillips, Sharon’s father, awards a medal to one of the winners of the 2012 race.

On June 9, 2013, the Christopher and Susan Phillips Foundation will host the Phillips 5K/10K Run/Walk at Lewis Morris Park in Morristown, NJ. To register for the race, get a map of the route, and see a schedule of the day, please visit http://www.phillips5k.org/.

To learn more about the Foundation’s initiatives, visit https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christopher-and-Susan-Phillips-Foundation/131654973587693 or http://www.christopherandsusanphillipsfoundation.org/.

Jodi Rigotti is a Senior Editor at QualityHealth, a consumer health website based out of Jersey City, NJ. Her hobbies include exploring new neighborhoods in and around New York City, trying her hand at new vegetarian recipes, and working out when she feels like it. She currently lives in Hoboken, NJ with her husband (and college sweetheart), Dan.

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