The Midlife Reframe

Category: runningtrail

  • Crazy Mama RAN!!!!!!!!!! The First Race in 2 YEARS!

    Yes, you read right.  I RAN on October 24th!

    A while back I signed up for the BLT 5km Fun Run/Walk out in Timberlea, Nova Scotia.  I needed to sign up for something to keep me going, and decided 5km was a good start.
    This run is an out and back from the BLT Elementary School and most of the run is on a gravel trail.  This trail is super familiar to me because I have done many runs on this trail prepping for races in the past.
    I did my mini carb load the night before (hello PIZZA!) and carried myself off to bed after midnight (oops).
    I had no problem waking up.  None.  Excitement/Adrenaline had me awake well before my alarm went off!
    Got myself some oatmeal, coffee and sat down to plan the race outfit de jour 🙂
    It was chilly, so layers were in order.  Not too many though.  Pants for sure.
    I dressed right away so I had no time to overthink anything.
    I arrived early enough to pick up my race kit and ran into some of my friends, including Peter, who was volunteering 🙂  I also ran into my PT from knee surgery recovery, lol.  What are the odds??

    Peter was excited to see me running again!**

    I stayed inside the school and waited with some of the other runners until it was close to “go time” because it was chilly.

    Then, out I went.

    And stood mid pack.

    Talked to my Twitter FitFam friend Myles and his lovely wife for a minute, just to shake the growing anxiety and remind myself that I AM A RUNNER, lol.
    Then, the voice from the loudspeaker made the announcements, I was surrounded by runners, heard the word “GO” and off we went!
    There I am – Top Far Right!  GO AMY GO!!!!!!!!!!
    Now, previous races, I would have shot out of there like a cheetah.  But, having learned from this lesson (during the Valley Harvest 10km where I went out like a cheetah and wanted to barf my guts out halfway), I just kept a nice slowish pace to get myself warm.
    I caught up to Myles’ lovely wife just after 1km and we ran for a bit until her walk break.
    Then, I was SOLO.
    I picked up my pace a bit and passed a few people.  Stopped for a minute because I picked it up a little more than I should, lol.  Then I decided to find someone that had a decent pace (by feel) and stayed a bit behind them for the next couple of kms.
    I reached the turnaround point feeling good.
    Then I saw the 3km marker and lost it.

    Tears.

    I had the moment I though I would have at the end.  The “HOLY CRAP I AM RUNNING IN AN EVENT” moment.
    3km.
    But crying and running don’t really mix, mostly because you can’t see, so I stopped for a minute, wiped my eyes and kept going.
    The last km has a hill.  BLECH.
    I walked up that hill.
    Because ME.
    And then, the last 500m I put the pedal to medal and came in like a FREAKING GAZELLE:


    SEE HOW HAPPY I AM?!?!?!??!

    Super happy.

    I was lucky to get a photo with my peeps afterward who were there to see my first race in forever!



    Time:  30mins 47secs.

    CRUSHED IT.

    Now, I am attempting to plan out what my 2016 Race Calendar will look like.

    And how to get that 30 mins to 25 or under, lol.

    Look out world.  I’M BACK!!!!


    **Thanks to Paul Wesson Photography for taking the wicked awesome Race pics!

  • I RUN MY FIRST 5K NEXT SATURDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    My First 5K….

    Man that sounds weird.

    I think my last race was in 2013.

    2013.

    I gimped up in 2014.

    Surgery and recovery for most of 2015.

    Am I ready?

    More than likely.

    Am I confident?

    No.  LOL.

    I wanted my first “race” to be a shorter distance, a fun run.  Something with NO CHIP TIME, lol.  So the BLT 5km Fun Run was the winner 🙂


    I will be in this pod of peeps next Saturday!!



    Will I want to make a good time?  

    Uh, DUH.

    Will it matter?

    Nope, because I will be crying.  Before, possibly during, and most definitely after.

    What matters most?

    The experience.  My first race back in 2 years.

    @crazymamaruns

     

  • How Hot IS Hot Yoga???

    HOT! HOT! HOT!

    Tonight was my first class at Moksha Yoga in Bedford, NS 🙂 I signed up on Saturday as they had their “Summer Special” on.  $60 for 60 days.

    I have taken yoga before, and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I figured with the deal on it was a great time to try it out and see if it was something I would be into. 

    So, how does this hot yoga thing work?

    I arrived well before the 15 mins they ask for, as I needed to change.  Melissa greeted me at the desk and we had a quick chat.  She made sure I was armed with water, mat and towels (they rent them if you don’t have any) and sent me on my way to the change room. (No late people here.  You’re late, you are out of luck.  NO YOGA FOR YOU!)

    This studio is wonderful.  Clean, quiet and welcoming.

    I changed and walked into the “Brazil” room….and the wall hit me.  IT’S HOT.  

    I walked to what I thought was the back of the class and set up my mat, beach towel over the mat and grabbed some blocks and a strap.  With my water and little face towel beside me, I settled into Savasana.  I figured this would help me acclimatize.  I laid there and sweat BIG TIME, like someone had turned on a sweat faucet.  But eventually that did slow down…until class started…

    Because you’ll be full of it!

    Tonight’s class was Yin Yoga (90 minutes).  Melissa was our instructor.

    Yin Yoga is a little different as you hold your poses anywhere from 3-10 minutes.  It is all about relaxing and letting gravity do the work.  The focus is on the breath and the stretch.  No activating muscles.  Release.

    Upon Melissa’s arrival into the class, she advised today we would be focusing on legs!  (AND that the back of the room…..was actually the front…no looking at the mirror and so much for hiding…lol) 

    I though “wooooohooooo!”….because today, I ran 5kms!!!!!  (Go ME!) My legs were a little tight as this is the most I’ve run since the discovery of my OCD knee.

    I am just a little excited in this photo…lol


    We got started and at first I was struggling to get into a pose, until Melissa said to go with my body and when I felt the edge to stop and breathe.  At first I thought “How am I going to stay in these positions for 3-5-10 minutes??”.  The trick is (for me anyway) to close your eyes and focus on your breathing.  I found that once I did that (like in meditation) I let go.  I stopped worrying about where I was in the moment and let my body guide me.  There was a moment of “Ummm, I am kind of hot…am I going to puke….”, but that passed once I got control of my breathing 🙂

    I was dripping sweat everywhere!  And thankfully, so was the rest of the room…lol.

    At the end, while in Savasana (yay!) the lovely Melissa came around with cold facecloths and placed them over our eyes – BEST EVER!

    Afterwards, she congratulated me.  Not only on my first class, but for doing so well in a 90 minute class 🙂  I told her it was probably one of the best classes I have taken.

    So, guess where I am going tomorrow night???

    Next time…tank top!  Holy sweat 🙂

  • What Am I Doing With Myself Since I Can’t Run??

    The Itch That Can’t Be Scratched

    It’s not that I am not being active. I have a recumbent bike in my bedroom, a bosu ball, a swiss ball, hand weights, yoga mat, etc.

    It’s the fact that I cannot run.  My main outlet for stress, my time to think, my “me” time.  GONE.

    I have been meditating to keep my focus.  It is helping a lot.

    I have always been an avid reader.  Right now I am reading 12 Years A Slave.  I am a huge Stephen King fan as well (even though he has turned me against clowns FOREVER).  I crochet which helps me not eat myself into oblivion.

    Being a mom to a teen daughter keeps me busy as well.  And my day job totally keeps me busy!  But still, I CAN’T RUN.  No races, no training, no BLT runs, no swag, no camaraderie, no new running gear…

    So, to keep myself moving and raise awareness for a great cause, I am participating in the Defeat Depression Event next month.  Because physical fitness rocks!  I wonder if wearing my hydration belt would be out of line…. 😉

    Next blog post…Runners and their “stuff”!