Football, bonfires, Halloween, Hoodies, RUNNING! It's finally Fall in Florida!

Running has always been there for me, let’s start with that. And now that it doesn’t feel like my flesh sets itself on fire when I walk outside, it’s the best time of year to enjoy my favorite pastime outdoors instead of on the treadmill! This past year I’ve had the pleasure of utilizing a running coach and have benefited a lot from her instruction. Training through the summer was grueling with the spiking temperatures and suffocating humidity. I did my best every weekend run, to time them as early in the morning as possible to at least get ahead of the crippling Florida temperatures that only rise as the day ages. Not as successful at this because even at 5:45 in the morning in Florida, it’s already warm and the heat is just as bad as the early morning humidity it seems. It’s sticky, nasty and makes you feel like you have weights tied to your feet as you smash pavement. It has been my goal all summer, to make every weekend run early enough to catch the sunrise on the bridge leading into the island. Not as easy as it sounds, but it’s always worth seeing the early sun peeping up over the water. It’s still warm in the afternoons, but nothing like it’s been the past several months. It was the hardest summer for many reasons. Personal challenges that life threw at me, along with some disappointments on the track and just life in general. But I’m learning that life is a lot like running. 

 “Like the marathon, life can sometimes be difficult, challenging and present obstacles, however if you believe in your dreams and never ever give up, things will turn out for the best.” -Meb Keflezighi, U.S. Olympic marathoner

 Last weekend I had the biggest surprise of making a very unexpected PR on a half marathon course that had multiple bridges and inclines included. The first time I ran this course was in 2019 I ran it in 2:44:02, my lifestyle and dietary choices were not ideal at this time in life and I regrettable suffered through the entire thing. I ran again last year with little training but still some decent mileage under my belt and came out with a gun time of 2:14:19. This year, I finished in under two hours for the very first time running a half marathon, with a gun time of 1:59:04! My finishing pics which will never see the face of the inter webs, completely captured my sudden shock at seeing a 1:59 as I approached the finish line. I loved every second of this course! The weather was limited humidity, with temperatures in the lower 60’s. My zip up shorts were loaded with Maurten runnings gels and I had on a brand-new pair of supportive running socks to encounter the new tighter laces on my shoes. I was rested, fueled, and just ready to have fun on the road. There was nothing weighing against this race, regardless of how I did, Richmond is just around the corner and nothing that happened that day would stop me from getting there. Would you believe that once I got out of “my feels” and just started loving the race, I actually performed well? I tend to get so far into my head and get stuck in a negative mind set and focused on what my Garmin pace is saying instead of listening to my body and how I’m feeling. My coach knows this, and challenges me every time we pre-race chat, to stop looking at the watch and pace myself based upon my perceived effort. I decided “Fu** it, what do I have to lose today? I’m running, I may as well just have fun.” I hadn’t upgraded my playlist but who cared at that point? I put my running playlist on repeat and just went with it and only had to adjust the Aftershokz around my ponytail once. I glanced at Garmin maybe once or twice and the rest of the time just remembered, get a good pace, and hold it, let’s just see what happens at this point. I was holding a decent enough pace for myself where I felt like I’m going faster than normal, this is definitely race pace, and I think I can hold this for 13 miles. The mile markers kept reminding me we were getting closer and closer to finish line. Miles remaining were getting smaller and you can feel the anticipation building amid the runners on the course now that we’ve long ago passed the halfway point. This is usually where all that adrenalin just dumps into my lap and soaks my legs with lactic acid, my BP spikes and my airway gets too amped, and I head full speed into a raging asthma attack. That last part is the absolute worst thing that could happen to me on the course. A rescue inhaler does nothing while I’m in motion, contrary to what people may think. There’s just something about my lungs that say “No, screw you and your medicine, I’m gonna be pissy and you can’t stop me. I’m going to do what I want, and I’ll let you know what I’m done!” My pulmonary issues are stress triggered and emotionally charged. Sure, allergies play a part, but I’ve always had the most unpredictable set of lungs that can literally go months without having to taste the albuterol, to having weeks on end where I’m using my inhaler twice a day when I’m not even exercising. Once I start gasping for air during a run, the run is over. I absolutely have to stop. You can’t function without oxygen much less run, and asthma prevents you from getting the amount you need to sustain a hard paced run. With all of that said, I approach the last half of the race with an abundance of caution. I only picked up the pace a little more after mile 10, really because the sun was rising, and I wanted to finish before it got too warm. I was pretty pleased with my pace and knew that once the heat showed up, it would definitely have a say on how I felt. The course this year took us to the final mile around the Riverside Arts Market and along the Riverside River Walk. Not objecting to this much due to the terrain. Pavement is flat and no more bridges to cross! It’s much easier than having to take the same overpass back to the Landing that we have to start out of. The only part of the Riverwalk that makes me nervous is the course isn’t roped off. There are people out there walking their dogs, pedestrians literally standing on the sidewalk with other bystanders possibly not even aware that they’re on a mapped run course. Then you may also have a homeless person intentionally get up and stand off to the side of where you’re about to pass to ask for change. I’m not a jerk, and at least want to acknowledge someone when they talk to me and say, ‘sorry I don’t run with change’ and give a friendly fist bump. This only happened to me once in 2019, but I was running much slower then and probably was much more of an opportunistic approach than I was this year. Folks are really nice, and I appreciate it a lot, but the thought that I may either accidently knock someone over or have an oblivious morning walker block the sidewalk was making me nervous. But still, I said “Chill out Carolyne, let’s just finish this we’re nearly there.” Coming down out of the park area at the bottom of the Riverwalk, there was a large family gathering at the little jungle gym that is split by the walkway. Instead of hoping for the best, this time I just very loudly spoke, without yelling and said, “Runner on your left!” to the two older ladies walking side by side on this very narrow sidewalk. Yes, it’s a sidewalk, but I honestly wonder why some people lack the situational awareness skills to think ‘We probably shouldn’t walk side by side on this skinny sidewalk in case, maybe another human wants to pass us.’ I’m not sure how clearly, they heard me because I did have to jump off the curb a bit. Only at the last minute, did I decide to jump back into my head. I knew the finish line was just around the corner, but instead of going into a full-on sprint and getting my lungs overworked and set up for a complete pulmonary embolism I told myself, “You know this is just the halfway point? We’re in a marathon, you can pick up right here strictly for fun, but once your Garmin dings you at 13.1, bring it back down and pace accordingly.” At this point I truly had no idea how I was doing on time, and I truly didn’t care. I had felt great the entire race and felt myself finishing strong, and that was my only goal. Have a good race, hold a challenging but steady pace, and then finish strong. When I tell you, I thought I was hallucinating, to be approaching the finish line and saw the clock reading 1:58:56, I gunned it and gave it all that I had! “I’m making it in under 2 hours!!!” I screamed this while I ran towards the finish line like someone was chasing me with a tarantula! I haven’t seen my finishing pics, and don’t really want to, because it’s likely that I look something like this -->

I ran past the finish line and stopped my watch to see the finish time of 1:58:01. My first sub 2-hour half marathon! This wasn’t on my agenda that day because I knew about the bridges and inclines, and not sure I could hold such a strong pace, but there I stood staring at my watch thinking possibly for a moment that it was broken, but it wasn’t. I accomplished a milestone goal by complete accident and couldn’t have been happier than I was in that moment. I walked around for a few minutes just gaping at my watch and basking in this incredible feeling of “Look at what I just did!!!!!!” that I hadn’t even realized that I didn’t grab a finisher medal. I walked back over and retrieved one, but that piece of medal wasn’t the reward I was leaving with that day. It was the social media material that I had just earned….LOL kidding kind of not kidding :D I would be a runner with or without the privilege of sharing my stats and times with others, but having a network of likeminded early bird morons, who would rather get up early to run in the dark than stay in bed, is just a part of why I love the sport of running.

I have found my pasttime, and my tribe of people.

The pain my legs were in was very manageable but noticed in the following days. Yay for rest days that fall on Sundays! I placed 10^th out of 36 participants in my age group too so yes, the pain and awkward walking for a few days was worth it! Hello DOMS, I’m so happy to see you!

And now this may just be a running blog and nothing else, because this is pretty much what consumes my life, and it works for me. This sport has been with me for many years, including the years leading up to meeting Matt, and now he runs too! I have influenced him, mwa ha ha my plan is working 😉

We are two mutually dedicated people in the pursuit of what we both love, and are just lucky enough to be in a marriage that is centered around carbs, early bedtimes, easy recovery walks with our fur child and race registrations.

In the words of my sweet hubby, “Life is Good”

[ Pictured above, I'm enjoying my usual Saturday cup of joe, on a Thursday as I write this ;) But don't worry, the Saturday afternoon brew tradition continues while I puruse writing topics...]