There's a special closeness between running friends................

 

This girl right here may be wondering why on my Azalea race post that I didn't mention her.  Well........ I wanted to do a special post on her.  BTW she did awesome in the race!  She has been sitting out healing a shin splint and just started back running.  She ran faster than her goal on Saturday! She's ...................................B A C K!  :>)  and I'm so very proud of her!  Good job girl! 

Serina is my running BFF.  She is the one that ALWAYS has a smile for us and is NEVER in a bad mood!  She is the life of the party.  I did not know her growing up even though we are just 4 years apart and she went to West Jones.  OH and YES, we know the races where we will be in the same age group. ha   Some people may look at her and think there is no way she can run fast, swim like a fish, or ride a bike like no one else but they are SOOOOO wrong.  A person's body size doesn't tell the true story! or Maybe I should use the phrase that when you look at at person you don't see the real person.  It's what is inside that is real.  Serina is as REAL as they come! 

South Central 5K October 2010

Let me tell you how we meet.  I was talked into running my first ever 5K at the Day in the Park race in Laurel back in 2004.  Anyone that has ever ran that route knows it's a tough 5K.  I was the "newbie" and also a little competitive (Not sure why since I didn't play sports growing up).  Anyway, when the race started I knew what girls passed me or were ahead of me.  I had not seen Serina ahead of me.  However, when awards were called out they called her for 1st place.  I was shocked.   Then I was even more shocked when they did not call my name at all for any awards.  So after the awards were over, I saw Serina standing with a family that I soon realized were her parents and I went over and asked her the age group she was in.  We both realized that she had gotten my award.  She apologized and even said that she knew I had finished ahead of her because she wondered who the "new" girl was at the race.  See her and her family have been running for years!  They are one amazing family!  I'm blessed that they have taken me under their wing the last several years.  You can always find them at the races together.  It's a FAMILY thing! Some may run and some may walk, but they all together. :>) 

We started seeing each other more and more at local 5Ks.

Color run USM

We became friends instantly.  Soon she had me talked into running with her after work a couple days a week.  I had no idea what all she'd talk me into at the time! I thought we'd just do 5Ks, but soon I realized that her and her family have done most everything.  It wasn't long before she talked me into  a half marathon! 

Serina, Me & Renee - November 2010 - My 1st half marathon

Little did I know that with her came her family.  Her dad's name is Dennis so we call each other Mr. D and Ms D. :>)  He's such an encourager.  He walks most races these days but back in the day he could run a 7 minute mile!  I've had the honor of him walking with me at a local 5K after my neck surgery when I wasn't allowed to run yet.  

Mr & Ms D :>)  He's pointing to the finish line.

Don't worry.. Serina also walked with me at a race also! 

Serina telling me to hurry up.. hee hee

And wouldn't you know it... Next she talks me into doing a sprint TRI!

Me, Dennis, Mr. D, & Serina - Sunfish 2011

And then it's a Warrior Dash! Me, Robbie & Serina

Can you tell why we have a saying called.. "SERINA MADE ME DO IT!"

Love this man! W for Winners! 

I just love this family as you can tell from all the pictures.  I wanted to post this yesterday, but I had to come to work to get some pictures off my computer. 

Momma D telling me a story probably and Missy (Serina's sister) looking like she's thinking it's toooo hot. Hee hee  This was a local 5K down at the Amory. 

Oh and let's not forget she talked me into doing my first trail run also! MS50 20K

Me and Serina at MS50 - 20K run 

Warrior dash... she always makes me LAUGH!

and Now she's on the run team I started.  We raise money for St. Jude Children.  I guess there is one thing that I talked her into. :>)  

The Wargel family and me... LOVE THEM

I LOVE this girl!  As we get older and our lives change, sometimes we lose contact with high school BFFs and we find new BFFs.  Yes, I still have a couple high school friends where we don't see each other, but I know if I ever need something they are just a phone call away.  We will ALWAYS be BFFs.  

I just want to say that you mean the world to me, Serina! I know I can be moody from time to time, but you always give me a HUG and a Smile! I cherish our friendship so very much and I'm glad that GOD lead me to you through running! I'm excited that now we are going to doing Ironman together!  Oh and I talked her into it. HEE HEE  ... Guess we even now, huh?   It's pay back for all the things you talked me into over the years. 

MUAH! D

 Rarely ... are we in diff age groups.. but we do have running in common. 

 

Saturday - Azalea 10K Run Fun - Mobile, AL 3-19-16

and YES the Azalea's were in bloom this year. :>) 

Today turned out to be a beautiful morning!  Meet up with several teammates and friends before the race for a quick picture at the Malaga fountain.  Been our tradition for several years now! I've seen this fountain frozen in the past when it was so very cold on race morning.  Today was around 69 degrees when we started.  It had sprinkled off and on during our drive to Mobile, but right before the race started the sun came out! 

Love this group even though Mr. D almost pulled me backwards into the fountain. Ha!

Grabbed a picture with my SIL also.  She's just now getting back into running and I wanted to run with her.  She kept saying... "Don't stay with me".  I just ignored her.  

Devon & me at the fountain before the race!

Daniel trying to get in our picture...he's such a funny guy!

We all headed down to the start line and grabbed a few pictures.  I have so much fun with this crazy group! 

Check out the photo bombers.... LOVE.... Everyone was happy and ready to run.  

As soon as we started, Devon started up again telling me to go on.  She did this all during the race.  I kept telling her that I didn't want to run on.  I wanted to run with her.  She kept saying I know you are faster and I'm holding you back.  I really wish she had quit focusing on that and just enjoyed the race more.  Which I think she did enjoy it, but she sure kept telling me to go on. LOL  Maybe deep down she wanted to do it on her on.  I'm not sure cause she thanked me after wards for staying with her.  

I don't think she understands how I feel exactly.  I LOVE helping new runners accomplish something.  I get so much more joy out of that then trying to bust my butt and run hard.  Yes, I'm sure there will be races in my future where I try to maintain a certain pace, however as I've aged I've realized there is so much more joy in helping others.  Yes, a couple years ago I would have ran on and left her only been focused on maybe placing in my age group, but I've seen so much happen to friends I love with them losing family members, etc. that it's made me realize life is SHORT! So make those memories.  Enjoy those moments and stop stressing. :>) 

Finished 1:09!

Devon wanted to finish under or around 1:30 today. I knew we would be faster than that when we started, but didn't want to focus on that so I let her lead and when she needed to walk, we walked.  We finished in 1:09! Way under her 1:30 goal!  I'm so proud of her!  We even got to visit some while running and I really enjoyed that part of the race.  We are both so busy that we don't see each other except for family events and there we don't have much time to talk just the two of us.  Too many kids and siblings around to talk one on one.  Heck in my big family I'm lucky to get 5 minutes with each of my siblings when we all together at moms.

Ran into an old friend (not saying she's old... just old running buddy) who moved away. I never get to run with her anymore.  Sure was nice to see her and boy she was glad to see Frank.  The three of us were together again. 

Great to see Robbie!









Ah me, Robbie & Frank - Ran my 1st marathon with these 2!

And of course it wouldn't be a race without getting a picture with the PROFESSOR :>)  

and I've got to say how proud I am of Krista!!! She's been working so hard and she's come so far! She is a daily inspiration to me.  Not only because of her determination, but she keeps me grounded.  She is one of those friends that knows when you need a hug, a prayer, or just a smile.  I see God each time I see her smile.  She radiates his love to everyone.  I'm so thankful to call her a friend! She beat her time from last year today!  

She's been running with Frank early in the mornings when I'm swimming and it's paying off.  She's gotten so strong!  I'm sure Frank has something to do with that also.  He too likes to help people! 

The Clarks, Hyatts, and Frank 

This is a wild group. :>)  You can find them running around 4:30am together most mornings.  OH and I'm also super proud of Daniel.  He's the one with the beard in the picture.  Last year he got hurt during the race and wasn't able to finish.  I remember standing at the finish line with his wife Krista watching the gator drive him up.  I felt so bad for him!  This year he finished and did so in 1:27! Way to go Daniel!!!  

Hope you had a great day!  Remember Mark 9:23 "Anything is possible if a person believes!"  Looking forward to my long bike ride tomorrow.  Keep moving forward! Ironman 70.3 training...don't stop! Not to mention I've got to build up my endurance of being on that bike seat by May 7th! Century ride (100 miles) on the Natchez Trace! Can't wait! 

MUAH, D

Spring Forward..............

Well, that was a short weekend! Maybe partly because we had to spring forward and lose an hour of sleep or maybe because I was pretty busy all weekend.  Either way I'm feeling the need for a nap!

I love this time of year where it's still light when I leave work but I sure hate the 1st week of adjusting from the hour lost from springing forward.  I might have to take a lil power nap right here in my office for 10-15 minutes before my lunch break is over.

It was a busy weekend even with no races! First weekend I've had in several weeks where I was not racing.  My plan was to work in my yard, but mother nature didn't let that happen.  We got hammered with rain starting on Thursday.  By Friday morning roads were closed and flooding was happening everywhere.  So I decided to sleep in on Saturday morning and not go by any schedule.  A couple of my running friends wanted me to meet them to run, but I declined.  I didn't want to have to be any where at a certain time.  Seems that is all I've done for weeks and it gets old.  You need to take a break from time to time and change up your schedule to not get bored.  So I woke up at my normal time and laid there until I went back to sleep.  I didn't get up till like 6:45 am which is LATE for me. I know some of you are reading this saying ... CRAZY.. ha   I just can't sleep late.

Anyway, after I had coffee and lounged around a little I decided it was time to go get in a light run.  I had not ran any during the week!  I walked 2 miles earlier in the week as part of my recovery from the 50K but had done no running.  I was giving my legs a break.  So I headed over to the park close to my house where there is no traffic or dogs to contend with.  My running friend was there and actually texted me as I was leaving my house asking where I was at.  She had started at 6 am and was already several miles ahead of me.  We ran 1 1/2 loops together for her to finish her 15.  After she left I debating trying to get 10 miles of running in but my legs said NO.  So I stopped after 8 run miles and then walked 2 miles.  My sciatic is back acting up badly along with just kind of still being fatigued after the 50K.  I don't have a marathon coming up anytime soon so I knew in my mind it's ok to take a break.  You don't have to pound out tons of miles week after week.  It's good for your body to take a recovery week.  You certainly don't want to overtrain.  Overtraining is when your training load exceeds your ability to recover and adapt.  Fatigue sets in and you see performance drop.  I will say overtraining is an individual thing.  My overtraining level will be different than yours so you can't compare to your friends.  I may need rest after a marathon and others may not.  WE are all DIFFERENT.  You do want to recognize the signs early and accept that you must train less and let your body recover.  You may need to lower your mileage or run at a slower pace.  It's extremely hard to accept mentally, however if you can do it, you will actually be doing yourself a great benefit.  When I got home my husband went to get pine straw.  The rain had stopped temporarily.  So before taking a bath I pulled weeds out of the flower beds around our pool area and then put out the pine straw.  I was whooped by this time.  I took a long bath and tried to take a short 10-15 min power nap because we were scheduled to keep 3 of the grand kids later.  Boy they were full of energy! The soon to be 2 year old thinks she can do everything her older sisters do.  It's amazing to watch her.  They have a huge set of stairs at their house and she can go up an down then as fast as they can.  She doesn't miss anything. hee hee

They are so much fun! 3 little blondes!

After church on Sunday it was beautiful! The sun was out so I called up my training partner and said, "how about a 30 mile bike ride?".  Of course she said yes so off we went.  It was fabulous! So many people were out on the trace.  I'm sure most people were just happy to have a day with no rain and sunshine!  We had a great ride.  I couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather.  And honestly it just felt so good to be on the bike for a long ride.  No race, just fun. :>)

Ah and then it's MONDAY all over again! Monday is swim morning so on Sunday night I have to get my work clothes ready and my bag in my car.  I take my shower at the gym and get dressed at the office.  NO time to drive back home and get ready and be ON time to work.  This morning I wanted to do some swim drills.  I've gotten away from doing them and here lately I've been watching and reading tons of info on swimming.  One common thing I keep seeing is the importance of swim drills.   I've read where even the best swimmers still do drills.  The reason being that a good technique is the best way to save energy while swimming and in a TRI you don't want to spend all your energy during the swim portion of the race.  You need energy for the LONG bike ride and LONG run.  Yes, endurance in swimming is important, but from what I've read you can shave off time by developing an efficient stroke more so than you can by cranking out huge yardage every time you go to swim practice.  So today I wanted to get back to the basics.  I knew to do that that I would need to get at the opposite end of the pool away from my swim buddies.  See when I'm by them that crazy person inside my body says to just swim and swim and swim... forget drills... you need to keep swimming and try to stay up with them.  I know it's crazy, but I'm sure you experience it with something in your life.  We tend to measure our ability by how others are doing and we really are only in competition with ourselves.

I'm sure Warren wondered today why I was way away from everyone else in the pool.  I did 500 yards of 3 different type drills.  I took it slow and easy and tried to just focus on technique.  When I was done with drills I swam 1,000 yards freestyle followed by 250 yards of cool down for a total of 1,750 yards.  I've been doing 1,500 - 2,000 yards each time I go, but I've just been swimming and swimming.  I was shocked when I got out of the pool and looked at my stats on my watch.  It beeped "new record" which totally surprised me.  I swam my 1,000 yards after going my drills in the fastest time I've swam 1,000 yards! WOW!  Now I'm not sure it was the drills or just a good day today, but you can bet ya bottom dollar that I will continue doing drills and see where this goes.  See as a triathlete I have three disciplines to train for and making the most of my swim time is critical. There are dozens of drills to help you learn proper stroke technique.  Here are just a few stroke drills that will get you started and help you achieve an efficient stroke.

1.  The Catch-up Drill, 2. The Fingertip Drag Drill, 3. The Fist Swimming Drill, 4. The Kick on Side Drill, 5. One Arm Drill

Well, I didn't get a nap at lunch! I opened my little frig in my office and no turkey.  So I had to make a run to the grocery store.  Now let's see if I can make it till 5 pm without nodding off. :>)  My training partner told me that we could add a coutdown to our Garmin watches.  It's so cool! These dang watches are so smart.  195 days to Augusta, Ga.!

Hope your training is going well.  Love this quote:

Have a bless day! D

JUST KEEP SWIMMING

Some typical Dory wisdom: she just starts moving her mouth and good stuff comes out, either funny or wise. This time, it was wise.

Everyone loves the movie Finding Nemo.  Often when I'm swimming and my arms are about to fall off, I hear the statement above loud and clear...  JUST KEEP SWIMMING. 

Boy Tuesday was tough after my weekend of doing the 50K trail run.  Normally we swim on Monday, Wednesday and Friday but, the pool was closed on Monday which was probably a good thing cause my body was still sore from Saturday's trail run.  

Tuesday morning I was still feeling fatigued so decided to just swim easy.  Now I'm NOT saying I normally swim hard and fast .... I'm just saying that Tuesday was an easier pace that normal.   I also brought my GoPro and decided to film a little. You can't see yourself when swimming and really you may think your keeping your head down or that your doing the proper high elbow stroke, but in reality you may not.  I remember when I first started swimming Warren would tell me constantly... get that head down.  Took me months of swimming to improve on that.  I still have tons of improving to do in all areas, but it's getting better.  I did an easy mile and usually that's 35 laps and 1,100 strokes!  When I say laps I mean down and back to be 1 lap! Go try it.. it's FUN. :<>) Here's a little short video that I took:

I'm really glad I took the video.  Right off the bat I noticed that my feet aren't really splashing any.  I've read that your ankles should come out of the water from time to time if you are swimming with pointed toes and with your belly button tucked in.  You don't want your toes pointed to bottom of pool or your legs lagging.  That causes way too much drag and slows you down.  I also notice that I'm over rotating a little to much.  This also slows you down.  Swimming properly is TOUGH especially when you didn't learn to swim until you are 49 years old.  LOL 

I won't back down!  I'll keep pushing and moving forward. It's 6 months till Ironman 70.3 Augusta, Ga., so I've got time to improve and get better.  I'll be taking my GoPro more so I can see if I'm making improvements as the months fly by.  It's also water proof so next time I think i'll get some footage from under the water.   

Happy training to you whatever you are doing...swim, bike, run, walk, jog, ..... have FUN! I do!  D

"Rise up, Take courage, and DO IT!" Ezra 10:4

MS50 50K Trail Run 3-5-16

Finisher Medals

Where do I even begin.....  For the past 3 weekends in a row I've had a race of some kind some where..... so this was my 4th weekend in a row to race!  And let me just say that it is also the 2nd race within the same week.  I did a half marathon on Sunday (start of week) in New Orleans and then 5 days later on Saturday (end of week) I'm did a 50K!  That's 44.1 race miles in a week.  For some of you that's not many however, for me that's a record.  I've never had that many race miles in a week in my whole 10 years of running.  I actually looked back today to see what kind of miles I did during the week leading up to the 50K last year and I only did 3.1 miles of easy jog/walk 4 days before the race.  Basically I had fresh legs last year on race day!  Boy did I wish I had done that this year! 

Going into the race I had been fighting a sinus issue for about 2 weeks and just hadn't felt my same old self.  My friends know that I normally suck it up on race day and try to do my best and that was my goal for Saturday.  I never sleep well the night before a race and 4am sure came early.  I got up as quietly as I possibly could without waking my husband as I do every day when I get up to run or go swim.  I better have everything laid out in the bathroom or else I just do without cause there is no turning on the lights in the bedroom to look for stuff.  You don't wake a sleeping bear. LOL   So I was up and off within 30 minutes.  I meet Kathy and Sunshine at 5am and we drove on in to the race site together.  It was a cool morning in the 40s.  I wore a long sleeve over a short sleeve so I could shed it later as the day warmed up.  It was dark but by the time the race started at 6am it was beginning to get daylight.  We grabbed a picture with Kim & Amie at the start line.  They were going for 50 miles! 

Girls at Start Line

The first loop which is 12.6 miles went fairly well.  Sunshine took out like a speed demon and we didn't see her till around mile 5 or 6!  I could tell she had fresh legs real quick!  Kathy and I both had done the same races the past 3 weekends so we were both not feeling the same get up and go as Sunshine.  Our total time for the first loop was 2:32 which wasn't too bad.  We knew we needed to pace ourselves slower than a regular marathon to make the 31 miles.  Yes, I agree with those that say trail running is easier.  It is easier on your body as far as the surface you are running on but all the maneuvering around obstacles makes my whole body sore.  If I ran more on trails and not just 1X a year, it might be easier.  However, with my training schedule right now...there is no time to practice on trails.  

Kathy & Stan crossing some mud

Oh and I forgot to mention that I forgot to lay out my chest strap for my GoPro camera so I carried it in my right hand for 6 hours! grrrrr I will never do that again.  My arm was so sore yesterday!  I did however get a couple of good pictures and a few cute videos on the trail.  

 

The second 12.6 mile loop wasn't as fast as the first but we were still staying strong.  Our time was 3:04.  We also took time at our cars during this time to change socks, some changed shoes, eat a peanut butter sandwich, go to the bathroom and stretch.  So the 3:04 wasn't the actual time we were running on the 12.6 mile loop.  The race clock just doesn't stop when you stop to take a break.  It's still running even when we weren't. 

ME

After two big loops we only had one more loop to go! A short loop of 6 miles.  Frank and Krista had told us they would run the last loop with us and they were waiting at the cars for us along with my neighbor Pam.  They had all done the 20K (12.6 mile) loop.  You had the option of choosing the 20K, 50K, or 50 mile distance at the race.  At this point I was wishing I had just done the 20K distance.  My legs were toast and my stomach was not feeling well.  I was very nauseated.  Every time I tried to drank something or eat after the 2nd loop, I was hit by that horrible feeling that I was going to be sick.  I've never done that in a long distance race so to say it was an uneasy feeling is an understatement.  I honestly don't know if it was all the racing my body had done lately, the heat (it warmed up fast once the sun was out) or if it had something to do with my sinus issue cause they were draining like a river the whole time I was running.  Whatever the reason was, my last 6 miles were the hardest 6 miles I've ever done in my life.  

I tried to eat a snickers before going out on the last loop.... it didn't help! 

We started out with our friends and I tried to jog as much as possible but I had no jog left in me.  So I ended up walking A LOT!  I felt bad cause the others would not leave me.  I felt like I was holding everyone back.   I have the best friends ever because one time I had to stop and I wanted to puke my guts up for days and they just stopped and waited on me.  I was so very glad to see that finish line!  I really don't even know how I managed a smile for the pictures because I felt like crap.  I think it was the sheer feeling of joy from being finished.  Our 6 mile loop time was 1:36 so yep.. that's basically walking 6 miles! It does include the time at our cars after the 2nd loop also so not total run time.  However, there was little jogging and several mud holes to weave through but also a lot of walking.  

Kathy and I finishing.. can you tell I'm HAPPY!

So my total time was 7:13:43 for the 50K (31 miles) which is a PR.  I can hardly believe it!  Our time last year was 7:20 and last year I felt so good during and afterwards.  This year is a different story so I can't believe I beat my time.  I do not want to even think about running for a couple of days.  I did some walking yesterday to loosen things up but no running.  I will say that I'm not sore like after a marathon where every time you go to sit down or get up you wish you had handicap bars to grab on to.  I'm sore around my ankles really bad where my feet rolled several times on obstacles on the course.  It hurts to move my feet around in circles all the way up my shins & calves.  And my upper body is extremely sore.  Probably cause I tend to tense up when on the trails due to the fear of falling and breaking a bone.  I tried to be really careful during the race with the ironman coming up in September.  It can be really dangerous on some parts of the trail and you must be extremely careful or else fall.  I'm so glad I didn't fall.  My right foot did catch a tree root one time and I went airborne but caught myself before my face planted in the dirt.  The girl behind me cheered and said, "nice save".  I just wanted to cry.  It jerked my entire body when I caught that root.  I have a friend that fell like 8 times so even though she was planning on doing the 50 miler she quit after 17 miles.  She has several big races planned for this year and it just wasn't worth the risk of getting hurt for her to continue.  I would have done the same thing if I had fallen that much. 
  

We did it! 31 miles baby! Ultra Marathoners 

Lots to wash!

So that's a wrap for another race.  I do not plan to run or bike this week.  I will only swim and let my legs recover.  I ended the week with 50.6 total run miles so I deserve a break. :>)  Oh remember the girls I mentioned in the beginning of this post? They did finish their 50 miles!  I'm just in awe of them. They did awesome.  I'm proud to call them teammates! Go Team Run4TheKids!  

Hope your training is going well.  Remember a mile is a mile no matter how fast or slow!  Spring is almost here so get out and enjoy this beautiful weather.  

Until next time.... D