Time Sure Flies!

Let's see, since my last post.... my brother and I have run in the Monterey Half Marathon and I had to put a sick puppy to sleep. Really, that is about all the excitement that I have had.

Up EXTRA early for the half marathon

We had a slight SNAFU prior to the half. I guess the hotel forgot to 'fall back' for daylight savings time... we didn't notice and so we ended up getting ready for the race an hour early. The entire time we were getting ready, I was wondering why it was so dark and I was confused thinking we would be running in the dark (?). As we were going downstairs and out the lobby, people were dressed for running, but taking food and coffee upstairs (now we were really confused). At this point, I decided that I should go to the front-desk-people and ascertain the current time in Monterey. It was at that point that we confirmed we had indeed been duped.

Proof that Team Johnson got duped.

I had a good time - Brian was a little bit more focused.

Right now, I am working on a bunch of cute little wallet/purse/clutches a la Noodlehead (http://www.noodle-head.com/2010/04/gathered-clutch-tutorial.html) super duper cute gifts for girlfriends and female family members. After sewing 10 of them, I think that I've finally got it down and the zippers are starting to look really good. Pretty excited about that and they're all really cute. Check 'em out!

Here are 10 that I've made so far... they go quick. 

I think the hardest and most time-consuming part is the actual fabric selection.

My favorite: Heather Bailey Mendocino

TTFN

I ran my very first marathon ever!!!

Me. I finished 3,183rd :)

Well.... I kind of fell off the face of the Earth on here. Woops! and Sorry.

I finished in 5:08:01. Which is pretty good considering I stopped 3 times for my running buddy to take a potty break during the first 12 miles AND I stopped for a good 7-8 minutes to get my feet bandaged up so I could run the last10 miles.

The Nike Women's Marathon Expo. It was a ginormous cluster.

And we made it to Alcatraz :)

I guess the most important thing to post is that I successfully completed my first marathon! AND I did not seriously injure myself. I did stop at 3 separate aid stations in order to wait in line and sign in for Band-Aids, to get taped up, and to run off with Band-Aids to put on myself at a later time. I had 3 blisters on one foot and 4 on the other foot. (It was raining so my feet ended up getting wetter than I had anticipated - AND I did not put Body Glide on my feet which in hindsight may have been a super idea. I'll do this NEXT time.)

Yummmyy..... Best clam chowder ever!

I am officially 5 days out and my feet are finally starting to function normally again. The day after the marathon, you could tell which people walking through San Francisco had just run 26.2 miles. We were all walking incredibly funny - it was cute :)

I am happy to report that even though my furthest mile was 16 miles AND I trained almost exclusively on a treadmill (aside from 2 runs) due to Phoenix's excessive heat, I felt pretty good running San Francisco's hills. I mean I felt good.... my ankles: Now that is a separate story. I don't know why, but my knees were sore for 3 days and my ankles for 4.5 days. Hips: fine, Quads: fine, Glutes: fine, Calves: ehh fine I guess. Toes, feet, and ankles were beat down though.

Subtract 23 minutes and this was my time at #25

Subtract 23 minutes and this was my time at #24

And I think that is all for now. I am looking forward to a half marathon in Big Sur in the next 3.5 weeks! and then it is off to figure out what my 2nd marathon is going to be. I'm pretty excited b/c I am fairly certain I can shave off a good 30 minutes from my finish time.

Proof I finished: You don't get a shirt or necklace unless you cross the line!

P.S. I DID NOT CRY. I wanted to when we were lining up and I wanted to the say before when I picked up my packet at the expo. Happy. Proud. Content. :)

And I'm working on a new project for a friend who moved away:

xxoooo <3

Stomach Pains

Oh hi! It's me again... I have been on hiatus between work, training, life, and a very near and dear friend moving away I delegated less time to this blog than I had intended last week.

So as I have increased my mileage (anything over 12 miles or over 2 hours continuous running) I am finding that my stomach will cramp up afterwards and I will feel terrible. Much the way I would assume a Crohn's patient would feel. I have been doing much research online (yeah, I know) and am interested to see how a bunch of home remedies will work out for me. Also, people experience pain ranging from 'Runner's Trots' to ischemic colitis - which I am interested in, but do not feel I can self-diagnose at this point in time. Anyhow, I will then research at work tomorrow...

Does anyone out there have any other interesting or helpful ideas? I'm incredibly open to recommendations.

Things that I am interested in trialing:

1.) Making sure I get enough sodium. I sweat when I run. ALOT. I live in Phoenix, my treadmill room is routinely 90+ degrees. I had never really thought that I might be hyponatremic. I will definately invest in Powerade or Gatorade. I know I am not all that dehydrated because I feel dehydrated, but I'm still game, besides it tastes way better than plain water!

2.) Limit caffeine intake is another recommendation, but this is not a problem for me. I do not drink soda, coffee (maybe on Saturdays). So there may not be much hope for me there.

3.) I'm already not on any NSAIDs (ibuprofen etc).....

4.) Some doctors recommend to take Loperamide 2mg 30 minutes prior to running.... I might actually try this. This medication is over-the-counter and will slow the transit time in the GI tract.

5.) Eliminate lactose in the diet. Neonates will have cramping and other fun markers when they are lactose intolerant so this makes sense to me, however I do not really have any lactose incorporated into my diet for the most part.

6.) Eliminate stress. Yeah right. I wish.

7.) http://www.coolrunning.com/forums/Forum11/HTML/005260.shtml (This is a good runner's forum

Ok, I couldn't wait for professionally published literature. You can bet I'll be looking into these very soon:

Rehrer NJ, Janssen GM, Brouns F, Saris WH.Fluid intake and gastrointestinal problems in runners competing in a 25-km race and a marathon. Dept. of Human Biology, University of Limburg, Maastricht, The Netherlands.Int J Sports Med. 1989 May;10 Suppl 1:S22-5.

Up-To-Date: (AWESOME!!!!!!! Doctors and health care providers use this site very often)
http://www.uptodate.com/patients/content/topic.do?topicKey=~gvaTKHSBXABFQ

 Here I am after my 12 mile run this weekend. Hot 91 degree room, yes 3 sports bras. Glad that run is over. Ugh.

 

The Power of Music

I love how a song can bring up a memory from (and yes I can finally say this now) decades ago. Right now I am reminiscing with a Dashboard Confessional song 'Stolen' which came out in 2006. I was definately having the time of my life in Reno finishing up my residency, living with one of my best friends - my brother, running, working, and being free-foot and fancy! It amazes me when I am reviewing my run how my pace picks up when songs I love come on (even if slow BPM) just because I love the beat, the lyrics, or some fancy memory in the back of my mind is brought to the front.

Phoenix has cooled off the past two days! It has been soooo incredibly nice running outside, albeit a track, but I'm outside! I am choosing to run on a track for my long runs because I do not want to accidentally cheat myself out of any mileage. I am still in my building phase and I cannot afford to shortcut myself at any point.

Anyways, I have decided that I need to start updating with some pictures of me..... when I find cool things during my (outdoor) runs etc. Make this blog as awesome as my run-to-the-marathon is. This is me when I'm getting all fired up to go running at the college track near home. This is obviously an older picture: 1.) I have fake eyelashes on (from the wedding) and 2.) I am wearing long sleeves, something that no one in Phoenix can do this time of year or for the past 4 months. Hello Game Face.

Also I am going to be working on another quilt... No, the string quilt is not done yet but something has come up and that baby was not ready for the world. I will likely still finish it and get it to my friends, but sadly no rush order on that one. Also, one of my close girls is moving to Austin in the next couple of weeks so I need to get my tootsies moving on a going-away quilt for her. Really, this girl has been incredibly instrumental to the person that I have become and the professional that I want to be. I will miss her friendship and professional parallels so very much that I have no fear about staying in touch and I know that we most definately will!

Anyways, here's what I have planned out (but not this color scheme - above) and tonight's run is going to be 10 miles!! It's supposedly 96 degrees right now, as long as it cools down to 90/91 then I'm totally running outside. Woot!

Quest to Find the Perfect Sports Bra

This just isn't something you can do to yourself on a daily basis...

 Even though I have found two super great sports bras, I find that I continue to wear 2-3 bras at a time. There is still too much movement with 2-3 that I get a raw spot right on the front of my rib cage. It is quite painful and it really never heals as I'm running almost every day with one day off here and there (max 2 days/week). It's awesome, I'll have to post a picture of my pretty scars sometime. Maybe another day.

This is cute, but I'm sure that I would probably injure myself. 

 

I have mentioned the Last Resort bra, but my other favorite is the 3-Reasons bra. Both are from Title Nine. I find that I put the 3-Reasons on first and then the Last Resort on second. The Last Resort bra is longer, like I had mentioned, but it still rubs on the top portion near my neck once it gets wet from >1 hour of running in the 90+ Arizona heat. This is somewhat new to me as I've always had lower-cut bras that never hit me near my neckline. Really though, it is incredibly distracting when you're really just trying to push through to the last 2 miles of your long run and for this reason, I will always wear a separate bra underneath the Last Resort bra.

OK, off to go run 5 miles. I can only procrastinate for so long. Seriously though, if someone could just build a contraption that would squish those puppies down for zero movement and no chafing (I do hate that word), I would pay $$ for it. It would be awesome.

Does anyone out there in the blog-o-sphere have any good recommendations on a run-proof, water-repellant, comfortable, and affordable sports bra? You know, the kind where you only have to wear one at a time?

Here's to hoping some engineering student figures out the ultimate answer to this problem.

P.S. On another note, I just found this website: It seems pretty cool.
http://www.fitsugar.com/tag/running
I tried out one of their recommendations for side aches: Exhale when your left foot hits the ground instead of your right (because exhaling when your right foot hits, it pulls your liver down (makes sense) while your diaphragm is trying to push up and that poor little ligament gets strained (also makes sense)). I didn't get a side ache at all today. Maybe the real and true challenge will be tomorrow's 16 mile-er.

Blisters Smite Me: I WILL Conquer Them!

I am having a fight with three blisters in particular. One is a compression blister that doesn't really bother me much (on the ball of my right foot), but then I have two friction blisters on each of my second toes from two toes fighting whilst I am running. Owie.

After doing some research, I think that I am going to opt to individually tape the two toes causing the blister. I am not sure that I would like the feeling of Vaseline (which is another recommendation) because I'll be sliding around in my shoe.

Last night was my second longest run this week: 9 miles. Wasn't all that bad because it was intervals, which I love. Run an 800, then walk a 400 (complete each in the same amount of time).  This really seems to work for me both on the treadmill as well as street running b/c I can have mini-goals along the way. I must be an ADHD runner. ;) haha!

I am also starting to be able to tolerate drinking and eating while running. When I first started training, water didn't sit very well in my stomach and food made me almost keel over in pain and wretching.

54 more days until the big 26.2 - EXCITED!!!

Creative Motivation

I listened to an NPR Podcast tonight for my 4-mile run. This American Life. It was actually pretty interesting, about modern day, real life, super heros. The opening asked the listener if we would rather have the magical power of invisibility OR the power of flight. It was distracting for 4 miles. I was happy.

It only took about 1 mile to break in my ankle scab (treadmill road-rash) and then I didn't really feel it anymore. It's all red and puffy right now. NOT a good thing for a 3 day old wound. . . . it might not look ginormous, but I guess I have a low threshold for pain. It does not feel good.

My leg + war wound :(

On the sewing front, I am anxious to find a really, really cool modern-ish quilt-a-long. I really liked the zig-zag quilts, the string quilt, the mix tape, the new wave, and the pieced squares. What next??

My version of a zig zag quilt

 

 

 

My Mix Tape Quilt

My New Wave Quilt

My Pieced Square Quilt

First Post

I turned 31 this year. THIRTY ONE. Wow how time flies. I was supposed to have run a marathon by the time I turned 30.... SO I'm a little bit behind, but my 31 year old self is definately more motivated and I've got 55 days until 26.2 in San Francisco!! I wish I could have pink hair like my mini...

I've been training for my very first marathon for about 7 weeks and I thought that it is about time that I start writing some things down! I've been using the Nike+ website as my training regimen and it seems to be working fairly well, but I really, really need to re-calibrate b/c it is off by a good 1/2 mile by the end of an 8 mile run.

I have been training on the treadmill. Yes, a treadmill. Not entirely optimal, but at least I'm moving. I don't really have much of an option on this one as it is melt-your-face-off hot outside in Phoenix right now. This week my long run on Monday was 14 miles and then my next long run on Friday will be 9 miles. Goooooood times!


Things that make me happy today:

1.)  Body Glide for her: I am happy that I no longer have a scab where my sports bra attacks my ribcage and I'm thankful that I don't have to cry from pain while I am running.Thank-you Runner's World for that life-altering information and clinical pearl.

2.) Title IX Last Resort Bra: Oh hello bra that holds things in place! Sure I still will wear 2 sports bras, but that is simply because I am particular and refuse to have ANY bounce. This bra is neat b/c it's a little longer so it puts pressure on different areas than the standard bra. ALSO, it is much easier to get a front-hooking bra off when you're sticky and sweaty.

3.) Wool Socks PhD Lite: Like I mentioned, I started training for a marathon in July. IN PHOENIX. I am very interested in finding equipment that will work with my element. The element of sweat. I know that it sounds silly and backwards, but these wool socks are very good at keeping my feet dry and wicking sweat. many others have mentioned that they get 'no blisters' with these socks. I have gotten blisters, but they are pressure blisters, have nothing to do with being wet or sweaty. Quite the pleasant surprise.

Things that make me not-so-happy today:
1.) Still have healing wounds from where my sports bra has attacked both my spine and my ribcage.

2.) Dealing with my most recent idiot-moment: I thought I had hit 'pause' on my treadmill when I went to move my fan.... hopped unknowingly back onto my still running treadmill and proceeded to fall and ungracefully give myself a lovely piece of road-rash on my left ankle. Road-rash on an area that is supposed to be bendy is not fun. Crossing my fingers for a speedy recovery.

3.) Totally getting bored with staring at a wall for anything over 3 minutes :( Can't wait for AZ to cool down so I can go outside.

I'm also working on a few projects in the sewing room. I actually have a friend who just had twins (boy & girl) and then another friend who is soon to have twins (boy & boy) so I am pretty busy replenishing my stock. I was ahead a couple of quilts b/c I got super excited about a pattern and attempted to belt out a few! I really like the impact of these quilts (String Quilt), I'll likely add to it to make it a little bigger as I like medium sized baby quilts vs tiny, itty bitty play mats. I used this tutorial: http://www.filminthefridge.com/2009/04/27/a-string-quilt-block-tutorial-paper-pieced-method/ (with 7 inch squares)