Baby, its cold outside!

Baby, it's cold outside!  Or it's 70 degrees, or 30 degrees, or 50 degrees...seems like Mother Nature is going through her own 'personal summers' if you catch my drift.  Regardless of the indecision of weather, it is most definitely dark outside!  And the fact that the sun sets at 5pm really starts to wear on me.  The temptation of hibernation runs deep inside me.  All I want to do during this time of year is sleep!  It is a challenge to get outside in the cold/darkness to run a few miles when the couch looks so comfortable! 

I would love to say that I've figured out the recipe to combating my overwhelming need to hibernate, but I'm still working on it.  My initial solution is two fold 1)Vitamins/Supplements 2) A good kick in the head.  So, in reference to Vitamins and Supplements, I realized this morning that I really need to be vigilant on these.  I have a wonderful co-worker who charmingly nags me to take my vitamins and I should really take advantage that she loves me enough to nag me (Thanks Candice!).  I'm always a tad anemic, so I've had to implement iron pills into my routine.  It is probably time to add in some Vitamin C as well.  Regardless, time to chemically enhance my mood a little!

In reference to the kick in the head, I just need to suck it up and get over it.  Yes, its dark outside, yes I feel lazy.  Too bad.  One of the many good things about doing Team in Training is the accountability that comes along with it.  I have committed to this and many of you have monetarily invested in my ability to succeed.  Rain, Cold and Darkness....Time to suck it up and make you all proud!

Surf N Santa 10 miler!

Peer pressure can be a wonderful thing!!  Thankfully, I had pressured my friend Nicole to run this past weekend's Surf N Santa 10 miler with me!  We were decked out in our red and white outfits, complete with candy cane headbands and a garland necklace!  I ran this race last year and have found it to be one of my favorites.  It isn't crowded and the atmosphere is a lot of Christmas fun.  Everyone has on jingle bells!  It was a beautiful brisk day and overall I enjoyed the heck out of this race!

I'm a big fan of the saying 'You have to run your own race'  but I've found over the years that sometimes you have to run someone else's race.   And this race was one of those times!  The most important thing to me was that Nicole enjoyed it.  She had run a half marathon within the past month that didn't go perfectly and she had admitted that she needed a good race.   So, we literally took everything in stride and tried to make the stars align in order to have that good race.  

I'm going to take a moment to expand on the star that is 'The fun race outfit' and talk about how it can and can't align.  The pros and cons of wearing a fun outfit for a race can literally be weighed throughout the duration of your race.  The pros are always high in the beginning while you are standing in your coral (look how cute we are! oh how fun! we are so creative!) and then the cons seem to get pretty high around mile 3 (sooo uncomfortable, how annoying, why does this thing keep falling off).  I was pretty close to losing it around mile 2 as the wind blew off my headband and the garland scratched my neck.  Thankfully, we found some extremely cute little girls at a water station who were more than happy to take our accoutrements off our hands! 

My only hope is that when the pictures come out, there is least one picture where we are running like gazelles in our garland getup with an effortless smile, hair blowing in a light breeze and looking beautiful while doing it! This is normally an area where the stars NEVER align for me.  So please, don't expect me to be looking my best in any of the pictures that get posted on this blog!!  Lets face it, you are all going to see a lot of clenched Megan smiles throughout 12in12in2012!!

Regardless of our costumes, the race was wonderful and it was probably the most fun 10 miles I've done in a while!   And as it turns out, some of my favorite races are the ones where I run someone else's race.  A big thanks goes to Nicole for bending to peer pressure and allowing me to run with her!

Run wherever you 'are' - physically and mentally!

This past weekend, I traveled to Wellfleet, Cape Cod to spend Thanksgiving with my husband's wonderful family.  I've never been to the Cape before but had heard of it's beauty, so a part of me was excited to see it by foot.  My long run mileage was set at 8 miles this weekend and I knew it would be a challenge to get the mileage done while staying in a new place.   The 'out of my normal routine' questions come up....Where do I run?  How far?  Will it be safe?  Do I need to bring water?  What type of weather?  Running where you 'are' can be very daunting.  It is amazingly easy to put aside your running while on vacation.  I can always think of a million excuses to skip my run.
   
So, in true Natter fashion, I thoroughly researched the area and found a 'Rails to Trails' run that actually started in Wellfleet!  Perfect!   Everything had fallen in line and it couldn't have been more perfect! And although the weather was gorgeous and the trail was beautiful, I had a very hard time settling into my run.  My mind was bouncing around on a million thoughts....on our visit, my family back in AL, a friend that was about to go into labor, the wine I drank the night before and all the while realizing that the majority of this trail was uphill!! I was NOT in a good place.  And then I thought of the reason I am running this year.  Stories of people affected by Leukemia/Lymphoma scrolled through my mind....my Uncle Pat,  a new friend who bravely shared her story of losing her husband, an incredible female Lieutenant in the Navy, a man on our team fighting everyday, and another man who told us of losing his son at our last training run. 

Perspective.

So, I stopped for a bit.  I re-grouped.  I let everything else go out of my mind.  I became present in each mile and in each step.  Lets not make this into a fairy tale....it still wasn't great!  But, it was meaningful to me.  This won't be the last run that I'll have to do in a strange place but my lesson  learned is to run where I am.  Both physically and mentally. 

‘Friends Made’ and ‘Lessons Learned’ in Puerto Rico!!

I traveled this past weekend to Puerto Rico with my wonderful friend Jacelyn in order to run the Divas Half Marathon!!  This race is not part of my 12in12in2012, so I was considering it a training run.  This was either my 7^th or 8^th half marathon (I should probably figure that out!) and you would think that I would have learned a few things by now!!!  Let’s start this entry with the ‘Friends Made’ part and then go into lessons learned!! 

There was a great group of 8 ladies down there!!  Jacelyn and I roomed with two fantastic women, Holly and Christina.  By the end of the trip, we were close enough to stand up for each other, check in on our emotions and obviously run together!!  Now, I’m pretty picky about running partners and I’ll be honest in that I was a little concerned about running with gals that I didn’t know very well.  A runner’s pace, running etiquette and overall attitude is actually very personal and important.  If you are lucky enough to find a fantastic running buddy, you’ll find that they build you up, entertain you and push you all at the same time!!  And of course, you do the same for them!!  I was very lucky that my new 'Friends Made' magically filled the position!!  So, huge thanks to Holly who sprinted ahead many times in order to take excellent pictures as well as keeping a positive attitude!  And another gigantic thanks to Christina, who I am eternally in debt to for sticking with me through a not so wonderful half marathon and making me smile the entire way!!  You girls are wonderful and I feel so lucky to have been there with you!! On to lessons learned...

Evidently Puerto Rico is a hilly place!  Who knew?  Turns out it is also hot and humid.  Pretty sure I knew this one but probably should have considered it!  While my training for this run had been close to nonexistent the two weeks before (thanks go Lasik surgery and moving my husband to DC), I truly thought that I had a good 10 miles in me.  Unfortunately, I think it was only a good 8 miles!  And they were a great 8 miles with beautiful scenery and wonderful company!  I hardly noticed the heat, sun and steam rising from the pavement!  But then things went downhill and not literally.  Literally, the race continued to be mostly uphill!!

Lesson 1 Learned: Evaluate the course elevation/hills and train appropriately.  I have made a promise to do this for every 12in12in1012 race!!

Lesson 2 Learned: Know your conditions and train appropriately.  Lesson 2 really stems from becoming overheated during this race.  At one point, sweat literally streamed off my visor when I looked down.  While sweating is good, losing that much is definitely a trouble sign.   While I’m not sure how to have trained in ‘hotter’ weather, I could have easily run indoors more in order to train in an environment closer to race environment.

Ah…well.  Lessons are learned for good reasons and good friends are made for life!  Therefore this race’s purpose is complete!  Onto the next race!  Next is Surf N Santa 10 miler in Dec with Nicole Hendrick!! 



First post for 12 in 12 in 2012!

This is my very first blog post...EVER!  I've never tried this before but I believe this is a very good cause to do so. 

A neighbor suggested that I blog about my challenge to run 12 half marathons in 12 months in the year of 2012 while raising $12,000 to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through Team in Training (TNT).  I plan to be as candid with you as possible and just keep everyone up to date with how I'm doing in regards to fundraising, training and life!

So, here goes!  As of today, I have helped raise $2,920 of my goal of $12,000 for LLS!!  I'm so excited to have done this much so far!  I've been amazed by everyone's generosity and support!  It has been a little difficult to reach out and ask people for money, but I have a few cheerleaders who keep helping me to go outside my comfort zone!  I'm sure that as time goes on, I'll call those folks out in order to thank them properly.

My reason for doing this challenge is two fold and started out selfishly.  I just wanted to be a consistent runner throughout 2012.  I have run 7 half marathons and 2 marathons, but unfortunately I burn out right after the event and I stop running.  I felt that I could do better and could push myself harder.  I am not a self proclaimed 'runner'.  I am not a gazelle.  I don't think I'm very good at running!  There are times that I most definitely dread running and there are times where I question why I keep going back to it!  I guess the answer is that I really enjoy that rare occasional moment where your body is in sync and a smile uncontrollably breaks out on your face!  

But while coming up with the reason to better myself personally, I realized that I could just help make the world better!  Cancer is something that touches us all. My Uncle Pat had been fighting Leukemia since 2007 and is thankfully in remission!!  But the thought of losing him is devastating, the thought of losing anyone is devastating.   I realized that TNT was the 'something' I could do to make the world a little better, maybe even make my family a little better.  I'm excited to help raise a little money to give people the chance at a little more time with their families. 

I hope that you will continue on this year long journey with me.  Even more so, I hope that you will take a little time and a little of your money to contribute to LLS!  The link is on the right side of this page!