The little engine that could (Austin)

So, naturally I am the last of the three to share my running adventures with you all.  I have accepted the fact that I procrastinate and I will not try to hide it.  With that being said, I am not entirely sure how I developed my love for running.  I have been an avid runner from a young age, however, unlike most children and teenagers who grew up learning to run on a track or cross-country team, I just picked it up as a hobby.  I dabbled in softball, basketball, tennis, and even cheerleading (yikes!), but team sports were never my thing.  Running just....was.  I even attribute my career choice to my love for this healthy activity.  About 3 years ago I finally decided to find a purpose to all of this nonsense cardio.  I never ran more than a 5k when I decided I was going to sign up for a half marathon.  The ING half marathon was in Atlanta in March of 2009 and I jumped on the training bandwagon 3 months before.  I trained without missing a run up until the day of the race (which just so happened to be in the middle of my spring break), and I ended up not competing.  What was I thinking?! So here I was with all these miles under my nike-fanny-pack-water-bottle belt, and no half marathon t-shirt to show for it.  3 months later I was registered for a full marathon.  I put my heart, soul, time-management, knees, 2 pairs of Mizuno renegades, and too many wine-free college weekends, into training for 26.2 miles.  The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Marathon was without question one of the top 5 best experiences I've ever had!  I've never seen a community show more support than the residents of Jacksonville did that day.  I am not sure Austin will hold a candle to Jacksonville, but with two bona-fide training partners, it's about more than the race itself this time.  So I will do my best to suck it up over the hills of Virginia....I will be the little engine that could and focus on the feeling of accomplishment that comes with 26 miles 385 yards.  Bring it on Austin! :)

Pollyanna Principle (Lindsey)

Everyone loves to hate Ms. Pollyanna Whittier. Well maybe they don't hate her since she comes from a popular book series but be honest, she is kind of annoying with her uber positive outlook. Well after the week I've had, there isn't any other way I could have moved forward without a Pollyanna positive outlook. My first week of training and I was on the couch for 2 days with a nasty cold so my short runs didn't happen. Then Zach and I hit the road to go on vacation for a few days at Ocracoke Island. The weather was quite depressing, steady rainfall if not torrential 99% of the trip. The 1% that it wasn't raining was spent on my long run (6 miles). It was on the cusp of storming so the winds were brewing and there was humidity (my favorite). It was not a week to get you motivated to run your first marathon... however, this is what I thought of my week (with my rose colored glasses): Yes, I got sick. However, I ran the week before so I don't feel like I totally missed out. Maybe this also means I won't get sick later when the training really counts. My six mile run turned out ok. Zach ran with me and didn't make me feel like the slowest person on earth so that was nice. Plus I'm a big fan of head winds. Yes they blow into you and it makes it harder to run but when it's 100% humidity outside, they are heaven sent. Also, this weekend was a wake up call that said, "hey even though the weather is horrible, you still need to get out there and train lady!" So "hats off" to Pollyanna. I think I'll be relying on that positive mojo to get me through this... that and some good friends. :-)

144 days to go
L

Seven Slow Miles on a Sunday (Heather)

One of my favorite things to do on the weekend is to drink coffee in bed while watching Food Network. If I go to bed early enough, I will actually set my alarm to wake up so that I can do this. This is also how I know that I am old(er), because 5 years ago I would sleep until 10 or 11 every chance I could get. After spending so many hours over the past few years in the hospital, I relish the opportunity to stretch my legs and wiggle my toes against the sheets- beeper off, no one asking me to make a decision. It’s just me and my coffee cup watching Giada chop onions.

How does this relate to running? Well, because when you train for a half or whole marathon, your whole weekend revolves around getting your long run in. And this usually means less coffee/Food Network time for me, because the longer I stay in bed, the less likely those running shoes are getting laced up over my sheet-loving toes. Especially when I don’t have anyone waiting on me to run with early in the morning. This past weekend, I had a work obligation on Saturday so I had to put off my 7 mile run until Sunday. Austin ran on Saturday and Lindsey was at the beach. Which, by the way, I was so very happy NOT to be running on /at/near the beach. Along with that hill in my neighborhood, I also HATE running at the beach. This past April, 3 of my friends and I got the same vacation week off together (which was a miraculous feat in and of itself) and rented a house together in the Outer Banks. This also happened to be about 5ish weeks before the ½ marathon I ran with Lindsey and our friend J in Williamsburg. J was one of the friends with me in the OBX, and was the only reason I actually got any running done in that week. It was windy and hot and I was the biggest baby during all of our runs. “I hate this,” “I’m hot,” and “My feet hurt” were only a few of the things that I whined about during our runs. During our long run (which was 8 miles), we ran out of water and stopped at a roadside gas station and asked to drink water straight out of their bathroom faucet. For anyone that knows me, that means I really was about to die. Anyway, looking forward to your beach post, Lindsey J

So I managed to drag myself out of bed on Sunday morning and drove to one of the flatter places in C-ville to run. And I did my 7, although very slowly: 1 hour and 16 minutes. I am not, and likely never will be, a fast runner. I wish I could blame it on my height (I am short!), but one of my other sisters is an inch taller and about 2-2.5 minutes faster per mile. The speed gene I did not inherit… but persistence I did! And on that note- goodbye week 2!

-Heather

Week 2 (Heather)

When I first started running, I could not run further than a mile on a treadmill in the air-conditioning. In fact, I refused to run outside and could not imagine why other people would choose the hot Georgia sun and lack of bathrooms (not to mention the beating that pavement puts on your joints). I could easily be talked out of running… and very rarely was it to do some other type of physical exercise. Just the mention of chalupas and a margarita was enough for me to leave my running shoes at home. When I started residency at UVA, I expected my treadmill to become dusty from lack of use. During intern year, most of my running consisted of up and down the stairs at the hospital, usually trying hard not to let the various books, papers and my stethoscope fall out of my white coat. Chalupas and margaritas still had their hold over me, but so did enchiladas, red wine and the Bachelor. Not just because I am a reality TV addict (which, I’m ashamed to admit, I am), but also because of the group of women I got to know when we met weekly to watch this show. One of whom includes my friend, Lindsey. The “L” in Halmarathon, the lover of horses, the taker of breathtaking photos, and the keeper of more hobbies than I can count. Linds is one of the most interesting people that I know (she is also a saint for putting up with her husband, one of my co-workers, but we won’t get into that… heart you, Z!). The first time we ran together, I remember hoping that I wouldn’t embarrass myself by trying to run 4 consecutive miles in her presence. Well, many miles later, we ran the Marine Corp 10K together, and we’ve run even further than that since then! I’m lucky to have such a running buddy in Lindsey, one who runs the same pace and who prefers to listen to an iPod while running instead of talking (thank goodness, because I have a hard enough time breathing without chatting).

I also have a new, live-in running buddy: my beautiful sister Austin. Although, to be honest, most of the time it’s me watching Austin run ahead of me. You see, Austin is taller and much, much faster than me. Which is fine, because that means I can keep her in my sight (I am an older sister, after all). Right now we are in Week 2 of Hal Higdon’s Novice I, so we had to run 3 miles on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We have a 1.5 mile loop in our neighborhood and there is one hill that we have to do twice that I HATE. Austin often runs this hill 3 times because she doubles back around to run with me since it’s often dusk when we run. She also runs slower so that we finish together. This means 2 things: (1) I slow her time down significantly and (2) she loves me.

The 3 of us haven’t been able to run together yet. I’m looking forward to Lindsey and I running behind Austin J As of the marathon Austin, I’m terrified. I’ve never run further than 13.1 miles in my entire life. The thought of running double that distance scares me! Here’s to hoping I can make it to the starting line. The next several months loom ahead of me and right now I’m not entirely sure how training will work out in the winter months. I am still a Georgia girl at heart and I can’t imagine actually running in the snow. We’ll see how this goes! In the meantime, I have 7 more miles to run this week… I’m pretty sure I can do that, right?

-Heather

and they're off!!

I've never been a "runner" despite running track in high school. It's always been a hobby of mine but I've never been competitive/serious about it until I met Heather (aka my running partner in crime). A couple of years ago we talked ourselves into running the Marine Corps 10k in Washington D.C. I had never run further than 3 or 4 miles and I believe Heather was in about the same boat. After that first 10k we were hooked. Our next hurdle was the Marine Corps Half Marathon in Fredricksburg and most recently a Half Marathon in Williamsburg this past spring. I remember walking away from the last half thinking, "I'm never going to run further than a half." To be fair that last half marathon was brutal. Even in March, Williamsburg is a humid mess aparently. It wasn't a good showing on my part and I didn't feel good about that race. However, a few months went by and Heather and I were having brunch one morning when she brought up wanting to run a full marathon. A full marathon has been a life goal of mine for quite some time and right then I decided that I wasn't getting any younger, it's about time to check this one off the list. Well it wasn't long after that that the stars aligned over the Austin Marathon. We both had time in our schedules that weekend, my little sister and my sister in law both live there so we have some lodging, Texas in February (glorious weather!)... it all just seemed to add up. A few days of contemplation and some words of encouragement, we were signed up. Heather's sister, Austin, joined in the fun as well. I mean honestly, how could you pass up running a race in a city that shares your name? Thankfully she has already run a full marathon so we have someone to ask for advice, etc.

We wanted to start this blog so family and friends could follow our journey of triumph and tears so please feel free to leave comments and/or send us some words of encouragement. We are going to need them!

Lindsey

154 days to go.