Being Uncomfortable & Why It's Okay

And 20 days later, here's an update for you.....while I haven't been writing, I have definitely been training!

Sharon & I ran our first 5k together two Saturdays ago with the goal of getting our PRs.  It was the Cupids Cup 5k in Dilworth and the course is one we're familiar with.  I lined up at the start line with Sharon, knowing that I wasn't going to keep up with her due to lack of sleep and an off-eating schedule, but I was going to push her through that tough 2nd mile with it's sneaky hills. 

We were off!  And honestly I wanted to stop running halfway up the 1st hill - it was the hardest I had pushed myself to run and normally I'm fine pushing as fast as I can go and stopping the minute I got uncomfortable.  I had already talked myself into stopping and then the thought came to mind: "When you push yourself, it's not supposed to be comfortable."  Most of you may already know this but it's something I had forgotten.  And once it stuck, I was keeping up with Sharon and even out-pacing her for a bit. 

A nasty cramp had me walking for about 20 seconds on the 3rd mile while Sharon took off for the finish line.  She crossed in a little over 27 minutes - I followed at 29.21 minutes (my first sub-30 5k!). 

We celebrated with our usual Snakebites!

But my weekend of being uncomfortable wasn't over yet.  The next day I joined the TNT group for my first cycling adventure in over a year.  There isn't any other way to describe the experience as other than terrifying.  I didn't put on the clip-in pedals (working my courage up for those) and I rode in the back while I figured out the gears on the new bike (many thanks to Kris Tarase for her generous loaning of bike!!!).  I found that I was okay on the flat stretch, a little tired on the uphill (note to self:  don't run 6 miles two hours before cycling for 2 hours) and practically in tears from my lack of padded shorts! 

But the most uncomfortable, even more terrifying than sharing the streets with cars, was going downhill.  Fear of losing control, of going head-first over the handlebars, of my brakes going out when I needed them, an innocent squirrel getting in my path - there was no end to what I feared.  Many thanks to Coach Mike, Marc and Mike R. for riding with my slow-self and for getting me down the hills without injury. 

Afterwards, the team received the greatest post-ride treat from our teammate Josh.  Josh is an ALL survivor himself and now a pharmacist, he was introduced to a young ALL patient named Buck.  They've grown very close and we were lucky enough to meet Buck and his parents after our ride.  He's adorable and funny and a typical little boy except that he has to go to chemo treatments once a month.  

Talking with my superstar mentor, Cat, as we hung out with Buck, I told her my recent thoughts on uncomfortableness and she brought the lesson home for me by pointing out how lucky I was to get to choose my uncomfortable activity.  I was not forced to go through chemically-laden treatments to save my own life nor do I have to inject my son with steroids at the ripe age of 3 years old.   My choice to be uncomfortable was for a greater cause and personal growth, but it was always my choice.  Lesson learned!

Hopefully the discomfort will ease soon as I gain a little more cycling confidence.  Sharon and I knocked out 10 miles on Friday night, relatively pain-free, and today I am back on the open road with the cycle team still terrified of traffic and too cowardly for the clip-in pedals. 

Give me a boost of confidence and donate now to my Team In Training campaign - it will help!!

Sharon & Stacey after Cupids Cup!

Post Race CarboCelebration!!!

Challenges

When I talk about Team In Training, I always use the word challenge.  You're not just signing up for an event, you're taking on a challenge to complete an endurance event and to help find a cure for cancer.  That word can intimidate some people.  There are people who would rather stay in their routine and go about their daily lives and are perfectly content with that.  And that's perfectly fine.

 I, however, am not one of those people.

I like challenges even when I fall short of them.  Sometimes I take on too many and am overwhelmed.  In the wake of losing my friend Gabby, I was convinced that every goal in my life had to fit into a one year time frame.  There was so much on this earth that she wanted to accomplish and she talked often of reaching her goals even as treatment after treatment failed.  I was inspired but obviously I did not make it to Everest Base Camp or finish my novel within those 12 months of losing her.  From that, I learned to focus and prioritize and I learned to be grateful for every minute that I had in this life to work towards completing my goals. 

So now I'm focused on completing my century ride challenge for Team In Training.  I am inspired by our newest Honored Patient Hero, Danielle Burgess who in 2009 was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia called Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia.  She started treatment the day after she was diagnosed and shed some tears for losing her beautiful, waist-long hair.  Then she decided to take on the challenge of beating this cancer with determination and a positive attitude.  She is responding well to treatment and I can't wait to learn more about this amazing woman. 

For my day to day challenges, right now, it consists of getting a run in this afternoon even though my carbs of choice last night consisted of nachos and Dos Equis (mmmmm).  And having just found out that my friend is not able to loan me a bike as promised, there's the challenge of finding wheels rather quickly.  I'm a little stressed but I know these are small challenges compared to what the 800,000 + blood cancer patients in this country are facing so I'll deal. 

If you're looking for a challenge, there's still time to join the Team- visit http://www.teamintraining.org/ for info!  Or if you'd like to help me complete my goal, visit http://pages.teamintraining.org/nc/ambbr10/ski. 

Thanks for reading!

The Banana Count

So I've been a stranger.  Sorry!  Sharon and I have both been taking it very easy the past couple of weeks - I think we both managed to run ourselves down pretty well so it's time to take a look at what our cross-training is and how we're handling our nutrition and sleep needs.  I know my habits are definitely out of whack so it's time to start looking at my menus and sticking to them. 

Speaking of food, do you ever wonder how many bananas athletes eat?  They're like our superfood and are good quick energy burst providers.  Incidentally, a medium banana has 27 g of carbohydrates. 

 I eat one a day - it adds up.

I realize that as a runner, I should be tracking my miles but I think I'll keep a banana count.  :-)