Skating

Skating
A2A, 38 mile finish line; 2011

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Time to Switch Gears!


So I ran my first half marathon this past Sunday, and all of the training paid off - I came in a full 40 minutes faster than my original goal time of 2:45; and 10 minutes faster than my last minute goal time of 2:15. My finish time was 2:05:13!! I went into the training with the mindset of 'I just want to finish' - but at some point it became clear that simply finishing was not enough. I wanted to see what I was truly capable of. So I pushed myself really hard, and I'll admit - those last two miles were brutal!! But crossing that finish line ahead of my goal time was definitely a huge accomplishment! I had an upset stomach for two days but it was counteracted by the huge smile on my face. I made a decision. I committed to the training; and I exceeded my expectations. It was a beautiful thing.

Now it's time to switch gears, put running on the back burner, and focus on skating! I intend to keep skating for team Ezeefit Lite - I love being associated with some remarkable skaters and a product I actually believe in. My first skate race is in 24 days - The Apostle Islands Inline marathon! I did it last year and had a really great time! The town of Bayfield is beautiful, the course is wonderful, and I get to see a lot of my friends. I'm looking forward to all of that!! I am approaching the race pretty much the same way I did last year - with no pressure and no hard expectations. I hope to come in at or below my time from last year (1:40) but my primary goal is to have fun! I'm staying out there an extra day so I can spend more time with my friend Susan, and I'm really looking forward to the entire weekend.

The primary intent of taking up running as cross training was to maintain my conditioning throughout the winter. I was tired of gaining 10+ pounds every winter and spending the first part of skate season losing the weight and regaining my endurance and conditioning. I am happy to report that I was successful! I didn't gain any weight, and I've been out on my skates only 6 times this year; but I never had that feeling of starting over again. I didn't feel like there had been a few months in between skate sessions. I skated pretty strong and felt really good! So my plan worked!!! An added bonus was actually falling in love with running and now having 2 sports that I feel actively involved with. Win/win.

I'm quitting my job and my last day is next Friday (May 31st) and I'm going to take the month of June off. I will be training a lot during that time. I should be ready for Apostle with no worries. I intend to continue running as well; I will continue my Tue/Thur weight and running workouts, I'll skate 3x per week and I will also continue to do the Saturday morning long run. I don't really want to skate on the weekends if I can help it; the trail is way too congested and it makes me really tense. I'm hoping for weekday skates with fewer people on the trail! I skated 20 miles today, and the trail was relatively empty. I'm looking forward to that very much.

July I will probably do another running event; I won't be skating a race then. In August I'm doing the duathlon in St Paul: skating a half marathon then running a 5K. I'm pretty excited about that one. I think it will be challenging. After that is Northshore in September - then I'll probably switch back to running. I plan on running the Rock n Roll half in October; and of course I will continue to run throughout the winter again.

I think I can finally call myself an athlete; rather than a wanna be. My primary criteria was consistency. For too many years I was on again, off again and to me - a true athlete is consistently active. I feel that I have finally reached that point. Better late than never...

And so the countdown to Apostle has begun!!

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Taking Chances

 
 
This particular entry doesn't particularly pertain to skating. No, wait - yes it does. It does because it's about change, and making changes takes courage and confidence. Well, it just so happens that courage and confidence are two things I have gained through skating!
 
On Tuesday I handed in my resignation. I have no other job lined up, so I'm basically free falling into the next chapter of my life without a parachute. My husband gave me his blessing of course, I would never do something so drastic without his support. I've been unhappy for a very long time, ever since a sequence of events culminated in me arriving at this particular moment in time feeling completely burnt out and ready for a change. (I won't bore you with the details because I am trying very hard to let go of the negativity.)
 
I got my first payroll job in 2000 purely by chance; and I don't want to do it anymore. I don't want to sit behind a desk like the dude with the red stapler from Office Space. I want to wake up every morning looking forward to my job, not dreading it. I want to do something I enjoy, something I love - I just need to figure out what that is.
 
I would love to do something with fitness. Nutrition, exercise, etc. I love learning about it, I love sharing information and I love working with people. My hesitation comes from the disastrous experience I had in 2011 with Going Back To School.... (If you weren't reading my blog back then - basically I decided to go back for my associates degree in Human Performance...) It's been over a decade since I've taken any type of classes, I signed up for ONE class (English 101) and I couldn't even make it through the entire semester. I didn't even get to the good classes! That kind of crushed my spirits and my ambition. I know there are other ways of obtaining this knowledge and getting into this field - I just haven't fully explored them yet. But I need to.
 
2 years ago I had a moment where I wondered if I was capable of skating a half marathon. And then I took a chance; and I did it. And I gained confidence. Then I wondered if I could skate a full marathon - so I took another chance, and I did it; and I gained even more confidence. Now I'm two weeks away from running my first half marathon, and I feel stronger and more confident than I ever have in my life. Me, running a HALF MARATHON when a year ago I couldn't even run down the block... I'm scared yes - but my fear is always entwined with excitement; and I'm learning how to focus on the excitement until the fear fades into the background. I do this when I skate. I do this when I run; I will need to do this as I begin my new career path. Whatever that may be. 
 
My tentative plan is to take the month of June off - to focus on training for Apostle and clearing my head: do some research and see if I can figure out once and for all what I want to be when I grow up - before I'm retirement age....