Motivation

My friend Caitlin recently asked for some motivation with her training. She is running her first half-marathon at the Nashville Rock N Roll race when Erin and I are running our first full, so big props to her! I gave her the usual motivation (self-accomplish, cool swag, drinking lots of beer after the race, etc).

This got me thinking about what my motivation was. What caused me, an average athlete and never a natural runner, to want to run 26.2 miles?!? I don't think there was ever a specific moment, it was probably more of a series of several events, but one day does stick out in my memory: Halloween 2010.

I should give you a side note here that explains I've pretty much always had thunder thighs and probably always will - it's just one of those things I should accept about my body, but that doesn't mean I won't try to get rid of them. (I'm convinced it's genetics. Just ask the women in my family...we are undefeated at leg-wrestling)

So, back to the story: Halloween was tons of fun - went out that night with a bunch of friends. I was dressed as Katy Perry in an Elmo T-shirt, short black shorts, and black boots (remember her sesame street debacle?) I was headed home and probably only 50 yards from my front door when I passed by a group of guys on the sidewalk. One of the guys reached out like he was going to touch me and yelled "oh look, it's Tickle Me Elmo!" Uhh, buddy didn't your parents teach you about personal space? You don't just tickle strangers! So of course, being the smart a$$ that I am, I jump back and say to him "I don't think so. I'm Katy Perry, not Elmo, so get it right." His little wolfpack gets quiet as he looks me up and down and in a very serious tone says "You don't have the legs to pull off Katy Perry."

Who says that to a stranger?!? I remember turning to go into my house and flipping him the bird as if I didn't care what he thought...but once in my room I immediately googled "marathon training plans." Haha! That rude guy has no idea how much he motivated me :)

Katy Perry and Pocahontas

Dependency and Accomplishments

I've recently realized just how dependent upon outside factors I am when it comes to having a good run. In my mind I need my $100 Brooks sneakers, my Nike cold weather pants,  my ipod telling me my pace and how many miles I have left, family and friends at the finish line cheering my name, my compression socks, comments on my blog, and various other things to allow me to have a good race. Last summer I took a vacation to Ethiopia and while I was riding a bus to a rural town I passed by a group of runners heading down the side of the dirt road. Most of them had no shoes. None of them had an ipod. Their pace was crazy-fast. I remember thinking now, those are runners. I am now at a point where I can appreciate those types of athletes, realize that they are light-years ahead of me in terms of physical fitness, and then put on my Brooks, ipod, and nike pants and go for a run. There's no shame in using the things I need to run farther and faster. Running is all about challenging yourself. Most of us will never win be elite runners, never win a race, and won't be sponsored by a running company...and it doesn't matter one stinkin' bit. Every time I go for my longest run or clock a new PR is a win in my book, and whatever gets me there is fine with me.

Throwback pic from Ethiopia. We were hiking in the Simien Mountains.

Speaking of wins...the past few days have thrown me a couple awesome personal accomplishments. On Saturday I completed my longest run to date...17 miles! I walked the hills, but it was a still a good run. REALLY sore hips the next day which is something I haven't experience before. Then, today I went out for a 5k and when I was finished my ipod told me that my average pace was under 9:00 minutes...heck yes! I did a fist pump in the air and some tourists looked at me funny :)

Update on my chocolate ban: I'm doing really well...haven't caved yet. It actually turned into a "no desserts at all" challenge. My place of employment is making it incredibly hard though. It seems like every other day there are extra cookies or brownies after a lunch meeting somewhere in the firm. We also have a monthly birthday party that includes 3 cake choices, and about 6 ice cream choices. I had a diet coke. No lie. And today I walked into the office kitchen to find this flyer posted:


A freakin' bake sale! Talk about temptation.



Race Fuel

I haven't tried too many of the different race fuel options that exist, but since I'm training for my first marathon I figured that grabbing some random bar/Gu/chew at a mile 20 pit stop might not be the best idea. Soooo...I bought an assortment and tried some out. On a 14-miler last weekend I squeezed some strawberry flavored Gu into my mouth and almost barfed.  I can't even fathom why so many runners are in love with that stuff. The texture is seriously gross. My friend Lindsey is a big fan of sport beans, which from what I can tell are Jelly Beans in a new package, so I think I'll try those out.

What do you prefer to eat during long runs?

In other food news, I ran and did a short weight-lifting session this morning before work, plus it's Friday so I figured I could treat myself to pizza for dinner. Somehow my dillusional mind convinced me that if I load up my pizza with a ton of veggies it will just negate the negative aspects of the dough and cheese. This is correct, no? Well, regardless it was delicious and I ate every bite of it in one sitting.


Feta Cheese, Olive, Spinach, Yellow Squash, and Green Pepper Pizza. Yummm!

 P.S. - Today is my mom's birthday...so big shout out to her :) I think I'll do a 17 mile training run in her honor. I hope she's sitting by the pool sipping margaritas and thinkin' of me while I'm out there (don't worry - she lives in Florida). Love ya Ma!


Mama Webb



Me vs. The Cupcake

On Sunday, a hint of spring had me out the door and on a long run. I felt so crappy about skipping a week of running. I really felt the whole training plan slipping out of my hands so I just knew that I had to go on my longest run yet: 14 miles. It was slow and painful, but definitely rewarding. Mile 9 put me on a trail at the top of a really big hill in Rock Creek Park and I had to walk for 25 minutes. By mile 12 my calves, ankles, and left hip were yelling at me...on the verge of screaming. Some foam-rolling, stretching, and icing helped, but I was still really sore for the next 24 hours. At least I know I worked hard, right?

So if you read my post yesterday you know that I have a hard decision to make. Beer or chocolate? What's gettin' the ax? Well, this is the conclusion I've made: although I can honestly say I'm more in love with chocolate than beer, I'm going to have to cut chocolate out of my diet completely (I've tried moderation...it doesn't work for me). Beer gets to stay, but only one night of the week, and no more than 4 drinks. This is soley for the purpose of not becoming a hermit crab and so that I can actually continue to socialize with my friends (which usually occurs at bars).

Giving up chocolate is going to be HARD. I'm talking like just as hard as running 26.2 miles. My boss literally laughed at me when I told her I wasn't eating chocolate for 2 months (she has witnessed me take candy from her desk every 3 hours for about a year now, so who can blame her?) Yesterday was the first day of my challenge and don't ya know...devil came a knockin' in the form of a free, home-made chocolate cupcake with chocolate hazelnut icing (an attorney in my office has a wife who likes to bake a lot, so he brings them in to share). What did I do? I'm not gonna lie...for a second my mind wandered to "well, maybe I'll start the challenge tomorrow," but then I went to the kitchen, walked right past the cupcakes and grabbed my carrot slices from the fridge. YES, I SAID CARROTS. Let it be know that I, Samantha Webb, addict of all things sweet and sugary, passed up a free cupcake and replaced it with carrots. Sam: 1 Cravings: 0. Boo-ya.