July 2016

Freedom Is…

Anne Abbott works part-time for Team AMR, is a mother runner of three school-age daughters, and lives near Bend, Oregon. You can read her previous posts (including her amazing 5K transformation) here.

Here I am, sitting down in this comfy window seat overlooking the slightly grey Oregon coastline with a hot cup of coffee. So much has happened in the past week, and all of it has come full circle, from illness to the salvation running brought to what freedom really means for me.

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10 years ago, when I was 27, I had spent the last decade being chronically sick. I had just come through a really bad year—I had been in and out of hospitals, suffering through seemingly endless rounds of testings and treatments, going in and under for multiple procedures with no hope or fix in sight. The worst part was being an ocean away from my then three and one year old baby girls, facing life without the promise of a future to share with them, even leaving them love notes—just in case.

And then I found running. I stepped one foot in front of the other, one day at a time, over time, and all of a sudden all was well with the world… literally, for the next seven years. Running changed my life, putting me in remission—the daily exercise like an electrolyte stabilizing my body’s ph balance, the daily practice like little white pills keeping the pain at bay, the daily results the mirror in which I began to see myself becoming a healthy, happy girl. I spent my time training hard and running strong, saying “yes” and running brave, and running my way to free. I was working hard, dreaming big, and following my arrow forward… to complete freedom.

Fast forward seven years and here I am, at the ocean with my now big girls (now 12, 9 and 5) for our last full week together before we face the summer apart (this is the first year they’ll go off to spend the summer with their dad). Here I am, six days later, picking up where I left off… after it all fell away… like sand beneath my feet.

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Because without warning and in an instant, the plague descended and I went down, hard. I had a major pancreatic episode. I initially rode the river of denial, fighting to stay present by employing every mental mantra in my arsenal and putting on a brave face for as long as I could. But I ultimately lost the battle and I went under, into what I can only describe as a waking coma. For six days I laid listless and lifeless, listening to the voices outside my open window—the giggling of little girls lighting sparklers on the 4th of July, the banter of beach talk while washing sand off of little toes, the chatter of happy people enjoying their vacation days together. For 6 days I dropped in and out of the dreams I had of joining early morning joggers, of walking along flag-lined streets in search of the perfect ice cream cone and salt-water taffy, of sun bathing and sand castle building, of kite flying and ‘smores roasting. For six days I was forced to remember the bitter truth–the very beginnings of my life’s run to free.

And then, on the seventh day, the clouds lifted and I woke to the sun. I breathed in and there was no pain. I breathed out and there was only peace. The irony is that I had been in search of “peace” for weeks—I thought it would come once I got us all to the beach. I had no idea that it would come at the beach, but only after I’d descended and re-emerged at START, again.

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Here is what I know, now…

Freedom is the pursuit of happy.

Freedom is being healthy enough to choose a morning run – fast or slow, long or short, sunny or rainy.

Freedom is hearing my voice mingling in the laughter of a moment’s joy.

Freedom is hugging the ones I love.

Freedom is waking to the knowledge that I am Alive, Loved, Satisfied.

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What is your freedom? Tell us below in the comments section.

#218: The Science of Sweat — and How to Lose the Stink!

IMG_2344As the summer heats up, Sarah and co-host Adrienne Martini welcome two guests to talk about the science of sweat. First up is Melissa Elfers, a textile scientist (who knew!), who explains the ins-and-outs of polyester, bringing the “Saturday Night Fever” white suit and Play-Doh Fuzzy Pumper Barber Shop into the conversation. Elfers explains why washing workout wear the wrong way repeatedly compounds the stink-factor, and she shares laundry tips for keeping gear fresh. Next up is Cathy Horton, creator of SweatX sport detergent. This triathlete and mom of two (including a professional soccer player!) tells how stains and stink drove her so crazy, she developed the stink-banishing detergent. Find out why Cathy calls a sweat droplet “a big rot fest,” and how perspiration makes running clothes smelly. Germ-phobes might want to sanitize their earbuds after listening to this grimy-yet-enlightening episode!

*Get 30% off any Burley products with code AMR30 at Burley website.

*Save 15% off orders of SweatX with code AMR15 at SweatX website.

*For more details or to register for Disney Dopey or Goofy training programs, go to Train Like a Mother Club website. Don’t wait: The Dopey program starts on Monday, July 11.

*If you’re digging our podcasts, we’d be super-grateful if you’d take a minute (because we *know* you have so many to spare!) to write a review on iTunes. Many thanks.

**Also, the quickest way to get our podcasts is to subscribe to the show via iTunes. Clicking this link will automatically download the shows to your iTunes account. It doesn’t get any simpler than that. We’ve also joined the Acast podcast network, download their app to hear our podcast and many others like it!

Dry Martini: going green (way)

One of the downsides of living in a relatively small town is that there aren’t a huge number of unique running routes to choose from. We have no Eastbank Esplanade like Portland or Butler Trail like Austin. Most of my routes in Oneonta involve  road shoulders and sidewalks or the high school track. All are perfect for getting it done, especially when having to think about where to go feels like it takes more effort than the run itself. Still, a person can grow weary of the same old scenery.

Which is why I finally decided to give the Susquehanna Greenway a try. Eventually, the city plans to hook it into a larger greenway system (which hasn’t yet been built). Right now, it’s a two-mile loop that takes you past our lovely Wastewater Treatment Plant, Trash Dump, and School Bus Depot. Because we Oneontans know how to party.

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There’s a reason it’s called a greenway.

Actually, it’s not that bad. There’s maybe a quarter-mile of mixed-used industrial realness, then you get out into fields and beside the river. It’s lovely, really, if a bit close on a humid day. It was almost entirely empty last Sunday, save for one impressively bearded whippet-thin young dude in a track singlet who showed up midway through my ten miles. He seemed intent on getting his work-out in and passed me half-a-dozen times. I was content to let him be Mr Speedy McSpeederson and didn’t outrun him. Because I totally could have.

I stopped at one point to take a picture of a tree that kept stealing my hat — I thought it would make good blog fodder, frankly — when a lab-esque ball of enthusiasm nearly knocked me down. Wait a minute, I thought, as I wondered if he was about to eat my face. I know this dog.

And, reader, that was proven true when a friend I’d not seen in forever rounded the bend in mid-apology about the pup. Yes, I did pause Herr Garmin the Second as we stood for a few minutes and caught up. Turns out she walks this loop frequently and has figured it to be about three miles. I crushed her spirits when I pointed out that GPS confirmed that it was only two.

That’s me. Killer of dreams. I should rent out my services.

She got me back, though, when I mentioned that I was about to start training for the NYC Marathon. She asked how long I thought it would take to run 26.2 miles. When I said “at least 5 and a half hours,” it hit me how much time that really is. I’ve decided denial is the best coping mechanism.

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After my run, I drove up to Cooperstown where Coach Christine Hinton’s son was enjoying a baseball camp. You can tell we had a terrible time as I took her to see the sights.

On the training front, it hasn’t really begun begun. I’d been planning to run the Old Port Half in the one, true Portland on July 9 in an effort to redeem myself from last year’s suffer fest. Rather than run with at least one of my favorite BAMRs, I’ll be putting in a 13 mile training run on my home turf, then driving up to Albany to catch a flight to Orlando. I wish theme parks were going to be involved. Instead, I’ll be getting Mom settled in assisted living and figuring out how to empty and sell a house from 2000 miles away.

Good times.

While I’d be lying through my gritted teeth if I said the last few months have been anything other than stressful (because, oh my dears, they have sucked the big weenie), I’d also be lying if I didn’t say that running is what’s keeping me more or less functional. TRuns clear my head and keep the free-floating anxiety at a manageable level. My running schedule adds structure to what isn’t at all structured. And the actual running provides something concrete to focus on that also has clear goals. Either I ran ten miles or I didn’t. Either I did my middle mile at tempo or I didn’t. Those binary states provide a sense of accomplishment when it frequently feels that I’ve only got one oar in this particular smelly, brown creek and am merely paddling my rowboat around in a tiny, frantic circle.

My Independence Day called for five miles with the middle one at race pace. Thanks to Beyonce’s “Freedom,” which is my summer jam, as the kids say, I busted out that mile at nearly a tempo pace. Not what I should have done but what I think I needed, if that makes sense.

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My new jam.

That track is possibly the first piece of music I’ve purchased in months. I’m now thinking that maybe I need to add some more current tunes to my playlist. What’s been making you pick up the pace this summer?

Melissa Explains How She Deals With Setbacks in Heart Rate Training

Role Mother (and marathoner) Melissa is trying out the Half-Marathon Heart Rate Challenge and documenting it along the way. Here, she reflects back on the first half of training, some setbacks, and her top takeaways. (Check out her intro post, her first two-week check-in, full of run/walk/skip/stop/bend over combos, and her thoughts on delayed gratification.)

Melissa and the four reasons she runs.

Well, as part of wave 1 Amazing Half marathon training I am one week away from being halfway done! And how do I feel about that? With apologies to Coach MK, I admit that I need to put myself on HR training probation. The last two weeks of my life have been a tsunami of mini life changing episodes all crashing into the rocks of my training at the same time. I have not only  let my physical training lapse, but any strong mental base I had accumulated in the early weeks is also down the drain. To snap myself and my self-pity out of the HR training timeout chair, I went back and listened to the very first HR training podcast. And I am so glad I did!  If you listened to that first podcast eight weeks ago during the first week of training, I highly recommend you go back and listen again. I have such a better perspective listening now than I did 8 weeks ago. To put it simply, it’s  all starting to make sense now. I went on to finally listen to the rest of Coach MK’s and Dimity’s podcasts, and their wisdom and humor has gotten me out of my funk and back on the heart rate training track. If you have yet to listen to any of the special podcasts that accompany the training club,  DO IT! Here are a few takeaways from my podcast listening binge…

1. One bad run doesn’t define a training cycle. (Did you get that? Good. If not, tape it on your fridge. Tattoo it on your tricep. Live it. Love. Learn it.)

2. Boring weeks are OK. No. I take that back. Boring weeks ARE AWESOME. No injuries? Nothing to report? Just training run boxes happily check offed? AWESOME. Your base is being built.

3. Tempo runs and speed work? Relax. We don’t need them right now. Eat the whole cardio pizza, then you can add some toppings. 90% boring is what you need right now.

4. Your mileage and aerobic base is your secret sauce. Trust in it. It’s gonna taste great later. Promise.

5. Running math sucks, so if you’re gonna do it, do this equation- look back at the last 8 weeks and stop complaining about being slow and start looking at how many more days a week you’re able to run now. Look at the accumulation (slow boil) of how far you’ve come. Look at how you’ve been able to work all these training runs into your crazy schedule. Look at how differently and more positively you’re looking at your running. Now add up the greatness, because you’re gonna love the answer.

6. The hard stuff is ahead of you. Don’t panic. You’re gonna have the tools you need to knock it out of the park.

I am grateful for the HR training plan for many reasons, as it is coming at a time in my life where I need all the grace I can get. It doesn’t care about my previous running failures, or demand standards and workouts that leave me feeling inadequate, exhausted, or less than. Grace often comes into our lives when we need it the most, and for me, the HR plan has come at just the right time.

We’ll check in with Melissa every two weeks to see how she’s running and how she’s feeling, so come back to follow her progress.

You’re Two Minutes Away From a Complete Running Refresh

Happy 4th of July! While most of you are just kicking off your summer plans, we’re thinking ahead to September. Why, you ask? Because we’ve planned something pretty awesome, and we’re giddy to spread the word. Plus, because we’re moms, we’re giving you enough notice to pop this into your calendar, schedule the sitter, and pick out your running outfits now. (Did we mention we’re excited?) Check out the two-minute video below on our 2016 Retreat: Run + Refresh in Spokane, Washington, to see just what you can expect:

Just think about the timing: Summer will have just wrapped and you’ll have recently turned the kids back over the school system. Let’s be honest: You’ll want and need a “me” time. What better way than a running retreat?

Head over to our Retreat page now to get more information, see the schedule, and register. See you there!

#217: Author Matt Fitzgerald Talks Mental Fitness

Matt Running SideviewSarah and co-host Molly Williams are joined by writer/coach Matt Fitzgerald for a conversation about mental fitness, based on his latest book, How Bad Do You Want It: Mastering the Psychology of Mind over Muscle. Along the way, Matt admits for him, “the whole dang enchilada is mental,” and he talks about why he prefers the term “mental fitness” over “mental toughness.” The trio doesn’t shy way from tough topics, diving right in with how the fear of suffering and failure holds back some athletes. Find out why Matt believes every runner should develop “a coach within.” He points out that you bring the mental skills you possess in real life to running—and how they can help or hinder you; he also shares steps for dealing with negative thoughts. Matt reveals the single most common mistake in endurance sports, as well as the most important quality to have as a runner. Great news for newbies: This marathon man wraps things up focusing on the importance of using experience, not just having it.

*Get 30% off any Burley products with code AMR30 at Burley website.

*To become an Acast+ member supporting this podcast and get exclusive content, head to the AMR page on Acast.

*Get more details about AMR Retreat: Run + Refresh in Spokane, Wash., September 22-25, on the Retreat page of our website. Or register here.

*If you’re digging our podcasts, we’d be super-grateful if you’d take a minute (because we *know* you have so many to spare!) to write a review on iTunes. Many thanks.

**Also, the quickest way to get our podcasts is to subscribe to the show via iTunes. Clicking this link will automatically download the shows to your iTunes account. It doesn’t get any simpler than that. We’ve also joined the Acast podcast network, download their app to hear our podcast and many others like it!

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