Running on Faith

I had too much going on Saturday so I had to move my long run to Sunday morning.  I was up at 6:30 a.m. and ready to hit the road.  I had several things in my favor for this run so I had a feeling it would be a better day.  The main thing is that Paul would be out on the road with me trying to work out his knee.  Then, my precious friend Christine (aka Hardcore) left me a voice mail Friday telling me that she was praying for me (and she has no idea how much I needed those prayers that day).  My mom was finally home from her 2^nd week long stay at the hospital and last but not least, Paul bought me a new pair of running shoes.  How could this run go wrong with so much going right?

Before we started our run, Paul and I talked about the best way for me to complete a 26 mile run.  I had to admit to myself a few weeks ago that I will not be able to run for 26 straight miles and I know I have trouble stopping and starting on my runs.  I had to start practicing this NOW.  So, I set out with my new margarita Shot Bloks and a plan.  I was able to easily alternate running 20 minutes/walking 5 minutes and I continued this for somewhere around 18 miles.  I ate a Shot Blok and drank a good bit of Gatorade at one hour intervals and I was good for another 10 or so miles but in the interest of time, I had to call it a morning and head home.  It was a decent run and I was pleased with it.  I’ve pretty much decided what I’ll be wearing on race day and I found a fanny pack that’s been working very nicely (I don’t think it will hold cherries though!)

Later that day my father in law told me I had guts for doing this.  Thank you for saying that Mr Jimmy but I don’t feel like that at all.  I feel like I’m losing the fight but if I can help one child WIN their fight, then all of this will be worth it.  Troy was so excited to tell Paul and I that his company’s donation to Blake and Team Running on Faith helped us reach our team goal of $10,000.  What an incredible journey it’s been!

I am ready for Marathon week-end to get here.  I’m tired of training and I’m ready to see what my brain and legs can do.  This will be the first time I’ve crossed a finish line and Paul was not there waiting on me.  The tables have turned, I will be there waiting on him this time!

This is Flash and I am running on faith that our teammates will remain “healthy” and we’ll all make it Memphis, run our races and meet our personal goals!

Thanks to Connie Hamlin and Peter Gutierrez for their donations!

I have been challenged!

One of my husband’s cousins (who participates in Ironman triathlons because “half-Ironmans weren’t enough”) told me today that if I did a sub-4 hour half-marathon, he would write a check for $100; I told him he could hand it over now lol. Seriously, though, I am hoping for a sub-3 hour time on this race, which may be ambitious, but in less than 3 weeks, we shall see!

Also, thanks to Aaron and Katie White and Brenda and Keith Veltman for their donations!

Yesterday was my last long run day and  my training plan said 20 to 22 miles. Now first I had to move my run to Friday due to kids events and I would be running it by myself. I was a little nervous about this run due to the fact that last weeks long run was horrible.

I chose to run at LSU so I dropped the kids at school and starting running around 8;30 am under sunny, cool 52 degree skies. Well  by mile 2 I was shedding clothes and wishing I was back at the car to get rid of the extra clothes. Running thru campus was nice I got to see all the decorations for homecoming this weekend. Not only once but three times because I went three times around the lakes to get all my mileage in.  Enjoyed the pelicans, ducks, turtles and the beautiful day.

I also have to say that on a lot of my runs around the lakes I often wish I lived on one of the lakes, but after spending 3 hrs plus out there I changed my mind. Why? I am sure the view is wonderful but there are too many people seated on buckets fishing out in front of these houses that would drive me crazy. Ruins the view if you know what I mean.

Lap two went by the fastest and lap three started feeling some soreness in the legs  and my stomach growling because of hunger. I was eating my shot blocks but I was still hungry. Kept trying to fool my stomach by drinking the nasty Power Aid, but that only worked for a short time. Finally back at the car and I  was finished. I wanted to let out a hooray in the parking lot, but to many people around. Did not want them to think I was crazy. I was happy  21 miles in 3hr. and 34 minutes.

I prayed a lot on this run, thanked God for a lot and just enjoyed the time outside. I am ready for the Marathon.

Until next time keep looking up because that is where He is.

I slept in a little bit Saturday morning and didn’t hit the road until 7:30.  I was a little depressed about this training run, I knew I would need to go at least 17 miles and I would be out there alone.  I was committed to the task though, no matter what.

 It was the longest distance I’ve ran so far and it was definitely the longest amount of time I’ve been on the road.  I have no other word to describe it but MISERABLE.  At mile 7, I ate two Shot Bloks and grabbed a PowerAde to go.  At this point, I practiced the strategy of running 10 minutes and walking for 2.  I continued that for the next 5 miles however by the time I came back to our driveway (mile 12) my feet were hurting so bad, that I thought I might be better off running barefooted.  On the third loop I stretched the walking and running out to more like a 7/5 interval and I’m sure the folks that live on McCullough and Old Settlement thought I was crazy because now I’d passed their houses several times.  I was hurting, I was lonely and I was fighting back the tears and nausea.  (I’m not cut out for these distances.)  I kept going over and over in my mind….what was different from last Saturday in New Orleans.  Then it hit me, I didn’t have Christine by my side talking the whole way! 

Somewhere in the middle of mile 14, I was on Old Settlement.  I’m fairly comfortable on this road, Mr. Jimmy, Mrs. Arnell and Troy live there, I know almost all of the vehicles, who drives what and by now I’m pretty sure everyone knows me.  Anyway, I notice a big white Dodge truck pass me rather slowly then as soon as he passed, he really sped up.  No big deal, out in the country, men sometimes do that.  But he came back, this time from behind and did the same thing.  Ok…that’s still not weird.  Then on the third pass, I looked really hard at the driver and tried to make eye contact.  I figured it would be best to let that driver know that I was aware of where he was and that he has passed several times.  Maybe it worked because he didn’t come back and maybe it was nothing at all.  Just a little suggestion to drivers that happen to be passing female runners or cyclists: We are very aware of our surroundings and anything you do out of the ordinary, we notice.  So a little thing like driving back and forth or slowing way down next to that runner or cyclist might not seem significant to you but believe me, it is very significant to us!

By the time I made it to Troy’s house, I was really hoping he was home because I planned to ask him for a ride back to our house.  He wasn’t home so I figured I’d have to tough it out and finish up the last 2 miles.  Paul and Blake drove past a mile later and brought me water and offered me a ride home.  I took the water but not ride.  I’d come this far, what’s another mile?  By this time, I was walking more than running but I would finish it.

3 hours and 50 minutes later and 18 miles later (I miscalculated a little bit), I was done.  Cam brought me a peanut butter snack bar and a bag of ice.  I just sat on our patio and cried out of frustration and pain.  The blisters on my feet were the biggest I’d ever seen; I need new shoes AND new socks.  Paul came out to check on me and talk me through it.  He also had a little surprise for me, he handed me $100 bill.  He told me that one of his parent’s neighbors saw me pass in front of his house 6 times in almost 4 hours.  He was so impressed by my persistence (and he knew I was running for St Jude) that he drove over to our house and gave Paul the money.  My running paid off Saturday, the blisters, pain and frustration were worth it! 

Thank you go James Kidd for noticing that I was out there running all morning and thank you for taking the time to personally deliver your donation.  It couldn’t have come at a better time for me!

This is Flash and I’m running on faith that I’ll get through the next month with my sanity and feet intact!

In training you never know what can or will happen. You can have good days and bad days. Let’s just say Sundays long run was BAD. Tim and I moved our long run to Sunday because of Lara’s swim meet and the LSU football game and shopping filled up the day, so we ran Sunday morning. First I don’t like to miss church to train so I was trying to tell myself that if I prayed the whole way God would let it count.  Any way being human I ran instead of going to church, don’t think I will do that again.

I woke up Sunday morning not feeling well at all. But I thought that once I start running I will feel better. Weather was not bad, cool and a little breeze it was actually good running weather. We started around 6:30 am at the LSU lakes. The start was rough and I just kept telling myself that I need to get warmed up and all the aches and pains would go away. I even took a little bit of a different course and cut thru LSU and visited Mike the Tiger and ran thru campus. Thought that maybe a change of scenery would do the trick, NOT!   It was a very lonely run no cars or people out at this time of the morning on a college campus on a Sunday. Mile six I really felt sick to my stomach and a headache. Great the flu right in the middle of my training. Well I had other plans instead of being sick I would run it out. No, I do not have the flu but everything on my body hurt at that moment.  I told my self that once I make it back to the truck in about 3.5 miles I will eat some shock blocks and drink some water and I will be fine.   Well  by mile 8 I wanted to just cry. This run sucks and the weather was changing to drab. I did make  it back to the truck forced down the shock blocks because food was the last thing I wanted with the way my stomach felt. Did a little stretching because my leg muscles felt very tight and look at my watch knowing I had another 9 miles to go. UGH!! So I started off again. 

Well at least more people were out running and biking so it was not so lonely. I actually had a squirrel running with me for a very short while. Watched about 40 swans feeding of of something in the lake. Passed a house on Standford and it smelled like they were still partying from the night before with their pot smoking.  Other than that I was just trying to get thru this run. Which by the way my training plan called for 3hrs 15 minutes running anywhere from 18 to 20 miles.  I started the run walk routine about mile 10 or 11 because my left leg just was not happy.  I thought about stopping and texting Tim (yes, I run with my phone, for emergencies) and telling him to come and get me when he finished. But I did not I sucked it up and kept on going. Thinking  FORWARD, FORWARD that is what will get you to the truck. Tim ended up texting me telling me he was at the truck and I still had 25 minutes left of my run. That text somewhat helped because I figured he finished now I have too.  Well I got to the point on the run where I could take the long way back or the short way back to the truck I took the short way. My body was not feeling so well and I knew my legs were moving by not real steady. I cut my run short by 10 minutes and 3 miles. I had a bad day.  Tim also had a bad day. With that we headed home to get ready for the second half of Lara’s swim meet.

Not much time left to donate to St. Jude so if you are planning on it do it now. Until next time keep looking up because that is where He is.

I have not posted in a couple of months, so first, some overdue thanks are in order:

Thanks to Christel Sanchez, Paul and Kathy McGrew, Martha Cox, and Charles Crochet for their donations!

Now, to the training update. I started off pretty good, then took a couple of weeks off because of some personal stuff that had to be taken care of. When I got back to training, it hit me; there were only about 6 weeks left until the half-marathon, and my training runs were still mostly walking. I needed to kick it into gear! So that’s what I’ve been trying to do. A couple of the runs have just not been good, but most of them are, and for that I’m thankful. Today was 8 miles, roughly two-thirds of the distance I’ll have to do on December 5, and although it wasn’t as fast as I’d like, the entire distance was completed, and that’s what matters.

Here’s to a great race in December!

As of this writing we are $656 dollars away from our goal. We are close people, HELP US! Donate Now.

 I am writing this after failing miserable at an attempt to run an easy mile. It has been three weeks since my last run and the way I felt tonight it might be three more. As you may have read in some of my team members post, I am injured. The injury is not a new one but one that started two years ago with a meniscus tear. The tear was repaired and I was told then that I had Grade III cartilage damage. At the time I was thinking whatever, when can I run again? The rehab went well and I continued to run with little pain, until three weeks ago. In the last three weeks I have seen two Orthopedics’s, diagnosed with arthritis(grade IV cartilage damage) had one injection and am taking Celebrex to try and make this go away. It is working but it is not getting better fast enough. It feels like the past three months training is going down the crapper!

 

 

 Sorry but that is how I am feeling! AAAAHHHHHHHH so sad! I know, I know if this is as bad as it gets I don’t have a lot to complain about. It still stinks!

 Now that I got the complaining out of the way it is time for me to regroup and try and figure out how I am going to go 26.2 miles. Plan A is to run when possible but I am trying to have a plan B. With that being said today’s run/walk was not a complete loss. I walked what I thought was a fast mile in about 14 minutes and 30 seconds. I am kind of mentally preparing myself to walk the 26.2. Anyway, at that rate it will take me over 6 ½ hours. One way or the other 26.2 is in my future.

 

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of

comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Saturday morning, we’re up at 3:45 (A.M.!!!) and getting ready for the drive to New Orleans.  Blake and I would be running the New Orleans Jazz Half Marathon along with Tim, Christine, Louise and Mike.  During the drive to New Orleans, it was cold, windy and raining.  GREAT.  It seems like the Esch family is forever making a road trip to participate in some sporting event in bad weather.  Any time we’re signed up for something, we always follow through; no matter what how adverse the weather conditions are and today would be no different.

Around 5:00, I got a text from Christine letting us know they’re on the road (see, we’re not the only crazy people).  We arrived in New Orleans; found the Hutchinson vehicle and waited for them to come back with our race packets (it was cold and windy).  I wasn’t really nervous, I was just aggravated.  I HATE cold weather and wind.  Tim, on the other hand, seemed to be full of nervous energy!  At this point, my only real concern was that I would not find a port-o-can before the race started.  We only had 20 minutes to use the restroom, find the rest of our team and get lined up with what SEEMED like 5000 other people.  I’ll never get used to the people in New Orleans.  I do realize that it was Halloween morning but some of those costumes were just crazy.  I encountered a dude that at first glance, appeared to be completely naked except for a fig leaf covering his most private part.  I quickly turned, turned 5 shades of red and started choking.  I guess I gave him exactly the reaction he was looking for.  I don’t get the costume while running deal.  I’m very picky, almost superstitious about the clothes I run in, especially anything over 5 miles.  Running 13 miles in a nude color body stocking or full body Batman costume complete with face mask and cape brings to mind one thing….serious chafe!

We quickly found our positions in the crowded road and waited for the start signal.  Christine, Louise and I hung in the back of the crowd; there was no need to get trampled up front.  I knew Christine and Louise had planned to run together and that I wouldn’t be able to keep up so I just enjoyed the moment while we were talking and WALKING towards the start line.  I think it literally took us 2 minutes to reach the starting line after the signal sounded.  We had to weave in and out of the walkers as we started to run but we still managed to stay together.  I think 5K, 10K, ½ marathon and full marathon walkers are great and I admire their spirit and the fact they are out there BUT there should be a law about where and when they start.  It is unfair to make those of us that are running spend 2 miles moving around the walkers and the over zealous sprinters that have to stop and walk because they have no idea what they’re doing.  I’m sorry; I just had to get that off my chest.

So, Louise takes off like a jack rabbit and a mile into the race, I had no idea where she was.  As it turns out, Christine and I were running pretty much the same pace without any effort.  We passed Paul on the way out and tossed him our extra shirts and gloves (it warmed up very fast).  The miles started to fly by and before I knew it we were at mile 6 at 1:03.  I started to panic a little but I didn’t let Christine see it.  My pace was faster than normal; I was running with someone and TALKING (something I never do).  I was wondering how long I could keep that up.  At the entrance of City Park, we were still together and Paul sent Christine a text “tell my old lady hello.”  We were talking and laughing about that and I lost my footing on the curb.  I tripped and stumbled forward for what seemed like several feet and pretty much landed on Christine’s back but I stayed on my feet.  At mile 7, Christine shared her marguerita with me (Marguerita Shot Blok that is).  I was skeptical because I know better than to try something new during a race but I wasn’t drinking enough (the water and PowerAde they handed out was nasty).  That Shot Blok was pretty good and it the spot, thank you Christine!   We continued on our way, still together and still talking.  When we reached mile 11, I glanced at my watch and felt that panic rise again, it said 1:57.  We were on pace to beat my best ½ marathon time of 2:27.  This is where my mind started to play tricks on me but Christine got me through it by talking non stop.  It worked!  I crossed the finish line at 2:19 (Christine was able to sprint to the line, I wasn’t).  It was a great run except for the ankle pain, which was new for me and the cobblestone road.  I hope Memphis doesn’t have any cobblestone roads!

My proudest moment didn’t come from achieving a personal best time or running the entire way with my friend, although those are great things.  The best moment of the day was when I realized that Blake, my 14 year old son, placed 2^nd in the 19 and under category.  It was his first ½ marathon but I’m sure it won’t be his last!

As a group, we enjoyed the adult beverages, the smoothies and the band.  The company was pretty good too!  Tim, Blake, Mike, Louise and Christine, you guys are great and Team Running on Faith was well represented in the Big Easy!  This is Flash and I’m running on faith that the next month will fly by!

Saturday, October 23                                                  

Saturday morning I slept in a little bit and decided to try to get a 15 mile run in around 9:30.  It was a chilly morning and I was optimistic about having a good run however I knew I would be on the road alone, which is hard for me.  Paul was still suffering with his knee from the Mockler Beverage 3 miler.  It had been a rough 5 or 6 days for me because my mom had major surgery and she was still in the hospital.

The run started out fine but my calves were hurting from the moment my feet hit the pavement.  I was having a hard time focusing and my heart just wasn’t in this run.  I came across Paul, Mr. Jimmy and Troy around the 3.5 mile mark and they cheered me on and passed me a bottle of water.  Normally the sight of these 3 men cheers me up and lightens my spirit.  That would not be the case on this run and somewhere around the 4 mile mark, my emotions took over and I started to cry.  I was worried about my mom, I was tired and I hate to be on the road without Paul.  So, I did a bad thing, the worst thing a runner can do really, I gave in and gave up. Our driveway was my 5 mile mark and I stopped.  I just sat there on my ice chest at the end of the driveway and collected my thoughts.  I didn’t finish that run and I didn’t give it another thought the rest of the day!

Tuesday, October 26

Monday, Paul went to his knee surgeon to have the bad knee checked out.  It was not good news and he decided to get a 2^nd opinion on Tuesday.  The 2^nd visit confirmed the bad news.  He should not be running these long distances on a regular basis.  He’s pretty bummed, he really enjoys running.  I’m bummed because while I know he’ll be able to complete the 26.2 miles on marathon day, he won’t be able to train with me for the next 5 or so weeks.  He’s my best friend, my training partner and my coach (that I never really listen to).  I often struggle with feeling lonely on the road and I need him out there. The whole way home, I had a feeling of dread, I would have to run without him.  But the run wasn’t so bad after all; he hopped on his bike and rode along the side of me while I ran 4 miles.  It was a really nice run and a really nice thing that he did for me!

Saturday, October 30, I’ll be running the Jazz Half Marathon with Blake and a few fellow Running on Faith teammates.  I’m actually looking forward to the run and spending time with my friends.

 

This is Flash and I’m right now I’m just running on faith!