Going the Distance

     I'm just going to be real, those first couple months down at ENMU were tough. I lived by myself. I woke up at 5am for practice, afterwards  I would shower, rush through breakfast in order to get to classes on time and then go back to my little dorm, change into a second pair of running clothes and rush to my second practice of the day. There were times I ran until my feet were bleeding. If you think I'm kidding I have blood stains on my running shoes to prove it. I would run until I threw up, I would run until I couldn't see, hear, even feel my body anymore. And then I would go back to my dorm, drag myself to the shower, eat dinner, stay up all night doing homework and then get up the next morning to do it all over again. Becoming a college athlete was to this day one of the hardest things I've ever done, but one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had.
     Being a long distance athlete is just like being in a long distance relationship. Last year I learned a lot about both. Here's some personal advice from someone whose gone the distance and knows what it's like to "be there and have done that."

     Endurance is key, it takes a heck of a long time to build up and a very short amount of time to loose. In long distance running endurance is the base to all success, you will literally get no where without it. In long distance relationships endurance is just as vital. Those first couple months I spent away from my high school sweetheart were some tough ones. We fought against living in two different time zones with extremely conflicting schedules. My Kyle worked two jobs in addition to going to school that first semester. The only time we had to talk with each other was when he got off of working the night shift. Mind you he would get off of work at 11pm his time, which was 12am my time, don't forget that I also had to wake up at 5am to run in the mornings as well. We had to set new boundaries, bypass road blocks and find new ways to support and love each other all while being 1,512 miles apart. There were some days that being away from Kyle was completely miserable. But we endured through the hard stuff. Just like any long distance run, it's going to get tough. The truth is it's going to be hard, the defining moment is when you want to give up and throw in the towel, that's the moment you need endurance the most. If you can just put one foot, theoretically and physically, in front of the other for just a little bit longer it'll start to become easier and you will be so thankful you didn't quit. I'm so glad I didn't give up on running when it got tough and I am extremely glad Kyle and I didn't give up on each other those first few months spent apart.
     With any long distance sport or relationship sacrifice is incredibly important. I could write a never ending list of ways that I have sacrificed in order to be a long distance athlete. I have sacrificed sleep, money, friendships, time, comfort, and countless other things all in pursuit of my athletic dreams. To me those sacrifices are all worth it. And when it comes to long distance relationships you need to learn to sacrifice as well. Learn to stop being so freaking selfish. Take your selfishness and throw it in the trash. Not the recycling bin, the trash. Then proceed to burn it all up so that you don't have any left. People these days go into relationships thinking, "what's this person going to do for me?" when in reality a real relationship consists of two people constantly thinking, "What can I do for this other person." Kyle does an amazing job at sacrificing for our relationship. He is one of the most unselfish people I know. Me on the other hand, I've had to learn along the way. Kyle would send me long texts the night before my championship races so that I could wake up to a heartfelt message full of inspiration and support. He mailed me care packages of groceries and my favorite snacks to make sure that I was always getting enough to eat. The days I was overwhelmed from having a bad practice or a bad race he would FaceTime me and sing me my favorite songs to help me calm down. For Christmas he helped me buy plane tickets to come home to him and even planned a surprise trip to visit my grandparents who live up near Canada. He made me breakfast and blueberry tea in the mornings and ran along side me in the cold snow when I had to train. Kyle is the perfect example of being unselfish and I look up to him so much for that. If you are unwilling to sacrifice for your sport or your relationship than you better be prepared for a complete and utter lack of success.
     Goals. Goals. Goals. When it comes to being a long distance athlete you will not accomplish anything without short term and long term goals. I can't tell you how many team meetings I've been to over the years just to discuss season goals. Goals require planning and hard work. If I had to endure and sacrifice the things that I do for running without an end goal in sight it would make all my suffering seem pointless. Why in the world would I run until my feet bleed if I didn't have a reason to? It would be ridiculous! The same applies to long distance relationships. You need to sit down and have a talk with your significant other about goals. One thing Kyle and I always do is plan out the
next time we will see each other. When I saw him during Thanksgiving last year we had a plan to visit each other for our anniversary in December. In December we had a plan to visit each other at my parents house in Pennsylvania during the summer. Having these sort term goals made the distance seem less difficult. We would count down the days until we got to see each other again, giving us something to look forward to. It wasn't until Kyle and I had been doing long distance for 5 months that we sat down and had the long term goal talk. This is important for any relationship and any long distance sport.  Kyle and I decided that we needed to close the distance as soon as possible. It took months and months of planning on my part to make this happen. I was already very unhappy at ENMU and knew I couldn't stay. I decided to transfer. After gaining permission from the athletic director, my coach and the NCAA I received my release papers and started looking for new schools. After additional months of looking I chose to transfer to Central Washington University which was conveniently 45 minutes from the town I grew up in as a child and 45 minutes away from my high school sweetheart. The decision to transfer schools especially as a college athlete is not for everyone, in fact I don't recommend it. There's a butt ton of paperwork and stress involved. But transferring was perfect for me. So many unnamed factors played a part in me needing to leave ENMU, and I'm so happy to be moving back home and ending the distance with my sweet Kyle.
     After only getting to see each other 3 times in the past 12 months, Kyle and I are beyond thrilled that later this month, almost exactly a year from when I first moved away from Washington, I will be moving back. This time to stay. With a new coach, a new team, a new apartment, and a new ring on my finger symbolizing our race to end the distance and my personal race to become the best long distance runner that I could ever possibly be. A promise.

    

Advice for the New Runner

     I can remember my first run. I was eight years old and knew absolutely nothing about running except that I really liked the feeling of going fast and could beat all the boys at recess in the little races we used to have. I know what you’re thinking, at eight years old I was already showing signs of being a masochist. I knew from walking to school every day that four times around the block equaled a mile so I put on my sneakers and ran as fast as I could. When finished  with the mile I stopped to catch my breath, then I did the only reasonable thing, I went inside to the kitchen and put my head upside down in the sink, turning the cold water on full blast. Later that day I convinced my parents to sign me up for the closest city race. Thus my love for running began.
     Under normal circumstances the first time you go running is going to be a lot worse. I’ve had plenty of terrible, horrible, miserable runs throughout my life and can tell you stories that’ll scare you away from running indefinitely. You could probably save yourself some misery on your next run if you follow these five steps.

1.     Go poop before you run! I’m serious guys, it isn’t even funny. The last place you want to be is 3 miles into your long run with no bathroom, toilet paper or privacy and the strongest urge to poo. To save yourself from getting the runs on the run just use the bathroom before you head out the door. Don’t feel like you need to go? Think again and do it anyway. Also don’t eat anything that’ll make you need to use the bathroom before you run. I once ate mashed potatoes and a corn dog before a 6 miler and I won’t go into graphic detail on what happened but it was bad, and I’m not proud of it. You get the picture? Use the bathroom before you run and don’t eat before you run either.

2.     Safety first. Always run with your phone or a running buddy, this one’s important people. I’ve been attacked by a dog twice while running and followed by men on different occasions, one of which required me to call the police. For your safety run with a phone or at least a partner. Always be aware of your surroundings when you’re out on the roads. I love to listen to music when I run but always keep the earbud closest to the road turned on low or completely silent. Also don’t be stupid and go trail running alone. Growing up in Washington if you went trail running alone it meant you could potentially be attacked by a bear. So be smart and don’t do that.

3.     Less is more. No, don’t get excited and think less running is more because it’s not. But the less amount of clothes you wear while going running is. I have made the mistake so many times of throwing on too many layers on a chilly day resulting in having to cart heavy, sweaty, baggy clothes home on the last half of my run. It’s better to start your run off chilly and take the first mile or so to warm up than to sweat too much underneath all those layers and end up hot, grumpy and dehydrated. That goes for gear too. If you are going on a 5 mile run leave your fuel belt and gu gels at home. Trust me, you’ll survive without it. You’ll also save yourself the embarrassment of being laughed at by other runners who don’t need to strap 47 water bottles to their chest to make it through such a small run.

4.     Wear the right shoes!! If you’re going to take anything away from this article please learn to wear the proper shoes. It’s taken me a long time to find the right pair of running shoes for my body. I’ve unfortunately learned from the consequences of experience. Five years ago I fractured my foot in pair of Nikes, this caused me to lose my regional title and my spot in the state championships. In order to train right and be healthy you must have the right pair of shoes. This might require you to learn more about how your body responds to training; your running economy, and your form all play a part in keeping you healthy. If you’re training or racing in the wrong pair of shoes you will get injured, 100% guaranteed. Running shoes are the most important gear for our sport. For your health, comfort, and safety please wear the right pair for you.

5.     Have Fun! That sounds pretty cheesy, I know. But it's true.  If you don’t remember to make running fun you will lose all motivation and passion for the sport. Last track season I got really injured and had forgotten how to have fun in my training. I was miserable because I’d gotten so caught up in having success as an athlete that I missed the point. Running is supposed to be fun! Running is natural, primal almost. Even when it’s hard running is what our bodies were made to do. You can’t forget why you run. For every hard workout you do, take the time to relax in your training and enjoy just getting out there, logging those miles and having a good time!

This blog can also be read on www.runfittedblog.com 

Mental & Physical Health

     I want to talk about these pictures for a little bit.

     Although they may look like they have nothing in common they have a lot more than you think. These pictures were taken within 12 hours of each other. The first picture is the night I raced the 5k down in West Texas. The second picture was a selfie taken the morning after. I remember posting the first picture on Facebook a while ago, my friends and family commented on how "strong" I looked and congratulated me on the outcome of the race. Little did they know what actually happened the night of that race and the morning after when that selfie was taken. I stepped on the starting line of the race in extreme pain. I remember limping through my warm up, coating my legs in icy hot, begging my trainer to work some sort of miraculous tape job and popping Tylenol on the infield right before I took off my sweats to get on the line. For the first half-mile of this race I cruised comfortably along with the top pack, adrenaline masking the pain of my leg. On the second lap of the race I felt a pop, heard a pop in my right leg and stumbled. Although very concerned I ignored it and finished the race. My coach did not let me drop out. Afterwards I couldn't even jog my cool down, I could hardly walk to the bus to get home. I hadn't come in last but I certainly didn't race my best and my coach was mad at me for it. Once the bus driver dropped us off in Portales, New Mexico it took everything I had to crawl into my dorm room shower. There I huddled on the floor in the fetal position holding my leg, I laid under the hot spray and cried.

    The second picture was a selfie I took the morning after the race. I woke up and could not move. I could not put weight on my leg, I could not walk down to the cafeteria and get breakfast, I couldn't even flex my foot. This was around noon right before my teammate picked me up to take me to the emergency room. I took the picture because I thought my hair looked nice. When I arrived at the hospital I received 4 different x-rays and was told by the doctor to stop running immediately even though the x-rays did not show any sign of damage. I stopped running for 3 days. During those days I cross trained on the elliptical and bike as well as doing up to 30 minutes of core work in one session. I tried running afterwards. My leg buckled and would not allow me to push off my toes or stride out. I remember my coach yelling at me during practice because I had cross trained all week and should have been rested enough to "at least complete my drills." I was not allowed to skip any more workouts no matter how much pain I was in.

       The next week my trainer scheduled me an x-ray with another doctor downtown. I remember going in for the appointment completely alone. No parent, teammate, coach or friend with me. That doctors office was one of the loneliest places I have  ever been. After taking 4 more x-rays the sports physician who was working with me gave me the news. I had abnormal calcium buildup on my shins from the severe stress of over training. I had a stress reaction in my left leg, and a complete stress fracture in my right leg. If I had continued running until the end of the week I would have had two fractured legs and would have needed to be in a wheel chair for the remainder of the semester.

      There was a lot of things that attributed to my injury. I was taking 17 credits, averaged 4-5 hours of sleep at night and ran at least 10 miles a day. On Mondays I would run up to a cumulative of 15-17 miles. Weekly I averaged about 70 miles. Poor nutrition, poor communication with my coach, poor coaching and overtraining all played a part in my injury. And to be honest I was so relieved when that doctor put me in a boot. Training injured was ruining my love for the sport and all I wanted to do was stop. I hated going to the track for workouts where I was told to keep running even if it hurt. I hated the sharp stabbing pains the went up and down my legs every time I moved faster than a walk. I had already decided to transfer schools before I was injured but after my injury there wasn't a doubt in my mind that I needed to get out. There was a lot of good things about going to school in New Mexico but they weren't good enough to make me stay and run for a team who's coaching style made me so injured. My mental health took a downward spiral and I started having nightmares, body aches, and nausea. The amount of credits (17) that I was taking mixed with the amount of running I was doing and the lack of support I felt from my team almost broke me. I was completely alone.

     Four months later I am now able to run again. I run with my headphones in not even caring about how slow my pace is. I stop when my legs hurt and continue running once they don't. My new coach emails me weekly on my progress and has showed me nothing but support, compassion, kindness, and enthusiasm.  I have gained a little bit of weight since these pictures were taken, I sleep 8 hours a night, and eat whatever my body wants to eat. I am happy and healthy and have vowed never again to race for a coach who forces me to run injured. Please remember to take care of yourself and that:

     Your mental & physical health is more important than your sport.

Your mental & physical health is more important than your scholarship or contract.

Your mental & physical health is more important than your coach.

Your mental & physical health is more important than the number of credits you're taking.

 You're the only one who knows your body completely. If someone forces you to compete through immense pain just leave.
Get out of the situation.

Always put your health and safety first before the expectations of others.

Support Person: Support System

     These last couple weeks my high school sweetheart from Washington has came out to visit my family and I in Pennsylvania for the summer. He is a very active person; a backpacking, fly fishing, weightlifting machine and he took it upon himself to be my personal trainer this last month. Lately I've just been doing the bare minimum when it comes to working out. I do my hip and glute exercises, I lift on my upper body, I do some core and I frustratingly try to get out and run even though my leg still hurts sometimes. Getting back in shape is not fun. Getting back into running shape is a lot worse.
     The sad truth is that sometimes people will be shady with you. It's hard to accept but sometimes it's got to happen. People you love will trick you into doing things you may not have planned on doing yourself. The first week Kyle was here he took me to a nice scenic outlook on top of Mt. Pocono where I live. I was excited! The woods were beautiful and we could park the car right next to the outlook so I didn't have to do any hard hiking, it was great! We walked around and I even took some pictures of the beautiful mountain pass and scenery. He mentioned going on a nice little hike. Feeling up to it I of course agreed! Hiking is something we love to do together and we actually went on a hike for our first date. What could possibly go wrong?
     Two hours later I was bum scooting my way down steep trails and crawling my way up the mountain trying to keep up with my boyfriend who always seemed to be hiking just a little out of my reach. I had to stop and take Tylenol, laying in the dirt in the middle of the trail. Every seven minutes or so I would wipe my face with my sweat drenched shirt and ask, "How much farther?" To which Kyle would reply, "Just a little bit longer." By the time we got back to the parking lot I was sore, my legs were shaking, and I was exhausted. Later that night over dinner after some shopping Kyle told me that the hike was only 3 miles and that he was proud of me for going out there and doing it because "you're going to school to be a runner, not a cheerleader." All teasing aside, that is true. If I want to succeed as a colligate runner, I need to start behaving more like one, my leg is done being injured, it just needs to get strong again.

    Later that week Kyle laced up his Nikes, gave me that mischievous grin of his, and told me he was going out for a run. He hates running. Not wanting to be shown up I reluctantly laced up my own shoes and headed out the door. What happened next was the most beautiful experience. Obviously Kyle left me in the dust, but I ran completely pain free for 20 minutes. That twenty minutes of running was all it took. I confess I even shed a few happy tears or two. For the first time since my injury I went running for myself. Not for my coach, not to meet any expectations, not to please my teammates. I went running for myself and it was so soul touching.
     Kyle continued to run with me throughout his whole visit. He even took me out to the park in the evening so that I could watch the fireflies while running together on the trails. It was slow moving and I was scared at first. Coming back from a huge injury like a fractured leg makes you question your bodies ability a little bit. But Kyle knew. He knew that all it would take was a playful shove in the right direction to get me up and running again.
     A couple days before he flew back to Washington we decided to go hiking in New Jersey. We had planned before hand to only hike a maximum of 3.5 miles to keep it comfortable. As per usual Kyle brought the map and planned the route. We saw some gorgeous waterfalls and beautiful trees the moment we stepped on the trail. About fifteen minutes into the hike it started to gradually get steeper. I kept quiet and worked harder to keep up with him.  I wore my GPS watch this time just in case Kyle tried to pull something sneaky like the last hike.
     Five miles into the trail we were scrambling up a mountain side with no where to turn around. I had drank almost all of our water, needed to take a break every 5 minutes or so to rub my sore legs, and was popping extra strength Tylenol like candy. I finally stopped and google mapped where we were. To my dismay we were barely even reaching the halfway mark. I had been conned! My promised 3 mile hike had turned into 9.5 miles of steep rocky hiking. My legs hurt so bad and I was exhausted. When we finally got to the top of the trail Kyle gave me a kiss, some cranberry trail mix, and a pat on the bum for good work. He apologized for being sneaky but then said he was so proud
of me for sticking to it. The rest of the hike was smooth sailing from there. After the Tylenol kicked in when we finally reached the top I had the time of my life hiking with Kyle and talking with him on the trail.

      I think sometimes we get stuck in a box. We get too comfortable with our lack of improvement and become too scared to push ourselves, especially coming back from an injury. I'm lucky to have Kyle who knows me so well. He knew it was going to take a little shove in the right direction to get me to have the confidence in myself as an athlete again. I didn't even think that I would be healthy enough to hike 9.5 miles by the end of this summer. If I would have known that was the plan a couple days ago I don't think I would've followed through. But that's the amazing thing about having a support person. Kyle would do anything to see me accomplish my goals and dreams. He knew it was going to take a couple hard hikes and some longer runs to get me feeling myself again, even if that meant being shady about how far we were hiking. I'm going into the rest of this summer with a new found determination to push myself harder than before and stop being scared of challenging my body, because in the end, there is no finish line. I'm pretty darn lucky to have a best friend who's willing to go the extra mile to see me succeed. I absolutely love running and I for sure do love my Kyle guy!