I Run for Alexandra

One of the things I miss most since I've adopted a rather hectic schedule (1 full time job, 2 part time jobs, and training for Dopey) is devoting time to volunteering. I really enjoy doing volunteer work and have been involved in some type almost as long as I can remember. But in the last couple of years, I was forced to scale some things back and sadly, volunteering was one of them. Until a couple of months ago.

Last summer I had the honor of working with a new customer who had come into Fleet Feet. It was her first time shopping with us and I was doing a fit for her when I noticed her really cool socks. I commented on them and she said they were her favorites because she had gotten them by doing a race for her "buddy". She went on to explain that she volunteers for an organization called I Run 4. The organization matches up runners with buddies for whom they dedicate their running miles. When you run, you are part of a team with your buddy and you are helping them run virtual miles. It started out as an organization that would run for people who, for whatever reason, were not able to physically run themselves but really wanted to be part of something. The group has since expanded to a siblings group. This group runs for a sibling of a child who has some physical or developmental challenges. The idea is that the siblings of these children often need to relinquish some attention to their sibling that needs the extra care and attention. The I Run 4 group allows runners like me to share part of my life and my training with someone who could use an extra friend. This is the group that spoke to me.

I didn't want to start anything I couldn't do well so after visiting the website, I took a couple of days to think about it. If I was going to do this, I wanted to be "all in," as they say. I came to the conclusion that this was the right opportunity for me. This was a meaningful way I could do something for someone else, even with the kind of schedule that I balance these days. So in August, I asked to be a volunteer runner and I was matched with new buddy Alexandra.

 

First day of 4th grade - my buddy and I appear to share the same kind of swagger.

Someone's excited for the concert!

 Alexandra lives in Canada. She's in 4th grade and has 2 sisters. She likes taking dance classes and comes from an Italian family. We have a lot in common - I was a dancer for years too and with a name like Rinchiuso, my Italian roots are fairly obvious. I write Alexandra several times a week, telling her how many miles I ran for her that day and what I've been up to. I send pictures whenever I can and she does the same. I got to see her Halloween costume and when she got to go to a One Direction concert. I sent her photos of the cranberries I made at Thanksgiving and the family selfie I took at Christmas. She knows I'm training for Dopey and she's cheering me on from afar. I will think of her as I'm running those 48.6 miles this week and will picture her smile when things get tough.

I am proud to run for Alexandra. So far I've run just a little over 400 miles for her and hope to run many, many more in the years to come!

*I Run 4 is always looking for people to match up with buddies. Even though most volunteers are runners, you can dedicate any sort of activity to a buddy. If you're interested in volunteering as a runner/athlete, visit the I Run 4 website. These days, my involvement with this organization is less about volunteering and more about making a new friend! I encourage you to get involved and do the same.*

** photos posted with permission from Alexandra's mom**

The Home Stretch

I took some much needed time off from blogging about my training to spend some time with my family over the holidays and to catch up on some sleep. A lot is happening right now, Dopey-wise, so we have a lot to get caught up on!

The biggest news is....today was my last training run for Dopey!! Yahoooooooooo!! I've scaled the mountain folks, and I've come back down the other side. I still seem fairly healthy (knock on wood) - I've been going to PT and doing my exercises (honestly, I think they should just make me an honorary Athletico employee at this point), I'm trying to eat well (and often....all the time actually...hey, is that a bagel?) and I've even started taking a daily vitamin c/zinc supplement to boost my immune system. Today's last run was bittersweet. Sweet as in, I'm done with this craziness, and bitter, as in it was bitterly cold and I froze some of my bits. But with this morning's sometimes painful last run, I can put training in the rear view mirror and focus on details for my trip. Thanks to Karin (a regular running companion and veteran Dopey who gave me tons of advice), Kristen, Dawn and Amy for enduring this morning's early wake up and cold weather to see me off in style.

Dang, it's cold. Who would run in this kind of weather?

I'm literally salting at the mouth. Sexy.

Packing has already begun. Lists have been made. Supplies have been purchased. And psuedo-OCD like packing has already taken place. When preparing to be gone for a week - and doing 4 races while you're there - you need to pack A LOT of stuff. First things first - race outfits. I pulled together all the items I will need for each race and packed them in individual 2.5 gallon plastic bags, labeled with the race and day. These will go in my carry-on. The individual packing makes it easy to see what I need and also easy to grab at 2:00 am when I'm stumbling around the hotel room trying to get dressed in time to make the race shuttle.

2.5 gallon bags are a Dopey girl's best friend.

Of course, race outfits are just the beginning. I also packed epsom salts, pre-measured recovery drink powder, my foam roller, compression socks, plastic baggies for ice....oh, and socks, underwear and pajamas. And honestly the idea of pajamas didn't come to me until a day later. I haven't packed clothing yet because I'm waiting for the forecast to sort itself out.

Thank goodness my training peaked the weekend before Christmas because I had almost zero motivation to run over the holidays. Thankfully my dad had plans to meet some running friends on Christmas Eve morning so I tagged along to get some miles in. He ran me to my fastest Dopey training mile up until that point, until a midnight New Year's Eve run turned in a faster one a week later.

Thank goodness for dads that drag you to Christmas Eve runs. He even bought me breakfast afterwards.

Another lucky thing was that my sister-in-law and her mother and a friend had a 7 mile run planned the day after Christmas, so I drug my unmotivated butt out the door to meet them for a run that ended up being a run-until-you-reach-a-flooded-road-and-then-turn-around-and-run-to-the-next-flooded-road kind of run.

See that water behind us? That is normally a dog park.

Lots of running until the road ended under a newly-formed lake

I spent most of the week surrounding Christmas in an unconscious state. And by that, I mean I was sleeping. A lot. I would sleep about 12 hours a night and still take a nap on several days as well. I felt kind of bad spending all that time asleep instead of with my family but my mom told me she was ready to feed me and let

me sleep for a week when I came to visit for Christmas break this year. She gets me. 

When I got back home, I knew I still had a few more runs to knock out and luckily am surrounded by friends who are nearly as crazy as I am....or more so...so finding someone to run with was not a problem. I started off by joining my friend Lauri as she finished up her first year 'streaking' - running every single day. (She? I told you some of my friends were crazier than I am.) Lauri had been getting up early to run with me quite regularly so I didn't want to miss her big day. Some other crazy folks turned up for this New Year's Eve morning run to help commemorate the occasion. 

There are a couple of streakers in there...and not the naked kind.

But that wasn't the end of my running for the day (for the record, Dopey veteran Karin advised against that). My friend Robyn had arranged a New Year's Eve running party whereby we literally ran into 2016. The party started at 11:00 and we started our run about 11:45. We were decked out with blinking lights and brought along noisemakers to blow when the clock struck midnight on our run. When we returned, we were met with some of the running husbands who had sparklers, champagne and cheesecake waiting for us. It was an awesome way to start the new year. I will admit though, the 2 jello shots I did at an earlier party came back to haunt me a bit at mile 2 of our run. 

First, we run. Then we eat cheesecake.

So now the training is done. The packing has started. The race forecast is being obsessed over. Everything seems to be going according to plan (knock on wood). I can take a little breath and spend some time thinking about how fortunate I've been during this process so far. I've had a few injury issues but my amazing PT (who sometimes I curse under my breath) has kept me in the game and never once told me I could't do this, even when he might have thought it. My friends have stepped up and run with me on days that weren't fit for man nor beast. They woke up before the sun came up and they kept me supplied with Gatorade along the way. My family has been supportive too. Even though my mom would really rather I didn't do this, she has ridden her bike alongside me, sewn me a costume, fed me and let me sleep as much as I wanted. The Fleet Feet customers have been great. They always asked how my training was going whenever they stopped into the store and several of them even took shifts running with me. My co-workers at Heartland have been supportive as well. I've taken several hours of vacation during the last month of training in order to fit in some of the longer training runs and they've rolled with it. And then there was one special person who went all Secret Santa on me and arranged a sly drop off at my physical therapy facility of some Disney gift cards to use on my trip. I still haven't found out who that is but I am so thankful and was beyond surprised. You don't know how this made my day.

I have the best friends.

Seriously. The best. 

 You know that phrase, "It takes a village"? Well, it certainly does. This challenge has been my Everest this year and I've had so many people acting as my sherpas. Thank you everyone. I hope I can help you accomplish your dreams someday too. 

I know a lot of you are probably so tired of hearing about Dopey. I apologize for being so single-minded for the last several months. It's almost over - I promise. I hope I haven't bored you too much.

But this isn't over quite yet. The big event starts in 4 days. I feel like I'm about as ready as I can be. So let's do this thing!

Taper Time

It's finally here. The week I've been awaiting for months. It's is now taper time!!! It's my favorite part of marathon training. It's the time when your "long" run is "only" 12 miles...and it seems easy. It's the time you can justify a whole lotta laziness by saying, "Better not - I need to rest." Sneak in an extra workout? Better not - I need to rest. Go in early to work? Better not - I need to rest. Comb your hair? Better not - I need to rest.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. You see, because before the taper starts, you have hell week - the biggest mileage week of your training. And when training for Dopey, hell week is especially hellish. This is the week that you need to do your final - and longest - Dopey simulation by running long miles on several consecutive days. But I made it....with a little help from some crazy people I know my friends.

Dopey Simulation, Day 1: Thursday, December 17 - 5 Miles

Lauri took the easy day. Slacker.

This was the easy day of the simulation. My friend and neighbor Lauri agreed to accompany me on this run. My alarm went off at 5:15 and I jumped out of bed ready to knock these miles out.  After all, 5 should be no problem.  Should, being the operative word here. This run just flat out sucked. I was tired. My legs were sore. I had no oomph. I had to reign Lauri in a couple times and fretted to her that I was nervous. If I was having trouble with 5 measly miles, how on earth was I gonna do 10? Or 20? Before she trotted back across the street to her warm house and puppy snuggles, she told me that I would be fine and it was just a bad day. I knew this on an intellectual level, but something like this messes with your mental game.

I made myself a recovery drink, hopped in the shower and got ready for work - complete with my recovery compression socks hidden in my knee high boots. I had pre-made a batch of hard boiled eggs the night before so I easily take some high protein food with me to work. I grabbed an egg, a banana and a clementine and left for work. Sadly, when I got to work and took out my egg - I discovered it looked not so much hard boiled as slimy. I was told it was actually soft boiled, some people like it that way and they even sell these fancy cup things to perch them in and eat them. People are weird. So I tried it. I did not appreciate the slime factor. Yet another Raegan cooking fail.

FYI - this is gross.

Dopey Simulation, Day 2: Friday, December 18 - 10 Miles  

No - we weren't preparing to rob a casino Ocean's 11 style.

My alarm went off at 5:00 am and I rolled out of bed to get dressed in the running clothes I had set out the night before. I did my PT-prescribed planks, ate an English muffin topped with peanut butter and sliced bananas while filling my fuel belt and headed out to meet early bird Karin for a windy run. We decided to run north so we'd be going through Uptown in the dark and could run through the Christmas lights. It's the little things that help you get through a cold run. And it was cold. Despite my multiple shirts, gloves and neck gaiter I was freezing.

After we got north of town and away from the protection of trees and buildings, the wind got vicious. We agreed to run to the north end of the trail so there would be minimal back tracking past our cars to get in the prescribed mileage. (There are few things as mentally taxing as running past your nice, warm car and not stopping. It's like it's calling to you. "Come back to me. You've run far enough.") But as we ran toward the north ending point of the trail, the wind and cold were playing tricks on our minds. We could see the end after a while but it seemed as if we were running in place, and were getting no closer to it. We finally did reach the end and Karin with her running OCD made me actually go back and step onto the street because I had turned around a step shy of it the first time.

The good news was that I felt much better doing 10 miles than I did doing 5 the day before. I had taken the morning off work so I could take my time getting ready after my longest weekday run. I got back home, downed another recovery drink and rolled out my legs. As I laid down to roll my calves, I placed my hand under my head and discovered my pony tail was frozen...and I'd been home in front my fireplace for about a half hour at this point. I thought it was cold out there!  After I got out of the shower, I looked at my watch and realized I had enough time for a nap before I went to work so I climbed into my bed and promptly fell asleep. Before leaving for work, I made another attempt at a high protein meal and made a bagel with cream cheese and salmon. No cooking issues this time. Of course the only "cooking" I had to do was toast the bagel...

Well, it turned out better than the egg.

Dopey Simulation, Day 3: Saturday, December 19 - 20 Miles

This is the last day, right?

This was the big day. Even though it's Saturday, my alarm still annoyingly goes off at 5:00 am. I stagger out of bed, get dressed in 2 pairs of tights, a thermal shirt, fleece-lined jacket, neck gaiter, fleece hat, gloves and wool socks and do my planks. Ugh - why aren't those getting any easier? I had packed a bin with supplies the night before and would be dropping it off at a park along our route. I grabbed that, my fuel belt and my knuckle lights and headed out to meet a group of selfless certifiably crazy people who were willing to meet me and fellow marathoner Wendy before dawn to run for hours.

Our supplies bin that we'd access at mile 12 and again at 13.

The layers weren't enough. I was freezing. I had to pull the mitten mitts over my gloves and tuck my hands up into my sleeves to get feeling back into the tips of my fingers. When the sun came up, it was a little better, but not much. I honestly didn't get warm until about 4 hours in. There was a good-sized group of us and we even saw 2 other crazy people who were out before dawn in 18 degree weather.

After 2 hours, we got to the meeting point where we met up with Jane and Barb, 2 more crazy people of my friends. They would be running about 5 or 6 miles with us. Our posse continued on. In the next hour, we picked up 3 more folks. At this point we started to look like a president running surrounded by the secret service detail - but with more colorful clothing. The large group of people helped pass the time.

Let do this thing, but first lemme take a selfie.

The posse going through Uptown.

Yes - that is frost on my hat.

Not so much a training run as a party on legs.

By mile 14, I was starving. I scavenged food from posse members who produced pretzels and gummy bears from their pockets. Shortly after I was getting a little restless to get done. Our group had been doing run/walk intervals but now I just wanted to finish. Karin encouraged me to do what I needed to do for my own training. So a group of folks stayed with Wendy while Jeffrey and Karin went with me as I took off, telling the rest of the group I'd see them at the finish.

Finally I was starting to get a little warmer and I could almost feel the finish. I ran the last quarter of a mile repeatedly staring at my Garmin, watching the tenths of a mile tick by. All I could think about was a huge fountain soda and a hot shower. Soon my watch buzzed and I was done. I actually felt great. As a matter of fact, my last mile was my fastest one.

Done! What's to eat?

Once I got home, I sent my mom the obligatory "I'm still alive" text - complete with photographic proof - and took a hot shower. I stayed in there until the hot water ran out.

I then went in search of food - grabbing a quick bite and then heading to the grocery store to pick up something for a party that night. Here's a tip - maybe don't go to the grocery store the day of a long run. In addition to the party supplies, I may or may not have also come home with a Hershey bar and a tray of iced pumpkin bars.

So now the Dopey simulation is behind me and I can start the taper. I kicked it off by skipping my Monday morning run. It was raining anyway...

Hell Week

The time has come. Hell week. The week that has been looming large over me for months has finally arrived and right now I'm staring down a weekend of a mini Dopey simulation.

Months ago when I was putting together my training plan, I marked off this week in my planner as my ultimate high mileage weekend and have been flipping to this page from time to time and staring at the numbers written there with equal parts reverence and fear. And now it's here.

My planner thinks I can do it, so I must be able to, right?

My training plan for this weekend is to run 5 miles on Thursday morning, 10 miles on Friday morning and 20 miles on Saturday morning. 

I think I've prepared just as well as I can. I am paying more attention to my diet this week. I'm adding more protein to help sustain the muscles over a longer period of time. I'm also doing some kale and fruit smoothies to give me the additional fruit and veggie nutrients I sometimes lack. I've even made an appointment with a dietitian to learn more about how to fuel most efficiently. I gotta say those smoothies, while tasty, look like the layer of scum that rests on top of stagnant water.

Mmmm....green sludge.

I'm also trying to pay special attention to my body. My back has been giving me trouble the last couple of weeks and is affecting my sleep. I literally haven't been able to roll over in bed without using my arms to pull myself into a new position. I know more than almost anything else right now, I need my sleep so I went to see my doctor and got the prescription cocktail of a muscle relaxer, anti-inflammatory and pain medicine with which I've already been well acquainted. While at the doctor, I learned I lost 8 pounds, which is a little surprising considering how often I eat these days. In addition to the doctor and ongoing PT (am I EVER going to graduate Josh?) I also have a sports massage scheduled for tomorrow night.

With all this, I think I've done just about everything I can to prepare for the days ahead so here we go. The fun starts tomorrow morning!

Marathoner's Dictionary

When you spend an inordinate amount of your time doing something, you tend to find yourself with a vocabulary of words relevant to said endeavor. Some of these words or phrases may not be understood by people who aren't unnaturally preoccupied by your project. In fact, as shocking as this may be, they may not even be interested in your endeavor to the level that you are. I know - weird, right?

As such, the people in your life that are not embroiled in said crazy project might not even be interested enough in what you're constantly occasionally talking about to do research in order to figure out what you're saying. Marathoners in training hardly ever talk about their running, but in the off chance they do, you might be a little confused at some of their terminology. So as a public service, let me define some of the terms that you might hear when you're not tuning us out. Full disclosure: I may or may not have made some of these up myself.

Marathoner Dictionary

Long Run: An activity around which a runner's week revolves. This event takes precedence over sleep, social obligations, family time, cleaning and pretty much everything else. Said event normally occurs on the weekends but can vary based on the schedule of the runner. Preparation requires special food and the ritualized rubbing on of a greasy substance to prevent aggressive rubbing.

PRP: Pre-Run Poop. The all important bowel movement necessary before the long run. Often the runner in your life will get up an hour or more before their run in order to make several attempts at a meaningful attempt. Failure to achieve the PRP can result in disastrous consequences. See also: Pre-Race Poop. 

Runhole: A creature who, during training, tends to talk only about running related things, is unavailable to family and friends because they have a workout to get in, and just generally ignores life outside of running. 

Runger: The level of hunger that you attain when you spend so many hours of your day running. This is usually treated with large amounts of carbs. Or donuts. See also: Rungry.  

Running Math: The mental computations that must be made on the run in order to turn around in the appropriate location in order to get the exact prescribed mileage for the day. Note: due to the excessive amount of oxygen that must be diverted to the legs during a run, the brain is operating at a disadvantage and traditionally your running math is incorrect, putting you further away from your house or car than you wanted to be. 

Glide: Derived from the BodyGlide brand of products used to lube up a runner's body before long runs in order to prevent the uncomfortable, ever present danger of chafing.  Absence of glide is generally made evident by screams coming from the shower. 

Roll Out: Activity during which the runner positions his or her body on a cyclindrical piece of foam or plastic and slides sore muscles back and forth over said device, eliciting screams and curse words. Despite the looks of it being to the contrary, the runner assures you it is a good thing they are doing.

Calf Guns:  Calves that are shapely and hard as a rock. Generally accompanied by arms that are about as well defined as a wet noodle. (Or is that just me?) Note: these are often an impediment to female runners finding a cute pair of knee-high boots that fit over said guns. (Again, just me?)

Digestive Issues:  The blanket term that refers to things that happen to a marathoner in training after a particularly rough run. It's best not to ask for details. 

On that note, I think that's a good place to stop. I hope this mini dictionary is helpful for you as you attempt to better understand your runner.  

Feed Me

Training hunger is no joke.

I get hungry often and at the most inconvenient times.

After a long run I have been known to eat something while I'm deciding what I want to eat. It's not unusual for me to eat dinner, and then 2 or 3 hours later as I'm getting ready for bed I'm so hungry that my stomach literally hurts. But I don't want to eat again because all I want to do is brush my teeth and go to bed. Sometimes I'll give in to the hunger and eat a piece of cheese or a handful of pumpkin seeds. Other times I'll just try to ignore it. I've even woken in the middle of the night to hunger pangs.

A friend who recently did her first Ironman triathlon reportedly slept with a jar of peanut butter and a spoon near her bed so when she woke in the middle of the night starving she'd just eat a spoonful of peanut butter and go back to bed. I haven't resorted to that yet, but I have eaten spoonfuls of peanut butter at various times during the day to try to satisfy the hunger.

I'm not exactly a whiz in the kitchen so the idea of having to feed myself more than normal is distressing to say the least. Most of the time these hunger pangs come up, I don't really want to eat because either 1) nothing sounds appealing, or 2) I'm too busy doing other things to stop and eat.

Thankfully I have some awesome friends. Cindy dropped off a brownie for me while I was at work. Laurie and Veronica spent one evening last week doing some holiday baking and invited me over to partake in the goodies. They even sent me home with some treats.

So I guess what I'm getting at is...please feed me. I can't be trusted to do it myself.

And Then There Was Only A Month Left...

This is getting really real now folks. I know I've said it before but it bears repeating.

I've been planning for the Dopey Challenge for more than a year now and we're currently one month away from the day of the marathon - the last day in the challenge. We're under 30 days. Thirty. Three. Zero. For so long, this thing was so far in the future and now it's closing in on me, as evidenced by the fact that runDisney put out the bib numbers, corrals and event guide.

Nothing says impending doom race day like the race waiver.

It's weird. For months, I've lived with a vague feeling that was parts anxiety, dread and excitement about this event. I really thought I'd be in full-blown panic mode as this point, but I'm not. I feel kind of ready. Sure I have some aches and pains (and bruises from PT - thanks Josh!) and I still have my big mileage weekend  to go, including my 20 miler, but for the most part, I'm feeling ok about this. 

I've done test runs in the clothes I plan to wear for the races.

I've experimented with nutrition and fluids.

I've decided on shoes. 

I've used my share of Body Glide.

I think I've prepared just as well as I can at this point. Up next: the Hot Chocolate 15K in St. Louis, and then my mini Dopey simulation weekend.