A Running Bean

Not a jumping bean – a running bean! Follow me as I pace my way through 2017. I am a Michigan State University alum, an Oiselle Volée runner, and an aspiring YMCA camp pro.

[runningbean]

2017 race goals

Portage Winterblast – Sunday, February 26 (Half Marathon)

Gazelle Girl Half Marathon – Sunday, April 23 (Half Marathon)

5/3 River Bank Run – Saturday, May 13 (25K)

Bayshore Marathon – Saturday, May 27 (Marathon)

Run the Bends Ultra – Sunday, June 11 (50K)

Seawheeze – Saturday, August 12 (Half Marathon)

Woodstock Freak – Saturday, September 9 (50K)

GR Marathon – Sunday, October 15 (Marathon)

[runningbean]

things I love about the running community

gonna start 2017 off with a note of positivity (just kidding!)

things I love about the running community:

- Oiselle, Sally Bergesen, Lauren Fleshman, Kara Goucher, Devon Yanko, all the people associated with the nest and the volee. I love their clothes, I love their philosophy, I love the sense of community and unconditional support and strength that radiates from that group. also the Lux and Roga fabrics are outta this world.

- Huma chia gels, lemonade flavor. salted caramel Gu is a close second.

- Gazelle Sports -- who doesn’t love a local running store?! can’t beat it. I love that they have a presence at so many races in West Michigan.

- Picky Bars (thank you Lauren Fleshman!!)

- Altra Lone Peak shoes. I used to think my red and blue shoes were ugly... but now I realize that these are like a dream come true. Thank you Louis from Gazelle Sports for convincing me to buy them!!

- badass tough strong powerful gritty brave courageous women who bust their butts to make their own dreams come true, or who pick themselves back up if they don’t quite make it to the goal and they keep on going.

[runningbean]

[runningbean]

On work and running

I work at a YMCA camp, which is basically the greatest job on the face of the earth! Tomorrow, we are celebrating Halfway Day, which means we are smack in the middle of our busy season. Our staff work 12 weeks of the summer, including two weeks of training at the beginning of June. We have approximately 140 overnight campers and 180 day campers this week. As overnight camp coordinator, my job is to oversee the day-to-day running of overnight camp: coaching and assisting the counselors, checking in with campers, making sure activities are happening smoothly, prepping a lot of things behind the scenes, et cetera.

My schedule on any given day could include… Flagpole at 7:50am; breakfast at 8:00; possibly working through the morning (I get a break 9:15-11:15 if I don’t have too much to do); eating lunch with the day campers at 11:30; setting up for overnight lunch which starts at 12:30; short siesta at 1:30 (again, if I’m not too busy); working through the afternoon; dinner roundup right before 6:00pm; facilitating an all-camp activity after dinner if it is Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday; probably have more work to do; and then curfew is at 11:30pm.

Looking at that daily schedule, I’m sure you can understand why I might want to skip a few days of running here and there during the summer. I am exhausted a lot of the time! I have been pretty good about running 2-3 times per week this summer, but by no means am I making training a priority right now. I’ve been really enjoying my not-too-intense runs with Ryne before work in the mornings. 6:30 is a nice time to run: the sun is up, but it’s before it gets too hot outside, and the roads are usually pretty quiet. I typically wake up not wanting to run at all, but as most runners know, I am always glad that I went for a run after the fact.

My next race is on Sunday; I am 90% sure I’ll be completing my second sprint triathlon here at camp. I say 90% sure because I am really concerned about not getting a nap before work (here, our executive director Bill would say, “Suck it up, buttercup”). I might look for another short race to do before the end of July, but my next big race is Seawheeze in mid-August. After that, it’s just a few short weeks before I attempt an ultramarathon!!! And I’m hoping to get Bill and Ryne to actually commit to a Ragnar relay for the fall.

There’s a lot coming down the pipeline for me in the next six weeks, so stay tuned!

- Katie

[runningbean]

Update!

Hello followers! It has been a while – about a month – since my last post. It has been hard to find time at work to fit in an update. On Memorial Day weekend, I completed my first marathon. It was a total blast, and I will absolutely be doing one again in the future. This Sunday, I am racing a 5K! I mostly picked this one because my friend did it in 2015 and got a cool shirt. I will be pretty disappointed if I don't get a cool shirt this weekend. My next race is in 2 or 3 weeks; I will be participating in the Tri Del Sol triathlon for the second year in a row. After that: who knows?? Stay tuned!

[runningbean]

Yesterday I completed my first 25K race! It went SO much better than my half marathon in April. I went into the race with the goal of being comfortable; if I was running so fast that my breathing became labored/uncomfortable, then I would let myself slow down. It wasn't my lungs that got me in the end – it was my legs! By mile 13, I was pooped. My legs felt very heavy. I was pretty impressed with myself, though, because I didn't walk until approximately mile 12 or 13 (to eat an orange slice, and again a little down the road to change my music over). Not a single time did I slow down to walk before that point. I give myself major kudos for that! I found an older man wearing a cool mountain guides t-Shirt around mile 1 and followed him until about mile 7. He was keeping a very steady 9:10-ish pace and quickly (and unknowingly) became my spirit guide. I tailed him for miles because I was comfortable with his pace and he gave me something to concentrate on, other than my music. I named him Gerald in my head :) At mile 15-ish, we were closing in on the finish line, turning onto Fulton and getting ready to run across the Fulton Street bridge, when the skies opened up. It started pouring freezing cold rain and hail! My feet and shorts were soaked, my hands swelled up into claws, and the sweat that had dried on my face began running into my eyes!! It burned and stung and I kept getting momentarily blinded. Everyone around me was screaming and trying to get pumped up. Five minutes later, when we crossed the finish line, it had stopped. I grabbed the three chocolate milks I had been dreaming of, chugged two cups of blue Gatorade, ate a yogurt, and stuffed some bagel into my mouth. Good to go. I shivered/shuffled my way back to the Cherry/Commerce ramp (whyyyyy did I park so far away?!) and headed home. I am feeling pretty good today, too. No major aches or pains. I even went to my friend Lindsay's bachelorette party last night! I am looking forward to a low-key and relaxing Sunday. My dad and I are seeing David Sedaris at DeVos Hall this afternoon. I can't wait! Marathon Saturday is now less than two weeks away. I am getting pumped but also super freakin nervous. We'll see how that goes. - Katie

[thatkindofwoman]

There has never been a sadness that can’t be cured by breakfast food.

Ron Swanson (via thatkindofwoman)

or running!

[truthology]

Visit Original Link

Tightrope - Janelle Monáe. 

[runningbean]

This is one of my all-time favorite songs to run to. So surprising, but it works. And it's been stuck in my head all day!

[runningbean]

I've had several GOOD runs on my own over the last week and a half. The photo is from my run on Monday – over five miles on an easy out and back route. I am so proud of myself for that run. I started out slow, allowing myself to be okay with a comfortable pace. If my breathing wasn't effortless, I let myself slow down. I kept a consistent pace over the first half of the run and felt positive about both the run and myself for the whole time! By mile 4, I had warmed up really well and ended up striding it out over the home stretch. It felt so good to push myself, knowing that I was very close to home and didn't have to save up any more endurance. I got as low as 7:25 during the last mile but averaged out at 8:40 overall. I have another night off tonight, but it is cold and rainy, so I will probably log a 5K on the treadmill and call it a night. I would love to do 6 miles tonight, but I don't have the patience to do that on the treadmill!! Overall, I'm feeling much more positive about running and I'm really looking forward to my marathon in a few weeks.

[runningbean]

3 miles on the treadmill done tonight by 10:30pm. I started at 9:05/mile and hit the "speed up" button every half mile, getting down to 8:34 before hovering around the 8:40ish mark until the end. I stayed relatively positive throughout the run and I did not stop or slow down AT ALL. Chalking that one up in the success column.

[runningbean]

Hey followers - It's been pretty quiet on the blog for the last few weeks. I'm not going anywhere! I've been struggling with my runs lately and I don't feel like sharing crummy runs with the readers. I'm also not really on a schedule right now because of my injury. Once I am in a better headspace, and running more consistently, I'll write more! Stay tuned - Katie

[runningbean]

I've been thinking a lot this week about my first marathon. It's coming up very fast – May 28 is only five weeks away. I am very excited but also very nervous! The relative "success" of this race is going to depend on my mental strength. Everything is riding on my brainpower. I trust that my body can complete 26.2 miles – it might hurt afterwards, but I know my body is capable of doing it. That's not what I'm worried about. My brain is the one I have to watch out for. I have to do my best not to slide into a spiral of negative thoughts like I did on Sunday during my half marathon. Once doubt takes seed in my mind during a run, it spreads rapidly and I lose all will to continue. Sounds dramatic, but it's true. And that's what ruined me on Sunday. Around mile 4 or 5 of my half, I was overwhelmed by the distance ahead of me and the fact that I had to keep checking my pace every couple of seconds in order to stay on track for a PR. Something that also didn't help was the feeling that I hadn't hit my stride yet, I wasn't in the zone, I didn't settle into a good groove at all during the first 5K of the race. *Warning- poop talk ahead* My stomach was hurting; I couldn't force out a poop before the race (should have had a cup of coffee) and I was REALLY focused on the location of porta-potties along the course and the fact that I MIGHT need to poop at some point. So when I said that my head wasn't in the right place, it truly wasn't. I was thinking and worrying about a million things that were not RUNNING. In order to have a strong mental game on May 28th, I need to (a) not worry about finishing time, (b) poop BEFORE the race, and (c) start the race listening to music. Hopefully those three things will create a positive, worry free environment that will make me successful in completing my first marathon.

[runningbean]

VOLÉE DAY

THIS GIRL IS FINALLY REGISTERED AS AN OISELLE VOLÉE RUNNER!!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

If you are a female runner and haven’t heard of Oiselle, you are missing out. Oiselle is a women’s running clothing company based in Seattle – but they are SO MUCH MORE than that. They sponsor elite runners (including two of my inspirations, Lauren Fleshman and Kara Goucher) and host a nationwide running team called the Oiselle Volée. They cheer on their runners, both big-time and local, from every corner of the Internet and the country.

The company, staff and runners are some of my favorites to follow on social media. Not only do they make beautiful running clothes, but they also post race updates (hello, LA Marathon!) and chime in on important issues in the running world (hello, weird sponsorship rules for Rio!). As a group/company, they are all about championing strong women and appreciating your body for its individual strengths and capabilities. As founder Sally Bergesen tweeted today, “every pace is welcome on Oiselle Volée. And I mean EVERY pace.” They are inclusive, inspirational, and empowering. And that is why I am excited to say that I have officially registered for the Volée!!!! I can’t wait to receive my Oiselle singlet and represent such a kick-ass company while racing this year.

[runningbean]

My fourth 13.1 is in the books. It was a terrible awful horrible train wreck of a race. My head was not in it today. I got very anxious about 1/3 of the way into the race and got extremely wrapped up in thinking about my time goal and how long it would take me to get there. I got overwhelmed by the amount of work in front of me and was compulsively checking my pace every few steps. It was awful. I physically may have been in shape to do the race (and I did finish), but my lack of mental conditioning absolutely destroyed me. I spent half of my car ride home from the race crying and saying terrible things to myself because I was so angry and disappointed in myself. I pride myself on being a very competitive person, but when that competitive spirit turns on you and cannibalizes your mental strength and ability to persevere… it gets real ugly, real fast. I’m glad that I finished (and in the grand scheme of things, I ran a 10:00-ish average, which isn’t HORRIBLE) and now I can start subconsciously burying all memories of that race and forget that it ever happened 😉

[runningbean]

13.1 thoughts on the eve of my first REAL race of the year

1. I wish I had a CML singlet so I could rep my workplace during all of my races. 2. ...What am I going to wear?? 3. I should probably set out my clothes. 4. What will I eat for breakfast?! 5. I hope I don't have an intestinal freak out during the race (every runner's nightmare) 6. I wonder if I should write a pace chart on my arm. 7. Is a PR feasible when running with an injury? 8. Am I really actually injured if my leg doesn't hurt? 9. I hope I don't hurt myself tomorrow by doing this race. 10. Should I even remind my family about this race? What if my parents get mad at me for not resting? 11. I will need someone to take my picture after the race... So maybe I should tell them. 12. What would it be like to show up, run a race knowing that nobody is there to cheer you on, and just go home like nothing even happened? Seems v. chill. 13. I can't believe I have to wake up at 5:30 for this... 0.1 - tomorrow is gonna be awesome.

[runningbean]

I went to the doctor on Friday to see if I had a stress fracture, blood clot, or something else on my shin. I had an X-ray done (my bones are so pretty!) which didn't show any sign of a full break. My PA said that stress fractures don't usually show up on x-rays because they are pretty small, so a bone scan or MRI would have to be done for a definitive answer. But those are expensive! So we're gonna call it a stress fracture and treat it like a stress fracture. Which means... I have to take two weeks off of running! 😭😭😭😭😭😭 I get to wear an awesome compression wrap for the next week, which feels great, and I plan to not run at all this week. My first race is a half marathon, one week from today. My PA advised against competing in it... but I have to, in order to get a Double Down medal (completing that race AND the Riverbank Run 25K) sooooooo I am seriously considering participating in my half next weekend. Stupid? Maybe. Stubborn or determined? Absolutely.

[runningbean]

FIRST RUN AROUND THE LAKE WITH RYNE IN 2016... CHECK! Few things are more enjoyable than going for a gut-busting run on your favorite route with your favorite running partner. It was "comfortably uncomfortable," as Maddy would say. However awesome the run may have been... it exacerbated my lower leg pain. It has been bothering me even on days when I don't run – just walking around will make it hurt by the end of the day. I have an egg-sized lump on my shin that is pretty painful to touch. After doing some internet research (eek!), I am going to give my doctor a call tomorrow. I am really nervous to hear if it is something serious. I have 3 races over the next 8 weeks and would hate to miss any of them at all. Keep your fingers crossed!