Remember the challenges I faced this week with a training class I had to hold in Danbury and I had a flat tire on the way there and issues with the platform I had to deliver the class from? Well I had great success overcoming those challenges and even some new ones I came across today.
Today was the last day of the two day session I was teaching. When we deliver a back back two day class we don’t ask the students to complete a post class survey until the end of the last day. Since my first day started off on the wrong foot with my flat tire and my later arrival time I wasn’t sure how my class delivery was going. I thought it was going well but it’s always nice to see the feedback each night so you can decipher what to do for the next day. I take my survey results seriously. I am the type of person who wants to always earn the A+. I don’t like anything less.
But I was pleasantly surprised. My survey results were 8.58 out of 9. That is a great score! What made me smile the most were the following comments:
“The instructor was very knowledgeable and presented the material as how it related to real world examples. She made the training fun too.”
And also this one:
“Instructor’s enthusiasm was great, talk about a positive attitude!!!”
I took a situation that could have gone sour and rattled me for the entire week and used it as a learning tool for my students to see that when you remain calm and stay positive you can achieve your goals.
Well today I was challenged…. Â Actually, this entire week has been a challenge for me. Â But I have been very successful in overcoming these challenges. Â On Monday I had to take action and create my training web sites for 16 students. Â I was going to postpone the task until Tuesday, but I knew my day Tuesday was going to be busy working at Pratt. Â I’m glad I listened to my gut. Â I identified an issue right away that would not allow me to create the 16 sites and I needed to get in touch with Corporate IT to help find a resolution to the problem. Â If they couldn’t help me then I was going to have to take a process that would only take me an hour to do and then build 16 sites that could take me about 5-6 hours. Â After my Monday afternoon meeting (unrelated to the issue I identified), I came home and started begging for help from IT via email. Â I have to admit, I wasn’t too happy about the situation, but I knew I had a way out if I needed one.
Tuesday comes along and I was close to getting a fix to the issue. Â I still had to be at Pratt for the day; but was working on the fact that I may have to ask them if I can come on a different day while dealing with this emergency. Â Good news… by 9:15 the guys in IT had my solution in place! Â I could have kissed them! Â I met Eric and Fred at a SharePoint Users Group meeting in March, so I am hoping they remembered me! Â So that crisis was averted. Â I got the sites create and was able to get to Pratt by 11:00 a.m. Â The day wasn’t a loss. Â I also got to spend time with my new co-worker/friend Tammy! Â She gave me a hug when I arrived and cheered me up! Â So I had my challenges for Monday and Tuesday, but I worked through them.
I knew I had to teach these training classes on Wednesday and Thursday in Danbury and I was feeling a little pre-race jitters about the class. Â It happens to me every time for some reason. Â I never feel like I am 100% prepared; even though I usually do just fine in the class. Â My plan was to leave my house today between 6:30 and 6:45 to get to Danbury by 8:00. Â I woke up at 5:15 when my alarm went off and made some tea. Â Problem #1, I spilled my full cup of tea all over the living room rug when I accidentally kicked it with my foot. Â BUT, I didn’t get flustered. Â I was strangely calm. Â I put a towel over it and tried to absorb as much as I could. Â I got ready for the day and hit the road before 7:00. Â The sun was out and it was a pretty morning. Â I was listening to my friend Joe’s Dreamers Podcast and as I got through Meriden I heard a funny noise as I drove over something. Â Thirty second later I heard another strange noise like something hit the side of my car. Â Ten seconds later the tire pressure display on my car showed my tire pressure was rapidly falling on my right front tire – GREAT! Â I had to get off to the side of the highway because I just blew a tire. Â I was impressed by my car though. It handled so well and didn’t even feel like I had a flat. Â If I hadn’t heard that noise I wouldn’t have believed it.
Of course when I was standing outside waiting for my husband to arrive I knew I needed to get some pictures because I should share this on social media and write a blog post about it… Why not?!
Once I pulled over, I called my co-worker Jay on his way to Danbury and dropped a few “F bombs” and told him I may be late depending on how fast roadside assistance can get to me. Â Then I called my husband and dad and my husband came up to help me. Â A state trooper pulled up behind me and stayed by me while I was on the phone with roadside assistance. Â Good thing he was because the roadside assistance people said they can’t come out onto a turnpike to help; but he explained to them that it wasn’t considered a turnpike. Â Now I need to research what is considered a “turnpike” for future reference. Â He gave me the phone number for the barracks and said another trooper will be making a loop through this way and will probably stop and check on me. Â After sitting in the car for a few minutes and feeling it shake from the force of the cars zooming past me I decided to stand outside the car to wait. Â I didn’t want to be a sitting duck in the car if someone wasn’t paying attention and smashed into my car. Â I did try to get my spare tire out and loosen up the lug nuts on my tire, but they were on too tight. Â I moved my boxes and the cart from the back of my car and put them on the back seat so I had everything prepared for when either my husband arrived, or when roadside assistance arrived. Â I had to make this switch quick so I could keep going on towards Danbury. Â I knew there was a chance I could still get there on time; but worst case, I’d be there no later than 9:30.
The second trooper drove up and I told him I was going to wait outside because I didn’t want to get hit and that help was on the way and the first trooper had already stopped to check on me. Â They were so helpful and I admire the dangerous job they have out on the highway with all of those trucks and cars going so fast and the risk of the distracted drivers these days.
My husband arrived and changed my tire quickly and I was off and on the road again by 8:30. Â I arrived to Danbury by 9:05 and was in the classroom giving my introduction by 9:25! Â I just went with it and rolled with the punches. When I got into the classroom I wasn’t shaking or flustered, I just made light of the situation and got on with the show. Â It could have been so much worse. Â It could have been pouring rain or I could have been in an accident. Â I don’t know where the sense of calm came from but I was glad I kept my cool.
I mentioned to my students today that I have a blog and that my one word resolution for the year is “Challenge” and one of my students said Challenges Are An Opportunity in Disguise. Â I’m not sure what today’s opportunity was but it did help me connect with my students right away because they were aware of what I had happen and were sympathetic when I arrived; but I am hoping my calm demeanor helped them feel at ease that I was in control of today’s lecture and they were going to learn new things despite what a nutty start my day had!
My family took me out for dinner tonight since my week had a bumpy start and then my husband put new newly repaired tire back on my car.
Or at least I am taking steps in that direction. I recently started working on a project with a woman at Pratt & Whitney and we connected right away. I am of the belief that people come into and out of our lives for a reason. Tammy has been great to work with and she has opened my eyes to what gluten does to a body.
Over a year ago I referred my mom to my old endocrinologist when she was having trouble with her iron being extemely low and her thyroid medicine kept getting increased but she was feeling more and more exhausted. She was getting to the point where she needed to take naps.
Tammy was telling me that she and her son were tested for celiac disease 11 years ago and were positive for it. I always thought that the reason why people go gluten free are because they get stomach aches and diarrhea from eating foods with gluten. Little did I know that it presents in many different ways AND it is hereditary.
We had an incredible conversation about it over lunch and I am going to do more research on it; but what my mom was experiencing with her iron and thyroid was happening because her intestines couldn’t process the medications due to the gluten in her diet. My old doctor was always current with practices and procedures and that is why I suggested my mom go to her. Since she has been gluten free her numbers became more regulated and she didn’t need such a high dose of her thyroid medication and she told me once that she felt different. She said it was hard to explain, but she felt better.
Tammy mentioned to me that when she was on the gluten free lifestyle she one day woke up and said she felt “normal” and was surprised at how crappy she had been feeling all that time before when her diet consisted of flour and wheat.
So why does that happen? What happens to us? Well Tammy asked me what nationality I was. I told her I am Scottish and Irish and English or German. She explained that the Irish were brought up on mainly potatoes. And when the potato famine hit them they were brought wheat. Once they began to eat wheat they began to get sick. I thought that was extemely interesting. What also came to mind was my husband. He has been struggling for a while now with sore joints and he had issues with his gut and had to make modifications in his diet because of some sensitivity. When Tammy explained that she was 37 in a doctor’s office barely able to walk because of her pain, a lightbulb went off. I told her there were times when I would feel pain in my fingers and elbows and I blamed it on too much sugar. I am now beginning to suspect that if we reduce the gluten in our diet perhaps some of the things we feel or battle will go away.
It’s worth a shot. I am aware of the items my mom buys when she shops and we also try to keep gluten free options in our home for when she comes to visit but I want to take more steps to transition to that lifestyle.
Tammy also warned me that when you are gluten free and you get “glutinated” (contaminated by gluten) your body will react to it like you had consumed a poison to your body. It may present as a headache or joint pain or a stomach ache or GI issues. But you will feel crappy for a day to 3 days or more.
Isn’t that amazing how a food ingredient has such an affect on the body? Since I have an autoimmune disease and my thyroid already reacted to a life change in my body after I had my second baby I may have been having symptoms of this but never saw the big picture.
I’m definitely going to research the topic more and educate myself on how to wean off, what to expect and how to change this lifestyle. I remember in January when we were in Florida with my parents my mom ate something that may have had gluten in it (soup with flour to thicken it) and it bothered her stomach the next day. I would also like to see how I can make this subtle change for my kids also.
Have you gone gluten free? Do you feel better or worse? What advice do you have?
I DID IT! I DID IT! I DID IT!!! I can’t believe how well I did it! I knew I could finish it; but I didn’t expect to finish such a hilly half marathon with such a decent finish time considering I haven’t really trained completely for a half since I was training for Dopey. And even when I was training for Dopey I was training to SURVIVE 4 consecutive races with a marathon as the last race! One reason why I wanted to run this race was because I needed some “real races” to get a decent time to submit for my Disney race corrals. I haven’t done a good half marathon since Cheshire in 2013. All of my other half marathons have been Disney races and the fastest I think was over 3 hours. So it was time to put on my real running shoes and get out there and race!
It was a beautiful Spring day! The sun was out and the sky was so blue! The temperature was perfect for a race. I arrived around 10:30 and watched some of the kids finish the kid races on Main street and then went over to the green to meet Diana. I told her how scared I was and she said she had butterflies too! She told me it was because we were running a real race! I was glad I wasn’t the only one feeling that way. I swear I felt as nervous as I did before my very first half marathon in 2012. So we made a visit to the potties and then I wanted to get my pre race picture with Jeff. I told him I was feeling scared and he reminded me of what we talked about yesterday. To tell the subconscious brain that we can do this, and that we are ready for this. I was taking that approach in the shower when was feeling scared and I kept reminding myself that I can do anything.
After that it was close to the start time so we went down to Main Street and joined the 2:30 pace crowd. We were shooting for around a 2:30 pace. Little over, little under was good.
The start came up on us quick and before we had time to think about it we were off! First hill was rough, but we saw Jeff Galloway and Kimberly Markey ahead of us and followed Jeff’s lead up the hill. It wasn’t pretty but we did it. I was sucking wind and a little grumpy about it. We had a straight away and started to set up Diana’s phone for our intervals. Then we rounded another corner and headed up another hill…. Grumpy again. But then the downhill… ok we can make up time there. Then another up hill. We did what we could up the hill and made sure to run the downhills and then some. We kept a very consistent pace as well. Then we rounded another corner towards a water stop and made our way back towards the 3 and 4 mile marks which had a few little hills smattered in here and there. Then there was the place where the 4 milers break away from the half marathoners. I sure was tempted to call it a day; but that wasn’t going to happen. But I was not in love with this race yet and knew that the big hills that we just did 2 miles ago were still ahead of us again.
We sucked it up and conquered the hill, ran the downhill, then walked the uphill and ran the downhill again. That was the last repeat of the first part of the race. The rest of the race pretty much followed that pattern as well. We pushed up the hills and ran the downhills. We were very consistent with our times. Each time Diana’s phone announced the mile pace it was always around 11:45. We used her interals of 30 seconds run and 17 seconds walk. It was a great ratio because we had just enough time to catch our breath and then run again. The beginning of the race was around 12 so once I review my splits I am pretty sure I have a negative split for this race! At around mile 11 I noticed a man running and thought it looked like Bob, from Bob and Mary Perrotti who I met on the plan going to Tower of Terror. It was him! I gave him a big hug and saw Mary and gave her a big hug. They were running with their daughter Elizabeth. It was great to see them and I saw them finish as well. I hope to run into them again at some more local races so we can catch up about our Disney experiences!
Bob, Mary and Elizabeth are in the background towards the right.
I am very pleased with my ability to do so well with such a hilly race. I did train; but not like my usual half marathon training where I put in a 14 mile race prior to the actual race as Jeff Galloway recommends. In comparison to the Heartbreak Hill Half Marathon I did last June, I finished this race 5 minutes faster. I will have to review the elevation maps of both courses, but I think Middletown might have been hillier. It just didn’t have the long growing hill that Heartbreak Hill is. After the race I waited to watch Kim and Jeff Galloway cross the line and took pictures for her. I knew she would want to have those. Then I wanted to get photos with Jeff with our medals.
After Diana and I got pictures with Jeff we went to the food line and found Kimberlee D. We sat down to eat with her; but I was worried about Diana. She wasn’t looking too well. Last year she suffered from major stomach issues after that race and got sick on the way home. She said she was feeling ok today; but when I checked on her, sadly, it happened to her again on the way home. I’m going to email Jeff to ask him what happens to cause that. She was great during the entire race. We were so consistent and she felt awesome.
Kimberlee, me and Diana
I am so proud that this race was such a success for me. As I mentioned in earlier posts I was very concerned about this race. My leg is bothering me a little so I am icing it and trying to massage out the rough spots and my husband was helping me with that. I’ll be fine in a day; but it’s still not 100% yet. I WILL do the Cheshire Half marathon for sure. I wanted to do that race because it was where I ran my very first half so I want to see now how I will do with that race. Especially if I have Diana running with me.
After a busy workweek I knew that I had a busy weekend ahead of me with the Harvard Pilgrim Middletown Half Marathon on Sunday and Jeff Galloway’s Fun Run and Running School on Saturday. Friday night I went out with friends from work to celebrate Heidi’s last day working for New Horizons. We had a great time at City Steam in Hartford and ended up staying there until 11:30! It was wayyyy past my bedtime and I knew I had to get my butt out of bed at 6:30. By the time I got home and settled down for the night I think I fell asleep around 1:00.
The alarm went off at 6:30 with no option for snooze so I jumped out of bed, made my tea and took a shower to help wake me up. That was a smart move. I got ready and drove up to Middletown where I met up with a very small group of people and Jeff in front of the Inn at Middletown to head out for the run. By small, I mean there were about 10 people there. But it was great!
Jeff wearing his Wesleyan jersey from his college days.
At 8:30 and we were on the road. Jeff instructed us on how to do some Acceleration Gliders and we ran 15/15 intervals with him down the sidewalks of Main Street and up a road towards the Wesleyan Campus. It was a beautiful morning. The sun was finally out and it wasn’t freezing cold. It was the perfect temperature for running. We continued on for about a mile and a half along the campus and down the streets of Middletown and back to the Inn at Middletown where Jeff had to go back and gather up his things for our Running School with Jeff at 9:30.
Jeff showed us which dorm room was his and Amby’s.
After we left Jeff, I looked for a parking spot and a cup of tea to help shake off the fuzz from the night before and headed over to the seminar where I hooked up with my friend Kimberlee Dziezynski. I was glad to see her. She has been experiencing similar issues that I have been experiencing lately and has also been fighting off fatigue and winter blues. I still find it amazing how we met on a plane in 2013 coming home from the Disneyland Dumbo Double Dare and now we hook up for events! I love the power of social media and the running community.
I noticed something during the seminar. The women outnumbered the men. I thought that was a very interesting observation. I knew Katherine Switzer was also going to be in Middletown Saturday for a discussion with Jeff and Amby Burfoot during packet pick up and I was looking forward to hearing what they were going to discuss.
During Jeff’s class he talked about many topics like speed work, nutrition, pacing, mental training, hydration and efficient running. One great point that hit home to me was when he said “a body in bed wants to stay in bed, but a body in motion stays in motion”. That speaks volumes to what I have been going through lately. If I just get up and get moving I feel better. But it is the initial getting up part. I mentioned to Jeff that this winter was exceptionally hard. That it had a physical impact on me even though I was very diligent about doing my runs outdoors despite the cold and snow. But mentally it was harder. I will remember what he said next time I want to hit snooze.
It was a great seminar. Most of the information I had consumed over the years via pod casts or from Jeff’s newletters, web site or ecoaching; but it was great to sit for 3 hours and hear him explain these topics in his own words and they really sunk in for me. It was like a refresher course I needed to stay on track with my running and training.
After the seminar I drove home to watch my daughter at her first softball practice of the year. Then the kids went to my parents’ and I went with my husband back up to Middletown for the packet pick up and to hear the lecture. I was so glad Katherine was selling her books there. I had her autograph her book to me and my daughter so that I can give it to her when she is older.
Katherine wanted to get a picture with my husband and liked his muscles!
It was a great day. Something I needed to get me back into the game and the weather was a good boost also. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be just as nice and I am hoping to have a great run and to also run the beginning of the race with Jeff as well! Diana and I are planning to run it at a pace to survive. I don’t have expectations for a fast race. Thank you Hartford Marathon Foundation for putting together a great weekend of events!
That is the question. My friend Perfect Goofy Gail will be running the Providence marathon again this year and invited me to join her. She helped me last year to achieve my marathon PR which I can still use for my corral placement for the 2016 marathon. I have another friend that I used to work with who I saw running near my house last week so I messaged her and asked her what she was training for. She told me she was training for the Providence marathon and I felt a little jealous. I specifically did not sign up for the Providence marathon this year because I did not want to train for a Spring marathon. I wanted to focus on half marathons and getting a decent half marathon finish time for my Disney race corral placements. With my current ankle issue it wouldn’t be a pretty marathon at all. My half marathons right now are going to be ugly as it is.
Gail offered to go slow and even to walk the last half of the race. Last year when she helped me get my PR we walked part of it and I still got a good time in my books but we were in the back of the pack. If I were to run the first half and walk the last we would be the last people to cross the line, I’m sure.
So now I am debating if I should do the Providence half. Next dilemma. I want to run the Cheshire half which is the week before Providence. So I think I need to see what happens this weekend with the Middletown half marathon and see how my leg feels during and after the race. I am just walking most of this week so I can give it time to recover and to have it rested for Sunday.
If all goes well. Then I will make some decisions. We are going on our family vacation to Disney and I am also attending the Disney Social Media Moms Conference so I have to pack everything the weekend before because I have a busy workweek prior to leaving. I have to teach the day we are flying out so I have to rush home and pick up my family and our stuff and rush to the airport.
I read a recent blog post on the Another Mother Runner site from Amy Blake where her body was telling her to slow down. I am wondering if my body is also telling me to slow down. After I read her article it made me think if I need to stick to my plan and not push myself into doing a marathon that I am not prepared for.
I have to respect the distance. Sure I may be able to finish it, but will I injure myself in doing so and then would that affect my vacation with walking in the Disney parks? So the big question is to do the half or not to do the half. I guess time will tell after next weekend. It is always fun to get away for a race, even when it is in the next state. I have to see what my daughter’s softball schedule is as well. So many decisions!!!
I specifically did not sign up for the Providence marathon this year because I did not want to train for a Spring marathon. I wanted to focus on half marathons and getting a decent half marathon finish time for my Disney race corral placements. With my current ankle issue it wouldn’t be a pretty marathon at all. My half marathons right now are going to be ugly as it is. 