My 60 X 60 - Part 5

Getting Ready for the Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll Half

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Betsm51

Now that the Portland Rock ‘n’ Roll Half is under my belt, should really say “my feet,” the Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll Half is just four weeks away.

Most normally sane people would wait several months before attempting to run another half marathon. But I have been shamelessly swayed by this.

The Rock ‘n’ Roll event planners are giving us a third medal, Pacific Peaks, to compliment our regular medals when we complete both the Portland and Seattle races. Now, what girl wouldn’t want extra bling?

My training for the Seattle Half shouldn’t be hard but neither will it be a cakewalk. My long training run, Portland Half, is done though I still have training runs of 3 to 12 miles to do over these four weeks. I also need to continue to be focused on my strength training.

To make sure I do that, I still have my coaches in place, my Saturday and Sunday running group of ladies, my friendly needle pusher aka acupuncturist, Elisha Weinburg, as well as several ladies I run with during the week.

But my real motivation for this race covers a multitude of areas:

Stay fit and healthy
Run at this mileage, comfortably
Better my time
Run injury-free
And, of course, collect more Bling!

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I am a Runner-Portland Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Betsm51

I am a runner! I am a runner! I AM a runner!

I'm a runner!

I can hear all of my girlfriends, family and friends telling me I have always been a runner. But for the first time, I FEEL like a runner.

As most of you know, it has been a long road to get here. The Portland Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon made me feel like the runner I always wanted to be.

For the first time, I finished a half marathon completely injury-free. Yes, I had aches and pains while I was running and now I have some soreness. But I didn’t hurt, stressed, or fractured anything in my body.

Portland Hotties

The Portland Half weekend started with good laughs with a group of ladies who met along the way through our love of running. Regardless how long we have known each other, our goal always is to support each other and have fun. I can’t imagine a better group of ladies I would have liked to share this accomplishment with than them.

If you have never been a part of a Rock ‘n’ Roll event, it is an awesome race to do for your first or 100th half. At this Portland Half, 11017 runners finished this race.

For me, the beginning of this race was very emotional. I felt ready to do this, both emotionally and physically. I had an enormous amount of support from everyone, especially my coaches and my friends. My emotions were in check until our National Anthem was played. It always gets to me. This time even more so. The hush that came over the crowd was overwhelming as we waited for the first notes of our anthem to fill the air. I know I wasn’t the only one wiping tears away on my sleeves.

The first corral took off at the sound of the gun with the elite runners. Then as the waves of corrals went off two minutes apart, the emotions turned to nervousness as anticipation swept through each corral as we slowly moved towards the start line. Friends were telling friends to have a good run, re-checking post-runs meeting places, smiling and high fiving each other as well as taking last minute pictures.

Our corral moving slowly to the start line

My nervousness passed once I crossed the start line. Now it was all about relaxing, remembering what my running coach told me, and having fun. The bands, support staff, and traffic police were all great, even the medical staff were great. No, I had no need of them except to have one direct me to their garbage can to throw away my finish gel trash.

I did stick to my running plan of running 9 minutes and walking 1 minute until the hills got to me. Then I switched to running until I got tired, then walking for a minute or two before it was back to running.

Finished! Trying to smile through the tears.

By the time, I got to mile 11, I knew I was going to make it but keeping my emotions in check was hard to do. It got harder as I neared the finish line. It didn’t seem to matter how tired I was, and I was, my feet hurt, my IT Band was starting to tighten up, my knees were starting to ache, I had a burst of energy especially when I saw the actual finish line and heard random people cheering.

I crossed the finish with a personal best of:

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Pre-Race Butterflies

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Betsm51

Butterflies??? Where are they coming from? And why this time?

In less than 3 days, I’ll be running the first of my 3, maybe 4 half marathons this year. But this is the first time I have experienced butterflies. Those little flutters that tickle the insides catching you unaware throughout the day and waking you up in the middle of the night.

I never had experienced butterflies over the last 4 years but, then, I was mainly focused on some injury or major ache as well as if I would even be able to do the race.

This year I trained differently. With the added training and focus on my running form, I now have this feeling of anxiousness. With no injury or major pain to worry about, my mind keeps asking “Can I do this?”, “Will my IT Band be fine?”, or “Will my shin splints act up?” Then on top of all of that, there is another concern.

This course is freaking me out.

Normally, I can drive the course and/or even run the parts of it I think will bother me before the actual race. This time I haven’t been able to as it’s in Portland. Then there is this elevation gain. Hills don’t bother me too much but the ones I’ve been training on are no more than 2 or 3 blocks long.

On this route, we run a fairly flat course until we reach mile 3. That is when we start a long climb from about 98 feet above sea level to 298 feet until we hit mile 6. This elevation gain doesn’t seem much unless you are running for 3 miles uphill and you still have 7.1 miles left to run.

In trying to lessen this concern, I have gone over my normal checklist plus I made a list of items I need to bring that normally don’t travel with me. Things like my roller for rolling out my IT Band, my rubber band for doing squats, and my pre-race breakfast.

For the race, my Garmin will be set to alert me to my running plan, 9 minutes run, 1 minute walk. My iPod Shuffle will have upbeat music and a Chi Running audio sprinkled throughout to remind me of the proper running form. My iFitness Belt will have bottles filled with an electrolyte sports drink for drinking along the way as well as goodies to eat stuff in the pouch.

My after-the-race bag will have a bottle of chocolate milk, several packets of string cheese, and a pair of comfy sandals.

Prepared, yes, but the butterflies still won’t go away. So instead, I have been telling myself that with my running plan, I should be fine.

“Yes, I will be fine. These butterflies are just pre-race flutters to make sure I’m light on my feet throughout this race.”

And now repeat, again. . .

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Betsy’s Half Marathon Team

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Betsm51

Over the past few months, my focus has been on training for the first of three, and maybe four, half marathons for this year.

As most of you know over the last four years, I have had some major problems that have caused me to be sidelined either right before or right after a half marathon. So this year, I decided to take my training to a whole new level. I have assembled what I call “Betsy’s Half Marathon Team.”

Some of my team members have been with me for the last four years, others are recent additions. But all are there to insure I am able to achieve my running goals this year.

First are the ladies who I met four years ago when we started with Running Evolution. Most of us were training for the Seattle Inaugural Rock n Roll Half Marathon, our first half marathon. We are still running with Running Evolution though we now seem to run different halfs that spark our individual interests. Some have even started to train for their first full marathon.

Second is my Sunday morning running partner, Cindy Bingham. We have been doing our Sunday morning runs for the last three years. Our Sunday runs are normally our recovery run after Saturdays’ long runs.

Third, I now have a strength trainer, Tara Peterson. My relationship with Tara is one of love and hate. I love that she is my trainer as she is so postive and full of encouragement even though I feel I can’t do half of what she wants me to do. And I hate her as she makes me do different and more difficult exercises each week.

Fourth, I have my acupuncturist, Elisha Weinberg. She has been keeping my issues with shin splints and IT Band at bay while the various parts of my body get stronger.

And fifth, I have hired a running coach, Laura Houston. Laura is a Chi Running Instructor. She has taught me how important my running posture and foot placement is along with how to relax more. I know, relaxing while running are not exactly two things you would normally do at the same time. But it does work. I am finding that running is much easier for me and my recovery time after is much faster than in the past.

I must admit I feel like one of those super athletes who has their own entourage of trainers trailing behind them. I do know it’s been great to be able to talk to different professionals about the different aspects of training as each are experts in their specific areas. And the support of all the ladies I run with has kept me motivated and inspired.

On May 20th, I kick off my first half marathon in Portland at their Inaugural Rock n Roll Half Marathon. I will be doing this with Cindy and several of the ladies from Running Evolution.

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Welcome to 2012

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Betsm51

Do you have goals or New Year Resolutions for 2012?

To be honest, I don’t do resolutions. Instead I usually spend the time between my birthday and the New Year thinking about what my goals will be. While this is great to do, I normally only accomplish a portion of the goal and/or rarely the whole goal to my satisfication.

This year, I sat down and wrote out what I want to accomplish but more importantly, why I want to accomplish it. Though I still plan on finishing my 60 by 60 list, I also added a few more, changed a couple of the items on my list, and re-defined a few.
Since I wasn’t able to run the Seattle Rock n Roll Half Marathon in 2011, I plan to do two in 2012. The first one will be the Portland Inaugural Rock n Roll Half and, of course, the Seattle Rock in Roll Half. To insure I can do both, I hired a trainer to help me build the strength I need to allievate the IT band issues and shin sprints in my legs.
My business goals are still in place but I also added weekly and monthly goals to again insure I achieve this bigger goal. And I acquired an accountabilty partner who I email weekly what I accomplished for that week. I have been doing this for the last four weeks and, boy, does that weekly email make me more accountable to me and no one else.
On a lark, I added this goal to start 2012 off with a bang…The New Year Day Resolution 5K and Polar Bear Dive.

Calm Lake Washington

Lake Washington looking calm. We ran down on
the left and came up on the right.

Safety Man

The safety man was kind enough to go into the
water prior to the race to show me how deep
the water was as well as the best place to go
under to “qualify” this run for a Polar Bear one.

My grin says it all…”I truly can’t believe I just
did that.” What a blast!!!

What are your “I can’t believe I just did that” goals for 2012?

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Happy Birthday to me!

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Betsm51

Wow, I can’t believe how fast this year has gone by. It seems like just yesterday, I was talking to Betsy Gray Talbot about putting together a list of 60 things I would do by the time I am 60.

Unfortunately, I didn’t complete every item. I was even thrown off course several times. But here are some lessons I have discovered and rediscovered along the way about me:

With the passing of my mother, I struggled between wanting to ball my eyes out to forcing myself to be strong just so that I could get to the next day. The strong part of me won out though I continue to find I miss the silliest things about her that either leave me smiling or with tears in my eyes.
When my doctor told me three days before the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon not to run, I was extremely disappointed. I tried to have a positive attitude about it but I spent a couple of months hating my body for failing me. I also spent those months considering whether I should run or not anymore. With the help of my running buddies, I’m glad to report that running won out. I’m back to training for not one but two half marathons in 2012.
When I booked my ticket to go to Borneo and Bali, I didn’t know if Candice Busch, my best girlfriend, would be able to join me or not. Though filled with a huge amount of trepidation, I refused to let that derail my dream to see the orangutans. Candice did join me on this trip of a lifetime and, as always, we had so much fun together.
The mortgage industry hasn’t been the easiest business to be in over the last several years. I can say there has been more times than I care to admit even to myself that I have wanted to throw in the towel and call it quits. Somehow, I have managed to stay focused. And, yesterday, with the support of my mortgage broker and our wonderful staff, I got one of the biggest wins of my career.
And last but not least, my 60 by 60 list has been the very best present I have ever given to myself. What a wonderful way to stretch myself, record my accomplishments and share them with others.

My 60 by 60 will not be ending with my 60th birthday. I will continue to record and share.

The goal of checking one more item off, the focus to accomplish something I would normally not do, and that wonderful feeling that “Yes, I can” are all great ways to reach just a little bit further than I ever thought I could.

So, stay tuned to my 60th year on this wonderful earth.

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Orangutans

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Betsm51

I have wanted to see the orangutans for a long time. But nothing prepared me for this experience of awe. I’m still having a hard time putting words to this.

Instead, here are five of my most favorite out of the 300 plus pictures I snapped in three different areas of Tanjung Puting National Park.

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Our Klotok and Crew

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Betsm51

Our klotok was our home for 4 days and 3 nights. We had our own crew which consisted of Emul, our guide, Hussma, our captain, Amin, the assistant, and Iyou, our cook.

This was no five star cruise but we had fun. The crew was nothing except gracious, informative, and kind.

Emul spoke broken English and, at first, it took time to understand his every word. He was also interested in learning more English as we were in learning how to speak simple Indonesia phrases.

At first, Hussma was at first shy but as the trip went on, he would come up on the deck at night with Emul and learn more English. He also loved having his picture taken and wore a ready smile.

Iyou cooked some great meals for us which consisted of variations of fish, shrimp, chicken, eggs and different vegetables. She was very shy.

Amin was extremely shy. Both Emul and Hussma loved to teased him.

Our crew kept our klotok cleaned. It was swept, wiped down and bathroom cleaned every time we would stopped to go ashore.

We slept on the deck on hard mattress type of mats under mosquito netting. The side plastic shading was let down at the night to avoid the high moisture though Candice and I preferred to have one side opened to allow the breeze to flow through.

Everyone went to bed early as it was a way to avoid the mosquitos and various bugs buzzing around. It wasn’t unusual for us to bed down by 7:30pm, only to wake up to the monkeys and birds talking to each other at 5:00am

The river itself was either muddy brown or murky black. Everything went into the river. and parts were stagnant.

One of the hardest parts was the basic “Western” style opened aired facilities-notice the bucket for flushing. Our water for showers was pumped from the river and surprisingly cold or with a bucket of river water with a dipper. Hot water was not an option.

The other was ignoring how our dishes were washed. We did finally realized that Iyou used disinfectant dish soap.

Besides having to put aside some of our “American way of sanitation”, neither Candice nor I would have missed this part of the trip.

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Our flight from Jakarta to Panglakan Bun, Borneo Island

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Betsm51

Though our hotel arranged for our taxi to the airport, our driver had never heard of our airline. After a couple of stops in the terminal arrival area, Candice and I were deposited at the right terminal.

Once at the airport, we were directed to our counter only to be told we had to wait about 45 minutes before checking in. Then it become interesting. Apparently, there is no such thing as a line. Candice and I patiently waited at the counter at the appropriate time only to have several people shove their luggage on the conveyor belt and pinch one of the counter girls on the arm before presenting them with their tickets. After this happened several times, one of the counter girls took pity on us.

Their TSA didn’t require us to take anything out of our bags. Liquids and food are allowed to go through their x-ray machines.

Their waiting areas were overall very clean as workers sweeping the areas about once or twice an hour. There were also sealed cups of water. These were no charge. We were given a straw to pierce the plastic seal. Needless to say, Candice had a hard time.

As we sat and people watched, we were serenaded by a little boy singing “I want someone to love,” “baby, baby”, and “I’m sixteen.”

Our flight on Trigana Airlines was on a small jet that its interior had seen better days.

Candice being a flight attendant was most interested in the safety card. The picture of not being able to smoke shows that you shouldn’t smoke standing up. there.

If there is smoke in the cabin, crawl to the exit.

And in case of a water landing, exit the plane and swim. Notice the tiny people.

What caught my interest and which I couldn’t take a picture of was the flight attendant doing her demonstration of our safety instructions. The oxygen mask’s tubing was all yellow and when she dropped the tubing and stretch the bag out, there was a gaping hole in it. I wondered if we did lose cabin pressure, if my oxygen mask would also have a hole in it.

We did make it safely to Pangkalan Bun, Borneo Island, with no mishaps. And Candice didn’t have to flap her arms to get us there.

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Number 9 – Crossed Off – Learn To Tango

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Betsm51

Tango is one of those dances that I have always wanted to learn. And thanks to Groupon, I was able to try to learn to tango at the Century Ballroom.

Our classes were made up of a mix of singles and couples. Though at first it felt awkward, our instructors made this mix work by having us switch partners after each song or new step learnt. This constant switching allowed us to experience different types of leaders and followers. Some of the leaders had a good sense of the steps and rhythm while others were so-so or added an extra movement to the step.

I did a total of 3 out of the 5 lessons. And along the way, I found I had a problem or rather a slight phobia (?). I am slowly reverting to that young child that doesn’t like cooties or maybe it is what I call in my head, the “Howard Hughes’ phobia.” I’m sure you remember Howard Hughes who become so panorioid about germs that he lived as a recluse the last years of his life.

I will try again but first I need to learn to get over this slight phobia of cooties. Or maybe I need to find a dance class where we dance as individuals.

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My 60 By 60