Breaking Barriers Blog

With the Boston Marathon now only five weeks away, the training is crucial—more mental than physical.  I know, as a veteran marathoner who has hit the wall more times than I’d like to admit, what training my body and my mind needs to go the distance and remain strong to the end.  Since this is my retirement marathon, of course I want to end with a bang.  (I know, I know—I’ve made that retirement statement before.)

This last weekend I ran my first 20 miler on Saturday and followed it up with a 12 miler on Sunday.  No, I actually didn’t hit the wall this weekend.  I ran two strong runs.  What a confidence builder!  If I can get through that, I can certainly get through a little marathon…right?

Gutting through that first 20 miler is always tough.  It doesn’t  matter that I’ve run several 20 milers in the past.   My brain told me that 20 miles was a really long way!   But I set the intention to make it through Saturday—a success.

Standing at the start of a 12 mile run the next day was the hardest part.  Yes, just getting started was a big deal.  My mind tried hard to convince me that I couldn’t do it—it was crazy—it was too long—I must be insane.  But I convinced myself that I would just go easy and take it one mile at a time.  After all, I knew I was trained to run the distance.  Look at what ultra-marathoners run—a whole lot more than 32 miles in two days.  Once I got started and worked out all those kinks, I made it all the way to the end—another success.

Now I have a week to mentally prepare for the longest run I will do in one day—a 22 miler on Saturday.  I will dutifully follow it up with a 12 mile run on Sunday—so much to look forward to.

So what is my goal when I’m on the starting line on April 16^th?  I will detach myself from the outcome and strive to run strong to the end—and I intend to have fun and enjoy the experience of Boston.  I was blessed to run a personal record last May in Lincoln, NB at the age of 56—yes, it’s possible to break barriers well past what is considered middle age in our society.  Will it happen again?  Maybe…maybe not.  The success is completing the training…is it not?  I’ll keeping running forward.

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Isn’t  this year just flying by?  It seems like only yesterday that I was deeply embroiled in this lovely recession that just wouldn’t go away.  As an Executive Recruiter (I place accounting and finance professionals), I’ve survived a number of recessions through my 20+ years of experience, but none as devastating as this last challenge.  I’ve seen many lives changed by the economy and witnessed much pain.  But as the saying goes, there’s a silver lining in every cloud. On this Thanksgiving holiday, I give thanks and appreciation for all that is good in my life and I realize there truly is a silver lining—even in the darkest of clouds.

I was afraid I might starve to death.  My pain started in early 2009 when my phone quit ringing…well except for someone calling me to tell me they got laid off or knew someone who got laid off.  People were getting laid off left and right.  I’d never seen anything like it.  Needless to say, there was very little work for an Executive Recruiter.

Let me give you an example of the impact of this recession on executive recruiters.  I belonged to an association called California Staffing Professionals.  We were a bunch of recruiters who would get together for lunch meetings.  About 50 to 60 of us would show up and we would meet in a nice restaurant and have a nice lunch.  It got to the point toward the end of 2009 that only a handful of us showed up.  We would meet in a small conference room and we would bring our own lunch.  Yep, as I sat there in that small conference room…with my Balance Bar…surveying the people in that room, I realized we all had years and years of experience.  I guess we didn’t know what else to do—or we didn’t have sense enough to leave the party like so many of our associates did.

But the fact is, I survived.  The key to my survival was networking.  I stepped up my networking activities in a big way.  I went on the board of the American Society of Women Accountants, I joined the board of the OC/Long Beach Chapter of the California Society of CPA’s and also became the Co-Chair of the Business and Industry Interest Group which puts on CPE meetings for CPA’s.   I organized a monthly CFO Roundtable, I was on the nominating committee for the CFO of the Year event put on by the Orange County Business Journal two years in a row, and the list goes on—but you get the idea.  Not only did I increase my visibility and network base dramatically, I focused on all of the networking activity—not on the horrible outside conditions.  It worked.  Business is coming to me.

Networking is the key to finding a job—in any economy.

So what’s the silver lining here?  I knew I needed to try to survive doing what  I knew how to do—recruiting, but I also thought long and hard about my life and passions.  Though executive recruiting has been very good to me through the years and I loved the work, I knew there was another path I was to follow.  But as long as I was busy working, I ignored that nagging feeling deep inside.

2008 was a tough year emotionally for me.  I had finally ended a six year relationship with a man who was verbally abusive.  Why I stayed with him for so long is another story but relationships do show us what we need to work on inside of ourselves.  By then I had retired from running marathons, after completing my tenth marathon, the Wichita Marathon, in 2006 in 4:07. I had also made peace with the fact that I was not good enough to beat 4 hours in the marathon and/or qualify for the Boston Marathon.  But when my brother Danny called and asked if I wanted to run the Kansas City Marathon in October with him and Amy, I reluctantly agreed.  After all, running was what kept me sane through some of the biggest challenges of my life.  I desperately needed a positive goal to pursue.

So I trained hard, but with no expectations except to run strong to the end.  But something amazing happened when I ran the marathon in Kansas City in October of 2008.  My finish time was only 20 seconds off my personal record back in 1993 (3:55:15).  Not only did I break 4 hours after trying unsuccessfully since 1993, but I qualified for Boston for the first time at the age of 54—a life-long dream come true.

So as my career was falling apart in 2009, I trained for Boston and ran my dream marathon in April 2009 and another amazing thing happened.  I ran a personal record of 3:53:42 at the age of 54.

Timing is everything.  Even though I was the networking queen trying to survive financially, I had the opportunity to deeply reflect on this gift given to me—that I was getting faster with age—well past what is considered middle age in our society.

In 2009, I started my first writing course and started this blog in September 2010.  My goal was to use my personal experience to inspire other people looking toward middle age and beyond that barriers can be broken and we have much more life to look forward to.

In 2011, I started another writing course geared toward writing a book.  I am now writing my memoir with the goal of completion six months from now.   How it ends, is still in the air.  I am now training for my second Boston Marathon in April 2012.  I qualified for this Boston last May, 2011 running yet another personal record of 3:53:23 at the Lincoln Marathon—at the age of 56.  I also placed 3rd in my division, the first time I’ve ever placed in a marathon.  Yes—I’m still getting faster with age.  This is totally unusual and amazing and wonderful.

This devastating recession pushed me into another direction.  Now I maintain a blog and I’m working on my first book and I will be running the Boston Marathon at the age of 57.  What will happen?  It doesn’t matter.  I will strive to run strong and have fun.  Life is such an exciting and phenomenal journey.  Just be open to the possibilities—they are out there just waiting to come to you.  Happy Thanksgiving!

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The damage to the body is directly proportional to speed.  The slower the pace, the less stress the body endures.  Makes sense, right?  The marathon is an extended effort over several hours and the damage is worse if the effort is too hard in the first half of the marathon—hence “the wall”.

As I look back on my effort during the Lincoln Marathon on May 1^st, I am, of course, thrilled about running a personal record at the age of 56 and salute myself and every other fifties-something person who strives to break this barrier.  It can be broken!  But I also see where I made an error in my race strategy that almost cost me my dream of running the Boston Marathon one more time.  I simply went out too fast.

If you are to ever run a marathon, it is imperative to listen to your body, especially as a Masters runner.  It takes me 2 or 3 miles to really warm up my muscles and then I can run comfortably at a much faster pace.   When I ran with the 3:50 pace group in Lincoln, I ran faster than I would have on my own in miles 2 and 3.  In other marathons where I paced myself, I had strong second halves and made up considerable time later in the race.  It is much more fun to run using that stategy as opposed to how I ended the Lincoln Marathon…in pain at every step.

I definitely hit the wall in Lincoln, but I hit it at a speed of 30 miles an hour as opposed to 60 miles an hour.  Instead of slowing down to a 12 minute pace, I slowed down to a 9 ½ minute pace.  Thank goodness I trained well and didn’t go out way too fast.

But the damage was done and I was beat up, so to speak.    I am recovering more slowly this time but I am recovering.  Following are my tips for marathon recovery.  If you seek more information, here are a couple of links to check out, one from Hal Higdon, and the other from Active.com. Here is what works for me:

• Keep Moving—After the race I force myself to walk a little before I sit and allow myself to recover for about 30 minutes.  Once the cramps subside, I force myself to walk another mile or so.  It hurts but it works wonders in moving the lactic acid out of the muscles.

• Hydrate—I find it very hard to eat after the marathon when I’m nauseous and cramped up (sounds lovely doesn’t it) but I hydrate preferably with a sports drink.

• Take Arnica—I also take Arnica 30c (3 pellets under the tongue) as soon after the race as I can.  It is a homeopathic remedy and helps heal the damage from the pounding.  I will take it 3 times that day.

• Eat Later—Later that evening after I’ve had a chance to rest, I will eat whatever I want—after all, not only did I burn about 3000 calories running 26.2 miles…really fast, my metabolism will stay at an elevated level for hours after the race.  It’s a good time for margaritas and mexican food.

• Take Time Off—I will take the next day off from any exercise—primarily because I’m limping and stiff as a board AND I’m exhausted.

• Cross-train—Depending on the extent of the damage I did to my muscles, I will take up to 3 days off and then do yoga (Bikram Yoga in a hot room) and then take exercise classes that use different muscles like step class or weight training class (very light weights).  Swimming and cycling are good cross-training exercises too…I don’t enjoy either so I do something else.  After the Lincoln Marathon, I did my first 5 mile run very slowly 5 days after the marathon.  It did not go well so I didn’t try to run again for another 5 days.  The key is listening to your body.

• Keep Motivated—Emotionally it can be tough to withdraw from intense training so suddenly.  Some people get mildly depressed.  The best thing to do is keep exercising (cross-training) through your recovery (active rest).  As soon as your mind clears, set another running or exercise goal in the future.

My plan is to cut back on running for the next 2 or 3 months and run 25 to 30 miles a week and increase yoga and weight training to improve my strength and flexibility (of which I have none).  I am mentally gearing up to start training for the Boston Marathon in April 2012—I will know if I can get in this October.   As the fall approaches, I will plan to run some other races like 10K’s and half-marathons.  My goal is to take it easy, have fun and enjoy the incredible accomplishment I just experienced.  We’ll see how it goes!

Meanwhile, there is much to write about.

Next—Is Training For a Marathon a Sure Way To Lose Weight?

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Okay, I’ll start with the bad news first and get it out of the way.  I did not meet my goal of 3:50 at the Lincoln Marathon on May 1^st.

Here’s the good news.  I ran a personal record at the Lincoln Marathon.  I’m still processing that information as I write.  I ran a 3:53:23 which beats my time at Boston in April 2009 of 3:53:42 by 19 seconds—yes, 19 seconds.  It still counts right??  Of course it does!!  Not only that, I won third place in my division—the first award I have ever won in a marathon.  Not only that, I qualified for the Boston Marathon for the third time in my life.

I can now say I ran the fastest marathon of my life at the age of 56—barriers broken.

I would be lying to you if I told you I didn’t feel the pressure of the 3:50 goal as I stood on the starting line of the Lincoln Marathon.  I felt confident and I had trained hard, but that nagging thought of “failure” was floating around in my mind.  It was a brisk 40 degrees at the start with moderate winds.  10,000 runners (including half-marathoners and marathoners) lined up to start on 14^th and Vine right outside of the University of Nebraska stadium.  I positioned myself with the 3:50 marathon pacers.  My thinking at the time—why not?  I was armed with my Garmin pacing watch and the wrist band telling me what pace I should run for each mile to average an 8:46 per minute mile.  If I followed the strategy laid out for me on the wrist band, I would cross the finish line at 3:49:49…a second to spare.

Yes, simple enough, right?  It seemed so when standing on the starting line as the adrenaline was rushing through my body.  But my past experience told me that, once I started getting tired, trying to “think” about what pace to maintain was stressful.  I also knew from past experience that I needed to listen to my body and run how I feel.  I suffered in the race last Sunday because I didn’t follow my own advice.

When the starting horn went off, I began my marathon adventure with the 3:50 pace group.  According to my pacing bracelet, the first mile was to be a 9:41—no sweat, I could do that. As we ran past the Nebraska State Capitol, I started to work the kinks out of my legs.  The second mile was 9:09…okay, still good as we ran by historic Lincoln Street and some of the finest old homes in the city.  I was fine.  I felt strong (of course, it was only mile 2) and I began to relax as I enjoyed the scenic course.

By the time we were at 5 miles and running through College View on 48^th, we had picked up the pace  and had run an 8.56 mile, 8.41 mile and an 8.39 mile consecutively  with a cumulative time of 45.07.  I was doing great at this point.  Even though the race was crowded with the half-marathoners, I was able to focus on the 3:50 sign as the pacers wove in and out of the crowd.

At 9 miles we approached the toughest part of the course going uphill past the Lincoln Country Club.  By then we had run several miles faster than the 8:46 pace I had trained for.  From this point, I cannot tell you what scenery was on the course; my entire focus was DO NOT LOSE THE PACE GROUP.

At the half-marathon point, I was still running with the 3:50 pace group.  I was proud of myself.  The cumulative time was 1:54:51. I remember this well because most of the runners veered off to the right leaving the hearty marathoners (only 1192 of the 10,000) to complete another 13.1 miles—ahhhh…space.

I was beginning to labor.  All of my past experience was flying out the window.  My only focus was on the 3:50 sign bobbing up and down a few feet ahead.

“Stay with the group.  Stay with the group.”

I battled.  I think it was mile 18, after a mile of sloping up and down hills, that I watched the 3:50 sign start to fade into the distance.

I was alone on the course—no group to shelter the wind and no group to share energy with.  The runners were spread out on the course.  I downed my second gel pack and an Advil and set my intention to finish strong.

At one point, I think mile 22, I noticed on my Garmin that I was running a 9:30 per mile pace.  I decided at that point to not look at my watch again.  I downed my third and last gel pack.  I began to pass other members of the 3:50 pace group that had dropped from the group.  It built my confidence to pass runners and I prayed for a second (or third wind) as I moved into my 24^th mile.  By then my legs felt like lead and the pain started to throb at each step.  Why didn’t I bring another gel pack?

It occurred to me that I hit the wall but I didn’t allow that thought to linger.  I was grateful for all of those training miles that allowed me to keep shuffling forward.  At 25 miles, I dared to look at my watch.  I noticed that if I could muster a 9 minute pace, I might be able to beat my previous PR.  Wow, talk about a shot of adrenaline.

I pushed my battered body forward for the last 1.2 miles.  Funny how long 1.2 miles can seem at the end of a marathon.  I entered the stadium to cheering crowds.  I heard my name over the loud speaker as I struggled hard to the end.  When I crossed the finish line and saw the time, all of the disappointment of losing the 3:50 pace group disappeared.

I did it.  I set a new personal record.

As I sit here with my body aching, I question my sanity.  And I think about why it was so important to push toward this seemingly impossible goal.  Why did 10,000 runners show up on a cold, windy day to run a minimum of 13.1 miles?  I know the reasons are very personal to all of us who drive ourselves to achieve a goal.

Before I left on my marathon trip to Nebraska, one of my professional associates checked out my blog.  She ran a marathon once a few years back and became an avid hiker.  For the last several months, she has allowed herself to get tied up in work and other personal issues and has not kept up her exercise routine.  When she read my blog, she told me she got inspired and scheduled her first hike in months and she was excited to do something for herself that was meaningful and fun.

If I can inspire one person to move toward happiness and health, then I have achieved my real goal with this blog.  I am 56 years old and I just ran the fastest marathon of my life.  No, I am not a gifted runner—not even close.  I am a normal person who believes that aging can be fun and exciting.  There is some truth to the old saying, “We are not getting older—we are getting better!”

Thank you for reading the blog and spreading the word.  We have more barriers to break!!

Next:  Marathon Aftermath—The Recovery

Lincoln Marathon review

The course was not as flat as I had hoped with various sloping miles.  The first half was quite crowded and made it difficult to pick up the pace as much of the marathon was run on narrow trails.  The aid stations were positioned every 2 ½ to 3 miles apart as opposed to 2 miles apart, but they were well staffed.  The volunteers were wonderful and there were pace groups for every finish time 5 minutes apart.  The end was spectacular in the stadium.  I would not recommend this marathon to anyone serious about setting a record time if they run back in the crowd.

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As I coast into the final week before the Lincoln Marathon on Sunday, May 1^st, I am preparing myself for the ominous task ahead.  I completed the training—I trained hard and remained strong, so my body is ready to perform.  Now, the real test begins…preparing my mind to allow my body to do what I’ve trained it so hard to do—complete the 26.2 mile course and complete it strong.

Well…here goes—my goal is much more than that.  I intend to beat 4 hours AND to run the Boston Marathon again.  This is no easy task since the entrance requirements to get into Boston have changed.**  But a question is popping up in my mind.

What if I fail?

Considering all of my previous “failures”, you think I would learn to not set such a lofty goal for myself.  Let me explain.

If you reviewed my story on this blog, you read how I broke the magic 4-hour barrier when I was 40 years old which started my marathon mania.  I ran 9 more marathons in 14 years and never even came close to breaking the 4-hour mark again…not even close.  When I gave up the yearning for the goal and made peace with my running, the incredible happened.  At the next marathon I ran, the Kansas City Marathon, I beat 4 hours AND I qualified for Boston—a dream come true.  When I ran Boston in April 2009, I ran the fastest marathon of my life (3:53:42) at the age of 54.

With the new entrance requirements for the Boston Marathon now in place, I will probably need to run a 3:50 to be able to run Boston again.  That would require me to cut close to 4 minutes off my time and run another personal record (PR) at the age of 56.  I know!  Pretty ambitious you are thinking—or maybe a better word is irrational…crazy…stupid.

So what did I learn from my years and years of trying so hard to reach what I thought was an impossible goal?  Well…I learned that nothing is impossible—not even a PR at the age of 56.

There is a difference between yearning for something we want and believing it to be true.  Our thoughts, our intentions always come true.  I wanted to break 4 hours so badly that my thoughts pushed it away.  I stressed and stewed and got angry.  These are not the thoughts that create winning performances.

My PR happened in Boston because I was grateful and happy to be there.  Sure, I worked hard and I prepared, but the quality of my thoughts were totally different.  Deep down, I anticipated success, not fear if I didn’t reach my goal.

My success was due to a universal law called the Law of Attraction.  According to the book, Ask and It Is Given, Learning to Manifest Your Desires, by Esther and Jerry Hicks, The Law of Attraction says:  That which is like unto itself is drawn.  This is the most powerful law in the universe.

A good example of the principle of this law is when you turn on your radio to a channel, say 101FM.  You do not expect to hear music from 98.6FM because you did not tune into that vibrational frequency—it doesn’t match.

According to the Law of Attraction, you draw to you the essence of whatever you are predominantly thinking about because thoughts have a vibrational frequency.  When I was trying to break 4 hours in the marathon all those years, I was focused more on the absence of my desire.  I felt anger and frustration—it didn’t feel good and created a low vibrational frequency.  When I became at peace with my desire and appreciated what I had accomplished, I achieved vibrational harmony with my desire allowing it to come true.

Producing a different thought and, therefore, emotion in the face of the events happening in your life at this moment is a very difficult thing to do.  But it is a worthwhile endeavor if you want to change your future.  Another book I recommend is You Can Heal Your Life by Louise L. Hay.

So, I put myself on the line with my new goal.   I am moving forward with an anticipation of success and confidence.  But…what if I fail?  The thought makes my stomach churn.  It is a thought that I will work hard to keep out of my mind.  When I stand on the starting line in Lincoln, Nebraska, I will focus on the excitement I feel and I will intend to have fun.  I will run how I feel.

My final pre-marathon thoughts—what fun is life without setting a seemingly impossible goal?  What is failure—really?  Is it not the striving for the goal that is really the success?

I look forward to reporting on the Lincoln Marathon on my next post.

Next—The Lincoln Marathon—The Results

**Check this link for an update on the new entrance requirements for the Boston Marathon.

Training Report

I decreased my mileage substantially in my last week of training to recover from fatigue and a tweaked back.  I went to my favorite Chiropractor, MarcAndre Bock, DC, PhD who helps me keep my body balanced.  I feel good.  I logged 41 miles with a long run of 13 miles on Saturday.  This coming week I will do a short run on Monday and two yoga classes, but I will refrain from running.

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Happy New Year!  For many of us, moving forward into 2011 is an effort to shed the devastating effect of this lingering recession with hopes of a brighter future.  If you are a runner, perhaps you are training for that first race of the year.  I am.  I have officially started training for the Lincoln (Nebraska) Marathon on May 1^st.

I should be training for Boston because I qualified for the second time in my life last July at the San Francisco Marathon.  I was thrilled to qualify for the second time since it took me 11 years to qualify the first time and I wanted to kick start this blog while training for Boston.  But it wasn’t meant to be.

Registration opened on October 18, 2010 and sold out about 8 hours later.  I was devastated.  After the shock wore off a few days later, I decided that I would focus on the positive.  I did qualify and I could use the extra time to train for Boston 2012.

Sometimes things happen for a reason…

I am a big fan of Bikram Yoga.  If you haven’t heard about it, I highly recommend it to maintain flexibility and range of motion.  It is the same 26 postures each class and takes place in a room heated to 105 degrees.  I like it because the heat allows the muscles to stretch and it is detoxifying to the body.  In addition, I can gauge my progress as time passes.  As a runner, I will never be as flexible as I can be, but it will help me to continue to run as I age.  I try to do a class once a week.

About a week before Thanksgiving I was rushing out of the dressing room to get to a yoga class on time.  It was ironic that I was so rushed as I was going to a 90 minute yoga class (considered moving meditation).   The door was ajar to the dressing room and was held open by a door stop.  I rushed through that door with great determination and speed.  I caught my little toe on the door stop.

I heard my toe crack.

I stumbled to the bench and took several deep breaths as the pain pierced through my body.  Intellectually I knew I broke it but I was in denial.  I hobbled to the class and exposed my broken toe to 90 minutes of 105 degree heat.  Not the smartest thing to do.  Nope, I couldn’t balance and simple movements took great effort.

I am happy to say that I was running again in a month, not at full speed, but running.  I am also a fan of Homeopathy and took Arnica 30c, 3 times a day for 2 days to alleviate the very big bruise on my foot.  I also took Comfrey (sometimes called Knitbone) to encourage fusing of the bones.  Check out the article “Homeopathy: A Safe and Faster Alternative to Healing Sports Injuries” in the Premium Content section.  It describes the miraculous healing benefits of homeopathy in more detail.  No, I did not go to the doctor.  What can they do for a broken toe?  Not much.

My training for Boston would have been cut short by my injury, so it is a blessing of sorts that I wasn’t able to register.  I’m excited about training for the Lincoln marathon.  I will run with my bother Danny and his wife, Amy, who will run the half.

I’m looking forward to a great year of economic improvement and running adventures.  But most importantly, I am looking forward to sharing my story with you over the next few months and hope to encourage and inspire those of you who are approaching middle age—or are already there.  Share your goals on this blog.  It is the first step to achieving them.

My goal is to run the Lincoln Marathon and finish strong in under 4 hours—which  would qualify me for Boston a third time.

Happy New Year!

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