The Calm After The Storm

Apparently I needed some time after the New York City Marathon to process my thoughts and feelings.  I have a love/hate relationship with marathons, and this has never been more apparent to me than after the NYC marathon on Nov. 1st.

Let me start with the great news that I PR'd by 15 minutes and 50 seconds!  So, my second marathon was a success!  I also was able to run all 26.2 miles!  No walking, no bathroom breaks!  Training and hiring a coach really paid off.  It of course still wasn't easy - I still hit the wall around mile 22.  I wanted so badly to walk "for just a minute."  But I pushed through and finished and am so glad that I did.

Of course right after I finished, I said I would never run another marathon again. I was tired.  I was sore. I was overwhelmed.  A day or two later, walking around New York City with my husband I was much more in my right mind, and seeing the city with rejuvenated eyes.  It was finally sinking in that I had accomplished what I set out to do, and that the journey had been pretty darn amazing.  The NYC marathon is awesome - if you can do it, don't hesitate!  It's sort of a logistic nightmare with having to get to Staten Island to the start, but you know, it's well organized.  The crowd support is unmatched.  The views are fantastic.  It's so worth it.  And now, I would do it all again...

And you know, I'm running another marathon next month.  Am I glutton for punishment or what??  To be honest, I wouldn't have probably signed up for another one so soon, but I actually signed up for the Rock N Roll Arizona Marathon back in March after my original Phoenix Marathon disappointment.  This was to be my redemption race, but then New York happened!  So, here we go again with the horribly long training runs and nervous anticipation about running 26.2 miles again. But, I am looking forward to this one - I now know I can do this.  And I am hoping it's a little easier this time.  Wishful thinking, maybe?

Here's my favorite picture from the NYC marathon!  This is truly how I felt for most of the run - happy and good.  Keep running everyone!!!

~ Courtney

....Go!!!

In 5 days I'll be running the TCS New York City Marathon!!!  5 days!!!  It's go time, people!  This is it.  All of the training, all of the miles, all of the sweat, all of the hours have led up to this.

I'd of course be lying if I said I wasn't nervous, but I'm not nearly as nervous as I was a month ago.  I've had a couple of great long training runs and knowing that this is my second marathon makes me feel better.  I know what to expect.  I have already done this once - I can do it again.  I'm also so excited to run in a city I've never visited before, and with crowds that will hopefully help carry me through any tough spots.  The more I hear about this race and it's reputation for support, crowds and all around positivity, the more I can't wait to get out there!  And it's being televised! I'm running in a televised event!!!

This has been quite a journey - ups and downs with training, questioning my sanity and my decision to run another marathon, dealing with the logistics of traveling to a race so far away.  I am so ready for it to all come together this weekend, and for everything to prove to be worth the effort.  I can't wait to cross that finish line and earn my medal!

I have Track Tuesday tonight, a short group run Thursday morning, and then we fly out on Friday... two more runs.  Five more days.  That's all that stands between me and the New York City marathon.  I am ready.

~ Courtney

Ready... Set...

It's almost GO time!  And I'm getting nervous!  I know that's totally normal, but I'm still freaking out!  The TCS New York City Marathon is just over a month away!!!

I finally booked our plane tickets today and started really figuring out the logistics of luggage, taxis, our apartment we're renting, packet pickup, etc. the day we arrive.  It's a lot to juggle the day before the marathon and that alone has me a little stressed. But it will all work out, I know.  I'm a planner and I know I'll have it all worked out well ahead of time!

I cannot wait to take this trip, run this marathon that I've been training for since April and then enjoy the gorgeous city!!

I've actually done some traveling recently - I got to go to Seattle to run Beat The Blerch with my husband, Jon!  It was so much fun and the city is beautiful (even under construction)!  The course was all "trail" and uphill the first half and back downhill the second half.  It was so beautiful and rained the entire 13.1 miles.  I looked like a drowned cat when I finished, but had a blast.  I stopped along the way to rest on the couch with a blerch, eat cake and snap a pic with Bigfoot!  Anyone who has the opportunity to run one of these races (currently being done in WA, NJ and CA) DO IT!!!

Coming back to Phoenix and the hot weather after that trip was a bit depressing.  Training for a marathon through the hot summer months is no joke.  And even this weekend, the first weekend of Fall, it will be over 100 degrees here.  To any of you training in heat, humidity, bad weather, etc. I applaud you.  It's not easy, and it takes dedication.  Better days are coming.  Or so I'm told...

I'll leave you with a few fun pics from Beat The Blerch, while I go prepare for my two runs this weekend - one hour tomorrow, three hours and fifteen minutes Sunday.  Let's go get it!

Crossing the finish line!

No, we didn't get to keep the Nutella.

Bigfoot himself! 

That my friends, is a blerch!

This was part of the "trail" we ran on!

~ Courtney

Motivation Reality Check!

Does anyone else find themselves training for something and part way through losing motivation or focus?  Or you start to wonder why you ever started?  No?  Just me?  Okay, well then I can admit that I have faced all of these issues/thoughts in the last couple of weeks.  Although I can't tell you why.  No pain, no gain, right?

I think part of my struggle started a couple of weeks ago when I switched up my training schedule to better align with my husband's schedule.  I should have left well enough alone, but in an effort for us to see each other more and to possibly train together a couple of days a week, I moved my long run to Saturday.  Sounds like a simple move, but that shifted several other days around too, and now I feel like I'm burning the candle at both ends for a few days a week.  Talk about a motivation killer!

We've also been traveling and attending several social events the last couple of weeks, which has not only left me tired, but I've managed to get sick!  Who gets a cold in August?  In Arizona?? I do.  It's hard to focus on training, and wanting to train, when you're coughing and blowing your nose every 2 minutes!  Ugh!

But, I received an email from the TCS New York City Marathon that pointed out that the marathon is only 64 days away!!! Say what?!  Needless to say, that woke me right up and made me realize that I don't have time to lose focus and slack off!  Hello, reality check. 64 days is not that many, so I need to get my booty in gear!

Time to pound the pavement and push all doubts and negativity aside!  New York City, we're coming for you!

No more being sick and lacking motivation!

~ Courtney

Who Said They'd Never Run Another Marathon?

Oh yeah - me.  Six months ago.  Right after finishing my first full marathon, the Phoenix Marathon, I swore them off forever.  One and done.  Yet, here I am training for the TCS New York City Marathon.  Why?

Well, I suppose partly because much like childbirth, you forget how painful running a marathon truly is and think you can do it again.  Also, in my case, I was disappointed in my outcome.  I know I can do better (time wise, less or no walking, etc.), so I am going to try again. And I figure, go big or go home, so why not the NYC Marathon???

So, to keep me motivated, I not only hired a coach - I signed up to run for a charity.  Which means I have to get to raise money for an awesome cause at the same time as mentally and physically preparing myself for this challenge!  So, which awesome cause and charity did I choose and why?

Well, I am running for Think Pink Rocks - an organization that promotes raising awareness of early detection and genetic testing for breast cancer, and also providing funding for screening, treatment and research.  The why... my Aunt Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, and underwent a round of chemo and radiation treatments after her lumpectomy.  And as luck would have it, her cancer returned as another mutation in the other breast this year.  So she's doing more treatment as I write.  So, in her honor I am running and raising funds to continue the war against breast cancer.  And I know that early detection is critical, as it has been in her case, so I love what this organization does!

I know this subject hits home for many out there.  It seems the more I talk about it, the more people I meet, or already know, who've been affected by this horrible disease.  And of course it's been made more "popular" by celebrities who make drastic decisions about treatments, but I'm glad it's not falling by the way side!

If you'd like to donate to my fundraising efforts (which I would greatly appreciate of course!), please check out my Crowdrise page here:

https://www.crowdrise.com/ThinkPinkRocksNYC2015/fundraiser/courtneybullock

And if you'd like to follow my running and training adventures more closely, follow me on Instagram @courtrunlikeagirl.  I post almost all of my runs there with pictures!

Here's one from this morning's early run:

~ Courtney

Is She Still Running?

You guys... I am SO embarrassed that I haven't posted an update since DECEMBER!!!  Why haven't I posted an update, you may be wondering?  Did I stop running?  Did I give up on my dreams and goals?  Did I get abducted by aliens?  No, no and no.  I got lazy about blogging.

So, to catch you up on the last seven months of my crazy running adventures, I'll give you the short and sweet version, and then promise to do better going forward!

In January I ran the PF Chang's Rock N Roll Half Marathon with my sister, Elyse - her FIRST half marathon, and it was a blast!  I am so glad that I got to share that experience with her! Now to get her to do another...

February included my Ragnar Del Sol Relay adventure and my first full marathon!  Let me tell you - running 200+ miles with 11 friends is a total blast!  I'd never done a relay event before, and I was nervous about how it would all work out, the lack of sleep, showers, proper fueling, etc.  But it was so much fun and I would definitely do it again if asked!  If you've never done Ragnar or a similar type event, give it a shot!

My first full marathon was the Phoenix Marathon, and I think it's best that I'm writing about it months later.  You may already notice that I'm referring to it as my first, which means there's a second... but more on that later.  The Phoenix Marathon touts itself as fast, downhill and perfect for a PR - well, of course it would be my PR, it's my first.  But I think I should have studied the elevation map a little closer - there's a nice "little" uphill section right around mile 4 that I wasn't mentally prepared for!  But all in all, it was a success.  I finished.  I swore I'd never do it again.  And then I signed up for another...

In March I took it pretty easy and only ran a couple of local 5Ks.  But when I also signed up for three back to back half marathons in April and the TCS New York City Marathon in November (see, I told you I was running another full), I decided to hire a running coach!  He might not have been very happy about my April schedule :)

So, in April I did Pat's Run (honoring Pat Tillman) and three half marathons three weekends in a row.  I know, it seems a little crazy.  But they were all runs that I hadn't done before, and doing all three meant I could "moon up" in the Half Fanatics group!  Win, win!  So, I did all three, and thanked God when they were over - holy smokes that's grueling!  I really hadn't prepared enough for that kind of mileage!

In May I took another break and only did one local 5K and backed down my mileage to start over and really build my base back up the right way.  My coach was sure glad to have that craziness behind us, and to be able to focus on the couple of half marathons I had coming up, and to start properly preparing for New York!

In June I travelled to England for vacation and was able to work in a trip to Liverpool to run the Rock N Roll Liverpool Half Marathon!  I was SO excited to get to run at an event overseas and for it to be a Rock N Roll event so I'd earn more bling - you know sometimes it is about the bling!  Running in London, Edinburgh and Liverpool was amazing, and the Rock N Roll event was awesome!  Liverpool is so beautiful and I am a big Beatles fan, so that made it even more fun!  Yes, we ran on Abbey Road!

That brings us to July, and this month I tried something new!  My hubby, Jon, and I did our very first trail race!  Make that our very first trail run that was also a race!!  It was really fun, and challenging and I can see that we'll be taking on that challenge more after we're done training for our upcoming full marathons!  I won first in my age group and Jon was third male finisher overall!  A great success!  We also ran a half marathon in Ventura, CA to kick off our vacation again this year.  It was beautiful, but warm!  I almost beat my PR from last December, but the heat beat me, and I missed it by just over a minute.

I'll leave you with a few pictures from the first half of this year and promise to catch you up on my upcoming adventures soon!

~ Courtney

Rock N Roll Liverpool 1/2

Phoenix Marathon

Scottsdale Challenge 1/2

Nick's Epic Battle Trail Run

Ice Cream Run 5K

What A Year!

Well, 2014 is about to come to an end.  And I just happened to look up at my magnet board at my Running Resolution schedule for the year.  Boy, was I busy running.  When I decided a year ago to commit to one event every month for one year, I really had no idea what to expect, or where it might take me.  It has been an amazing year!

I ran my first half marathon in January of 2014 - and as of December 2014, I have run six!  And lowered my PR by 18 minutes!  I managed to run at least one event in every month of the year - and in some months, I ran multiple events!  I qualified for Half Fanatics, traveled out of state for 3 half marathons, and decided to run a Ragnar Relay and a FULL marathon in 2015!  I also joined the I Run 4 family, and have a buddy, Hannah, that I get to dedicate all of my miles and races too - it's so inspiring and fulfilling in a way I didn't know was possible.

I can't wait to see what next year has in store for me - I am already so excited to run my sister's first half marathon with her in January at the PF Chang's Rock N Roll in Phoenix.  Then February looks to be a momentous month for me - my first Ragnar Relay and my first full marathon.  I never, ever thought I'd want to run a full marathon, so this seems crazy to even me.  I'm in week 12 of training for the full, so it's already no joke though!

In closing out the year, I have to share with you a photo from my last half marathon.  My husband, who is much faster than I am, ran the whole way with me.  He encouraged me, and pushed me, knowing that I wanted to beat my previous PR.  It was awesome having him with me, and getting the extra support I needed to kill my previous best time.  Thanks, babe!!!

~ Courtney