Running for Haiti

I knew this blog was nearing a year old…

| cheriarmour

So last week, I went ahead and delved into the archives to find out when I’d launched this thing, and it was a year ago, November 19, 2012, that I launched the blog.

For those of you who sort of fell into reading my blog, the way it started was as an idea that’d actually come to me when I was running.  I’m Haitian, and in January of 2010, Haiti was stricken with a huge, huge earthquake, that devastated the capital, where my mother was born.  My idea was a simple one, run, run, and run, and have folks sponsor each mile (or give a lump sum), all the while, documenting my progress on this blog.

Archive

The idea went so swimmingly that I raised the money, and kept the blog going, well after time for donations had closed, and in time capturing my first and second marathons, my engagement to Austin, and in general, the awesome highs, and occasional lows of young adulthood, with generous helpings of working out

So a year later, and many runs, bags of epsom salts, running gear, recovery brewskies, 2 marathons, a few halfs, and a billion laughs along the way, blog is still here, and ready to rocket into more workouts, more running shoes, and more activity as we embark on year 2 of this incredible running journey.  Here’s to more selfies, a wedding, more running, some races, and a sick, healthy body.

Search terms. Y’all some fools!

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Not trying to embarrass you guys, but I’ve told you before that I can see what terms you’ve used to arrive at my blog.  I post the best ones here.  I warned you.  #Sorrynotsorry

So the best, since the last time I did this?  (And don’t worry, I’ll remain true to the atrocious spelling that was on the list.)

  • boobs boobs wordpress (Okay weirdo, one boob is enough.  And since last time, the boob talk in my search terms has EXPLODED)
  • how to poop before a run (Uhhh.)
  • Not sure if this is english or not, but, my sister use thang
  • girls in sports bras with nice boobs (Why thank ya!)
  • can I spot train booty (Nope. Do your cardio sweetheart, and let the chips fall where they may.)
  • marathon training constantly hungry (I feel your pain.)
  • i’m drunk so here’s my butthole
  • moving comfort thong for men. (Just….no sweetie.)

And finally…drumroll please!

  • yo cat smell like fish mcbites

Thank you for playing, guys.  You make this job hysterical.

Let’s talk about poop, baybee! Running makes you move!

| cheriarmour

I’m not talking about some chub jiggling.  I’m not talking about the booty bouncing.  I’m talking about p-o-o-p.  I don’t want to say it, so we just have to spell it.  (My mom reads this blog, so we can’t get too graphic, because she will call me and yell.

If you run any sort of distance you know what I’m talking about.  You’re in the groove, and all of a sudden, the urge hits you.  The urge to ::ahem:: evacuate the dance floor, if you will, hits you.  There can be a number of reasons for this.  1, if you’re running in the morning, it’s part of the natural cycle of waking up and getting yourself together.  2, if you eat a little breakfast before you head out, your body wants to move things along!  It’s natural.  3, if you’re completing a long run and you’re taking gels, the combination of sugars and/or caffeine can give you a kick in the gut.  And finally, 4, if you’re racing, sometimes nerves can get the best of you, and set your stuff aflame.

So what do you do when you’re running, and all of a sudden, it hits you?

-In a race?  Hit the port-a-johns. Avoid looking down, make sure your quads are strong, and HOVER. Just hover.  Douse yourself in Purell, and keep on your way.

-My least advisable option is to take an Immodium before a big race. I’m not too big a fan of this option because it freaks me out to artificially plug things up.  Unless you catch the stomach flu and are severely dehydrated before a race, I’d skip this one.

-Before a long run or a race? Hit the throne so you can clean house before you find yourself 15 miles from home with a bewildered look on your face.  Skip the super fibrous veggies just before and clean house in the days leading up to a race or a long run.  Don’t eat weird or exotic (to you) foods just before a long run.

-If you really find yourself upset often, try switching to a non-caffeinated gel.

– Trees. If you’ve ever run a long race, people will regularly leave the course on the nature-y parts.  Don’t look at what they’re doing.  You know what they’re doing.  Don’t peek.  That’s weird.  You can do it too if you find yourself in a pickle.

-Finally. Finally. Finally. Map out the bidnesses in the area that will allow you to use their facilities. Some places (understandably) won’t let you use their restrooms, presumably because they don’t want folks getting dressed/having relations/using Listerine/getting drunk and throwing up in their places.  It’s happened to them before, so they not with it. Coffee shops that you frequent in real life, the YMCA, sandwich shops, or places that you worked in high school usually will be nice about the bathroom stops.  Use them.  Thank the folks who let you use them.  And make sure you frequent and patronize these bidnesses when you’re not running as well so you build a lovely rapport with these owners.

For those of you who live in Raleigh?  I’m working on a database to store those bidness (business) owners who are willing to let us use their facilities, and who might even spare a cup of water on a good day.  Look out for the info!

Thankful on this final day of fundraising.

| cheriarmour

Today is the last day that I’m fundraising for Mercy Corps.  Every mile I’ve run, all the posts I’ve written, all the networking I’ve done, has all led up to this.

I am blown away by the response I’ve gotten from you all.  And I’m not just talking donations (even though they’ve been really really nice).  I’m talking the messages, emails, news stories, features, and willingness of everyone to chip in and lend a hand.  I just say thank you for all your help and support.

I’ll keep this short, and say that I’ll top off today with a short 4-5 miler to finish us out, and then we’re done with this project.

And by popular demand, the blog will live!  I originally had intended for it to wrap up like the project, but let’s face it, I’m dang good at what I do 🙂

No really, I really just like doing this and would be honored if you’d keep reading.  Thank you again, folks. Xoxo.

I hope feet don’t gross you out…

| cheriarmour

But feet are sort of important when you’re running.  And pedicures should be part of everyone’s marathon training.

Weird things can happen to your feet when you’re training.  Warts (ick, from the gym!) Blisters.  Callouses. The dreaded bunion (and women are like 70% more likely to develop a bunion than men are…so unfair, right?).

So long story short, it’s super important to care for your feet.  Getting a shoe fitting at a legit store (not a big-box sporting goods place) is invaluable.  And I wouldn’t necessarily trust those sites where they tell you to enter your info in and they generate a shoe.  You need to have someone fit you, and it’s important to try things on, to let a trained staff member evaluate whether you’re in the right shoe, and take it from there.

In addition (and read no further if feet make you gag, okay?)….

OPI

If you’re training for something, whatever it may be, treat yourself to a pedi.  You can ask them to leave the callouses you think you’ll need, but it’s nice after a long run to have someone else rub your feet.  (And check out this color!  Ain’t bad, right?)

This is what Raynaud’s looks like.

Image | | cheriarmour

This is what Raynaud's looks like.

I ran my long run yesterday, which was 16. Ouch! Everything felt pretty good until the last two miles. At that point all I could do was literally talk to myself until I finished.

Anyhoo, it was about 50 degrees out, but my hands still did their Raynaud’s thing. (Raynaud’s is this thing I have where my hands and feet lose circulation all the time. Very painful, and very annoying. Regular people can get it, and it can also sort of be “induced” in patients with Lupus or who’ve been through chemo. I am lucky that this is not the case for me. I was just born this way.) So if you look in the pic, you can see the partition almost where the blood has just decided it’s not going to flow. I combat this with a lot of fish oil, warm clothing, and windmilling my arms whenever possible!

I am not superwoman!

| cheriarmour

I would like to pretend I am.  I go nonstop.  I teach classes, I go to work, I go for a run, I shower, and do it again and again and again.  Part of the reason for that is that one of my deepest fears related to working out is that if I skip a few days, that I will start to hate working out, and I will just sit on the couch all day and drink cokes and forget all about taking care of myself.  I know that’s not reasonable, or rational, but I just think about how I was in college (watching America’s Next Top Model Marathons for days on end while drinking a huge coke), and my blood runs cold.

“I’m young,” I tell myself, “I can slow down when my body won’t let me do this anymore!”  But this sort of thinking can lead to overtraining, injuries, lengthier recovery times, and general malaise.  But not to me, right, because I’m superwoman?  (Not so).

All of last week was absolutely brutal, as far as the weather was concerned.  Morning temperatures were regularly below freezing, and in the span of about a week, good old North Carolina got not one, but two big(ish) weather events.  I was also nursing a lingering cold throughout the week that wasn’t quite enough to actually be classified as sickness, but enough for me to pop a few daytime cold medications containing guaifenesin and pseudoephedrine.  Relieved my congestion, but didn’t do a whole lot for that general, energy-sucked feeling I had.  (Also, for you fitness folks, those colds meds dehydrate you, so be careful when you’re taking those).

But the show must go on!  I ran, I taught Zumba, and did my thing for the week.  Finally, on Saturday, it caught up with me.  I ate a teeny bit of something before I went to teach Zumba (probably not quite enough), and went down the the gym.  Throughout class, I just kept getting hotter and hotter.  I rolled my pant legs up, and removed a layer from the top.  Still sweating like a  pig.  Hm. Oh well!  Continued dancing.  The second to last song starts, and all of a sudden, it hit me.  I’m going to faint in front of this entire class.  And my nose may bleed when I hit my head in front of the entire class.  And planes will crash, and the electronic grid will shut down, and Beyonce will lip synch at the Superbowl.  I’m making this a tad more dramatic than it is, but if you know me, that’s not completely shocking.  But my thought is, “I’m going to fall in front of the class, and we can’t let that happen.”  So I eased myself to the ground, and THEN passed out.  Luckily, there was a doctor in the class, who sent someone for some gum and some Gatorade, checked my pulse, and sat with me until I was able to shake off the deep-seated embarrassment I was now feeling.

As a somewhat hysterical side note, it was close to the end of class, and when I regained my senses, I was still wearing the mic I wear to teach class.  So I turned my head, which was now resting comfortably on the floor, and announced to the class, “I’m sorry!  I’ve had a cold this week and I’m a little dehydrated!  But I will see you ladies same time next week!” ::insert 40 pairs of horrified/terrified eyes staring back on me here.

So the moral of the story is: chill out!  And I’m the first one who could benefit from that advice.  Yoga Kerri advised me, saying that you’re allowed to miss a long run and not have it mess up your entire marathon/life.  I’m not quite there yet, but I’m getting there, especially after that scary little blip on the radar.  I’ve been afforded the energy where generally, I can just go and go and go, but Saturday reminded me, that I’m a human, and that rest, especially on an off week where you’re sick and not feeling great, is not against the law.

A few things….

| cheriarmour

This is why we run.

Rise

If you think for a second that just cause we run, we don’t like to eat, you are very sadly mistaken.  I’ve been dibblin and dabblin in running for a few years now, and the more I run, the more wicked my sweet tooth gets.  The way I prevent myself from getting as big as a house is that I just can’t keep the good stuff around the house.  However, if someone brings them to work?  You better run.

Mizuno Matt brought us some donuts from Rise (a Bakery in Durham around Southpoint), so instead of eating my lunch, I ate most of an Oreo.  Then I pretended I was only going to eat half of a chocolate by cutting it in half.  I ate the first half, got three steps away, and ate the second half.  Woops.

GlovesAnd sometimes when you run, you find out what you’re doing is just not gonna work whatsoever.  I ran early this morning, where the temps were holding around a balmy and breezy 23 degrees.  ::fans self:: Hawt!  Anyhoo, obviously I was wearing my gloves and the whole shebang, but I think I touched my face a few times because by the end of the 6-miler, my hands were soaked, and I was in some pretty serious pain.  Thankfully, I managed to loop back around to my house, where I spent the next 20 minutes in absolutely agonizing pain.  I ran out after lunch today and hastily procured a new pair of thicker, drier gloves.  That brush with frostbite was more than enough for me to learn my lesson!

Disappointing start to Saturday

| cheriarmour

I was hoping to run a quick short run before I headed to Zumba today – and I got new gear that I wanted to try out, so I was extra pumped.

So I bundled up, and was met with the remnants of last night’s “weather event”

Weather 1

Aw shucks.  Maybe the street is better?

Weather 2

 

And as I was stepping of the complex into the street, I slipped, with the Jacksons “Enjoy Yourself” playing as the soundtrack.

Weather 3

 

I’m gonna have to try again tomorrow with my new gear (the Nike Element Shield Full-Zip in the most gorgeous shade of orange-red you’ve ever seen that looks AMAZING with my skin tone but whatever), and hopefully, 16 miles doesn’t hurt too badly after a day off.