Adventures of Rachele

Now that I'm recovering from my marathon, I have a short break in training.  I conveniently forget how fatigued I get the week after the race.  I'm not sore (except for my knee injury), but I am sleepy when late afternoon arrives.  My short recovery runs are also a little more labored than usual.  It's pretty funny when 3-5 mile runs seem exhausting. From past races, I've noticed that moving around and walking really helps quicken the recovery time. 

One of the benefits of this dip in training is my new found free time.  Mel is tapering for NY and I am recovering from Chicago, so our runs were really short yesterday.  We had time to have breakfast with friends and do errands in the morning, which is normally impossible when we're in the thick of training.  We also had time to make care packages for our sick friends.  We gathered fresh fruit, juice, cold medicine, soup and soft tissues for our home-bound friends.  I have to admit that Mel did most of the work and I was just there to visit and add distraction.  It's so nice to be able to slow down every once in a while and just sit with your friends.

So, Heidi & Richard, I hope you're getting a lot of rest and drinking your fluids.  And please don't even think about exercising right now.  I can't believe you even thought about running yesterday! 

This Sunday a bunch of us ran the Chicago Marathon.  There were 40,000 runners from all over the wolrd.  It was also one of the colder races in Chicago's recent history.  With the windchill, it was 39 degrees.  The race started in Grant Park and you can imagine the huge crowd.  Amazingly, it was pretty organized and people were generally polite since we all had the same goal...run a 26.2 mile tour around Chicago.  It did take us about 20 minutes to walk the one block from the runner entrance to our start corral.

As the gun went off, each corral started smoothly.  The elite runners, the top 100, competitive, preferred I, preferred II, then the open group.  It only took me about 2 1/2 minutes to reach the start from my lineup in the corral...that is an extremely fast start.

The energy at the beginning of the race is beautiful.  Races always start with the star spangled banner.  You are surrounded by people who have trained for months and are excited about this day.  Some are focused on beating their previous PR (personal record), some just love the physical challenge and do this to stay in shape, some have met adversity in their lives and this is an emotional/spiritual act for them.  And then there are some that are doing this for a cause...either to help a charity or something deeply personal.

Okay, I am a social runner.  I've won my age group at a 10K once at a very small race...when there were only two of us competing.  A qualifying time for the Boston Marathon is in the distant future for me and I am just thankful that I have the physical and mental ability to complete the distance.  Mental ability?  Yes.  Supposedly, a body can do 22 miles without a lot of training.  Yes, our bodies are much stronger than most of us give it credit for.  The real challenge is making a concerted effort to keep going after you are physically and emotionally drained.  Many runners jokingly say that a marathon is a 10K (6.2 mile) race with a 20 mile warmup and the real halfway point is around 20 miles.  No matter who you are, even an elite runner, the last few miles are brutal.  The faster runners have learned to push through the pain and trust that their bodies will make it to the finish.

What did I see on the course?  I saw excited little kids cheering and giving the runners high fives.  I saw inspirational signs.  I saw photos of loved ones on runner's backs...those that they were running for.  There were hundreds of volunteers just there to support us.  There were new runners who were experiencing this feeling for the first time.  Then it all changed around mile 18.  This is when training, experience and a little luck come into play.  Everyone has good and bad days, but you hope that with good training and a good attitude your number of bad days is rare.  There is a little less talking on the course, now.  I'm starting to see people on the side cramping and desperately trying to get their muscles to move again.  Everyone once in a while I hear someone yell to themselves..."Come on" or "Dig Deep" or whatever mantra they need to get them there.  This is when I think, "Isn't 20+ miles good enough?" and that 0.2 miles after 26 is just ridiculously cruel. 

This is the part that is not fun at all.  And this is where I learn the most...where I find myself.  My body is screaming to stop and is having an all out battle with my mind.  My stubborness doesn't want to throw away the 20 or so hard miles of work that I just completed and my mind is telling my body to suck it up and trust all the logic I learned in training.  Now, I'm starting to remember bits of stats and advice...anything to help me through the last five miles.  I remember quotes from Jeff Galloway, who has a run/walk program for beginners.  He advocates short walk breaks from the beginning to give your legs a break and use different muscles.  The stat that stuck in my mind was "after 20 miles, the walk breaks don't help and you should just run."  This is where I struggle with trust and faith.  My body says that's a lie, but now walking doesn't feel much better than running.  My mile times are slipping and my inner chatter to motivate myself picks up.    I also have to tune out anything that may irritate me or slow me down.

Now, I'm extremely emotional.  When I see a runner at the side who has to quit the race (they just physically can't go on), I see the despair in their eyes.  I can't cry, because I need every bit of mental toughness to make it to the end.  I also have to let go and pay close attention to what my body can do right now.  It doesn't matter what I've done in past races and I can't get overly angry about not hitting an aggressive goal, nor can I be too cocky that I'm doing well.  This is when I develop courage.  This is no longer a physical event...my desire to finish is fighting against the exhaustion.  I move into a meditative state to get to that last mile.  And if you've run a marathon before, you know that you don't feel that "you're almost there" or "it's all downhill" or that "it's the home stretch."  That last mile is loooong!

And yes, it is worth it to pass through the chute and cross the finish line.  Someone needs to take my timing chip off because bending down to touch your toes is a long way down at this point.  My walk is jerky.  I'm hungry and the apple the volunteer hands me is now my favorite food.  I REALLY want that finishers medal.  Where's my blanket because I'm shivering?  Post-race photo...sure, why not and I don't even care that I look like a crazed, hungry animal that may collapse.  Where is my family?  Where are my friends and how did they do?  And please, legs, keep moving so I can get my gear, put on my jacket and start calling and finding everyone.

Today, I'm still walking funny.  My knee is still pretty bruised from a fall I had last week.  I welcome the soreness because it reminds me of the work I just accomplished.  Also, now I'm grinning because I have a new PR to break and I've chosen my next race.  It was worth it and yes, you can do it, too, if you really want it.  Five years ago I couldn't run around the track without being winded, and I'm very thankful that I am healthy enough to run.

Congratualtions to my friends, Kristen, Lily, Steve, Tim & Mary who all reached a new PR, too!  According to the experts, we need one day of active recovery (light exercise) for each mile of racing.  So, training starts November 17th, right?

Good effort runners!  Photos will be posted soon.

One of the topics on the last Confab Show (www.confabshow.com) was on what is financial planning and how do people pay for this type of advice.  Like a lot of good questions, the answer is "it depends."  There are three main ways that poeple in the financial services industry get compensated: fee-only, fee-based, and commission.  Fee-only means that you pay a fee for services, by flat fee, hourly and/or a percentage of assets under management.  Commission is paid whenever you do a transaction.  Fee-based is somewhere between fee-only and commission.

Another question was, "what is a financial planner?"  Unfortunately, this is a very broad label and many people not only consider financial planning many things, but many advisors call themselves financial planners.  According to the Certified Financial Planning (CFP(R)) Board, "financial planning it the process of meeting your life goals through the proper management of your finances."  Topics such as investment management, retirement planning, estate planning and tax planning are examples of elements contained in financial planning analysis.  There are advisors that help you take a big picture view of your financial situation and develop strategies to reach your goals.  How comprehensive or detailed this process is, depends on your needs.  On the other end of the spectrum, there are advisors that only focus on one topic of planning.

How do you find a financial planner and what questions should you ask?  One great resource is the CFP (R) Board of Standards.  There mission is to educate the public and monitor certificants with the CFP (R) designation.  They even have a checklist of questions that you can use when interviewing professionals.  Some of the questions are:

• What are your credentials and experience?  Don't be afraid to ask what those credentials mean.  Some credentials have extensive requirements and some may be an online course.
• How do you get compensated?  Do you receive a commission every time you sell me a product?  Do you charge flat or hourly fees?
• What types of clients do you work with?

The initial meeting with a potential planner should allow you to get to know this professional.  Besides competence and experience, you need to find someone with whom you feel comfortable.  This person needs to know many details of your life and dreams, so you need to feel that you can share all this information with them.  In this type of planner/client relationship, a quote from the movie, Jerry Macguire comes to mind, " help me, help you."  You should be able to ask questions and understand the process, so you can make educated decisions that effect your life.

I just came back from a "Foolproof" event at Seattle Town Hall. The venue was Janeane Garofalo and Friends discuss Politics and the Press: Fair and Balanced or Lazy and Cowed. The panel also included Atrios, David Goldstein, Matt Stoller and David Postman. It was not surprising that the discussion weighted heavily on how advertising, corporate sponsorship, and the cost of supporting journalism skews the objectivity of the profession. I also think it was fairly ironic that the discussion was on objectivity, but one person commented on how un-diverse the rooms was. The accepting reply was, well, this just represents Seattle. That is another topic unto itself.

What I learned was how powerful language is in changing peoples thoughts and beliefs. I know that sounds obvious, but let me give you an example. I was with friends the other day, and one of them said, "Mark my words, Hillary will become the next president." I was the only woman in a room with six other guys, and I responded by saying, "I don't think we're ready for a woman president." Why did I say this? I've heard the phrase so many times, that I started to believe that was how most voting Americans think. I thought this emotionally and instinctively, without dong any research. Are we saying that out of our entire nation, there are no women worthy enough to hold this position? Are we saying that all other developed countries are more progressive than us? I didn't even realize that I didn't even bother to stop and think before making this comment...it became part of my language.

There was a lot of talk of corruption, passivity, and people getting bombarded with good and bad media. One thing that was left unsaid is a simple way of effecting change, no matter what your beliefs are. Words, visuals, and phrases are powerful, especially when they illicit emotion. We can position views in such a way, that opposing them may seem unpatriotic, unsympathetic or narrow-minded. This is the mistake that I made by saying "we are not ready for a woman president." (Now don't get distracted by the topic, this line of thinking works no matter what your beliefs are.) Instead of just accepting a phrase as truth, I need to take more responsibility by only repeating what I believe in, not just throwing up my hands and saying, "what's the point." I was disappointed when one person in the audience said that the public acts as sheep. We are the public. When we say we don't have faith in the public, to some extent, we are saying that we don't have faith in ourselves.

So, here's my personal challenge. I need to be more mindful of the words I use. If I say, "This country is not ready for a woman president, " I am just fueling the fire and adding more "truth" to the statement. Words are powerful. Be careful of what you say because if you say it enough times, it may come true.

Can this stop now? Really, haven't I had enough breakups that this "healing lesson" should be redundant. Sure, it could be the universe testing me to see if I've really learned from the past. And yes, I'm actually letting logic overcome my emtional tendencies 90% of the time with this breakup. Surely, that has to be good enough.

As some of you know, I had a breakup a month ago. We dated for a few months, so this definately doesn't feel the same as when I've had 7 year or 4 year relationships. However, I am surprised that I still am not over this whole thing. It was just enough time dating for me to start to get close and feel vulnerable. Right at the point when I started to feel safe and open, I got crushed.

I really want to speed up the healing process, so I'm asking for any suggestions. I feel that I've grieved and allowed myself to go through those different feelings. I've been busy with bike rides, runs, and social events, but I feel like I'm missing something. Is there something else I'm supposed to learn before I can move on? It bugs me that I can't figure it out.

Yes, we had a social event on the Eastside. The funny thing is that this particular group of friends sees each other every week, but we're usually dripping with sweat and in our workout clothes. I didn't even recognize one of the women with makeup on! We all went to "Evita" at the Village Theater in Issaquah. If you've never been to the Village Theater, you really should check it out. The venue is intimate and every seat has a great view of the stage. Afterwards, we had dinner at "Sip" in the Issaquah Highlands. The wine bar/restaurant has only been open for two months, but it had a good sized crowd as the evening progressed. The food was light and fresh. For those of you that get cold, you'll love this...they have a large table by a very warm fireplace...heaven!

I stopped by quickly at Julie's big birthday party last night, but I had to leave early. Unfortunately, I still haven't completely recovered from food poisoning on Friday night. Dinner really isn't good the second time around. And it's frustrating that I can't exercise as much as I'd like because I'm so dehydrated! I had to settle for a little 8 mile run yeterday and a little hike today. Ugh!