Rockin’ ‘N’ Runnin’ 2016 (Part 2 of 2)
SDTC Blog Post
By: Melissa Stokely
I joined the San Diego Track Club and the Rockin’ ‘N’ Runnin’ Training Program in early January this year with my husband Jerry. We heard about it from our friend Miyuki Takahashi who seemed to really enjoy it last year when she did her first half marathon. We’ve been triathletes since 2008, with approx. 50 triathlons, mostly sprints, a few Olympics and one half for Jerry under our belts!
I started running for the first time at age 51 when I started triathlons. I got plantar fasciitis right off the bat, was in a boot for 2 mos. and got out of it just in time to finish training for and compete in my first tri at the Mission Bay Triathlon. For the next 7 years, my longest run was 7 miles, between running injuries and a general dislike for running.
I did the least running I could get by with and be successful at sprint tri’s. I didn’t like running, but I loved tris! Last year I was introduced to trail running and did two XTERRA trail 10k’s - Getting a 1st place AG at Laguna (of one in my AG)!! and a 3rd place AG at The XTERRA World Championships in Maui in October! I was over the moon. We watched our coach, Lesley Paterson get a 2nd place in the XTERRA race. The whole podium thing was a blast! In Maui, we raced the same course as the XTERRA athletes, only just the run part! There were 9 in my AG! For the first time, I was really excited about running!
Throughout 2014 and 2015 I was coached by Lesley and I improved a great deal! It was during her coaching that I got the trail running bug! In July last summer, I felt like I was in the best shape of my life, was at my racing weight for the first time in 7 years of work! I was signed up for my first half marathon event in September and was training and having a great time.
Then bam! We were on a week long cycling adventure in Montana and my doctor called with some scary news. They wanted me to come in the next day regarding the mammogram I had before I left on my trip. There was nothing I could do being on my bike tour, and not wanting to overreact, I made lemonade out of lemons and rode out the trip, no pun intended!! It was going to be our 1st ever 2 week vacation with plans to fish and relax in Montana after the bike ride.
We however rushed home at the end of the ride and I was at Kaiser the next morning being diagnosed with breast cancer. It was early stage thanks to the routine mammogram. Surgery and radiation followed, with my last radiation treatment the last week of December. I managed to train throughout the process, however at a much easier pace and mostly for fun and stress relief. All races got cancelled. I stayed coaching with Lesley through December, a decision I don’t regret; She kept me going and connected with easy training plans and trained me for the Maui race on Halloween. I decided in December though, during radiation, that it was just too much and needed a break and time to recover. I was also feeling like it was time to find more of a group training style of program. That’s when we decided to join the San Diego Track Club.
At our first meeting at Balboa Stadium, we showed up not knowing what to expect. I quickly became very excited and felt like a kid again! It felt reminiscent of school days, in a good way! On the first sat run at Hospitality Point, Wendelien Anderson introduced herself and we became run partners for the entire 5 months and ran the race together, both of us doing our first half marathon! I also met other friends I already knew from tri club! The positivity and support was so great. We really felt the love!
We quickly realized what a commitment we had signed up for! Because I work from home, I set my hours and prefer to train later in the mornings! Getting up at 5am on sat after a long week was tough! We decided that the best way to handle this was to consider our early sat workout to be our last “job” of the week, and that our weekend would begin after the sat runs, around 10 am or so!! Tuesday nights were equally hard, getting off work in time and being tired! See, I’m not a morning or a night person, and I was recovering from 5 months of treatments! And was just starting a 5-year oncology regimen.
The Tuesday nights and Saturday AM’s were a big shock to my system! But knowing my new friends were expecting me made it very easy to be accountable. Having someone to run with was awesome. It was the first time in 7 years I had people to consistently run with and run on a coached plan together! So, rain or shine, happy or sad, feeling like it or not, off we went!!!
As the runs got longer, we found ways to make it fun: stories, being social and helping each other thru - there were days when one or another of us wasn’t feeling our best, but showed up anyway!! We quickly became very fond of Coach Paul and the other leaders and volunteers. It was an amazing program! We realized the benefits and value and couldn’t have been happier we found this program!
The feeling of amazement and satisfaction after setting records: 10 miles, 11 miles, 13 miles was awesome! I never thought I’d ever be running these distances! All the fun touches were so appreciated! The finish lines, otter pops, and Coach Paul out on the various courses! The pre- and post-run stretching, and the planks! OH those planks!!! The camaraderie was the best! The track workouts were challenging but really really fun with all the fun, inclusive, and helpful people! Again the positivity, and support was so helpful!
Race day quickly arrived and we felt more than prepared and expected to have a great time! Since it was my first half, my goal was mainly to finish, but had specified a finish time of 2:30 in mind. We finished in 2:41, very happy.
So happy and excited in fact, Jerry quickly talked me into upgrading my Mammoth 5k entry to the Mammoth Half Marathon! I was very hesitant, as we have been making the trek to mammoth for the last 3 years for Jerry to run the half. I always did the 5k, no joke at the elevation and my lack of running ability! I did podium every time, though, with 8-10 in my AG! I wanted one more podium, so I really struggled and then I realized (the struggle is real) that I was trained for a half (this one is only 2 weeks after Rock ‘N’ Roll Half Marathon.) I decided that a finisher medal for a half was probably going to give me more satisfaction than a 5k Top 3 medal! So I upgraded, and as I write we are up here getting acclimated for Sundays race! I am so excited!
We are very grateful for the SDTC RNR program! Here I am starting to love running! You make a difference in my life!!!
