Tulsa Tough

Well it was a weekend packed with bike riding. Tulsa Tough was in town. It was made up of some fantastic bicycle racing with some "fun" rides and the 8 mile Tulsa Townie Ride. In preparation for the Oklahoma Free Wheel, I decided to participate in the 100k (62.4 mile) fun ride on Saturday and the 50K (31.2 mile) ride on Sunday as well as the Tulsa Townie that some of my friends were also going to do. This would give me over 100 miles on my bike for the weekend.



It was quite hot on Saturday, but fortunately I had Sue and Jodi to whine to, and with about how hot the day was. Jodi successfully completed the 50K on Saturday and Sue and I got through the 100K.

Sunday morning had a nice cloud cover, and a little bit stronger wind. Both days were challenging and fun. One more leisurely ride before Free Wheel starts next Saturday...
OH Goodness.....

Cardio-Mania

Wow have I been busy lately...

I recently took a trip to Edinburgh Scotland. I have been in a really good running place lately and was really hoping to break my PR in a half marathon, which was 2:51 and change. I was successful. I ran the Scotland Half Marathon in 2:45:30. That is an average of 12:30 min/mil. I utilized the 1/1 run/walk interval method that I have been using for quite a while. I thought I would post my mile splits, just to show that it works. You don't have to run the whole thing to have a good finish.

Mile 1: 12:10
Mile 2: 12:16
Mile 3: 11:55 (yes you read that right)
Mile 4: 11:54 (how about that for consistency)
Mile 5: 12:18
Mile 6: 12:32
Mile 7: 12:23
Mile 8: 12:18
Mile 9: 12:27
Mile 10: 13:04 (yup the slow steady incline)
Mile 11: 12:48
Mile 12: 13:28 (yeah i was getting tired, no excuse, but..)
Mile 13: 13:02
the .1: 2: 50 (My garmin actually registered it as .23)

I guess you could say that Scotland agreed with me:



It was an absolutely fantastic trip. I had a great time. I got to hang out with great friends. I got to see amazing things and sites...it was incredible.











Now what? I know you are dying to know what's next for Dr. Sandra Wright...

I am 2 weeks out from participating in the Oklahoma Free Wheel. I completed my longest bike ride to date: 70 miles. I am very happy to report that I am still able to stand and sit..my tail bone is a little tender but not excruciatingly sore as I anticipated. I averaged about 11.6 mph pace on the bike over the distance, which I was okay with. I am excited to participate in Tulsa Tough next weekend and then it's off to Hugo Oklahoma for the border (TX) to border (MO) ride.

A New Chapter Begins

Well I am now officially an alumnus of the University of Kansas. I think graduating with my Doctorate of Philosophy in Speech-Language Pathology from the 5th ranked program in the U.S. will always be a point of pride for me. It is honestly the hardest thing I have ever ever done. I owe a lot to my mentor Jane Wegner, who although she is the one who pushed me, she is also the one who helped me develop a vision of what type of speech pathologist and teacher I want to be.

So, now what? Well that's a good question. I will stay in my job at the University of Tulsa. My title has changed from "Instructor" to "Assistant Professor". I get to begin the climb to tenure, which means that I have to publish articles and present at conferences. So although the stress load goes away, I still have quite a bit of responsibility. I also really hope to revamp my teaching style. I know that it is impossible to please all students, but I really hate getting back negative comments from them. I know that during this past year I know that it has been rough to be one of my students. This summer's plan is to overhaul the 4 classes I teach during the Fall semester. I just want to make sure that teaching is fun for me and my students stay engaged. I just have to embrace what Tulsa has to offer and quit comparing the program to KU. I need to advocate for change in areas that will truly impact the students education, and let everything else go.

Running: Well, I am off to Scotland later this week, as a graduation present to myself to complete the half marathon. I have stuck by my "no more fulls for 2010" motto and have been in a great running place. It is so different to run for fun, and not as a stress relief. Don't get me wrong it still really helps even with the little stressors of life, but I am so much lighter without the pressure of finishing my dissertation on my shoulders. I am excited to possibly be a run leader for a half marathon group training for the Route 66 half marathon in Tulsa in November. It is so nice to be in a happy running place, and really enjoying getting out there. I am still using the Galloway method of run a minute followed by walk a minute. Although in Scotland I do believe I am going to run 2 minutes and walk a minute. It works well for me. My average pace using this method has been right around 12:00 min/mile, which is great for me. I am so proud of my running accomplishments, I actually used my running shoes as a template to decorate my graduation cap. My hat got a lot of points, gestures, and comments throughout graduation weekend.



Personal: Well I feel like myself again. I am still working on trying to find better ways to deal with all of my different emotions. However, I feel like i am enjoying life, and living positively. I am trying to mend relationships that I really messed up during the past 6 years. One thing that is absolutely impossible to describe or explain is the emotional strain of the Ph.D. process. I am sure that is how I wound up divorced, but I am trying to live with no regrets. It is a very difficult thing to do. I thank all of my dear dear friends that have stuck by me, listened to me, let me yell at them, ran with me, traveled with me, talked to me, were honest with me, encouraged me, and just helped me out. I do need to thank my parents as well. I believe they were quite proud of me during graduation weekend. I was able to grab a stranger and get a family picture during graduation weekend.



I am constantly thinking of 2 families that are dealing with so much on their plates, and handling everything with such strength I am in admiration. The first family is the Russell's, where Nate a 6 1/2 year old boy with Spinal Muscular Atrophy passed away in late April. Nate taught me so much about how to be a good speech pathologist and listening to the needs of even a child who could communicate through vocalizations and his eyes with an eyegaze communication system in such amazing ways. His parents and younger brother are some absolutely amazing people who I just look at with awe. The second family is that of the Whitten's, who have a beautiful daughter Lillian Grace who is battling for each and every day of life. Chrissy and Michael have demonstrated such strength and trust in God, that they are cherishing each and every day that their "Warrior Princess" is here on earth with them. My thoughts and prayers to both of these families, whom I admire.

Now, I thought I would also post some of my other pictures from graduation weekend at KU.



Dr. Debby Daniels



He is telling you, yup I am Dr. Boca now....



We just happened to have run into Baby Jay as I was taking Boca for a walk around campus before he had to hang out in the car during the graduation ceremony.



Even Baby Jay was swooning over Boca..

Yes you can call me Doctor...

Well April 7, 2010 was a life altering day for me. I defended my dissertation. The last major hoop required to finish the Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree. I began my Ph.D. program in speech language pathology in August of 2004. Six years...it has been a very long haul and I have had so much life change in that 6 year time, it's hard to believe I finally got within the finish line. My dissertation was on "Improving the Social Communication Competence of Augmentative and Alternative Communication Users". I enjoyed conducting my research and getting to meet some really awesome people. Before the big day, I contacted several friends and people that I knew who had gone through the defense experience. I was told that even though 3 hours were allotted for the defense, that most lasted only half that. I put together a presentation that would last between 45 and 60 minutes. I guess either my topic was extremely interesting, or my committee wanted to stall getting back to their regular schedule, or I did not put together things very clearly, but I was fortunate enough to get to hang out with my committee for 2 1/2 hours. Truly a growing experience and nothing really in life I can compare it to. I tried to take several photos throughout the day to document the process, but after I was told I passed, my brain literally turned to mush so I don't have many good pictures of after, but oh well.

Left the hotel around 7 AM. Trying to keep my goofiness about myself and keep the nerves calm, so decided to take a crazy picture acting like I was shaking all over.




This is my title slide and I was ready to go by about 7:45. My presentation began at 9AM.




I went through all my slides and videos before everyone got there to make sure they all worked and showed up on the screen.




The people that had control over whether I passed my dissertation defense or not. My committee. From left to right: Dr. Ed Auer, Dr. Hugh Catts, Dr. Jane Wegner, Dr. Debby Daniels, and Dr. Michael Wehmeyer. Overall a great group of people and brilliant minds. I was questioned for an hour and 21 minutes after giving a 55 minute presentation. It was a long 2 1/2 hours...




Of course after every grueling experience, there should be a chance to eat lunch with lots of friends...they brought in mexican food from my favorite place, El Mezcal in Lawrence, KS.

Sandra's "interesting" (according to TZ) Life update

It has been a long time since I generated a blog entry. So much has happened and is about to happen. I think i will attempt to organize this blog by life roles: health, school life, personal life...I know had you on the edge of your seat doesn't it.

HEALTH
Well my running has significantly decreased. I successfully completed the 3 marathons I signed up for: Athens, Greece, Route 66 in Tulsa, and Disney. None of the marathons went the way I anticipated, but I did indeed finish all 3 within the time limit I was given, so I guess that is a success. I decided after Disney that I am going to cut back to half marathons for a while. Since I made that decision I have decided that I will take part in my Oklahoma City Marathon Relay team (I'm doing a 10K leg), I will hopefully be up to doing the Edinburgh Scotland half marathon at the end of May and then I think I'm hanging up my "event" running shoes for a bit. During the month of February, I was put in an immobility boot for my left Achilles tendon. An MRI showed that I had 3 micro-tears in it as well as some fluid build up. So this was the start of my decreased running. I have been back at pounding the pavement for about 2 weeks, I still have quite a bit of soreness and discomfort in my left Achilles so I am having to keep my distances relatively short and slow. In some ways it's frustrating, because running has helped me deal with a lot of stress in the last couple of years (wait til the school live part), but in others i was relieved because I really don't feel like I am achieving the running goals I would like. When I was told to wear an immobility boot, I was given the okay to swim and bike. So I rejoined my gym membership at TU to ride the stationary bike (yeah it's too cold to bike outside). I mentioned to Sue, a great OT who has helped me grow so much as a speech path, that I could bike and should train for the Oklahoma Freewheel. She became excited and said that she has always wanted to do the Freewheel, so we decided to start training with the Tulsa Bicycle Club on March 14th. I, of course did not go out today because of the slush on the roads..not a die hard biker yet. Sue and I are riding bikes on Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays. At least that is the plan. Biking really is so much easier than running. So my overall physical health is getting by. I made a big decision on March 1st regarding my physical health. I have battled being overweight pretty much since hitting 13 years old. I work with several people who had done the HCG diet and had great success. I have debated it for a long time, but you really get to take in very few calories (500) a day. I was extremely worried about being able to keep up my running regime and doing this diet. Well, once I found myself in the immobility boot, I decided it was a sign and time to try to do something about my weight. So on March 1st, I got my first of 6 HCG/B-Compex infusions. I am 3 weeks in and have lost 21 pounds. Running is extremely fatiguing and getting more than 4 miles in is quite a task, but I am pleased with the weight loss. I have 3 more infusions to get and am hoping to lose a total of at least 30 pounds before it is said and done.

SCHOOL LIFE
I am very excited that my life as a student will soon be over hopefully. I am scheduled to defend my dissertation on Wednesday, April 7 at 9AM. I really am in disbelief that the date is only 2 1/2 weeks away. I have sent my final draft of my dissertation to my mentor for one last review before sending it out to my other 4 dissertation committee members. My actual defense is marked out for 3 hours (I hear it's usually more like an hour and a half, but you never know). It is something that is open to the public. At this point in time, I am not too nervous about my presentation part. I think I am a decent presenter. I am a little nervous about the questions my committee members might ask. One thing I really hate, and really unnerves me is to feel stupid. I will do the best I can do and that is all I can do. It has taken me 6 years to reach this point. I have been a college student for 12 years...how ridiculous is that. The little known fact about me though is that as a college sophomore I was put on academic probation and actually released from my admission at the university. I have had to work very hard to get to where I am today. Many people think I have just coasted through my education, and every day has been a battle. I think one of my character strengths of perseverance will be demonstrated if I can pass this final test and become Dr. I am not one for labels so my students will still call me Sandra, but knowing that I have accomplished such a difficult feat, makes me feel proud.

PERSONAL LIFE
My mental health has been a little unstable I guess you could say since the whole Greece marathon. I have several character flaws but some that pop up repeatedly. I have a very hard time processing things, especially big life events. Running my first marathon, and traveling overseas for the first time in 15 years, I think count as big life events. I guess I am still trying to figure out what happened to some of the "friendships" that existed before going there, but yet seemed to really get cracked while being there. I have been feeling quite a bit of heartache, but know that dealing with things you cannot change will help me to grow as a person. I have also had some excitement with finally having some time to do some improvements on the home I bought back in November. I have been able to paint my kitchen a bright blue and my living room a warm tan. I hope to be able to paint my hallway, bedroom and bathroom soon as well. It has helped me to feel like a true home owner a positive way. It also made for something great to do in this fun spring snow storm we have had this weekend. St. Patrick's day was a horrible day for me though. It's supposed to be a day of luck for the Irish and I am 1/2 Irish, but I guess the 1/2 English side took over. My dog Balto wound up gone after I left the house for 2 hours for a bike ride. I am 98% certain someone took him from my back yard. He is such a timid dog and cowers if someone yells or jumps at him. He is the 2nd dog to magically "diappear" out of my back yard, the first being Bobby and Susan's dog Kiwi after I left for Greece. It has made me completely paranoid about my dog Boca. The only comfort I have is that Boca will run from anyone who chases him, including me...and if he makes it in the house he will be safe. It is so terrible to have to live in fear of a dognapper. I honestly don't know how anyone deals with a kidnapping of their child. So it was a traumatic event for me, again I don't process things well all the time. I am very sad about his disappearance but I am smart enough to know that someone probably took him to sell him because they are desperate for money. The only thing that gives me any peace is that if someone pays money for him, then they will provide him a good home.

I am getting through each day one day at a time. I am trying to live and learn and move forward. It is extremely mentally difficult for me, but all I can do is try...

marathon #3 is just 3 weeks away

Well, I figure it is time for a personal blog update. Life has been quite the whirlwind since my last entry on November 17th. Since that entry I completed marathon #2, the Route 66 Marathon here in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Doing your first 2 marathons 2 weeks apart, well it's a little nuts, but it did qualify me for Marathon Maniacs. I am now indeed an official maniac. I am Marathon Maniac #1996.

But I digress...my "original" pick for my first marathon the Walt Disney World marathon is coming up on January 10th. I signed up for this marathon the day after it was ran in 2009 and made the decision, along with my New Year's Resolution to run at least 500 miles, that I would indeed attempt a marathon and thought why not do it at the "Happiest Place on Earth". Now that it is just 3 weeks away, I am feeling quite nervous about it.

After completing the Greece marathon, I really wasn't sure I ever wanted to do another one, ever.... seriously. I know what you're thinking, everyone says that. However, I really meant it. There are many many many underlying things that occurred on my Greece trip that really doing the marathon 30 minutes slower than I thought I would, well it was just another piece that seemed to fall apart for me. I have taken the last 4-5 weeks and tried to reconcile my own thoughts and feelings about that entire trip and all the aspects of my life that it affected and move forward.

When I got back to the states and regrouped somewhat, the Route 66 marathon was just around the corner. In my mind I kept telling myself that I was trained and could do it. In my mind, I had chalked it up as the possibility to run the marathon I thought I was capable of in Greece. So I semi-coerced Bobby into signing up with me on the day before the marathon, and there we were 2 weeks after Greece, at the starting line of the route 66 marathon. I have left out a few small details...the Wednesday before the Route 66 marathon, I got some horrible sinus crude. I was having to use my inhaler quite a bit, and personally felt like I was keeping Puffs in business. I went to the health clinic at TU and the doctor there kind blew me off. One thing most people know about me, is I am very good at diagnosing my own illnesses. So I did the resourceful thing and called my allergist and he was nice enough to call me in a Z-pack and give me an antibiotic booster (I swear this is the most painful shot ever, except maybe a spinal tap). So, I was really in no condition health wise to run anything, no less the full marathon, but heck that wasn't gonna stop me. So back to the starting line....

It was so incredible to be a part of the Route 66 run, with all of the people from Runners World just everywhere on the course cheering people on, just everywhere. It was just amazing! I have to spend a special shout out to my friends Susan,Candace and Lisa. I saw them at mile 12. I lost Bobby at around mile 8-9, because I had no energy and felt so nauseous I just didn't know how i was gonna go on. At mile 12 when I saw my friends I told them I was getting in the car with them because I was done. Susan reminded me how much money I spent to do the silly run and I needed to keep going, and I did. I walked the entire last 15 miles. I met up with a guy named Jean from Illinois and he kept me company until about mile 24. It was awesome to finish the Route 66 with all my friends at the finish line and just knowing I didn't quit.

So that brings me to today. Today was my last 'recommended' double digit training run for the Walt Disney Marathon. One of my big fears in Disney is that I will be out there by myself. The other 2 marathons I have had Bobby there with me at the start. So all during this past week, I worked on coaching myself that I could go out and run by myself and it would be okay. I had several people offer to put in miles with me on my last long run, but instead decided I needed to figure out if I was going to be able to do it on my own. So I set the alarm for 5:30 AM trying to plan on getting in 5-7 miles before my regular Runners World group met, and then 7 with the group, and then just needing another 2-4 on my own. The alarm went off this morning, and I had almost convinced myself that I would ignore it and figure out a weekday to get in my last long run, then I acknowledged that was ridiculous got up threw on the running clothes and headed to Veteran's park. I started my run this morning feeling nervous and anxious at 6 AM. Within my first couple of miles, I had truly found my "happy place", I was loving focusing on the songs on my ipod. I was loving the fact that I was letting my brain process all the different feelings/emotions I was having about all different people, things, and events. Before I knew it I was already crossing the Pedestrian Bridge for the first go round...this means I had about 3 1/2 miles already done. As I headed out on the Midland Valley Trail, it was still quite dark (I had my headlamp for safety). My head lamp was casting all kinds of interesting shadows so I was playing games with myself about what the different shadows could be and voila before I knew it I was crossing 18th street. I couldn't believe how well the run was going. I looked at my watch at that point and realized I would have time to actually get in 7 miles before the group met. I was feeling so proud of myself for just moving forward and feeling so at ease. I got my 7 done and met up with the group at 7:45. The hardest part of my whole adventure this morning was the waiting around to start running again. The temperatures weren't too bad this morning, but standing around in my own sweat made me quite chilly. I told Bobby to go on without me because I didn't know how much I would slow down, well I really wasn't too far behind him the whole time. It helped me to again feel good about my adventure. After we got back to the starting point, I had just the "short loop" left, Bobby was kind enough to ask if I wanted company, but I declined. I needed to finish what I had started, and I did. I completed 16.25 miles by myself and wasn't too worse for the wear.

So, long story well long...I will pack my bags, running clothes included, and head to Disney on January 5th to complete my 3rd marathon in 3 months. How bad can it be?

Marathon Finisher

I am really a marathon finisher. It still seems pretty surreal. The entire adventure to Greece was quite overwhelming and emotional for me. I am so thankful I went. I really pushed myself out of my comfort zone. I have a hard time with travel anxiety, and of course then there was anxiety about running/completing my first marathon. I was so fortunate to have Bobby around since we had done all of our long training runs together. It was great to have so many friends around in Greece as well.
Marathon morning started very early. There were several of us who decided to take the "Power Walker" start. This meant that start time was 7 AM. Doesn't seem so bad right? Well in order to take the 7 AM start you had to be at the finish line by 5:30 to get on the bus to the start in Marathonas. Since the public transportation system in Athens didn't start until 5 AM we scheduled for taxis to meet us at 4:30 to make sure we had plenty of time. My marathon morning started at about 3:30 AM with the onset of a pretty nasty migraine (I think just stress induced). The bus ride up to the start was a little touch and go as migraines often make me very nauseous.

Once we arrived at Marathonas there was an awesome Olympic torch, some music playing, and of course some damp conditions. There was a chance of rain after all.




At 6:45 AM there was a nice clap of thunder and some lightning off in the distance and then yup...it rained. And rained. And rained. Those of us that took the "Power Walker" start got to run in the rain for about the first 3 hours of the run. Fortunately the outside temperature was about 20 degrees Celsius, so it wasn't too cold of a rain. I started the run using the Galloway 1/1 method. I had Bobby and Chrissy hanging with me so we were laughing at the rain and just taking it all in. At mile 9, Chrissy had to stop for a potty break and Bobby needed to fill up his water bottle. I figured they would both catch back up with me quickly. I didn't see Chrissy again until about the 24 kilometer marking and Bobby reappeared around the 34 kilometer mark. It was an extremely hilly course. I have preferred to use the term "mountainous" to hilly to describe the elevation changes along the route. The finish of the course however made the whole experience worth it. Getting to run into the original Olympic stadium with the Olympic rings and the great stands and the crowd...it was awe inspiring. It was so great to experience everything with Bobby and Chrissy. Our finish time was 6:31:08, but it wasn't about the time...it was about the finish, and the experience of a lifetime.


The day following the marathon, we took an awesome day cruise. It was awesome just to rest, relax, and enjoy the day.


What's next?

Well, I am signed up to do the Disney Marathon on January 10th, 2010. I am looking forward to it. I may attempt the Route 66 run (full or half). Then I think i will venture to Scotland in May for another overseas adventure.