CraftSanity with Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood

This guy's next. Abby says his name is "Tooby." Not "Toby." "Tooby." I made my mom a little kit so she can stitch this design, too. We gave it to her yesterday when we visited my family in suburban Detroit, and today Abby asked her on the phone: "Did you stitch my monster yet?"

I really am having the best time stitching my 3-year-old's monster designs because this project appeals to me on several levels. It not only preserves this chapter of Abby's life as a budding creative type, but it also gives me a chance to elevate her work from crayon and paper to something a little more permanent. And I think that makes her feel good about the art she's making. (Yes, we call crayon drawings art in our house.)

On the fitness front, I ran 5.25 miles today. It was tricky to squeeze it into the schedule, but boy did it feel good. When I became a semi-serious, born-again athlete last year, I realized very quickly that I feel a lot better when I run or swim or do some other form of cardio activity.

My weekly milage is a fragment of where it should be, but I'm hoping to ramp things up with a long run this weekend and keep the dream of completing my second consecutive 25K alive. Then, maybe I'll attempt my second consecutive GR Marathon, only this time a little faster.... or maybe a little slower. The insane part of me wants to throw knitting into the mix and go after the Guiness record for knitting while running a marathon and try to raise some serious money for charity while making a loon of myself. With the right yarn and maybe some Addi Turbos, I think that could be really fun.

So, I was good today and ran like I'm supposed to, only to load up on chocolate after dinner. Alas, the post title: Running with Reeses. I'm sorry about the calories, but I'm not sorry at all about the taste. Chocolate is fabulous.

I did it.

Today I successfully completed the Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon – 26.2 miles, baby!

The first thing I said when my husband, Jeff, met me at the finish line with the video camera rolling is this: "I am a humbled woman."

Boy, am I ever. While I'm happy to have completed the race, my performance was disappointing at best.

This morning I suited up for the big race shrouded by a cloud of denial. I slipped on my compression pants and Zenzah Training and Recovery Sleeves and let myself believe that because I really wanted to run fast, I somehow would despite the fact that I haven't been able to run for the last three weeks. (Ridiculous, I know.)

I held onto this optimism even after a frank discussion with the marathon pace team director, Dr. Rick, a.k.a. "Dr. Reality." He broke it down for me at Saturday's pre-race expo at the David D. Hunting YMCA. He told me my dream to run a 3-hour 40-minute marathon and qualify for the Boston Marathon was not realistic and urged me to consider running a slower pace.

He was just doing his job, but I walked away from his table feeling a bit deflated. He doesn't know me. How could he possibly know what I'm capable of? I'm determined. I'm tenacious. I don't give up.

But sometimes that isn't enough.

Well, it turns out the good doctor totally had my number. He didn't have to know me personally to make an educated guess about what was going to happen out there on the course today.

For the first several miles I held my 8:30-mile goal pace and felt like I was going a little slow, which was exactly how it's supposed to feel.

But, then around mile 8, I couldn't ignore my throbbing right Achilles.

It started bugging me after a 20-mile training run about a month ago, and I've been trying to nurse it back to health with a combination of physical therapy and therapeutic massage appointments. I subbed swimming, boxing and stationary bike riding in for my marathon training runs to keep my endurance up. I knew my plan wasn't foolproof, so I'm not surprised it didn't work too well.

By mile 13 my right ankle was throbbing and every time my shoe made contact with pavement, pain radiated up the back of my leg and across the top of my foot. Quitting was not an option, so I slowed down even more and turned up my music in and attempt to dull my senses. (Fortunately, the worst pain didn't set in until after the race.)

The most frustrating part of this experience is that I know I had the endurance to run faster than I did Sunday, but I couldn't will my leg to move any faster. It hurt something fierce for more than half the race but there was nothing I could do about it.

A smarter, more patient woman, probably would have sat out this year's marathon, focused on healing and than made a plan to run next year injury-free. But me, well, I didn't want to wait. I've thought about the race every day since I registered. I trained as hard as I could with the aid of my friend and trainer, Gary Strehlke, and I wanted to run no matter what. I didn't want to drag out my obsession with marathon running for another year and continue to struggle to fit three-hour runs into my already-hectic family schedule. My husband has been very cool about supporting my running, but I didn't want to put him through that for another year.

So I ran injured, clocked in at disappointing 4 hours, 28 minutes and 27 seconds (48 minutes slower than the Boston qualifying time) and watched my ankle swell up to twice its normal size when I got home and took off my shoe. (I'm icing as I type.)

Knowing what I know now, would I still have gone through with today's painful run?

The smart answer is "no." The honest answer is: "Absolutely."

There's nothing like crossing the finish line after running 26.2 miles with friends and family waiting for you, even if your performance is sub par. The marathon is a test of mental toughness and I salute everyone who ran today's race. As I struggled with my shrinking stride through the last section of the course, a woman cruised by running bare foot. I found this confusing and impressive.

On the upside, my injury prevented me from spending everything I had out there, so I felt better crossing the finish line than I did running the 25 K Fifth/Third River Bank Run in May. (I was basically bed-ridden after that.) Sure, the GU energy packets gave me terrible heartburn and my legs hurt like hell, but I didn't feel faint or sick and was able to smile and raise my arms at the finish line today. For this, I am very thankful.

I don't know if I'll ever run another marathon, so I wanted to make sure I celebrated this finish appropriately.

I wasn't fast today, but I made it and can finally cross "Run a Marathon" off my list of "Things to Do Before I Kick Off." I'll take that.

For now, I'm resisting the urge to add: "Run a FAST Marathon" to the list.

(You can read my pre-race blog entry here.)

Today I rode my bike more than 100 miles. I started after breakfast and finished at dinner time. My quads are feeling pretty torn up right now and my rear end is equally agitated. Mentally, I'm quite pleased that a day of pedaling up and down West Michigan hills has allowed me to cross #66 "Complete a Century Bike Ride" off my "Things-To-Do-Before-I-Kick-Off-List."

Six short months ago I was in no condition to complete this ride, so it's quite a kick to have the experience behind me.

I was invited check out the 100 Grand century ride that starts in Grand Rapids and winds through West Michigan farm country by the Rapid Wheelmen cycling club and I'm glad I did. It was a great challenge that led me through parts of West Michigan I would not see otherwise.

As many of you know, I launched myself into a serious fitness mission in January and documented my weight loss in my newspaper. My fitness series ended after I lost 21.5 pounds in three months. And now I'm trying to to keep the sporty momentum going. I ran my first 25K May 12 and I'm beginning to train for my first marathon.

While I still have A LOT to learn, I've come to appreciate cycling as a beautiful way to explore the area where I live. Had I not taken up the sport, I would not have seen a delicate and barely-there rainbow hanging against a backdrop of puffy clouds above a field of green, or the lovely country homes with white wrap-around porches on which I'd love to sit and knit. I would have taken pictures of these things, but I wasn't able to lug my digital camera along on the ride. (If anyone has any recommendations for a high-quality, pocket-sized digital camera, I'd love to hear your suggestions.)

I rode the first 90 miles with my trainer, Gary, and completed the ride pedaling alone through a downpour, a nerve-wracking thrill, I must say. As you can see from the photo below, most everyone else had gone home by the time I finished the ride.

"105 miles, baby!"

I love my mountain bike, but it doesn't hold a candle to a road bike in the speed department. I didn't want to buy a road bike until I proved to myself that I'm serious about cycling, so I decided to have thinner road tires put on my bike along with a new, female friendly seat and a odometer/speedometer. Now I know why serious cyclists don't ride centuries on mountain bikes. I wouldn't ride that far on a mountain bike again. Now, I'm officially in the market for a sweet road bike. (Do any of you kindred spirits have any bike recommendations?)

I want to figure out how to make a kick-butt "CraftSanity" cycling jersey with those convenient pockets in the back. I figure if I'm going to put in the mileage, I might as well spread the word. : )

A special thanks to my awesome, enabling husband, Jeff, who watched the kids today. He supports all the crazy stuff I do. I'm a very lucky gal to have such a wonderful man in my life. Today's new addition to my big list is to complete a century ride with him on a tandem road bike. I usually cross one thing off and immediately add another. What's on your list?

Hello everyone.

I apologize for falling off the weekly podcast schedule. As some of you know, I've been busy slimming down for a first person fitness series that I've been writing for my newspaper and teaching a journalism class at the local university. Things are going to be pretty crazy for another couple weeks and then I'll be free to craft and podcast like there's no tomorrow. Thank you all for your patience. I'm going to get my crafty act together ASAP. Many thanks to those of you who have written to inquire about my intentions and whereabouts. I'm happy and healthy and can't wait to chat with all of you weekly again. Thanks for your patience. I'm coming back. I promise.

In the meantime, I would like to share some exciting news. Not only am I 21.5 lbs. lighter than I was at Christmas, I was quoted in an article about hip crafting in the April issue of Vogue Australia. I feel like (a very small-time) David Hasselhoff because, like Hasselhoff, I'm not that big of a deal in the United States, but abroad I'm getting a little publicity. As a woman who is most often sporting a pony tail, running shoes and absolutely no make-up, it was quite a kick to get a mention on p. 204 of this fabulous fashion publication. Hasselhoff can be popular in Germany. I'm going to stake my crafty claim on Australia. Aussie crafters rock!

Curious about about what I've been up to while on my podcast hiatus. Check out the revealing stories I've been writing about my fitness mission for the newspaper where I'm a feature writer.