Nahir Dedmon
Runner of the Month - October 2011
Nahir Dedmon is originally from Venezuela, although she has lived in Houston for 10 years. She has three kids: an 18 year old boy, a 10 year old boy, and a 16 year old girl at Cypress Creek High School. Nahir works for Abasco, a manufacturer of oil boom for spills, such as the Gulf of Mexico spill last year. Currently, she is training for the Aramco Houston Half Marathon, which she believes will be her 30th distance race!
FNF: How did you start running?
ND: When my daughter was in first grade. I liked to run as a teenager in Venezuela, but quit and went to the gym. In second grade, my daughter showed interest in doing a track club. I would sit in the bleachers, and it was pretty boring. I started running 2-3 laps during practice, and one day a lady suggested I run a 5k. It took me 45 minutes, and now my best time is 29 minutes. I got hooked and did a few marathons before I got an injury that put me out for a while. Now, I have close to 30 races in total since 2005. It is part of my life. Like I tell my kids and my husband, it is the only thing I do for myself. I get up four times per week at 4am and go for a run with the foxes and possums.
FNF: Who is your running role model?
ND: Deena Kastor and Kara Goucher. I read their stories and I admire them.
FNF: What has been your most memorable running / racing experience?
ND: When I did the first full marathon – crossing the finish line. That was indescribable. I wasn’t placing or getting a prize or anything, but it was an amazing feeling. I did the 5K the first year and then the second year I did the half, and then the Houston marathon in 2007. Now my daughter is running half marathons with me. She ran her first one in 2008 in Dallas and even got third place in her age group.
FNF: What have you enjoyed about working with Focus-N-Fly?
ND: I like that you make me dependable. I can go back and log in what I have done and can go back and see what I have accomplished. I can train for a 10K, a half marathon, or a full marathon, and you proportion the time to train accordingly. If I have a question, I can send an email and get a response right away, or if I am injured, I can change my schedule.
FNF: What is one part of your racing routine you can’t do without (sleep, pre race meal, tie shoes certain way, other ritual)?
ND: I lay out everything the night before, on the nightstand, and if my daughter is running with me I make her do the same thing. Before the race, I eat a half a banana and cereal. Before, when I started, I used to eat two sandwiches and a glass of milk. Now, we keep it simple, just a couple of gels. Sometimes I have terrible dreams though – it is really hard to sleep. If it is too cold, I have a big black garbage bag I wear. My husband says, “Are you really getting in the car like that?”
FNF: What is your favorite place to go for a run?
ND: I love Terry Hershey Park, and in Dallas, the Greenbelt park in the Carrolton area. It gives me a little bit of hills.
FNF: In the next year, what goals do you hope to accomplish?
ND: Get back in shape where I can hopefully complete a full marathon and be injury free. I’m running the Houston half in January. I’m kind of testing myself – I have a deadline for when you can switch races. It has been hard to do the pace runs, but I would like to go back to the full marathon, but I don’t know if I will do it by this year. I also want to do 2 or 3 RnR marathons so I can get my Heavy Medal Bling.
