Alexandria Running Festival Half Marathon

I ran the Alexandria Running Festival half marathon this morning. It wasn't a fast race due to the weather conditions, but I am happy with my execution.

Background
I decided to run this race back in March. I was just coming off of three stress fractures and I wanted a goal race to train for. I knew when I signed up that the race would likely be hot, but I still wanted to be able to run a half marathon this season.

Training
My training mileage for this half marathon was lower than it has been for any half marathon over the past three years due to the injury. However, I supplemented it with swimming, pool running and the elliptical. Here is a graph of my land mileage leading up to the race:

Weekly Running Mileage (land)

My longest run was 12 miles, and I did two of those on the two weekends leading up to the race. I had done one 11-miler and everything else was in the single digits. One victory for today was actually completing the 13.1 miles, a distance I haven't run since early January.

My training included two 5K races and one 8K, two of which were PRs. But because these races had much cooler conditions, there was no way I could expect a half marathon PR. My goal was just to run my best without bonking.

Pre-Race
Earlier this week I think I suffered from dehydration. I attempted a 7-mile progression run at modest paces, and I bonked. Afterwards I felt weak and on the verge of passing out. The next day, I woke up and the room was spinning. I was planning to run again, but I was far too dizzy. I even waited a few hours before I felt safe to drive to work. Since then I have been drinking LOTS of water. It was a scary reminder that not drinking more water than you think you need can be dangerous when it's so hot and humid out! It also forced me to do more of a taper than originally planned. This week, I ran 7 miles on Tuesday and 5 miles on Friday, and that was it. I went swimming on Monday, but there was no other cross training involved. I think I was very well rested and hydrated by the time this morning rolled around.

Race time was 7:15, so that meant that my husband and I had to leave our house at 6:00.  We woke up at 5:00, I ate 2/3 of a salt bagel, drank a cup of water and we were off.  About 5 minutes into our drive, I realized that I had forgotten my Garmin at home. I told Greg that I would just have to deal, but he encouraged me to turn around and go back for it. I remembered Amy's race report where she ran a fantastic marathon without looking at her watch. I also remembered the Houston Half marathon from 2008 when my watch failed and PRed. I thought it might be good to experiment, but I decided to go back for the Garmin, because I wanted to monitor my heart rate. I was afraid that I would go out too fast and overdo it if I ran by feel.

Now I was worried about us being late to the race, but everything turned out okay. The race was even delayed by 10 minutes (grrrrr) so we were definitely fine. They had run out of shirts by the time we got there, but I think you can email the race director and he'll order more.

I carried my own bottle of G2 with me because I know that doesn't upset my stomach and I would know exactly how much I drank. I also planned to take one honey stinger energy gel at mile 7.

The Weather
It was forecast to be 71 degrees at race start, and that felt pretty accurate. It was very humid, but thankfully it was overcast. In fact, we really lucked out with the clouds. The forecast was for it to be sunny but the sun didn't come out until after I finished. If it had, I think I would have been a few minutes slower. I feel like I just bake when it's sunny.

The Course
This was a challenging course. There was an area that had a park as part of it that we had to circle three times. It was a loop of about 2 miles. There were quite a few twists and turns and ups and downs. At times, the course was very narrow and it was impossible to pass anyone. I felt bad for the really fast runners who had to spend their third lap weaving through people who were still on their first lap, or second lap for that matter. Because of how the course was, there was no space in many cases to pass people on the grass or on the side. This frustrated me at a few points, but I wasn't trying to race it competitively like the front runners.

Miles 1-4
I figured I would start out at a pace of about 8:40 and try to run the race as a progression- maybe landing somewhere around 8:00. During the first few miles there were quite a few people who passed me. It was hard  not to let this affect me, but I stuck to my plan. I stayed in tune with how I felt and monitored my heart rate. I was in the "recovery" zone for the first mile and clocked an 8:22. This was faster than anticipated, but the heart rate was happy with it, so I decided I would do a very gradual progression from 8:22 down to 8:00.

Mile 1: 8:22
Mile 2: 8:20
Mile 3: 8:17
Mile 4: 8:16

Miles 5-9
Everything had been going smoothly when all of a sudden I noticed that my heart rate was well into the tempo/LT zone. This was to be expected. It is a half marathon after all, but it's like it just suddenly jumped up and I was now working hard. Soon after, I found myself slowing down. Miles 4-10 were the ones that went around the park area 3 times. I couldn't wait to get out of the park. I kept getting stuck behind runners/walkers who were still on an earlier lap and it was hard to maintain a "groove".

At around mile 5, I found myself running behind the woman I had met at the 8K last month who runs tons and tons of races. I said hi to her, and that I saw her photo in Washington Running Report. Her insane number of races is her claim to fame, and I was guessing she probably ran a race yesterday. She said she was taking it easy, and I thought I'd stick with her for awhile, but then shortly after I found myself running ahead. No doubt that if there is a local race tomorrow- she will be there!

I took my Honey Stinger energy gel at mile 7, as planned. I figured the calories from the G2 would fuel the first half of the race and then the honey would fuel the second half. This worked out well and I had no stomach issues.

Mile 5: 8:13 (fastest mile of the race)
Mile 6: 8:43
Mile 7: 8:37
Mile 8: 8:55 (slowest mile of the race)
Mile 9: 8:40

Miles 10-13
By mile marker 10, I was finally out of the park! Now it was just road running. Everything thinned out because I was no longer running with people who were on their second lap. There weren't many people around me. By this point, I wasn't really looking at my Garmin, but every time it beeped, I continued to be surprised. After I saw that 8:55 for mile 8, I was sure that all subsequent miles would be in the 9's. I was pleasantly surprised that they weren't!

According to my Garmin, my heart rate stayed in the tempo zone the entire time, but yet I wasn't really pushing. I was afraid to push too hard, and I saw no reason to kill myself during this race. It was that magical "comfortably hard" feeling that a tempo is supposed to be so I thought it must be great training.

I saw my husband at a turnaround point and he seemed to be about a minute ahead of me. Mile 12 was all downhill which made things easy. Mile 13 seemed to last forever and there was a huge hill. (Anyone familiar with the races run near the AMC Hoffman Theaters should be familiar with this hill). It's a monster to deal with at the end of any race, but a real treat once you get to the top and start running back down. Once I got to the bottom, I decided it was finally time to really push and finish strong. And I did-- a 7:20 pace!

Mile 10: 8:37
Mile 11: 8:39
Mile 12: 8:20
Mile 13: 8:29 (this included the hill!)
Last 0.1: 7:20 pace.

Post-Race
My official finish time was 1:50:50. Greg was waiting for me at the finish line-- he ran a 1:49:18.

I placed 222 out of 998 runners (male and female)
I placed 28 out of 178 women ages 30-39.

Post-race.

As I expected, my ranking is a lot lower than it typically is for races because I think I am more affected by the heat than the average runner.

I am happy with how this race turned out. Given the forecast, I was expecting something along the lines of a 1:55. I realize that I ran the race over 9 minutes slower than my PR, but given that I am typically nearly 1:00/mile slower in the heat, this was a win for me. A new "hot weather" PR in the half marathon. The last hot half marathon I ran was in 2:03. Most importantly, I kept a fairly even effort and did not bonk! I think I could have pushed harder and ran a little faster, but it just wasn't worth it for me.

My shins were perfect. Not even a hint of awareness. My feet felt achy and sore for most of the race, but that may have been because my shoes only had 12 miles on them prior to the race. And I think I should have broken them in more. No post-race soreness either, although that could change tomorrow morning.

Looking Ahead
This was a great training run for the Laywer's Have Heart 10K in two weeks. I run that race every summer, so I use it as a benchmark. Thus, it's super important for me to do well!

I will "officially" start training for Milwaukee at the end of June, and in the meantime, keep my weekly mileage in the 30's plus cross training. Thanks for reading if you made it this far!

Oh The Weather Outside is Frightful

As is typical in the Washington DC metro area, we have transitioned from winter to summer with about 2 weeks of spring in between. I try not to gripe about the weather too much because I can't control it, but it was just a few weeks ago when I was setting PRs for tempo runs and such in the cool mornings, and now my training pace has slowed by at least 30 seconds per mile.

I am registered for the Alexandria Running Festival  half marathon on Sunday. When I signed up, I knew that it would likely be a hot race, but I wanted to run it anyway because I wasn't able to race anything longer than an 8K this spring due to injury. Humidity typically doesn't become an issue until mid-June, so I thought I might get a pass on that. But the forecast is calling for hot, sunny, humid weather. 

This morning, Greg and I attempted a 7-mile progression run. It was about 69 degrees and extremely humid. We choose a relatively hilly route and I bonked during the 6th mile, while running up a hill at an 8:30 pace. I was running at paces that felt "easy" in San Francisco but now with the humidity I was in my tempo zone. My heart rate was skyrocketing and I knew I was overdoing it, so I decided to really back off the pace and just take it very easy for the last mile and a half. I completed the 7 miles, but felt weak and spacey afterwards. I don't think I could have run much further. So, if this is how I felt after 7 miles at an average 8:51 pace, how am I going to manage a half marathon in weather that's predicted to be even hotter? Granted, I will take more care to pre-hydrate and there shouldn't be as many hills, but it will still be hot and humid.

So now I'm wondering if I should take this half marathon really easy (as if it were just another long run) or if I should try and push for something maybe in the 8:20 range. (Note: my PR pace is about 7:43). Should I wear a heart rate monitor to make sure I'm not overdoing it? And let that guide my pace? What if I ran it as a really long progression run? I am completely torn on what approach I should take. I think I am much more sensitive to these types of conditions than most runners. While others can still be competitive in hot weather, I usually cannot be, and my placement falls well below what it usually is. 

Really my only goal here is not to bonk. I've bonked in hot half marathons before and it's not pretty. I got a taste of bonking this morning and even for a mile and a half it was miserable. We'll see what happens. . .

As for my training leading up to the race, I ran 34 miles last week, but I backed off the cross training. This week will be a slight taper week with 7 miles today, 6 tomorrow and then 6 on Friday. I also swam 1100 yards yesterday. I'll focus on pre-hydrating and getting enough sleep so that none of those things are a contributing factor to a potential bonk.

New Scenery: San Francisco Running

This morning I had the opportunity to run in San Francisco because I am here for a business conference. I've never been to this city before, but I'd heard nothing but wonderful things.

I knew that it was going to be hilly, but when I saw how extreme the hills were, I thought that there was no way I could realistically go for a run. My hotel is in Union Square, and there is a hill next to it that has like a 25% grade. I probably would have to walk up this thing and it's long. I thought that using the hotel treadmill might be easier and safer, but my Facebook friends convinced me otherwise.

Prior to coming to San Francisco, I had scoped out this route. Some of my friends assured me on Facebook that once I got down to the water it wouldn't be hilly, so I decided to go for it. I am SO glad I did! What a beautiful run. It was so exciting to be in a brand new city, running through areas I had never seen before but had read about.

The Bay Bridge (I didn't take this photo, but this was my view)

The weather was amazing. Mid 50's and not humid. If it's truly like this all the time, then the people who live here are spoiled. I left my hotel started running in the direction indicated by the map. The sun had just come up and there weren't many people around, so I was a bit scared. But it was a nice area, so I just made sure to keep my wits about me and look strong. The first mile was all downhill. Not as dramatically steep as most of the hills seem to be here, but it was still a hill. I logged a 7:23 pace, which felt easy, so I am not sure if my Garmin was off or if it was the downhill + awesome weather that accounted for this.

At about 1.2 miles, I was at the Embarcadero. I could see the water and a massive bridge. It was so beautiful and amazing. I thought it was the Golden Gate Bridge but I later realized it was the Bay Bridge. Still it was amazing. I soon realized I was in my element as plenty of other runners started to show up. This must be where everyone in San Fran runs because it's not so hilly. I followed a man in an Ironman shirt for awhile because I figured he'd keep me on the right route and prevent me from veering off accidentally. I felt like I was in a race. There was always at least one other runner in sight-- usually like 4 or 5 others, and we were all running the same route. Plus, the scenery was completely new to me.

I continued to be shocked by my pace given my easy effort level. I assumed that after the downhill it would go back to my "easy" pace of about 8:40-8:45 but it remained on the fast side. Maybe the Garmin was off, or maybe I was just so excited to be in a new area that I had extra adrenaline.  My intention was to run 7 miles, but I missed the road I had to turn on to get back into the city (Market St.) so I ended up running 7.5:

Mile 1: 7:23
Mile 2: 8:30
Mile 3: 8:09
Mile 4: 8:20
Mile 5: 8:15
Mile 6: 8:25
Mile 7: 8:51 (back up the hill)
Last 0.5: 8:57

7.5 miles, 8:19 average pace. It felt easy and the scenery was amazing. Afterwards I just felt so invigorated and I was overcome by feelings of "I love running so much!" I sometimes don't get that feeling when running the same routes over and over near my house.

I'm registered for the Nike Women's marathon in October, so I will be running here again this fall. I'm planning on that race being a "fun run" without caring about my time. And now I am more excited than I was before!

Tomorrow I'm planning to run again, and then I fly back tomorrow evening. I'm so glad I didn't go for the treadmill option!

Running Controversies (Part I of III)

Welcome to my three-part controversial blog series!

My husband suggested I write another poetic blog about running in the humidity, but the creative juices aren't really flowing that way. So in this three-part series (to be written over the course of the next several weeks) I'll share my thoughts on what I perceive to be the most highly debated running topics among runners.

Headphones
The debate: Some runners insist on always racing with headphones, while other runners get annoyed with the headphone wearers because they can't hear what's going on around them.

10K from 2007 after removing my headphones.

My personal preference: I used to always train and race with headphones and music was a large part of my running. I stopped racing with them just over two years ago when I wanted to be "free" of equipment. Also, sometimes the songs would get on my nerves when it was late in the race and I just wanted peace. Then I met my husband and we started doing most of our runs together, which meant no headphones so we could chat. So now the only time I would ever listen to music on the run would be if Greg wasn't with me and the run was on the longer side. I enjoy racing without them, but I do sometimes think that the extra "pick me up" might help motivate me.
My stance: I don't agree that safety is a valid reason for banning headphones in most races. The exception is if it's a smaller race and the road is not blocked off from cars. Then safety does become an issue. Otherwise, it might be annoying for others trying to pass you, but you aren't at a high risk for being trampled on. . . I don't think! I think there are things that people do in races that are much more "unsafe" than using headphones, such as jogging strollers in the front or middle of the pack, suddenly stopping to walk without pulling over to the side, throwing your cup on the ground where someone else can easily slip on it, etc. As for the rules, people are going to break the rules and wear headphones, which is why I don't agree with banning them. The fact of the matter is, A LOT of people like running with headphones, so banning them isn't really practical.

Minimalist Shoes/Barefoot Running
The debate: Minimalist shoes, designed to mimic barefoot running, are becoming increasingly popular because it's seen to be more natural. Many runners believe that barefoot running will make them faster and less injury prone.

Vibram Minimalist Running Shoe

My Personal Preference: I've never been tempted to do this. I like my running shoes. When I wear less supportive shoes or worn-out shoes I definitely feel it in my legs. I tried running in the Kinvaras (which aren't even minimalist-- just a lot lighter than most shoes) at an expo once. I only made it about 5 or 6 strides until my legs and feet started to feel unhappy. I do realize that minimalist running is something you have to work your way up to, but it's just not a goal of mine.
My Stance: My husband brought up a good point: although humans were meant to run barefoot, we were not meant to run marathons on asphalt or concrete. Maybe if all races and runs were in the grass or a dirt surface, I might be more open to the idea of it. I also think that the amount of research that has been put into making today's running shoes what they are far outweighs the theory that barefoot is best.

Junk Miles
The debate: One school of thought is that the best approach to getting faster is to run more miles. 50 miles a week is better than 40. 60 is better than 50. The other school of thought is that the quality of the workouts is more important than the quantity of the miles. Unless a workout has a specific purpose, then it's just "junk miles".
My Personal Preference: Before my recent injury, I took the "more is better" approach. I didn't consider any miles to be junk miles because if I wasn't doing speed work or a long run, I was simply building my aerobic capacity and training my legs to spend more time running. Usually I only did one speed session per week (alternating intervals and tempo runs) because I thought more than that would be too much, given my relatively high mileage. However, when I trained for my best marathon ever back in the spring of 2008, I was running fewer miles but with two speed sessions per week. Now I am not sure what's best. I still think you need high weekly mileage to succeed at the marathon, but I might be better off reducing my overall mileage in exchange for an extra speed workout each week. In thinking about how I will train for my next marathon, I know I'll be doing a lot more cross training than ever before, so it will be lower mileage, and some of the weeks will likely include two speed workouts.
My Stance: I don't really believe in "junk miles" unless you are running so many miles that you are over training and wearing yourself out. I think that running an 8-miler at an easy pace for the sake of "general aerobic" fitness is just fine. However, if this run comes the day after a 20-miler just to get some more miles in, then maybe it's moving toward "junk".

I'll cover more exciting and controversial topics in the next blog in this series. Meanwhile, I ran 33 miles this week, plus 80 minutes of pool running and 1500 yards of swimming. Half marathon in two weeks!

"Coming Back" Vs. "Being Back"

At what point do you cross the threshold from "coming off of an injury" to being "recovered" from an injury and back at normal training? It's a gradual process, and I don't think there is really any particular day I can cite as being "recovered". But I think I have finally crossed over to the other side!

Coming Back
What does it look like to come off of three stress fractures? Not that horrible. For the first few weeks, I followed Pfitzinger's post-injury plan which was specifically written for stress fracture recovery. At first it was run/walking a few times per week and the walking gradually disappeared. I continued to cross train consistently because I wasn't running enough to maintain my fitness level. In April, my focus was on gradually increasing the mileage (by about 10% each week) and introducing short races and speed work. Here's the run down:

April 4: REST
April 5: 4 miles (plus pool running intervals)
April 6: 6 miles (plus elliptical for 45 mins)
April 7: (pool running + swimming for 70 mins)
April 8: 4.1 (5K race @ 7:19 plus warmup)
April 9: REST
April 10: 6 miles (plus 90 mins pool running)
Land Miles: 20.1, Pool Miles: 22, Elliptical: 45 mins, Swimming: 800yd

April 11: (Elliptical for 50 mins)
April 12: 5 miles (plus pool running intervals)
April 13: 5 miles (plus pool running & 1200 yd swim)
April 14: (Elliptical for 40 mins)
April 15: 5 miles (inc. 3.5 @ 7:27)
April 16: (90 mins pool running)
April 17: 8 miles
Land Miles: 23, Pool Miles: 19, Elliptical: 90 mins, Swimming: 1200yd

April 18: REST
April 19: 6 miles
April 20: 5.5 miles
April 21: REST
April 22: 4.4 miles (5K race @7:11 plus warmup)
April 23: (pool running for 80 minutes)
April 24: 9 miles
Land Miles: 24.9, Pool Miles: 8

April 25: (Elliptical for 49 mins)
April 26: 4.5 miles (plus pool running intervals)
April 27: 9 miles
April 28: (1500 yd swim + 20 mins pool running)
April 29: 7 miles
April 30: REST
May 1: 6.5 miles (8K race @ 7:24 plus warmup)
Land Miles: 27, Pool Miles: 8, Elliptical: 49 mins, Swimming: 1500yd


During this time, I was careful to increase my land mileage by 10% each week, but I didn't have a goal for the other cross training. I just did what I felt was enough to keep me fit without tiring myself out too much. There's probably a lot of variation from week to week (like the week of the 18th when I purposely did less to "taper" for the 5K). I didn't have a plan-- I just took things week by week.


Being Back
After all that, I think I am officially back. I don't have any shin pain when running, although I will occasionally have an awareness of where the fractures were when just sitting at rest. This freaks me out a little bit, but it always goes away and hasn't yet affected any of my runs.

Last week was 30 land miles, 14 pool miles and 1700yd swimming. This includes an 11-mile run-- a distance I have not run since early January. I'm still doing track intervals in the pool, because I'm afraid to introduce another day of speed work into my routine. The pool intervals are extremely challenging and I am confident that they are doing their job, so I am not in a hurry to get back on the track.

I'm now at a point where I can start thinking about summer races.  I've decided to not do any more short races in May. This was a tough decision to make because I feel like I was "robbed" of the nice cool March races and now in May it seems like we still are having some cool mornings.

However, I am focusing my training on the Alexandria Running Festival half marathon on May 29, and I need to prioritize longer runs over races. The longest I will probably do leading up to the race will be a 12-miler, which is a lot lower than my previous half marathons over the past few years. Typically I am in marathon training mode and I have at least one recent 20-miler under my belt prior to the half. As such, I am not expecting a PR at this distance. With a May 29 race, I'll have to adjust my time goal based on the weather, but my real goal will simply to be to run my best possible race and not bonk.

I'm both cautious and optimistic about my comeback. I think the time off was probably a much-needed break after years of high mileage and that the cross training will be a nice long-term supplement.

Patriot's Cup Corporate Challenge 8K

This morning I ran the Patriot's Cup Corporate Challenge 8K race in Fairfax. I had never heard of this race until my husband brought it to my attention. It's a race to benefit The Arc, which is an organization that helps individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Large corporations sponsor the event and form teams. Greg works at Lockheed Martin and they are very competitive about this race. Lockheed Martin had three teams with 5-8 people each. Two men's teams and a women's team.

My goal was a 36:45, which was predicted by the McMillan calculator from my 5K race last weekend. But I would have been happy with anything under 37 minutes.

Greg and I got to the race, took a team picture with his co-workers and then did a 1.5 mile warmup on the course. The course was fairly hilly. I would call it "rolling hills" for most of the race with a few larger ones tossed in there. There weren't any flat stretches. After the warmup, we lined up at the start line. The weather was surprisingly nice. It was overcast and 57 degrees. I think the overcast sky made all the difference because sunny and 55 can be tough on me.

Miles 1-2
These miles were smooth sailing. There were definitely hills, but I stuck to my tried-and-true strategy of even effort: flying on the downhills and running conservatively on the uphills. Mile 1 was 7:23, Mile 2 was 7:24. I was running very close to a woman who I thought I recognized from last week's 5K. In the 5K I remember running close to her for the first mile and then passing her. I wasn't positive it was the same woman, but it looked a lot like her.

Miles 3-4
This was the toughest part of the race. Both Greg and I had mile 3 as the slowest mile. 7:45 in my case. There was just this big long section of hill that didn't seem to end. I ended up passing the woman who I had been running behind, but I continued to hear her, so I know she must be close.  I was able to redeem myself slightly in the 4th mile (7:35) but I couldn't take full advantage of the downhill because I was trying to recover from all the previous uphills.

Last 0.97
There was a nice downhill for the first half of this mile and I was cruising along at a 7:15. But then, there was this really long uphill stretch that just really got me. I felt like I was crawling up the hill. I knew I was so close to the finish line, but I just couldn't make myself go any faster. According to my Garmin, my pace for the last mile was 7:26, but the Garmin also had the course measured slightly shorter than an 8K. But because the large majority of courses are longer than my Garmin distance (making my official pace slower than Garmin) I'm perfectly fine accepting a slightly faster pace than Garmin for this race.

Winning first place in age group 30-39.

My finish time was 36:46, and I won my age group!  I was the 7th overall female (not sure how many total there were). My Lockheed Martin Women's team won first place for the women's division. Greg ran a 34:31-- he's gotten so fast lately!

I also got to talk to the woman who I had been running near, and she won her age group (40-49). It turns out that she was the same woman from Crystal City and that she was running 4 races this weekend. Yes, 4 races in one weekend. WOW!!!!

My analysis of this race was that my "Garmin" pace was slower than I would have liked although my "official" pace was right on target. However, I was basing my goal off of a 5K that wasn't nearly as hilly as this course. So given all of that, I am very happy with my performance. I ran hard and got in a fantastic speed workout. This is a PR by about 3 minutes, but the last time I ran an 8K that wasn't in ridiculously hot weather was 2007.

In terms of coming back from my stress fractures, my longest run to date has been 9 miles (I've done two of those), and this race wraps up my highest mileage week post-injury at 27.  I'm also still swimming, pool running, and using the elliptical.

Shiny New 5K PR

I gave away the punchline in the title. I ran a 5K PR last night at the Crystal Run 5K Friday. Granted, it was only a 3-second PR, but when you're talking about a 5K, every second counts. And when you're only seven weeks into post-injury training (maxing out at 23 miles per week so far), I think it's pretty significant.  I ran this exact same race two weeks ago, and I beat that time by 22 seconds.

Pre-Race
Crystal City is about 26 miles away from where I live. In rush hour traffic on Good Friday, that meant driving for 80 minutes. Yes, it took nearly an hour and a half to get to the race. There was an accident on the highway so we took other roads, and I am pretty sure that 95% of the 50+ lights that we hit were red. I was seriously questioning if we were going to make it to the race in time and Greg vowed that he would never run another Crystal City 5K Friday. It was very stressful, but Greg pointed out that it gave me something to focus on other than the race. However, when I got out of the car in the parking lot, I noticed I was shaking.

We had enough time to warmup for 1.3 miles and get to the start line.

It was raining steadily. Not a downpour, but more rain than there had been at the previous 5K two weeks ago. It was windy, as it always seems to be in Crystal City, but it didn't seem to be as bad as the April 8 race.   There were only a few times when I noticed it being a limiting factor, whereas two weeks ago, the wind dominated my entire second mile.

This was also the "Red Dress Run" for the American Heart Association and participants were encouraged to wear red dresses. I complied. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to wear my Mizuno Elixirs (which have red in them) because those are lightweight trainers and I wanted to be extra careful about not re-injuring my shins. So the trusty Brooks Adrenaline it was.

Mile 1: 7:06
I got off to a slow start. Even though I started close to the front of the pack, there was still quite a bit of crowding in the first quarter mile, and  I glanced down at my Garmin to see a 7:30. I didn't want to expend too much energy weaving through people, but I had to get my speed up. During this mile, I told myself that I would be my own mental coach. And I was going to pretend that I was two people: myself and my coach. And that the coach had to be positive but pushy, and that I had to listen! I had read a blog earlier in the day that said "speed comes from being relaxed" so my coaching self reinforced that to me throughout the race.

Mile 2: 7:10
I was determined not to let this mile kill my race like it did two weeks ago. There was still the same incline, but the wind wasn't as bad. I drafted a little, too, which helped. The person I was drafting off of was running faster than me so that motivated to keep up with him so I wouldn't loose my wind shield.

Mile 3: 7:08
By this point, I thought I could PR, even if it was extremely slight. I told myself to just hang in there for the first half of the mile, and then really just give it everything I had the second half of the mile, starting my finish line kick before mile marker 3. I remembered from last time how the last 0.05 were on a slippery, curved incline. Losing time would be inevitable so I tried to make up for that beforehand, and during that final 40 feet to the finish line. I kept telling myself to relax but push, and I did. I pushed really hard during the last half mile, and for the last quarter mile, my Garmin was showing that I was solidly in the 6's.

Finish time: 22:18, which was good for 15th female out of 392. My ranking wasn't as high as April 8, but there were five women who ran sub-20:00 last night. And when I raced two weeks ago, there were no women who broke 20.

I'm super excited about my PR and how I mentally coached myself throughout the race. I had a race strategy based on my experience from two weeks ago and I stuck to it.

Greg ran a 26-second PR with a 21:11. He just keeps setting these massive PRs!!!!

Overall it was a great night, and well worth the 80-minute rainy drive for those 3 seconds of the PR. :-)

Here is a link to the Video of me crossing the finish line.

Missed.

I was supposed to run the GW Parkway Classic 5K as my first race post injury. The race is scheduled for Sunday morning. However, if the government were to have shut down, there would be no race. My backup plan was the Crystal City 5K last Friday night.

At 6:00pm, it looked as if the government would in fact shut down. No decision had been made and they were still arguing over what they were actually arguing over. Plus, one of the articles I read said that even if they DID agree to something, there wouldn't be enough time to write something up and make it official by midnight. So I went ahead and raced Crystal City, telling myself I would cry and throw stuff if the government didn't shut down and I could have raced the Parkway. I thought about finding another 5K on Sunday as a backup instead. But none of the ones I found were as appealing as the Crystal City race. And then I would be kicking myself for not running Crystal City. 

There are quite a few reasons I would have preferred the Parkway over Crystal City. After all, I don't shell out $45 for just any 5K. The Parkway Classic is special to me. I registered for this race long after it closed, thanks to my affiliation with Pacers. And when I did, I was super excited about it. I love this race because the course is fast, it's well organized, it's point-to-point and I've participated most every year since 2006. The weather forecast for Sunday at 8:00am was overcast and 53 with nearly no wind. Ideal. Crystal City, on the other hand, was rainy, slippery, windy at points, and with quite a few hairpin turns.

When I woke up this morning, I did cry and throw stuff. The Parkway Classic is on and the Government didn't shutdown. I made the wrong choice.

I want to run the Parkway Classic!!!!! Badly. But I know it's not smart because I am just returning from multiple stress fractures. And I might be disappointed with my time, having just run a 5K less than 48 hours prior. Dammit!!!! I just feel so stupid. I should have known that those politicians wanted to look like heroes at the last minute. I should have just found another 5K backup and had more faith that the Parkway Classic would run. And why, why did the government have to wait to the very last minute to make this decision! Seriously!!???  You couldn't have come up with this on Friday morning? 

Anyway, my race was so-so. I ran a strong first mile, had a difficult time in the second mile, but then came back strong during the last mile. And the point 0.1 might have been my slowest ever for a 5K. . . . 

The course: relatively flat, but with inclines and declines, about three hair-pin turns and several "curve-arounds" with a curvy uphill finish.

Mile 1: 7:08

This was my goal pace for the race, and I was elated that I ran exactly on pace for the first mile.

Mile 2: 7:24

What I didn't realize about mile 1 was that the wind was at my back. It wasn't an overly windy night, but with all the tall buildings in Crystal City and the gusts that would come, it got to be very tiring. There was about a half-mile stretch during the second mile where I was running directly into the wind and the course was on an incline and I just felt like I was in a losing battle. At one point, my hat flew off  my head, and I was barely able to catch it. I ran the rest of the race holding my hat. I was actually in the 7:30's for most of the mile, but as it ended, I was able to pick up the pace a bit and net a 7:24. 

Mile 3: 7:12

I was highly discouraged by my second mile split and knew my goal of a 7:08 average was shot. But I still wanted to run strong so I forced myself to push. I passed several people in this mile, which was very encouraging. 

Last 0.1: Slow.

Slippery Surface Finish

I didn't stop my Garmin as soon as I crossed the line, so I am not sure exactly what my pace was here, but my problem was that this finish was around a curve, that was going uphill, on a slippery wet brick surface. Because the surface was more slippery than the rest of the course due to it being brick and it was on a curve, I was afraid to take this fast and slip so I actually slowed. My Garmin data shows a spike at a 14:45 pace during that last 0.1. 

Official time: 22:41, 20 seconds slower than my PR.

I wasn't thrilled, but I also think it's a decent time, given my highest mileage week was 18 miles and prior to that it was even lower. I was also happy that my shins didn't hurt. I never take that for granted. I think that the wind in the second mile, combined with the slippery pavement and hairpin turns really affected my momentum. This is why I think that I would have run maybe 15-20 seconds faster on the Parkway. No hairpin turns, the pavement wouldn't be wet, the forecast doesn't have the wind. The last stretch is on a long straightaway so you can see the finish line and have a strong final kick. That last 0.1 last night was my slowest portion of the race, simply because of the wet brick surface going on a curved uphill. 

Have I mentioned yet that I REALLY want to run the GW Parkway Classic tomorrow?????  It's going to take all the restraint I have to not go and run it. I just have to remind myself that even though the risk of re-injury is very small, if I were to get re-injured, I would seriously never forgive myself. And after having raced last night, I don't think my performance would be what it could have been if I hadn't done Crystal City.  I'm so frustrated!!!!!!! And I know it sounds horrible, but now I am just insanely jealous of everyone who does get to run the Parkway. 

I am still blaming myself and feeling like I am so stupid for deciding to race last night. I really wasn't in the mood for it. I felt sluggish all day. BLAH! :-( 

The good news is that I was one of the top ten women: 9 out of 396. This is the top 97th percentile, so I guess I really can't complain about that. 

My next race is the Crystal City 5K on Friday, April 22. Hopefully I'll do better, but I feel like everything these days is just out of my control. All I can do is try my hardest.

In a Heartbeat

I've now been running for five weeks since my four-week layoff due to stress fractures. My focus has been on easing back into running, monitoring my symptoms and staying healthy. My weeks have been:

March 7: 10.5 miles
March 14: 9 miles
March 21: 11.8 miles
March 28: 18 miles

As for pace, I've been running what has felt like a natural, easy pace. But this natural, easy pace is slightly faster than what is was pre-injury. Before the stress fractures, my average training pace in January was 9:03-- and that includes over 10 miles of speedwork. In March, my average training pace was 8:53, and that includes only 3 miles of anything that could be considered "speed". Given that, my perceived "easy" pace seems to have dropped by about 15 seconds per mile. I attributed this to having fresh legs. You're obviously going to feel better when you are only running 10 miles a week as opposed to 50.

Even though I almost always wear a heart rate monitor, I decided not to wear one when coming back from injury. I also don't wear one in the few weeks following a marathon. The reason is that I don't want to get upset by how high my heart rate is for paces that used to be easy for me. I want to be in denial about my suspected loss of fitness! I thought that wearing a HR monitor would be highly discouraging so I avoided it for a month.

But on Friday evening, I decided to use it. I was really hoping that my heart rate wasn't going to be ridiculously high, causing me to be in a bad mood the rest of the evening and probably the entire weekend. But I was prepared for the worst. I was prepared for my "easy" pace to have a heart rate in zone 3 (marathon pace zone) and I would just have to deal.

My husband and I went out for an easy five miles. Much to my surprise, my heart rate was actually lower than it had been pre-injury. We ran 5 miles at an average pace of 8:45 and my average heart rate was in my "recovery" zone.  As I was running, I kept looking down at my Garmin in disbelief. At first maybe I thought it wasn't getting a correct reading, but it was rising with the uphills and lowering with the downhills. And based on effort level, it did feel easy.

On January 7, I ran 5 miles at a pace of 9:22 and my average HR was 149. in Friday, I ran 5 miles at a pace of 8:45 and my average HR was 149. Whoa. The elevations for these runs were roughly equal. I'm skeptical. Very skeptical. Yes, I have been doing a good amount of cross training but if this data is to be believed then that's a significant increase in fitness!

Last weekend I decided I was ready for my first tempo run. I ran 2 miles at a 7:16 pace. 7:16 has never been my tempo pace, but it just felt tempo-ish. Of course, I didn't have my HR monitor to know for sure.

Today, I ran a 2.5-mile tempo, with the HR monitor. Once again, the average pace was 7:16. My avg. HR was right in the middle of my tempo zone. It got higher towards the end, but my max HR was still well within my tempo zone (zone 4).  Don't get me wrong-- this was a very challenging workout. Especially because of the wind. It was a huge mental struggle as I wanted to stop after just one mile. But I kept reminding myself how important these workouts are.

So I'm thinking I should trust the HR data and be elated that I have actually gained fitness during my layoff. Of course, I haven't raced yet. But all signs point to a strong return!!!!

Three Things

Bad things happen in threes. Like my three stress fractures. To combat this, I have decided to make good things happen in threes too. In fact, here are three sets of three:

1. Three Types of Cross Training

My cross training has consisted of using the elliptical, pool running and swimming.

I typically use the elliptical twice a week, with one of these times being at tempo effort. I monitor my heart rate closely and usually I am at the top of my tempo zone, if not above it (the gym is really hot, so I think that account for an elevated HR). During easy elliptical workouts, I amuse myself by listening to podcasts from How Stuff Works. I've chosen a variety of topics including the the origin of Christmas, the economic bailout, FDA regulation of supplements, contagious laughter, blood pressure, the sun, memory, population studies, the lottery and many others. I am interested in a lot of different things! During tempo workouts, I have to listen to very pumped up music to keep me going.

I'm also a huge fan of pool running, and I have mentioned this in the past. I usually do pool running 3 times a week, with one of those days being a "long run" of at least two hours and another day being an interval day. The third day is easy pool running combined with swimming. For those of you who don't know much about deep water running, here is a video of me:

The third type of cross training is swimming-- always freestyle. I don't do any other stroke or any type of drill. I just swim back and forth freestyle because it's what I'm comfortable with and I think it provides a challenging workout. I typically swim about 2-3 times a week. I almost always accompany my long run with a swim so that I am in the pool for well over two hours. On my easy pool running days, I am also sure to swim so that I can get my heart rate up. 

Swimming is tough for me during the first 5-10 laps but gets remarkably easier as the workout goes on. I think it's because I find that "sweet spot" of speed and form that works for me. My longest swim with this injury has been 1500 yards (30 laps). Usually I do around 20-25. Swimming comes naturally because I grew up as a dancer, so the bilateral breathing thing that a lot of people struggle with is just like a dance movement to me. I was never on a swim team, but I was a lifeguard and taught swimming to small children. The only thing I dislike about swimming is that sharing a lane is tough for me. I have to watch out for that other person so I can't focus on my form, my breathing, or remembering what lap I'm on. I would hate to be taking a gasp of air right at the moment when that person is splashing and swallow a huge mouthful of water. 

2. Three Fun Challenges/Distractions

I'm a very goal-oriented person, and since I don't have my weekly mileage goals to fulfill that need, I have other hobbies and associated goals. Playing chess, singing Glee Karoake, and tiling the kitchen floor. 

Kitchen Tile

Tiling the kitchen floor isn't something that I am going to do myself, but picking out the tile, finding a good contractor and deciding on a pattern is quite a task. We are also re-doing our powder room which involves picking out a new toilet, sink, and lighting fixture. Shopping for a toilet with my new husband isn't the most romantic thing we have done together, but it's been fun. We finally made all of our decisions, now we just have to purchase the materials and wait for the work to start in early April. We ended up going with large 19" by 19" tiles in a slate color. Like a blackish grey, and with a lot of texture. We have light cabinets and light hardwoods in the neighboring rooms, so we though the black would be a good contrast.

The next challenge/hobby is Glee Karaoke for the iPad. This app is extremely addictive and can be very good or bad for the ego. I've downloaded about 10 songs that I can sing and be rated on. My two best songs are "No Air" originally by Jordan Sparks and "Hello" originally by Lionel Ritchie. My main goal was to be ranked in the top 100 of all time for No Air, out of over thousands of performances. I started out in the 900's and now I have worked my way up to 116. That top 100 is so close. There are also daily rankings, and my performance of No Air was ranked #1 for the day at the time I sang it. There had only been 81 other recordings at that point, but I think 1 out of 81 is pretty good! My "Hello" ranking once reached #4 for the day out of hundreds and I would like to see that one do as well as No Air.  Songs I suck at are "Take A Bow" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart". But they're still fun to sing.

Perhaps the biggest focus for me has been playing chess. Greg got me a really nice set for Christmas, like I have always wanted, and we have been playing all the time. On the weekends it's not uncommon for us to play 5-6 games. Sometimes more. I've also joined some tournaments on chess.com and playing people from all over the world. Another major opponent is Greg's dad, who we both play online at chess.com.

Chess is another hobby that involves rankings (I am so competitive) and my ranking is slightly above average.  I've been playing since I was six years old but I've never really studied it, and there have been long periods (years) when I have gone without playing it.  Usually because I lacked an opponent. But now I am discovering new ways of thinking about the game and I'm a much stronger player than I was before this recent obsession.

3. Three Consolation Gifts
I'm very upset about this injury ruining my spring racing season, so I bought myself a few presents-- jewelry, clothing and a car stereo w/iPod.

New Earrings

I went to a jewelry party a few weeks ago where they have jewelry on display and in a catalog and you buy stuff. Like the tupperware parties, but with jewelry. I splurged and bought myself two new necklaces and two pairs of earrings. And then a few days later, I went to White House Black Market and bought myself three more necklaces and another pair of earrings. I usually wear the same three necklaces that I've had for about 10 years, so it was time for a change.

During my White House Black Market trip, I also bought myself two new outfits. New, stylish clothing always makes me feel so refreshed and puts me in a good mood. I wore one of my outfits this week and it just felt fun.

The major gift to myself was the new car stereo and a Nano to go with it. I've always wanted the ability to listen to my iPod from my car, so I bought a stereo that has both an auxiliary input and a USB input. Since my iPod Nano "lives" in its waterproof casing and isn't synced with my iTunes library because of a computer virus that wiped out a lot of the songs that are now exclusively on the Nano, I treated myself to the new Nano. The new Nano has a touch screen and can clip on to your clothing. Of course, none of these features matter when controlling it through the car stereo, but they are cool anyway. Considering I have three shuffles, an iPad and an older Nano, this purchase was a bit irrational, but I wanted it as a consolation gift.

So those are my coping strategies and they've worked decently well. I'm now to the point where I am running every other day, about four miles at a time. Not enough to keep my fitness where I want to be, so I am still cross training almost as much as when I couldn't run at all. 

Irish I Was Running

This morning was the Shamrock marathon. I was supposed to run it but was injured so my role was to support Greg.

Pity Party
I'm going to get my negative feelings out of the way first, so that I can focus on the wonderful time I had today.

I was depressed yesterday. As much as I was trying to be supportive and excited for my husband, Greg, it was so hard to just push my feelings aside. Yesterday was tough for me for two reasons: 1) It marked the 3-year anniversary of my last "good" marathon experience. 2) The forecast for the race was in the mid 40's and sunny.

Regarding #1, I was depressed because I realized that the last time I ran a marathon that I considered to be a non-failure was exactly three years ago at Shamrock 2008. Ever since then I have been living and breathing marathon training and yet things haven't come together for me. Injuries, illnesses, weather, whatever the case-- I have just haven't been able to make it happen.

Regarding #2, I was glad that Greg was getting ideal race weather, but I kept thinking, "Where was this weather last year? Last year I was in such great shape and I was at my peak and ready to run a sub 3:40, but it was so hot that I dropped out at mile 13 because I felt so horrible. It was 25 degrees hotter last year and unseasonably so. Now that am I injured, the weather is perfect. If I had just had this weather last year, I would have a solid marathon under my belt and this injury wouldn't be so difficult."

I Got Over It.

I did allow myself to be upset on Saturday at the Expo, but I knew that this was an important

weekend for Greg and I wanted to be happy for him. So I shoved my feelings aside and focused on being able to support him.

On race morning, I accompanied Greg to the start line. I stayed next to him in the corral for as long as I could before the corral started to move forward.



I wished him good luck, gave him one final hug and he was off. I walked briskly to the start line and when he crossed, I started my Timex watch. I wanted to know exactly when he started so I could know exactly when to expect to see him. And during the last few miles, I could tell him what time he was on track for.

The First Half
My plan was to meet Greg just after the halfway point, at mile 13.5. I told him exactly where I would be. This gave me enough time to go back to the hotel, use my bone stimulator (I'm still using it twice a day) and get changed into running clothes.

I had been debating about wearing my bib. At the start line, the announcer said that your bib must be displayed, or you wouldn't be able to cross the finish line. So I figured I should wear my bib and that way no one would question me running or taking water if I needed it. But I also didn't want people to think I was cheating, so I took a black Shapie and drew a big X over the entire big and wrote DNS. Even still, when people saw me on the sidelines with my bib, they asked me if I was hurt or was cramping, etc. (You can't really see the X in this photo, but it was there!)

I wore a shirt that said "Irish I was running" which was extremely appropriate for the occasion. I got it from volunteering at the Pacer's Four Courts Four Miler last weekend. It was so perfect!

Mile 13.4-15
My first stop was at 44th street, just after the halfway point. I waited there for about 20 minutes and enjoyed cheering on the runners. Everyone's names were printed on their bibs so I was able to cheer for people by name, which most seemed to really like.

Greg's plan was to go out at a 9:00 pace and then speed up at the halfway point if he felt good. So I expected to see him just after 2:00, and that's exactly when I saw him. I handed him a bottle of Gatorade and two gels, like we had talked about. Both Greg and me like to carry water bottles when we run, at least for the first half, because we don't have to stop, and you get more water in you and less all over your face.

I ran with him for 1.6 miles and our pace was 8:53. He was following his plan perfectly-- speeding up just a little after the halfway point because he felt good. During this time my stress fracture didn't hurt at all but oddly enough, I felt something in the LEFT shin. My bone scan did show a stress fracture on the left side, but I had never felt anything there. And it was really surprising to me that all of a sudden it would start to hurt. I didn't mention anything to Greg because I just wanted to offer words of support to him.

Miles 23-Finish 
I expected to see Greg at around 3:30 but much to my excitement, he arrived a few minutes early, at about 3:27. He looked strong and said "we're gonna kill this!" or something to that affect. I didn't even have a chance to start my Garmin right away (I logged these as two separate runs). He said "this is just a race now!" I looked down at my Garmin, which I did eventually start, and noticed that we were in the 7:40's!  What a change from NYC when we were walking most of mile 23. I was so happy that he was feeling so strong.

I was also happy that I was running a 7:45 pace and still feeling conversational. I definitely felt like I could have maintained it for the rest of the race, although my leg might not be happy about it. He slowed us down a little for the next mile, but we were still running at a very good clip and passing lots of runners.

Mile 24: 7:44
Mile 25: 8:46
Mile 26: 8:01
The last 0.2: 6:47 pace!





I took this video during the last mile. We were just about to turn onto the Boardwalk and head for the finish.

Just strides away from the finish

We sprinted pass tons of people at a 6:47 pace and had a great finish. Greg's time was 3:52:26, which is faster than he expected. He said that he thinks this is because he didn't have a goal. He ran the first half very conservatively and then gave it all he had at the end. First half was 1:59 and second half was 1:53. He said that he hated bonking in NYC so much and that he vowed it wouldn't happen again. I really like his approach and I think that if I ever run a marathon again, I am not going to have a time goal. I will run by feel and keep my heart rate low in the early miles.

My shins were pain-free during those last 3.2 miles, and I haven't had any pain since. I was really nervous running that sprint at the end, but my shins handled it just fine.

I am so proud of my husband. I really enjoyed running with him and supporting him on his special day! I couldn't have done that if I ran my own race.

Why Milwaukee?

A key part of racing strategy isn't the strategy that you bring to each race you run, but the strategy around which races you run-- how many, how often, which kind of courses, and when.

Some runners prefer to race very frequently without choosing a target race. Some marathoners like to simply run as many as possible without much regard for time. My race strategy is to space out my races evenly enough so that I have sufficient time to train/recover between them. When this hasn't been the case, then I have always prioritized one race over the other. For example, in 2008 I ran the Shamrock marathon, followed by the London marathon four weeks later. Shamrock was the target for speed, and London was a fun run.

My race strategy for 2011 was to focus on Shamrock (March 20) as the target marathon and then do the Nike Women's Marathon (October) for fun. I'm going to be in San Fransisco for a business event while the Nike Women's Marathon is taking place, and my hotel is just a block or two from the start line. So I can't not run it. I wasn't going to try and race it for time because I've heard that the course is difficult, it's not well-organized, and it's really geared for people who want to run something for fun and get a cool prize at the end (a Tiffany necklace). Quite a few runners have told me not to waste a training cycle on it. So, that left me thinking that I should do the Nike Women's half marathon as a fun run while I am in San Francisco, and pick another marathon to race seriously before then.

Why before and not after? I always run the St. Jude Memphis marathon or half marathon in December, so I wouldn't want to fit in a marathon prior to that. Plus, after my business event, I will be spending 4-5 days in Napa Valley on vacation, which would put a wrench in my training. Why not make St. Jude Memphis the target marathon? Because I am anxious to race one sooner and the Memphis course isn't advantageous to a fast time.

Another factor that I have to deal with is the weather. I am extremely heat sensitive and have DNF'ed two marathons due to the heat, and have bonked in another one because of the heat. If it's going to be above 55 then forget it. Therefore, later in the fall is preferable, but I've already said it needs to be before the weekend of October 15 so that I can take my vacation afterwards. So I decided I would target the weekend of October 1-2.

I started poking around on Marathonguide.com to see what races were going on that weekend. I was pretty flexible travel-wise, but I didn't want to go cross country. An obvious candidate was the Wineglass marathon. I had heard a lot of good things about Wineglass, and with a net downhill elevation, the course profile was certainly in my favor. Another possibility was the Mohawk Hudson River marathon, but that was actually the following weekend, which would prevent me from doing the Nike Woman's half marathon the weekend of the 15th. And, the Mohawk Hudson River marathon is very much of a downhill course, and I want to see what I can do on something that's either flat or has rolling hills. Something like Shamrock is ideal, but of course I am injured and can't run that one! Although Wineglass looked really attractive, it had two drawbacks. 1) There was no airport nearby, so it would mean a 5-6 hour drive. 2) The start time was 8:00am, and I was hoping for 7:00 to 7:30. That extra time without the sun beating down on you can really mean a lot at the end of a marathon.

So, that brought me (well, us-- Greg and I decided on this together) to the Milwaukee Lakefront marathon. It had everything that we were looking for.

• Target weekend of Oct. 1-2
• In the northern part of the country
• Start time of 7:30am
• Medium-sized race
• Reputation for being well organized
• Direct flight without having to rent a car when we get there
• Gently rolling hills for the first 16 miles, and then some nice downhills

The only drawbacks are that I've heard it can get windy in the last 3 miles near the lake. And that "Lakefront" is a misnomer because you don't even see the lake until the last few miles. And of course, with my luck, it could be really hot and spoil the whole thing for me, putting me on a nearly 4-year streak with no marathon PR, despite massive improvements at all other distances over the past few years. (Yah, I'm bitter.)

To recap past marathons:

March 2008: Best marathon ever on very little training

October 2008: Got really sick for 4 weeks, couldn't run the Hartford marathon

January 2009: Overheated in the 65+ degree, sunny weather in Phoenix, AZ

April 2009: Got hypothermia and passed out at the end of the race due to 45 degrees & pouring rain

September 2009: Foot injury, couldn't run the Toronto Waterfront marathon

March 2010: DNF'ed at that Shamrock marathon due to 65+ degree, sunny weather

May 2010: DNF'ed the Potomac River marathon due to 75+ degree weather and 90% humidity

May 2010: Mediocre time at the Bob Potts marathon due to missing my peak, or being worn out from the 18.5 miles I ran at the Potomac River marathon

November 2010: Ran NYC as a fun run with husband for his first (was happy I did this)

December 2010: Stomach issues, extremely painful, walked the last 4 miles

March 2011: Stress fracture, can't run the Shamrock marathon

Maybe to some people these sound like excuses, but I know my training has been rock solid-- especially in comparison to how I trained for the Shamrock in 2008. And my PRs at other distances prove it. I am capable of running a marathon much faster than a 3:51, and one day I'll actually be able to demonstrate that.

So hopefully October 2011 in Milwaukee will be the one!