Shamrock Half Marathon: Breezy, Brutal, Beautiful

This morning I ran the Shamrock half marathon in Virginia Beach. And it was hard.

I had fond memories of this race from 2009, where I surprisingly smashed my PR by over 4 minutes. I was hoping for some Shamrock magic this year too.

Preparation
I went into this race well-trained and optimistic. I had been logging 45-55 mile weeks for the 2 months or so, with some quality tempo run thrown in there. Due to weather and travel, I hadn't been able to access a track so my intervals were lacking, but I figured those weren't as important as tempos for half marathon prep. Based on some of my workouts, I was very confident in my ability to PR, and hopefully even break 1:40.

The biggest unknown going into the race was my hip. For the past three weeks, it has felt sore toward the end of long runs, and finally last weekend it really kicked in. I felt it just three miles into a recovery run and decided I needed to rest it. I did zero running Monday-Wednesday, and did a 2-mile test run on Thursday. It was fine on Thursday, but then it acted up again on Friday's 2-miler. So going into the race I didn't know a) if my hip would be okay or if it would hurt and b) if missing a whole week of training directly before the race would impact my fitness.

My mental preparation was fairly strong. I got plenty of sleep in the week leading up to the race (well. . .except for two nights before-- but that wasn't due to pre-race jitters). I felt calm, cool and collected at the start line. I didn't even check the weather every day leading up to the race like I used to do.  Only a few times, and I certainly didn't worry about the forecast. The morning of the race, Greg's weather app indicated 15 MPH winds, but I chose to ignore it and I told myself it wasn't going to be that bad. Thus, I wasn't mentally prepared for wind.

I used to go into obsessive mode the week before a race, but this week, I just felt normal. I made sure to eat well (with the exception of the large piece of s'mores pie on "pi day" at work) and hydrate, but I didn't obsess over these things.

Before the Race
On Friday, when I went for my 2-mile "test run" my Garmin stopped working. It had been acting up for a few days with the battery indicating a full charge, but then going to 0% by the end of the run. Classic symptoms of a dead battery. So on Friday, I stopped into my local running store to purchase the Garmin 220. I know you aren't supposed to do anything new on race day, but I wanted to have a functioning Garmin, and I figured I had enough time to learn how to use this new model. Previously, I had the 405.

I played around with it, and adjusted the screens to the data I like to see when running. I like the "lap pace" to be displayed largely, because I think that's the most important metric when racing, so I gave it its own screen. On the other screen I displayed distance, total time, and total average pace.

Greg I drove down to Virginia Beach on Saturday morning and got to the expo just after 10:30. This race is

At the expo in my bridal shower attire.

notorious for never having the shirt size I reserve. I always request an XS, and it's always gone by the time I get there. And they are not gender specific, so a men's small tends to be too large for me. Anyway, when I walked up to get my shirt, they said "the XS shirts are running small, so would you like a Small instead?" I said no, and looked at the shirt, and it was plenty big. Greg then later theorized that they probably realize that they always run out of XS, so they try to get XS selectors to take the Small size instead. Ha. Didn't work on me. :-)

One of my friends who lives there was conveniently having her bridal shower that day, so after the expo, I dropped Greg off at the hotel and headed to her shower. I found myself fully engaged in the conversation at the shower and focused on the bride-to-be and not at all thinking about the race. I think that previously I would have been so nervous that I might not have enjoyed the shower as much.

The morning of the race, things went as they always did. Bagel with peanut butter, plenty of water, bathroom, getting dressed, attaching the bib, etc. We left the hotel about 30 minutes before race start, and walked just a few blocks to the start line.

It was windy and cold (45 degrees) at the start line. Greg and I shivered in the corral and ditched our throwaway shirts a few minutes before the start. I still wasn't worried about the wind. I knew that the wind would be coming from the northeast, which meant it should be easy for the second half. What I didn't realize was that there would be a 2-mile portion of the course at the curvy turnaround that headed directly into the northeast. I saw a few of my teammates on the other side of the corral but decided to stay put as I like to run my own race.

Miles 1-4

My race strategy was to start out in the low 7:40's for the first three miles and then speed up from

Happy first mile, photo by Cheryl Young

there. However, I didn't want the Garmin to run the race for me-- I wanted to run based on feel. The first mile was a little slower than expected, but I didn't worry. I figured that I didn't have a warm up, so it would be good to ease into the race.

Everything felt great, as it tends to do at the beginning of a half marathon. I was confident in my plan and my preparation. The hip was pain-free, and I was so relieved that I didn't have to deal with that. It was unfortunate that I missed a week of training, but at least I was able to run without it hurting.

The course was flat and not windy. The temperature felt good. Everything was going according to plan and I was excited. The new Garmin was working great and I was happy with my choice of display screens! I took my first gel at mile 4 and it went down well.

Mile 1: 7:54
Mile 2: 7:49
Mile 3: 7:43
Mile 4: 7:39

Miles 5-9

OUCH!

I had this nice, gradual acceleration going and I felt like I could keep accelerating and feeling strong. Mile 5 was faster than mile 4, and mile 6 was pretty good. Mile 7 started out great. But then-- boom! At the end of the 7th mile we turned directly into a 15 MPH headwind, with 25 MPH gusts. I figured I would just draft off of other people, but they kept running too fast for me. I noticed that my pace had slowed down significantly and most people around me were passing me. I think that's what was mentally the most difficult thing about this race. Nobody else seemed to slow down here, or at least not to the extent that I did. I didn't have anyone to draft off of because there were going to fast. I tried and pushed hard, but it was a really tough battle.

I just felt like this tiny little body, fighting this huge force and failing. I tried to keep a positive mindset. I told

LOL- people drafting off of ME!!!

myself to just keep running, no matter what, keep pushing, and that it would eventually end. I started feeling like I was just going to bonk and they wave of "I feel horrible" overcame me. Which is not good news during mile 8!  I decided to take my second honey gel, mainly so I could drink water with it and then toss my water bottle (I always carry a disposable hand-held during races). With my water bottle gone, I figured I would feel more "free" to push and really exert myself.

Slowing down to take the honey was a bad idea. I lost my momentum, I didn't get all of the honey in my mouth, my hands got all sticky. I was jut in a bad place. I poured water on my hands, wiped them on my skirt, ditched the water bottle, and realized that a curve was coming that would hopefully put an end to the wind.

Another thing that just sucked was that my foot fell asleep. It didn't go numb like it has in the past, but it had that tingling-falling-asleep feeling. And it was very difficult to run like this. I was hoping that it was just because of the cold wind hitting it, and that once I got out of the wind, my foot would wake up. My foot was asleep for just over a mile until it finally returned to normal.

Mile 5: 7:36
Mile 6: 7:40
Mile 7: 7:53
Mile 8: 8:07
Mile 9: 8:08

Miles 10-Finish
Once I turned a corner and was out of the wind, I resolved to stay strong and run my fastest. I refused to believe I was "bonking" and that I was just going to get progressively slower. I knew that a PR was probably unlikely, but I was going to salvage this race and run the rest of the miles as close as possible to goal pace.

Photo courtesy of Cheryl Young

I was really proud that I turned things around mentally and my speed picked up. I kept reminding myself that I had many high-mileage weeks behind me which meant I could endure at a decently fast pace for a long time. I kept reminding myself that I was physically capable of running in the 7:30's or 7:40's for the rest of the race, so I should do that.

Miles 10 and 11 were smooth sailing, but I started to feel a bit like death during miles 12 and 13. The last mile had some turns where we ran directly into the headwind again, and I felt like it stopped me dead in my tracks. I did not feel good during these miles and I just couldn't wait for the race to end.

About half a mile before the finish, we turned onto the boardwalk. The turning point featured a very strong wind gust, but once I was on the boardwalk and could see the finish, the wind was no longer there and so I gunned it. I was so determined and I felt very strong. I was fighting back for the time I lost in the windy section. I only had about third of a mile left and it wasn't windy so I figured I needed to make the most of this time.

Mile 10: 7:39
Mile 11: 7:38
Mile 12: 7:47
Mile 13: 7:48 (this mile started out in the 8:20's!)
The last 0.1: 6:45 pace

The finish and beyond
My final kick was pretty hard, so I felt destroyed after crossing the finish line. I easily found Greg and some other friends of ours. I ended up crossing in 1:42:24, which was better than I had expected at mile 8!

Greg and I took a very cold walk back to our hotel where we looked up our times, showered, and talked about our races.

Once I started thinking about my time, I felt a pang of disappointment. I really thought I was going to PR. And probably break 1:40. I was in great shape, the weather wasn't hot, I had slept well, and I felt relaxed. Meanwhile, most everyone I know who ran it set a PR. I know, I KNOW I am not supposed to compare myself to other people. But the notion that PRs are extremely rare at my level was totally proved wrong. And, most all of them had negative splits. I felt like I was the only one with a positive split. Everyone else had sped up throughout the race, but I slowed down. And on the windy part, I was passed by tons of people-- it just didn't seem to affect them the way it did me.

I felt very discouraged. I do realize that wind can be tough, and without seeing other people's PRs or the people passing me during the windy sections, I would have been very satisfied with my performance. But I wasn't. I felt like most everyone was able to push through and PR except for me.

My half marathon PR is over three years old. I've done SO much training since October of 2010-- and I

Photo by Cheryl Young

know I am in better shape now, both physically and mentally. Very frustrating that my time isn't budging.

I later had a text message exchange with a friend of mine who totally understood where I was coming from, and reminded me that yes, it can be tough when everyone you train with out-performs you. But she helped me focus on what was important-- that I ran a strong race and pushed through after having that whole hip issue to deal with.

Greg was also very supportive, reminding me that the "old me" probably would have gotten so discouraged by those 8:08 miles that I would have given up. And that previously, if I had run the race with the same level of fitness, I might not have gotten as much sleep, or been as relaxed, or had the mental strength to keep pushing after the wind had taken so much out of me.

Ultimately, yes, I do realize that I have a lot to be proud of. And now, 10 hours after the race, I am "over it" and no longer feel that sinking feeling of disappointment. I know I am capable of running faster, I just didn't do it today. There will be other races, other opportunities.

Here is what I did do:

- After years of not being able to sleep well in the week leading up to the race, I slept straight through the night almost every night.
- I didn't obsess about the race or the outcome beforehand. It was just "what I was doing" that weekend.
- I didn't give up after the windy miles. I pushed hard and got my pace back down to goal pace for the next two miles.
- I had a nice final kick.
- I enjoyed the race. I high-fived someone during the last mile, which I usually never do. I laughed (internally) at a funny spectator comment.
- I ran my second fastest half marathon ever.
- I finished 163rd out of 5,500 women, putting me in the top 2.9% of female finishers.
- Even though most everyone I knew PRed, and it made me feel badly about my race, I worked through the feelings (relatively quickly) and resolved to not let it overshadow everything else. This was probably the hardest part about the day. Harder than the wind even-- overcoming that automatic feeling of disappointment when others around you seemingly out-perform you. It's not easy, and I will continue to work on it.

The "beautiful" from the blog title comes from my custom-made shoes matching my singlet perfectly. And the bib matching the "zebra" verbiage of the shoes.

A Casual, Confidence-building 10K

Due to the major snow storm we received on Thursday, I was unsure if I was actually going to run the GW Birthday 10K this morning. I thought the race might get cancelled, or they would hold it anyway but I would be too scared of icy patches to try and run it. The forecast was for 20 degrees with a "real feel" of 13, so I wasn't looking forward to it. And I certainly wasn't expecting any kind of super fast time. I viewed the race as "something I might do this weekend that was probably going to suck because it would be cold and potentially icy."

In the past, a situation like this-- the uncertainty-- would have stressed me out all week. But instead, it was just a "wait and see" type attitude, and I had a plan for what my running schedule would be with or without the race. Zero stress. I'm still new to the "races aren't the most important thing in my life" mentality and I just find it so refreshing that I can focus on so many other things during the week and not have running dominate my mental space. 

I ran this race back in 2009 and I thought it was pretty good. There was a cone placement error that year,

which made the course long, and I think they actually tried to adjust everyone's times to account for it. Back then it made me mad because I didn't have a fully accurate result, but if that happened today I think I would

just shrug it off. I remembered it fairly well (and I actually ran the same course once during a summer race) so I didn't expect any surprises. The benefits of the course is that there are no turns-- it's just a straight out and back, and it's basically flat except for a large hill at the beginning/end and a medium hill at the turnaround. 

My training going into the race had been pretty good. I don't think I am in the best shape of my life like I was last year at this time, but I think I am in a good spot. I was consistently logging 50+ mile weeks last January, and this past January I was in the mid 40's. I ran a really strong 17-miler last weekend and a good set of 8 x 800's on Tuesday, so I felt ready! In terms of a time goal, I thought a PR was possible, although not likely. I was hoping to be somewhere in the 45's and would have also been happy with the 46's. I particularly wanted to beat my Ringing In Hope time from New Year's eve (47:03). 

Before the Race: Wardrobe Conundrum

I think I changed my mind about my outfit about 20 times this morning. The forecast was really messing with me. The actual temperature was 27 degrees at 6:00am, but the hourly forecast for 8:00am said 20 degrees. There's a big difference between 20 and 27, wind or no wind, sun or no sun. So I layered up preparing for 20 degrees and a real feel of 13, but left myself options of taking layers off before the race. In the car on the way there, I realized it would be sunny so I decided to not wear any of my base layers, and just wear one top layer and tights. And during the warmup, I actually wished for a lighter top! I don't know about other people, but the sun makes a huge difference for me. I had my half zip all the way down (just s sports bra underneath) and my sleeves partially rolled up at 27 degrees.  

Greg arrived at the race 45 minutes before the start time, got our bibs, went to the bathroom and warmed up. Everything went smoothly and I felt relaxed. It wasn't until I actually had my bib pinned on that I had the "I'm about to race" feeling. Up until then the race just seemed like a very casual activity. Like going to the park or something. But with my bib on, I felt the adrenaline starting to pump. 

We warmed up for about a mile and a half and I was very interested in checking out the state of the course. Would there be icy patches? And if so, would they be easy to avoid? Turns out that there were icy patches, but they were easy to just run around.

Greg asked me what my pacing strategy was, and I didn't really have one. I wanted to start slow and finish fast, and not look at my Garmin. That was pretty much it.

Miles 1-3

The first half of this race was discouraging. I know I said I wasn't going to look at the Garmin, but I checked it about half a mile in to make sure I hadn't gone out too fast and then since I broke the rule once, it was easy to break again. My friend Allison had told me that the "out" portion was slightly uphill and the "back" portion was slightly downhill. But it seemed pretty flat to me, so I was getting a little discouraged at the paces on my Garmin. However, I didn't let it stop me from putting forth what felt like 10K effort. I didn't try to push harder and then blow up in the second half, so I just stayed steady. 

The icy patches were easy to avoid, except for one where I actually slowed down almost to a walk because there was no way around it. It went straight across the road with no good area to cross. I noticed I was doing a lot of weaving to avoid the other patches, but I figured I would rather have the extra distance than fall flat on my face! 

The first half of the race was definitely hard-- I felt like I was putting forth a lot of effort but not really going very fast. 

Mile 1: 7:29

Mile 2: 7:29

Mile 3: 7:33

Miles 4-6.2

The turnaround was at the top of a hill and it felt so good to be going down the hill and headed straight for the finish. Things immediately turned around mentally. I felt great! Strong! Fast! I was enjoying the race so much more. Allison was right-- the course is definitely more downhill on the way back, despite appearing flat. 

Suddenly it felt like it was my day and a PR was within reach. I didn't calculate the math, but focused on running strong and pushing hard. I passed several people during these last few miles and nobody passed me. I glanced down at the Garmin a few times and the paces were very encouraging and I felt so fit and fast. 

The final hill was tough. Usually I run hills at an even effort level which means slowing down. But since this last hill was so close to the finish line, I tried to maintain my pace up it (or at least slow down just slightly). It was about a quarter mile long and I knew it was all a mental battle. I kept counting my steps in groups of three, focusing on form, staying extremely focused on what I was doing until I finally reached the top. And then I told myself to give it everything I had on the downhill and let the momentum carry me to the finish. 

Mile 4: 7:14

Mile 5: 7:10

Mile 6: 7:13

Last 0.23: 1:31 (6:42) pace 

Finishing Thoughts

After I finished, I found Greg and a few of my teammates. My lungs hurt! I pushed really, really hard at the end and I was super satisfied with that, but man-- my lungs were feeling it. Greg and I did a cool down run, checked the results and then went to Starbucks for a celebratory salted caramel hot chocolate.

I'm really glad I ran this race and I didn't let the weather or fear of an icy course stop me. Here's why:

- Great tuneup race for the Shamrock Half marathon 4 weeks from now

- Gave me an indication of where I am fitness wise so I can put a pacing strategy in place for Shamrock

- Good mental practice of staying strong at the finish and pushing up hills at the end

- Reinforcement that races that start out not feeling so good can transform themselves

- 2nd fastest 10K ever!

- I enjoyed the morning, it was really exciting for me

- I beat my New Year's Eve 10K time by 1:20, which shows a nice fitness gain

My official time was 45:44, which is my second fastest 10K ever, and just 25 seconds off of my PR, which was set on a flat course in 43 degree weather back in 2011.

I am really glad I went out there and raced this 10K. It confirmed what I had suspected-- I am in good shape, and have made significant gains over the past six weeks. I think I will be in even better shape once I consistently start running 50-mile weeks. Given that I haven't had any hint of impending injuries, I am very optimistic about the Shamrock half marathon and the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in April. 

Balancing Act

Just over six months ago, I accepted a new job. Before I even started, I had everything planned out for how I would manage a long commute + long hours + high mileage. But then I actually started the job and realized that it wasn't always that simple.

Working from home once a week doesn't happen very often, leaving the office early enough to take the HOV lanes is hit or miss, and the hours are longer than expected. All that being said, I couldn't be happier with where I am in my career-- I don't regret my decision one bit. I love the challenge and the level of responsibility that this position provides. I just have to figure out where and when I can run on a day-to-day basis. I do have a schedule that I try to stick to, but I need to be flexible with it in case something comes up at work that changes things. Factoring in the icy/snowy weather is another variable to consider as well.

Here is what I try to have happen each week:

Monday: Leave my house at 5:20am to meet my friend Allison in Arlington for a 6:00 run. She lives just two blocks from my office, so we have been meeting up and running anywhere from 6-8 miles on Mondays. I don't have any traffic on the way to work, and my commute home just depends on when I can get out of there. Regardless of what time I leave, there is still plenty of work to do when I get home.

Tuesday: This one is easy: intervals with my coach/team. The track is just two miles away from my office, so I leave the house at around 5:30 and don't hit any traffic. It takes about 30-35 minutes to get there and my commute home can be as fast as 45 minutes or as long as 75 minutes, depending on traffic and when I leave.

Wednesday: Rest day, usually. I still wake up early and get into the office at around 7:15 to avoid traffic.

Thursday's tempo run. Feeling strong!

Thursday: Ideally, I would work from home. In reality, I either leave my house really early and do a tempo run on the track in Arlington, or I do the tempo run around my neighborhood, and arrive to work at 9:30, taking the HOV when it opens up at 9:00. The tricky thing is that even with the HOV, there is still a lot of traffic on Thursday mornings, so I could end up spending an hour commuting.

Friday: Easy run at home, leave the house at 8:30 and get into work at 9:15ish. There isn't as much traffic on Friday as there is during the rest of the week so I don't have the problems I have on Thursday.

With this schedule, it all fits in nicely. But it's stressful being on such a tight time table, and having to pack a bag every night and shower in the office locker rooms. Oftentimes I won't get home until after 7:00, at which point I unpack my gym back, repack it, have dinner, answer some emails, eat dinner and go to bed at 9:00ish. There's just not much time to relax or catch my breath. I have to plan out my outfits/jewelry/makeup the night before which doesn't sound like a big deal, but it's not what I want to do when I get home from a long day.

All of this being said- this is a typical schedule and I often have to switch workouts and times and places, depending on my work schedule, the weather, or other factors. Since starting the job, I have yet to run over 45 miles per week. Part of that is because I started the job injured, trained a little for Chicago, recovered from Chicago, ran New York, recovered from New York, and then haven't gotten my mileage up that high since. Running 35-40 miles per week in this framework is completely manageable. I hope that 50+ is manageable too.

Greg has been very supportive. He understands that when I come home from work I still have more work to do, but he misses running with me in the mornings like we used to. I haven't been able to read blogs as much as I would like, or even maintain my own blog to the extent I used to. But I'm okay with it-- I get more satisfaction out of my job than any previous job, so it's totally worth it.

I'll be running the Shamrock half marathon in March followed by the Cherry Blossom in April, and then an early May marathon. I've had some great speed workouts lately but I would like to get the mileage up and start building my endurance again.

In Memory of James Reily, 100 Miles Strong

On the way home from my Ringing In Hope 10K on New Year's Eve, I received a very disturbing email from my former boss, informing me that that my former colleague and friend, James Reily, had passed away of cancer.

I worked closely with James for about a year at my previous company before leaving in July. He led the inside sales team and I led the marketing programs team. Together, we were responsible for filling the sales pipeline with new opportunities that would grow the business. We had a great mutual respect for each other and held each other accountable for our roles. I committed to generating "x" amount of leads, and he committed to having his team follow up on them within a defined timeframe, so that we would function as a well-oiled machine. We created dashboards to track our progress and we were both data junkies.

I've worked with many sales people throughout my career and he was definitely one of the most passionate and hard-working ones I have encountered. In many organizations, sales and marketing have a somewhat adverse relationship. But at my previous company, James and I were fully aligned and it made for a positive working environment.

My endorsement of James on LinkedIn

In addition to being an inspiring leader and sharp businessman, James was also a highly accomplished runner. Most recently, he completed a 100-mile race, where I tracked his progress on Facebook through the posts his family was making. He also had countless marathons under his belt and at age 39, was still getting faster and stronger.  Last spring, we both decided to run the Chicago marathon because the

James at an aid station during a 100-mile race

inside sales team was located there, and I figured I would make a business trip out of it. We registered at the same time, both experiencing the registration glitches that arose from a high demand of limited slots. We kept IMing back and forth to each other: "Are you in?" "Not yet, still getting this error message".  Eventually we both got into the race and were very much looking forward to it.

"What corral are you in?" I asked. "Corral F," he replied. "Why all the way back there? You should be up in B or something!" I exclaimed over IM. "I figure with Corral F I won't go out too fast," he explained. I thought it was admirable that he was trying something new in an effort to improve. Most runners, myself included, want to be in the fastest corral possible to ensure they don't get stuck behind a bunch of slow people. But not James. He was perfectly fine chilling in corral F and working his way up once he started running. He was also planning on running it with his identical twin brother, Matthew, so that probably played into his decision as well.

I left the company in July but maintained communication with James over Facebook. As the race got closer, he asked me how my training was going. I said it was okay, but I wasn't expecting a great race because I had been injured for 4+ weeks during training. He mentioned that he was just going to take it easy too, and focus on enjoying it. I didn't ask him why-- I just figured that maybe he had gotten injured or maybe didn't have enough time to train as much as he wanted. Chicago came and went and I noticed that James didn't run it. I really wish I had communicated with him about this, but I just assumed he was injured. I had no idea that he had cancer or that anything was wrong with him.  He wished me a happy birthday on Facebook in November and I thanked him and wished him well. That was the last communication I had with him.

Needless to say, I was shocked to learn that he died of cancer so suddenly. He wasn't diagnosed until after I left the company, and I guess he wasn't the type of person to post his struggles on Facebook.

James was 39 years old, and is survived by his wife and two beautiful daughters.

I have decided that I will run the "Ringing In Hope" 10K in honor of him next New Year's eve, and every New Year's eve after that. The race benefits a variety of charities, and I will make a donation each year to a cancer charity in his memory.

To make a donation to benefit Sarcoma Research, visit this site.

James Reily, 1974-2013

Windy 10K: A "Process" Race

This afternoon I ran the Ringing In Hope 10K.  I ran this race last year and it was my second-fastest 10K ever (aka a hilly 10K PR). This year, I knew I wasn't going into it as well trained. Last year, I had been

Ringing In Hope 2012

logging 50-mile weeks throughout December, and this year I have averaged in the upper 30's. I would love to be in the same shape now that I was back then, but recovery from back-to-back marathons took awhile so I didn't have time to ramp up like I did last year.

I call this race a "process" race because it wasn't going to be about speed or time. It was going to be about pushing myself, running based on feel (not looking at the Garmin) and finishing strong. I also focused on hydration in the days leading up to the race and nutrition the day of-- which was a challenge for a 1:00pm race. Most importantly, I was running this race for the sake of fun and tradition. Greg and I have been doing this race since it started back in 2010. 

I didn't really know where I was fitness-wise but I was hopeful that I could break 47:00 and fall within a minute of my time from last year.

Before the Race

I kept going back and forth about what to wear. Shorts or capris? The forecast was for 43 degrees and 16 MPH winds, with a "real feel" of 35. If it hadn't been for the wind, I would have gone with shorts. But I didn't want my legs to be too cold and stiff, so I opted for the CW-X capri pants with a short-sleeved Capital Area Runners shirt. 

I looked back at last year's blog to see what I ate and when. This is where keeping a blog really comes in handy! Since I had raced so well last year, I figured I would eat the same thing at the same time. A bagel when I woke up, and then another bagel with peanut butter about 2 hours before the race. Lots of carbs-- maybe too much. But it worked.

Greg and I arrived at the race, picked up our bibs and warmed up. We noticed that the race seemed smaller than in previous years, which was good. The 5K started 10 minutes before the 10K. In all of the email correspondence we received beforehand, the 10K was scheduled to start 15 minutes after the 5K. But they must have realized that this could result in the 5K winner running into a finish line that was packed with 10K starters, since the start line and finish line are the same. In any event, we started 10 minutes after the 5K.

We did a quick warmup, lined up and were running a few minutes later.

Miles 1-2 (7:26, 7:25)

My plan was to not look at my Garmin and race by feel. Since I didn't know what kind of shape I was in and because it was so windy, I didn't want to be married to a particular pace. I know this course like the back of my hand. I knew to expect a long (about 1/2 mile) hill in the first mile and then a fast mile 2. The race started off well, I felt strong and I felt like I was putting forth the appropriate amount of effort. During the second mile, I started running into 5K walkers and joggers. This was annoying, but I knew to expect it. Weaving through small children and walkers was mentally exhausting disrupting to my rhythm, but I did my best to just plow through, keeping my eye on other 10K runners who were going at the same pace as me.

Approaching the finish line

Miles 3-4 (7:44, 7:45)

Mile 3 was tough. This was directly into a headwind and up a hill. Dirt and gravel and stuff came flying at my face and I wasn't wearing sunglasses. It was definitely a physical and mental battle. I knew I was slowing down, but it didn't bother me. I just focused on doing the best I could, knowing that I would soon turn around and not have the strong wind gusts. During the 4th mile, things really thinned out and there were only two other people in my vicinity- both men. Usually I try to pass women in the second half of races as they are my competitors, but there were no women to be seen.

Miles 5-6 (7:26, 7:54, 6:33 pace for the 0.22)

Me and the two guys leap frogged these miles. I kept expecting that they would pull ahead because they were guys, but they didn't. I held my own with them until that last final hill, once again into a headwind. I just couldn't push through it as fast as they could and I let them finish about 5-10 seconds ahead of me. I kept wishing that a mantra would pop into my head like it normally does, but it didn't. I was having a conversation with myself instead, which is fine, but I think I do better if I repeat a mind-numbing mantra over and over. Anyway, the last thing you want at the end of a 10K is a long hill with a 15 MPH headwind. I slowed down, but I stayed strong.

The finish and beyond

In retrospect, I wish I would have looked at my Garmin leading up to the finish line. I was right on the

verge of 47:00 and if I had known that, I think I could have motivated myself to be a few seconds faster. I definitely ran the race as fast as I could until that point, but seeing numbers towards the end of a race always motivates me to pull out every last drop of strength. 

Official finish time was 47:03 (avg. 7:34 pace), which was good for 12th overall female out of 202. I usually win an age group award at this race, but this year my age group was particularly competitive. If I was in my 20's I would have gotten first place, or in my 40's I would have gotten second place. But that's okay- I can't control who shows up and how old they are!

I'm kind of neutral about this race. I am not thrilled, but I am not disappointed. I am satisfied that I ran the best race I could in windy conditions. And it's always fun to keep with traditions. In terms of "process" I did everything right except for maybe I should have peaked at the Garmin at the end. If I can repeat this process when I am better trained and the conditions are more favorable, I know I'll be racing extremely well. I performed to the best of my ability given my preparation (training) and the windy conditions. And that's really all I can ever ask for!

As I look ahead to 2014, I see a lot of question marks. The year feels very uncertain to me for some reason, and I guess I am okay with that. I don't know the extent to which this newish job and long commute will affect my marathon training and how I will be able to balance running, commuting, working, and spending time with Greg. Running used to be front and center in my life and in my mind. And now it's taking up much less space. Supposedly that's a good thing in terms of being more well-rounded and ironically performing better. I guess I'm just adjusting the change.

Happy New Year to my blog readers! I've thankfully had time over the holidays to read some of your blogs, and I hope the continue following them in the future.

Nike LunarGlide, San Francisco, Turkey Trot

I haven't been able to blog as much as I would like lately, so this post covers three separate topics.

Nike LunarGlide 5
In May, I decided to re-visit my running shoe situation. Thanks to the 90-day return policy of RoadRunner Sports, I was able to experiment with quite a few different shoes:

• New Balance 870: I liked the shoe, but I my arches started to hurt after running just one mile.
• Saucony Mirage: Low heel-to-toe ratio. This shoe bugged my Achilles area
• Brooks Ravenna: Felt way too bulky. Like running with bricks.
• Asics 2000: I liked this shoe, but it gave me blisters after 4 miles. 
• Mizuno Wave Inspire: Too stiff, started to give me a bad pain after 10 miles
• Brooks Adrenaline: Had been my go-to shoe for years, but the new model made my feet hurt after about 8 miles

With all these changes and experiments, I ultimately ended up getting injured. As I started running again, I posted on the Runner's World forum and asked for advice. I am a mid-foot striker with a narrow foot and mild pronation, looking for a shoe that won't hurt the bottoms of my feet. I was worried that I would not have a shoe to run the Chicago marathon in and I was starting to get nervous. Someone recommended the Nike LunarGlide 5, so I went to RoadRunner Sports and asked to try it.

I ran around the store and immediately fell in love. My feet felt like they were getting a massage. The fit was good, and I absolutely loved the way they felt. I bought them and started wearing them for my long runs. I

I designed these shoes on Nike.com.

was absolutely amazed. When the runs were over, I didn't feel a need to immediately take my shoes off. My feet felt great! I ran the Chicago marathon in them and my feet felt great, and I didn't get injured. 

Best of all, if you go to the Nike.com website, you can customize this shoe and get it in whatever color combination you want. You can even customize the words on the tongue. My shoes say "Zebra" on one foot and "Power" on the other. They are red, white, and black to match my Capital Area Runners gear. It only costs about $35 extra, so I figured it was worth it to get the shoes to look exactly how I wanted.

I will still wear the Mizuno Wave Elixir for speed work and races that are half marathons and shorter. Don't get me wrong, the Nike would probably serve this purpose fine, but I have been a faithful Elixir wearer for years and I like having two types of shoes I rotate between. The Elixir is actually being discontinued so I purchased a fairly large stock that should last me about 3-4 years.

San Francisco

I went to San Francisco for business in the middle of November. I was there for almost two weeks, so Greg flew out and joined me over the weekend. I'd run in San Francisco a few times before, so I knew exactly how to run to the flattest area of the city-- the Embarcadero. 

The Palace of Fine Arts. We ran through this!

For my birthday, Greg had reserved us a semi-private wine tour of Napa Valley. On the way there, the driver showed us a few of San Francisco's key landmarks. We were blown away by the Palace of Fine Arts, which I had never seen or heard of, even though I had been to San Francisco a number of times in the past. Greg, being more adventurous than I am, was determined to find a way for us to run there the next day. I told him it would be impossible for us to get there without running on some very steep hills (so steep, you can't even run on them) or taking this long route that would be 10 miles. 

He insisted that we could and found a way for us to get there in just over 3 miles. Minimal hills. It was so thrilling to run through this dome. It was almost like being in the Disney World half marathon again. It was also fun running around that general marina area. I had always stuck to the Embarcadero, because it was what I knew. 

I was also lucky to be in San Francisco while we were having unseasonably cold weather back home. It felt good to be running consistently again, after about two months of no training. I tapered for Chicago, recovered from Chicago, ran New York City, and then recovered from that. While in San Francisco, I ran a two-mile tempo run, and it was tough. It was definitely an indicator that I hadn't done speed in a long time!

Turkey Trot 5K

I ran my 8th consecutive Virginia Run Turkey Trot 5K yesterday morning. I suspected that this would be my slowest Turkey Trot in a long time because I was so out of shape. I did a short track workout on Monday, but aside from that, I hadn't run intervals since the end of September. And my overall mileage had been low. 

But this didn't stop me from giving it everything I had!  

It was 25 degrees with a light breeze. The forecast the night before had been for 22 degrees, 16 mph winds, which equated to a "real feel" of only 8 degrees. So I was actually quite thankful that it wasn't as cold or windy as it could have been. And with the sun, I actually felt warm in parts of the race!

Greg and I parked, and warmed up for 1.5 miles. I was worried that we parked my new car in too tight of a spot, and that the two mini vans next to me would certainly ding my car. Greg told me that we'd just have to run really fast and get back to our car before they did! 

We got to the start line, where, as usual, a ton of kids were lined up right at the front. One of the challenges of this race is that so many kids and slower runners start at the very front, and it's annoying trying to pass them all. This race had over 3,000 runners, so it was definitely sizable. I felt very relaxed going into this race, probably because I didn't have any expectations or self-imposed pressures to run a specific time. I was hoping to get sub-23:00, but I just didn't know what I was in shape for.

Greg was also out of shape, and he predicted that I would beat him because I had two short tempo runs and a track workout under my belt, whereas he didn't have anything. He got ahead of me as we started, and I remained about 5 seconds behind him for the whole first mile. I wondered if I would be able to pass him, but I didn't make it a focus. Mile 1: 7:26

Due to the nature of the course, I know that the second mile is always the slowest. I didn't look at my Garmin during this mile and just kept the effort level the same. It felt so hard, and I didn't feel like I was running fast. Yup. Out of shape! I still passed a few people in the second mile, but it's amazing how that

crowded race totally clears out after mile 1. Mile 2: 7:30.

At the start of the third mile, I still had Greg in my sights. But by this time, he was about 15 seconds ahead of me. He turned a corner and really sped up, so I didn't see him again until I finished.  In my head, I briefly wondered if I would be able to go under 23:00 with these paces. I wasn't sure, but I know that the last mile of this race is always my fastest. This is where knowing the course and having run it 7 times in the past comes in handy. I gunned it. It hurt, but I told myself I it would be over soon. I pushed and pushed and passed a few people during the last stretch, netting a zippy 7:03 mile.  Mile 3: 7:03.

I kicked it into my highest gear for the last 0.12. It took me 45 seconds.  6:25 pace.

My overall finish was 22:46. 

Last year, I ran this race in 22:18. However, this year, my last mile was faster.  Last year's splits were 7:12, 7:15, 7:05.

It's interesting to experiment with different pacing strategies. Last year I knew what kind of shape I was in, whereas this year I didn't. I therefore started far more conservatively this year for fear of not being able to sustain a fast pace. 

I am pretty happy with these results.

I'm definitely glad I did this race, and the plan is to spend the next five weeks building my speed back so I can be more competitive at the New Year's Eve 10K. I was noticing that even though it hurt a lot during that final push, it also felt really good and empowering to be running so strong. It felt "bad ass" as Greg says. (His last mile was in the 6:40's). Most importantly, I was thankful to be un-injured and healthy enough to race.

NYC Marathon: VIP Style!

A few weeks ago, I was offered the opportunity to run the New York City Marathon for free, courtesy of Asics!

I would receive a free, legitimate bib into the marathon, plus VIP transportation to the start line, VIP bag check, and "head to toe" Asics NYC Marathon gear. It was through their "Celebrate Running" contest, and my friend Chad and I were both selected as winners. Score!!! Greg refers to it as the "Cadillac" of NYC Marathon experiences.

Not only does a NYC marathon bib typically cost around $250, but it's also extremely hard to get in through their lottery system. In 2010, I didn't get in through the lottery, so I raised $3000 for Central Park to gain entry. Plus the cost of the bib.

Even though New York City would be just three weeks after the Chicago Marathon, this opportunity was too amazing to turn down. I didn't think I would ever run New York again, and now I had the chance to run it for free, with VIP treatment!

During the three weeks between Chicago and New York, I ran a grand total of 5 times. Most runs were only 4 miles, and my longest was 7 miles. I wanted to make sure I was as recovered as possible for NYC, and didn't want to risk delaying recovery by putting more strain on my body.

For various reasons, Greg opted to stay home and track me remotely. Given that NYC is so crowded that you might not even see your spectator or vice versa, I was totally fine with this, although I definitely missed him.

VIP Expo Treatment
Chad and I drove up to NYC on Saturday morning. We met up with our Asics rep, and his driver drove us from the hotel to the expo. Once there, we were allowed to choose pretty much whatever we wanted from the Asics NYC merchandise section, including shoes! I loaded up: a hat, an ear warmer, gloves, arm warms, socks, a long sleeved shirt, 2 short-sleeved shirts, a pair of shorts, 2 pairs of pants, and a jacket.

Free NYC Marathon Gear. Thanks, Asics!

It was so much fun getting to pick all this stuff out. I decided I would wear the arm warmers and the white shirt to run the race in. I would have worn the shorts, but it didn't have enough pockets for all of my gels the way my skirt does.

After the expo, Chad and I went back to the hotel, relaxed, and then went back out to dinner. We met up with his cousin and her friends, as well as the Asics rep, who paid for everyone's dinner. Asics was definitely very generous and I am so grateful to have had this opportunity! After dinner, the Asics rep gave chad and me special wrist bands that would allow us to access the VIP tent at the start line. This was a warm tent with tables and chairs, and plenty of food. Much preferable to the 3-hour wait that Greg and I had back in 2010 sitting on the ground, freezing our butts off!

Before the Race
Race morning came and I found that I didn't have my typical nerves. This was actually a bad thing because those nerves combined with the bagel that I eat first thing in the morning allow me to empty my digestive system fully before the race starts. And since the start wasn't until 10:05, I had to wait until I was on the bus to the start line to eat my bagel. Unfortunately, that did not get my digestive system going like it usually does.

Anyway, we took a special VIP bus to the starting area and promptly found our tent. I only stayed in there for a short time because I had to drop my bag off and then make my way to my corral. Chad and I separated because he had a different color bib, which meant a different starting location.

I was in the second of four waves, which equated to a 10:05 start time. The one benefit of being in the second wave, as opposed to the first, is that there were plenty of warm clothes left over from the wave 1 starters that I could sit down on. I had en entire pile of jackets to relax on, which made the wait inside the corral much more bearable. I was surrounded by a bunch of French guys and I felt like I was the only American there! Luckily, I speak French.

I was fortunate to get an orange bib, which meant I got to run above the bridge instead of below it like I did in 2010. So my first three miles were different from the 2010 race, which was cool. The forecast called for a sustained 15 MPH headwind for the first 21 miles, with temps in the high 40's to low 50's. I was told that the wind would be especially chilly on the bridges. I decided I would start off the race wearing arm warmers, and then ditch them if I got too hot.

Finally, they moved our corral out of the staging area and up to the start line. It was an amazing view of the bridge.

Miles 1-8
The first two miles took us over the Verazzano-Narrows bridge. My plan for this race was to start at a pace of 9:15-9:30 and then try to speed up if at all possible. My primary goal for running this race was simply to have fun and enjoy the experience, so I wasn't hung up on time. But I also wanted to practice strong execution.

My stomach started to feel off starting at around mile 3. I experienced some mild stomach cramping, but I did my best to ignore it and run through it. I was seriously hoping that my inability to go to the bathroom before the race wouldn't come back to haunt me.

This part of the course wasn't particularly scenic, but it did have a good atmosphere, as does the entire race. I took my first gel at mile 5 and even though my stomach had been bothering me, it seemed to go down fine.

I wore my headphone like I did in Chicago, and they seemed to enhance the experience rather than detract from it. I could still hear what was going on around me, but with the added benefit of inspiring music. Five For Fighting and Panic At The Disco were the two prevalent artists, quite an interesting mix!

Mile 1: 9:55
Mile 2: 8:53
Mile 3: 9:22
Mile 4: 9:01
Mile 5: 9:02
Mile 6: 8:57
Mile 7: 8:53
Mile 8: 9:18

Miles 9-13
This was when my race took a turn for the worse. During mile 9, I really had to go pee and there were no porta potties in sight. I saw a few guys go off the course into a parking lot and pee in between cars, so I did the same thing. Not something I am proud of, but I didn't have any other options at the time.

I felt a little bit better after that but soon realized that my stomach problems were much greater than originally expected. During the 10th mile, I was lucky enough to find an open bar, and they let me use their bathroom. It was such a major relief and I am very fortunate that I found that bar when I did. I don't think I could have waited another few minutes.

I felt much better afterwards and it was technically time to take my next gel. I figured that even though my stomach had been acting up, I should still take my gel because I didn't want to run out of energy later in the race. A mile later, I was paying for this decision, and found myself in the Meatball Shop in Brooklyn. After my previous bathroom stop, I didn't think it was possible that I would have anything left in me, but I was very wrong. Sorry if that's too graphic! But once again, I was very lucky that this place was open and that they were more than happy to let me use their bathroom. In fact, after I was done, everyone in the place was very encouraging, telling me to go out there and finish the race!

I got back into the race and felt pretty good. Usually after I have major stomach distress, the rest of my

Not sure what mile this is.

run is killed. I think that because I found restrooms exactly when I needed them and didn't have to run in pain while waiting to find a bathroom, that helped a lot. This is the advantage of big city marathons!

By this point, I was coming up on mile marker 12. I decided that I should just take the rest of the race easy and not try and speed up at all. I actually couldn't believe I still had 14 miles ahead of me, so I figured the best approach would be to relax, run slowly, and take in the experience.

I was also thinking about Greg tracking me at home and what he must think. Obviously there was a major slowdown between the 15K and 20K marks, and I was hoping that he wasn't thinking I was hurt.  Part of my motivation to keep running strong was to not worry him!

I crossed the halfway mark in 2:13:09. My original plan had been to cross it at around 2:02, but that was obviously out the window. It seems as if the bathroom stops cost me about 10-11 minutes. But I wasn't trying to run a particular time, so it didn't bother me. I just focused on running my best for the second half of the race.

Miles 14-20
These were the glory miles. I felt better at this point than at any other time during the race. The stomach issues were gone, I felt energized and excited to be running the race. I consider miles 15-16 to be the toughest miles of the course-- the Queensboro bridge. It's a mile uphill and a mile downhill, similar to the very first bridge. But by this point, your legs feel it a lot more.

Many people were stopped on this bridge to stretch. I remember how tough this was for Greg and me in 2010 and how I couldn't wait to get over it.  During the uphill mile, I stayed strong and focused, running at a very conservative pace. During the dowhill mile, I made sure not to go crazy fast, and was looking forward to being on First Ave. where the huge crowd was.

After we got off the bridge, we were finally in Manhattan. Miles 17-20 are a straightaway along first avenue and there are loads and loads of people lining the streets. This is when my favorite Panic! At the  Disco album started to play on my iPod and the timing couldn't have been better. The music and the crowds pumped me up so much and it was a definite high. I was smiling and waving at all the spectators, having the time of my life. I glanced at my Garmin from time to time and noticed that I was back down to a pace of around 9:00 for these miles.

Because the Garmin reception wasn't great during the covered bridge portion, I don't have accurate splits for those miles. But I would guess that my average pace for the "glory miles" was somewhere around 9:00-9:15.

During mile 18 I had some Honey Stinger Chews. I hoped those would be better for my stomach than the gels, and I knew I needed more calories to take me through the end of the race. Thankfully, I did not regret this decision!

Miles 21-Finish
During these last five miles, my legs told me that they didn't want to be running anymore. This is where I could tell I wasn't fully recovered from Chicago, and/or the NYC course just took a toll on my legs with all of the bridges and hills.

Slow, focused run to the finish.

My energy level and spirits were actually really high. Overall I felt very strong. It's just that my legs didn't want to move anymore. I decided that I would run to mile marker 21, and then allow myself a 1-minute walk. I did that, and then ran to mile 22, where I got another 1-minute walk. I did this all the way to the finish and it worked.

At this point about half the people were walking and half the people were slowly jogging. I didn't see anyone who looked particularly strong. It's just a brutal course, and the headwind had also taken its toll.  There were times when I thought I would never make it to the finish.

One motivator for me was that one of my best friends was in town that weekend, and she was leaving that evening. We had tentative plans for an early dinner, so I knew that if I wanted to keep those plans, I'd better keep moving and not walk my way to the finish. (Of course, this is based on the experience of knowing it would take me well over an hour to get back to my hotel post race).

I also noticed that when I was running, my pace was around a 9:30, which is decent. Sadly, when combined with my 1:00 walk breaks, the slows down to a 10:30. I was just relieved that I was in the home stretch and that I hadn't hit "the wall" in terms of my energy. Just in terms of my legs giving out on me. I did run the entire last mile (no walking) and found the energy to do it at a pretty decent clip. My official splits show my average pace steadily declining over those last five miles, but with the final run to the finish, it actually got very slightly faster. I love the feeling of finishing strong. This also shows how much of a mental thing marathon running is.

After The Race
I finished in 4:28:29, which makes this my 2nd slowest marathon of 16, and my slowest marathon since I started running them in 2006. I am totally fine with this, as NYC was meant to be about the experience and

About to finish

the fun, and not about running a particular time. I just PRed in Chicago three weeks ago, so I was by no means hungry for a fast race.

One of the reasons I had decided that NYC was a 1-time marathon was because the post-race experience is so miserable. Even with my VIP bag check (which means you can avoid the mile-long walk through the park to get your bag, and it takes 45 minutes because it's so crowded) it still took me nearly two hours after I crossed the finish line to get home. It was in the 40's and overcast, and I was freezing. One of my fingers even went numb. This put me in a really bad mood because I was tired and cold and I just wanted to be back at my hotel. Instead, I probably walked an additional two miles at a snails pace because all of the runners were going the same way.

Eventually I made it back to my hotel with enough time to shower and meet my friend for dinner. Chad actually waited in the VIP finish area for them to find his bag. They lost my bag and his too, but mine didn't have anything in it that I cared about. Just some food and a warm throw-away jacket (which would have been nice-- but not worth a wait).

Final Takeaways
I'm very glad I took advantage of this opportunity. I ran the race to the best of my ability, kept positive even when my stomach was acting up, and focused on the experience rather than the time on the clock. I ran the second half only 2 minutes slower than the first half, which shows that despite all of the stomach drama and leg stuff at the end, I was overall pretty consistent with my pacing.

Because I was injured for six weeks this past summer, this fall season has been a great opportunity to focus on the mental aspects of racing-- the area where I struggle most. Now that I have two "positive" marathon experiences under my belt, I am beginning to see the marathon as something to enjoy, and not something where I have to go out and prove to the world that I am a great runner. Of course I will ultimately want to run faster and set PRs, but in order to do that, I first needed to establish that it's not just about the finish time. Marathoning can offer a great deal of personal satisfaction even if the time on the clock isn't as fast as I would like, or as fast as I think it "should" be based on training. It's taken me 16 marathons to figure this out, but I'm glad I finally did.

I think this fall racing season has set me up to continue marathoning in a much more positive light than ever before, and I look forward to being able to train consistently and tie the whole package together at some point!

My name in the NY Times. I placed 27,627th. 

Chicago Marathon Race Report

Greg and I ran the Chicago marathon yesterday, and it was truly an unforgettable experience.

Background and Training
I was injured for the entire month of July and was unable to run. I did, however, cross train by using the elliptical, pool running, and swimming. I spent the first two weeks of August run-walking as my shin recovered from its stress reaction. It wasn’t until the third week of August that I was able to resume somewhat normal training.

For me, a normal training cycle would be twice as long, and the mileage would go up to about 55-60.

My weekend long runs were as follows: 12, 16, half marathon, 20, 16, 12.

I knew this wasn’t an ideal marathon training cycle, and if I wanted to run a fast time, I should wait to run Richmond in November. However, I was already registered for Chicago and I’ve learned that running a satisfying marathon doesn’t have to mean setting a PR. I knew I would be able to train enough to get me to the finish line, so I decided to go for it.

Chicago has been on my marathon bucket list for awhile, Greg was running it, and I didn’t want to miss out just because I wasn’t in the best shape of my life. Plus, I knew from experience that I could run well on a short cycle and relatively low mileage. In 2008, I ran the Shamrock marathon on 7-8 weeks of training and set a five-minute PR. Chicago would be a fantastic opportunity to focus on goals other than a finish time, and still feel satisfied and accomplished.

So, what would success look like for me?  Here is what I mapped out:

• Have fun
• Sleep well in the week leading up to the race
• Start slow, finish fast
• Prevent stomach issues
• Have a good nutrition/hydration plan and stick to it
• Create a marathon playlist for my iPod that would get me in “the zone”
• Soak up the full Chicago marathon experience
• If something didn’t go well, learn from it and not beat myself about it
• Get through the taper without feeling like a crazy person
• Not compare my performance/time to other people’s
• Run somewhere between 3:40-4:00, adjusting for the weather if necessary.

While some of these things seem basic (and were never on my goals list before) I’ve realized that these things are true challenges for me. Having fun is actually an accomplishment, and so is sleeping well. Someone else’s goals list might look completely different. These were my goals because they have historically been a challenge for me and I knew I needed to work on them to become a better runner.

Before The Race
Greg and I flew out on Saturday morning and arrived in Chicago just after lunch time. We headed to the hotel, which was conveniently located just 3-4 blocks from the start/finish line. We were looking forward to a logistically easy race, in comparison to New York, where you have to wake up over 4 hours before the race starts to get to the start line, and sit there freezing for 2 hours before the race even begins. It was nice to be so close to the start/finish and not have to worry about finding transportation to and from the race.

Chicago offered free shuttle bus service to the expo from four different locations throughout the city. One of

Chicago Marathon Expo

these locations was a half mile from our hotel and gave us the opportunity to walk through millennium park. The buses were running frequently, so we didn’t have to wait for one to arrive. The expo was also a huge improvement over New York. The NY expo was so crowded that you couldn’t enjoy it, and there was definitely no free transportation to get there. In NY, I ended up with a men’s medium race shirt, since they had run out of my size, whereas in Chicago, they handed me a bag with the shirt size I registered for already inside of it.  I was super impressed with how organized the whole process was, and there were no lines at any time.  Greg and I didn’t spend too much time at the expo, as we knew it wasn’t a good idea to do a lot of walking the day before the race.

We had dinner at Petterino’s- a restaurant just a few blocks away in the theater district that had some local flare. I ordered my standard—pasta with chicken and marinara sauce and it was really good! The place was swarming with runners and theater goers. On the walk back to our hotel, we noticed theaters and shops that we would be running past the next morning.

During the course of the day, I had about 5 SaltStick Caps and a lot of water. This was new for me and Greg was worried that it would mess me up because you aren’t supposed to do new stuff the day before a marathon. But I had used those pills during training and they only seemed to help—not hurt. The ingredients were pretty mild and each pill contained less than 5% of the daily recommended amount of sodium, potassium, etc. I’ve had heat exhaustion issues in the past and seeing black spots after races has become the norm for me. My hypothesis was that I was drinking enough water, but not getting the electrolytes to go with it. And when I would try drinking coconut water, G2 or pedialyte—these just didn’t work. And the G2 upset my stomach during the B&A marathon. So, these SaltStick caps seemed like the answer.

We got back to our hotel, relaxed, and went to sleep. In terms of the sleep goal, I had slept really well in the week leading up to the race. This hasn’t happened for me in years. Last March, I slept horribly before B&A and it impacted my race. I’ve actually been sleeping really well for the past few months, despite starting a new and very stressful job. I think it’s because at some point in July I realized that it was ME who was putting all this pressure on myself, and it was totally un-necessary. It seems pretty simple, but coming to the realization that I can do whatever I want with my life and run whatever races I want in whatever times I want was completely liberating. I’ve felt like a different person ever since.

Race morning arrived and Greg and I did our standard routine. Ate our standard meal, got dressed, pinned

On the way to the start corrals

on our bibs, got our gels situated etc. We both decided to carry water, and fill it up periodically throughout the race.  As for nutrition and hydration, my plan was as follows: 1 SaltStick cap with breakfast and 4 during the race, starting at mile 3 and every 6 miles after with plenty of water. For nutrition, I would take 3 Honey Stinger gels starting at mile 5.5 and then switch to the chews for the end, because I thought they would be easier on my stomach at that point. (I guess I could write an entire blog on this topic, so I’ll stop there!)

I wrote on my arm the miles when I planned to take the SaltStick caps and the gels/chews, so I wouldn’t have to think about it during the race. When you are hurting at the end of a marathon, it can be difficult to remember the simplest of things!

The weather was sunny and in the mid to upper 50’s. Even though many were saying that this was "ideal weather," I’ll admit that this forecast made me a little nervous. If there is no cloud cover and the sun is directly on me, I've found that anything above 55 will feel hot and make me feel less energized. Earlier this year I bonked in a 10K that was in the low 60's and sunny. However, I ultimately knew there was nothing I could do about the weather, so I tried to think positive and not "expect" that this would hurt my race.

Greg and I left our hotel about 40 minutes before the start of the race and made our way to our starting corral. For Chicago, you have to “qualify” for the first 4 corrals- A, B, C and D.  Greg and I were in corral C thanks to some speedy half marathons we had run earlier this year. When we got there, we chatted with some other runners, and before we knew it, it was time to start.


Miles 1-5
Greg and I ran the first mile together and the experience of starting out with all those people in the city of Chicago was so cool. One of my goals was to soak it all up and enjoy the experience, and I made this my focus for these early miles. Instead of focusing on my pace and finish time, like I would previously do, I was instead focused on the race atmosphere, which relaxed me.

The marathon is the only race distance where I listen to music. It helps get me out of my head, and I find that good music can get me into a “zone” and enhance the adrenaline high. I carefully selected the songs and playlist order for this race, and I did the same for Greg.

I knew that my Garmin wouldn’t be working during these miles because of all the tall buildings, so I manually pressed the lap button at the mile markers to track my splits. I needed to make sure I wasn’t starting to quickly. My plan was to start at around an 8:55 pace and speed up from there.

Mile 1: 8:55
Mile 2: 8:54
Mile 3: 8:56
Mile 4: 8:37
Mile 5: 8:49

Miles 6-10
This is where I settled into the race and my confidence began to build. I wasn't planning on speeding up all that much, but I just naturally started going faster and it felt great. I didn't look at my Garmin that much-- mainly just when I saw a mile marker.

The music contributed to my elevated mood. Panic! At The Disco released a new CD on Tuesday, and so I put the entire thing on my playlist, starting at around mile 6. "Miss Jackson" is my favorite song from the CD so I played it four times in a row, thinking this song is working for me, might as well just keep it going. I looked at the numbers on my arm and at my water bottle. I planned to take my second honey
stinger gel at mile 11.5, so I needed to fill up my bottle. I stopped at a water station and started pouring cups into my bottle. The cups were literally only 1/4 full, so this took much longer than I wanted. Ultimately, I didn't fill the bottle up completely and decided I would just stop again when the bottle got low.

This didn't really feel like a race to me. It felt like I was just running in a big city with a ton of other people,

and with people all around me cheering. It was semi-surreal. I could hear the cheering, but I could also hear my music, so the whole thing just gave me this runner's high. Having fun? Check!

Mile 6: 8:39
Mile 7: 8:40
Mile 8: 8:51
Mile 9: 8:48
Mile 10: 8:52 (filled up the water bottle)

Miles 11-15
I actually think these miles were my favorites. It was at this point that I knew I wasn't going to have anxiety issues, and that the heat hadn't gotten to me (so far). I had imagined that the course wouldn't be shaded but thankfully, about 3/4 of it was shaded. When I got to the halfway point I recognized it as the area I used to stay in when I worked at my previous company. I used to go to Chicago regularly for business so it was cool to be in a familiar area at the halfway point.

I sped up unintentionally because I was feeling so good. I remembered back to the 3 marathons I ran in 2007, and how they were all very well executed. I remembered that my legs didn't hurt at the halfway point and everything felt pretty good up until mile 17-18. I started comparing this race to those races and realized I felt exactly how I wanted to.

When I crossed the halfway mark in 1:55:06, I realized that I could probably negative split and finish under 3:50. I wasn't sure by how much, but I told myself that the warmup was over and now it was time to race a half marathon. I wanted to see how fast I could do it.

I continued to execute my hydration and nutrition plan, drinking water about once a mile, and taking my SaltStick caps at the pre-determined times. During mile 15, I decided I would have one of the volunteers fill my water bottle from the big jug to make things go faster. Unfortunately, he was a very slow pourer, so I only had him fill it up 2/3 before moving on.

Mile 11: 8:34
Mile 12: 8:34
Mile 13: 8:15
Mile 14: 8:24
Mile 15: 8:46 (filled up the water bottle)

Miles 16-20
I still felt great during these miles. I was so excited because I knew the race was going to end well for me.

At this point, I had all the confidence in the world that I would finish strong, as long as I remembered to keep pushing during those final miles. I had plenty of energy, the sun wasn't bothering me and I was passing people like crazy.

Passing was fun, but also exhausting. I had to focus on where I was going to pass so as to not run into people. The race was still very crowded so I had to carefully maneuver around people. Ultimately, this would result in a Garmin distance of 26.47 miles, which I knew, but I wanted to keep running at the pace I felt good at, and that meant a lot of weaving. I actually saw some of the people who had passed me during the first few miles of the race. I also easily passed the 3:50 pace group and felt excited to have done so. Usually when I see the 3:50 pace group it's because I have hit the wall and they are passing me.

It's a flat course, so in looking at the splits, you can tell which miles were shaded and which were not!

Mile 16: 8:36
Mile 17: 8:18
Mile 18: 8:30
Mile 19: 8:17
Mile 20: 8:30

Miles 21- Finish
I was in the home stretch! I noticed that my stomach felt really good, which is rare for this late in the game, and if I had brought another honey stinger gel, I would have taken it. But since I packed the chews in anticipation of stomach distress, I had 4-5 of those instead. It was nice having everything written on my arm. I remember looking down at one point thinking do I have any gels or caps I need to take soon? All the math had already been done so I could just relax and focus on running.

I started thinking how happy I was to finally be running a solid marathon. I hadn't felt this good at mile 22 since 2008. I kept on passing people, feeling strong. My quads started to hurt at around mile 20, but my energy level was good. I told myself to just deal with the quad pain and that it would be over soon. During these miles, I had my favorite Panic! At The Disco CD going-- A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. I have been obsessed with this CD lately and I played some of these songs multiple times during that last stretch.

I finally ditched my water bottle during mile 24 and decided that if I needed more water I would just drink from a cup. I really wanted the marathon to be over at this point and realized this was a sign that I was running an optimized race. You don't want it to feel easy at the end-- it's supposed to hurt. I took this as a good sign and continued to push past people as I made my way to the finish.

I think I hit 26.2 miles at around 3:45-3:46, but due to all of my weaving, the finish was still a ways off in the distance. As I approached it, I noticed that I would be on the border of 3:47 and 3:48. I wanted that 3:47 so badly! This is where looking at the Garmin can be very motivating. I gave it everything I had at the very end, but there was a surprise hill just before the finish line, so it wasn't fast enough to get me my 3:47.

Mile 21: 8:37
Mile 22: 8:47
Mile 23: 8:42
Mile 24: 8:36
Mile 25: 8:52
Mile 26: 8:39
The last 0.47: 8:01 pace.

Looking at these numbers, I wish I would have kicked it into that higher gear sooner and shaved 10 seconds of off my time to get down to 3:47, but it doesn't change the fact that I still kicked butt and set a PR!

Official Results
The Garmin read 26.47 at a pace of 8:37. Here are the official results and splits:

I'm very proud that from the 40K mark to the finish, I ran some of my fastest paces. This is a negative split of just over two minutes, which is what I think is ideal for marathon performance.

First half: 1:55:06
Second half: 1:53:04

After the Race
Greg and I found each other shortly after the race, which was a relief because we didn't know if we would be able to do that among the large crowd of people. He struggled in his race, but still ended up with a very solid 3:43. I wasn't too far behind him! We hobbled back to our hotel and relaxed for awhile before going back out for our celebratory Chicago pizza.

Final Thoughts
This was a very good race for me on many levels. I would actually consider it a landmark race, as I haven't run this well since 2008, and I have run 8 marathons since then (not to mention the 3 I started, but did not finish).

The most important aspect of this marathon was that I went into it with the right attitude. I knew that I wasn't in as good of shape as I had been for most of my previous marathons, and yet I still had the confidence that focusing on "the process" of running would yield a favorable outcome. I didn't speculate as to what my time would be, and time wasn't really the focus here.

It's a valuable lesson because the next time I run a marathon with a solid training cycle under my belt, I will know that the feeling of accomplishment can come from so many areas other than a time. And I won't think that my training was wasted if something goes wrong and I don't do well.

While it may seem that I lowered my expectations for this race, I actually raised them. I was focused on areas that were traditionally a challenge for me and I truly embraced the process. I "expected" that I wasn't going to come down hard on myself and I was determined to make Chicago a great experience for myself no matter what.

I started this race conservatively, and didn't force myself into a narrow window of finish times that I had to hit. I went into the race with the attitude that I would try my best, stick to my plan, and enjoy the ride. And in the process of doing all of that, I just happened to run my strongest marathon since 2008, setting a PR of 45 seconds. An unofficially, I actually set a 26.2-mile PR of about three minutes.

Once I changed my mindset about my expectations, the rest was easy. Sleep was easy. Having fun was easy. Enjoying the entire weekend with Greg was easy. And yet this was major progress for me, so I consider them huge wins.

In terms of what I would do differently for next time, the only thing I can think of is just being more strategic about passing people, so that I don't weave myself into a 26.5-mile marathon.

I couldn't have asked for a better experience and I have a renewed love of marathon running.