I have just returned from my first real run since my injury. It felt SO amazing to run! I forgot how much I simply enjoy running. Especially on a day like today when it's in the low 60's and I'm just going out for something very easy.
Wednesday, Feb. 23 marked the 4-week point of no running. The time actually went by pretty quickly. I had been mainly pain free walking around for two weeks, so I decided to give it a shot. I had been to two separate doctors and a physical therapist, and none of them gave me a concrete answer on when to start running again. But everyone agreed that my bone stimulator machine would reduce healing time. Both doctors told me I just needed to really monitor my symptoms and back off if I was feeling pain. But one doctor said it wouldn't be pain free, and some pains during/after were normal. But anything that was more than a minor twinge and I should back off.
I was feeling very frustrated with all the ambiguity. I was very anxious to get back into running, but I didn't want my four weeks off to have gone to waste by my foolishness. So on Wednesday I attempted my first run. I used a treadmill, which was dumb, because that's how I think I got the stress fracture to begin with. But I wanted to do the run-walk prior to my pool run and there are treadmills at the facility where my pool is, so it was the most convenient option. I set the treadmill to a conservative 5.4. I did feel a bit of something. I did two sets of 5 mins walking, 5 mins running and then stopped. Later that day I was having more pain in my shin than normal so I was discouraged.
But the more I thought about it, I remembered what the doctor saying about it not being pain-free, and my 5.4 miles per hour was unnaturally slow for me, which could have contributed to the awkwardness. So I decided to give it another go today (four days after the first attempt) and run outside. It was so beautiful out and I had my husband to accompany me, which was awesome. I was afraid that the run would hurt and that I would become discouraged, so having my husband for moral support was a huge help. I even wore my brand new Pacers Ambassadors shirt in honor of the occasion!
I did three sets of (5 mins walking, 5 mins running). We covered 2.52 miles total, and the run portion was just over 1.5 miles at an average pace of 9:41.
The first run section was a 10:04 pace and it felt rather easy. The next run portion was a 9:38 pace and that also felt really easy. The last run portion was a 9:22, and it still felt easy and pain-free. Yay! I was overcome with joy at the simple act of running outdoors without pain. I was also pretty excited about how easy those paces felt. When I was returning to running after my foot injury in October of 2009, a 10:00 pace felt like an 8:30 pace. But today, all of my paces felt exactly as they had felt prior to the injury. Now, I only ran for five minutes at a time, which is no indicator of where I am truly at fitness wise. But it was encouraging that it felt exactly as it did before the injury.
As for keeping my fitness up, I have been spending a lot of time water running, swimming and using the elliptical. I've actually spent more hours doing these activities then I would have normally spent running. For example, yesterday I did water running for 2.5 hours. This morning, I did water running again for 1.5 hours, and then finished it off with a 20-minute swim. And then later in the afternoon I did the run I just described. As for the elliptical, I have been using that about twice a week and doing it at a tempo effort. Usually I break the tempo effort into two sets, because it's just so unbearably hot in my gym and I need a break. But I think it's been effective. If I take my hands off the machine and use them as if I was running, it almost feels like running when going at the fast speed.
It's going to be a few more weeks until my running is intense enough to have any fitness benefits. And it will probably be another 2-3 months before my mileage can be where it was pre-injury. But I am going to my best to be patient. I want to be one of those success stories of an injured runner who came back stronger and faster! I'll be back in the pool tomorrow and Tuesday, and make another running attempt on Wednesday, so long as the shin behaves between now and then.
Special thanks to Cristina, Cheryl, Kathy and all of the others who have supported me and given me guidance throughout this injury! It's far from over, but I think I am heading in the right direction.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Love, Love, Love.
Tomorrow, Valentine's day, will be the six-month anniversary of the day I married the most wonderful man in the world. We will have been married for exactly half a year, and I have loved every minute of it, more than I could have ever expected.
People often ask us if Greg was a runner before we met, or if I got him into it. The short answer was that he was a runner before we met, but here is the long answer.
How We Met
Greg and I met online, on a free site called "Plenty of Fish" in March of 2009. I had tried online dating multiple times in the past and had no luck. I was highly discouraged and cynical, but yet I joined Plenty of Fish just to see what was out in the "sea" so to speak. Greg's profile was one of the first that came up in my search. What prompted me to e-mail him was that he had a photo of himself crossing the finish line of a race.
I wasn't looking to specifically date a runner, but I knew I needed someone who would be understanding and supportive of my obsession passion. I enjoyed running by myself so I wasn't looking for a running partner, but rather a partner who ran. I sent Greg a short introductory message in which I asked him more about his photo and told him that I ran races frequently. He replied back with a thoughtful response, and so the exchange began.
Greg and I emailed back and forth for about six weeks until we finally met in person. Mainly due to his hectic work schedule and a two-week business trip to Spain. Our first date was at Tallula in Arlington. A good portion of our conversation revolved around running. He had run three previous races: a sprint triathlon, a 5K and the Fairfax Four Miler in 2008. I had also run the four miler just 4 months prior to the date, but of course we didn't know each other then. He was registered for the Army Ten Miler, which would be the longest distance he had ever run.
So even though he was relatively new to running, I could tell he was interested in serious training, versus just simply showing up to races. At that point, he was running about 4-5 miles at a time at a sub-10:00 pace on a treadmill. I respected the fact that he was using a heart rate monitor to keep the effort easy and build endurance as opposed to killing himself on each run, which is what many runners do (including myself, before I knew much about the proper way to train). We had a very technical discussion about running and seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say about heart rate training. My fear was that he was going to perceive me too much as a running "coach" and not enough as a woman he wanted to date.
The next morning, I completed a 21-mile training run. Greg called me that evening and asked me how the run went. I told him about it and we talked for about 15 minutes. But he didn't ask me out again! The furthered my fear that he might only be interested in my running guidance and not as a romantic partner. We did end up having a second date, of course. I continued to offer Greg training advice but the relationship progressed on a romantic level as well and before I knew it I had an official boyfriend!
Our Races
I wrote Greg a training plan for the Army 10-miler and included some races in it to prepare him. The first of these was the Lawyers Have Heart 10K, which would be the furthest distance he ever raced. This was our first race together and it was nice to have someone to go to the race with. As an out and back course, I got to see him after the turnaround, at which point he yelled out to me "You're Beautiful!" Greg finished in a respectable 54:xx, a time that he would slaughter the following year by 8 minutes.
Greg continued to impress me with how consistently he kept to the training plan I gave him. Over the summer, we started to run together. I often had about twice his mileage, so he would do the first half of my runs with me. For my long runs, it was nice to have companionship for the first half, but then also to have the solitude that I was used to for the second half. Prior to dating Greg, I wouldn't run on the W&OD trail until it got light enough out for me to see. But with Greg by my side, I felt much safer so we ran in the dark. This meant less time on the treadmill and more time outside.
Greg aced the Army Ten Miler with a time of 1:22:xx, surpassing the original goal of 1:25 that we decided upon when I created the training program. Since then, he's been setting PRs left and right! (Unfortunately, I couldn't be there with him at the Army Ten Miler, as I was in Texas on a business trip.) In 2010, he ran the Army Ten miler in 1:14:00. Wow!
Just Married!
A few days before Thanksgiving, Greg proposed to me. I was elated! I was so excited that I didn't sleep at all for the next few nights, which caused me to run a sub-par Turkey Trot. But I was so excited about being married to him that I didn't even care. We decided to get married the following August, and since running was such a major part of our relationship and what attracted us to each other, we incorporated it into the wedding. We used bib numbers from races as our table numbers.
Greg and I typically keep the same race schedule, but we always run our own races. The one exception was the NYC Marathon, which was his first. I wanted to be there with him when he finished, and the logistics of trying to find him afterwards would have been a nightmare. It was a tough race for Greg and I feel partially responsible for making us go out too fast and not respecting the challenging course. But it was a lot of fun running with him, and NYC was something I had always wanted to do for fun, not for a PR.
People often ask us if we are competitive with each other, especially those who know that I am very competitive by nature. The answer is always no for several reasons. First of all, men are naturally faster, so me running a 22-minute 5K is not the same as him running a 22-minute 5K. Secondly, he's much newer to running than I am. Last year, almost every race he ran was a PR, and that just doesn't happen once you have a few years behind you. He's making gains at a much more rapid rate than I am, which is to be expected.
Sometimes he compares the percentile that he finishes in with the percentile that I finish in, and says that he has a long way to go to reach my level. If that motivates him, then it's fine with me! I just don't want the day to come when he's too fast to do long runs with me. But he says he will always do them with me.
This morning was the "Love The Run You're With" 5K. Greg and I signed up to run it as a team. We were secretly hoping to win a team award, but due to my stress fractures, we both sat the race out. My prediction for him was a 21:25, and a 21:55 for myself. Not sure if that would have gotten us anything, and frankly I don't want to know! I wish there were more races out there with two-person teams. Hopefully next year we'll be able to run it. Last year, it was rescheduled because of the snow and the new date didn't work for us.
And so, on our last day of the first half of the first year of our marriage, I wanted to reflect on how happy I am to be married to Greg. He's amazing in every way!
People often ask us if Greg was a runner before we met, or if I got him into it. The short answer was that he was a runner before we met, but here is the long answer.
How We Met
Greg and I met online, on a free site called "Plenty of Fish" in March of 2009. I had tried online dating multiple times in the past and had no luck. I was highly discouraged and cynical, but yet I joined Plenty of Fish just to see what was out in the "sea" so to speak. Greg's profile was one of the first that came up in my search. What prompted me to e-mail him was that he had a photo of himself crossing the finish line of a race.
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| This photo prompted me to email Greg for the first time! |
Greg and I emailed back and forth for about six weeks until we finally met in person. Mainly due to his hectic work schedule and a two-week business trip to Spain. Our first date was at Tallula in Arlington. A good portion of our conversation revolved around running. He had run three previous races: a sprint triathlon, a 5K and the Fairfax Four Miler in 2008. I had also run the four miler just 4 months prior to the date, but of course we didn't know each other then. He was registered for the Army Ten Miler, which would be the longest distance he had ever run.
So even though he was relatively new to running, I could tell he was interested in serious training, versus just simply showing up to races. At that point, he was running about 4-5 miles at a time at a sub-10:00 pace on a treadmill. I respected the fact that he was using a heart rate monitor to keep the effort easy and build endurance as opposed to killing himself on each run, which is what many runners do (including myself, before I knew much about the proper way to train). We had a very technical discussion about running and seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say about heart rate training. My fear was that he was going to perceive me too much as a running "coach" and not enough as a woman he wanted to date.
 |
| Our first race, June 2009 |
Our Races
I wrote Greg a training plan for the Army 10-miler and included some races in it to prepare him. The first of these was the Lawyers Have Heart 10K, which would be the furthest distance he ever raced. This was our first race together and it was nice to have someone to go to the race with. As an out and back course, I got to see him after the turnaround, at which point he yelled out to me "You're Beautiful!" Greg finished in a respectable 54:xx, a time that he would slaughter the following year by 8 minutes.
Greg continued to impress me with how consistently he kept to the training plan I gave him. Over the summer, we started to run together. I often had about twice his mileage, so he would do the first half of my runs with me. For my long runs, it was nice to have companionship for the first half, but then also to have the solitude that I was used to for the second half. Prior to dating Greg, I wouldn't run on the W&OD trail until it got light enough out for me to see. But with Greg by my side, I felt much safer so we ran in the dark. This meant less time on the treadmill and more time outside.
Greg aced the Army Ten Miler with a time of 1:22:xx, surpassing the original goal of 1:25 that we decided upon when I created the training program. Since then, he's been setting PRs left and right! (Unfortunately, I couldn't be there with him at the Army Ten Miler, as I was in Texas on a business trip.) In 2010, he ran the Army Ten miler in 1:14:00. Wow!
Just Married!A few days before Thanksgiving, Greg proposed to me. I was elated! I was so excited that I didn't sleep at all for the next few nights, which caused me to run a sub-par Turkey Trot. But I was so excited about being married to him that I didn't even care. We decided to get married the following August, and since running was such a major part of our relationship and what attracted us to each other, we incorporated it into the wedding. We used bib numbers from races as our table numbers.
Greg and I typically keep the same race schedule, but we always run our own races. The one exception was the NYC Marathon, which was his first. I wanted to be there with him when he finished, and the logistics of trying to find him afterwards would have been a nightmare. It was a tough race for Greg and I feel partially responsible for making us go out too fast and not respecting the challenging course. But it was a lot of fun running with him, and NYC was something I had always wanted to do for fun, not for a PR.
 |
| At the finish line of the NYC Marathon |
Sometimes he compares the percentile that he finishes in with the percentile that I finish in, and says that he has a long way to go to reach my level. If that motivates him, then it's fine with me! I just don't want the day to come when he's too fast to do long runs with me. But he says he will always do them with me.
This morning was the "Love The Run You're With" 5K. Greg and I signed up to run it as a team. We were secretly hoping to win a team award, but due to my stress fractures, we both sat the race out. My prediction for him was a 21:25, and a 21:55 for myself. Not sure if that would have gotten us anything, and frankly I don't want to know! I wish there were more races out there with two-person teams. Hopefully next year we'll be able to run it. Last year, it was rescheduled because of the snow and the new date didn't work for us.
And so, on our last day of the first half of the first year of our marriage, I wanted to reflect on how happy I am to be married to Greg. He's amazing in every way!
Friday, February 11, 2011
The Lovely Bones
I never ended up getting to talk with my doctor about my stress fractures. The nurse called me again and I asked if she could have him call me directly. I also messaged him through the online message system and got no response. Meanwhile, I requested a copy of the report and the images from the Radiology office. They were reluctant to send them to me, but the moment I mentioned my rights under HIPPA, they were quick to comply.
The official report from the radiologist says "Stress fractures involving the bilateral tibias and left fibula."
I just think this is so odd. The fracture on the left leg looks bigger than the one on the right and yet I have zero pain over on the left. Meanwhile, the right leg sometimes hurts enough for me to walk with a limp. From the bottom pictures, it looks like there is something going on in both fibulas, but according to the report it's just the left.
On Monday evening, I started to use my Exogen 4000 bone healing machine. Within just several uses, I noticed remarkably less pain. However, I was highly discouraged when the pain returned this morning. (Don't worry-- I didn't run on it or anything!) I've been using the machine 2-3 times a day, depending on if I wake up early enough. It supposedly reduces healing time by 38% which would mean I could gradually introduce running on February 25 as opposed to March 9. Thankfully my doctor's appointment is on the 25th so I will be able to ask him about it.
If any of you radiologists care to weigh in on what's going on here, feel free. I'm totally clueless about this situation.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Bad Things Happen in Three's
Many of my readers already know the punchline from last week's ballad- I do have a stress fracture. Multiple ones, according to the results of my bone scan. Even though it's only my right shin that hurts, the scan apparently detected two stress fractures in the left leg (one on the tibia, one on the fibula) in addition to the one on my right tibia. The nurse called me to deliver the results, so I wasn't able to ask the doctor about the oddity of three simultaneous stress fractures, especially considering that there is no pain in the left leg. I did leave him a message, but he hasn't gotten back to me yet. I always feel like doctors just want to rush you in and out and be done with you, and don't want to really talk you through things.
I've never been someone to do anything half-way. I've always maintained an "all or nothing" attitude, which often works in my favor, but has sometimes worked against me. So it when it comes to injuries, naturally I can't just have one stress fracture, I have to have three.
My guesses on what's going on:
- It's only a stress fracture on the right, everything on the left is a stress reaction, or something else going on.
- They are all three stress fractures, but only the right one is bad enough to where it actually causes pain.
- It was caused by the introduction of the treadmill after a long period of no treadmill. And they say treadmill running alters your gait.
- Having lower than normal bone density (I was told I was osteopenic in 2003) was a contributing factor.
The good news is that I am getting them all out of the way at once, and now I know I need to be religious about taking calcium supplements. And the treadmill is a definite no-no.
Doctor's orders were simple (and once again, I didn't have the ability to ask questions). Make a follow-up appointment for 4 weeks. No running until then, but elliptical and swimming are ok. From my knowlege of stress fractures, it's typically 6 weeks of no running, followed by a very gradual build-up. And after 90 days, it should be healed completely. My last day of running was Tuesday, Jan. 25, which means I should be able to re-introduce running on March 9. I don't expect full recovery until the end of April. Thankfully, I hadn't registered for many spring races, just the Shamrock marathon. I'm hoping that by that time I can run the last 1-2 miles with my husband.
My friend Cristina used a bone stimulator machine to shorten the healing time of the fracture in her foot. These machines have been shown to reduce healing time, so I purchased one for myself off of eBay. (They retail for $4000 and my insurance won't cover it unless it's a full break). So the way to go, recommended by Cristina, it to get one that has been gently used from eBay. The machine is supposed to arrive tomorrow. My appointment with my doctor is on Feb. 25, at which point an X-ray should reveal the progress of the healing. If the machine works as well for me as it did Cristinia, then maybe I could shorten the whole thing by a few weeks. Which is totally worth the investment to me. The only problem I might run into is that I don't know the exact location of the fractures. I have requested copies of the bone scan so that I can see for myself. Apparently the stimulating device needs to be placed exactly at the site of the stress fracture.
As for cross-training, I am going to be conservative and lay off of the elliptical for another week, even though the doctor said it was okay. To maintain my fitness, my main focus has been deep-water pool running (with a flotation belt) with some swimming thrown in here and there. I've read quite a few articles and blogs on pool running, and there is a great deal of evidence out there that when done at the proper intensity, pool running can help you maintain most, if not all of your fitness over a six-week period. Even with all the evidence, I am a bit skeptical because I just don't feel like I am working as hard on my "easy" pool runs. But we shall see.
Thankfully, there is a pool about two miles from my house. This means I can spend up to an hour and a half in the pool before having to leave for work. On the weekends, I have been going to a pool about 30 minutes away to meet up with some friends. Yesterday, I spent three hours in the pool, 2:30 running and half an hour swimming. Afterwards, I was as tired as if I had done an 18-20 miler. And my legs certainly felt it.
So far, this injury has not gotten me down as much as previous injuries. Mainly because I really think the pool running will preserve my fitness and there is nothing more disheartening than the belief that everything you've been working so hard for has gone to waste. Also, I just came off of a fantastic year of running, setting PRs at nearly every distance. I was fortunate to be injury free for 15 months, so I guess I was due. During that time I really maximized it and I can only hope for another long stretch of no injuries again once this is done with. Of course I am upset about this, but I am trying to focus on recovery, and not think about all the races I'm missing out on this season. The outpouring of support of my running friends has been incredible. Without them, I would know nothing of pool running and bone stimulators!
I'm very determined to keep my spirits high and to preserve my fitness. I also need to be prepared to lose some of it. It will be such a letdown if the pool running doesn't work as good as expected, so I need to be cautiously optimistic.
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| Pool Running |
Thankfully, there is a pool about two miles from my house. This means I can spend up to an hour and a half in the pool before having to leave for work. On the weekends, I have been going to a pool about 30 minutes away to meet up with some friends. Yesterday, I spent three hours in the pool, 2:30 running and half an hour swimming. Afterwards, I was as tired as if I had done an 18-20 miler. And my legs certainly felt it.
So far, this injury has not gotten me down as much as previous injuries. Mainly because I really think the pool running will preserve my fitness and there is nothing more disheartening than the belief that everything you've been working so hard for has gone to waste. Also, I just came off of a fantastic year of running, setting PRs at nearly every distance. I was fortunate to be injury free for 15 months, so I guess I was due. During that time I really maximized it and I can only hope for another long stretch of no injuries again once this is done with. Of course I am upset about this, but I am trying to focus on recovery, and not think about all the races I'm missing out on this season. The outpouring of support of my running friends has been incredible. Without them, I would know nothing of pool running and bone stimulators!
I'm very determined to keep my spirits high and to preserve my fitness. I also need to be prepared to lose some of it. It will be such a letdown if the pool running doesn't work as good as expected, so I need to be cautiously optimistic.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Woe is me!
Woe is me.
I have an injury.
Few things are worse for a runner to face
I have to accept this will slow down my pace.
I am hopeful that it's just a shin splint
But it hurts when I walk, much more than a hint.
If this is a stress fracture I'm going to be mad
For the PRs I hoped for will not be had.
The only good thing I can think of to say,
I'd rather be injured now than in the month of May.
There's snow everywhere, so I'd be stuck on the 'mill
Just one long flat surface, not one single hill.
I think that's the culprit of my shin pain anyway,
To much treadmill running, and now I'm having to pay.
Now it's pool running for me, and elliptical too
I cannot land run until the pain has subdued.
I've been stretching and strengthening and treating with ice
Despite all these measures, my shin feels not nice.
Even at rest, I can feel a dull ache
I certainly hope my shin bone didn't break!
All of this makes me extremely frustrated,
I don't want my spring season to be so ill-fated.
A bone scan this week will determine my fate,
Will I run a spring marathon, or do I have to wait?
I was doing so well with my training, you know
I averaged 7:26 on my 5-mile tempo.
With my heart rate staying in that LT zone.
And I thought I was no longer injury prone!
My fitness had reached an exciting new peak,
Can I preserve it without 50+ per week?
I did a 3-hour pool workout of running and swimming
And that seemed to be effective, and not at all skimping.
Woe is me.
I have an injury.
And what is the damage? That's left to be seen.
_______________________________________________________________
Thanks to everyone who commented on my previous blog and the Cool Pool Runners who helped me get started with that!
I have an injury.
Few things are worse for a runner to face
I have to accept this will slow down my pace.
I am hopeful that it's just a shin splint
But it hurts when I walk, much more than a hint.
If this is a stress fracture I'm going to be mad
For the PRs I hoped for will not be had.
The only good thing I can think of to say,
I'd rather be injured now than in the month of May.
There's snow everywhere, so I'd be stuck on the 'mill
Just one long flat surface, not one single hill.
I think that's the culprit of my shin pain anyway,
To much treadmill running, and now I'm having to pay.
Now it's pool running for me, and elliptical too
I cannot land run until the pain has subdued.
I've been stretching and strengthening and treating with ice
Despite all these measures, my shin feels not nice.
Even at rest, I can feel a dull ache
I certainly hope my shin bone didn't break!
All of this makes me extremely frustrated,
I don't want my spring season to be so ill-fated.
A bone scan this week will determine my fate,
Will I run a spring marathon, or do I have to wait?
I was doing so well with my training, you know
I averaged 7:26 on my 5-mile tempo.
With my heart rate staying in that LT zone.
And I thought I was no longer injury prone!
My fitness had reached an exciting new peak,
Can I preserve it without 50+ per week?
I did a 3-hour pool workout of running and swimming
And that seemed to be effective, and not at all skimping.
Woe is me.
I have an injury.
And what is the damage? That's left to be seen.
_______________________________________________________________
Thanks to everyone who commented on my previous blog and the Cool Pool Runners who helped me get started with that!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Shin Splint!
I've been injury free for 15 months, so naturally it's difficult to accept that I would have any injury now that would be serious enough to keep me from running. Well. . .
Two Fridays ago, while doing an easy 6-miler on the treadmill I noticed some pain in my shin. I've never suffered from shin splints before (except for about 9 years ago when I ran on the beach barefoot) so I was surprised that suddenly my shins would hurt. The next day, I proceeded to run 15 miles outside and I only felt the shin pain slightly. On Monday of this week, I did a 10-miler outside, include 3 x 1-mile repeats and I barely felt the shin at all. I didn't even mention the issue in last week's blog because it was minor enough to ignore.
However, when returning to the treadmill on Tuesday due to the ice storm, I once again had shin pain. My theory is that this pain is being caused by the sudden introduction of the treadmill (I had been doing 100% of my runs outdoors up until December) and the new model of a Nike shoe which doesn't fit me as well as the previous model. But probably moreso the treadmill, because that's a more significant change. I said in a previous blog that one of my main reasons for not liking the treadmill is that it's so repetitive that I worry about overuse injuries. And Voila!
I went to the doctor on Thursday just so I could confirm the diagnosis and get a prescription for PT if I needed it. He agreed that it was shin splints and showed me some stretches and strengthening exercises. And of course told me to "back off" the running. He also suggested a compression sleeve which I blogged about over on the Pacers Ambassadors blog. I had been doing a lot of stretching, icing and foam rolling prior to seeing the doctor, but not the strengthening. The thing I've always wondered about strengthening exercises for injuries: does it really help with recovery, or does it just help prevent them in the future? I can't imagine that my muscles are going to benefit from the strengthening for at least a few weeks, so I don't see the exercising really speeding my recovery.
On Friday, I had six miles on tap, and given the "real feel" of 9 degrees due to the wind chill, I opted for the treadmill. The pain was the worst it had ever been. The run just sucked, and I stopped after five miles. Yesterday (Saturday) I was scheduled for 18 miles. It was only 20 degrees with a "real feel" in the teens whenever the wind blew, but I knew I had to brave it because the treadmill would be too painful.
During the first few miles I was very discouraged. Even though I was wearing my new compression sleeves and compression tights (and other pair of pants over that because it was so cold!), the shin hurt. It hadn't ever really hurt on an outside run in the past so I was upset. I couldn't be injured! I had gone 15 months without an injury! I'm doing everything right! I would have thought that my transition from running mainly on the treadmill to doing 100% of my runs outside would have caused an injury, but it didn't. Who would have thought that returning to the treadmill would have caused a problem!?
I started to think about how this would affect my goals. I had been showing signs of huge improvement over the past few months, and I think I was poised to run a marathon in the 3:30's, and set a PR at my next 5K about about 15-20 seconds. But with reduced mileage, then I don't know how likely these goals are for me. I would love to start pool running, but don't have access to an indoor pool. Maybe I will research that more, though.
Anyway, I thought that I would just throw in the towel and cut my 18-miler down to five. But once I got to about mile four, things felt better so I continued on. I was fighting a constant battle in my head: should I go home now and accept that I am injured and need to stop, or should I push through because I can? I kept running through neighborhoods that were close to my home, so I was only a mile or two away from my house at any given time. Eventually I compromised with myself. I did 11 miles, which would count as a "medium long" run in the training log. Also, the wind was picking up and my lips and face were starting to hurt.
I am facing the same dilemma right now. I had a five-mile recovery run on tap, but part of me thinks I should just take a rest day and be prepared for next week's 56 miles. However, I know that I won't be able to run outdoors for a good part of next week. On Monday morning, the temperatures will be in the teen's with a real-feel in the single digits. Yuck. On Wednesday, we're expecting snow, and I won't run in the dark if there is snow/ice on the ground. Do I opt for the treadmill and risk making the shin splint worse? Or do I settle for the boring (and not as effective) elliptical? I really do not like being in this position!
Two Fridays ago, while doing an easy 6-miler on the treadmill I noticed some pain in my shin. I've never suffered from shin splints before (except for about 9 years ago when I ran on the beach barefoot) so I was surprised that suddenly my shins would hurt. The next day, I proceeded to run 15 miles outside and I only felt the shin pain slightly. On Monday of this week, I did a 10-miler outside, include 3 x 1-mile repeats and I barely felt the shin at all. I didn't even mention the issue in last week's blog because it was minor enough to ignore.
However, when returning to the treadmill on Tuesday due to the ice storm, I once again had shin pain. My theory is that this pain is being caused by the sudden introduction of the treadmill (I had been doing 100% of my runs outdoors up until December) and the new model of a Nike shoe which doesn't fit me as well as the previous model. But probably moreso the treadmill, because that's a more significant change. I said in a previous blog that one of my main reasons for not liking the treadmill is that it's so repetitive that I worry about overuse injuries. And Voila!
On Friday, I had six miles on tap, and given the "real feel" of 9 degrees due to the wind chill, I opted for the treadmill. The pain was the worst it had ever been. The run just sucked, and I stopped after five miles. Yesterday (Saturday) I was scheduled for 18 miles. It was only 20 degrees with a "real feel" in the teens whenever the wind blew, but I knew I had to brave it because the treadmill would be too painful.
During the first few miles I was very discouraged. Even though I was wearing my new compression sleeves and compression tights (and other pair of pants over that because it was so cold!), the shin hurt. It hadn't ever really hurt on an outside run in the past so I was upset. I couldn't be injured! I had gone 15 months without an injury! I'm doing everything right! I would have thought that my transition from running mainly on the treadmill to doing 100% of my runs outside would have caused an injury, but it didn't. Who would have thought that returning to the treadmill would have caused a problem!?
I started to think about how this would affect my goals. I had been showing signs of huge improvement over the past few months, and I think I was poised to run a marathon in the 3:30's, and set a PR at my next 5K about about 15-20 seconds. But with reduced mileage, then I don't know how likely these goals are for me. I would love to start pool running, but don't have access to an indoor pool. Maybe I will research that more, though.
Anyway, I thought that I would just throw in the towel and cut my 18-miler down to five. But once I got to about mile four, things felt better so I continued on. I was fighting a constant battle in my head: should I go home now and accept that I am injured and need to stop, or should I push through because I can? I kept running through neighborhoods that were close to my home, so I was only a mile or two away from my house at any given time. Eventually I compromised with myself. I did 11 miles, which would count as a "medium long" run in the training log. Also, the wind was picking up and my lips and face were starting to hurt.
I am facing the same dilemma right now. I had a five-mile recovery run on tap, but part of me thinks I should just take a rest day and be prepared for next week's 56 miles. However, I know that I won't be able to run outdoors for a good part of next week. On Monday morning, the temperatures will be in the teen's with a real-feel in the single digits. Yuck. On Wednesday, we're expecting snow, and I won't run in the dark if there is snow/ice on the ground. Do I opt for the treadmill and risk making the shin splint worse? Or do I settle for the boring (and not as effective) elliptical? I really do not like being in this position!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Hold the Hotties!
The title of this post was inspired by a Facebook post I wrote about my glove situation. My friend Dash commented that I should coin the phrase "hold the hotties" that I used to describe running with hand warmers.
I suffer from Reynaud's syndrome, which is basically a condition where your hands and feet get cold very easily, go numb and sometimes hurt. It affects mainly women, and it's not uncommon. I have it more severely in my feet than in my hands, but it doesn't affect my feet if I start running the minute I leave my front door. (It affects me in non-running situations, like cold office buildings or even just sitting around at home). At races, however, I don't have the luxury of being in a warm spot while waiting for the race to start so I tend to run the first few miles with numb toes and/or a numb heel and it's not easy. If I'm going to be waiting outside for awhile, like in the NYC Marathon, I will wear shoe inserts that keep my feet warm until it's time to start the race-- you aren't supposed to run with them. However, at NYC, the foot warmers lost their effectiveness about hour before race start, so I still ended up with numb feet.
My number one challenge to running in cold weather is keeping my hands warm. Last weekend I did a 20-miler on the treadmill because the winds were 15-20 MPH with a real feel in the single digits to low teen's. I might have been able to tough it out had it not been for the Reynaud's syndrome in my hands.
When I first started running in cold weather back in the winter of 2006/2007, I bought a pair of Hind 3-Season gloves. They were advertised as being heavy and good for really cold weather. They worked okay, but my hands would still end up numb and often painful. Sometimes they would hurt so much I would think I was on the verge of frostbite. Then I bought a thinner pair of gloves and wore those underneath the heavy gloves. That made a difference, but my hands were still completely numb by the end of long runs. Even in weather that was in the upper 30's.
In the winter of 2007/2008, I discovered "Little Hotties" hand warmers. They were my savior: "Little Hotties Hand Warmers are little bags of warmth! They contain an air-activated heat source that provides warmth and comfort in cold conditions." That's from their web site. It's amazing how warm these things get! My solution was to wear both pairs of gloves, putting the Hotties in between them on the backs of my hands. This worked well, but it didn't solve the problem of my fingers going numb.
For the next two winters I used the same system and it worked okay. I wouldn't do long runs in weather that was colder than 30 degrees. My fingers would still go numb after an hour or so, but it wouldn't be painful with that "I'm getting frostbite" sensation.
Fast forward to this winter. I had been accustomed to doing 100% of my runs outdoors because I moved to a new home that had safer places to run. I was spoiled with outdoor running and very reluctant to head back to the treadmill. But it would always be in the 20's (I run in the mornings before work), which would pose a problem for my hands. I discovered that if I didn't use the gloves as gloves, but rather as mittens, my hands would be warmer. By bunching my fingers together and holding the Hotties in the palms of my hands, my fingers would be nice and toasty. But then the backs of my hands would get cold, so I would have to rotate the position of the Hotties, which wasn't easy to do while running. So my morning runs were basically a back-and-forth rotation of where the Hotties would be (about once every ten minutes), and yet I would still come home with painful hands that were immobile. I had even tried the Mizuno Breath Thermo gloves (the thinner ones) as a base glove because they are made out of a special material that turns moisture, like sweat and rain, into heat. They are great for rainy runs, but they still didn't do the trick, even when combined with the Hotties and a heavier par of gloves over them.
I finally looked into getting some running mittens, since that's how I was using my gloves anyway. My fingers were warmer when bunched up together and sharing heat. I did some research online and discovered the Asics Ecoline Fleece Mittens. They looked warm and came in S-M-L so I could get a pair small enough to prevent air from coming through at the wrists. I ordered them online, but they didn't arrive in time for my 20-miler last weekend so I was treadmill bound. But today I was very excited to try them for the first time.
The weather forecast for today's run (15-miler) was a "real feel" in the mid to upper 20's. My strategy was to wear the mittens with two Hotties in each mitten: one for the back of my hand and one to hold onto to keep my fingers warm. This would prevent the constant rotation that I was having to do on my other runs. Two miles into the run, my hands start to get hot and sweaty. It got more and more uncomfortable so I took one Hottie out of each glove and put them into my pocket. I ran two more miles and my hands were still uncomfortably hot and sweaty. The thing about these gloves is that they are very tight around the wrist and they let no air in. That's a good thing, but it also made it impossible for any of the heat from the Hotties to escape, and those things get really hot! So I took the other Hotties out of the mittens and ran the rest of my run with just the mittens. My hands were cold, but not to the extent of being numb and painful. My thumbs were the only digits that became numb by the end, and that could have been avoided if I bunched them up in my fist and didn't use the thumb area of the mitten. It's amazing how much heat can be preserved when the fingers can touch each other and no air is let into the mitten.
Going forward, my hand solution will be to start the run with just one set of Hotties, and then remove them if need be. My hands ended up being okay without the Hotties in today's temps, but in the upper teen ands low 20's, I might need those Hotties back!
The results of today's run: 15 miles at an average 9:04 pace. This week was a cutback week, so I netted a total of 43 miles. I'll be back into the mid 50's next week. Keep warm everyone!
I suffer from Reynaud's syndrome, which is basically a condition where your hands and feet get cold very easily, go numb and sometimes hurt. It affects mainly women, and it's not uncommon. I have it more severely in my feet than in my hands, but it doesn't affect my feet if I start running the minute I leave my front door. (It affects me in non-running situations, like cold office buildings or even just sitting around at home). At races, however, I don't have the luxury of being in a warm spot while waiting for the race to start so I tend to run the first few miles with numb toes and/or a numb heel and it's not easy. If I'm going to be waiting outside for awhile, like in the NYC Marathon, I will wear shoe inserts that keep my feet warm until it's time to start the race-- you aren't supposed to run with them. However, at NYC, the foot warmers lost their effectiveness about hour before race start, so I still ended up with numb feet.
My number one challenge to running in cold weather is keeping my hands warm. Last weekend I did a 20-miler on the treadmill because the winds were 15-20 MPH with a real feel in the single digits to low teen's. I might have been able to tough it out had it not been for the Reynaud's syndrome in my hands.
When I first started running in cold weather back in the winter of 2006/2007, I bought a pair of Hind 3-Season gloves. They were advertised as being heavy and good for really cold weather. They worked okay, but my hands would still end up numb and often painful. Sometimes they would hurt so much I would think I was on the verge of frostbite. Then I bought a thinner pair of gloves and wore those underneath the heavy gloves. That made a difference, but my hands were still completely numb by the end of long runs. Even in weather that was in the upper 30's.
In the winter of 2007/2008, I discovered "Little Hotties" hand warmers. They were my savior: "Little Hotties Hand Warmers are little bags of warmth! They contain an air-activated heat source that provides warmth and comfort in cold conditions." That's from their web site. It's amazing how warm these things get! My solution was to wear both pairs of gloves, putting the Hotties in between them on the backs of my hands. This worked well, but it didn't solve the problem of my fingers going numb.
For the next two winters I used the same system and it worked okay. I wouldn't do long runs in weather that was colder than 30 degrees. My fingers would still go numb after an hour or so, but it wouldn't be painful with that "I'm getting frostbite" sensation.
Fast forward to this winter. I had been accustomed to doing 100% of my runs outdoors because I moved to a new home that had safer places to run. I was spoiled with outdoor running and very reluctant to head back to the treadmill. But it would always be in the 20's (I run in the mornings before work), which would pose a problem for my hands. I discovered that if I didn't use the gloves as gloves, but rather as mittens, my hands would be warmer. By bunching my fingers together and holding the Hotties in the palms of my hands, my fingers would be nice and toasty. But then the backs of my hands would get cold, so I would have to rotate the position of the Hotties, which wasn't easy to do while running. So my morning runs were basically a back-and-forth rotation of where the Hotties would be (about once every ten minutes), and yet I would still come home with painful hands that were immobile. I had even tried the Mizuno Breath Thermo gloves (the thinner ones) as a base glove because they are made out of a special material that turns moisture, like sweat and rain, into heat. They are great for rainy runs, but they still didn't do the trick, even when combined with the Hotties and a heavier par of gloves over them.
I finally looked into getting some running mittens, since that's how I was using my gloves anyway. My fingers were warmer when bunched up together and sharing heat. I did some research online and discovered the Asics Ecoline Fleece Mittens. They looked warm and came in S-M-L so I could get a pair small enough to prevent air from coming through at the wrists. I ordered them online, but they didn't arrive in time for my 20-miler last weekend so I was treadmill bound. But today I was very excited to try them for the first time.
The weather forecast for today's run (15-miler) was a "real feel" in the mid to upper 20's. My strategy was to wear the mittens with two Hotties in each mitten: one for the back of my hand and one to hold onto to keep my fingers warm. This would prevent the constant rotation that I was having to do on my other runs. Two miles into the run, my hands start to get hot and sweaty. It got more and more uncomfortable so I took one Hottie out of each glove and put them into my pocket. I ran two more miles and my hands were still uncomfortably hot and sweaty. The thing about these gloves is that they are very tight around the wrist and they let no air in. That's a good thing, but it also made it impossible for any of the heat from the Hotties to escape, and those things get really hot! So I took the other Hotties out of the mittens and ran the rest of my run with just the mittens. My hands were cold, but not to the extent of being numb and painful. My thumbs were the only digits that became numb by the end, and that could have been avoided if I bunched them up in my fist and didn't use the thumb area of the mitten. It's amazing how much heat can be preserved when the fingers can touch each other and no air is let into the mitten.
Going forward, my hand solution will be to start the run with just one set of Hotties, and then remove them if need be. My hands ended up being okay without the Hotties in today's temps, but in the upper teen ands low 20's, I might need those Hotties back!
The results of today's run: 15 miles at an average 9:04 pace. This week was a cutback week, so I netted a total of 43 miles. I'll be back into the mid 50's next week. Keep warm everyone!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
2010 Year In Review
Like many runners, I like to track my progress and analyze my running stats. The end of the year seems like the most appropriate time to do that. 2010 was a milestone year for me in many ways, and running is no exception. I set PRs in five distances (although not the marathon, which ironically is what I mainly focus on) and I set a new record for total mileage.
Yearly Mileage
In 2010, I ran a total of 2136 miles. This is 171 more miles than in 2009, when I ran 1965 miles. Percentage wise, I increased my annual mileage by 8.7%. This is primarily due to the fact that I was not at all injured in 2010, whereas in 2009, I had to take about four weeks off due to a foot injury, and then ease back into it.
Of these miles, 580 were on a treadmill and the rest were outdoors. That's 27% treadmill and 73% outside. In 2009, I ran 992 treadmill miles, which was about 50%.
My highest mileage month was January with 219 miles. This is surprising because we got hit with a huge snow storm that month. My lowest mileage month was November with only 126 miles. This was mainly because I was tapering for and then recovering from the NYC marathon.
My average weekly mileage was 41, and I'd really like to see that increase in 2011. If I set a goal of averaging 46 miles a week, then my 2011 mileage goal would be 2396. If I can stay injury-free then I think this is a feasible goal.
Races
As shown by all the red bars in the chart above, I ran a lot of races. They weren't all "A" races, but I figured that since there is an element of luck involved with racing, the more you do it, the better your chances are of having good conditions. Also, racing is great speedwork and also great "practice" for going at full effort. I wasn't as high-anxiety about most of my races this year as I have been in the past. I just wanted to go out and do my best. The PRs are highlighted in red.
I think that I also set a PR for number of awards won, but I'm not completely sure. This was definitely my first time coming in first in my age group during a 10K.
Blog Updates
I have been committed to regularly posting in this blog. It gives me closure after a race to write a report and I enjoy having the history. I also hope that I can in some way offer something to others who read this blog. This year, I gave my blog a fresh new look with new zebra stripes in the background. I also added some tabs in the top navigation that talk about my running history and give some context to my blog posts.
Looking Ahead
Yearly Mileage
In 2010, I ran a total of 2136 miles. This is 171 more miles than in 2009, when I ran 1965 miles. Percentage wise, I increased my annual mileage by 8.7%. This is primarily due to the fact that I was not at all injured in 2010, whereas in 2009, I had to take about four weeks off due to a foot injury, and then ease back into it.
Of these miles, 580 were on a treadmill and the rest were outdoors. That's 27% treadmill and 73% outside. In 2009, I ran 992 treadmill miles, which was about 50%.
 |
| 2010 Weekly Mileage |
My highest mileage month was January with 219 miles. This is surprising because we got hit with a huge snow storm that month. My lowest mileage month was November with only 126 miles. This was mainly because I was tapering for and then recovering from the NYC marathon.
My average weekly mileage was 41, and I'd really like to see that increase in 2011. If I set a goal of averaging 46 miles a week, then my 2011 mileage goal would be 2396. If I can stay injury-free then I think this is a feasible goal.
Races
As shown by all the red bars in the chart above, I ran a lot of races. They weren't all "A" races, but I figured that since there is an element of luck involved with racing, the more you do it, the better your chances are of having good conditions. Also, racing is great speedwork and also great "practice" for going at full effort. I wasn't as high-anxiety about most of my races this year as I have been in the past. I just wanted to go out and do my best. The PRs are highlighted in red.
 |
| Crystal City 5K |
- March: Van Metre 5-Mile in 37:10 (PR by 2:30)
- March: Shamrock Marathon: DNF at mile 13.5 because of the heat
- April: Crystal City 5K in 22:21 (PR by 1:01)
- April: GW Parkway Classic in1:22:xx (this was a fun run, because I had been planning to a marathon the following weekend)
- May: Bob Potts Marathon in 3:53:56
- June: UVA Reunion 2-miler in 14:07
- June: Lawyers Have Heart 10K in 49:50
- June: Run for the Red 10K in 51:10
- July: Firecracker 5K in 23:21
- September: South Fairfax Chamber Challenge 10K in 47:55
- October: Heritage Half Marathon in 1:41:30
- October: Army Ten-Miler in 1:17:54
- November: NYC Marathon in 4:08:32
- November: Virginia Run Turkey Trot 5K in 22:33
- December: St. Jude Memphis Marathon in 4:14:38
- December: Reindeer Run 5K in 22:37
- December: Ringing in Hope 10K in 46:34
That's 16 races that I completed in 2010 (not counting that Shamrock DNF). I think that's a PR in terms of number of races.
Awards
 |
| Chamber Challenge 10K |
- UVA reunion 2-miler: 1st place class of 2000, 3rd overall female
- Firecracker 5K: 3rd place in age group
- Chamber Challenge 10K: 1st place in age group, 2nd overall female
- Heritage half marathon: 3rd place in age group
Blog Updates
I have been committed to regularly posting in this blog. It gives me closure after a race to write a report and I enjoy having the history. I also hope that I can in some way offer something to others who read this blog. This year, I gave my blog a fresh new look with new zebra stripes in the background. I also added some tabs in the top navigation that talk about my running history and give some context to my blog posts.
Looking Ahead
I don't really have time-based goals for 2011. Although I would like to BQ and get my half marathon time under 1:40, my primary goal is to run a strong marathon. I'm not as focused on the time as I used to be. It's just that I have bonked in every single marathon I have run since March of 2008. That's going on three years of all bonks. My secondary is goal is to increase my training mileage. Ideally by an average of 5 miles a week, provided that I don't get injured. Of course, for most of these running goals to be achievable, staying injury-free is a must, so I guess that trumps the marathon goal.
2010 is going to be a tough act to follow, but I'm planning on enjoying the ride.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Ringing in a PR
I ran the Inaugural Ringing In Hope 10K today at 3:30pm. I've done the Fairfax Four Miler as my New Year's Eve race for the past two years, but when I got an email advertising this race, I opted to do it instead. The main reason was that I really wanted a 10K PR that lined up with my other race times. My previous 10K (47:55) PR had been set on a very hilly course and I knew I could do at least a minute faster. Another bonus was that the race was at 3:30 instead of 6:30, so it would be lighter out and not as cold. The past two years the four miler has had a real-feel in the teen's, and it wasn't fun. I also liked that the proceeds went to charity.
3:30pm was an odd time for a race, so I wasn't quite sure what to do about eating. I decided to have a sandwich for breakfast and a bagel for lunch. I made sure to hydrate throughout the day and yesterday as well. The weather forecast was calling for a real-feel of 55, which is actually on the warmer side for me. I couldn't believe I was worried about a Dec. 31 race being too hot.
I wore my Pacers singlet and my red running skirt. It actually ended up being somewhat overcast and about 52 degrees, which was actually really nice. On Dec. 31, I could have been facing high winds, rain, really cold temperatures, but I think I lucked out.
My husband Greg and I got to the race, got our bibs and D-Tags, and did a 1.5-mile warmup on the course. I noticed that it was rolling hills, so I decided to use my tried and true strategy of even effort: faster on the downhills and conservative on the uphills.
Miles 1-2
The first mile was way too fast at 7:15. But the first quarter mile was all downhill. So the downhill combined with the adrenaline of a race start made for a fast start. However, I knew I'd be running that quarter mile uphill at the end, so I was glad I banked the time. For most of the first two miles, I was leap-frogging with one woman who was running a steady pace, but I eventually passed her for good.
Mile 1: 7:15
Mile 2: 7:33
Miles 3-4
There was a woman next to me who commented that we were doing a lot of downhill running, which worried her for the way back. I thought that it was about even with the ups and downs, and the only hill I was really dreading on the way back was that final one. At the water station, I took water and poured it all over my head. I was on the verge of getting too warm, so I figured the water would prevent that. Another interesting thing about this race was that it got cooler as the race progressed. Normally it's the other way around, but this time the sun was setting, and I actually did cool down during the last three miles.
Mile 3: 7:34
Mile 4: 7:23
Miles 5-6
Every time I run a race, I end up with some mantra that helps me through. I usually think of this mantra during the first few miles. Today it was: "It does matter". Sometimes when races are hard and I start to bonk, I tell myself that it doesn't matter, there will be other races. And that it's okay to slow down. So today I told myself early on that it does matter, and that I wanted a solid 10K PR that I could be proud of. I'm used to slowing down a lot during the last two miles of the 10K and I fully expected that to happen today, but I insisted that I would maintain a solid effort. And it worked! I actually ran the last two miles faster than expected:
Mile 5: 7:28
Mile 6: 7:28
I actually got a boost during mile 5 when I was running just behind a guy who smelled really bad. We were running at the same pace, and I didn't want to speed up, but it finally got so bad that I sped up to pass him and get a good distance ahead of him. If it hadn't been for that, I might have run a 7:32 mile 5.
The Finish
The quarter mile downhill that started the race made that last 0.2 really a killer. I stayed strong up the hill, and then there was a nice downhill for the last 0.05. I looked at my watch at the top of the hill and it was 45:55, and I told myself that I had better come in within the 46's! I was targeting a 46:30, but would have been happy with anything in the 46's.
Last 0.26 (according to Garmin): 7:26
My official time was 46:34 and I placed 4th out of 46 in my age group. There were some really fast runners there who I was eying at the start line. Simply based on what these girls looked like, I knew my chance of an AG award was slim. I placed 20 out of 225 women, which was nice-- but I am usually in a higher percentile.
Greg and I did a cooldown and then went home. He ran a two-minute PR of 44:51. He just keeps getting faster! Tonight we are going to celebrate all the wonderful things that happened in 2010 with a nice meal, Rock Band, strawberries in chocolate fondue, and of course champagne.
This was the best year of my life: I got married to the man of my dreams, we bought a beautiful home together, and I set major PRs at every distance except the marathon. Greg and I have so much to be thankful for. I'll miss all the excitement of 2010, but I know there are many things ahead of us.
Happy New Year.
3:30pm was an odd time for a race, so I wasn't quite sure what to do about eating. I decided to have a sandwich for breakfast and a bagel for lunch. I made sure to hydrate throughout the day and yesterday as well. The weather forecast was calling for a real-feel of 55, which is actually on the warmer side for me. I couldn't believe I was worried about a Dec. 31 race being too hot.
I wore my Pacers singlet and my red running skirt. It actually ended up being somewhat overcast and about 52 degrees, which was actually really nice. On Dec. 31, I could have been facing high winds, rain, really cold temperatures, but I think I lucked out.
My husband Greg and I got to the race, got our bibs and D-Tags, and did a 1.5-mile warmup on the course. I noticed that it was rolling hills, so I decided to use my tried and true strategy of even effort: faster on the downhills and conservative on the uphills.
Miles 1-2
The first mile was way too fast at 7:15. But the first quarter mile was all downhill. So the downhill combined with the adrenaline of a race start made for a fast start. However, I knew I'd be running that quarter mile uphill at the end, so I was glad I banked the time. For most of the first two miles, I was leap-frogging with one woman who was running a steady pace, but I eventually passed her for good.
Mile 1: 7:15
Mile 2: 7:33
Miles 3-4
There was a woman next to me who commented that we were doing a lot of downhill running, which worried her for the way back. I thought that it was about even with the ups and downs, and the only hill I was really dreading on the way back was that final one. At the water station, I took water and poured it all over my head. I was on the verge of getting too warm, so I figured the water would prevent that. Another interesting thing about this race was that it got cooler as the race progressed. Normally it's the other way around, but this time the sun was setting, and I actually did cool down during the last three miles.
Mile 3: 7:34
Mile 4: 7:23
Miles 5-6
 |
| Finish Line |
Mile 5: 7:28
Mile 6: 7:28
I actually got a boost during mile 5 when I was running just behind a guy who smelled really bad. We were running at the same pace, and I didn't want to speed up, but it finally got so bad that I sped up to pass him and get a good distance ahead of him. If it hadn't been for that, I might have run a 7:32 mile 5.
The Finish
The quarter mile downhill that started the race made that last 0.2 really a killer. I stayed strong up the hill, and then there was a nice downhill for the last 0.05. I looked at my watch at the top of the hill and it was 45:55, and I told myself that I had better come in within the 46's! I was targeting a 46:30, but would have been happy with anything in the 46's.
Last 0.26 (according to Garmin): 7:26
My official time was 46:34 and I placed 4th out of 46 in my age group. There were some really fast runners there who I was eying at the start line. Simply based on what these girls looked like, I knew my chance of an AG award was slim. I placed 20 out of 225 women, which was nice-- but I am usually in a higher percentile.
Greg and I did a cooldown and then went home. He ran a two-minute PR of 44:51. He just keeps getting faster! Tonight we are going to celebrate all the wonderful things that happened in 2010 with a nice meal, Rock Band, strawberries in chocolate fondue, and of course champagne.
This was the best year of my life: I got married to the man of my dreams, we bought a beautiful home together, and I set major PRs at every distance except the marathon. Greg and I have so much to be thankful for. I'll miss all the excitement of 2010, but I know there are many things ahead of us.
Happy New Year.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Secret Sauce of Speed Work
During 2008-2009, I didn't see a significant improvement in my shorter race times. I set some major half marathon PRs, but the 5K-10K didn't budge much. (And I'm not even going to get into my back luck with marathons and lack of PRs there. . . )
In 2010, I experienced a major spike in my fitness level.
5K: New PR by 1:01 (from a 7:31 pace to 7:11 pace)
5 Mile: New PR by 2:30 (from a 7:56 pace to a 7:26 pace)
I also set a new 10K PR, but the jump there isn't as significant because the course was insanely hilly.
While there are many factors that I believe contributed to this, there is one key type of training that I think has made the most impact: interval training using a heart rate monitor to dictate the pace/effort.
In the summer of 2009, I had a few meetings with a running coach. She taught me about heart rate zones and suggested that I get a V02 Max test to determine my optimal training zones. Since then, I've based almost every training run on my heart rate. During one of our sessions, I told her that I couldn't get my heart rate high enough (zone 5b) for V02 Max improvement. I had been doing classic 400m and 800m intervals and my heart rate wouldn't get high enough for the training stimulus I needed.
She then gave me a workout that I have sworn by ever since. 3 minutes hard, 3 minutes recovery. It's that simple. She told me to start with 4 sets and that I could work myself up to 6 sets during a training cycle. She told me that my heart rate should reach zone 5b (187-189) during the second interval and all subsequent intervals, but that it probably wouldn't get up there on the first one. It took me a few tries to get this workout right. This was before I had access to a track, so I ran them on a running trail that was on a slight incline/decline. The first time, I did the first two sets too fast and ended up not being able to do the last two at enough effort. My coach told me that it was okay to walk during the 3-minute recovery jogs. She said that in order to get your HR high enough, you need to have enough recovery time to be able to get the speed you need. 3 minutes is also the magic number for the amount of time during the interval. With less time, then your HR isn't in the zone for long enough. With more time--- well-- I couldn't imagine keeping it up for more than 3 minutes!
I've been incorporating this workout into my training regularly for over a year now. Depending on where I am in my training, I will do 4, 5 or 6 sets. I almost always do them on a track, except for this week when the winds were sustained at 20 mph, so I did the treadmill. The distance usually ends up being about 0.45 mile and the pace is around 6:35-6:40 (when I started with this workout it was 6:55). This is much faster than 5K pace, which is what a lot of prescribed programs suggest for interval pace. It's extremely tough and I have to use all my mental strength to push through them. But knowing that my heart rate needs to be at 187-189 for the workout to be effective motivates me to keep the speed up and not stop. The splits of a workout from Sept. 22 can be seen here.
Endurance is my natural strength and I have always struggled to get my shorter race times to match up with the "equivalent" of their long distance counterparts (apparently this is true of only 10% of runners). But now I think that I am about equal in both speed and endurance, thanks to these 3-minute intervals.
Note: I highly recommend programming this workout into a Garmin using Garmin Training Center. The 3-minute segments are pre-loaded so that you hear a beep when it's time to start and stop the interval. Heart Rate, speed and distance for each interval is recorded without having to press any buttons. And trust me, 100% of the focus needs to be on keeping the effort level up- not fooling around with a timing device!
In 2010, I experienced a major spike in my fitness level.
5K: New PR by 1:01 (from a 7:31 pace to 7:11 pace)
5 Mile: New PR by 2:30 (from a 7:56 pace to a 7:26 pace)
I also set a new 10K PR, but the jump there isn't as significant because the course was insanely hilly.
While there are many factors that I believe contributed to this, there is one key type of training that I think has made the most impact: interval training using a heart rate monitor to dictate the pace/effort.
In the summer of 2009, I had a few meetings with a running coach. She taught me about heart rate zones and suggested that I get a V02 Max test to determine my optimal training zones. Since then, I've based almost every training run on my heart rate. During one of our sessions, I told her that I couldn't get my heart rate high enough (zone 5b) for V02 Max improvement. I had been doing classic 400m and 800m intervals and my heart rate wouldn't get high enough for the training stimulus I needed.
She then gave me a workout that I have sworn by ever since. 3 minutes hard, 3 minutes recovery. It's that simple. She told me to start with 4 sets and that I could work myself up to 6 sets during a training cycle. She told me that my heart rate should reach zone 5b (187-189) during the second interval and all subsequent intervals, but that it probably wouldn't get up there on the first one. It took me a few tries to get this workout right. This was before I had access to a track, so I ran them on a running trail that was on a slight incline/decline. The first time, I did the first two sets too fast and ended up not being able to do the last two at enough effort. My coach told me that it was okay to walk during the 3-minute recovery jogs. She said that in order to get your HR high enough, you need to have enough recovery time to be able to get the speed you need. 3 minutes is also the magic number for the amount of time during the interval. With less time, then your HR isn't in the zone for long enough. With more time--- well-- I couldn't imagine keeping it up for more than 3 minutes!
I've been incorporating this workout into my training regularly for over a year now. Depending on where I am in my training, I will do 4, 5 or 6 sets. I almost always do them on a track, except for this week when the winds were sustained at 20 mph, so I did the treadmill. The distance usually ends up being about 0.45 mile and the pace is around 6:35-6:40 (when I started with this workout it was 6:55). This is much faster than 5K pace, which is what a lot of prescribed programs suggest for interval pace. It's extremely tough and I have to use all my mental strength to push through them. But knowing that my heart rate needs to be at 187-189 for the workout to be effective motivates me to keep the speed up and not stop. The splits of a workout from Sept. 22 can be seen here.
Endurance is my natural strength and I have always struggled to get my shorter race times to match up with the "equivalent" of their long distance counterparts (apparently this is true of only 10% of runners). But now I think that I am about equal in both speed and endurance, thanks to these 3-minute intervals.
Note: I highly recommend programming this workout into a Garmin using Garmin Training Center. The 3-minute segments are pre-loaded so that you hear a beep when it's time to start and stop the interval. Heart Rate, speed and distance for each interval is recorded without having to press any buttons. And trust me, 100% of the focus needs to be on keeping the effort level up- not fooling around with a timing device!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Altitude, Treadmill and Reindeer 5K
The only benefit of having stomach pains kill your marathon and walking the last four miles is that you recover faster than if you had expended all of your effort. As a result, I was able to run a record 24 miles in the week following the St. Jude Memphis marathon, and that number would have been higher if I hadn't taken a trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico. (By the way, I posted photos of my painful finish in the St. Jude Marathon blog entry.)
Altitude
The Wednesday following the St. Jude marathon, my husband Greg and I flew out to New Mexico to visit his parents. This was my first time in Albuquerque, so I wasn't sure what to expect. His parents live on the top of a large hill, so the only option is running up and down a two-mile long hill. I thought this would be a great hill workout, but the 7,200 ft, altitude made it nearly impossible for me to run. As soon as we started running, I had a burning sensation in my throat. I did feel abnormally winded for the pace we were going, but the limiting factor was this painful burning in my throat. We ran half a mile out, turned around for the other half and called it a day after just one mile.
The next day, Greg's mother drove us to a running trail that was at about 5,200 ft. elevation and that was more flat. This was a beautiful run. The mountains were amazing and it was exciting to be running somewhere new. As we got moving, I thought it was really easy. I had no more burning in my throat and our pace was decent. We knew that we would slow down when we turned around because it was a very long, steady decline on the way out. After two easy miles we turned around and things changed dramatically. Not only were we going up hill, but we were running directly into the wind. We hadn't realized how windy it was when the wind was at our backs. After one mile of this uphill into the wind I was exhausted. But we kept going and finished back where we started. 4 miles, 9:19 pace.
Treadmill
When we returned home, we were disappointed to find that it was going to be unseasonably cold and windy all week, with the "real feel" in the single digits in the mornings. I was fully prepared to spend all of December running outside, expecting it to be in the 20's in the mornings. But we've been having weather that's more typical of January and February so I finally broke down and decided to go to the gym.
Before I moved into my house back in April, I did most of my runs on the treadmill. There was nowhere safe to run in my area because there was construction everywhere. When we moved into our house, I didn't even get a gym membership, because there were plenty of safe places to run. At the end of November, we finally got gym memberships, but I was hoping to use it very sparingly. But for the past week, all of my runs have been on the treadmill.
I have two main objections to the treadmill. Yes, it's boring, but I can live with that. The first is the temperature of the gym and lack of fresh air. This gym is about 70 degrees and unlike my previous gym, the treadmills don't have their own personal fans. I overheat easily so my workouts have to be slower and I don't think they are as effective. The other objection is that there isn't any variation of terrain. I know I could use the incline, but that feels completely un-natural to me and I've had friends who have gotten injured that way. So I keep it flat. Staying at a constant pace on a constant flat surface really tires my legs, so I feel like I can't run for as long as I'm more prone to injury. I do occasionally throw fast strides in, or put the incline up for a minute or so, but that's still not enough.
Unfortunately, there is no end in site to the treadmill. All of the paths I run on are now covered in ice and snow and since I run in the morning when it's dark, that's not at all safe. I really hope the stuff melts and doesn't come back for awhile, but the forecast isn't on my side. So treadmill it is.
Lifetime Fitness Reindeer Run 5K
I signed up for a 5K race at the last minute. One of my friends just completed "Couch to 5K" and she chose this race as her 5K. The race was only two miles from my house, so I just couldn't turn down the opportunity. Another reason why I wanted to run this race was to get a non-treadmill speed workout in. The roads are dry and free of snow and ice, but my paths are not, so this was an opportunity to run on the road. Greg decided not to run this one because my company's holiday party was the night before and he didn't want to have to think about racing the next day. I'm not a big drinker and I didn't care too much about my time, so the holiday party wasn't a big factor for me.
I would have liked to PR at this race, but given that I haven't been doing much speed recently, and I
just ran Memphis two weeks prior, I thought that might be a long shot. It was 18 degrees out, but there was very little wind, which made it tolerable. I wore my CW-X tights, my red snowflake skirt, a lightweight hat, white singlet base layer and Pacers long-sleeve half zip. I held "hotties" hand warmers in my hands, and put gloves over my hands like mittens. Using gloves like regular gloves doesn't keep my fingers warm enough. I only warmed up for one mile and then headed to the start area.
There was no chip timing so I put myself closer to the start line than I might otherwise have. The race director said "go" without giving us a warning or count down or anything so it was an abrupt start. I ran the first mile in 7:09 and was feeling great. The next mile had a long gradual incline, so I slowed to 7:18. After that hill, I never quite recovered to where I was on the first mile, so the third mile ended up being a 7:16.
This race did not do a good job of enforcing the cones. There were actually cars driving right next to the runners and you had to watch out for them. This didn't affect me as much as it did some other people. I was chatting with the female winner afterwards and she said that towards the end of the race, people were yelling at her to move out of the way of the cars! There were also two hairpin turns during the last 0.1 of the race, which killed my final sprint. Both of them were icy, so you had to be really careful about it. I think I lost 2-3 seconds because of those. There was no finish line timing mat, so it was difficult to tell where the finish line really was, but I think I crossed it at 22:37 according to the clock. Official results have not been posted online yet (and yes, it's been over 24 hours since the race). There were no age group awards-- just awards for the top 5 men and top 5 women.
When I walked into the high school cafeteria where the food was, someone came up to me and asked me what place I finished in. I said I didn't know, and Greg said he counted 4-5 women ahead of me. She got my name and wrote down my address because I might have won an award. This struck me as extremely poor organization. Were they just hoping to catch all the winners in the food area afterwards to find out who placed when? And shouldn't they already have my address from my registration?
We stayed for a little while and learned that I didn't get 5th place, so I was probably 6th. Darn it-- just one away from an award! But I did pass about three women during the last mile, so I was happy about that. And no one passed me during the last mile. Definitely a strong race, a good speed workout, and a chance to see my friend in her first 5K. Afterwards, Greg and I went to the gym to run 11 miles on the treadmill. I was already dressed in my winter running gear, but there was just nowhere safe to run with all the paths being snowy. They never even plowed our neighborhoods. Most neighborhoods around us weren't plowed.
My training plan for the Shamrock Marathon officially starts tomorrow. I hope I won't be stuck on the treadmill for most of it!
Altitude
The Wednesday following the St. Jude marathon, my husband Greg and I flew out to New Mexico to visit his parents. This was my first time in Albuquerque, so I wasn't sure what to expect. His parents live on the top of a large hill, so the only option is running up and down a two-mile long hill. I thought this would be a great hill workout, but the 7,200 ft, altitude made it nearly impossible for me to run. As soon as we started running, I had a burning sensation in my throat. I did feel abnormally winded for the pace we were going, but the limiting factor was this painful burning in my throat. We ran half a mile out, turned around for the other half and called it a day after just one mile.
The next day, Greg's mother drove us to a running trail that was at about 5,200 ft. elevation and that was more flat. This was a beautiful run. The mountains were amazing and it was exciting to be running somewhere new. As we got moving, I thought it was really easy. I had no more burning in my throat and our pace was decent. We knew that we would slow down when we turned around because it was a very long, steady decline on the way out. After two easy miles we turned around and things changed dramatically. Not only were we going up hill, but we were running directly into the wind. We hadn't realized how windy it was when the wind was at our backs. After one mile of this uphill into the wind I was exhausted. But we kept going and finished back where we started. 4 miles, 9:19 pace.
Treadmill
When we returned home, we were disappointed to find that it was going to be unseasonably cold and windy all week, with the "real feel" in the single digits in the mornings. I was fully prepared to spend all of December running outside, expecting it to be in the 20's in the mornings. But we've been having weather that's more typical of January and February so I finally broke down and decided to go to the gym.
Before I moved into my house back in April, I did most of my runs on the treadmill. There was nowhere safe to run in my area because there was construction everywhere. When we moved into our house, I didn't even get a gym membership, because there were plenty of safe places to run. At the end of November, we finally got gym memberships, but I was hoping to use it very sparingly. But for the past week, all of my runs have been on the treadmill.
I have two main objections to the treadmill. Yes, it's boring, but I can live with that. The first is the temperature of the gym and lack of fresh air. This gym is about 70 degrees and unlike my previous gym, the treadmills don't have their own personal fans. I overheat easily so my workouts have to be slower and I don't think they are as effective. The other objection is that there isn't any variation of terrain. I know I could use the incline, but that feels completely un-natural to me and I've had friends who have gotten injured that way. So I keep it flat. Staying at a constant pace on a constant flat surface really tires my legs, so I feel like I can't run for as long as I'm more prone to injury. I do occasionally throw fast strides in, or put the incline up for a minute or so, but that's still not enough.
Unfortunately, there is no end in site to the treadmill. All of the paths I run on are now covered in ice and snow and since I run in the morning when it's dark, that's not at all safe. I really hope the stuff melts and doesn't come back for awhile, but the forecast isn't on my side. So treadmill it is.
Lifetime Fitness Reindeer Run 5K
I signed up for a 5K race at the last minute. One of my friends just completed "Couch to 5K" and she chose this race as her 5K. The race was only two miles from my house, so I just couldn't turn down the opportunity. Another reason why I wanted to run this race was to get a non-treadmill speed workout in. The roads are dry and free of snow and ice, but my paths are not, so this was an opportunity to run on the road. Greg decided not to run this one because my company's holiday party was the night before and he didn't want to have to think about racing the next day. I'm not a big drinker and I didn't care too much about my time, so the holiday party wasn't a big factor for me.
I would have liked to PR at this race, but given that I haven't been doing much speed recently, and I
There was no chip timing so I put myself closer to the start line than I might otherwise have. The race director said "go" without giving us a warning or count down or anything so it was an abrupt start. I ran the first mile in 7:09 and was feeling great. The next mile had a long gradual incline, so I slowed to 7:18. After that hill, I never quite recovered to where I was on the first mile, so the third mile ended up being a 7:16.
This race did not do a good job of enforcing the cones. There were actually cars driving right next to the runners and you had to watch out for them. This didn't affect me as much as it did some other people. I was chatting with the female winner afterwards and she said that towards the end of the race, people were yelling at her to move out of the way of the cars! There were also two hairpin turns during the last 0.1 of the race, which killed my final sprint. Both of them were icy, so you had to be really careful about it. I think I lost 2-3 seconds because of those. There was no finish line timing mat, so it was difficult to tell where the finish line really was, but I think I crossed it at 22:37 according to the clock. Official results have not been posted online yet (and yes, it's been over 24 hours since the race). There were no age group awards-- just awards for the top 5 men and top 5 women.
When I walked into the high school cafeteria where the food was, someone came up to me and asked me what place I finished in. I said I didn't know, and Greg said he counted 4-5 women ahead of me. She got my name and wrote down my address because I might have won an award. This struck me as extremely poor organization. Were they just hoping to catch all the winners in the food area afterwards to find out who placed when? And shouldn't they already have my address from my registration?
We stayed for a little while and learned that I didn't get 5th place, so I was probably 6th. Darn it-- just one away from an award! But I did pass about three women during the last mile, so I was happy about that. And no one passed me during the last mile. Definitely a strong race, a good speed workout, and a chance to see my friend in her first 5K. Afterwards, Greg and I went to the gym to run 11 miles on the treadmill. I was already dressed in my winter running gear, but there was just nowhere safe to run with all the paths being snowy. They never even plowed our neighborhoods. Most neighborhoods around us weren't plowed.
My training plan for the Shamrock Marathon officially starts tomorrow. I hope I won't be stuck on the treadmill for most of it!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
An Uphill Battle for an Important Cause
I ran the St. Jude Memphis marathon yesterday morning. The company that I work for is a gold sponsor of the race because St. Jude is our charity beneficiary. As the director of marketing, I was responsible for coordinating our sponsorship and our involvement in the race. The company is relatively small, so it was quite a "high" to see our logo on all the shirts and on the huge LED scoreboard in Autozone park at the finish line.
Tour of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
On Friday morning, my husband Greg and I got a private tour of St. Jude Children's hospital. This came as part of our sponsorship. We expected the tour to be depressing, but it was actually anything but. The hospital doesn't look, feel or smell like a hospital. The focus is on the quality of life for the children. They even continue to go to school while in the hospital. There is bright artwork all over the walls and ceilings and our tour guide told us how the hospital came to be. It's really a fascinating story of how Danny Thomas, a man who had almost no money, prayed to St. Jude (the St. of lost causes) and immediately things started to turn around for him. His vision for St. Jude would be a world-class facility to treat childhood diseases that would be funded strictly by donation. The operating costs of the hospital are $1.6 million per day, and that's all achieved through donations. Of course, they could choose to sell their research and become for-profit at anytime, but if they did that, then the research wouldn't be freely disseminated and there would be special interest groups controlling things. Greg and I were both so inspired by the hospital and the generosity of all the people and organizations who contribute money to make it all possible.
The Expo
Greg and I manned my company's booth on Friday and we got very little traffic. Even though there was no shortage of runners at the expo, no one was really interested in what our technology company did. Which is okay-- we were mainly there for awareness and to show support of St. Jude. The CEO of my company ran the half marathon with two of his sons, age 16 and 12. They all did very well, considering they didn't really train for the race. (Actually, the 12-year-old trained and he ran a 2:11:02).
Race Strategy & Goal
This was not a target race for me. In fact, I wasn't even sure if I would do the full marathon based on how torn up I felt after NYC just four weeks prior. But I felt strong enough to run the full, so I decided to go for it. I didn't have a goal in mind, but I felt like I was a shoe-in for a PR, given my recent half marathon and 10-mile times. Also, given the fact that I ran a 3:51 nearly three years ago, and I was in much better shape now, 3500 training miles later. I decided that I was not going to try and BQ, but go out at a pace of 8:40 (just 9 seconds per mile faster than my PR) and then speed up at the halfway point if I felt good. I figured I would end up with something around 3:45. I ran the half marathon last year, and I reviewed my half marathon splits, which were based on feel and the elevation profile. Miles 1-13 of the full marathon are the same as the half marathon so I knew what I was in for.
The Start
Unlike New York, where we had to wake up over five hours prior to race start, we only had four blocks to walk to the start line. We left the hotel at around 7:15 and ended up walking there with my company's CEO and his kids. The 5K race started at 7:15, so we were able to see our CFO and his wife participate in the walk.
The weather was 54 and overcast. I was really happy about the overcast, but 54 was about 10 degrees higher than I would have liked. Last year, it was 27 degrees at the start line and I was really happy about that. I thought that as long as the sun didn't come out, the weather shouldn't hold me back too much.
I also had to pee. I've only stopped to pee at one marathon out of the 11 I had done, but there was no avoiding it this time. Luckily, there were plenty of porta potties on the course so I didn't have to wait too long. Having to stop really killed my time for that mile and it made me realize that I was tired. This is why I hate stopping during marathons (except for the controlled waterstop walks). I never realize how tired I am feeling until I stop, and then it's so hard to get going again. But I did get going again, and I was still hopeful that I could gain back some time during the last 10K with the downhills.
Miles 20-Finish
Mile 20 was a nice downhill and I started cruising again. Suddenly everything felt good and I thought I could still PR, despite the bathroom break the slowness of miles 14-19. But I began to feel nauseated all of a sudden, and my stomach really hurt. I've been fortunate to never have an upset stomach during a race before. It happens to me a lot during long training runs, but never during races. So, I guess it was my day to finally join the ranks of the many runners who've had stomach issues during an actual race. I had to go to the bathroom really bad, and I started looking for places along the side of the road I could go. I really just didn't think I could wait for a porta-potty or a restaurant of some sort.
We were running through a residential area, and I asked someone standing outside of a house if he lived there. He said no and I said I really needed a bathroom ASAP. He told me that there were some porta potties up to the left. It hurt so much to run, but I needed to get to those porta potties, or I was just going to explode. Finally I got inside a porta potty and had a diarrhea attack. Ugh. It felt really good to finally go to the bathroom, but I realized how bad the situation had gotten. This was at mile marker 22.
The last four miles were just awful. Even though I had gone to the bathroom, the pain moved to the right side of my belly button and felt like a cramp. Every time I ran it was a sharp pain so I had to walk. It actually didn't hurt when I walked, but the moment I started running, it would cramp up. And as I expected, miles 20-26 were all downhill. It wasn't rolling hills like miles 10-12, this was just nice consistent downhill to makes up for 14-19. It was so frustrating. My legs felt good and I had a lot of energy. I didn't feel at all like I had hit "the wall" and yet my stomach hurt so badly when I ran. Other runners and cheerers told me "I could do it" and that's what you hear when you bonk. So even though I ran a smart race, and even though I wasn't bonking, I still had that embarrassing "I am walking the last four miles of this marathon" experience.
I really wanted to drop out. But I didn't drop out because I was doing this for St. Jude children. And I was also representing my company, a gold sponsor of the race. It would have been bad PR and I think I would have regretted it. The people I work with don't care how fast I finish, they just care that I do finish. Even a 5-hour marathon would have been better than stopping. If I had been doing this race just for myself, then I probably would have dropped out. But I was strong for my company and for St. Jude. Seeing the hospital and understanding the cause really helped power me through.
I was able to run for about 20-30 seconds at a time, but then the pain would get really bad. When I got to the last mile, I realized that physically holding the side of my stomach helped to some extent, so I was able to run for a minute at a time. Slight improvement.
In all 12 marathons I've done, I've never walked during that last 0.2. No matter how badly I felt, I have always run that final 0.2. But not in this case. I was in so much pain! But as soon as I entered the stadium and I knew that my co-workers and husband would be cheering, I held onto my stomach and ran through the finish line.
I finished in 4:14:38, which is my 3rd slowest out of 12 marathons.
I placed 57 of 188 in my age group, which is still respectable.
As I finished, the medical people swarmed around me, as they had seen me holding my stomach, I assured them I was okay. I felt nauseated and tired, but I knew I would be fine once I sat down for awhile. I made my way up to the suite that my company had in the stadium where everyone was waiting for me (I was the only one doing the full marathon). They were all very supportive and understanding. I was so happy I finished and didn't bail out.
Reflections
Even though I am in the best shape I've ever been in (well, maybe I was in better shape in the weeks leading up to NYC) I ran my third slowest marathon ever. I went into this race with no expectations and I ran it conservatively, based on feel, and I still had a bad experience. I wonder when things are finally going to line up for me in and when I'll be able to run a marathon that truly reflects all the training I've been doing. The last time I ran a good marathon was in March 2008-- nearly three years ago. I only trained for 7 weeks, and I averaged about 35-40 MPW. For over two years now, I've been consistently running in the 40's and 50's, and my race times at other distances have dropped dramatically. Half marathon is down from 1:50 to 1:41. The 5K is down from 23:30 to 22:21.
After my experience with Bob Potts last may, I changed my perspective and I decided I wasn't going to use a BQ as a motivator. I was obsessing over it and it wasn't healthy. Since then, I've just wanted to run strong and put in good training miles. I feel wonderful about everything I've accomplished over the past two years, both in terms of my actual race times, and in terms of where I am mentally. I am much more relaxed about it now, although still as focused on training and racing to the best of my ability. So, I'm not really upset about this experience from yesterday. I'm not disheartened like I was after Bob Potts in May. I'm just wondering when I get to run a marathon when I say "Wow- I rocked it!" instead of "Oh, that was miserable." I remember how it feels to run a strong marathon. My first six were awesome. All of them PRs. The next six were plagued by injury, illness or bad weather.
I am just going to continue training and doing what I love to do-- run. My legs don't feel like I ran a marathon yesterday, because I didn't run a marathon. I walked most of the last four miles. I'm hoping to be back running by Tuesday.
If I can offer one piece of advice to marathon runners, it's that you need to love the training for the sake of the training and for the sake of it making you a stronger person. Your race might not reflect your hard work and dedication, but the important thing is that you know you've made yourself stronger.
Tour of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
On Friday morning, my husband Greg and I got a private tour of St. Jude Children's hospital. This came as part of our sponsorship. We expected the tour to be depressing, but it was actually anything but. The hospital doesn't look, feel or smell like a hospital. The focus is on the quality of life for the children. They even continue to go to school while in the hospital. There is bright artwork all over the walls and ceilings and our tour guide told us how the hospital came to be. It's really a fascinating story of how Danny Thomas, a man who had almost no money, prayed to St. Jude (the St. of lost causes) and immediately things started to turn around for him. His vision for St. Jude would be a world-class facility to treat childhood diseases that would be funded strictly by donation. The operating costs of the hospital are $1.6 million per day, and that's all achieved through donations. Of course, they could choose to sell their research and become for-profit at anytime, but if they did that, then the research wouldn't be freely disseminated and there would be special interest groups controlling things. Greg and I were both so inspired by the hospital and the generosity of all the people and organizations who contribute money to make it all possible.
The Expo
Greg and I manned my company's booth on Friday and we got very little traffic. Even though there was no shortage of runners at the expo, no one was really interested in what our technology company did. Which is okay-- we were mainly there for awareness and to show support of St. Jude. The CEO of my company ran the half marathon with two of his sons, age 16 and 12. They all did very well, considering they didn't really train for the race. (Actually, the 12-year-old trained and he ran a 2:11:02).
Race Strategy & Goal
This was not a target race for me. In fact, I wasn't even sure if I would do the full marathon based on how torn up I felt after NYC just four weeks prior. But I felt strong enough to run the full, so I decided to go for it. I didn't have a goal in mind, but I felt like I was a shoe-in for a PR, given my recent half marathon and 10-mile times. Also, given the fact that I ran a 3:51 nearly three years ago, and I was in much better shape now, 3500 training miles later. I decided that I was not going to try and BQ, but go out at a pace of 8:40 (just 9 seconds per mile faster than my PR) and then speed up at the halfway point if I felt good. I figured I would end up with something around 3:45. I ran the half marathon last year, and I reviewed my half marathon splits, which were based on feel and the elevation profile. Miles 1-13 of the full marathon are the same as the half marathon so I knew what I was in for.
The Start
Unlike New York, where we had to wake up over five hours prior to race start, we only had four blocks to walk to the start line. We left the hotel at around 7:15 and ended up walking there with my company's CEO and his kids. The 5K race started at 7:15, so we were able to see our CFO and his wife participate in the walk.
The weather was 54 and overcast. I was really happy about the overcast, but 54 was about 10 degrees higher than I would have liked. Last year, it was 27 degrees at the start line and I was really happy about that. I thought that as long as the sun didn't come out, the weather shouldn't hold me back too much.
This race uses a self-corralling system. I think it works a lot better than the assigned corrals. Instead of assigning you a corral based on a predicted time from when you registered, runners could choose where to line up. This was also a wave start, and corrals were released every two minutes. Greg and I lined up in coral 4, which included the 3:40 and 3:45 pacers. He was going for a faster pace, but we lined up at the front of the corral so that he wouldn't have to weave through people. Very well organized, in my opinion.
Miles 1-7
These miles were relatively crowded, given that both the half and the full marathoners were on the same course. My strategy was to walk through the water stations, Galloway-style, so as to preserve my legs. I did this in my marathon back in March of 2008, so I figured it would work again. I really didn't want to bonk and I wanted to play it conservatively. For these miles I was running in the 8:30-8:45 range, depending on the hilliness. I hit the 10K at 53:37, which is an 8:39 pace. There seemed to be an equal amount of uphill and downhill, and I ran based on effort. It felt very easy, but I kept telling myself that it should feel really easy.
These miles were relatively crowded, given that both the half and the full marathoners were on the same course. My strategy was to walk through the water stations, Galloway-style, so as to preserve my legs. I did this in my marathon back in March of 2008, so I figured it would work again. I really didn't want to bonk and I wanted to play it conservatively. For these miles I was running in the 8:30-8:45 range, depending on the hilliness. I hit the 10K at 53:37, which is an 8:39 pace. There seemed to be an equal amount of uphill and downhill, and I ran based on effort. It felt very easy, but I kept telling myself that it should feel really easy.
Miles 8-13
I remembered miles 8-10 being the toughest part of the course last year, so I slowed up quite a bit-- to about 8:55. This portion was run through the woods and it's where Greg lost me last year in the half. The 3:45 pace group got way ahead of me, but I was okay with this. These miles were all uphill and I did not want to overdo it early in the race. I also remembered that the elevation profile showed miles 11-13 being downhill, but this wasn't the case. It was a net downhill, but those last few miles are all long rolling hills. It wasn't as if I was "out of the woods" when I got out of the woods. I didn't make up any time during miles 11 and 12, because they were hilly. Mile 13, on the other hand, was all downhill. I crossed the halfway mark in 1:54:30, which is a pace of 8:45. During all of my previous BQ attempt bonks, I had reached the halfway point in 1:50 or faster. So I knew I had set myself up for a smart race.
Miles 14-19
Greg finished the half marathon in 1:42:47 (a 5-second PR). He came to watch me just after I crossed the halfway point. It was really a mental boost to have him cheering for me. He also got everyone around him calling out my name.
According to the elevation profile, miles 14-20 were uphill. I figured this was a net uphill and that there would be downhills as well. I was wrong. It was just a steady climb, all the way to mile 20. I even said to someone running next to me: "Is this entire race uphill?" This was very disheartening to me because I was hoping that after a conservative first half, I'd be able to speed up during the second half, but I was still running in the 8:50-8:55 range on these hills. And by mile 18, I felt like I was running out of gas.
I had walked through almost every water station, pouring water all over my head (I felt hot, and the sun did start to peak through the clouds) and I knew I was well hydrated. I had taken my honey gels at the appropriate time, but by mile 18, I just felt like I couldn't handle the constant uphill nature of the race.
Greg finished the half marathon in 1:42:47 (a 5-second PR). He came to watch me just after I crossed the halfway point. It was really a mental boost to have him cheering for me. He also got everyone around him calling out my name.
According to the elevation profile, miles 14-20 were uphill. I figured this was a net uphill and that there would be downhills as well. I was wrong. It was just a steady climb, all the way to mile 20. I even said to someone running next to me: "Is this entire race uphill?" This was very disheartening to me because I was hoping that after a conservative first half, I'd be able to speed up during the second half, but I was still running in the 8:50-8:55 range on these hills. And by mile 18, I felt like I was running out of gas.
I had walked through almost every water station, pouring water all over my head (I felt hot, and the sun did start to peak through the clouds) and I knew I was well hydrated. I had taken my honey gels at the appropriate time, but by mile 18, I just felt like I couldn't handle the constant uphill nature of the race.
I also had to pee. I've only stopped to pee at one marathon out of the 11 I had done, but there was no avoiding it this time. Luckily, there were plenty of porta potties on the course so I didn't have to wait too long. Having to stop really killed my time for that mile and it made me realize that I was tired. This is why I hate stopping during marathons (except for the controlled waterstop walks). I never realize how tired I am feeling until I stop, and then it's so hard to get going again. But I did get going again, and I was still hopeful that I could gain back some time during the last 10K with the downhills.
Miles 20-Finish
Mile 20 was a nice downhill and I started cruising again. Suddenly everything felt good and I thought I could still PR, despite the bathroom break the slowness of miles 14-19. But I began to feel nauseated all of a sudden, and my stomach really hurt. I've been fortunate to never have an upset stomach during a race before. It happens to me a lot during long training runs, but never during races. So, I guess it was my day to finally join the ranks of the many runners who've had stomach issues during an actual race. I had to go to the bathroom really bad, and I started looking for places along the side of the road I could go. I really just didn't think I could wait for a porta-potty or a restaurant of some sort.
We were running through a residential area, and I asked someone standing outside of a house if he lived there. He said no and I said I really needed a bathroom ASAP. He told me that there were some porta potties up to the left. It hurt so much to run, but I needed to get to those porta potties, or I was just going to explode. Finally I got inside a porta potty and had a diarrhea attack. Ugh. It felt really good to finally go to the bathroom, but I realized how bad the situation had gotten. This was at mile marker 22.
The last four miles were just awful. Even though I had gone to the bathroom, the pain moved to the right side of my belly button and felt like a cramp. Every time I ran it was a sharp pain so I had to walk. It actually didn't hurt when I walked, but the moment I started running, it would cramp up. And as I expected, miles 20-26 were all downhill. It wasn't rolling hills like miles 10-12, this was just nice consistent downhill to makes up for 14-19. It was so frustrating. My legs felt good and I had a lot of energy. I didn't feel at all like I had hit "the wall" and yet my stomach hurt so badly when I ran. Other runners and cheerers told me "I could do it" and that's what you hear when you bonk. So even though I ran a smart race, and even though I wasn't bonking, I still had that embarrassing "I am walking the last four miles of this marathon" experience.
I really wanted to drop out. But I didn't drop out because I was doing this for St. Jude children. And I was also representing my company, a gold sponsor of the race. It would have been bad PR and I think I would have regretted it. The people I work with don't care how fast I finish, they just care that I do finish. Even a 5-hour marathon would have been better than stopping. If I had been doing this race just for myself, then I probably would have dropped out. But I was strong for my company and for St. Jude. Seeing the hospital and understanding the cause really helped power me through.
I was able to run for about 20-30 seconds at a time, but then the pain would get really bad. When I got to the last mile, I realized that physically holding the side of my stomach helped to some extent, so I was able to run for a minute at a time. Slight improvement.
In all 12 marathons I've done, I've never walked during that last 0.2. No matter how badly I felt, I have always run that final 0.2. But not in this case. I was in so much pain! But as soon as I entered the stadium and I knew that my co-workers and husband would be cheering, I held onto my stomach and ran through the finish line.
I finished in 4:14:38, which is my 3rd slowest out of 12 marathons.
I placed 57 of 188 in my age group, which is still respectable.
As I finished, the medical people swarmed around me, as they had seen me holding my stomach, I assured them I was okay. I felt nauseated and tired, but I knew I would be fine once I sat down for awhile. I made my way up to the suite that my company had in the stadium where everyone was waiting for me (I was the only one doing the full marathon). They were all very supportive and understanding. I was so happy I finished and didn't bail out.
Reflections
Even though I am in the best shape I've ever been in (well, maybe I was in better shape in the weeks leading up to NYC) I ran my third slowest marathon ever. I went into this race with no expectations and I ran it conservatively, based on feel, and I still had a bad experience. I wonder when things are finally going to line up for me in and when I'll be able to run a marathon that truly reflects all the training I've been doing. The last time I ran a good marathon was in March 2008-- nearly three years ago. I only trained for 7 weeks, and I averaged about 35-40 MPW. For over two years now, I've been consistently running in the 40's and 50's, and my race times at other distances have dropped dramatically. Half marathon is down from 1:50 to 1:41. The 5K is down from 23:30 to 22:21.
After my experience with Bob Potts last may, I changed my perspective and I decided I wasn't going to use a BQ as a motivator. I was obsessing over it and it wasn't healthy. Since then, I've just wanted to run strong and put in good training miles. I feel wonderful about everything I've accomplished over the past two years, both in terms of my actual race times, and in terms of where I am mentally. I am much more relaxed about it now, although still as focused on training and racing to the best of my ability. So, I'm not really upset about this experience from yesterday. I'm not disheartened like I was after Bob Potts in May. I'm just wondering when I get to run a marathon when I say "Wow- I rocked it!" instead of "Oh, that was miserable." I remember how it feels to run a strong marathon. My first six were awesome. All of them PRs. The next six were plagued by injury, illness or bad weather.
I am just going to continue training and doing what I love to do-- run. My legs don't feel like I ran a marathon yesterday, because I didn't run a marathon. I walked most of the last four miles. I'm hoping to be back running by Tuesday.
If I can offer one piece of advice to marathon runners, it's that you need to love the training for the sake of the training and for the sake of it making you a stronger person. Your race might not reflect your hard work and dedication, but the important thing is that you know you've made yourself stronger.
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