Allstate 13.1 Half Marathon

I'm a few months late getting around to this-that's what going so long without racing gets me.  Anywho, with the Dallas Marathon marked in my calendar in bright red the rest of my fall calendar was about getting myself to the start line as prepared as possible.  With that in mind I looked for a local half marathon to serve as a tune-up race to help me figure out a realistic pace for the actual marathon.  The Allstate race fit the bill and had the bonus of covering some of the same territory that Dallas would so I thought it would be a good preview.

While this was my 8th half marathon it was different in 2 ways: it was no longer tied for my longest run ever and, because it was a training run during marathon season, I wasn't set up to peak for it at all.  I had run an 18 mile run the previous Saturday and a 5 miler as recently as the Thursday before.  And unfortunately this was about the point in my fall training that I learned an uncomfortable truth: the lightweight running shoes I wear for most races and love for shorter distances were ill-suited to the long runs I was doing this fall and the cumulative mileage of the heavier weeks.  During the previous weekend's 18 miler I had begun to feel extensor tendonitis in my left foot/ankle and plantar fasciitis in my right.  I hoped some KT tape on the sore spots would get me through the race okay, and I knew they weren't true "injuries" I was risking aggravating, but I was mindful that this race wasn't the end goal and didn't want to overdo it and go into December hurting.

With all of that in mind I didn't shoot for a PR but looked for a finish around 1:55.  If I could make that and feel good doing it I'd feel confident that a sub-4:00 marathon finish was a realistic possibility.  If not, I'd know to readjust my expectations.

The first few miles felt okay but by about mile 5 the plantar fasciitis was bothering me a little and the tape was coming a little loose (which, incidentally, is how I discovered that KT tape loses its stickiness after a year) so I had to stop and pull it off.  The next few miles were okay but around mile 8 the top of my left foot where it meets my ankle began to feel really sore and swollen.  I stopped to check and there was no swelling and my laces weren't particularly tight though it felt like they were.  I pushed through then got a painful stitch in my side that persisted on and off for the last few miles.  I wasn't particularly concerned about my time so I walked for a stretch to try to clear the stitch.  It sort of worked.  Oh, and my tummy and I weren't agreeing too well with each other either as nutrition just wasn't sitting well.

All that to say, I finished in a little under 2 hours but felt pretty rough for much of the race.  But it served a good purpose as it gave me some good information for the marathon.  I knew I couldn't realistically expect to hold my originally planned pace so I adjusted my goal range to 4:15-4:30 (which still proved a bit optimistic, but that's another post).  I also realized I needed new shoes and fortunately I was still far enough out from race day to have time to get new kicks and break them in.  And I learned that I needed a few tweaks to my pre and during-race nutrition.  

So while it won't go down as one of my best or favorite races I'm glad I did it.  I'm certain it helped me get to December and the start line of my marathon in better shape and better prepared than I'd have been otherwise, so while the feedback was more constructive than reassuring it served its purpose.  Assuming I'm marathon training again next fall I'll probably look to do it again as a good training race.

I owe my post-marathon write-up and I won't wait as long to do that one.  I've got a lot of analysis that will probably be really boring to anyone else (sorry) but helpful to me when I training for my next one.  And as of today, I also owe a 5k writeup too.  More to come!

Getting back out there

So my last post on this blog was last August.  At the time I was early in my 2nd trimester of pregnancy and becoming increasingly limited in my physical activities.  This February I welcomed a healthy, beautiful baby girl (and in contrast to my son's 37-hour birth marathon, her birth was more of a 10k clocking in at only about 6 hours).  

A few weeks later I used the adapter to attach my daughter's carseat to my BOB stroller and we started doing short, slow runs around the neighborhood.  For the first few months I took it easy and just focused on getting out there and feeling good.  I was just glad to be out and moving again, even if I was slow.

At 10 weeks postpartum I did my first race since summer 2012, a 5k on the trail right by my house.  Going into it I really didn't know what to expect but set a goal of a sub-30 minute finish...and achieved it with almost a full minute to spare.  Much to my surprise, this was good for 3rd in my age group.  I know that says more about the field than it does about me but, well, I bet none of the people I beat had just had a baby 10 weeks earlier ;)

I felt fine during the race itself but was really sore for days after.  Sore after a 3 mile run...it was humbling for the gal who not so long ago was knocking out a half-marathon every few weeks.

On the first day of registration I signed myself up for the Dallas Marathon this December.  2 years ago when I signed up for the half marathon distance of its predecessor, the Dallas White Rock Marathon, I remember feeling a surge of excitement when I hit the "submit" button and made it real.  At the time I had never run more than 5 miles but I had confidence I could train for 13.1.  But this year, while my newborn slept at the other end of the house, I signed up for the full 26.2 even though it's fully twice as long as my furthest run to date.  Not only that, I predicted a sub-4:14 finish and am hoping to be in position for a sub-4:00 finish.

My official marathon training plan doesn't start till early August but I knew that I needed some base miles before I would be ready to train 4-5 days a week.  So since late June I've been doing a "spring training" plan to bridge that gap.  Tuesdays-Thursdays I run 2-3 miles/day and do a weekend "long" run of 6 miles or less.  It's been tough sledding in the Texas heat but I keep reminding myself that every mile logged in the heat of summer counts extra when the fall rolls around.  The marathon may only be 26.2 miles but those are just the last ones.  There are hundreds of training miles to bank along the way and every run now brings me a little closer to that finish line.

Maybe it's just the "cold front" that has brought 70 degree temps this week but this has been the first week post-baby that I have felt like I was running strong.  Not that I'm fast, but I feel like my legs are back and my lungs are getting there.  I ran 4 mornings in a row and felt great doing it.  I've still got a lot of work to do but I have 4 1/2 months to do it.  I have full confidence that this December I will become a marathoner!