Rock N' Roll Dallas Half

Sometimes you train to peak for a race and go into the day expecting a strong finish. Sometimes it sneaks up on you. This was one of those times.

When last I posted I had just run my first pain-free miles since my injury. As it turned out, those were just the first of many pain-free miles for me. Over the next month I ran 3-4 times a week as far as 11 miles and my ankle felt great all the way. I looked ahead to March 23rd's Rock N' Roll half marathon with confidence.

When I signed up for RNR last fall I had ambitions of training and attempting a PR. But on only 4 weeks of post-injury training I was just happy to be running at all and didn't go in with a firm time goal. I was loosely targeting a 2:10 finish but figured I'd just play it by ear and slow down as needed.

At 5AM I bounded out of bed, dressed, ate, and headed out the door. I had bought cheap start-line sweats to wear for the Dallas Marathon but with that getting canceled I still had them. Sunday morning was on the cool side so I layered the sweats and a long sleeve tee over my race gear. I brought my headband and some cheap gloves too just in case. And at the last minute I decided to throw some track pants and tee shirt into my gear bag for postrace wear.

As I drove to the parking lot I tried to get myself into racing mindset. Without a specific time goal to shoot for I felt a little unmoored. The worst race experience I ever had was a half a few years ago when I didn't have any mental focus, it was hot, and I spent the whole race thinking how hot it was and "are we there yet?" All those Saturday morning long runs last fall training for the marathon broke me of that, and a 2 hourish run doesn't feel long anymore, but even so, I wanted to find my focus. I heard a song that reminded me of my recently departed cat Todd and found myself tearing up in the car. I realized this race was just the emotional release I needed right now, and felt better immediately.

RNR is a point to point course so you have to park at the finish line at Fair Park and take a shuttle to the start line downtown. That sounds like it would be a real pain but RNR is such a well-organized race that they had tons of school buses waiting and ready to pick us up. They also had arranged for the convention center to be open for us before the race so we didn't have to wait out in the cold. This is my second time to run RNR Dallas and both times I've been impressed at how well they handle the details.

The race started at 8am and we were off. I didn't pay attention to my watch much for the first 10k but managed to keep a good pace. After I hit the halfway point I was pleasantly surprised to realize that I was on pace to finish under 2:05 if I could maintain my pace. About 8 miles in I decided to push the tempo. Around mile 10 I realized that I had an outside chance at a sub-2:00 finish if I could speed up a little. It was an outside chance but I was determined to give it my best shot.

As I entered the gates of Fair Park I looked at my watch. I had about 6 minutes to go around .7 miles, give or take. I knew my Garmin was a little off the mile markers so I wasn't sure quite how far I had left. This stage of the race looked a lot like the first mile with some people settled into a steady pace and others weaving through the traffic as fast as possible. I was with the weavers. Later I realized I had passed by the Dallas White Rock finish line that started it all for me in December 2011 when I first became a half marathoner. But at that moment, I was focused on the present race.

I've got a few poems memorized that I'll pull out for inspiration/distraction during races, including Rudyard Kipling's If and Invictus by William Ernest Henley. Somewhere around "fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run" I neared the finish chute and looked down. 1:59 and change. I could still make it but it was going to be close. 

With a final burst of speed I pushed ahead and over the finish line. 1:59:38. I made it, and with a negative split! It was actually a few seconds faster than the Allstate 13.1 I ran last October and I felt better throughout the race despite the minimal training.

It must have been cold and windy during the race itself but I didn't really notice. Afterward though, I noticed! When I did this race 2 years ago it was warm that day so they provided salt packets at one of the water stops. This time they had mylar space blankets at the finish line. I was glad to have those track pants in my gear bag but it was still a long cold walk back to my car. I knew an ice bath would be the best thing for my sore muscles but after that I wasn't about to spend one more minute cold that day so I went home and took a nice hot shower. And spent the next few days gimping around ;)

It wasn't a PR or even close but it'll go down as an effort I'm proud of. My plan all along was for that to be my last long race until fall, so I'll shift focus now to shorter distances, speedwork, and training for an International distance triathlon this summer. I'm also going to work in more strength training so I head into marathon training this fall stronger and in better shape, and hopefully avoid the injury bug. RNR was a fun way to cap off my fall/winter season and it's a race I plan to do again next year.

Bold in the Cold 15k and...an unplanned break

In early January I ran the Bold in the Cold 15k at Lake Grapevine. The good news is that I felt good through the race and bested my 2012 time by a few minutes and thus earned a PR. The bad news is that I haven't done much running since.

Toward the end of the race my right ankle was bugging me a little. I was only mildly concerned though, until the pain persisted when I tried to run later that week. After that I started a pattern of taking a few weeks off, trying to run again, and feeling pain after a mile or two. And missing races. First, the Texas Half early in February. Then, last Sunday, the Cowtown Marathon. For those of you keeping score at home that's 3 races this winter I've signed up for and not gotten to do (Dallas Marathon was the other). Just not my year I guess. To make things worse I had a chronic headache for about 3 weeks that was strongest first thing in the morning so even going to the gym to exercise on the Stairmaster was out.

Last week I decided to give acupuncture a try and after a first treatment, I ran a pain-free 3 miles pushing Rebecca in the stroller last weekend. This weekend I'm going to try for 5-6 miles and see how it feels. I've still got a sliver of hope for the Rock and Roll Half in a month so the spring's not a total loss. We'll see...pretty disappointing to lose my 1st major marathon to weather then lose a few more months to injury, all in my first fall/winter back post-baby. Regardless of how spring plays out I plan to shift to strength training for a few months in late spring/summer to come into marathon training in August in better shape.

My first marathon!

As I've discussed before, all of my summer and fall training was to get me ready for the Dallas Marathon on December 8.  Well, the bad news is that my 2013 marathon goal didn't come to fruition the way I planned.  The good news is that I did still manage to accomplish it but I had to get a little creative to do it.

The Thursday night before the race several inches of freezing rain and sleet fell across the Metroplex.  The plummeting temperatures turned the rain and sleet into ice and the area into a giant ice rink.  With the race scheduled for Sunday morning and temps forecasted to stay well below freezing into the next week, the race organizers made the (correct) decision on Friday afternoon to cancel the Marathon.

I had "only" been training for 18 weeks but I had been planning for that race for well over a year.  In fact, pretty much as soon as I found out in May 2012 that I was pregnant and thus, not going to be racing that winter, I was determined that the 2013 Dallas Marathon would be my first marathon.  During just about every training run I thought about how it would feel to see that mile 26 signpost, send the triumphant "here I come!" text to let Kevin know to expect me, to see my family at the finish line and hear the excitement in Daniel's voice as he cheered for me.  I'm happy to do my training runs by myself but races are a fun chance to enjoy running with thousands of other people, feel the adrenaline and nervousness of thousands of people waiting for the start gun to go off, enjoy being cheered on by thousands of strangers and read the funny and inspiring signs.  Now none of that was going to happen.

I was extremely disappointed but determined to put all that training to use and earn my first marathon medal in 2013, the year my daughter was born.  So I took to the internet to see what other races might be a possibility and found a small marathon happening in Dallas the next weekend called Whine Not Another Marathon.  With a 50-runner limit it wasn't the big "event race" I wanted, and an 8-loop course around Bachmann Lake wasn't the same as a race through all the scenic parts of Dallas, but it was 26.2 miles long.

After a second taper week, race morning dawned early and I quickly dressed, got ready, and headed to the race site.  It was cold and very windy that morning and I got there early enough to park right next to the start line (one benefit of it being a small race) so I waited in my car till it was time to line up.  Another benefit of it being a small loop course was that I didn't have to worry too much about what to wear  I knew it would be easy to shed or add layers as I warmed up or got colder.  I wore shorts and a tech tee (maroon, "Run Aggieland"), calf sleeves and a cap as my base layer and started out with a pullover, gloves, and ear warmer headband.

The course was 8 loops around the lake plus a short out and back at the end.  Each loop took us past the start line, the refreshment table, and the porta-potties and a handful of volunteers.  Other than those features it was basically a training run with a few other people around.

Lap one went easily and I felt light.  I wore 4:15 and 4:30 pace tats since I wasn't quite sure what pace I'd be able to hold.  My first few miles I was hitting my splits on the lower end of that and felt great.  After lap one I shed the pullover and gloves as I was warming up and the wind hadn't yet gotten strong.

With any long run I use mental tricks to keep myself motivated and this was no differerent.  I used laps as my measuring stick rather than miles because 8 laps sounded less intimidating than 26 miles.  After the first lap I said, ok that was easy, I can do that 7 more times.  After 2 laps, I'm a quarter of the way done and after 3 laps it was 3 down, 5 to go.  4 down was almost halfway, and so on.

I think for any long run the mental aspect is as important as the physical.  I've done 8 half marathons now and aside from one with knee pain (note: endurance events good, blood donation good, endurance event a week after blood donation, bad), the hardest race was one where I wasn't mentally prepared and all I could think was how hot it was and "are we there yet?".  I used to dedicate each mile of a race to a different person/group to give me focal points.  This fall during all those long training runs I realized I didn't really need that "crutch" anymore because I could just run for hours without really having to consciously focus and I could just think about anything or nothing.  A big race can provide a lot of distraction and encouragement through the fan support, fellow runners and entertainment but this race had none of that to help me along.  The good news was that it turned out I didn't need it, and for that I'm certain I have all those hours of training runs to thank.  

I did dedicate one lap though.  The race was on December 14, the anniversary of the Sandy Hook tragedy, and there was a national moment of silence at 9:30ET, so at the start of the 3rd lap at 8:30ish I turned off my music and recited the morning prayer liturgy to myself, naming by name as many of the Sandy Hook victims I could recall.  I also wore a "WWDD" bracelet that day in honor of Daniel Barden, whose family talked about his sense of adventure and how he loved running even at his young age.

Mile after mile, lap after lap, the scenery never changed.  Every 3 miles I'd refill my water bottle or grab some Gatorade (and special thanks to the awesome volunteers and one fellow Texag-er in particular who came out when I posted about the race) and every 40ish minutes I'd take in either a GU gel or bag of Sport Beans.  Occasionally I'd be running alongside another runner but 99% of the time it was just me putting one foot in front of the other, again and again and again.

Physically I did reasonably well.  I started feeling a hot spot on the ball of my right foot around halfway in and my legs started to feel rubbery around mile 18 or so but other than those mild discomorts nothing really hurt.  Holding the pace became increasingly difficult and my pace steadily slowed as the miles progressed but I think that was somewhat mental as the monotony of an 8 loop course with no crowd support, scenery, or borrowed enthusiasm from fellow racers set in.  Nutrition-wise everything went well too as I managed to successfully walk that line of not letting the tank get empty or assaulting my GI tract with too much at once.

As the morning went on the wind really picked up and it began to feel much colder.  Somewhere around lap 6 I put my gloves back on.  I never had taken off the headband and now I was glad to have it.  I debated putting the pullover back on but decided against it because 1) it would take too long and 2) I wanted my Run Aggieland shirt for my finisher picture because priorities, right?

At mile 20 I called Kevin to tell him I was about an hour out and he and the kids left the house to come meet me at the finish line.  As I was about halfway through my final lap he texted that they were at the finish line.  Knowing that every step brought me closer to my cheering section brought a little extra spring to my step.  After completing my 8th lap I passed by them and headed out for the out and back which was just starting a 9th lap and running to a turnaround point.  The return leg of it was nice as runners heading out for their next laps congratulated me and cheered me on.

I had told Kevin that since it was such a small race, if there wasn't another runner right behind me then I wanted Daniel to join me as I crossed the finish line. I had meant for him to get Daniel out of the stroller and run across with me but we had a miscommunication and Daniel was still in the stroller so, with him cheering "run faster Mommy!" I pushed his stroller across the finish line.  4:41 and 26.2 miles after I'd departed the start line early that morning, I was a marathoner.

Being such a small race, there was no official photographer so I don't have a picture of my finish.  The only picture I have of the event at all is this one of me and Daniel afterward.  Between the calf sleeves and ear warmers you can see that fashion was really a major consideration for me ;)

Edit: the day after I posted this the race uploaded some pictures.  Here's one of me on the course:

So when all was said and done I did achieve my goal of becoming a marathoner during 2013 and fully living up to my "run a household, run a business, run a marathon" mantra.  I would have loved for the Dallas Marathon to happen but I'm certain this race was much harder than Dallas would have been, so knowing I could do 26.2 under these conditions sends me into my future marathons with a huge confidence boost.  If I can run 26.2 miles with minimal support, a boring loop course, and no crowd support, how much faster can I be with a fully supported race through a scenic route with thousands of other runners and huge crowd support?  I'll get my chance to find out soon enough.

This race showed I had the mental aspect of the marathon under control.  It would have been easy to fixate on how cold it was, how boring it was, how this wasn't what I originally signed up for, the total lack of crowd support, etc, but I didn't.  I was able to stay just focused enough to mind my pace without fixating and turning it into 4 hours of "are we there yet?"  And while I didn't get the "big race" crowd experience, the 3 most important people were there at the finish line and I got to not only see them but include Daniel in my finish in a way I couldn't have at a big race.

In another month and a half I'll get to try to improve on my time and get the big race marathon experience in the Cowtown Marathon.  It should be a fun morning with more than 10,000 racers, tens of thousands of fans, a scenic course that hits all the scenic spots in Fort Worth, and mile markers, aid stands, and a huge afterparty with food, drinks, and entertainment.  The Whine Not race showed I don't need all of that to run 26.2 miles, but it'll sure be fun to have it.

Between now and then I'll have 2 more smaller races to report on: the Jingle Bell Run just before Christmas and the Bold in the Cold 15k I'm doing this Saturday.

Jingle Bell 5k

After my marathon I expected to be sore for awhile but really by a few days after I felt pretty good.  I think I could have run the week after just fine but my allergies were bugging me and I didn't want to get sick for the holidays so I figured I had earned the right to play the "I just ran a marathon" card and sleep in for a week!  And so it was that my first run post-marathon was a 5k.

The Jingle Bell Run is a fairly big 5k through the Design District near downtown Dallas that begins and ends at the Hilton Anatole hotel.  I ran it in 2011 and liked it so I decided it made a good way to close out my 2013 season as well.

Having spent all summer and fall focusing on the marathon my emphasis was on going long rather than fast.  In fact the last speedwork I had done was back in spring 2012, 18 months and a baby ago. Between that and having just run a marathon I went in with no real expectation on finish time but with the intention to run as fast as I could and push hard the whole way.  My previous PR was 23:01 so I was hoping for sub-25:00.

Last time I lined up too far back and got stuck behind some walkers, strollers, and people with dogs.  For such a short race I didn't want to waste time doing that so I lined up near the front.  The horn sounded and we were off.

During long runs I try to look at my watch every few minutes to stay on pace but otherwise not focus much on it so it's an adjustment on short races like this to have to be more mindful.  Basically any time I caught myself feeling comfortable I'd speed up.  To me actually racing a 5k is challenging because it's such a short distance that I push a hard pace.  For a half marathon I settle into a mindful but comfortable pace; I could carry on a short conversation at that pace.  My 5k pace wouldn't allow for much conversation.

I finished in 24:04, which is among my top 3 5k finishes.  I didn't expect to PR so I was pleasantly surprised to be that fast (I know, it's not competitive fast, but fast for me!).  This spring after Cowtown I plan to focus on shorter distances and do a lot of speedwork, and it's encouraging to see that all those long miles in 2013 should have me well prepared for that.  It was a satisfying way to finish 2013.

Yesterday I kicked off my 2014 season...details later.

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!

Vibha Dream Mile 10k, aka Waterloo

Last weekend I participated in the Vibha Dream Mile 10k.  I say "participated" rather than ran, because I discovered shortly into the race that I had reached that point in this pregnancy where the limiting factor is not my legs or my lungs or my energy level, but my bladder.  It's a good thing it was an out and back course, because that meant I passed the 2 porta-potties along the trail on the way out and on the way back.  Yes, I had to stop 4 times over 6.2 miles.  By the end I was walking except when a bathroom was within sight.  Amazingly, I wasn't the absolute last finisher, but suffice to say I was not competitive in the least.  Obviously at this stage of the game pace isn't really my concern, but having to stop all the time is no fun.  So, I went out to get a maternity support belt that should hold my growing belly in place, minimize the jostling and, hopefully, keep running for awhile.  This baby and I already have a sprint tri, half mary, 15k, 5k, and 10k under our belts, and my hope is to log many more miles together while I'm a human jogging stroller if I can!