Finally Feeling Like A Runner Again

So it has been a very long time (as usual). In November 2013, just a few weeks after my last entry, I learned I was anemic. No wonder I couldn’t get back into running. All summer long I pushed myself through marathon training. The mileage went up but the times got slower and slower. I was only mildly anemic so I didn’t recognize the symptoms. I wasn’t having trouble getting out of bed or falling asleep at work but it was devastating my running. I was planning on doing MS Blues just after the first of the year in 2014. About the time the training was getting serious, I got sick. I ended up going to the doctor. My labs showed the anemia and I started an iron supplement. I had missed some critical training and wasn’t sure if it was even wise to go ahead with MS Blues. After some thought, I decided to just see how training went and I could always run it as a training run. I was feeling better and got a 17 miler and two 20 milers in, each faster than the last. As Christmas approached, my easy pace dropped from 8:45 to about 8:00. The iron supplements were doing their job. Going into the marathon, I wasn’t sure what to do. My sudden increase in speed was making it difficult to set a goal. I decided to shoot for a BQ (Boston Qualifier) which is 3:40 for me. The race was warm and windy and course had lots of hills. I ended up feeling great, even with all the climbs. I ran a 3:32 (8:07 pace) so way faster than my goal. The icing on the cake was an age group win!

The Mississippi Blues Finish Chute

I was excited to train for Go! STL since MS Blues went so much better than expected. I was excited to be healthy too and told all my running friends to get their labs checked on a regular basis! I had never done back to back marathons before and used the guidelines from the book Advanced Marathoning to guide me. They advised about 4 weeks recovery, 5 hard weeks of training and a 3 week taper. I was back at it hard in less than 2 weeks though as the 2014 Arkansas Grand Prix series started 2 weeks after MS Blues. I felt good early on but once training got going, I started feeling really over trained and sluggish. Mentally, back to back was too much for me too and I pretty much lost my training motivation.

When Go!STL came around, my head was not in the game and neither were my legs. I realized pretty early into the race that I was in trouble. I backed off big time at mile 12 and salvaged a 3:30. It wasn't pretty and I had to run walk the last few miles.

The Go!STL Finish Line

When I got home, I knew I made some mistakes but also felt like I learned some lessons. I'm probably not a good candidate for back to back marathons. Also, it doesn't take a lot to get me over trained. I decided to shift my focus and train for shorter races for a while. This would have been a good plan but I got a little impatient and didn't give myself enough time to recovery. I started in with too much mileage and decided to add plyometrics to my training in the hopes that I could get faster. 3 weeks after STL, my groin/hamstring/butt on my right side started hurting. I was planning to do a 10k that weekend so I eased up but decided to do the race anyway. There was a month long break in the Grand Prix series after the race and I felt like I needed the points. After the race, I couldn't even walk without a limp. My hip was just white hot pain everywhere except the very outside. After a week of limping, I went to the doctor, got a steroid shot and a consult for PT. I started swimming laps, doing yoga and going to PT. I had torn my right adductor tendon. I didn't get to run at all for about 6 weeks. I started up again slowly only to strain my calf muscle. I actually think this was for the best because I took another 2 weeks off and when I started again, I was pain free and have been ever since.

It was a rough time emotionally. I had such a terrible summer trying to come back from pregnancy, figured out there was a medical reason and suddenly got tons faster with a simple supplement only to crash and burn in injury. Such a frustrating roller coaster to ride. At some point in the middle of all that I decided that I would sign up for Boston. My STL time would most likely get me in and I needed a goal to get me motivated to get back into shape. I added mileage slowly. When I got up to about 25 miles per week, I did a XC 10k at 7:24 pace. Considering the injury and the time off, I was pretty happy with it. Next, I decided to train for the CASA Half Marathon. It was early in December. In the past, I’ve used half marathons and their training to rocket myself back into top form. I was really hoping it would work. I ended up getting my weekly mileage up to 43 miles and did some really great tempo runs and speed work. I run a 1:38:46 (7:33 pace). About as good as I could have expected. Just as I had hoped, my training really picked up after that race. I took it easy for about a week and then made a 15k plan that I would use to get me to the Hour Track Run for the start of the Grand Prix 2015. I also made my Boston plan. For a 12 week plan, I needed to start training on 1/26/15-exactly one day after the track run. My tempo runs and speed work leading to the track run were really good and I worked up to 53 miles per week. I went into the Track Run feeling good and had a great day.

At the One Hour Track Run

I never felt terrible and kept a good pace. I ended up the 2nd place overall female and went just under 8.6 miles at 6:59 pace. There was a crazy wind so I was pretty happy with that.

Now it is time to train for Boston! I have decided that I will actually post regularly and document my Boston training. Here's to the next 12 weeks!

Lincoln Marathon Race Report

Training for any marathon is stressful, at least for me anyway. There are lots of people these days that do several marathons per year but this is not my running philosophy. I'm obviously not anti-marathon but there is no doubt that it is tough on your body, so to me, it doesn't make sense to do more than 1 or 2 per year. Also, it takes a long time to prepare for a marathon. When you consider all the time spent and the fact that I've only got a couple of chances per year to do this, that's a lot of eggs in one basket so to speak. For Lincoln, this feeling was intensified by the fact that I had a child and hadn't done a marathon for over two and a half years. I also had a lot of mommy guilt because of the time I spent training. When my mileage was the highest, there were some days that I left home before Darwin woke up and got home after he was already asleep. Of course, I felt guilty because of time lost with my son but I also felt bad that Brian had to take up the parenting slack while I was running. He never complained and was more than happy to make sure I got my training in, but still. Throughout this training, I really felt a lot of anxiety. Given all the aforementioned worries, you can imagine the stress that ensued when I considered the fact that the race might not go well. Not that I thought the race would go badly. My training suggested that I was ready but marathons are tricky. The weather is a huge factor and you can't control that. Also, nutrition is always difficult and can be disastrous if you make a mistake. There is also the fact that sometimes, for no known reason, you just don't have it on race day. For the first time in my running existence, I started to wonder it it was worth it. Not if running wasn't worth it, but if putting 65 mile weeks in might not be worth it. The marathon is only one distance. I could still be a runner and do all the shorter distances. Maybe this was more my style now that I was a mom. Your life changes when you become a parent and maybe this was one of the changes I needed to make to be happy and keep my sanity. Anyways, I tell you all of this so you can understand all the baggage I brought to Lincoln. It really was overwhelming.

We left home on Thursday before the race, stopped in Northwest Arkansas for the night and then drove to Omaha, where Brian's parents live, on Friday. Darwin was a great traveler. I was so grateful as I didn't need any added stress. I started checking the forecast religiously (for real, like every couple of hours) and was pleased to see that it was going to be cold. The low was supposed to be in the 30s with a high in the upper 50s. For the race, we could expect temps to be in the 40s. To me, that is perfection. The only thing I saw that made me nervous was the wind. They were predicting 20mph wind from the NNW which would be the direction I was headed for the last 10k of the race. Not good. Fortunately, the number kept getting lower and lower as the day got closer but the direction of the wind never changed. We went to the expo to pick up our packets on Saturday and Brian drove me through the parts of the course that weren't on running trails. As we headed to our lodge (we stayed in a state park) for the night, the reality settled in. No matter how well you are prepared for a marathon, it will hurt. It will get difficult and you will have to push through physical pain and be mentally tough. All I could think is "why do I do this to myself?". I was so nervous.

On race day we got up at 4am. The race was at 7 and we had a little bit of a drive. I was jittery. Brian's parents came to watch Darwin and we headed for Lincoln. We parked and headed for the stadium. I couldn't believe how cold it was! Great for running, but not great for standing around beforehand. We checked our bags and got ready to warm up. Brian was running the half so he needed to run more than I did before the start. I only wanted to do a half mile. Also, he would be running a faster pace than I would so he needed to start further up in the corral than I did. He told me good luck and gave me a hug and we said our goodbyes before we warmed up. The half mile felt pretty terrible but I was determined not to let it get to me. I could only manage 9 minute pace which is weird because I haven't run 9 minute pace since I was about 8 months pregnant. I was hoping to do at least 7:39 pace for the race so you can imagine my concern. At this point, the race was only about 10 minutes away and I really needed to hit the bathroom again. No way I could do 26.2 miles without emptying my bladder one more time. The line for the bathroom was too long though. I considered heading downstairs to the locker room but my watch said 6:56 and I really needed to be lining up. About that time I saw 2 girls crouch behind a bush and I headed over to join them. Not pretty, but I had to do what I had to do. Now it was time to get serious. I took my long sleeved shirt off and lined up. Next thing I know, the gun went off and the race started. I was about a minute back in the corral and it took what seemed like forever to cross the start line.

My goal for the day was to break 3:20 which required 7:39 pace. The marathon actually provided a mile by mile break down of the race including how much time you could expect to lose or gain based upon the elevation profile. I used a base pace of 7:35 and came up with a mile by mile custom pace band. Brian thought it was a bad idea but I liked it because it allowed for more time on the uphills and took advantage of the downhills instead of just giving me one set pace to try to keep the whole race. Also, I like to use the first 2 miles as warm up so I put those in at a slower pace and had some of the middle miles at 7:30 to make up for it. If I was able to run the exact numbers I had on the band, it would get me to mile 26 in 3:17 and change. That meant that I had a little bit of cushion should I lose time somewhere along the way. Anyway, it was just a paper band so I could rip it off and throw it away if things weren't going my way.

The first few miles were uneventful. I went out at 8:02 pace which was planned for 8:00. No biggie. The next mile was planned at 7:45 and came in at 7:43 so I was right on pace as planned and ready to actually start racing. There was a little bit of a climb in the 3rd mile so I had planned for 7:40 but ended up running 7:35. For mile 4 I had planned 7:35 and did 7:33. Mile 5 was a 7:35 as planned. Here I took some Gu and hit a water stop. The water stops were great and featured cups with lids and straws. This made all the difference in the world. I could get as much water as I needed without splashing it in my face or choking on it. It was great. Mile 6 had the first real downhill. I wanted to run a 7:28 and came in at 7:27. Mile 7 came in at 7:25 and was planned for 7:35. I think the mile marker might have been a little off. Mile 8 was 7:35 as planned. Mile 9 was the first of the significant climbs. I did it in 7:40 as planned. Mile 10 was downhill and came in 2 seconds faster than the planned 7:28. I took my 2nd Gu. I felt ok I guess. Not great but certainly not bad. I hadn't done a marathon in so long that I wasn't sure how to judge it. It was now time to get into a groove and make up for my warm up miles. I planned to do 7:30 pace from mile 11 through mile 18. Mile 11 came in at a disappointing 7:38. I shook it off and clocked a 7:16 for mile 12. According to my Garmin, I ran them both at the same pace but mile 11 was long and mile 12 was short. Mile 13 came in at 7:24. At this point, the half marathoners turned into the stadium to finish. The field narrowed severely as the vast majority of runners were doing the half. I headed on feeling lonely but pretty strong. There were several volunteers that were on the trail yelling words of encouragement. Mile 14 was a 7:32. Mile 15 was 7:37. I took another Gu. Nutrition wise, I felt good. My stomach wasn't queasy and I didn't feel lightheaded or anything. I was a little worried that I wasn't keeping my 7:30s but soldiered on. Mile 16 came in at 7:28. Mile 17 was 7:32 and mile 18 was 7:34. I could have pushed for 7:30s but it just didn't seem wise. 7:30 felt like too great of an effort but I felt comfortable a few seconds slower. Mile 19 was the biggest climb of the race. I planned for a 7:40 and ran a 7:41. Mile 20 was planned for 7:40 and I did it in 7:45. The turn around came in the middle of this mile and was near a lake. The wind was very strong as soon as I changed direction and I was a little worried but I put my head down, pulled my arms in close and tried to be as slim as possible to increase my efficiency. I started passing lots of people. I hoped that turning out of the park and getting away from the lake would lessen the wind. I just needed to get back up the hill. I took my final Gu and prepared myself for the last 10k. I knew it would be a challenge with the wind but I was determined to do the best I could. Mile 21 was planned at 7:35 but came in at 7:41. Mile 22 was a 7:34 and was planned for 7:30. Mile 23 came in at 7:46. I can't remember what it was suppose to be but it was definitely slower than planned. I had about 5K to go and I was tired but not completely spent. I wasn't sure if a sub 3:20 was still possible or not. I hadn't given up but I was too tired to force myself back down to pace. I didn't feel terrible though and I was pretty sure that I would PR in the very least. I also felt good enough that I was confident I wouldn't completely fade at the end. Only once before did I run every single step of a marathon without walking and I knew that I would be able to do it now. I also thought about the weather. The wind sucked but it wasn't impossible to run in. The temperatures were as good as I could hope for so I just started saying to myself "if not today, then when?". Mile 24 was planned for 7:35 and came in at 7:45. Mile 25 was also planned for 7:35 and came in at 7:48. I now had 1.2 miles to go. I switched my Garmin from pace to total time. It showed 3:10 and change...a lot of change. It was actually closer to 3:11. That gave me 9 minutes and a few seconds to get the finish. I felt ok and knew I could do better than 8 minute pace. That left me a little over a minute to do the last 2 tenths. I wasn't sure how long it would take me. I couldn't do the math but I knew it would be close. I locked onto a runner in front of me and tried to stay with him. I drew a lot of energy from him and was able to do a 7:34 which was faster than the 7:40 I had planned. I turned into the stadium and checked my watch again. I wasn't sure how far away the finish line was and I hoped it would be close. I watched my total time click from 3:18 something to 3:19. Thankfully, as soon as I turned into the stadium, the finish was right there. I ended in 3:19:16. I did it!

I cried a little as I crossed the line. Breaking 3:20 was my lifetime goal and I had done it. The second I crossed the line I felt like I'd been beaten with a baseball bat. I wasn't tired as much as I was horribly sore and beat up. I hobbled off the field and started looking for the bag check area. It was crowded and confusing. I just wanted to get my bag and find Brian. I wanted to be in bed. I felt awful but I was very happy. Luckily, I saw Brian and Darwin waiting for me on the field. We got my bag and got out of there. It couldn't have been too soon. After a shower and then later an ice bath, I felt a lot better. I took the next day off and then ran 2 miles on Tuesday. I've run everyday since then and I'm feeling pretty good. I even did a 10 miler today so I'm more than on the road to recovery.

Here we are after the race.


I am so glad that the race went well. Not just for the fast time but to silence all the doubt and guilt I brought to the start line. This race changed everything for me. For the first time since I started running, I'm not burned out after marathon training. I'm ready to keep training. Looking forward to it actually. I even plan to do another marathon this year in either the fall or winter. I'm going to scale back my mileage for the next few months and focus on speed work and shorter distances. I haven't settled on a particular marathon yet but once I've decided, I'll plan for a similar 12 week plan since this one worked out so well.

The icing on the cake-I won my age group!

10K

So I did that 10K I blogged about a few weeks ago. It really didn't go all that well. My goal was to beat the time I ran the previous year when I was 12 weeks pregnant which was 47:05. Today I ran a 47:27 which is 7:39 minute per mile pace. It was rather disappointing. I went out way too fast-not a mistake I usually make. The problem is that I really have no idea what I am capable of running right now so I don't know what pace to shoot for. At least this race gave me an idea of where I am running wise.

The big debate for me now is how hard to train. Brian and I were discussing this the other day. We are both on the same page as far as a second child goes. Basically, as soon as we can, we're going to try again. That could be a while though as I am exclusively breastfeeding and not currently ovulating. So, do I train as hard as I can and try to get back to the speed I was pre-Darwin or do I just have a good time running, get pregnant with baby #2, take a few years off and come back as a good masters(40+) runner? Ultimately, being a fast runner in my 40s is the goal. This being considered, Brian and I came to the conclusion that perhaps taking it a little easier until after baby #2 is probably the best plan. Does this mean I won't be training hard? Not really. I'll still be upping my mileage and doing speed work and tempo runs. The only real big changes will be my mentality and my mileage. I'll try to be less intense. Also, I probably won't do a marathon between babies which was my original plan.

There were a few bright spots about today's race. I was 9th overall so it was good to be in the top 10 again. I was a lot faster per mile than I was at the Hour Track Run I did in January so at least I'm making progress. As always, it was fun to be out in the running community. Darwin was very smiley and giggly and everyone oohed and awed over him. Also, I won an embroidered blanket for getting second in my age group. Darwin has already claimed it for tummy time. All in all, it wasn't a bad way to spend a Saturday morning.

Counting Down

I am doing a race in 3 weeks. It is a 10K which is probably my weakest distance. I find it too short of a race to be able to relax but too long to keep my focus at a really fast pace. I've never been particularly happy with my 10K PR (42:11) and I know I will not be able to run anywhere near that fast by this race. I'm not sure exactly how fast I'll be able to run. I did a 6 mile run tonight with the middle 4 miles around 7:30 pace. Last year I ran 7:35s at this race but I was 12 weeks pregnant and was taking it easy. Sadly, this year I'd be lucky to run 7:35s and that would not be taking it easy-it would be quite a challenge. It is really hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that I'm slower now after having Darwin than I was while I was approaching the second trimester!

I guess my goal in this race will be to beat my time from last year which was a 47:05. My long term goal is to up my mileage and get faster. This race is just a short term goal to keep me from getting bored along the way.

Well Hello Old Friend

For me, running is like an old friend that I can always turn to. I get to think when I run and no matter what the situation, I always feel better after a run. Also, if it weren't for running, I would have never met my husband and Darwin would not exist. The thing I always loved about running was that it was fair. If I trained hard and was loyal to running, I was paid back with fast times. Anytime things weren't going so well, I could always figure out why. Maybe I hadn't trained enough or maybe I was pushing myself too much and I was over trained. Either way, running was usually predictable and I loved that.

When I got pregnant, it was hard for me to watch my old friend slip away. Even though I ran through all but the last 3 weeks of the pregnancy, things just weren't the same. This was the first time in my life that each run became harder than the one the day before and my times got slower, and slower and slower until I could hardly run at all. Sure, this was expected but I couldn't help but hate it even though I knew it was coming. I guess it is kind of like pregnancy weight gain. You know it will happen but it still hurts when you look in the mirror. I was able to get through these times by thinking about Darwin and how he was totally worth it. Also, I looked forward to running again after he was born. Boy was I shocked when running didn't go well after I delivered. This was never something I allowed myself to think about. I was going to run my entire pregnancy, give birth and get right back in there. My doctor cleared me to run 3 weeks post pregnancy. Even though I really didn't feel up to it, I forced myself to do it anyway. I mean the doc said it was ok, right? For about a month I kept at it but it felt like being pregnant all over again. Each run was harder than the one before and I certainly wasn't getting any faster. A 3 mile run would leave me feeling beat up and sore-like a 20 miler did back when I was marathon training. Finally, I came to my senses and took some additional time off. I had to reevaluate everything. I had plans to run a marathon when Darwin was a year old. For that to happen I basically needed to start training the second he was born. I realized that these type of goals were not realistic and were causing me stress. No new mom needs that. I took a step back and came up with a new goal. It was simply to enjoy running again. Sounds easy but that month of forcing myself through training runs was anything but enjoyable. I wasn't sure if this new, seemingly simple goal would happen. I took 3 weeks off and started running again on January 1st. I started with only a mile. It wasn't much but it felt good. Even though I was slow there was something familiar about it. It was pain free and I actually enjoyed myself. I've slowly added mileage since that day and I'm up to 20-25 miles per week. In the last couple of weeks, I've really noticed that I'm running faster and easier. Last night I put the shoes on that I wore in the Chicago marathon and went out for a tempo run. I was hoping to keep an 8:10 pace but ended up running more like 7:55 pace. Now I feel like I am definitely on my way back. I may never run the way I did before I became a mom, but that is ok. As long as my old friend running is in my life, I'm good with that.

Jumping Back In

Well, I did my first real post pregnancy race this weekend. I'm nowhere near top form but this is a unique race that Brian and I could both run (without needing a sitter) so I felt I should go for it. It was an hour track run. Basically, you run around a track for one hour and the person that goes the farthest wins. They run two separate heats. The first is for runners that plan to keep a slower than 7:30 minute/mile pace and the second is for those that plan to go faster. In the past, I've been in the fast heat but there is no way I could do 7:30 pace for an hour right now and logistically this allowed Brian and I to take turns watching Darwin while the other was running. (In the picture, I'm the first girl in white.)

I was a little nervous going to the race because I'm so much slower than I was before I got pregnant. Brian reminded me that it is great I'm running at all only 3 months after giving birth. He was right so I decided to just go out there and do my best. I was hoping to do 8:30s but I ended up being able to do 8:19 pace! I went 7.21 miles which is the longest run I've done since April 2009. My pace was fairly even as well so I was pretty happy. The only thing that sucked about the day was that several people came up to me and asked me why I ran so slow. WTF?!?! Maybe because I was pregnant and then gave birth. I wanted to punch a couple of them in the face. I can't believe that someone would think I would have a kid and then just start running the same times I did a year ago. Some of these people were just clueless and may actually think that is how it works. One lady has several kids of her own and is an L&D nurse. She should know better.

The big story of the day was Brian. He won the race in a very dramatic fashion. I love running but I admit it is not the most exciting spectator sport. This race was the exception to that rule. With a minute to go the race was so close than anyone in the top 5 could have taken it. In the end, Brian came from behind and won by 79 feet. The second and third place guys were only 6 feet apart! It was really fun to watch. Brian had a sacral stress fracture last summer and had to take 12 weeks off. His recovery and comeback were difficult so this win was a very big deal for him. Most of the time he is so far ahead of me in a race (even when I was in great shape) that I don't get to see him finish. Thanks to the format of the event I was able to see the whole thing and I loved it.

I'm not sure when my next race will be but until then I'll just keep training. I feel really good about my comeback and it feels great just to get out there.