The not so exciting spring, rant, and half marathon championship.

Willow Street @ Shamrock Shuffle in Glens Falls

So I had this idea, this idea that I would take a few weeks off/do minimal running, then be ready to start training and come back ready.  This was clearly not what happened.

First mistake (yes, I will admit that this was a big mistake), I ran a half the week after my marathon.  Sure, I thought I felt okay after running a second 2:46 marathon within 6 weeks and thought since I was really taking a break I would be okay to run 1 race before getting on the cruise ship, it was dumb.  I ran fine for a week post marathon- 1:22 and felt okay.  But in reality, I am certain this screwed up my recovery.  Followed by a week of drinking, this was not ideal for recovery regardless if I was running or not.  I should have skipped the race and not subjected my muscles to further damage regardless if I wasn't sore.  Lesson learned.

During my marathon cycles I went gluten free, initially to reduce any inflammation when my knee injury crept up, but secondly to hopefully cure my iron deficiency even though my biopsy and blood work was negative for celiac's.  After vacation, I got my labs checked (a routine procedure) my iron level and H&H remained the same over an 8 week period for the first time ever in my life, I was stoked, gluten free it is!  Then I started to train again excited I would finally be healthy.  I continued to take my iron supplements every night and jumped back into training.  The first few workouts went well, and I thought I was going to have a great spring.  Then I had a little setback.  I went to Colorado and the altitude really bothered me more than normal.  I thought maybe it was because I hadn't been there in awhile, but then when I came home I was still having trouble.  My legs burned and felt terrible first race back.  I chalked it up to starting to train again and racing through training.  I remained gluten free because in my mind this was the answer.  I then continued to run with Emily during the week, but noticed she was killing me!  She is quite the pusher during runs without realizing it to begin with, but I was literally sucking wind and could barely talk.  Okay, I told her I need my labs drawn again.  My hematologist and me thought since the last draw was great and the diet fixed the forever problem I wouldn't need labs again for 3 months this time, but I went 8 weeks later.  Only this time to find out my hematocrit dropped 3.5 percentages, along with my hemoglobin, and my ferritin stores although still within normal limits, dropped 50%.  This was depressing news.  To feel better, I ate a ton of gluten since that clearly wasn't my easy fix answer anymore.

I knew I was at a huge disadvantage, but there was nothing I could do right now.  It all made sense, my workouts that were shorter on the track were fine, I was still hitting my times because I was taking breaks after each repeat, allowing the muscles and lungs to get their oxygen back.  However, longer repeats I started to hurt really bad right before the mile mark.  I was hoping my body would start to acclimate to the new levels.  It had in the past, heck I had been running and living my entire life with ferritin levels between 4-11 going back to when I was 16 years old and H&H levels from 10&31.  This is NOT okay for those that don't know!  What is funny is a couple girls (I can't even call the women even though they are married with children), tried to tell the entire running community that I was cheating for correcting my critical levels, my ferritin hit 4 when my primary told me I needed to go to the hematologist who loaded me with iron immediately (and iron is 100% legal idiots).  Anyway, these girls are clueless about this stuff and one of them years ago gave me her labs to look at, her H&H was 42&14 or something like that!  My god, she essentially had 3-4 more pints of blood in her body than me and she decided to go around and say I was cheating because I got a critical ferritin level of 4 corrected!

ANYWAY, I continued to take my iron supplements as normal this month, although I doubt they're doing anything (why, we still need to find out) and train.  I think my body has started to adjust to the new lower levels a bit as I can sustain a little more before feeling the lack of oxygen through my legs, but it hurts.  I have been sleeping a ton, I'm talking 10 hours a night.  Therefore, all my strength training has gone out the window as I haven't had time to work, run, strength train and sleep.  I've been working a decent amount and it hasn't really worked well with training.  For example, I squeezed in my track workout after work one day before I had to take call that evening.  I was on my cool down when I got a call from the ER that I had to go in for a fracture.  Normally after a workout I'd get in some protein for recovery within the first 30 minutes followed by foam rolling.  This clearly didn't happen. I went straight to the ER to handle a fracture in my running clothes and all.  I got home an hour and a half later and started to make dinner.

Fast forward to this weekend:

National Half Marathon Championship- Columbus, Ohio
I had no idea what I would be in shape to run.  My workouts have been fine, my 2 attempted race efforts were terrible, I was starting to adjust and feel a little better, maybe I would surprise myself and run well?  NO.

Thursday, April 28th- I took a half day, ran a bunch of errands and got in a shakeout run before hitting the road.  I drove 4 hours to the other side of Buffalo, where I spent the night at an AirBnB.  Friday morning I got back on he road at 7:20, stopped once for gas and breakfast and got to Columbus around noon.  I checked into my hotel, went for a shakeout run and signed in for the race.  I went back to my room and hung out for a few hours before heading to the elite meeting.  I sat down in a room by myself and then realized Desi had just sat down behind me!  I had to refrain myself from grabbing my cell phone to take a picture :)   The race director, elite coordinator and all the volunteers were amazing.  They really went out of their way to make sure we were taken care of and the event went smoothly.  After the meeting I saw Hannah and Lou, familiar faces I was glad to see.  We had a pasta dinner which they provided for us and met a couple guys from Colorado.  I went back to my room, got some things ready for the morning and was in bed by 9:15.  I slept well, woke up and did my normal routine before heading over to the elite room where they escorted us to the start.  I switched from my singlet to sports bra right before the start and went over to the line.  Weather was perfect.

The Race:

The damn blood blister

It's was a small field, only 26 women finished, not sure how many started, but I think there were a few more.  My goal was not to get last.  We started 5 minutes ahead of the masses so this was really a possibility.  I went out at what felt comfortable, but knowing I needed to let the majority of the field go out ahead of me.  First mile was 5:42, quick, but not suicidal.  The second mile 5:43, okay, this is good, I feel good, this could go well!  Shit, mile 3, 6:04.  mile 4 back under 6:00, okay good.  I knew 5 was going to be slow because there was an uphill, which it was 6:18.  Okay, come back from this.  Mile 6- 6:06.. uggg I wanted to be back under 6's for miles 6 & 7 since there was a slight downhill.  I was running alone at this point, which normally doesn't bother me, but the blood blister that formed around mile 4 made it really tough to push.  Every step I could feel it.  Mile 8 had an uphill, ugg, 6:22, that's bad.  Same for mile 9, god damn it, what is wrong with me, I can run this pace at mile 21 of a marathon.  Mile 10- 6:15, finally, get it back down, I can still run 1:20, maybe even under if I push the next 3 miles… nope, not enough.  6:08, back up to 6:20, crap the blister just popped and there is a gush of blood in my shoe.  Last mile 6:14 followed by the most miserable .1 ever.  1:20:58, but given there is no net time it was 1:21:00.  From 12.6-13 was an uphill I think I was cursing during.  What a terrible race I just ran.  By some miracle I finished 19th in the prize money, but I really didn't care.   I would have been happier running 1:19 and finishing 21st.  I should have started slower, I should have been more prepared, who knows, should have could have would have…


And now the post race.

Sorry if this is TMI:
The toilet bowl full of bloody urine.  Yes.  I love when this happens.  Oh wait it doesn't?  Because it does to me.  It was a lot this time, and I promise you I was properly hydrated.  I saw my primary last summer about this who thought because I don't have a lot of fat the movement with running is causing my bladder to slam back and forth, so I just needed to leave my bladder full when I run.  Yeah, I am calling bullshit on this.  I look around the field at these races and there are plenty of smaller runners with less body fat than me, emptying their bladders before getting on the line and not peeing blood after.

Rant over.

So now what.
Well I think I should try to get a little healthier even though I am not injured.  I don't know, stop peeing blood, is this why I am anemic?  I doubt it, it only happens now and then, but has been going on for 2 years.  Figure out why I am loosing iron/not absorbing supplements, this is another question that's been pondered for years.  Strength train.  I need it, my core isn't the greatest right now and I am honestly lucky I've been able to put in the mileage without injury.  Figure out this damn blood blister.  It happens almost every race, same place, under my bunion.  It's been getting worse though I think… ]

Onto the next...