Eugene Marathon Recap

Race Planning
The feeling of grabbing my OTQ at Hartford was amazing.  I was content...but not for long.  After the mass production of fast times at CIM I became eager.  I can definitely run a couple minutes faster!  The trials wouldn’t be for well over a year and waiting until then to do another marathon seemed too far.  I wanted to avoid back to back marathon cycles so the fall was out, which left spring.
I decided I really wanted to run London.  Mike has never been, timing was ideal, I knew the course and my sister and brother in law live there.  It was flawless entering the 2015 London Marathon as a championship runner.  However, this was not the case for 2019.  After several attempts it was clear London wasn’t happening.  I was bummed.
After some research and the suggestion of my coach, we decided on Eugene.  The destination excited me as did the training cycle and goal of running higher mileage than before.  I was in.


Training
In January I got engaged and started to plan a wedding 10 months away.  I took a new job which wouldn’t start until mid-May, but had to go through a ton of paperwork.  I had high stress at my current job which secretly I was feeling guilty for leaving when things were so crazy and we were short staffed.  I left for a conference in February in Arizona.  I was excited for a week away from work to just absorb lectures and run.  However, it became a struggle.  I couldn’t hit my workouts, I had just gotten my iron done in December and my ferritin was 85. I was confused and convinced I had too much stress.
I returned home to eventually discover my ferritin was now in the 20’s.  How does one drop so much so quickly, I was frustrated.
After a few weeks things started to turn around and I finally hit a high week and ran a half marathon in Virginia (faster than I expected for everything going on).  I came home and strung together another solid week and a half of training... then after a nailing a long workout, my knee started to hurt.  It was classic runner’s knee, I knew exactly what it was but what I needed to know was why.  I had been doing my glute exercises and when I went to get a PT evaluation there was no obvious weakness.  2 of the PTs I saw told me I had arthritis of my kneecap.  I left the office and cried in the moment.  Then the logical side of me kicked in.   Umm you can’t diagnose arthritis by touching my knee.  I’ve never had a serious knee injury, there is no deformity, and I’ve never had surgery.  I became angry someone would tell me that so casually when 1- I do joint replacements all day long and see the intensity and brutalness of it and 2- running is a huge part of my life.  After venting at work, I was able to laugh at such a silly statement.  I also got a beautiful sunrise view of my perfect patella.

I sent a video out to Craig, the PT and friend I used in Colorado.  He gave me some exercises and I went to work.  Thankfully I was able to run through most of the runner’s knee this time.  After 2-3 weeks I was back in business.  At this point however I was considering dropping down to the half marathon at Eugene.

2 weeks out from Eugene was the first annual Helderberg to Hudson Half Marathon, which I really wanted to run.  Normally I wouldn’t race a half so close, but I had nothing to lose.  The race itself was deemed to be fast.  I knew the dramatic downhills could mean different.  The warm and humid weather was the first of the season and everyone went out hard.  I seemed rather controlled and wary of the 100 ft drop over 0.7 of mile 1.  By the 10k I was starting to gain on several guys and by mile 8 I caught many.  The next couple miles I caught guys I normally shouldn’t and it was obvious their legs were hurting.  I finished 1:18:28, slower than I wanted, but the course took its toll.  The next 3 days I was pretty sore and I'm certain there was DOMS going on, but that is what no Boston Marathon training does for you (not practicing the downhills)!

And now it was time to taper.  My knee finally felt normal and just when I was confident I’d make it to the starting line healthy my back threw in an issue.  My SI joint was locked up and was causing pain that went into my glute.  I took a day off from running, got into the chiropractor twice that final week and begged my coworkers for 1 day managing the floor vs. standing in the operating room wearing heavy lead.  It was now time to leave for Oregon.

Travel to Eugene
Mike and me arrived in Portland at midnight after traveling all Thursday and by the time we reached the hotel it was 1 a.m. or 4 am EST.  I made myself get up the next morning to do a shakeout run before heading to Eugene.

Thankfully Mike drove while I napped.  The expo was easy, not overwhelming but not boring either. Afterwards, we went to Pre's rock, had a nice pasta dinner and went to bed early.

Saturday morning I did a short shakeout and grabbed breakfast before walking around a farmers market a bit.  Aside from the elite meeting and dinner the day was my typical pre marathon routine of laying in bed!  Another early night before waking up at 4:15 the next morning for race day!

Eugene Marathon
I woke up just in time to watch the end of the men’s race at the London Marathon.  It’s always motivating to run after watching Kipchoge!  We took the shuttle from the hotel to the start and went up to the elite suite once we got there.  There were plenty of bathrooms, space and warmth!  After a quick warm, some stretching and drills it was go time!

I started the first mile wearing a t-shirt over my crop top.  I’ve learned I’d rather overdress with throw away clothes than to be cold from the start.  We started as a large group with the first several miles.  

some half marathoners in our pack

My first bottle was at mile 5, which I missed since I was wearing cotton gloves with no grip.  One of the men then came along side of me with my bottle!  For real, how nice?!  The next several miles myself and 2 other women separated ourselves from the larger pack as we were consistently running 6:10.  After the uphill at mile 10 we were still together, but Jen started to pull away.  Several times I looked down at my watch and the pace was significantly faster so I’d back off.  By mile 12 Jen had separated herself from Meaghan and myself.  Around this time we came onto the bike path (the first 12 are on the road) and I wasn’t feeling it.  The path had a lot of little turns and bumps and I was having trouble getting into a rhythm.  Also, I started having some reflux and thought for sure I was either going to puke or have GI issues soon.  The next several miles felt like I had just given up and slowed significantly.  I contemplated dropping out, but told myself I really wanted to finish in the stadium and get that stupid medal! Around mile 16 Meaghan pulled away and I told myself just to get to 20.  At 20 Claire and Perry caught me and told me to go with them.  I laughed and said they looked good, but I was ok just taking it in easy.  From there I felt okay, nothing really hurt, my stomach seemed to ease, but I just stayed consistent.  I crossed the finish in 2:45:34, which was my second fastest marathon.  At first I was happy, happy that it felt relatively comfortable to run a 2:45 without being fully mentally or even physically invested in the race.  Then of course, it was why couldn’t I have cared a little more during those last 6 miles, I could have easily run 2:44-something.  Did it matter, does it matter?  Probably not.  What did I want to get out of doing another marathon before trials?  A solid training cycle.  Heck, I would have done a cycle without the race, but that motivation is a little harder in my opinion.  So ultimately I added some good muscle memory in my legs and completed some great workouts while running consistent mileage which will all help me next time!  

Pacers and ladies who got their OTQ

Just after mile 21 on the course

Hartford Marathon 2018

Marathon buildup summary:
Overall the buildup went pretty well.  After a medical mission trip to Nepal in June which served as my running break/downtime, I was eager to start training again.  Jen started my training program in the beginning of July and I raced on the 4th.  Despite no workouts, I was pleased how the race went in hot and humid conditions at the start of a training cycle.  In August I raced Bridge of Flowers and was again pleasantly surprised with how the race went.  There's a massive hill (along with a gradual mile uphill) during this 8k race so time was out the window.  Instead, I used splits from previous years to gauge my results--mile up the hill, mile down the hill, etc. and ran my fastest splits at that race.  The end of August I ran the 18.12 Challenge as a workout and was successful enough that day to hit my splits and get the win.  In September, I tuned up with 2 half marathons--the first came during my highest mileage week and was part of a 22 mile long run in which I ran close to 8 miles prior to the start and pulled out a 1:21:24 half before a 1 mile cool down.  Then the next week I ran another half with a tad less mileage for the week and less miles prior to the start.  I ran 1:19:50 on the hilly Adirondack course for a new course record and win. 

Willow Street Sweep at the Adirondack Half Marathon

Overall the summer was hot and thankfully race day was not.  I peaked at 85 miles and hung around 70-80 for the majority of the training block.  I incorporated the strength program I had been following since last fall about 3-4 days a week.  The program isn't very time consuming and focuses on different things throughout the week, so 3-4 times a week wasn't too bad!






The week leading up to the race:
The weather looked perfect.  My environment, not so much.  Mike got sick, another friend who had stayed at my house also got sick.  People were coughing all over left and right at work.  The last thing I needed was to get sick.  I had already been taking vitamins prophylactically and started to add everything in sight--emergen-C, airborne, Zicam.  I kept bleach wipes and sanitizer with me at all times and put poor Mike in the guest room.  Somehow despite feeling on the cusp of being sick several days, I avoided the crisis.  Mission one accomplished.
Thursday I left work after a half day to get some pre-race rituals done.  My eyebrows, hair, you know--to do your best you should look your best?   I made my water bottles, did laundry and packed everything.  I decided to take the day off from running (first day since June) since it was raining all day and I didn’t want to get sick.
Friday morning I did a very short shake out run and strides, showered and left.  I drove while Mike slept in attempts to feel a bit better.  We got to the expo shortly after lunch for a quick walk around before heading to the hotel.

I spent most of the remaining afternoon in bed watching TV (and checking the weather) before heading to dinner.  The weather was now calling for rain and suddenly Boston Marathon flashbacks appeared in my head.  My cotton gloves weren’t going to cut it.  I called Fleet Feet and found out they had gloves with a waterproof shield.  Perfect, I thought it’s only 4 miles away we can go prior to dinner.  We left 45 minutes prior to our reservation only to realize 4 miles in downtown Hartford at rush hour had my GPS putting us there in 30 minutes.  Well, so much for that thought... We had to walk by the expo to get to dinner so we made another stop there and I settled for slightly better gloves than my cotton ones.
Dinner was uneventful, my normal pre-race pasta and shrimp.  From there I went to the technical meeting, chatted with some people and headed back to my room to get ready for bed.
I slept pretty well considering and got out of bed at 5:45 a.m.   I made coffee and ate my bagel with peanut butter and half of a banana.  After some foam rolling and light stretching I was ready to leave.  We started our walk over around 7:05 and ran into Hannah, Matt and the kids on the way.  Yay!  It had started to drizzle as I went out for a light jog, which became a shorter warm up than normal.  After some quick drills and bathroom, I left for the start with the group. 

Breakfast of champions- Honey Stinger gel

The Race:
I stood on the line with my winter hat as long as possible and kept my long sleeve shirt on until after mile 1 when I saw Erin, and double Mikes.  I ran with Rachel through mile 9 as we weaved through the parks and felt the rain pick up.

Around mile 6

Somewhere around mile 4.5, I think

She pulled away however when I looked down at my splits my pace hadn’t changed.  No worries, run your own race I thought to myself.  I watched Rachel grab her first bottle and then I completely missed mine.  Damn it, it’s only 1 bottle.  Thankfully I had stuffed enough gel in my shorts to account for a missed bottle. At mile 11 I took my second gel, but had to remove a glove to do so.  And then, I dropped my glove.  Ugg!  Knowing how nonfunctional my hands got at Boston, the fact I have Rynaud’s and it was still raining, I worried.  I went to push up a hill before the half and felt my hamstring.  Oh boy, relax, you don’t need to push it yet.  Thankfully the hamstring pain went away.  I went through the half in 1:21:20.  A little fast, but not suicidal.  I was eager to hit the turn around at mile 17 and use the gradual downhill for a couple miles.  The next few miles passed, I saw some familiar faces on the course and despite being an "uphill" mile, mile 17 was 6:17.  I had analyzed the course, other runner’s past splits and was accounting for that mile to be slow.  Not so bad.  I hit the turn around excited to push the next 3 miles.  I then hit mile 18 in 6:06.  Woooo, slow it down I told myself, there’s still a lot of running left.  When I hit mile 20 I was at 2 hours and 4 minutes flat.  A minute and 35 seconds faster than 2:45:45 marathon.  Okay, I got this I thought and took my next bottle and gel.  I had also taped a run gum to my bottle which was a joke.  There was no way that piece of gum was getting out of the package even though it was already pre opened. I dropped the other glove at this point and started to focus.  The next 2 miles went well and then 24 got slow.  I started to feel my quads a bit and get cold.  Oh no.  I went to take what I thought was a gel but really it was a tray of candy.  Uggg!  I took an electrolyte drink from an aide station and pushed to 25, 6:16 back on track.  Now for the "hill".  The actual ramp up the overpass wasn’t as bad as I remembered it to be, however cresting the bridge was painful.  As I came down around 25.5 someone was screaming at me telling me I had to push and go!  That someone was Hannah and it took me a couple minutes to realize it despite her yelling and sprinting next to me.  Nooo I thought, don’t I have time?  But where is the finish, I don’t see it. Oh no, the tangents... the course is going to be way longer than I thought.  And there it was mile 26 and then the final turn.  

I could see the clock and realized I was well under 2:44.  Hmmm I could walk the final steps... but I ran across the finish and into the elite coordinator’s arms.  I did it!

My medal, I want my medal!  In 2014 when I finished, they were quick to pull me into the tent to get dry clothes on so I could go to the stage for awards and I never got my medal!  I had to have it mailed a couple weeks later.  They assured me I’d get it and directed me out of the finish shoot where I saw my Mike, Hannah, my parents, sister, Erin & Mike.  I hugged everyone, people were crying, it was pretty memorable to say the least.  Mike then had the job of getting me into dry clothes before the awards ceremony.

Best support crew!!!

During the race when I could feel myself tensing up I reminded myself- Relax, drop your arms, let your jaw loose, you have wings, think of James.  I did this throughout the race and it most certainly helped.  Around 24-25 I was confident this OTQ was happening and started to get a bit emotional.
After awards Mike and I walked back to the hotel where I showered and met my family.  We stopped in Springfield on the way home for food (and a drink) and then Mike and I got a bit distracted (I was responding to messages while Mike drove).  Despite him working in Hartford every Monday, we ended up in Vermont!  We essentially drove through the entire state of Massachusetts without noticing!  After seeing the fall foliage we finally made it home.  We grabbed Mia and went to my parent’s house to celebrate with the family.




Media links:
Hartford Newspaper article 
NE Runner article

The Schenectady Gazette


After thoughts:
I'm pretty pumped to say the least to have made the trials.  I do want to train as hard as ever in preparation for the trials, prove I deserve to be on the line and run a great race.  I haven't ever run more than 93 miles a week (4 years ago in preparation for Hartford) and wonder if consistently running 10-15 miles more a week for a cycle would benefit me.  I do feel its a thin line to walk, the risk of injury, balancing life and getting enough sleep is critical.  I'm extremely happy I have successfully stayed around 80 miles for marathon training the past 4 years and was able to OTQ in this range, you can only keep increasing your mileage for so long.  So maybe now 1-2 cycles of higher mileage will have a huge benefit, but maybe it won't, too soon to worry about that yet!  I'll probably focus on speed this winter and possible try to tackle a half marathon PR in the spring.
And once again, I can’t thank everyone who has supported me along the way enough!
https://instagram.com/p/Bo4oDiUF_n7/

Drowning in Boston

Well it’s been a day post marathon.  My emotions have changed quite drastically from during, the finish, and now.  During the later stages of the race I couldn’t wait to just get to the finish.  At the finish I was elated--I finished what was the hardest thing I had experienced thus far and felt proud.  Today, I feel disappointed.. "Why didnt I do this or that... I could have finished in the top 20".... and so we begin...

Marathon morning I woke up at the hotel and did the normal coffee, breakfast and foam rolling.  Last minute I thought I should fill out my medical information on the back of my bib in a sharpie.  I then layered up as the rain was already pelting down and the winds were gusting and headed out.  I took a shuttle from the hotel to the South Street lot where we were then bused to Athlete’s Village.  My timing was perfect.  I arrived at 9:05, enough time to warmup, use the restroom and change without any extra minutes standing around in the rain.

The gun went off and I was relaxed.  I was wearing a thin, black, water resistant coat with my crop top underneath that had my bib pinned to it as well as gloves and a ski band to cover my ears.  First mile 6:17.  Perfect, just don’t pick it up.  I slowed down to a jog.   6:30, perfect.  I ditched the coat.  I then ran a 6:08, while accidentally hitting stop on my watch instead of lap, opps.  The next 11 miles were between 6:08 and 6:20.  I saw Erin and Mike at mile 6, then my mom, aunt and boyfriend at 6.5.  I was feeling so great!   At Mile 7 all of a sudden the rain poured down on us and the wind began gusting.  Ugggg.  I tried to tuck in, but it seemed to be hitting me no matter where I tried to hide.  Mile 10-11 was a little rough patch, but I took my gel and bounced back the next 2-3 miles.  I went through the half in 1:21:56, an exact split I’ve run now at several marathons to the second.  At 15 I got cold and everything changed for the worse.  My hands stopped working and a girl came up on me saying, let’s go.  She was wearing spankies and her legs looked so warm compared to mine.  I couldn’t respond. My right leg started going numb.  Well this is new, I thought.  We went downhill at 16 and it was a much slower mile than I had anticipated going into the race. I told myself, just run 6:45’s the next few miles and it will be ok.... 

we got up the overpass hill at 16.5 which I dreaded prior, however I didn’t even notice it.  Ahh a 7:02 mile up the first hill, whatever.  The next hill I ran the same and opened it up on 19 for a 6:40.  So my time was gone, but I still thought a sub-2:50 was in the books.  At this point my hands hadn’t been working and I gave up on trying to get my nutrition out of my shorts.  Hmmm, I’ve done some depleted long runs maybe I’ll be ok.  Heartbreak hill I noticed.  I began having a hard time and my legs were cramping.  I tried to open it at the top and nothing.  Oh no.  I started staggering as I ran.  Just get me to the F’ing finish.  I turned on Beacon full of emotions.  Ok, my mom and Mike will be at mile 23.  I’ll stop and cry there.  I ran along the railing on the appropriate side only to notice Joe and Kevin standing there.  Shit.  I can’t stop and cry, where are they?   I numbfully shuffled the next few miles.  As I turned onto Boylston I thought of my pre race plan with this road-- sprint!  But no.  I kept thinking I’m going to collapse, I’m going to be that person that gets carried to the finish.  Don’t risk it, get in safely on your feet- so I did.

I crossed the finish line well off my expected time and found I couldn’t walk.  I was grabbed by 2 volunteers and brought into the medical tent.  I couldn’t see, everything was dark.  They placed me on a stretcher. Several attempts to get a temperature on me failed and they couldn’t believe how cold my body felt and blue my lips were.  The shivering wouldn’t stop, my breathing wasn’t normal.  Several people came around me and lifted the stretcher I was on to carry me over to the bear hugger.  Yes, this is what I need I thought in my head.  They stripped my clothes and shoes off and blew the warm air on my body while wrapping me in blankets.  I had been laying down for some time and as I tried to bring my head up to sip on warm fluids the cramps began.  Both calves seized and wouldn’t stop.  I screamed.  This happened 5-6 more times until the electrolyte tablets they got in me worked.  My bib was taken by now, thankfully I filled out the back, and my mom and Mike were both called.  Eventually I came to life again, I stopped shivering and I was breathing normal.  We left my wet clothes off as I exited the medical tent in a foil outfit safety pinned to keep my lady parts covered and foiled wrapped around my feet as socks.  

 I shuffled until I found my family and entered one of the hotels to change.  While changing, I found out Desi won, barely breaking 2:40, while Shalane ran 2:46 and Molly Huddle ran 2:50.  I was thrilled Desi won (by the way I called it all week --given the conditions I knew she would win) but also so relieved they didn’t run what they were capable of either.  I felt so much better about my 2:56.  Prior to the race I had a goal of making the top 50, I finished 41st.

So after all this you’d think I would still be happy today.  No.  I should have left that coat on.  I let SO many women pass me the last 2 miles.  Had I had been warmer and didn’t get hypothermic, had I taken my nutrition, damn it I could have made top 20.  I know MANY people had situations like mine, some worse off.  Think about it--Shalane ran 2:46, ~24 minutes off her PR.  Molly ~22 minutes off her PR.  I was 10:45 seconds off.  BUT I had felt so comfortable, like I was jogging at so many points the first half.  You never know what each person’s body will do in extreme environments.  I’m sure some runners with extra clothes, layers, better gloves, who got their nutrition, fared better.  I’m sure those with less body fat and completely unaccilmated fared worse.

So at the end of the day, I finished Boston.  There’s a lot of unfinished business out there and I’m sure next time (when the weather is better) it will feel a million times easier.

Berlin Marathon and Summer Training

When my blog has been quiet it usually means I am in full training mode.  I'm not sure how people keep up while training, but I sure can't!  Between work, massage and chiro appointments, and training I usually fall asleep when I would otherwise be blogging!  Most nights I wouldn't even get home until close to 8 from my second run/appointment/whatever work function I had, pass out and wake up for another run at 5 am.  The days I wasn't doubling, I savored my extra sleep until 6:15 before rushing to shower and get ready to be at work by 7:00.  I am a HUGE advocate of 8-9 hours of sleep/night during marathon training.

After a morning run and paddle boarding with Abby at Grand Lake (8300')

After wrapping up a relatively satisfying spring season I took a little break from the mid to end of June.  July started with some base miles for a couple weeks and then I started with the workouts.  Pretty much all my long runs from there on had a workout of some sort.  This was actually nice since it made the long run go by faster.  Most of them were alone, but I did meet up with some of the Willow Street ladies on occasion.  During an easy run one morning my hamstring cramped and it felt like a pull.  Naturally, I freaked out.  I got in for an appointment the next 2 days. The pain lingered for 2 weeks and then after a 20X400m workout it was completely gone, yay!  There was no problem for about 2 weeks until once again on easy run it tweaked.  Back to ART (active release therapy), exercises, massage, stim, ice, etc.  I spent a week in Colorado and worked with my good friend who is a PT out there.  Amazingly, it disappeared again.  I only briefly felt it during a 25 mile run at altitude closing out 102 miles for 7 days (90 for the week), so it was a win.

After coming back from Colorado, I went to Watertown to run an 18 mile race as part of my long run.  The plan was to warm up a few miles and then do 15 at MGP.  Of course I started at marathon goal pace and held that for 15 miles.  I then decided to shut it down a bit since I hit my 15, but the last mile I changed my mind and closed in 6:08 for the 18th.  After my warm up and cool down it was a successful 22 mile day.

Finishing the 18.12 Mile Challenge (1:53)

1st place and course record

Skechers Performance athletes representing!

I went into Berlin confident 6:15's would be doable through mile 20.  I knew I had done some really long runs this cycle with depletion so I thought 20-26 although hard, I would be strong.  Once again, I knew I was flirting with this 2:45 barrier, but I felt things were looking good.

A long story short the week leading up to the race I was super stressed.  AirBerlin (who I was flying with) declared bankruptcy.  200 pilots called in "sick" and hundreds of flights were being cancelled with no refund.  My return trip was changed, however my directed flight to Berlin was still scheduled.  My parent's flight completely changed.  People were claiming their flights were getting cancelled with as little as 30 minutes notice.  I spent countless hours trying to get through with them, booking and cancelling several flights with other airlines.  In the end, it all worked out, but it was still stressful at the time!

I got to Berlin without an issues and adjusted to the time change fairly quickly.  I felt pretty good, no major issues.  The weather was predicted to be much warmer than I wanted, 58 degrees at the start, 65 at the finish.  I was pretty bummed.  I ran 2:50:01 in 25-32 degree temps, 2:45 in 40's, 2:46 in 40's & 50's, and 2:48 in 50's, so I knew this would be by far the warmest marathon I would run.

Packet pickup

RACE DAY:

Getting a bagel was impossible.  Instead, I settled for 2 rolls with my normal peanut butter and banana.  I took the underground with Martha and Ralph to the park.  From there, we walked to the athlete entrance where I left Martha with Ralph.  I walked in the rain about another mile until I reached my baggage area.  Since it was raining I didn't want to check anything yet.  I sat down on a poncho, took my wet shoes and socks off and waited.  I worried I hadn't eaten enough and was searching for food which didn't exist.  My gels would have to keep me full.  Eventually I checked my bag, leaving my pants on that I had planned on checking in order to keep my legs warm in the rain.  I walked to my corral which we couldn't enter since the hand cyclists were in there.  There was nowhere to warm up, so that was a lost cause.  At 9:00 the hand cyclists went off and everyone started climbing over a good size fence to get into our start area.  I couldn't believe this is how we were entering!!!  I asked a tall guy to help me over, the last thing I needed was to fall!  As I stood there I felt something on the back of my leg.  I turned around and yes, there was a man peeing behind me and it splattered on my leg.  Definitely in Europe...



It took 18 seconds to get to the start line, which was exactly what I figured.  I found the blue tangent line immediately and stayed on that.  After the first mile (6:14) it was still crowded.  I started to notice I was slipping with every step.  I moved off the blue line thinking that was the issue.  Nope, the road itself was slick.  Damn it, was it the racers or was there oil on the road?  As the 8k approached I looked for my family and saw my mom and dad.  I was shocked I saw them because how many spectators were at that point and how many runners were near me.  Okay, 5 miles done.

The next 5 I thought I had it in the bag that day.  I felt great.  I kept trying to slow down and was still running under 6:15's extremely comfortably.  At the 10k my watch was only .04 off, which was perfect.  I knew I needed to account for ~26.4 miles as a final distance so I was right on for that so as long as I stayed around my pace I'd make it (there were no mile markers just kilometers, I felt more comfortable using the mile splits on my watch 26 times than looking down 42 times).  Then around mile 11 my right glute/proximal hamstring got tight.  Okay, it doesn't hurt I thought.  I kept trying to massage, punch it, which is a lot harder to do while running than I thought.  I still maintained my pace.  I saw my family again around mile 15.  Miles 11-14 were 6:14, 615, 6:13, 6:17 and then 6:21... that 6:21 I had felt my knee.  Okay, I can run through this.  The next 2 miles were slower, but not bad.  Then 17-19 hurt.  I already thought I would run to 20 and if I had to walk I would.  I was going to finish the marathon one way or another no matter how bad my knee hurt.

Best support crew!

It was the worst second half of a marathon in awhile.  I yelled a couple times in pain.  I was miserable.  Eventually I got to 38k and saw my family again.  The only thing that seemed to put a little fire under my butt was seeing another woman in front or one coming up along side of me.  The last 1k I was with another girl.  She started to pull away and I thought I at least was going to get one position higher and fight the last 1/2 mile-ish.  I hung on and then sprinted as hard as I could at the last second (the finish stretch seemed FOREVER).  I got her, probably not even by 1/2 a second, but I got her.  I finished 33rd overall female, not bad for a rough and disappointing race.

I got my medal, talked with a few other Americans and made my way over to my bag.  Once again, we had to walk around a good amount.  I was unmotivated to walk back to the changing tents and decided the middle of the grass field was good enough.  I found Ralph at the family meeting area and we waited for my parents and sister to get there.  We walked just far enough where we could get an uber and went back to the hotel so I could shower before grabbing a beer and food!

Dinner after the marathon

So what's next?

I'm still being very cautious with my knee.  It's not 100%, but its not as disabling as it's been in the past.  I took 5 days completely off from running and have started back up.  What's next is all dependent on my body.  I have ideas, but I'm not pushing it if my body doesn't want to listen.  Time will tell!

Training & website

My spring training cycle is ending soon and I'm so happy thing have turned around.  I'm feeling strong, fast and confident again and am looking forward to the workload this summer.  I actually have really missed marathon training and cannot wait to do real long runs again.  My garmin told me 4/9/17 I had a new long run record, 16.5 miles!  Crazy!  I'm looking forward to 20+ milers these next few months.

Thursday, May 18th- Workforce Challenge

Weeks prior to this 3.5 challenging race the goal was sub 20 minutes.  Given the shape I'm in and the difficult course this was going to be a big PR, but we knew very reachable.  As the days grew closer we were looking at a record setting high for the day, 94 degrees.  The starting area was hot with the heat radiating off the black pavement.  The gun went off and I went through the mile in about 5:40, slow.  The second mile, 5:43.  Okay, I thought at least I'm consistent.  Then it got brutal.  The uphill going to mile 3 and the heat started to hurt.  I came through mile 3 about 10 seconds slower than I wanted (heat adjusted) and was disappointed. I ran the final 1/2 mile in 2:45.  I won in 20:20, 2 seconds faster than my last W on this course 2 years prior on a nearly perfect day.  The top men ran anywhere between 30-40 seconds slower than the years prior.  I know had the weather been what it was the past 2 years I would have gotten that sub 20.  Next time.

 Times Union article

Saturday, May 20th- Westfield 5k

So a 5k 1 1/2 days later after racing in 94 degrees sounds silly, right? Well it is.  But it's a 5k and it wasn't going to ruin anything, plus it's some extra cash.  I ran 17:32, not great, but good enough for 4th place and $200.00.  Plus the homemade ice cream after was totally worth it.  The next couple days were all about recovery and super easy running!

Training week May 21st-27th: 70 miles

A couple solid workouts for my last "higher" week- 10x600's, all were a bit fast (given 5:20-30 pace, all around 5:20 exactly), so I did 9, and a final 78sec 400m all on 200m rest.  Friday I was given a 30 min tempo between 6:00-6:15 pace... actual 4 miles (5:52, 5:54, 5:49, 5:52), decided to do a mile float, then another mile at 5:49.

So moral of these workouts, if you can't pace yourself well like myself, you may need to adjust.  Sure, I could have done another 6+ minutes during my tempo to hit 30 minutes, but I was running way faster than instructed.  It's a workout, not a race and since I'm not good at pacing I figured I'd be smart and take a mile float instead of digging myself deeper.  Training to race well is about training smart.  Eating, sleeping and doing all the right things to promote recovery and when needed, adjusting plans.

The other thing I'm excited about is my new website!

Essentially I have seen way too many runners be overcharged (in my opinion) by online coaching programs. Not only do I feel the prices are ridiculous, but they are coming from people doing it for the wrong reasons.  I'm not out to make money, or flash my name around.  No, I don't want any of the athletes to create or use a hashtag or post excessively.  I have had success thanks to my coach and my medical background.  I went from being an average runner to doing what it takes to turn it up and reach new levels.  I follow medical research and hard data.  I'm not a sales person, I actually hate sales.  But what I am is a well educated, passionate runner with a success story that wants the same for others.  No, I will not encourage any female (or male) runner who is unhealthy to run.   Another issue that makes me shirk.  I've seen runners with obvious eating disorders be coached to do speed workouts and marathons when they are clearly at a high risk of something serious like cardiac arrest by doing so, or injured runners to push through ending with fractures.   I'm not going to allow or promote that.

So if you'd like to give it a try, you know the kickasso website!

🏃‍♀️ Happy Running!