It's Time 2 Run

It’s been a long time.  I shouldn’t have left without a dope blog to read to!  Sorry. I couldn’t resist!

I haven’t done much long running since the marathon in April.  My focus was on recovering physically and mentally from all the grueling miles of the marathon and training.  I also decided to work on sprint speed and strength.  It sounded great as a change of pace to long slow training runs.

The sprinting went well until it didn’t.  The goal is always to stay healthy while pushing limits.  Whelp…. I pushed a little too hard and suffered a  Grade 1 hamstring and MCL strain racing in a 200 meter dash.  That had put me on my butt for almost 5 weeks until today.  Lesson learned…. Ease into new strenuous activity.

Now,  I’m back into marathon mode.  Training began today and I’m so thankful! I can feel all those wonderful endorphins!  The runner’s high has been missed.  I’m excited because I’ll be able to take all the lessons and experience from my previous marathon journey into this new training cycle.

I’ll be updating my race calendar soon.  So continue to check it out.

My goal for this next marathon is a 3:35. Yep.  Three hours and thirty-five minutes.  I want to inch closer to that Boston qualifier time.  They say your dreams should scare you.  Just know that I’ll need everyone’s encouragement and positive energy as I go forward!

I apologize about the delay but time was needed to truly reflect my accomplishment. As you can imagine, I also needed time to recover. Boy, did I ever need that recovery time! What I didn’t expect was that I would need time to recover emotionally. More on that later…

That final leading up to the race went perfectly. I had my running clothes laid out. My nutrition was packed nicely. Also, previewed the route and picked out where I’d need to refill my water bottle along the way. 

The plan was set until I checked the weather. There was a ninety percent chance of rain with a chance of thunderstorms! Just my luck. I didn’t go into a panic like usual. I was just worried that they’d cancel the race due to lightning. I’ve put in too much work for that to happen. 

Luckily, the rain held off until about the twelve mile mark. It steadily picked up from there though. Even though I was soaked, I was locked in mentally. My feet were wet but they didn’t blister. They just got heavy from the water. But that honestly didn’t bother me until I hit “wall”. 

Oh the mystical “wall”…

You never know when it’s going to come. But you definitely know when you’ve hit it. It’s the point of exhaustion. I found that I couldn’t push the pace at all. The last  five miles were the only painful ones. My hydration and nutrition plan was fine. Mentally, I was good. Physically, I was done. However, I did not stop running. I usually always have some sort of kick at the end. Not this time. 

So, what’s the result of all this training? I finished in 3 hours and 55 minutes. Among all the male runners, I finished in the top 25%. Not too bad for my first time. Although I had  goal time of 3:45, I am more than happy with my time considering the conditions. 

Good thing it was raining. I cried three times walking back to my car. First time was just the intense joy of accomplishment. I thought this was  impossible for me to every do. So much so that I was scared to even try. Second time was when I saw others close to the finish running their hearts out, some limping in pain, determined to accomplish the same goal. One woman in particular was crying and stopping every ten seconds or so. She didn’t quit! The sheer guts she displayed broke me down again. Lastly, I thought of my brothers who are both gone. I so wish I could share this with them. I miss them both dearly. I hope I made them proud. 

This journey has been worth it! I’ve learned so much about myself. The human body is amazing but the human spirit is awesome! 

So what’s next? 

Stay tuned! 

This is the final week of training! Although I’ve stumbled lately, I’ve made it. All the hard work is over. All the months and months of early morning runs, crazy amount of eating, and sleeping are all over. It’s time to have fun and enjoy the experience.

Here are some thoughts and plans for this week. I’ve got two more runs to get in before Saturday. They’re really short 4-6 mile runs just to focus on tempo. Nothing much faster than my goal race pace. I realize there is nothing I can do to improve my fitness level between now and Saturday. I can only hurt myself by pushing too hard. The goal is to stay relaxed and loose.

I’ve got my race plan all figured out including fluids and nutrition along the route. I’m most likely going to burn about 5,000 calories during the race and sweat through about 50 ounces of fluid. The fluid loss is the main concern along with the loss of electrolytes. I’ll be packing 3 servings of Sword sports drink along with some energy gels and chews used during my 20 miler a few weeks ago.

Lastly, the weather forecast is showing rain for Saturday. This poses some serious problems for what I’m going to wear. I absolutely hate running in the rain! It was like this last year though. Hopefully the precipitation holds off to later in the race.

I’m so excited! I’m getting closer and closer!
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I apologize for the delay in the update. It’s been a busy and slightly depressing two weeks. Let’s just say that I’m ready to get this marathon done. This training has been emotionally draining. I’ve been high and low week to week for months now.

Here’s my update.

The hamstring issue is all good. I panicked because of my past problems with hamstring issues and because I was worried about getting enough training done before the marathon. After a few modifications to my training program, adding rest mostly, I was able to get my 20 mile run done that was included in my training calendar. This was my longest run to date. It was also a time that I could actually plan things to carry for the race. I wanted to actually see how much fluids and nutrition I was going to need to carry. I was spot on as far as the fluids but carried too many race gels with me. I’ll take that though. I’d rather have too much nutrition than too little. The only minor injury to report is a major blister on my left pinky toe. I went into the long run with a blister but hoped not to aggravate it further. But I did and it opened up in my sock during the run. It took off my toenail and everything. OUCH! It’s healing and should be fine for the race in ten days.

Yes, ten days! I’m almost there. Just a few small training runs and it’ll be time to go.

Yeah… So the goal was to stay injury free. I’ve been successful towards that goal until now. I’ve often had problems with my right leg in general but specifically with my hamstring. From high school and into college, I’ve missed competitions due to severe hamstring strains including partial tears of the muscle. Needless to say, this isn’t a good time for this injury with 3 weeks till marathon time. But, before I go into a panic, let me explain how my week went.

This week started out with another long 18 mile run. The run was going well till I ran out of fluids. I did make it to a little over 17 miles though. Considering how fast I ran the Papa John’s 10 miler the day before, I’ll take that. I was only supposed to do 8 that day and did a 10 mile race. I did more mileage that weekend than I was supposed to do. I definitely feel stronger. The middle of the week was full of short runs just to recover from the high mileage of the previous weekend. I also did not want to push too hard because I had a difficult race coming up Saturday in the Run the Bluegrass Half Marathon.

Speaking of the Run the Bluegrass Half, I did quite well! I finished in the top 8 percent and beat last years previous time by almost 7 minutes. Impressive… most impressive! Afterwards, I felt like I could’ve gone another 3 miles at that pace. I was very happy with the results of that race. It’s by far the most difficult course because of the hills. But it’s a beautiful course. My race preparation went well as I got up extra early to get to the site. I had all my gear ready the night before. This was a great marker to gauge my fitness level. Again.. I’m getting stronger.

Now, the bad news. I went for a short recovery run the next morning and couldn’t get to three miles. I felt a sharp nagging pain in my hamstring at about the 1.5 mile mark. I thought I could run it out thinking it was a cramp of some sort but it got worse the more I ran. After another mile, I called it quits and went back to the car. This week was supposed to be the important peak week for me where I put in the last large volume of miles before I begin to rest up for the race. I’m not sure how to rework my training schedule to allow me to rest and get the mileage I need. It’s not a good time for injury right now. I’m even thinking of pulling out of the race.

 

This is an exciting time for me for a couple of reasons. First, I’ve survived Winter and Spring is upon us. The weather is finally staying consistently warm which means I can enjoy being outside more. Secondly, It’s Race season! I’ve got races planned every weekend leading up to the marathon on April 30th. This is a fun time because I get to see now how all this hard work is paying off.

Training continues to go well. After an easy week last week with reduced mileage, I moved back up in mileage. The easy week helped me recover and I was able to actually do more miles than what the training plan required. I’m sore but not injured. The long run of 18 miles on Sunday was easier than the previous 18 miler I did a few weeks ago. I’ve recovered really well. This week is lighter week as far as mileage but I have a difficult race planned for Saturday. So, the focus is on fine-tuning my race preparation and raising the intensity.

Speaking of races… I ran the Papa John’s 10 miler Saturday. It’s one of my favorite races! The course is challenging and fast at the same time. The hill work at Iroquois Park definitely helped me as I was able to get through those inclines without much fatigue. Overall, I ran over 3 minutes faster than last year but was disappointed still. I’m too hard on myself at times. I got to the race later than I should have and ended up in the back of the pack. That’s where the walkers are. So, I spent the first 3 miles weaving through them. I estimate that mistake cost me about a minute and half off my time. I guess I can still be pleased with the effort though. I ran the second half of the race faster than the first.

Next up is the Run the Bluegrass Half Marathon. This is by far one of the most difficult races I’ve ever done. Hills are everywhere! It’s a well ran race and so much fun though! All the hill training I’ve done this Winter has been in preparation for this race. This should be a gauge to see where my fitness level really is over last year.

Wish me luck!

Onward to week 13..

After looking at my training calendar, I realized that being in week 11 of my training program puts me 5 weeks out from race day. Oh boy! The anxiety is building up! I am still very much excited though. I guess entering into unknown territory with this challenge is giving me new energy and focus. I’m not so intimidated of the distance anymore. Let’s go!

Well, here’s a review of last weeks training. The program had me reduce my mileage after topping out with my longest run of the program so far. My long run was only 10 miles instead of the 18 miles the week before. I appreciated the drop in mileage. The rest was needed for sure. My hips and lower legs were beginning to bother me.

I have been doing my long runs at Cherokee Park throughout my training but Sunday I decided on a change of scenery. It’s been over a year since I’ve ran at Iroquois Park. I was highly impressed with the work they have done here. The roads are all newly paved with asphalt which is softer than running on concrete. There are new structures and play areas and the amphitheater looks awesome now. Even though it is further out from where I live,maybe , I’ll continue to do my long runs there instead.

I’m on to week 12!

Last week was the most difficult training weeks I could remember. Yes, I had the incredible 10k performance that beat my personal record by 2 minutes. But I quit during my long run the next day. I quit mentally and physically. It was the equivalent of a boxer throwing in the towel. Like Duran vs. Leonard… I didn’t want anymore. That week had me contemplating whether I should ever run again. It was that bad.

This week was a different story. I was still recovering from the weekend on Tuesday’s run. My knees were still sore. It was tough but I began to feel better as the run went along. The 9 mile run became basically a delayed extended recovery run. I felt great the next day. I’m glad I didn’t give up days before.

Thursday was back on the treadmill for some speed work. The workout required doing 5 repeat miles with a 2 minute break between them after doing a 2 mile warm up. I felt fast again! My knee soreness was almost gone and I was able to run almost fatigue or pain free. I guess what doesn’t kill you…

 

Now it’s time for the long run. This run was 18 miles. Last week’s long run broke me at a little over 15 miles so I was very scared. I had only attempted a run at this length one other time. So, although this isn’t necessarily uncharted territory, I’m still very new to this length of a run. It was a test and I passed with flying colors! I felt so good I ran 18.5 miles and stopped only because I ran out of fluids. The pace I ran was the most impressive thing about the run. If I had kept that pace I would’ve finished a marathon under 3 hours and 29 minutes. That’s Crazy! This has me excited again!