Running has brought great joy to my life. I use this blog to log my running experiences and maybe even inspire a few people to get out there and run. If a turtle like me who couldn't run for more than two minutes without feeling like I was at death's door can run, anybody can.
For a little more about my journey click here.
Officially starting my crosstraining program up this week. I will be loosely following the principles set forth in the book Runner’s World Run Less, Run Faster. The basic concept is to run 3 key runs a week along with 2-3 crosstraining sessions. My new bike trainer is going to get a lot of use. You may be wondering why I am riding on the trainer instead of outside. The answer is twofold. The first reason is pretty pathetic. I am scared of riding outdoors with my clipless pedals. After buying my pedals I fell 3 times and banged myself up pretty badly. This really scared me and I didn’t touch the bike for a couple of months other than short rides with my family without clipping in. The trainer will allow me to actually use my bike for workouts again. The second reason is I get a better workout on the trainer. When riding on the street or trail there is a good amount of stop and go and coasting downhills.
Here is the bike trainer my husband bought me is the CycleOps Cycle Ops Pro Pack. It came with everything I needed: Fluid 2 Trainer, training mat, Bike Thong, 2 Climbing Blocks, and training DVD. It was easy to set up and is nice and quiet. I’ve taken it off a couple of times to ride with my kids and it was super easy to get off and back on.
Really hoping this new plan give my foot enough rest so that it finally heals up. It would be nice to run without pain again.
This is not a blog post about Yoga or stretching, even though both are very good for runners. It is about being flexible with your race and training schedule. When I first started training for races I would make sure I got the work out in no matter what. Injured, sick, rain, excessive heat..no matter what I was out there. As time went on I became a little more flexible..sometimes going longer or cutting the run short..speeding up or taking it easy. I found that this worked well for me and kept me from feeling burnt out. This recent injury (plantar fasciitis/heel spurs) I think happened because I was running in worn out shoes and increased my mileage a little too quickly so that I was prepared to run the Missoula Marathon. I came to the decision after seeing a Doctor a couple of weeks ago to forgo running a marathon in October (I was registered for the Steamtown marathon). This is hard because I know Steamtown would have been my best chance of Boston Qualifying this fall but I am not willing to worsen my condition just to BQ.
My new plan is to keep the running mileage low for the next month and maybe participate in some short races. I am also planning on incorporating more crosstraining. In October if my foot feels better I will start training for the Austin Marathon. I am not sure about BQing there because of the hills but if I am healthy come race time I will be going for it. Either way I think it will be fun. I really enjoying racing in Austin.
It is hard for me to change my plans but if I am looking at the bigger picture it is the best decision. I don’t want to just get through a marathon this fall, I want to keep running the rest of my life. I think that is where you will see the biggest benefits of being flexible with your training schedule.
From the time I was a child running was hard for me. I didn’t like playing tag or racing my friends. The kid sitting on the sidelines watching people run around and play sports, that was me. This was the story of my life until two and a half years ago when I decided I needed to make a change and tried to run. It was still really hard. My heart rate skyrocketed, my breathing was labored and I felt like I was going to die every time I tried to run. But there was something else I felt after every run, I felt strong and victorious for pushing through the pain. Every time I reached a new goal I felt stronger. Eventually I started running longer distances and found out how great long runs are for clearing one’s mind and calming anxiety. But along with great feelings came the pain.
First came the shin splints. One of the newbie runner’s most common injuries. This took a couple of months to get rid of. Then ITB issues when I was training for my first half marathon. After some icing, stretching and foam rolling I got some relief. Then Runner’s knee when training for my first marathon. Another round of ITB issues when the weather turned cold again and now plantar fasciitis and heel spurs in both of my feet. All of this sometimes makes me doubt whether I should even be running at all. That maybe a person with my body type (I am short, wide hipped, have rigid feet with high arches and am not slim) and genetics (obesity, diabetes, heart disease) was just not “born to run”. And yet I will not let this stop me because I love running. I may never be super fast or be able to run ultra distances but I will continue working to find the right balance and keep running. Why? Because I love it..because I need my sanity..because I need to be healthy and fit..because I love the way it makes me feel.
Turtles may not be born to run but I am going to prove that they can!!!
Ever since reading Dean Karnazes’ book Ultra Marathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner I thought it would be cool to run my new age in miles. My husband actually did earlier this year. I thought about running 32 sloow miles this year but ever since running the Missoula Marathon my heel has been hurting and I found out last week that I have a pretty bad case of plantar fasciitis and a heel spur in each foot. The Doctor said I could still run but to keep the mileage low. So no epic run this year and no marathon in October. I opted instead to run fast for 32 minutes. This may not sound like much but between the pain in my foot and the Texas heat/humidity my runs have been turtle paced. I went to the track and squeezed in 4.18 miles in 32 minutes, which works out to a 7:39 min/mile. This restored my confidence in myself and my running. Knowing that I could still run fast (for a turtle) was the best gift I got this year. Maybe next year I’ll make the epic run.
Woke up at 3:30..well really I was awake at 2:30. I can’t ever sleep soundly the night before a race and even though I felt pretty calm about this one I still couldn’t sleep. I wore my turtle socks for luck and lime green nail polish.
When I am feeling hardcore and have a do or die attitude towards a race I paint my nails a dark color but I really just wanted to go with the flow with this marathon so I went with the mellow color. Had my usual light snack and was ready to go. My husband drove down town and I caught a bus to the start line. I arrived early so there was no line and no wait. After a short ride I arrived in Frenchtown where the race starts. Sat around and talked to other runners. There were a surprising amount of Texans. The 3:40 pacer was even a Texan wearing a cowboy hat and all. I planned on setting my own pace but staying pretty close to the 3:40 group as long as possible.
Texan-pacer in Montana
There was a cannon blast and we were off at 6 AM. The temperature 55 at the start with clear skies, I was hoping for cooler weather but I will take 55 felt great. It was a little cramped for the first mile but as the miles went on the crowd thinned out.
The first 10 miles felt really flat and we ran along a nice straight stretch of road. Beautiful open fields with the mountains in the back. I was able to soaked in all the beauty and stayed relaxed.
My average pace for the first 11 miles was 8:15. I started to feel the incline a bit on mile 13 and the only then mile 14 was the hill that slowed my pace quite a bit. The view at the top of the hill was breathtaking, flowing river in the valley and the mountains in the background. We did get some relief going back down the hill on the other side but the descent was steeper so it didn’t last as long as the climb. Then we were back to flat terrain with just a slight incline. I felt it more after the hill then before.
The route started to go through neighborhoods during this later section of the race which I did not enjoy as much. Around mile 20 the 3:40 pacer caught up with me, I stayed with or close to him the next 2 miles but lost him at a water stop and was never able to pick the pace back up. There were a lot of turns the last 4 miles and I just couldn’t get motivated to go fast. Focusing on staying relaxed and my form only made me go slower at this point, early on it helped me stay on pace. Obviously I need a different focus at the end of a marathon if I want to go fast..maybe your almost there go as fast as you can and it’s going hurt. I just was not in that mindset for this race, I wanted to finish with a smile not a grimace. When my garmin beeped at 26 miles, I magically got a burst of energy and sprinted out the last .35 at a 7:22 pace after just running 4 miles at a little over a 9 minute pace. It was strange but it felt great and I had a big smile on my face running across the bridge and all the way through the finish line. My finishing time was 3:44:19 which is a PR of more than 15 minutes.
I was very happy with my time considering the fact that I didn’t feel like I pushed too hard and I finished with a smile on my face. Post race I enjoyed the popsicles, fruit, beer and massage provided by the race.
And then jumped into the Clark’s Fork River instead of going to the hotel and taking an ice bath..it was cold but it felt good.
Great race experience. I really enjoyed the scenery and was able to stay relaxed which was my goal. Qualifying for Boston would have been great but I think if I would have focused on that instead of the experience I would not have enjoyed the race and I may have injured myself and not been able to enjoy the rest of my vacation.
Freezing in the river
I would recommend the Missoula marathon as a destination marathon. The organization was great, everything from registration to the finish line went very smoothly. A beautiful course, not super easy but easy enough to get a good time. The weather was good for a summer marathon 55 at the start and around 70 at the end. The sun rises early and is very strong though so be prepared. We have been enjoying Missoula and the surrounding areas while we been here. If you love nature and wildlife there is plenty to see and do.
About five weeks ago I decided to run the Missoula Marathon. The reader’s of Runner’s World voted it the best overall marathon and since we had never been to Montana we thought it would be a great way to combine my love of running and a family vacation.
I had already started training for the Steamtown Marathon in October so my mileage was running 50+ miles a week. My longest run had been an 18 miler..I figured I could get in a 20 and a 22 miler in before needing to taper. I definitely felt that I could do well at the marathon but not run my peak performance pace since I had not gone through a complete training cycle.
My first week of tapering was rough because we were in New York and did a lot of walking along with my 50 miles. It didn’t feel like a taper week at all. The second week of the taper I felt beat up and slow. This really discouraged me because after my last long run I thought it might be possible to BQ in Missoula and then skip Steamtown. After stressing for a week and being depressed and reading Chi Running. I decided to relax and enjoy myself in Missoula. Treat it as a little test and enjoy the experience.
We arrived in Missoula a couple days early and did a little sightseeing. I tried to make sure we didn’t do anything to strenuous. The day before the race we went to the expo. Not a big expo but just enough to look around and do a little shopping. The expo was at Caras park so there were other things to do as well. We walked around the farmer’s market and bought a couple things to nibble on, walked along the river, took the kids to the carousel (which I rode as well, while trying to grab rings out of the dragon’s mouth) and then we let the kid’s play at the cool playground. After that we went to lunch and back to the hotel. I stayed at the hotel to relax the rest of the day and my husband took the kids to a little local water park (Splash Montana). I rested as much as I could and then went to bed early so that I could wake up at 3:30 AM, get ready for the race and catch the bus to the start line.
I ran this race last year but it was on a different course and month. This race was supposed to take place in March but because of some course issues they changed it to May. The new location (Round Rock Outlets) is much closer to home so that was nice.
The weather was warmer than last week at Chuy’s 5k and the sun was shining which made it feel hot, so I really wasn’t sure if I could better last weeks time. Did not feel nervous going into this race which is a first, main goal was to have a good time but also see if I could PR. I started out pretty quickly, my first mile was a 6:43 (that is the fastest mile I have recorded), I planned on going out fast because part of the first mile is down hill. The second mile was a little tougher, I started to feel that dry throat feeling and I was huffing and puffing most of the way. It was around mile 2 the first guy passed me (the daisy 5K gives women a 3 minute head start because it was originally a mother’s day race), every time a guy passed me I got a little boost of speed just trying to keep up with them for a few seconds. Finished the second mile in 6:57. Really had to dig deep for the third and finished it in 7:00. Sprinted out the last .2, I guess I did not do well with running the tangents again. Finishing time 22 minutes flat. That was good enough for me to place first in my Age Group. I was pretty excited about that. We stuck around after the race so that the kids could run in the kids K. Bonuses: my daughter won a free Z pizza at the raffle, we got free Auntie Anne’s pretzels sticks after the race and met a fellow daily mile runner.
Go time!
Home stretch
secret weapon—turtle socks :)
My kids running the kid’s k
showing off my 1st in age group medal
My daughter with her prize
What’s next? Well I will be starting to build up my base mileage again for my fall marathon. My next big goal will be to qualify for Boston. We will see if this turtle can run Boston
A couple of weeks ago we decided to sign the whole family up to to do the Chuy’s Hot to Trot 5K. My son and I did this race last year and it was a lot of fun. My husband said he would run with my son and daughter and I could run the race at my own pace this year. He is such a sweety.
I didn’t train for this 5K. Ever since I ran the AHC half marathon, I have been taking it easy and just running what I feel like running. Which means usually longer more turtley runs, not really good training for a 5k. But I really just wanted to do a 5K this spring, enjoy the atmosphere of the race and have fun with my family.
Pre race we saw Elvis, enjoyed the live music and laughed at the Chuy’s fish. I did a brief warm up and then we lined up. We lined up separately because I did not want my daughter to try to keep up with me and then bonk and cry, forcing me to stop running. I challenged myself but did not run full out for the first couple of miles and then I tried to hammer a little more the last mile. I ended up with a PR 22:21, this beats my previous PR by 61 seconds. I think I could have done better if I would have rested a little more last week and done more speedwork over the last month but I was really happy with the race anyway because I met my goal which was to have a good time.
My daughter ended up running the last two miles of the race somewhere between myself and my husband and finished in 29:27. I was impressed that she managed to do this on her own, since she usually runs slower when she is running alone. My son improved his time from last year and seemed to have a great time with his dad.
After the race we enjoyed our krispy kreme doughnuts, Zico coconut water and each others company. It was a great morning.
My daughter has been running with a running club at school. She usually runs 2-3 miles once a week and she wanted to do a 5k with me again. When I saw this Girls on the Run 5K on the RunTex calender I knew we had to do it. She is such a girly girl and I knew it would be great for her to be out there running with other girls her age.
We went shopping and bought cute matching outfits again. These were a big hit at the race In the two weeks before the race we also did some training runs, I was impressed by how much faster and how much more endurance she had just by running with the running club at school. Every time we run 3 miles together I give her a little charm, she just loves this. I figure it would give her a little more motivation to run and it would also be something to help her remember our times together. I cherish our running time together, it gives us a chance to chat and it’s a great way to get our one on one time in.
Race morning she was all excited and ready to go. Her enthusiasm and joy about getting to run in the 5k was awesome and contagious. We planned on pacing to go for a sub 30 5K but she was comfortable at about a 9 pace for most of the run so that is what we ran. She finished in 28:23. I was surprised and so proud of her. We crossed the finish line and she said did you see the clock it said 28, she was so happy and proud of herself for for not only meeting her goal but crushing it.
I loved the atmosphere of the race. All the girls were so excited and looked like they were having a blast. It really was a much needed experience after my disappointing half marathon a couple of weeks ago. Girls on the Run are doing a great job of empowering girls through running.
I’ve only had 2 races where I feel like I fell apart, they both happened on warm, high humidity days. So when I awoke on race morning and the temperature said in the mid to high 60s with 90-100% (yes accuweather said 100%) humidity I wasn’t exactly thrilled. But instead of adjusting my race plan and starting off a little slower I stuck with my goal pace (7:38). I felt good for the first few miles and according to the race results when I passed the mid mark my average pace was exactly 7:38. But my wheels came off very quickly after that. My pace went from 7:30s to 8:30s. I usually do have a really bad mile somewhere in the middle of a half marathon but can usually recover. But I was never able to get my pace back up, in fact I started to go even slower. Around mile 9 I threw my water bottle because my hand was cramping from holding it and I thought I would be able to run faster without it. But having to stop at the water stations slowed me down even more and when the cold water hit my gut my stomach started cramping up. My stomach was cramping the night before and into ther morning hours because of the dinner I ate. But up until this point in the race didn’t effect my running. Everytime I tried to run fast the cramping got worse and forced me to walk a few seconds to lessen the pain.
People were passing left and right and I couldn’t even tap into my competitive nature and try to catch them or at least make them work to pass me. My legs would not turnover and the cramps wouldn’t let up. I think the last mile was the worst. I was so upset by the end I just grabbed my medal and told my husband I was ready to go.
This makes bad race experience number 3 for me and this one stung the worse. Not only did I not meet my goal of 1:40, I ran slower (5 minutes slower) than my PR which I did while having some pretty painful ITB issues. Official time 1:48:31. I trained hard for this one but kind of feel like I peaked a couple of weeks ago. The weather and the stomach problems were definitely an factor but I was feeling a little overtrained the past couple of weeks and even with an easy training week did not feel as energized as I usually do before a big race. My confidence was also down and doubted I could do it. Much of running is a mental battle and I feel I lost that battle during this race.
I am ready to chill for a while. My daughter and I will be doing a 5K in a couple of weeks and we have a family 5K planned as well. No races for me though, at least not for a while. I will be doing a fall marathon but after this race am doubting that I will be able to meet my goal of a BQ.
Now that I’ve told you how horrible I did let me just say a few words about the race. The course was flat and had some nice tree lined stretches in the beginning and the end. Crossing over the lake was also nice. I do think the course was longer than it was supposed to be and not just because my watch said it was 13.3 miles and I couldn’t wait to stop running but because map my run said it was 13.22 miles long. I loved all the schwag (tech T, socks, mug, medal, reusable bag). Great course support, plenty of water and gatorade to go around (at least when I ran by). Cold rags and plenty of food at the finish..hot dogs, chips, cookies, soda, water, jamba juice which was nice. Free massages too, always a bonus. I would do this race again and hope for better weather and hopefully not be over-trained next time.
Here are some pictures of the race..Thanks to my wonderful husband for taking them.
Pre Race trying to psych myself up..I this point I thought I could do it
Strike a running pose
There was a military theme this year. This guy did the whole race carrying a flag.
About half way done at this point..you can see I am started to feel chuffed..my shoulders always start to creep up
This is close to the finish line. Deceptive picture, I don’t look like I am having that hard of a time right.
This picture was taken right after the other..this is how I really felt.
