Fund raising

Thanks to everyone for your last minute donation blitz! I really appreciate the support, and I'm sure the animals at Best Friends, the nation's largest no-kill animal shelter do as well. If you love dogs, be sure to watch "Dog Town," the show about the dogs they rescue and rehabilitate. They famously rescued 3 of the Vick dogs, though they also take all animals from all types of situations.

Even though my training is over, the donation site is still active until mid-July. I guess I thought it would take me that long to recover. I am experiencing the post-race blues, where I'm kinda aimless, not doing a whole lot and not feeling very useful to anyone. I have to ease back into exercise and not lose all my gains. The days of lounging on the couch are about over, my guilty conscience is telling me. I will also put a new goal on the calendar, namingly, the 13.1 Marathon (a misnomer) in October here in Atlanta. I'm trying to convince my trainer Shaka to do it with me. She is a sprinter, so we'll see whether she can stand running for that long without getting completely bored out of her mind. As for me, I need to get back to doing something...motivation, please???

San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon Recap

The short version...

I finished in 5:50:18. Mandy ran whole race with me. Slanted roads from miles 9-12 killed my knees, so the rest of the race was painful, especially starting up from walking again. Got sunburned but very little chafing. Bands pretty much sucked. Mental challenge was tough, though training and Mandy really helped with that.

The LONG version...

Great aspects of the marathon:

• Scenery: the first four miles were beautiful, running through Balboa park, around museums, beautiful buildings, scenery, a giant outdoor organ. Then we also ran through Petco Park, where the Padres play, on the way back to downtown. That was really cool, since we were on the back concourse, and could see home plate and the entire stadium as we ran through it.

• Wide roads, so even though there were thousands of runners, it was the least crowded course I have ever been on. 

• The support: from the community and from Tarrus. Tons of people cheering, though many were cheering specifically for Team in Training, which was only slightly annoying since a few of them cheered for the rest of us as well. Tarrus met us around mile 7 taking lots of pictures and video and even running with us for a while. He met us again during mile 25 and at the finish line. He surprised me with a wonderful charm bracelet he had made at the Expo too to commemorate my first marathon. He is so sweet!

• No hallucinations, dehydration, vomiting (or other accidental forms of leakage)

• Nutrition and hydration plan worked, even though I broke all the rules of not trying things on race day (hadn’t used the drink on a long run, or with the gels, and I tried a new Hammer gel flavor (Tropical, along with my favorite Montana Huckleberry), and I tried Mandy’s salt tablets, as well as eating stuff along the course like Twizzlers and pretzels and table salt. I had very little pain on Monday, except when I had to run at the airport because our plane was boarding and I had Tarrus’ boarding pass and he was buying us breakfast all the way at the end of the terminal, and I still had to make a plan to get us seats next to each other. It turned out great, though my heart (or lungs, I couldn’t tell) was hurting running in the airport, as well as my knees. A big guy was in the seat next to him and appreciated being given my aisle seat about 6 rows back.

• No chafing or painful blisters: all credit here goes to Body glide and my fastidious application of it prior to the race. I also used moleskin pieces from a blister treatment pack where I usually blister on my feet and it paid off because I had some blisters, but not the painful, puss-filled kind that I had after my 22 miler. Also, credit belongs to the Inji socks, which are like gloves for your feet. They helped prevent my toes from cramming together and causing painful blisters which affected me for my first 5 half marathons. I can finally get a pedicure now since I’ve been putting it off to keep my calloused feet that I needed to protect my feet. 

• My training paid off. My arms really helped push me through the last few miles when my legs and hips were in pain. I believe my knees would have been ok were it not for the factor soon to be discussed. Additionally, the mental aspects of training really helped. The positive visualizations, working through pain, the physical endurance you need to be able to finish strong, all contributed to my success.

• My list: I made a list of everyone that has supported me throughout the marathon and dedicated a mile to each of them. You know who you are!!

Not so great things about the marathon:

• Slanted roads!!!!! Miles 9-12+ took us from the downtown area up to the Fashion district on highway 163 (a 2 lane highway, not an interstate). This is where my problem developed. Those of you who are runners know that this can be very uncomfortable to run for distances, even sometimes on the edge of the street where the difference in pavement is slight (i.e., cambered roads to facilitate drainage). But worse than just the average 1.5% slope at the edge of the pavement, imagine a visibly slanted highway surface, for three miles, during the middle of the marathon, where you still have to run over 13 miles. My knees, especially my left knee where I have had little trouble until now, were killing me the rest of the way.

• The sun: no amount of “40+ waterproof, sweat-proof, rub-proof” sunscreen could withstand 4 hours in the sun apparently. Even though it was cloudy for the first 7 miles, the last 19 were sunny. The breeze, especially coming off the water for the last 6 miles or so kept us pretty comfortable temperature-wise, but the lack of shade and the reflecting rays off of the water on Fiesta Island made the sunburn creep up on us. And I do mean creep. I could tell Mandy got “some” sun after the race, but we seemed fine. After getting back to hotel I could tell it even more on her shoulders, but I seemed fine. By night, it was clear we were both burnt, though Mandy was much worse than me. Neither of us had put on sunscreen on our legs, and it really showed on hers, though our shoulders, arms and necks were also affected. Luckily our faces didn’t burn, likely due to the visors. Two days later, the sunburn is by far what hurts the most, especially when showering and wearing pants!

• Pain: in addition to my knees, the last 6 miles, my hips, calves, quads were all hurting. “Push through the pain” Mandy kept saying, and I did. I’m told this is completely normal.

• Our finish time. I thought we really were going to finish in 5:30 since we were pushing the pace the entire race. We took a few stops, and lots of walk breaks, but I really thought pushing a 11 minute mile pace would get us to 5:30, but I guess I didn’t factor in the walk breaks. I am a bit vain about my time, because I feel this will be my only marathon since my knees were just not made to be a long distance runner. I know I should be happy I just finished, but I guess because I have done 6 half marathons and have started focusing on time, my pride is preventing me from fully enjoying the fact that I just completed a MARATHON.

All in all, it was a great experience, one I will cherish forever. On the plane to San Diego, we watched Invictus. That poem was very meaningful to me and I put the last two lines on my dedication list I carried with me during the race since I felt it appopriate for helping me gather the mental strength needed to finish:

Out of the night that covers me,


Black as the pit from pole to pole,


I thank whatever gods may be


For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance


I have not winced nor cried aloud.


Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears


Looms but the Horror of the shade,


And yet the menace of the years


Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,


How charged with punishments the scroll,


I am the master of my fate:


I am the captain of my soul.

It never rains in Southern California...

...but it may be raining when we are supposed to be flying out of Atlanta tomorrow morning...we'll see. I'm supposed to be sleeping but instead I'm up still packing and watching the Celtics get their butts kicked by the Lakers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals...ugh! Oh well, at least Shannon Brown is on the Lakers.

Check my results on Sunday at the website, or sign up in advance for text message updates as I progress. Text updates cost like $2.25 to sign up and it doesn't work for TMobile (of course, that is Tarrus' carrier, and though he will be there, he would like to get updates so he knows when to head to the finish line).

Thanks to everyone for your support of me during my training. It really means a lot to me!!!

Tapering

I've been trying to do a little cardio each day. I haven't done more than 5 miles (on Sunday), which was my hardest run, at about 9 minute/mile. Since then, I've done elliptical and bike (Monday, 45 minutes total), and running on treadmill (13:00 min/mile, no walk breaks for 20 minutes since people were waiting). Tuesday I took a break because I had a lot of house work to do to get ready for going out of town.

I've been making sure I drink a lot of fluids (no caffeine or alcohol), and eat small meals throughout the day to build up my glycogen stores. I love this strategy since I love to eat! It's of course easier when I'm working at home.

The most important thing I've done to get ready for the race is preparation.  Materially, I've been  buying supplies such as disposable cold packs for my knees after the race, blister supplies for my feet (both prevention and treatment), Hammer Gels and Endurolyte capsules (my 22 miler successful combination), and snacks for the trip (pretzels and nutrition bars). Mentally, and probably most important, I've been trying to review the race in my mind, which is where most of the above comes into play. I've also been having positive thoughts about why I decided to run this marathon and how it will help me in the long run despite the pain.

Even though my fund-raising strategy really didn't work (lack of promotion on my part?), I am still doing it for my Mom. My race bib, instead of my name imprinted on it, will say "Run 4 Mom." I'm hoping this will encourage fans to cheer for me in that way, which will help motivate me along the course. The bands will also help, which is why I chose the Rock N Roll marathon series. One final preparation piece I am going to do on the plane is make my list of people to dedicate each mile to. I thought this would easy, as folks are donating, but instead I have to decide who makes the list. If you have ever commented on this blog and shown me support, congratulations, you make the list!

I'm ready now, as ready as I'll ever be. At least that's what I keep telling myself! Time waits for no one. You have to seize the opportunity to live your life, to let people know how you feel, because they may not be here tomorrow.

No long runs since my 22 miler

I've had no long runs over 30 minutes since my 22 miler...that is NOT how one is supposed to taper, but it's the "strategy" I'm currently engaging in. After needing a whole week to deal with stomach issues (supposedly mild food poisoning, but unlike any I've ever had since it lasted all week), I started back at the gym doing elliptical and bike work to build cardio back up. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday I did mild cardio, even some raquetball (if you can call it that how we just hit the ball back and forth) to get my heart rate up.

Today I waited until around noon to go for what was supposed to be a 8-10 miler cuz I was busy around the house. Plus the weather was threatening rain or storms. But, they never came, so out I went. But I had no energy and felt really flat. I basically walked most of the way with the dogs, only about 1 mile. The sun came out and the dogs were getting heated, so I took them back to the house. I decided to get up and go for a run tomorrow morning instead. We will see if I feel any more like it in the morning (or if the weather concurs) cuz I really do need to get a good easy long run to build my confidence back up before the race!

Tonight is the Braves game so I need to stay hydrated in the heat and while drinking beer...my game strategy will be 1.5 bottles of water for every beer...Tarrus better bring a lot of cash, I think the Dasini costs more than the cheap American beer.

Longest training run yet...and I still ain't right!

Distance, Time: 22  miles, 5 hrs +

Run / Walk Interval (in minutes): 3 / 1

Weather:  Warm (upper 70s, low 80s)

Course / Dogs: Stone Mountain, 4+ laps around the mountain; no dogs

Nutrition / Hydration: Nutrition/hydration: 2 biscuits prior to the run; 1 Gu every 5 miles, water, Endurolyte capsules after 10 miles

iPod playlist: new Alicia Keys, some 80s (Prince, rock ballads), Coldplay (shuffled)

Notes on the Run:

When the alarm went off at 5:10 AM, that surprisingly wasn’t the worst part of my morning. Won’t go into the details, but suffice it to say today was my day to learn to turn a negative mental state into a positive one. It took one lap around the mountain. The first 5 miles were pretty bad and I was having all kinds of negative thoughts about not being able to finish. I enlisted the help of Alicia Keys and memories of the way I felt when my mom was dying of cancer and taking care of her was getting really tough—like giving up and going home. But I didn’t, either time.

I had to recharge my iPod twice on this run in my car, since it just froze up twice, after the second and third lap. Since my stereo plays (and charges) the iPod, I hooked it up with the key in, left one door unlocked, and went up to the bathroom area to refill my fuel belt bottles. I was glad it worked because after starting the run with music, I did not really like having to listen to others’ conversations while I walked by after it crashed. I think it crashed because I have the 30 GB video iPod, which is not really supposed to worn running because of its hardware. I had to keep adjusting the arm band so that it would rest on my forearm, reducing the jarring on it. That helped the last lap and couple extra miles, so I finished strong to Coldplay.

I felt amazingly good for the fact that I ran 22 miles. I attribute this to several factors, though I am not sure which one played the most important role. For one, I really tried to work on my biomechanics, that is, to try to space my legs enough that they are closer to being directly under my hips (i.e., spread my legs more than usual, no puns PLEASE!). This is harder than it sounds, especially when you think of the mantra, “put one foot in front of the other.” If you take that literally, and as women being taught to not separate our legs too much, then those factors combine to mess up our running stride. I know my right hip is less strong than my left, and it extends down to the knee.

And while I do believe this change in stride made a real difference, I also believe my nutrition strategy made a difference. For one, I used Endurolyte caplets for the first time, and these are supposed to prevent cramping. Also, I had a Gu after every 5-mile lap, followed by at least 4 oz. of water, as well as drinking water all along the course. Though when reading the reviews of Endurolytes, I tend to think that it made the most difference in my legs not hurting.

I didn’t eat immediately after the run, though I drank a chocolate milk for a recovery drink. I didn’t eat anything for about an hour though, after taking a shower and cold bath.  I never do this, but thought it would be fine, and I just wasn’t that hungry. After finally eating something, then more a little later on at Panera Bread, I was feeling nauseous and dizzy about 20 minutes later. I still haven’t figured out if it was food from Jason’s deli on Friday night (since my stomach was already a bit uneasy on Saturday morning, the long run, fatigue, the eggs and/or rice I ate at home, the Panera Bread, or a combination of any or all of the above, but I was not feeling well.

After going to Atlanta Dragway on Sunday for Summit Nationals NHRA championships, I realized this was getting worse. I ended up staying home on Monday from work, and had to cancel my trip to Massachusetts. This is a major disappointment since I was supposed to see my friend and roommate from grad school, Shona. I also have never been to Boston, so this would have been a great, but busy trip. I have learned from a trip a few years ago never to travel on an upset stomach on my first and only ever most disappointing trip to NYC, which still upsets me just to think about all the activities I had planned which never occurred because I was feeling sick in my (boutique, right by Times Square and Broadway) hotel room.

Three days later, I still don’t feel well. I’m not eating normally. I just hope I can recover in time to not lose my fitness gains or muscle mass since I’ve been mostly laying/sitting around the last 3 days.

My Vibrams

All the rage in the running community is barefoot running, or the closest thing to it which still protects your feet--running in Vibram FiveFingers. I finally caught the rage and got my own pair. Just took them for my first test run...all of about 2 minutes, on the street at 9:30 PM with Sandman off-leash. I admit I am being a bit anal about the breaking-in period, which I've heard to be fastidious about, but I also just got around to running with them since I've been working nearly all night. (Ok, so I took an hour to recover on facebook (from work, not from working out) , but it's less calories than beer). I hear your calves and butt really need a breaking-in period, so I've been walking around in them for a few days, and now was my first attempt at running.

I'm going to start using them at the gym before I even attempt a real outdoor run in them. Frankly, the thought of having them on at the gym is a little embarassing since they are so ugly and I really don't want to have to talk to everyone who asks me about them. I will wait to run in any real way until after my 22 miler on Saturday, as I don't want to do anything weird to my legs before what will be my training run...wish me luck!