18 miles...and my knees are killing me

Today was the dreaded 18 miler. This was the distance I have feared when hearing others talk about "hitting the wall." It took me 4 hours because I kept a steady slow pace (12 min/mile), and I did 3/1 run/walk intervals throughout the entire run.

I have been reviewing some of the content in Jeff Galloway's Marathon book lately to remind me of his tips for the longer distances. Some advice that came in handy today was to visualize images of positivity. This involves the creative right brain and deflects negative thoughts and doubts from the left brain. My left brain is dominant as it is, and this chapter helped explain why I always rationalize not pushing myself too hard--I believe the warnings in my head that I can't go on, that it's just too hard, that I could injure myself, etc. Today, I imagined a "fortress of discipline," deflecting pain, doubt, negative voices, the people around me, cars that were driving too fast and too close to me, etc. I imagined nice things inside with me: Tarrus, my pets, my friends and family, waterfalls (it was hot out), a lake I saw on the golf course, and a mosquito net to keep out the bugs! This "fortress of discipline" not only helped pace me around a 12 minute mile while I was running, but also helped get rid of the negative thoughts I kept having.

The last 4 miles were especially tough today. I forgot to bring my knee brace today, though my (right) knee has been hurting lately on long runs, even while wearing it. I was feeling the knee today, starting around 9 miles. It got really bad for the last 3. My hip (right also) was also acting up. Every time I go to the chiropractor, they have to adjust my right hip. After using The Stick on my right IT band trigger points, it was like magic how fast my hip problems cleared up. But apparently, they are back! Can't wait to go back to the chiro on Monday!

The cold bath was colder today than for my 16 miler, and I wore an ice pack on my knee for about 30 minutes after eating. I am anxious to know how I'm going to feel in the morning. As for now, I am exhausted and can't imagine how I will be running 1-2 more hours during the race....starting to really question how I will get through this now...can't imagine how my knees and hips are going to hold out. I may have to do 2/1 run/walk intervals for my 20 miler in 2 weeks and see how that goes.

10 miles at Stone Mountain during Confederate History Month

My long runs are now every other week as my mileage is increasing. This week was a 10 miler, so I took Bella to Stone Mountain for 2 laps around the mountain. Early in the run, I heard what sounded like bombs. I started noticing confederate flags on signs, cars, and motorcycles early in the run. I remembered that it was Confederate history month after hearing about the Virginia governor making his proclamation that failed to mention slavery as a significant factor in the war.

Looking back, my decision to take Bella on the trail on the second lap could have been better thought out. I forgot that this trail went straight through the park by the Confederate Memorial carving (that I hear the federal government had to finish years after the War was over...touche). We ran right through the middle of a pack of people memorializing the Civil War soldiers, wanting to scream, "GO NORTH." But I was scared for my life, so I didn't. The very last canon fire came right when we got back in the woods, and it scared the crap out of Bella. I had to work hard to calm her down because she tried to run faster than I could run, given that we were on trails and one wrong step could result in a twisted ankle.

But all went well, and we fgot back on the main trail. Bella barely took a drink from the doggie drinking fountains that were around the mountain. So at one point, I saw a creek on the outside of the mountain and decided to take a little jaunt over there to see if she would drink from a stream. Of course she did, even though I was worried that she may get sick from whatever is in the water. I was willing to bet on clean water versus heat exhaustion as it was getting pretty warm (70s).

But again, all went well, and so far, no signs of sickness from Bella, and the run ended fine, with no dixie run-ins. Eighteen miles this Saturday....uh oh.

My 16 miler at Stone Mountain

I had never run 16 miles...ever. That said, it was finally time to break out of the half-marathon mini-recovery and have a real training run. So on April 3, the date of the Final Four, I took to Stone Mountain decked out in my new MSU running shorts. I enjoyed running in these shorts so much that I have decided these will be my new racing shorts (if running in warm weather, of course).

I had a running partner for the first 2 laps around mountain. These felt great, though we took the Cherokee Trail which shortened the distance of the first lap by nearly a mile. So on my third lap alone, I had to add some distance at the end, then turn around and come back to make the full 16.

By the last 3 miles, I was not feeling very good. My lower back hurt, which has never happened to me during a run. My legs were also really tightening up, probably due to the hills, and also due to taking too much time off after ING. I really hadn't intended to take that much time off, but due to Spring coming, there were lots of pressure systems coming through, meaning a week of migraines for me. So I had to lay off on the mileage during the week preceding this run. It got so bad during mile 15 that I considered NOT going back out for the last mile. But I knew I had to push it, as I am now in the home stretch of training, and need to prove to myself that I can go further than I've ever gone before...and survive!

When I got back to my car, I ate and drank and stretched. I decided that after showering I would take a cool (but not ice) bath and see if it made a difference since I was already hurting. I also didn't want to be waddling during Easter church service and dinner with Tarrus' family. I sat in the cold bath for about 10 minutes. It wasn't even that cold, but it made all the difference because I was not even a bit sore when I woke up on Sunday. I was shocked! I am a firm believer in the cold bath. They will have to get colder as my distance increases, I'm sure, but I know they will save me!

ING Half Marathon 2010

Excuse the belated post, but since I only have a few followers (all of whom have already heard my ING update), I've not really been so good about being prompt.

THE ING GA ROCKED!! Or better yet, I rocked the ING Georgia Half marathon in 2010! My training is paying big dividends already. I ran my PR (personal record) of 2:26:39, shattering my previous best of 2:32:16 last year in Miami by almost 6 minutes!

Not only did I run my fastest race ever, but check out these facts:

• This course was much hillier than the flat courses of Miami and Disney, my 2 previous PRs
• I took MORE walk breaks, at a 3/1 run/walk interval for the first 10 miles, then ran the last 3 straight out (more on this later).
• I finished the last half of the race faster than the first half, which is what you are supposed to do! To be more specific, my first 8 miles averaged 11.6 minutes per mile, while my last 5 miles averaged 10.6 minutes per mile. I couldn't get the actual half-way calculation since ING only had the 8 mile split.
• I felt great during and after the race, and was hardly sore the next couple of days. This is a rarity for me. I'm usually very sore, because my training in the past has been less than consistent. 

So, I felt very good about this race, especially because I didn't go all out, since it was a secondary race. I did, as mentioned earlier, ran the last 3 miles straight out with no walk breaks, but that is because I had so much left in the tank from my 3/1 run/walk intervals.

So why the 3/1 run/walk intervals? I saw Jeff Galloway speak at the Expo on Saturday. though I've read his books and firmly believe in his run/walk/run philosophy, I have still utilized it mostly during training. I used to do 4/1 intervals during training, but during a race, I would run a mile, then walk for 1 minute. I decided that I had nothing to lose by taking more walk breaks and testing out his theory, and boy was he right on. I somehow thought that maybe it only worked for "real" runners, or those at their peak, but it really did work for me. So now, I'm planning on using the 3/1 interval not only during training, but during my full marathon in June.