Fall 50, the good and the bad

Sunday October 21, 2012

Let me tell you something. Yesterday was a day I will never forget. I have spent many days training and thinking about it.
I have spent 114 hours, logged 736.41 miles, and burned 67,000 calories yet nothing could have prepared me for what happened. My body and mind were pushed to unthinkable levels but I still made it. never running that distance before and having my longest training run be 31 miles doesn't even compare to 50 miles.

Since about Thursday started the pre-race bitchiness. it is not intentional but happens nonetheless. i get very anxious and nothing seems to go right, i have to have a plan for everything, etc... It had been raining and the forecast for Saturday said 40 degrees and rain: fanfrickentastic, just how i wanted to spend 8 hours!
Friday comes and it is still raining, roger and i made it to door county thursday night and stayed in a nice bed and breakfast. We relax and go pick up my race packet, eat some fish(it is friday in wisconsin afterall), and start to pack and plan. Rogers plan to be my pit crew on his bicycle, that meant we needed to be strategic in clothing/food choices for both of us.
I made my morning smoothie friday night, and at 4 a.m. the alarm went off. The anxiousness was gone, race day is finally here. Coffee and a smoothie, done. bathroom time...not yet. roger eats, we  pack the last minute things, try to go to the bathroom again....nope. So off we go, out the door at 4:50. it is an hour drive to Gills Rock and I don't wanna be late. we get there about 6:10 and it is still real dark and they are still setting up the start area. pretty sure we were the first ones there. I am ready, pit stop to the luxurious bathroom for one last try....nothing!
So here I am letting Rog lube up my legs with his magic stuff to help block out the cold. get your mind out of the gutter...not that magic stuff.
we start late because the shuttle with most of the solo runners coming from Sturgeon bay was late!!
Lined up and surveying the competition the gun goes off at 7:10 a.m. Only goal: finish under 8.5 hours!

And we are off, my goal for the first half was a 9 minute pace, then I would kick it up little by little each mile after that. well I have a tendency to go out too fast at the start, so crossing the start line I took it easy. I stayed with a few people and felt good, slow, but good. Over a mile away you could here the crowd and the music blaring. It really was awesome.
By this time I knew Roger was already on his way back to Sturgeon bay with the car and then he got on his bike and the plan was to meet me no later than the 24 mile rest stop. So for almost the whole first half I was on my own. Bring It!

First 5 were great, fell into a good rhythm and watched the leaders pull further and further away. I was a bit faster than I wanted but overall consistent.
8:31, 8:24, 8:33, 8:31, and 8:42. The first rest stop was at 4.8, my plan was to stop for water but i saw a few women that were near me stop and being competitive I wanted to beat them, so i kept going. By the next mile I was wishing I had stopped for water.
Miles 6 to 10 were pretty much of the same 8:56, 8:41, 8:27, 8:41, and 8:25. There was the first "real" hill at mile 9, i ran it. i know alot of ultra people walk the hills to conserve energy, but as a pride thing i just couldn't! For pretty much of this time there were the same people around me, i would pass this one guy, he would pass me, back and forth, etc.
Miles 11 to 15 felt good still. the second rest stop was here at 11.1, i did get water here. It tasted sooo good. 9:11(hill), 8:23, 9:09(hill), 8:20, and 8:26. The weather changed a bit here from super cloudy to kinda cloudy.
Miles 16 to 20 were beautiful. 8:57, 9:29(hill), 8:37, 8:36, and 8:49. between miles 15 and 16 there was a nice long hill, i look at the ground almost directly below me while going up as to not psych myself out as to "how much is left", and surprise i'm at the top! you take a left near the top and then there is no sign as which way to go: continue straight or turn right? There was a spectator at the corner, good thing because i would have gone straight."Go right", she says. After that turn the course took us into Penninsula Park/Golf Course. It was breathtaking. the leaves were mostly still there and shaded and really a sight to see. All of a sudden I have a running partner, "I've been chasing you for the last 5 miles", he says. Chit Chat ensues, and we go through the next rest stop together(18.8), and shortly after that his posse greets him(kids, wife, parents, in-laws, friends).
Miles 21 to 25 had lots going on. 8:37, 8:56, 8:53, 8:39(rest stop here at 24.1 also big hill), 8:49.

This is me right after trying to use the bathroom....nada.
 by the frantic look in my eyes you can tell that i am freaking out to see if anyone was passing me

Roger caught up with me shortly after my running buddy stopped to say hi to his family, i was glad to see him! he informs me that i am the 3rd female, what, how did that happen? There are two women behind me though, I recognize both of them from the group at the beginning, damn!
my running buddy passed and he was now in orange. I didn't try to catch him, kept him in sight though.

You can't tell
 but i am yelling at him as hes trying to put gels in my pockets of my shorts,
 while i want to do it myself. "you're not helping"!

Miles 26 to 30 i would say was the start of the decline. 9:26, 9:13, 9:03(rest stop 28.4), 9:10, and 9:12. I was out of gels by now and about 4 hours in. My stomach was starting to get angry because i had no real food and i was getting frustrated.  I started to eat some mixed nuts, a granola bar, and a couple fruit chews. that helped. I had some IT band issues earlier, I have never had this before but by hearing about what it entails I knew immediately that's what is was. this cannot be happening today of all days, seriously?! thankfully it dissipated leaving me with a very tight right hip! The guy i had been running with was still in sight and had a couple people riding bikes with him, one stopped to take this lovely picture of us. Before the next rest stop I passed him, at what point you ask...I have no idea! 20 miles left, which means i could finish under 8 hours, that's crazy! i was thinking at this point even if i run 10 min/mile it will take me 3 hours and 20 min. which would get me there just under 8, but i still have to run for 3. more. hours. WHY!!!


Miles 31 to 35, I got passed at the 32.2 rest stop by a woman who was close to me most of the way. i went to try to go to the bathroom....zilch, i really should have just stopped trying at this point. 9:25, 9:41(rest stop), 10:05(hill), 9:45, and 9:39. Coming out of the rest stop it went into a very steep hill, I walked that one. Now I was 4th woman. all i can think is i will still place because at least one of them was in the masters and the woman who just passed is also. Once you have a taste of that glory it is all you can think about. Roger informs me that there is another woman not too far back, the other one from before! Don't fall apart.

That really just sums it all up, wanting to stop, but going again hurt even more,
mile by mile.

Miles 36 to 40, ok now i'm losing it. by this point i am running at least a minute slower per mile that the first 20. 9:59(rest stop and the other woman passes me, fml), 10:33, 9:52, 9:49, and 9:50. All that is going through my head is mile by mile. One mile at a time, literally roger would meet me at every mile marker and see what i needed. i needed something to look forward to, otherwise i don't know what would have happened.

Miles 41 to well the end. First off my Garmin died at 40.2. it was fully charged, now what? The next rest stop was at 42.2, I had orange slices and shoved apple slices in every pocket i had to take with me. I noticed that the older woman who passed me first was having a hard time before the rest station and looked as though she might not go back out. I flung my watch at Roger, why wear it if its dead? the slow process of starting running again commences. That woman never made it out of the rest station.

not puking, just trying to get a breather in between
slams of diet coke. mile 43

I really don't remember much till about mile 47. I do remember thinking that i would let everyone down back home who was cheering me on from afar. how ashamed i would be if i just quit, im not a quitter! So i pushed a little deeper, from an unknown place of pure will. I latched onto a guy who was leap frogging with me pretty much the whole race. he was now my rabbit, i knew i could go a bit faster and he was watching his pace. at this point i knew i couldn't let go, so i told roger to meet me at the finish.
even this guys tween daughter starting running with him at 48. even at this point the miles seemed to go by fast, even though it was hard, they seemed to fly by, one by one they were counting down for me. until this:

Why did i think this was a good idea?
who do i think i am to be running 50 fricken miles?

Also what did my rabbit do? he sped up, yep that's right he was going faster! i pushed i really did, i watched as he pulled away. i saw the crew in their yellow vests waving their orange flags. it was like a dream where you are running and going nowhere. they seemed to be getting further away, i tried to run faster but i couldn't feel my legs. i turn into the parking lot finally and the guys daughter runs with me to the end pushing me, yelling at me, telling me i'm almost there. and there i am somehow crossing that finish line with a time of 8:00:12. how did i just do this? and i placed, what? i have nothing left, i literally gave it my all. i left everything i had on the course and no regrets.

i did it.

I thought i would cry as i crossed the finish line, i was so exhausted that i couldn't even do that. We hung around because i did indeed win second place in the open division which was 39 and under, i had to get my sweet medal after all that!!  As the sun set it got pretty chilly, i was standing in the sun and felt this huge pain in the hip that was bothering me. I got stung by a bee! really?!




I did cry though.... later that night back at the hotel after the awards ceremony, after all the great jobs, well dones, and congratulations were exchanged. upon reading all the well wishes from everyone back home i got one that tugged a heart string and the waterworks started to go. i lost it.  i did not however know the extent at which this went to until i got home today. this is what waited for me:

As i sit here and write this I tear up still. i am lucky to have people in my life who believe in me, in what i can do even when i doubt myself. I am lucky to have an amazing partner who got my through this one mile at a time, letting me yell at him and not letting me quit. For the next couple of days i will be in active recovery, resting mostly. in a months time i will be at it again, i do have Boston 2013 to train for after all!

i found a little something today

Sunday September 23

Today was the last long run of my training cycle for the 50 miler in about 4 weeks. I ran 29 miles, the plan was to run 30 but i chose to run a flat easier last 8 miles than hills. the sacrifice of one mile was worth it. I have been having some pain in soleus(the bottom of my calf muscle) and it travels from the bottom of my foot up to my hamstring. I was hesitant about the run this morning because the last 4 miles of my run yesterday it flared up. This is my own fault though, I am horrible at stretching. I literally don't do it. I ran strong the past 2 days and i went out today with the intent to not pay attention to pace or time, just run at a slow even pace. this run was about time on my feet not the speed or even necessarily the miles.

I am a religious runner when it comes to listening to music, if my iPod is dead i will wait for it to charge or not go. today at 2.5 hours in my iPod died. so i ran last half with no music. fortunately i was on a cty hwy with little traffic and the last 8 were on the local trail. truthfully it wasn't that bad. I CAN RUN WITHOUT MUSIC!

If you are a runner you know that all sorts of things go through your head while running. you can have your best ideas out there on the open road. Today my mind was on my wedding. yes folks i am engaged and we have decided on a 2013 winter wedding. thinking about where, what to wear, and cakes!

much much better

Sunday August 5


So I ran my second half of my b2b runs today. I had 24 on the schedule, i ran 24.3!!! i learned a couple things after my run yesterday. I started 2 hours earlier, had water dropped for me, and slowed down. i felt great, my legs weren't that tired and I really could have kept going. That was huge for me because I was on the road for over 4 hours. That is the longest i have been on my feet running, so knowing that I can make it that far boosts my confidence tremendously!!

I have finally hit the wall.

Saturday August 4

Today was the start of my back to back weekend long runs. i set my plan to run a new course, it measured at 21.43, my goal was to do 20, that extra 1.43 will be easy i told myself. i started out around 8 a.m. and we didn't have time to pre-place water along the course so i was left with my 2-8oz bottle on my fuel belt for the entire race. the forecast was gonna be hot. great.

I felt great at the start, nice wind. i knew that i had to conserve the water so my first drink wasn't until mile 8, around an hour to wash down the packet of peanut butter i ate. this was also my first time trying new fuel. turning onto the second leg i could feel the sun getting hotter and i was running out of water fast. right around my 2 hour mark i was out of water and hoping to see someone in their yard with a hose or something! i can across some people detassling corn and i asked if they could spare some water, ch-ching i got an ice cold bottle of water!! thanks to those guys!

onto leg 3, i knew this would be the worst part, tail wind and no shade with the sun high. water lasted about 6 miles and i was fading fast, i have NEVER walked during a race or in a training run, today i broke that. I hit the inevitable wall for the first time since i started running less than 2 years ago. i really does suck as much as everyone says it does. i knew roger would come look for me if i wasn't home within 3.5 hours, so my plan was to make it to the next shady area(i couldn't see any up ahead though) and rest till he came looking for me. it was 2 miles back and i knew i couldn't walk the rest of the way. a fellow runner who was driving past recognized the fade and offered to give me a ride, i hesitantly accepted and blasted the ac.

i got dropped off 2 blocks from home and i didnt think i was gonna make it, hands a feet numb, dizzy. i thought i was going down for the count. made in the door and fell on the bed. you know you're hot when you melt an ice pack on your chest in less than 10 minutes.

tomorrow i go back out to tackle 24 miles. i will however go out 2 hours earlier and have drop stops. Also getting all i can take with the London Olympic Track, and Triathalon has given me that extra push.

Top of the World

Monday July 30


So this is my RR from a little 10 miler I did on Saturday. Its a local race and I did this one last year. When I ran this race last year it was my first race of any real significant amount. I was in the midst of half marathon training and had run an 8k and a 5k race up until this point. Needless to say I was nervous. It was hot and the course offers little shade. Last year I finished with a time of 1:24:58, 11th in my age group, 36/192 woman and 137 overall. I thought that was good at the time, well I was actually pissed that I missed top 10! There is nothing like thinking you got it and then the last minute, nope nevermind not yours!

This year I was a bit more prepared, I knew the course and I run 10 miles almost daily. The weather was great, at start it was 60ish and overcast. I was shooting to cut 10 minutes off of my time and top five in my age group would be ideal. My confidence wasn't all there though. with the weather being so hot my pace has slowed and i haven't been doing as much speedwork as i should.

I knew that I could push through, so I was trying not to think about it too much.
I put myself towards the front but not right up there, because I knew that I would push too fast too soon and possibly fizzle out. In true race fashion I do not look at my watch much to check pace, it becomes too mental for me then. But at the first mile they were calling out times, i came in around 7ish. i was surprised since I thought I was going slow, but it was comfortable so I stayed there.
Within the first 3 miles I let 4 women pass me, i was ok with it for the time being. Within mile 7 is a decent hill and I made up some ground there and I had a girl in my sights, (if I could only catch her)!
At mile 9 there was a pack of 4, myself, that girl, and two other men. I kicked it up and passed them, and with .3 to go I kicked it up and finished strong!


I finished with a time of 1:16:02, not quite the 10 minutes i was looking for.
I got 8th overall woman out of 204, 5th in my age group, and 64th overall. I was really happy about all the stats I got!

All day I couldn't get the smile off of my face, that is the first time that I really was proud of myself. i didn't think that I would do that well. But it also gives my confidence a boost that I do have it in me and that the speed is still there.

Yesterday I did a recovery run of about 13 miles, it was hot and I was a bit tired from the race. I also realized that it was time for new shoes, again!
This week is week 5 of training for the 50 miler in october!
Have a great monday!

It's like a Sauna

Monday july 2

Hydration is key. the temps around here have been in the 90's consistently with no break in the future. My mornings have been starting between 4 and 5am to get my run in before the heat hits and before the kids go to school. Even running that early and only running 6 or 8 i have to carry water. i am not however going to wear a fuel belt and a handheld bottle is a no go. I run very tight in my neck and shoulders so trying to hold onto something at the same time causes pain. I came up with a little solution. i took one of the bottles from my fuel belt(6-8oz) and wore my stow-n-go northface sports bra. the bottle fits perfect in the pocket of the sports bra. a full bottle feels heavy in a place where you are not used to that weight. I now know what it feels like to run with boobs.

my training starts this week for my 50 miler, and struggling a bit with the plan. i have one all figured out but feel like its not enough.

Marathon Madness

Tuesday

Finally, the moment you have all been waiting for..... my RR! 

First off I was not training for this marathon specifically as you may know. i was supposed to run the previous week here in Madison but was indeed cancelled due to the heat.

my training was an 18/55 altered pfitz plan peaking at 70ish and average about 55. My goal was to hit sub 3:45 which would have been a PR by 7 minutes!

Night before race: ate waaayyy to much pasta and carrot cake too late=food baby

morning of race: woke up around 4 a.m. to get up and gather all my stuff strewn about the hotel room(Roger did the Tour De Cure 100 mile ride the day before so a bicycle to the shin in the middle of the night=not cool). Only had a banana and some berries because i was still so full from dinner 6 hours before. 

We were only 3 blocks from the start so we left the hotel at 5:45ish and met a lady in the elevator who was also supposed to run Madison and picked this one up last minute. We find the 8 minute/mile corral and stretch, warm up and use the john one last time before the lines got outrageous! Up until this point I was cool as a cucumber, now anxious as ever! i started at teh line with a long sleeve T, but took it off right before the gun went off to sport my kit!

time to line up and I'm eyeing the people around me(don't act like you don't do it), ready to go. my sister and Roger are there to see me start and he will be riding the course as my pack mule!

And we are off: I start right with the 8:01 pacer and i think to myself "this is too slow" so I go for the pace that feels good. I hook onto a rabbit right away and stay with her till about mile 8.

1 7:37

2 7:38

3 7:38

4 7:38

5 7:31

6 7:29

7 7:35

8 8:06

Pretty consistent with the rabbit, I have a habbit of not looking at my watch while running unless to look at the time elapsed for my gel gauge as to not psych myself out. I encounter some hills at this time and i was surprised because I thought the course was mostly flat, i love hills but when you are not expecting them it can suck. there was more downhill than up. the next few miles were a blur, I hit a zone that was good, but my goal was not to let the 8:01 pace group pass me no matter what. 

9 7:39

10 7:54

11 7:54

12 7:56

13 7:46

14 8:02

15 8:10

16 8:26

17 8:11

18 8:18

19 8:56

at the turn around point i see that the group is coming up on me and know they are gonna be here any time so i push just a little bit and then decide at mile 19 to let them catch me and hang with them(there were about 5 people in the group). Afterall there was less than 10 miles to go. my quads at this point were feeling the downhills and threatening to give out, but I had plenty of endurance to get me there.

20 8:24

21 8:17

22 8:04

23 8:07

24 8:13

25 8:15

26 8:10

.21 1:41

I am not one to run with others, but i will say that these last 6 miles weren't horrible and i needed that pace group to keep me in check with my pace. The pacer was very energetic and the crowd was amazing. This race was also a relay and the check points were very congested especially at the end where you had marathoners, relay marathoners and half all finishing at the same place at the same time. so trying to finish strong and not run anyone over was tough. I pushed at the end with the remaining other woman in the group, gave it my all and sprinted that s#*t!!!

official finish time of 3:30:39 PR by 22 minutes and 5th in my age bracket!

after the race was about 1.5 mile walk to the hotel and then in the car almost immediately for the 4.5 hour ride home. needless to say my legs are soo sore and i was drinking so much water on the way home we had to stop like 15 times so i could pee!

Without even trying I ended up qualifying for Boston by 5 minutes! So of course i have to go! I did a 1.45 mile run this afternoon to get my legs moving tomorrow i will try for 3!