Tempo Tuesday

I did my first tempo run in months last night.  I was pretty stoked about it. Josh and I headed to the gym because it was about a million degrees outside and in our unconditioned house. Even our humid gym felt pretty good. I wasn't planning on doing a tempo but after 5 minutes on the dreadmill I knew I needed some variety to get me through my 4 miles I planned to do.  I was one of those people last night....yes I ran in just my sports bra.  Well and of course shorts, etc. It was just so hot after the first mile and weighing passing out and being flung off the back of the dreadmill into the elliptical machines vs. showing some skin, I figured it was the lesser of the two evils. Here's how it went:

Mile 1-10 min/mile
Mile 2-8:57 min/mile
Mile 3-8:57 min/mile
Mile 4-10 min/mile

Distance: 4 miles    Time: 37:55 mins    Avg. Pace: 9:29 min/mile

Amazingly I wasn't even dying running a sub-9 min/mile. There may be hope for me yet. I picked up my orthoditics yesterday. I was instructed not to run with them until I can walk in them comfortably for 7-8 hours at a time. When we got back to the gym I put my sweaty feet into my need to be retired Asiacs and wore them for about an hour. I figured some sweat should help me break them in a bit faster. Now I understand why I shouldn't just run in them right away. They feel strange and are kind of hard so the bottoms of my feet were not happy.

Bit on the sore side today.  Knot in calf has reappeared and my ankle is tender.  Tonight is a cross-training day so Jillian Michaels is on deck to kick my ass.

Orthotics. They're not just for old people.

Yesterday I got fit for my customized orthotics. I cannot wait until they're ready!  Bob, the owner of my physical therapy practice worked with me to determine what I needed. He had me run on the dreadmill for a few minutes to see my gait in my running shoes. Then he had me lay on my stomach so that he can play with my sweaty feet. He said mine were nothing compared to the ones he used to work on while he was with the CU athletic department.  He drew on my a little bit and was happy to see that my feet line up with with my calf.  My problem is that my foot is just deformed.  Haha. Not really but it isn't shaped quite right for it to land in line with the rest of my body while I run...or even walk.

My new orthotics will add some padding under my toes on the rightside of my right foot as well as some support near the back of my arch. He said that he is confident that having these orthotics will help me run pain-free.  That was music to my ears! He was also nice enough to temporarily adjust my shoe to hold me over until the orthotics come in.

After the gait analysis and fitting it was time for my weekly PT session. It was the first session in a long time that I almost teared up doing therapy.  My tendons and shins have all sorts of knots and build-up. Every time Ryan hit certain spots on my ankle and shin my entire leg started shaking it hurt so bad.  Needless to say I was not going to be running last night. I'm hoping to get in a good run this weekend. I'm still super sore from PT yesterday and meeting Tawsha for a cocktail tonight so I think I'm taking the night off. It's about time, I haven't taken a day off since last week some time.

Oh and it looks like Josh may have gotten pink-eye. Flashback to preschool right?

Marathon Interrupted

Race morning came way too early.  Late Friday night we heard they may start the race early so instead of meeting at 4:30 we had to meet at 4 am.  Which means I needed to get up around 2:45.  Of course I woke up at 2 and let myself get out of bed about 2:15.  I didn't want to disturb Deanna so I went into the bathroom to start my prerace routine. 

Mini coffee pot was awesome for boiling the water for my oatmeal.  I forgot to bring  a spoon so my toothbrush stirred it and I tried to pour it in my mouth.  Needless to say I was a mess.  I taped the crap out of my leg and ankle with hopes of a pain free race. 

As you can tell I was having some race day nerves. It was time to get dresses and head out the door but not before a few more pictures...

Yes I know I look silly. I got lots of stares and looks, but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do to hold the legs together. I was determined not to let my ankle tendonitis or calf strain slow me down!

When we got to the starting line it was already pretty warm out and cloudy but not raining.  We dilly dallied for a while but then it was time to head to the starting line. I got right behind the 4:30 pacer who looked all of 18 maybe.  But she sure could run.  About 25 minutes after the first group headed out at 6:45, I crossed the starting line.  Holy hills and humidity.  Remember when I said the course is fairly flat?  Ha, dead wrong. No the hills weren't big but they were long and steady inclines one after another.  The humidity was killer.  Apparently 95-98% humidity negates any sort of altitude advantage.  Regardless I was sticking with the pacer who was actually moving quite a bit faster than the goal pace.

By mile 6.5 I had to start pouring water on my head.  Every water stop, one down the throat, one down my shirt. I could not get my temperature down and it was starting to hurt my pace.  I held on and decided well small change of plans, I'll run/walk...no biggie.  So that's exactly what I started to do.  I passed the 11.2 half marathon turn off and it finally started to get a bit cooler.  The wind picked up and the clouds really moved in.  A few miles down I heard from some other runners that they had closed the course and were making all of the people behind us do the half regardless of it they were registered for the full. I was so happy that I had made the cut!

Three port-o-potty stops later I was almost to mile 16 which means yeah only 10 miles left!  It also was when my calf, ankle and IT started really screaming. I had been stretching my calf every few miles but it just wasn't enough.  I think I must have changed my gait which inflammed my stupid IT band.  A very nice TNT coach from Tennessee was nice enough to hang with me for a few miles and even refill my water bottles.

We were hurried off the greenbelt by the river as the lightning started.  A few minutes later it began to rain. Rain really hard. It was hurting my body when it hit.  It was coming down so hard that it was washing my sweat into my eye which caused burning. So I'm sure I looked ridiculous trying to waddle in the rain with my eyes closed.  Actually it makes me laugh to think about it now.  The police were shouting "Take cover...or you can keep running." I was thinking well which one is it? 

My shoes became cotton and rubber pools.  It got more and more difficult to hold a steady pace at all.  Many runners ran into gas stations and entry ways to take cover from the rain.  Not going to lie it was getting scary out. Between the rain, thunder and lightning it was nasty.  I was definitely looking around for the nearest ditch just in case the tornado sirens went off.

Around mile 18 I was told that we were all going to be taken off the course just before 21 miles.  At this point I just started walking.  My time wasn't going to count so why should I be pushed myself and giving myself blisters for nothing?  I don't know if I've ever felt so many emotions at the same time. I was mad that they let me get this far just to cut me short, sad that I even though it wasn't my best race ever that I was going to be given a medal that I didn't really earn, relieved that I wasn't going to have to run 5-6 more miles in the nasty weather especially since I was about 15 minutes behind my goal time...so much was running through my head.

I was really excited when I saw Deanna at mile 19.  We walked and chatted about the adventures on the way to the half marathon finish line.  She had helped people that had gone down on the course and saw the AT&T building get struck by lightning twice.  Apparently between the heat and humidity of the morning and the severe weather of the afternoon there were a lot of people who needed medical attention.  I crossed the finish line and did my best to force a smile on my face.  Medal in hand I went to check in at the TNT tent.

I didn't bring my camera or phone with me so we're going to have to wait until the official photos come out for you to see what a wet dog I looked like. This is a picture from out the window in our room.  I had to immediately hop into a hot shower when we got back because I could not warm up. Every inch of me was drenched.  Taking off my clothes was like peeling off a wet swimsuit.  Awful. This race goes down as the WORST MARATHON EVER!

I don't even know how I feel about this medal I have.  Techinically I didn't earn it. Was that my fault or something I could control?  Nope.  Do I feel like I can say that I've done two marathons? Nope.  Did I suffer through extremely shitty conditions to get it? Yes sir. So I suppose I'll say I've done 1.79 marathons? 

Leaving on a Jet Plane

I’m packed and ready to go. Last night was a very busy night. I stopped by the store and picked up a new ice pack that I can strap around my leg…awesome and some Tylenol since IB Profin is a no no. As soon as I got home I was running around and talking to myself like a crazy person. After wearing my compression socks for basically 3 days straight it was time for a wash. No I do not have stinky feet. Load of laundry in, it was time to get together all of my race day stuff.

Race Day Gear:

• TNT Singlet
• Running skirt
• Sports bra
• Moisture wicking sock
• SHOES
• Garmin (fully charged)
• Fuel belt (don’t forget the water bottles)
• Gels, Nuuns and Oatmeal
• Gatorade mix
• iPod (fully charged w/ new earphones)
• TNT information packet
• Josh’s Speedo sandals for post-race
• Throw away jacket

But let’s not forget the most important things. I’m going to go ahead and call this my injury repair kit. I should market this idea…seriously. Mine includes:

• Travel foam roller
• Compression sleeves
• KT tape
• Shaklees Muscle and Joint Cream
• Herbal tendon and muscle recovery gel
• Extra Strength 8 Hour Tylenol
• Warm around ice pack (Not pictured because I was wearing it)

Oh how I love you all! Well not really the foam roller because it hurts me until I have tears coming down my face. But you know it hurts so good.

After packing the important things it took only a few minutes to pack the rest of my gear for the weekend which was great because I still had work to do at home. The camera is charged and ready to take pictures in Nashville. Maybe I will pick up a disposable to carry with me at the race. Eh, I’ll probably get sick of holding it and toss it. I may as well save myself a few bucks for some ice cream.

Calf/Ankle Status Update: Both still a bit sore but feeling 10x better than they were last week. Currently sporting my nice, clean compression socks and icing with the new ice pack for 20 minutes at a time. Fingers, arms, legs and toes still crossed for race day.

P.S. Totally hoping to bump into some stars in Nashville...like Keith Urban (hot) and Nicole Kidman.  Just casually getting coffee.  I'm sure all famous people are hiding out during the crazy weekend but a girl can hope right? I will be armed with my camera while exploring the city just in case.

Recovery and Lessons Learned

I don't know if it was the downhill or that I ran the half faster than I normally do for that distance and on cement, but my legs were actually sore. It was so strange.  I didn't exercise on Sunday since we were in the car and then running errands all afternoon, but I did hop on a stationary bike on Monday which really made my legs feel much better.  My ankle hurts but what else is new?

So you know how I said that you should never wear anything new on race day?  I didn't follow my own advice. I sported Josh arm sleeves and I'm paying for it. It chaffed the crap out of me. I have two nice scabs near my armpits.  They hurt so bad pretty much every time I move my arms by my body.  Point made body, I will never wear anything new on race day again.

Also nice are my now, two purple toenails.  My second toe curls over and I lost that toenail last season. I wasn't surprised to see it trying to come off again. I think my third toe's nail is coming off because at the start of the race I couldn't feel my feet so I'm sure I was digging it into my shoe and didn't even realize it.  Oh well, badges of honor right?  At Josh's request I did buy some new polish to paint them...they do look pretty bad.

When I went to the gym I did sport my new Canyonlands Half Marathon shirt.  Maybe the color isn't that bad when not wearing the hat at the same time...it's still pretty ugly though.

Don't you think?  Yikes on a side note my thigh looks huge in the picture...eek.

On my way out of the gym I had a complete stranger tell me how awesome it was that I just ran a half marathon. When I told him I had a full to go next month he said he thought that was amazing. It was kind of nice to hear.

It's snowing like mad so I'm not going to the gym.  It took me nearly two hours to get home from work and it's just not worth going out in the weather for. Hopefully tomorrow night I'll be able to get in a great workout.

Canyonlands Half Marathon

Believe it or not I got to sleep in for this race!  I didn't have to get up to until a little after 5 am...it was awesome!  When I woke up I snuck out of bed and warmed up my oatmeal.  Josh was still sleeping so I pretty much hung out in the bathroom while I ate and read magazines and surfed the web.  By around 6 it was time to start thinking about taping and getting dressed since the team was meeting in the lobby of the hotel at 7 am to get on the buses to the canyon.

Once taped up I started getting on all of my layers.  I put on my race gear including Josh's arm sleeves then the sweat pants, windbreaker and hoodie.  I knew it was going to be cold up there while we waited.  With my gear check bag packed I headed out the door to meet the team.

We all walked to the park where the race was going to end and jumped on school buses up to the canyon.  We got to the bus stop in the canyon at 8 am..to wait to very cold hours for the race to start.  At least I was able to kill about 45 minutes waiting in line for the porta-potty. Apparently a lot of people have never used one and didn't realize when any number of porta-potties open, you jump in regardless of if it is the one right in front of you. Why this concept was so hard for people to wrap their head around I have no idea. I mean come on...not that hard. Jenn and I started cheering people on to get them into them. 

After about a 1/2 mile walk up to the starting line I stood with Aaron, Amanda and Tina anxiously awaiting the start.  The race actually started a bit late but that's ok. Having all of those people around me really kept me warm.  The race started and we were off. For about the first 2-3 miles it was pretty crowded. Slowly people started dropping bag so it was easier to get through the crowd. 

My legs felt like they were made of cement. They felt heavy and sluggish but I was able to maintain a pretty good pace.  By mile 6 or so I saw some awesome TNT volunteers cheering me on which really helped me get my feet moving.  I ran into Deanna shortly thereafter and she was nice enough to run with myself and Amanda for a few minutes.  After mile 7 I was off.

I knew there was a hill coming up around mile 9 but I was determined not to let it slow me down.  My legs started to feel much lighter and before I knew it the hill had come and gone. I could almost see the end of the canyon where we made the turn into town.  The stretch from the hill to the turn seemed to fly right by.  The weather and scenery were beautiful and I was feeling good...no gel digestive failure finallly!

I made the turn into town and knew I needed to pick up the pace. I was on track for a new personal record which was super exciting and unexpected.  About a mile from the turn in I saw Josh and a group of TNT supporters. It was awesome seeing them. 

I handed Josh my fuel belt because it was dragging me down.  I didn't realize he was going to run along with me. Jeans and all Josh ran the last mile or so with me to be my personal photographer.

One final turn and the finish line was in sight.  Right as I saw the finish Hero by the Foo Fighters came on...perfect!  My iPod apparently read my mind.  I wanted to finish strong and for the first time in a distance race I was able to not only pick up the pace but move into an all out sprint.  For the last 200 feet or so I race as fast as my legs would carry me.

I even passed several people along the way, including this guy right at the finish line.

Time: 2:05:52  Avg. Pace: 9:34 min/miles

My Garmin actually said I went 13.18 miles so my average pace was actually a tiny bit faster, you know a few seconds.  There it was, a new personal record. I was so happy!  What amazed me is that I wasn't even trying to PR. I didn't even think about it until I was about at mile 7ish when I looked down and realized that I was on track to beat my Denver half time.  Not only did I beat it, I beat it by about 8 minutes!  I'm hoping that I'll come in under two hours at my next half marathon. 

Afterwards I took my finishers photo and went to check in at the team tent.  I was super disappointed to learn that they stopped giving out medals. Instead I get that dayglow shirt and hat I was telling you about. I'll have to take a picture. Luckily TNT brought us medals. I think that I'm going to get mine engraved with Canyonlands 2010 and a kokopelli runner. 

The rest of the team started trickling in. It was such a beautiful day we hung out and soaked up the sun before walking back to the hotel. 

You better believe I rocked my compression socks. Those downhill portions were brutal on the legs.

I got back to the hotel, iced, rested and relaxed before our victory dinner.

Moab Here We Come

On Monday night we had our official send-off meeting.  This is when we pick up our bright purple TNT singlets and get our tickets for all the weekend events.  Some people decorate their singlets at this time, but I can never find enough letters to spell my name so I figure I'll just use my foam letters from last year to spruce it up. Maybe at some puff paint at a later date...we shall see. I'm not very good with stuff like that.  Anyway here's what's on tap for the weekend:

Wednesday-PACK. I hate packing and I always leave it until the last moment.  Here's my list of things not to forget:

1. Running shoes...I know this barefoot running thing is the latest phenomena but I'm not into it.  Definitely don't want to forget these babies.

2. Running skirt, TNT singlet, sports bra and socks.  Can't run without any of those things.  I suppose I could but it probably wouldn't be very attractive.

3. Body glide, gels, fuel belt and kinesio tape.  Body Glide is an amazing deodorent looking stick that works wonders. I put it on the tips of my toes, the inside of my arms and thighs...anywhere that might be prone to chaffing.  As I learned last weekend I also need to put it on the side of my hips because apparently my running skirt has either stretched or I've gotten smaller and it rubs.  Booo.  The rest is typical long run gear.

4. Garmin and iPod. Both will be charging up all night so they have full power. I don't want to have a dead iPod like I did at the Denver Half.  I downloaded some new music last weekend to keep me pumped up. 

5. Two packets of regular instant oatmeal, cinnamon and brown sugar.  A bowl and a spoon would probably be helpful too.  Never eat anything new on race day, so I'm bringing it with me. Lucky for me our room has a microwave.

6. Tickets for the TNT events.  Can't get in without them.

Thursday: Drop Lucky off at Happy Tails and head up to Vail.  We're planning (well if Josh calls and gets the ok) to drive up to Vail on Thursday night and staying with friends.  With the whole I-70 rock slide debacle we don't want to have a super long ride on Friday.  Plus it's supposed to snow on Friday and I'd like to be as close to Moab as possible before that moves in.

Friday: Arrive in Moab!  Yeay!  We'll check into the hotel and Josh was leave to go for a ride.  He's really looking forward to it but I can tell he's kind of bummed that Colin is running on Saturday and won't be riding with him.  I have a lot to do on Friday.  Pick up all of my stuff at the expo and pick up some free swag.  Love the expos before a race!  After the expo it will be time to start getting ready for the Inspiration Dinner.

The Inspiration Dinner is awesome. In Seattle, the Penguin, who wrote for Runner's World forever, spoke and was hilarious.  We also had cancer survivors speak, the head of the Competitor Group and the head of LLS.  Pretty freaking fantastic, inspirational and emotional.  The Rocky Mountain Chapter is the only TNT chapter at this race so it will be substantially smaller.  After the dinner I'll probably head back to the room to relax and lay out all of my clothes and gear.  I'm neurotic and must have everything layed out on the floor and ready to go before race morning.

Saturday: Race Day!  The race doesn't start until 10am but they have to bus all 4,000 participants up the canyon. So we are meeting at 7 am to take off.  That's going to mean at least 2 hours standing in a cold canyon.  At least that gives me time to hit the porta-potty at least half a dozen times which seems to be the norm for me on race day.  Hopefully I'll have a fantastic race and breeze through the finish line around 12:30.  Since it's a mass start, I figure it will be a long slow walk across the line and a lot of weaving in the first few miles. 

After the race I'll definitely be hitting the TNT tent to get my PB&J and the after race expo to grab some more swag.  That evening we have our Victory Party. It's at the Chuckwagon Bar and is a country themed party. It should be a fantastically cheesy time. Josh isn't going because he's going to hang with Colin and Rachel. I'll be meeting them for drinks after enjoying some BBQ and maybe a little line dancing.

Sunday: We head home. Hopefully we'll get to enjoy some breakfast at the Jailhouse Cafe before we leave town.  I will surely be packed especially since it was just featured on MSN's Best Breakfast Restaurants in the USA.  I'm willing to wait for some deliciousness though.

Busy busy busy. Unfortunately we probably won't make it back up to the Delicate Arch where Josh proposed on this trip, but I'm sure we'll head back to Moab in the near future. 

Hopefully I'll be able to get some sleep before the weekend hits.  I'm wiped.

Mission Day 19

Today was Mission Day which is a day of remembrance and celebration for all Team In Training participants.  We all met in Denver to run the High Line Canal Trail. Once everyone arrived we were all handed balloons and moved into a circle.  Once in the circle the 2015 Initiative was read.  The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has set a goal of allowing patients to manage their illness and live long happy lives as well as curing forms of blood cancers so that no one else has to lose a loved one. They want to do all of this by the year 2015.  Amazing isn't it?  That's just a mere five years away.  They've done so much to advance to treatment and research that I have no doubt that they'll be able to accomplish it as long as we all keep supporting the cause.  After the reading was done we went around the circle to tell everyone our name and why we do TNT.

Deanna went first which made all of us tear up when she spoke about her brother, then Tawsha told everyone about her Nana, after Jianna I told everyone who I run for, my Grandpa Tom and my Uncle Ted.  There were a lot of tears this morning. One woman who couldn't have been much older than me, was already a widow. She lost her husband to lymphoma. Another woman about my age, just found out on February 1st that her husband was cancer free.  I cannot imagine learning that Josh had cancer or losing him. It would be awful.  Another woman spoke about losing her 10 month old daughter to leukemia and a man his wife.  Their strength amazes me.  At the end we celebrated Mighty Mason who I told you about in a previous post, who had his last treatment this past week and is officially cancer free.  Once Ashley read aloud all of the names of the friends and family members that we participate for, we released our balloons into the air.  It was an amazing and emotional morning.

Mighty Mason lead us to the trail and we started running.  I was running longer than any of the other runners thanks to my altered schedule so I knew I'd be running by myself most of the time.  Shortly after mile six I got to the final cheer station where I was warmly cheered on.  They told me I was the first person they'd seen. Here I was thinking I was in the back!  I ran out until I hit the 8 mile mark and turned back.  I headed back to the trail head. I was just finishing my final gel when I saw Deanna and a few other volunteers under an arch of balloons cheering me on.  It was great but I wasn't finished.  My goal was to run 20 today, but at mile 19 I was just burned out.  I was extremely thirsty ( my fuel belt was all out of water), hot and I felt bad because everyone was waiting on me.  So 19 miles it was. I felt pretty good the entire run. I keep a pace between 9:15-10 min/miles.  I felt strong and I'm feeling great about my chances of finished the marathon well under 5 hours...at least for now.  It was a beautiful trail!

Before getting into my car to head home I filled two trash bags with ice for my knees.  Fifty minutes later I was home, well iced. Josh was nice enough to run a cold bath for me. I made my green monster and headed up for an ice/epsom salt bath.  I was shivering even with my sweatshirt on in the bath, but I think my legs appreciated it. As of right now I am still feeling good. My legs are sore but I can bend easily. I'll probably ice at least one more time today before I roll out on my foam roller to release some of the muscle tension.

Time: 3:05:25   Distance: 19 miles  Avg. Pace: 9:45 min/mile

Now to be fair, I did stop my watch when I stopped and stretched. So that would probably add about 5-7 minutes to my overall time making my pace about 10:07 min/mile.  If I an keep that pace for the marathon I'd come in under 4.5 hours!  Which would just rock my world. 

P.S. My shoes arrived yesterday and they were amazing on my feet today!  No ankle pain!

I Found Them!

Today I got way too excited about shoes.  No they are  not super cute heels or sandels for the summer, they're running shoes. In fact they are exactly like two other pairs that are in my closet at home but new.  After a lot of searching I finally found a size 9 womens Asic 2140.  Thank you Zappos!  For some reason Asic decided it would be a good idea to discountinue the only running shoes that I can rely on.  You wouldn't believe how hard it was to find them.  I got the very last size 9 pair on Zappos. So excited for their arrival on Friday. Just in time for the longest training run yet this season...eek.

I currently have a pair of their replacement, the 2150, but I swear they are not the same at all.  All weekend I wore my latest retired 2140s around and my ankle started feeling a lot better.  I'm going to blame the ankle pain on the 2150s but will probably keep them around to test them after my ankle has healed and I'm not running on ice anymore. Yep, I think I can say I'm a runner.  These days my closet has more running shoes than heels.  Most of my heels have actually collected a fair amount of dust. Can't wear them during training for fear of repeat tendonitis in the knees and the dreadful calf tightness.  But then again, it seems I'm in a constant state of training right now. 

Enough about the shoes.  I went to the doctor on Friday. Not to worry, just routine check-up.  I go to a family doctor in Fort Collins. Yes, I realize it makes absolutely no sense because I live in Longmont and work in Denver. Here's the thing, it's really hard to find a doctor I like. So since I really like Dr. Abrahamson I figure that I'll haul my ass up to Fort Collins once a year to see him. It helps that he also specializes in sports medicine. After running into my old boss Alan in the lobby, I went back. 

I'm happy to report I've lost 4 of the 6 lbs I had gained travelling and I still have 20/20 vision with both eyes. Each eye by itself...eh.  Dr. Abrahamson wasn't worried about my ankle at all. He said it should be better soon and just keep icing, taping and taking anti-inflammatories.  So everything was fine but just to cover all of our bases he sent me to the lab for some blood tests.  As it turns out, I have a boardline iron deficiency.  The official prescription: eat red meat or chicken thighs three days a week.  I had to chuckle a little bit. 

I'm not sure why, but lately I have just not been into meat. At least a few days a week Josh and I have been having meatless dinners.  I hadn't even really thought about how much I've cutdown on meat intake until I looked at my SparkPeople nutrition diary.  I guess this week instead of making the delicious black bean burgers I had planned, I'll be swinging by the store to pick up some ground beef for real burgers...doctors orders after all.

Back to the grind!