How I Ran 26.something Miles and Lived

It took a marathon to bring me out of blogging hiatus. That, and a day off from work...and maybe Damien Rice too.

Anyway, I did it. I am a marathoner!!! I wish I could put into words how amazing/fun/wonderful/awful this experience was. But I can't, which means you just have to go run one to know what I'm talking about.

I should probably say that I wouldn't recommend for anyone to go about running a marathon the way I did. My longest training run was 18 miles 15 miles with 3 miles of walking afterwards. I can probably count all of the training runs I did on my fingers. Maybe even one hand. I was running this marathon coming off by FAR the worst half marathon I have ever ran. Race day I made a huuuge rookie mistake, only I'm not sure you can call it a mistake when I was fully aware of what I was doing. I ran wearing something i hadn't trained in before. And not just any something...I ran wearing shoes that had never been on a run with me (Just fyi, I ran in Brooks Green Silence).

So how did I get myself to cover 26.something miles in 5 hours and 49 minutes? It started at the expo...

After a long drive to Dayton, OH, John and I made it to the expo in time to hear the last half of Dean Karnazes speak. I've done a lot of reading about him and was excited to not only meet him in person but to have him sign my bib as well. Also, a lady was at his presentation who had 20 stitches in her leg because she was ATTACKED BY A SHARK a week prior but wasn't going to let that stop her from running the marathon. I am so lame.


He's really workin that visor


The real excitment started when Mark Cucuzella spoke. He's a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force, a doctor, an elite runner, and just a really smart guy. John had attended one of Mark's running workshops before but this was my first time seeing him. He spoke about a lot of things I already knew, but he said a couple things that played a HUGE part in getting me through this marathon. The first thing was, "If you get to mile 13 and you feel like you wanna go faster...don't." I thought about this a lot in the beginning miles when John and I were running painfully slow. The second thing he said, and the one that stuck with me most was "RELAX." John and I repeated this to each other several times throughout the race. Mark made me feel like I actually could finish this race if I just take it easy and "enjoy the journey."

Race day came and I was a little less confident than I was the previous night but still determined to finish while having the best time possible. It was cold that morning but the sunrise was b-e-a-utiful.


Walking along the flight line (where we would finish) to the start.

Awesome.

The official plane of the marathon was a B-2. Now, I don't know anything about planes, nor do I really care so long as they don't fall out of the sky, but this plane? jet? (see, I really don't know what I'm talking about), was really cool. I can't figure out how to get the video of it flying over on here but just picture some crazy huge bird coming from the distance. It's pretty slow and it's not until it's gliding directly overhead that you can hear the not-so-loud sound that it makes. That's what it was like.

And...then we were off. John and I planned to run at a 12 minute per mile pace and take a quick walk break every four miles until mile 16 when we would assess and reevaluate if necessary. It was really fun listening to everyone's conversations and joking with other runners. John and I did a good job keeping each other in check as far as pace went. I was having the best time. I do want to note one man who passed us as we were running up an on-ramp. He was going at a pretty good pace and ended up finishing somewhere way in front of us. He was walking. The whole marathon.



Man in gray shirt.

Somewhere around mile 8 the course leaves the Air Force base and goes through town. There were TONS of people cheering, playing music, holding signs...I felt like I was in a parade.

I could not wipe the smile off my face. I told John several times that I cannot wait to run another marathon. This was the most fun part of the race. It went on for a couple of miles.

 

Somewhere around mile 11 or 12 things went from easy to require some effort. I remember telling John that I still felt really good but I knew the worst was coming. That's kind of a scary thought. But we kept chugging along. We deviated from our game plan at mile 13 when we stopped to use the bathroom and took a walk break to eat half a banana. When we made it to mile 16 my legs were hurting but I knew I could run another 4 to mile 20.

 

We hit 20 miles in just over 4 hours. At this point I knew I wasn't in good shape but tried to stay positive. By mile 21 things were pretty ugly.

 

Hell?

We were doing more walking that running. Up until this point I thought I had escaped the marathon beast but it got me. Every step was painful. I hate to sound like a wimp or overdramatic but man it was an awful, awful time.

 

By mile 25 my spirits were higher but I still didn't know how I was going to make it another mile.

 

 

Somehow we made it back to the flight line. It was very surreal and I wish I was a better writer so that I could describe the feeling. To go from agony and really questioning how you're going to make it to..."oh...we made it."

 

Finish line ahead

Finishing was THE BEST! All my pain went away and I ran as fast as I could. Some high ranking man shook my hand, said, "welcome back," and put my medal around my neck. I think I'll remember him forever.

 

Marathoners!

I am in awe of this experience and of all the support John and I recieved from friends and family. It was a great feeling to get back to the car see all the texts I had recieved. Despite those last 6 miles, I know I will run another marathon.

 

For now, though, I am taking a break. I went for a run last week a realized it's the 3rd run in the last 2 years that hasn't been a training run for some future race. I am looking forward to running for fun again, assuming I can stop signing up for races (I have already signed up for the Iron Girl Half Marathon in April and have another browser window open with my partially completed registration for an 8k).

 

So that's that! I ran a marathon and lived through it. And loved it. The end!

 

Last Friday Night

Friday was graduation at my school and John and I had plans that night to go to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. After graduation we started tearing down the classroom bulletin boards, posters, etc. Around that time it started pouring outside and John texted me that there had been a tornado sighted in a county close by and several counties (including ours) were under a tornado watch.

The rain caused us to get home way later than anticipated. We immediately changed into nice clothes and ran through the rain to the car. We headed into Baltimore to our friends’ loft apartment for fondue before the concert. We had never been to their place before and got lost walking from the car to the apartment. It was still raining really hard and I ended up having to take my shoes off. It’s impossible to keep wet patent leather heels on your feet.

We eventually made it to the apartment (which was awesome) and had fun meeting people and EATING before we walked a block (still raining) to the bus stop.

The group. John is under the word 'spirits' and my leg is to his right.

They were playing Mozart and Beethoven and it was great. I even let them off the hook for not playing moonlight sonata. I drank champagne. At the symphony. I am apparently 25 going on 60.

We obviously didn't spluge on tickets...

After the concert half of us went to a bar and the other half (myself included) headed back to the apartment. By this time it was REALLY coming down and the wind made it worse. I should note that through all of this I had an umbrella but thought about not even using it at this point because I was getting soaked despite it. It also kept blowing inside out. We had to walk several blocks to the bus stop, that was not covered or anything, and waited for a good while for the bus.

We finally piled on the bus and a guy who was on there asked to take a picture of all of us looking really depressed. I’m sure we were a sight soaking wet in our suits and nice dresses.

Back at the apartment I spent the rest of the night into the morning hours eating fondue, doing push ups, sitting in an open window, and winning at pool in my mind. By the time we headed back to our car, it had stopped raining. There’s probably a lesson in that somewhere.

Lately in Pictures



See JC Run

Melody's butt and I attempted (and failed) to see John run a 5k.



This makes up for your kids' misbehavior.

Teacher appreciation week at school! Love feeling loved!

I straightened my hair. It's an hour of my life that I'll never get back.



Ladies night=poor photography skills

John and I went dancing with some awesome people!



I need this.

A penguin!!! I was definitely more excited than my five year olds.

Dinner for one. Quinoa, black and kidney beans, lettuce, and salsa. My quest to duplicate the Chipotle burrito bowl at home continues.



LOLLLLLLLLLLLL

Melody is ridiculously good looking.

And I leave you with this:

For the record, I have read Born to Run, I eat chia seeds on a regular basis, and it did take about a year for the soreness in my calves to go away.

Inaugural Iron Girl Half Marathon

I want to start this recap by mentioning the 12 mile training run that took place 2 weeks before this race. It was probably the best run I’ve ever had. I felt fantastic the whole time and it was a huge confidence boost for this race.

I also want to talk about the expo. I talked to a triathlon team and gave them my info because…I need to complete a tri. The girl I talked to was promoting a tri in August. I could have the distance slightly wrong but it’s about 22 laps in a pool, 17 mile bike ride, and 3 mile run. Completely doable, especially since it’s not an open water swim. You raise $800, which isn’t too terrible and they train you and supply you with gear-including a tri suit. Now if only they would give me a bike, I’d be set.

Joan Benoit Samuelson also spoke at the expo. It was absolutely amazing. She told the best stories and just being with her was such a cool experience. She signed my race bib and I got a picture with her! I thought about her during the race (she finished 6^th…this is after tearing her MCL in January) and I saw her after the race too! I’m regretting not talking to her afterwards. Note to self: If I ever see an Olympian again-go talk to them.

"Christina, live your dreams" Okay Joanie!
(sorry I can't rotate this)

Now for the race. Saturday I woke up feeling pretty horrible. My throat was sore and I was extremely nauseous. I think this had been coming on all week but I had just been writing it off as allergies. I tried to stay positive but by the time I went to bed I was pretty worried. I spent the night tossing and turning and trying not to vomit. I woke up not feeling any better but there wasn’t any other choice but to run. I ended up having some trouble breathing and drinking but it was manageable.

John and I got to the race a little after 6:30 with a 7:00 start. I stood in line for the Port-o-JANE and realized that girls really do take forever in the bathroom. The line wasn’t very long but before I got to use the bathroom, they were singing the national anthem. I heard the start while I was in the plastic box. I waited a while to start because my Garmin was taking its time finding satellites and ended up starting literally almost last. Thank goodness for chip timing.

It took me about 3 miles to warm up. I didn’t feel as good as I did on my 12 miler but didn’t let any negative thoughts get in my head. The hills on this course were horrible. I’m not sure there was even one stretch of flat course at all. I knew there was an almost mile long monster of a hill around mile 6. It was way worse than what I was expecting.  It was so steep and never-ending. I considered walking because I thought I might be able to go faster that way but I kept “running.” I was so glad to be done with it because I knew the worst was over but the course continued to be hilly.

My knee started hurting around mile 8. I think it acted up because of the hills, which puts more strain on my quads. I hung in there but the pain got way worse and by mile 9 I was half looking for a medic tent. I saw John at mile 10 and considered telling him what was going on but there’s something about not saying things out loud that makes them less real. Also at mile 10, I teared up. I don’t know what it is about mile 10 but this has happened in all four halves that I’ve done. It doesn’t matter that I’m not thinking about anything emotional, it still happens.

Hurting

By mile 11 I was done giving into my knee and started my push to the finish. Finishing was a blur. I almost forgot to get my medal. I heard them announce my name and remember feeling pretty dazed waiting for someone to remove my timing chip. Then I saw John and showed him my Garmin. I had an official time of 2:06:55 (9:41min/mi). John freaked out because I was expecting something around a 2:08.

Splits:

Mile 1 – 9:50
Mile 2 – 9:53
Mile 3 – 9:16
Mile 4 – 9:52
Mile 5 – 9:31
Mile 6 – 9:18
Mile 7 – 10:25 (Hill from hell)
Mile 8 – 9:42
Mile 9 – 10:18 (beginning of knee pain)
Mile 10 – 10: 13
Mile 11 – 10:02
Mile 12 – 9:48
Mile 13+ - 8:32



Stylin'

I’m not completely happy with that. I would’ve liked to see more even splits but they completely reflect what was going on in the race.

Overall this race was fantastic. The course was really tough but I kind of like that. I didn’t find myself needing extra aid stations, although if it had been warmer I might have. In many areas they had a very small section of road blocked off for us. Traffic was still allowed on the road. This was slightly annoying when trying to pass people but luckily traffic was light and it wasn’t a big deal to run on the road a bit to pass. There wasn’t a lot of crowd support seeing how it was a small race. I thought this might make things more difficult but I guess I’ve gotten used to running alone so I had no trouble zoning out and just running. Another thing I thought I wouldn’t like was running with all women, but it was actually awesome. I really can’t explain why. And how appropriate to have Joan Benoit Samuelson run an all women’s race?? AND post race was awesome. All finishers were given a bracelet with a charm that had the event and date on it. Also, Wegman’s had a tent with tons of food (yogurt, bagels, Larabars, fruit, etc). They gave you a grocery bag and you pretty much got to fill it. I didn’t get a whole lot but some people had pretty full bags. Muscle milk was there as well as a massage tent. I thought it was pretty good for a small race.

Also, an announcer announced every person as they finished. Some people had accompanying stories like “one year cancer survivor” or “had a total hip replacement one year ago.” That kind of stuff gets me every time. I’m going to go off on a tangent here, you know, because this recap isn’t long enough yet. I know some people who run who are huge braggers about it almost to the point of being snobby. They are extremely full of themselves and don’t know how to give credit to anyone else. It really irritates me because there are people like the two I mentioned above who are so much more amazing and inspiring. A lady I know from Hawaii is pretty overweight and recently ran (without stopping) her first 5k. That is AMAZING to me. Am I faster than these people? Yes. But it doesn’t change the fact that I look up to them just as much as I look up to an Olympic Gold Medalist. These are the people that deserve promoting, not your own self. There is a difference between being proud of what you accomplished and thinking you’re better than everyone else. I wish that people who can’t see past their own noses would realize that.

Anyway, to sum it all up, if I can mentally recover from the big bad hill of this race, I will definitely be running again next year! Next up, marathon training!

DC Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon

So I'm finally writing this recap! You can thank the dishes in the sink that I don't want to do.

I came into this race with very little mileage under my belt and with my longest run being seven miles. I struggled with IT band issues starting in January. At the start of this race, my head was all over the place. I went from dreaming of a PR to thinking I might have to drop out and everywhere in between. I'm a planner and HATED not being able to really plan. I was assigned to corral 19 but started in a corral farther back with my dadoo.



Thrilled, obviously.

It took us somewhere around 40 minutes from the time the race started to actually cross the start line. I'm pretty sure I started out too quick because I got caught up passing a lot of people. A little after the first mile I was hit with that stinking side cramp that got me during the Patrick Henry Half. I attribute these cramps solely to nerves. I get nervous and it throws my breathing off and the result is a cramp that almost impossible to run through. I walked for half a mile before I was able to run again. I seriously considered hanging out and waiting for my dad (read: throwing my race) but luckily I didn't see him.

At this point, I still had no plan. Once the cramp went away I was making great time and dare I say, enjoying myself? I walked at every water station just because I could. I completely forgot about the fact that there was a good chance of my knee acting up around mile 8. I even walked a lot of uphills just because. I'm not entirely proud of all the walking but it was a nice feeling to have no pressure and just do whatever I felt like doing.


"I'm just a bill, on Capitol Hill." -School House Rock

 Just before I hit eight miles, I felt my knee and slightly panicked. It wasn't bad enough to stop running, but once I feel the beginnings of it, it's not long before I go from running to strangely galloping and relying on my left side. I was able to keep my pace up to mile 9, where I was still on track for a slight PR. I knew that if I didn't start walking a lot more, I was going to be in big trouble. So, that's what I did. I thought it would hurt more to let my good time slip away but I guess in the back of my mind I never really expected to PR so it wasn't as big of a deal.



So pretty.

 I was nearing the end, walking, and a girl asked me how much farther until mile 12. I looked at my Garmin and told her .2. She started running and I couldn't let her pass me so I started running too. I ran most of the last mile. Once I could see the finish line, I kind of blanked out and just ran. I had so much energy (I would hope so, after walking so much). I finished with an official time of 1:22:01, which is about 1 minute and 30 seconds better than my worst time to date. I felt FANTASTIC afterwards. Almost no pain at all.

Overall, I was fairly pleased with how I did. Great weather, scenery, and I got to run with my padre and John!

NOT running

Sometimes, I think I like running more than I like soccer. Then soccer season starts and I realize I would choose soccer over running 9.8 times out of 10.

Today proved that fact. After two weeks "off," broken up by the half, I have started training and working out again this week. As expected, I am sore. And tired. Especially today. I woke up almost two hours before my alarm went off and couldn't go back to sleep. I had the worst day at work that I've had since I started (don't worry, that's not saying too much since basically everyday has been good. It did throw me off though). I got to soccer practice and all I wanted to do was go home to the pets and eat food. Did I mention I was also hungry?

Anyway, practice started and I just found all this energy. Even later in practice when I knew I was worn out, I just wanted to run everywhere and get the ball. ITSSOFUN!!! I missed the skinned knees and the bruises and I would definitely choose that over ITBS and stress fractures.*

Don't worry, I still love running. And spin. And yoga. And Bodyrock. Except not Bodyrock that much because it is really hard but I love that it turns me into a ripped badass person with at least some muscle. I won't stop any of these things. Just if it was a life or death situation and I had to choose only one for the rest of my life, it's a no brainer.

*I realize that both of these can happen in soccer but this is just my experiences here. Because this blog is about me, duh.

Spring, Melody, and more running

So I kinda sorta ran a half marathon over a week ago and have yet to do a recap of it. Mostly because all I can think about is my spring break that starts in three days. And the main reason I'm so excited for spring break is not because I don't have to go to work. It's because I am cleaning out my closet!!! I am CRAZY excited about it. I am having to use what little will power I have to not start now because I know I don't have enough time to do it (since I am doing other important things like blogging and fake online shopping at Zara) and then I'll just get overwhelmed and sad. I could seriously make this entire post about how excited I am to clean out the closet but that would probably entertain you too much and I really want you to get off the computer and be productive today.

Other news, Melody is starting doggie college in April! She is so excited, I am sure.



A coworker recommended a dog trainer and we met with him on Saturday. Andrew is awesome and would give Cesar Millan a run for his money. He has the coolest house. He does all training at his house, including boarding and training. It was a pretty neat set up. We snagged the last spot in the Level 1 class that starts on April 7th. Andrew's evaluation of Melody consisted of talking to us while he pretended not to pay attention to Mel to see what she did. He pointed out that she kept running around to explore but continued to come back to us to kind of "check in." After she was done exploring she came over to us and just laid down waiting for whatever was next. Apparently all of this is good. Like I was surprised, Mel is the best dog ever.

Also, I have begun training for half marathon number 4 on April 29th. Barring any knee issues I am hoping to PR. For all other halves I've used Hal Higdon's novice training plan but this go around I'm using the FIRST plan which I think will work well for me. It's also the plan I am going to use for full marathon training starting in May. The plan has your running 3 days a week-a speed workout, tempo, and long run-and cross training 3 days a week which will fit easily with soccer, spin, bodyrock, and yoga. I had to start in the middle since there's only about four weeks to go. Today was my first speed workout. So far, so good!

That's about all for now. I will eventually get around to doing a recap of the DC half!