Badassery

Five out of six of us ran a race this past Saturday. We got there later than I wanted to because what else is new? I said I wanted to leave a particular time and Vader sat in front of the computer. I wound up having to wrestle Lightrunner to get him dressed and we ran out the door 10 minutes later than I wanted. We live very close but I like to have time to park and get our bibs. Chewie's sprint was first so she and I got out of the car before Vader parked and ran to get her bib. We got to the starting line just in time and she ran her 200 meters. As she said she "didn't come in first" but she smiled an awful lot.

Next SkyWalker and the Princess had their 1 mile run. Vader ran with the Princess and SkyWalker ran ahead. He said he had to stop and walk but then the Princess's friend ran past him and that motivated him again so he started back up. He finished in 10:16 which really isn't bad for a lazy kid. Vader and the Princess came in after him at 12:05. They all enjoyed it.

It turned out to be a great day, not cloudy or raining at all. The sun was nice, the temperature was nice and it was an overall beautiful day. When the kids finished their race they had to leave for Chewie's first soccer practice so I was on my own for the 5K. Luckily I had a gazillion friends running it.

Last year when I ran this race I was shooting for the 28 minute range and I finished in 28:26 and I was pretty happy because I felt like I had given it my all. I ran hard and did the best I could do. This year I was aiming for 28:00 again and finished in 28:32. I did not run really hard and did not give it my all and I am still pretty happy. I'll be honest when I saw the clock I thought "really? again?". But this wasn't my goal race, I didn't want to go all out and really when I think about it I did exactly what I set out to do.

First race with the Bia. Slightly off but nothing to complain about.

I wanted to use this race to see where I am right now and what else I have to do in the next 2 weeks before my goal race. The entire time I was running I was breathing fine, I was feeling fine, and I could see my friends just up ahead. My mile splits were 9:14, 9:16 and 9:17. I kind of did the tempo run I've been trying to do for months. I was definitely not running at 100% and I'm actually pretty happy that I ran so consistently because I usually don't. 

Wearing my Strong Running Mama shirt.
So grateful for friends taking pictures!

The last tenth of a mile I ran really REALLY strong. I actually wound up passing the friends I was following. I could hear people yelling my name which was really nice and is one of the many benefits to running a race in your own community. I was completely focused though because I wanted to come in as strong as possible. I was totally excited that I had that final kick because I haven't had in a while. If I had started it just a bit sooner I could have finished closer to 28. 

Because I love to laugh at myself. Belly.

I am pretty confident that if I could do a sandy trail run at 80% effort and come close to my goal that I can do what I want to do for my next race. And then maybe actually earn the "Badassery" label from Bia!

Half marathon race report

This past Sunday was the race I have been training for and thinking about for a very very long time. It was my first half marathon, but I set out with a particular goal in mind: 2:15.

The weekend started with packet pickup on Saturday. My friends and I all went and what could have been a stressful situation for me with parking and doing it alone was transformed into a fun event! We picked up all our stuff and grabbed whatever freebies we could. 

I got up as early as I could Sunday morning and had my tea and my breakfast-- toasted white bread with jelly. I haven't had white bread in years but I was trying to avoid fiber. Vader and Nana got the kids ready and we piled in the van and headed to the start. It was probably much less stressful than it would have been without Nana there. Since she is capable of reading a clock and understanding how time works (unlike other grownups in the house), we actually left when we wanted to and arrived at the start with plenty of time for me to pee again and get a few pictures. 

The Strong Running Mamas (some of them)

Castleton Runners

I knew I had to average 10:18 a mile if I wanted to hit my A goal of 2:15. I figured I would run in the 10-10:20 range for the first few miles and then gradually speed up and then put into high gear for the last mile. 

That did not exactly happen. Actually, it wasn't even close to what happened! The first mile was on a narrow trail with lots of slippery gravel and not really the best running conditions. The first 8 miles I ran much faster than I had intended:

Mile 1: 10:27

Mile 2: 9:40

Mile 3: 9:49

Mile 4: 9:40

Mile 5: 9:40

Mile 6: 9:58

Mile 7: 10:07

Mile 8: 10:10

I was feeling okay though and I was keeping up with my friends so I just went with it. I was leaking pee but I was wearing Tena pee pads and I highly suggest that if you're in danger of leakage that you check these out! By the end of the race they were completely full and I never had any spillage. At some point I started to smell ammonia while I was running and I figured I was probably peeing blood (I was!) but I just put it out of my head and concentrated on finishing the race. 

I started to really slow down at mile 9. At some point my friend Jen was having hip pain and needed to walk. I stopped with her. I was doing okay and didn't need to walk (I even took my chews without stopping!) but when she stopped my first thought was Screw the A goal, I'm staying with my friend. She didn't need to walk for very long and only took a couple more breaks, but I stuck with her. 

Mile 9: 10:31

Mile 10: 10:42

Mile 11: 10:53

Mile 12: 11:02

At the 12 mile I just kind of lost it. I stopped for about 10 seconds (and Jen stopped with me) and then we started again and she caught up to Tracy and Sara and I tried to but just missed it. They crossed the finish line holding hands and I came in 2 seconds later. In some ways missing it by 2 seconds was a million times worse than if I had been 15 minutes behind them, but I was happy that I had kept up with them for most of the race. 

Mile 13: 10:26

Last .1: 9:40

That's the gun time.

 I did it. My net time was 2:15:02. Even with stopping to walk I hit my A goal. I am super excited that I finished when I wanted to in my first half marathon! I am happy that I ran most of the way with my friends. I am happy that for most of the race I felt good. I would have preferred to run slower in the beginning and not peter out at the end, but it is what it is.

478 out of 800 people

58 out of 104 in age group

Net pace 10:19

Me and Felice after the race. 

Castleton Runners finished!

So many of my friends ran wonderful races! Bridget had a major PR. Felice did what she always does and nailed it. Karyn had a great PR. Tammy ran it in 2:00:10. 10 seconds slower than what she had wanted but still amazing! Stephanie ran the full marathon in 4:18! Jen's husband Jim ran the full--his first--in 3:08 and qualified for Boston! In his first marathon! Crazy! It was such an amazing experience.

I'm taking the next two weeks completely off. My kidneys need a rest--a real rest--and I need to get this tendinitis sorted out once and for all. I'm going to slowly return to running and max out at 6 miles for my long run. I don't have anything on the schedule until the Ragnar in May, but I would like to get a 5K or two in before that. I'm not sure what or when but I'd like to get myself back to what I was before I got pregnant. I don't think I'll do another half until next year's MH. So I've got a year to work on my speed and not be 2 seconds too late again.

In the mean time I have this to tackle:

My "craft/working" table. 

This one goes to 11

Even though I still have kidney stones rattling around my insides and I've been battling tendinitis and have barely run in the last couple of weeks (my last long run was July 27), on Saturday August 17th I laced up my new ankle brace and set out to run the 10 mile Clove Run for the first (and only) time. I LOVE the 5K. It's local, it's small, it's fun. I always do my best there. I LOVE making it home in time to cheer on the runners doing the 10 mile that goes right past my house. But this year I decided to do the 10 mile instead--as preparation for the half in October--and to prove to myself that I could do it a year after having a baby. My fourth baby. It was kind of a bucket-list race. This was going to be my one time doing it so I could go back to the 5K and get back to cheer my friends on next year! So, even though I've had some set backs and I knew it was going to be the hardest run I've ever done, I felt like I had to do it. The race course is made up of my local country roads. Long, hilly, deserted country roads. I drive these roads all the time. I knew every hill and long stretch of corn fields coming up. It's kind of tough to keep running when you know EXACTLY how far you have left and what's around the corner.

Anyway.

Before the 10 mile I ran the 1 mile with the Princess, SkyWalker and Vader pushed Chewie in the jogging stroller while Grama stayed with LightRunner. It was the best mile I ran that day. SkyWalker took off and Vader had to really run to keep up with him. He walked a couple of times but for a lazy kid who complains about everything he did really well. I'm not sure how quickly he did it because I was with the Princess. She had to walk a bit more, but when she was running she did pretty good. We finished in the 12 minute range, which meant SkyWalker finished well before that. Which is pretty awesome when they've never done a 1 mile race before. I thought the 1 mile would be a good warmup for the longer race and I think it was.

I started the 10 mile with my friends (who all did wonderful! Bridget did awesome and had a major PR. Felice was her usual amazing self despite being sidelined with an injury not too long ago) and as usual I started out too fast. But my foot would not let me keep it up. I knew I wasn't "racing" and I knew that the half marathon is the more important race, so I just fell back and ran my own race. Quite literally my own race. I ran up the first smaller hill and had to stop and walk so I could adjust my water belt and my bib. Then I kept going and going. When I got to mile 6 I realized that the only person behind me was on a bike. I asked if I was last and he diplomatically said "we were at the end." I had NO idea until then. I knew there were still two big hills coming up and I still had the hardest part of the race to go and I was already last. There was a woman about half a mile in front of me and I hauled ass to pass her. I caught up to her and ran with her a little and then we walked the first big hill and then I was on my road so I started running ahead of her.

I passed the house and the kids had signs and were cheering and Vader was there and I wanted to just stop and let him carry me inside. But I kept going and going. I passed the house when I told him I would so I really wasn't running much slower than I anticipated. It was just that everyone else was much faster. But somehow I made it to the end of my road and the last 2 miles of the race.

The last part of the race is the most brutal. There is a a huge hill (I walked) and then you still have more to run before the end! There's no crowd support. Nothing to get you through. I almost tripped and the old volunteer dude said "We can't have any falling now." in that funny old man way so that helped. I got to the last half mile or so and one of the Strong Running Mamas was running in the opposite direction but turned around to run with me and it was exactly what I needed. Just to have someone else with me.

When I sprint, I heel strike. When I run normally, I don't.

When I started to turn the corner for the home stretch I sprinted to the finish and then I was done. 10 miles done. 10 miles after a 1 mile fun run. So I did 11 total miles, my longest ever, with tendinitis and kidney stones and still nursing this baby, and I did it in less than 2 hours (1:54:36 official time) which is what I expected with the hills. I've looked at previous years results and there were more people in this race but they were all so much faster! There were people who finished in 2 1/2 hours in the last couple of years. Clearly they've been training! I'm not really thrilled with it, but I'm proud that I finished and I'm okay with my time. I wasn't racing it, I was just trying to run it. And I did.

And I did it on my 11th wedding anniversary, so that's pretty cool. But no, I won't be doing 12 miles next year.

Firefly race recap and tendinitis

So, those strained ligaments in my right foot that were bugging me? Turned out it's actually tendinitis or tendonitis depending on who you talk to you on the internets. Luckily I was smart enough to go to an actual Physical Therapist/Sports Doc who did all sorts of crazy things like move my foot and watch me run. I went for my first actual PT visit on Saturday, the day of the Firefly 5K. He hooked my foot up to some crazy machine so it could be all nice and tingly:

This is actually from today but the same thing happened.

Then he used an ultrasound (not diagnostic) to try to heal the area even more. The last thing he did was tape my foot up with KT tape and other tape and have me run in the parking lot. The pain was SO so bad. I would have kept running but I don't think I would have been able to keep it up for a 5K. So he retaped it and had me run again and it was AMAZING. To have so much pain and then to have none just because of repositioning some tape was truly just amazing.

This too is from today. The tape for the race was a bit more.  But you get the idea.

The race was an evening race and not knowing how the tape would hold up since he had to wrap it so early, I really tried to not put pressure on myself for a particular time goal. I wound up running 28:28, 2 seconds slower than the Dodge the Deer and 2 seconds faster than the Freihofer's. Which is... interesting. I won't lie, I am disappointed that I am still a minute slower than I was before I got pregnant. But, since I'm not lying, I will also freely admit that I am not doing the work. I'm not doing speedwork religiously like I had been. I'm not pushing myself right now. I am increasing mileage and having fun with my kids this summer. Once school starts again I think I'll buckle down (I don't know if that's a phrase, but I'm going to use it as such) and get back on the speedwork track and clean up my eating and get focused. But right now I want to enjoy as much as summer as I possibly can.

When I think logically and if I were listening to a friend talk... I first started running when Chewie was just turning a year old and it took me a good couple of years to get my 5K time to my PR (27:35). LightRunner just turned a year old, I barely ran when I was pregnant, I took it nice and easy when I started again. Instead of thinking that I'm still a minute away from my PR, I would tell my friend, look, you're ONLY a minute away and this is just your 3rd postpartum race! AND you have kidney stones and tendinitis. I'm not making excuses--like I said, I admit I'm not doing the work--but all things considered... I'm doing pretty well. When I look back at the Firefly 5K, I started really strong with no foot pain, I ran up hills instead of walked them, and I finished strong.

Official time: 28:28 Splits: 8:52/9:46/8:50 and 86/317 people.

(Although I did not PR, I was so excited to be there for Bridget who did PR, after running 5 miles in the morning too. She ran a super awesome race and I'm so very glad I could be there with her!)

For your amusement:

This is how I had to shower after today's run.
I put clear wrap around it and taped it.
It did not keep it dry. Sigh. But it wasn't soaked.

Running smart

I know. It's been a few days.

So, my goals for the Freihofer's were:

C. Beat my last 5K time: 28:26

B. Beat my last Freihofer's time of 27:58 (I need to double check this!)

A. 26:30 or better

I didn't do it.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't slightly disappointed, but this year the cards just seemed stacked against me.

For the first time I was able to see the starting line from where I was. The first year there were hundreds of women in front of me. This year I was in the 3rd corral and could see the elites and the road ahead! Crazy. I started out strong with a good first mile and got slower with the second and even slower with the third. It was WICKED hot. I didn't go to the bathroom before the race and I wound up having some complications from that. And then in the home stretch when I wanted to speed up, my shoelace came undone. For the first time ever.

I kept switching sides when I was running to try and stay in the shade and I freely admit that I didn't "empty my tank" (well, I emptied one of them, hahaha). In fact at the finish line when most women stopped or passed out, I kept on running. I could have run longer. I think I'm okay with that now. I didn't stop to walk, I didn't have to visit the medical tent, didn't pass out, didn't vomit. Didn't collapse. There will be other races when I can give it my all, but when it's already 79 degrees at 9 in the morning and I have EIGHT KIDNEY STONES and four little children to go home to (they were at soccer and missed the big race)... well... I think I ran smart even if I didn't run exceptionally fast.

I wound up finishing with a net time of 28:30 (gun time 28:45. I was only 15 seconds from the start!).

How cool are these results? I mean, the layout, not the time.

My friends all ran great and did really well in the heat. It's so nice to be a part of a supportive group.

I'm taking this week off from running and exercising and trying to get to all the things I've neglected. Laundry, toilets, my poor garden. I've been doing tech support with our wireless network and security camera for the last 2-3 days. Today we had a birthday party from Chewie who has managed to turn 4. I need to start planning Lightrunner's first birthday party next month. I see the stone specialist on Friday and hope I have some more answers and a plan for these stones. My next planned race will be the 10 mile Clove Run in August (on my 11th anniversary. Maybe I'll run the 1 mile fun run with the kids to make it 11 total!). I'm not thinking about that yet though. I'm keeping my fridge plan-free for a little while. 

Giving it my all

I'm sure you're all dying to know how it went.

If you don't feel like clicking back, here's what I was hoping for:

C. Beat 29:25 my last time for this race.
B. 28 minute range
A. Beat my overall PR of 27:35


We got there in time for the kids race and all 3 mobile jedi children ran. The eldest complained that I signed him up for the 200 meter dash instead of the 1 mile but I think we all know what would have happened if I had signed him up for the mile! They all had fun and that's what counts. I think I will sign SkyWalker up for the mile next year... and listen to him complain about it being too much.

I then stood in the cold wind for another 45 minutes waiting for the race to start. Last year, when I was pregnant and didn't run, it was 70 and beautiful. This year was much like my first year, cold and windy. The sun was strong and that was nice but the air was just cold. I don't like to be late, I don't like to rush, and I get stressed out if it feels like I'm going to be late. But 45 minutes in the chilly air was a bit much.

There's always a half-naked dude. What the hell?

I found some friends and stood way too close to the front. Will I ever learn? I even said this is too close but I didn't move. And when I started out too fast I said, this is too fast. When I passed the first mile marker it said 8:00 and I thought crap. (Although my garmin says 8:50. Who knows. It's a trail run and the garmin is probably less accurate in the woods.) I knew I couldn't maintain an 8 mile pace for 3 miles. Not yet. I slowed down a bit but not too much. Then I sped up a bit but not too much.

Trying to smile. 

The sand wasn't as bad as I had thought last time and I didn't have any problems with the roots and branches and rocks. I did step on one rock that could have led to something bad but luckily it didn't. I tried to just focus on running my own race, not tripping, and just being happy that I was doing this. I also tried, as much as I could, to look around me at the river and the scenery and enjoy the moment. That was harder to do.

But trail runs are hard. They feel entirely different from running on pavement. It's not a bad thing, just different. I had my Merrell Pace Gloves on because they are trail shoes and I didn't want to get my Dash Gloves too dirty. Yes, I said I didn't want to get my shoes too dirty. I've done my last two treadmill runs with the Pace Gloves so I remembered what they feel like (there's a half size different between my Pace & Dash Gloves) but it was still a bit different.

Just slapped the Princess's hand.

I hit the 3 mile mark at 27 something and thought I could get there by 28. Then when I came out of the woods I saw my Jedi and their smiling little faces and the Princess reaching out for a high-five and I slowed down a little and veered so I could slap the Princess's outstretched hand and then ran as fast as I could towards the finish. I managed 28:26. Could I have beaten 28 if I hadn't gone for her hand? Maybe. Do I care? Not much.

I would have been thrilled with an overall PR, with anything faster than 28, but I'm pretty happy with how I did. It wasn't an easy race, I had a hard time breathing in the cold air, and as I was running I felt like I was giving it my all. I am still sneezing and coughing and having my post-race running induced allergy attack and I STILL (hours later) feel like I can't breathe too deeply. So I think I really did give it my all. Particularly when I remember I just had my 4th baby 8 months ago!

And that's what matters.

Fine lines & race goals

Tomorrow morning I will get up and run my first race since August of 2011. Well, technically I ran a race in December while I was pregnant but I didn't race it so I'm not really counting it.

I'm trying to find the line between being confident and believing in myself ... and setting myself up for failure. I'm past the point of wondering if I'm going to finish. I'm past the point of being happy just crossing the finish line. BUT, I just had a baby 8 months ago, I'm still breastfeeding, and this is a TRAIL run which means not a lot of room to get around people and lots of sticks to trip over. And I just read my report from the last time I ran this and was reminded by the sand we had to run in. I forgot about that. So. What to do? What to hope? What to shoot for? What to be satisfied with?

I've been training with a plan The Happy Runner made me eons ago to get to 28 minutes. But instead of doing the traditional intervals that were in the plan (from 2 years ago), I've been doing her Fast 40 workout instead. The plan had called for fast quarters and then the following week fast halves and then the last week doing mile repeats. I wasn't having any of that but I didn't want to stick with just the same Fast 40. I started out doing the first and last 4 repeats of 30 seconds at 7.5 and the minute intervals at 8. So first I bumped up the 30 second intervals to 7.7, then the next week I added a couple more minute intervals. I think the last week I did a 6/6/6. I can't really remember. I'm not sure why I'm including this except that I might want to remember that's what I did. Sometimes this blog is my only way of remembering things.

Anyway. I've been aiming for 28 minutes for this race with the idea that I'll shoot for 26 at the Freihofer's in June. But I think I can do better than 28.

So, I say "so" a lot, this is what I've decided.

C. Beat 29:25 my last time for this race.
B. 28 minute range
A. Beat my overall PR of 27:35

Honestly, I will be happy with 28. But I'll be pretty damn happy with 27. If I do manage 27... I can't wait until the Freihofer's.

Maybe I'll add the risers & be able to reach
the dish soap. I mean, stretch more.

And now I leave you with the best multitasking idea I have ever come up with. I often do heel raises when I'm brushing my teeth, but I don't often get a chance to stand on my stairs and do heel drops. I pulled out my old step from my stepping days (we all had stepping days right?) and put it in front of the kitchen sink. Now when I'm washing dishes (even with a dishwasher I still have dishes to wash) I can do heel drops and really stretch my calf muscles.

Hopefully I'll be pretty damn happy tomorrow. But really and truly? I'm pretty damn happy already. I'm happy to be racing again. I'm happy to be running. I'm happy to not be vomiting. I'm happy with my little quartet of ragamuffin children. I'm not happy that I smell poopy again.

I've been wrong before

So. Yeah. About that race?

I smiled a lot:

I ran hard:

And I gave it my all:

Yes, I'm still heel striking.
It happens when I run fast and overstride when I see the finish line.
I'm okay with that.

And I made it in 27:35 (official time), 8:53 avg pace, 24/54 people, first in my age group of 4 people (yeah, 4 people) earning me my first and most likely only medal. I thanked every single volunteer I saw and enjoyed the race from start to finish.

It must have been the shoes.

Freihofer's Round Two

Sure, it's a goofy smile, but it's a smile damnit!
I am most happy that I am wearing an orange bib (slower expected finish) in a sea of yellow bibs (faster expected finish)

I outlined my goals in my last post and of them the smiling thing was actually the most important to me. I had been hoping to achieve my A goal of 28 minutes but with my foot hurting the past week I thought I would be happy with anything in the 28 range... but really expecting 29 or slower. But that still beat my last year's time of 33:18.

I came in at 27:58 (chip time). It's only 2 seconds, but it's 2 seconds UNDER my A goal. I think that's a 5 minute and 20 second improvement over last year but feel free to correct my math.

I'm pretty happy.

I ran smiling most of the way. Around mile 2 my bladder rebelled and I once again felt the urge to pee (I peed 3 times before I left the house and 2 times before the race). What's odd is that I was fine for a long time and it's just been the past few weeks that mile 2 sets off the pee-urge (no, I'm not pregnant). Always mile 2. It might just be in my head now. Anyway, I ignored it and kept on trucking. My foot felt miraculously fine. I didn't even have to pretend it wasn't there. It just didn't hurt (sure I'm icing it now and it hurt like hell walking to the car, but it was totally worth it.) I've been reading lots of barefoot runner blogs and ultramarathon runner blogs and used a trick I learned from them--it's easier to run faster than slower. When I felt tired I sped up. I guess it worked. The really funny thing was that I had been anticipating really bad hills. I've been running the big hill on my road A LOT the last couple of weeks to prepare. There was the one hill when we first started running but there are SO MANY other women it's impossible to get ahead that I didn't even notice the hill. And then the rest of the way there were some gradual inclines, but I kept waiting for the hills! After running my big hill it was EASY for me! Amazing!

It was a great race all around. My Strong Running Mama friends did great! It's so nice to run a race with good friends by your side. Okay, not by my side since they all smoked me, but you get my meaning. Our fearless leader, The Happy Runner, did beyond amazing, smashing her A goal and finishing in 22:51! I can't even fathom that!!

The stats for those of you interested (i.e future me): 1036/4142 overall; 120/520 age group; splits: 9:12/8:53/8:46 (I like it when the numbers go in that direction. Kind of easy too when you're starting out with 4000 other women!)

We are the pink/black duo because pink is the new black.
Or maybe black is the new pink.

SkyWalker and the Princess ran their own races. Unfortunately they were a couple of hours after my race, but it gave us an opportunity to walk around and eat lunch and see Andy Morse for a few minutes. The Princess's race was first and she was raring to go. In fact once she got to her mark she just started going and I had to grab her back! I held the Princess's hand (her request) for her 50 meter dash. We unintentionally color-coordinated. She was so excited and happy and smiled the entire way and really had a great time. She says that next year she will run without holding my hand so that she can try to beat me.  Once again, she insisted on showering with me when we got home.

See, he's ahead. 

SkyWalker did so much better than I thought he would. He really gave it his all and ran trying to beat me. I let him. But it wasn't that hard to let him... of course I did run a lot more before and had just run with the Princess, but still I foresee the days of my children beating me coming very soon. He was smiling and laughing the whole way and enjoying himself. He had to run further than the Princess--a whole 100 meters. He did a GREAT job. And then complained about having to walk so far to the car.