Thanks for the Miles

Every runner training for a marathon has probably studied the course map and elevation changes of her target marathon and can tell you in detail where all the tough spots will be along the course – the steep hill up to the finish line (why do they like to do that to us?), the boring, deserted miles along the wide highway, and the long, never-ending steady incline that seems to only level off when you hit the point that your body can’t run uphill another yard.

Training for my first marathon, The Thunder Road Marathon in Charlotte, NC, I struggled with a hilly, challenging course that had an overall climb of 1,168 feet and a total elevation change of 2,349 feet.  It was easy to complain about each hill that I hit, but one thought that kept my feet moving uphill was the decline coming around the turn – or even the relatively flat mile that I would eventually get to. 

Instead of breaking up the marathon by all the hard spots and tackling those, I tried to change my thinking and make note of all the miles that weren’t so difficult – mostly downhill on Queens Road, flat throughout South End with a downhill bonus on Tryon Street, and a slight decline along The Plaza.

My mantra during that marathon and its training was “Be thankful for the easy miles.”  On race day, those words ran through my mind countless times and helped me to complete my first marathon in 3:16:11.

It’s always easier to focus on the problem areas of a course or of one’s life, and rarely do we appreciate it when things are actually going well.  Instead, our small problems during the “easy” part of life just become larger to take the place of the bigger problems that we have passed or have yet to conquer. 

This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for so many things.  I am thankful that, while it may not always seem like it, life really is pretty easy – or at the very least, it could be much, much worse.  And I am thankful for the hard miles that I have covered because I know that they have only made me stronger.  And whether it be a marathon or year 2013, if you focus on being thankful for when things go right, the course just seems a little bit easier.

Weekly Miles:  One! 

I went for a very short, easy run around the neighborhood, but I still felt some discomfort in my left ankle.  The injury is definitely getting better, but I’m not sure if it has fully recovered yet.  I am still doing some aqua jogging at the local aquatic center, but I am looking forward to hopefully getting back on the roads soon!  Boston 2014 will be here before we know it!!

This Week's Beer Choice:  New Belgium Brewery's Rampant Imperial India Pale Ale

2013 Thunder Road – My Most Fun Marathon Ever

On Saturday morning, my alarm went off at 5:15 am.  It was race day.  The Thunder Road Marathon was beginning in less than three hours, and I had work to do.

I hit the pavement at 6:00 am, but I was not wearing running shoes – instead I had on an old pair of sneakers, and I was not planning on doing any running that day.  I was preparing to take on a new challenge as a marathon spectator and to help throw the best, damn race party in Charlotte!

Every year my neighborhood hosts the funkiest marathon cheering station in the whole Queen City, and they have the awards to prove it!!  It has become infamous for handing out beer and bloody marys to runners as well as putting up the “Wall” obstacle for marathoners to run through around mile 20 on the course when typically runners’ glycogen stores have been depleted.

While I’m sure the planning had begun months in advance, I began helping out the morning of the race when I met a few of my fellow neighbors to practice our artistic skills and add some colorful, legal (I hope!) graffiti to our streets.  By the time we finished, it looked as if our neighborhood was hosting a color run instead of a marathon!

A painted arrow pointed the way to the party.

My dog also got in on the action and showed her support of the runners by dressing up as one herself!  (Ok, she had some help, and yes, I do realize she puts up with a lot from her mom.)

With my best running friend, a motivational sign, and a cooler of mimosas and beer, I set up camp on the course around 9:30 am. 

It wasn’t long before the race vehicles came down our streets, followed by our first runner, who finished in a little over two and a half hours (Burt Rodriguez – 2:33:37).

Our NoDa Cheering Party

While it was certainly neat to see the first runner pass by, I found myself almost getting emotional when the first female came charging down our streets looking strong and grinning from ear to ear.  She was literally so happy.  I’m not sure I’ve ever seen so much joy on someone’s face.  I was touched because I could understand a little bit of what she was feeling, and it was truly a beautiful thing.  (Alice Rogers –  2:56:12)

I don’t know if it was the music, the booze, or the crowd of energetic NoDa neighbors and friends, but watching the Thunder Road Marathon may have been the most fun I’ve ever had at a marathon.  It was truly stress-free, and while the runners were out there working hard mile after mile, I got to drink beer!  It almost made me wonder if I should just give up the running thing and travel around cheering at various marathons around the country.  Almost made me wonder….Almost.

Weekly Miles:  None!  (But a little over four hours of pool running)

This Week’s Beer Choice:  Ska Brewing’s Modus Hoperandi India Pale Ale  (If you’re going to cheer on marathoners, you gotta drink out of a can.) 

I am a Runner Because…

I used to feel timid about claiming that I am a runner – Runner?  Who me?  Well, I enjoy jogging sometimes. 

I would feel even stranger when someone referred to me as an athlete – An athlete is someone who gets a scholarship to college!  I’m not an athlete!  I don’t belong in the roped-off  “Athletes Only” section of this race.  People will be like “Who does she think she is?!”

I absolutely believe that this negative thinking is part of what held me back from running all these years.  I signed up for my first marathon on a total whim!  I would never have consciously thought out to do one because I believed “real runners” signed up for marathons and half-marathons, and I was not in the “real runner” category.

But now, almost a year and a half after I signed up for my first marathon, I will giddily tell total strangers “I am a runner!” as if I were getting married or having my first baby.

What changed?  Well, naturally you would think that maybe it was logging almost 80 miles a week during training or qualifying for Boston or maybe completing a sub-three-hours marathon on a sprained ankle that gave me the courage to confidently claim from the mountaintops that I am a runner, but I realize that it is so much more than that. 

The first Lululemon shirt I ever bought had cute, little sayings printed on the inside seam like “Life is too short for the treadmill,” but my favorite has always been “I am a runner because I run.”  I love the quote because there are no justifications or qualifications necessary to be a runner.  It’s like the old joke about what do you call the kid that graduates last in his med school class – Doctor.  Well, the person who finishes last in a race is still every bit a runner as the person who comes in first.

While I still love and can identify with the Lululemon quote, I now find myself at a time when I cannot run – After running the Marine Corps Marathon on a sprained ankle, I am doing well to limp a bit around my house without a crutch.  Which begs the question – If I am not running, am I still a runner?  You bet!

Last Friday night, I hobbled into the Mecklenburg Aquatic Center on one crutch prepared to swim some laps.  The attendant at the front desk inquired if I came to the center often.  I’m not sure if it was a pick-up line or if he was curious if I was going to gush “Oh no!  I just started coming in hopes to see Ryan Lochte after I found out he was training here!”  However, my response was “No, I’m actually a runner!  But I can’t run because I have a sprained ankle.” 

The attendant then asked if I was going to do water running.  The truth was that I had read about aqua jogging and was aware of the benefits, but I honestly had no idea how to do it!   It was something that I had planned to research more before Boston training.  So, I swallowed my pride and told the guy that I was clueless, and about five minutes later I found myself with a buoyancy belt strapped around my waist and my legs turning over in their old, familiar stride as I glided through the water.

Because my feet did not touch the bottom of the pool, there was no impact on my sprained ankle.  The buoyancy belt kept my head dry as I stood tall while running.  Even though I was not swimming, I would make some slow progress down my lane.  It took about two minutes to go from one end of the pool to the other while maintaining an easy pace. 

That first night that I returned to running at the aquatic center, I kept my pace slow and easy, but during my second weekend run on Sunday afternoon, I found that the pool is a great place to do a fartlek run.  I played around with increasing my pace just until I got to the end of the pool or from backstroke flags to backstroke flags.

I have no doubts that learning how to deep-water run this past weekend will help me to maintain fitness and recover more quickly from my injury.  But perhaps more important, aqua running has allowed me to return to something that I love and that I thought I was unable to do. 

I am a runner for many reasons, but primarily, I am a runner because I love running, even when I can’t get out there and hit the pavement.  And even though it took me a while, I am so thankful that I eventually pushed past my comfort zone and started down a path that has taken me to the runner I am today and hopefully will take me further to the runner that I will become tomorrow.  I have realized that it is ok to not be the fastest in your age group or have all the knowledge of a seasoned marathoner….Runners are a good pack of people are there are plenty of them out there who are more than happy to pace you to the finish line or put you in a buoyancy belt at the aquatic center.

Weekly Miles:  None!  (But two hours of pool running)

This Week’s Beer Choice:  Palmetto Pale Ale  (Yup!  A repeat – I went on another Charleston beer run)

MCM: Mission Accomplished

It was not the race I wanted, but I set out at the beginning of MCM training to run a sub-three-hour marathon, and a sub-three-hour marathon I did run.

The night before I tossed and turned and paced the halls of the Holiday Inn (The whole weekend I kept finding myself singing “I’m at the hotel, motel, Holiday Inn,” which reminded me so much of my mother who loves to say things like “Paula!  I went to the Harris Teeter this morning and it was like ‘Who let the dogs out?!’)  Even with the rest I had given my ankle, I knew something was not quite right.  While I walked around D.C. pain-free for most of the day Saturday, I immediately felt discomfort when I did an easy jog Saturday evening.  I had doubts in my head whether I should even run on Sunday, but I decided to just keep my fingers crossed and if worse comes to worst I could always pull out of the race if the pain became too severe.

Crossing my fingers that my ankle will hold - Morning of MCM

Whether from ignorance or stupidity, I did watch the sun come up on Sunday morning while standing just a few feet from the starting line in front of a little over 23,000 runners in Arlington, VA.  The day was beautiful – cool and partly cloudy.  And as the Star Spangled Banner played, active and retired military vets floated down from the sky while American flags trailed behind them.

After a slight false start when some runners accidently began with the wheelchair crowd, around 7:55 am, the race was underway.  Even though I started only a few people deep, during the first mile or so, the pack was thick and it was slow-moving uphill.  Randomly I did run in to (not quite literally) a guy that I chatted with a few weeks back during the Marine Corps Half Marathon in Camp Lejeune.  In his Where’s Waldo-striped cap, the tall, jolly kid excitedly told other new friends around us, “Hey – I ran with this girl at the Marine Corps Half a few weeks ago.”  I later passed by my friend, who pulled away early in the race, around mile 18.  He was in pain and could barely speak.  I felt sorry for him, but little did I know at that point that I would soon be taken down by the marathon as well.

Before I even made it to mile three of the marathon, my right ankle was already throbbing, but the pain was bearable.  Thus, I kept marching on.

While some of the marathon has become a blur, I remember countless times throughout the course thinking, “Wow – That’s beautiful” as I passed woods colored with autumn leaves, sparkling waters with monuments in the backgrounds, and under old, arched bridges. 

I also remember the people of the marathon – I chatted with several runners throughout the course (my “I run better than the Gov’t” singlet was a good conversation starter), and all the Marines were so helpful, friendly, and polite! (Love all the ‘ma’ams’ I received as well as the soup and hot chocolate I enjoyed in the medical tent after the race!)  I was also so thankful for all the supporters who came out and lined the streets early in the morning to cheer us on.  My mother popped up a few times along the course, and I was excited to see my friends around mile 25 near the Pentagon holding the cutest signs that I ran past all day.

My sweet friends Becky (left) and Jane (right) on the MCM Course near the Pentagon

I moved along well through the first 21-22 miles of the race.  I had planned on running between 6:30 – 6:40 minutes per mile, but my body felt strong enough that I was covering some miles closer to a 6-minute mark (The 5K between the 25K and the 30K, I ran at an average pace of 6:11 per mile.) 

Rolling through some marathon miles

However, with only a few miles left in the marathon, I realized that I had begun limping.  If it had happened at mile 13, I certainly would have pulled out of the race, but when I was so close to reaching my goal and had so many solid, fast miles behind me, I just couldn’t quit.

With my bum leg, my pace quickly slowed from 6:30-minute miles to 7:00-minute miles, to 8:00-minute miles.  I’m not sure I even bothered to look down at my watch the last mile or so.  I was only focused on continuing to cover ground.

I’ve seen the pictures, and they are not pretty, but I shuffled my way across the finish line in 2:56:05 – about four minutes under my 3:00 hour goal that I set at the beginning of training.  Overall, I was the 9^th Place Woman of about 10,000.  In the 25-29 year-old female group, I came in 2^nd – behind the overall female winner, which probably means the award that I get in the mail will be first place for my age group (Generally the top three overall winners are taken out of age group awards.)

Even though the marathon was a success in many lights, I cannot help but still feel some level of disappointment and frustration.  Like a detective solving a murder mystery, I have gone over and over my last steps of marathon training to figure out what may have caused the ankle pain that left me limping across the finish line and still unable to walk four days later as I write this post.  Fortunately, after spending hours and who knows how much money at a local Urgent Care, I did learn from an x-ray that my injury is not attributable to a broken bone or stress fracture.

While I think it is certainly possible that the only cause could be overuse, I am now thinking with 99% certainty that the injury is a result of my dog yanking me out of my triangle pose while I was stretching over my right leg before last Tuesday’s night run in order to chase after a neighborhood cat.  Needless to say, Sugar is getting only walks from now on.

As I close the 2013 MCM chapter, I turn my attention from marathon training to healing my ankle.  I am still waiting to take those first few without my crutches.  I have had a slight glimpse in to how it must feel to be handicapped, and it is more difficult than you can imagine.  I’ve had to re-learn how to do things – like how to get a cup of coffee to my desk, or an apple.

Carrying my apple at work.

I am not sure when I will be able to walk again, but I know that this injury will eventually pass.  And after I begin walking, it will only be a matter of time before I return to running.  And once I begin running, the racing will come.  In fact, I got a little, present from Boston yesterday…I’m thinking Spring sounds like a good time to try to break a 2:50:00.

2014 Boston Marathon:  Confirmation of Acceptance

MCM Training Week Twenty (Final Week!):  14 Miles Before Marathon

   

This Week’s Beer Choice: Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA – Marathon Eve at Il Canale in Georgetown (Spaghetti for Dinner – No Surprise There)

60 Minute IPA at Il Canale - Eve of MCM

MCM: Race Weekend

Evidently marathoners are known for crapping in the pants.  Well, I have thankfully never experienced this unfortunate accident, but with race time less than 48 hours away, I sure do feel like I could crap my pants right now.

1,145 – this is the number of miles I have put on my legs since week one of MCM training.  I honestly wanted more, but I will certainly take it.  My goal was to originally have about a month of running 80-plus miles, but instead I ended up turning that 80 in to 70.  But that’s how training goes – You make plans, and then your body tells you otherwise.

Even though my mileage came in slightly under the mark, I am overall pleased and grateful for the training I have accomplished.  There were certainly tough weeks – Remember Week #4 when I only got in 17 miles because I injured the outside of my right foot?  But there were countless hard runs that I am so glad that I got under my training belt.

With the hours counting down, I am focusing on having a healthy body make it to the starting line.  Unfortunately, a bit of tendonitis has flared up on the inside of my right leg around my ankle.  My plantar fasciitis is also still present in my right heel when I first wake up in the morning.  I am not concerned with the plantar fasciitis, but I am a little stressed and frustrated about the pain around my ankle.  I am questioning whether the injury is a result of running in worn-out shoes and that I maybe should have switched out my running shoes one more time before race day.  However, I’ve been through four pairs of Brooks PureConnects this training period!

Since you can’t put the Genie back in the Bottle, I am forced to just do my best to rest and ice my foot in these last couple of days.  And don’t get me wrong, there is pain there, but it could be a lot worse.  Neither a government shutdown nor a nagging tendon is going to stop this marathon from happening.  I’ve been through too many miles and too many hard weeks of training to turn back now.

I’m going to D.C. to get this thing done.

The Unwritten Rules of (the) Taper

Nope!  This week’s blog is not about swiping right on an ex and immediately blocking or drinking if you get a match (you can read about those rules here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/02/unwritten-rules-tinder_n_3689441.html ) but instead it is about preparing yourself in those last two (maybe three) weeks of training to get your marathon game on.

And thank God / Allah / Zeus / Good Ol’ Saint Nick that there is going to be a marathon!  It was touch-and-go for a while on Tuesday night and Wednesday as news source after news source began reporting that the Marine Corps Marathon was in jeopardy of being canceled due to the government shutdown. 

http://www.runnersworld.com/races/shutdown-could-cancel-marine-corps-marathon

However, on Thursday I received the below e-mail from the Marine Corps Marathon titled:  MCM:  Mission Ready.  And I couldn’t agree more with the MCM Staff – “We are SO on!”

As I breath a sigh of relief after my marathon was on the operating table being shocked by a defibrillator, I also let out an audible, yoga exhale that I have finally made it to the taper – the last few weeks where I can back off my mileage and rest up for race day!  The tough work has been done, the die has been cast, and my preparation is-what-it-is at this point.  There is very little, if anything, I can do to train my body any more now, but – if I choose to not taper properly – there is a lot I can do to ruin all that I have accomplished. 

To me, the most frustrating thing about a taper is that there are no clear, standard rules or best practices.  The taper is often referred to as “an art and not a science.”  Coaches and athletes will argue over a two-week taper or a three-week taper and just how much one should cut back on both mileage and intensity.

So, I have a compiled a list of Taper Rules according to Paula to provide some structure to the taper masterpiece.

Rule #1:  Any way you slice it, rule # 1 is to taper!  If you want your performance to peak on race day, then you absolutely need to taper.  The same hard-headedness, stubborn, perhaps egotistical thinking that makes people try to run through injuries also makes them do stupid things like run 20 miles the weekend before a marathon.  Unless you are Dean Karnazes or Scott Jurek (which let’s face it –most of us aren’t), then you need to seriously cut back on the mileage before race day. 

Rule #2:  Cut back on mileage, but keep some intensity.  Just because you may only be running half of the miles that you ran during your most strenuous training weeks, doesn’t mean that all the miles you are currently running need to be easy.  Instead, continue to incorporate some faster running – especially some running at race pace.  However, do cut back on the miles or minutes you spend running at a quicker pace.   For example, if you did a ten-mile run in the prior week with six miles at marathon pace, then perhaps you may want to do and eight-mile run with two by two miles at marathon pace with a five-minute active recovery (jogging/easy running).

Rule #3:  Stay off the hills.  Normally, I love and encourage hill work.  Coaches like to say that hills are speed work in disguise.  However, the time for breaking down your muscles to build them back stronger has passed.  Instead, the final weeks leading up to the marathon are for recovering from all the hard training. 

Rule #4:  Don’t try anything new.  New foods, new workouts, new shoes – leave these things for after the marathon.  You don’t want to be sore on race day because you tried out a barre class for the first time a few days before.

Rule #5:  When in doubt, come in undertrained rather than over-trained.  My belief is that there is a lot more that you can screw up rather than you can gain.  When in doubt, cut a workout short or even cut it completely.  Again, this rule can be argued but as I mentioned above – these are taper rules according to Paula.

Rule #6:  Find new projects!  The taper can sometimes be the most challenging part of training for some people.  Runners will find comfort in logging high mileage week-after-week, and thus the shorter runs and more free time can cause some people to feel antsy.  Use this time to catch up on other things in life or perhaps complete a non-running (and non-physically demanding) project.  For example, I spent hours this Saturday sorting through papers in my office and compiling items for my 2013 taxes.  Personally, it made me feel like I had organized my life and gave me a sense of calmness and order.

Rule #7:  Prepare for race day.  Instead of sitting around worrying that you will get fat from cutting your mileage, use the extra time to go through your marathon checklist.  Do you have everything you need?  Have you made all your massage appointments, dinner reservations, etc.?  One of the last things I typically do is buy some throwaway clothes.  Because I know it will be in the 40s on the morning of the MCM and I should be arriving at the starting line around two hours before the gun goes off, I made a quick trip to Walmart to buy a cheap pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt that I can leave at the starting line where it will hopefully be collected and donated (Most big marathons will donate all discarded clothing.)  Combining rule # 6 (find a new project) and rule #7, I also started a little art project on my racing singlet that I will wear during the marathon that almost didn’t happen.

Lastly, Rule #8:  Smile – because you made it!  The hard work is behind you and all you need to do is coast safely to the starting line.

MCM Training Week Nineteen:  54 Miles

The longest run this week was only 14 miles with the last three miles ran at a moderate pace (The first 11 were easy.)  I also had a nine-mile fartlek run with a couple minutes of running at half-marathon pace about every mile or so.  Lastly, other than some easy additional miles, I had a twelve-mile run with two by four miles ran at marathon pace.

This Week’s Beer Choice: While you shouldn’t drink and Tinder, you can drink (in moderation) and Taper!  During my trip to Walmart, I picked up a twelve pack of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, an old favorite, for less than $14!

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in one of my favorite beer glasses - a prize from the 2013 NoDa 5K

Good Times, Bad Times – You Know I’ve Had My Share

During the course of marathon training, I have obviously had good days and bad days – This is to be expected.  However, as much as I try to think rationally and keep my emotions at bay, I can’t help but feel low when I have a crappy run and elated when I kill it.

Even though I know my body will not feel great every day, I still start to doubt my abilities when a run turns out to be harder than I expected or if I can’t complete the miles at the pace I planned.  And it’s sometimes difficult to not let it all snowball…On my worse days, I start to doubt what I am even doing spending all this time running.  How far do I think I’m going to take this?  How good do I really think I’m going to get?

I also tend to have a love/hate relationship with my Garmin watch – I can’t imagine running without it, but I know it does not always tell the truth.  When it tells me I’m running faster than I had thought, I do a little victory dance in my head.  But on the dark side, when the number staring back at me is slower than I wanted, it kills my spirit.  I will let my Garmin watch dictate how I feel about my entire run.  And when the sky is cloudy or the trails are shaded and my lying watch tells me I’m running too slowly, I will run myself to death trying to beat my watch.

I wish I could say my manic episodes are confined to the trails and city sidewalks, but I know that I am guilty of letting a bad day or a bad week while not in my running shoes change my whole outlook on my life.  Even though everyone has bad days and bumps in the road, it can still be difficult to recognize these times for what they are – just a low moment in a long life – and try to remain positive about things improving or focus on all the positive things that are already in my life.

And just like how I allow my watch’s judgment to overshadow my own, I will sometimes let my reflection of myself in others change the way I feel about myself.  And I really shouldn’t. 

As a young girl in the 6^th grade, one of my friends became angry with me and accused me of “always trying to be perfect.”  My natural, overachieving personality clearly had upset this girl, and I remember questioning if I did have some sort of character flaw…Was I trying to be “perfect?”  Fortunately, another friend of mine, Janna, stood up for me and said, “You can’t be mad at her just because she makes good grades.”  Thanks, Janna.

On a more light-hearted note, I caught one of my sorority sisters in college stating I was “not cute” after her date said to mine, “Oh, you are here with cute Paula?”  It could have hurt my feelings (for the record I thought she was pretty), but instead it just became a huge joke with my friends to talk about how “not cute” I was.

I am certainly an imperfect person, and I am certainly my own worse critic.  But sometimes I forget that we are all imperfect people.  I may not always say the perfect things or act in perfect ways and I definitely do not kill every run, but sometimes the best thing I can do is to forgive myself.  We all deserve to just give ourselves a break sometimes.  Otherwise, we will run ourselves into the ground trying to beat our GPS watches or please others.

I know good days and bad days are part of the course for both marathon training and life.  Sometimes I stumble, sometimes I fall, sometimes I bleed, and sometimes I cry.   But so far I have always picked myself back up and continued to run. 

So whether it may be a bad run, a tough day at work, a hurtful comment from a friend, or an ex-boyfriend who didn’t respect me the way he should have – I am trying to not allow these negative thoughts to consume my mind and impact my entire outlook.  Instead, I’m trying to take the bad days with a grain a salt or – in the case of an ex-boyfriend – perhaps a large margarita.

MCM Training Week Eighteen:  71 Miles

After last week’s sub-par long run, I was happy to nail two important runs this week. 

First, on Friday, I ran 14 miles – 2 miles easy, 10 miles at marathon pace, and then 2 miles easy.  The run was comfortably hard, and I was happy to be able to hold the marathon pace at a reasonable effort.

The second important run of this week was my 20-mile long run on Sunday.  Scheduled to run at a “steady” pace, I completed the run with an average pace of just under 7:30 minutes/mile.  Perhaps more important, I felt solid and strong on the run.  Fingers crossed this is a good sign!!



This Week's Beer Choice:  Unita Brewing Co.'s Punk'n Ale (A pumpkin ale that actually tastes good!)