Post Life Changing Marathon

About a week ago, I ran a marathon. San Antonio wasn't my first choice location-wise, but it was the most practical decision. I started this blog two years ago with a somewhat vague notion that I could one day train and actually complete a 26.2 miler. It's been interesting what I've found out about my physical and mental strength since then. It appears as though my mental capacity to handle a ferocious run like that heavily outweighed my physical ability. But, what's done is done. 

So here's how it went...

Just prior to race day, I clung to Hal Hidgon's latest marathon book and tried not to freak out. It's true what they say about training for any race:  you can't cram for it like you can a test. You're body needs time to rest and repair from any run that is considered "long." I had one final eight mile run a week before the big race and I killed it. Yet, I still felt like I wasn't ready.

Parlay that into another aspect to a successful run: a positive attitude. I knew I had to shove all my doubts and worries out of my head or else my brain would end up sabotaging the race. Another thing that "they" say is true, running is 90% mental, or something like that. If you don't think you can do it, you probably won't.

So, how did it go?

I thank God for blessing me with the ability to accomplish this feat. And for just the right amount of stubbornness to get it done (not to be confused with 'get er done'). I think it would be crass of me to claim my victory over the race in the name of God. Rather, it was an act of God that I was even able to finish. The thought crossed my mind several times to give up, just lay on the ground, and throw a tantrum. Every mile of the race came with a water station and medical tent. It was so tempting. By mile 24-ish, I was ready to burst into tears from the pain in my quads, the feeling of it never ending, and exhaustion. That's when I saw my parents cheering me on. They had been strategically placed at that point the race to get me through to the end, so for that, I am thankful.

Side Note: My iPod playlist definitely helped me get through it all. "Tongue Tied" was the song that played right before I finished and even ended right as I was about to cross the finish line. I didn't choose this song, but it was fitting since it was in a heavy music rotation from the very beginning of training.

From about mile 15 until the end, I had trouble with my tightening quadriceps. Every so often I would stop to stretch them, which gave temporary relief. Interestingly enough, that was my only serious ailment. No KNEE ISSUES, No IT BAND ISSUES, No SI JOINT ISSUES, No GLUTE GUILT, No NOTHING. Geez louise, all this time I've been working through various issues related to those things and I guess it paid off! Unfortunately, a lot of my energy was focused on my gentle giants, aka my enormous quads. They have never given me problems. Well, not until my more serious long runs. And really, you just chalk it up to normal muscle tightness. If I had worked on stretching them more from the very beginning, they would have been better off. But again, what's done is done.

How do I feel about it now?

Did I really struggle that hard to finish? Was the race really THAT long? These are actual questions that crossed my mind recently. So quickly did I forget the painful strides and the unforgiving sun. 

But yeah, I did it. I feel good about myself. And I walked away uninjured, too. I went to what appears to be my last PT session today (I hope). My PT didn't really see a need for me to come back. This is a sign that I am in the clear, health-wise. Unfortunately, this did not mean that I was in the clear, maternity belt-wise. I still have to wear that thing. I know I am the envy of all the other runners...

Buuuuut seriously, I feel relieved. It's DONE. And I don't have to do it again! If anyone wanted my advice about the whole thing, I would say, yeah, I can do a race, so you can do a race. But don't train for a race unless you find at least two things you enjoy about running. For me, I enjoy the feeling after a run, and I enjoy its ability to help me escape for a while. That's what got me through most of my training. 

A Day Before Madness

So, here we are (face-to-face, a couple of silver spooooons...oh wait...). It's the day before the marathon attempt. I feel like I've been plotting to run a marathon for years, but it's been more like one or two. When I've watched and heard about friends and loved ones accomplishing this feat, I would think "Gee, I wish I had that kind of discipline. There'd be no way I could do something like that without any help." Well, I sort of proved myself wrong, which is always a nice surprise.

Now I have to be patient. Conserve my energy. Consume carbs. Not stress about the schematics.  And, not obsess over the feeling that I'm still under-prepared  Yes, I did just about everything my training plan instructed. And yes, I did complete the 20 mile run. That doesn't seem to squash the doubts of a newbie, though. But I can say I've received a lot of support for my race, so I'm going to take that with me as I run.

Anywho, just think, earlier this year I had a somewhat embarrassing glut injury, making it hard for me to walk straight (zombie-like). I could probably never adequately express how grateful I am to have a physical therapist guide me through the healing process and get back on the road to running. When I could no longer run the TIR during that time, my confidence was pretty shot. One day at a time and months later, I'm doing something a notch more difficult than a long distance relay race.

So what happened to me? Did I become a different person? Where's Lazy Shelly? I'd like to think that I've unlocked a seldom used piece of my personality that has so much drive to accomplish a goal, the strife that typically comes with it seems to just fade away. It's the same drive I had to graduate college and get a job I guess, but I've missed that feeling. I welcome it to linger and fixate on something else once my race is over.

Together! We're going to find our wayyyyy!

Powering Through to Get More Power

I keep daydreaming about what it will feel like once November 11th has come and gone. For superstitious reasons, I'm still not saying that I'll actually finish my very first marathon, but instead I say I'll be glad after I've attempted my first marathon.

Since I have neglected my blog, I'm going touch on some highlights and 'ah-ha' moments that I've had in the past month or so.

Most interesting place I've ran during training: Dodson Prairie

Granted, I didn't deviate too much from my Townlake trail and neighborhood streets, but I had not noticed, until I ran there, how beautiful that place is. It is a bona-fide prairie with rolling hills. Great for running 14 miles on.... (if you love pain and struggle). The best part was about 10 minutes from the end of my run when it began to rain just enough for me to really enjoy it. Perfect weather, perfect smells, perfect sights, so much so that I didn't even turn on my IPOD.

Favorite distance to run: 10-ish miles
Now that just sounds plain crazy, coming from me, but lemme 'splain. 10 miles gives you a sense of accomplishment, especially when you run it after training for five months. It's almost a flash in the pan at that point. I spent all that time running and suffering, so I enjoy my 10 miles more than I could have ever thought. I almost...err, ok, I almost wish I could continue to do those runs after the marathon.

Best running gear: My Mizuno shoes!
They are the best. I dared a month back to get a different pair of shoes to run with and made it one run with a hurt foot and a basket full of regret. Thankfully, I was able to trade in those disappointments for a new pair of Mizuno Alchemy shoes, and for once, they are in cool colors. The last two pairs I've had of those shoes have been burgundy and light blue (what the what people?). I was fitted for them at Hill Country Running Company. My foot was analyzed and matched with a pair that would be wide enough with plenty of arch support. I don't necessarily feel like I'm walking on clouds, but I'm not walking on just some flimsy piece of plastic either.

Greatest success besides adding on the miles: Gaining this mental 'will-do' attitude
When the rest of my body, bits and pieces of me, were struggling through the runs, my mental strength steadily grew. One only has to read some of my previous blogs to see how bad I've struggled with motivation. My brain is soooo determined to get over this mountain that it almost doesn't care that the ligaments in my "gluts" are plumb give out or my knees are plotting their revenge.

I know I won't be able to keep up this running thing for a long time. I will have to retire it and start focusing on lower impact sports. My body just wasn't naturally built for this sport, and frankly I don't want to continue pretending that it is when I know that someday I would have to have knee surgery or a hip replacement. I just hope that whatever sport I pick up next gives me the same feeling of strength that this marathon training has.

The Green-light Mile

After I got the green-light a few weeks ago, my marathon training program has continued as steadily and unsteadily as a prop plane gliding through a cloud. After a three-week vacation--my last hurrah before 'the other half' of my training plan--I had one final test with my PT to make sure I was race-ready. Apparently I am, so here I go! I've been gradually adding on the mileage and the muscle. It's weird how one day you just up and notice your jeans fit a little tighter in the quad area than before. My knee-jerk reaction was to be self-concious about this until it dawned on me that my running and protein shakes were actually doing their job.

I've now ran one long distance run past the halfway mark. This past Saturday, I ran 15.5-ish miles. But per the usual, each time I get into a long run, there's always something new ailing me. The same ol' knee aches come and go, but it's the other stuff that makes itself known. This past Saturday it was my quadraceps and the backs of my legs. I really felt the burn at about mile 13. I could almost hear my muscles tearing and pulling past their breaking point (eww).

The week before, when I hit the mid-way point of 13.1 miles, it was the rightside of my body that started to give out. At one point (about mile 9), I was forced to walk due to the stress on that side. But, after about 10 minutes of walking, I was jogging again, and everything was fine-feeling. Except my blistering toes. From my hip down to my baby toe on my right-side; ailments came and went that day but haven't since.

I guess that's how she goes... that's how she goes. And if you don't find a way to correct the ailment quick, then that just leads to more ailment, or injury. I get the feeling that there's a part of my body I'm really pressing my luck with. It could be the lack of muscular support to my knees or my hip joints. I usually ignore "little" aches to pay more attention to the larger aches, or at least the places where I know a big ache can occur (i.e. SI Joint City).

But, what comes with learning the hard way...is picking up tricks I hadn't known before. Here's a few I've picked up in the past few weeks:

• Body Glide isn't just for thigh friction. Use it anywhere there's friction. It hadn't dawned on me before. So now, I use it on my toes and guess what! My blister count has dropped considerably! And nooo, I don't wear cotton socks (yet another thing I learned the hard way).

• You can tell when your running shoes start to fail you by noticing all the new places where your feet start to hurt.
• Don't think about the end goal during training. Only think about the immediate goal ahead of you ('hmm, tomorrow I do cross training, what should it be, Yoga, pilates, or both?'). This works for me in that I don't psyche myself out by thinking about 26.2 friggin' miles.
• Definitely use your training as an excuse to eat that heaping plate of chicken n' waffles because gosh darn it, you EARNED it! Sure, eat healthy and stay away from the booze, but I've come to find that when you train for a race of epic proportion, you have to eat as much to counter it.

Planning, Plotting, Milestone-ing

If I pull off next week's "long run" in my training plan, I'll be a the half way mark in my training plan: 13.1 miles. It's a little exciting to be back at the half marathon mark again, but scary because I eventually have to run two of those...back to back.

This past Saturday was a 10.5 mile fun run. And actually, I jogged about the same distance the Saturday before. Night and day difference in how I felt before, during, and after, too. Last week, I felt I was near heat exhaustion. At every water fountain, I didn't just drink, I doused. I had slept in, which put me at a start of around 11 AM, about when my end time was for this past Saturday. There can be almost a 20 degree difference in temperature if you start at dawn, so yeah, that was an unnecessary stress. Last week's long run was bad enough that I paid another visit to my physical therapist to have someone check on my cranky body. Seems I'm doing about the same, but she gave more stretches to do, which I should be doing now, but idle hands... tend to blog. Actually, today I sort of crashed. I got a bit of cross training in, which is what I should be doing on Sundays, but beyond that, I've done nothing but eat. Could it be that I finally came down from my runner's high from yesterday?

A Runner's High tends to happen to me when I've done all that I can do to prepare, and then have the run/jog/walk of my life. That's what happened to me yesterday for my long run. I carb-loaded the day before, got an adequate amount of sleep, ate the right foods the morning of, stayed hydrated, and started the run early in the day. Then, all the planets aligned. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't completely with out error. My knees are starting to bother me some during the runs (it's a song and dance I know well), and I do walk here and there (mainly to rest my knees). Shame on me for putting my knees through this, I guess. I'll probably have needs of a 70-year-old when it's all said and done with (serves you right you whipper snapper!).

Sad but true

But afterwards, I felt as if I had more energy to expel than I did when I started. Very strange. I was almost suspicious of that feeling because I hadn't felt that in a long while. I got home and continued my runner's routine of a cool down, protein load, stretching, all that, but then I proceeded to do chores. Had it been the week before and I would have still had ice on my knees and lay sprawled out on the floor. I eventually fell asleep for two hours; an awesome afternoon nap, but I didn't feel like that was my only option. I could have kept going, but wanted rest up for late evening plans.

Completing a half this next weekend with no injury and no whining will be a vast improvement from the last time I ran a half (in 2010). Vast. I'm not going to think about how every other long run after it will be uncharted waters for me, and that my three week vacation coming up will probably set me back at least two weeks in my training plan. Nah, I built in about three weeks of cushion in my training plan to allow for "accidents" and "laziness" to happen, as long as those things are temporary.

Hal Higdon's Plan Continues

Cross Train Day is now my favorite day of the training plan. It also happens to fall on Sunday, which is also the day I go to worship. I think I finally did everything right, this past Sunday, eating-wise, sleeping-wise, and stretching-wise, because afterwards, I felt this deep sense of peace and by the time I got to church, I couldn't stop smiling. My health bar was full.

But that isn't to say that it has always been that way. I seem to have just as many struggles with my energy levels as triumphs. Thankfully, I'm taking my vitamins regularly now. And thankfully, my "slight" anemia (as my Dr. calls it) is usually subdued by my iron supplements. My remaining lack in energy may or may not be stemming from lack of sleep. I'm still trying to figure that out.

But back to Cross Train Day, I've determined that cycling is a good time to be had! This week, I rode my roadster down to the yoga studio, did some light yoga, then peddled home. It was 10 miles, roundtrip, in the Texas heat, so that was satisfying to my sweat glands. My bag I was using to cart my yoga stuff broke during all that, but I fixed it. I made it better.

My least favorite day of the training plan, Hal Higdon, is the day before...which is Long Run Day. I attempted 8 miles this past Saturday and though that is how far I went, I did not run it all. I walked at least a mile or so of it. I don't know if that's good. Hal doesn't say. The training plan I'm following (of his) says it's to prepare to you finish a marathon, not win it, and that walking while getting water is encouraged. What about walking when the humidity is at 70%, the locusts screech their chilling serenade, and the sun bears down on your shoulders like a blanket just out of the dryer? Hal doesn't mention those scenarios, but that little goal-oriented conscious of mine simply replies, "Excuses, excuses."

Watch Your Hips

Sometimes when I'm on the trail and see a woman walking or running with the kind of hip action that any model would be envious of, I think, "Watch your hips, lady!" I mean that's how my trouble started, right? That and my lack of muscle tone. Lack of core strength. I'm not going to stop the woman and tell her to walk like a robot...but I'll think it...and say a prayer for hips sake. 

A still from the video. Be forewarned, there are short shorts

And then sometimes I see speed walkers, men and women alike, and they are more or less walking belly dancers. At least, the ones I've seen...all that they sashaying. I don't know, maybe they know something I have yet to learn.

Like, maybe they stretch better than me. As a result of not placing my training at the top of my list, I've neglected my stretching some and have yet again, injured my gluteus medius. Blah. I have no one to blame but myself. Minor setback, though. I'm not going to let the glut win, you know, by being so fussy. I'll take it easy. Scale back my training for a few days. Stretch. And then see where that gets me. I've come to realize that not everything I want in life needs to happen right at this moment, no matter how impatient I get. The marathon goal I've set will indeed haunt me until it's done, but really the only reason I'm trying to do it now is to get it over with. Well, that's not the only reason, but a pretty big one. Mark my words, I will retire from race training if I can get a marathon under my belt. Parts of my body might be begging me to stop, but those parts just aren't strong enough, yet. Unfortunately, getting stronger the natural way takes so much longer than the steroid way. Not that I would use performance enhancing drugs. I don't want roid rage! But, because it takes so long, the impatience tends leaks into my conscious. I know that reward is that much sweeter when you know you've worked hard to earn it, but I loose site of that when things come easy to me. at least running is no picnic! Reality checks everyday! ...lift legs, move arms, stand straight, straight knee, breath steady...