Catching Up Part II and The Year in Review

(In case you couldn’t tell I’ve decided I like GIF’s)

I will try to make my year in review as brief as possible…action packed as though it was! My training was going well. I had decided I was going to run the Phoenix Full Marathon again to redeem myself and was following a modified version of Hal Higdon’s training plan.

My first official event of the season was the Women’s Running Magazine half-marathon. Although I think now it’s just called The Women’s Running Series. The day dawned bright and early. I saddled up with my friend and training partner Meredith and off we went. I had a pretty good run! I ended up with a PR of  about 5 minutes which I was totally not expecting! Conditions were good and it wasn’t too blazing hot out so I was able to push through and rock the course (which they had changed and decided to put a big-ass hill at the end of). I also ran into a friend who used to work at my school (the traitor decided to go off and teach junior high!) as well as one of the parent’s from my school (who I didn’t know was a runner! She was doing awesome on her first half!)

Megan, me, and Meredith at the end of the Women’s Half.

A week later Meredith, her husband Dave, our friend Michele and her husband Rob flew to Las Vegas for the Rock and Roll Half Marathon. (Yes I am the only single one sadly enough). It was my first destination race and I had mixed feelings because I don’t fly. Ever. Flying freaks me out. I had flown twice previously and both times left me with stiff fingers from clutching the arm rests of the chairs so tight and a heart rate that took several days to stabilize. Needless to say I had already paid for the race and put a deposit down on a hotel room. No one would drive to Vegas with me so I had no choice. I went to the doctor and begged for something to help. She prescribed a little something for me and due to my sensitivity to medications, advised me to take half and then take another half if it wasn’t working. This was me at the airport with just a half in my system and about 20 minutes until boarding time:

Wow! Look at all that blond hair!

Needless to say I took another half. Unfortunately it did not kick in right away. I literally tried to get off of the plane once we boarded. I was sandwiched in-between Meredith and Dave and had Michele and Rob behind me. Dave told me he wasn’t letting me off of the plane. I freaked myself out thinking I was going to have a panic attack. Luckily Meredith brought her iPad and tried to distract me with Sudoku. That actually worked (kind of) and before I knew it we were airborne. I think (because the flight to Vegas from Arizona is so short) that it took the majority of the flight for the last half of my anti-anxiety pill to kick in. I definitely felt it when it did though. I just suddenly felt…calmer.

This was a trip of firsts for me! First destination race, first time staying in a hotel room all by myself like a big girl…the list could go on. It was a super fun experience and I would love to do it again some time in the future!

A much calmer me taking a selfie before the race in my hotel room.

Michele, me, Dave and Meredith (Rob was taking the picture) at the finish line. We earned the “Rock Encore” medal for completely PF Chang’s Rock and Roll Half in January 2013 and we will have earned the “Desert Double Down” medal for completing the Vegas run as well as the January 2014 PF Chang’s Rock and Roll Half!

There is really no reason for this picture other than to show how utterly exhausted I was. I was in Vegas and drinking an iced tea at 11pm. I’m such a party animal! Running at night is hard when you don’t know what to eat all day and you’ve been awake and moving around! Still earned another PR though! 3 minutes off of my race time the week before! Shocked the hell out of myself with that one!

I found out quite by accident that night that our medals glow in the dark. Being in a strange room and very sleepy, I was a little freaked out when I woke up around 3am I saw this glowing on the table next to the bed! Then I realized what it was. Way cool!

After Vegas I started having this really weird pain in my leg. It started in my low back and radiated down and then around the front part of my right leg down to my knee. Sometimes it would bother me more than others. A few times I couldn’t even run a mile it was hurting me so bad! I still ran through the pain, knowing I had to train for the Phoenix the following March. I completed several small runs like the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving and the Athleta Iron Girl up in Fountain Hills Arizona (aptly named as hilly as it was!). I did a lot of walking during that one. I ran the declines and walked the inclines because my leg was bothering me. It was my birthday present from Meredith though so I didn’t want to not go!

I’m kind of race snob. I don’t like doing short races like 5k’s or 10k’s because they don’t usually offer a medal. I run for the bling! The Athleta Iron Girl had a pretty cool medal that was glass in the middle so I made an exception!

The next race I was to run was the PF Chang’s Rock and Roll Half-Marathon in Tempe. Two days before the half I ended up with the stomach flu that had been terrorizing my school as well as making its rounds through family members.

I just remember how awful I felt. I couldn’t even get myself together enough to get on the light rail with my friends to go to the expo to pick up our bibs the day before the race. Believe me, if they allowed it I would have had someone pick up my bib for me. I felt that terrible. I didn’t think I could make it on the light rail with all the stops and starts and weird smells.

Luckily my amazing friend Debi said she would drive me into Phoenix to the expo at the Civic Center to pick up my bib. Then I didn’t have to worry about the light rail ickyness and she could pull over if need be. I loaded up on Pepto Bismol and Immodium before we took off. I was still nauseated but hadn’t seen any action for a while so I was crossing my fingers.

I think that was the quickest I had ever gone through a race expo. I basically got my bib and shirt and pretty much dragged Debi and her little boy through the expo as fast as possible so I could get back home and go to bed. It was one nightmarish blur.  I honestly thought about not doing the race at all as bad as I felt. The only thing that kept me going, was knowing I would be able to collect my “Desert Double Down” medal at the finish line.

The next morning upon waking I knew I still didn’t feel well enough to run. Luckily My friends Kat and Michele were going to walk it. I opted to tag along. Having not eaten in three days and knowing I was dehydrated I didn’t want to chance anything happening. It was actually kind of fun being able to walk and take the opportunity to listen to the bands scattered along the course and really thank the volunteers and the cheerleaders. Plus the scenery up around the Zoo/Papago Park area is gorgeous! We still made pretty good time too!

Post-Flu exhaustion with my two medals (I have no idea what the guy behind me is looking at!)

During all of this my leg had still been bothering me so I had been having x-rays done on different parts of my body. Nothing you pushed on hurt. It wasn’t muscular, it didn’t feel like I had a bone that was fractured, nothing was sore to the touch, it was just sore when I ran, and if I sat too long it would start to hurt. I started seeing a Chiropractor and he started adjusting me. He thought maybe it could be a pinched nerve or maybe sciatica so he wanted to send me for an MRI. I grudgingly set up and appointment because I wanted to find out what was wrong so I could get better!

While I was dealing with all of that I ran the Lost Dutchman Half-Marathon. My time wasn’t pretty because my leg was hurting, but I did better than I thought I would. My original plan was to walk the whole thing because I had the opportunity to participate in a Ragnar relay race the following weekend and I really wanted to take it easy.

I ended up running the majority of it. I did think about stopping at one point and tipping over a traffic cone to roll out my hamstring because it was killing me from the hills. It was better than previously though, perhaps because of the chiropractic care I was receiving.

That week I ended up getting my MRI and was not happy with the results. They didn’t find anything wrong with my leg or back, no pinched nerves, no muscle issues etc. My chiropractor reassured me that it could still be sciatic pain that didn’t show up on the MRI for one reason or another. It was nice to know there was nothing horribly wrong with me like a degenerated or collapsed disc, but at the same time I would have liked to have had more of a concrete answer. He did tell me that something interesting showed up on the MRI though.

They had done a series with the low back and hip area (to make sure I wasn’t having hip problems as well). Apparently this included my pelvic region because the radiologist had noted a “large mass” in my abdomen. This totally freaked me out because I hadn’t been feeling anything or having any issues other than the normal stomach issues I had been having.  I was advised to make an appointment with my specialist right away to have it looked at.

I think I will end there for tonight. Not just because I love keeping my dear readers in suspense, but because I would really like to go into detail about the Ragnar race I ran the week after Lost Dutchman and then write more about what has been going on with me since March. It’s been a whirlwind for sure!

Marathon Milestone Part 1

Hello friends! Yes I have been horrible at posting lately. Life has been a little heavy on the nutty side, and I haven’t had as much time as I’d like to dedicate to writing. I am going to apologize in advance as this post will be heavy on the photo side and probably pretty wordy too! I FINALLY RAN MY FIRST FULL MARATHON!!!! Super-exciting and action packed!

My first full-marathon was March 2, 2013. It was an exciting day for many reasons! Before I go into all the details I need to back up a day to the eve of the marathon.

I did not take the day off of work. I had pre-arranged to have a substitute on standby for the Monday following the marathon because I had no idea what condition I would be in physically. I felt bad taking that Friday off, and I knew I would be a big ball of nerves sitting at home anyway so off to school I went.

The plan was for me to go to school, head over to Road Runner Sports after school to pick up my bib and my shirt, and then I was to meet Meredith and her Ragnar friends for a pre-race dinner. Meredith ran the Florida Keys Ragnar with an amazing group of people. Two of them were coming out to run the Phoenix Marathon so they said they would pace her and help her get across the finish line, which I thought was totally cool.

I was trying to finish up some things at school when I received a text message from my friend Lauren. Lauren is one of my absolute favorite people. We worked together at my first school and quickly became friends. We don’t get to hang out as often as I’d like, but we still have the occasional lunch and check up on each other. She had asked me if I got anything in my box from her that day. I had told her no and she said she sent me something and they said it was supposed to be delivered that day.

Although school was out I hustled over to the office in hopes the staff was still there and inquired if I had received anything. Our principal’s secretary said they hadn’t had a chance to sort the mail but I was welcome to go through the pile. My little hand soon came in contact with an envelope with my name on it and I got excited. The ladies that were still in the office told me to open it there so I did. This is what was in it:

and on the inside:

I  started getting all teary-eyed right then and there while I was reading it! She had worked so hard to make me this beautiful display of encouragement! All those pictures were taken from various points in my training. She had ‘borrowed’ them from my Facebook page! This was the most thoughtful, surprising, and heartwarming thing. I never expected it! Lauren was going to have to miss seeing me cross the finish line because she was going to be attending another friend of ours’ bachelorette weekend, and wanted me to know she would still be supporting me every step of the way.

That definitely made my day! I was so excited I had to run around and show everyone just like a little kid. They all probably thought it was nuts; but I just wanted to share my joy! I quickly finished up at school and headed to Road Runner to pick up my race package! Meredith had taken the day off and she and her Ragnar friends were hanging out at a spring training game (Arizona is a happening place this time of the year with baseball spring training games!). They had picked up their packets early so I had no idea what to expect. Meredith had sent me a text saying the shirts were ‘nice’ so I was anxious to get mine.

It wasn’t as crowded as I thought it was going to be. They even had a little race expo out in the parking lot that I wasn’t expecting. I was even more excited to go in then. I love a good expo! I bypassed most of the booths so I could go pick up my info before I took my time to wander around. I didn’t have to wait at all to pick up my bib number and was told I needed to go inside to pick up my shirt and my bag. They had me walk over a blue mat with wires under it, with my bib in hand,  to make sure it registered and called out my name to make sure it was me. Everything seemed to be in good order so I went into the store. The bibs were different from any I had ever seen. Normally in a race, I’ve either gotten a D-tag for my shoe (the little orange strip you wind through your shoelace that has a self-adhesive tab on it, or the bib itself has a little strip on the back that says “do not bend” for the timing chip. This bib was unique in that it had a big foam rectangle on the back that almost looked like a picture frame. This was supposed to be our timing chip. It was very thick and awkward, so I wasn’t sure how I was going to put it onto my fuel belt the next morning.

As I moved into the store through the line, I heard others commenting on the oddity of the timing chip as well so I didn’t feel like I was the only one. The nice thing about running the full was that I was able to bypass the majority of the line and go to the last table for the full-marathon shirts. It made me feel kind of special and ‘elite’ if only for that one brief moment! I was quickly handed my shirt and my little blue bag and made a beeline for the expo outside. I was so excited to see what was in store I just shoved my shirt into the bag without really even looking at it. I was able to see it was red (my least favorite color-I can’t help it. I think red is an angry color) as I shoved it in the bag; but I didn’t pay attention to the details.

I wandered around the expo for a bit looking at all the cool running swag. I saw some really nice charms I wanted to get for myself but then I heard Meredith’s voice whispering in my subconscious, “I’m not buying anything with a 26.2 on it, until I actually finish. I don’t want to jinx myself”. Darn her! I decided I had better wait until the next day at the finish line. Most of the vendors said they’d be there the next day. I did see a pink Nike “Phoenix Marathon” shirt I really wanted; but the girl at that booth was more interested in eating Teddy Graham’s apparently and was ignoring me and about two other people. I don’t know what the fascination was, but she was discussing them in detail with another woman. Oh well! I guess they lost my sale plus the other two people who walked away with me!

I looked at my phone and saw it was time to head out for dinner already (I had stayed at school longer than I planned trying to make sure I had everything ready for a sub Monday just in case). We had decided on Olive Garden because it was the most ‘user friendly’ restaurant we could all agree on. Meredith’s post-race fuel of choice is sushi (gag), and even though they had ‘normal’ non-sushi food at her restaurant I was afraid to try something new the night before. I’m generally a steak and potato girl before a race, but no one wanted that so we compromised with the old runner’s stand-by of pasta.

Meredith and company had finished with their spring training game, so they had headed to Olive Garden to get a table. It was Friday, so we knew there’d be a wait. For those of you who aren’t aware, Arizona is a hotspot for “winter visitors” or snowbirds as we call them. They come from all the really cold states for the winter because our winters are generally pretty mild (not really this year-but normally they are). Olive Garden is located smack dab in the middle of several retirement “resorts”. Generally the restaurants in this area are packed because of this phenomenon; but the ‘birds’ generally eat dinner anytime between 4-5:30ish so anytime after that isn’t too bad. It was going on 6:00 so we didn’t have too long of a wait by the time I got there.

Yes, I randomly take pictures of my food. This is what we all ended up ordering. Even Dave, who wasn’t running but wanted to show his support in food solidarity. It was really good angel hair pasta with marinara and chicken. I can’t remember what it was called but it was on their “lighter” menu. One of Meredith’s Ragnar friends has run several marathons and was giving us advice like “avoid anything with the word’s creamy, spicy, oily, or with the word sausage”. With my stomach issues I was trying to play it safe so I followed the group and just ordered what they were all having. I even managed to choke down water with lemon for my beverage of choice (boring!). About halfway through the meal I started feeling a little off so I ended up pushing the food around my plate more than eating it. I think I killed about half of that portion which wasn’t too bad. I attributed it to nerves and shrugged it off.

Soon it was time to go home and get my gear ready for the morning and get showered and prepped! I still had no idea what I was going to wear. I started stressing about getting enough sleep, but I had made sure I got plenty of sleep the night before (I think I went to bed around 7ish), in hopes of off-setting the lack of sleep from nerves.

I got home and started laying everything out I’d need for the morning. I also took everything out of my blue bag from the expo and got a look at my shirt for the first time. Although I generally deny liking the color red in any way, shape, or form, I was a little in love with this shirt! This was the nicest race shirt I had ever seen!

This is the back (with my bib on it for the picture’s sake). It’s a Nike shirt with their really nice moisture wicking material. I love the way it feels on! My favorite part is the front:

Although I generally prefer a v-neck this one is low enough to where it doesn’t bother me. It has the embroidered Nike Swoosh on it which is nice and the Phoenix Marathon logo. The shirts were differentiated for the full, the half, and the 10k which was awesome. I love sporting that 26.2 on the front! This is my new favorite shirt!

After I got done playing with all the swag in my blue bag (mostly just coupons or advertisements-but there was a pair of really cool black arm sleeves with the Phoenix Marathon logo on them), I tried to decide what to wear. I knew it was supposed to be somewhere around 70 by the time we finished, so I knew while we were running it would be pretty warm (especially since my body heat goes up like 20 degrees when I run).

I’m in this whole feeling bad about my body phase again (I’m trying really really hard to get out of it) so I was stressing about what exactly to wear. I didn’t want to wear shorts because I was afraid of chub rub from my thighs and I didn’t want to wear my capris. There was a horrible picture I saw from the week before when I ran the Lost Dutchman half. I’m wearing the capris but the bottom half of my body looks GINORMOUS and out-of-proportion, which is odd because when I ran PF Changs two weeks prior to that I’m wearing capris and I look normal. My body couldn’t have changed that much in two weeks!

Everyone keeps telling me it’s just the camera and that I don’t really look like that, but I’ve been feeling that my body has morphed into an odd shape from all the running I’ve been doing. I know I am for sure bottom heavy now with all the crazy muscles I’ve got going on in my legs. I don’t know how to explain it exactly…I just didn’t feel like myself and it’s just…weird (for lack of a better way to explain it). Regardless I opted for the capris as I didn’t want to worry about shorts and chafing. I had tried on a Brooks running skirt at Dick’s Sporting Goods a few days before and I loved it, but was afraid to run in something I had never ran in before.

As a concession to the heat factor I opted for a tank top versus a t-shirt to help keep me cool since I would be wearing longer pants. I laid out the rest of my gear: sunglasses, fuel belt, iPod, socks, headband, HRM, inhaler etc. I even had a separate SPI belt that I had chapstick, bandaides, Immodium, Pepto tablets, ibuprofen, and Excedrin Migraine in (just in case).  I pulled my Garmin off of the charger and it beeped at me telling me low battery. I seriously almost freaked out! It had been on the charger for a few days, but must have come loose from the connections and didn’t charge at all. I quickly put it back on the charger in hopes it would have enough of a charge to work the next morning.

I checked and double checked everything, and then checked again. I was so nervous I would forget something. I took my shower, said goodnight to the family and they surprised me with this:

Another unexpected show of support! Once again I had tears in my eyes! I headed off to bed with a warm heart and excitement for the next morning! We were planning on leaving Meredith’s house at 4:30 as the last shuttle to the start was supposed to leave at 5:15. That meant I would be getting up at 3am.

As I tried to calm myself down and go to sleep I remember envisioning how the next morning would go. I was thinking about all the support from people cheering from the sideline’s we’d have, and I was re-checking my gear in my head and I actually managed to fall asleep!

Once I get writing, things just come pouring out. I didn’t intend on the “night before” segment to end up being so long, so changed the name to “Part 1” and will be writing a separate post on the marathon itself. I’m getting all excited all over again to share it with you! Now I get to live it all over again with a much clearer head and not so much of a fatigue factor…

See you on the flip-side!

High-Fiving Lady Liberty

I’m running a marathon in 4 days! I’M STARTING TO FREAK OUT A LITTLE. Okay now that is out of the way…Yes, It’s been far too long since I’ve updated everyone on my marathon training progress…I checked out for a little while. Those of you who know me, know that when I am stressed, upset, or am trying to suss things out; I tend to become quiet and thoughtful and apparently that trait extends to my writing as well. I’m going to have to be diligent at posting a little every night until I can get caught up in my whirlwind of the last few weeks…

I was reading back on my last post. The one with the disastrous run. I was in bad shape then. Mentally that is. Physically too. That doubt is a bitch. She’ll whisper and dig deep and hold on with all her might. I’ve been really trying hard not to listen to her. I know she’s still sitting on my shoulder trying to put negative ideas into my head, and once in a while one slips through; but I really am trying hard to find a big enough fly-swatter to squash her for good.

Enough about doubt! My longest training run was just three short weeks ago. We were scheduled for 20 miles. If that number sounds daunting…that’s because it is! I woke up at the crack of dark and headed over to Meredith’s house. We weren’t sure how long it would take us. The weird weather continued it’s ADHD pattern and decided it would keep us nice and cold that morning. Dressing in layers was the order of the day!

We did about 8 miles around the same old route we’ve been running in Meredith’s neighborhood. I’ve become old hat at that route now it seems. We were going to continue on our merry way down a main street and then down  a canal path that would ensure we’d have a good path to follow for about 4 and a half miles and back. I was surprised at the pace we’d been running in Meredith’s neighborhood. It wasn’t too shabby for my pace of late. I knew we’d be going down the canal with no restroom in sight and my stomach was starting to let me know something was up, so I used the facilities at Meredith’s house before we headed off.

She was running a little ahead of me which is fine, and this time we had not only Elaine accompanying us on her bike, but our friend Rob as well! Double treat! We all headed off down the main road and hopped onto the first leg of the canal. It was so confusing to me. I need to strap a GPS to my chest permanently. My sense of direction is not good at all. I could get lost in a grocery store I swear. The way the canal was crisscrossing over streets we had already ran past was so confusing to me.

By the time we got to the first major street we’d have to cross (the canal went south through a bunch of main roads), my tummy was definitely doing some grumbling. I told Elaine I was going to need to stop somewhere. I told her I was feeling good (other than my stomach) and wanted to keep going, but I wasn’t going to make it if I didn’t stop. I had her ride her bike ahead and let Meredith know I had to stop for a minute.

The venue I chose was Starbucks. I knew they had a restroom, and when I saw it pop up over the horizon I was so grateful! I felt really bad going in there just to use the restroom! (Later that day I went through the drive-through just to make up for it). I felt a little better after my pit stop (without going into too much detail, as I’m sure you’d like to avoid hearing about all that), so I continued on the canal path.

About a mile in, my stomach started up again. I don’t know what was going on, but I was not  happy. I had eaten at Pei Wei the night before which I never usually have any issues with. I did have the Spicy Korean (my favorite!) which was probably not the best choice the night before a 20 miler. I had also been trying those Cliff Shot Blocks. I’m trying to find something that I can use since GU makes me…well…Gu makes me poo (hahaha). I was wracking my brain to figure out what was going on with my stomach. I was fine for the first 8 miles until I felt that slight cramping that prompted me to go at Meredith’s.

(Yes I do realize my quick “I’m still alive and kicking” post is now running a little long…but it was an eventful day!)

To try to make a long story short (whenever I hear someone say that I think of the characters in the movie CLUE yelling, “Too Late!!”) Rob and Elaine were alternating between me and Meredith on their bikes. They were for sure getting their mileage in that day! I had switched to run/walking because every once in a while during the running part, my stomach would let me know it was still not happy and I’d have to walk.

I used to never be comfortable at all about talking about bodily functions. It’s always been kind of forbidden or taboo. Once you’re a runner, all that is thrown out the window. Every person I know who runs, has had issues at one time or another and we all share in those issues. It’s kind of like discussing toenails falling off or chafing in uncomfortable places. We’ve all been there and done that…it’s a common part of a runner’s life.

I finally reached the turn around point. Meredith wasn’t as far ahead of me as I’d assumed she would be. I didn’t catch her on her way back until I was about a quarter of a mile to my turn around point. She looked like she was running a pretty strong and steady pace. I was jealous, I’m not going to lie. I’m still kicking my own ass for taking so much time off from running. (Yea, good idea Jamie…let’s take six months off and then jump into training for a MARATHON.)

On the way back Elaine was with Mer and I was with Rob. I felt bad (story of my life) because I had to keep walking and I felt so slow! I kept telling Rob he didn’t have to stay with me. He kept saying, “I know, if I didn’t want to stay with you I wouldn’t”. I finally let up and just kept on. With each step I took my stomach was sending danger signals. I had almost finished all my water at that point as I had the worst cotton mouth. Rob disappeared over the horizon and I started contemplating scaling walls into people’s backyards to knock on their door and ask to use the bathroom. Elaine came over the horizon about two miles and half a dozen imagined senarios later. She said I didn’t look so good. This prompted the swapping of many poop stories. It was actually kind of entertaining and reassuring all at the same time. I told her if I didn’t get to a restroom soon I was pretty sure I was not going to make it.

She told me just to go on the side of the canal where the dirt dropped off into a little ditch area.She would spot for me to make sure no one was coming.  I totally would have done it too, if there had not been the obvious lack of toilet paper.I couldn’t handle that.  She told me it was only about a mile and a half back to that Starbucks I had already visited. At that point I was full-on walking. There was no way I was going to be able to run and clench at the same time. We continued on with me speed-walking and Elaine encouraging me not to crap my pants (even though apparently I would have joined a very exclusive club had that occurred).

Finally I couldn’t take it anymore. Elaine shoved her bike at me and told me to ride like the wind. I didn’t want to just leave the bike outside Starbucks because I was afraid it would walk away, but she told me it would be fine. We were still about 3/4 of a mile out. I finally hopped on and took off as the alternative to not borrowing Elaine’s bike was out of the question. I realized then as I tried to pedal how much taller Elaine is than me. I literally could not sit on the seat and pedal. Even using my tiptoes was not an option. I had to pedal like a little kid, standing up.

It was quite the sight! Me on a too-tall bike with a water belt strapped to my waist, my braid flying out behind me with a panicked look in my eyes, manically trying to navigate the canal toward Starbucks. If only someone had been there with a video camera…

I got to Starbucks, leaned Elaine’s bike against the building, threw my belt on one of the outside tables, threw off the neon yellow gloves I was still wearing and dashed inside. Let’s just say I made it just in the nick of time and leave it at that. When I finally came out, Elaine had already made it and had sent Meredith a text to say we had to stop.

We hopped back on our route and headed off to finish the last 2 miles back to Meredith’s house. By this time I was dehydrated, my head was pounding, my stomach was still grumbling and I was very uncomfortable. I did try to make a valiant effort to run again, but it just wasn’t happening. I told Elaine I had to walk, so she got off her bike and joined me. I felt bad that she did that, but at the same time I was secretly glad. I kind of felt like passing out. I felt like I was drunk which was really weird. I haven’t had any alchohol since I started training in October.  It was hard to form a coherent thought and my body felt rubbery. We were about 3/4 of a mile from Meredith’s house when she said she was walking back to meet us. She had gotten home, grabbed a bottle of water and rushed back out. She was walking at that point as well, but she had just ran 20 miles so she was allowed. Rob passed us in his truck on the way back to his house, and he honked and waved.

Thats when finally, I started to let that damn doubt creep in. Even after everything I had just been through and the way I was feeling,  I was ashamed I was walking. Then I started to think about the fact that I just ran the majority of a 20 mile training run, I didn’t give up, and I was going to finish.  I may be walking, but I was going to finish. It took me about 4 hours and 25 minutes but I forgot to stop my watch during at one of the bathroom breaks so I’m not for sure what my “unofficial, official” time was.

So that’s the story of my longest training run. It wasn’t pretty but I got through it. I was hurting by the time I finished though. I don’t know if I could’ve done 6 more miles in the condition I was in. I won’t sugar-coat it, I felt horrid. Every part of me ached and I was miserable.

Later on that week though I did a 5 mile training run that went much smoother. It almost rejuvinated me. As I was nearing the end of that run, I got to the corner of a major intersection. I needed to cross to get to my Weight Watchers meeting but realized I needed a little over a quarter-mile to get to the 5 mile mark. There is a tax preparation place in that little strip mall there, and they’ve had people standing out on the corner with signs, dressed like Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty.

The GUY that was dressed as Lady Liberty had headphones on and I was watching him as I ran toward the corner. He was in his own little world, just dancing away. I admired his free spirit. He made me smile! He caught my eye, did a crazy little hip roll thing (not sure what that was, but I’m going with: it matched the beat of the song he was listening to), then he leaned over to press the walk button for me to get the light to change. I needed to run that extra quarter of a mile so I had decided rather than crossing I was going to turn the corner and run to the next light there and then double back. As I nodded thanks and smiled at him he held up his hand. Without thinking about it, I gave him a very enthusiastic high-five and kept going. I’m not sure if he meant for me to high-five him, but I did it anyway and I’ve got to say it kind of made that run a little more fun. I get to say I high-fived Lady Liberty, I don’t think many people can say that!

I’ve decided that in my Jamie running world,  in addition to people just randomly handing me cups of water on my runs, people should also be holding up silly encouraging signs and giving me high-fives. It would make the time go by faster and give me something to look forward to. Oh and I’d be able to eat chocolate at the end of every run and not gain weight.

Coming soon…The Lost Dutchman Half-Marathon…My final Short Run…and Panic Mode

4 MORE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And just because I like to post pictures…

 

Running Through Mother Nature’s Sprinklers and Adventures with Gummy Bears

The day of our insane 18 mile training run dawned bright and early. And by early I mean at the crack of dawn. The roosters that live across the street weren’t even up yet, that’s how early it was. I was up at 4:15am getting ready so I could be at Meredith’s at 5am. I was half-asleep but still managed to do this:

I’m actually pretty impressed with my half-asleep braiding skills. I decided to braid my hair because it was supposed to rain. The “supposed to” actually ended up be a for sure when I looked out the window. I was starting to re-think my clothing choice of a tank and running capri’s. It was forecasted to be 57 degrees at 5am. I was kind of worrying about the rain though, so I added a hat over the braid and one of my three black athletic jackets (one Under Armor and 2 Nike’s). I opted for the one jacket that has a pink “Just Do It” slogan on the front. I figured some color would be better than all black at 5am. Spare me the lecture, I know I need some brighter clothing or at least some more reflective gear. In all fairness my running pants had some reflective stripes on the side.

I was going to try something new in terms of fuel. I’m struggling to find something that works. I want to get all my experimenting out-of-the-way before the marathon. GU does not agree with my stomach. Honey Stinger is good, but it makes me thirsty. I had bought some Cliff Shot Blocks to try. I had read some people use Gummy Bears and Swedish Fish as fuel when they run.  I got curious so I compared a bag of Gummy Bears I happened to have on hand to the Shot Blocks. It was a very interesting comparison. The gummies had about 30 more calories, which to me is no big deal. The sodium content was a lot less (maybe there is a reason for the extra sodium I don’t know). The sugars were a little higher in the gummies, but were still pretty comparable to the Shot Blocks. The carbs were a comparable between the two, but the thing I found most interesting was that the Gummy Bears had protein and the Shot Blocks did not. I decided based on the protein, that I’d try the Gummy Bears and see how they did for me.

As I drove to Meredith’s through the rain, I was starting to doubt whether or not we should be out running in it. For one thing, I’m just getting over bronchitis. I ABSOLUTELY don’t want to get sick again and miss any more training. It was on the warm side though and the rain (at that point) wasn’t too terrible. It wasn’t a heavy rain, it was even lighter than a lawn sprinkler (which I haven’t gotten to run through in a while by the way). It was more like a misty rain. I was dressed appropriately after adding the extra clothing so I figured I’d be okay.

Meredith was dressed more or less the same as me, and Elaine (who was joining us on her bike again), was layered and had a pink poncho. We were set and ready to go! I was really nervous about running 18 miles but somehow it wasn’t stressing me out too bad that most likely we’d be running it all in the rain. My weather app said it would be raining all day. Arizona weather is generally unpredictable and I tend not to go off of the weather forecasts as they are more often wrong than they are right.

We have had the weirdest weather lately. It was 25 degrees the weekend I was in bed with the flu. It ended up being 80 degrees after we ran the PF Chang’s Half-Marathon. This day it was about 60 and raining. No wonder everywhere you go sounds like a TB ward. Everyone is getting sick from the yo-yo weather!

I was actually enjoying running in the rain, for the first two miles anyway. It was nice and cool, the rain was keeping me energized (I get oddly hyper when it rains…probably because it happens so little here), and I was not having any breathing issues. After the third mile, Meredith and I were getting some plyometrics in with our run by jumping over the puddles that were quickly forming. The rain had started coming down a little harder, but nothing we couldn’t handle. Around mile 4, Mother Nature decided we needed a little more challenge and turned on the waterworks a little harder. It wasn’t a full-out downpour, but I was starting to look around for Noah and his animals and ask if I could hitch a ride on the ark.

We were running pretty smoothly through all this. Our pace was slower than normal (which I was actually secretly enjoying), but we were steady. I was actually pretty proud of myself. I hadn’t had to stop and use my inhaler, or stop and walk, or stop and bitch about the rain. I wasn’t feeling fatigued at all or like I was dying of thirst. I was in the zone and loving it.  I was starting to think it may be a wonderful thing if it rains during the marathon. Maybe rain is my thing. I run through sprinklers all the time. Maybe I need to have water constantly on me! Maybe I’m some kind of running Gremlin!

Around mile 7 I was starting to re-think the whole being in love with the rain thing I had going on. I started to have a major headache brewing. I generally get headachy when the barometric pressure is in full force. Meredith and I had both at this point run through not one or two, but several puddles. The funny thing is we had both been trying to avoid some other puddles and ended up soaking wet anyway. Even though the streets had drains, it was raining faster than what the drains could handle and the “puddles” were slowly growing wider and deeper and protruding out into the middle of the roads. It was also becoming impossible to run on the sidewalks as they were also filled with puddles and were becoming slick.

Meredith indicated she needed to make a stop at the house and I gratefully agreed. I needed to take something for my head and needed the restroom. It doesn’t pay to have a bladder the size of a walnut when you are a runner. We headed to her house just at the right moment as the rain once again picked up some more force. I knew I was wet. Duh I’m out running in the rain like a moron (we did not see one soul on the road during any of this time by the way…I guess most sane people have the sense to stay in out of the rain). Rain had been steadily dripping off of the brim of my (also black but also reflective) hat, and my jacket was dotted with water that was still beading up.

I didn’t realize how wet I was until I got into Meredith’s bathroom. I was looking at the faucets trying to figure out where the dripping sound was coming from, when I looked down and saw the puddle at my feet. I was soaked and never realized it. I’ve never gone deep-sea fishing, scuba diving, or done any other activity that would require a wet suit; but I imagine peeling off and then putting back on a wet suit would very closely resemble what I went through while trying to use the facilities. I really hadn’t felt as though my clothes were that wet, until I was someplace dry. It was ridiculous how much effort it took to get everything back to rights.

I headed back outside to wait for Meredith and Elaine. I had taken some ibuprofen and was out at the back of Meredith’s truck where we had set our water bottles. I was standing out in the rain like a doofus when Meredith called me over to where she and Elaine were standing, sheltered from the storm. She asked me if I thought we should continue our run. Automatically I answered “sure”. She gave me a look that was almost comedic. She was sure I would say something to the effect of “Let’s call it a day” or ” yes, please”. Instead I was gung-ho and ready for more. Like I said earlier, I was in the zone.

We discussed it under the protection of her front doorway and decided to run a few more miles to make an even 10. We are supposed to have a ‘step back’ week next week and only run 14 miles. We decided to just add the extra four miles and make next week our 18 instead and use this as our step back. With that settled, we headed back out into the rain to finish our run.

About 3/4 of the way through our next mile (and after wading through yet another puddle) by some unspoken agreement, Meredith and I slowed down to a walk. At that point I think we had both come to a few conclusions.  I had realized one of my headphones had shorted out. I have no idea how long I ran before noticing it, or if it had shorted out when we had gone into the house. I don’t buy really expensive headphones (even though the cords drive me insane) thankfully so I wasn’t too upset, but running with only one ear bud working was making me feel off-balance. We both also realized stopping to use the restroom had been a mistake. Putting wet clothing back on makes it almost impossible to get it back into the right places (uncomfortable!), both of our shoes and socks were soaking wet (can you say blister?), we were both cold all of a sudden, and had we not stopped; we probably would have plodded on and continued on our wet way.

We also realized, had we continued our run, we would have ended up running in a canal area with no shelter, no lighting (it was still dark out due to the heavy clouds), and in dangerous conditions. As we walked back to Meredith’s house the sky opened up and it began to pour. Elaine had already headed back. She wanted to go home and take a hot shower before our Weight Watcher’s meeting. Dave had decided to cut his walk short as well and had already headed home. Both of us were glad we decided to cut it short. Maybe my headache and both of our bladders were a sign to get us to stop and think about what we were doing.

Luckily I had over-packed my backpack with clothes in an effort to be covered for all contingencies. I had extra underthings, a pair of sweats, my hot pink compression socks, and a t-shirt. Meredith threw my sopping wet jacket in the dryer. We both laughed when I took it off and handed it to her. It must’ve weighed at least 15 pounds. At some point my jacket stopped repelling the water and started soaking it in. The only thing I messed up on was the shoes. I had packed a pair of flip-flops and no extra sneakers. My feet were freezing so there was no way I was about to relinquish my socks. I ended up making a fashion statement by wearing the compression socks with my flip-flops. It was very attractive I assure you (not).

To make a long story short (too late I know), we went to the Weight Watchers meeting and then went and had some yummy bagels for breakfast. I headed home for my own hot shower and the possibility of a nap. 4:15 is waaay to early for me. On my way home I saw something that literally made me laugh out loud. A guy was out walking his dog in the rain. The poor thing looked miserable. I swear the dog kept shooting glances at his owner (who had a big cheesy grin on his face by the way). The dog would look at him, and walk a few feet, then look at him again as if to say, “Really? You are walking me in this? Just take me home already”. You had to see it to believe it. I wish I had a faster reaction time and I would’ve tried to get a picture of it.

It was about 11am when I finally made it home. It had been raining for hours. As I pulled into the driveway I received an alert on my phone from my weather app. Mesa was under a flood warning. I had to laugh until I saw the backyard:

It’s been raining ever since. I wonder how the weather will be for next Saturday? It seems like for these long runs, we are always in for something odd…

Recovery Run and Gummy Bears

Saturday couldn’t come fast enough for me! One of my favorite things about running a race (besides the actual running part…and the medal of course!) is the expo beforehand! Not all races have expos. Generally it’s a ‘packet pick-up’ thing. Only the big races have an actual expo, and often (here in Arizona at least), we have to wait months before the big ones come. This race with PF Chang’s Rock and Roll Marathon so it was a big one! Thus the excitement! It had slowly been building in me since December when I realized my next half-marathon was only a month away.  I was twitter-pated all week waiting for Saturday to come.

I adore a good expo! I love the excitement that’s brewing among my fellow runners. I love being able to see runners of all shapes, nationalities, ages, and skill-levels. At the expo we are not separated by being an elite athlete or a beginner. We are there for one common purpose: to pick up our race numbers and swag bag! We can all partake in the multitude of booths that are strategically placed around the convention center. We learn about other upcoming races and think to ourselves, “I want to do this one!” and vow to sign up as soon as we get home. We listen in rapture as vendors hock their wares and try to convince us why their earphones are better than the ones being sold across the hall, or why their sports drink is healthier and aides in faster recovery. We learn about new products or running clubs we have not previously been familiar with. We have the opportunity to stock up on fuel, clothing, accessories, and running related merchandise that, in reality we can purchase any day of the year either in a store or on-line. Purchasing these items at an expo however makes them seem more…mystical… magical even! For example: Buying a great pair of moisture-wicking socks at an expo versus buying them at the local running store (even though there is a good chance the local running store is the one selling them at the expo) means those socks will help lead you to greatness!

Okay maybe I’m the only one that feels this excited about a running expo (nerd alert!), but I do love me a good expo!! I consider it a success when I find something I can purchase to take home that is another example of my love of running. I do have to admit that some of my favorite vendors I was looking forward to seeing were not represented. Apparently the Tinkerbell Half-Marathon in California was also the same weekend and vendors had to choose (boo!) I won’t name them, but they know who they are…

My expo find of the day

But anyway…a good time was had by all at the expo. I picked up my number, shirt and swag bag, managed to restrain myself and come home with only one good find, and was ready for the next morning!

I was actually up and raring to go when my alarm went off at 5am. I was nervous the night before and kept waking up. I was worrying about my current lung issues and how they would affect me. I kept dreaming the sag wagon was following behind, trying to pick me up. I ate half a bagel with peanut butter, drank a full bottle of water, taped myself up and got ready to go.  I normally don’t allow myself to drink much water before a race but I woke up parched. I knew I didn’t have enough water the day before even though I tried to hydrate like crazy. Seems these antibiotics I’m still rocking make me very thirsty. I would come to regret the water decision later. I needed to be at Meredith and Dave’s by 6:30 so we could meet up with some other people and take the Metro light rail into Tempe so we wouldn’t have to worry about parking.

We picked a great time to get to the race! I had just enough time to leave my sweats at the gear check that it turned out I didn’t need, because it ended up being about 70 degrees by the time we finished the race. We walked to the corrals and they started the national anthem. Perfect timing! It went so much smoother than last year! The organizers were smart and moved the corrals to the other side of the light rail tracks. Last year the waves took forever because we had to keep waiting for the trains to go by! This time there was maybe a minute between corral starts. Of course by the time my corral got closer to the start, that bottle of water hit me full on. I looked over at the porta-potties that were near the start. There was still a line even though there were about 12 of them, and I was afraid I’d miss our start, so I opted to just hold it for as long as I could.

They called our corral and off we went! I love the excitement of the start! Everyone is bright-eyed, full of energy, eager, and most are sporting big cheesy grins! It was a little chilly so many of us were layered up. From the first corral to just past the start you could see piles of clothing people had shed. There were jackets, sweatpants, hats, gloves, even blankets and trash bags (I don’t really see how a trash bag is supposed to  keep you warm, but it would be a cheaper alternative than throwing away actual warm clothing) littering Mill Avenue. It was a sight to behold! I love that everything that gets tossed, gets donated. It makes me feel better about tossing a sweatshirt and gloves, because I know it will get put to good use!

I don’t know how the other Rock and Roll half-marathons are in other states (this is the only one I have run), but here in Arizona there are live bands, DJ’s, cheerleaders, and other supporters lining the route. It truly is awesome and humbling at the same time to think strangers are cheering for  and supporting people they don’t even know! As the miles clicked by I was enjoying the entertainment and reading all of the signs people were holding. Some of them made me literally laugh out loud: “Is that a leg cramp, or are you happy to see me?” There was a guy who looked naked holding a large sign that read, “Keep running or I drop the sign”. I was also keeping my eye out for the lines at the porta-potties. There were anywhere from  2-6 at every mile (more near the water stations), but it seemed like they all had ginormous lines. The farther I ran, the more my bladder was insisting I needed to make a pit stop. I tried to ignore it and concentrate on my music and feet for as long as I could.

I did okay for the first 4 miles or so. I kept the 2:45 pacer behind me (he was literally speed-walking instead of running). I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty since I was recovering from the flu and bronchitis, but I still wanted to try my best. My chest started loosening up after those first 4 miles however and then (grossness alert) I started coughing crap up. I won’t go into too much detail, but lets just say I’m not a “spitter”. I see people spit all the time when they run and it seriously makes me want to gag. So needless to say, by mile 5 I was alternately coughing, choking, and trying to clear my throat because every time I took a deep breath, I’d get that bronchial purr in my chest and have to cough. This went on for a few more miles until I was distracted by my bladder, that was by then, insistently letting me know I needed to stop sooner rather than later. I came just past the relay hand-off and saw a porta-pottie tucked behind a dumpster. There were only about 4 people in line so I made the decision to stop. It was the shortest line I had seen all day.

I don’t know what those people were doing in there…I don’t want to know, but I swear each person that went in, took their time. I looked around in aggravation (after wishing I had male equipment that allowed me to just go in a bush or behind a building) and noticed a row of porta-potties about a hundred feet away. I quickly sprinted over there. I had wasted about 5 minutes already waiting at the single bathroom and didn’t want to waste anymore time. The lines were longer, but each line serviced four different bathrooms, so It went a lot more quickly than the other one had. While I was waiting in line I looked at the runners coming up behind me, to see the speed-walking pacer for 2:45 blow past. That really pissed me off. If I hadn’t had to go so bad at that point, I would have said screw it and caught up with him just on general principal.

Aside from the fact that I felt totally disgusted and like I was covered in germs when I was finished, I was a happy camper with a now empty bladder. No more water for me before races. I’ve never had to stop before and I don’t want to do that again. That was such a huge time-waster! I tried my best to catch up with my speed-walking nemesis, but to no avail. He was lost to me by then.

The rest of the course went by relatively smoothly. I ended up switching to a run/walk due to the increasing bouts of coughing. I ran all the downhills which, as you already know dear reader, are my favorite. I also managed to run when I saw all of the uber-handsome firefighters and EMT’s lining the course. I wouldn’t want them to see me walking. That just wouldn’t be right. Finally the end was in sight and I ran it in as best I could. Even though I had both earphones in (I usually take one out to hear), I heard someone yelling my name. It was Meredith! I knew she would finish ahead of me and I was excited to have her there cheering me in!

I really need to work on my finish. At every race there are photographers along the course and at the end. At every race I’ve run, I always look the same at the finish.  Both of my arms are up in the air in victory, but my head is down like I’m looking for something I’ve dropped. It makes no sense, I don’t do it on purpose, that’s just how it turns out. Maybe I should set up a mock finish line in the backyard and practice. I could have the family come out there during Sunday dinner and tell me which finish they like the best, and offer critiques and suggestions and take pictures so I can judge for myself.

I won’t post a picture of it…you can’t see my face anyway since I’m apparently so in love with the ground. Here is a picture after I finished however:

That’s my “I’m really hot and tired and just ran 13.1 miles after being in bed for 6 days and not running for about 10 days so just take the picture already” look. I was tired but happy.

I knew it was going to be warmer than last weekend (we were actually in the 20’s), but I didn’t realize it would be as warm as it was. I was regretting the capri-pants and t-shirt. I should have opted for a tank and shorts instead but the morning was a lot cooler.

I know I’m more critical of myself than I should be, but I really was dissappointed in my time. It was not as bad as it could have been given the circumstances, but it was not as good as I had hoped. My little 10 minute (give or take) potty break didn’t help. My time was 19 minutes slower than last year. I had hoped to beat it this year. Of course I didn’t plan on getting the flu and bronchitis a week before the race either. Oh well. I still have The Lost Dutchman half-marathon next month to make up for it.

We got a free beer after the race. I’m not a big beer fan by any stretch of the imagination. A guy I dated for a minute tried to ‘teach’ me to drink beer, but I’ve never really acquired the taste. I don’t hate it, but I don’t love it either and given the option I will order a mixed drink instead. Free beer is free beer though. I had a sip of mine and gave it to Dave since his ended up knocked over on the ground.

Here are Meredith and I enjoying our reward at the end:

Meredith was very smart with her clothing choices unlike me.

After we slowly made our way back to the light rail we ended up going to lunch. We were all starving at that point. I was hangry (that’s when you’re so hungry you are angry), headachy and starting to get a little nauseous. Meredith and Dave decided to take me to one of their favorite places. I had never been there before. It’s an italian place called Venezia’s. I wasn’t sure how pizza would sit on my stomach right after running a half-marathon, but considering I was about to pass out from hunger, I agreed.

Oh.  My. Gosh. Their pizza is like what I would imagine pizza in heaven to taste like! I ordered two slices of pepperoni and a garden salad not realizing how big the slices were. Dave warned me they were big, but I had no idea! I ended up eating my salad, one piece of pizza and the cheese and pepperoni off the last slice. There was no sense wasting the good stuff. I don’t know how many points plus those slices were and I’m honestly afraid of calculating them. I just scrapped my 49 weekly points and called it good just in case.

Here is a picture of one of the slices next to my hand ( which really doesn’t do it justice)just so you can get a visual:

Ignore the tomato underneath my hand. That came from the salad. I am not a tomato person.

I think I will have to return to Venezia’s very soon and sample some of their other food. It was delicious! Afterwards we drove to Golden Spoon for some frozen yogurt. We were all stuffed from lunch so we got it to go. I love Golden Spoon. I haven’t really been to any other frozen yogurt places because there aren’t many on this side of town, but you have to trust me when I say it’s yummy!

I also have a confession to make. I’ve never done this before. I can usually control myself because it’s not normally a food I have issues with, but later that night (after I had already consumed my frozen yogurt that I had stuck in the freezer), I ate a whole bag of gummy bears while watching Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix. It was one of those little .99 bags, but still… I had seen them at Quick Trip and grabbed them without thinking. They were good too… Just out of curiosity am I the only one who eats all the “colors” I like the least first so I can enjoy my favorites at the end?

All in all, it was a great day with some good friends! I got a shiny new medal to add to my collection. I can now say I ran a half-marathon while recovering from bronchitis. (Yes I am that much of a rock star). I got some color in my face (how could I not while running 13.1 miles in 70 degree weather), and got some much-needed exercise. I probably should have eased back into running but I wanted to try to recover as much as I could before the half. Most importantly I had fun! By the time I got home I was tired from all the days activities, but extremely happy. I love running and I love what it does for me both mentally and physically. Although I tend to beat myself up about my performance from time to time, I really enjoy going out there and doing my best. I always finish my runs feeling more alive, centered, and at peace than I did before…