Pre-Race Marathon Diva

Mood swings. Carb destruction. Sleeplessness. PR Obsession. Hyper spaz-outs. Listlessness. Freakouts. Ghost Injuries. Meltdowns. Elation. Sobriety. Excitement. Dread. Nerves. Appetite. OCD. Joy. Sadness. Entertainment needs. Pace calculations. Fuel nerves. Exhaustion. Energy. Extreme happiness. 
 
  No, these are not traits of someone with major PMS. Or Jekyll and Hyde.

These are traits of a runner, in the few weeks leading up to a marathon.

This time around I didn't think the tapering would be so bad. Newport is a really small race, not a big corporate machine with a lot of hype and weekly email blasts and twitter hashtags to keep your nerves on edge.

This is as fancy as the Newport Marathon gets:

 Only one email saying that I'm in and good luck to me? I love it.


I was right- tapering this time around wasn't bad. I was actually pretty proud of myself for holding it together.
After my last super long run, I was totally fine.
During my first week of full taper, I was still feeling pretty good.

For some reason, this week, I started to fall apart a little bit.

The advantage now is that I can recognize the symptoms and mostly deal with them and take a deep breath and let it go.

Mostly.

 It started with small things, like almost crying when I couldn't immediately find my ID (I found it about 15 seconds later), or feeling enraged at the airport security lady for having to re-scan my bag. 

Now that I'm about 24 hours away from flying to Oregon, the freak outs are really starting to progress.

OMG I haven't packed yet and I need to buy more Gu and I haven't arranged my playlist and I need to print out my pace charts and I don't know what shoes I'm wearing and I haven't been hydrating enough and I swear my knee is starting to hurt and....

Yeah. Welcome to my thought process today. 

Everyone keeps asking what my goal is. 
To be honest, I don't know. 
My goal is to run as fast as I can. Whatever time that turns out to be, that is my time goal.

Not to sound like a total blowhard, but I'm about 99% sure I will PR. I'm feeling stronger than I was in Chicago last year and am not injured this time, so I should be able to crush my previous PR of 3:53, barring any on-course injuries or cramps. So I guess my goal is something in the 3:40's. Or faster.  

I'm taking pace time charts with me for finish times of 3:45, 3:40, and 3:35. We'll see what happens and at what point I crash and burn.

The current forecast for race day is a perfect partly cloudy morning in the 50's, so that will help.

 I'll also have views like this all along the course to keep me motivated.

 

Lastly, for all the non runners out there, here are some fantastic tips from Oiselle on how to deal with a Marathon Diva.
 

Not that I am one or anything..... 

I Just Can't Get Enough (Alternate Title: Wait, That Wasn't Supposed To Happen...A THIRD Time)

So....

I'm not quite sure how to articulate my feelings on Sunday's Half Marathon PR in Sarasota. 

Mostly ecstatic. But also shocked. And confused. Very confused.

I didn't even have this race on my radar until about a week out, when I got an email that I had won a race entry. It was really awful timing -- I was feeling weak from a lingering sickness, my training schedule was basically non existent, and I had just raced 3 out of the last 5 weekends with two other half marathons and a 15K. 

Plus, I had already made plans to go out the night before to watch Eric Church and Kenny Chesney turn Tampa into a Redneck Riviera. 

Let's talk about REAL priorities, OK? 

After further debate I decided to go for it (I mean really, can I pass up a free race entry?!), but told myself I'd play it safe. If I wasn't feeling the love on Sunday morning, I'd treat it as a long run and just get my medal and my free beer and go home and not worry about my time. 

I ended up getting four total hours of sleep on Saturday night. I prepared myself for mental breakdown and total disaster as I lined up at the starting line. 

Prateek calls this "proactive pessimism". Always expect the worst. Most often it's used to describe the attitude of Philadelphia sports fans. Could also be used to describe the 2012 Auburn Tigers football season.

The Sarasota course is touted on the website as a course that was flat.

They forgot to mention the mile long BRIDGE that you had to run over TWICE.

The incline was an adrenaline killer and I was fatigued way earlier than I anticipated.

I saw Prateek at mile 6, and tried to paint on a smile for him even though I was completely exhausted.

I wasn't even halfway through the course yet and already kind of felt like hurling.

 This photo is completely fraudulent. I am getting better at spotting race photogs, though.

Every once in a while I'd look down at my watch to see how I was doing, and tried my hardest to keep my splits somewhat the same.

Total focus as I entered the finish line chute

When I saw the 1:37 on the ticker as I approached the finish line, I thought at first that for sure I had missed a turn somewhere or had cheated the system somehow. 

In the last month, I have now raced 3 half marathons (St Pete Rock N Roll and Tuscaloosa before this one) . With each one I've raced, I've PR'd by almost 4 minutes each time. 

Is this something I've had in me all along? Was this just a fluke? Maybe I just haven't been pushing myself hard enough? Or did I cross some sort of speed threshold and am reaping the benefits? Or maybe I'm just mastering the 13.1 distance after all these recent races? 

Whatever it is, I am blessed to have it and bow before the speed gods with thanks and praise. I see these numbers on paper and still can't believe they're mine.

I'm looking forward to digging into full marathon training mode and seeing what these legs can do with 26.2 miles! 

Wait, That Wasn't Supposed To Happen...AGAIN!

Someday, the running gods will not look down upon me with adoration and bestow bountiful race day wishes.

Saturday March 2nd in Tuscaloosa, AL was not that day. 

Three weeks ago, I ran the St Pete Half Marathon and PR'd by 4 minutes. I signed up 10 days in advance and hadn't really been training.

That PR wasn't supposed to happen.

Last weekend, I registered for the Tuscaloosa Half Marathon at the very last possible minute.

And PR'd by another 3 minutes off of that.

That REALLY wasn't supposed to happen.

I've never raced back to back, 3 out of 4 weekends, doing two half marathons and a 15K. Would my legs even be strong enough to handle such a ridiculous race schedule? 

There was only one way to find out.

I wasn't certain what to expect out of Tuscaloosa. I was coming to town to visit my friend Jackie and her new baby (who is stubborn and has not been born yet!), and this half marathon just so happened to be on that same weekend. I hadn't been in the city in almost 10 years so I didn't even really remember what it looked like, much less the terrain and elevation.
 All I knew was that it was supposed to be in the low 30's with snow flurries on race morning.

Cue high-anxiety-packing mode. I took 3 different outfits with me to Alabama. 

Florida people just don't know how to dress for sub-50 temps.  

 Rachel was running it too, and it was so nice to have a familiar face out there!

Here we are rocking out our throw-away jackets before the race started
(Photo stolen from Rachel)

The first part of the course was very emotional. I don't know what that Forest Lakes area looked like before the tornado swept through, but I do know what destruction looks like because of seeing the aftermath in my hometown of Cullman (which got hit by an F4 tornado that same day, April 27th 2011). The empty lots, the driveways that lead to nowhere, the mailboxes with no homes behind them, the trees that are stripped of branches but still standing tall like leafless twigs - I recognized it all and felt a huge wave of sorrow. I was running through hallowed ground, where people lost everything including their lives, and I almost flat out cried on the course.

Seeing the empty lots, next to new houses being built, next to houses that were spared, it struck a cord in my soul. 

Course map superimposed onto tornado damage path

The course may as well have been a mini version of San Francisco's elevation chart. 

Hills, hills, hills. Rolling ones. Up, down. Up, down. Just when you think you get some recovery...NOPE! There's another hill waiting for you.

By around the 7th mile I already felt out of steam. I struggled mentally more than I can remember struggling in any race ever, marathons included. I knew I went out fast, and wanted to keep it up, but could feel the fatigue coming over me like a heavy blanket.

I was also all by myself (cue sad music)--- since I've been running, I don't remember ever being alone during a race. There were no strangers to pace with, or draft, or focus on keeping up with to push me a little harder, so the drive to keep going completely fell on my own strength and focus. 

This is where my loner tendencies kinda came in handy, since I almost always run by myself during training. 
 

 These extremely photogenic race shots sum up my feelings of the final 6 miles as a whole.

I was overcome with joy to see that finish line. And even happier to see the time on my Garmin. 

Official Race Results: 

1:41:08 (PR)

7:43/mile

66th overall 

2nd in age group 

After all that struggle, I ended up with a 3 minute and 15 second PR.

I made my way to the finish area to try and catch Rachel as she crossed, and I almost missed her because she was so speedy and crushed her goal with a new 2:02 PR! 

Finish line photo op!

Although Jackie's baby was due THAT DAY, she still came out and supported me at the finish line.

 2nd in my age group meant I got an award.

Cash money! 
Thank you Delane for letting me steal your jacket when my lips turned blue 

So then I was doing some thinking.

The spread on a half marathon and full marathon pace is around 30-40 seconds-ish, right?
Let's theoretically say 30 for this particular demonstration.

If I add 30 seconds to my 7:43 half marathon pace, that is an 8:13 full marathon pace.

(Yay, I can do math.)

But.... 
Do y'all realize what an 8:12 marathon pace would get me? Just one second faster per mile than that?

 A BOSTON QUALIFYING TIME!!

That is, theoretically of course.

Forget the 3:40's, I'm going for a time in the 3:30's this year. You heard it here first, friends.

Now I just have to find a good course.....

Wait...That Wasn't Supposed To Happen!

There will be a day when I can no longer sign up for a half marathon 10 days out, with no hard training to speak of, and go on and PR the race. 

Sunday was not that day. 

I am a huge ambassador of St Petersburg, FL. I love this city to it's core -- from the beautiful waterfront parks to the incredible art scene to the funky laid back vibe of downtown, I'm so proud to call it my home.

When the Rock N Roll series announced it was doing an inaugural half marathon in St Pete in 2012, I was incredibly bummed out to not race it (due to injuries sustained from my first marathon in San Francisco). I love supporting the city and it's running community in any way possible.

Then 2013 rolled around. I knew I wanted to run it, however with a nagging piriformis issue I didn't get my hopes up and waited until after Ragnar to make sure I was going to be healthy.

 I'd barely done any speed work, my weekly mileage was still fairly low, and was just kind of going through the motions of running with no real goal in mind. But I still wanted to do it.

I finally signed up on January 31st, 10 days before race day. 

Procrastination, anyone?

The nice thing about this race was I had no expectations, which meant no real race week jitters. I thought it would be awesome to beat my previous PR of 1:48, but knew if I wasn't feeling the love on race morning that it wasn't a big deal. I just wanted to run in my city. And dance around to Sean Kingston at the end while I drank my free Michelob Ultra.

Priorities, people.

I went through all the typical motions of race prep -- wore flats, ate my customary pancakes for breakfast and pasta for dinner, chugged Nuun and Gatorade all day. 

Danielle, Christine, me, and Esther - Carbed up and ready! 

My good friend Esther was running and it was her first half marathon -- the excitement of the morning built as we met up and I saw the vibrant look on her face, ready to dominate! 

Race Morning

I love welcoming people to my crazy running world with open arms! 

I was in Corral 2, Christine was in 3 and Esther was in 5. We all hugged each other and went into our corresponding places, ready to take off. 

Starting Line 

As I stood there I decided to set my Garmin's virtual pacer to 8:12/mile. That would give me a 1:47 finish time, which was enough to PR. If that pace was going to push it too hard and make me crash and burn, that was OK...at least I'd know what I was capable of.

I told myself just to go with the flow and honey badger it. 

 You know....just not give a ____.

I looked down at my watch after the 1st mile, and my split was 7:43.

Way too fast, I thought. I wanted to push hard but those numbers were just asinine. 

(Or so I thought!)

By the 3rd mile in a half marathon, I'm typically in a good rhythm and any adrenaline that I had previously has worn off for me. But, I was still averaging an 8:05 pace.

Around the 4th mile I had begun drafting the 1:45 pace group. I enjoyed staying close to them, and it kept me motivated on keeping my form and my breathing in check. I'd look down at my watch every once in a while and see current paces beginning with 7, but brushed it off. 
If I was feeling good, I was going to keep going. No regrets. 

happy runner

 I had been practicing eating my Gu and drinking water without slowing down in recent training runs, and that helped immensely. I had no stomach issues, and was able to blow right through the aid stations.

After a while I did begin to wonder... why in the world do I feel so good right now? I shouldn't be feeling this strong. This shouldn't feel so easy. This shouldn't be happening.

By mile 10 I knew I was going to PR. By how much was still a question. The last 3 miles of a half marathon are where your true wit is tested, and with my sub-8 pace up until that point, I was venturing into uncharted territory. 

Had it been too much on my body? Would I disintegrate at the mercy of the 12th mile? 

I never looked down at my watch again until I got to the finish. 

By the 11th mile I was starting to get really excited. 

1:45 was an elusive time that I had once before only dreamed of achieving. Now there I was with it in my grasp. That thought alone carried me through to the finish. 

At some point I passed the pace group, maybe in the 12th mile? It's all kind of a blur now. 

Finish time: 1:44:24

Average pace 7:58/mile 

Splits: 

5K: 25:09 (8:05/mile)

10K: 49:46 (8:00/mile)

10 mile: 1:18:25 (7:50/mile)

I crossed the finish and ran over to Prateek. He shouted Congratulations! 1:45! 

I quickly corrected him in front of lots of people and said Nope, 1:44. 

That one minute makes a huge difference, y'all. 

I watched Christine cross at her new PR of 1:55, and then cheered on Esther as she crossed the finish line of her first half marathon at 2:15! 

We also caught up with our friend Danielle who ran the 5K -- it was her very first race as well, and she dominated! 

We stretched and relaxed in the finishers area, grabbed our Mich Ultras and jumped around to Sean Kingston. 

 Rum and Raybans, anyone? 

We soon decided food may be in our best interest so headed over to Fresco's for brunch. And mimosas. 

 

Cheers! 

 Looking back, after crossing the finish line I was out of breath for only about a minute and still had energy left to spend. I think I could have gone faster.

 A good friend told me to not look at it that way, as it sets me up for the next one. 

Which is absolutely correct.

Now I know what I'm capable of. I know that I'm ready to tackle a tougher training program this year and am ready to push myself to numbers I never thought possible. 

 2013 is going to be a fast year, I can feel it! 

Oh, you're still here?!

You get the pleasure of viewing some of the worst and scariest race photos ever documented in the history of time.

Viewer discretion is advised if you'd rather not ruin your image of me.

No, seriously. Do not continue on unless you want these images deeply embedded in your memory forever.


Hey, if you can't make fun of yourself, who can you make fun of?! 

 I call this one the "I want my mommy" face

 This is me trying to look focused, but instead looking a little gastrointestinally challenged

 Heavy mouth breathing means weird protruding cheeks which means embarrassing race photo moments

I call this one the "baby bird"... feed me!

I'm not certain what's more impressive here: my gravity defying braid, or my quad muscle bulging out of my left leg. Eww.


Can't get enough?! Need some more laughs? 

There are more amazing race photos of me for from the Chicago Marathon here. 

What can I say, I have no shame.