21...and Done!

Saturday morning was my last truly long run before MCM.  21 Miles.  Wowsah.  While I was not exactly looking forward to a run that long, I knew I could do it, with 20 and 16 milers under my belt in the last 6 weeks.

So, in the 5am darkness on a muggy, rainy, morning, my group and I took off.  Although the humidity was brutal, the first loop around the lake was no big deal.  Then we turned off the lake and went up into the neighborhoods and hit the hills.  (And this particular area has a set of hills known as "The Dolly's" in reference to Dolly Parton's rather generous...curves...ahem.  LOL.)  Still, we persevered and made it back down to the lake at mile 12.  We took a quick bathroom and re-fueling break, then headed back out for one more loop of the lake...and yes, it was still raining.

I hit a really rough spot mentally around mile 18, and I found myself fighting back tears.  I was tired, soaking wet, cranky, and seriously doubting my ability to run the first 20 miles of MCM at the needed "beat the bridge" pace.  However, my awesome group got me through it and we continued on, finally getting back to our cars and post-run golden oreos (yum!).

3 of my group members & me post-run...and dripping wet (even though it doesn't look like it in the pic)!

Photo proof!  21 done!

I got home, examined my new blisters (even with tons of lube, with all that rain, blisters were inevitable), took an ice bath, and put on my recovery/compression gear.  We opened the doors to the now rain-cooled temperatures and let the cats explore the backyard a bit while I relaxed on the couch.  I spent the rest of the afternoon watching a couple movies and the Longhorn football game, virtually "cheering" on a bunch of my friends running the Disney Tower of Terror 10 Miler, and finally I crashed hard around 11pm and got some sleep.

So, now those super-long runs are done for this particular training cycle!  It's taper, taper, taper from here on out!  The next 3 weekends call for 12, 10, and 8 milers, respectively.  Thank goodness - those are going to be some very full weekends anyway, even without trying to squeeze long runs in!

• Do y'all ever have trouble mentally pushing through a run when you know your body can do it?
• How do you deal with race-related fears?
• Any helpful ideas for coping with the stress I'm feeling worrying about pace for MCM?

Race Report: My First Marathon - Mickey 2012: Part 3

Part Three: Post-Race & The Magic Kingdom

Did you miss Part Two: The Race?  Check it out here.

My makeshift ice bath.

During training, I had a lot of success using ice baths after my long runs to aid in recovery, so I knew that I wanted to do something similar after the marathon, but since Carrie and I were sharing a room, neither one of us wanted to wait on the other to take one before we could take ours - so I came up with the solution of hopping in the pool!  After all, it was just footsteps from our hotel room door, and it wasn't heated - so it would definitely do the trick!  So I took off all my electronics (errr...except the heart rate monitor which was under my bra strap that I'd forgotten about...oops!), hobbled over to the pool, and not-so-elegantly slipped in.  It was definitely cold, but exactly what I needed!  After a few minutes, mom came out and sat by the pool to keep me company.  I stayed in for about 40 minutes, and I even did some underwater leg stretches while I was in there - something that "hurt so good."

Stunk Like a Skunk

Last Saturday's run was BAD.  Definitely in my top ten all-time stinky runs.  After giving myself matching blisters in San Francisco (haven't read the race report yet?  Check it out here), I decided not to run on Tuesday.  Then, when the alarm went off on Thursday morning, it was entirely too easy to turn it off and go back to bed.

So, when Saturday morning rolled around, it had been 6 days since I'd run.  I'd been in touch with one of my PGLs (Pace Group Leaders) during the week to get some guidance on a good recovery mileage for me on Saturday.  The group was doing 15 - can you say no way!?!  He suggested 5-7, so I figured that sounded good.

Before the group headed out on Saturday, I worked it out with our group "mascot," S, (one of the guy's wives) that she would be my (wonderful) sag wagon for the morning!  She'd meet up with us on the trail about mile 7.5, and I could stop there with her while the rest of the group continued on.

Starting out, I expected some residual stiffness and soreness, but I also expected to loosen up within the first mile or two.  That didn't happen - my calves were so tight and painful, I was miserable.  Add in the stifling heat and humidity (boy, did that short trip to San Francisco spoil me, or what?) and I was huffing, puffing, and dragging a**.  When we saw S at about 3.5, I knew I was done.  She offered to let me crash with her, and even drove me back to my car before she met up with the group again at the next stop.

While driving home, I was really beating myself up over quitting after only 3.5 miles.  I kept telling myself that I should have pressed on - it wouldn't have been as bad as I thought it was going to be - stuff like that.  By the time I was nearing my exit, I'd talked myself into stopping at my "normal" trail and seeing if I could get in a little more mileage.  I did a short loop and managed another 1.5 miles.

So I totaled 5 miles on Saturday morning, but they stunk.  Like a skunk.  Really bad.  But I got them done.  And later that day, when I was venting my frustrations over the bad run(s), some friends helped me see a few things a little more clearly:

1. 5 miles is 5 miles, good or bad;
2. An occasional bad run doesn't make or break anything and makes no difference in the grand scheme of things;
3. Sometimes the body knows better than the brain - if I wasn't ready to do 7.5, then my body knew it, even if my brain didn't; and, finally,
4. I have some pretty amazing friends who are so supportive and always ready to put a positive spin on things!

Saturday's Run:

• Group Run:
• 3.5 mi, 0:49:00; 13:59 min/mi avg pace
• Individual Run:
• 1.51 mi; 0:20:06; 13:17 min/mi avg pace

Five is Fabulous!

Since we've hit July in Texas, and the first double-digit long run was on the schedule this week, from here on out we're starting even earlier to beat the heat - at 5 a.m., no less.  And as terrible as it was to wake up before 4 a.m. so I could be there on time, I have to admit - running when it's (relatively) cooler because of the lack of sun for most of the run is pretty fabulous!

Running in the pitch black of the early morning is a new thing for me, but a few of the group members had headlamps, and almost all of the rest of us had blinky lights (I had one on the bill of my visor, and one on the back of my fuelbelt), so we were ok.

It was very warm - 86 degrees (and humid) at 5am - this morning, so we scaled back our pace again, which made for a slower/longer run, but we got it done!  And the best news???  I didn't have to cut short any of the run intervals, even the later ones!!!  I was able to keep up the group's 2:1 intervals the whole time - wuhooo!  (However, to be honest, the slower overall pace, and mostly overcast conditions toward the end of the run probably had more to do with this than any extra effort on my part...)

Came home, showered, and put on compression sleeves to aid in recovery.  Three more weeks until San Francisco!!!

Today's group run:

• 10.70 miles; 2:30:07; 14:02 avg pace

Catching Up

Since I generally like to post about how I feel, things that I see or that happen, or that I learn during my runs, I haven't been posting much recently.  Not because I haven't been running, but because the most exciting thing I've learned while running recently is that Nickelodeon shows Full House reruns at 5:00 & 5:30 a.m. on weekdays...

It's just not fun to write posts about treadmill runs - there's only so much you can say.  And it's boring to read it over and over again, so to save all you wonderful people from the monotony, I haven't been posting on weekdays.

If you're wondering, though, I have managed to settle into a schedule nicely:

• Monday & Fridays
• Sleep in 'til 6am, begin normal day;
• Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursdays:
• 1st alarm at 4:30am.  Roll over & eat a mini Clif bar and drink a glass of water.  Lay in bed until next alarm goes off;
• 2nd alarm at 4:45am.  Get out of bed, wash face, feed cats, get dressed & get ready to run
• Start running (or elliptical if it's Wednesday) by 5:10am, finish by 6am;
• Begin rest of the day.
• Saturdays
• Up early (actual alarm time depends on distance to be covered).
• Sundays
• Sleep in until I wake up on my own.

So that's it.  I'll probably only be posting about once a week - after my "long" runs on Saturdays - for a while, unless something unusual happens during the week.

Road to Recovery

It started out with a throat tickle Friday morning that graduated into a full-on cough by Friday afternoon.  My Saturday at the office was not a pleasant experience.  I made a quick stop at Walgreens on the way home to stock up on every cold & flu medication and cough drop ever made, then headed home to ensconce myself in bed and wait it out.  I emerged from my cocoon yesterday morning, feeling relatively normal - still coughing, but no longer had a fever, chills, and body aches, so I went back to work.

I was worried about missing my scheduled 5 mile run on Saturday, and had 4 miles planned for yesterday, but I knew I wouldn't be up for running so soon.  However, I was itching for some activity after 3 days in bed, so last night I put on my gear and headed out for a walk around the trails, knowing I could easily turn back if I got overtired.  I actually managed to get 3.5 miles in - all walking - at a decent pace, so all was not lost!  I'm going to do the elliptical tomorrow, taking it easy, then depending on how I feel Thursday see if I can ease back into some running intervals.  I'm just pleased to (literally) be back on the road to recovery!

Tuesday's stats:

• 3.5 mile walk; 1:00:29 min; 17:17 min/mi avg.

2011 DisneyWorld Half Marathon Race Report - Part 3: Post-Race Recovery, Spectating Goofy & Marathon Monday

***If you missed Part 1: Pre-Race, or Part 2: My Race, now's your chance to go back and catch up!***

Post-Race:

I met up with Mom and Dad in front of the Race Retreat tent and headed inside for a warm breakfast and a quick pic with the Toy Story characters.  [Side note:  Since Dad finished over an hour before I did, he'd already had breakfast and taken advantage of the 10-minute massages for his legs.]  We took the opportunity to grab a couple more character pics and browse the race merchandise station, then headed for the buses back to the hotel.

Recovery:

There wasn't much to recover from for me this time around - I was feeling really great and was on an incredible runner's high.  I kept telling everyone how pleased I was and how that proved how much better conditioned I was this year than in previous years!  However, when we got back to the hotel, the one thing I did have to deal with was the blister on my left foot.  I drained it, put a blister patch on, and was good to go!

After showering and getting cleaned up, we headed over to Downtown Disney as a way to keep moving and keep our legs loose.  Once there, we shared a light lunch at Wolfgang Puck Cafe Express on the West Side.  Taking

advantage of the lighter crowds, we relaxed at the table and discussed the plan for the next day.  Then we walked and shopped the afternoon away, although we ended up just window shopping and not actually buying anything.  While we were eating lunch, we had discussed the possibility of Dad walking to the start line the next morning, so we made a quick return trip back to POFQ to do a test walk to check the feasibility of the idea.  It seemed like it was going to work, and we knew lots of others planned to do the same thing.  After another short boat ride back to Downtown Disney, we had dinner at the

House of Blues, where Dad partook of their special Marathon Weekend pasta menu to carb-load for the Marathon the next morning.  We headed back to the hotel for another early night, because it was going to be another early morning!

Spectating Goofy:

Imagine me, bundled up against the elements, wearing my Half Marathon medal and my sparkly-pink-mouse-head-antennae headband, yelling my lungs out on the side of the road.  You'd think I was nuts, right?  Wrong.  I was being the best spectator I know how to be for the Marathon on Sunday morning.  As a runner, spectator encouragement means alot to me, and helps me push through the tough spots - so I wanted to do my part for Dad and the other marathoners.

We started Sunday a little later than the day before, this time the alarm sounded at 3:30.  Dad was out the door, on his way to walk over to the start line, by 4:15.  Mom and I grabbed a cab over to the TTC a little while later to avoid the congestion of normal marathon transportation.  The plan was that

Mom would stake out a great spot in front of the castle at Magic Kingdom, and I would grab a spot on the road just outside the Polynesian just before Mile Marker 13.  Plan worked like a charm!   After I spotted Dad in front of the Polynesian, I walked over to the TTC and hopped on a bus to Hollywood Studios.

After getting to see Dad again just past the exit of HS, I knew I couldn't beat him to the finish line, so I stayed where I was to cheer on other runners as they passed.  I was cheering so loud that several Disney employees remarked how impressed they were by my enthusiasm.  I yelled so much I was hoarse!  About an hour later, I got a text from Mom telling me she'd caught up with Dad, and they were headed back to the hotel, so I did the same.

While Dad took an ice bath, Mom and I went over to the food court to grab lunch for all of us and took it back to the room.  After lunch, Dad and I walked along the river over to PO-Riverside to keep his legs from tightening up.  After a quiet afternoon spent napping and lounging by the pool, we had yet another early night.

Dad's Goofy Challenge Stats:

• Saturday Half Marathon: 13.1 mi; 1:59:56;  9:09 min/mi avg. pace
• Sunday Full Marathon:    26.2 mi; 4:26:01; 10:09 min/mi avg. pace

Marathon Monday:

Other than Dad being interviewed by a runDisney marketing crew just inside the turnstyles, it was a pretty standard Day at the Magic Kingdom for us.  But we did manage to do a lot of things we don't normally do: Hall of Presidents, Country Bear Jamboree, Liberty Square Riverboat, and the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.  In addition, we had a very late lunch at The Crystal Palace, which was so huge it also counted as our dinner!  All in all, it was a great way to celebrate a weekend full of achievements!