Brain Recovery

I'm having weird thoughts. Weird thoughts about running. Usually I'm amped up about what I can sign up for next and what's already on the calendar but right now I want nothing to do with it. It's not my typical burn out feeling because I'm enjoying my runs and want to get out there. But since Saturday I've had a little voice in my head telling me I should take a break. It might have to do with the pain I'm feeling on top of my left foot and my aching back, but a little pain has never sidelined me before. I'm wondering if it's because I haven't shut my brain off since I crapped the bed at Philly marathon a week ago. From the second I crossed the finish line, I've been trying to find a race that would fit in nicely before Boston that I could race and earn my redemption. Well, with that idea comes NO time off from training. Boston training already starts early in the new year and if I pick a March marathon, well, technically training already started. I want to maintain a fitness level where I could handle the endurance and distance of the marathon at any given time but maintaining a level to race the marathon is a different story. And I'm just not sure I have that in me right now. I think I need to take a week and let my brain recover from Philly before I make any decisions. I also have one more marathon to get through on Dec 11th. Maybe how I feel that day will be the deciding factor.

On the running front...I took off early last week from running and just cross trained. On Thursday I woke up to huge, pretty snowflakes and set out for my first easy recovery run. My legs were a little heavy but they carried me 6 miles through the trails. Listening to the snow hitting the trees and leaves was so peaceful and I didn't want to stop. Thanks to the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge I kicked my butt at the gym on Friday cross training and then took the new bike for a 6 mile ride when I got home. How in the world will I ever be able to sit on that seat for hours? Good God the va-jay-jay was sore. Then I capped off the week with a 10 mile run on Saturday and that's when the mysterious foot pain started. I managed to go for a 4 mile walk with Andy yesterday but it hurt the entire time. It's not sore to touch or flex but is definitely sensitive when I put pressure on it. I am keeping everything crossed that it's nothing.

As for my schedule this week, I don't have one. :-) Aside from a planned 15-18 mile run on Saturday, I'm doing whatever my little heart desires this week.

Introducing Cosmo!

I am stewing over how things went down on Sunday. It's absolutely killing me to know I was on pace for a 3:32 up to mile 20. The thing that's most frustrating is that I can't just turn around and try again this weekend. I was tempted to go for it at Rehoboth Beach marathon on Dec 11th but I'm going to be smart about it. The last thing I need is to go for it when I'm not fully recovered and fall apart. I've done a ton of thinking about what could have gone wrong and I really think I was dehydrated. Not because I didn't hydrate leading up to it, but because my stomach was off the days before. Saturday night I mentioned to Andy after I had been drinking a ton of water that I wasn't peeing nearly enough. Usually water goes right through me but that wasn't the case on Saturday. I also noticed when I finished the race on Sunday I wasn't covered in my usual salty crust. So I'm fairly certain that something was just off because like I said the other day, my nutrition was spot on the week leading up to the race. I did what I could and I can't change how it turned out. I will get my redemption and am already looking for that race. I'm thinking a month before Boston would be a perfect time to go for it, then I can run Boston for fun.

In other news...look at what I got on Monday!!! A Specialized road bike! Kids, I'm one step closer to my Ironman dream!! I took it for a test drive as soon as I got home, not knowing if I could even ride a bike since I haven't rode one since I was a kid, and I fell in love! I was giggling and waving to people in the neighborhood wearing a huge grin on my face. I can't wait for this summer to enter the world of Triathlons!!!!

"Cosmo"



I love that Andy didn't tell me the big yellow "Reflective - remove before wearing" sticker was still on my helmet when I headed out.



Have a great Thanksgiving. Gobble, gobble.

Philly Marathon Race Report

The marathon Gods can be fickle. You never know how race day will go and unfortunately, yesterday didn't go as planned.

Leading up to yesterday, my nutrition was spot on. In fact, I don't think I ever handled race week nutrition as well as I did this time around. But with that being said, my stomach was a little funky the few days before and I found myself going to the bathroom (#2) a ton on Friday and Saturday. I didn't think much of it and made sure I hydrated like crazy. I usually get a ton of sleep the week of the race but between working long hours and a sick kitty, I got very little sleep. Friday night was terrible and Saturday, I only got a few hours in bits and pieces.

But, I woke up Sunday morning feeling good and ready to go. I was excited on the ride down and confident as I toed the line. I was a little cold and couldn't feel my feet, but the weather turned out to be perfect. I placed myself a little behind the 3:30 pace group with the goal of running 8:10's and not getting caught up with them, but keeping them in site. This year the half marathoners were mixed in with the full marathoners and it was packed in the corrals. When we took off, you couldn't really go out too fast even if you tried. The streets were tight and there was very little room to get around people. And of course you have the people who put themselves in a corral where there clearly don't belong. So frustrating.

It took a few miles for me to be able to feel my feet but the miles were ticking away and I felt great. I kept telling myself to just get to the half way mark because that's where my friend Dave would be waiting to pace me the back half. I could forget about pace and just mindlessly run. My pace felt great and I was going a little faster than I needed but I was comfortable so I stuck with it.

Mile 1 - 8:07 (PERFECT!)

Mile 2 - 7:49

Mile 3 - 7:48

And those 7:50's are how it went until mile 7. At that point, I found my 8's again and hung around an 8-8:10 until the half way point. At mile 13 I was at 1:44:27 which was 2 minutes faster than where I needed to be and was putting me right around a 3:32 finish. When I met up with Dave a half mile later, I filled him in at where I was at with the time and told him that I hit a rough spot but was coming out of it. A few miles earlier I started having a hard time eating. I eat a shot blok every 2 miles but for some reason that wasn't working for me yesterday. I just didn't want to eat...which is not good that early on in a race. I had also felt a little fatigue around mile 11 but figured I just needed my second wind.

So off Dave and I went. I tucked in behind him and just let him lead the way. This was going fine but around mile 14 when I shoved a blok down my throat I realized we had a problem. I started to feel nauseous and really off. A found myself letting out some sighs and wanting to slow down but I tried to push along. I finally spoke up around mile 17 and told Dave I needed to back off for a second. We did but then Dave took control again and we picked back up.  Before we headed into Manayunk, with is a gradual incline from mile 19-20, we had a little out and back over Falls Bridge. It was here that everything went to shit. As we came back across the bridge I could feel myself falling apart. At mile 18 I was dead on for a 3:32, but knew it wasn't going to happen.

We headed into Manayunk which is usually a big pick me me up with people lining the streets but this year it was pure misery. I was dying climbing the hill and wanted to walk so badly. I tried one more blok and couldn't even chew it. I gagged it down, it got caught in my through, and I was burping like I was going to puke. On top of that, I started cramping from my feet all the way to my shoulders. We pushed along, turned around and instead of my usual perkiness for the last 6 miles, I contemplated not even finishing. At the bottom of the hill in Manayunk, I told Dave I had to walk. *sigh*

The last 6 miles were rough. It was a run-a-little walk-a-little with me making strange noises from discomfort. For a while I still had a shot at a PR but it just got uglier as we chugged along. Around mile 23 the 3:40 group passed me and I tried to run with them but the effort was short lived. I had nothing left in the tank. Funny thing, it didn't even upset me when they passed me.

Mile 20 - 9:30
Mile 21- 10:04
Mile 25 - 12:13 (shoot me!)
Mile 26 - 10:16

There's no point in reliving the last 3 miles. Thankfully, I was able to run the last 3/4 of a mile where the streets were lined with spectators but I'm sure I looked like I was dying. When I crossed the finish line it was the worst I have ever felt after a race. The pain from the cramping made every step miserable and I couldn't even stand the sight of food. I tried to sip some gatorade but I didn't want anything. I made it to the meeting area, fell to the ground in an attempt to sit and shed some tears. It took me over an hour to eat a soft pretzel and I couldn't get comfortable from the cramping. My right foot cramped so badly that I couldn't even touch it.

I'm not sure what went wrong out there yesterday. I can't help but wonder if I gave up. I mentioned that to Dave last night and he assured me I didn't. He said he could see it happening once we crossed the bridge after mile 18 and that I just hit the wall. Maybe I went out too fast? Maybe it was dehydration from poo problems the days before? I just don't know. What I do know is that I have a sub 3:35 in me. I absolutely have that in me and I'm going for it again. Soon.

Official finish - 3:47:49

If a 3:47:49 is my finish on a horrible day, I guess I can't complain too much. I just can't shake this feeling that I gave up. I know they all can't be PR's but after yesterday I KNOW I have this in me and it's going to eat at me until I get to go after it again. This morning, I'm feeling ok. Sore, sore feet and my body hurts to touch from the cramping but what hurts most is my ego. Marathon # 6 done, now time to get ready for # 7 in 2 weeks.

Carbs and a Winner!

I have no idea what went wrong on Sunday when I did my squats and lunges but I'm still paying the price for it. My legs are killing and I can't even walk normal let alone do stairs. I do this routine all the time so I have no idea why I'm this sore, it's really unusual. I did get in my 4 miles at marathon pace yesterday but decided to take today completely off to rest up. Hopefully this does the trick.

So a lot of people think of carb loading when getting ready for a marathon. Am I the only one that doesn't do this? Too many people use carb loading as an excuse to eat more when in reality you should swap food within your daily total calories to get a few more carbs. In other words, carb loading doesn't mean you need to eat more calories than normal. Now if that works for you, that's great. But for me, I prefer to eat a little less the days/week leading up to the race. With working out and running less, the last thing I want is to head into race day feeling bloated (for lack of a better term) because it absolutely affects how I feel running. I stick to my normal routine for the most part, with a few minor changes. For one, starting today I will consume a few less veggies than normal. I'll still eat my 5 different veggies throughout the day, but I'll eat less of them. On Friday I'll cut back the veggies substantially and on Saturday I will have very little with lunch only (think small salad). In addition to this I will eat a bigger than normal dinner on Friday and my big meal on Saturday will be at lunch time. The last thing I want is a big stomach of food the night before the race and if I eat earlier, I think it has more time to get out of me and lessens the risk of me crapping myself. :-) The only other thing I do to prepare is to keep some salty pretzels around to nibble on throughout the day on Saturday and then I'll have some oatmeal right before bed. This helps keep me from waking up real hungry the morning of the race so all I'll need to tie me over is some toast and a banana. So, that's what works for me...do you carb load??

And now for the winner of the Sof Sole socks giveaway...picked randomly by Andy through IM chat this morning:
9:07 AM Denise: pick a number between 1 and 46
9:08 AM Andrew: 17

Congrats to Shellyrm!! Email me at dclaffey76@yahoo.com and I'll get you hooked up with some socks!

So Ready!

The countdown has begun!!! Six more days until I'm running through the streets of Philly. Everything clicked during my 10 miler on Saturday and when the run was done, I walked away saying to myself, "I am so ready!" In fact, I might have mentioned it to Andy a gazillion times on Saturday when I got home, too. For the first time during this training cycle I feel like I actually have this in me. I know it won't be easy but I know I can do this if things go as planned. My goal for Saturday was to run the first 5 comfortably then run the last 5 at marathon pace. Thankfully, I kept having to slow myself down, rather than speed up, and we finished with an average 8:04 pace. One mile we actually hit an 8:10 but the rest of them were just under 8 minutes. The good thing, I felt great. The pace was smooth and comfortable and my breathing and conversation were normal. Now, there won't be any talking on race day, but it's nice to know the pace isn't going to have me sucking wind for 26.2 miles.

So now that I know I'm ready, I can stress about the weather and the stomach bug that is going around my office. The woman who sits next to me had it last week and now there are 2 other people out sick with it today. I really wish I could work in a bubble. As for weather, right now it's looking damn near perfect! A low of around 40 and a high of 56 with clouds and sunshine. It's going to be hard to figure out what to wear since it'll be a little chilly before we start but as long as it's not 20 degrees like it was two years ago, I'll take it!!

I have a really easy week and I plan on taking full advantage of resting up the legs. Especially since I spent a little too much time at the gym yesterday doing squats and walking lunges and now I can't even lower myself down onto the toilet without holding on to something. Me and my great ideas.

Mon - 2 mi and bike and/or walk
Tues - 4 mi (at MP)
Wed - easy bike
Thurs - 4 mi (with some strides)
Fri - 2 mi and walk around expo/city
Sat - rest up!!!
Sun - 26.2 mi (holy crap I'm excited!)

Don't forget to enter the sock giveaway. I'll pick a winner mid week.

Did I mention I'm excited??? This is going to be the longest week ever!

3 Things Thursday GIVEAWAY!!!

1) I ran with the club on Tuesday night because I wanted a hard, fast workout. Turns out that's exactly what I got. I ran 5.3 miles averaging 7:46. I was so happy when I checked my laps and saw a negative split run with my last mile at 7:19! My legs felt great and the turn over came really naturally. The only problem was that at the end of the run, my Achilles felt a little funny and I had some weird twinges in it when I did the stairs. That along with a really sore lower back for the past few days, which has me walking crooked, is worrying me just a teeny bit. Hopefully it's just taper madness setting in.

2) Turns out Asbury Park was so happy to have me and my friends run their marathon that they put our picture up on their marathon home page for 2011 registration!! How am I not going to run this next year? I mean, I'm part of their advertisement! I wouldn't be surprised if they had a monster showing next year. ;-)  Check out this these bad ass chicks...too cool!!

Bonnie, Me, Val, Snowflake

3) And finally, GIVEAWAY time. I recently tried out Sof Sole Cool Max Trainer socks. With all the socks out there, I've definitely become a little picky with what I'll wear and find myself always reaching for the same ones. I tested out Sof Sole on my mid week runs and really liked them. You can read my full review here but one thing I had to say is...3 pairs for $9.99!!! I pay at least that for ONE pair of socks. I definitely think you guys should check these out. Oh, and if you want to win a pack, Clara from Sof Sole is offering one up to a lucky commenter, to be picked at random by me next week. Rules: be a follower; leave a comment telling me your favorite brand of running socks.

The Decision Has Been Made!

Less than two weeks to go and I'm feeling a lot better about what I want to do come race day. Got some good, honest comments to my last post and a fiesty email from a good friend which put me in my place (thanks Snowflake!!). A few comments really stuck out and got me thinking. Irunyourun suggested I not worry about a PR and just run because I can and bet that back in July I would have given anything to be able to run 26.2 miles...even if slow. You are SO right and I think about this a lot actually. Although I love to try to out do myself, finishing the marathon is just as special to me and it's another huge accomplishment regardless of how fast I do it.  I am so happy that I'm able to run this race and am definitely not taking it for granted.

Then Iampreppy asked if I still like to run and if running is fun. The answer to both of those questions is YES. I love running and enjoy it more now than ever after being injured. I admit that I put pressure on myself but I can't help it, it's how I'm wired. I enjoy a challenge and part of the fun is seeing what I have in me. I've always said though, "if this ever becomes not fun, then I'm doing something wrong." I know my limits and that's exactly what I was trying to get across in my last post. I want to have fun at Philly marathon regardless of my time. In order for that to happen, I want to make sure I go into it with a goal that won't ruin the experience.

So, I made up my mind. I thought about the race a lot this weekend and felt myself getting more mentally prepared. I could sense myself getting fired up because it's all I thought about while I was out on my runs.  The day after my 15 miler I ran a quick 5 miles with my last mile at 7:43 and I felt incredible! Then Sunday I ran to the gym, lifted (total body), then ran home. My legs were a shaky mess when I left the gym but my pace held steady in the mid 8's and I was completely comfortable. Then while running this morning, I realized my game face was on and I was completely focused. I wanted to run forever and all I could think about was race day and how it's going to play out. So kids, the decision has been made. I'm going for it!

• A goal = 3:35
• B goal = 3:35
• C goal = 3:35

Now all I need to do is make the pace band and figure out if I want to line up at the front of the 3:40 group or tuck in behind the 3:30...

Here's my schedule for the week:
Mon - 3 mi, bike
Tues - 5 mi (want some MP miles here)
Wed - lift total body
Thurs - 3 mi, cross train
Fri - 10 mi (last few miles at MP)
Sat - 5 mi
Sun - cross train/lift

Serious Doubts

I mentioned the other day that I was having some doubts about Philly. Truth is, I've been having serious doubts for weeks now. Training has been going fine but I just don't feel like I'm prepared for this. I mean, I know I can run the distance; I'm just not sure I can race it and get that 3:35 finish. I've been trying to think back to this time last year and I know I was a nervous wreck but I don't remember feeling so under prepared. Deep down inside I knew I had it in me last year and I wanted it SO BADLY. This year, I'm not sure I have it in me and there's not that desire for a BQ in the back of my mind.

What's worrying me? Well, for starters, I only ran 5 miles in July. FIVE. I got a really late start with this training and had to take it so easy when the boot came off. Now, I did anything but sit around and get lazy while I was in the boot, but I wasn't running. I had a few weeks where I only ran 5-10 miles TOTAL and I didn't hit 10 miles for my long run until mid August (but I increased my weekly long run pretty aggressively from there). Then there's speed work not really starting until late September. And I definitely didn't get in the marathon pace practice that I would have liked. Last year that 8:20 pace was drilled into me and that's all my legs knew. I dunno, with all of this, it just doesn't feel like I got in a solid 12 weeks of training to justify the goal.

But on the flip side, a few weeks out of the boot I ran two 5ks, within a week of each other, while I was sick, and ran a PR of 21:30 at one of them. Then I had a really successful half marathon where my attempt at marathon pace turned into running just under 8 minute miles. On top of this, for the last 6 miles at Asbury Park marathon I ran close to marathon pace and felt incredible.

So there have been some good things over the past 12-15 weeks but is this enough? I'm not so sure. I feel extremely cocky thinking I could even attempt a 3:35 right now. I know it's only a 3 minute PR but to be honest, I'm not sure how I feel about attempting a 3:38-3:40 right now either. I don't want to go for it and have it turn into a miserable experience because I went into it without being fully prepared. Sigh...but I also don't want to not go for it because that's taking the easy way out. 

People are telling me to go for it and then back off if I feel it's not going to happen. That's easier said than done because if I tell myself to go for something, I go for it.

Final Practice

Well, my bike fitting didn't go as planned. The sales guy neglected to mention when I stopped in the week before to set up the appointment that there was a $250 charge for the fitting. Yup...TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY dollars. Now, that comes off the price of the bike but still. I had no intention of throwing down any money on Friday. If I'm going to drop over $1000 on a hobby I'm not even sure I'm going to like, I'm going to do my research and make sure I'm getting a good deal. So after the "interview" process the guy says, "ok, now I'll take some measurements and we'll do the fitting. That's $250." Um, what? With a shocked look on my face, I politely informed him that I wasn't ready to make a commitment that day and left the store. I'm bummed because I liked this place and thought they were really knowledgeable. But since they didn't tell me about this upfront, they lost their credibility. I'll be taking my cashola elsewhere...

I had my last 20 miler on Saturday which I used as my final practice for race day. Thankfully it was cold enough to break out the tights and some warmer tops to see what might work. Good thing, too. I looked like I had a dump in my pants and kept having to pull up my tights. Not something I want to deal with on race day. I also practiced my nutrition, which I have pretty much nailed down already.  But since I usually start to feel hungry around mile 4 I wanted to see if some more for breakfast would hold me over a little longer. Instead of eating one slice of toast and a banana before the run, I added a second slice of toast this week. The extra toast didn't cause any stomach problems (which is what I was worried about) and I noticed at mile 5 that I wasn't hungry yet. Looks like it worked! Even though I wasn't hungry, I started my bloks and took one every 2.5 miles. Doing this with the bloks works perfectly for me, not too much sugar all at once. The run was going great and flying by but my legs were really tired around mile 13. I thought for sure I'd end up slowing down over the remaining miles but I kept pushing and got my second wind. We ran an awesome progression run with the last few miles in the mid to low 8's. I feel really comfortable at that pace but I'm having some severe doubts and worries about Philly...more on that later when I get my head wrapped around these crazy thoughts.

I celebrated the beginning of taper like any birthday girl would with friends and copious amounts of sushi and champagne. Needless to say, I paid the price for it on Sunday with a painful 5 mile recovery run. Then ate gross amounts of candy to make myself feel better. Lovely, I know. But now it's time to batten down the hatches...no more silliness until after the race.

Here's my schedule for the week:
Mon - 4 mi and cross train (bike)
Tues - 6 mi (2 ladders)
Wed - 4 mi and lift
Thurs - 5 mi (marathon pace)
Fri - 4 mi and cross train
Sat - 15 mi (last few miles at marathon pace)
Sun - cross train and lift