Long time no post

Sorry for the brief hiatus folks. I haven't had much to say (or really the time to write it) lately. My ankle has still been giving me fits since the marathon. I finally went to the doctor, after taking a weekend off. I figured it was better to rest it than to keep running on it, not sure of what was really going on.
Turns out I have tendinitis, again. But this time in my LEFT ankle instead of the right. He readjusted my orthotics and told me to put heat on it. So I'm going to do that for a while.
I have to go down to Corpus Christi for work, so hopefully running down there will re energize my routine. There's a ten mile out and back route along Ocean Drive that I really like, so I may do that.
There is also a 10-miler on Sunday that I did last year and LOVED. So I'm going to see how I do on that one. After Sunday I'll reevaluate what I'm going to do for Austin. Right now my thinking is that I should only do the half marathon and give my ankle some rest. Especially since I'm doing the half in Houston in January.
But I really want to run the whole marathon in Austin. I really feel like that could be the run for me to hit five hours. And well I really want to hit that five hour mark. So I think two longer runs will really give me a good feel for what my joints can do.
So we'll see. Until then I've been doing some easy five mile runs. It's interesting as to how long of a distance five miles used to be for me. Now it's my regular Monday and Wednesday run! :)

95 Days and 368 Days

95 days Until the Austin AT&T Marathon. And I'm so excited! I have my first training run with Run Gear Run on Saturday. They have a group listserv and that's already got me jazzed to run with the group. It's also awesome that they split people into pace groups and each group gets a set of coaches. Maybe, just maybe I'll get closer to 5 hours!

On a different marathon note. It's official. The Rock n Roll San Antonio Marathon and half marathon will be on Nov. 16, 2007! I'm so amazingly excited. The Country Music Marathon was a BLAST a few years ago. Very well organized, an amazing event, and the same group, Elite Racing, puts this race on. I'm so excited about this I can hardly sit still. FINALLY San Antonio will have a great race and we'll have thousands of runners and a great health and fitness expo. THIS WILL BE AWESOME FOR THE S.A. RUNNING COMMUNITY!!!

So for all you runners, or those of you who want to be runners, start training now! and come run the half marathon with me next November! If you think you can't do it, all I have to say is: OF COURSE YOU CAN! You just have to start by putting one foot in front of the other.

The Crash

When I ran Nashville I learned a lot about what completing a marathon does to your body. About three days after Country Music I ended up with a cold, I felt real sluggish, had no desire to run, and (sorry I'm sure this is too much information) ended up with Aunt Flo for the second time that month.
After doing some asking around I found out this is all normal, all of it. So I was prepared for that after Marine Corps. What I wasn't prepared for was the crash.

One of the girls at work, who has also run marathons asked me on Friday how I was feeling. I said I was fine, no soreness anymore, feeling good overall. She said: No, how do you feel, emotionally? I said: Well, in truth I've been really cranky the last few days. In truth I had a lot of anger and frustration that seemed to be spewing from me every chance it got. She said I was probably suffering from Post Marathon Blues. This was completely new to me. I had never heard of this. No one had ever told me about this. And I certainly didn't think this had anything to do with the race.

What she said though makes perfect sense. You spend 6 months or so gearing up for this goal. And then suddenly you've attained said goal and it's all over, done, finished. I think it's probably aided by the fact that the runner's high is gone. It's one big crash.
I'm pretty much back to normal now, thank goodness, but today will also be my last "rest" day until the Austin marathon in February. I'm a little worried about that crash being worse, since at that point it'll have been nine months of training with a week off. But at least now I know what to expect and I won't think I'm going crazy this time.

The Marathon....overanalyzed

I spent about four days thinking about what went right and wrong last Sunday. For those of you keeping score I came in 37 minutes slower than I hoped.
My first two miles were incredibly slow. The next couple of miles were too fast. I didn't take walk breaks the first 6 miles like I should have. I used too much energy too quickly. I wasn't hydrated enough at the start, despite spending the two weeks prior to the race taking in 4-6 ounces of water or powerade every hour. I lost sodium more quickly than I planned, which resulted in cramping and ended up having to drink 2 6-ounce helpings of partially dissolved, frothy, chunky bouillon cubes (the grossest thing I ever hope to willingly swallow**). The list of things goes on and on. But I think the major thing that kept me from reaching the 5 hour mark is going it alone. I had too many points in the race where being by myself worn me down mentally. Too many places where I just felt, well, alone. Which at mile 18 isn't a good way to feel.
Before the race a few people told me that running alone wasn't the best idea. But I had my head and heart set on running the MCM, critics be damned. And afterward I had a whole lot of people say that if I would have had a buddy 5 hours would have been easy.
So that's the plan now. To run Austin with at least one friend. It makes the miles go by quicker and it gives you something to be distracted with. And Allison is an awesome running partner anyway. Maybe this year she'll finally tell me what happened to the bunny....

(This is fairly gross so read at your own risk)
**A short aside about the bouillon cubes: You might be asking yourself why? Sodium is important as we all know. Without enough my calves started to tense up. So I finally found a medic tent and said I needed some sort of salt. This after forgetting to find packets to keep with me along the course. They hand me this cup of brown grossness. I look at it. Then look around. Then see the bouillon cubes and think ew. So I start to slowly drink. Only the chunks of undissolved bouillon are amazingly unappetizing to say it politely. So I say to myself, don't think about it, just drink. It's amazing what you can choke down if you don't let yourself think about it. Maybe that's how people drink eggs...
The whole bouillon thing is new to me. In Nashville the medics took a pack of salt, dissolved it in Gatorade and made you chug. Also gross. But this is what I was expecting when I went to the medics, not brown liquid. I'm not sure which is really worse, salty Gatorade or bouillon. Maybe they do bouillon so that it has more of a taste than salt. Who knows. Either way it was something I had to share with y'all.

Quote

It takes enthusiasm to get started. It takes commitment to finish.

OORAH!

I've had a few days to reflect on the wonder that was the Marine Corps Marathon. (Whenever I write the whole name I feel like I'm doing product placement) My reflections will probably be posted over a couple of postings so you'll have to bear with me.
I can't imagine having had better race conditions. It was in the low 40s when we started out and temperatures never got above 65. It was perfect, blue skies, a light breeze at random times throughout the race. Perfect.
The race began at the Pentagon, a building that up close doesn't seem as impressive as from a distance, but it's definitely neat to stand near an important structure. The race started on time (as expected when run by Marines) and it took about 20 minutes before I was able to cross the start line. My plan was to take in as much scenery as I could, look all around at every mile, over every bridge, whenever I saw anything that looked remotely important in our national history.
Eventually we crossed the bridge into D.C. and going over the Potomac and seeing the National Capitol dome in the distance as the water glistened below was amazing. Not too far in front of me was a gentleman carrying an American flag. It took me another mile before I was able to catch up to him, but then we ran a few miles together. The photographer in me was going crazy with ideas of photos I could be taking. Here was this man with a flag, as the sun shone through the flag, the tree leaves with their magnificent fall colors and the hordes of people that surrounded us as we ran down roads that otherwise are only open to cars. As we approached mile markers Marines stood by with megaphones shouting times. Every 2 miles Marines lined the roads handing out water and powerade yelling OORAH! and any other words of encouragement they could think to holler. The weather stayed perfect and the skies maintained a beautiful blue hue.
Allegedly we ran by the White House, but I never saw it. Maybe I had too much tunnel vision about my slow pace (more on that in another posting), either way I missed it entirely. Then the mall finally started to come into view. As we rounded the Washington Monument, and turned into the mall the museums and spectators lined the streets and the Capitol building was more than just a dome in the distance. This is when I first saw the greatest husband on the planet, John Henrichs, who was cheering me on like a mad man and had the biggest grin plastered on his face. How I love that dear man.
Suddenly I was running in front of the Capitol as the sun shined right on it. And across the way the Washington Monument. And in front of the Capitol and older woman ran back and forth waving a giant U.S. Flag. That was truly the greatest memory I have of running, ever. I saw John again at mile 14 and after that knew I was on my own until mile 23. I'd have about 2 more hours of alone time, not always good at this point in the race. We round the mall and started out toward the Jefferson Memorial. First we saw it from across the river, then we crossed the bridge and came up around the back side. Another beautiful moment. Eventually the huge number of spectators petered out. We ran next to the river for a few miles and I tried to take in the beautiful scenery, but after the mall, there wasn't much left to see.
My goal at that point was just to make it to "the bridge." The Bridge was the 19 mile point, we had to make it across the bridge, which is a section of freeway before 1:15 to avoid being swept up and not being allowed to finish because the road would have to be reopened. I saw the 19 mile marker and came running up onto the freeway and knew that no matter what I could finish now. It didn't matter how long it took me, it didn't matter what I hoped my pace would be. I knew I was going to cross that finish line. At mile 20 I knew that it wasn't up to my body anymore, now it would be up to my head and heart. I saw John and my high school friend Rosie at mile 21. Their shining faces as they both jumped up and down were the inspiration I knew I needed for this race. I saw them again at 23 and their energy lifted me again. Then came the harder miles.
As we crossed over a bridge near the Pentagon I saw a Marine holding a very large gun. This is when the reality of running so near the Pentagon finally hit me. Marines with large guns can do that I guess :) And then the crowds of spectators started to increase. And I could hear the crowds cheering and the announcer calling out bib numbers and names. Only I was at mile 24. I could see the finish line. It was just up a hill and across the median. I was there, but not really. I still had a 2 mile loop to go before I could climb the hill and claim my own personal victory. I have to say it's just mean to make people run PAST the finish line. But I suppose it's also a true test of strength, physically, mentally and emotionally.
Finally I saw the last .2 mile in front of me. The tape, that at other mile markers had read: Marine Corps Marathon, now said: Beat the Hill. So I was determined to. I started to move as fast as I could, passing people on each side and suddenly the finish chute was in front of me and I just wanted to finish. Which I did. In 5:37. Not perfect, not even what I hoped for, but I finished. And that to me is an accomplishment in itself.