Grand Rapids Marathon Race Recap

Way back in 2011, I had been determined to become faster and attempt another marathon at some point.  Hoping to complete a spring or fall marathon, I continued my running and it all came to a screeching halt on Christmas Day.  I was struck with ITband issues.  The short version of this is that I fought it until about June with it progressing from my knee all the way into my hip.  Mary, on the left below, had wanted to complete a comeback marathon after having her sweet baby, Ryne, and was eyeing Chicago.  After much debate, we decided Grand Rapids would be a better fit for us and coincidentally, Second Wind Running Club was taking a bus trip for the race, score.  When Cass, on the right, heard of our decision, it didn't take much arm twisting to get her to sign up.  

Our official training began July 1st and even then, I was playing with fire.  Schedules, motherhood, travels, among other hindrances, we were able to find time to complete most of our long runs together.  Some were better than others, but we ventured through the streets of Champaign.  We should put in a special thanks to a few gas stations in town that we frequented, the I-Hotel, and most importantly, Illinois football for providing us with a plethora of port-o-potties to use nearly every 100 feet of our 20 milers.  With my lingering injury, becoming speedier was not an option and we all were just looking forward to crossing the finish long and enjoying the experience...and so we did.

Mary and Cass sporting the new Bondibands that Cass got for us.

We loaded the bus with the other Second Wind members on Saturday morning to take on the 4.5 hour bus ride to Grand Rapids.  Lunch was at Panera and once we got into Grand Rapids, we headed to the expo.  Afterwards we checked into the hotel, got out race gear ready, and waited around to go to dinner with the group.  We enjoyed the only pasta option (or anything that seemed to be promising for my stomach anyway) at Twisted Rooster and got to visit with some of the other runners, mostly with Bob and Gladys, who were a sweet couple.

The bed seemed to be calling our names, so we hit the sack early since we would be up at 4am Central Time and knew we probably needed as much sleep as we could get.  All of us seemed to sleep fairly well and the nerves started settle in more for Mary and Cass than they did for me---oddly this whole marathon experience was fairly calm for me---so out of character!

Mary and Me bright and early on race day

Cass, Mary, and Me in our pre-race photo shoot

After coffee and last minute checks, we headed to the bus for our departure, 6:15 Michigan time.  It was quite chilly, probably barely 40 degrees, so we knew we would be cold until we actually started running.

We checked our bags and hung out in the Y located a hop, skip, and a jump from the start line until about 6:55am.  We joked about what the "Velocity Challenged" start might entail thinking there would just be a couple of us and somebody telling us, "Ready, Set, Go."  To our surprise there were probably 50-100 others taking advantage of the early start.

Before we knew it, it was time to go and we were off.  The three of us agreed to stick to around an 11:15 minute pace and we seemed to hold steady for quite some time. The first few miles ticked away in the dark and we got to enjoy the odd comments and singing of an older man who was also running our pace.  Thankfully he picked up his pace and we didn't see him again.

Miles 1 through 4ish were through downtown Grand Rapids and then we headed into a beautiful forest preserve with fall colored foliage everywhere you turned.  There was a morning fog covering the first few feet of the ground so it made for a gorgeous running path and I appreciated the fact that it made it a little harder to see what was ahead.  I had go to the bathroom nearly right away, but held off until mile 7 when I ran ahead so I wouldn't slow Mary and Cass down.  It was a quick in and out and I caught up to them just after the water station.

By about mile 9, the super fast male marathoners started catching on us and strings of runners passed us the rest of the race.  This didn't seem to bother us much and gave us something to talk about, including the Team Leukemia team (I think) that was pushing people in wheelchairs the entire race, that was impressive.

We easily stayed together until around mile 15 and at that point Mary, Cass, and I started spacing out a little from each other.  This was nothing new, as we had done it throughout our training.  I started playing a mental game at this point really questioning whether or not I would be able to crank out the coming miles.  My leg was holding up partly as a result of the pre-run and 10 mile mark ibuprofen I took, so at least I wasn't playing a mental and physical game this marathon.

Miles 16-22 were a stretch of an out and back through the forest preserve that had aid stations and spectators sprinkled throughout.  It did seem to take forever to get to the turn around near mile 18, but we knew it was in the bag once we reached that point.  I listened to some music and also started thinking about  the support I'd had in getting to race day.  This included visualizing other mile markers from the Illinois Marathon and the people in my life who were at them and even ran with me at points.

Pickle Juice is one of a few "highlights" of this race.  I knew I had to try it just to say I did it, but my stomach wasn't ready for it at mile 15 when it was first offered.  A volunteer tried to get me to take it then, but I promised I would get it on the return and he laughed remarking, "That's what they all say!" I returned with, "I promise, remember me, Orange Shirt."  Sure enough, as I approached it on the return, I yelled, "Hey, it's me, Orange Shirt."  The volunteer chuckled handing me a cup and offered some advice, "Take it slowly and wash it down with some water."  I followed his instructions precisely and paused for a quick picture and confused Mary a little because I took a little time at this stop.  

We were all thankful for Mile 22 and did our own happy dances.

Here we are again trekking along after mile 22 and really just glad we were almost finished.  I was really feeling great physically, much different than the Illinois Marathon.  Despite the fact that my leg injury and schedule had me put in less miles this training cycle, I believe overall I was physically stronger for this race.  I had been going to BodyFlow 2-4 times a week on top of my running and it really helped with my flexibility, balance, and core strength.

Finally we were only a mile from the finish and we came in together, holding hands and feeling high on life.

I immediately drank the chocolate flavored Muscle Milk that they were handing out and snatched nearly all the goodies I could carry.  The post-race pickle was another "highlight" of the race, so I had to join in on the tradition...it was delicious.

We posed for a few pictures, showered at the Y, and boarded the bus within an hour of finishing.  The bus ride home was a little rough for me, but soon enough we made it back home and celebrated with some Texas Roadhouse.

If you had asked me two weeks ago if I planned to do another marathon, my answer without hesitation would have been no.  After I got home from the race, however, I was on the internet within an hour looking for races.  My first marathon provided me with a sense of pride and accomplishment, this marathon brought me confidence in myself and my friendships, I want to see what my next marathon holds.

Still Alive and Running

As you can see by my Dailymile updates, I am still here and running.  I have been keeping track of my miles, but not writing much these days.  In short...

*I'm training for the Grand Rapids Marathon on October 21st.
*I'm cautiously increasing my mileage due to my annoying ITband/hip/leg.
*I have gotten a few massages to help the ITband and discovered it was more of a hip issue.
*I'm still slow---I'm more concerned about staying injury-free because it was not fun to sit out for a few months.
*I have no time goals for the race, just want to finish and stay injury-free.
*My middle toenails are once again on the outs and are quite painful.
*I'm ****GASP****  not really following a training plan.  This is a huge shock since I have Type A tendencies when it comes to things like this and also because I'm not that skilled at running to really just go with it.  The injury has kept me honest, so I'm just trying to do what I can and hopefully finish the race uninjured.

What I've been up to

Things have been a bit different these last few months. I've switched my focus to training for a triathlon that will be in June. The odd thing is that I am still holding off on running. I will either test it out again mid April or May 1st.

I've been trying to get in two bikes and two swims a week combined with 3-4 yoga or Pilates classes at the gym. I am not following any set schedule since I am not really trying to kill this race. I still have my eye on a fall marathon and hope it is in the cards for me.

Just for Jeremiah...

who I think is the only person who reads this blog, besides my mom, maybe:)

UPDATE--I had been going to get ART twice a week for the first 2 weeks and then backed down to once a week. Things seemed to be progressing and the doctor encouraged me to go for some short runs to test. I was having minimal pain starting at about 2 miles, which was an improvement from before. I continued with BodyFlow, Yoga, and PiYo 4-5 times a week in addition to my own stretching, balance work, and strengthening excercises. Things seemed to be going well until this last Tuesday. I went out for a run and my right ITband felt amazing! At about the mile mark, though, my LEFT ITband started giving me troubles!!!!! UGH...

So, I am officially resting for a few more weeks in terms of running. I will continue my routines and focus some on the left side. I will be quitting my current gym within the next couple weeks and joining our new Y beginning March 1st. They have a pool, so I plan to start swimming and possibly aqua jogging. I have no intention of running the half marathon in April, but might consider the 10k. If all else fails, I have plenty of people to cheer on during the race and would love to cheer with my dear friend, Danielle.

Needless to say, I am beyond frustrated and have thrown multiple pity parties for myself. In the mean time, I will remember that there are much worse things out there in life that could be happening to me, I have a whole life of running ahead of me, and for the first time ever, I am actually watching what I eat since I am not working out as much.

Active release technique

My it band continues to be a bother, so I am trying a new alternative...ART... Aka active release technique. I have known about this through my ironman friend and reading other blogs and quite a few people have had success in treating injuries. Another friend, who is a PT, had opinions about it and did recently bring it up as something to try.

I was able to get an appointment with the only chiropractor within 50 miles who does this. I was pleasantly surprised with his desire to figure out and treat the underlying issue instead of just the it band. After evaluation, he confirmed some things that I already knew (but didn't say)---I have a leg length difference which is most likely as a result of my pelvic twist. he believes these two things may be causing some overcompensation and I should work on my hip mobility (something Kristin would probably agree with). He was very interested in developing a training plan to work on those in addition to providing the ART I came for.

The treatment itself caused a good kind of pain and I walked away feeling good. Now, 3 hours later, my leg hurts quite a bit. he thinks 4 -6 treatments should do the trick. I am hoping he is right since I am itching to get back on the road. his credentials are quite impressive, so I hope his work with elite athletes pays off for me.

The end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012

I accomplished my 2011 goal of running 1000 miles and did it sometime around the second week in December. I didn't really think it was going to be possible, but I guess with 2 half marathons and a full marathon in the year the training miles really add up.

That was a definite plus for me in 2011. The end of the year, however, did not end so positively. After accomplishing that goal, I noticed some pain in my right knee. I thought maybe I needed some new shoes, so I got new shoes. Unfortunately, that did not help and during my Christmas morning run, I discovered that Santa had brought me a bad case of ITBand syndrome aka runner's knee. I had this a couple years back in my left knee and it extended all the way up my thigh and was most noticeable in my hip. I received physical therapy and massage treatment in order to help recover. It continued to give me problems in my hip for a good year following the initial injury.

As a result of my previous history on the other side, I am not looking forward to this recovery. It has left me sidelined from running since then and I am having a hard time staying away. I've made it to a couple of classes at the gym and tried out a few machines to still maintain some fitness, but it just isn't the same:(

I'm hoping a cautious return will work and that I'll still be able to compete in the Illinois half marathon in April and still consider Chicago in October. We shall see.

Turkey Trot Half Marathon Race Report

On Saturday I ran in in the Schaumburg Half Marathon which is about 45 minutes from my parents' house. I had this on my calendar since the summer and it was going to test my speed training to see how much I've improved.

Apparently I was in the eager bunch because my number ended up being 212 out of the approximately 2000 runners. I was hopeful about my number since 12 is my favorite number and I had a sub-2 in my mind. I knew I would be able to easily go under 2:05, but wasn't quite sure if under 2 was feasible.

I had a great night's sleep and made it with plenty of time to meet Allison at the start. The race went through Busse Forest Preserve, which turned out to be quite scenic and even housed some live Elk (we saw two large ones). They had a shuttle service available to take you to the start, so Allison and I stayed warm in the car until about 8:30 and took a shuttle over. I visited the port-o-potties along with the great majority of the racers and we made it to the start with only 2 minutes to go. There were pacers for this race, so we positioned ourselves between the 2:00 and 2:10 pacers and planned to start slower and hopefully put out negative splits.

We stayed dry the first few miles, but then it started drizzling which continued for the remainder of the race. Thankfully I had my dad's "Life is Good" hat to keep the raindrops out of my face and maybe even an hint of luck as well. Allison's and my Garmins seemed to be quite off from each other as well as the mile markers, so I was having a difficult time knowing what our actual pace was. This proved to be problematic for me since I was trying to be mindful of my pace. Allison held me strong and steady and coached me along the way. It was so fun running with such an experienced racer and she kept me in line--figuratively and literally as she gave the pointer of running the tangents instead of the curvy trail that meandered much of the race.

My best miles seemed to be between miles 8 and 10 and I really was feeling good and confident about a sub-2. Not surprisingly, I started to fade the last 3 miles despite Allison's strong words of encouragement. I don't believe I could have made myself run any faster the last part of the race, but I did push myself as much as I feasibly could to get as close to 2 hours as possible. It was just a little too late as we came in at 2:00.29. This was still quite the accomplishment for me and I really appreciate the support I got from Allison on Saturday.

I was excited when I spotted the Muscle Milk station and snatched up a chocolate. Much to my dismay, though, it was not tasty at all. I think I'll stick to my usual chocolate milk treat after long runs instead.

I am a little sore today and my left hamstring continues to be a bother, so it will make my decisions for future races a bit interesting.