Back from post-half marathon break!

Welp, it's been 4 days since my half marathon - Still stoked about it !

I took 3 days of much needed rest. At first I had trouble walking just from various joints and muscles being mad at me. My knee obviously needs some attention. It's been cranky for a few months now but it was super pissed after the half. It's better now and I am not too worried about it, however I am going to start dedicating time to caring for it.

I have been coughing up lots of shit from being sick last week. It's been one of those colds that went away after a few days but left a horrible lingering cough. Only today has it become noticeably better. I do NOT  blame the half marathon :)

Also got my official race pics today. For those who don't know, I am a hot mess when I run. Not one of those photogenic pretty runners, I look more like a bridge troll when I run. But these aren't half bad. I was aware of alot of the photographers while I was on the course because they took shots head on. It wasn't like they were hiding in the bushes and getting terrible side shots of me. I'm happy with most of them!

2 pretty decent ones!

Derp.

Funny face, not sure why?

I just finished today's workout - strength training! Spartan Race is next weekend! I'm really excited because I had alot of fun last year, despite it being very difficult and utterly exhausting. But I'm curious to see how much better I'll do this year.

I am going to chill on the running for awhile to let things heal up. My foot is still not 100%. It doesn't hurt to walk or to touch it lightly, but it hurts if I press down on it or move it the wrong way. I think Saturday I will go do a 2-3 mile trail run + burpees, then focus on strength training next week with maybe 1 short run thrown in there.

GRU Augusta Half Marathon

I did it.

I have completed my first half marathon!

Let me tell you the tale of the GRU Augusta Half Marathon..

Woke up early, literally couldn't breathe because I am still really congested. I'm glad I did get up so early though because we were running a little late. By the time we got down there and walked to the start line it was already 7:40, with an 8am race start time. I didn't have time to wait in line for the porta potties, but I knew there was a bathroom at the BBQ pit. It's a terrible bathroom - no lights, doors don't close, and no TP. But apparently... today the toilets were not flushing. It was possibly the worst toilet I've ever seen. Both of them were.. filled. Yep. But I squatted and peed none the less, it's better than waiting in line. My warm up was not as long as I wanted it to be, because it was time to get lined up to start!

The weather was perfect. 45 starting out and warmed up to about 60. Our race started after the 10k. I was at the back of the line because I knew this would be a slow one for me for a couple reasons - it's my first half marathon ever and I didn't want to burn out early, and I also wasn't sure how my foot was going to react.

During the first mile I ended up talking to a couple of ladies about the course compared to last year's 10k course. They were actually running the 10k and missed their start time so they had to catch up. Simply chatting with them really did a lot to relax my nerves. I was so much calmer after that, and was really just taking in the sights around me and appreciating the support of the spectators. I took a gel at mile 3.5 (and 7 and 10) I overdid it with the gels on purpose, I'm hypoglycemic and wanted to eat preemptively instead of get caught in a blood sugar crash. Looking back on it I probably could have survived with 2 gels.

Somewhere between miles 3 and 4.. I was not having any foot pain yet which was a great sign.. however I notice my foot began to tense up. It was like my toes wanted to curl involuntarily, and the top of my foot would just pulse and quiver for a few seconds. I tried my best to just relax my foot and not think about what could go wrong. Mile 5, along comes Walton Way. Long ass hill. I remember this well from my 10k last year. I made it with only a brief walk at the top. Enjoyed running through Augusta, seeing all the beautiful old southern homes and what not. My mentality for this race was just to take it all in, and think of it as just another long run. And it seems to have worked. I didn't have any music - they ask you not to wear headphones and I respected that - but the volunteers and spectators were amazing at cheering us on! It made such a huge difference for me. It's heartwarming to see so many supporters out there.

Beyond Walton Way I didn't really know what was up next. I had looked at the course map briefly about 2 weeks ago and didn't remember much. We turned onto this road called Berkmans road or something, runs right along side Augusta National. All of a sudden there's this big ass hill ahead of me. Oh god. I ran it slowly - but at this point most other people were walking. I started to feel some random knee pain that would come and go. My endurance was still strong. Around mile 10 is when my foot actually started to hurt, and the spasms were becoming more frequent. The bottoms of my feet hurt now too. The last mile was the worst. Everything started to hurt and I basically hit the wall. But I pushed it out and made myself keep running to the finish line, where I saw my husband screaming at me - ordering me to sprint. Yeah right! It took everything I had left, but I did it! I FINISHED!

My time was pretty bad. 2:42. First half marathon and a bum foot - I was being conservative. But nothing stopped me from finishing and that's what's important. I have laid the foundation. All that's left is for me to improve upon it.

I had a great time - once I got out there and started running I was super relaxed, I enjoyed being there with all those other runners and spectators cheering us on. I loved running through town and putting myself up to this challenge - and beating it! Plus I got to spend the whole morning with my husband, who once again was super supportive!

After the race I got some very tasty and satisfying lunch from Genghis Grill. I freaking love that place. Now I'm home, very tired and in pain. But that's alright. Pain is temporary. I can do awesome things!

They tried to stop me

It's been a really wild couple of weeks for me. I'm pretty sure the universe was hell bent on trying to stop me from running my first half marathon.

Not only has training been hard, as I'm sure it is for many people, but I've experienced so many crazy aches and pains while preparing my body for all kinds of brutality the likes of which it has never seen...

Then the foot tendonitis happened. We had the crazy ice storm thing, so no running outside and no power at my house to do any other exercise (kinda need to be able to shower afterwards!)
So I took a week off to rehab my foot. It was getting better, and then...

I got sick. I have not been sick ONCE this fall/winter season, while everyone around me has been sick 2-3 times. Sure picked a hell of a time to get sick... Luckily it was not bad, I am getting over it just in time for the race. I'm coughing up tons of stuff and it's painful, and also won't be fun to run with.. but really I'm just thankful I am feeling well enough to run.

So this morning, after only running once in the past 2 weeks, I went out for a test run of 2 miles and some change. Unfortunately.. my foot has started to act up again. Once again, no great pain, more like a discomfort and it's all creaky again. Grr. What the hell!

Take all of that, and add in the fact that I have *horrible* pre race anxiety. Half marathon - huge scary distance, all the "What if's" creeping into my brain. I am doubting myself. I am worried I might injure myself/hurt my foot/not be able to finish - you name it, I'm scared of it.

But you know what.

Screw all of this. I didn't come this far to be weak now. My foot is not in serious pain. I can't justify not running on the grounds of "my foot feels weird". Maybe it'll be ok. I'm sure it will hurt badly during/after the race, but I can always take care of it. Seems like this is an injury that needs some time to fully heal anyways. So yes, I will go out there, do my best, and see what happens.

I also went to the expo to pick up my packet today. I had never been to a race expo before, and I think it was pretty good (for it being Augusta Georgia) Got the usual freebies, and I even got a free calf massage with one of those cane thingies! I didn't buy the massager because it was $37. Got a free pearly ice pack thing (MUCH NEEDED), Tshirts, signed up for a free post race yoga session - how awesome is that??? Almost bought some topical pain cream, but checked it out online first and realized it was a scam. Went up to a booth for a gym and the stereotypical Mr. Macho Gym Man burst out with "WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS THIS YEAR?" Hello to you too??  I said umm... to do as much as I possibly can, run lots of races... "WHERE DO YOU WORK OUT??"  "Umm.. at home, outside... "
Dude, you are going to scare away every single potential customer if you keep doing that. It was pretty humorous.

Anyway.. about to go get some rest before the big day. I'm so scared.. excited.. everything!

First Half Marathon - A Big Maybe

Sigh.

Can't believe this crap.

So I've developed some tendonitis on top of my right foot. No idea how or why. The pain isn't too terrible, pretty mild actually. However it is very tense and "creaky" is the best way I can put it.

I went on a test run yesterday and it was pretty much terrible. Not even really because of the foot. The foot hurt (mildly) the entire time which concerns me. But not only was I going really slow because it was super windy, I had some side cramps from hell which made me stop and walk. My hip is super tight from not exercising all week and this was a sign that I definitely need to stretch it more.

But yeah, the foot is concerning me. The way it is right now I don't think I should run the half with it. This is one of those things that's altering my running form, and while it isn't terribly painful I feel like I could get a spasm all of a sudden, or that one wrong move would make it tense up badly. People are saying mixed things about whether to run through this or not, but at the end of the day I need to listen to what my body tells me. This would be my first half and I don't want to do something stupid. As much as I desperately want the Augusta Half Marathon to be my first HM, I have upcoming races in March and April and I would hate to not be able to do those all because of my own stubbornness and pride.

Over the course of the next week I'll be doing everything in my power to make this foot runnable again. Then I'll have to make a judgement call on whether or not to run the half.

I am going to try to get activity in as best I can, but unfortunately today I couldn't do my yoga. I forgot how many planks and upward facing dogs there are in my yoga video. Those do not agree with the cranky foot. I went through 2 sequences then realized "Oh yeah, there's going to be like 50 more of these..." So I bowed out. I did have a lumberjack moment with my husband today - we cut down a tree that fell on our fence during the ice storm. I pretty much suck at lumberjacking but it was fun to try!

Tomorrow I'll see if I can do a workout, and keep rehabbing away... and try to come to terms with whatever may happen.

A crazy week

Where have I been???

I kind of took a week off there ...

It's pretty much been a combination of having a stressful weekend, not feeling well Monday (not sick, just a headachey/crappy feeling) and the rest of the week has just been weather.

LOTS OF WEATHER!

The Great Georgia Ice Storm!

Yes, round 2! This has been so crazy. How are we getting snow/ice twice in 3 weeks?

Even my garden gnome was scared.

Thankfully this was all that happened to us. Alot of people had some bad damage to their properties.

Us southerners aren't used to this type of thing. So naturally I didn't go out running in it. My plan was to at least do an indoor workout during the days I had off, but our power was flickering and I decided maybe getting drenched in sweat and being unable to shower probably wasn't the best idea. Then we lost power for 1 day, and went adventuring around town. Everyone was going absolutely nuts, raiding the gas stations and stores that were open. We managed to find a hot meal after about 5 hours. What else were we supposed to do, sit at home in the dark and stare at the walls? We did play cards at home for awhile but that can only get you by for so long.

It's probably for the best that I had this week off, because out of the blue I seem to have developed some tendonitis on the top of my foot. No clue how this happened, but I'm currently rehabbing and hoping it won't hold me back from the half marathon next weekend... It's not terribly painful but it does have its moments. I had planned on running 6 miles tomorrow, but now I'm not so sure. I think I will just go out and see how it feels. If it starts bothering me I'll stop. Please just let me do this half marathon... I have trained so damn hard and dealt with all kinds of crazy aches and pains... this can't be the thing that stops me 1 week before the race.

It's definitely been a crazy week. I guess I have to expect the worst and hope for the best.

Addicted to Pain

It's Monday night, and my arms are shaking as I type this.

I just finished a round of Ironstrength. It's still really hard. BUT, I am getting better. This was my third time doing it and I'm already noticing improvement

Jump Squats - 6 sets of 15

First time - tired at set 2

Third time - tired at set 4

Burpees - did 4 sets of 10, but I spaced it out instead of doing them all at the end because I knew I'd be way too tired. Huge improvement from my previous 20 burpees, and on my first attempt at this workout I only did 4 before collapsing from exhaustion.

I took shorter breaks between the sets, which to me is a big deal because this is very tiring stuff.

Finally I did every single damn thing they ask you to do, EXCEPT the 1 legged squats. It's not a strength or endurance issue, it's the fact that they are impossible for me to do correctly. Those are inhuman. I don't think the body was meant to bend that way. 

I'm really glad I am starting to see an improvement here. For only doing this workout 3 times I'd say I'm not doing too badly. Right now I'm feeling pretty accomplished. Tired, but accomplished!

Side note - I was listening to music while doing this workout, and during my last set of burpees guess what song comes on? "Addicted to Pain" by Alterbridge. I thought to myself, "Bring it on"

Yesterday I didn't do any physical activity because I was just super tired from the previous day's long run. I figured a good recovery day was in order. Tomorrow I will be deathly sore, but I plan on knocking out a little 2 mile easy recovery run. I've been reading about this whole "active recovery" concept in which your muscle soreness fades faster if you move more, as opposed to sitting around doing nothing and letting that lactic acid build up. I kind of want to investigate this theory.

Laters!

Double Digit Club

Long run Saturday. Holy god. I am so tired right now.

Today's was 10 miles. This is the longest run I will do before the Augusta Half - next weekend I will back down to 8, then 6 on the weekend before the half. From what I have come to understand, as long as I can run about 10 miles and get multiple long runs in I should be good to run the 13. I am not following an official training plan, however I have studied some plans so I'm not completely brainless going into this thing.

Once again everything really started to hurt during the last 1.5 miles or so. I really had to dig deep for this one and harness all my mental willpower to get me through that 1.5 miles. I just kept telling myself I KNEW I could do it, I had already come so far, what's another 1.5 miles really? After my little mental pep talk I just shut off my brain for awhile and tried not to think about it. Focused on the scenery, the people passing me by, what I was going to do (and eat) afterwards, etc. I ran the whole thing, got through to the end and hobbled back to my car. This run was slow as hell too. I am so used to wanting to go fast, but I am really forcing myself to slow down to avoid burning out and injuring myself. This run's pace was in the 11's. I don't like it but my goal is to FINISH the HM and RUN the whole thing.

Half marathon training is hard. I am loving it though, it feels great to be able to push my limits. I feel great about myself and the fact that I can run 10 miles. It hurts but I also feel so great afterwards. I've been in a great mood all day.
The half is going to be the most challenging thing I have ever done. And it's only the beginning of the things I have in store for 2014

Now my body can rest up a bit as I taper down the miles. Tomorrow I was gonna do a strength workout but I think I will yoga instead, and maybe do strength Monday.

According to my watch I burned 1260 calories. You know what that means.

CUPCAKES.

Yeah. Don't judge me. I haven't had cupcakes from a shop in a long time and I figured long run day would be perfect to try some new ones. I cut the smores one (top left) in half and ate it, was pretty good except it's whipped frosting - not my favorite. The one on the bottom left is called "Power Up" apparently it's a "healthy?" cupcake, made with things like oatmeal and applesauce. Sounds like something I would make, I kind of had to get it.

I'm going to go pass out from exhaustion/sugar. Later yall