Defeating the Defeator

By request of my husband, we ran the Sound to Narrows course with several other run club buddies in lieu of running over the Narrows Bridge. At first I was seriously bummed that we were going to run a difficult 7.5 miles with at least 60% uphills, which included some hills that seriously kicked my butt during the Tacoma Marathon. Since that marathon, I have been somewhat turned off by Pt. Defiance, and especially by Vassault hill. I can still very clearly remember how crappy I felt during the marathon and I really didn't feel like reliving that experience.

We woke up late and had only 15 minutes to get dressed and leave the house. Perhaps this was a good thing because it didn't give either of us time to talk ourselves out of running. Today's group was a generally fast crowd, so I started in the back. Mike, of course, took off with the leaders and were at least 100 yards ahead within no time. It was a little hard to get warmed up and it felt like we were running through molasses at first. I felt warmed up by about 2.5 miles and decided to go ahead a push a little. I felt good and encouraged by the fact that I felt so good. Somehow, I had already managed to maintain a 9:55 average pace and thought I could probably keep it up through the park. My confidence shot right up when I approached and passed Angela, Eric and friends. My goal then became to try to stay ahead of them for as long as possible. Suddenly, I realized that I was only about 50 meters behind Mike and Dan. I only had 3.5 miles to go by this point, so I had to see what I had in me. I picked it up a little more. It took about a mile, but I caught up with them!!!! Woooo hooo! Mike, bless his heart, offered to continue on with me for a good push to the end. We made it all the way up Vassult to the finish, maintaining a sub 10-min. pace, without cramps, without bladder pain and without bonking.

Now that's what I call a good hard run! I was able to overcome my recent aversion to hills and Mike was able to push through a great run on his recovering ankle. Today was a great day for a run.

Thoughts about: Headaches and recovery, friends, pacing, and chest pain

Headaches and recovery: It took me a little longer than I wanted to recover from Tacoma, regardless of my little bladder issue. It's just so amazing how the slightest difference in race settings can have such huge effects on the body. I went 4 days without running and still felt pretty lethargic for my first recovery run. I think the part of the recovery that was fighting off infection hit me pretty hard. By the end of the following weekend, I thought I was bouncing back and even planned a longer run for the weekend after that. Then, the next week, I missed out on my runs again, this time because of long, loooooong tiring hours at work. By the end of that week (5/15/09) I was pretty wiped out. I had an on-going headache that kept me from sleeping well and made my work day very inefficient...which in turn caused me to work even more hours. I finally got my butt out the door, headache and all, on Sunday, May 17th. Strangely enough, the easy 5 miles made my headache disappear! This led me to believe that the headache and fatigue were side effects of so many consecutive days without exercise - Just another reason to keep motivation to get out and run!

This last saturday (5/23/09), three weeks post-marathon, I finally felt back to normal. I managed to run 17 miles with some great running friends.

Friends: After so many solo runs, including breaking off from the run club to maintain a comfortable pace, I almost had forgotten how enjoyable a run with friends can be. This last weekend, all of my runs have been with friends. The conversations can get very creative! I have this theory that if every human being made it a habit to go running with friends, then we could get enough creative juices flowing to solve all of the world's problems. Tall order, I know.

Pacing: After my experience at Tacoma, I have decided to get back into a run-walk (9-min. run/1-min. walk) routine for all runs over 4 miles. This routine has proven beneficial on the shorter runs, but I think it will take some repetition and practice to get it working for me on the longer runs. The shorter runs have been faster than 10 min. miles. My longer runs however, have remained closer to 11. Although my goal is to finish feeling good, I must admit that I am disappointed because I ran Eugene two years ago at a 9:55 pace. I would like to get back to the level of fitness where a sub 10 minute pace is about 70-80 percent effort level for a marathon. On the flip side, my last long run included lots of walk breaks and averaged a 12 minute mile; and after 17 miles, I felt like I could keep going for a while. I guess I will just have to see what happens in my next marathon - Green River on June 6th. I am definitely feeling ready!

Chest Pain: So, I've had this little issue that I have been ignoring for over a year now. I noticed it last summer when I took a running class and ran every single day of the week for two months. Everytime I would start my run, regardless of effort level, I would have this little sharp pain in my chest, right behind my left breast. I can't quite tell if it's centralized in my ribs or if it goes deeper than that. It goes away by the first few miles, but I feel it at the beginning of most of my runs. Lately, I have noticed it more, but I don't know if that's because I am more aware of it or if the pain is more intense. I am sure that I should go to the doctor about it, but I am really turned off by my current experiences and the hassle it takes to see the doctors that I need to see. I know it will start with a general doc appt. ($10 co-pay). Then they will probably refer me to cardiology (another $10 co-pay). Since it is a exercise induced pain and I have never seen a cardiologist before, then they will probably set me up with yet another appointment where they will try to replicate the issue in the hospital (another $10 copay). I wouldn't be surprised if they want an x-ray or MRI, which could possibly mean a fourth appointment and co-pay. My fear, honestly, is that they will find that it is a harmless or small issue and some annoying, non-athletic doctor will just tell me that I can't run anymore and there goes another $40+ down the drain. I really didn't appreciate that it took $50 worth of appointments just to get treatment for a bladder infection. I can't afford to keep taking time off of work. Sooooo, I have decided to just ignore the issue just a little longer (since it hasn't killed me yet) so I can finish Green River and set my appointments during the summer months when I don't have to work.

So, that's what's up lately. Can't wait to get that maniac status!

The facts about marathons and bladders (TMI for some)

1. If you have a mild bladder infection and don't know it, running a marathon is an easy way to find out; however, not recommended. Well, unless you like the sensation that you might be giving birth to a spiky alien through your bladder. Not my cup of tea.

2. It is better to have a little bit of fluid in your bladder during strenuous exercise than nothing at all. An empty bladder leaves you susceptible to chafing and bruising of the inner lining, which in turn can cause unwanted bleeding. ick! Although it sounds bad, it's actually a more common thing for endurance athletes than I had previously known.

3. Running dehydrated and with an empty bladder can cause a UTI...if you already have a bladder infection, then your bladder will become inflamed during a marathon.

4. Kidney failure is also a possibility when blood is in the urine (but not in my case, thank goodness), which is why it is important to get yourself checked out by a doc. Be sure to tell them you ran a marathon, though, because otherwise they may freak out at your blood work results.

4 1/2. Trying to draw blood from someone who is very dehydrated and afraid of needles is no easy task. Those little veins dodge the needle like a plague. Also, it is an evil doing to deplete blood from someone who has just run a marathon while trying to fight off an infection. It makes them feel very crappy and slows their recovery. AND, if you ask me to come back and give you more blood within the same week, I will say NO....so there!

5. Never trust a doctor who obviously knows nothing about endurance sports in relation to body chemistry. They will try to pretend they know what they are talking about. Also, if you are seeing blood in your urine, and the doctor tells you that you're fine, even if you feel fine, always have someone get a second look. In my case, I was first told I was fine and then told by someone else that I had an infection. I ended up missing a day of work and spending extra money to do the testing all over again because of a lazy doc who didn't really take a good look at my results.

6. The longer you put off treatment for a bladder infection, the crappier you will feel, and the greater the risk of this leading to kidney issues. Thus refer back to number 5.

7. Depending on the severity of the infection, your antibiotic dosages can span from 2 pills a day for three days up to the standard 10-day regimen. If you take the sulfer-based antibiotics you will be forced to drink much more water than comfortable and have to stay out of the sun. Yippeee!

Tacoma City Marathon Race Report

Saturday, May 2 - The Eve of TCM: I really took advantage of having a whole day to rest up, take it easy and be ready for my second marathon in two months. I only ran 2.5 miles today. In the afternoon I went to my routine massage to help work out all of the tight areas so I could start the race with "fresh" muscles. Finally, I made a quick stop at the store for a disposable poncho and some salty pretzles. I actually slept pretty well tonight, feeling relaxed and ready to go.

Race Day: I woke up right on time, feeling well-rested. Yay! The day turned out unexpectedly clear. The day before was very, very rainy and windy. This was a nice surprise as I don't recall any sunshine in previous years. Many of my run club buddies were at the start line, while I was mentally cheering for more buddies who had taken advantage of the early start. I later realized that an early start would have been nice as there were many parts of the course that were totally exposed to the sun. Although the temperature would have been perfect for a picnic or a walk at the park, it was just a few degrees too hot for me while running.

The first few miles were refreshing. The course starts slightly down hill so we (Angela and I) started off a little bit faster than I planned. This pace, however, gradually decreased as we made the first hairpin turn to go back uphill. By mile 3, I realized that I was probably starting off too fast. I took a walk break and let Angela fall ahead for a minute. Then I caught her again in one of the shady parts of mile 4 1/2. This was a great day to tour the neighborhoods of North Tacoma as the trees were in full bloom, people were out with their cute little dogs and the sky was blue. The only complaint I had (besides the hills) at this point were the ever-changing and unpleasant odors (aka the tacoma aroma). By mile 7 my tummy was feeling a little icky, but I chalked it up to the constant smell of exhaust, factories, etc. I tried to ignore it and keep pace with Angela. This probably wasn't the best idea, but part of me was wanting to hurry up and get to Pt. Defiance to get out of the sun. I was definitely overdressed and the temperature felt like it was climbing quickly.

Along Ruston Way we were about one mile short of beating the elite half-marathoners to their turn around point. I am glad they caught us though, because we got to cheer on our friend Ruth, who took first woman in the 1/2 marathon! Go Ruth! By the end of Ruston Way and through the tunnel I was certainly feeling the consequence of taking off too fast. I have nobody to blame but myself because I certainly know better than that. At mile 11, my dad was waiting to cheer us on. I gladly handed him my long-sleeve layer of shirt and let Angela continue to fly along without me.

Pt. Defiance was a welcome challenge to me at this point. The beautiful old growth forest provided endless shade to help me cool off and the hills were distinct enough that I could give myself permission to walk them without guilt. This I did. Also, the air was remarkably fresh. The previous day's rain tamed the pollen so many of us could breath in every drop of oxygen without struggle. The coolest part about this part of the course is that I came across my high school track coach! She was a very important figure in my childhood and definitely inspired me to keep running despite adversity. This was over 10 years ago and she still remembered me. :) I gave her a hug, a big smile and then continued on. As we parted she shouted "go, Mo, go" which was such a great boost of confidence for me. For one thing, "Mo" was my nickname in high school, and she shouted the same three words to me over and over again during track season. What a great moment!

Approaching the "big dip" as I left Pt. Defiance, I started to wonder how the second half of this race would go. All though the shade had cooled me off, my fatigue level was comparable to this mileage point of my very first marathon. I was not looking forward to the next couple of miles, which included Vassault hill (insert scary music here). Thankfully, my dad had promised to meet me at the top, so I seriously banked on that to get me up - even walking felt draining. I could feel myself approaching the dreaded wall that I eluded at Yakima and hoped to avoid again this day. Unfortuantely, when I approached the mile 17 aid station, I had no positive energy left. Despite my dad and step mom totally cheering me on, my stomach was churning, my bladder area was starting to really hurt and I could have easily just laid down in the middle of the road and fell asleep. Ugh!

At mile 18, I was still chugging along to meet a 4:45:00 marathon time, but my abdomen was seriously protesting. Miles 18-22 were about 70% walking. I tried to keep my walking fast, but the bouncing around really aggravated my pain. I confess, this seriously sucked. I've never felt so crappy in any endurance race in my life. I was happy to see my dad, Rich and Sonya at Cheney Stadium (mile 22) who chatted with me and gave me a few moments of distraction as I waited for the porta-potty. At this point, I thought my bladder was going to explode. Funny that only about 1 tablespoon of urine loss gave me enough relief to carry on. I felt depleted of nutrients and water, but at the same time, the bladder pain and nausea made nothing sound good. I walked a good part of this mile as I tried to get down some pretzels with the idea that more sodium would help me absorb the little water I could stomach. For the next couple of miles I tried and tried to get back to jogging, but it just HURT. Honestly, I had no idea how to respond to this situation. First of all I did not expect the sunshine, so that discomfort in itself was enough to take me down. I even had some calf cramping, but that seemed like a tiny problem compared to this unexpected pain in my abdomen.

Finally, I took advantage of one more porta-potty and at mile 24, I went for it. I felt like I was sprinting, but I was probably plugging away at about a 12 minute pace. I just wanted so badly to be done and I was proud of myself for getting this far. Anything that was a slight uphill, I walked. Anything flat or downhill I plugged along as fast as I could handle. The big downhill on the way to S. Tacoma Way was just a bit too steep for comfort. Every step sent another sharp jolt to my abdomen and I was certain that an alien was going to pop out of my bladder. There were (thankfully) lots of police officers guarding intersections here so I really tried to keep my focus on thanking every one that I passed. Like in most marathons, that last half mile or so seems longer than all previous ones, but today, it felt like another marathon. Funny, though that I found myself repeating my blog title, "one foot in front of the other", knowing that eventually I would have to reach the finish.

The finish was littered with lots of familiar faces. This was great! Cheers to all of those involved in making this race happen.

To be continued (with bladder updates)...

Today's thoughts while running...

• If I expect to feel crappy for the first 5-10 minutes of my run, knowing that once I warm up I will feel great, then getting started ain't so bad.
• As a runner, I feel so incredibly fortunate to live in the Pacific Northwest.
• I strongly believe that if I can maintain marathon level fitness, I can completely do away with my routine panic/anxiety medications. That would be awesome!
• I wish I had a blue Subaru Forrester with a bike rack and a sun roof. I also wish I had a million dollars. Then I could drive the country and run 50 states. Yeah, that would be cool.
• I wonder if Mike will manage to get back from NTC without hurting himself. Then he could run with the club again! Yay!
• Oh, back to wishing I had a million dollars...I would also hire a landscape designer and some landscapers to help me make my yard become a botanical heaven.
• I just realized how much meeting with the running club and running in general has become a routine fact of life. That's kinda nice, I think.
  
• And finally....masters project, masters project, masters project....oh crap, I better getting working on that today!

Happy running everyone!

Round 2 "Ding Ding!"

It's official. I'm registered for the Tacoma City Marathon. Race #2 in my quest to become a maniac. I'm still bummed that I can't go down to the redwoods this year, but being in my hometown with familiar faces is a good thing too. Plus, this will be my first time doing the full marathon in Tacoma. I've always been a volunteer. The hills shall be a good fun challenge.

April 20th Update: Yesterday I ran 14.76 miles with Angela. We did three loops around Pt. Defiance just to make sure we still had our marathon legs ready for Tacoma. It was a beautiful, beautiful morning and a good, challenging run. I am now feeling much more confident about this hilly marathon, especially because we averaged about one minute faster per mile than I did in Yakima. Woo hoo! I just have to remember to start out sssssssssloooooow because I just found out that the course now includes Vassault Hill, which will come shortly after the climb up to Ruston, the hilly 5 mile drive and that "dip and climb" after you come out of the park. Yay! We love hills (you decide if this last sentence is realistic or sarcastic...i'm not sure right now).

Report: Yakima River Canyon Marathon

And so I have begun my 3-in-3 race plan to become a marathon maniac. I have to say that I couldn't have chosen a better marathon to start off this journey. I had no idea what to expect, because I heard a lot of great things about this race. I also had my worries that it would be desolate and boring, based on my personal opinions about that area of Washington State. Much to my surprise, this turned out to be a wonderful, well-organized race with some of the best scenery so far. The walls off the Canyon sported great rock formations mixed with desert type foliage and a few small farms. The base of the canyon held the peaceful Yakima River, which looked quite inviting, especially when there is no shade in sight. There is something very majestic about being in a canyon. I felt very tiny and amazed by nature. I think those who live here are very, very lucky.

Two days before the marathon I started to get that pre-race excitement that makes it hard to focus on other things. By the end of the day, however, I started feeling like I was coming down with something and my sinuses hurt. Without hesitation I sucked down my Airborne tablets and rested whenever possible. By Friday, I was starting to doubt myself. Worries that I had not trained enough, or that I would feel even worse on marathon day started to cloud my head. I also have had some "down" days lately and I started to wonder if those stressors would consume me during the race. I had a really hard time getting to sleep. I had to get up to pee literally every 20-30 minutes, which I think had to be a combination of nervousness and my body fighting off this sinus thing. I even had one of my oh-so-familiar panic attacks. The longer I struggled to sleep, the more doubtful I became. Eventually, I was just too exhausted to care and I managed about 5 hours with some pee breaks. It really helped to have Mike there to remind me of all of the things in life that I had already overcome and this was just one little marathon. I had already trainined and I had a plan. There was nothing more I could do but get my butt out there and run my best.





A few of the Puyallup Y-run club girls getting ready before the race.







Race morning was full of positive energy, sunshine and very cold temperatures. Even with three layers, a beanie cap, gloves and a jacket I was freezing my tooshie off! I think it was 28 degrees or something like that. As soon as we all gathered to the start line, all of those previous doubts were gone. I also decided not to display my time or mile splits. Instead, my garmin fields included total calories burned (this is very motivating), total distance to the 100th of a mile (which is necessary to follow through with planned walk and fuel breaks), and total average pace (which helps me monitor if I am pushing too hard or not hard enough without worrying about total time). The next thing I did was give myself permission to not have any other goals besides to finish feeling good. It's amazing how much stress that takes off of the run.







Finally getting feeling back in my hands, feet and face around mile 3.





I was really pleased with how the whole thing was put together. It was well organized and the aid stations were in just the right places. I never felt like I would be compromising progress or my overall plan when I had to stop at an aid station. Honestly, the only one that was hard to stop at was the last one because it was halfway down the hill and I had gathered up great momentum. I even told them that they should have an emergency pull off ramp like they do for semi-trucks on some mountain passes. I really have to give a huge thumbs up to all of the race support people. Everyone was so encouraging and accommodating. I never came across anyone that wasn't willing to help or that was stupid enough to try to tell me that I was "almost there" at mile 20. Best of all, I came across a lot of running buddies throughout the course who were also racing that day. This was quite helpful since I currently do not have a functioning I-pod.

The first 15 miles or so were very easy going. I walked about every mile for about one minute. I made sure to soak in the scenery and enjoy the rising, but still very mild temperature. At about mile 15.5, my feet started reminding me about that little injury that I had three weeks ago. The road way was rarely level, so I probably added an extra 1/4 to 1/3 of a mile to my total distance as I would weave from one side of the road to the other trying to find the flattest part. Most of the time I ran in the gravel, hugging the guard rail, but that became hard on the calves at times. By mile 16 I decided to give myself permission to walk whenever I felt like it. That translated into taking a short walk break or alternating walks and runs on all of the inclines and then letting gravity pull me on the down hills. I eventually had to whip out the ibuprofen because my foot was nagging me and starting to bring a little self-doubt with it. By mile 19 I realized that I was still feeling relatively strong compared to my previous marathons. My legs only barely ached. This was very good!

When mile 20 came around, I started to worry a little bit about "the hill" that everyone was talking about. This is a 1+ mile incline situated in the race around the time that many people "bonk" or hit "the wall." That stupid little doubt goblin kept bugging me. I shooed him out by realizing that quitting now would be embarrassing and turning back would just be ridiculous. Then I found my distraction - a series of hand-made signs placed every 100 meters or so. Luckily for me, I had my cell phone with me, so I had a great excuse to take frequent breaks up the hill to take pictures of the signs. About halfway up the hill was a lady with a little boombox cheering me on, playing YMCA, and dancing around. Yes! Another great moment of encouragement, at just right place and just the right time. Thanks lady, whoever you are! They also made sure that the accomplishment of making it to the top didn't go unnoticed. In addition to one more encouraging sign was another little boombox playing Olympics music! Nice!

The veiw as we came down the other side of the hill was wonderful. The river water reflected the deep blue sky and was lined with some humble evergreen trees. At this point in the race is when all doubt finally disappeared and I knew it was going to be a good marathon. For the first time ever, I made it to mile 23 without hitting "the wall" and my legs felt pretty good. This is when I decided that it was okay to push a little harder and not worry about saving anything for the end. For the next three miles, I gradually passed people and made sure to say "good job" to each and every one of them. I was pretty certain that many of them weren't feeling as good as I was and I would have needed every ounce of encouragement if I were in their shoes. The finish line came up pretty quickly...again, a new marathon experience for me...and I instantly spotted my faithful #1 fan, my hubby, waiting to snap a picture and cheer me on.

Another great thing about small races is that the finish line announcer introduces you as you cross the finish line. I think that is so cool! Sometimes people would cross and the announcer would tell us that this was their first marathon or their 100th marathon or 200th marathon or 600th marathon. Regardless this was quite inspiring.

The next couple of hours after finishing, my body reminded me that I was still trying to get over that stupid sinus infection. My tummy was a bit queasy and I had a little bit of a head ache. A delightful meal of burger and fries from Sonic did the trick and we were headed back home. At this point, I was surprised that my body did not have the unbearable ache that it usually does after marathons; but after getting stuck for a couple of extra hours trying to drive over the pass and having to sit still in the car, my body began to remind me of what it had just endured. We finally got home at 8:30pm and getting out of the car was rough. My hips were really sore from having to run on slanted roads all day. My feet were swollen and I also discovered that I had gotten sunburned - another marathon first for me. I stretched out for about 30 minutes before sucking down lots of water and lying down to catch up on all of the sleep I had lost the night before.

All-in-all, this was a wonderful marathon experience. I am proud of myself for pushing past my moments of doubt and allowing myself to enjoy my run. I listened to my body and did everything right to achieve my goal. I almost can't wait until my next race.