Meb Strong

Congratulations, Meb!

 

I was fortunate enough to be able to stream the last few minutes of the men's race because it fell during my lunch. I could hardly believe my eyes when the Boston Marathon Twitter feed kept telling me Meb was holding on to the lead. I had wanted to believe so badly when Shalane was leading earlier, that I tried to tell myself not to get reeled in. (But a giant congrats to her as well on the PR! I'm definitely not trying to downplay what she did do.)

No one around me at work had a real appreciation for the race, so I was left to flail silently in my cube while I watched the last two miles. It was like having to watch the Rose Bowl quietly - almost impossible. 

I wanted to jump up and shout at Meb to run when I kept seeing Chebet behind him. One of the camera angles made Chebet seem a lot closer than he actually was, but it still made me nervous. I do almost feel bad the top men get caught up with the "slower" elite women, I would freak out if I had people passing me that weren't actually in my race when it was that close!

I was thrilled when I watched Meb somehow power even harder once he hit the 1K to go mark. His joy at winning was infectious. I don't think I'll ever forget his face when it really sunk in that he had done it.

 

I can't even begin to imagine how hard he must have worked every single day for this moment, especially as an older athlete, often counted out despite his many (and recent) achievements. 

This is the first time in my life that an American has won Boston. International sports are pretty much the one time I trot out my patriotic horse, but I honestly didn't expect to feel this emotional about seeing a countryman break the tape. While my running career has been short, I think I've always sort of known that African runners will win and anything else is a complete fool's dream and there's a great bridge available for sale if you're interested.

Watching Meb's victory inspired me. In the back of my mind, I've always wanted to qualify for Boston, but unless the BAA wanted to give me a 90 minute grace period, that wasn't going to happen any time soon. I always joke when non-runners ask that the plan is to live until I'm 70 and not get slower. But today made me reconsider.

I have 15 weeks between Hatfield-McCoy and Monument...the Hanson's Marathon Method calls for an 18 week program, with the ability to tweak the first four or five weeks. I know I have lots of room for improvement. This training cycle has given me a better base and gotten me comfortable with pacing myself through much longer runs. It's unfortunate that I've been set back by two colds and an injury, but I'm going to persevere despite that.

I realize that running four marathons in 49 days isn't a typical training plan, but my goal (other than to finish and enjoy them) is to become more comfortable with the marathon distance and how I respond to it. I'm way underachieving based on my 10K PR, so I think with a different training method I could drop a lot of time (relatively) easily. I don't think a 3:34:59 is anywhere in my near future, but I will focus on getting close to a sub-4. I realize that's relatively arbitrary, but I feel like I would be mentally ready to approach qualifying for Boston if I can get in the neighborhood.

Maybe in a couple years I too will get the honor of wearing an unicorn jacket.

Because right now I'm a lot closer to this.

Injury Doldrums

It's been awhile since my last post, obviously because I have been doing some intense workouts...working out my self-pity muscles, that is. For those keeping score at home, there are 20 days until my next marathon. More importantly, my four marathons in 49 days block starts with that race. The goal was to get to the first starting line healthy and fit and take it easy from there. Unfortunately, my body had some other plans. 

 

Three weeks ago I started running again after taking a week off for illness. I capped that week off with a 16 mile long run. I was tired and sore afterwards, but that was to be expected. I assumed the extra soreness was just my muscles complaining about the shift in workload. I spent the next week hobbling around and convincing myself that everything was totally fine (stairs were always super painful, right?). I realized it probably was something more serious when multiple coworkers started to ask why I was walking so funny. (Maybe also when I couldn't get shotgun in the lunch carpool because I couldn't hobble fast enough.) Both my quads felt like I had destroyed them.

I finally broke down and did what a sensible person would do - I rested. Then I did my planned 20 miler. Whoops.

The problem was the rest didn't help at all. Not as in, it started feeling better and got worse again because I came back to soon, as in I did nothing for four days, and the stairs were just as painful. I tried yoga and swimming, which helped a bit, but it did nothing to come close to solving the problem. Any time I attempted a running motion, I felt like I was going to fall flat on my face and only made forward progress with sheer willpower. It was no fun.

 

I know I complain about running, but I do love it. I could have forced myself to keep running sure, and even did so on multiple occassions, but I could never get into the zone and just enjoy. I caved and asked a running friend for advice, and she suggested massaging it with a tennis ball. After picking up dog-themed tennis balls from the pet store (I was already there and was too lazy to make another stop), I tried it out. I could feel quite a bit of tension releasing from my quads. I started getting hopeful, but it still wasn't enough. I could finally walk mostly normally and use the stairs without pain, but I had the same problem when I tried to run.

Last week I knew I had to do something, anything, to try to solve the problem. I headed to urgent care on my lunch one day. It seemed like all the stars were aligned to find a solution - the urgent care is run by the University of Michigan (I know I trash on UM, but even I will admit they have excellent medical facilities), attached to a major hospital, and I got to see a sports medicine MD. Do you know what he suggested - rest. The whole point of going was to resolve an issue that didn't respond to rest, and he just prescribed more of it.

Honestly, the kicker was when he prescribed a blood test to check my calcium level, even though he outright admitted there's no evidence cramping and calcium levels are related. He also recommended PT to strengthen my quads, but considering I regularly lift to do that already, I wasn't about to do that either.

I was getting desperate at this point, so I went to my last resort - I called a chiropractor for a sports massage. There's a clinic in town that's an official Ironman partner and advertised various athletic services, included ART. I called and got the nicest receptionist ever. She even took the time to look up what my insurance would cover and explained how the visit would go. (I've never been to a chiro before.) She was apologetic that the soonest they could fit me in was the next morning.

This is probably going to sound like an ad for the chiro, but it was so amazing I want to share with everyone. Seriously, if you need sports-related help and live in mid-Michigan, check them out. The facility was clean and fresh, and everything was running on time, and they had no problem letting me change there, since I had come from work.

I first went with the doctor to a consult room to discuss the problem. As soon as I said it didn't respond to rest, he was concerned. Already miles ahead of the dude the day before. He also got infinite bonus points because, as soon as I said I had a marathon coming up, he said our goal would be to get me to the starting line ready to run. A++, sir.

Our second order of business was to do a range of motion test. I knew there was some sort of problem when he had me do overhead squats and repeatedly asked if I was going as low as I could. (I honestly had no idea I should have been able to go lower.) We wrapped up with leg lifts, where he seemed shocked with how not-high I could lift my leg. Apparently a normal person can easily lift their leg completely vertical, I could barely get it halfway.

This picture is super creepy, but the best illustration I could find.

The doctor then immediately diagnosed me with extreme hamstring inflexibility, which means my quads are constantly overloaded. He said our goal is to give me normal range of motion in the hamstrings. I never realized there was something I could do about my inflexibility, I assumed it was innate and could never really be improved.

We then did about 20 minutes of ART. I knew it was going to hurt, but DAMN, did it hurt. The worst was when he separated out each muscle of the quad and applied pressure as I moved my leg. I almost cried on the first one, but I knew it would be worth it. I even got to experience the sudden sweats when he worked a few particularly terrible spots.

As soon as I got up, though, I immediately noticed a huge improvement. That man was like a magician.

I'm scheduled to go twice a week for the next two weeks, and then we'll re-evaluate. I'm really excited that the problem was properly diagnosed and is being addressed. I was told to keep to my normal routine as much as possible. I've decided to replace my lifting days with swimming, since lifting just sounds too painful right now. I've even found a great new swimming program I'm excited to try.

Other than turning my speedwork into easy runs, mostly because I physically can only go one speed right now, my goal is to get back on schedule starting Monday. I've promised myself to cut back if it's excruciating, but my quick (actually very slow) two miler yesterday was so much better than any run has felt in a long time. I'm definitely going to be undertrained when I get to the starting line, but as long as I take less than 6:30 to finish, I'll be a happy camper.

See, there's even a game named after me!

Crossroads Training: Week Eleven

I celebrated my first week of upping my mileage by not actually run any more miles than previous weeks.

And by you, I mean running.

Monday - NROLFW Stage 4 Workout 1B
I switched up the days of my workouts to take advantage of the spring weather. Monday was still pretty gross, so I stayed indoors. I enjoyed that this workout was shorter than the ones at the end of Stage 3 were. I noticed a big increase in strength on some of the exercises.

Tuesday - 5 mi easy
My quads were so cramped I almost face-planted on my first step in front of some small children. Excellent start to a run.

Wednesday - 6 mi easy
I tried my honest best to do a tempo run, but my quads were so cramped my "tempo" pace was edging towards 11 min/mile, I knew it wasn't going to happen. This turned into a run/walk (heavy emphasis on the walk). It was a lot more enjoyable, and I would've done the full seven if my hands hadn't started going numb.

Thursday - Yoga for Hips, Hamstrings, and Back
My quads still had me hobbled, even just walking around work. I tried some yoga instead of running to try to loosen everything up. The hamstring stretches helped by proxy, but I didn't feel that much better afterwards.

Friday - rest
After even more hobbling around, I tried taking the day completely off in preparation for my 20 miler.

Saturday - 20 mi long
I had amazing spring weather for this run! I needed my hat and light gloves but only had to wear my light jacket and capris. The cramping was still there but finally eased up after about seven miles. I got tired shortly after this, so I didn't really have any miles to just zone out during, but that's probably good mental preparation for the race. While I hope and pray this weird issue goes away in a month, I'm not terrified about what will happen if it's still around on race day.

I also noticed a big difference in how I handled the distance in this race. Breaking it into four mile chunks made it feel manageable. I was tired and ready to be done at 20, but thinking of a marathon as that plus one more four mile chunk and the final two feels good. I don't think my time is going to necessarily be much better than before, but I feel like I have a much better base.

Sunday - rest
I was out of town and away from my pool, so I took another rest day instead of my normal swim.

Run: 31 mi, 6:23
Lift: 45:43
Yoga: 26:59
Total Time: 7:35:42

Dealing with this bizarre cramping definitely put a damper on my training this week, but I'm pleased I still had a pretty great 20 miles despite that. It took away a lot of my nerves for the upcoming marathon. And it's definitely nice knowing I only have one 20 miler left outside of races for the next long while.

Here's to 33 days until Crossroads!

Crossroads Training: Week Ten

After battling a terrible cold complete with fever and cough and taking seven days off, I eased my way back into training this week. Other than a few sniffles (some of which were probably brought on by my allergy shot), I felt like I was over my illness.

I did cut back some on the workouts - taking a whole week off to lay on the couch definitely led to some tightness. I also was able to head outside for some runs for the first time in months, and the change in running surface worked a lot of different stabilizer muscles and brought on some extra soreness. But running in the warm sun (hey, 40 degrees feels steamy after this awful winter!) was worth all the pain.

I admit, I realized it was worse than I thought when a coworker today asked me, "Did you go running? You're walking REALLY funny."

Monday - 5 mi easy
This was my first run outside in more than a month (and my first elective run outside in more than two) (and my first run outside where I could maintain a running motion in more than three). It felt amazing beyond belief to feel the sun and listen to the birds while I ran. My legs felt sluggish, but my pace was actually a bit faster than it had been indoors.

Tuesday - NROLFW Stage Four Workout 1A
This workout was nice and familiar, since Stage Four repeats Stage Two, with some modifications. I could really feel the lack of use in my muscles during this workout, but I just focused on intensity. I was still able to go up in weight on some exercises, which was great proof to myself that I am getting stronger.

Wednesday - 3x1600, 800s jogs (+WU/CD)
The weather turned nasty again on Wednesday, so I opted to head back to the indoor track to focus on hitting my splits, rather than how windburned my face was getting. I was admittedly pretty nervous for how the mile repeats were going to go, considering how I felt the previous two days and the amount of soreness that had built up. I was incredibly achy and tight and just off during my warm-up, but that somehow went away the instant I sped up. I haven't felt that smooth and fluid in a long time. Despite my fears, I came in under my goal for all three repeats. (But before you hurt your hands clapping for me, you should know my goal pace was 8:46 min/mile.)

Thursday - rest
My right IT band and quad were incredibly angry at me for being indecisive about which running surface I wanted to use. All my long runs on the track put my right leg on the banked part, so it's still adjusting to extending as far as my left leg. I recovered by sitting on the couch some more and watching basketball.

Friday - 4 mi easy
I had been planning to lift as planned, but I decided to make up my missed run from the day before and take advantage of another nice weather day. My legs felt sluggish, and my IT band absolutely ached, which made me pretty nervous for my long run the next day.

Saturday - 16 mi long
I tried to soothe myself for this long run by reminding myself it is favorite long run distance. It was quite cold when I headed it out, but it warmed up enough later that I was able to remove my hat and gloves, and I even got a little overheated in my heavy jacket. I ran the first three miles with a friend who was visiting (with an obligatory stop at the bizarre Duck Hunters' Memorial), and those miles flew by. 

After we split up, I was so content to listen to the sounds of nature I actually made it to mile ten without putting on my iPod. (Side note: I know some runners get really worked up about no iPods, but I didn't realize how much I used it just to prevent noise fatigue from cars until I got to run somewhere much quieter.)

The last four miles got a little too death-marchy for my comfort level at this stage in the game, but I tried to reassure myself that it was just the time off and the change in running surface. My splits did get generally faster as I went on, so I might just need to go a little slower to feel more comfortable.

Sunday - rest
I truly was planning to swim, but my quads were sharply painful. I honestly didn't think I would be able to generate enough power with my kick to comfortably swim the workout I had scheduled. Plus, Michael was visiting, so I enjoyed a lazy morning instead.

Run: 31 mi, 5:47
Lift: 38:00
Total Time: 6:25

This was a pretty easy week, at least time-wise. I thought I would be able to dive right back into training, but I'm glad I listened to my body and took it a little slower. I have enough time before Crossroads that I doubt a week off will affect anything. (I had to take the week before Sleeping Bear off due to illness, and I still finished relatively okay.)

The big test will be my 20 miler this Saturday. I'll be back visiting the Eager Feet Parents, so I'm excited to have somewhere fresh to get the miles in. (Plus their house will be available for any Code Red pit stops.) I'm also bumping up my total mileage a bit this week because I was starting to get paranoid. I know it won't make any real difference, but a nice mental boost will be nice.

T-5 days until this becomes relevant to my life!

Running Funk

I feel like I am in a running funk. I'm hitting that part of my training cycle where I've done a 20-miler without imploding and just want to get the show on the road. I'm fairly confident I could roll out of bed and run a marathon tomorrow, though it would probably turn into a death march. I'm trying to remind myself another month and a half of work will make the whole experience more pleasant. Plus I know have four marathons scheduled in 49 days, so my time to race extensively is coming.

 

I was thrown for an extra large loop of funk last week when I came down with a cold. I don't own a thermometer, but I'm relatively certain I had a low-grade fever on two or three days. Luckily my work is really flexible, so I was able to work from home quite a bit, but it was my busiest week of the month, so I still had to be in the office quite a bit. 

I had very little appetite the whole week (ie eating two or three pretzels for dinner was a major success), so I took the whole week off running, even when I felt better. I had a 20-miler scheduled and felt weird for skipping it, but I would've hit the wall at about mile two. My system just wasn't fueled properl. I have 16 miles this Saturday and 20 the next, so I feel like my preparation is still going to be adequate. 

Which comes to the next part of my funk - my training plan. I chose to use Runners World's SmartCoach for this training cycle. I liked the fact that I could somewhat customize the plan, and it incorporated what I thought of as "real" speedwork. While the plan is perfectly sound, I think some of my current lethargy is coming from the fact no one sat down and made this specific plan. Obviously someone had to right the program to spit out the workouts, but I'm starting to feel a mental difference. I'm not sure why this is bothering me so much; I like to think I'm smart enough to put together my own training plan if my only goal is to finish, but there's something about doing a run because a computer told you to, not a person.

In that vein, I looked at my race schedule and found I have 15 weeks between Hatfield-McCoy and Monument. I had been waffling about what to do - it wasn't long enough to take a break and build up again, but I didn't just want to sit in a holding pattern for months either. I did a little research and bought myself the Hanson's Marathon Method book.

It would supposed to arrive today, but it got stuck because of the snowstorm. I'm excited to dive into it tomorrow. I'm familiar with some of the plan's key tenets, but I'm eager to learn all the specifics. The plan is supposed to be 18 weeks long, but I read that the first few weeks have much lower mileage and encourage you to mesh your current running with the plan rather than the other way around. I'm incredibly anal retentive and wish I would be able to follow it 100% exactly, so I'll have to let that go.

I'm really hopeful that giving every run a purpose and a specific pace will reignite my passion for training. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to spend my unplanned rest day watching Big Ten basketball.

Crossroads Training: Week Eight

This past week was a step-back week and did it ever feel great. I know building for three weeks is typical for most plans, but I've never done it before, and I can definitely feel a difference in my fatigue levels.

Monday - 6 mi easy
My calves were feeling very tight after my long run, but the track goes the same way on Saturdays and Mondays, so I didn't feel that much better afterwards. I did stay long enough that the basketball games below me finished, and the following peace and quiet helped me recharge.


Tuesday - NROLFW Stage 3 Workout 4B
This was the last workout for Stage 3 of NROLFW! I wasn't exactly looking forward to repeating the sequence again, but I was motivated to complete the stage. The music at the gym was a lot quieter than normal, so I could comfortably listen to a podcast the whole time, which helped stave off the boredom.


Wednesday - 6 mi easy
I wasn't super thrilled to run six miles at the track again, but I felt a lot more fluid in my hips than I have in a long time (probably inhibited by the banked turns). The track was a lot more crowded than normal, so it was probably for the best I was doing an easy run instead of speed workout.


Thursday - 6 mi easy
Another day, another six mile run.


Friday - rest
Rest day! I took a day off from lifting and watched BBC on Netflix with my friend instead.


Saturday - 6 mi easy
I can't even begin to describe how great it felt to only have to run six miles on my long run day. I didn't necessarily go that much faster, but I had a spring in my step.

Sunday - 2800 yd swim
I had a great time swimming with my friend (and not just because I didn't have to share my lane with any weird people). It was so nice to know no one was going to crash into me, plus we hit up the sauna afterwards. We were going to use the hot tub, but it had no water? Still don't understand that one.


Run: 24 mi, 4:25
Lift: 1:08
Swim: 2800 yd, 1:15
Total Time: 6:48

My Running Story

I was inspired to write this by seeing a few other running bloggers I follow post their running stories. Also, I am lazy and wanted to write an "About" section - now I can get double credit for it.

 

When I was in seventh grade - the first year my school district allowed students to participate in sports - I tried out for the basketball team. Unfortunately, I wasn't selected for even the alternate team, so I decided to do track and field, a no-cut sport, with all my friends. While I didn't loathe it enough to outright quit, I hated most of our practices. The one day we had a practice cancellation for rain was like Christmas.

Practices were two hours, five days a week. The first hour was calisthenics, and the second hour involved everyone not naturally talented getting dumped in the field behind my middle school to train on our own. You were expected to be active the whole time, but rarely were you given any real instruction on what to do. (Our main coach was training for his own marathon, so I'm not sure what the disconnect was. He finished his race, so he must've known something about running.)

I was put in the exhibition 220 and also chose to run the 880, as it was open to anyone interested. My crowning achievement was when I did not come in last place. (Full disclosure: it was at the district meet when I got to run against all four other schools.)

Looking back, I understand why I hated track so much. We were all forced to do the exact same workouts and were punished for not performing well enough. I certainly got stronger and probably improved (my times weren't recorded), but it wasn't in a logical way. I wasn't given the tools needed for success; even now I would need to do a lot of research to learn how to train to run the 220 and 880 well (ie not come in last again) - I'm not sure how I was supposed to figure it out as an 11-year-old running laps by myself in a field. (Wearing all cotton and Meijer gym shoes, no less.)

This thoroughly turned me off running, even though it was something I really wanted to do. I think my most distinctive take-away from this phase was that I didn't mind that the training was hard, I minded that I didn't know what I was doing. I vividly remember my grandmother asking why I participated if it was hard (I think I said I was sore after the first week of practice) and being nonplussed by the thought I would quit just because track required effort.

Fat lazy pandas don't put much effort into their image searches, alright?

I moved on to high school, where I took a required gym class the summer before my freshman year. (Over-achiever, hey-oo.) To get 100%, you needed to run a sub-30 3 miles. I was determined to get a 100%, so I spent extra time running on my own. However, it never occurred to me I could run outside (or trade in my Meijer gym shoes), so I did everything on the treadmill, which I hated. Again, with 20/20 hindsight, I can see what I really hated was where I was running, but I had no one to tell me otherwise. I think I ran a 31:something, which, considering I had no base beforehand, was really good for me. My most vivid memory of this whole thing was on "test day," when I ran more than a whole mile without walking and felt like I was flying. Even though I ultimately lost points, that sensation made up for it. (Though I do remember feeling ashamed when my friends had already finished well under 30 minutes and told me I needed to hurry up. Who knows why I prefer to always run alone?)

After that class, I proceeded to play zero sports and stopped running. This is probably my one regret from high school; I really wish I had had the camaraderie of a team for those four crappy years. I do laugh now though, because plenty of people ask if I was some sort of cross-country protege when I tell them I run marathons. (A sport that requires you to run really fast on grass? That sounds like some terrible nightmare.)

But, and this is a big but and it cannot lie, I am also a tiny bit glad I didn't run in high school. Several people I know who did track and/or cross-country now despise running and have given it up. I can't explain how weird it is to be able to run further than someone who I used to think was a fantastic athlete. I'm sure they could still kick my butt when it comes to speed any day, but it's a bizarre paradigm shift I still haven't acclimated to. This might go back to how in my head I'm still the slowest runner on the planet, but that's another story for another day.

Cheesy, but I'm honestly not sure how else to describe it.

Somehow, the tiny desire to run still stayed alive deep inside of me. When I started college, one of my close friends was a runner. She never forced it on me, but seeing someone be a runner day-in and day-out helped show me it was possible, no calisthenics or running on grass required. I started running in short intervals (in a new pair of Meijer shoes), though I made the rookie mistake of sprinting and being forced to walk. This time I kept it up.

One day, when I was staying with my runner friend, we discussed doing a 5K for my upcoming birthday. I found this inspiring and decided to go running. I have no idea what clicked this time, but I focused on running through each song as it came on my iPod, slowing the pace if I needed. As I went longer and longer, I decided I wanted to run continuously to the other side of campus. I was totally winded when I got there, but when I allowed myself to stop I almost fell over the runner's high hit me so hard. It was like what I had felt five years before, multiplied by a factor of 1000.

I managed to run back to my friend's apartment and looked up how far I had run without stopping - two miles. That sounds like so little now, but at the time I felt like a champion. This gave me the confidence I needed to sign up for the 5K. I finished the Run Back to School 5K in 33:48 one day before my 19th birthday. 

Eight years after my first track practice, I could finally call myself a runner.

And I jaywalk right across because a running party don't stop.

That spring I decided I wanted to do something I'd never done before - run four miles without stopping. I set-up two two-mile loops and headed out in the evening. I wanted to stop so badly after the first loop, but I kept going. I was so sore afterwards I hobbled for two days, but I felt like I was ready for more. In the summer of 2012 I ran the inaugural BTN Big 10K in Chicago and loved it. This was the first inkling I had that I might like to go longer, something that once seemed so overwhelming.

I started training for my first half, The Ice Cube Half, after Thanksgiving that year. Marathons had crossed my mind enough that I started reading seriously about them, but they still sounded pretty scary. However, I discovered my favorite part of training were the long runs, when I would just go for hours. I started researching races and signed up for the Sleeping Bear Marathon on January 1, 2013, before I had actually run my half.

After this point I started to learn more about the marathon community, especially about 50-Staters and the Marathon Maniacs. That summer I discovered the Mount Desert Island Marathon would qualify me for the Maniacs and start me on the 50 States path. Eager Feet Mom needed some convincing about why going to Maine during the semester was a good idea, but she eventually came around and became very supportive. When I crossed that finish line, I knew the 50 States was something I really could achieve.

Though my new coworkers probably wish I would stop telling them all about it.