Maine Coast Marathon Race Report

So it has taken me almost 2 weeks to reminisce about this day, but alas, here it goes.....
I started training for this race in January with no goals other than completion of the marathon.  I was so excited to be running again after several months off due to some health problems.  I took the training in stride, almost all of it on a treadmill  due to a harsh winter here in Maine.  My first long run outside was an 18 miler and every joint in my body ached afterward.  In retrospect, its funny to me that I was able to train from 0 to 18 miles on a TREADMILL, when before this winter, I could never tolerate more than 3 miles on that thing.  I am humbled and have learned a new appreciation for this piece of equipment, as I would not have been able to train without it.

Fast forward to Race Day (aka:the hottest day in Maine in 6 months): I was very excited for this race and felt prepared.  I had not logged a ton of miles, but I had hit all of the long runs, and had maintained decent paces (for me) during those runs.  Initially, I had no time goal, but as race day came closer and my running fell into place I decided to make some "loose" goals.  Essentially, I wanted to finish in 4:15 at best, 4:22 at worst.  This seemed realistic, consistent with my training, etc.  "nothin' crazy!"

Cue Race: I neurotically had everything organized, checked once, twice, three x's, etc. everything is ready!  The husband drops me off at Start Line, i head immediately to the Port-a-pot, wait in line for 10 minutes.., oh no, my stomach feels wonky, I start worrying about running and the bathroom,... I take 2 Immodium, which I had in my fuel belt and finally take my turn in the green plastic bathroom.  Now it is 7:25 am, race starts in 5 minutes, still huge lines at the bathroom, Yikes!  I'm off  to the start, got in my assigned 4:15 to 4:30 wave and was ready to go.  This was the smallest marathon I have done: 600 + people, the other 3 were 25,000 + people.  Honestly, I loved the smaller group, right from the start!  

My initial pace was a bit faster than I had planned, but the first several miles of the course had a bit of a downward slope to flat and I felt good, kept my pace conversational 9:30's.   I was happy at this pace, running joyfully through beautiful Southern Maine, tons of spectators for a small race.  I loved it!  I saw Coach Jen at mile 1, then again at mile 6, I was Happy Happy Happy!!!  Then the clouds lifted and I was running right along the ocean, watching the crazy surfers in their wetsuits in the frigid waters, soaking up the beauty of the waves and the coast and Just Maine, when it hit me!  Mile 8: Sun out in FULL, not a cloud in the sky! I'm feeling a bit hot, oh, take some honey stingers, hydrate, ok better...slow down that pace! ok... chug, chug, chug...much better, rounding the turns along the coast. Upcoming "Walker Point", wow, I just ran by George Bush's house, no sighting of the former President, but the Guards at the gate were rooting for me!  I got this!

 Round the corner up a little hill, I do have to pee...perfect a Porta-port!  I knew my pace would suffer, but I wanted to finish comfortably and there was no line, so had to do it!  This was at 12 isn miles, I headed out and started running again, and found a big hill around 13 miles, I  plugged through it, but began feeling tired, so I took out a gel and slowly took it in, good!  feeling better, crossed the 13.1 timing mat..right on target- 2:09!!  Mile 14,15, oh...I'm not feeling so well.. What?? I still have a long way to run,  then i see Coach Jen, she starts running with me... I told her that I didn't feel well, it hit me like a ton of bricks, nausea, dehydration...the legs & lungs were fine, but  I just did not feel good, and honestly, I had not ever felt this suddenly bad during a race before...  She told me to slow down, make sure I hydrate, & lay off the carbs.  I did all of this, slowed way down to the point of not looking at my watch.  I saw a few people walking and one person that was sick and hunched over at the side of the road.  I started to have serious concerns about finishing!  The heat was brutal for me and I was so nauseated.  DNF was not an option, I felt like I had to finish this, even if it was not in the time that I wanted.  I kept running, around mile 18-19, someone sprayed me down with a garden hose, thank you stranger!  I don't know where my pace was at here, but I kept running ever so slowly, but I was Running!  At mile 22, I saw my husband, he had snuck away from work to cheer me on!  (we had a huge scheduling fiasco this weekend!).  He was smiling and taking pictures and I was telling him that I would Never Ever, Ever run another marathon.  He said "4 miles to go and I'll remember what you just said!". The next 4.2 miles were a dehydrated disaster!  I was out of all my fluids, I was terrified to take a gel or anything solid because I didn't want to vomit.  They had cold watermelon around 22-23 miles, which Would have been awesome, but no way was anything going in this gut without immediately coming back out.   Ugh! 2.2 &$@"!? Miles to go.  I was so thirsty, I saw some dude on a bike and asked him for water, he poured some into my bottle.  I sipped some and poured a little on my head.   I quickly regretted not drinking it all.  Then someone showed up on the side of the road and handed me and another runner some mini Poland Spring waters he had in his car.  Again: thank you stranger on bike & kind stranger in car!!  My lips were do dry, I think they were sun burned too. I was in agony!! I poured the water on my head to cool off and drank the rest.  I really needed gatorade or something with electrolytes though!  

Ok, about 2 miles to go... It took forever to get to mile 25, I was so parched and there was nothing I could do!  Where is that Aid Station?  Finally, I see it at the 25.5 mile mark!  I have less than a mile to go, but I stop pour water on my head, than grab a Gatorade and walk for a minute.  Then I start to slowly run again and see the 26 mile sign.  .2 miles to go!  I started to Really Run, knowing that this was almost over!  I can see the Finish Line, there is a turn here & there and I heard the announcer say my name and it was OVER!!!  4:44:12...almost 30 minutes longer than I had planned. I was in pain, disappointed, a little angry with myself.  It was a huge ball of emotions!  

(This is where I say: "I'm never ever doing this again!)

I wanted so badly to have a "good" race, but it was just not my day!  I had trained in 20 to 30 degree weather.  The day of my last long run (in mid April), there was fresh snow & ice on the ground.  Logistically, I know my body was not acclimated to 78 degrees and running this distance, but my heart wanted more!

So, first thing my husband tells me is that he is proud that I finished the race!  Then, he immediately asks "Soooo, this was it?  Your last marathon??"  I firmly answered "Yes, never Again!"

Day After Marathon:  I can barely walk, but had not planned to take the day off work, so as I am hobbling around, my husband checks in "So, I guess that was it for you, you have retired from marathons?"  My reply, "Well, I don't know, I think I need to do that again next year, I just need to train better, be more prepared"... and on and on I went!! :)

Weekly Wrap-up!

It was school vacation, so I knew this week would be tricky trying to get in all my workouts with the kids at home!  I skimped quite a bit on my biking, but I did manage to get my swimming and long run in.   As you can see above, my daughter decided to decorate my favorite  racing visor for an art project :)

Monday 4/21: 6 miles of hills and I nailed it! Woot!!

Tuesday 4/22: 2,100 yard Interval Swim

Wednesday 4/23: 12 miles on my bike trainer

Thursday 4/24: 2,200 yard Endurance Swim

Friday 4/25: 17.65 mile run...went very well!  Now, it's taper time!!

Also, tried to get in all my freggies!  This was my delicious Spinach Sauté.  Very simple: Fresh baby spinach & whatever veggies are hanging out in the fridge sautéed in Coconut oil.  I sprinkle  a little goat cheese on top before serving.

Hope everyone had a great week!  Next week is the last week of the Spring Booty Buster Challenge, so grateful for the support of this group over the past 7 weeks! #sbbc #bestfoot 

22 Miles

My last long run before the Marathon was this past Wednesday.  The night before, I ate my typical pre-long run meal: Salmon burger, salad, & sweet potatoes.  I got plenty of rest that night.  I woke up early to frigid cold temperatures and a fresh blanket of snow covering the ground.  What?  It is mid-April!  I was actually angry and very frustrated!  It was the only day I could do the long run and I just could not bear dodging snow and ice again.  

As I was getting my kids ready for school, I contemplated running it on the treadmill.  "22 miles on a treadmill, am I crazy?" I said out loud.  My 8 year old son replied, "Mom, it's just a little snow!"  Ok, yes, he was right!  As I went to walk him out to the bus, the wind was whipping the branches of the trees around and our driveway was covered with crunchy ice.  What to do?  The "feels like temperature" on the weather report said 17 degrees!  However, it was supposed to start warming up by 10am, but the high winds were not going away.

After many conversations with myself, I decided to "just do it!".  I waited until 9:30am to head out.  I was dressed in my running attire that I typically wear in January.  The first 2 miles were very cold, but once I warmed up, I felt much better.  There was a lot of ice to navigate around though, so I decided to not even look at my pace (of course I did anyway!).  I just wanted to get through this run without twisting an ankle!  By mile 4, I had really warmed up.  The sun was out and the sky was clear and beautiful.  I ended up taking off my hat and gloves and hiding them behind a bush to pick up later.

Initially I was glad I did this, but the wind started to really pick up as I got closer to the ocean.  Below is a picture I took around mile 7, you can see all of the white caps in the water. I was being blown sideways a bit here as I snapped this shot and my hands were freezing cold!  I ended up tucking them in my sleeves for a bit.

I continued to plug away, and despite the high winds & cold, I really felt good.  My legs felt strong and I was surprised at how quickly the first 12 miles passed.  I was not running fast, but my pace was good considering the wind and hills.  The route I was on was so beautiful!  Here is a picture on the way to Little John Island:

I turned around here and headed back home.  At this point, I had a fairly steep hill to climb up, which was the beginning of the pain.  I made it up turned the corner and came across quite a bit of ice on the walkway that I typically run on.  I ended up running on the road, which has no shoulder.  Next, I reached the bridge from Cousin's Island to Yarmouth.  At this point, the cross winds were horrendous.  It took me what felt like forever to get across that bridge.  I held onto my sun visor so it would not blow off.  My pace had slowed down  a whopping 2 minutes per mile as I crossed the bridge!  

I was hoping the winds would die down when I got off the bridge, but they did not.  Next, I had a long moderately steep hill to run up.  This was mile 14 isn and I started to really struggle here.  I felt like I was being pushed backward!

Once I made it up the hill, I turned down a side road and finally had the wind at my back!  Thank goodness!  I tried to pick up my pace again and was able to do so, but I was starting to hurt now.  Unfortunately, quite a bit of negative self-talk started: "How am I going to run 26.2 miles, if I hurt now at mile 16...10.2 miles to go here...What am I thinking?  I should just stick to half marathons!"  It went on for about a mile, until I refocused: "This is a training day, look how far you have come, you can do this!  Most people would not dream of running in this wind!"  "Run the Mile You are In Now!"

I made it to mile 19 with positive self-talk and distraction.  I kept my pace up, "I can do this!"  Then, at mile 20, my joints began to really ache. "Oh my God, 6.2 miles from here on race day, what am I going to do?"  I kept looking at my watch: 20.4 miles, 20.6 miles, 20.9 miles, "Stop looking!!"  I made it to my driveway with .3 miles to go to make it to 22, so I ran back and forth until I hit it!  

22 miles solid.  Ok, I can do this!  I had made it home just in time to shower & head to pick up my kids from school and take them off to their extracurricular activities.  Of course, I could barely walk as I headed into my son's school &  my hair was still wet & I had a ring around my head from my sun visor, but I was happy!  I finally felt ready to tackle the 26.2 miles that await me on Mother's Day!

Back to the Pool!

After an inexcusable amount of time, I finally hit the pool today!  Of course, this was done after a series of arguments with myself: "I need to swim today"..."No, I can squeeze in the swim tomorrow between work, my daughter's ballet class, & my dentist appointment."  The plans went back and forth in my head, until I realized that I was making ridiculous excuses and it needed to be done TODAY!  I say *need* as I am training for a 2.4 mile open water swim that takes place in early July. Now that 2 + weeks have gone by that I have not made it to the pool, I Need to swim!

Swimming always tends to bring out the 'Excuse Monster' in me.  I really do enjoy swimming, but it is something that I am all into and do loyally or not at all!  Unlike biking or running (when I am not training for an event), I may skip several days or even a week without it, then just go for a run or bike. No excuses or talking myself into it, etc.

So today, as I was following my swim set, I contemplated why I had come up with so many excuses not to swim. My conclusion: It boils down to time efficiency and guilt.  I have such a tight schedule between work & 2 young children  involved in a variety of activities.  I have every hour of just about every week day (and sometimes weekends too) planned out.  I have to schedule a minimum of 1 hour 15 minutes of time for swimming no matter what.  If I'm doing a short swim, say 30 minutes, it still takes an hour + by the time I drive to the pool, put everything in my locker, then get in the pool and swim, shower afterwards, etc. I find myself rushing and feeling guilty that I am there instead of...cleaning, cooking, doing laundry,etc.  Not that this does not occur when I am on a long bike or long run, but for some reason swimming brings out the biggest guilt in me!  

And how about those goggle marks?  I am not an overly vane person, but I typically look like I have 2 black eyes after a long swim.  Recently, I hopped out of the pool & showered with just enough time to make it to my son's school for volunteer day.  As I was walking in, I saw a parent friend that quickly asked me: "Are you ok?  You look like you have been crying."  "Uggh, couldn't be better, just had a great swim!"  This does not deter me from getting in my swim time, but it can be a nuisance explaining my raccoon eyes to everyone!

What about you?  Any suggestions on making the most of my pool time?   I wouldn't mind a tip or two about the goggle marks either! :) I would love to hear from you!

Strength vs. Stupidity

(My view at the 4 mile mark)

Their is such a fine line between the two: Strength vs. Stupidity (or Badass vs. Dumbass).  How do we know for sure when we are being strong or just plain stupid?   I am pondering this question after my failed 20 mile run on Friday.

I had just returned home from a fabulous, but extraordinarily busy 5 day vacation with my family on the Wednesday evening before the run.  I had to get up at the crack of dawn Thursday for work and was "running" all day until bed time.  I did not feel well Wednesday night when we returned home and that carried over to Thursday.  In fact, I felt horrible on Thursday.  I was not sure if I was just exhausted, coming down with a GI bug, or needed my gall bladder removed!   

I had my 20 mile run scheduled for Friday and there was really no where to move it too!  I had been looking forward to it and the weather was finally going to cooperate.  I woke up Friday morning feeling a little better, but still had an upset stomach and was a little achey.  I contemplated skipping it, cutting it short,  trying to move it to Sunday, etc. but nothing really worked.  I was worried if I "chickened out" of this run that I would really upset my training plan for my upcoming marathon.  

After wrestling with all of these thoughts, I decided the best thing was to just "Do It".  I headed out to Cousin's Island, it's a 10 mile loop from my house.  I planned on doing this once, then doing another 10 mile loop along the beautiful Foreside Road to complete my distance.  I love these routes and this was the first really nice Spring day here!

I felt ok for the first 5 miles, but I was pretty tight, nothing out of the ordinary though.   I got to the turn around at 5 1/2 miles and kept plugging away, "Ok, over 1/4 of the way done!"  It was a great day, sunny and in the high 40's.  This is my view at mile 7:

I was doing ok here, then had to climb a bit of hill and managed up it when I hit mile 8.  At this point, I had not taken in much fluid, except a few sips of water.  I knew I needed something more, so took a small sip of my coconut water (what I always use during running).  This did not sit well and I started to get a bit nauseated.  In general, I just felt like I was tanking.  

I made a quick decision not to run back by my house because I did not want to have the option to not finish the run.  Stupidity was rearing its ugly head!  I turned around and headed back toward the beach (the lovely view pictured at mile 4).  I was running slow, but I was running.  At mile 10, I took in a few Honey Stingers.  I had been avoiding anything solid, as I did not want to upset my digestive tract.  At mile 11, I was DONE!  Nausea, massive abdominal cramping (different from running cramps) and just exhaustion.  I was so upset I had to stop and walk, which I never do.  I planned on walking a 1/4 mile, then running again.  As soon as I started running, I felt horrible again.  I was several miles from home and was not sure what to do.  Was I being a baby?  Should I force myself to run anyway? After all, my 16 & 18 mile runs went well, despite terrible weather.  I definitely have the cardiovascular capacity to do this run, why is this happening?

I decided to walk/run.  I alternated running & walking between telephone poles.  My belly hurt, I was looking for places that  I could dash off into the woods, if necessary.  I kept at it, then would wonder if this was psychological.  "Clearly, it's physical. I'm sick!"  And so the conversations in my head went back & forth for a few miles until I made it home.  

Even as I hit my driveway at mile 15, I was not sure if I had done the right thing.  Should I have pushed myself more?  Did I give up too easily?  The answer to this unfolded pretty quickly, as I got into the house and continued to feel miserable with a GI bug for the next 24 hours.  

(My dog Gus- he thinks whatever I do is awesome! :) )

I am feeling better now and I am glad that I spent the weekend resting as much as I could.  However, there is a part of me wondering if we will ever know for sure if we are being Strong or Stupid?  

Character Building Run

          

I am in the midst of training for my fourth marathon.  I love running, especially long distances, but the weather here in Maine has not been cooperative with my training plan.  I have a very tight schedule, so I plan all of my long training days at least a month or two ahead of time.  I put the day in my calendar and treat it as I would a "work day".  It is the only way I am able to get the training done.  The days are sacred and I don't mess with them, unless it is a true emergency.  

My rigid schedule combined with the horrendous Maine winter has led me to do a majority of training inside.  Massive snow storms, frigid temps, & roadways covered with ice, have helped me gain a new appreciation for what some runners call the "dread mill".   However, I had to draw the line somewhere, and that was at 16 miles.   There was absolutely no way I was going to do it inside...or was I?

My long training day was scheduled for Wednesday, the same day as yet another snow storm was predicted to hit.  Snow is fine, but gusting winds over 40mph, is just too much for me to bear.  I watched the weather for several days leading up to Wednesday.  I was a bit obsessed, checking weather patterns a couple times a day, trying to get creative with my schedule to change the day, etc.  Nothing was going to work, so I made up my mind to run on the treadmill, then as I was driving my daughter to preschool, I abruptly changed it and decided to go for it.  It had not started snowing and the winds did not seem that bad.  AND it could be lousy weather the day of the marathon, so why not be prepared and train in it?! 😉

I headed out at 9:30am, fuel belt, hat, gloves, fluorescent yellow jacket, & 2 layers.  The first 2 miles were torturous, very windy and cold, my face hurt from the air.  However, I plugged away, and by mile  4, I was warmed up and 1/4 done with my run!  The next 4 miles went by quickly, until I had to pee.  Luckily, I was close to several places to make a pit stop, so I decided to head down the dirt road to the Audubon Center.  My kids have done several camps there and I figured they would not mind me popping in to use the restroom!  However, this is where the wind really started to get me.  There is a large open field that leads down into an estuary and the wind just came at me full force, blowing me almost off the road.  I made it into the building, my face beet red and my hands frozen, as I had taken my gloves off around mile 5.  I went to the bathroom and got back outside quickly, I did not want to give my muscles any chance to tighten up.  As I headed back out, I was blown sideways again for about 1/2 of mile until I made it back out onto more protected roadways.

The last half of the run was a mixture of cross winds, headwinds, & tailwinds at various points.  I was cursing the weather with each step.  I gave double middle fingers to the road!  My legs & lungs felt great, it was the weather hurting me. The sand from the roadways was blowing in my eyes causing me to run with them closed for a few seconds at a time.  I wondered if I might end up with an eye infection from all the debris.  Despite my misery,  I continued onward, had to make it home for the bus as my son had half a day at school.

I made it back close to my house with 2 miles left to run, so I had to make up the distance running in circles.  This was my view, which was beautiful and distracting in a pleasant way.

 I ran down this scenic road and back up twice and made it to my driveway with .3 miles to go, so ran up and down until my watch hit 16.0 miles!  I'm sure my neighbors think I am crazy, but I made it.  This was a true character building run for me.  I was thrilled to have completed this training in tough conditions.  I felt strong and proud at the end!  Most importantly, I feel a giant step closer to being prepared for the 26.2 miles in early May

Endurance Junkie

     Last night I set 4 alarms on my phone:  5:09 (for a 90
 minute ride), 5:39  ( for a 60 minute ride), 6:39 (skip ride & do 
core work)  and 7:09 ( to hell with it all!).   I woke up at 6:19 
and decided to hell with it all!  As I was taking my first sip of coffee, I realized that I could have squeezed in a 35 minute ride on my trainer before waking up the kids.  It would have been a good calorie burn, at the least.

     Truth be told, today is a "Rest Day", but with the day off from work, I still wanted to sneak in a little cardio!  The problem is that at some point, during training for different endurance events, any work out less than an hour became "not enough" in my mind.   "Why get all dressed to run 3 miles when I can run 8?" "45 minutes on the bike?  No, I should do at least 90 minutes!".  I know many other  endurance athletes struggle with this mentality. 

     Unfortunately, for me, it did not end well last Fall.   I signed up and competed in far too many races last season. "More is better, right?"  I saw it coming, but once I commit, I have a hard time not following through, even when it is not in my best interest.  By mid September 2013, I found myself burned out, injured, and depressed.  I had done so many things in the Summer of 2013, but none of them well.  When, I say " well", I mean the Best that I can do for me, not collecting medals on a podium.

     I ended up taking a much needed break from everything.  I pulled out of a Marathon that a friend and I had planned on running together in November.  Thankfully, she was completely understanding.  I think she knew all along that I had been slowly burning myself out, as she wasn't surprised when I called her to tell her I was cancelling running in Philly.  

     I ended up not running or really doing anything for 10 weeks, it was a busy time despite my fitness boycott.  The kids had started back to school and their various extracurricular activities.  I had started training at a new job.  At one point, I thought my distance running/triathlon events had come to a close, as I did not miss it at all.  However, once my body was healed and my mind was rested, I found myself craving my beloved exercise, especially running.

     I started running short distances again in December and headed back to the pool & started cycling at the start of the New Year.  I decided to plan 2 or 3 things to focus on doing this year. Events spread apart so that I can enjoy them and Recover from them.  Right now, my first goal is a Marathon in early May.  I am looking forward to it, I truly love running long distances.  I have slowly worked my way back up to running long.  Currently, I am feeling good and injury free! 

     Despite my alarm setting craziness today,  I am proud that I let go of it.  It was a good Rest Day for me.  I think I am finally learning to tame the "Endurance Junkie" and enjoy my down time.