Running For Trevor

Paced the Thelma & Louise half marathon in Moab. Loved the course, loved the race, loved spending the weekend with a group of fun girls. This was an all female race and incredibly well organized. I knew pacing 1:40 I wouldn't have much of a crowd but there were a few more than I expected. And one girl a 17 yr old running her first ever half started with us and ended up finishing 3rd in 1:36. Very impressive. Finish time was 1:39:40.

Top of my feet killed me the entire time and I ripped off my brand new extra wide kinvaras as soon as I crossed the finish line. This foot crap is just getting so old and I'm so sick of wasting money on experimenting with shoes. On a positive note the bottom of my feet did not bother me. Hallelujah!

5 mi from my parents house down to meet them at the track. Very easy run with 4 x 100 to finish.

Walked 2 more with my parents & the pups. My Achilles/calves are sore I'm assuming from the shoes yesterday. The only pair of shoes I own that do not cause me pain in the tops of my feet are the Nike Lunarglide and they have maybe 700++ mi on them. Me & my mom wasted the better part of our day shopping for me a new pair and were incredibly unsuccessful.....apparently size 6.5 is small & most places don't carry that small.....the shoe drama continues. Ha

6.5 with Jen in Salem.  Faster than normal but the conversation was good and apparently we got a bit too excited.  7:10 pace

There are so many variables going into the marathon I am attempting to run Saturday.  My feet have pretty much plagued me on and off the entire year.  Enough so that I actually went to a Doctor for the first time since I was a kid.  I do not know if the cortisone shots will help and I wont know until the race.  I'm not really willing to experiment until then.  My marathon build up has definitely not been perfect....are they ever?  But I know I am in great shape and can run well if my feet do not hold me back.  I might not be in ideal marathon shape but I'm fit nonetheless.  I am going into the race knowing there is a 50% chance I will DNF.  I am completely okay with that.  I have absolutely no desire to just run another marathon.  I want to race and if my body holds me back I'm out.  People might think I'm dumb (I admittedly probably am) for even toeing the starting line but it's what I want to do and my heart is telling me to go for it and hold nothing back.  The feet situation is unfortunate but it is absolutely no excuse and I will go into the race with confidence and give it 110%.

3 mile tempo on the UVM course with a big group 6:36, 6:25, 6:09.  Just dialing into the MP without over doing it.  The bottoms of my feet feel pretty numb which I'm assuming is a result of the cortisone shots.  I could definitely feel burning on the big toe more than I would like but hopefully I'm just overthinking it and I hold up on Sat.

Lots of foam rolling, stretching, icing, cleaning the house, watching the news.  I cannot sleep!  I don't think it has anything to do with the marathon because it has been going on for awhile but it is annoying...at least I am getting some house work done.

Spanish Fork river trail with my sister, 9:17 pace.  It was lovely!

4.5 mi loop with Mac, Jen, and Lily.  Fun morning!  Me and Jen picked it up a bit for the last half mile.  I didn't catch the split but it was probably about a 3:15.

Easy miles from my parents house along the lake.  Beautiful warm morning.  The heat may be a bit of an element tomorrow but I'm no stranger to running in warm weather.  My feet are definitely worse in the heat though so that kind of stinks.

My 3rd year in row running UVM (2011-3:31, 2012-3:12, 2013-2:59).  I pretty much love this race.  The course is awesome (although this year it felt much less awesome than years past), I love that it is close to home, I train on the course all the time, the support is absolutely amazing, and well UVM weekend is just pretty much like a Holiday to me.  I knew that my feet injury I've been dealing with would be an issue for this race but I wanted to run it anyway, so I did.  My goal for the race was 2:55 and I honestly thought that was a reasonable goal.  I was 4 minutes off of my goal but I gutted it out and somehow managed to hold it together after the wheels came off.  These races where we somehow keep going after falling apart truly are humbling and teach us so much more about what our bodies are capable of.  So although I did not reach my goal I really am not too disappointed.  I was not really trained optimally for this race and I still managed to run sub-3 which after taking a step back to analyze I feel is still pretty awesome.

Nutrition:  Bagel, banana, & 32 ounces Gatorade before the race.  2.5 gels, half a 5-hour energy before the start, 2 salt pills and 2 ibuprofen 800's during the race, not enough fluids. <---this may have been a limiting factor for me.  Hard to say....I have not been training with fluids and just could not seem to force much down me during the race.  My stomach just wasn't handling it well.

Splits:  1:27:31/1:31:34  I do not have my Garmin splits with me and will update later.  The last 6 miles were not pretty.  Also just to note this is my first time positive splitting this course which just sucks!  Not a fun way to finish a marathon.  Splits:  6:28, 6:25, 6:26, 6:24, 6:33, 6:33, 6:31, 6:57, 7:02, 6:38, 6:42, 7:04, 6:40, 6:52, 6:49, 7:00, 6:49, 6:38, 6:41, 6:52, 6:53, 6:59, 7:04, 7:20, 7:11, 7:09, 6:40

Report - Wallsburg miles 1-7:  The first 7 miles of a marathon are just so much fun.  The emotional roller coaster begins and I was definitely on a high for this section.  I forgot to start my watch at the start of the race and ended up starting it about a minute in so all of my splits are off but I think my first mile was like a 6:28.  I was running with a pack of guys that were all gunning for 2:55.  Jacobs friend joined us shortly into the first mile (I cannot for the life of me remember his name) and ended up running with me until mile 7.  My feet started bothering me at mile 5, mile freaking 5, and after he left me I told him I would be shocked if I finished today.  Physically I felt great, heart rate was low, breathing was under control and I figured I'd at least try to make it to halfway point.

The 3 humps 7-13:  I passed Marcie right before the hills started and she informed me I was in 2nd.  Wow I honestly had no idea.  I noticed that Amber had went ahead but figured surely there was someone up there with her.  This was motivating and helped me hold it together during the hills.  Honestly the hills were not bad at all and I just focused on maintaining my effort.  The uphills felt good and controlled but the downhills that followed were just killing my feet (especially my left) and I tried to focus on relaxing, landing light, and trying to land on my midfoot instead of my toes.  I still had a lot of miles to go and this was not a good sign that I was in so much pain already.  I hit the half at 1:27:31 and was right on pace for 2:55.  Although I was on pace I could tell I had worked harder than I had hoped and feared the 2nd half may not be pretty.

JulieC bike miles 13-20:  I held it together pretty well until mile 15 and was excited to see my friend Francis at the mi 15 aid station.  Tara passed me at that mile looking incredibly strong.  Usually I have more fight in me but I just kind of let her go and this is when I realized I was struggling.  Fortunately JulieC rode with me during miles 15-17 and that helped a lot.  Those miles seemed hillier than normal?  I don't know I was really falling apart already...crap!  Thankfully Julie entertained me with her stories and kept my mind off of the reality that the next hour of my life was going to be completely terrible.  I hit mile 19 at exactly 2:01 (on my watch that I started late so probably realistically 2:02) so despite feeling pretty craptastic I was miraculously still on pace for 2:55.  Cam met me at mile 18 and despite my feet I actually felt pretty good up until mile 20.

The death march 20-26.2:  Not really much to say....just the classic wheels coming off and trying to hold it together.  My sister road with me on the bike during these miles and Cam ran with me until mile 23.  I'm sure that was fun for them....not!  My parents were also at miles 21 and 23 and I made sure to high five them both times.  I was really struggling and that hill at mile 24 that I've ran at least a million times seemed to grow about a thousand feet overnight.  These 6 miles took a lot of mental strength and I just kept reminding myself that I could do anything for 6 miles.  I truly took it one mile, one street light, one aid station, one person in the crowd, one step at a time.  "one step at a time" would somehow ultimately propel me to the finish line.  By far the coolest thing about this marathon for me was the support I received that last .2 miles.  It was freaking awesome!  There were so many people chanting my name and screaming and hollering for me.  In my foggy blur I could not really recognize anyone but I could hear everyone cheering for me and it was so incredibly cool.  I crossed that finish line feeling so blessed, so thankful, and just so proud and happy.

The fact that I didn't reach my goal didn't really matter because I was reminded of how lucky I am just to be out doing this.  Honestly this marathon was one of the most emotional for me because I just had so much support and gosh it is just so cool.  If you would have asked me two weeks ago if I thought I could run UVM I probably would have said no way.  But being in that moment and knowing there were so many people out there supporting me is ultimately what kept me going.  A big huge thanks to JulieC, Cam, Lily, Jen, and most importantly my family.  I know it sounds so cheesy but I truly could not do any of this without such a great support system.

Two funny things I hope to never forget about the race:

*  At mile 23 maybe...I don't know those last 6 miles are such a blur one of the volunteers at the aid station chucked a full cup of water at my face!  It scared the crap out of me and took me like a minute to catch my breath.  I was so mad at first but had no energy to go back and beat her up.  Apparently my sister thought I told her to do it so when she asked my sister said "yes she wants you to dump water on her" haha and she took that as chuck it in her face.  So funny to me now but at the moment I really was so mad.

*  JulieC caught back up to me on the bike at mile 24.....bless her heart.  She started going off about how she had been kicked off the course...ha so funny!  Anyway she said she couldn't ride with me since she was already in trouble but literally jumped off her bike and just started screaming at me at the top of her lungs.  I could hear her clear until mile 25 I swear. She was screaming so loud and although I don't know exactly what she was going off about my sister could not stop laughing.

Aftermath:  My feet cramped up immediately after crossing the finish line...it was the weirdest thing ever.  I couldn't stand for about an hour so I just laid on the grass and iced my feet.  I felt bad because there were so many people I wanted to talk to and thank but I just literally could not stand - it was pathetic!  I'm feeling better now but am really hoping to get this foot thing figured out so that I can run healthy again. 

I will write a race report eventually.  I have the stomach flu and like an idiot thought I could come to work.  That was a dumb idea because now I am stuck at work until I feel coherant and hydrated enough to drive home.

My left foot has been completely numb since the race.  I have no feeling in my toes or ball of my foot at all.  It is very awkward to walk on and I have absolutely zero desire to even attempt running on it.  This recovery process will be slow going and I really hope I can get to the bottom of this feet issue.  My left foot is much worse than the right and I am thinking it may be Morton's Neuroma?  Anyway I did not reach my goal time on Saturday but as a completely stubborn runner I'd have to say I really don't regret running it.

I feel much better today.  The post marathon low energy and fatigue + stomach flu was definitely a double wammy!  I think I slept a world record 24 hours yesterday.  I made it to the gym this morning for some weights and 45 min on the elliptical.

My energy is still low but I feel really good physically.  Amazing what two complete rest/lazy days will do for the body!

Race Report

5 miles on the Spanish Fork River trail.  Started with my sister and we ran into Lily (thanks Lily for letting us slow you WAY down) and she joined for the rest of the run.  9:24 pace.  Such a fun morning.

I feel pretty great physically, much better than I've ever felt after a marathon.  Achilles/calves are a little tight and I think a good scraping tomorrow will help with that.  My left foot is still completely numb which is just so awkward...maybe that cortisone shot decided to work 2 weeks late?  Anyway I will definitely be hobby jogging/cross-training for awhile and I am really looking forward to it. :)

4.5 easy.

Spanish Fork River trail loops with Lily, Jen, Annie, and my sis.  8:35 pace.  I stayed on the dirt as much as possible.  Fun, fun morning!

Feets Update:  I had a consultation with my orthopedic doctor yesterday and we are both thinking I am likely dealing with a Morton's Neuroma in both feet.  Since it is not getting better with taping, changing shoes, metetarsal pads, ect......surgery is definitely an option.  I am probably going to get an MRI, a second opinion, do lots of research, and try out some hoka's before I go through with the surgery.  But if surgery is the best option and will allow me to race without this holding me back I am absolutely not apposed to it.  The surgery is actually not too bad and would put me out for 8-10 weeks which really isn't much time at all in the grand scheme of things.

13 miles, 8:15 pace.  I am on the comittee for the AF Canyon half and my job this year was to hand out raffle tickets on the early busses.  When I got to the top they told me I would have to wait until everyone was out of the canyon and ride the sweeper bus down.  Huh....obviously I would get down faster running so I just joined in on the race.  Stayed with Kelli (pacing 1:50) until mile 11 when Toby blew past us.  I stuck with her until the finish and it was really fun to see her run so well. 

Spanish Fork River trail with my sister, 9:26 pace.  Furthest run ever for the sis!

With Jen in Salem, 7:30 pace.

I am going to buy a pair of the most expensive running shoes (Hokas) and cheapest running shoes (crocs) and conduct an experiment with my feet.  This should be fun. 

PM:  .5 mile running in the Hokas.  They do not sell them small enough for my dumb feet at Runner's Corner so I may have to wait a bit longer for the experiment.  I did however really like them. 

5 miles biking along the lake with my Mom.  I probably ate 500 calories worth of bugs.....yuck!  This took us 30+ minutes....clearly we were blazing!

45 min walking with my parents and the pups.

7 miles from my parents house in Saratoga Springs, 7:45 pace.  Mostly trail running this morning up on the mountain behind the subdivision my parents live in.  I attemped 1 fast mile on the steep downhill running back (an entirely aided 6:33).  Huh that was hard....I don't think I'll attempt it again for awhile.

2.4 mile walk with my Dad and the pups.  We did a few sprints through the sprinklers.  Trying to train the old man to keep up with me for my final kick of a race.

Cake and diet coke for breakfast....I really kinda like staying at my parents house. :)

Hoka Question:  Okay so apparently my feet are so stupid small and they have to special order the Hoka for me.  The guy at runners corner told me I should just go a size up and take the 7.5 but they felt really big on me...Do you hoka wearers size up or down?  JulieC said she wears an entire size smaller in hokas.  Runners Corner told me they should be the same...this shoe drama is getting out of control!

Loops around the river trail with a big group of ladies, 8:11 pace.  Beautiful Summer morning!

6.5 with Jen up Payson Canyon, 7:34 pace.  Oh how I have missed running that canyon.  What a great morning! 

5 miles solo around the orchards, 7:20 pace.  Aside from my feet I feel incredibly good post marathon.  UVM is a very forgiving course and I think I was much smarter about my come back this time around.  Running about 50% last week and 25% this week with my sister at a 9:30 pace has really helped aid my recovery. 

I am running ragnar with a bunch of super duper fast people.....I have no idea what I'm thinking but I'd be lying if I didn't admit I'm kind of terrified!  Some day I will learn to use that magical two letter word that starts with an n and ends with an o.

I had such a great time running Ragnar with team Runners Corner.  What an amazing group of runners and people to be associated with.  I walk away from it feeling incredibly thankful for the experience and the opportunity to run with such great people that I really look up to.  Jen and I could not stop talking this morning about how cool it was to watch all of our teammates run.  Not very often do I spectate running and that for me was really neat. 

I was runner #4 and honestly probably had the easiest legs. 

#1 - 4.3 miles, 6:28 pace.  Such a huge shock to the system to move fast.  I kinda felt like I had asthma, and like I was panting like a dog and might die.  I'm being a little overly dramatic but really it was hard!

#2 - 4.2 miles, 6:27 pace.  This one was at night and I felt a lot better.  Didn't run much faster than the first leg where I felt like I was probably going to die but I did feel really good.

#3 - 6.1 miles, 6:00 pace.  Lots of downhill in the first 3 miles of this one.  I actually clocked a 5:33 mile....holy smokes that was kinda fun!  The last 2 miles were hard but I felt really good the whole way.  I got stopped at a major intersection for about 3 min (subtracted from my pace) and I was so mad I thought I might punch a cop.  Looking back I'm not sure why I was so mad.  They really were there to help me and make sure I didn't die but geez it makes me nuts to have to completely stop during a run.  Plus I'm competetive and didn't want to add that wasted time!

I could not make it to the finish line because I had some family things to get to but I think our finish time was right around 21 hours.  It was a great experience and although I had my apprehensions and doubts (mostly about running with such an elite crew) going into it I'm really glad I decided to do it.

5 mile recovery run around the lake in Saratoga Springs.  8:00 pace

7 miles with Jen in Salem, 7:30 pace.  30 minutes weights at the gym.

I am so physically and mentally ready to shut the racing scene down for a little bit.  I am beyond excited that I have no races/pacing/helping with races, ect the next two weekends!  I am registered for Lavender Days Half or 5k on July 13th.  It is a tradition so I will probably run it but I definitely do not plan on racing it hard or doing any sort of workouts to prepare.  I need a break to repair my body and to have some fun and I'm really looking forward to it. :)

8 miles with JulieC on the Lehi JRP via Willow Park, 7:59 pace.  Beautiful morning!

4 miles biking with my Mom, 30 min.  I'm not sure thats even really considered exercise but we had a lot to talk about and it was a nice little stroll.  I got a shower from the sprinklers out of it so I think its a win/win.

No cake this morning but chocolate licorice & Diet coke were a nice breakfast combination.  I've been staying up way too late, eating way too much junk food, and having way too much fun!  Summer is pretty great and life is good.

8 mile orchard loop with Jen, 7:07 pace.  Jen's chickens got out this morning and after the chicken chase we had a limited amount of time to get the run in which led to a swift pace.  The good thing is we got the run in and I will still get my eggs! :)

I did a couple of pushups after the run.

7.5 mile recovery run on the SF river trail with my sister, Mac, Jen, & Amber.  9:22 pace. 

I'm not sure what benefit these junk miles are but I sure do enjoy talking to my sister and my body is loving it.  Recovery is good! :)

8 mile Santaquin orchard loop with Cam, Jen, Mac, & Aubs, 7:45 pace.  None of us felt any urge to move fast which was nice.  We finished the run at 7-11 for slurpees and then walked back to my house.  Not a bad way to start the day!

13 miles solo around the orchard loops.  I was planning to run with the big dogs in Provo but just completely forgot to set my alarm and didn't wake up until 6.  Probably a good thing since I was gone camping until 12am Friday night.....I probably needed the sleep.  Anyway since I was by myself I got the itch to do a workout which was pretty stupid and only further proved that running fast comes at an incredibly high price.  My feet are bad...the heat makes it way worse.....I am in great shape...but what good is it doing me if my feet can't handle it?  Discouraging to physically be in the best shape of my life but have this holding me back.  Sorry for emotionally blogging but I just needed to get that out! 

Anyway 6:18, 6:07, 1 mile break and then I planned on a 3 mi tempo but my feet couldn't handle it I had to break it up 6:12, 6:07, 2:58 800. 

6.5 along the lake in Saratoga Springs.  Stupid easy and hot...I do not remember the pace.