The 2020 (Virtual) Go! St. Louis Marathon

So back in March, the marathon had been canceled and the RD had given 3 options - defer to 2021, refund or defer to the virtual option. I chose the virtual option... since I had put in all the training and was at that moment feeling good. Well, by the time I had received the race bling in the mail, I had been dealt an injury in my left quad. So I had to take time off from running, rekindled my love with rollerblading which helped. I won't go into April, May, June, and July but I recovered and continued rollerblading, running and hiking, and going to the gym once the gym opened up in June. 

Over the last couple of weeks, I had been feeling pretty good with my running and working out and overall training. Last week I saw the weather forecast was showing a break in this nasty, humid heat we've been dealing with. So I decided that I was going to attempt my solo marathon on the coming Sunday.

Now I've been dealing with tooth pain for about three weeks, I had scheduled my appointment for the 18th (it was the soonest they could get me in). It had been a minor, dull ache but was causing me some headaches,  but that Saturday night things got really bad. I couldn't sleep and no amount of pain killers helped with the tooth pain or the terrible headaches that would not go away. 

By the time the pain had gone away, at around 5:30 am, I knew it would be a huge, stupid mistake to try and attempt any kind of serious run (I had A LOT of pain killers in my system, ibuprofen and excedrin).

Through Sunday and Monday I used tips from friends, rinsing and gargling warm salt water (nasty) like multiple times a day. I bought Orajel toothache rinse AND the one for mouth sores, and numbing gel. Monday and Tuesday I didn't even need ibuprofen or anything, although I did take some before bed so I wouldn't wake up in pain.

The Plan: So a woman I idolize and hope to one day grow up to be just like her (she turned 50 back in June and looks freaking amazing), she runs ultras and is always out running like anywhere from 20-40 miles, sometimes on a work day! I want so much to one day be able to join her and the other ladies who just constantly run like nonstop and have so much fun doing it. She asked about my route and suggested Friedman Park, which I run at often - it's mostly a 5.3 mile loop but there have been some add-on pathways that are out and backs. After a minute of thinking about it, I realized it was a great idea (though I hate loops)! I wouldn't have to really carry anything on me, and could keep water, gatorade and even my energy gu in a freaking cooler with ice (gu tastes better if it's kept cold). I could also keep my Monster Muscle Protein Shake in there as well, so that was the plan and I was excited. Not having to carry a hydration pack would mean I could just wear a sports bra (the pack can sometimes rub my skin raw if I don't have anything between the pack and my skin).

This morning I woke to my 1:45 am with a headache so that was a bit of a disappointment, I almost considered just staying in bed and saying "F" it. But damn it, 59 freaking degrees in July!!!!! I could NOT pass this up, no freaking way. So I got up, reluctantly took some Excedrin, tried to eat some oatmeal but didn't want to. I got all my stuff ready and headed out, I figured if anything I would at least try for 10 miles or something. I also figured that if I posted on FB at the end of each loop with pics taken during that loop, it would hold me accountable and I would make sure I'd complete the entire 26.2 miles.

The first "loop" was 8 miles, I stopped at my SUV and had a Cola gu (it don't taste like cola, I couldn't decide between root beer or pumpkin spice)... and while ingesting that crap and some water, I decided that this next loop I was going to do my best to fit as many miles as I could in it (using the out and back pathways) so I decided to grab my handheld and put some gatorade in it and I grabbed a Chocolate Outrage gu.

Onto the next loop I went, feeling good and relieved that the headache had disappeared. I took the new add-on which was about 1.5 miles and at the end of it I went a little further down the road, determined to get as much as I could in there. By the time I got back on the actual loop, I had acquired 12.35 miles.

I stopped and took a pic at the halfway point, and had my second gu.. the chocolate outrage is way tastier than the cola crap... just wish I had water instead of gatorade to wash it down.

One thing I do like about these solo runs is that I get to stop and take pics and stuff and not feel like I'm being left behind. Guess one could call this more of a long run than a race, lol.

On the second loop, as I reached the park, to my disappointment it was starting to get busy. I really didn't want to come back through this between miles 23-26, nobody would understand why I look like I'm dying. 

  

I made it to my SUV with 18.45 miles finished, I wasn't majorly tired yet... though it was starting to wear on me, mainly trying to quickly come up with a plan to finish the remaining 7.75 miles without having to go through the park. I managed it, though the mistake I sort of regret was turning down a side street at mile 21 and going through one of the suburban neighborhoods with awful concrete streets... my legs were feeling pretty okay until that point.

I survived it though, I finished the run in 4:43:40 with an average pace of 10:50 min/mile and I actually wasn't feeling too bad until an hour later. Now my legs hate me and I just want to sleep....

A Whole Lot Has Happened Since January

First, I haven't posted since January 9th... and I feel horrible about it. I had a rough time during the training for the Go! St. Louis Marathon, January and February was tough but I trained and worked hard through it, the 20 miler was the hardest in March and I ran it on a very sunny day with temps in the 60's and winds in the high teens. I got sunburnt and my legs felt beat to shit, so when I found out a week later that the event was canceled, it sucked even more. 
Since then, things have been a bit of a fuzzy image but I kept my running going and my weight lifting as well... then the gyms closed and I only had running.
Running was going really good, I was stretching my shins and calves and it was helping and I could feel myself getting stronger and my easy runs were dropping back into the low 10 min/mile pace that they used to be in.
And then about 2 weeks ago I noticed my knee was aching, I took a cutback week and did my best to take care of it. The ache would come and go for a couple of days, and then it began to move around on my lower quadricep area and back to the knee. Then nearly a week later I noticed it would start at the knee, move to the lower quad, then to the outer side of my thigh between quad and hamstring or near the ITB. Then a little over a week after the first start of pain, it would start first deep on the inner part of my quad, around the Vastus Medialis or the Sartorius... I'm not real sure but I originally thought it was my adductor that was giving me issues. Again, it would come and go, sometimes the run would suck for the first couple of miles or not really at all. 
I ran 15 miles last Sunday and it actually went okay, and I was very pleased and hopeful. I ran 5.6 miles Sunday and it was sore but I wasn't surprised since I had ran 15 miles the morning before.
Wednesday I took Jetta out for a 3 miler since I got up late and couldn't get the 10 miler in that morning, everything started out fine and my legs felt fine. Then as I was finding a good pace and feeling good, Jetta hit her breaks on me. Instead of stopping and letting her do whatever stupid thing she just had to do, I immediately put my left leg forward and not only pressed down with all of my weight into that leg but all of her 63 lbs as I pulled her forward to get her moving again. That was all it took, my left quadricep went from feeling okay to hurting and complaining. We finished the 3 miler, it ached the whole way. Throughout the day I took Ibuprofen, my Hammer Nutrition Tissue Rejuvenator supplements, my Shell Shock CBD oil and rubbed Runners High Herbals Super Herbs Plus ointment into my legs hoping it would help. That night I ran 7.2 miles, legs were sore starting out but eased up some and I was hopeful that maybe I didn't fuck things up as badly as they had seemed that morning... I was wrong.
I took Thursday off, and Friday morning I got out to run 9 miles. Sure enough... about 4-5 minutes into the run it came on and never left, the pain was everywhere but mainly deep in my Vastus Medialis area and it sucked. It effected how I ran and I was pissed off and miserable. For the first time in a long time, I had to cut my run short. I stubbornly ran 7 miles and called it a day, since then I haven't ran and I'm hoping and praying a week off from running along with my supplements and ointments will help. 
I am also hoping that the gyms will open back up and I can at least get back to weight lifting... until then though, I'm doing whatever I safely can do at home without irritating my leg. 

Go! St. Louis Marathon - Training Week 1

So I kicked off the training cycle for this year's Go! St. Louis Marathon, and it went pretty well. My right lower leg still seems a bit tight, but not painful.
Monday I hit the gym and decided not to run afterwards.

Then Tuesday I went to the gym again, knowing I wasn't going to go there on New Year's Day since it would not be opening until 6 AM.

Then I went out for what was planned to be an easy 5-6 mile run but I ended up with 7.1 miles, very slow miles. The wind was blowing 13 mph with gusts up to 18 at some points and I made the mistake of doing this particular course in reverse so the hilly section had the wind hitting me in the face.

Thursday I didn't make it to the gym, at this point I was dealing with some nasty sinus issues or flu or something. Later that day, before picking Dorian up from school I managed to get in some miles.

Friday I forced myself to go to the gym, I wasn't feeling as awful as Wednesday or Thursday but still wasn't feeling 100%

I can't remember why but I didn't go for a run immediately after the gym, instead, I went later in the day just before I had to pick Dorian up from school. I took Jetta with me and it was raining and chilly and we ended up soaked to the bone, but overall it was a good run.

By Sunday morning, I had a rough time getting up and going. I didn't get great sleep that night, and I knew I had at least 12-13 miles to run this morning. It was pitch black outside and of course, I choose the route where between miles 5 and 8, there are tons of potholes and hills. It was still dark out when I reached those roads and I had to slow down and even walk at times because I was not about to get injured at the start of this training cycle.

Thankfully that didn't happen, it was slow going but I managed to get 13.1 miles done (which also gives me my January half marathon on Strava).

That gives me 31.2 miles for week 1 of this training cycle, and hopefully I can continue this progress with no hiccups. 

New Year - New Goals

So 2019 is behind us, and 2020 is right now. First goal I have is to be consistent with blogging... I'm so lazy when it comes to that.
Land Between the Lakes isn't going to happen, after the IMM I had to cut back on my mileage and try to figure out my new shoes and what was going on with my lower legs. Still having some issues with those, but not as bad and I think I've found the shoes that will work for me. So with accepting that reality, I am now looking for a spring marathon that is at least at the end of March or in April. 
First 2020 Goal - Go! St. Louis Marathon - March 29th
I signed up for it today and reserved our hotel room for that weekend, so I've got that out of the way. The race is 13 weeks away, and as long as nothing goes wrong, I should be able to get one 20 mile LR in before the race. I'd like to get in two of those runs but we will have to see how things go.
Second Goal - An early Fall marathon, pretty sure it will be the Honest Abe Trail marathon in September.
Third (most important) Goal - a 50K race
I've got a few races in mind that range between October and November.
I am loyal to the Evansville Half Marathon, which is on October 3. Of course, hopefully by that point a 13.1 mile race will be nothing for me to recover from, might even add a 10 miler in before the race that morning.
I also have the Peace, Harmony & Run Half Marathon in May that I enjoyed last year and will probably do it again this year.
I would really love to do the Backside Trail Marathon which is on April 25, but that is in Louisville, KY which is like a 2 hour drive and I do not know if hubby would be will to do another out of town one month after St. Louis. Though, we could just do a one night stay and head back after the race... that is still quite a way off so I'll just see how things go this month and February. 
I swear I will become consistent with my blogging, I swear!

2019 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon

     This is my first RR in over three years, I may be a little rusty.

So training did not go as I had planned or wanted, it took a while for me to find my mojo. I'd get a LR of 13-16 miles in, then it would be two weeks before I'd get another in. It wasn't til September that I finally found my drive and started getting my LRs in and running every chance I got - morning, afternoon or evening. 

This was my first training cycle that I ran not one 20 miler, but a 21 mile LR before the Evansville Half Marathon and then two 20 miles before the Monumental. Everything seemed to be going good until that week after the final 20 miler, when two days off didn't seem to help and my shins were really bothering me. I started to freak out and took 5 or 6 days off from running hoping that would help, I also started to think about the shoes I had and knew I really needed to look into getting fitted for a new model or brand of shoes, but I am a horrible procrastinator. 
The Ravennas were no longer working for me, they did make changes to the platform or whatever it's called, the part that helps support under-pronators - and I say fuck them for it. The Richocets seemed to be okay for up to 21 miles, and of course that was the furthest distance I had ran in them, but Brooks was discontinuing them for an untold time - Fuck Brooks, I hate them now.
I tried the Levitate 2s, they were a no go but it wasn't until three days before the race that I finally decided to go to an LRS and get fitted. The guy brought out the Brooks Adrenaline 19's, the Mizuno Wave Inspires and a Saucony brand and another that I didn't look at because I liked the Mizunos, they felt snug and I like snug. I took them home and tried them immediately, there was no pain or irritation but unfortunately they were too snug. By mile 2 my feet were tingling and I knew that was a bad thing.... I took them back (this next week I may go back and try them in a size 9 instead of 8.5), I exchanged them for the Adrenalines and took those home. I had one more morning to try a pair of shoes and decide, Friday morning I got up and tried the Adrenalines, Jetta and I only made it to .8 miles before turning back as I was immediately feeling pain in my shins and feet, we got in 1.5 miles and that was all I needed to know. It appeared that the ones I'd be running in would be my newest Richocets, I hope and prayed they would get me to the finish line.
Friday's drive was okay, the rental we got was an Altima, a basic model with no Lombard system and an annoying headrest that I immediately took off. The lack of a Lombard system annoyed my sciatic nerve, big time. We stopped off at Cataract Falls, I took pics of the Upper Falls and Lower Falls, didn't get to see the falls where you get to walk behind the water but oh well. 
This one here is a pic of the Lower Falls, there are signs saying not to swim but people apparently jump in anyways and swim. It was 36 degrees so I was not going for a swim.

This one is still the Lower Falls but a bit closer and it is the small falls that you see above that first waterfall. I wish I could have stayed longer but hubby and Dorian were waiting in the car.

 This is the one of the Upper Falls, I was extremely happy that there were still some foliage on the trees, though it would be really awesome to see this place during a freeze. 

After spending about half an hour there, and letting Dorian play on some slides (he was being such a good boy and really wanted to play on the slides so we gave him about 10 minutes, he was satisfied), we were on our way to Indy. The rest of the evening was hectic, I was constantly in and out of the hotel room, we got our stuff into the room and realized the laptop was still in the trunk, hubby didn't see it so I went down to the valet to get our key, got lost in the parking garage and probably walked .75 - 1 mile. Then I went to the Expo twice (I first went to get my race packet, saw headbands and wanted to go back and get my card as I forgot to bring a headband so made two trips, probably 1.5 miles total). Later that evening I had to go down and make popcorn (the rooms at the Courtyard do not have microwaves.... last time we'll be staying here). By the end of the night I could feel my legs were a bit tired - I took ibuprofen before falling asleep. 

My night was restless, I was in and out of sleep but when I woke at 6 am I felt pretty rested. I had some oatmeal (forgot to bring a spoon so that was fun), I took some ibuprofen (and I don't regret it). Then I foam rolled and did some yoga stretches before getting ready, it was 7:12 when I realized we didn't bring any baby wipes up from the car and I knew Dorian would be going #2 this morning while I was gone and he would not appreciate that crappy toilet paper so I headed down to the valet to get the keys again, then to the car and back up to the room. I kissed Dorian and hubs goodbye and headed down to the race by 7:36 am. 

It felt like forever before things got moving, so many people were taking selfies that finally I said fuck it and took one to post on IG.

Finally got to the starting line and we were off, I am pretty positive I had started way too far back. God only knows how many people I had to pass and all the effort and energy that went into those first 3 miles *face palm*. I knew I wanted a positive split and was going to push as well as I could, yeah it probably wasn't a smart idea but I wasn't very sure how I would feel later or if I'd get sick to my stomach again or if something would flair up in my legs. My fueling plan was a gu at every 5 miles, I had four with me - a Chocolate Rage, two Expresso Loves and one Roctane Cold Brew for the 20th mile.
I realized pretty quickly that my garmin was off, for the first 5 miles it was off by .1 miles, then by mile 10 it was off by .2 miles and by mile 15 and to the finish it was off by .3 miles so my splits may be off but I'll put down what stupid garmin has.
Mile 1 - 10:55
Mile 2 - 10:26
Mile 3 - 10:39
Mile 4 - 9:55
Mile 5 - 9:55
I was doing pretty good, I had my first gu in my glove and continued running while I pulled it out and then at mile 5 I kept up a pace while squeezing it bit by bit and swallowing it down, the next water station was probably .25-.4 miles later.
Mile 6 - 9:37
Mile 7 - 10:06
Mile 8 - 9:52
Mile 9 - 9:44
Mile 10 - 10:39
Around mile 9.8 I slowed to a walk so I could get one of my Expresso Loves out of my back pocket and because I wanted the break, I continued to walk while squeezing it down and about 5 minutes later the water station appeared. I was still doing pretty good but my legs were starting to feel tired, all this old concrete crap sure wasn't helping and the wind was a pain in the ass but I kept pushing it. Somewhere along the lines (maybe Damaris remembers) there were some volunteers with tables of coke and pepsi (and ibuprofen, but I didn't stop for that), I happily took a small (and I mean tiny) cup of coke... it tasted so damn good! There were also some tables of beer and people making mimosas and I now wish I had made this a fun experience and had stopped and enjoyed all the little things - oh well lol.
Mile 11 - 10:19
Mile 12 - 10:49
Mile 13 - 10:50
At the half way point I called hubs to let him know I was halfway done and to take a nice walk break.
Mile 14 - 10:00 (right here was where 5 years ago I got sick to my stomach and could barely run without feeling like I was going to be sick out both ends, it lasted until mile 23).
Mile 15 - 11:18
By mile 15, it began to hit me - my legs were letting me know that I was going to pay for my pace earlier. I got my 3rd gu out, the other Expresso Love and squeezed it down.... and 5 minutes later reached the water station.
Mile 16 - 10:51
Mile 17 - 12:03
Just a quarter of a mile before mile 18 I had to stop at some port-a-potties, there were others there as well, it cost me 5-10 minutes total but thankfully it was the only time I had to stop for a bathroom break (PROGRESS!)
Mile 18 - 13:19
Mile 19 - 11:20
Mile 20 - 12:34
By this point I had hit the wall, I was walking constantly and my glutes and hips and ITB were sore and I just wanted to be done. Before getting my final gu out, I called my hubs and let him know I was at mile 20, he cheered me on and reminded me I only had 6.2 miles to go. I agreed, but told myself to take it one mile at a time. I squeezed down my final gu - the Cold Brew and it felt like forever before I reached the next water station, that gu was hard to swallow... Bleh.
Mile 21 - 11:44
Mile 22 - 13:26
I happily told myself only 4.2 miles to go, by this point I think I walked .3 or .4 miles at one point that I know for sure.
Mile 23 - 11:54 
I was only 3.2 miles away from the finish! Sadly by mile 23.4 we turned onto a long stretch that went into the wind..... it was also at this point my first were in serious pain, I felt like I wasn't wearing any shoes, I could feel everything against my feet and the pounding was dreadful.
Mile 24 - 13:21
I was walking a lot at this point, it was a death march with a whole bunch of others and yo-yoing with them. During my walks they'd pass me running/shuffling, then I'd pass them when I started back up, they were still running/shuffling.
Mile 25 - 12:51
Only 1.2 miles left! But I let myself walk .3 miles, my feet were killing me. I forced myself to run at 25.5, determined to push myself to the finish. We made that corner turn and there were tons of people cheering knowing how close I was and feeling some renewed energy, I continued pushing harder and harder and started to pass people. I passed the mile 26 mark and just kept pushing myself though I'm sure it looked like I was shuffling. Crossing that finish line was a huge relief, to know I had finished it and felt like I had given it all I had compared to 5 years ago I felt cheated out of that opportunity thanks to my getting sick to my stomach.

2019 IMM Training Week 24

I'd have to say that week 24 was a very good week compared to the entire year, I've done 3 marathon training cycles before this one and I am pretty sure I've never do two 20 milers during any of those cycles, let alone a 21 mile long run 3 weeks before this one. This week I totalled 50.2 miles with a 20 miler to finish it. 
Monday I ran 3.3 miles after hitting the gym for back day with some legs thrown in there.

Tuesday I ran 7.3 miles 

Wednesday I took as a rest day, both from the gym and running.

Thursday morning I ran 5.5 miles. It ended up kind of being a progression run with the final half ran at a 7:41 min/mile pace.

Later Thursday I headed to Audubon after lunch, probably not the smartest since I did have a margarita (or two) during lunch. I sobered up after the first mile.

Friday I ran 3.6 miles after I went to the gym for Shoulders.

Saturday I took the dogs to the trails at Angel Mounds boat ramp area, we ran 7 miles.

Sunday I woke up excited and ready to get out on the road, I thought I had a route picked but ended up changing it and going further out and actually running through 3 "cities" - Chandler - Newburgh - Boonville and back into Chandler to finish. It was extremely foggy out and I had to be very careful when it came to traffic. I ran 20 miles that morning, totalling my weekly mileage to 50.2 miles.

2019 IMM Training Week 22 & 23

After Week twenty-one's 47 miles capped off with a 21 mile run, I knew I needed to cut back the following week. 
I ran a total of 5 times, 4 days with one of those days running twice. And then I took Dorian for a hike, totalling the mileage to 25.7 miles.

 Week 23 I bumped the mileage back up a little, but I had the 2019 Evansville Half Marathon that Saturday so I knew the mileage wasn't going to be terribly high. In total, I ran 39 miles for that week.
Monday:

I also ran 5.2 miles and walked .4 miles (technically .8 but I didn't log the first .4) to explore a new addition of the pathway at the Newburgh Rivertown trail.

Somewhere around Wednesday I started dealing with gas pains and just a strange pain in my intestines, like air moving through and screwing things up.

Thursday:

Honestly I'm a little frustrated, I don't have all the screenshots and I've been slacking on the blog damn it.

Friday I ran 5 miles

Saturday was the Evansville Half marathon, I was a little worried because even though the gas pains were slowly disappearing, the thought of getting hit with that pain during the race made me nervous so I decided I was going to shoot for a positive split.

I got up early enough to get in an easy 3.2 mile run with Jetta, trying to warm up my muscles. Then when I got to Evansville and found a parking lot to park in, I ran another .7 miles to the start.

Oddly enough, the race went really good and I felt good overall, no bathroom breaks and not too much pain. My watch started out .1 ahead of the mile markers but by mile 5 or 6 it slowly started to drop behind until finally being .1 mile behind (which is normal for it).

My finish time for 13.1 miles was 2:08:33 with an average pace of 9:49 min/mile.