So I ran a marathon...

 Half Moon Bay International Marathon - September 25, 2011

Pre-race hang out.  Waiting for the sun to rise.

Aid station at mile 2.5 before "Heartbreak Hill"

Running strong through mile 20

Crossing over...

Finish line of my first marathon!

Trying to stay warm after it's all over!

Checkpoint Time of Day Chip Time Chip Pace Gun Time Gun Pace Start 7:00:17.47AM 13.1 Mile 9:10:07.0AM 02:09:50 00:09:55 02:10:07 00:09:56 17.4 Mile 9:57:33.7AM 02:57:16 00:10:12 02:57:34 00:10:13 Finish 11:47:27.68AM 04:47:11 00:10:58 04:47:28 00:10:58

Overall: 82 of 111

Female: 31 of 44

Female 20-29: 6 of 7

August Fail

August = grappling with disappointment. I wish I had been able to keep up with blogging and running and dailymile while dealing with my injury but I couldn't bring myself to check any of it.

I took a vacation to Jackson for a friend's wedding and skipped two low milage weekly runs.  I had a 12 miler scheduled the day after my return, and ran it just fine - felt great, in fact!  Two days later I ran 5 miles at a faster-than-usual clip (August 15).   I felt 100% fine after the run, but woke up in the middle of the night to pee, stood up and gasped at the pain.  I could barely walk to the bathroom.  Woah. 

I did the next planned run at the health club alternating 'mill and elliptical.  I also JUST got my new shoes in the mail.  I tried another super-slow 3 miler which was a fail.  Another stint at the health club resulted in 2 full hours on the elliptical.  Boring.

I decided to downgrade my 13.1 Giant Race entry to a 5k race entry (a $95 5k!!!!!!!!!!).  This was a mixed blessing because I got to run the race with my seesters, but had major disappointment.  I'll recap the 5k in another post, but at one point during that weekend the pain became so intense I thought for sure I had just experienced a fracture.

I did another 2 hour stint at the Health Club upon return from the City, and have since logged 3 runs of increasing distance.  The pain is lessening and almost gone.  I've started icing my feet in a bucket after ever run, no matter how short.  I've been stretching my arches and NEVER going barefoot (not that I went barefoot at all really before this injury). 

I believe my injury is Plantar Fasciitis, but don't really know.  I thought it was a stress fracture, but don't believe the pain would be lessening if that were the case.  It could have been caused by my old shoes that had just over 500 miles on then.  It could have been running too fast.  It could have been skipping two runs.  It could have been walking barefoot on a fragile foot. 

It's been a difficult month to bear, and I feel apprehensive about my marathon, which happens in 19 days.  I've skipped a total of three long runs: 19, 13 and 20. This is difficult to swallow because it happened so far out from my actual marathon that my last month of training is tapering instead of peaking.  I've wrestled with skipping the marathon - deferring to next year, downgrading to the half - but decided to just do it.  I've read so many inspirational stories of people who run marathons and just finish them.  I will have to walk, no doubt.  I will have to throw away any and all expectations of time.  I will have to hold my head up high and enjoy the day despite my training not going to plan.  I will have to decide if I want to go through all this again and give myself another shot at running a marathon injury free.  

Registration

Holy what!

I just registered for the Half Moon Bay International Marathon. I hope it was a good idea, and I hope I can make it. Paying $150 for something like that really means I have to get myself to the starting line healthy. No refunds!
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I have 12 miles on the plan for today and it seems insurmountable. I am trying to stay positive and hydrate a lot. I will try out some Cliff gel shots and shot bloks on this run.
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Last night I met two local marathoners at a friend's birthday party! I've known about this couple for a while, but finally got to meet them and talk running. It was great. They've run Oakland and Chicago together, training together all the while. It seems like they're three or four years into their running career and had some interesting advise, especially him. They recommended 'Born to Run', which I have on audio book and need to listen to! I also have "Marathon Man" the movie at home for this weekend - possibly on 'recovery Saturday'! Yippie!

Nobody Said It Was Easy

...no one ever said it would be this hard...

11 miles was tough. My hardest run ever, I think. I've been working really hard at positive thinking, and creating my own reality when it comes to long running. My runner's book says that a 'mind over matter' approach is best, and that if I spend all day telling myself I'll have a great run, I will. I can't say that I thought only positive thoughts on Friday, nor can I say that I was looking forward to my long run. I was tired, physically and mentally. I didn't want to run, but I did it because I had to. Not really Because I Love It. I also faced the reality of running that long distance alone, up the Haul Road. Not a great idea.

I ended up running 2 miles around the Headlands, 1 mile down to the Haul Road, and then 2.5 up the Haul Road, and then back the whole was. Breaking up the run into 3 parts was the best thing I could have done, I believe, because it helped the mental exhaustion. The physical exhaustion, though, was probably not helped by the running in sand, running up stairs, running up pathways and hopping over logs. Good overall training and conditioning though!
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I'm faced with actually having to register for a marathon now before fall races start selling out. Since I decided not to run Portland, I spent two weeks savagely browsing race listings until I found the right marathon. I've given myself another week to fall in love with it, and I'm smitten. I want to run the Half Moon Bay International marathon. It's so expensive, though, and I know I'll also need new shoes before September 25. It's a lot of money that I just do not have. I need a running scholarship. Plus my $95 entry to the Giants Race in August is no longer being funded by my family. Damn. I might not need much gear, but this is an expensive sport.
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I have a wonderful plan tonight of E's delicious nachos (avocados are on sale! yay guacamole!), a running movie, homemade margaritas, and at least an hour of yoga -- not necessarily in that order. And P.S. My plan to get back to hot yoga this month has failed miserably. Partly due to excessive construction work, running late in the day when classes are held, sunny windy weather that does not make this body crave a hot sweaty yoga room, and the $13.65/class price tag. Got to get back into it.