St Jude Marathon, The Emotional Recap

Every runner hopes for a perfect start to their race day. If everything goes smoothly leading up to the starting line, it makes the run feel more doable. At least, this is my feeling. I'm known for being somewhat controlling and a huge planner. The plan was to sleep well, get up at 5:30 in order to leave by 6. Then drive the 30 or so minutes to downtown Memphis in order to park, walk to bag check, make a quick bathroom stop and find our coral by 7:15-7:30. With 18,000 people registered, we expected lines. Long ones. I wanted to allow plenty of time. It was a perfect plan. :) A series of frustrations that don't even matter, had us arriving about 7:15, and we still had to go through bag check, find the port-a-potty, and then walk the couple blocks to the starting line. Over the next 45 minutes we did manage to get everything taken care of, and still experience some of the event's activities. When we first arrived at AutoZone Park (our bag check area, and also where the finish line is located) we got to see the start of the 5k race. Seeing that from this side of things was really neat. I loved seeing all the excited runners and walkers! It was an especially nice pick-me-up. I'm also glad that everything was within a couple blocks of each other, otherwise I would have missed out on one of the most special Star Spangled Banner performances ever. I couldn't hear everything well, but from what I understand the girl who sang it was a past patient of St Jude. She sounded like she was 8 or 9 and has been in remission for 6 1/2 years! Reality check #1 for the day right there.

To tell the rest is hard. There were so many, SO MANY, emotions. Of course we were excited. It's hard not to be when you are surrounded by thousands of other people. There were 15 corals for the marathon, half marathon, and relay runners. We chose #9 based on our goal pace. Corals one and two were released fairly close to each other, and the rest were sent off in waves every 2 minutes or so. We crossed the start line at 8:16. All of a sudden the anxiety I had been feeling went away. I knew nothing had changed. I still had 26.2 miles to run, but all I felt was excitement. Our initial pace was significantly slower than we normally start off with. I knew the crowd wouldn't thin out any time soon so I accepted it, knew it wouldn't matter how long it took as long as I finished, and settled in for a good long run.

The first few miles went by somewhat quickly. I don't remember too much. Probably because it was quiet as far as spectators go. There were some in the first couple, but not many. By mile 2 we were down by the river.

This sneaky course had led us on a slow downhill and I hadn't even realized it. However, a little before mile 3 we turned and hit the first hill that I remember. It was only about 2 or 2 1/2 blocks, but it was very steep.

I should mention that I was prepared for a few hills. I had seen the elevation map and I had read a few reviews. For anyone reading who has never run a race, or is preparing for their first, hear this: Don't trust anything. lol One person's "few" is another person's "many". One person's "rolling hill" is another person's "mountain". Elevation maps aren't always accurate. Or rather, are not always as detailed as they could be. Case in point...

The top chart is the one I based my training on. It looked challenging, but not horrible. I expected some hills, but nothing too bad. The bottom is the chart made with Runkeeper and from our actual run. What I have learned is, yes, the trend is the same. Ish. However, in those red lines of the top one there are many, many, MANY, ups and downs. I was not prepared for that. I've been training since July and in that time I only did maybe 4 long runs on hard hills. Searcy has some slight rolling hills, but I have to go into specific neighborhoods if I want the steep and/or long ones. Anyway, that needed to be said because I'm not making stuff up when I say there were hills in every mile. Up and down, and up and down again. It seemed fairly constant. I'm sure part of that is just my delirious mind speaking, but it certainly felt that way.

Back to the first hill... So we leaned in and charged on. At the top we found ourselves heading into the heart of downtown Memphis. This is also the first I remember there being crowds of spectators. And those crowds continued for many miles. Around mile 4 1/2 or so I heard extra loud cheering. As we continued I realized we were about to enter the St Jude campus. I had heard this was an emotional race. Especially when you reach this part. No amount of reading or listening to other people talk about it can prepare you for the onslaught of emotions though. The families of the patients at the hospital, some even having their children who are the patients with them, are are the sidelines with smiles on their faces. Cheering louder than any of the other spectators through out the race. And there were some loud cheers through out. These families, who have gone through so much, are smiling. They are there telling US thank you. They were clapping, ringing cowbells, pounding boom sticks together, and sticking out their hands for high fives. It was more than I could handle. Running a race like this is hard. The mental and physical endurance needed is insane. It's easier to not complain when you keep in mind who you are running for. I had to remind myself many times of this in the later half of the race.

After we left the campus we had a long stretch on the same road. Turns make my runs seem faster, so a three mile stretch on the same road is daunting. It doesn't help when I can see thousands of people all those miles ahead of me. :) Again though, the spectators kept us going. I wasn't feeling bad at this point. I was enjoying the race. Somewhere in mile 6 we passed the 4:40 pacers- the people who were guiding anyone who hoped to finish the marathon in 4 hours and 40 minutes. I was surprised by this. My initial goal was to just finish the race, but my second and true goal was to finish in 5 hours or less. So to pass this pacer was exciting!

At mile 8 we turned into a park that goes through, or around (not sure which), the Memphis Zoo. We left the park a little before mile 10 and spent the next couple miles on a pretty busy main street. The runners basically had the width of a shoulder and one lane to run on. We were going against the traffic, and there were cones as guides to keep us on the "course", but it still made me a little uneasy. It was on this part of the course that we passed a girl who was probably 19 or 20. Her sign said, "Because of runners like you, I am a survivor!" We caught each other's eye and I gave hear a tearful but smiling nod and she smiled and nodded back. Is it possible to feel a connection to someone you have never met, and will never see again? I did. I wish I knew her.

The next mile and a half or so was more of the same. Fabulous sideline support and happy runners. We passed the half marathon split and the next thing I knew we were at mile 13. Half way done! I was starting to feel the distance, but also still feeling pretty good. As good as one can feel after 13 miles anyway. :)

We were almost to mile 15 when a lady in front of us tripped on a tiny crack in the road. She flew forward and it looked like she smacked her face on the road. Scott and I, and a couple other girls stopped to help her up and make sure she was ok. I think it scared us all more than anything. The way she fell looked really bad. She was fine. Obviously shaken, but she didn't have a single scratch. She made a comment about thinking she had been doing so well. I reassured her she had been doing great, and would continue to do so. The other girls kept reassuring her she didn't have a mark on her and that she could finish. The lady assured us she was ok and told us to go on. I felt bad leaving her, but she was moving ok and there was nothing else we could do. I thought about her a lot the rest of the time. I wish I knew her name so I could make sure she was able to finish.

It was around mile 18 that I hit a wall. And by "hit a wall" I mean slammed, face first, into this imaginary, gargantuan and sludge filled, cement block. And that's where I left my happy attitude for way too long. For the next 4 or 5 miles I did too much grumbling. Any spectator that said something positive was met with tears or a mental "almost done? really? I don't see YOU out here". I hated myself for that. They WERE out there. It was not optimal spectator weather. I was cold, so I knew they had to be even more so. And yet, there they were cheering us on, or working an aid station handing out water and other helpful things, and I was being rude. Not to their face. Never. That's not an excuse though. I was in a major funk. Through mile 11 we had only done a quick walk through a water station every two miles, and then after that we were walking through each water station (about every mile or so). Around mile 18 I started walking in the middle of the miles too. Scott, always my rock, said anything we needed to do was fine. If I wanted to walk a mile, or even the rest of the race, that was fine. Every time he'd say something I'd attempt a thank you but gripe about wanting to finish. I believe it was somewhere in mile 22 during one of the walks that I apologized for complaining and Scott said he didn't care, he was just happy to be experiencing all this with me. I cried a little and then told myself to knock it off. If he can love me through this, then I can shut my mouth, remember the kids I was running for and finish the race. I never once wanted to quit, but there were times I wasn't sure I'd make it.

Normally when I'm in the back end of a long run I find I'm mentally stronger. Especially if I'm with someone else. Once my mile countdown gets into the single digits I feel like I can do anything. I was at mile 23 before I felt something close to that. We were still walking a couple times in each mile, but the feeling of not making it had gone away. I knew I'd make it. I didn't know what my time would be. I didn't care. Somewhere in my funk the 4:40 pacer passed us. When we first passed her I thought maybe we would beat even the small goal I had set. I didn't feel defeated when she passed back by. I think 4:40 would have been setting my goal way too high for this being my first running marathon. (Or likely any marathon.) It was at that point that she passed us that I knew we had slowed significantly though. We were using RunKeeper to track the run, but only to have it as reference for later, not for keeping track of our miles or pace while running. I truly had no idea what our time or pace was. There were clocks at almost every mile, but since we didn't cross the start line when the clocks started I knew they weren't correct for our time, and there was no way I was going to attempt the math in my head while trying to focus on putting one foot in front of the other. I did have a feeling that we would be finishing somewhere over 5 hours, but at this point, that was ok. I would just be happy we finished.

Mile 24 brought us back through the St Jude campus and while that crowd had gotten quite a bit smaller, the enthusiasm of those who were there had not. I think this second pass through was strategically placed at just the right part of the course. We were all tired. Not just Scott and I, but you could see it in the faces and body language of the other runners around us also. Passing through St Jude gave us the boost we needed. Sure, we still walked. Quite a bit in those last two miles actually, but I was ready to finish the race strong.

The crowds had thinned out after the half marathon split, but in the last mile there were more people again. Once we reached mile 26 it was packed. The last .26 of the race had so many spectators you couldn't see the sidewalk. At least that's how I remember it. We had a couple short turns into the finisher's chute and there it was. The finish line.

My normal finish line adrenaline kicked in and Scott and I went for it. In that last stretch there were no spectators because we were finishing on a baseball field and they were all watching from the stands. None, except for 5 soldiers. They stood along the metal guides that lined the chute, one after the other. Every one of them held out his hand for a high five. Every one of them thanked me for running. THEY thanked ME. Through tears I said thank you back. How can these men who serve our country be thanking me, a simple runner?

I wanted to grab Scott's hand as we crossed the finish line. I wanted to raise them up high. I wanted to celebrate. Apparently after we crossed I kept running. Scott said he thought I wasn't going to stop. I don't think it was as far as he felt like it was, but I do remember I almost forgot to get my medal. :) Our chip time was 4:53:13 with an average pace of 11:11/mile. Almost 7 minutes faster than I had hoped for!! We stopped in the middle of the field to catch our breath and take it all in. That's when it all really hit. All the anxiety, all the excitement, the sadness AND happiness for the St Jude families, the extreme pain I was in, the hunger- oh, the hunger lol, the realization of what we had just accomplished! I started crying. I'd take a few steps and get it under control, and then it would hit again. It felt like forever, but I know it was only a few minutes before I thought I had control. We took a finish line selfie. :)

Usually at other races it's too crowded when we finish, and we are quickly ushered out of the area, but since we were on a large field it was nice to be able to take our time and see things from a different point of view. We congratulated other runners who passed by and snagged one to take a real picture for us.

Then we made our way to the professional photographer who took our official finisher's photo. (It's one of my favorites! :) ) We asked the photographer where the finisher's food was and he laughed but pointed the way... up the stairs. I thought he was kidding. He was not. We had to get off the field and make our way up to the main concourse area. I made a joke with the security guy who was standing mid way, one I'm sure he heard from the thousands of other runners who made their way up, and then we were there. Two amazingly wonderful ladies were standing there handing out bags. BAGS! When I looked at one of them, she said, "It's for your food!" We were allowed to get as much as we wanted. I've never been given a bag for food at the end of a race. Knowing we had a two hour drive home, but also not wanting to be rude and crazy, we stocked up on a few things and then started making our way towards the bag check area. However, that's when we smelled pizza. Free pizza. By the box if we wanted. Oh yes, we wanted. :) Then donuts. Free donuts. By the dozen if we wanted. Oh goodness. There may or may not have been more tears at this point. lol

With our arms loaded up, and my bag retrieved from bag check, we made our way back to the truck. I know I've said so much already, but there's so much more than should be said about this race. Scott and I keep talking about it. The difficulty of the course (which for some was probably one of the easier courses they have run), but also, and more than anything, how fantastic everything else was. The aid stations were fully stocked with necessities. The food at the finish line was so much more than we expected. The sideline support, I've said it many times, but it was truly amazing. I don't expect to forget how I feel after any of my races, but this is definitely one that leaves a lasting impression.

Also worth mentioning is our wonderful support team who could not be at the race physically. My parents, and at least a few others I know of, were following the live tracking that was available (another huge plus for this race!). Even though my parents and our kids couldn't be at the race, I knew they were cheering us on from home. The occasional text from my dad was the next best thing to him being on the sidelines screaming our names. :-D

Now that I'm done, I'm looking forward to a week off of running. I have run 3-4 days a week, every week, since July. That's a lot of running! It will be nice, but short lived. I start all over again next week for the Walt Disney World Princess Half!

This is the life of a running addict. :-D

I Will Soar

Soaring Wings Half Marathon will forever be my favorite half to be a part of. I think if there is ever a day when I cannot run anymore, I will still go and be a spectator. I realize I've only been a part of a very small handful of half marathons, but there's just something about this one. Obviously it having been my first half does have a lot to do with it. Beyond that though, everything from start to finish is 100% special. I have yet to do a race, of any distance, that has better spectator support than Soaring Wings. The post race fuel is also yet to be beat. The medals definitely rank at the top. And I will never forget that the medals are being handed out by the precious kids who live at the Soaring Wings Ranch. There is so much to run for!

This year my training has been mostly geared toward getting ready for my full marathon in December with some speed training early on to get prepared for Race for the Cure. I have not done a speed run in three weeks, and my long runs have been very lax. I just wanted to go into Soaring Wings knowing that it would be difficult (because goodness, it's 13 miles!) but also enjoying it as much as I could. That is, until about a week ago. I got it in my head that maybe I could try and PR again. Not only that, but MAYBE I could try for a sub-2hr time. I got in touch with my friend Angela who I look up to in the running world and asked for some advice on how to go into this race that was originally going to just be another training run with benefits. In the week leading up to it I cut back significantly on my marathon training and tried to mentally and physically prepare to race myself in my 5th Soaring Wings Half.

Scott and I got up nice and early Saturday morning and went on with our regular race morning routine. Everything was going smoothly and even though I had my normal race morning butterflies I was feeling pretty good. Two blocks from the freeway Scott realized he left his race bib on the table at home! OOPS!! I'm glad he remembered. I needed him to keep me going on this course. :) We arrive in Conway about 45 before start time, which allowed plenty of time to park, walk to bag check, do the port-a-potty thing, get to the start line, and find our pacer, with a few minutes to spare before the director of the ranch begins talking. We met up with Angela at the starting line. I wasn't sure if we would see each other before hand. It was nice to chat and encourage each other before we started.

The Star Spangled Banner was sung. There was a prayer. Then the waves started. Only 4 minutes after the clock started our wave began. I felt like we started fairly fast, but I tend to struggle through the first two miles of any run I do so I just focused on my breathing and focused on the 2 hour sign our pacer was holding. Like usual I settled into my groove by the time I hit 2 miles. Coincidentally this is also where my parents surprised us for the first time and jumped from behind a port-a-potty. :) We continued following Pacer Guy (I wish I knew his name!) into the fourth mile. Mom and Dad showed up again at the top of a very difficult hill. Their cheering was a much needed reassurance at that point. A little over 4 1/2 miles into the race I had to make a pit stop. Scott and I paused our RunKeeper clocks and restarted soon after. We tried to pick up the pace to catch back up, but it was difficult. We could see Pacer Guy in the distance and I had hope. However, to catch up would mean running at an even faster pace than initially needed to finish at 2 hours and at about 7 miles I told Scott that I didn't think I could push enough to catch up. We were both ok with that and settled in to our own comfortable pace. Within two miles of that we were both in a lot of pain. Running for this long is painful no matter what, but it's made worse when you don't train properly. For me, I had not trained on hills like I usually do. I don't even know what I was thinking. :) So we talked some more and decided for the next 5 or so miles we were going to just enjoy the course. If we wanted to walk, that was ok. We weren't going to beat ourselves up over it. It's amazing the difference it makes when you let it all go. Yes we were still breathing hard, and yes it still hurt, but know we weren't pushing for time anymore made it better. Mom and Dad showed up again at about 7 1/2 miles and then somewhere in mile 9 (great timing for a fist bump :-D ). Coming into mile 11 we had a steady downhill and one more Mom and Dad sighting. Both were a welcome relief as we went into what some would call the worst hill on the course. Mile 12 is a long steady up hill. Between 11 and 12 we caught up to Angela. We have decided that all three of us needed each other at that point. I truly think we met up at just the right time to get each other through the last mile and a half. And that's what we did. We talked each other through when we each, at some point, thought we wanted to quit. With just half a mile left I told Scott I needed to walk. Just half. He flat out said, "No you don't." and we kept going. With just 1/4 mile left Angela was trying to make a deal with a police officer on a bicycle to let her have his bike. He laughed and said she was too close and to keep going. One more turn. Only a tenth of a mile to go. I think we were all talking to ourselves but at the same time to each other. Don't quit. Do it for the kids. For their kids. For our kids. We. CAN. Do. This. I never count on it, but at every race, in the last stretch something fires up inside of me and I sprint to the end. Saturday as I was picking up speed I was shouting "Go!" to Scott and Angela over and over. I saw a guy in front of me and I was determined to pass him before getting to the finish line. I did. We did. In my head it looks very glamourous. All three of us- Scott, Angela, and I- crossed together with long strides and smiles on our faces. In reality, I'm pretty sure it's not at all like that. I like my mental picture better. (But I can't wait to see what the professionals got ;) ) I walked to a beautiful little girl who was holding out an almost as beautiful medal. I thanked her and hugged Angela and then found the oranges. Those oranges are the absolute yummiest thing EVER after running. :)

Scott and I met up with my parents for hugs and pictures before they had to head home. There are certain things that we always make sure to do. Post race pictures with our support team are a must. Seeing my parents (and James and Evie if they are there) are the absolute biggest highlight of my races. I never know where they will be, but knowing they will show up not only makes each mile seem a little faster, but also more motivating and more fun. I've mentioned before about the great comments we get after passing Mom and Dad. They are by far the loudest spectators out there. And I love it.

Official times were posted within a few hours of finishing the race. I knew had finished under 2 hours and 10 minutes, but beyond that, for the first time, I almost didn't care about my time. Almost. :) I generally will base anything on what Runkeeper says because that's how I base my training runs also. So for comparisons sake here's the break down.

Official Chip Time:
2:09:53/avg pace 9:55

RunKeeper Time:
2:08:23/avg pace 9:40

Overall I placed 494th! I don't know the actual number of participants, but I do know there was a cap at 2000 allowed to register. :)

Just to give you a visual, you can see where we started to struggle and also where the hardest hills were. This course is brutal when it comes to hills. There are a few major ones, but it's pretty much up and down through out the whole thing.

I assume that next year I will not be training for a full marathon and maybe I can really focus on training for a sub-2 at Soaring Wings. I never thought I'd say that. It goes along with the rest of my running journey though. I never thought I'd run. I never thought I'd run a race. I never thought I'd run a half or a full. When I decided I loved running crazy long distances, I never thought I'd go for speed... Such a crazy journey I've been on. :)

Next up: VERY long training runs all leading up to the St Jude Marathon in SIX WEEKS!!

Running for a Legacy

I participated in the 4th annual Micah Rine Wildcat Legacy run 5k this year. It's been a couple weeks, but I have not had a chance to sit down and write about it. This 5k is local which is nice. I loved being part of this legacy run. I've never done this one before, but my good friend Jessie was going to be in town and she decided since the 5k happened to fall during her visit, it was a good 5k to make her first. It was a rainy Saturday morning. Enough so, that the start got pushed back by about 30 minutes. I was excited for Jessie, and thrilled that she asked me to be a part of her first race. There was a very quiet and laid back feel through out the course. I had worked this 3 miles into the rest of my long training run for the day. It ended up being a nice break between the 3 I did on my way to the course, and the hard 6 I did afterwards. Selfishly I'm glad I had the time alone with Jessie. When she makes her quick trips to Searcy our visits are very short (because she's so popular ;) ). So to have uninterrupted time with her was nice. We enjoyed our walk/run together and before we knew it we were about done. My favorite part of the morning was seeing Jessie push herself and run to the finish line and then see her beaming smile afterwards. I look forward to seeing her PR next year... :)

PR-ing in Pink

Race for the cure will always have a special place in my heart. For obvious reasons like, I have friends and family who have battled breast cancer (also friends and family who have battled other cancers. I run for them all at RftC) but also because it was my very first 5k. It seemed fitting that I would get a PR- a Personal Record- at the same 5k. Last year I tried and didn't quite make it. So this year I adjusted my training and tried to push for a faster pace. As a part of my marathon training I have set one day a week as a speed training day. I have a play list that has certain songs that, if I run to the beat of the music, I will reach my goal pace. It was rough. All I wanted was to finish the 5k with a 9:00min per mile average. Most of the songs are faster than that but I had to adjust to it. It was rough at first. However, over the last month and a half or so, I've been at 9 or under every time.

Last week, leading up to Race for the Cure I was feeling mostly confident. I thought, if I have hit my goal pace, or better, every week for over a month, surely I can do it at the race. Each day that passed my confidence shrunk a little. I was worried about the course. It had been changed due to construction. I was worried about the hills. I had not really trained on hills. A couple days beforehand I saw the weather. I was worried about that. I had not run in cold weather in a long time.

I also had things to keep me excited though. A new course means not knowing what's around the corner. For some that's a problem. For me it tends to make the run seem faster. The upper 40 degree temperature I'd be running in would mean breathable air. Much better than the warm and humid air that makes running more difficult. Best of all, one of my best friends was visiting from Canada. Roxanne knows every detail about my running journey because I met her through the website I used when I first started changing my lifestyle. She's is one of the people in my core group of supporters and I love so much that she could be here for this amazing day.

We woke up early Saturday morning in order to get to Little Rock and make sure we had time to walk around and see the fun stuff set up near the course. By the time we made sure we knew where the new start and finish lines were, there wasn't too much time left. The competitive run started at 7:30. Following that was the main run/walk 5k. Our plan was for Roxanne to see me off at the starting line and then she would head over to the finish line a few blocks away. She graciously agreed to be my photographer for the race. After I finished we would head back to the start line and walk the 5k course together. (And following that I would head away from the race festivities and run another 6 miles so that I could get my training run in for the marathon!)

Back to the starting line. I was let past the barricade into the corral for the competitive runners and all of a sudden it really hit me. I was standing among some incredibly fast people. And there were a lot of them. It's hard not to compare yourself to other runners when you're all there for the same purpose. To be among the first 300 women (and 100 men) to finish and earn that medal. Roxanne gave me words of encouragement every time I turned back to her. Trying to take deep breaths and not cry I also tried to convince myself that she was right. I could do this. One of the MC's said a prayer and then gave a one minute warning. I put in my earbuds and set up my running app. The next thing I know the start gun goes off. I took one more deep breath for confidence and off I went.

I had my music turned up louder than normal to drown out anything going on around me. The sideline support is some of the best of any race I have done, but I couldn't even take the time to enjoy it this time. I was focused on one thing, and one thing only. It was a challenging course. More so than I expected. I hoped with the change it would mean less hills. It may just be me, but I think there were more. Or maybe less time to regroup before the next uphill came. Either way, there were a lot. With the beautiful sun rise also came almost a mile of blind running. I did my best to keep pace to my music while hoping I would not trip on a crack in the road or run into someone ahead of me. Time seemed to pass quickly which I was thankful for. Before I knew it I had reached the fastest song on my playlist. I was already breathing hard and not sure if I could make it through the whole song without slowing my pace down. I hoped if I could just make it through that one I'd be good. As I finished mile 2 I realized I was slightly ahead of where I normally would be for the song that was playing. That gave me hope that I was doing better than I thought. I also knew I had a pretty big hill coming up and probably another gradual climb at the end. I pushed through. Almost walking a couple times on the big hill. I had one Heather on one side saying "It will be ok to walk. You don't have to PR this time", and another Heather on the other side saying, "Keep going! Less than a mile and you're don." I gave the negative Heather a little mental flick off my shoulder and pushed some more. As I turned the last corner my fastest pace song came back on. I had added it to the end of my play list hoping I could use it for my final boost at the end. I cranked it up and went for it. I heard cheering. I saw other finishers. I saw medals. I knew I had placed. I saw Roxanne. I tried to smile... I don't think it happened. :) When I looked down and stopped my app I was almost sure I had PR'd. I met up with Roxanne and we walked back to the start line to do it all over again. I was surprised at how excited I was to go again. Knowing we were walking and that I would be able to actually enjoy the sideline entertainment made a big difference.

It wasn't until late last night that I was able to truly believe I had met my goal. Not only met it, but smashed it. All I wanted was a 9 minute pace and a medal. Even if it meant placing 300th. The chip time results were posted and I saw that I placed 182nd out of 426 women (250th overall- 517 total competitive runners). My finish time was 28:09, but since I've been going by pace through all my training I'm basing it according to my app which says my average pace was 8:46 for 3.2 miles. Almost 15 seconds per mile faster than I had hoped for! And 30 seconds per mile faster than my average pace at last year's race.

Yep. I'm a little happy. :)

Sleep and Training in the South

I am not a morning person. I like to sleep. A lot. Specifically, I like to sleep in. There's something about knowing I don't have to set an alarm mixed with the luxury of taking my time getting out of bed that is sort of magical. At least, I like to think so. :)

For the next two months, at least, there will be no sleeping in for me. I know, I know. Whine a little more, Heather. Maybe I am, but it's really more of a fact that I have come to accept. It's just too hot this time of year for me to do more than three or so miles. While training I have no less than 6 miles on Saturdays.

I have officially started training for my races. Yes, races. I am going to attempt a 5k PR at Race for the Cure in October. Four weeks later I have Soaring Wings Half Marathon. I will continue training from there for the next month to get ready for my second full marathon, St Jude. After that I might get a short break, but if I do it won't be much because I have another half in February.

It might sound like I am complaining. Far from it actually.

Yes I have to get up before the sun so I don't run in 100+ degrees. Yes it's exhausting. But I am SO excited. I get to support one of the best causes that also happens to be close to my heart by running in Race for the Cure for the 6th time. One race supports a small children's home. Another is for a children's hospital, and the last supports Children's Miracle Network. I get to do two races I have never done before. Not only that but I get to race in two different states I have never raced in before. And best of all, after the first three, my reward for running four races in less than five moths is running IN Disney World!!

What an experience. I can't wait.

Step aside sleep and heat. I have more important things to worry about!

How Heather Got Her Groove Back

One of the hardest things about running a half marathon is finding my groove again after I've taken time off to recover. This is obviously just as true, actually more so, after my marathon. I've read in many places that you should take off a day for recovering for every mile you do at your race. In the past I've never quite made it that long. After the marathon though, I knew I needed to make myself take a break. I had been in constant training, for one race or another, for 7 months. So I took a month off. I knew it would be hard getting back to it. I knew my speed wouldn't be what it had been. But I don't think I anticipated how rough it would be. My first run I was ready. I was excited. I felt good before I started, and I decided I was going to do 3 miles. Just half a mile into that one I knew I wouldn't make it to three. I finished two grueling miles and it took me about 25 minutes. That's nothing to frown about, it's just not the time/pace I had been used to seeing. And I hurt all over. Later that week a friend asked me to join her for part of her long run. I did 4 miles with her, but the only reason I kept going after 2 was because I had to get back to my car and I had hoped the sooner the better. It was long, and it was hard, and in my head I kept asking myself how in the world I did a marathon when I couldn't even do 4 miles without wanting to pass out on the side of the road.

Fast forward a couple weeks. I started regularly meeting with another friend to run a couple times a week. She has two little ones that we push in a jogging stroller. Since my friend hadn't run in quite a while, due to being pregnant and having a new baby, I told her that I'd push the stroller while she got back into it. It's a struggle, but a fantastic workout. It's been a little over a month since we started.

The last few weeks I've also started circuit training with a couple other friends. Last week I decided to get to the track a little early and do a little running before we started the circuit workout. On Monday I was shocked when I did one mile in 9 minutes. The couple solo runs I had done before this point I was still averaging about 10 minute miles. Which I'm happy with, but sometimes I just like seeing my pace in the 9's. I missed it. So I was thrilled when I saw that 9 minute time. It wasn't for three miles, but it was still nice to see. On Tuesday while running with the stroller Amy and I cut our pace down by about 20 seconds per mile and Thursday was even better. The best part though, was Wednesday when I got to the track early for my pre-circuit run. I had only hoped for about half a mile before my friends arrived, but as I circled the track each time, they weren't there yet. I was finishing one mile as my friend was walking to our meeting area. I stopped Runkeeper and looked down to see what my time was. And started crying. I had just run my fastest mile ever. One mile in 8:30! I don't think I could have kept that up, but I was thrilled!! Who knows if I'll ever do that again. And if I do, who knows if I'll be able to maintain it for longer than a single mile. But it doesn't matter. I felt fantastic.

I am excited about running again.

I can kick out those rotten thoughts that have been littering my mind, telling me I wasn't made for running.

I got my groove back.

Never, NEVER, Say "Never"... Little Rock Marathon, Part Two!

Part one is Here.


On to the really good stuff. :)

The further into the race we got the more the temperature dropped. We were counting on the mostly continuous hill between miles 14-17 to keep us semi warm. Shortly into mile 14 we "ran" into my parents. There they were shouting at us from the side of the road with the most awesome Epic signs for us. We stopped for a quick photo opp and were back on our way. There was very little talking while we worked our way up the hill. I kept thinking about the runners passing us and how amazing they were to do this whole thing, but also run UPHILL for three straight miles. Incredible! We saw my parents again about a mile and a half or so later. This time they had specially ordered cookies for us. The little details our support team put in were so wonderful. Scott and the kids would have been there too, but it was already pouring rain in Searcy and they didn't want the kids to be in the cold rain any longer than necessary. Somewhere just after we hit 17 miles our uphill ended. Sweet relief!! We were walking down this hill and then started jogging. It felt good to use different muscles! At the bottom of the hill my parents were waiting again. This time not only were they shouting at us, but we were shouting back. We were tired, we were aching, but at the same time we still felt really good! We truly had the BEST and most fantastic support team out there. Everyone around us said so. And I whole heartedly agree!

Between mile 18 and about 23 1/2 the course is out and back. So we cover that same road twice. I had heard that this part of the race was the worst. In my head I almost scoffed when I'd hear that. How could it possibly be worse than all the hills we had done in the 18 miles leading up to this point? How could the last 8.2 miles on mostly "flat" roads be worse?? Well, they were right. Especially in our case as the temp had dropped at least 10 or more degrees and our light drizzle had turned to a light rain. Mom and Dad showed up again a little past 18 1/2 miles. That one was fun because Aunt Tee and I had made some friends along the way and we got Mom and Dad cheering for them as well. As we worked our way towards mile 20 I was anxious. 20 miles was the furthest distance I had done in training. Past that it was all new. I also knew that meant only a 10k left. 6.2 miles. I could DO that! But it took for-ev-er. The road didn't change much. Everything looked the same. It was almost like being lost. I had no idea where we were in each mile. I was cold. I was tired. I had a blister the size of Texas. But again, I still felt good. Adrenaline from racing is amazing thing. :) With our hands balled up in our coat sleeves we pressed on. Finally we got to mile 20. There was a large arch with a time clock that showed our 20 mile split and some fantastic 80's music playing. It was just the pick me up we needed!

A little past 20 1/2 we finally made the turn around to head back. All things considered I still felt fairly energized and felt like the final stretch was in the bag. We past 21 and I thought, 5 more, ONLY 5 more miles! It's crazy how quickly everything changed.

As we came up to the 22 mile marker, which was also an aid station, there were people holding up signs. I didn't think anything of it and was kind of in the zone so I wasn't really paying attention to what they said. Just 4 more miles. All of a sudden I hear a volunteer saying the race has been cancelled. ...I'm sorry. What?!? Cancelled? She did NOT just say that. I vaguely remember asking her if she was serious and realizing the sign she was holding wasn't a sign for encouraging the racers. The directors have a sign system for weather alerts. There are three levels. Needless to say, the black sign being held up means weather conditions are very bad and the race is cancelled. I just couldn't believe it. It was hardly raining. Yes, by this point I couldn't feel my hands, but I've never heard of a race being cancelled for cold. I knew it was coming, but this seemed crazy. After a minute of shocked processing I was full on angry and completely lost it. I covered my face and just sobbed. While walking. There was no where to go but forward. After a couple minutes I heard again that the race was cancelled and we needed to find shelter. Shelter?? I'm in the middle of nowhere. There is no shelter. Aunt Tee and I decided to keep going. We had not trained so hard only to get so close and not finish. And we wanted our gargantuan medal! We didn't know what to expect at the end. The finishers chute could be taken down and no medal there waiting for us. But I knew I could not stop. I still cried. It was an all out tantrum actually. At the time I didn't care. I'm slightly embarrassed now. About half a mile after we heard the news we had reached the point where my parents had been on the way out. Still standing there. In the rain. Cheering us on and expecting us to be all smiles as we had been every other time we passed them. Instead I threw my hands in the air and told them the race was cancelled. I don't remember what they said. I was too mad and just kept walking.

There was a lot of confusion as to what was happening because we still saw people coming towards us on the out part of the course- the part we had already been on. Scott called me (after my mom had called him to tell him what I had heard) to reassure me there were people still finishing and they WERE still handing out medals. Aunt Tee kept encouraging me to run the final stretch. But I was hesitant. For one, I've said from the start I would finish with her. I WANTED to finish with her. This was OUR race to do together. I also didn't want to push myself that hard and run, only to get to the finish line and not get a medal. I did want to finish though, having done the whole course.

We continued to see people passing us on the out even though we also continued to hear volunteers and police officers say the race was cancelled. Then we got back to the point where the out and back started and there was an officer at the intersection re-routing runners, telling them to go right (towards the finish line) instead of left (the out and back). Some people were following his directions, others were ignoring and going the way the course was supposed to be. I guess that's why we kept seeing people. They were determined to do the whole course even though the race was cancelled. We kept going. The temperature kept dropping. The rain kept coming. I kept fighting an internal battle. I was still saying I was going to finish with Aunt Tee but it was not as firm as it had been. And then, I heard someone say something. I have no idea what it was but whatever it was sparked something in me. Finally just before mile 24 I looked at my aunt and she knew. She nodded encouragingly as I tearfully told her that I was going to run on.

And so I ran. 2 miles. TWO! I was so close. And so worried I was going to finish and there would be no finish line to cross. I texted Scott two or three times checking to see if people were still finishing. He always answered with something encouraging. I ran harder. There were two fairly steep hills. I walked up those. The second was where I passed the mile 25 marker. So. Very. Close. And this is where the rain started coming down. To the point where it was hard to see where I was going. I ran harder. I have no idea what my running pace was. I just know it was hard. Really. Really. Hard. There were a couple short rolling hills that I had to walk up, but I ran otherwise. There was a short section under an overpass near the end that I did walk for about 15 seconds, long enough for three deep breaths, so that I could run in the last stretch as strong as I could. I hit 26 miles as I came out of that and took off. In the pouring down freezing rain. I took the curve into the barricaded finishers chute, saw the finish line, and from somewhere seriously deep down, but also out of nowhere, I just booked it. I ran as fast as I could. Until I thought I was going to trip over my own feet. I crossed the finish line with my arms raised... or so I thought. After seeing my finisher pictures my arms are barely away from my sides. But I felt like a champion in my head, so it doesn't matter how silly it actually looked.

By the time we finished the temp had fallen to 32 degrees. Almost 25 degrees over the course of our racing. Epic is right. This will be a race I will never forget!

According to the results page, I placed 17th out of the early start walkers (9th place out of the women walkers) with a finishing time of 6:24:09. Aunt Tee finished fabulously and right in range of where she had set her goal finishing time at 6:36:39.

This was such an amazing experience. Even with all the crazy stuff that happened. The volunteers are incredible. The support from the aid stations was perfect. The spectators, even the ones who don't even know you, call your name and encourage you. And the camaraderie among the other runners, including the ones who started at 8 and passed us, was something better than I've ever experienced.

This one will be hard to beat. And I will certainly try. Yes. I will do another full marathon. I knew before I even started on race morning that I would do it again. Maybe not next year. But I will do it again.

Never, NEVER, Say "Never"... Little Rock Marathon, Part One!

Warning: This could get long. Really long. There's a lot to say about 26.2 miles. :)

The theme for the Little Rock Marathon this year was "Epic". There couldn't be a more fitting theme for my first marathon. From the start of my training, to crossing the finish line, there was no end to the challenges I faced.

This absolutely crazy marathon adventure started last summer when my Aunt Tee and I were just casually talking about the half marathons she wanted to do. In the course of the conversation, mostly via Facebook comments, she said she was looking at the Little Rock Marathon because it seemed to be one of the only marathons that allowed walkers. I thought I'd be encouraging and say, "If you sign up, I'll sign up!" Not really thinking she would actually do it, or about what I was really saying. Let me back up just a little. Like, 3-4 years a little...

After I finished my first half marathon I had people asking me if I would do a full marathon now. I'd laugh and say no way! I had learned to not say "never" because I said I'd never do a half, and then while training I said I'd never do a half again, and by the time that race was over I knew I would. So I would just tell people I had absolutely no desire to do a full marathon. And I really didn't. Not even a bit. The thought of training for all those miles, and then running them... GOODNESS! It's exhausting and painful just thinking about it. For 4 years that was my answer. Until one day, August 1st 2013 to be exact, I get a notification from Aunt Tee that says, "I have registered for the Little Rock Marathon! Heather have you?" (Or something along those lines :) ) Oh my word, she was serious. All those months ago when I thought we were just messing around, she was serious. Whoa. So what did I do? I went to the website and registered of course. :)

A couple weeks later I started my training for the Race for the Cure 5k (where I was hoping for a PR- Personal Record) and Soaring Wings Half (where Scott and I had just planned on enjoying the race together without going for a certain time, ended up kicking tail and getting a PR for this one!). After Soaring Wings I thought I had about 5 weeks until it was time to start training for the marathon. But then I made a very last minute decision to do another half just one week after Soaring Wings. Three difficult races in three weekends and I was definitely ready for the break I had coming. Except I miscounted. The training schedule I was using was a 16 week plan. I got one week off before I started training all over again.

I came up with a plan to get me through my long runs since I was training alone. I was with Aunt Tee in my heart, but unfortunately that doesn't help when I'm in mile 6 of 15 and want to stop. So very early on my long distance plan was to run a mile then walk a quarter mile, then from there run a mile/walk a quarter etc. I have to say, interval training for the marathon was fantastic! Some how it made the time seem not so long even though my average pace was slower than normal. It also gave me something to look forward to after each mile. When I started to feel like I couldn't run another step, I knew I just had one or two more minutes and I'd be able to walk for a few. In the beginning I was so excited because it didn't seem so bad. I actually looked forward to my long runs. Even the double digit ones. Then we entered the worst winter Arkansas has had in many many years. Certainly the worst since Scott and I have lived here. It was bitterly cold. For so long. And it always seemed like the coldest, wettest, and windiest days fell on my long run days. I later learned it would all be prep for the race.

Fast forward to March. Race weekend is here! Aunt Tee and I drove down to Little Rock on Saturday so we could pick up our packets and drive the course. Normally I don't drive the course before a new race. I'm fine with not knowing where my next turn or hill will be. In this case, I'm so glad we did.

After driving the course and getting our packets, which included our super hero Epic themed shirts (probably my favorite race shirt to date!) and our bibs, we found a place to eat and then went to our hotel. Aunt Tee was traveling with her friend and also my cousin. We were all exhausted (they had been on the road since 4am) so it wasn't hard to turn in early. We were all in bed by 7. The tv was on but it was relaxing and I knew I wouldn't sleep well anyway.

Aunt Tee and I signed up as walkers. Which means we weren't sure we could finish before 6 hours. It also means our race starts at 6am, while everyone else would start at 8. We left the hotel about 5:30 and walked the half mile to the starting line. We were there with a couple hundred other Early Starters. It was a perfect run/walk temp of 56 degrees.

Let me take a minute to explain this weather. (Because it DOES matter) I had been watching for more than a week to see what the weather would be like. I'm not kidding when I say it ranged from 30 to 60 with rain and sun and it changed daily. For ten days. By Friday I saw the low was 52 (which we hit between 5-6am) and the high was 57 (which we normally hit between 2-3pm). Perfect! I couldn't see the hour by hour until after I gathered my stuff and had already gotten to Little Rock. That was when I started hearing about storms and ice and cold. I was so confused. Turns out we had our low and high in the same hour. And to look at the hour by hour forecast the temperature was only going to drop for the rest of the day, bringing in threats of thunderstorms and lots of ice. I had not come prepared for very cold temps so I kept hoping the forecast was wrong. Or at least for things to hold off.

So we're at the starting line and there's the usual excitement buzzing around. People were in superhero costumes preparing to run! It was awesome. The next thing I knew we were lined up and the gun was going off. Aunt Tee and I figured we would aim for 6 1/2 hours but probably finish closer to 7. That's a long day of walking with some running thrown in to change things up now and then. But we were prepared.

The first few miles passed fairly quickly. They were uneventful as far as entertainment goes. Most spectators and sideline entertainment wouldn't come out until later when the 8:00 start happened. Aunt Tee and I just chatted and soon we were at mile 6. Around here is where I felt like the hills started getting noticeable. There were short, small ones in the first bit, but nothing very significant. Between mile 6 and mile 13 the hills are longer and steeper (nothing like what we would encounter later though) but we had the sites of downtown Little Rock to distract us. By now the temperature had dropped a little and now and then there was a light drizzle. We had a strong first half and made it within 100 feet of 13 miles before the Elite runners (who started at 8) caught up to us. We were quite a bit further than we expected to be when that happened. I was thrilled with our average pace... but also knew what was coming.

Current life calls. Part two coming soon!

Going a New Direction

I have decided to rekindle and revamp my old blog. I wasn't good at posting often and just decided it wasn't worth it. But lately, the last year or so, I have found myself wanting to journal my race experiences. After some encouragement from my best friend I decided I'd try doing a running blog. I'll post about my races- the excitement, the course, the emotions I inevitably have. And maybe once in awhile something else might pop in. Bear with me while I get this going. I hope it will be good for me. I found three posts in my old blog that I kept. The first (and oldest) is from September '08 and it mentions a new running record of 4 miles. In that post I said I didn't know if I would ever do 4 miles again, but I was happy I did. I love looking back and seeing how far I've come! The second one is a blog about my first 5k, and the third was my first half marathon. I thought those were good to leave. Especially since my first official post with my new blog will be a detailed play by play of my first marathon! I'm saving that for later tonight when I can really sit down and focus on it though.

I'm excited about this new adventure for me. I hope that in some way, it will benefit anyone who chooses to read along.