Feet to Feast 15k Results

I am wondering, how many friends participated in a Turkey Trot of some form on Thanksgiving? It's been a wonderful new tradition for me the past 3 years participating in a local turkey run. What races do you run? What distance? Is thanksgiving a fun run or serious for you?

This year was "Feet to Feast" which offers a 5k and a 15k. My in-laws are in town, and they completed their very first ever 5k that morning. #soproud They finished in under their estimated time too. I love watching my family be healthy, little things like this make my heart happy.

Now down to business. The 15k. Wow. It was rough for me! The morning was cold which makes me ache like crazy. The race started,  I took off pretty fast because there weren't a lot of runners so naturally I was trying to stay with the crowd that was near me. My goal was 9 minute average finishing around 85 minutes. By mile 2 I was spent. I was struggling and ready to turn around and just join the 5k (too bad the route we were running made that not an option...). Checking my watch I realize I ran mile 1 at 7:43.. No wonder I was struggling. The next several miles I turned my watch off, I decided if I was going to  finish this I needed to focus on running, not my time or distance. I made it a point to wish people luck as they passed me, to look around at my surroundings, and constantly remind myself of all the things I love about running. Just going out for a run with no time or distance restraints felt amazing. I listened to my body, focused on my breathing and my foot rhythm. Once I finally crossed the finish line, the clock said 1:25:10.  I finished in 85 minutes, my goal. I couldn't believe it.

Physically it was rough, but mentally it was exactly what I needed. I ended up taking 4th place in my division, so no medal this year, but I am so grateful for this race.

Hope everyone had a safe holiday weekend. Happy Thanksgiving from my crazy family to yours.

#happyrunning

15k Feet to Feast

Well I am finally getting back into the routine of running... and my next marathon is in just over 4 weeks. Yikes. That took longer than I'd hoped. I am running the Feet to Feast 15k tomorrow, I'm hoping for 9 minute mile average... I have no idea what I will end up with though! I had a rough day today feeling overly sore and tired... #stupidlyme I'm hoping tomorrow I wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go. I could use a good run to encourage me right now.

After a disappointing race.. you register for more!

It's like the old saying goes... "When you fall off the horse, you get back in the saddle..."  I registered for the Jax Bank  Marathon Dec 28, and decided I will run the Charleston South Carolina Marathon Jan 17 qualifying me for the Marathon Maniac's group. Just because I had a hard, disappointing race doesn't mean I should stop, or take a break. It just means I need to try harder, push harder, and keep progressing. If my times aren't what I want, who cares.  I am trying and that's all that counts. Right?

Marathon Disappointment

I made it to Savannah Friday afternoon and spent some time at the Expo, bought myself a few new goodies, had a good dinner and went to bed early.  I was going to have a good race. WRONG. I woke up stiff and with a migraine. I am really starting to hate Lyme Disease. I was sure once we got downtown the adrenalin and excitement would overtake all my aches and pains, but it didn't. Around mile 3 I stubbed my toe on a brick and broke a bone at the top of my foot. Ouch.  I still managed to stay with the 4:00 pacer, although I was struggling.  My breathing was great and I had no cramping but my joints hurt, bad.  My toes were aching inside my shoes... as well as my ankles, elbows and wrists.  My fingers were swollen I am assuming from bad circulation in the cold weather? Mile 12 I lost my pacer. Around mile 23 I lost the 4:15 hour pacer. I stopped at mile 24, stretched, cried, and walked. I was feeling so disappointed, so defeated. I failed. I couldn't push through the aches and pains like I thought I'd be able to. I walked for a few minutes, pulled myself together, and started jogging (shuffling?) again.

Mile 25 I picked up the pace not allowing myself to stop running no matter what. I was so close! I finished.  I was so happy to be done. I was anxious to stretch my legs and compress my achy joints. I didn't meet my BIG goal of 4 hours. I didn't BEAT my last year time of 4:16:32... no. I was slow. I felt like all that training was wasted on this run. I came in with a  final official time of 4:23:10. I hung out in the finishers shoot for a few minutes trying to pull myself together before facing everyone. I reminded myself, I finished. I ran 26.2 miles even when I wanted to quit. I put a smile on my face, took my pictures with a fake pride displayed, and walked out of the finishers shoot to face everyone.  My husband looked sad, my mom was crying (disappointed she didn't finish due to an injury). It was a very gloomy morning. We watched Phillip  Phillips finish his concert, and slowly made our way back to the car.

 A marathon is hard enough on it's own... doing it with the aches, pains and stiffness that comes with Lyme is just mean.


I'm frustrated because even after the race, my muscles feel great. I nailed my fueling the days before and the day of race day. I never got dehydrated, or cramps or sick. Everything was spot on. Everything except that fact that I have Lyme Disease and that sucks. #stupidlyme

But I will smile, because I pushed through and finished and there were times during the race, I didn't know if that was going to happen. I didn't think I would make it! I fought tears back off and on throughout the race, and once I finished there was no holding them back. I felt instant relief, disappointment, happiness, pride and failure all at the same time. It was overwhelming.

Marathon  #2 complete. I am now officially a marathoner. 

Taper Tantrum!!!

Over the course of  marathon training, there are certain things you grow accustomed to.

Running a lot of weekly miles. Missing events and sleep because of planned runs. The anxiety and nerves of each upcoming long run. Planning your routes and anticipating the crash that will come afterward. Running on dark mornings before the day even starts.

I guess you could say you grow addicted to this schedule because with it comes "The Runners High", the constant feeling of endorphin-driven highs and the persistent fatigue and soreness of effort that follows becomes the norm.

As beneficial as running is to my mental health, racing causes a lot of mixed emotion. I love to race, but racing big races also means tapering, tapering means less running, and less running often means an irritable, crabbier version of me. One that no one really likes all that much and is prone to what we have decided, is a Taper Tantrum.

Proper recovery is critical before any long distance race. I am now in the final weeks before the marathon and my calendar is now filled with ever-shortening, maddeningly easy runs; five miles, four miles, three, two, an entire day or two off of your feet. Now as my body starts recovering and healing from all the work it has been doing, I have extra energy that isn't needed and I am now starting to become restless. Maybe one more 12 mile run? No. No extra running. No more double digits allowed. I feel like my 5 months of hard work building my fitness is slowly draining out of my body. I know this isn't true and I know that physiologically, there are nothing but positive results from a two-week taper prior to running a marathon. However, it feels quite the opposite. Everything I have ever read or been told says the taper is critical and my fitness will improve for race day by allowing myself proper rest. In addition to the "physical suck" of tapering (yes, there is more) I am no longer getting my runners high. I don't have those happy energy filled endorphin's pushing me through the day every day. I'm like an addict, who isn't getting their fix. Irritated, anxious, and restless! I have a surge of anxiety going through me regarding the upcoming 26.2 mile race. The one that I have spent so much time preparing for.

(my thoughts during my taper) Did I do enough? I could've pushed harder on my last 21 mile run. Maybe I should've squeezed in another speed run or two?  I know I didn't do enough cross training this time. I should've focused more on the nutrition aspect...  What if I wake up and Lyme Disease gets the best of me that day? Lyme disease flaring up would make an already hard race, feel impossible. What if I disappoint my friends and family who have been so supportive, who have sacrificed their time and sleep helping me with my kids or bringing me water when I was out on those long runs and didn't bring enough. What if I finish in a less-than-desirable time and feel like it was all a waste? I'm terrified. I'm nervous. I'm scared of failure.

I'm skeptical about the chaos this taper causes me both physically and mentally.

What I am trying to say is that I hope this helps my husband and kids (and extended family, and co-workers, and cashiers, and Starbucks employees, and the random person at the gas station that I freaked out on...) to better understand the emotional wreck I have been, and I promise, IT WILL GO AWAY after the marathon. Then will come the post marathon blues... but we will talk about those more next week (**wink wink**).

I hope this sheds some light on TAPER MADNESS.  Sometimes, insight makes things a bit easier to understand.  Of course, your experience may differ greatly, but I’ll bet it doesn't.

"I'm like an addict, who isn't getting their fix. 

Irritated, anxious, and restless!"