F^3 Half Marathon

So this picture pretty much sums up the F^3 half marathon for me. Fun. Fantastic. Fabulous. Not quite what F^3 stands for but close enough...

photo by Chad Marek

The night before I laid out my flat Xaar and made sure I had all my running shit together. It's been a while since my last race (July 2015!), and since consistency makes replication possible, I have to put effort into this ritual.  I wore my new Mikkeller Running Club singlet, nike hyperwarm shirt, old navy tights,  and my trusty Newton Distances.  Not pictured, the back of the shirt showing Mikkel (the brewer of Mikkeller) he's "#1." Surprisingly I got a lot of compliments on that *aspect* of the shirt. I was a little worried about it...
#Goalz

Since i've been barely breaking 20 running miles a week, my only real goal was to take the 1st half easy, and the 2nd half as a negative split. No time goals, only effort. But had you asked me about a time goal, I would have said 1:47-1:52. I didn't feel particularly springy or fresh, nor did I have an army of stellar running workouts to point to a specific fitness level. The best I had was a 10 mile run a few weeks prior where I had 4 miles around 7:50- which felt more labored than they should have. Leading up to the F^3, I hadn't had a beer in 3 weeks, eaten very healthy and lost around 4lbs (still about 2.5 over my normal "happy" weight).
Pre race I met up with Mo, Pete and some of my fellow MRC members for a photo. I was pretty chill about the whole "race" because I was treating it as a training run- I needed a long run, and the weather was agreeable for me to run outside. It was absolutely a treat to stay inside the heated United Club of Soldier Field until 10 minutes before the start. LOVE THIS SO MUCH.
The first 6 or so miles of the race Mo and I ran together. The miles went by seemingly fast and when we saw a photographer, we showed how much fun we were having. Airplane FTW.
photo by Chad MarekI mean seriously, If you aren't having fun in these events, why the hell bother? Yeah, sure, times get tough and it's time to put game face on, but a little cheezing for the camera never hurt anyone. It takes more muscles to be totes serious than to airplane. #Fact
photo by Chad MarekAfter the turnaround I continued to pick up the pace. My legs just wanted to go, and I didn't want to be the one holding them back. Annabelle took this photo probably around mile 9-10. I was in the freaking zone at this point. After doing some quick math- yay accounting degree, yay- I realized if I kept on pace I would probably PR. WUT?!?
By the time I saw this photographer (B. Berman), I was 11+ miles into this event and on cloud 9 at how amazing I felt. But... I had to keep pushing the pace. My legs wanted to fly and my heart and mind finally got on board and were all HELL YEAH LETS F*CKING GO!
I must have passed 200+ people in the last 6 miles of this race. It just felt waaaaaaay too good to be running 7:30's.. I'm still wondering how the hell I was banging out these splits and feeling so good. Probably all of the cycling and swimming, duh.

Pete finished 1st in his AG in a blazing fast time and was so kind to stick around the finish and snap photos of us. There were some tears shed at the 1:44:23 I just clocked because of all the shit i've been through the past 2 years with the peroneal tendonosis and life stress. So happy that my underwhelming/under achieving half PR of 1:46:05 from 2.5+ years ago finally bit the dust.  *Underwhelming because it was a ridiculously hot day for that PR and I knew I could run faster in better conditions... 

A funny or interesting side note is in Fox Valley Marathon 2013, I ran my fastest "timed" half marathon- the first half of the race in..... 1:44:23. I should totally play the lottery or something now.
We met up for a quick photo post race and were all smiles at our efforts.
                                           
Mo and I sporting our amazing Koala and Owl head hats.
I never ever intended in my wildest dreams (I love that Tay Tay song BTW) to achieve negative splits like this. I doubt if I set my goal to "negative split each mile" that I would have pulled it off successfully. DAMN YOU MILE 8!  I just felt good and went with it. All of the cycling intervallllz and half assed swimming must be having a much bigger impact on my fitness than I would have thought. According to Sporttracks, my fitness is pretty much at an all time high right now- as compared to since I started logging my workouts in 2012. Not a surprise my fitness level is improving while working out 5-8 quality hours a week currently. I'm really happy at the effort I gave and executed in this training "race." It now gives me hope, a lot of hope actually, that I will be able to finally run a BQ at my next marathon in Carmel in April. That's what I'll be training for anyways. But also keeping in mind my "A" goal of Ironman Wisconsin and not doing anything to jeopardize that.
Post race, L and I went to Flo and Santos to celebrate. We not only celebrated my new PR, but Saturday was also our 5th anniversary of being in Chicago. At Flo and Santos, I had my first beers in 3 weeks- some Bourbon County 2015 Coffee and 2013 Bourbon County stout. YUMMMMMO.

Housekeeping:

• Prerace- ate a crumpet with raspberry jam 2.5 hours before the race
• Took a Salted watermelon gu 10 min before the start
• Took a caramel macchiato gu around mile 6 - thought I'd blow my load taking it so early, but not the case. Since i generally dont take nutrition on training runs, so it makes sense i felt good.
• Took water at nearly every aid station- something I never do because I usually bring a bottle of Osmo with me- but decided it was only 13 miles and that the bottle would freeze, so not worth the trouble.
• Ran 7 miles the day before because I'm loosely following the Hanson marathon plan. Incorporated with my triathlon training too...
• Calves were very tight for a few days likely due to the lack of wearing the Newtons/lack of running. The blister from 2 weeks ago did not reappear thank god.

Saturday was super fun and It was nice to be around so many great friends. I would absolutely do this event again as long as the weather was decent (hello Reynauds). F^3 was extremely well organized and the medal/shirt/beanie were all really nice. The volunteers were also full of smiles on a cold barely above freezing day.

I'm excited for all the training and celebratory races ahead!

Shamrock Shuffle 2015

Time: 35:17  (a PR by 1:42!!)

AG: 52/2785 (1.87%)
Women: 204/12847 (1.59%)
OA: 1080/22877 (4.72%)

Expo:

We went on Saturday morning to the expo for our bibs and swag- it wasn't too crowded at McCormick place which was nice... We also ran into Emmers and walked the expo with her.


There were a lot of vendors and races present- I found a few races I hadn't heard of before which sounded interesting- mainly the Tiki Run.

Shamrock style...

We took it easy on Saturday night and had tacos.... And margaritas. And a couple of beers. Because of course we had to have a Mikkeller beer.. Might not have been the smartest to have a 17.12% abv Mikkeller beer the night before, but I'm sure it helped us sleep well.

We woke up to a gorgeous sunrise sunday morning. I wish that was an omen for good weather... But it was super cold and super windy.

We got to grant park and met up with some of our Mikkeller run club teammates as well as some Chicago running bloggers. It was nice seeing everyone!

We had 12 folks on 2 teams running for our Chicago MRC chapter. Spoiler alert: we ended up 8th and 24th out of 58 teams!!!

L and I bummed around grant park for a bit before I bag checked my puffy jacket.

We were pretty cold.


Race expectations:

I threw any real expectation out the window for this race because of the weather. With it being low 30's and 20-30mph gusts, the feels like was just too damn cold for me. If this was a non race day, I wouldn't have run outside because I don't fare well in cold conditions. My plan was to take the first mile easy and slowly negative split the race. Also, I knew I would PR because of all the quality workouts I have completed over the past few months...

Race:

I got into the back of the A corral and immediately saw Eric and Mo. Those badasses ran a marathon the day before!! We chatted a bit and I "warmed up" by doing a few half assed strides in the back of the corral. But I was really cold, especially after I shed my old jacket.

I took off and slowly started passing people. My garmin was hovering around 7:1x before the tunnel and I felt good. I saw Kimmie and chatted with her for 10 seconds before continuing on my way.

*i manually lapped the splits *

The first 4 miles felt really easy. Like thinking about it now, maybe I should have pressed a bit more. BUT I walk a fine line in the cold with running- I go from being able to breathe to almost hyperventilating very quickly. I kept expecting the wind to be bad but it didn't really hit me until mile 3.5 near Willis- but since the course turned a lot we were fortunate not to experience that strong blast of wind too long.

I passed the 5k in 22:04.

At mile 4 I decided to pick up the pace more and consequently had a really difficult time breathing. Add to that was the strong headwind while running south on Michigan Ave. mile 5 was slowly sucking the life out of me.

Post run I was shivering as I walked a long way back to bag check to get my puffy jacket. I got my PR beer mich ultra and hung out with a big group of friends while waiting for L. By then I was shivering so bad the beer was barely staying in the cup.

Post race thoughts: I was really happy with how I ran given the circumstances of shitty weather. I had a lot of fun singing along to the 5 songs I put on my iPod for the race. I think the music helped keep my energy level up because I tend to get pretty defeated in the wind and cold. Also, starting out slightly conservative and passing people the entire time was also a big boost for me. I never found the course to be over crowded or anything. Yeah there's people running alongside you unlike any of your training runs, but it was far from brushing shoulders with them.

We went to Kaiser Tiger post run for brunch with friends. It's always nice to celebrate races with friends, beer and brunch.

By the evening the effects of running outside had caught up to me and I was feeling the usual headache/fever/funk I get when I run in the cold. Add to that incredibly achy calfs and I was a joy to be around! I took some aleve and called it a night.

Housekeeping:

I wore: owl head hat, Nike ear warmer headband, sunglasses from the expo, MRC shirt, armwarmers, my Nike tights, swiftwick socks, Saucony A5 shoes, Saucony Mitten/Gloves.

I brought a small bottle of Osmo with me during the run and took sips as necessary.

I ate a small bowl of oatmeal before the race.

Yay for another fun race!! I've taken the train to PR City and am not looking back! Yay no injuries!

Next up: a 5k in Copenhagen unless I find something else in Chicago first.

St Patrick's 5k {Vancouver, BC, Canada}

Let's just get this out of the way first:

Time: 21:13 (a 17 second PR over my Pumpkins PR from October 2013!)

13/237 Age Group ( top 4.58%)

43/1011 Women ( top 4.25%)

171/1651 Overall (top 10.35%)


This was in no way a "goal race." Yeah, I've been training 6 weeks on a 5k plan, and I wanted to give it a good go, but I knew the circumstances wouldn't be ideal to hit the sub 20. And I was fine with that.

1. 5 hours in a plane left me feeling dehydrated. It also left my legs feeling sore and like lead.

2. We walked around Vancouver yesterday. My legs were still sore.

3. We went out with friends and had ramen, beer, a delicious vodka grape basil mojito type thing, a bourbon based mixed drink (Ginger Lady) and I finished the evening with a Canada Club 100% rye whiskey neat. Cheers!

4. Woke up this morning and my feet felt swollen still.

I wouldn't have changed a thing about yesterday! Because friends/family > running. Period.


Woke up to the predicted 85% chance of rain, ate a few small Nak'd bars and drank some Osmo and took a cab to the start because of the rain. I was going to run, but didn't feel like being soggy and cold for longer than I needed. Once out of the cab, I put on my trash bag and walked to the start area. I hung out under a tent for a while until I started my warmup.


I ran for 10 min easy + some strides as my warmup and took off my garbage bag when I realized it stopped raining and tucked in neatly near the front. After a quick countdown and listening to the pace car Maserati revving its engine, we were off!


I hit the first K in 3:50. Oops. That was a bit too quick even with the downhill! I was feeling great.

Hit the 1st mile in 6:30. 2nd k around 8:15, 3rd K around 12:30, and then I don't remember the rest.

The course was hilly, and gorgeous. The course was run around Stanley park and had nice views of sea planes landing, as well as downtown Vancouver. I really enjoyed that it was a loop and not an out and back.


I kept an even effort throughout but slowed. I'm sure I positive splitted the shit out of this race.

I was just really happy if stopped raining before the race started, because 30 minutes before, it was pouring freaking raining.



Post run, I got my new Granville Island brewing glass which also had the logo on it for the 5k and I paid $7 to fill it with their potato stout. Which was pretty good.


They had a cool indoor after party which was nice because I was damp, my feet were soaked and I was freezing my ass off.


After warming up enough, I walked back to the hotel and stopped at Blendz for an earl grey latte + monster cinnamon bun. Yum.


I'm really happy with how this race ended up considering everything. And I got to check a new country off the list of places I've raced!

This was the first race I've actually "raced" in a year!! I'm super happy to be"back" and know under better circumstances, a sub 20 will happen soon.

Fox Valley Marathon 2013

3:35:12* a new PR by 5 minutes!

12/97 AG 12%

46/608 Women 7.5%

223/1317 OA 16.9%

1st half 1:44.23* (7:59/mile) my fastest half marathon to date.

2nd half 1:50.49 (8:28/mile)

So this isn't the post I envisioned writing post FVM. Everything leading up to this race pointed to the fact I would get the time I wanted. My training was solid, I had no injuries, I was in good health. I rarely have a "bad race." I don't let nerves get to me, at my core I am a performer and know all sorts of Jedi mind tricks to stay calm and carry on.

I got a 5 minute PR, which I'm really happy about. Yeah, it wasn't the sub 3:30/ BQ-5 that I was working towards, but my body had other plans for race day. Before I launch into the what went wrong side of things, I will say this:

I am truly thankful for the love and support I've received over the past 14 weeks. I am happy that my body allows me to complete 26.2 miles. I LOVE running. BQ, PR or not, the BEST day of running for me is any and all days I can run injury free. Currently I have some minor quad soreness, a funky right knee and a tight left hip flexor. I do not have any injury to speak of.

This recap will be a bit different than my others. I'll let photos (and a few words) do the talking.

Start

It was 45 degrees, and low dewpoint the morning of the race. *Perfect*

I ran into Melinda Before the start. It was nice to see her and have a quick chat.

I was feeling good going into the race. Said my good byes to my Daad and L and soon it was time.

Soon we were off running. I felt good but I also felt a little "off." Nothing that I could pinpoint, just not the usual springiness I have when I'm running.

I love running. This is awesome!

I felt good but "off" and took off at a conservative pace. (Mainly I was trying to run by effort because I don't trust the garmin all that much. Plus it is defeating when it reads a pace you don't want to see.)



So around mile 4.5 I'm cruising and see someone holding a sign. I see they have a dog on it and think "aww what a cutie, it kinda looks like CB!" Then KIM Shouts my name and I realize it's her holding a sign with CB on it!! dERP!! I didn't expect to see her so early in the course. :)

Took a salt and gu at mile 5 and almost didnt get it down. Once I got it down I started feeling queazy. I decided at that point, no more salt pills.

Half Way!


I was happy to have 13.1 more miles to go. But the "off" feeling was getting magnified with each step.

I patted the Fox on the head as I ran by around mile 17. I did this last year too.


But by this point the "OMG I LOVE THIS" was fading fast.

Mile 17 where I smash hard into a brick wall.

Well that "off" feeling became super intense around mile 17 and just kept intensifying. My body hurt. My arms and legs and all my muscles became very sore and difficult to move.


I had wicked side stitch starting around mile 17 and I don't remember if it ever let up before the finish.

I tried to "push" the pace from one light pole to the next and my body just wouldn't go.


I was getting more and more delirious with each step. My thoughts were so incredibly negative by this point- and it wasn't because I might not BQ, but instead extreme frustration at the fact my body was failing and there was nothing I could do. I repeatedly though "if only I tripped and fell, then someone would tell me my day is over." I couldn't DNF myself. I couldn't throw in the towel, it is not in my soul to simply give up. So I continued on.

I walked up a hill at mile 23. I saw the hill and thought "there's no way in hell I could run up that." The pain inside was tremendous.

Around mile 25 I saw Britt's husband and he started running with me. I remember him asking how I felt and I replied "I feel like shit." We "picked up the pace" towards the finish and he was nothing but encouraging. Had you asked me my pace at this point I would have said 7 minutes. I felt like I was sprinting. My actual split was closer to 8:30.


I tried to just keep pushing towards the finish. I was in pain. Once I crossed I remember bending over to catch my breath and felt numb. I actually don't remember much after that.


My Daad, L, Britt, D, Kim, and Bobbi were all there and I don't have any memories of our interactions. I know they kept asking if I was ok, but in my delirious state I kept saying "yes, I'm fine." I wasn't.


Thank you Britt for pushing me and inspiring me the past 14 weeks!

Thank you to my Daad and L who spectated and saw the progression of my meltdown. Thanks to L for putting up with me while I chase this BQ goal.

What went wrong?

A combo of the following:

•Stress leading up to the race

•Depletion of electrolytes (I took Gu every 5 miles, but no salt)

•Whatever caused me to feel "off."

•Hormones.

I ate fine before the race, slept ok, so basically I feel something above caused me to bonk hard around mile 17.

I am happy with my PR and know a better day is in these legs.

Thank you again for all your support and encouragement, I certainly feel very loved :)


- xaar