Make Yourself Monday

Hurricane Sandy style....to all the runners out there hardcore enough to complete the Marine Corp Marathon Sunday under the threat of a hurricane...You are HARDCORE for sure!

Make Yourself Monday

Fearless

Make Yourself Monday

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Post Marathon Recovery

Day One felt like this

So did much of Days 2 and 3. I finally started to feel human again yesterday, but I am fighting a cold and I'm completely exhausted. Day 5 - today - I wore shoes again for the first time (blisters aren't super painful any longer) and can walk up and down stairs without making an awful face or grunting. So that's good.

The other good news is that my injuries don't appear to have been aggravated too much. No significant extra pain in either my hip or upper hamstring....just a general soreness that is frankly a lot duller than I expected it to be. I really thought I might have set myself back but it doesn't appear to be so! A couple more weeks and I'll start up PT again. We'll develop a different plan based on this diagnosis and hopefully I'll able to start walk/running again in a couple months. Last weekend really made me miss everything all the more. I am thinking about volunteering for the Seattle Marathon next month since I can't run it....It's time I started to give back and what better way to do it. right?

Portland Marathon Race Recap

Finisher!

This was my first 'destination' race, even though it wasn't very far. We left for Portland on Saturday morning, arriving about lunchtime. We were able to do an early check in at our hotel, which was really nice but quite far from downtown - it was at the airport. But there was a train stop a block away that went right downtown Portland so we hopped on that after getting settled in our room. The Girl had some birthday money to blow on tax-free shopping so that and hitting the expo was the grand plan for the day. 

We got downtown, and after a brief stop in the wrong area of downtown, we figured out where we were going. We were starving so we found food first and then I peeled off to meet up with Jess and D at the Expo.

It took a couple tries to get this picture. The old man we asked

 had a hard time figuring out how to use an iPhone 

camera....which incidentally, kept happening to us.

After hitting the expo, we went our separate ways until our planned dinner...we were late getting reservations made so after striking out at four different Italian restaurants, we had to settle for a brewery....

At dinner, I was still planning to walk only about 5-7 miles. Little did I know that I would decide to do something totally crazy - like actually walk the whole thing with no training whatsoever. I tried to get a decent nights sleep, but that is virtually impossible sleeping next to someone who snores. So a few hours of non-sleep later, I was up and getting ready for my planned DNF. I caught the first train downtown that ended up being FULL of other racers....I was earlier than our planned meet up time so I had my second cup of coffee. Again, not at all in the 'I'm about to walk 26 miles' mindframe....But the thought was starting to occur to me. I was mentally trying to talk myself into it at that point...by the time Jess, D and Mike showed up, I was all, I think I am going to try to walk the whole thing. Jess was excited and that sealed the deal. I couldn't let her walk the entire thing by herself, injured, carrying a 5ft flag. I still planned to stop if the injuries started bothering me.

Representing Blue! 

We had our Circle of Remembrance by calling out the names of the fallen soldiers -- a reminder of who we were running for. Then it was time to split up into our separate corrals. D was up front in B corral, Mike started in G I believe,and Jess and I started in Corral F. The corrals were all split up on separate blocks so we weren't able to hear the National Anthem at the beginning, which was a bummer. We finally rolled across the start at about 7:25am or so. 

 Have no idea which mile this was at....

I am still smiling though....

The first 8 miles or so flew by pretty quickly...we did an out and back along the river, walking mostly, yogging some of the time. There were bands all along the course, cheer squads and a lot of spectators. There was also a good deal of aid on the course, which - thank god - because I was so unprepared, I was totally reliant on what they had to offer. 

We also got to see everyone at some point or other....We saw Deidra twice on a couple out and back portions; as well as Mike and April, our Ragnar teammate. That was really cool since there were so many people....the flags totally helped with that! Easier to spot. 

As I mentioned in my "I can't believe I actually did that" post, this whole experience was very surreal and didn't feel like it was actually happening. If every single part of my body wasn't screaming at me right now, it might seem like a crazy feverish dream....since I did everything so very very wrong. Wrong clothes, no preparation, and made do with what I had in front of me...All the things you aren't supposed to do were done, but I survived it. 

We got through the first half and I still felt pretty good. My hamstring and hip didn't hurt anymore than normal so I decided to keep going past the 13 mile mark....and past that, there was really no turning back. After mile 16, you hit the first bridge, St. Johns bridge. The next 8-9 miles were on the other side of the river and I knew it wouldn't be easy to get back if I stopped there. Plus my phone had already died, so I wouldn't have been able to call my sister to come rescue me anyway....

Headed up the killer hills to the bridge, approaching Mile 17.

 

This picture is a result of the nice lady coming to 

the rescue of another iPhone challenged runner....

We made it over the bridge and by then it was H-O-T hot. Mid 70's and I was still in my long sleeve shirt. This next 8 miles or so was in a residential area and there were at least a couple nice folks who turned on their sprinklers in the street for us. I ran through both of them and dumped at least 4-5 cups of water on my head during the last 10 miles. I was definitely hitting the wall by this point. My energy was dropping significantly, I was really thirsty and the blisters on my feet were getting more raw. But we just kept plodding along....passing mile markers slowly but surely. 22, then 23...then finally 24 and were back over on the other side of the river after crossing the final bridge.

At this point, we were yogging more than walking since it hurt less. Jess kept getting shooting pains in her knee and was limping a bit, so she felt better walking. I sort of shuffle/dragged my feet beside her and we finally made it to mile 25. Right at that corner, I heard my sister and daughter screaming our names...I looked over at them in a daze and immediately burst into tears and almost started hyperventilating.....but seeing them was exactly the boost I needed to finish the last 1.2 miles. We rounded the corner at mile 26 and both of us held the flag the last .2 of the race across the finish line. Until this point, we were taking turns carrying it, switching off whenever one of us got too tired. 

We crossed the finish line and it was so nice to be done.....I was exhausted though. And almost burst into tears again when they said they didn't have medals right then and water was a half block away around the corner. I seriously almost lost it big time. I hobbled over to get water and again was defeated when I was handed a half full dixie cup. Seriously? No bottles of water? They got some medals finally (they had taken them all for some reason to the new finish line they were setting up since it was nearly the end of the regular course time) and I was able to stop by the medical tent to get some ice packs saran-wrapped to my arse. 

The post race food was pretty sad by then...all the fruit was brown and the chocolate milk was slightly warm. I guess that is what happens when you finish after 7 hours. We picked up the rest of our swag and got the hell out of there....by then most people were gone. And we all had long drives ahead of us to get home....

 Smiling or grimacing? You be the judge...

Overall, I thought the race was well organized, the volunteers were superb and the Pirate Band was by far the best on-course entertainment. I didn't love the on-course fuel, but when you don't bring any of your own, anything is better than nothing.....I would have loved Gatorade instead of the awful pink stuff they were calling Ultima (which I only drank b/c it was hot and I need to replace electrolytes in bad way) and gels of some kind instead of pretzels and gummy bears. But I survived. 

Overall stats- which I am writing out, since screen-grabbing is in violation of their 'copyright policy' (which, really?) and I really don't feel like risking a $150,000 fine.

Finish: 7:08:41 (Tag time; 7:27:19 Gun time)

Avg Pace: 16:21 (not too bad for walking)

Overall Place: 6374 of 6518 (ha!)

Women: 3251 of 3360

F 35-39: 557 of 565

Splits:

5 km: 43.13

10 km: 1:30:48

8.9 mi: 2:12:52

Half: 3:20:21

17.5 mi: 4:41:44

21.1 mi: 5:42:18

Finisher - Marathon #1 Done

We carried the flags the entire 26.2 miles. 

I still can't believe I did it. I really truly planned to walk a maximum of 5 or 6 miles. I even packed for that - leaving no room for the possibility of even trying to walk more. But somehow, that morning, being around all those runners, knowing Jess was going to do the whole thing walking and what we called 'yogging' (a sort of shuffling jog) I decided to just go for it and play it by ear. The first half of the course was a few loops through downtown Portland and some industrial areas and I figured I'd see if I could make it to that point and do a gut check then. We were feeling good so I decided to keep going.

By the time we got to mile 16, it was like, this is it - this is the point where there is no turning back. It was only 10 more miles and I knew we could do it. My hip and arse (that upper hamstring area just below my bum where the tendons are super angry) felt pretty ok so we just kept plodding along. The walking was tough, I am not going to lie. Your foot moves around in your shoe differently, which for me, means blisters. So there were times where the yogging was less painful, as long as I kept my stride really short. And miles 23-26 were really really tough. The last mile was the longest mile I've ever yogged. No lie.

St. Johns Bridge....about 2/3 of the way there!

It felt surreal the whole time. I still couldn't believe I was doing it, even as I wincing with every step....And I was so unprepared. First off, because I planned to keep the miles in the single digits, I wore my long sleeve Wear Blue shirt and my thick heavy WB hoodie. It was super chilly at 6am, but by about 11am, the sun was out and it got really really hot...definitely hit the mid 70's, which is very very unusual for the Pacific Northwest in early October.

By mile 1 - the hoodie was off and around my waist, forcing me to re-pin my bib. But luckily, I knew we were going to see Erin around the 2 mile mark and when we saw her I yelled hi and basically threw my sweatshirt at her. Thanks for taking it Erin- You are, hands down, one of the best race pit crew people ever.

Other things I did wrong: I brought no water bottle or fuel, I didn't train at all (oy vey), I didn't dress properly for the weather (was kicking myself the whole time for not wearing my short sleeve WB shirt and forgetting my hat), I didn't wear sunscreen so my face is pretty sunburned. In addition to not training, I also wasn't fueling with walking a 26.2 in mind- ate crappy this last week, didn't pre-hydrate like I normally do, and didn't carbo load very much at all. Also, I forgot to start my RunKeeper app at the start and remembered around 1.5 miles in. Once I did start it, we decided to run without music (which I can proudly say I did for the entire 26.2 miles, also another first) but a couple hours in, I looked at my phone and had only 9% battery left. So I just switched it off. I had no idea of our pace or exact time the whole time - we just kept going (aaand another first!).

Despite all of that - I did it. I finished a marathon - walking, injured and carrying a 5ft American flag for about half the time. Every painful step was walked in honor of Command Sgt Major Kevin Griffin - who died in Afghanistan after proudly serving our country for the past 24 years.

Serious swag here - 2 shirts, a beautiful medal, a commemorative 

coin, a pendant and a rose! I also loved the personalized bib!

Seeing my people at mile 25 was also really awesome. We got to that spot and my sister, daughter and my daughter's friend were standing there screaming for us and taking pictures. I was having a really hard time at that exact moment and seeing them made me burst into tears. My girl was proud of her mama and the love gave me the boost I needed to get through that last super long mile. What a day. I feel like I am going to die today, but I did it. Full recap to come!

First marathon - Done!

Make Yourself Monday

Portland Marathon - Walking in Honor of...

 Army Command Sgt Major Kevin J. Griffin

Command Sgt Major Griffin was killed on August 8, 2012 in Kunar Province, Afghanistan in a suicide bomb attack. He was the most senior enlisted soldier for the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. Griffin, 45, of Riverton, Wyo., and was a Bronze Star recipient who first enlisted in the Army in 1988.

Also killed in this attack were Maj. Thomas E. Kennedy, 35, of West Point, N.Y., and Air Force Maj. Walter D. Gray, 38, of Conyers, Ga., USAID foreign service officer Ragaei Abdelfattah was identified as the other victim. 

As a command sergeant major, Griffin was one of the brigade's senior leaders and provided leadership and guidance to the 4,000 man brigade. A 24 year veteran, Command Sgt Maj Griffin had served three tours in Iraq and previously served in Kuwait and the Balkans. He is survived by two children, one of whom, Sgt Dane Griffin, followed in his footsteps of serving his country.

I really wish that I could actually run the full 26.2 miles in honor of Command Sgt Major Griffin. It would be an incredible honor. I hope that he understands why I'll be walking instead. Thanks for your service to this country.

I Wear Blue: Run to Remember.

PDX or Bust...

I am going to try hard to not be sad and have a good time this weekend. Even though I will no longer be running, we are still headed down to Portland for the marathon. It will be festive and fun and my friends will be there. But if I am being honest. I am having a hard time getting excited. Part of it is that although I am heartbroken I can't do this first marathon, I never even got to start training for it, officially anyway. So it feels a little hollow.

And I am a bit scared that I am going to over-do the walking. My running friends are pretty hardcore. Jess is determined to finish and I think she'll definitely push harder than I will want to. Heck, she might be feeling so good she decides to run some or all of it. My hip is feeling better but I am terrified of doing something worse to my hamstring tendons. I haven't been in a ton of pain, but I can tell they are tight, as is the hamstring itself. Maybe I'll do a bit of gentle foam rolling before we go. I just need to be strong and stop when my body tells me to. I anticipate that this means it'll be about 5-7 miles total. We'll see how that goes...

Part of the reason we decided to still go is that it was my baby girl's 15th birthday yesterday and we'd planned to make a weekend getaway out of the trip. We had a fun mom/daughter day and then we had a not-so surprise party for her. My sister arranged with one of her best friends to have a bunch of her friends meet at the cupcake shop downtown. And we were already having our girls day so we stopped in to pick up cupcakes and 'Surprise!'....except it totally wasn't. iPad messaging fail -- stupid iMessage. I was texting one of the other girls' moms about the party and the whole exchange popped up on the iPad at home that little Miss Birthday Girl happened to see. Oh well....It was still fun though. So off we go....marathon/birthday weekend festivities to commence forthwith.

 

Happy Birthday Bird! I am one proud mama....

September: In Which I Confirm I'll Be Out of Commission For Awhile

Pretty dismal month. A whopping total of zero miles logged. And a confirmation that something was actually wrong with me. Started the month knowing that I needed to see my doctor because I wasn't getting any better after three weeks of PT. Initially, my PT thought we should rule out a pelvic stress fracture. 

But alas, the x-ray showed healthy bones. Next up - MRI. It took over a week to get authorization from my insurance company but it finally came through and I made my appointment. In between all this waiting, I sort of disappeared for a bit...But I am here and alive. Just a tad depressed and cranky.

The experience of my first MRI, complete with hip injection of Iodine and MRI contrast solution wasn't super pleasant. And I was pretty apprehensive about whether anything would actually turn up on it. Well that turned out to be a needless worry. A few days later, the results were in.

I have a "superior lateral and posterior acetabular labral tear", which is a fancy medical way of saying that the labrum (the thing that goes around your hip socket that keeps your thigh or femur in place) is torn. But that's not all! Oh no, there is more fun to be had here. I also have "significant tendinopathy at the hamstring attachment"....which is fairly self explanatory. The tendons attach your hamstring to your pelvis, and when they get angry and inflamed, it's called tendonitis or tendiopathy (essentially the same thing)....

I obviously will not be able to run the Portland Marathon this weekend. My doctor gave me the ok to walk until I am in pain...so that won't be very long...anticipating about 5-7 miles, max. My awesome friend Jess coincidentally also has a labral tear so she is walking/jogging as well so at least I'll have company. The rest of the gang will be running still so hopefully I'll be able to watch most or all of them cross the finish line. And we'll have our group dinner Saturday night so I'll get to catch up as well. October is bound to be mile-less -- I'm on at least 4 more weeks rest, then I can possibly start PT again. I will try not to completely disappear.

Make Yourself Monday

 

Love it!