Monumental Marathon recap

So, it's been 1 week today since crossing the finish line of the Monumental marathon in Indy and I'm just beginning to accept the outcome. After reading Kara Goucher's latest blog post about her NYC marathon, I found the courage to post a blog about mine as well. I've used this week as sort of a re-charge for myself. I've been running easy runs and staying off social media. I'm ready to look forward to 2015 and what's to come.

To start off, many of you that follow me on Instagram know how excited I was for this race. I started training for it in July and followed a very tough 18 week training plan. I ran the prescribed workouts and an even faster pace than was aimed for a 3:35 marathon finish(Boston qualifying time for me) Getting out the door was never a problem for me. If I had to get up at 3:50AM before a 12 hour shift to get my run in for the day, I'd do it. Never complained about it, never got tired of it. I just did it. I wanted this BQ as bad as I wanted to breathe. I put in the work. I trained my heart out as hard as it got at times, I PUT IN THE WORK.

My injury 3 weeks before the marathon was emotionally devastating as much as it was for my training. Every night before bed, I believed I would wake up and run out the door and return to my training, but it never happened. I put on a brave face and tried my best to remain positive, but deep inside of me, I knew Boston was out of the question.

The morning of the marathon, I wasn't expecting a BQ. My foot was not 100%, the temperature was 29 degrees with 30 mph winds. I still had hope for that sub 4 hour, but I just wasn't feeling confident at all. I even told my husband in the hotel before we left for the start line, that I had a feeling this wasn't going to end well. I wasn't nervous at all. I was actually very calm and truly felt that even with 80% of the training plan completed, I should run a relatively good race.

Once the race started, I had a very hard time trying to relax. I was freezing and the wind took my breath away, it was so cold. I was worried that my foot would start hurting since it felt tight, but I prayed that my K-tape would hold it together for me. I ran the first 13 miles at an 8:06 pace but I didn't feel strong. Part of me was thinking that maybe I could pull this BQ off. Maybe the second half of the race, I'll be more relaxed and run a negative split. It didn't happen.

After mile 15-16 my body started slowing down. I tried to force my legs to run faster, but they wouldn't do it. At this point, I decided to give up on a BQ and go for that sub 4. I was still ahead of the 3:45 group and I had a chance. My fueling was on point and my foot was holding up pretty well. Around mile 18 my legs gave in. They turned into concrete slabs and I was an emotional wreck. I started walking through the water stations and texting my husband who was waiting for me at the finish line. I was texting him how bad I wanted to quit. That I couldn't do this shit anymore. That it was over for me. He just kept texting me over and over to finish. To run to him. That I COULD do it. That kept me going.

I put on my sunglasses that I had carried on my head, but it wasn't for the sun. It was to hide my tears. Between miles 20-26 it was a jog/walk for me. The longest 6 mile run of my life. My legs were hurting so bad, I couldn't even walk straight. My thoughts were racing through my head like, "how could this happen to me???" "All that training for this?" "How could my training go so well for this to happen to me. This always happens to me"

I knew other runners could sense my pain. Anytime I'd stop to walk because it hurt so much, another runner would tap my shoulder and tell me that I had this. Seeing Nicole at mile 21 also helped me so much. It gave me the courage to not drop out and actually finish it. I was in disbelief that it was my 4th marathon because it felt like my first. I thought I'd have it by now.

Once I finally crossed the finish line, I held back the tears. It was that slow motion kind of feeling getting my medal and looking for my husband. I felt my iphone vibrate and it was a text from my husband telling me to look left, and there he was. As I walked to him, that's when I lost it. I buried my face in his chest and didn't just cry, I was sobbing uncontrollably. He covered me with a sweatshirt and just put his arms around me. All I could say over and over was "I trained so hard, I trained so hard, I trained so hard." I pretty much cried on and off all the way home on our 2.5 hour drive.

I had my moments of feeling defeated and angry. I've already questioned why me? There are other runners who don't train as hard as me and run better marathons. Why do I have such strong training only for it to fall apart for me the second half of a marathon? I know people look at me and think I'm ungrateful since 4:07 is a respectable time and I realize that. I'm not ungrateful at all. I celebrate every finish line no matter the time. But I am hard on myself and always have been. I know what I'm capable of and it's so frustrating when I can't show it on race day. As Kara Goucher says in her blog post, a marathon is not like a 5K. I can't go out there 2 weeks later and redeem myself and show the world that I can BQ...but there are other marathons out there and I see this is just more experience and a learning opportunity. I'm healthy, happy, and so blessed that I even have a chance to run marathons. The incredible amount of love and support I've had from other runners on Instagram has helped me so much and I can't even begin to thank everyone enough.

I'm looking forward now to running easy and free this winter with no pressure on how many miles or at what pace. I'm going to focus a lot on strength training and just maintaining a solid foundation with my running. I'm excited to see where 2015 takes me. Sometimes things don't go as planned. You can put in the work, sweat, tears, and all the heart you have and things still manage to fall apart. But it doesn't mean it's the end. It just means that there a far better things in store for you in the future. I refuse to give up, even if I'm feeling defeated. I will continue to push forward and not dwell on bad runs in the past. Because bad runs come and they go...just like bad days. That's life. It's hope and all those great moments that make it worth it. One race does not dictate what kind of runner I am. I know what I can do and when my day finally comes, Monumental marathon and everything before and after will just be a part of my journey.

xoxo

Peroneal tendonitis--The road to recovery.

The 2 words every runner dreads saying...I'm injured.

 

 

Sometimes no matter how smart you train, injuries happen and while you can try your best to prevent them, they seem to come out of nowhere and tear you down.

 

I was training right, running 50-60 miles a week and preparing for my fall marathon that I had been looking forward to all year. I had my eyes on Boston and that elusive 3:35 finish time was all I could think about. I was running well up until the week of October 5th. After my strength workout of 3 x 2 miles, my right ankle was burning like it was on fire. Of course, immediately I was in denial about it and assumed it was part of the cumulative fatigue that I had been training with following the brutal Hanson's advanced training plan. I took my planned rest day the following day, then when I woke up that Thursday morning, decided to take another rest day since my ankle was still bothering me. At the time, I figured it was some minor ache that would magically go away by the time I woke up early to go to work the next day.

 

 

That Friday morning, I woke up before work and was out the door by 5am and running around my block. I had just started a second job, so I was getting up early often to get some miles in before I went in to work for the day...and since it was dark and so early, I felt safe just running laps around my block(lots of right turns)  That morning I managed 5 miles and as I limped back into my house, that's when it hit me...I'm injured.

 

 

 

The pain started behind my right ankle and traveled down the side of my foot and I knew right away what it was. Peroneal tendonitis. I HATE tendonitis since those kind of injuries are so hard to heal because of the lack of blood flow to tendons. I started icing right away and limped into work. I woke up the next day with hopes of doing a 12 mile run, only to spend the day icing and foam rolling my calves. It almost seemed to hurt worse that weekend and I knew at that point that I'd be out of commission for a while. I jumped on the treadmill and couldn't even walk and just laid there and cried and cried. After I let out some steam, I decided it was time to shift my focus on recovery since my marathon was 17 days out. I shared my story on Instagram that day and was flooded with comments of encouragement and support. I cried that evening but tears of gratitude from reading all the posts and love from people all over the world. The two posts that stood out were from @therunshark and @runningprado. I can't thank them and everyone else enough. Thank you, thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

From that day, I spent a lot of time foam rolling my peroneal muscles on the outside of my lower leg, icing 3-4 times a day, having my poor husband massage my calves(I literally would be balling and yelling because I had him break up any kind of scar tissue with his hands) and doing a lot of trigger point therapy. I discovered the Pro-tec K-tape and it was God sent because it actually stuck to my skin and helped support my tendons. I followed the steps on the KT tape website on how to tape the injury.  I slept in a compression sock and wore it to work too. After a 3-4 days or so of icing, I changed it to heat therapy to promote blood flow to the injury. I then began stretching my calves, peroneal muscles, and my foot/ankle 2-3 times a day. I also crosstrained on a spin bike to maintain whatever fitness I could.

 

Hold the stretch for 30-60 seconds

 

Take a massage ball and there's a couple trigger points for the peroneal tendon. About 3-4 inches below the knee cap on the side of the leg and a few inches above the affected ankle. Apply a crap ton of pressure for at least a couple minutes. It hurts like hell, but there's immediate relief.

 

 

 

For about 2 weeks, I followed these steps religiously and did absolutely no running. Progress was crazy slow(it felt that way anyway) I did a pretty good job about staying optimistic through it all which isn't easy to do with an injury and a marathon looming around the corner. About 10 days in, I had another melt down and just cried on and off all day long. I just kept praying to God that I could heal enough to just run the marathon. Forget the 3:35 time, I just want to RUN!

 

 

The last 3 days, I have been walking normal with hardly any tightness in my ankle. I felt comfortable enough this morning to attempt a short, easy run and it was a success. It's been hours since my run and my ankle feels great, so I feel confident at this point that I'll be able to run the marathon. I'm going to continue my rehab plan for the next 10 days leading up to the race and run very easy. I've already accepted the fact that Boston probably won't happen this fall, but there are other marathons out there. Many, many opportunities for me.

 

 

My body obviously needed a break. After all, I've been training hard since January of this year. I started then training for my ultra marathon, then did another marathon a few weeks after my ultra. I took a couple weeks off in June then started training for ANOTHER marathon right after. I've literally been in non-stop training mode for almost a year. Listening to my body definitely helped my injury recover faster. I don't know if my injury was from over-training, running around my block in new, stiff shoes, or whatever. All I know is that I'm turning this setback into a comeback. Injuries suck. But they keep us humble and appreciative of when we are running. I know with this being marathon season, there are a lot of other runners injured as well. All I can say, is stay positive and remain patient. Listen to your body and rest. Cross train to maintain sanity and just keep in mind that no matter how long it takes your body to heal, you WILL run again someday. Whether it's next week or 3 months from now, you will run again...And it will make it that much more of an amazing feeling.

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 







Fueling for the long run

I've been asked a lot about my eating habits and nutrition and how it plays into my training and distance running, so I thought I'd post a blog about it for those who are curious.

First of all, I've always been a skinny kid. I had a crazy high metabolism when I was young and I was full of energy. I started running when I was just 14 years old, but back then I didn't think anything about nutrition or training. I ate what I wanted and I ran whatever I felt like running that day. It wasn't really until I began racing back in 2006 that I started thinking about what I was putting in my mouth and how it would affect my running.

My very first race (Turkey Trot 5k)

 

 

Running distances like 5ks and 10ks is pretty much what I stuck to for years. I never pushed myself out of my comfort zone or did any kind of training plans. I just had a natural affinity toward the sport and it made me feel good about myself. I was placing in my age groups and I was content with that. I never was really into eating out at restaurants or eating fast food, but I definitely wasn't eating healthy. My idea back then was "fake healthy"...like Lean Cuisines, basically anything that was low fat, low calorie. I had the attitude that the lighter or thinner I was, the faster I could run. So I skipped breakfast, had a light snack for lunch, then I'd eat a Lean Cuisine for dinner and call it a day. I never got crazy about my weight or anything like obsessing over the scale. I never looked in the mirror and thought, "I need to be thinner, I'm too fat"  I never had issues like that. I think I just had the wrong idea of what fueling my body for performance meant. 

 

 



It wasn't until I suffered a major injury shortly after the race I did pictured above in the fall of 2012 that I starting questioning my nutrition habits. I was at the time, running the best times I had ever run. I had just finished my first half marathon a few months prior and finally considering a full marathon. I ran a 5k PR of 20:39 and was dominating the local short distance races in my area. This injury was devastating to me because I was doing so well and it was making me second guess becoming a distance runner. During my downtime from running, I took advantage of educating myself on running form, nutrition, and training. It was then I realized that my idea of "healthy" eating was SO far off. I was not eating enough calories and was not even close to fueling my body for what I'd need for long distance running. That was when I made a change.

I'm not perfect by any means. I love pizza, cake, candy, ice-cream just like the next person. And even now, I still indulge in those things every now and then. Not often, but I do a couple times a month. For the most part, I try to eat clean. I avoid processed foods, simple sugars, or man-made chemicals. I used to drink diet pop like there was no tomorrow, but I've replaced it now with water or Zevia (an aspartame free soda)

I eat now...A LOT...every few hours, I'm eating something. Some key foods in my everyday diet include, almonds, nuts, Greek yogurt, chicken breast, quinoa, brown rice, oatmeal, Vega nutrition shakes, peanut butter(typical, right lol) pretzels, fig newton bars, Quest Bars, and of course try to get some fruits and vegetables in there with a lot of water intake. I do not count calories. I do not count fat grams or carbs. I just try and aim for complex carbs, healthy fats, and protein with each meal or snack. When I run, especially after a hard workout, I immediately refuel with either a Core Power protein drink or Vega accelerator shake. I've noticed eating a good blend of carbs and protein after a hard run, improves muscle soreness and energy. Running definitely helps me make better food choices throughout the day. I eat to run. I fuel my body like you'd fuel a car. When I eat like crap, I feel like crap, and I run like crap. I don't care about a number on a scale, I care about how my body feels during mile 9 of a tempo run and how I recover after so that I can get up the next morning and do it again. It's taken many years, but I'm happy with what I've got. I don't have a perfect body and I'm still at times insecure with myself, but I'm proud of what I can do with my legs. We are all human. It's our imperfections that make us beautiful and unique. And I'd like to add, that I get my ass handed to me many times by runners that are "bigger" than me. Strong is beautiful. Strong inside and out, and everyone is strong in their own way. I'm not the greatest or fastest runner, but I'm out there everyday giving it MY personal best.  My ultimate goal when it comes to eating is to stay injury free, full of energy, and able to blast out some intense miles. Happy Running :)

 



My Magnificent Weekend/Mag Mile 1/2 marathon recap

The moment I heard that Lauren Fleshman was pacing the 1:45 group at the Women's Mag Mile 1/2 marathon in Chicago, it was a done deal...

I was going to run a local 1/2 marathon right in town that same day, but there was NO way I was going to pass an opportunity like this up. For those of you that don't know who Lauren Fleshman is, she's a pro runner for Oiselle(the same company I run for) except that she's way faster than I am and holds records such as a 14:58 5K and 2:37 marathon. She really caught my attention with the "keep it real" movement that encouraged women to be proud of our bodies and imperfections. Basically an all-around, real and inspiring woman runner that I and soooo many other women look up to.

The weekend started with packet pickup in downtown Chicago at Fleet Feet. Lauren was going to be there along with Coach Jenny Hadfield(another amazing and inspiring woman). I drove myself there and of course got there way too early and sat around the store waiting for the 3 mile shake out run that they were going to host. I heard a voice say, "hi" and I turned around and saw Lauren walking toward the store. I was able to mutter "hey!" back and just watched in amazement as she walked by. I looked at the girl sitting next to me and I could tell she felt the same way I did...total fangirls! We were both like, "oh my God, that was her!"

 

 

Coach Jenny and Lauren giving us a pep talk before our shake-out run

I felt like a creep taking pictures of her, but she was so amazingly nice and humble and was more that happy to get into photos with all of her fans. I met up with Sarah(@mahaney2) and we did our 3 mile shake out run together. We basically talked about our upcoming marathons and how we were feeling. After the run, I saw an opportunity to get a pic with Lauren. So I grabbed it! Meeting her was the highlight of my entire summer for sure.

 

 

 

 

The next morning was race day and I was up at 4am getting ready. I threw on my Oiselle singlet and never felt more proud to wear it, knowing I'd have other teammates wearing theirs too. My husband was kind enough to drive me out to Chicago and support me before he went into work that afternoon and my mom had my daughter for the night. I totally was getting flashbacks of the Chicago Marathon I ran last year, except there was way less runners at this event. Between the 1/2 marathon and 5k, there were about 5,000 runners instead of the 40,000 I ran with at the marathon. So parking and walking to Grant Park was easy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It didn't take long before I saw other women wearing their Oiselle singlets and immediately we acknowledged each other and offered words of support and encouragement. Even though we had never met each other, there was definitely a sense of empowerment and friendship between the Oiselle runners. That singlet is powerful. I met up with Sarah and Jessy(@momonthe_run) and did a warm-up with Lauren Fleshman as she offered more words of support. Then before we knew it, we were lining up in our assigned corrals.

 

 

All 3 of us were starting in Corral A, so we were about 10 feet away from toeing the start line. A few minutes later, we were off and running. I ran alongside Lauren who was pacing the 1:45 group for almost 2 miles. It was like a dream to me to have an opportunity like this to run with her. My legs actually felt amazing, even in the middle of marathon training with the Hanson's Plan(which is brutal) so I ran ahead of the 1:45 group and ran my own pace.

 

 

 

 

 

Around mile 4

 

 

 



The beginning of the race was of course down the historic Magnificent Mile in Chicago. From there the course ran along the Lakefront bike path and was an out and back course. I found my husband, Doug, at mile 4 standing alongside the course ready to cheer me on which was a huge mental boost for me. I was running crazy strong until about mile 10 then I could feel myself fading a bit. Chicago had 100% humidity that day and running along the lakefront there was hardly any shade, so the sun was taking a beating on me. I could feel the sweat dripping down my legs and flying off my fingertips as I ran. I just kept telling myself, "I can handle anything for 3 more miles, I've got this"

 

 

 

 As I entered Grant Park toward the finish line, I finished strong with an official time of 1:42:21. My Garmin showed I had ran 13.25 miles, so I'll go with that, ha!  It was no PR for me, but considering the heat and humidity and being in the middle of a brutal marathon training plan, I feel like I'm on the right path for a great marathon this November. I kind of walked in a daze to get my medal(I was so tired)chugged down 2 bottles of water, and turned around to see my husband walking up to me to give me a big hug. Perfect ending to an amazing weekend! I laughed and told him, "Man, it's going to be tough to do that for another 13.1 miles in a couple months." He replied by telling me that I've done it before and I'll do it again...but a lot faster!

 

 



 

The love of my life and biggest supporter :)





I was pretty happy to see my official results online later that day. I finished 63rd overall out of 2,571 total half marathoners and 17th in my age group out of 507. Congrats to all who finished and what an honor to be able to run with thousands of strong, inspiring women. Here's to finishing the rest of fall marathon training successfully and bring on the 50 degree temps! :) 

Training Update-1/2 way through!

I can't believe I'm already half way done with marathon training for my upcoming race in November, The Monumental Marathon in Indy. When I purchased and read the Hanson's Marathon Method book, I'm not going to lie, I was a little intimidated. The high mile weeks, intense speed workouts, and the whole idea of cumulative fatigue was so different from how I trained for my previous marathons. I figured that I've been a runner for 14 years now and had a great base going into training. I had already completed 2 full marathons and an ultra marathon, so I was willing to give this training plan a try. I'm so glad I took this leap, because I've never felt so strong physically and mentally as I do now.

It's no secret that my goal with this marathon is to Boston Qualify(BQ) I'm well aware that in order to qualify for my age, I need to run a 3:35 or better marathon...or an 8:12/mile pace for 26.2 miles. I knew that in order to make that happen, I would need my ass kicked into shape. I can honestly say half way through the advanced training plan, I have got my ass kicked...but in a great way.  Even though I'm not a "newbie" marathoner anymore, I have still learned a few new things about myself everyday I'm out there running.


1. I've learned that I can run A LOT longer and faster than I had ever imagined before. So many times in the past when I was training, I'd give into that voice in my head that tells me to stop or slow down. Not this time. That little voice is still there, but all I have to do is ask myself, "Am I going to stop or slow down in the marathon? NO! Push through it and come out stronger in the end!" I've had some amazing tempo runs because of this and will still strive to push through as my tempo distance increases over the upcoming weeks.

2. Speaking of "pushing through"...pain, fatigue and I have grown well acquainted over the last 9 weeks.  The whole idea of Hanson's is to go into my long runs with fatigued, tired legs as to simulate the last miles of the marathon and not the first. I've noticed my tolerance to pain has gotten so much better and I'm feeling stronger physically and mentally because of it.  I did have a moment of weakness during a 12 mile run where I stopped at mile 8 feeling exhausted and defeated from that weeks training. I was pretty much crying by myself in the middle of nowhere, looking up at the sky and asking God why was I doing this every day? Why was I putting myself through all this when I could be at home with my family? What if I'm doing all of this for nothing? Qualifying for Boston is out of my league, I'm not that kind of runner. After a few minutes of feeling sorry for myself, I got my act together quickly and remembered how blessed I was to even have an opportunity to train like this. To breathe and see the world like no one else can. I finished that 12 mile run and haven't questioned myself since.

3. I have learned to LOVE the track. The workouts are hard as hell but seeing my times improve and my overall strength increase have started my love affair with the oval office. Like the saying goes, "Runners know that running in circles doesn't always mean finishing where we started."

As I look forward to the final 9 weeks of training and as my marathon approaches closer and closer, I'm going to continue to give it my all and push myself to levels I never knew existed.  Yes, it sucks getting up at 4-5AM, lacing up my shoes and leaving my husband and daughter as they sleep in their beds, but I know in my heart it will be worth it. No one has to understand it as long as I do. I return home a stronger woman, a better mother and wife for my family.

I want to also add that I am ready to forgive myself if I fall short of my goal. I'm not going to focus on that too much right now because I'm going to remain positive, but the reality is something out of my control could happen in the upcoming weeks or on race day. The desire to be the best runner that I can possibly be will always be there and that alone will be enough for me to never stop trying, no matter how long it takes me to BQ. Like I've said before, running is engrained into every fiber of my being. I was born to do this and I'll never give up.

 

Apera Bag Review!

Totally can not lie, I absolutely LOVE my Apera Bag! They are not just normal gym bags...they are healthier(and way cute too) Here's my review of the Performance Duffel Bag.

Apera launched in June of 2012 wanting to sell a bag that was more geared toward athletes and give them an alternative to just your normal, everyday gym bag. They wanted to give athletes organized, pure bags and protect athletes from odor and bacteria that can grow and linger inside a standard gym bag. Apera bags have ventilated compartments, wipeable linings, and washable inserts to ensure that your bag stays clean, odor free, and healthy. The inside and outside of the bags are treated with anti-microbial protection which works around the clock to help prevent the growth of bacterial odors which is good for the lifetime of the bag. Not only do they have amazing bags for social athletes, they donate one bag to a Special Olympics athlete for every 3 bags they sell. Who doesn't love putting their money towards a fantastic cause?!

Like I said, I absolutely LOVE the Performance Duffel Bag. I can not even begin to talk about all the POCKETS in this bag! There's a pocket for everything. A pocket on both sides of the bag to carry shoes, a pocket on the front and back to carry a tablet or IPad, several ventilated pockets on the inside of the bag to neatly organize anything and everything and keep your items nice and dry. There's also smaller sized pockets on the very top of the bag for quick access to a cell phone. I love the concept of having a water-proof, washable insert inside of the bag, to pack away any wet or sweaty clothing and keep it separate from any clean clothes. The whole idea is allowing the bag to breathe and wash easily while staying super organized. It's a great bag for on the go, especially when you have small kids and need to pack A LOT of stuff. 

washable insert

so many pockets!

If this amazingly healthy, stylish bag is something you're interested in, now is the time to buy! Check out all the Apera Bags on their website, www.aperabags.com 

They are having a great anniversary sale right now just until July 31st. ALL bags are 20% off! They also have a 40% off sale on their entire line of Blue bags. Any style of Blue bags, including this awesome Performance Duffel, and all of the Duffel Packs are 40% off plus FREE SHIPPING! You can't pass that up!

Detour Smart Bar Review

The following post is sponsored by FifFluential LLC on behalf of Detour Bar.

I had an awesome opportunity as part of a FitFluential campaign to try these delicious Detour Smart Bars. A lot of us are on the go and sometimes it's hard to find healthy, wholesome snacks.  Here's a great choice if you're looking for natural ingredients and a boost of energy.

Detour Smart Bars are made with organic whole oats that are certified gluten free and contain whey protein to fuel your body and feed those muscles. 

*All natural and sweetened with Stevia

*130 calories and 10g of whey protein

*gluten free

*only 3-4 grams of sugar

*good source of fiber

*DELICIOUS and kid approved!

My 3 year old daughter loves them!

They come in 4 yummy flavors:  Apple Cinnamon, Blueberry, Cranberry Flax, and Peanut Butter Chocolate.  I've sampled the Apple Cinnamon and Blueberry flavors and both were great! I'm definitely trying the other 2 flavors too. They're chewy, not too sweet, bursting with tons of flavor, and have Greek style yogurt drizzled on the top of the bars....just plain SMART!

See how they compare 

Nutrition is SO important especially during heavy training cycles and I'll definitely be using these bars to fuel my body and keep me going.  Check out the Detour Bars website and try these bars out!  

www.detourbar.com

Facebook.com/detourbars

Twitter.com/detourbar

Instagram.com/detourbar