Thoughts on the Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon

I had so much I wanted to add to my Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon race report, but I didn't want to make it a trillion and a half pages long. I decided to make a reflection post, more for myself, but also with some information for people considering doing this race in the future!

The course was gorgeous. It was not flat as advertised, and definitely had rollers for the majority of the race. Because 13 miles of the race were around the lake, a windy day makes a significant portion of the race unbearable. I had thought we'd get to run on a path in view of the lake, but we really didn't get to see the lake all that much. It was still gorgeous running through the trees and fall foliage.

The course wasn't as spectator friendly as I was hoping/expecting either. It was actually fairly difficult to spectate. My mom was around mile 4, but from there until 13.1 there wasn't much of an opportunity to drive along and cheer. After the halfway mark, there were no spectators until around mile 17. From 17 to the finish, spectators could drive along side you on the race route and leap frog cheering on their runners.

It was a really small race, but on a day that I s-t-ruggled, I didn't appreciate that. At least when I was dying at the Nike Women's Marathon, I had tons of people dying along side of me to keep me company. There was an entire hour of the race that I didn't see anyone except the race volunteers. For faster runners, this wouldn't be an issue at all.

In all honestly, I should've dropped to the 16 mile race or dropped completely after my knee/back/hip issues cropped up in September (the half was full at the time I was considering, otherwise that would've been perfect). I'm glad I tried so I wouldn't wonder "what if" but a marathon is hard when your training goes AMAZING. When you essentially taper for 6+ weeks, it's really really hard. Had Kyle, his parents, and my mom not planned to make the trip, I would've eaten my race fee and stayed home. But I was really really excited to have them there for it.

Sometimes I wonder if my body is meant to run marathons, given my poor performance history with them. Maybe 2015 will be spent focusing solely on building up speed, fitness, and fixing/strengthening my body to better handle the miles. I'm certainly not throwing in the towel on them, but it is certainly frustrating to think I'm on the right track with fixing my issues, only to have the same outcome.

P.S. FREE race photos! Total plus!

Bemidji Cabin Weekend

My race weekend started on Thursday. Kyle worked until noon, so I got to spend the morning running errands. And somehow managed to sneak in a manicure appointment and a trip to my favorite coffee shop. Hashtag priorities.

When Kyle was finally off work, I somehow managed to convince him to take me through the Starbucks drive thru for MOAR COFFEE PLZ and Ollie enjoyed the long long drive thru line.

Poor Ollie didn't realize she wasn't coming along with us, so she was really mad when we dropped her off with Kyle's brother for the weekend. Even though she loves her uncle.

The drive was long and boring, and I made a crucial and poor decision to deviate from the pre-determined dinner plan (I researched all nearby restaurants and menus for hours before the weekend, I heart food), and it ended up being a bust. Except for this monster beer. They were joking when they said tall. Geez.

We got to our lake cabin resort after dark, so we ended up just going to our cabin and playing some card games. At what felt like midnight, I told Kyle we had to crash so I could get some rest. Only to realize it was actually 9:15. Whoa, it gets dark out in the wilderness.

The next morning I woke up before the sun and had to snag some pics of the fog rolling over the lake.

Life goals: lake cabin.

Kyle and I set out to explore some of the surrounding communities, but not before some selfies on the dock. Obvs.

#happiestonthewater

On our way to a sporting goods store (per Kyle's request, obviously), I had an inkling that Paul Bunyan was nearby and I made Kyle stop and take a picture with me.

After grabbing lunch, I decided we should do some more driving and head to Bemidji to the expo. The race started so late, I was planning to just pick up my bib the morning of the race.

I'm really thankful we went, because I was much more relaxed race morning knowing I was ready to go.

You all know how Saturday went, since a late start marathon and a slow time means that the race was all.i.did.all.day.long.

Sunday I sucked it up and walked down the giant staircase down to the dock to catch the sunrise. And my mom snapped this pic of us down there. Precious.

Sweet wooden "medal"(?) over the water during the sunrise.

Race Report: Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon

I woke up race morning an hour before my alarm, and ready to rock. My stomach felt good (this never happens), I slept well (this never happens either), and my body felt good (this sometimes happens). The race didn't start until 9:40am, and we were staying an hour away from Bemidji. I had a ton of time to relax, drink water, choke down my pop tarts (pre-race is the only time I'm not starving, and have to force feed myself, it's annoying) and get ready to go.

Kyle and I hit the road, and two emergency potty stops later (I guess I did good on the hydration front!) and we were there. I did my warm ups and stretches inside, GU'd about 15 minutes before the race (I never do this, but since I only had 1.5 poptarts eaten, a late race start, and potentially a long day of running ahead of me, I thought it couldn't hurt!). I'll definitely plan to do this again for marathons, as normally I'm starving at mile 3 and throw off my whole GU ingestion plan.

Kyle's parents, my mom, and her friend Kristi joined us inside and before too long it was time to head outside for the race start! The field size was small: less than 200 total. The pace groups had 5-10 people around each of them. I lined up behind the 4:30 group and we were off! 

I wanted to start in the 10:30s and assess how I was feeling. Assessment: I feel like I'm walking. YAY! Legs feel great. It's cool, and I ditch my gloves at mile one. I expected it to be colder. Hmm. So did everyone else wearing parkas/pants/hats/long sleeves, etc.

The trees are beautiful and we're running on a pretty bike path with trees on either side of us. I check my garmin to see what this "easy" pace is clocking in at. 10:15-10:30. Yay! The first few miles were super flat, and exactly what I was expecting the race course to be like.

1. 10:22

2. 10:27

3. 10:20

I got to see my mom around mile 4 and that gave me a huge burst of energy. This is fun! I have spectators for a marathon. Yayzies!!

She snagged a bunch of great pics (foreshadowing: Thankfully she got these pics, because I wasn't having nearly as much fun the next time she saw me).

From here we took a slight gradual downhill to somewhere, I got really turned around in this section, and I started counting down to seeing Kyle and his family in about 2 miles. I focused on form on the downhill section and really spent the whole race up to this point making sure my booty was doing some of the work and I was rewarded with speedier miles than I'm used to seeing.

Mile 6 came and went without seeing Kyle and his family. We were treated to some HILLS and even some sandy/rocky miles that were also on hills. What the...??

4. 10:08

5. 10:22

6. 10:31

7. 10:08

We got to the turn around area around mile 8, hill after hill after hill, and finally a runner next to me said "I thought this course was supposed to be flat??" To which I thanked her for stating that, because I was beginning to think I was delusional.

When we hit the turn around and a little downhill stretch I realized my legs were starting to feel taxed. Uh oh. On another uphill, my right hip flexor started to smart a bit. When we got to the packed sand part of the course, on the uphill, everyone ahead of me started power walking up it, and I joined them.

8. 10:24

9. 11:00

10. 11:11

Mile 10 came and went with no Kyle and his family and I started freaking out that I wouldn't meet up with them on the course. I had Kyle set to give me round 2 of my GUs and some sport beans if my stomach was revolting. Ensue panic.

The next two miles were super hilly, and with my hip flexor stabbing me on the uphills, I was power walking up and running the downhills.

My overall pace started to slip and I started to freak out a bit.

I finally saw Kyle and his parents just before the halfway mark and I tossed my arm sleeves and grabbed my GUs. According to Kyle I looked really strong here, but I felt majorly defeated. ALREADY. Oy Jerbear. I saw my mom a few seconds later, and my collapsed form in the pictures says it all, uff.

11. 11:35

12. 11:57

13. 11:33

I think I went through the half around 2:20.

I started to feel really defeated at this point. Going in to the race, I thought I would finish in the low 4:40s. I knew there was no way I could replicate those early 8 mile paces and that I was fading fast and hurting. I threw myself a gorgeous fall foliage filled pity party for much of mile 14. :/

This stretch was a very long and very gradual uphill section, completely closed off from spectators. I was also at the back of the race pack, so there were very few in front of me or behind me. I decided to turn off my music and just enjoy the day the best I could. 

Around this point I got passed by a guy in a green shirt that said "Fear the turtle 26.2" on the back. He was walking and jogging and I decided to join him. Thank goodness for that man. We finally made it to the top of the long incline and started in to my favorite part of the course: a tree covered secluded trail. It was so stinking pretty, I wished that I was just out on a nature hike with my camera. I continued my run on flat/downhills, walk uphills through this few mile stretch, leap frogging with the turtle all the while. Does that make me the hare? Hmmm...

I was supposed to see my mom and Kyle and his family during this area, but silly me didn't realize I was asking them to spectate in a wildlife refuge area that would require a MN park pass. Oops. Good thing it was beautiful!

Around mile 16 we ended up on the shoulder of the road coming out of a camp site and stayed on the shoulder of a road through the rest of the race. Dislike. During my 17 I came barreling down a hill to find Kyle and his family there. Yay! I asked Kyle to walk with me for a bit, but he didn't quite understand me. I told him I was looking at running a 5 hour marathon, so not to be shocked by my slower paces, to which he replied "Well pick it up!" Ohhhhh I hadn't thought about doing that..... :P This comment will take second place to when I called him at mile 18 of NWM crying because I was in so much pain, and his reply was, "What?? You're not done YET??" Didn't help. :)

14. 13:23

15. 12:53

16. 14:07

17. 12:37

I left him and kept running only to run into my mom a short while later! 

She had been waiting forever to get a pic of me in front of the lake, and a car went in front of her just as I was in front of her. Here I am checking out the white caps on the water. It was windy!

To my surprise my mom jumped in to run with me for a bit! Again, I wish someone had gotten a picture of this! 

After this surge of energy, I started to really struggle again.

Miles 18 to 22 were a black pit of despair. My hip flexor pain had transferred into knee pain and I was struggling with a capital S. When I saw Kyle's mom at mile 21 I asked for ibuprofen but she didn't have any. I asked at the next aid station and they said they only had aspirin and could only give it out if I was experiencing chest pain.  Um... I have chest pain??

These miles were the worst because there was no one in front of me and no one behind me. Turtle guy passed me around mile 20 and he just kept trucking on, because I never saw him again. There weren't any runners or spectators, and the water stations were still a couple of miles apart.

A truck stopped during a particularly loooooong walk break and asked if I was doing ok. I said I was but that my knee was killing me, so I'd likely be walking it in, but I'd planned to finish. The lady said she didn't have any ibuprofen/tylenol/etc, but could get me a water. 

Like a beacon sent from the heavens, she returned what felt like days later, but in actuality was more like 10 minutes with Tylenol and water. I almost cried I was so happy. I was finally back to my run/walk strategy instead of my just long long long long walk strategy.

18. 13:04

19. 13:12

20. 14:18

21. 13:59

22. 16:27<--I may have walked this whole entire mile. :/

My mom caught up to me at mile 23 and asked if she should walk with me to the finish line. I told her, "nope! I have to run when I can!" And for the love of all things holy, I caught a second? third? twenty-seventh? wind.

I put my head down (the wind was really gusting, so this was a necessity), and just went. This was also the period that I calculated I was going to run a PW if I didn't do something immediately. It wasn't fast, but at least it resembled running!

Within a mile I ran into turtle! And I blew by him. The aid station at mile 24 asked how my knee was feeling when I was running by and I said, "great! Someone may have slipped me some stuff!" with a laugh and ran off. I heard one of the volunteers repeating what I said, and everyone laughing. Hey I can still tell jokes when almost dead, fun!

I did some more math and realized if I could run the rest of the way at my current pace, I could finish under 5:15. New last minute goal in place. Go Jerbear Go. 

I ran by the Bemidji football stadium and pretended everyone in the stands was cheering for me. I ran up to Paul and Babe and realized I only had a mile and a half to go! (Only.... lolz). 

24. 11:38

25. 11:38

 

I cranked up my music as loud as it would go and tried to zone out the pain. The last mile was particularly rough because there wasn't anything blocking the wind. Also I could see the Sanford Center but couldn't remember where the start/finish line was in relation to the building. I tried to "sprint" the final half mile in, but man it wasn't pretty. I started to feel like I was going to barf. I took to counting seconds left to get my mind off of things. Until I got to zero and still wasn't at the finish line yet. Ok, start back at 15!

I turned off my music for the final little stretch and heard my name over the loud speaker.

26. 10:47

.35  3:37 (10:02 pace)

 

I finished marathon seven in 5:14:41. 

Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon Goals

Going in to this marathon, I have the least clear understanding of what my current abilities are. Yes, this has been a particularly crazy-making taper, thank you for asking. On one hand my legs might be incredibly fresh and loose for the first time in ages (thanks mega taper, massages and yoga) on the other  hand, the bulk of my mileage was in July and August. And it's now... October.

With that being said, these may be more loose expectations instead of goals. Who knows, maybe I'll surprise myself. Every time I've been confident in a finishing time for a marathon I've been wrong anyway, so what does it matter. :)

A Goal: Low 4:20s. A ten minute pace would have me in the low 4:20s. If I don't have any injury niggles, no walk breaks, and feel strong forever this'll be my unicorn goal for the day. My second and third best marathon times are 4:25 and 4:26, so I could surely use those times to prevent me from taking walk breaks toward the end when even the ends of my hair hurt.

B Goal: Sub 4:30. 10:20 pace is pretty close to what I ran my long runs at. I'm hoping the cooler temps will make that pace doable. The pace teams are 4:00, 4:15 and 4:30 so I might start with this group in hopes I can pick it up.

C Goal: 4:35. 10:30 pace. Anything 4:35+ means that I either had to walk due to injury or my conditioning didn't hold up with my spotty training the last month or two. If that happens I'll implement the "just keep swimming" chant in my head, and be thankful that I get to see my mom, Kyle, and his parents super frequently on the course to help propel me forward, and just be happy that I'm able to go out and run 26.2 miles at a time. Even if it's not pretty.

As far as I know, there isn't any tracking for the race. The site is here. It looks like previous results were posted here, so maybe you can get some splits along the way! And if I have your number and you'd like, maybe I can convince Kyle to text you along the way. Although I'm sure the texts would be something along the lines of "just saw her, she's wearing green" or "she gave a wave, I think that means she's going to PR" or something equally as unhelpful (I'm thinking of Danielle's husband texting me during a marathon way back when with information that didn't help me know how she was doing AT ALL, lolz.)

Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon Training Recap Week 15

Monday I went to a new massage therapist and it was like night and day from last week's experience, thank god. He said that he didn't ever want me to be in pain that I couldn't tolerate for 10 seconds. There were a few times that I was uncomfortable for a 10 count but nothing like the week before when I wished we had established a safe word. 

He actually thinks my issues are stemming from my feet and worked my arch as well as a muscle that runs from the bottom of your foot to the inside of your calf and attaches at the inside of your knee, then starts up again and wraps around to the hip. My right leg was also considerably shorter than the left leg, so when he was done working things, that was back to normal. Apparently my right leg is my strong leg.

I left the massage feeling loose and optimistic about Bemidji.

Tuesday I had a book club with some friends and mexican and margaritas is not good pre-run fuel so I had another rest day.

Wednesday I set out for an easy 3 miles. I had some tightness in my left calf, but no pain. I'll likely just be doing easy 3-6 mile runs during the week and my taper-length long runs on the weekend up until race day.

I had planned to do my long run on Friday (I worked Saturday at the library this week), but I was really nervous that it was going to hurt. So I just enjoyed a lazy day with the pug. I wrote a ton of blog posts, read a book, and did some core work. So it was equal parts lazy and productive I guess.

Saturday I worked and then went out to one of Kyle's fishing buddy's housewarming party. While at the party I started having some stabbing lower back pain on my right side. My heart rate was crazy high and I started to feel nauseous. Neat. We ended up leaving around 10pm.

When I woke up on Sunday I was still feeling short of breath, and I thought it had to do with my allergies. They've been a pain the behind for the last few weeks. I did my usual hip/glute exercises and while I was waiting for my garmin to find a signal, I realized I was panting like a pug. That's when I realized I probably had a rib out that was effecting my breathing.

Luckily for me I had 12 pain free miles. They weren't anything speedy, but it was nice to run instead of hobbling like last weekend. My breathing was really off, and my heart rate was really high, but I'm hoping things will sort themselves during my massage tomorrow.

Most importantly: Bemidji is a go!!!

15 Day Forecast

Today marks 15 days out from the Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon and that means one thing: 15 day forecast!!

But I have to admit, I've been cheating, thanks to Danielle, who's been sending me weather updates for the last couple of weeks. #obsessed

Looks like race day perfection to me. Let's hope my body gets the memo!!

Decisions, Decisions

The month of September has not been ideal for me, running wise. I started off the month running an 11 mile mid-week mid-LR and felt like I was flyyyyyying. By the time I showered from the run and headed off to work, my back was killing me. I took the rest of the week off in hopes that I could just complete my 10th consecutive Sioux Falls half marathon. I maxed out in icy hot back patches and daily ibuprofen dosage.

I made it through the race and felt great! I was my normal amount of sore after the race, got a massage immediately after the race, and spent some significant time foam rolling so I could jump back into peak marathon training. My IT bands gave me trouble longer than I had hoped, and I had a random ouchy in my left ankle. So I gave myself an extra day of rest.

And then I set out for my 2nd to last major long run two Sundays ago, and I didn't make it a full minute of running. Knee pain. NBD. I assumed I had some residual tightness in my IT bands pulling my knee out of whack. I'd get a massage Monday and be back on track.

Well last Monday I had a massage, and you know how that went. And I was out of commission the whole week. I attempted my long run Friday. I set out hoping to get in 3 hours/18 miles/20 miles depending on how the legs felt and what my pace was. Once upon a time I heard that runs over 3 hours do more harm then good for slower runners/injury prone folk, so being on the cusp of the 'I' word, I didn't want to overdo it.

My quads felt trashed from the get go. Which is bizarre because they were one of the areas not really worked during the massage. They felt like that tightness you get after attacking downhills (improperly in my case) or that tightness that sets in around mile 20 of the marathon. Not mile zero. Ugh. My pace was slow, but I didn't have any pain, so I was thankful.

I hit 9 miles right around 1:39 and decided 18 would be my mileage for the day. But then my hips started getting increasingly tighter. I stopped to stretch them pretty frequently. My left one was being a huge bear. And then my knee started feeling wonky. And then my stomach started getting pissy (I think I was drinking too much water when I was stopping to stretch). I told myself to just walk/run to get it done. Finally at 16.25 miles and just over 3 hours, I realized I was doing my harm then good because my form was so off. So I walked it in.

Two miles.

Ugh. New walk of shame.

I had a LONG time to think about what I'm going to do for Bemidji, and it's safe to say I had every thought from "this is NBD, I'll still destroy 26.2 miles!" to "I should just eat the $70 entry fee and focus on healing up and being ready for Houston in January."

I emailed the race director on Saturday to check the race transfer policy. I can transfer up until the 30th, but the half is full, so I'd have to do the 26k or the 10k. So I'm glad I have some time to figure it out.

I have another massage (insert the emoji with the teeth in a grimace here) scheduled for Monday morning, and I'm hoping he'll be able to give me some stretching suggestions and be able to tell what's realistic for Bemidji. I know a PR race is out of the question, but I would like to still go and complete the marathon, but only if I can do it mostly painfree. A marathon is painful enough without your joints giving you problems!

So TBD on the race I've spent 14 weeks training for. Ugh. Feel free to send me all your healthy vibes and any stretching/rehab exercises you've done for weak hips/tight hip flexors/tight adductors (my current personal diagnosis...we'll see if I'm right I guess!)

Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon Training Recap Week 9

Week 9 was not my best week of training. It's Sunday night and I'm trying to not beat myself up about it as I write out this recap.

Monday I started off with a bang and knocked out 10 miles before work. On a roll!

Tuesday through Sunday I ran zero miles. Ugh. I was struggling with exhaustion and just could not sleep enough hours. It finally dawned on me during the weekend that it seemed similar to the Vitamin D deficiency I'd struggled with before. For some reason I just assumed I was getting enough Vitamin D from the SUN in the SUMMER to not need a vitamin supplement, but I guess I'd be wrong. I took my normal dosage Friday and Saturday and already felt dramatically better on Sunday.

But not good enough for a run, I guess. I had a REALLY RANDOM ache in my right ankle Friday night that reared its head again Sunday morning. Like I said, i haven't ran all week, and it didn't hurt at all on Monday, so it's probably nothing, but super cautious, always injured Jerbear was super cautious so as to not be injured and scrapped the run. UGH.

Sunday I was able to meet my running buddy Jenn for a long leisurely ride to get my heart pumpin' a bit.



Next up is B Goal Race Week, so I hope this week is a bit stronger, mentally and physically!

I had the following set as a separate post, but I think it makes the most sense to include it for this week's recap, as it's what I'm feeling this week and last. I often use this blog as a diary to go back and reflect on training, so it may be helpful to have this included. We'll see.
______________

After my 3k XC race, I was on runner's cloud 9. I performed better than I was expecting and the race and racing atmosphere left me wanting to go out and run all the miles. As races typically do. It also started to give me some of my racing confidence back. That I can fight in a race a bit. That not all my speed is dead. That my training is showing improvement.

And then a few missed runs crop up and I completely lost my mental game.

Whoa.

Ok then.

Jenn was giving me a text message pep talk about my upcoming marathon (I screenshot the whole convo to look back on during moments of need and pre-race when I'm freaking the eff out, as I do) and how she just knew that I was going to run sub 4. And I was like, cool, I don't know that. But I'm glad you do.

But it was just awesome to have that sort of assurance from someone who used to be the same exact g.d. speed as me and then went bonkers and shattered our PRs by like 30 minutes or something ridiculous like that. So yeah, I'll listen to her.

Because the marathon is such a weird beast. You can run, and analyze race predictors, and race and further analyze race predictors, but it's just SO HARD to know what your body is ready to tackle when you toe the line of 26.2. There have been times I was sure I'd finish the race with a 3 at the start of my time, but I never have. 

So right now I'm in the boat where I feel confident that I will run a PR this October. 4:12 will no longer be my best marathon time. Will that time start with a 3? I honestly don't know, and I still have some hard work to put in before I'll join forces with Jenn in believing her. But my god, is it nice to have someone believe in you and your dreams!

Feel free to give me some advice on how you silence your brain when the negative racing doubts creep in.

Bemidji Marathon Day Outfit

I've become a bit obsessed with Oiselle running clothes over the last half year. I've already shouted from the rooftops about my love of the Mac Rogas, and then they keep rolling out adorable green items that I just have to have. #teamgreen

Running companies, if you make it in green, I'll probably have to buy it. FYI.

For my marathon in October, I'm planning to wear the Mac Rogas. I currently have them in yellow, navy, and black. Probably excessive, but I seriously wear them for 85% of my runs. Yes, my washer and dryer are working overtime. They released two new colors and I want both. I've found the medium fits my shape slightly better than the smalls (all those glute exercises are really doing the trick on my booty!) so I need at least ONE of them for the race. Boring black just won't cut it for 26.2 miles.

I'm leaning toward the pinker version....

Thoughts?

Also, I was planning to wear the green flyte tank that I'm obsessed with, but THEN Oiselle posted about the Birds of a Feather tank in aspen. NEED.

I'm a firm believer that training for a marathon deserves a new marathon day outfit. And I plan to have an adorable outfit when I cross the finish line to break a 4+ year old marathon PR.

**I was in no way compensated for this post, and pay for all my Oiselle gear at full price unless I snag a coupon code for a weekend sale through their email campaigns.**

Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon Training Recap Week 6

I took a rest day Tuesday and started off my runs on Wednesday with a bang. I drove to the bike trail to run my tempo run and was all excited to snap a gorgeous picture of the moon as the sun was starting to rise. But as I got out of my car, there was a girl sleeping in the car next to me, and I was afraid she'd think i was snapping a pic of her. So here's my face instead, again.

I had seven miles on the schedule with five at tempo pace of 8:48. I didn't eat breakfast before this run and didn't bring any fuel along with me, and I really started to feel it the last two tempo miles. I was totally pooped. Hard early morning workouts require snacks, memo received. I still squeaked out an average tempo pace of 8:49.

Thursday was a rest day and Friday was supposed to be my 20 miler, but in looking at the weather for Friday vs. Sunday, it was a no-brainer to move my long run to Sunday. So I headed out for a hilly 8 miles Friday late morning to get in some heat and humidity acclimation with my hilly run.

Saturday was supposed to be an easy 5 mile recovery run to get me to 40 miles, but my knee was feeling slightly wonky after the hills on Saturday, so I opted to rest it up for Sunday's long run. Thankfully all was well for almost 3.5 hours of running on Sunday. Phew. Still wish I would've snagged a 40 mile week though!

I babbled all about Sunday's long run here, so I won't bore you again.

Long Run Euphoria

The scene: My messy living room.
The players: Me with laptop on my lap, Ollie snoozing next to me.
Setting: Sunday afternoon.

I'm currently sitting on the couch, compression socks on my legs to compress, spandex shorts on my booty to cover my inner thigh chafage (ouch, Mac Rogas, you FINALLY betrayed me!), empty Qdoba nacho bowl on the table in front of me, comfy, cozy.

This is what I like to call the runner's high of marathon training, aka long run euphoria. I tend to get a runner's high from long runs, regardless if they're successful or if I rode the struggle bus the whole g.d. time. But today, TODAY, I'm on the best kind of runner's high, the kind where you knocked the long run out of the park, and you're immediately re-amped for your training cycle and goals.

I woke up at 4:20am this morning. A cold front had moved in overnight (praise whomever you praise, yo) so getting up that early wasn't necessary, but Kyle and I both zonked out at 9pm last night, so the early bird catches the worm, and all that jazz. Besides, there's something about running when it's still dark out, that makes the miles seem like they're effortless. Like, you hit 6 miles in the dark and you feel like you're JUST starting or something.

Well, that didn't happen this morning.

I was supposed to do a 5 mile recovery run yesterday. I did 8 miles of hills on Friday, and I could not get out of bed Saturday morning to run before work. I also had the TEENSIEST amount of IT band discomfort after my hilly run, so I opted to take it easy and rest in preparation for my 20 miler.

I certainly felt those 8 miles of hills. For the first three miles of my long run. I was hitting 11:00 minute paces, and felt like I was running 10:00 minute paces. :/ Woof. I decided I'd ignore my pace and just run for time on my feet, as is the purpose for 20 mile runs. I could tell my form was off, so I decided to include 3 minute pickups every 20 minutes as I did during last week's 18 miler. They tend to get my form on the right track and activate my glutes.

After the first 3 minutes I could tell a world of difference in my form, and my effort was much less laborious, and I was picking up speed. Neat.

I was out of GUs last week so I placed a quick order through amazon for some more, and also threw in a bottle of salt pills. It was probably pretty dumb of me to try something new like that on a 20 miler, because I could crash and burn, but I did it anyway. I GU'd every 45 minutes, and took a salt pill every 60 minutes. AND I FELT AMAZING.

I normally get really nauseous toward the end of my long runs, and stay in that state for hours (or a full day) after. It's miserable. I felt so strong at the end of the run, that I deliriously almost contemplated running another 6.2 miles just to do a marathon fun run. And then I realized that would be stupid, but STILL. That's how magical I felt.

So maybe the excessive salt loss from sweat was a huge part of my stomach issues in past runs. Time will tell I guess, but I feel pretty darn good about marathon training with another eleven weeks to go.


First four miles 43:09
Second four miles 42:01
Third four miles 41:42
Fourth four miles 41:21
Fifth four miles 41:11