16 mile run - October 25

After the Marine Corps half marathon, I was hurting. Big time. It left me questioning my sanity in pursuing a marathon. My running for the 2 weeks after that was something like this – complete rest for the week immediately following the half marathon. On Saturday, Oct 11, my group ran 14 miles. Those of us who had run the MC half, only ran 7. I was glad of that. I could handle 7; that’s all. Then, I ran an easy 2 miles on Sunday, the 12th. Well, it “should” have been easy; it wasn’t. My legs were still tired and everything hurt. I ran an easy 3 at my half-marathon race pace on Wednesday, the 15th. That one felt OK. Then a 5K walk/run in DC on October 18 with friends. That 5K was really all about being with friends. It had very little to do with actual running.

By the time Tuesday, the 21st came around, I was in a mild panic thinking about running 16 miles on the 25th. I did not at all feel ready for it in any way. I knew how I felt after the half, and how long the recovery had been. No way would I be able to handle 16 miles. Coach Ken stepped in to say, “you can do this, no problem”. I really did not believe it. I did run a good 6 miles that evening, which helped with the anxiety. I still wasn't sure about adding 10 more to that.

Then a car accident on Wednesday, the 22nd, seemed to seal it for me. I had some minor injuries. There is no way I should run 16 miles. But, interestingly, the car accident had the opposite affect. As soon as those around me, including Ken, started saying, “don’t run”, I became more determined TO run 16 miles.

Saturday morning, it was (pre-dawn) 73 degrees and 100% humidity. You read that right, 100% humidity! It was heavily overcast with occasional misting rain. I decided to run with the slower of my 2 groups. ALL of my marathon training friends were there this morning, too. Before we got started, Chris (head coach) said a few words, “Today you’ll be running 16 miles which will be more than many of you have ever run. When you get back here at the end of that, just think to yourselves, ‘Only 10 more to go’!”

Jayne was not feeling up to par, and started getting worn out around mile 7. Also, about that time a disturbing thing happened. One of the women in our group saw a political sign is someone’s yard which she disagreed with. She ran right over, yanked it out of the yard and threw it in a dumpster to the cheers of a few others in the group. Personally, I didn’t agree with what the sign said either. But, I disagreed more with her throwing it away. That sign represented the home owner’s freedom of speech.

Other than that, the run went very well for me. I kept waiting to hit a wall; but, never did! I felt tired at mile 14 when starting up the Main Street Bridge. But, I was up and over it fairly quickly. It wasn’t a problem at all. Anyway ... It was a good run!!! No ... it was a GREAT run!!! I stayed hydrated and fueled. It was a huge psychological barrier to break through. And, it was actually fun!

Marine Corps Half Marathon - 10/04/08

Starting a good week or so before this race, I began to panic every time I thought about it. I was still having ITB issues (i.e. pain) and was really beginning to doubt if I could do this at all. My friend, Jayne, was going to be running with me and that calmed me down considerably. She had run a marathon last year, and is excellent at keeping a steady pace.

I told her my goals for this race:
1. Finish
2. Finish running without further injury
3. Finish in under 3 hours, if possible

As the race day got closer, both #2 and #3 looked out of reach. So, going in, I was looking at #1 only.

It was a great morning! The humidity was high (95%), but the temperature was low (60º). We arrived at the race site before dawn to pick up our timing chips. We ran into quite a few people we knew from our Saturday morning training group. There was a Navy band playing, and Marines and ROTC everywhere. We all lined up behind the starting line as dawn broke over the city. Then the Marine Color Guard came forward and the Navy Band played our National Anthem.

When the cannon went off, I attempted my normal scared rabbit bolt to the start. Jayne had me WALK with her to the start line, then run. She had figured out paces for each mile to achieve all 3 of my goals. Her goal was only to finish uninjured. She truly does not care about time.

Early on, we ran past the Maxwell House plant here in town. They were roasting the beans this morning, and the delicious aroma of fresh brewed coffee filled the downtown area. This is one of the things I have always loved about Jacksonville, and one of my earliest childhood memories – the smell of roasting coffee early in the morning. I still love that.

This morning’s run was 2 races: a 5K and a ½ marathon. Both groups started out together. Then at about 1.5 miles, the half-marathoners turned to run over a bridge, while the 5K’ers ran straight ahead. Running the 5K was a group of Marines in full fatigues who were singing the whole way. Jayne and I ran with them to our turn off point. That was fun!

Jayne, Me, and TJ near the turn-off point

I have to admit here that it was annoying watching peeps bolt past us early on. But, I let it go. I wanted to finish this race, not burn out. We went up and over 2 bridges (Main Street and the dreaded Acosta) - no problem at all! Then down through neighborhoods along the River. The sun was now up and the temperature was rapidly increasing towards the 80’s. At about mile 5.5, we started passing peeps who were now walking. That was cool. At mile 9, we passed a few more who had taken off fast earlier that morning. I never saw them again. I don't know if they finished or not. I hope so.

Then came mile 9.66 - I felt my first wave of fatigue. And, more surprisingly, dizziness and nausea. That was really strange. And, my right leg went from an annoying mild pain to a nagging moderate pain. And, I started feeling compensation pain in my lower back. Crud.

But, I kept on going until mile 11, where I just wanted to quit with every fiber of my being. Soon after that point, our course took us up and over a pedestrian bridge. Uggh! By mile 12.5, I was close to having a complete meltdown. Seriously. I was dizzy, light-headed, nauseated, and my heart was racing (new symptom). And, my right leg was now at an excruciating pain level. I. Was. Done.

I do not know how I actually finished (and ran through the finish line, no less). Looking back, I do know now that a big part of my problem was simple dehydration. After the race, I inhaled a liter of water and started feeling much better. I have to learn how to manage water intake better. I realize now that I only took a cup of water at one of the stations (mile 10) - and most of that ended up on my shirt.

Anyway, it's done and I am happy with it. Below is an email from Jayne who kept all our stats. It is easy to tell by the times where I lost it.

"Hi Linda,

I hope you are feeling well. I enjoyed running with you today!

Mile Proposed Pace Actual Pace
1 ….. 15 ........ .13:44
2 ….. 15 …….......13:33
3 …… 14.5 ……....13:52
4 ….. 14 …….......13:18
5 ….. 13.5 ……....13:46
6 ….. 13 …….......13:53
7 ….. 13 …….......13:16
8 ….. 13 …….......13:46
9 ….. 13 …….......14:03
10 …. 13 …….......13:46
11 …. 13 …….......14:22
12 …. 13.5 ……....15:19
13 …. 14 …….......14:43
0.1 …. 1.4 …….....1.11
--- ---- -------
13.1...178.9 min. 182:40 min.

Our standard training pace for this distance would be 13.1 x 15:30 = 203:03 minutes, so we ran a good race...well done!

See you soon,

Jayne"


This is a place I didn’t think I would ever get to. A year ago, I was worried about being able to complete a 5K. Many, many people along the way have helped me get here. They must be mentioned. There is my family who has always supported me (even when questioning my sanity). And friends. Many friends. In particular, there is Michele, who ran a marathon a little over a year ago, and inspired me to even attempt this. There is Ken, an excellent marathon runner and coach, who took the time to design an 18-week training schedule for me and has always patiently answered all of my questions and concerns. There is my Saturday morning marathon training group. We all have shared our mistakes and successes each Saturday morning as we have increased our mileage together. And there is Jayne, my friend for many many years. We had lost touch a few years ago and then literally ran back into each other while crossing the Main Street bridge during the River Run last March. We’ve been running together ever since.


On the way back to the car after the race, Jayne said, “In a few months, you will be running double of what you did today. Can you imagine that?”

Honestly? No, I cannot begin to imagine that.

12 miles!

This morning's run was on Amelia Island (Fernandina Beach) which is about an hour's drive north of Jacksonville. That meant getting up at 3:00 this morning to meet up with my carpool group at 4:30.

It was COLD* this morning!!! The first part of the run was into Fort Clinch State Park. It is heavily forested and, at that time of the morning (pre-dawn), it was darker than dark. Really, it was completely dark. Fortunately, 2 runners in our group had flashlights so we could see a little of the road before us. I was feeling good; really good. And, I was pushing the pace a bit. I got the hook though, and was threatened with being kicked back up to my assigned pace group if I didn't settle down. So, I settled down.


By mile 5, it was light enough to see everything. We ran down a boardwalk to the beach and took a group photo. Then we started back out of the park. On our way out, one of the women in our group screamed and stopped running completely. She was staring up at the trees and pointing. I was expecting to see someone hanging there, by her reaction. What we saw instead were hundreds of HUGE spider webs extending down to just above our heads. Each web had a very large banana spider in the center (think: Harry Potter "Chamber of Secrets" on spider size). We had been running under them for the past 5 miles, so no big deal to MOST of us. A few needed major convincing to continue the run, however. It actually took one of us saying, "Well, we're going. You can stay here with the spiders or run on out of here with us," to get everyone moving again. In all, we covered a little over 7 miles in the park.

After Fort Clinch, we turned and ran towards town. The sun was well up, and it was a beautiful morning! I did not start feeling any fatigue until 9.7 miles. Then, I just felt somewhat tired. I was still OK until mile 11. That is where I hit the wall today. From there on, it was tough, no lie. Just as I hit the wall, my friend, Jayne asked,"Hey Linda, what's 16 squared?"
"What?"
"You know, 16 x 16?"
"256"
"OK, thanks. Wait, I meant 16 x 12"
"Sorry, only 1 math problem per morning."
"Dang it." With that she pulled out a calculator and a course map, and started some sort of odd calculations - all while running! This kept me entertained until mile 12. The run should have ended there, but didn't.

And the run was actually 12.3 miles. I do believe that very last 0.3 mile was the toughest of all. The psychological part can be every bit as tough as the physical sometimes.

Now, I am tired and a bit achy. But, overall, I feel really good. And, I feel like I CAN run the half-marathon next Saturday. After all, it will be only 0.8 of a mile farther than I ran today. And, I have convinced Jayne to run it with me.

It's all good. Really good.

Group photo at Mile 6
*Relatively speaking, about 65 degrees - cold for all of us

Milestones

Saturday, September 13, was my longest run ever at 10 miles. We met before dawn down by the River. It was already 85 degrees and 95% humidity BEFORE sunrise. And, my left brain was telling me, "you should have stayed in bed".

Soon after we started, our course took us up and over the 1st of 2 bridges on that day’s run. This bridge is a tough one. It is quite steep, resulting in a hard uphill run and a tendency to run the downhill too fast. This bridge and I have met before. I have burned out by running the downhill side too fast on more than one occasion. So this time I stayed back in the middle of the group so I would have others between me and a reckless run. That strategy worked.

After the bridge, our run took us through one of the nicer, older neighborhoods by the river. As we started through the neighborhood, at about 1.8 miles, I had my first, "I can't do this" moment. I realized we had over 8 miles left to go, and it just felt impossible. I talked myself out of that by remembering I had just run 8 miles the previous Saturday. And, I kept going.

Miles 2 - 6 were fine. The good thing about running in a group is that people talk. The talking is a welcome distraction from ... well ... running. That morning the talk was mostly about home improvement. There is an unspoken rule that any political discussion is forbidden. For that, I am extremely grateful. But, despite the friendly banter, at about mile 7, I started to feel tired. And I got my 2nd, "stop running" message from the annoying part of my brain. I fought through it to mile 8.

Then, at mile 8 I hit a wall and the base of the 2nd bridge all at the same time. I still don't know how I made it over that bridge. My calf muscles were screaming all the way up; my quads were yelling on the way down. From that point on, I was running on will-power alone. But, I did it. The whole 10 miles.

And, coming up this Saturday, September 27, will be a 12–mile run. A new milestone.

What keeps me going ...

There are days when the running is wonderful in spite of everything. Last Thursday evening was one of those runs. It was hot and humid and my IT Band was still hurting. But, I had a great run. It was one of those stress-releasing, good for the soul runs that left me smiling into the next day.

And yesterday's run was good as well. We met at the beach before dawn and saw the sun rise over the ocean as we put in our 8 miles. It was beautiful. The camaraderie was excellent also.

So, those good runs along with support of friends and family keep me going through the tough times.

But, what really keeps me going is why I am training for this marathon in the 1st place.

It is for those who have fought cancer and survived. Donna Deegan is there with us every Saturday morning. Her spirit and courage inspire me to keep going.

And, it is for those who have fought cancer and died. John TenBroeck was there with us every Saturday morning until the end. That end came Friday, September 5, 2008. It was the physical end of his life, and many of us will miss him deeply. But, the things he set in motion such as founding the Jacksonville Track Club (now JTC Running) years ago, will keep area runners running for years to come.

Things that slow me down ...

One of the things I really don't need in my training is something beyond my control slowing me down.

In the middle of August, it was an upper respiratory infection. I had NO energy at all. I still attempted to get my mileage in with varying degrees of success.

Just as I was recovering, Tropical Storm Fay hit town and flooded everything. Trees and power lines were down. Streets were flooded. There were even reports of alligators and snakes in the flooded streets. My group run was cancelled, as was a race I had signed up for. I did make it out for a run on Saturday, August 23. It was pouring down rain and gusty winds. I made it 7.33 miles before giving up.

And now, I am having and ITB flare-up. I ran through it (7 miles) with my group on Saturday; and 5 miles this morning. It was excruciating.

I have learned that running is cyclical. Some days (weeks?) are just hard; others are wonderfully easy. I know that right now I am in a tough cycle. I just have to wait it out and keep running.

Getting Started

I used to run in Middle school and High school as a sprinter. The longest distance I ever ran was 400m; and, that was under duress! So how did I end up training for a marathon?

In the Summer of 2007, I decided to start running again. I really had not run at all since High school, which was a few years ago. I started back using the Couch to 5K program (C25K). I enjoyed the program; completed it, and ran my 1st 5K in December 2007. That was the LONGEST distance I had ever run in my entire life. It was exhausting and fun. And, I knew I wanted to run more.

I ran the Gate River Run (15K) in March 2008. I walked much of it. My only true training in running had been back in HS as a sprinter. That training amounted to: “run fast”. So, that’s all I knew. I could not run more than 3 miles without walking and I could not figure out why. So, I turned to a good friend and marathon runner (and now a RRCA certified coach) for help. His first advice, “slow down, way down”. That, to me, made no sense at all. I wanted to improve my terribly slow time on my 1st 5K, after all. And, I now wanted to run a ½ marathon in October 2008. Would I even be able to finish it if I slowed down?

“Run slower to run faster,” he said. That was the nuttiest thing I had ever heard. I ignored it and ran all my training runs at my race pace. The result? I was exhausted after every run. I could not run more than 3 miles without stopping and walking, and I was beginning to get injured. I finally decided to listen, and try it his way.

The first time I really slowed down to a calculated long-distance pace for me (which was so slow that I knew walking would be faster), I was able to run 6 miles without stopping! I was in shock. I wasn’t overly tired, and the run was enjoyable. This same friend put together a training schedule for me to follow to be able to run the ½ marathon. I had a million non-stop questions such as: what is a stride? what is a tempo run? what is training pace?

At this point, he kindly suggested I join a running club or group. I resisted at first, feeling I was in NO WAY good enough for that. Those running groups were all elite runners, right? Wrong. They were all people like me who wanted to improve their running times or endurance, and wanted the social connection of running with like-minded friends.

Before I knew it, I had become part of a marathon training program.

Coach Chris gets us started on those early Saturday mornings.