Bridgestreet Half Marathon

So... Last week was tough.  My running streak came to an end after 85 days.  I was so disappointed.  I wanted so badly to make it to 100 days on Easter, but I was hit with a brutal case of bronchitis that culminated last Saturday (April 5).  This was one week before my scheduled Bridgestreet Half Marathon.  I had been training so hard for this race.  I wanted to beat my business partner's half time as well as set a new PR for myself.  Therefore, I made the decision to take a break and rest my lungs and body.

I had gone for a short one mile run that Saturday morning, and it was my last until a brisk run this past Saturday to test my recovery.  After 85 straight days, I went a solid week without running.  I was not happy.  (I guess that's why I haven't written in a while.)  On Saturday, I went for an easy 2 mile run just to see where I was before my race.  It wasn't great, and my lungs were still weak, but I felt like I could do it.

My parents came to Huntsville for the race, and I was super excited about this.  I was finally going to have someone to be there for me on race day!  (They were also there for the Gulf Coast Half, but we know what happened with that race.)  They came up Saturday afternoon, and we went out for a delicious dinner and a stroll around Big Spring Park.  Then we went back to my apartment for an early bedtime before a very early race.

My alarm went of at 4:00 am, and I quietly drug myself out of bed to start eating breakfast and hydrating.  We left the house at 6:00 am and headed to Bridgestreet.  It was packed, and everyone was excited for this inaugural event!  The weather was perfect - sunny and beautiful!  There was a slight nip in the air in the morning, but it warmed up significantly during the race!

My goal was to stay ahead of the 2 hr. 15 min. pace group and fall in line with them if I had to.  My partner's half time was 2:19, and I wanted so badly to beat it.  I did great for the first four miles, staying well ahead of the group, but mile 5 killed me.  I started losing momentum quickly.  I had forgotten to use my inhaler before the race, and I was suffering.  I had a "rattle" in my chest - fluid in my lungs that vibrated every time I inhaled and exhaled.  I texted my mother, and she brought me my inhaler around mile 7.5.  After a couple of puffs, my rattle started to subside, but I just could not recover.  I was so angry with myself as I had to keep taking walk breaks to catch my breath.  I was still doing okay on time for a while, but the last 3-4 miles were brutal.  I watched as the time ticked by, and I realized that I was not going to beat my partners time.  I was furious with myself and cussing myself for being so weak.  I won't lie - I wanted to cry.

But the course was beautiful, and the participants were so happy, and my family was there.  I had posted to Facebook just before the race started, and several of my friends had been sending me wonderful, inspirational texts.  Then, two of my friends (a married couple with the wife 8 months pregnant) texted me to say that they were waiting for me just before the finish line.  I pulled together whatever I had left inside of me and forced myself to keep running.  Sure enough, they were there, shouting and cheering me on. It was wonderful!  I ran through the finish just in time to beat my previous half record (2:31.09) by about three minutes for a final time of 2:27.54.  It was bittersweet because I know I could have done better.  I have been running so much faster.  But sometimes life throws you curve balls of bronchitis, and you just have to accept it.  However, having my family and friends waiting for me at the finish line, so proud and supportive, was a feeling that could not be beaten!  Here are a few pics...

A not-so-great pic during the race.

My Parents and me after the finish.

My friends, Tracy and Scott, with me after the finish.

Bib and Finisher's Medal

Running is a funny thing.  Especially in a long race like this, I go through so many emotions.  Frustration and disappointment are not uncommon.  And a long push like this is usually followed by a fair amount of pain (Sunday night and Monday were rather sore).  So people often ask me why I do it.  It's simple really - because I can.  Because when it's all said and done after I cross that finish line, I experience the most amazing sense of accomplishment.  I just ran 13.1 miles!!  And all of the frustration and disappointment immediately turn into determination.  Within an hour, all I could think about was when the next half would be so that I can really kill this time!

I snapped a picture of this lady running in front of me for a bit.  Her shirt says it all...

"Today I Will Do What Others Won't So Tomorrow I Can Do What Others Can't."

I couldn't have said it better myself!

After a quick shower at home, my parents and I packed a picnic and went to Ditto Landing on the Tennessee River for lunch.  Tully and I had spent the afternoon there the day before, and it was beautiful.  We had a great time.  

Here's a pic of Tully from Saturday.

And Mom and Tully on Sunday.

It was so wonderful to have my parents visit.  I think I may have mentioned that I have the greatest family ever!  A big thank you to Mom and Dad for making the trip to support me and to all of my friends for your motivation as well.  It means so much to me!

I hope everyone has a great week and a Happy Easter!

March Recap

So, I know that it has been forever since my last post.  I cannot explain how crazy life has been the last few weeks.  I have been slammed at work, and trying to keep my running going with all the other things going on in my life has been hard.  But I've done it!  After I do my run today, today will make day 80 of my running streak!  And on Day 62, I broke 200 miles!  I have wanted to give up so many times, but I haven't let myself yet.  And usually on the days that I really want to quit, I'll force myself out there and after the first mile, I am so glad that I did.

So for a very brief recap of my running highlights over the last couple of weeks...

On March 1, I ran the Beignet Bash 5K here in Huntsville.  A friend (you know who you are) was supposed to join me, but she had to cancel at the last minute.  It should have been a new PR, but I was not on my game that morning.  I have kept my new 5K time under 30 minutes though.  I finished that one in 28:46 for an average pace of 9:16.

Then, on March 15, I ran the Rocket Run 10 Miler in Mooresville, AL with one of my partners.  We finished in 1:44 for an average pace of 10:16.  It made me feel good about my upcoming half in a couple of weeks.

I followed that with a 10 mile run the following Friday night.  It was tough and required a couple of stops to catch my breath and not throw up.  However, I never stopped for more than a few seconds, and my running accumulated to 10 miles in 1:37.23 for an average pace of 9:44 (which probably explains my struggle.)  This was by far my fastest long run yet!  I don't want to get my hopes up for the half because I never know what sort of issues I may be dealing with on race day, but I am wishing this is a sign.

As I was finishing this particular long run, I had a welcome committee at my "finish line."

This particular track and park are where Fleet Feet does their fun runs and training, so there are markings all along the course.  This one is my favorite.

Sometimes the message is simple.

Finally, this past weekend, I was in Birmingham and participated with my friend, April, in the Mountain Athletics Running/Peak Bagging clinic at Railroad Park.  It was sponsored by the local Mountain High Outfitters and The North Face.  I thought it was going to be a clinic on running form, but they combined the two sports into one serious workout.  I could barely keep up.  It turns out that I am very weak (okay, maybe this is not a surprise).  April, on the other hand, has been doing cross fit for a year now, and she was killing it!  The clinic was Saturday afternoon, and I can still feel the pain in every muscle of my body!  There was no long run this weekend.  So, I guess my taper will start a little earlier than planned.  Hopefully the strength training will step up my game though!  And we got a bunch of cool swag at the clinic as well.

Okay, that should bring us up to date.  I'm sorry I let things go for so long.  I'm going to try to get back on track now!  

The Half That Didn't Happen

I was originally super excited to right this post. But things didn't turn out quite the way I had hoped.

Let me start from the beginning... My last post was our first morning in Orange Beach. That day only got better. The wind started to subside by lunch time. I took Tully for a 2 mile run and ended up quite hot since it was so chilly when I started. After our run, Mom and Dad and Me and Tully all walked to Cosmo's for a late lunch. It was perfect! 

The weather was just right to sit on the patio. We had Red Beans and Rice Balls for an appetizer. They were coated and fried and served with a smoked Gouda sauce. And they were as delicious as they sound! Mom had the shrimp étouffée - she was feeling the spirit of Mardis Gras. Daddy had the diver scallop special, grilled. And I had the catfish. Yes. I said catfish. But it had some sort of andouille sausage coating and a creamy sauce on top. Trust me, it wasn't your standard catfish. Tully had is own bowl of water (and maybe a few bites that fell from the table). He was so well behaved that people asked if he was a service dog. That's my boy!

After stuffing ourselves at lunch, we had a lazy afternoon. We hung around the condo and watched the first Bond movie that evening. Confession: it's the first one I've ever seen. 

Saturday was a little busier. After breakfast, Tully and I went for a 2 1/2 mile run. This time we ran to the Backcountry Trail in the State Park. It was a beautiful day, and the trail was loaded with snowbirds. One particular older gentleman told me that he remembered me and my dog from last year. I must be pretty memorable! Or maybe it's Tully?

After our run and a little cleaning up, we all (minus Tully this time) loaded up with some condo neighbors and went to the Seafood Festival. It was a neat festival with lots of arts and crafts, food, and an antique car show. We had a great time. 

When we got back to the condo, I took Tully for a walk down to our little beach on the bay. He loves the sights and smells and sounds of the beach. 

The clouds were starting to roll in, but I wasn't concerned just yet. I love the way they decorate the sky. 

That night we went to the Gulf Shores United Methodist Church, where our friends attend, to a "Stained Glass Blue Grass" music concert. I was easily the youngest person there by 20 years, aside from a few that were certainly family members of the bands. The music was great though, and the bands were very entertaining. After the concert, we came home for an early bedtime. 

Which brings me to today... The weather for my race has been a concern all week and apparently with good reason.  A little after midnight, the storms set in. Loud thunder and lightening woke Tully and I all night. When my alarm went off at 4:30 a.m. the weather was awful. I saw an email that the race coordinators sent the night before stating that the race would go on at 7:00 a.m. until further update. Officially: "We run with rain but not with lightning." So I got up and began my race preparations. 

The storms had not let up at all when we arrived at LuLu's a little after 6:00. The worker at the front informed me that the Half Marathon had been officially canceled. They couldn't find any break in the weather long enough for the race. She told me that they were still looking to see if they could maybe have a 5K, 10K or some kind of shorter fun run. I could pick up my finisher medal and get a cup of coffee. About 30 minutes later the announcement was made that they could not find any break in the storms in which to safely allow any run. 

I was/am very disappointed. I have been planning for and looking forward to this race for almost a year. This was going to be my first half before I decided to run the Hunstville in November. And I finally had people to cheer for me! Ugh. Nothing could be done. I had spent enough money on all of it, though, that I told my parents that we were definitely going to stay for the post-race party, which was now the whole event, and eat and drink my money's worth. I'm not sure that we actually achieved that goal, but we did eat and drink and try to overcome the disappointment.

I'm really don't feel I deserve the medal. 

The race directors made the right call from a safety standpoint, but I still would've liked a refund. Oh well, you win some...

We got back to the condo a little after 9:00, and after much debate, decided to stick around for the day as planned and drive home tomorrow. (There was concern about our lack of sleep from our early morning.) We sat inside and watched the rain. I grew increasingly disappointed and frustrated at my lack of running. Not to mention that this was supposed to be the grand finale for my streak, and now I'm sedentary? I couldn't take it. 

At the first break in the rain, I was out the door. I ran a soggy 5 miles with soaking wet feet. It helped, but I'm feeling anxious  over my minimal miles the last couple of weeks. I'm ready to get back to it! At least I have another half scheduled for April. I guess that will have to be soon enough. 

Oh yeah, I wanted to use this race to help me make the decision about training for a full. Now I'm still stuck. I want it so bad, but it's so scary. Maybe that's all the more reason to do it!

To wrap up our day, we walked to dinner at Doc's, a local favorite of ours. They do have "the best fried shrimp in the entire civilized world!" And everyone needs a fried seafood platter when the don't run 13 miles, right?

Now it's time to settle in and get a good night's sleep before the drive home tomorrow. Leaving the beach is always sad in my book. But we like to leave our mark in the sand, and we always take some with us - just check out the back of my car!

A New 5K PR

I realize it's been a while since my last post. Honestly, it's just been an unfun week. My week was packed full of work and quick runs on the treadmill. I thought about blogging, but my thoughts of work stress and short treadmill runs just seems too boring and unhappy to share. But today is a day worth sharing for sure...

I convinced a friend of mine (Holly) to sign up for a 5K in Huntsville. It was supposed to be an easy fun run that was friendly for our pups (we both have Goldens). It's called the Race for Top Dog 5K at the Botanical Gardens in Huntsville. It turns out, dogs are only welcome in the one mile fun run. Oh well, we thought it would be fun to run and take our dogs to play after. However, after several factors, including no babysitters and the weather, the pups had to stay home...

Of course, as a miracle in disguise, that ended up as a blessing as the weather turned poor. Holly and I started our 5K at 8am (the fun run didn't start until 9). But the weather turned foul 15 minutes into our race. It was already cold, but the wind picked up and the rain started falling during our run. Holly was (as always) much cuter than I as we took a quick pre-race pic...

As I had planned, when the horn blew, I set off for a new Personal Record. My last was set at the Rumpshaker in Birmingham last year at 30:47. All I wanted to do was break 30. I assumed the Botanical Gardens course would be pretty flat and conducive to a new PR. But it was still tough. I took off out of the gate not really knowing what to expect. I refused to think about my time for a while. However, as I found myself coming to the finish area, I thought: if this is just a one mile lap, I will scream! Luckily, as I passed the digital clock reading 13 minutes and some change, I realized that it was the halfway point and that I was killing my time!

I was exhausted. I wanted to slow down. I honestly thought I might see my breakfast again a couple of times. But I knew I had to keep going. "You're on pace," I kept telling myself. "Just one foot in front of the other."  "Don't let that skinny chick beat you!"  And then after I completed my second mile, I kept chanting my favorite: "Only one mile left. Everything from here on starts with a decimal. You can do it!"

And I did!! I not only beat my PR, I crushed it. According to the official time clock keepers (it wasn't chip timed), I finished my 5K in 28:43!!

Now, it was a small class of folks actually running this race. It was nothing fancy: no more than a hundred or so people in the whole run. But I'm gonna claim it! I set my own person PR. And I made the top 5 in my age group for the first time ever. I don't care about how small the competition was... I DID IT! And I'm proud!!