Turkey Trot '13

If you asked me about 4-5 weeks ago if I'd be able to run this race this year, I would have laughed in your face.  Yeah, right.  No way I could run that, much less race it.  Well, I did run but not race it.
I was graduated from formal PT a few weeks ago and have continued on my own.  I have definitely gotten somewhere and hope to continue to be able to avoid surgery to repair my torn hip labrum.  I have very gradually, slowly increased my run mileage with some niggles but nothing major as far as I can tell.  Time came around to decide to run Turkey Trot or not and decided I'd do a warmup run and decide if the hip was willing.  We woke to the coldest temps of the fall, perfect running weather.  Felt ok on the warmup run so decided to give it a go.  I haven't done any tempo runs, just a couple shorter, slow "interval" workouts to test the hip.  Didn't figure my current fitness level would allow anything sub-7 minute pace as most of our regular runs are 8:30-8:50 pace.  Started out at 7 min pace to see how long I could hang on and was surprised to see I could hold this the whole way.  Slowest 10K for me in many years but over the moon to line up and participate!  Our rule with Turkey Trot is we run unless injured, sick or out of town!  Saw lots of friends and had a blast.  Even got on the Masters podium, shocker of the day!  It was a really good Thanksgiving for sure.  The Dane missed the Grandmasters podium but remains motivated to improve on this.  He will run the Holiday Halfathon in a couple weeks but I don't have the mileage for that so my next run planned is Say No to Drugs 10K the week after.  I plan week to week now so we'll see.  I am going to try and register for NYC Marathon '14, just can't resist!  Fingers crossed!
Cheers

So, what now..

Boy, this was an interesting summer.  I was "able" to run all summer (10 weeks of it anyway) for the marathon planned 9/8.  All was well until after the last long run.  The last long run went well, half at goal marathon pace, feeling confident.  Not without pain but tolerable.  Then, my hip was not happy.  I couldn't run any more.  No marathon.  No chance for the BQ that I had been dreaming about since that horrible day I witnessed on April 15th.  I promised myself I would toe the line in Boston next April but my body had other plans.  I went from a great 16-miler to not being able to run 4 miles.  I had to succumb to this now.  Shit.
I've had a lot of time to deal with this.  I'm not happy with it but at least I know what I'm dealing with, injury-wise.  There is always power in knowledge.  Wish I'd done this in March when it happened!  I've started physical therapy and think I've found a really good bunch there.  I will likely need surgery to repair my hip labrum in the future but my PT is on board with trying to avoid this, for the short term anyway.  Crazy thing is, I can bike and swim so this is part of my therapy now!  As a "retired" triathlete, this is not a problem!  I am riding my Computrainer regularly now and have made a return to masters swim.  Geez, I might have to make a triathlon "comeback" next year!  Trying to stay positive and get stronger, my new goal.
The great thing is that the Boston Marathon is run every year, I will run there eventually!  Maybe stronger..... #silverlinings
Cheers

The good news and the bad news.......the bad news sucks

Well, I've finally gotten the results from my MRI done the end of June.  Not like I was avoiding it intentionally but I was sort of avoiding it, I guess.  I got a surprise a few days ago visiting my ortho when he said I have a tear in my acetabular labrum......and, oh btw some tendonitis in my hammy attachments.  I have in the past few days become an internet expert in the labrum tear territory,  so should you  http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hip-labral-tear/DS00920.  This is the layman's address.  The bottom line, it's a real shit injury for a runner and the only fix is surgery.  Very avascular area and does not heal on its own.  Major bummer!
The good news, my ortho didn't see any reason I couldn't run my BQ attempt marathon in 4 weeks.  I will have pain.  Check.  I can and should take anti-inflammatories.  Check.  I hopefully won't do further damage.  We'll see.
I know exactly when this injury happened.  I didn't do it running, I did it in the pool, kicking vigorously on my side with fins.  I remember.  I want to forget.  This kept me out of the Boston Marathon this year.  I'll be damned if it keeps me out in 2014.  
The plan is in play.  Run a qualifier, preferably 10-20 faster than BQ to be sure to get a spot.  I think I am on track for that.  Ran 10 miles of M-pace or faster inside of the long run today.....in the heat.  Planning on cooler temps for LVH in four weeks but if it's hot, I'm ready!  I am keeping my race plan in play despite the diagnosis.  Don't care if I have to walk/jog Boston and get surgery afterwards, the plan is in play.
So, Advil is my friend and finding a PT to get me started with therapy will be a plus.  Could use any advise on a good local PT, by the way.
All in for Boston.....

Why am I doing this....

I know why.  Today I suffered through more heat and humidity than I ever thought possible.  More than my two IM races in Kona, believe it or not!
I am trying to transform myself into a marathoner.  Unfortunately, I'm trying to do it in the "dog days of summer" in Florida.  I'm only doing this to get my BQ for Boston Marathon 2014 and get back.  Get back to what I couldn't accomplish in April.  Get back at the bombers.  Get ME back, uninjured and running free for something that means more than I can possibly scribe.
The plan today was simple on paper, 20 mile run.  No big deal, marathoners do it all the time.  I am on a 12 week marathon plan, racheting up the miles as I go.  On paper, seemed right.  Florida summer heat is brutal.  I'm small, handle heat well, no biggie.  Until about 15 miles.  This is where all the Ironman toughness was beneficial for me today.  Temp was 94* starting out at 6am, WTF.  I had to go to the little corners of the brain that keep telling you to 'just keep going'.  The Dane baled out early, he was cooked already and made the right call.  It was me and my thoughts.
Nothing has motivated me more in a long time than getting back to Boston.  I remember the bombs so vividly and that is all the motivation that drives me when I'm cooked on these hot Florida runs.  I have so many reasons to make this BQ happen.  I know others do too and I hope to meet up with them in Hopkinton in April '14.
5 weeks, I just HAVE to do this......

Where am I now..

I am currently 9 weeks from my attempt at BQ in Sept.  It has really been a challenge.  The injury that kept me out of the Boston marathon has truly lingered.  I restarted consistent (read 5 runs/week) 2 1/2 weeks ago and I'm tolerating slow running.  I cannot tolerate speed work or any "ballistic" training, as my ortho told me.  Yes, I caved and saw a doctor who likely knows more than me (I've been self-diagnosing for years).  Got an MRI a week ago, still don't know results.  But, he agreed with my diagnosis (adductor strain/tear) but wanted scan to see where healing was.  My goal is to get to a good physio who can tell me what to do to prevent recurrent adductor (with running) issues.  However, I have a damn marathon to train for. Oh, and it's summer time in Florida.  It aint pretty, folks.  We have run in "feels like" temps well over 100 deg, not recommended.  I'm holding up so far, just trying to boost the mileage.  At the end, I hope to get there. It will be a catered 26.2 mile run and I will focus on all the reasons I want to head back to Boston.  There are a lot.  To call it unfinished business doesn't touch where I am emotionally on that issue.
One of the biggest strengths I learned that I have from the years of Ironman racing was mental toughness.  I'm gonna need it, all!
So, if you see me jogging along on the Pinellas trail or elsewhere, I'm trying to get miles.  Every mile is a gift!
Cheers

Our summer ice bath... someone really likes it!

Marathon training......sort of

14 weeks out from BQ try in PA.  I have run, lets see, about 5 miles this week.  Where do I start.  I dove into the deep end, as I'm accustomed to, with training and have managed to aggravate my left hammy/adductor.  I had a couple decent speed workouts which I shouldn't have done in the first place.  Lesson learned.  Really, this time I have learned.  I promise.
So, from here on 'til
September, I just need to try and get in some miles.  I jogged a few miles today with some awareness but no pain to speak of.  I know what to do with this and will make it my job to do all the extra stuff and get where I need to be to add mileage.  And, NO speed work!
Turns out the only stand alone marathon I've ever done was the easiest to train for!  Thought that would continue but not so much.  I will persevere!

Turns out, I'm famous (helps to line up with the boys)!  This pic from latest SI.  Way to go Turkey Trot!

Never give up...

Reset

The whole Boston trip/experience had me hitting the reset button.  Realizing you are so close to having life change in a really bad way makes you appreciate life more.  It also made me value the things I have now and think more deeply about the things I have yet to accomplish, athletically and personally.  Reset.  Bang, a new way to look at things.  Since my blog is generally about the athletic side of things, this is where I will focus.  Get back to the Boston Marathon 2014......and not be injured!
Finding a marathon qualifier in the summer (that doesn't require a ton of travel, i.e. West coast/altitude) was the first order of business.  I read tons of reviews on marathonguide.com and then found the Lehigh Valley Health Network marathon in early Sept.  Assuming that Boston registration will be in late Sept, this seemed like a good fit.  Then to find that it has the 4th highest percentage of BQ's, even better.  Since I had missed a full 7 weeks of running, I knew a June or July marathon wasn't going to work.  Plus, the Dane had to recover from Boston prior to charging into another training program.  So, 9/8/13 we will toe the line in Allentown and run to Easton, PA hopefully fast enough for me to gain a BQ (I say "me" because we have since learned that the Dane has a guaranteed entry to Boston 2014, hooray for the BAA).  Marathon training through the summer in FL is not for the weak let me tell you.  I have trained for 3 IM's during the summer and found it to be pretty challenging, and I wasn't 46 years old!  I feel I have plenty of motivation to train smartly and get the miles in.  The Dane will race in PA anyway to get a good seeding time

for Boston.
So, reset.  No triathlons planned, just running.  Back to my roots.  We'll keep swimming as well just for a bit of cross training.  I started back "running" (more jogging/walking) the Sunday after Boston and have been able to build up to 40 miles this past week.  We will do a few 5k's during the summer just for fun but otherwise, not much racing during the summer.  So, 16 weeks ought to be enough time to go from zero to 26.2 at a snappy pace.  Time will tell.
Onward...

Boston survivor crew!

My Boston Marathon experience...

So, here it is.  Several weeks ago before I got injured, I sort of looked forward to penning this particular blog.  I have been fairly obsessed with the Boston Marathon 2013 since qualifying 12/17/11 on my first attempt.  I've dreamt of it, studied it, what it may be like, am I running enough miles, am I running enough hills, joy of running alone in the dark and rain....  I could go on but we all know now that I didn't get a chance to toe the line on 4/15/13.  I shed many tears over my (now) pitiful misfortune and bad luck however I tried to keep positive with the belief that everything happens for a reason and just because we don't immediately (or ever, in some cases) know that reason, one likely still exists.
We were heading there with the hope that the Dane would be able to at least qualify for 2014 (which is now my main athletic goal for the year) and have a fun vacation.  Unfortunately (or fortunately, it may seem) he didn't have the race he'd hoped for and ended up walking with a couple other athletes after about mile 14.  Emma (Dane's niece from DK studying in Boston for the month) and I headed over to Boylston around 10:30 am after watching the start on tv at our rented brownstone apartment, home base for the week.  We were both stunned with the sheer masses!  Watched some of the wheelchair athletes finish to roars from the crowd then headed into Prudential Center to grab some lunch and continue watching on the tv in the bar, pretty neat actually!  Watched both men and women elites finish then headed down to the crowd to await our hero for the day.  It was fun, like a big block party - families, many languages spoken, a palpable energy.  My personal biggest such event until this was Kona I guess which, now, doesn't come close in comparison.  We finally managed to edge up to the barrier around the 26 mile marker and watched from there.  Amazing experience for sure!  I cannot describe the energy and the crowds!  I was tracking several athletes on the BAA app but didn't get updates on the Dane from beyond 30K so we were just trying to identify him knowing he should be coming given the time!  Let the race clock tick to the 3:55 mark and we decided we must have somehow missed him, we'd walk to the finish area to look around (then to the family meeting area after that).  Well, what occurred little less than 10 minutes later doesn't require explanation.  We got in a major crowd bottleneck in front of the Lennox Hotel and were bitching about why we couldn't move further, closer to the finish.  BOOM! WTF was that!  It shook the pavement underneath my feet.  First thought, fireworks accident.  Then, saw the plume of smoke and another BOOM, just to our left on the other side of the street from us.  That's when the pandemonium hit like a ton of bricks!  I looked into Emma's eyes and saw the fear and desperation, what do we do?  We got pushed backwards by the mosh pit of a crowd we were complaining about only seconds earlier and I grabbed her hand just before we got separated.  Into the Lord & Taylor we went, have to get off of this street, I thought.  The intense fear of the unknown was something I've never experienced in my life!  Where/when is the next one?  I freaked a bit in there and recall screaming out loud that I needed to know where my husband is.  I looked at Emma and knew I had to get her out of there very quickly so we, as did many others, quickly walked through Lord & Taylor where a very nice employee guided us up the escalator to exit us to the opposite exit on ?Huntington.  I cannot describe the sounds/smell/emotions/palpable fear all around us, just so intense.  Kids crying, adults crying, people screaming.  I just kept focussed on the moment, survival and don't let anything happen to Emma.  We got out the other side and sat down.  Emma was trying not to cry, we hugged, we bonded.  I will say, she is a young women of great strength!  We decided we needed to come up with a plan amongst all the sirens.  Oh my God, all the sirens and ambulances, never seen anything like this!  We planned to head to the previously arranged family meeting area, hoping to find Anders there waiting for us.  No such luck.  We decided we would make camp there and not leave until we saw him.  My iphone was getting no reception and the battery was running low now, shit.  At 3:03 pm, I received a text from a number and area code I didn't recognize and it said "Kathy I ok police stopped us u ok? Love anders".  You can imagine the relief I felt with that.  I tried and tried to respond but the damn network was clogged/not working but I kept replying and after it seems 10 tries I got one through saying "family area".  He had gotten stopped by the police roughly half a mile from the finish and some extremely nice fellow athlete leant him and others her phone; luckily I wrote my number on the back of his race bib because he doesn't have it memorized.  Relief and sadness.  It was crazy waiting there, so surreal.  People roaming around calling out names of loved ones hoping to get replies, very sad experience.  I worried about the other athletes that I know who were running and their wellbeing.  I will never forget this.  After about an hour, I heard whistling and saw Anders hobbling towards us.  Thank God was all I could think.  Indescribable.  Reunited, we headed out to walk the mile back to the home base.  We stopped at a bar on the way back and had a beer/cola (; > emma) and they had every tv blaring the local news showing our recent horror, trying to explain it.  You cannot explain it and I can still barely comprehend this craziness.
The next day we walked around, over to Back Bay to see the barriers on Boylston,  sombre to say the least.  The road was blocked off at least 100 meters beyond the finish line which stood like time had just simply stopped.  Hard to process.  We and many others walking the streets this day were in shock, roaming emotionless like zombies.
We made the best of this trip though and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I love the city of Boston and Bostonians and will certainly return, hopefully to run this race next year.  It's something I could see making an annual pilgrimage for.  We, of course, have to both find a qualifier before the end of September but we will plan this for sure.
On the flight home, I took some notes because I didn't want to forget/repress the emotions that I experienced and shared with Anders and Emma.  Leaving was a strange thing.  A big part of me didn't want to leave, I haven't felt that since leaving Hawaii.  I found myself, unexpectedly, very emotional.  Normal grieving I suppose.  We are all victims - the people who lost their lives, the people who have to face the rest of their lives with physical/psychological wounds.  Then, there are the rest of us.  The faceless, nameless spectators who didn't (thank God) witness the gore of terror up close but experienced enough of the craziness.  I have felt pretty numb about the whole thing since but am feeling better now that I have talked about it as much as possible.  In the end, I refuse to let those assholes make a victim of me for life.  What they have done is make me more motivated than ever to return to the great city of Boston and live my dream - run the race of my dreams with the man of my dreams.

Love this flower box!  Only in Boston!

   

The unused bib......

Scary proximity

'Survivor sisters'

Boston....and a little race

More later but this city is really cool! Should've known cuz I'm part Chowder! I got a great reunion with Kona friends (super fast Ironwomen) at expo, much fun!

A fun video....

Normally, I send this year-end video to my family just as a "postcard" of our year.  Clearly, we aren't at the end of 2012 but well into 2013 so thought I'd post it on my blog.  I cannot run and am bored so, what the Hell!

2012 project from kathy frailing on Vimeo.

The good news and the bad news...

Well, I drew you in with the positive title.  Really, for me, no positives to be found now.  Warning, I write how I think, not pretty.
I will not be racing at my first Boston Marathon.  I have shed more tears over this than one would think should be rational but those people don't know what I've put in to this.  The runs in the dark alone (the Dane was injured early on), the runs in the rain/wind/cold, the runs dealing with niggles and trying to rationalize if they are truly just niggles or real issues.  I've run only one marathon (stand-alone, non-ironman......totally different) and training for that (short build up, coming off injury) went as well as could be expected.  I had 15 weeks to go from zero to 26.2 for a Boston qualifier and I accomplished that even though I paced horribly (but learned).  I knew with a longer build up, bigger things (read, better times) could happen for me.  I am a relatively decent runner who has been deep into triathlon world for the past 20 years.  This is not a bad thing but I have not had a lot of run miles in my legs.  Feeling that I haven't bashed my legs for the past couple decades, I could expect to build things up and hold some decent marathon training miles.  I did really well for about 12 weeks.  I am 45 after all and quite frankly, shit happens.  That's what happened to me.  I think the fibula thing started me looking after my body a bit.  Saw a chiro and found that I had a lot of things out of whack, my fibula likely being the worst.  In my aggression to maintain hard-earned fitness, I did some stupid shit in the pool and really fucked my left hammy.  Yes, the one I tore back in '09.  Good news is, I didn't do it running. Bad new is, well, it's hurt.  I may be jogging some by Patriots Day but I will not be racing.  I hold back tears typing this but. as in all things, tomorrow is another day.  I will visit Boston and cheer on my Dane as he lives the adventure I have dreamed about since 12/17/11.  Cheer loudly I will!  And, visit pubs along the way I will!  Hey, I'm lucky, I will get all the gory details about the course without actually experiencing it.  I will, one day.  Bet on it.  I'm already planning my next Boston qualifier.....
Cheers

Blindsided

Well, I never thought I'd be in the spot I am 4+ weeks out from Boston marathon.  Injured.  Like, still cannot run.  I never saw this coming.  I am incredibly diligent about doing my "prehab" exercises to prevent injury.  Damn.  The original problem (I now have 2 injuries, awesome) was very vague pain in the left proximal fibula.  Didn't hurt to run, just something I noticed walking around.  Started icing and reduced a few scheduled workouts just prior to Suncoast Classic 10K just to be careful.  I was perfectly ready to pull out of the 10K if I had pain but I didn't...until afterwards.  Well, I haven't really run since.  Had ART session last Friday and we didn't feel it was a stress fracture based on his findings; I was encouraged to run over the weekend and see how it went.  Tried on Saturday, it didn't go well.  And, I found that I (I guess swimming with fins) managed to tweak my left hamstring (the same one I tore in '09).  Damn.  Yup, full meltdown ensued and the pity party went until Sunday.  Decided no running until/unless I have no pain/discomfort/awareness walking for a couple days.  Today was the day to try.  Even went to the gym to get on the dreadmill in case the pain wasn't really gone.   Well, both things hurt at a snail's pace so said a few choice words and hopped off.  I am now hurting again in both areas. Ugh.  Totally suboptimal.  I will see ART guy again and decide if (likely) imaging will be the next step to see if I have a stress fracture as this will require different approach.  It currently isn't very likely that a marathon will be run by me on 4/15 but I'm trying to hold on to what little positivity I have, and believe me, it's dwindling rapidly.   Pity really, because training was going perfectly for a really good marathon.    Well, we'll see how the next couple of weeks progress and go from there.  On a good note, the Dane's heel seems to be improving so he is making a push to get more mileage in now prior to taper.  Wish we could be healthy and training at the same time!  I do make a great cheerleader.

Suncoast Classic 10K and niggles

Well, another great race in the books.  Suncoast Classic 10K was yesterday in St Pete and was yet another great year for this event.  I had a race pencilled into this weekend for my Boston program and wouldn't miss this one for anything!  Weather was sketchy with cold front moving in (hopefully the last one for the "winter"), cool with pissing rain once we got going.  I normally dress well for this but, damn, I got cold during the race with the rain!  Anywho, I had a race plan in place, wanted to go out in 6:20/mile and hold, hoping some competition would push me under that pace for a good overall time.  Well, I did average the pace I wanted but ended up running by my lonesome for about 5.5 miles.  I was cold and a bit mentally spent at the end!  Physically, I felt pretty good but I think it's hard (for me, anyway) to race solo vs being in a dog fight sort of race.  Ended up in 3rd overall (women) which I was pretty happy with.  Decent time but felt with more pressure I could have gone a bit quicker.  Happy nonetheless.  The Dane got to race again too which was positive for him (and won Grand Masters!).
I did skip long run today with weird/concerning pain in my left upper fibula.  I have had a stress reaction on my right fibula in the past so I'm not going to ignore this niggle!  Hopefully, a couple days off (which I don't want to take, ugh), will make this resolve but I will be very attentive to this!  That said, if I had stopped my training for every thing that hurts on a day to day basis at this age, I'd never get out the door!  Practicing my patience ahead of Boston......hear that will come in handy on race day!
ugh, cheers!

Belleair Sunset 5K and more marathon musings

I have raced the Belleair race since its inception (whenever that was) and now it's on a Saturday evening which I normally hate but it is what it is.  And, the Dane (and I, by solidarity) gave up beer for Lent, so no weekend/breakfast beer after the morning workout!  Anyway, went into this race very tired but it fell on a recovery week on my program (from a book) so thought it would be a good workout.  Haven't run an open (non-triathlon) 5K since April, I think, so I knew this would be painful!  Given the mileage in my legs, didn't think a fast-ish time would be possible.  Then around noon, when the wind really kicked up, I told the Dane that a fast-ish time would be impossible.  We swam and ran in the morning, like normal for a Saturday.  Went to the race which is such a fun atmosphere!  Long-ish warm-up (gotta get the miles #marathontroubles) and toe the line.  Went out and felt horrible in the legs, not unexpected.  Felt very strong on the few hills on course and the headwind last mile was treated like a hill.  Yada yada yada was first female overall but the sub-19 on this course on super tired legs was a definite bonus!  Back into bigger marathon mileage this week and topped off with a solid 22-miler today that was good.  Next race is Suncoast Classic 10K, great race in the heart of St Pete and usually very competitive!
Running some weekly mileage I've never done now, exciting!  7 weeks til Boston and my major goal now is to stay healthy!
Cheers

Clearwater Halfathon '13

Since I've only done (now) 6 half marathons in my whole life, running two of them in a 6 week span is pretty significant!  I started the "marathon program" after recovering from the last half marathon so there was absolutely no taper for this race.  I was willing to get beaten badly and live with it.  No foot speed - one of the things I really don't like about marathon training!  Actually, I'm not really sure the whole marathon distance is for me.  I long for speed!  But, since I'm in this boat, I'm going to row it!  Since the Dane has been dealing with an ongoing injury, the long runs have been mostly solo which is fine except I don't like spending time away from my Dane (when this is normally our time together).
But, I digress.  I will mention that there were two half marathons to chose from locally (St Pete/Clearwater area) but since this one is close, and usually very competitive, I chose this race.  It proved to certainly be the more competitive race of the weekend!  Not really what you want if you are me and not tapered!  Got the race I wanted and pushed hard the whole way but definitely felt stronger in general despite the four bridges on the course.  I finished in 5th overall, second Master.  Got a great workout for sure!
On to the marathon training, it just keeps going.  I love doing the mileage except during the week, when I'm running after work until nearly 8pm, it loses the luster!  I will get through this and through Boston but may not run another marathon for a while!  Not sure, just my legs talking after running 21 miles today, 15 of them solo.  No luster.  No glory.  Just me and my thoughts.....

Motoring along

So, started "official" Boston marathon training after the long recovery from the half marathon in early Dec (see prev post).  I chose to try Pfitzinger medium mileage program as I feel more mileage may make the marathon "seem" shorter.  Who knows.  I have been able to string together a lot of it but have had to be flexible with the recovery days.  The only issue I have developed is with my left soleus getting really tight and downright sore with the medium long/long runs.  Trying to work this out and may need to seek out the ART guy but will see how this week goes.  Took a week off of work between X-mas and New years and got in the mileage along with quite a bit of swimming (including wetsuit open water polar dip!) so not totally out of multisport world!  I am committed to a relay (as swimmer, funny I know) for St Anthony's Tri two weeks after Boston so I HAVE to keep swimming!  

Put together a solid 18 miler that felt a LOT easier than last year so I see that as progress.  Keeping healthy is my main priority but getting in the miles is a close second.  The Dane is running some now so hopefully my lonely run days will be numbered!
Next race will be the Clearwater Halfathon in two weeks.  Haven't done this race in a couple of years and looking forward to the brutal bridges!  I hope to do a bit better this time around as I have spent quality time on the bridges going in!  We shall see....
Go Broncos!