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!

Holiday Halfathon 2012

pre-race, faking not being nervous!

Eight days ago I ran the Holiday Halfathon for the first time.  Great race, pretty much flat, strange time of year.  Never did this race before because we are usually coming off a full triathlon season and needing a break.  But, in my new run focus, this was going to be a good test of current fitness.  I hoped to get a fitness boost from Turkey Trot 10K two week prior and had a few longish (not marathon long) runs under my belt so felt it wouldn't be a disaster anyway.  The top gals overall were returning and I mostly focused on trying to run with Terri Rejimbal, whom I consider to be the best masters female in the state (and she runs a lot of half marathons!).  This was to be only my 5th 1/2 marathon in my career so the experience level is lacking a bit!  So, my goal was to try and pace myself off someone a lot more experienced than myself, Terri.  I realized this could be a really bad idea if my fitness wasn't where I hoped but figured I was going to give it a go.  Weather was seasonably warm, very humid with light winds.....kind of perfect.  Gun goes off and, boy, some of these girls were out very fast!  I had to go along and not let my goal trot up the road without me.  I stalked and stalked and the pace (6:3x at the time) felt ok but I knew I wouldn't be able to hold this the entire time!  Yada, yada, yada, I caught up with Terri on the later miles heading up the Pinellas trail.  I sat on her and just let her dictate the pace which was likely very annoying but it's the only chance I had!  I made a move on a short overpass a couple miles (or so, it's foggy now) and got a little bit of a gap, good stuff.  Felt pretty good with this until about 12 1/2 miles when suddenly, my damn feet were glued to the pavement.  Terri went around me fast and I had no response and just trotted in in third overall.  Not a bad result all in all but was hoping for second (first place gal was way ahead, she ran Olympic Trials marathon last Jan).  Reviewing my heart rate data showed I really went as hard as possible so no disappointment here.  I do recommend this race, it was a lot of fun!
Started Boston push this past week once I recovered from the soreness of the Halfathon!  So far, so good with 17 weeks to go!  Plan on racing Clearwater Halfathon in Jan.

oh boy, I'm hurting now!

Wishing all a peaceful Christmas and lots of running........oh, that's just us!
Cheers!

Turkey Trot 2012

So, another Turkey Trot comes and goes.  Man, time really flies!  I only really started running regularly at the end of September/early October so I didn't really know how Turkey Trot would go this year.  Last year, we were well into marathon mileage so the result was more expected.  This year, I was just trying to string some decent weeks together, toss it against a wall and see what falls out.  That's how I felt going into it anyway.  Got healthy enough late October/early November to do a couple of tempo runs, problem is, the pace was way slower than 10K pace!  But, progress is progress so I felt positive about any pace action I could get.  Had been feeling about as healthy as possible coming off an achilles problem (since Feb) and a hamstring/adductor strain, so I would race the 10K as hard as possible, hoping these issues won't resurface.  Unfortunately, my training partner, the Dane, was down with an injury of his own so all my running miles were solo, sort of boring.  He had to miss Turkey Trot for the first time since I've known him, bummed for sure.  But, ever the positive influence, he poured his efforts and hopes into me, love that!  Anyone who has run with/against me knows, when I pin on a number, it's on.  This year was no different.  Went out harder than I should and felt it later for sure.  Got into a real battle with two 20-somethings well into the race and I went for it at mile 5 (into the shitty headwind).  I got a gap and tried to hold it, hiding behind any guys I could find at that point (the top 3 gals were long gone!).  I was really dying but trying to tough it out and hit the track unaware of the stalker behind me!  The gal that finished 3rd last year (and beat me by 20+ seconds) came around me in the last 50meters like Usain Bolt and I, obviously, couldn't answer.  Back in the day (read, when I was her age), I never lost in a sprint.  Well, today, in my mid-40's, is a new day.   I must be able to read the future because this was why I tried to break them at mile 5!  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but only one of these youngsters caught me!  And, I got a Hell of a workout!  More importantly, defended my Masters 10K title which, going in, wasn't a given considering the injury issues the past several months!
Next up, Holiday Halfathon (half marathon) 11/9.  We have never done this race even though it finishes in the park little more than half a mile from the house.  Point to point, fairly flat, familiar surroundings.  I'll go til I drop and see how it washes out.  Competition not terribly deep unless you are at the pointy end, ugh!  I sense another extremely painful adventure!  I wouldn't trade it for anything!
Cheers.

Still rolling...

Putting together some run mileage while repairing some niggles is part of marathon life, I'm finding out. Nothing special, just trying to string together some 40+ mile run weeks prior to the Fall run race season.  The usual, long run/tempo run/hill reps/lots of other filler runs.  The body is holding up so far.  The thing I'm missing......my run partner.  The Dane has been hampered by an achilles/heel problem of his own since racing Suncoast Tri.  He will hopefully (likely) be back in Dec for our Boston Marathon push so not all is lost!!  I've been doing a lot of lonely run miles without him!  I, however, have no problem pushing myself when solo so all is not lost!  Nearly 15 miles today along the Tri Rock course so I could cheer on some friends (actually, my regular route, they happened to be there!).
So, next up, Turkey Trot 10K.  I've done next to no speed stuff so this will be painful and interesting!  Will plan the rest of the  run race season after that hoping the body holds up!  Plan is Holiday halfathon then Say No To Drugs 10K but will take it as it comes.  Then, big marathon push.  Hope the body cooperates (and I get my run partner back?).
Cheers

October running

Still progressing with the run mileage.  I've now been able to string together a couple 30+ mile weeks which is good coming off the hammy strain.  I am about 95% totally well but still some awareness of adductor on same leg.  I'm hyper-aware of that leg so likely it's just in my head.  Otherwise, feeling well and wanting to do a bit of tempo work to get some fitness for Turkey Trot - may try this week doing some tempo, we'll see.  The aerobic run fitness is coming along, the body just wants to go faster now which is encouraging.  Unfortunately, I've temporarily lost my run partner as the Dane has been dealing with some heel pain that he needs to get resolved.  He raced Suncoast Tri yesterday and did great but it left him hobbled today.  He'll be out for a week or two but it is something that really needs to be addressed now, 6 mos out from Boston.  My run race goals now are to get in some sort of reasonable fitness to defend Masters at Turkey Trot 10K then maybe Holiday Halfathon (half marathon) in early December.  I ran 10+ today so should be able to swing a half marathon by then provided there are no setbacks.  We are still putting in 3-4 swim days per week as well which is good cross-training with fun Masters group.  So, onto another week of staying healthy and building mileage.  Luckily, Fall has finally arrived!  Cheers.

Moving along

So, I have been hamstrung for several weeks.  I think I have fully evaluated the root of the cause and I am tackling that now (pelvic strength instability, mostly).  Got in 23+ run miles this week and feel about 95% healthy with the hammy/adductor (more the latter now).  I am on rehab highway and ready to take a left onto mileage mountain if all goes as planned.  I do want to be good for Turkey Trot in November as defending Masters champ so would really like to get going.  I know I have to be very careful with escalating the mileage as my "A" race isn't until April.  So, all seems to be going well for now.  Fingers crossed, I may be able to cram in a 5K somewhere prior to Turkey Trot!
Rolling.....

Boston Chronicles....

I've decided to change the tone of the blog a little.  My plan is to chronicle my journey to the 2013 Boston marathon.  We have signed up and paid the Man so April 15th waits for no one.  I am still finding my way out of a wacky right hamstring/adductor (more the latter now) injury sustained 5 weeks ago but my head and heart are ready to push on.  I am doing some slow jogging on the tready and now also barefoot on the beach (which, btw, seems to be great for my formerly injured achilles).  The injury is 95% gone now but I have to be cautious about pushing too quickly.  There are a lot of great Fall run races coming up that I want to be ready for and it's hard to keep from going out and killing myself but, in my later years I have learned to be more patient.  So, if you wish to follow how one goes from where I am currently (jogging 2 miles) to racing Boston and vying for an AG podium spot, grab a glass of red and follow along.  A great friend of ours who ran many fast marathons gave me great advice to write down all the things I could recall from Jax marathon (12/11, our qualifier), so I did (many thanks, LB).  To be open, I ran a very painful 3:13 there.   The last thing I wrote on my recall from Jax (dated 12/23/11)  was as follows:  "keep my head up because I KNOW I can run faster than 3:13 (need sub-3:10 for top 10 finish at Boston W45-49 according to results).  I know I can do this....".   I still believe this is possible for me.  A lot of hard work has to happen but I've never seen a hard workout I didn't want to tackle!  For the record, I am swimming quite a bit now, riding very little (any hard riding seems to aggravate the hammy/adductor), and starting to run slowly.  Hopefully, the swimming will have maintained some aerobic fitness but we all know running is another story.  So, I hope to blog more frequently about my journey but you won't find any triathlon stories here!  I've done my tri's for 2012 and don't plan to do any more but you could find my in a local sprint just for kicks!
Cheers.