Category Archives: Running

Post-Race Blues

Daily Life!, Running, , ,

Happy Tuesday! I hope the beginning of your week has been off to a good start. Mine has been busy busy busy, but that’s just life! And settling back into the normal groove after a weekend away is never easy. 🙂

Mac loves traveling :)
Mac loves traveling!

We arrived home from our quick and busy race weekend in STL late on Sunday evening. It felt like I should still be celebrating post race, but it was time to get back to reality.
IMG_3169We had time to unpack, eat, and head to bed. I feel like time is never on our side during the weekends that we travel. But I was happy to be home and in my own bed.

Post-Race Thoughts

Post-race has been a learning experience all in itself. Saturday I was on Cloud 9. Everything and everybody was awesome. I was sore and tired, but it was okay since I had finished my first half-marathon. Sunday was the day of mental fatigue. I drove us home from STL, and I felt groggy and weird the whole way. I just felt fatigued and drained….there’s no better way to put it. I was physically tired and getting some soreness, but it wasn’t too bad yet. The soreness finally set in yesterday. And it was bad.

I got out of bed for my early Monday morning Jazzercise class and was immediately upset with myself for not getting a sub for my class! I was certain that I would be fine by Monday, but I was definitely wrong! I got to class and had 2 smiling faces show up to dance. The first half of class was painful (and probably pitiful looking!), but I was feeling a million times better by the second half. I thought it did my muscles good to warm up and then stretch. But then the rest of the day wore on and my quads kept getting sorer and sorer. To the point that I couldn’t have squatted to get into the bottom of the cabinets if you would’ve begged me. Ow. I hobbled around the office and then around my house all evening. Nick went to the gym after work; I went to the couch. And I don’t think I moved more than 3 times all evening. 🙂 I hate being lazy, but I knew that I owed it to my body to be still and relax for a couple hours.

Today, thankfully, my legs are feeling 95% better. I can walk and climb up stairs without cringing like yesterday. But today has deemed it’s own label: the day of Blues. I’m on day 3 post-race, and I am not loving how I feel. I don’t really feel depressed, just more ‘down’ and sad. I figured it was because I didn’t get in a morning workout, but after some lovely (and supa trustworthy) Google research, apparently ‘post marathon depression’ is a thing! And a very common thing!

I love this post on Pace of Chicago about ‘post marathon depression’: http://www.chicagonow.com/pace-of-chicago/2013/10/how-to-deal-with-post-marathon-depression/. It’s specific to the Chicago marathon, but it is such a good read for anyone feeling blue after a big race. It’s perfectly normal to feel a little sad. Let’s face it – I’ve been training and focusing on my first half-marathon for MONTHS. And now it’s over and past. I have more races coming up to look forward too, but I’ve been too tired and sore to be excited about racing again right away. My favorite part is where the post discusses eating well and resting post-race. The days after your race should really be focused on taking good care of yourself as a way to thank your body for getting you through months of training and across the finish line. What a good way to sum it all up! After a big event like a marathon, treat your body well and thank it with rest and yummy, wholesome foods to help it recover. 🙂

I’ve still been on a carby kick since the end of last week, so today I really tried to get away from it and go back to my veggie-filled salad for lunch. I still wasn’t feeling satisfied or full though post-salad, so I brought along some of my favorite yogurt to have this afternoon as my little treat for getting in a bowl of vegetables today.

IMG_3182Yum!!!

Tonight will be a busy one teaching Jazzercise from 5:40-7:45, so I won’t have much time to munch on carbs for dinner. I can slowly feel myself going back to normal after the build-up for my race. And I must say, it feels good. We are such creatures of habit!

I’m going to attempt going on my normal Wednesday morning run tomorrow. Wish me luck that it goes well so I can get back into my normal training groove! Have a great night!

Frostbite Half Marathon

Running, , ,

I did it!!!

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I finished my first half marathon this morning!!

Nick and I arrived in STL late yesterday evening to his parent’s house. We settled in, ate my last carb-loaded pasta dinner, and headed to bed by 9:30 to get a good night’s rest before my race. My stuffy nose had other plans for me though.

I slept through half the night fine. But I woke up with a plugged nose around 3 AM and could barely get myself back to sleep. I propped myself upright with as many pillows as possible and prayed for another hour or 2 of sleep. I dozed in and out until my alarm clock (aka Mac) woke me up at 5:50 AM. He needed a potty break and I needed some coffee to work it’s magic. So we got up and started my prerun ritual: half a mug of coffee and a piece of toast with jelly. This morning I also had some Powerbar fuel for extra sugar and carbs before we left the house. My head cold was in the back of my mind, but I just packed some tissues and tried to ignore it. 🙂

We arrived at Forest Park around 7:40 and headed into the Visitors Center to get my bib and wait. There were tons of people inside waiting until the last minute to head out into the cold.

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I was so nervous at this point! I made one last bathroom stop before we headed out to the start line. Nick went with me to see me off before he headed back inside to hibernate. 🙂

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It was sunny, around 40 degrees, and windy (around 20 mph). It was good for our take off and when they blew the air horn, I was feeling confident.

I paced myself through the first 1.5 miles to around a 8:55/mile pace. I was feeling great and decided to push it up to a 8:45/mile pace but no faster. The wind was picking up a bit and I had no time to beat. I settled into a good groove with a middle-aged man in a red jacket (strangers can make great pace buddies!) and completed the first loop of the course like a breeze.

The hills were intense, but I was prepared. I was sure to take some sugar and water before the hilly section. I also tried a new technique today… When I would approach a daunting hill, I would look towards the top and tell myself “I love hills. This flat pavement running is killing me. Push harder.” Then as I headed up, I kept my head down and looked only at the road right in front of me. Looking at the rising hill ahead of me never works so well for me. So I thought I would keep my head down and just pretend the crazy hill wasn’t really there. And you know what? It worked great. Until mile 8, I never even felt pain from the hills today. 🙂

When I started loop 2 on the course, I could see dark storm clouds coming our direction and the winds were beginning to really gust on the open stretches. It was not easy running up those hills the 2nd time with 35 mph wind gusts coming at me. But I was thankful for the runners around me. We were all struggling but knew we had to keep pushing. I lost many people on the hills today late in the race. Runners that had been nearby the whole time began to slow and fall back. This motivated me even more to keep pushing. I didn’t want to be one of those people who let the weather get the best of them!

I made it through the hills the second time and knew I was in the home stretch. My phone said I was at 11.9 miles. Around 1:42 and I became extra hopeful that I would make it under the 2 hour mark. The wind was still getting worse and I started feeling some sprinkles. Push harder. It’s going to start pouring on you. I picked up my pace as much as possible and pushed past the stragglers in front of me to beat them to the finish line.

When the finish line was right in site, I pushed faster than I thought possible.

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I crossed the line right at 1:56:10. Yay!!!!!!

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I was so happy to see Nick that I kept running past the finish line and right over to him. Sweaty hug time! But the rain was picking up and I had to potty (too much Gatorade!!), so we headed inside ASAP.

Two minutes after we walked inside, it started pouring SNOW outside! I was beyond thankful that I had beat the sleet and snow. It was getting nasty fast out there. So I got a Frostbite Series shirt, took some photos and we headed out.

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Overall, it was a great race and I’m so happy that I did it under 2 hours. My head cold didn’t give me too much grief until the race was over and the wind didn’t damper my spirits…too much.

Tonight I’m just relaxing with my compression socks and sweat pants on. I’m in total post-race recovery mode.

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Lots of snacks plus lots of water have been on my agenda today. I love being allowed to be lazy after a good run. 🙂

Well have a great night everyone!! We will be heading home tomorrow afternoon, so I’ll see you once we are back in Springfield. Nighty night!

Anxious to Race

Daily Life!, Running, , , , ,

Happy Friday! We’re almost to the weekend again. Woot!

So last night I was having major stress and anxiety as I finished up my laundry and packing for this weekend’s race. At this point, I’m just anxious to race! I’m thankful I had my Jazzercise class in the middle of the evening to help me focus on something else for a bit. I have lots of clothing options packed, so I know I’ll be set for Saturday morning. I’m still nervous that I’ve forgotten something important though. 🙂  I have my outfits, shoes, compression socks, gels, and water bottle packed. Those are my essentials, and they will get me through my hilly 13.1 miles tomorrow AM!

This morning I tried to sleep in, but my mind was anxious for me to be awake around 5:30. I also wanted to get into work early today so I can leave early to load up the car, so I decided to just get up and start my day. No workout today! So I made it to work by 7 AM which is a miracle! Now I can leave early guilt-free and get my ‘ducks in a row’ before we hit the road.

Breakfast was nice and carby today. Some thick Greek yogurt and oatmeal + a banana were on the menu this morning. The banana was overripe and the oatmeal looked gross, so I decided photographs weren’t necessary. 🙂

A Clif Bar sufficed as my carbolicious snack this AM. Did you know those delicious little bars have 43 grams of carbs in them?! Holy smokes, they pack a punch.

IMG_3146Remember how I was feeling icky yesterday? Well the lovely people from CVS pharmacy must’ve known, and I got a free sample of Airborne in the mail last night!

IMG_3144I was so excited. I took one of them right away and the other 3 tablets this morning. I must say, they tasted a little funky, but they weren’t too bad for being full of vitamins.

IMG_3145Hopefully they give my immune system a nice little kick today to push this sinus stuff out of my head! No sore throat today – just some sinus pressure and a runny nose. I feel great otherwise, so I’ll take it. 🙂

On my lunch break today, I walked Mac and double-checked that I had everything packed.

IMG_3147My tiny suitcase is about 90% loaded with running apparel and the other 10% with everyday clothes. I may end up wearing running tights and tennis shoes all weekend, but at least I will be comfy!

I checked the weather one more time this morning. Tomorrow’s forecast for STL is looking good, minus the wind!

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I’m hoping for a temp right around 30 degrees with some sunshine. And hopefully the wind will have some mercy. Especially on the hills. Fingers crossed.

Okay, I’m headed out in a couple hours (I’m anxious – can you tell?!). I hope you all enjoy your evening and the weekend! I will check in with my results as soon as I get a quick second. See you all after the 13.1!