Nike Women's Half-Marathon 2013

So, the inaugural DC Nike Women's HaIf-Marathon.  

First, the Expo or as Nike called it the "Expotique".  I thought about this for days.  It was in Georgetown. Great for Nike so that they can get people to go to their store nearby, but not so great when there is limited parking and no metro nearby (the closest about 1/2 mile away). I only had 4 hours during which my daughter was in preschool. Metro would have taken about 90 min each way.  A little close for my comfort.  I took my chances and drove. I found street parking but had no change and couldn't get the automated system to work. I ended up having to use a garage at the bargain price of $18.  

Anyway.

It was Friday morning and the expo had just opened.  I got my bib quickly (separate area) and headed over to the expo tent. I was honestly really disappointed.  Lots of empty space and a bunch of Nike displays and sponsors.  Bare Minerals doing makeup and some hair company doing hair.  Things that don't interest me. Luna Bar was there as well as a company that is new to me called Somersaults whose snacks I really liked. Besides that, no vendors advertising other races, selling gels or running gear like at other expos.  It was a big turn off and I took one quick walk through and left.  Kind of a waste, but I got my bib and took a couple pictures. 

My friend had been to the expo and told me about this sign on the side of the Nike store. From a distance this is what it looks like ...

... But up close it was the names if all the participants!  That was very cool. 

On to race day.  I got up at the usual ungodly hour, caught a cab to the metro and headed into the city. Upon arriving there were a ton of porta potties and they weren't busy so I took the opportunity to use one.  After that, I walked around a little found my corral, and checked out the finish line area before heading back to bag check and using the potty one more time. 

I was as ready as I was going to be but my knee was still achy. I expected to suffer but I was determined to do my best. Two friends I went with went to their corrals and I headed to mine.  It was chaos getting into the corral.  It was way too crowded but I made it in and I found myself right by the 2:20 pacer.  I started thinking. My goal had been 2:15, but I no longer felt like that was possible with the knee situation. On the other side of the sign the pacer held was 10:40.  A nice easy pace.  I looked for a 2:15 pacer over the heads of everyone but I never saw any other pacers. I decided to stick with 2:20. I could do 2:20. 

You can just see the starting line here and the Capitol way in the distance. 

Me. Ready to go. Shoe laces in honor of Boston. Speaking of Boston, there was a moment of silence before the race.  13,000 people so quiet that all you could hear were a couple of birds chirping. It was incredible. 

So the race. 

The beginning was a little crazy. They didn't space out the corrals. They let ALL the corrals go at once. It was a little slow, but nothing terrible. However, the pacer was really moving. I started thinking that the pace didn't feel like 10:40. Well, it wasn't. Her pace was 9:30!  I knew I couldn't maintain that.  I wondered if she would walk water stops and I kept up. The water stop came ... And went!  She never stopped and between trying to get around the mob at the water stop and trying to stay with the pacer, I missed the water.  What the heck was she doing??

I was irritated. 

I ran with her a bit more, then decided I was going to do this on my own.  I ran on and went with what I've always done. Run comfortably and walk through water stops. I couldn't deny that the pain in my knee was getting worse. I just tried to focus and keep moving. I got really hot and started regretting missing the water stop and thinking that I needed to get more at the next stop. 

Eventually, I got to Hains Point. There is so much hatred of this area from runners.  Granted, I've never done a marathon but my 2 experiences there have been good ones. I find it beautiful running along the water and this day I have never been so grateful for the BREEZE that came off the water. That saved the race for me. 

I was in a lot of pain and after Hains Point there were a couple of hills.  I swore under my breath and walked. My knee simply couldn't handle the hills. 

Made it to 10 miles. Thought - only a 5k left.  At mile 11, I almost started to cry. The pain was excruciating. I told myself to stay strong and not cry. What if an official saw me and tried to stop me?  What if another runner saw me and tried to offer support?  I didn't want anything to stop me or break my concentration.  2:15 was gone but 2:20 was still possible. 

I made a turn and I could see the finish line far off in the distance.  I was going to do this.  I thought of the blue Tiffany box waiting for me and it was so close.  I ran and ran and the finish line never seemed to get closer. It was further than it looked even though I could see it.  Still I kept running and gave it all I had. 

As I approached the finish line, I was struck by the incredible number of spectators lining the course.  Just days after the Boston, so many people there to  support us. It was wonderful.  I finally crossed the finish line.  Time 2:20:36. Not the time I had hoped for but a 3 min PR.  I did it with an injury and I fought for it.  I was proud. 

The finish line was mobbed but I collected my blue box from a man in a tux carrying it on a silver platter and walked on picking up some food and finally the blue bag to carry everything.  I made my way through the tables of finisher shirts picking one up and headed out of the finisher area. 

I started heading back toward bag check and found an information volunteer who told me where to find a medical tent. I went there and got a bag of ice and picked up a few snacks I'd missed weaving through the mob at the finish line. After that I picked up my bag and parked myself to ice my knee at the meeting point my friends and I had decided on prior to the race.  

There, I opened my box.  

Not the best pic, but the pendant is sterling silver and has a woman running through flowering trees on the front (very DC) and the back says NWM Half Washington 2013.  I love it more than I thought I would. I haven't taken it off!

I met up with my friends who both did great (they are both faster runners than me) and we headed back to the metro.  At our stop, we came upon a runner whose knee looked to be in even worse shape than mine so I gave her my ice. 

I hobbled to brunch where I had an omelette and a mimosa and it was absolutely delicious. 

I finally hobbled home and relaxed the rest of the day. The rest of the week actually. My knee was in bad shape for a couple of days so I took it easy and just did my session with my trainer. She mentioned to me how she had gone through a period of doing a lot of races and she had hurt her knee too. She is in great shape so somehow, that made me feel less pathetic. She also suggested trail running might be less stressful on my legs. Something to try. 

I had planned to do the Frederick half this past weekend but after trying a short run Saturday, I knew there was no way without going back to the pain from the previous weekend or worse.  So that's it. No more races until November (Wine and Dine Half in Disney)!

Oh my, Where have I been?

Still here. Barely.  

On a positive note, the GW Parkway Classic 5k went great! I wanted to beat 30:07 from last year.  that 8 seconds killed me last year but I knew I had a better time in me this time.  the weather was perfect.  things couldnt have gone better and I did it this year in 28:34.  Personal best!

It's a special race for me because it was my first race 3 years ago.  I really can't believe how far I've come.  Me.  A runner.

After this race I tried to really rest my knee and kept my workouts to a minimum. I'll share my Nike Women's Half experience tomorrow. 

5 AM

Just me and Delilah up bright and early.

Awesome playlist ready to go.

 

Ready to RUN!

Race Tomorrow!

My knee is feeling a lot better. In fact, I managed to get in 2 - 45 minute elliptical workouts (plus a mostly upper body training session) this week. Of course, the elliptical was probably too much since my knee was a little sore. I took today completely off because I'll be running the GW Parkway Classic 5k tomorrow. This was my first race 3 years ago so it's fun to see my progress each year. Someday, I'd like to do the 10-miler, but not this year since I'm running the Nike Women's Half next weekend.

Tomorrow is Sunday, but I'll be up at 4:30 to find consciousness, eat, dress and gather my things before heading out. It's going to be rough getting up that early when I could be sleeping in, but I consider myself lucky to be able to run at all since the horror in Boston. Boston is actually the reason, I have to get up earlier than usual. Despite the end to the fear of a perpetrator, there is added security that might add to the time I need to arrive on time.

Looking forward to ending my 2 week running break!

Idle

3 years ago, I had one pair of sneakers. I never wore them so they lasted for years. Now, I have an expanding collection. 2 for running, 2 for the gym (retired running shoes), casual sneakers, trail shoes ... And they last about a year at most.  I wish I could have more but budget and closet space don't allow.

Sadly, none of these are seeing any action these days (except the casual ones). I went to the gym and rode the stationary bike yesterday since my knee was feeling better. Well, by last night I was achy. 

More rest for me.  *sigh*

Cherry Blossom 10-miler 2013

I had quite the eventful weekend.  I admit, I haven't exercised much due to laziness and the "I don't have time" excuse, but also because of injury.  Last week, I managed to squeeze in a trainer appointment followed by a 3 mile run and that's about it.

Friday night, the minute my husband walked in the door from work, I flew out in a hurry to make it to packet pick-up for the Cherry Blossom 10-miler.  I made it there in an hour.  The building was beautiful and packet pick-up was a breeze with no line. 

I like how Metro added the Cherry Blossoms to their stations. I made it back home with my packet and a Smartrip card for race morning.

Saturday morning, I took my girls to a kids dash.  It was freezing, but so much fun.  My older daughter, Zoe, took off like a flash and she loved it.  My little one, Sydney, cared more about the cute clothes but she finished the race like a little star.  I'd love to take them to do it again sometime - maybe when it's not so cold.  It's one thing for me to suffer in the cold for a race, but my girls are too young for that misery. 

I spent the night at my running buddy's apartment since she lives closer to the city.  We feasted on pizza and snacks and eventually went to sleep.  I got up around 4:30AM, had some coffee and 1/2 bagel.  I also realized that I forgot my emergency TP stash so I asked my friend for a ziplock and some paper towels.  I mention this because it is critically important later in the day.

Rather than walking, we cabbed over to a Metro stop for the ride in.  I think I had too much coffee, because this situation was happening on the train ...

Normally, we try to stay warm in the station but the police booted us out into the cold.  It wasn't terribly cold, but the wind made it feel pretty brisk.  Here I am at the starting line trying to avoid hypothermia ...

After bag checking and the requisite potty stop, we headed to the corrals which were empty but filled to the brim fast.  The race started and the corrals were off one by one.  We were in the corral for about 30 min. and by that time, I had to pee again (too much coffee!) and my friend - well, she had other issues.  Finally, our corral was off with only my fingers and feet suffering frost bite.

Everything was fine and as we got to the first water stop, I asked my friend if she wanted to stop at the potties there.  She said she did, but she didn't want to stand in the line.  I hadn't even noticed the crazy line.  We ran on.

Passed another water stop.  Same situation.  This whole time we were on the look-out for bushes, but things were pretty bare.  Finally, at the third water stop, there was a lovely group of large bushes and we headed toward them.  My friend asked for the ziplock bag.  I asked her how many she needed - ALL of them!  I took one since my situation wasn't dire and gave her the rest.  I went right onto the bushes ignoring the fact that they were thorny and tearing at my arms and legs.  I was pretty well covered but I figured if anyone saw me, it's not like I was ever going to see them again.  I found relief and was glad I no longer had to think about how bad I had to pee. 

I came out to see my friend only backed up into the bushes and still clearly visible to the world including the hundreds of runners that passed.  I told her this and she didn't seem at all concerned.  As I waited, a man approached me and asked if she was ok.  I looked up and realized he was a medic.  I told him she was fine and he just said, "Oh, just mother nature?"  Yep.  Then another runner came over in desperate need of a relief.  She seemed really concerned about whether people would see.  I told her what I'd just said to myself - You will never see any of these people again.  Off she went.

We returned to the course and there were some people cheering for us.  It was all such a comical sutation!  As my friend said - Gotta take care of business. 

That's bad?  Well, to me, what happened next is worse.  Around mile 7, I started having serious problems with my knee.  I had been running slow expecting to speed up in the final miles, but I ended up having to slow way down.  I was in serious pain.  I tried walking, but that was actually worse, so I just decided to run to the finish as best I could.  On the way there, we saw a woman on the ground surrounded by medics and later an ambulance on the way to get her.  I figured things could be worse for me.

I told my friend that I needed to head to the medical tent at the finish.  I was ok, but happy the race wasn't a half and that it was over.

We walked and walked and walked ... and finally got water.  I didn't see food anywhere and figured the next best thing to do was to get my checked bag.  It was windy and cold and I knew my temp would drop fast.  After wandering around in the general direction of bag check, I finally found a very small banana and a small muffin.  I was starving so I scarfed that down quickly.  Luckily, I had thrown a Clif Bar in my bag so I ate that as well.  I was a little surprised by how little food there was compared to other races I've done.

The race was really crowded.  To me, this was nothing more than a long run so I didn't care much about speed, but it was tough running surrounded by so many people.  I mean, my worst race experience was running from the last corral at the Disney Princess half which was so bad that I had to walk in several places and ran in the grass most of the race but this wasn't too much better.  For this reason, I'm not sure I'd do it again.

I ended up skipping the medical tent because I was feeling ok walking at that point so instead we headed to the Metro.  We went for breakfast and when I got up to walk out, the pain was really bad.  We stopped at a running store for a patella strap since it was on the way back so I can try that in the future.  However, the pain at this point was so bad, I could barely walk.  My friend even carried me part of the way back to her apartment.

We were supposed to go to a wine tasting, but since I couldn't move fast, time was short and we decided to skip it.  We ended up just hanging at my house with ice on my knee.

 

And so, I won't be doing much of anything this week.  Also, this does not bode well for my next few races.  I'm definitely worried. 

Spring Break

I'm feeling pretty good. No knee pain or any other pain for that matter. However, this week is spring break for my daughters so getting to the gym will be a challenge. My husband and I have also planned a little getaway to Cape May for the weekend. I'll have to see how things go.

Today, I'm just trying to figure out what the following from my training plan means. I'll probably just take my best guess. Heck, if it's wrong, it's still some kind of running.