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October 31, 2005

A Wedding, Niagara Falls, and a Little bit of Running

Once again, I feel the need to rewind a few weeks and play catch up. My life has been fairly busy the past few weeks so I find myself crashing like Alison when the night finally comes along (except she is 100 times better at blogging than I am!). I really need to make this part of my daily routine since I enjoy writing so much, and I absolutely love writing about running :)

My running has been haphazard and fragmented since my failed attempt at the marathon almost 4 weeks ago. While I was anxious to start training hard again (with goals, workouts, and even - gasp - a schedule), things have not worked out that way. My glutes are taking a long time to heal so I am running when I feel like it, but the running that I am doing mostly qualifies as "jogging." My only noteworthy runs were a 6 mile run on Thursday where I held a steady 6:48ish pace and a 10.5 mile run yesterday where my glutes survived with minimal pain and I was finally able to open my stride.

While B. and I were in Boston - getting married - I did not run. I took 5 days off in a row and I think that resolved some of my issues (I should note that we were walking between 6-10 miles/day so I did not exclude exercise entirely; I just did not run). And speaking of marriage, B. and I had an amazing wedding. Everything was perfect - the day was slightly overcast, but the temperature was crisp and autumn was in full bloom. The highlight of the day for everyone, I think, was our priest's homily. He asked B. and I to write letters about each other . . . my letter was 6 pages and B's was 3; Fr. Pete had a lot of work to do! During his homily, he read from each of our letters . . . it was beautiful.

Our entire time in Boston was beautiful! The Nor'easter only lasted one day - we went to the science museum and then watched "Antartica" in the Omni theater. After Beantown, we drove to Niagara Falls - totally 1950s style honeymooning - and we were both paralyzed by the natural beauty before us. Neither one of us had ever been to the Falls so it was awesome for both of us. We did not have a lot of time to stay so we spent one morning running through the Falls and snapping pictures along the way (if I ever figure out how to post pics, I will post one).

I have a million things to do, it seems, since returning to Chicago. I am helping to launch a magazine in the City (For Her Information), I am working at the running store, and I am working on a few papers for school (one was due months ago, but for reasons too complicated to explain, I am just beginning it now). And, on the side, I have my writing imagination to deal with . . . my typical writer's block has subsided of late so I am busy translating my ideas onto paper.

I might run 3.5 miles this afternoon with Ajax (my dog). If I do, I will definately log back on and write about it! I love seeing the world throug his eyes - as cliche as it sounds, he really does stop and smell the roses! Our 3.5 mile runs can get a little lengthy, but that it a-okay with me.

Posted by bridget at 8:40 AM | Comments (5)

October 6, 2005

Recovery

"I heard from the lady down the street about your DNF," said a loyal friend of our running store who is an Ironman triathele. I must have folded my hands over my eyes and whispered to myself, "Oh, no!"

Seems like everyone knew about my marathon when I returned to the store on Monday. But I have found out that talking about our painful athletic moments can breach the conversation gap that can ensue between a customer and a salesperson. While I prefer not to rewind to Sunday, I feel like all I have been doing the past few days is revisiting mile 19!

That said, there is a lot to look forward to - like the Chicago Marathon this weekend. I am working at the store on Friday (but I get off just in time for my bachelorette party where some of my lovely friends have convinced themselves they can make me puke . . . I mean, who has friens with such goals? I will admit it, I have never been hammered nor do I ever want to be . . . plus, I have only been drinking for 3 years so my tolerance is highly limited). I am working the Expo on Saturday - our store is partnering with Reebok so we have a large booth. I am really excited to be down at the expo this year . . . it will be an added motivation bonus to repair my body and hit the roads with a vengence.

I plan to park myself, my dog and B. at mile 14 of the race. I will stay there for 3 hours and then I have to hike down Ashland and open the running store at noon (I doubt we are going to have a lot of foot traffic on Sunday).

Other than my upcoming work schedule, I do not have a lot to talk about - well, I do, but it isn't running related (like the fact that I am getting married in 16 days and I still do not have shoes and I think my older sisters would hurl at the thought of me walking down the aisle in sandals. If I had 3 healthy toenails before Sunday, I have none now - even I am horrified! I also have a killer farmer's tan to accompany my beautiful and elegant sleeveless wedding dress!).

At least one thing is for sure, there will be no DNF's on my wedding day :) If it were allowed, I would run up the aisle to meet my groom - I am a lucky girl.

Final word: after four days of whip lash, my legs are alive again and I plan to hit the gym this afternoon.

Posted by bridget at 7:45 AM | Comments (4)

October 3, 2005

Revisiting My Date With Disaster: The DNF

I am not sure what I want to say, or why I am randomly choosing 5:39PM to untangle some of my feelings about yesterday's marathon. I definitely felt a case of the blues last night: I couldn't eat, I didn't really sleep even though I was painfully tired, and I expended way too much energy contemplating my public marathon failure.

And then I woke up this morning and felt like a semi-truck hit me head on and I was suffering from whip-lash. I have run countless 20 milers over the past 4 years and I have never felt like I did this morning; the pain in my body is close to nauseating, and while I know I need to move in order to pump some warm blood through my body, I cannot move. I am glued to the couch. My back hurts like hell and my glutes and legs are even worse. My AM alarm call confirmed it all: Another 7 miles would have been a bad idea.

Still, I feel sad and disappointed. I want to run, but I know that I need some serious time to recover. I probably should have called the strength trainer today, but I have not felt like doind a darn thing. All I really want to do is curl up, sleep, and hide for a while. I still have no idea how I am going to move around the running store tomorrow and shuffle boxes all around the place. This week is going to be miserable . . . partly mental, but mostly physical.

I need to think about my goals, though, or I will never brush past my DNF experience. Starting today, NO MORE LOOKING BACK. I have to move forward like seconds ticking on the clock; I have to put one foot in front of the other.

My Goals:
1. Spend the next 4 weeks cross-training (my body clearly needs a break - it is screaming). My cardio will include some easy and some ruthlessly brutal sessions on the elliptical; spin class; biking; fast walking;

2. This may the most significant one: STRENGTH TRAINING. I definitely need to work on my glutes, hamstrings, quads and calfs. I have to. I also need to focus on my CORE so that my lower back behaves. If I get a six-pack in the process, even better! (that was a joke, by the way; I am not genetically pre-disposed to six-pack abs . . . damn); and

3. Nutrition. I need to face it. I eat crap. I need to re-think my diet and force some more fruits and veggies into my digestive tract. I eat all carbs: bread, bread, bread, bagels, bagels, bagels, candy, candy, candy. If I want to run well, I need to eat like an athlete. This means eating more fish, lean meat, veggies, fruits and whole grains. I *have* to take my eating habits more seriously. I also need to drink water . . . a lot of water.

Those are my goals. Today is day one . . . I can only perform my third goal this week since working out and strength training seem like bad ideas right now! That said, I should get up and walk . . . I have to.

Thank you to everyone who sent emails and comments. I really needed (need) it! One of my good buddies, Dave, just called and told me that all I have to tell people when they ask about the race is that "it was a pain in the A**." I'll say that again :)

Posted by bridget at 5:38 PM | Comments (6)

October 2, 2005

DNF

It's only been a few hours since I walked off the course so I am having a difficult time digesting everything and interpreting my feelings. On the one hand, logic tells me that I made the right decision. On the other hand, my heart feels a little broken and I wonder what would have happened if I had finished. All that I can say, in retrospect, is that the moment I made the decision to call the race, I was 100% sure that I was making the right decision.

The race started out pretty well. I ran with an awesome gentleman from Florida named Seth and he had the most positive attitude of any runner I have ever encountered. He was determined to stay by my side and help me to a PR. We rolled out too quickly in 6:40 - of course I felt good so we hit another another 6:40. Heading into mile 3, we reclaimed some of our sanity and hit a 6:58 . . . we were about 6:56 - 7:00 through the half and we both seemed to be doing okay, although I was laboring a lot harder than he was.

And then the pain set in and I told Seth to go. My stride started to shorten and get choppy as my glutes unleashed a flood of pain into my system. I freaked out a little, but I felt strong so I tried to keep my rhythm up. A little past mile 14, I ran into B., Ajax (my dog) and my twin sister, Aine. I pulled over to the side of the road in tears and told B and Aine that I was done.

I cried for 2 more minutes - I desperately watched the minutes pass on my watch as I felt completely helpless. B. gently hugged me and told me that I had to keep going - I would regret it if I stopped. I tried to fight him, but I knew, at that moment, that he was right. I jumped back in, looked over my shoulder and said, "you'll be at mile 19, right?"

Losing 3 minutes, I still hit 15 miles around 3:06 pace. I picked it up for a while and then the pain worsened. I hung on until mile 19 - I saw B. and Aine and quit. Before I quit, one of my friends ran to the side of the road and walked with me - she just finished an Ironman - and she asked me if this was what I really wanted to do. When I said, "Yes," we pulled off the course, I unpinned my race number and I immediately felt a weird combination of relief, guilt, and regret.

In the midst of my inner turmoil, Aine looked over at me, hugged me and whispered, "At least you will be able to walk for your bachelorette party!" That made me laugh - I needed a good laugh :)

When I dropped out, I was hovering somewhere between 3:04 and 3:06 pace. I could have shuffled in and finished under 3:16, but I don't even know if I could have pounded for 7 more miles . . . it was not my day.

I am still too emotionally confused and sad to say anything else. While I am beyond disappointed, I have to be content with my decision - there is nothing I can do to change what happened. For so long I have demanded perfection from myself and I have gutted out so many miles in pain . . . maybe today was okay afterall. I have been dealing with glute issues for a year and a half - it came back to haunt me today. I should have - at least a year ago - gone to a PT and figured out how to strengthen the muscle weaknesses in my body that became so apparent and clear today. I should have done so many things in hindsight, but I kept pushing and ignoring the pain.

On another note, the Milwaukee marathon was absolutely wonderful. The local running group that puts on the race does an amazing job - they make every runner feel like a star. And the course - although not flat in the first half at all - is one of the most beautiful and peaceful courses I have ever been on. I pretty much loved the experience of the race and I deeply wish it could have turned out differently. I will be back in 2006 to finally finish this race.

Posted by bridget at 4:28 PM | Comments (6)

October 1, 2005

Stupid Is as Stupid Does (Momma Always Said) - Marathon Shakes

I think I did something stupid last night - which may have involved a 5 mile PR - and now I am freaking out. I am heading to Wisconsin in 4 hours and I am in a boat-load of pain. I know it is normal to feel every ounce and tickle of pain in our bodies the day before a marathon, but this pain - unfortunately - is not of the imagined kind.

It all started yesterday at work. My boss at the store (an accomplished runner who has 26 marathons under his belt and a 2:30 PR) said it would be a good idea to go out and run 6 miles around race pace . . . to make my legs remember what it feels like to mooooooooove. Around 6:40PM - after procrastinating all day - I decided to hit the city streets and run a couple of miles at race pace. And for those of you who frequent my blog, you know that I rarely time my runs.

I jogged out the door and I felt a burst of adrenaline, nerves and hyper energy. I started down Division street in Chicago, over to Damen and out to the 1 mile mark. I hit my watch - 6:09. Ooops - that was not 7:00 - 7:10. I continued on - I slowed my pace a little, but not enough. I could feel a rush of energy literally pulsate through my body. I finally finished my run - 33:05. This route is well over 5 miles . . . I think I PR'd. YIKES. The problem is that I never felt like I was running hard or over-doing it.

Then the pain set in. Over a year ago, I pulled both of my glute muscles. It happened when I decided to run a 10K out-of-shape and kick down some people in the end. Ouch. The muscles have never fully healed, but I usually only feel twinges of pain toward the end of longer runs - around 13-15 miles. It goes away the next day. My left glute is in bad shape this morning. I took some aleve, iced it and I am going to buy some ben-gay (I don't believe in this stuff, but I do believe in placebo effects).

I am going to walk around some this morning and try to loosen my body up (I am tossing out the 3 mile run I had planned). Fortunately, my legs feel fresh and I do not feel like I ran a PR last night (other than the fact that my butt hurts).

I am confident that I can hold a steady pace of 7's tomorrow, but I am going to go out a little slower than usual and loosen up my glutes before I throw down the hammer and run for dear life.

I am getting more nervous . . . in 23 hours the gun snaps.

Posted by bridget at 8:28 AM | Comments (3)