My Heart & Prayers Are With Boston

"Long-distance running may be the loneliest of pursuits, yet the spirit of the marathon cuts through that, and the communal spirit of a major marathon has to be witnessed to be believed." 

- Martin Rogers 

My mom called me yesterday afternoon, asking if I had the news on.  I told her no, I was working.  What she said next broke my heart - there had been explosions at the finish line of the Boston marathon.  I immediately thought of all my friends who I had been tracking throughout the day, knowing a few had just finished and a few were still on the course.  They all had family and friends up there cheering them on, celebrating the achievement of being there.  This hit close to home. Our friends were there.  We easily could have been there.  Boston took care of me last year - the spectators, the volunteers, the EMTs, the doctors at the finish.  They all took care of me last year as if I was one of their loved ones.  These amazing people and our way of life had been attacked.

I watched the news with tears streaming down my face, praying for everyone there.  Frantic pleas went up from myself and friends for loved ones to check in.  Word quickly came in that the UCRR crew was safe.  Columbia area runners were checking in that they were safe.  A few WhyMarathon runners had checked in, but we still had 3 on the course.  Word finally came in that they were safe.  The thing about run groups is that they are not just people you run with, but they are your friends, your family, who have given you unending support and friendship.  They are part of your heart and soul.

Watching the news was surreal.  We were there last year - me as a runner and Jason as a spectator.  The Boston finish line is a place of celebration, years of hard work being rewarded.  Running down Boylston Street and crossing the finish line creates such a pure, raw emotion.  I remember the mix of feelings I had last year when I crossed the finish - relief and joy for finally finishing, but also an incomplete feeling because that's not how my Boston marathon was supposed to go.  I remember how disappointed I was when I DNF'ed at Sugarloaf because it meant I would not be going to Boston in 2013 to get redemption.  Those feelings changed yesterday.  I found myself thanking God for blessing me with health issues that kept Jason and me away from Boston this year.

I went running last night to get away from the news, but mainly to have some quiet time with God.  I needed to talk to him with no distractions.  I gave thanks for keeping our friends safe.  I gave thanks for the amazing people who rushed to help the injured.  I prayed for healing, physically and mentally, for those who were hurt and/or lost a loved one.  I prayed for comfort.  I prayed that love and tolerance would push hatred out of people's hearts.   

Jason asked me last night if I was sure I wanted to go in 2014.  It had never occurred to me not to go.  I told him I know I'll be scared and that we'd have to figure out where he should wait for me, but that I was going.  I will be there, proud to be an American and a Boston marathoner.  I will be running for more than personal redemption though.  I will be running for those whose lives were changed forever on 04.15.13. 

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. - Psalm 46:1

Cauliflower Pizza Crust - Yum!

I had seen cauliflower pizza crust mentioned a few places and decided to give it a go.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was really tasty!  Plus, cauliflower is a good source of vitamin C.

Ingredients:
 -One head of cauliflower grated down to the stalks
-2 free range eggs
-1 cup of mozzeralla cheese

-Spices (I used basil, oregano, garlic powder, and garlic salt.)
-1 tsp of salt (Only needed if you don't use garlic salt above.)
-1/4 cup of organic brown rice flour*

*None of the recipes I read listed flour, but to me the mixture seemed very moist, so I added a little bit of flour.  If you do not have brown rice flour, I would forgo adding flour as using standard flour adds gluten and empty carbs.

Directions:
Makes 1 14-inch pizza (large baking stone)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Grate cauliflower - This is the most time consuming step (and it doesn't really take long).  Some recipes I read said you could put it in a food processor and then drain the liquid out.   I didn't feel like dealing with an extra step or extra dirty dishes, so I put the cheese grater in a big mixing bowl and grated until the "flower" parts were gone.  I did not measure out how much I had, but I would approximate the amount to be about 4 cups of cauliflower, give or take a little bit.

3. Add spices and cheese.  Mix.

4. Add eggs. Mix until well blended.

5. Lightly grease baking stone and spread dough evenly.  I found it super easy to scoop from bowl and spread with a plastic spatula/spoonula.   

6. Bake for 20 minutes or until top of crust starts to brown.  Remove from oven.

7. Add cheese and toppings and put under broiler until cheese starts to brown.

**NOTES:

-The crust isn't as durable as normal bread dough crust, so it's easier to eat if you cut small slices.
-It stuck a little bit to the stone, so use a thin metal spatula if you have one.
-I'm not sure what leaving the cheese out of the crust does to the consistency, but I might try next time since there's cheese on top of the pizza. My guess is it might help hold everything together as it melts.

Crust pre-baking

Yummy!

Recipe adapted from sparkpeople. 

Myrtle Beach Marathon 2013 Recap

I wasn't sure what to expect at Myrtle, as my legs felt heavy going into the race and the grocery store didn't have Eggo nutrigrain waffles, which was my planned breakfast.  I stared at the selections for about 5 minutes before going with the chocolate chip waffles.  I told Jason if I had a bad race it was because of the waffles. 

Theoden, Jason, and me pre-race

Fueled up with Mellow Mushroom pizza and tired from a long trip, I was ready to get to bed ... just so I could toss and turn for 6 hours - definitely not the type of sleep I was hoping for before going for a marathon PR.  With temps in the high 30's, I layered up with a tank top, arm warmers, and long sleeve shirt, and after meeting up with friends from LRC and UCRR, it was time to head to the start. 

John, me, and Jason around MM 18

 Scott (LRC), John (WhyMarathon), and I met up at the 3:35 pacer since we were planning on running together, as we were all shooting for 3:30.  The first mile was pretty crowded, which was good because it kept us from starting off too fast.  We settled into a low 8 minute pace for the first 10 and then dropped to sub-8 for a few miles before settling back into the low 8's.  I knew at mile 13 that 3:30 was going to be out of reach, but I was okay with that because all I really wanted was a 3:35.  Thankfully, I had a good cushion after the first half.  I unraveled after mile 20 and started walking for a few seconds through the water stops.  Over the last 10K, I was constantly crunching numbers in my head to see how much of a cushion I still had left and figure out what pace I had to maintain.  Funny how I become a math whiz while I'm running.  At mile 22, I knew I had it, but it was going to be tough mentally and physically; I was just trying to hang on and not blow it.  When I made the final turn and could see the finish line, I was ecstatic. I wanted to cry. 3:33:39. Just over a 30 second PR and a BQ. 

Post race

This race really meant a lot to me.  Running wise, 2012 was a rough year.  I wilted up at Boston and then DNF'ed at Sugarloaf.  I wasn't really sure how long it would take me to recover from heat exhaustion at both of those races and was nervous about racing 26.2 again.

Big thanks goes out to the Dam 5 AMer's and LRC for helping me get back on my feet, to UCRR for helping me get through another round of training, WhyMarathon ambassadors for being awesome, my family and friends for encouraging me, and especially Jason - couldn't have done it without him!  

 

PR + Beach = Happy Girl

Celebrating with LRC friends

Oh yea, on top of the great race and spending time with friends, it snowed - at the beach!  We were on the 15th floor so it felt like we were in a snow globe.

 

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. - Romans 5:2-5

Notes on race fuel - took a Gu at 5ish and 11ish then switched to Honey Stinger chews at 17.  Went through one pack over 2 miles and then took in no fuel, other than Vitamin Water Revive I was running with and water.  Had to start taking water at stations because of too much sweetness. 

Here are the numbers:

First half: 1:45:43

Second half: 1:47:56

Total: 3:33:39 (10 out of 115 age group; 256 out of 1621 overall) - PR and BQ!

1 - 8:28

2 - 7:55

3 - 8:04

4 - 8:01

5 - 8:03

6 - 8:01

7 - 8:03

8 - 7:58

9 - 8:04

10 - 7:56

11 - 7:57

12 - 7:56

13 - 7:59

14 - 7:57

15 - 8:06

16 - 8:04

17 - 8:06

18 - 8:11

19 - 8:09

20 - 8:12

21 -  8:45

22 - 8:19

23 - 8:33
24 - 8:26
25 - 8:27
26 - 8:16
.2 - 7:17 pace

Race swag - fleece blanket!

BQ or Bust - getting ready for Myrtle!

After the honeymoon, it was time to start training for the Myrtle Beach marathon.  Since November, I've logged 600 miles, with 3 weeks over 50 and maxing out at 55, which seems to be my happy max.  I knew I didn't want to do straight McMillan, as it left me depleted in all sorts of ways.  I didn't want to do straight SmartCoach, as I wanted a little bit of a tougher plan.  I ended up merging those two, along with what I know works for me, to make a customized plan.  I had to work around the Frosty 50K in January and make sure I somewhat tapered for that and recovered after without taking too much away from MB training.

I kept the structure of SmartCoach, with one speed workout and one long run a week, but instead of 2 easy days of running, I did 3.  I also switched from just running steady during a long run, to incorporating workouts during these runs.  Some were based on a 10-10-10 format, some had some mileage at half marathon pace, and some were just at a steady pace.  On my easy runs, I added in some strides and picks up.  I also raced a few 5Ks, a half marathon, and a 50K during training.  I love incorporating races into my training, as I tend to run harder and I also use them as benchmarks if I race the same distance at the beginning and then towards the end of the training cycle.  My 5K time held pretty steady, and while I felt horrible during the Huntersville half, I managed to scrape up a PR despite walking.  I raced the same 5K this January as I did last year and had a big improvement in time, so that was a good mark for me to see.  Another important comparison to me was my time at the Frosty 50K.  The first time I ran it was in 2011 and it was the weekend before I hit my marathon PR and I ran it in 4:41; this year I ran it in 4:24 and change and felt strong the entire way.  I've been running my mile intervals in the 6:20's and my 800's under 3:10, which I've never hit those times before.  Tempo runs have been faster too - 7:20's vs 7:40's.

All pics below inspired my sweet baby, Bella Blue.  My mantra shall be, "Faster than a greyhound."

Beginning of race

Middle of race

End of race

Based on times in training, I should be good to go, but the legs have had little power the past couple of weeks, so who knows what will happen on Saturday.  With that being said,  here are the goals:

1. Finish (Never know what might happen!)
2. 5:27:46 (Why?  This beats my Boston time by a second.)
3. 3:36:01 (Beats previous MB time by a second.)
4. 3:35:00 (BQ!!)
5. 3:34:12 (PR by a second!)
6. 3:29:59

Frosty 50k Recap

This is long, but it is about 31 miles. 

I had asked Jason a while ago if he was interested in running Frosty 50k again and of course he was.  This is where we met in 2011, so we had always planned on running it again after we were married.  It’s “our” race!

Our 1st pic together - didn't even realize it until later!

Going into Frosty, I had a time goal of 4:30; I thought it was borderline feasible if I had a good day, but wasn’t 100% sure I’d reach it because I didn’t want to break myself before Myrtle Beach since that’s my #1 race this year.  I had already planned on backing off if I started to really hurt.  I had a secret goal of going sub 4:25, but didn’t tell anyone, as I thought it was way out of reach since I was training for Myrtle, not a 50K. 

Jason and I loaded up on pizza the night before, to the point I felt sick, but 31 miles is a super long run, so might as well eat a lot of pizza while I can, right?  I stayed up later than I had planned, but Liz* was here and we had to catch up!  It was well worth it, plus I ended up not getting good sleep anyways due to bad dreams and coughing.  Wake-up time came early and I reverted back to my standard breakfast of Eggo low-fat nutrigrain waffles and peanut butter (and a couple of cuties – my current addiction).  I haven’t had this in forever, but it’s what I ate before my first Frosty and before the Charleston marathon.  I was convinced I needed this breakfast since it got me through my first 50k and my BQ marathon.  With full bellies, we were off to Winston to log some serious mileage.

As soon as we got there, we saw some familiar, friendly faces – Emily and Chas.  Emily and I had met two years ago at Frosty and Jason and I had met Chas a few months ago at a local 5k.  Jason knew a few other people who were running, but Emily and Chas were the only other runners I knew.  It was right below freezing at the start, but with an expected temp of around 40 at the finish, I opted to go with shorts and a tank, long sleeve tech tee, and windbreaker, which turned out to be a great choice of outfit.  When in doubt, layer.  At the sound of the bugle, we were off.  Liz and I kept it steady and hit the first turn-around in 1:06; this was faster than I had planned, so I wasn’t sure if it would come back later and hurt me, but too late to change it.  Liz and I ran together through about mile 10 and then split up.  I hit the halfway mark in just under 2:12, but took a two minute break to shed my jacket and ear warmers, switch to lighter gloves, and grab another pack of Honey Stinger chews.  After a quick stretch, I was off to finish the last half.  Since I was by myself, the iPod went on and I settled in.  I knew I had built a small cushion in case I had to back off some, but felt good so I started pushing it a little.  I clocked the third quarter in 1:03, which was nice because that gave me a big cushion and I wanted to be able to walk the one big hill and be able to take a quick stretch if needed.   I saw Jason coming towards me and he looked at his watch and then told me I had it.  At the marathon mark, I was starting to feel it and really just wanted to be finished.  I didn’t feel like taking in any sort of fuel after about mile 21, so at the Linville Road aid station, another runner gave me some Mt. Dew for a pick me up to get me through the last 3.5 miles.  He was on my heels as we left the aid station, but the company was more than welcome, as I hadn’t anyone around me for a while.  He helped push me along, but when we hit the last little hill, I powered through and turned it on.  At the one-mile marker, I realized that I had a chance of going sub 4:25 if I held steady.  4:24:40 – secret goal complete.  That gave me a 16 minute PR and a nice confidence boost going into Myrtle.

Chas was at the finish and it turned out he beat his goal of sub 4:00 by a few minutes.  I had figured he would, as he was looking strong every time I saw him.  Emily and Liz finished pretty close to each other, with Emily setting a big PR and Liz finishing in 4:40 for her first ultra!  They are both awesome ladies that I’m so blessed to have as friends.  Jason had decided to run it easy and had a nice, steady run and finished looking good.

I really love this race because you can break it into quarters, the course is predominately packed dirt, you get to see people around three times on the course, so you can offer encouraging words and know how your friends are doing, the aid stations are at good intervals, and the medals are unique.  I’m ecstatic with how I did and how my friends did.  I’m also very, very happy that I was able to go run today (one day after), so in other words I didn’t break myself!

Handmade!

 *A little background on Liz:  We met during the inaugural Palmetto 200 relay and have been friends ever since.  Frosty was the start of her Boston marathon training - seriously.  She is an incredible runner and an amazing human being.  Love her!

Fueling notes:

I had planned on starting gels at mile 5 and then taking one about every 3 miles, mixing in chews.  I went with a gel at mile 5, chews spread across miles 8-11, grabbed a cookie at Linville Road, gel at mile 16, grabbed two cookies at Linville Road, and then pretty much quit fueling.  I had a couple of chews at the last turn-around, but after that, went to straight liquids.  Solid food just was not appealing.  I wasn’t hungry, nor was I feeling lethargic, so I tried not to be too concerned about lack of fuel.  Afterwards, I felt slightly sick, but eventually downed two cups of broth, which held me over until we hit up Cracker Barrel.  After a side salad (yes, salad), three slices of french toast, and one bacon biscuit, I felt great.  A few hours later I was starving, so Jason took me for Mexican because I was craving chicken tacos and queso dip.  I love running 31.1 miles!

By the numbers:

Splits: 1:05:54, 1:07:57, 1:03:06, 1:07:44

Total time: 4:24:40; pace 8:32; 4^th female; over a 16 minute PR; negative split of 3 minutes with first half in 2:13:51 and second half in 2:10:50.

I altered my splits a bit due to stopping at the drop bag area at the halfway mark; splits by official race time were 1:05:54, 1:05:57, 1:05:06, 1:07:44.  I pulled the two minutes off the third split and added onto the second split for a more accurate running time.  

Few notes for me:

Calves got tight and had the usual medial right knee pain that happens after a lot of mileage.  Felt pretty good though walking around later.  Ran 3 easy miles the day after and wasn't too sore, just a little tired.  Should have stretched more after race and used foam roller.

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint,  and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary,and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." - Isaiah 40:28-31 

Huntersville Half (short) Recap

I hadn't heard of the Huntersville half marathon until Theoden posted a link to win a race entry.  It fell towards the beginning of Myrtle Beach marathon training, so I decided to try to win it and did!  I managed to win Jason an entry into the 5K, so we were both off to the races.

I still have yet to train for a half marathon, so I set a goal of 1:40 because I *should* be able to run that.  My half PR was from the 2009 Kiawah half marathon (1:43:22).  I almost broke it at the Columbia half marathon in 2012, despite a lot of walking due to a bad hip and respiratory sickness. I knew going into the race that it was a hilly course, but I don't mind hills, so I wasn't too worried about it.  What I didn't know was that I was going to feel like crap halfway through the race.  By mile 10, I just wanted to walk the rest of the way.  I walk slow though, so that wasn't an option.  I ended up slowing up some and walking when needed.  I finished in 1:43:12 - a PR!  I didn't realize it was a PR until a few days later because I for some reason thought my PR was 1:43:08.  I also didn't think I would PR after I walked for about 5 minutes.  So, sub 1:40 is still elusive, but I'll get there.

I enjoyed the Huntersville half even though I didn't hit the time I wanted.  The course was challenging, the shirts were really nice, the medals were ornaments, and finishers also got a Brooks running hat.  Nice swag!

Hinson 24 – Out for a little redemption

Pre-Boston and Sugarloaf, my goal for Hinson was 80 miles.  Post-Boston and Sugarloaf, a number goal went out the window, as I knew I wasn’t going to be able to train throughout the summer like I wanted to.   I pushed slowly through the summer and was able to get back to 50 miles a month about two months out from Hinson.  I still didn’t want to set a number goal, but I had to have some sort of goal.  After running Hinson 2011, I knew I wanted my name on the leader board at least once.  That became my goal – to get my name on the leader board at the 6-hour mark.
   

The day started out early, and when I say early, you know it’s early – 3:30 AM.  We were on our way by 5 AM, and like last year, Bryan had saved us a prime time spot.  I’d have to give the award for best setup to Bryan.  He had a welcome mat AND American flag lanterns.

Bryan's setup.

Turns out we were right across from my fellow LRC’ers, Michael and Jerry.  Apparently, at some point they asked Bryan how he knew me and his reply was, “She’s part of my run club (UCRR).”  To which they said, “Well, she’s part of ours too.”  I’m a blessed girl to have be part of not just one great running club, but two!  Gay found us, so after a few pics, it was time to log some miles.

LRC'ers ready to run!

Jason took off and Gay and I settled into a nice steady pace.  I knew I had to get to the 30-mile mark by 6 hours to have a chance to get on the leader board.  I’m not sure if Gay knows how much she helped me, but she was amazing.  She kept us at such an even pace and the good conversation made the laps go by quickly.   

Photo courtesy of Emmie and Krista.

I had to take a quick break to eat, as I was feeling the effects of not eating enough breakfast.  We were knocking off the miles pretty easily, so we decided to switch to run 3, walk 1 instead of all running so that we could last longer.  Hitting the marathon mark was mentally a big deal for me, as I was coming off two horrible marathons and needed some confidence before I tackle Myrtle Beach.  I realized we were at the 6-hour mark, so I was ready to see if I had met my goal.

Top ten at 6-hour mark - goal complete.

I was stoked.  All I wanted was my name on the leader board once and I did it!  We took pics and kept on running.  I took my only long break at the 45-mile mark so that I could devour some pizza and get a massage from the fabulous Denise.  It hurt in a bad way, but it was worth it!  I knew I wasn’t trained enough to put up big mileage without really hurting myself and I have a big goal to reach in February, so with my knee on fire, I decided to wrap things up at 56.24, a PR.  Gay hit 60 and made it look effortless.  Jason was dealing with a bum foot and IT, but logged a solid 40 before waiting patiently for me to keep running “one more lap”. 

Jason and I post race.

So proud of this amazing woman!

I’m not bummed I didn’t log 80 miles, even though I will one of these days.  I was ecstatic to have consistent running for so long and to reach my goal.  On top of this, I got to see people I met last year, like Bobby and Bruce, who are rockstars, and I got to meet some new people, like Kelley and Barefoot Josh, who are also rockstars.  There were plenty of friendly MTC’ers out there too, like Tom (one bada$$ RD who tried to tempt by telling me I was almost back on the leader board) and Frank (loved seeing him at the end of each lap!).  Of course, I had a blast with Jason and Bryan, even though he tried to pull my ponytail; luckily for me, he confused me with another girl!  Other friends like Bill and Jamaar and my LRC’ers, Michael, Jerry, and Rick, were tearing it up out there.  I am so proud of them and am keeping my fingers crossed Jerry wants my help at Umstead 100! 

I love this race because everyone is so friendly and encouraging; it’s a community that I’m proud to be a part of.  As I said last year and I’m sure I’ll say in the upcoming years, Tom does a killer job with this race.  The volunteers are the best hands down, the never-ending buffet is a runner’s delight, you can’t beat the value, and you leave with memories and friendships that will last a lifetime.

Here are some quick numbers to wrap things up: Last year, I ended up running 53.2 miles in about 10 hours and 20 minutes of running/walking time.  I didn’t hit this until about the 22-hour mark.  This year, I ran 56.24 miles in about 11 hours of running and was finished by the 13 ½-hour mark.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." (Hebrews 12:1)