Year in Review: 2013

I had set a lot of big goals for myself for 2013.  I wanted to run a sub 4:30 50K, sub 3:30 marathon, sub 1:40 half, and sub 21:00 5K.  I got off to a great start by running a 4:24:50 at the Frosty 50K in January.  That was followed by a marathon PR of 3:33:39 at Myrtle Beach.  It wasn't the sub 3:30 I wanted, but it was a PR and BQ and I had Richmond in November, which would give me another chance at my goal.  I ran a 20:38 5K and set a new goal of sub 20:00.  This was all by May, so I was feeling good about reaching all of my goals by the end of the year.

The Boston bombings happened, so I signed up for the Lehigh marathon to get a better time before Boston registration opened.  I figured I would need more of a cushion, so I spent the summer training and was feeling confident enough in my training that I thought I could run a 3:25 at Lehigh.  I was sick a few weeks before the marathon and my training runs were rough, but I didn't think much of it (I should have).  Lehigh came around and a DNF was logged.  Shortly after, I realized something was going on with my heart.  

September was spent wondering if I'd get into the Boston marathon while also wondering what in the world was going on with my heart.  Turns out my time was 17 seconds too slow, so there would be no Boston marathon on my 2014 schedule.  As disappointed as I was, I had bigger things on my mind, like my health.  I made the decision to defer FATS 50K and Richmond marathon since I didn't know what was wrong with me.  After a treadmill stress test revealed I was having SVT, I was set up for a cardiac ablation in October.  I still had issues after this, so I had a second ablation in mid-November.  Issues followed, so monitors were worn and more doctor visits were scheduled.  

December brought bad news.  The issues I'm having are due to an autonomic dysfunction; my blood pressure won't get high enough when I move around, so my heart rate is running higher to help bring it up.  I'm the only patient my doc has seen who has had SVT and the autonomic dysfunction.  SVT is curable (thanks to the ablations); the AD isn't.  Thankfully, it's not lethal and the best thing I can do for it is exercise.  I won't be able to run as fast, but the doctor encouraged me to exercise, exercise, exercise.

Training will be harder and slower, but it will be done.  I don't have plans to race much in 2014.  No PR goals are being set.  I won't know if I'll be able to handle a marathon for a while; I have to see how the mileage build up goes.  I'll mainly be logging miles, getting back into shape, and being grateful for the ability to be active.

Be not afraid of going slowly, be afraid only of standing still.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. - Romans 12:12

Running Hiatus/Broken Heart

The Lehigh marathon didn't go too well, as I had to pull out at mile 12 due to health issues.  I was really disappointed, as I had been feeling great during summer training and really thought a sub 3:30 was going to happen.  Jason and I went running the following weekend and about a half mile in I felt really tired and thought we were running at 5K pace.  Too bad we were running slow.  Jason checked my heart rate and it was almost maxed out.

I ended up going to the cardiologist where a treadmill stress test and echocardiogram were performed.  The structure and function of my heart were fine, but the stress test triggered an PSVT.  Essentially, my blood was pumping through "bad" pathways that shouldn't have been there and that was causing rhythm problems.  The doc told me my choices were to live with it (it's not lethal), medicine, or cardiac ablation.  I was quickly scheduled for an ablation and was looking forward to getting back to running soon. 

For an ablation, you go to an electrophysiology (EP) lab where they insert four wires into your heart via catheters inserted into a vein on the left/right side of the groin.  Once the wires are in the heart and are attached, the docs pretty much shoot adrenaline into you to get your heart racing.  If something is wrong with you, your heart will do "something"; in my case, trigger PSVT.   Once triggered, they map out where the bad places are and ablate them. 

I was nervous as all get out come ablation time (10/17/13).  I was afraid I would feel the wires moving through my body and the thought of that made me want to throw up.  I had asked to see the wires and they were bigger than I thought they would be, so that didn't help, but since I'm otherwise healthy, they were able to make me really comfortable.  In other words, I was knocked out.  I don't remember anything from the procedure other than waking up after and asking if it was over and if I was fixed.  The doc said the procedure went well.  They were able to easily trigger the SVT and were able to fix the one bad pathway they found.  I was really, really happy with this news.

The next couple of days were extremely lazy days since I had to stay off my feet (to let the veins/catheter insertion sites heal) and had minimal chest pain.  The weekend didn't go very well though, as I ended up in the ER.  My doctor prescribed me a Holter monitor to wear for a few weeks to see what was going on.  My heart rate was still getting really high with light activity, but since I wasn't about to try maxing it out, the Holter monitor didn't really pick up anything. 

My doctor was really surprised that I was still having issues since he and the other doctor thought my procedure had gone so well.  He said that it was possible that the tissue swelling (side effect of it being burnt) blocked part of the bad pathway which caused it not to re-trigger when they tried to during the procedure.  The other option was that this was just how my heart was going to be and I'd have to deal with it - ugh.  He said I could go for another treadmill stress test or I could bypass that and go straight back to the EP lab for possibly another ablation.  I decided to go on back to the EP lab since that was the most efficient; they can figure out what is wrong more accurately AND fix it. 

I wasn't nearly as nervous for the (possible) second ablation (11/14/13).  I put possible because going into it I knew there was a chance they wouldn't trigger anything and there would be nothing to ablate.  I was praying they would be able to trigger something.  So the nerves were a lot lower since I knew what to expect and was confident in my doctors to find and fix the problem.  Once they had me in the EP lab, I realized the anesthesiologist and nurse anesthetist were missing.  Turns out, they were using a different sedative.  I had to fight back tears because once again I was afraid I'd feel the procedure.  I didn't feel anything, but am 99.9% sure I woke up during and asked them how long I had been in there.  I do plan on asking why a different sedative was used; I'm wondering if they wanted me less knocked out than last time.  Everything after the procedure is pretty hazy, but the docs told my mom that they had to burn 4 more bad pathways and 1 was closer to the AV node so they couldn't burn it as long due to the risk of injury and pacemaker.  They said it was very possible the pathway they fixed in round 1 was masking these other ones and were confident that I would be good to go now.

I didn't end up in the ER this past weekend, which I will take as a positive sign that things are fixed.  I've had more chest pain, but figure that is due to having more places fixed.  The catheter insertion sites have been more tender so I haven't attempted to even go for a walk.  I'm hoping to get out this weekend and see how I feel.  Everything I have read says to expect a high HR for a few months after an ablation, so I'm not sure if I'll be confident I'm fixed until I'm able to max out my HR and see what happens.  That attempt will be a few weeks from now though, as I need to heal up some more and get some miles back on my legs.

I've been finding a lot of comfort in the following verse:
  

"Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?  And if worry can't accomplish a little thing like that, what's the use of worrying over bigger things?" - Luke 12:25-26

What I wish I knew after my first marathon...

The WhyMarathon ambassadors had such great pre-marathon advice that I decided to get their post-marathon advice.  I asked them to fill in the following sentence, “After a marathon, it’s good to ______.”  Here is their stellar advice for you!

• Refuel and rehydrate!  Get something salty to replenish the electrolytes you lost. Protein and a 20 minute ice bath ASAP! Hate ‘em but love ‘em.  (If you don’t have access to a tub, one crazy ambassador recommended wearing waders with ice in them.  He said it worked great and provided entertainment!)  
• I like to kick my feet up a wall until my feet go numb to get the junk out. Then, I like to drink some beer, eat everything in sight, and wear my medal... all day!!
• Put on some compression socks, have a beer, and talk about the race endlessly.
• Go directly from the race, with a group of other runners, to a fun bar! Sit around for the next couple hours having a great time, talking about the race, congratulating each other, and just having fun. Make plans on where you'll all meet for dinner that night. Go shower and a nap. At dinner, you can again spend a couple hours having a great time, talking about the race, congratulating each other and having fun, but this time you'll also get to talk about which race you're all going to do next!
• Call a cab.  
• If you can get back to the hotel or your home within a short time after the finish, take a 15-20 minute ice bath and then jump in a hot shower to warm up and wash all the grimy salt off.
• If I have to drive a while (an hour or more), I take some Motrin when I get in the car; seems to keep my muscles from being so sore.  
• I found it super helpful to bring the Biofreeze in mychecked bag.
• Fresh socks. Canned Facebook status update.
• Keep moving.  Explore the marathon city.   
• Capture the moment - have picture taken of tired but satisfied medal-wearing marathon runner.  
• Shower... Nap... Eat... Go to the bar wearing your medal!    

Miss the pre-marathon advice?  Read it here!

What I wish I knew after my first marathon originally posted here.

Getting Ready For Lehigh

I wasn't planning on racing a late summer/early fall marathon until the Boston bombings happened.  I decided I wanted to try to cushion my BQ, as I'm not sure 1:21 is enough of a cushion this time around.  My friend, Liz, mentioned she was running Lehigh, so I decided to join her and also recruited some WhyMarathon friends.  It turns out that a group from Columbia decided to run Lehigh too, so there will be some familiar faces there.

I made my training plan for the Myrtle Beach marathon and had a PR there, so I decided to make my plan again and increase the intensity.  Go to Boston or go home, right?  In the past, my weekly workouts have included track work or a tempo run.  This time, my weekly workouts include track work *and* a tempo run. The majority of my weeks are in the mid 50's for mileage, with a max of 65 miles.  I've found that anything over that just wears me down and does more harm than good. 

I've added on personal training with Next Level Personal Training.  Yes, the person who thought personal training was a waste of money if you knew how to do your own research and were willing to take the time to learn about weights is now paying for personal training.  I was getting bored with my weight routine and wanted something more dynamic that was catered to running, so I decided to give personal training a go for a bit.   I have had a few friends who have seen big dividends from not going crazy with mileage and adding on a personal trainer, so I'm hoping to see similar results.  I wish I had started earlier so that I would have more of this under my belt before Lehigh, but some is better than none. 

I eat healthy 85% of the time, so in the last weeks of marathon training I'm trying to bump that up to 90-95% of the time.  My "cheat" night is Friday night when I have pizza to fuel my long run the next morning.  I've been good about not indulging after my long runs.  I have chocolate milk and fruit/bagel; I don't go crazy on junk food.  I'm not running so I can eat junk; I'm eating so I can run faster than I ever have!  What you eat really impacts your running, so part of running well is eating well.  I will have froyo or cookies occasionally, but am trying to keep my "treats" sparse and mainly limited to dark chocolate.

Lots of sweat shed here - no tears though! Photo by Deyman

With less than a month to go, I'm feeling good about the training I've been doing.  I've stuck to my schedule and logged a lot of miles.  The best runs I have had have been my 20-miler and 21-miler.  The 23-miler wasn't too hot, but it got done.  I've been hitting faster times on the track than I thought I could in the summer.  Based on different marathon time predictors, I should be able to run anywhere between a 3:15 and 3:35 marathon, but I'm realistic, so here are my goals:

1. Get to the start line healthy.
2. Finish.
3. PR (sub 3:33:39).
4. 3:29:59.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. - Philippians 4:13

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!