The Annapolis Half-Marathon: On November 19th, I ran the inaugural Annapolis Half-Marathon. Much like the first iteration of a new electronic gadget, the first iteration of a race tends to be a bit bug-y. This race was no exception. The date had to change from September to November, and there were a number of other problems, most of which I won't list here.
For me, the most significant issue was a lack of mile markers. This was my first race after the NYC marathon, so I wasn't sure how it would go. Still, I felt good in the week or so leading up to the race and decided to try again for my goal of a 2:15 half. I started the race at what felt like a comfortable, slightly fast pace. After 9 or 10 minutes, I started looking for a mile marker to figure out my exact pace. I didn't see one, so I thought I might be going slower than I thought. After a few more minutes with no mile markers, I looked up and saw my boot camp instructor Kate about 100 yards ahead of me. That was a surprise. Kate had told me that she didn't train much for this race, but Kate is faster without training than I am with training. I should never see her during a race. Finally, I passed a volunteer who yelled, "You're almost at mile 3!," which confirmed two things: (1) There were indeed no mile markers, and (2) I had gone out way too fast.
For the next few miles, I worked on slowing down and adjusting to the lack of mile markers. In some ways, it was nice. I think it made the race pass faster. On the few occasions where a volunteer or runner with a GPS watch told me where we were, we were always further along than I thought. Still, for someone without a GPS watch (aka: me), it made pacing very difficult. When I look at the data gathered on my phone's GPS during the race (which I can't see while I run), it shows that I ran almost all of miles 1-10 faster than my goal pace, and then slowed WAY down in mile 10 when fatigue caught up with me. Those last 3 miles were agony. I was super-tired and experiencing my usual hip and knee pains, along with a brand-new pain in my upper right quad. I was SO happy to reach the finish line, even though I didn't get there until 2:19:25.
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| One thing that DID go well with this race was the medal- beautiful! |
A Pain in the Neck: I experienced so much pain during the Annapolis half that I expected to wake up the next day in agony. Miraculously, that did not happen. I felt okay for the rest of the weekend and went to Group Power as usual on Monday. I was worried about the squat routine because of my legs. It turned out that my legs felt fine. The trouble happened when I took the weight off my back after the squats. I think I moved my neck while I was lifting up the weight, because I suddenly felt a little "snap," and then the neck pain started. By the time I got home after class, it was so intense that I took a few sick hours in order to ice it and lie down. So, that was the end of weightlifting for last week. I am happy to say that Advil, ice, and some massages from my lovely and patient boyfriend finally made that pain go away and I went back to GP this morning with no problems.
Turkey Trotting: Thursday morning (aka: Thanksgiving), I attempted my first run since the Annapolis half: the Fleet Feet Sports Turkey Trot. This wasn't a race- just a group run in downtown Annapolis with 3 and 5-mile options. It was a beautiful day, and I was looking forward to running the 5-miler with some friends.
Almost as soon as we set out, the pain from the Annapolis Half- the one in my upper quad- came back with a vengeance. By the 1.5-mile turnaround, I knew that the wise course of action would be to take the 3-mile loop instead of pushing through to 5 miles. But what did I do? I pushed through.
Miles 4 and 5 were absolute misery, as was the walk home. By the time I got there, I knew I needed to lay off running for a little while. So, my current plan is to take it easy for the next couple weeks and hope that I can finish out my last two races of the year (which are on 12/11 and 12/17) without agony.
Ironman!: Finally, I have to give a HUGE shout-out to my friend Scott, who completed his first Ironman yesterday. For those who don't know, an Ironman triathlon is a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a full marathon (26.2-mile run). Even attemping an Ironman takes incredible fitness and determination. I looked at some IM training plans when I was reading up on triathlons, and most involved 30-40 hours per week of training. Its like a second job! I, along with many of Scott's friends and admirers, tracked him online yesterday as he raced for an awesome total of 12 hours and 5 minutes. It was so exciting! When he finally posted video of himself crossing the finish line, I think he had at least a dozen people crying into our laptops. Way to go, Scott! You are an inspiration!
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