What's Next?

I had saved my post this week with the intent of another TBT; however I thought it would be more beneficial to share the findings of my husbands research on Vitamin C. "Tis the season" to start downing the stuff to avoid the inevitable flu season that is upon us. But be careful how much you take!!

For those who read my debut post you will recall that I experienced intense kidney pain near the last quarter of my race. A few weeks leading up to that race my husband and I were, apparently, overdosing on vitamin C. The side effects of that include kidney pain (even kidney stones), diarrhea, headache, abdominal bloating and cramps, and heartburn. The pain in my stomach I described as a heart burn or acid reflux feeling, termed by me as "gut rot". My husband was experiencing mega heartburn too! It is worth mentioning this is uncommon for both of us. Not putting two and two together we kept at it with our "it tastes horrible but it works!" attitude and downed 1000mg per day for two weeks. Kidney pain, diarrhea, and stomach pain explained. 

My blood work also came back normal which perplexed my doctor given the symptoms I was having. So much so he took it upon himself to do extra research (did I mention this was a walk in - kudos to Wellpoint Health - Chaparral) and called me on my holiday to assure me I was ok and he is now certain it was exercise induced. Will share more of that when I have finally made my follow up appointment to collect his research. Needless to say I'm very happy that I rejected the impromptu colon exam I was offered as that would have been an unfortunate unnecessary experience. Ha!

So What's Next?

Now that I know I'm healthy to continue running I'm not going to pretend I'm not also excited for a little racing hiatus. Between bike races and running races this year, since spring I've done over 15 races and I'm raced out! I think a mental break is in order before I join the ranks of the elite crew at Calgary Scotiabank Half Marathon next May, if accepted. My race time at BMO qualified me for this (complimentary entry status only but still pretty cool) and I figure it's an opportunity I should take, circumstances permitting. That being said, I'm sure you'll bump into me, or pass me, or be passed by me at some local races or along fish creek park in the next few months, but don't expect stellar performances ;) I'm going to enjoy the schedule of "whatever workout I feel like doing" for the next few months while I get back into the game mentally. 

I'll continue to write and share things I have learned in my amateur experience but the new race stories may be fewer and farther between. But hang tight...I'll be back on the racing scene before the snow is gone!

Tbt - NYCM 2014

Today seemed like a good day to reminisce about New York City Marathon since it's just weeks away and my little mini me is running it as her very first marathon. This post is dictated to you Stephana!

New York. Experience of a lifetime. However getting there was not the easiest experience. Let's step back another year where I trained as hard as I could with a good friend as a coach to obtain a sub 1:30 half. I did it on my first try at Scotiabank Half Marathon in May 2013 which qualified me for NYCM. That was my ticket. I applied, was accepted, and immediately booked my hotel. $1000 in already, I was committed to running my first marathon.

I used the same coach that had gotten me success at my half the year prior. He set my schedule and I would try and follow it to the best of my ability. The marathon was a new beast for me and I discovered early on, when Saturday morning sleep ins and pancakes were soon replaced with getting up early to beat the heat for my three hour run that ensued, I didn't love the marathon training. The reality of it is it consumes your life and leaves you pretty exhausted for anything else. But I was committed. Early on I set a race goal of 3:10 and quickly became married to, obsessed even, with that goal.

I hurt my knee at a half marathon race in Vancouver that year just months before the big day. I'm not going to get into that race because that deserves its own throwback Thursday. But the knee became a persistent issue right up until race day. I couldn't even walk on it for a week and then eagerly jumped back into my training. I tried a knee wrap, icing, heat, rolling. I finally buckled down and went for acupuncture (needles are my worst nightmare) and this seemed to help the most.

My boyfriend, now husband, jumped at the chance to come along. It was only fitting considering he helped me through countless long training days whether it be planning out my route for me, or even tagging along for his longest runs ever, up to 30km one day. He became as dedicated to me running this race as I was and the support was amazing, like he is.

The race day neared and about two weeks before it my nerves were out of control. Could I even run a marathon? Is my goal too lofty? What if I die? Yes, I can be a little dramatic at times. I became obsessed with the weather and it would influence my mood. 14 day weather forecast says blustery winds. Hmmmm didn't like the sound of that.

A couple days before NY my boyfriends 6 year old daughter is sitting at the table and blurts out, "Melissa, my daddy LOVVVVES you!" Which was sweet...and random...or was it?

Turns out, not so random. She had gone ring shopping with her dad. Friday before the race in New York my boyfriend proposes. The nerves I was feeling and the anxiety about how I would do on this race suddenly were not the most important thing to me anymore. There would be other marathons to run, but there would not be any other men to marry. This one was it! 

We spent Saturday answering texts and emails from excited family and friends back home and riding the tour bus around NY to save my legs. Weather was turning and those 14 day forecast winds were becoming a reality. 

I wake up at some crazy hour the next day to catch the 5am bus that shuttles us to Staten Island where the race begins. My good friend was also running so we met and rode together. Not a lot of talking ensued and once we arrive we were quickly separated due to us running in different heats. The security to get in is worth mentioning. Airport style security with helicopters hovering above you and police officers wandering around all the corals. If 50,000 other runners wasn't intimidating enough. 

The wind at this point was at 40kph and it was freezing and we had to wait until 9:50am for our heat. I was in the first heat thankfully (based off predicted finish from my qualifying time) so my wait wasn't as long as some can be. I had purchased an over priced NYCM wind breaker at the expo because I wasn't prepared for weather like this so I wore it along with some old grubby clothes to donate to charity at the start line. Even when I removed the old grubby clothes I discovered that I was way more heavily dressed than those around me with my long sleeved shirt underneath my windbreaker and long pants. But it was November in NY and I was cold. 

Well I soon regretted that! Talk about amateur move. By km 8 I was so roasted I was frantic to get rid of this jacket. I spent a km with my handheld water bottle in my mouth while I unpin my bib number on my jacket.  Finally get my jacket off, tie it around my waist to pin my number to the shirt underneath. I see someone on the sideline and throw her my jacket and say, "You look my size, take my jacket!" And away I go.

The winds were intense. According to the reports afterward we were experiencing north winds of up to 65 kph. Did I mention we ran north for over 30k? By the halfway mark I knew I wasn't going to get 3:10 in these conditions and quickly resorted to plan B: sub 3:20. 

Km 32 came and went, the one every other marathoner tells you is the worst but I felt "ok". And then km 37 hit me like a brick wall. I saw a water station, stopped, drank an entire bottle of water, got some encouragement from a volunteer and off I went. This was now a 5km race. I could do 5km.

At km 40 I see my fiancé's smiling face at the marker in Central Park where he got the picture below. It's still one of my favourite running shots! That was enough to push me through the last 2k and at a decent pace even! I finished in 3:13:52 which is damn good given the weather we experienced. And 10th Canadian female!

The walk to meeting up with my fiancé was the toughest. It's over 2k but because of security you can't meet them until after. We met at a local Starbucks nearby which we had thankfully prearranged. My fiancé didn't recognize me because I looked like a hobo in my Poncho they had given me to stay warm. And I didn't look so well either. Back to the hotel we went and two baths later I was good to go. We met my friend and bar hopped some speak easy bars around the city! What a blast.

I was able to run 5 days later, not that it's recommended. I was a little disappointed I'd missed my Plan A of 3:10 until I realized that even the pros were 6 minutes slower than their previous years times. Six minutes to them is like 10 to me. Hmmmm....do I have a 3:03 in me? ;)

I may do another marathon one day but it really isn't my glass of red wine. If I do, it will definitely be another destination race on a flat course, with hopefully no wind! But how do you match NYCM? I don't think you do. I think you just realize how lucky you were to be apart of such an amazing experience!

Still high off my experience I got a random linked in message from the girl I had given my jacket to. I had also left her my ID and $30 USD in one of the pockets and it was on its way back to me! What a perfect ending to a perfect weekend.

Debut to the Bloggin World

My husband has been trying to encourage me to write a blog. I love to write and I love to run and those two things combined are the recipe for an amateur blog - so here it is...my blogging debut!

I'm starting on a high note off of my recent win at BMO Okanagan half marathon. I'd be lying if I pretended I didn't train for this race and that it all comes naturally to me. I honed in on this race in June and quickly hired a coach to help me reach my new arbitrary goal of 1:25. Throughout the summer I cross trained by racing bikes. Sometimes I nearly switched focus given the success I was having but would quickly remember the reason I was riding bikes was to ultimately run this race!

Back to running...my coach soon filled my schedule in with intense training weeks. Every time I'd dread a workout a new one would be in its place that I would fear more. I'm not sure how many times my husband heard me say, "I'll never be able to do that!" And somehow I'd (generally) make it through. And of course on the days I couldn't finish it was my coaches fault for making the workout too hard even if I'd nail the same workout a few weeks later! But that's training - it's emotional and exciting and doesn't always go as you envision it, for better or worse!

I hurt my foot three months into my training. I had thought it was plantar fasciitis but it doesn't appear to be what it was. No I didn't go to physio and you can shake your finger at me if you want. But I'm an amateur racer who still works full time and helps run a household, so sometimes you neglect yourself. And sometimes getting your run in takes higher priority than spending those few precious moments of freedom in a physio clinic. Either way, it put my training back significantly as my cross training started replacing running days in order to stay off my foot.

Three weeks out from the big day after an intense training session I came home and spent the rest of the evening in the bathroom. This pattern repeated Itself two more times the week before BMO, but at a higher intensity. My stomach felt awful even when I wasn't running. Something wasn't right and I was advised to see a doctor. Four days before the race the doctor suggests I don't run it at all. Two days before the race I gave four tubes of blood for tests (a quick Google search from my husband let me know I'd be replenished to run if I still wanted to - thanks hunny). I wasn't sure what the right decision was but a message from my coach helped me make a decision. I'd worked so hard for this, I was going to at least try it.

Pacing strategies were constantly on my mind. Using my last 10k as a benchmark my coach thought I should aim for a 1:30 to start but I knew I was faster than ever and that I had not regressed (a 1:30 would have been a dramatic regression) and that the 10k course I had just run was challenging. So I took a well known local runners time on that same race, compared it to some of his recent races and confirmed in my head that that course was not a good predictor of what I could do - I decided I was going for my 1:25 anyways! 

My husband and I arrive in Kelowna and go straight to race package pickup where we had also planned to do a leg shakeout. My sister was also racing and had just messaged to say she forgot her garmin. Who forgets their garmin?? Oh wait a minute...I guess it runs in the family. I also forgot my garmin. So...$100 later I purchase the cheapest garmin I can find and make sure it's pink so that my husband won't insist on me taking his (even though I know he'd have worn the pink one for me). Not off to the best start...I play around with it and the minimal features allow me to see distance and lap pace on one screen so I set it there and hope for the best.

Race morning arrives. I was nervous as heck. I could barely down a piece of toast and half a coffee. However, I'm a firm believer that some nerves are good...it means you care enough to endure the pain you're about to inflict on yourself and push through it. So I took this as a good sign. Mentally, I was in it!

I lined up at the front. The last marker was a 1:30 and I was determined that was not me today! I didnt size up my competition because I had my sights on a PB and whatever place that put me in was fine by me. I had done some research and figured I had a chance at podium if today went as planned. But you just never know who's going to show up on any given day and it wasn't about that today. Gun went off, I kept my pace in check and didn't allow myself to get caught in the excitement of the start and go out too fast. I was in the lead right off the start, battling with two other girls for the spot. The "lead female" bike couldn't figure out who to follow and I could hear them talking and it was starting to distract me so I initiated a 50 to 100m surge and it seemed to intimidate the other two enough that they didn't follow. At the 5k point it was a turnaround and I counted second place at least 20 seconds back already and never thought about it again. I was feeling good, was on pace and focused! 

There was a strong west wind and it started to take its toll on me. By kilometre 12 I started to fatigue but was still seeing 4:0X's on the watch so kept at it. By km 16 I started to experience kidney pain and knew it was apart of starting to break down (or the few glasses of wine I'd consumed the night before with my sister - hey loving life is important to not taking yourself so seriously). I grabbed for water and Gatorade at the next two stops and held on til the finish. 

At 700 m to go I see my husbands smiling face as he sees me in the lead. He slaps my ass as I run by which makes me laugh and forget about the pain I'm feeling to just hang on to this last few 100m. I round the corner for the final 200m and see 1:26:20 on the clock. I wasn't certain until then because my new cheap garmin didn't give me total time. Well I guess I missed 1:25 I think to myself and then snap out of it when I hear the cheering for lead female and run through the victory ribbon. Course was long, as always, and my strava says I ran a half in 1:26:01. I'll take it! Official time: 1:26:32. And next time I choose 1:25 as my goal it won't be so arbitrary because I KNOW can do this. 

So amazing to have my sister and brother in law and husband at the finish line. I wouldn't be out here competing if it weren't for my husband. We train together and push each other and this has just become apart of our daily lives. Did I mention he also ran the 10k and got his #sub40before40? Ya he's pretty awesome too!

Not sure what's next for me. Maybe a fun 10k or maybe, just maybe, 1:25 half marathon ;)