Disney - Half Marathon Spectator Spectacular!

Saturday morning, Ronnie, Jess, Tricia and I all got up at 4:15am to head over to the half marathon.  We didn't plan on going to the start of the race, but the magical Disney Transportation made it a requirement to be on the road by 5am.  As it turns out, the bus driver wasn't too happy about our plan to take the last possible bus, and spent the whole drive hemming and hawing over the traffic and how it was a very real possibility that the runners on the bus would miss the start of the race.  

Once at the race, it was a confusing mess of people and queue lines.  Although the race hadn't started yet, there was no way for us to get near the start line.  Instead, we saw a sign pointing to "Spectator viewing" so we obediently marched along.  This mulch path wound through tropical trees (keep in mind, it's pitch dark) and out onto a highway.  It became more and more evident that we were probably marching to our death, which was confirmed when the grass we were walking on alongside the highway was littered with mounds of fire ant hills.  It was a bit of a game of hopscotch trying to dodge fire ants, and as far as we walked, there were no openings along the fence line. 

The race finally started, and when the first runners passed by, we realized a few things.  We were lined up along a highway, but the spectators were all on the wrong side of the highway.  In other words, the runners were running southbound, and we were all lined up on the northbound side, with the median and three lanes of highway separating us from the runners.  It's not exactly conducive to cheering for your friends!  And speaking of cheering for friends, that's apparently something that Disney spectators don't do.  When I tell you it was quiet, I mean... the only exclamation we heard was, "watch out for that fire ant!!".  When we happened to see Scott fly by (he's pretty hard to miss, as he's about a foot taller than anyone else) we all screamed like crazy.  This brought about strangely irritated looks from those around us, like we had just interrupted their church service.  Luckily, focus was quickly diverted from us to a young girl getting eaten by fire ants.  With that, we decided we'd had about enough of this Hitchcock adventure, and made our way back to the safety of asphalt.

Back at the parking lot, we grabbed breakfast at a vendor truck and watched the jumbo screen as the rest of the waves started.  We even managed to see Joe (the total ham) dressed up as Peter Pan doing the moonwalk past the camera.  We all screamed, which again drew strange looks from nearby people as they were trying to sleep in their coffee cups.  Eventually we made it to the finish line and observed the DJ trying to engage the crowd, while the spectators remained silently looking for their family member to finish.  Apparently Disney spectators feel that cheering is reserved for friends and family, not to the general public.  It was the strangest finish of a race I've ever seen, and I was praying tomorrow's marathon finish would be a little more exciting!

Scott finished the race in 1:40, a massive PR.  Way to go, Scott!  Tricia left us to go meet up with Scott, and Jess, Ronnie and I stayed at the finish to cheer on Jaimee.  About 20 minutes later Jaimee came through and we cheered her on, then left our spots to go meet up with her.  We had trouble finding her after the race, and decided to just wait for her outside of the bag check.  By this time Scott and Tricia had met up with us, so we all continued to hang out waiting for Jaimee.  Finally I texted her that we were outside the bag check, and she responded that she was already on the bus heading back to the hotel!  With that, the act of abandoning the herd is now referred to as "pulling a Jaimee".  We got a good laugh out of this for the rest of the weekend!

The joke was really on us though, because once we realized Jaimee was already headed back, Scott and Tricia headed off to meet relatives for brunch while Ronnie, Jess and I looked for our bus.  We mistakenly assumed that the place the bus dropped us off would be the same place the bus picked us up, but that was not the case.  After a very long walk back to where we thought the buses were, we were directed by a volunteer to somewhere else to grab a bus.  Turns out, we had to take the monorail from there, not a bus.  So, we took the monorail, which brought us to the Transportation Center, which told us that they weren't planning on running any more buses to our hotel.  Jess got all "badass Providence" on them, and magically a bus was redirected to our hotel.  By the time we got on our bus, Jaimee had reached the hotel, showered, and was at Magic Kingdom.

Ronnie, Jess and I were pretty excited because our Maine friends Becca, Mert, and Vicki were coming in that night.  All of us wanted to lay pretty low on Saturday so we could be as fresh as possible for the next day's marathon, so we spent a few hours near the pool and mostly in the shade.  I should also mention that all of us had a three-pronged approach to race day preparation: hydrate, carbo load, hydrate.  When we weren't eating, we were drinking.  And when we weren't drinking, we were peeing.  The entire vacation centered around public restrooms, and locating them became somewhat of a sporting event for us.  With the forecast calling for temperatures in the 80's for the marathon, we wanted to be as hydrated as possible going into it!  Sometimes I think it would have just been more efficient to pour water straight into the toilet.

We met up with Jaimee and the four of us had our final pre-marathon dinner at Wolfgang Puck at 4pm.  This sounds early,  but since the alarm was going off at 2:30am the next morning, we felt that we should have as long as possible to digest.  I had a four cheese macaroni which was a little too heavy for my liking, so I ended up leaving a lot of the cheese behind.  My final vote for the best sit-down meal at Disney remains Planet Hollywood!  Once we got back to the hotel we finally met up with our friends from Maine, and we spent the next few hours catching up with them before we all crashed for the night.  They were so excited to be there at the marathon, brought a super fancy camera with them, and even some clever hand made signs!

I mean really, has anyone ever made a sign like this for YOU?  This sign was so appropriate given the fact that I'd say 60-75% of our conversations any given day revolved around poop.  I gotta go, I can't go, I gotta go again, oh man that one stunk, does anyone have air freshener?, don't go in there for a while - (hehe)!  

So around 9pm, we all tucked in, in beds, on floors, in neighbor's rooms, etc., and tried to get some sleep before the dreaded alarm went off at 2:30am!

Next up - Marathon Day!

Disney Day 2 - The 5K and Animal Kingdom

Waking up on Thursday at 4am was great practice for this vacation, since every day became a cycle of: Wake up early, non-stop walking (or running), collapse, repeat.  Friday's Family Fun Run 5K had a start time of 6:30am, but thanks to the magic of Disney Transportation, all buses depart the hotel from 4am to 5am.  This is where I discovered a fundamental difference between Scott and I.  If it were up to me, we'd be taking the last possible bus, with a real threat of missing the start of the race.  It would really get our hearts racing, wondering if we would make it.  We'd have to forgo the last minute porta-potty stop and possibly sprint to the starting corral.  It would be exciting, chaotic, and badass.  Scott, on the other hand, is a planner.  He likes to get everywhere early, preferably before the volunteers even show up, just to get "settled in".  So, at an ungodly time of day, I was up and dressed and trying really hard to be excited about going to run a 5K in the dark.  It wasn't easy getting excited about the run, but the costume helped!

After a very, very long time standing around in the parking lot, making fun of some really bad country/christian rock singer and listening to a DJ unsuccessfully trying to get the crowd energized, we finally made it to the starting corral.  It was weird starting a race at 6:30 in the morning, and even weirder thinking that on Sunday at this time I'd already be an hour into the marathon.

Scott, Tricia, and I, along with their friend Joe, all ran the race together which made it quite entertaining!  And that's a good thing, because the first mile or so all took place in the parking lot and entrance road to Epcot, and passed by a waste water treatment area, so it wasn't exactly the magical experience we expected.

Finally we made it into the actual park and then the scenery was much prettier.  We stopped several times to take pictures.  It was so humid that eventually I had to take my glasses off because they were fogging up so much!

My costume was a big hit and I got a lot of compliments.  There was also an ongoing joke about dogs (some service dogs could be seen cowering away from me - Cruella) so this sign was just too perfect!

Dogs!

By the end of the race I was completely saturated in sweat due to the humidity, and the hair under my wig was soaked.  I'm so glad I decided to dress up for the 5k and not the marathon.

So to recap the 5K - It was fun to run with friends and dress up and be silly, but if I ever come back someday I will probably skip it.  A third of the race takes place in the parking lot, and it's a lot of money ($50!) just to run through Epcot.

We got back to the hotel by 7:30am (Disney is a real slam, bam, thank you ma'am kind of place) and I showered and got ready for our next stop - Animal Kingdom!

Ronnie, Jaimee and I went to Animal Kingdom for most of the day while we waited for Jess to arrive.  I don't think a play-by-play is really necessary here so let me just spell it all out in pictures!

While we were at Animal Kingdom, Jess arrived, checked into the hotel, and went to the race expo.  We made a plan to meet up at Downtown Disney for dinner.  We didn't have any reservations, but it was still early enough that we could get a table at Portabello's.  I had linguine with little neck clams, which was pretty good, but the real hit was the appetizer: mozzarella rice balls.  If you're ever there, try them.  Still, the meal wasn't as good as Planet Hollywood!  We made our way back to the hotel and met back up with Scott and Tricia, where we marveled at the fact that earlier this same day we had run a 5K.  It was so long ago it seemed like yesterday!  Since Scott and Jaimee were running the half marathon the next day, it was an early night for all of us.

Next up - Saturday's half marathon spectating adventure!

Several of these pictures were taken by Scott.  Be sure to check out his blog too!

Disney Marathon - Thursday

Sometime last year, Scott and I had this silly idea to book a destination race.  It was all fantasy, so I thought.  The way this whole thing evolved is still a bit fuzzy, but it somehow turned into me signing up for my first marathon.  I was really on the fence about it, but somehow Scott got a hold of a discounted entry fee, and somehow that was all it took for me to sign up.  The internet is like tequila: it can really make us do some ridiculously impulsive things. 

                Luckily through the power of persuasion I was able to talk a few other folks into doing the marathon with me, so at least I’d have some people to train with.  I started planning for the marathon/vacation like a soon-to-be bride plans her wedding, and before you knew it I had the room and flight booked, the training plan mapped out, and friends to share a room with.  I cautiously looked forward to the marathon and promised Ronnie we would do all our long runs together.  Then I broke my foot in October, and things got a little hairy.  For seven weeks I couldn’t run until the break healed, which coincided with the peak of my training.  In the meantime I tried to keep in shape by biking (which the doctor yelled at me for) and swimming (which the doctor yelled at me for), and eventually after seven weeks the doctor pronounced the break healed (despite my ill-advised activities).  I never ended up doing a long run.  I begged Disney to let me switch to the half marathon but it was sold out and they wouldn’t let me transfer.  In December I started lightly running again, and was able to squeeze in three long-ish runs: 10 miles, 13 miles, and 10 miles.  That would be the only “marathon training” I would be able to do.  I knew it wasn’t enough, but I also knew I wanted to try to complete the marathon and if I had to walk a lot of it, so be it.  I also made myself promise that if my foot started hurting again I would drop out.  I am now training for the Boston Marathon in April and can’t afford more setbacks.  After analyzing the course, I made a plan to run all of the boring highway sections, and walk through the parks and other landmarks.  Loosely translated, it would be about 19 miles of running and 7 miles of walking.  I felt pretty sure I could handle that, especially with sufficient walk breaks and given the fact that there’s not a single hill in the course.  So after all that debating and convincing myself and my concerned friends, I finally decided just two weeks before the marathon that I would go for it!

                Thursday morning, after a 4am wake up, I headed to Ronnie's house where his son brought us to the airport.  We arrived in Florida by 10:30am, and Jaimee (my lunch running buddy) was just a few minutes behind us.  Ahhh... warm, sunny Florida.  The weather was perfect the whole time we were there!  We checked into our super-cheesy pop culture hotel and then the three of us headed to the race expo.  

Disney does everything on a grand scale, and the race expo was no exception.  

We had to take a bus to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, where we walked a long distance over to the field house to pick up our race numbers.  Then, we had to walk another long distance to another building to pick up our T-shirts and the pins to go with our race numbers, which was in the heart of the expo.  After spending a great deal of time navigating through the crowds and vendor tables, we headed out.   

Showing off the 5K and Marathon bibs. First time holding a marathon number--- eeek!

Ronnie had a relative picking us up to bring us to the store for supplies, so we walked around outside until we could find her.   Needless to say, it was only Thursday afternoon and my feet were already sore.  My one condition I told myself was that I was going to have to take it easy with the walking before the marathon because I knew my feet would start bugging me, but Disney makes it impossible to make any walk a short walk.  We headed over to the local Walmart, which turned into a bit of a scavenger hunt picking up supplies for me, Ronnie, Jaimee, Scott, and Tricia.

Yay for southern Walmarts that sell booze!!

Finally, late afternoon Scott and Tricia arrived at the hotel, just as we were finishing bringing up all the groceries.  After talking to Scott for the last two years for work over the phone, it was great to finally meet him!  Here's my "it's nice to meet you but my arms are too tired from lugging all your beer and water across the hotel to shake your hand" look.

Note: Scott was either sitting on the bed, or possibly on the floor, when this picture was taken. You'll see why.

Scott and Tricia ran into a bit of a hiccup checking into their room, but luckily they had nice neighbors to let them set up camp until they could get in!  Once Scott and Tricia were somewhat settled in, they had to book it over to the race expo to pick up their packets and be back in time for dinner. We had dinner reservations at Planet Hollywood at 7:45pm, and now that we were starting to get a feel for Disney transportation, we knew they didn't have a lot of time to spare.  After they headed out, the rest of us finally took advantage of some downtime and headed out to the pool.  I was just so happy to be able to sit down!

Sure enough, Scott and Tricia became victims of Disney transportation issues, and ended up taking a cab to Downtown Disney, where Planet Hollywood is located.  In retrospect, I wish we had done the same thing!  As we found out the hard way, there were two bus stops for Downtown Disney, and we got off at the wrong one.  So it was another very long walk to Planet Hollywood!  On the bright side, it was fun walking past all the shops and smelling all the different scents of chocolatiers and restaurants.  

For some reason, I didn't have very high expectations of Planet Hollywood.  I expected it to be a mediocre meal, but every one of us had a great dinner and the atmosphere was... a little trippy to say the least!

Tricia, Scott, Maureen, Ronnie, Jaimee, and Moi, hydrating like crazy!

Dinner was made up of a strange assortment of friends.  Scott (that I work with) and Tricia from Missouri, my friend Ronnie (that I ride horses with) from Rhode Island, Ronnie's friend Maureen that he works with from Boston, and Jaimee that I work with in Mass.  We all became fast friends, and we managed to keep Tricia very entertained with our New England accents!

After dinner we headed back to our rooms for some much needed rest.  Waking up at 4am was starting to take its toll, and I had a 5K to prep for!

Laying out my race gear for tomorrow's 5K!

Next up will be Friday's 5K and visit to Animal Kingdom!

Nearly all these photos are credited to Scott.  Be sure to check out his blog too!

Model Patient

A few weeks back I wrote about the sudden foot pain and trip to the podiatrist, and even though I wasn't 100% convinced about the diagnosis of joint capsulitis, I took his advice.  Or rather, I listened to his advice and applied bits and pieces of it where I felt I could compromise. 

The doctor had given me some orthotics to wear in my shoes and metatarsal pads to relieve pressure from the ball of my foot.  His strict orders were to: stay off the foot, ice the foot, take Motrin regularly, wear rigid shoes, and keep the foot as immobile as possible.  Then come back in two weeks.

Translation: Don't run for two weeks.

During this two weeks of healing I tried to find other ways to keep active because of a marathon I have hanging over my head in January.  (Whose idea was this?!)  I started swimming with the track girls a couple times a week, and spent a lot more time on my bike.  I started to really enjoy swimming which I thought I never would, and found a nice 10 mile loop on the bike that I can ride on my lunch break.  I stayed optimistic and thought of this as a great way of cross training.  With the exception of my foot, I really had never felt better!  I even went on a challenging mountain bike ride and only tipped over a handful of times.

Two weeks later I walked gingerly back into the podiatrist's office.  He asked how things were going.  Here's how the conversation went:
Me: Well those orthotics are great, I really feel better walking with them.  But I still have just as much pain.  I would say I'm maybe 10% better.  I wanted to be about 80% better by now.  I need to get back to running very soon.
Doc: Only 10%? That's surprising.  And you've been icing it? And taking Motrin?  Keeping the foot immobile?
Me: I definitely didn't run, that I can promise you.  I iced it once and bought a bottle of Motrin but it didn't really hurt except for when I walk so I didn't bother taking any.
Doc: What about keeping the foot immobile, how's that been going?
Me: Yes, definitely.  I've been wearing my stiffest pair of sneakers.  For example, when I went mountain biking last weekend, I wore some stiff trail shoes.  I know what you're thinking, that I shouldn't be pedaling, but really it was not a problem.  I have regular pedals, not clips, so I could just put the pedal in the arch of my foot instead of the ball.  Smart, right?
Doc: You're kind of a psycho, you know that? 

The doctor then spent some time looking at my foot, the wear pattern on my shoes, analyzed the way I stand, and then started poking around the top of my foot.  We kept up a friendly banter while this was taking place, where he lightly scolded me for being a bad patient.  He asked why I work out so much, saying "obviously it's not to look good".  I really didn't know how to respond to that!  Luckily that awkward moment passed quickly when he touched a spot on the top of my foot that made me gasp. 
Doc: That looks like it hurt a lot.  I thought you said it didn't really hurt.
Me: Well it didn't until you just touched it.
Doc: Remember when I asked you how much it hurt on a scale of 1 to 10, and you said 5? You should've said 10.  Just for the record, that's a 10.
With that, he ordered an MRI on the foot to see if it was a fracture or any type of tear.  In the meantime he told me (you guessed it): Rest, ice, Motrin, keep it immobile, and for the love of dirt... no mountain biking! 

The poking around he did really made my foot sore so I took his advice and iced it, and even popped a few Motrin here and there.  I had my MRI on a Saturday night, and Monday morning the doctor's office told me that I had a fractured 3rd metatarsal bone.  I needed to immediately get over to a medical supply place to pick up this sweet walking cast. 

The boot was awkward to walk in but definitely provided a lot of relief to my foot.  That's a good thing because I was headed to a four day horse show and was going to be doing a lot of walking around.  I needed all the help I could get!  The boot didn't keep me from working out though.  I wore it on the bike, and even wore it up to the pool. 

Also during this time I had my annual awards banquet for my running club.  Last year I showed up on crutches and loaded with pain killers after having my hip surgery.  I'm officially turning into "that person" that always has something wrong.  Ugh.

I wore the boot from Monday until the following Wednesday.  Although the boot didn't bother me, it really started making my good foot hurt.  The boot is so much higher off the ground than a sneaker, and it was causing me to put too much stress on my good foot.  And since I need at least one good foot, the boot came off.  Plus, I was starting to feel better.  In fact, I may have texted a couple people that I was nearly ready to run again.

Yesterday I went back to the podiatrist.  I wore my sneakers and was practically almost not really even favoring it at all.  Naturally the doctor wanted to know where my boot was.  I explained why I wasn't wearing it, which of course made him concerned about the other foot.  I said not to worry, I'm starting to feel better and I'm pretty sure I can run soon.

Doc: You aren't ready to run yet.  Your foot is broken.  You can't run until your foot is no longer broken.  We won't know that until we do xrays in a couple weeks.

Me: So you're thinking two more weeks then? 

Doc: We'll talk about it in two weeks.  In the meantime, you need to wear the boot.

Me: I'm not wearing the boot.

Doc: Okay.  Maybe you can return the boot.  Is it still in good condition?

Me: Not really, my buddy dropped a full margarita on it.

Doc (eye roll): Okay, how about crutches.

Me: Absolutely not.

Doc: Okay. Sit tight.  I'll just wrap it up.  You'll like this.

(Doctor proceeds to wrap my foot all up nice and snug with some wrap that has some sort of pasty glue like substance).

Me: Perfect! I like this better.  So I just have to take this on and off?

Doc: Nope. This is a cast.  It doesn't come off.

Me: What?! Well is it waterproof?  I'm going swimming tonight.

Doc: No you're not.  Your foot is broken.  You're benched.  Think of it as a vacation.  You needed a break.  And you got one, bahaha!  (Doctor humor). You're not allowed to move your foot.  Have you been taking your Motrin?

Me: No. Why, do you think I should?

Doc: Do you understand that your foot is broken?

So here's what I'm up against for the next two weeks:  No running, swimming, biking, or any sort of unusual activity.  In two weeks I'll go get xrays (on both my feet), and then I'll meet back up with the doctor to hopefully get the green light to run again. 

One thing that several people mentioned is that stress fractures can happen pretty easily if there's a vitamin D deficiency.  I ran this by my friend Becca, a pharmacist, and she agreed that I should definitely be taking supplements.  She turned me onto Viactiv chocolate flavored chews, which taste way too good to be a vitamin.  So now I start my day off with 2 multi-vitamin gummies and 1 calcium and vitamin D chocolate chew religiously.  See?  Sometimes I really can be a good patient!

Looking past Newport

So it took a little  bit of time to digest everything that's happened over the last week and put it into words.  I had been doing very well running, sticking to my marathon training plan, and was feeling very good about running the Newport half marathon.  In fact, I felt more prepared for that race than probably any other race I've run, and I was quite confident that I would break my personal record.

In the days leading up to Newport I felt good, although some minor aches were popping up.  Nothing was unmanageable, but my hip area was giving me a little bit of trouble.  Other than that, I had some very minor foot soreness but nothing that was slowing me down.  For several days before Newport I took it easy.  My long run that week was only 7 miles, and I did a couple short runs during the week.  On the Friday before Newport I headed out for a very slow, easy 3 mile run and that's when I ran into trouble.  My foot bothered me pretty much from the beginning of the run, which was unusual, and then about 2.5 miles into the run, the pain became extreme.  I thought it was just a weird quirky pain that I could run through, but I couldn't.  Running through the pain wasn't an option.  I knew at that moment, on Friday afternoon, that I was out of commission.  I walked back to my house, discouraged and in disbelief at the rotten timing of this injury, although I thanked my lucky stars that it happened close to home and not a couple miles into a race.  When I got home I packed it in ice and popped a few Motrin, and still hoped it was just a fluke pain that would disappear as quickly as it came.  

Friday night, the track girls all got together for a fun night of pre-race festivities.  Marie invited us all to her house for a pasta dinner and even hired a manicurist to do our nails! 

We had tons of fun hanging out, having a couple drinks and some good food, and swapped stories of running, training, races, and injuries.  We all speculated on what was going on with my foot, and I tried to remain positive.  

Saturday when I climbed out of bed, it was clear that my foot was no better.  It was extremely frustrating, and I was definitely losing hope about running Newport.  Still, I packed a bag full of running clothes and headed down to Newport for the night with Deb and Diana.  I hobbled around the race expo and we picked up our packets, then did a little bit of sight seeing near the water.  I never get sick of sunsets in Newport!!

Deb (who had just run the Hartford Marathon earlier in the day, pacing the 4:30 group) and Diana, running her first half marathon!

After packet pickup we headed over to my friend Michael's house, who lives 20 miles outside of Newport.  We made a nice pasta dinner and had a great time chatting for a couple hours  - while I continued icing my foot in a Hail Mary attempt to cure it - before tucking ourselves in for a decent sleep.

Sunday morning I put my feet on the floor, and the pain was instant and intense.  There was no choice, I wasn't going to be running the race.  I was extremely disappointed and it was hard to hide my feelings!  We headed to the race, which turned into a giant fiasco since the traffic was so jammed trying to get into Newport.  It was so bad, in fact, that they hopped out of the car a couple miles away from the start of the race and walked/ran the rest of the way.  I stayed in the car, finally made it to the parking lot, took a shuttle, and got to the race late (8:05) but the race was late starting so I still saw the runners take off.  I was bummed that I wasn't able to catch up with anyone before the race started, and really questioned what the heck I was even doing there.  The only cool thing was that I was able to spot Jackie and Marie as they passed by me at the starting line.  

Once the runners were all on course, I was struck with the realization that I was going to be spending the next 2+ hours here waiting for everyone to come back.  It was freezing, the wind was whipping at 20+ mph, and in my haste to catch the shuttle I didn't bring a coat or any money.  I sat on a barrier for a few minutes with the wind whipping rain into my face and cried.

When everyone started coming in, I heard many stories of the intense, almost unbearable wind.  Everyone ran well, and almost everyone had PR's!  It was great to see my track girls do so well.  All that hard work over the summer really paid off!

Jackie & Marie both got PR's 

After everyone grabbed a bite to eat we headed out.  Back at the car, Diana had a surprise for us!

These are little "cakettes", and are completely decadent.  Isn't this the coolest thing?  There were 4 different flavors, and we snacked on a few of these on the ride home!

That night I was inconsolable.  I just had to sulk and get it out of my system.  It was the first race I had ever entered and didn't start.  For the afternoon I sulked, and then after I started getting my head together realized I needed to make a plan.  That plan was going to have to get me training for Disney one way or another.  If I couldn't do it by running, I was going to have to find another way.  So, in came the bike!

The great thing about having such strong running friends is that they understand my disappointment, and are genuinely just as concerned about my foot as I am.  On Tuesday Marie called and invited me to go swimming with her.  I hate swimming.  I'm terrible at swimming and I avoid water whenever possible.  I've heard of all the amazing benefits of swimming and how it's great cross training for runners, but it kind of freaks me out so I avoid it.  This, I realized, is exactly what I need.  So I popped over to Sports Authority, got myself a swimsuit, cap, and goggles, and prepared for aqua battle!  

Looking a little Smurfy

Marie, Coleen and I ended up having a really good time swimming and it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected.  I did manage to nearly choke to death right when we started but after that I was okay.  I quickly realized that I have no fitness when it comes to swimming, so I had to take constant breaks to catch my breath.  This is probably exactly why I never wanted to swim before, because it seemed so hard.  Coleen insisted that it's just like running, and that over time you can build up speed, distance, and work on form.  It was a great introduction to swimming and I'm proud to say I went back tonight by myself and did pretty well!

In the meantime, I went to the podiatrist yesterday to get to the bottom of my foot problem.  I wasn't thoroughly impressed with the doctor, but I think he's got me going in the right direction.  He's calling this injury joint capsulitis.  The treatment is roughly 4 weeks of no running, keeping the foot immobile (no flexing), ice, Motrin, orthotics, and metartarsal pads under my foot to relieve pressure.  I have a follow up appointment in two weeks, and if by then there's no improvement then we'll probably do an x-ray or MRI.

I'm being surprisingly mature about this injury, diagnosis, and treatment.  I'm not yet worried about Disney, provided that I can get back to running in a few weeks.  This is certainly not ideal, but I'm planning on doing a fair amount of swimming and biking to keep the cardio and leg strength.  I'm looking at this as an opportunity to force myself into more cross-training, which I've never been great at.  And even though I'm bummed about not running, all this free time means time to do a lot more of this...

  
Some of this...

...and of course a bit more of this...

So I'm not too worried about having down time over the next 4 weeks!

Oh, the Humanity!

Last night I had to do the unthinkable.  I had to do my long run all alone.  I've gotten spoiled rotten by running with a group of friends every week, so the thought of running for a couple hours all by myself seemed like such a drag.  Not to mention that I was already pretty tired from spending the day riding in a horse competition, and pretty demoralized from watching the Patriots lose.  If we're being honest, all I wanted to do was open a beer and sack out in the recliner.  I thought about taking the day off and moving the long run to today, but since I'm only technically on Week 2 of marathon training, it seemed a little early to be wimping out. 

Reluctantly I threw the cat off me, got dressed, and made a last minute decision to bring an iPod.  I haven't run with an iPod in years, but I figured I might need a little extra motivation since I didn't have anyone to talk to.  Up the steep hill I went, holding the iPod while I struggled to keep the ear buds stuffed into my ears.  Every once in a while I would swing my arm a little too much and yank one back out.  A half mile into the run I remembered how much I hated iPods and thought about stashing it on the side of the road, but tried to stick it out a little longer.

Less than a mile into the run I realized it was going to be one of "those days".  As I was approaching a driveway on my street, a car backed out onto the street without even looking.  Now I'm not one to think that it's "all about me", but if my toes are already in the driveway, it's probably worth letting me pass.  A short time later, not one but several cars veered so close to me I had to jump into a lawn to avoid losing my knees.  And then there were the classic "I don't think runners should run in the road when there's a sidewalk" drivers that wouldn't move over at all even though no cars were coming towards them, just to send a message.  Finally as I was approaching the parking lot exit of a school, a car came up behind me and turned left into the exit, cutting me off in the process.  Arm motions were made and I distinctly remember calling him a "stupid blah-bitty-blah!"  The joke was on him though because he then drove around and caught me again as he was trying to exit through the entrance, where I suddenly felt the need to run reeeaallly slowwww so he had to wait for me.  After this encounter I broke into my "I hate people" mood and started getting pretty aggravated.  In my country towns it's unusual to run into such a string of angry drivers, so I'm going to chaulk this up to the Patriots loss.  I'll make a note of that in the future so I don't schedule runs immediately following football games.

Shortly after passing the school, I reached the breaking point of the iPod.  I absolutely hated having music directly streaming into my ear drums and the cords felt constricting.  I stopped on the side of the road, in an area I call the "creepy section".  My friends know where I mean.  It's a road where there are virtually no houses and it gives off a major creep factor.  While keeping an eye out for kidnappers, I stuffed the iPod into my fuel belt and got a good gulp of water.  Just as I was getting ready to go again, a woman on a bicycle passed by, asking if I was okay.  I said I was fine, thanks, and thought to myself, what a nice lady!  I bet she didn't watch the Patriots game.  I started down the road again and order was restored.  My head felt better without the music invading it, and I just let loose.  It was one of those runs where I felt like I switched bodies with a good runner.  I busted a move for miles, and aside from the occasional crack of body parts slapping together or knees cracking, it was a very peaceful run.  Every time I checked my watch I found myself going even faster than the last mile.  I don't really know what got into me and I know I was supposed to be doing a long slow run, but I felt good so I just went with it. 

Something tells me that my body language showed the way I felt.  I can't help but feel that the dog walkers and bicyclists I passed gave me a more enthusiastic wave, and one lady walking two dogs actually clapped and said, "great job!"  Okay that was actually a little weird.

I barreled towards the finish of my route, which was going to end at a trail and then I was going to walk the trail back for a cool down.  I got to the trail and stopped, checked my watch, and realized the route was a little shorter than I wanted.  So I took a few sips of water, regrouped, and just as I was starting to run again I saw a woman on a bicycle coming.  No, it's not possibly the same lady that passed me four miles ago.  Yes, yes it was.  I made sure I looked strong and in need of no assistance as she passed me, and she gave me a big smile and thumbs up.  I can't help but wonder what she was thinking as she saw me again.  Why is that lady always standing on the side of the road?  How did she get here so fast if she's always just standing on the side of the road?  I chuckled and continued on. 

The last 1.5 miles of the run I did through the woods and just did a slow cooldown jog.  This too is a creepy area because at 6:30 at night it was getting dark and I didn't want to spend any more time in the woods than necessary.  About a half mile from my house I spotted two questionable looking men loitering in the trail.  Covered in tattoos and moving slowly, they were enough to make my skin crawl.  I kept calm, heading towards them but thinking of ways around them and preparing myself for the possibility that I may need to do some sprinting in the next 30 seconds.  (Finally, a practical application for track workouts!)  When they heard me coming they turned around and motioned for me to stop.  I slowed, weighing my options, and they yelled out that there was a giant bee's nest up ahead and I should stay away from it.  I stopped and chatted with them for a few minutes, checking out (but keeping a very safe distance from) the bee's nest.  Turns out they were looking for a pair of sunglasses that they had lost a couple hours earlier when they were being attacked by the bees.  I felt a little foolish for thinking the worst of them, and grateful that they warned me about the bees.  I started getting really cold really fast so I left them to look for the glasses and I ran the rest of the way home. 

So, all in all a great run.  I lost faith in humanity after repeated near-roadkill episodes, but faith was restored with my bicycle angel, my cheering spectators, and the beekeepers!

Breaking all kinds of track records!

Throughout the last few months I've been attending my club's weekly track sessions.  If you recall in my first track session ever back in May, I had committed to going every week in hopes of seeing speed and fitness improvements.  There have definitely been up's and down's from week to week, and sometimes even just within the hour.  For the most part I think I've been improving, although sometimes it's hard to judge because the workouts seem to keep getting harder.  Last week I hit a new "Jill world record" by completing a 400 meter run in 1:35!  After that high, I sunk to a new low by walking part of the 600 and then cutting the 800's into 400's.  I had all the characteristics of a failing Red Sox season.

One aspect of track that's been a steady "up" is the friendships I've built with the "track girls".  They've been so motivational to me, have pulled me along through some tough intervals, and we get to chit chat during the recoveries.  This camaraderie has spilled over into our weekends, where we've been getting together for early morning long runs!



Kerri, Julia, Marie, Coleen, Jackie and I heading out for a 12 miler

Over the last week I've reassessed my track strategy and decided that I really need to run my own pace, not get pulled into the faster paces, and not start off too fast.  I wanted to complete the workout, no matter what.  Even if that meant running a little slow.  So that's the approach I was ready to take last night.

On my long drive home from work last night I felt a headache coming on, and by the time I got home it was pounding.  I quickly changed into running clothes, downed a couple of Motrin, and headed out to track.  I can't say I was really looking forward to the workout, but I was looking forward to the peacefulness of the track.  When I got to track and hopped out of the car, I heard a repetitive drumming noise.  Oh HELL no, it couldn't be... As I got closer to the track, my fear was confirmed.  The entire Milford High School marching band was practicing on the infield of the track.  The drum beat was in sync with the pounding in my head, so I was thankful that our warm up mile was off the track.

Our coach Rich wasn't there last night so Jay was in charge, enforcing the workout that Rich had created.  I announced that I wouldn't be attaining any "Jill world records" tonight, and that I was running slower so that I could finish the workout this time.  With overwhelming understanding and compassion, Jay jokingly responded, "Interesting strategy, I don't think it will be very beneficial".  We can joke around before and after the workout, but on the track he is all business and no amount of our whining could elicit any sympathy from him.  

The workout Rich created (and was conveniently absent for) was 400, 800, 800, 800, 800, 400.  The first 400 was fairly painless, all of us holding back considerably knowing what we had ahead of us.  My time was 1:41, and I was okay with that.  We settled into the 800's and that's where it started to hurt.  Jackie and Coleen surged ahead and I tucked in behind Paul, which proved to be a good strategy for the rest of the workout.  The first 800 was a 3:44, and Jay told me to get a 3:42 next time.  As if I have any idea how to "make that happen".  I have zero sense of pace.  I run as well as I can, and hope it's a respectable time when I cross the finish.  The second 800 was a little screwy because Paul confused me by staying behind me.  I think he was trying to conserve energy and it really made me wonder if I was going out too fast.  We finished that one in 3:39, and I was shocked that I went a full five seconds faster.  The third 800 we resumed the Paul-Jill order, an again we shaved another five seconds off and finished in 3:34 (a new Jill world record!).  At this point I felt like I was unraveling a bit.  I was dying for this last 800 to be over.  I may have mentioned that at the start line.  Jay may have responded with, "this is the last one, so you have to push harder this time".  If I could have formed words at that moment I may have given him a piece of my mind, but instead he said "Go!" and we went!  Once again Jackie and Coleen surged ahead and I tried to stick with Paul, but he started pulling away after 600 meters.  In the final stretch I closed in on him and felt a terrible queasiness in my stomach.  Don't think about it, just run.  Push.  Do it.  Don't suck.  As we barreled down the straightaway I amused myself by noting the band practicing on the infield, playing some motivating music.  While my legs churned I observed the darkness settling in around the track, the perfect orange lanes illuminated with ultra-strong lights on the field.  I felt athletic.  I felt like a bona-fide athlete under the bright lights, with the band playing just for me.  I pushed through the nausea and about ten feet before I crossed the finish line, I watched Coleen veer into the infield, double over, and hurl blue Gatorade all over the field.  In a feat of impressive multi-tasking, I started gagging but managed to cross the finish line, press the lap button on the Garmin, veer off to the outside of the track, brace against the chain link fence, and hurl my own water all over the grass.  I remained doubled over for about 20 or so seconds until I felt somewhat sure I was done, and looked up to see Coleen and Jackie checking on me.  I laughed and gave them a thumbs up, and trotted up to them.  The whole throwing up thing was completely overshadowed by the fact that my finishing time was 3:31!!  Totally shattering the previous Jill world record!  We jogged about 3/4 around the track for our recovery, and then started walking in the straightaway.  It was at that moment that I remembered that all 75 members of the marching band (playing just for me, the amazing track star) were faced in our direction, most likely perplexed and disturbed by the old ladies that just threw up all over their brand new track in front of them.  As we started giggling about that, we spotted Jay at the start line, throwing his arms up in a "what the hell are you guys doing" motion.  We yelled to him that we both just threw up.  His sympathetic response was, "So?  You're not throwing up right now! Move it!"  We grumbled, and I announced that this final 400 was going to be untimed for me.  I was cooked.  Coleen responded, "C'mon, it's just one more.  You can do it!".  So, we lined up and took off.  (Wisely I opted not to drink before this last interval).  In the first turn Coleen blew past us and Jackie said, "She's going to make herself puke again.  Oh it's going to happen".  We laughed and finished strong, and as I was approaching the finish line I again spotted Coleen hurling onto the grass.  I stopped my watch and blew past the finish line, trying to avoid my own repeat performance.  I was excited to see my final 400 was a 1:35, tying the Jill world record from last week!  What a strong way to finish!

We all met back up on the track and then headed out for our cool down mile.  In an effort to display a zero-mercy policy, Jay took us on an extended cool down, up a big hill and through a neighborhood.  Despite all the puking, somehow we all managed to have a great time and shared some good laughs.  

As for the puking, for me it was a proud moment!  It wasn't the result of a bad meal, one beer too many, or anxiety.  It was the outcome of giving everything I had in a sport that I love.  When I hopped back into my car to head home, headache gone, stomach still unsettled, the first thing I did was text someone who would understand: Scott!  The text said simply, "I did it!! I puked at track!!"  His response was, "that's awesome, congrats!  That's a rite of passage!".  He gets it!  And while I'm proud of this bizarre accomplishment, it's a record that I'm hoping I don't get in the habit of breaking.

*Everything I said about Jay was only half true.