I've been slacking, sorry. Here is a report of my last week:
I ran a 5-k on Tuesday that resulted in some aching in my left knee. On Wednesday I started feeling a little under the weather and by Friday I was genuinely sick. My boss made me take a sick day because she was worried I would get everyone else sick. The half marathon was in the town where my parents live in Florida. I wasn't sure if I was going to do it or not (all things considered) but I already had the flight down there so I figured I would at least enjoy spending time with my parents. My flight left Birmingham at 5:30 AM, which meant a 3:30 AM wake up. Rob, being the sweet boy he is, got up and drove me to the airport. I felt awful for most of the day on Saturday and any sane person would have skipped the half. Buuuut...I didn't.
I woke up at 6:00 and had a bagel with peanut butter and a banana. The race start was only .7 miles away from my parent's house, so I walked over for my warm up and got there at 7:15ish. It was 60 degrees and foggy when I left the house, and by the time the race finished it was 75 degrees, sunny and beautiful! A high school friend of mine had agreed to run it with me, even though he wasn't a "runner" (he is now--yay!) I think having someone to run with made all the difference in this race. We hadn't seen each other in years, so we had a lot to talk about which helped to distract me from how miserable I was feeling :)
The course was actually pretty fun for me because it was very nostalgic. Most of it ran through a small state park on the north end of the island, where I had spent a lot of time in high school, brooding. It was also very flat--I would be surprised if the elevation change was more than 30 feet, and even that would be due to a bridge crossing. There was one small section where it ran through some historic neighborhoods, which don't yet have paved roads so we ran on sand. I had some GU at miles 4, 8 and 10, and water/gatorade at every opportunity (there weren't many--it was sort of a low-budget operation).
I felt pretty good for the first 9 miles, but after that it was a struggle to get to the finish. My RIGHT knee starting aching (all problems until now have been in the left) and I just haven't been doing enough running lately--I hadn't run more than 5 miles at a time in a month! But, we pushed through and made it to the finish. My dad was waiting for me at the finish, using his iPad to take a picture (THAT was a sight.) I was really glad he made it down to the finish, it was nice having him there to congratulate me at the end. I will admit, I felt pretty darn good afterward. Here is said picture:
I know it looks like it says 2:13:xx, but it's really 2:33:xx.
After the race, my right hip was popping and my right knee was aching (both new ailments). All seems to be better today, I only have sore muscles and the left knee feels totally normal (HURRAH!) I have nixed the February marathon in Birmingham, and am aiming for the Seattle Rock n' Roll marathon on June 22. One of Rob's groomsmen, Brian, is running that one and it will be his first marathon as well, so we are going to do it together. On Thursday I will be going to have a gait analysis done by my PT, and maybe try to make some minor adjustments in my stride to help minimize injury. If all goes well, I'll start training for Seattle in early March, and between now and then just keep a base of 20-25 miles per week...and maybe do a few other small races and half marathons when the opportunity arises :)
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