I ran a 5K

So.

I gave into temptation on Saturday and ran the 5K I had registered for way back when.  I adjusted my expectations for the race.  I originally signed up for this when I was healthy and fast.  The winner of this race gets $500 and my original goal was to win it.

I did not win the race.  I came in 4th.  I probably could have came in second, if I had been a lot smarter throughout the race.

My time was 20:38.  Not my worst 5K, but far from my 18:53 earlier this year!

Now for the the details.

All last week I struggled with the decision to run this race or not.  Friday night Nate asked me if I was going to run it and after that conversation, I thought I might as well try it since I had signed up.  We also made plans to do some things in the area, which is about an hour drive from our house, so it wouldn't feel like a total wash.

Saturday morning we were up at 6 and had to leave no later than 6:30 - and 6:30 was going to be pushing it for time.  The race started at 8 AM but you had to take a shuttle to the start.  I was pretty excited to be opening my running clothes drawers for the first time in a month.  We scrambled to get out to the car and on the road.  The kids had Picky Bars for breakfast.  As I said on my Instagram - #BestMomEver.

We had to negotiate some construction but made it to the parking.  The race material said that packet pickup would be offered in the parking area.  There was no packet pick up to be found.  Then I started getting nervous that I was going to miss the race.  Thankfully someone else mentioned that they had moved packet pick up to the start area.  We boarded the school bus to the start - my kids were PUMPED to be able to ride a school bus.

We arrived at the start area, I got my packet and headed straight to a porta potty.  At this point, it was 7:45.  I had decided that I was not going to do a warm up because I had no idea how my foot would feel and I didn't really want to run any more miles than the race.

I headed into the starting corral and the gun went off.   You can't teach an old dog new tricks.  I of course started way too fast and ended up in the lead group of women.  After running some initial steps on road, we veered into some groomed paths through the woods.  Full of tree roots and uneven ground.  I cursed myself for doing this - not exactly the topography one would want with a foot injury.   I tried to pay attention to the ground so that I wouldn't stumble.  My first mile was 6:06.

Well that should have been a sign to adjust my pace, but I tried to stay with the lead woman because I am competitive and dumb.   I was totally struggling - not with my foot but my legs and breathing were heavy.  Our second mile was around 6:30.   So far this was not that far off of my most recent 5K pacing...that I ran, while training.

Then came the 3rd mile.  I sorta kinda gave up.  I was hot and my legs were tired and even though I wore my "Never Give Up" Momentum Jewelry bracelet.  I stopped to gather my breath.  We approached a hill with about 0.4 miles left and I walked up it some.  Two women passed me.  I didn't care.  I got out of my funk enough to start running again and crossed the finish line.  20:38.  My 3rd mile was something like 7:25.   The female winner ran it in 19:51.

I was really happy my foot did not hurt at any point during the race.  My pride hurt a little, but that was my own damn fault for not adjusting my pace appropriately.

I ended up first in my age group.  Woohoo.  Not sure if there was an award, because we left quickly after to get going on other events for the day.

Two days later my foot feels fine in regard to the stress injury.  The arches of both of my feet are sore though which builds evidence that I need to get new shoes.  My current shoes are a version of the Adidas Boost.  I trained for Boston in a pair of these and got a second pair right before the marathon.  The second pair has some differences from the first pair and doesn't fit me in the same way.  I have tried to ignore these but I think the time has come to just move these to a secondary pair of running shoes and not my main pair.  Even with the SmartFeet inserts, I don't think they are cutting it.

Doctor appointment tomorrow!

Friday Links!

Woot Woot! It's the weekend! Time for some links.

These articles provided some reassurance for me: You can run fast as you age, and you can come back from injury.
http://www.flotrack.org/article/43608-from-injury-to-olympic-team-in-10-weeks-colleen-quigley-s-path-to-trials

http://www.runnersworld.com/masters/the-doctor-is-in-shape?cid=soc_Runner%27s%20World%20-%20RunnersWorld_FBPAGE_Runner%E2%80%99s%20World__Motivation

This article doesn't exactly provide any new info on Desi, but I love her so sharing it here.
http://www.si.com/edge/2016/07/14/behind-body-desiree-linden-marathon-training-workouts-rio-olympics

The $1600 marathon.  Man, after Boston, that's nothing!  Running gets billed as a "cheap" sport.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/07/15/the-1600-marathon/

Run Mama Run.  A series of videos on Sarah Brown's journey to the Olympics 4 months after giving birth.
http://espn.go.com/espnw/culture/film-video-series/film-fellowship/

Brenda Martinez!
http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/brenda-martinezs-emotional-week-olympic-trials-ends-triumph

Update. More of the Same.

Ho Hum.

More of the same.

No running.

The good news is that my doctor appointment is less than a week away!  Tuesday at 9:15.  5 more days!!!

More good news is that I have no pain or soreness in my foot walking around as normal.  I haven't worn the boot in over a week.  My boot-induced shin bruise is healing nicely.  I no longer have sore hips and legs at the end of the day from the boot.

...Thus I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO tempted to do the 5k race on Saturday.

I am a little sad to think of how much fitness I have lost since June 15.  A month.  Gulp.

I am a little sad to think of how much habit I have lost.  I worked very hard to instill the 4 days a week running habit among working full-time and having two little kids.  It became second nature to head out for a run on my run days.   I am hopeful that it won't be too big of a challenge to get back to that.

...And I am feeling a little recharged after a month off.

My wallet is a little thinner than a month ago.  Those who can't run apparently buy running-related products.

I am hopeful that outside of this Saturday, my race schedule for the rest of the year can remain unchanged:

July 28:  5K Race for the Bacon with Oiselle WI crew
Sept 17: 8K for Children's Hospital of WI
Nov 6: Milwaukee Running Festival Half-Marathon

I think I have to give up PRing again in the 5k.  Let that go.  That is hard for me as I really wanted to get closer to 18:00 in 2016.  Focus on the process, right??

Ok.  That's all of my random thoughts for now.  Back to work.

Friday Links

I have enjoyed watching Track and Field trials over the past week with the hubs - running vicariously through my tv :) Last night he commented, "It's crazy that one race is what decides the Olympic fate even if others ran faster times at a different race."  That's the beauty of Track and Field!  All of these links are related to the Trials.

"I'm Mother F-ing Fast Kate" 
Seriously have the biggest crush on Kate Grace.
http://trackandfieldnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2980
http://www.oiselle.com/blog/new-olympian-kate-grace-going-rio
Here are her race affirmations she posted on Twitter (@fastk8)

I'm also a huge fan of Steeplechase.  This article does a nice job explaning the history, the pain and the glory that is steeplechase
http://www.runnersworld.com/steeplechase/americas-top-olympic-hopefuls-in-the-steeplechase
Even if they didn't hold hands, I love this photo:
http://www.runnersworld.com/olympic-trials/did-these-olympic-trials-steeplechasers-grab-hands-midrace

GREAT story with a terrible headline.  If I ever qualified for an Olympic Trials, I would not want headlines referring to me "crashing" the trials.
http://www.runnersworld.com/olympic-trials/meet-the-mustachioed-beer-drinking-hero-who-crashed-the-trials-10k

I'll be cheering for Kellyn Taylor in the 5000m final!
http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/07/07/kellyn-taylors-olympic-hopes-still-alive-after-2-misses/86832418/

2017 Boston Marathon - Am I In?

Today the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) announced the registration dates and times for the 2017 Boston Marathon.  Fastest of the fast (20 mins+ faster than qualifying time) register on Monday September 12 at 10 AM EST.

My time was 3:31:49 so that would put me in the group that met their qualifying standard by 5 minutes or more that can register on Friday September 17.  I think 8:11 puts me in a safe distance of getting in, particularly since Boston 2016 was a tough race to requalify.  (This is a great blog which is attempting to analyze the time you need to beat to get into Boston 2017.  Currently it is 1 second off of qualifying standard.  Hello HOT spring races!)

I think i was at mile 20 of Boston 2016 (I would have to check with my pal @bx2fitgirl) when we both uttered "NEVER AGAIN" (potentially with a few f-bombs).

One should never trust thoughts or words uttered at mile 20 of a marathon.  AMIRIGHT?! (I went SEVEN YEARS without running a marathon after saying "I AM NEVER RUNNING ANOTHER MARATHON" mid race during Lakefront Marathon 2008.)

A growing part of me wants to return to Boston for a 3rd time.  I don't know that the reasons for this are healthy:  They totally stem from a place of unfinished business.

Another part of me is like "UGH.  Another WI winter spent marathon training."

A third part of me think my husband might divorce me if I utter "marathon training" again.  (Ok, a little dramatic...)

What to do, what to do.

I guess I have 73 days to decide.

This thing needs a new name

I just realized that my blog name and header are a little out of date.

I initially started this blog to keep myself accountable to a goal I had post-second baby:  Qualify for the 2016 Boston Marathon.

Once I qualified, I kept up with the posting and tweaked the header to include "Qualifying and TRAINING FOR the 2016 Boston Marathon".

I qualified, I trained and I ran the 2016 Boston Marathon.

Blog's Mission: Complete.

However, I still like blogging about running, so I have kept it up post-marathon.  And I've yet to decide if 2017 Boston Marathon will be in my future (my time from 2016, even though it was a huge disappointment for me, still met qualifying time for 2017).

In the mean time, I need a new header.  My blog address:  http://www.roadbacktoboston.blogspot.com will stay the same.  I have changed blogs a number of times in the past and it just doesn't seem necessary since the five or so readers I have know where to find me :) (THANK YOU READERS!)

What will the new name be? I have to think of something!

Stay Tuned...and send me your suggestions!

#BootLife

I AM SO SICK OF THIS BOOT.

I feel like the boot is giving me more injuries than the initial foot injury.  First there is the height differential.  I was advised to wear a wedge on my right foot to ensure that both of my hips were aligned since the boot gives about 2" of height to my left leg.  Fortunately, two pairs of my work shoes fit the bill perfectly so during the week, it is mostly good.  However, depending on how much I have to walk during the day, my thighs, calves and hips can be quite sore by the end of the day.   Additionally, the boot rubs on my heel and my shin so those feel quite beat up by the day's end. Usually upon getting home from work, I take the boot off and walk around my house barefoot.  The good news is that lately it hasn't been painful at all to do this.

This past Friday and Saturday nights, I went to Summerfest.  Cue: LOTS of walking.  After Friday night, my legs were so sore from that damn boot.  Metatarsal felt fine but everything else hurt. I ended up not wearing the boot at all on Saturday during the day (we were just hanging at home all day) and when it came time to get dressed for the concert I was attending, I cut off the toe of a sock to provide some protection to my heel from the rubbing.  The sock worked well but my shin was not happy with all of that rubbing.

Sunday and Monday were spent at my in-law's lake home.  I made the decision to give myself a break from the boot since I wasn't going to be walking that much anyways.  I made it through both days without limping or feeling pain.  My foot felt a little sore at the day's end but it wasn't painful.  (Full disclosure, I did do one pass at wakeboarding.  I rationalized this by saying that the bindings on the wakeboard were just like my boot's binding.   The wakeboarding did not hurt my legs/feet.  My neck and upper back, however are killing me.  My husband also did one pass on the lake and is feeling it in the same areas.  Gone are the days of wakeboarding all weekend.  #GettingOld)

I am back in the boot today at work and once again, am wondering if I am giving myself a bunch of other injuries by protecting my second metatarsal.

Today is my 12th day in the boot (10th if you do not count this past Sunday and Monday).  Tomorrow will be 3 full weeks of not running (I'm not counting the mile I ran/walked on Father's Day).

Based on all of the above, I did what every one would do:

I Googled.

Somewhere in between the land of "I took 2 weeks off and I was fine" and "It took me 8 months to fully recover" I realized that Googling was a dumb thing for me to do.

So I suppose I will not run.  But I may take more days off from the boot.

I fully realize that I skipped Friday Links last week.  Chalk it up to getting excited about a long holiday weekend!