What You Get for Waking up in Vegas

I registered Jake and myself to run the Rock n Roll Vegas half marathon months ago- on opening day, in fact. It was supposed to be my "A" race, my sub 2 attempt if it hadn't happened yet. But with my stress fracture, my hopes switched to "maybe I'll get to run and not have to walk." I was cleared to run a couple weeks ago but only ran once prior to arriving in Vegas. It was Jake's first half marathon and he wasn't feeling particularly strong about his training (longest long run was 9 miles and that was in October), so I promised to run with him. I secretly hoped to pace us to sub 2:30, but surely at least 2:45.

We went to the expo on Saturday, as soon as we put our stuff in the room and Jake placed some sports bets. The expo was packed. We stood in long lines twice- once to buy RnR merchandise (bought a tee very similar to the race tee but since they wouldn't swap the women's small I signed up for with a larger size, I'll be giving it to my 5 year old who it may fit) and again for a longsleeve race shirt for Jake since all he had at home was short sleeves. The highlight was meeting Dimity and SBS, the authors of my favorite running book- Run Like a Mother. I brought my copy and they signed it. Both were very friendly and sweet to talk to me for a few minutes.

We stayed at Mandalay Bay, which is where the race started and ended. That appears to have been a majorly good decision. I've read some stories of people taking hours to get back to their hotels last night. It still probably took us 30 minutes. The hotel, and really entire strip, was incredibly crowded all weekend. We left our hotel room and headed down to the corrals around 4:50 for the 5:30 start. I was originally assigned to corral 6 with my sub-2 predicted time. Wow!!! We moved back to 24, for the 2:30 finish. It was chaotic trying to get into the corrals. They were too small for the number of runners. The race started right on time but I think they only did the waved start for a few corrals- by the time we really started moving toward the start, we walked right to the line and started running. I think that was the beginning of the end. I've run some big races and this was my 3rd RnR half. I expect it to be crowded for a mile or so. It never really thinned out. I fell somewhere in mile 2 but thankfully wasn't injured or trampled, then injured! The marathoners ran their first half off the strip, starting 90 minutes before the half. I felt awful for them as they joined the halfers on the strip. There were cones to separate the race distances but there were so many halfers and it was so crowded with half walkers, that half runners were moving over to the marathon lane to have running space. Marathoners were faster but had nowhere to go.

Jake and I planned to take 1 minute walk breaks at each mile, plus walk the water stations. We didn't walk until mile 4. By that time we were turning off the strip and had a little more space to spread out. That was about the only time I was thankful to have so many people around me. Scary part of town. Jake started struggling around mile 8 so we took longer walk breaks. By mile 10, we walked at every half mile. It was nice to get back on the strip headed south, and even better when we could see Mandalay Bay. I didn't feel strong by any means, but the walk breaks hurt more than helped. My hips were so tight that the first few steps of running were painful. Other than that, no groin pain from my fracture. I was really worried about Jake for the last 5k. He said he was ok but he didn't look ok. I was worried he wouldn't tell me if he felt like stopping. At one point I kinda joked about not raising the life insurance before the trip so he couldn't die. We ran the last .6+ mile in. We got our medals, space blankets (just in time because it started sprinkling and the cold/wind set in on bodies quickly), and I got some water and a bagel. Jake was getting sick, so we got back to our hotel room as quickly as possible. I ordered room service within 5 minutes of arriving in our room and it still took 2 hours to get. By then Jake was feeling better and managed to eat/drink. Today he says he feels 75% better than last night. I have the expected soreness, especially for my lack of physical activity since September.

Jake says he crossed 2 things off his bucket list last night:
1) half marathon- done
2) full marathon- no desire whatsoever

I don't know what my plan is. I thought I'd make RnR Dallas my comeback/sub-2 half. I'm seriously rethinking that. This RnR race was so poorly executed that I can't get excited about doing another. St. Louis RnR was great. Dallas last year was fine. I just have to think there are half marathons in the Dallas area that are perhaps smaller, but much better organized. And likely cheaper. I wouldn't do Vegas again. Running down the strip at night sounded amazing, but with 44,000 people you couldn't look up to enjoy the sights or you'd trip over somebody. I read that they want to have 60,000 do it next year. That's so incredibly stupid when a race of 44,000 was so messy.

Our unofficial time was 2:57

Rock n Roll St. Louis Half Marathon Race Recap

Before the race

Sign I've seen many times and always love

Before the race, as my corral approached the starting line

Taken during the race- LOVE THIS!!!

Race morning started with a 5:30am wake up. I had my usual pre-race meal of Diet Dr. Pepper and a Honey Stinger Waffle on my way to the race. We were there in plenty of time to hit porta potties. Twice. One of which I got really lucky because the door was stuck in the locked position so nobody had used it. A guy standing in line yanked it open so only the dude before me used it before it was my turn. Score! Hate stinky porta potties but it's a necessary evil at races. I walked all the way up to corral 5, where I should have started if I was going for my planned sub-2. It was so close to the front. Scary! But instead, I decided to start in corral 21, with an estimated finish time of 2:50-3:00. With my bib I could have started pretty much anywhere, but I decided that it might kill my morale to be passed the entire race. I was really happy with my corral selection. They did a really good job of letting the corrals go every couple of minutes. It was warmer than I'd expected it to be- about 58 degrees at the race start- which made it not too miserable waiting to get started. I didn't take any throw away clothes, but I used some hand warmers and tucked my hands inside my long sleeves for a few miles since my hands get cold so easily. It was tough to not run across the starting line and I almost teared up. At that moment I promised myself I could run across the finish line if I wasn't in terrible pain after the next 13 miles. There were a few other walkers who I saw at the beginning, including one lady carrying a cane. Lots of people were using a run-walk-run strategy, so it didn't take long for me to start passing people and I kept that up the entire race. There were some beautiful areas on the course. I carried my camera, but the photos just don't do it justice. I was also hoping they'd capture the elevation, but they don't. I wouldn't say it was a hilly course as in lots of ups and downs. It was more of a long slow (sometimes several miles) uphill and not much downhill. St. Louis had some great spectators. There were tons of people watching throughout the course. Jake ran from the starting line and met me around mile 5 (he ran a more direct route- not the winding race course). I was ahead of my schedule at that point. He jogged alongside me (I really was walking fast!) for a little while before turning back so he could be at the finish line for me. Half and full marathoners shared the course until about mile 8 when the course split. At our mile 9, the marathoners re-joined, but running on the other side of the median. It was neat to see the really fast marathoners pass. I saw a couple women, including the female winner, I just didn't realize it at the time. My hip really didn't hurt during the race. Everything hurt by the last mile. I'd been doing the math all along to figure out what time I might be able to finish at. I knew I was ahead of my goal pace and I hadn't done any math below that sub-3 mark. I knew I was close to being under 2:45 but I just couldn't keep my pace up for the last 2 miles. I ran the last 20 or so yards to and across the finish line. It felt *SO* good! I thought I stopped my watch but apparently I didn't, so I had to wait until they posted official results to find out my time. I got my medal, picked up some water and snacks in the finisher's area, and went to get my beer. It was kind of nice to not feel like hell after a race. I enjoyed my beer and was starving- I usually don't feel like eating for hours after a race!

My official time was 2:46:02, making my average pace 12:40 (which is 4.73 mph if we're talking treadmill). That's actually my 2nd fastest half marathon (not huge given the fact that my last 2 were so awful), but my 2nd fastest nonetheless. And with a fracture in my pelvis... can't forget that.

Rock n Roll St. Louis Plan

I've had a good few days as far as hip pain. It hurts very little, if at all, during the day. At night, laying in bed, is when it bothers me the most. Work days are a little tough because I'm up and down so much, I guess. I'm optimistically thinking I can walk the half marathon and turn in a time not much slower than my past two half marathons in which I actually ran. It will depend on how comfortably I can walk. If I'm really hurting, I won't push to finish this race. It's obviously not the race I hoped it would be, but if I'm not hurting, I can't turn off my competitive drive. I still want to do my best.

"Goal" A: 2:59:59 (break 3 hours... *only* 1 hour slower than my original goal for this race)
pace 13:44
4.37 mph

"Goal" B: 3:02:22 (beat my slowest half marathon time- Hottest Half this past August)
pace 13:55
4.31 mph

"Goal" C: 3:14:59 (break 3:15, which really seems pretty do-able)
pace 14:53
4.03 mph

At least I won't need walk breaks, LOL. =)

I've started stalking the weather and thinking about what I'll wear on race day. It looks awfully perfect for a race. Old habits die hard. 

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The good: My hip isn't broken.
The bad: My superior pubic ramus is.
The ugly: I can't run for 6 pain-free (which ironically might be emotionally painful) weeks.

Things I am thankful for:

The stress fracture is NOT surgical and will not get worse and become surgical. My doctor told me that when I left his office last week, he felt like it was a stress fracture of the femoral head. That can be surgical. Like, pins and a rod down my femur, surgical. Thank God for that not being the case.

I am allowed to walk, swim, bike, use the elliptical trainer, strength train, and do yoga. I can do anything but high impact activity... like run.

My bone density and everything is fine. This is a stress fracture caused by running, although Jake has already joked once that he caused the fracture. =)

I can walk. I can walk 13.1 miles. The course limit for my half marathon in St. Louis is 4 hours. That's over an 18 minute mile. I will take my camera and take pictures along the course. I will make friends with the people around me on the course. I will wear my finisher's medal proudly. 

I'll have another x-ray in 5 weeks and if all goes well I can run Vegas.

I will take care of myself. It's much more important to me that I be able to run for as long as I want for the rest of my life than the next 5 weeks.

It's Been a Long Time

Blogging about running is all unicorns and rainbows when training/running is going well. I haven't seen a rainbow in a long time. I finished another half marathon on September 25th. It was grueling. I ran very little the couple of weeks before that race, trying to rest my left hip/leg. I felt good on race day, ran the first 2 miles with the sub-2 pacer, and then the pain in my hip started. I slowed my pace at first. When that didn't help, I took a very short walk break every half mile. By mile 6 or so, those walk breaks weren't very short anymore. By mile 9 I was walking my half marathon. The pain was excruciating and I wanted badly for somebody to ask me if I needed a ride back to the finish line. I might have accepted. I talked to friends as they passed me. I watched every pace group except the 3:00 pass by. I'd try to pick it up and run slowly, but it hurt so much. My overwhelming thought was that I had a stress fracture (I read too many blogs) and running was doing more damage. It wasn't worth it, and my time was already in the toilet, so I just walked. And walked. And walked. It takes a long time to walk that many miles. Jake ran the 10k (and PR'd!!!), so he was at the race. As my friends finished the half, they told him I was struggling. He ran back out on the course and walked the last mile in with me. I did suck it up and run across the finish line. It's incredibly frustrating that I ran my first half marathon so much better than the next two. Immediately after the race I went into work for an x-ray of my hip. No fractures showed up on the x-ray and the doctor diagnosed me with bursitis. I've been taking ibuprofen and using ice. The pain lessens but never goes away. I try to run, and it hurts again. It's kind of strange because I have pain in my groin when I'm running, but after I run it's the pain in the side of my hip that's really bad.

I've had this pain for about a month, so I made an ortho appointment. I saw the doctor yesterday and I really liked him and agreed with his treatment plan. I was so worried that a doctor would tell me to simply quit running- like it's just my cardio exercise of choice and I can just as easily hop on something with less impact like an elliptical machine. He's not a runner, but he's treated enough runners to understand us. :) He went through the basics like making sure I get fitted properly for shoes and replace them frequently enough. He examined my hip. He pressed on my left hip and I just about came unglued. OUCH! Apparently that's a raging case of bursitis. If that's my only problem, I'm supposed to take Advil 3 times a day, ice, and I can get a steroid shot in my hip the week before my half marathon in St. Louis. That feels so hardcore. Count me in. But... he's concerned that I have pain in the groin. That's where true hip joint pain is felt. Not good. So, I have an MRI at noon today to make sure I don't have a stress fracture. I'll go back to him on Tuesday to discuss results and settle on a treatment plan.

Massaging a Turkey Leg

I've been holding onto a massage gift card for awhile and made some time to use it today. Stress levels have been high, and that's usually what gets me in for a massage, even though I know my body needs it from running.  I told the therapist I'm a runner. I admit that I don't stretch, ice, or foam roll as often as I should. When I do foam roll, my right leg hurts like a mother. But it doesn't bother me to run or any other time, so it's gotta be ok, right? Some things said by the massage therapist during the session:

• "holy shit, this leg is a mess" (yes, for real)
• "your right leg is like a turkey leg" (not exactly sure what that means, I'm guessing the muscles are tough?)
• "you're not going to be running within 4 months if you don't fix this" (most concerning because apparently he and my leg are unaware of the plans I have)
• "you have a big knotty ass" (at least I think he was saying knotty and not naughty- and I still don't like the big descriptor... even if he was calling the knot big and not my ass in general)

He was not a small man and he LAID INTO my right leg. Calf, IT band, piriformis, it all hurt. Badly. I was biting the sheets and might have stopped breathing. I only forgave him when he told me I "don't know stress" until I have kids. Umm, dude, I have 2. He acted shocked and asked how old I was, 20? So he bought some redemption there- that A) I look like I don't have kids and B) I look a decade younger than my true age.

So, I'll now be "indulging" in monthly massage, plus stretching before and after runs and using the foam roller more than once or twice a week. 

Glory Be!

I worked 13+ hours yesterday (totally busy at work), slept 5 hours, and got up at 4:30 this morning for my long run. My training plan called for a 13 mile long run this week- my longest run before my next half marathon (9/25). We had a heavenly cool front blow in Sunday night. Since I worked yesterday I didn't get to race, which was a bummer. But, I planned my long run so I would still get to enjoy the cooler temperatures. Even with a tired mind, body, and soul, I woke up ready to run. It was 63 degrees. I definitely enjoy and need the cooler weather to run my best, but I'm also a cold weather sissy. This was pretty close to perfect for me. My training plan prescribes a pace for the long runs but with the summer heat, I've never hit the goal. Today's run called for 10:24 overall pace and I really hoped to nail it for the confidence boost.

I met Fiona & Teri at Celebration to run the first 6 together. Shannon planned to run 10 or so with me, but had car trouble this morning, so I ended up running the last 6.8 miles alone. It felt incredible to run faster and not be sucking wind. No walk breaks needed! I stopped at my car at 6.3 miles to refill my water bottle and eat some Honey Stingers, then headed out to finish on my own. I probably would have brought headphones had I known I would be running alone, but I enjoyed the silence and the early morning sun... just like old times before I had running buddies! Several times I looked down at my watch and saw that I was running at half marathon pace or better. It didn't hurt, but I'd talk myself into slowing down a little. With about 1.5 miles to go, I looked at my overall time and realized how close I was to my half marathon PR. I picked up the pace, determined to beat it. When my watched beeped at 13 miles, I pushed my legs to finish strong. Done!!! 2:08:30- PR by 20 seconds!!! Sub-2 half marathon, here I come. If I can do this during a training run, with half the distance by myself, I know I can nail my goal in a race. I even have a willing pacer for Heels & Hills & Him, so I just need another cool front.

Mile 1- 10:06
Mile 2- 10:13
Mile 3- 9:56
Mile 4- 9:59
Mile 5- 9:50
Mile 6- 9:40
Mile 7- 9:27
Mile 8- 9:55
Mile 9- 9:47
Mile 10- 9:49
Mile 11- 9:56
Mile 12- 9:58
Mile 13- 9:07
Mile 13.1- 7:51

AVERAGE PACE- 9:49!!!