Dear Future Husband

Dear Future HusbandBG26.2 Marathon

Bowling Green, KY

State #33

4:07:01

 

Since my last race… I got engaged!   …To the most wonderful man, a man that is the balance to my life, that makes me strive to be the best me, a man who loves and supports me unconditionally and I man that I look up to and trust with my life.  I couldn’t have found a more perfect match.   I’ll limit my non running mush gush to that.  The question most of my friends always wondered was- will I end up with someone who is as addicted to endurance as I am.   And the answer is “No”    Everyone has their personal opinion on who they want to marry, who their perfect match is.  Some endurance athletes need someone just like them for whatever reasons they might have of relating to one another or any other reason.   I never wanted to marry someone just like me because I wanted a different balance to my life.  It’s my personal opinion that without that balance, I might as well just marry myself and stay focused on racing as my number one.  I don’t want that- I wanted someone to remind me there is more than just endurance to life but at the same time, I still needed someone to support what I do:  To “get it.”   Joe grew up an athlete.  Not a runner, but he played football, basketball, La Crosse- he is a contact sports kind of guy.  He has a passion for sports and an understanding how athletics can build character teaches people how to be committed and focused.  He understands the importance of having a passion like mine.  He gets the dedication and supports it, knows that (while not every day can be a training focused day) - weekends tend to have long runs.   And I compromise too, if we have a special event- birthday etc., I just build my training schedule around that to make sure I’m not consumed whole.  I do more than just train and race and to me, life is more fulfilling that way, to be a little better-rounded.   And that my readers, is my perfect match to my endurance addiction, keeping my addiction healthy.  And Bonus- His family “gets it” too, so my big network of support has grown exponentially.     

 We have been friends over the last 5 states, dating over the last 3 states (inclusive of this state), and this race would be the first state he joined.    So, he will be a big part of this race write up once we get to the actual race.

 But first…. since the last race, I have also been working my way back from being over trained.     It scares me to become over trained again- because it took a lot of work to get back to feeling normal!  I started with 10 mile runs, and worked my way to 14 miles and those 14 miles would feel like a marathon!   I would slow down and fight to make it through a shorter long run.  Danielle would join me and if she didn’t join, we would text to help motivate me through.   I really started to fear running.  It was like I was running out of obligation- I have this goal to complete 50 states and there’s no way I would just give up on that.

 Then there was one Friday night I remember crying to Joe, fearing I peaked, and I’m a ‘has been’ that there will be no more great milestones in my endurance life.  He was the support I needed to productively figure out how to get through what I was going through.  He told me we could focus on eating healthier together, that with age the nutrition is so important in order to keep doing what we did at younger ages.  He used information from documentaries of professional basketball players that have experienced some sort of level of what I was experiencing to help me feel better about what I was going through.  So I remember that next morning was the turning point to not letting myself be a “has been”

 Then, I made friends with one of the girls that takes my boot camp class, Lisa.    She was training for her first marathon.    Now the thing about me is I get stronger by helping others achieve their endurance goals.    So, while she felt she would slow me and struggle on our runs, she was a blessing for me to regain my confidence in my endurance.   We trained a good 1 minute /mile slower than Erin and I did for Alabama, but it was all about re-finding the passion and re-building the endurance.   The sad part of that story is Lisa got injured and couldn’t’ run her race, but she got me through my first 20 miler of 4 20+ runs I planned to help rebuild my endurance.  And so that push, got me through my training.

 Once I finished my last 20 mile run, I finally paid attention to the elevation profile- because again this wasn’t about speed, this was about getting my endurance back but once I was feeling stronger I started to have speed on my mind.  I wanted to know what to expect with the elevation.  …it didn’t look pretty! My last taper long run I tried to simulate the elevation in 10 miles….   I had to run up and down Atwater beach’s path once, the hill by collectivo 3 times, North Avenue hill 2 times and then the lake drive up to upper lake drive- once.  And that still wasn’t enough elevation to simulate 1 loop of the marathon.  But it didn’t seem so bad- so I figured- I’m solid for hills.

 Race weekend we stayed with Joe’s Parents Friday night in Illinois.    Then the drive down - it rained and there was construction for more than half of the drive so it was a long way there!  We went to the expo which was at the corvette museum and that was kind of cool and the best swag a race has ever given-  a fleece blanket, an extra shirt and a cheap but still nice to have- beanie/hat. We ended up making plans to meet up with my “ex step grandmother” so her and Joe could meet.  She drove up from Nashville for dinner which was nice! 

 The eve of the race, you could tell Joe was excited and nervous.  He wanted to be a great spectator, and wanted me to have a good race.  He made a shirt for the occasion!  A superman “T” and has decided my nickname to be “the Greek Streak” which is on the back of the shirt.   He told me the story of getting that shirt and all the effort he put in just reminds me how loved and lucky I am!

We go to bed and I fell asleep quickly and slept like a rock, while Joe tossed and turned.   … A little backwards but the thing is – since we started sleeping in the same bed, I don’t have a problem with sleeping.  He just gives me this level of comfort that I don’t have bedtime mind wandering thoughts keeping me awake….  And the night before the race, I didn’t have them because he had them for me.  What a partnership!

 If I’ve had friends travel with me- they still sleep while I prep in the morning, but Joe wanted to be up and be ready and energized to be there for me.   He walks me to the start- and we are that couple where the guy kisses the girl and sends her off- I’m sure there were haters but don’t be jealous- don’t hate.  And from there…the race starts.

 The race course was rolling hills for 6.5 miles, then a relatively flat course for the next 6.6 miles, and then you repeat that all over again. The weather was great for spectating, and a little warm for the run but not too bad.  There was a humidity in the air which was noticeable while running, but otherwise not too noticeable.

 I was a little nervous about how organized the race would be as they just got all volunteers set up for the water less than a week before the race.  I debated bringing my hand held water but decided not to.   It was a small race- less than 200 marathoners, though a lot more half marathoners.   Usually at smaller races the marathoners are more experienced or ‘serious’ runners – people like me doing 50 states, marathon maniacs, etc.    Then the real annoying part- it was not a closed course which means a car could drive on the same road you were running on- which wouldn’t be so bad if the roads didn’t have that slope to them.  Most marathons you try to run in the middle of the road so your ankles aren’t being stressed extra from the curve of the road- but you really couldn’t do this on this run and that added to the pain.

 

The race started with a gradual climb, then taking it to a 9% grade climb, then down a hill and around…  I chat it up with a pace leader and a girl who seemed to be the Kentucky version of my CARA 9:30 pace leading days of quirkiness, but I stayed on a 9minute/mile pace and pulled ahead for the time being. 

I saw Joe 3 times while on the hills.  By the time I got to the last big hill in the first loop I thought- it wasn’t the worst thing in the world.  Then we run down a steep down to finish the hilly part and that’s when I realized how much those hills killed my quads.  I figure- the next 6.5 miles is to recharge for loop #2.

My stomach starts to bother me as I wonder if I should take a porta potty stop, there is one guy around me breathing heavy that annoyed me, I worry my head is going to go to a negative place and just in time I started chatting it up with some positive happy guy who is from the area and has done the full before.  He said it’s such a torturous second loop that he decided to stick to the half this year and we laughed at the level of difficulty and commented on the humidity which just reminded me to stay positive – it’s not that I’m a “has been” it’s just a rough course.  As he was slowing and I wanted to stay between an 8:30/9:00 we said our goodbyes and I ran on.

 

I visualized where I would see Joe in loop two, where he would run with me- and I continued to try to enjoy myself.    Now this is a true two loop course-   you run all the way to that finish line with the half marathoners and turn and do it all over again-   as we split, I was the only one around me that was going on for the second loop.  I knew it would be about a half a mile before I would see Joe.  I had asked him to bring me some food as I realized I didn’t eat enough for how hills make me hungry.  So we walked up the 9% grade part and chatted and I ate a few almonds and drank some Gatorade.  He kissed me goodbye and I took off, knowing I wouldn’t see him now until mile 24 where he would run to the finish with me. 

 The hills the second time were rough.  At one point I thought I might puke, then the girl who I thought was the Kentucky quirky me- was just ahead of me (she passed when I walked a bit with Joe).   I had been keeping her in my sites in hopes to catch up and talk with her.  She was bent over dry heaving and as a cop was starting to approach her (motivation to run when they want to pull you from a race- been there!) she started running again….and slowly but surely she pulled ahead so I didn’t get a running friend.    I was done with those hills and had 6.5 miles to go.    I started chatting with another guy who said he has done one other marathon- Louisville or “lu-vulle” as they say it..and he said that one was a cake walk compared to this one.   I remember I was once going to do Louisville and dreaded how hard people told me it was.   That put this in perspective.  

 After this race I have a new rule-  if you see a porta potty and vocalize you are thinking of stopping-   then STOP…  as in this case, it was the last porta potty opportunity I had (at mile 21).   And the stomach cramps to follow slowing me down, could have been avoided if I just would have stopped.  At mile 21 I told Joe he could leave to meet me to run.  Near 22 I took a walk to text Erin and complain about my stomach and realized my quads were numb- like there is sore and there is novacane numb- and they were so sore they were novacane numb!

 I texted Joe to let him know I have slowed drastically- and then I just did what I could to get to him. Hoping for a porta potty that I never got.  Joe ended up being about a quarter mile sooner than where we said we would meet which made me so happy.  I saw him and started to tear up because...Honestly - I’m so annoyingly in Love with someone who loves me the same way- and I was just so happy he was there- and he looked so handsome about to run with me.    While my stomach still hurt- I had something to take my mind off it.

 So he joined, and we ran and we talked and I told him about some of my run, he told me about the positive support I’ve been getting from his family and facebook.  I told him what was to come how it would tease us weaving a bit and about the little run around a parking lot when you just want to turn to go to the finish.   He told me I was on the front end of the girls in the race, but I also knew a bunch passed me as I was fighting my stomach issues so I wasn’t too sure where I stood with the women rankings at this point.

 As we ran around the parking lot, we saw there were two girls behind me.   I told Joe I wouldn’t let them pass me-  and I had a “kick it” left in me!  We picked up the pace back up to a 9 minute mile as I had slowed to about a 10 at that point.   Joe told me we should pass the guy in front of me…. Oh he knows how I work!  (When I’m tired on the oak leaf I make it a game to pass people to keep going).  So we passed the guy- we made it 3 turns to the finish, 2 turns to the finish- and there was, the finish!  In that last stretch- that guy who I passed- came sprinting past me!  And so I picked it up to keep on his tail. This is something that is rarely done by me, usually the last steps at the end if I try to do that, I cramp.  But I finished super strong and happy.    

I didn’t finish under 4 hours which is the place I like to be- but I don’t think my natural sub 4 hour days are over.   This was just the warm up to my last 17 states!

 

So…my ending note- Dear Future Husband, thank you for your love and support as I have made my way back from being over trained.  Thank you for ‘getting it’.   Thank you for knowing this is a part of my life, so it’s a part of our life.   I look forward more endurance milestones with you by my side!

Overtrained #@!?!!!!!!

Overtrained  #@?!!!!!

 

Intro

What does that mean anyway????

Overtraining is a physical, behavioral and emotional condition that occurs when the volume and intensity of an individual’s exercise exceeds their recovery capacity (*Wikipedia’s definition- worded the best out of all the ‘scientific’ websites- well so I kept it)

 When training for the Ironman there was a lot of warning not to become overtrained.    You look for it in your waking and resting heart rate.  You measure it in how fatigued you are during the workout or in your desire to even start the workout.   Those are the two main things to measure to detect if you are being overtrained.  And even then, I think people think it just means you are fatigued- but what happens is your Body decides to call it quits on you.  

This will be broken down in sections

1.       My workout schedule, where I want to emphasize- this is not the normal person’s schedule but it is NORMAL for me.  

2.      The life balance part and again why my past experience with training gave me every reason to believe I wasn’t being silly.   

3.      More about overtraining and general symptoms and my health why I jumped to the conclusion of needing a doctor, overlooking that this could possibly be overtraining. 

4.      Recovery which is a learning in progress right now.  What next?

 

So First thing is first:

My Workout Schedule

As my Blog has mentioned- I am addicted to Endurance.  That addiction has evolved over time and it’s not just endurance, but it’s the endorphins of working out.    I start working at a gym, start taking more classes, start wanting to add it all in and do it all.   There isn’t just one class I Love- I try one and see the benefits and how it adds balance to what I already do and somehow you figure out how to fit it in.    So I started off a runner, added in Yoga for Balance, then started to Bike and Swim to do the Ironman thing, teach at a gym, so you add Pilates, and Barre, Interval/Bootcamp to the mix, and know that strength training is important so try to focus on a core workout and an arm workout (and sadly the one I usually ignore since I have Pilates and Barre and Bootcamp- is a legs focused workout).

 Since 2011- Ironman Training, I have found it natural to complete “two-a-days”   so since then, in some form or another, I have just continuously done two-a-days.     (And sometimes three-a-days).    I make sure I get one day a week of rest (at least)  and if I’m not feeling a workout- as long as I’m not teaching it- I will skip it knowing it’s okay because I do a lot and there is no need to be crazy about it.

 As I have said previously, I have tried to find a way to make the workouts revolve around my life and not the other way around.    The constants are the classes I teach and when training for a marathon like the last few months, those runs.  While I used to run 6 times a week, that has been cut down to 4 since I have all this other stuff.   Then I tend to assess the week on Sunday and make my game plan for the week (If my boyfriend works the weekend, I will likely make the rest day be a week day and then have two good weekend days to workout- but if he has the weekend off- I make it so I have my rest day(s) on the weekend).     This is what a typical workout week might look like for me (things in Pinkish are what I teach- at least through February)

 

Now I look at that and I see- that’s a pretty awesome week!    Let’s say Thursday I don’t swim and do arms, I might make that up after the long run on Sunday.   For me- this is a good mix.  I used to have all cardio- More Cycle More Swim More Run.    Now I’m more focused on the conditioning.  

I mean, I still look at that and think- where did things go wrong??!?!  That seems like a good mix it seems balanced, it seems NORMAL – for me.  I never grew tired of doing this or feeling like I just didn’t want to go to the gym (note:  there is a difference between lazy tired and fatigued tired… you have to enjoy the gym or have some sort of rhythm that is thrown off balance to experience the fatigued tired).   My resting heartrate is an awesome athlete heartrate of “are you even alive?”   (Checked this morning at 48bpm).  So again, where did things go wrong?

 Now your schedule might just be a 30 minute run 5 times a week- and that’s your normal – and you do it every day- and guess what-   you too, could become overtrained!    That’s where we get into part 2- The life Balance part.

 

Life Balance

As I have been reading a lot about being overtrained, many stories discuss people with less demanding workout schedules that become overtrained.  Why?  Because everything else in their life becomes hectic and crazy and that just increases the stress hormones in your body and takes up all your energy so your body becomes depleted.   

 Once again, if you look at my schedule in January and February, it will appear that I’m just overbooked and have worn myself out because of that.  BUT once again, I had reason to believe it was all manageable.  

 When I trained for the Ironman, during peak training, I also was moving from Chicago to San Francisco.   I mean I had 3 days of intense training, a flight to San Fran, a day to rest and then I started my new job.    This was end of July into August.  My lease came up in June and all of July I bounced around to friend’s homes living with them until I moved.  Then once I moved, I still didn’t have a permanent home until after the Ironman.    I was completely fine- It was a skill acquired in college, when you have an overwhelming schedule (at one point two part time jobs that put me in at 30+ hours a week and 17 credits).  You just put your head down and become a task master- just get from one thing to another and don’t look to far ahead or you will become stressed.

 So I relate everything in my life back to the Ironman Peak training and tell myself- you are a machine- you can do it all.    In January, my boyfriend and I moved into a new place.   With some setbacks late December, Erin and I decided to cut out one ‘step down’ long run and so the week of the move we ran 18 miles, the following week 20 and then 22.  I have done this before- so no big deal.     Also, while we were moving, my parents were out of town, so I also had to house sit/clear their drive way.

Joe asked me if it was too much, with the training and moving- and that makes me want to push harder- I told him about the Ironman and said I would be fine.  So take my workout schedule – the part time job of teaching at a gym, the full time job, add more drive time to go to my parent’s house and taking care of it and the cat, add the need to pack, the stresses of moving and my first home purchase and long runs – it was a lot.   I had an amazing boyfriend helping out where he could, and, again- I’ve done it all before so I figured I could do it all again.  I did have one breakdown before the move- that I just was so stressed and saw no light at the end of the tunnel until our Door County trip which was 3 weeks away (the weekend my body shut down- so it was a little too late). 

 End of January- we are moved, and I’ve quickly lost 5lbs- I kept off until recovery (bittersweet- right?  It’s those nasty 5lbs you want to lose but when it comes with your body shutting down- you know you have to find a different way to lose them).

 February- it was taper time, I start to relax and unwind with our wonderful trip to Door County.   I had some amazing runs that first week of taper, though my stomach had already started to give me problems.  And then my body became dehydrated even though I was drinking a lot of water.    My insides start causing problems- but still, I don’t see my energy level dropping.    I was feeling so good with runs 8 minute miles were becoming the “feel good” pace.     I didn’t have an elevated resting heart rate- so I did not see that I had become over trained.  So let’s get to some Overtraining 101 and see where I still didn’t see that I was overtrained as we connect my symptoms.

  

(Mis)connection Overtrained 101

As I stated earlier, there are three basic issues to lookout for when worried if you are overtrained:

1.      Is your resting heart rate elevated above normal levels for you?

2.      Are you dreading the workout in front of you?

3.      When working out- does your body feel heavy and worn out, as if you were running with weights on your legs?

 If you said yes to one or more of these- I would say, take an extra day of rest and see if that helps.     For me- I didn’t have any of these symptoms.

What was I noticing?  (Okay personal information coming your way…)

Well first digestion issues.    As a runner, your bowel movement is usually frequent to the point, we runners all talk about it.  Maybe we talk about it to feel normal, but we end up not being embarrassed by it and know all is working good and healthy when you have that frequent movement.   Mine slowed near to a stop causing great discomfort.   Doctors have one word for it that people whisper as they say- ‘constipation’.  But I know my body, and two weeks of that, is not normal.  To the point I’m trying everything and anything on the more natural side to help and it does nothing.  Only the heavy stuff kind of worked- momentarily.   

There was also a concern I might have some kidney issues issue given some “flank pain”  so the doctors checked for infection and issues there- and I was fine.

The second doctor decided they would actually pay attention to it a little more since yes- I’m a runner so this is a little odd especially for two weeks (and we are now at 4 weeks still no normalcy).  We took blood tests to check my thyroid and blood levels and all that was normal.  So now the doctors see this fit person, with no issues they can see so they tell me it’s all normal and will run its course.   

 The Saturday before my race, I woke up dehydrated- this was another one of my issues.  I can drink 100oz a day and I will still get dehydration headaches, when you wash your hands they prune up right away, constantly cotton mouth but also constantly drinking and it going through- they did test to see if I was hydrated, and they said I was.

I had a dehydration headache before I ran but I felt strong and fast, we ran strong and fast, but after 8 miles it was hard, the last 2 took a lot of effort and I ended up being light headed.  An hour later I’m sitting at my parents’ house with my head between my knees breathing heavy trying not to pass out.  

Then I wake up the Tuesday before the race with the Flu.   I have run sick before-   but if you read my race write up- the race did not go as expected compared to other races I’ve been sick.

 All these issues – with no answers.     While the first noticeable symptoms of overtrained are as noted above, I think my creature of habit, of “just do it” overrode any fatigue, my natural ability to push through fatigue could have just made those initial factors never be noticeable.   And heart rate?   All I can say is my body is weird and reacted differently- or maybe my cardiovascular health is in the best of the best shape?

 

So now let’s briefly get into some smart talk how our body works specifically to overtrained…

Your Autonomic Nervous System (“ANS”) is the control center influencing your internal organs- it’s not something you can control by saying “just work right”  and it not only controls heart rate- it also controls Digestion and Urination.   Peeling one more layer back- from the ANS- is your PNS- the Parasympathetic Nervous System it’s a slow reactor and- it’s responsible for “Rest-and-digest”  Activities that occur when the body is at rest include urination, digestion and defecation.  Being a slow reactor it takes time to get it back to reacting normal.   It makes sense that when you don’t have enough rest- this stuff stops working because you are never allowing your body time to make it work.

 My digestion track just decided to shut down.   My body stopped processing things like electrolytes and water right- even if peeing in a cup didn’t show that-my brain and my body stopped communicating right.   I’m overtrained -this isn’t something you push through- you can be tough but your body is in charge – my Parasympathic Nervous System needed time to catch up to let my body function properly again.

Looking again at the factors that could lead me to being overtrained as mentioned above.  I need to remember a few things.  Yes, at times parts of what is above might have been my norm but all the factors together, maybe there was just one thing that put me over the edge.   I did increase intensity – not that I haven’t run a 3:40 marathon before, but not while all the other life factors were going on.  During my last two moves I was focused on endurance- slower pace never too intense.    I also think I started to become faster where it felt natural to go an 8 minute for my easy runs- maybe I needed to force the slow to truly let my body benefit from an ‘easy run’   Teaching 3 high intensity classes a week might not have been factored in as much as I should have because I have trained myself to always be “on” for those no matter how you feel- which puts you in “Cruise control”  always calling it a workout for the member- not a workout for yourself-  but really-  it is a workout – it needs more credit. 

 After that horrible marathon- I looked back at all this and decided- maybe I really am over trained and it’s time to take some time off and that’s where we talk about recovery.

 

Recovery

 

Concluding that I’m overtrained wasn’t easy for me to do.  The Friday before the marathon, Becky, from the Greenfield WAC mentioned she thinks I could have Adrenal Fatigue.  After all my research, I would say Overtrained is the athlete’s term of Adrenal Fatigue.  

 Once I said the words “I think I’m overtrained”    My best friend Marie said “I didn’t want to admit he was right, but Justin said that the other day”   Justin has many certifications and degrees in the Health and Fitness world, most recently with a Master’s of Science in exercise science – sports performance.   So he is knowledgeable beyond where I’m at and is someone I listen to.   At first I thought recovery meant I could still teach my classes and just take it easy even though articles about overtrained might have suggested otherwise.   Justin said “NO this is yoga only, nothing else recovery” So without any ‘ifs ands or butts’ I listen to Justin.

  

And breath- this is hard- I teach 9 classes in two weeks, 4 of which were yoga so that meant finding subs for 5 classes!   Luckily, the moment I texted Maddy from Greenfield WAC- about the first Monday, she said she will take both, and from there she has become a big supporter. Someone who I fully respect and admire, someone who has had to find the balance in her own life to not push to insane levels (and her non insane levels are insane for the normal person so … she gets it!), so I can’t tell you how appreciative and meaningful her words and support are! 

 This made it easy for me to stick with admitting to my peers at the gym that I was “unhealthy” and needed subs.   Even still- I was asked to sub someone’s class “off the bike” Recovery isn’t just about not working out, it’s about decompressing- reducing all the stresses of life, so this wasn’t a time I was going to add one more thing on and I just said “sorry, my sports trainer (Justin) says no”  

I didn’t find a sub for one of my classes, so I had to “teach, not do. “   Do you know how hard that is?   I still demonstrated with light weights and I would do some of the movements but it took A LOT of restraint not to just start doing the class with them.   And by the end, I still had a decent sweat.

 Recovery is where the basic symptoms of overtraining have become apparent.  I surrendered to my body and my heart and brain said “thank you” instead of the usual “I need movement!!!” after a day or two of nothing (which is the norm).  It took 9 days for me to think “I need movement” 

 It wasn’t just the workouts that I didn’t miss.   Overall, I can cram a lot in my day- I mean- I am the efficiency queen to pack in as much as possible.   So I’m having to take a step back and watch myself- again recovery isn’t just about the workouts- it’s taking a step back in life to fully let your body rest.   You know what I realized when cutting down to the bare minimum?   I am still busy- it makes me question?  How do I work out 12ish hours a week AND do all this that I’m doing?  And more?    I definitely have to start listening to the book I’ve been reading “the Best, Yes”   you can’t possibly say “Yes” to everything.  This includes workouts. 

I have talked with my friend Veronica, “V.”  She is training for rim to rim to rim and actually hired a coach to help tell her – while training for running an ultramarathon, she needs to cut back on the other workouts- so she is only able to bike once a week.    What a concept!   We can’t do it all!  We want to- we LOVE it…but we need to remember our Bodies need to rest too! 

 Tri-Faster posted a video on facebook a few months ago that’s a great analogy to needing rest.    Imagine your workouts are water and you are a sponge.  When the sponge is filled with water- the rest just drips out.  There will come a point where those workouts are no longer absorbed into your body and so it’s pointless.   I’m going to take that one step further.   What happens to a sponge when you don’t ring the water out of it?   It gets filled with bacteria and smelly and gross over time- that time is your Parasympathetic Nervous system taking action and that water, your workouts, are now making you unhealthy for being “too active”.    While a sponge needs water/moisture to not get dried out and become a hard brick, it needs to find that balance – filling with water and then rinsing it out- to be a healthy sponge.  Your body needs that balance, of rest and recovery and while I can push and have a lot going on that is not “norm” maybe my recovery times are faster- but I still need to find that balance to find MY equation of Healthy.

Healthy = X(Rest) + Y(Workouts+Life)   X & Y = Time

 These are the things I’m having to figure out.  And the thing is- as my life has shown, it needs to be measured on a regular basis because one factor changes in your workouts or life….  And everything else changes.  

 I’m finishing this write up on the 10^th day of recovery.   Guess what happened on the 10^th day?    Two days in a row of normal bowel movement – naturally!    That’s a HUGE accomplishment.   Hopefully all this progress continues.  4 more days of the yoga only to go- then I will have another 2 to 4 weeks to try to slowly add things back in and figure out how to find the perfect balance – so I can keep doing what I love- in a balanced way – for years to come.

Move Along

Move Along

Mercedes Marathon 

Birmingham, Alabama

State #32

4:19:54

This write up is a little bit about running and a little bit about Love and Life.

My amazing running partner chose a marathon in a state I haven't run in yet so we got to train all the way through together.

She's the perfect training partner in many ways, we push one another and challenge one another.   She will deny it but she is faster than me.   And I keep us honest with mileage when it's cold and bad weather... Or hot.   And, we manage to have similar schedules and views on running... Life doesn't revolve around the runs, rather the runs revolve around life.   When you have the running goals as we do, usually it becomes your life- and maybe it has been that way for me in the past ... But that is something I've been working on, to find a balance in life.  That's where the Love comes into play helping me get there, and we will get there soon.  

Training: we had my strongest and fastest long runs prepping for this race. There were a few slowdowns along the way but when it came to it, we put in the work, stuck to tempo runs, hill runs, speed workouts and easy runs then had some great long runs.   ... At a level of comfort and speed that screamed PR.

Then we had taper time and I started to have health issues.   Just things that were not normal to my body. And it has lasted 3 weeks (and counting) .  This is where the Love really comes into play.   My world has changed in the best ways because of my Boyfriend, Joe.   I think twice about everything because it's not just me anymore.   It's our future that makes you a little more aware of life.   So when I start having health issues, instead of my usual blow off of the doctor, I make an appointment.

We will leave the doctor headaches out of it but the conclusion was my blood levels are normal, no thyroid issues, and I'm hydrated (even though I still wake up with dehydration headaches and make a conscious effort to drink 100oz a day ) Then I got flu like symptoms - maybe it is the flu maybe it isn't but the symptoms matched.

In summary, I'm starting this race with health issues but no conclusion as to why, and flu like symptoms added onto that ... And in the 8 days before the race I only ran twice.  10 miles left me feeling like I just ran a marathon and sitting down for a bit with my head between my knees to not pass out, and the 4 mile run while strong during made me feel sick standing after.   

We started right on pace like we have trained and by mile 10 I was feeling the way I did on our 10 miler the week before.   I pushed with Erin to 13 and when I say pushed, I felt like I was at mile 26.  13 miles became my goal- once we get to 13 I could walk and we would say goodbye.  I hoped an easy mile would let my heart rate slow and body catch up to where I wanted to be.

 Backing up...There was discussion about me skipping this race because of how I felt but since my blood tests came back normal I decided I was okay.   

And now at 13 miles in, I knew I had another 3 miles to quit where I would be near the finish line.   I've never quit before but the question in my mind was- how hard do you push for a bad time?  What will this do to your body for recovery? The last few weeks have already been rough and while Joe would disagree, I feel like I've been an inattentive  girlfriend because when home I'm crashing just to keep up outside of our house

At this point I reached out to Joe, and he gave me the validation I needed.   My health is number one and whatever I choose to do he is proud and Loves me.   So then I reached out to the experts, Ultra Jen and Tony.   Jen must be on some crazy adventure because we have yet to hear back from her.   Tony reminded me of how strong I am and no matter the pace- walking the rest or whatever - that you get to the finish line. You finish what you started ...  Or you try your hardest- you don't give up.

So, I slowed it and walked a lot and I got there.   One mile, I walked a 20 minute mile with someone worse off than me, trying to pay it forward from the Baltimore Marathon.   Only one mile because I could tell he appreciated the company but didn't necessarily need it.

There was one bathroom stop which didn't help it just added more cramping  and as much as I just didn't want to consume anything, I forced water at the water stops.. Having to walk at those points just to keep the fluids down.

The last 2 miles the tears hit. I struggled breathing - inhaling through my mouth wasn't getting much air, so I had to take it to yoga breath- through the nose, to try to get full breaths.   It would help.  

I don't expect Joe to travel to every race with me, but in a moment like that, I know the only place I would feel completely better is in his arms.  Erin was texting me reminding I had them at the finish (she did PR... For us!  3:39) so her hug would have to do... And was soooo appreciated as at the finish when I'm in tears so frustrated with everything, only someone who has been there before on some sort of level, understands those tears.  And her words made me feel better.  The fact she got our PR - made me feel our focused training worked.

I finished, and I'm hoping I took it easy enough to not be paying for it this week.   I'm sick of feeling like crap.  But, I think it's time to slow down a bit.  Doctors say I'm healthy and fine but I don't feel healthy and fine so maybe my body is telling me to give it a rest.  Beyond classes I teach, I don't know how much more I will be at the gym.

While I used to have problems with the words 'rest', I am looking forward to more cuddle on the couch time.   And making good dinners!   Which for all who know me pre-Joe ... That's a shocker.   He doesn't demand it but he appreciates it and I love being in our new kitchen.  

State #32 is done.   I kept moved along to get to the finish and now we will just leave it in the past and move along from it.

No matter the outcome of the race, I had the best training runs with Erin, and not mentioned until now, I got to see my friend, Rachel's life in Atlanta and spend Some quality time catching up with her.   Rachel has been mentioned a lot in my past races. She was my pace leader in my second marathon and one of the most compassionate friends you could have.   While we have both moved away from Chicago and we communicate less, she's a friendship that I have been blessed to have and it was so great to spend the weekend with her.   

Not all races will be a win but the journey and time with friends makes it all a positive experience. 

After the race:

The night after the marathon a light went on my head with my health issues.  I'm overtrained ... My Best friend, Marie's husband called me out on it (though she, like me, didn't fully believe it until I said the words myself).  So listening to him (because for someone like me, I need someone with the right credentials to tell me what I already know because it's so hard to face) I will be in complete (minus yoga) rest for the next 2 weeks.   That means finding subs for all my non yoga classes or worst case teaching but not doing.   I'll be putting together a special write up about being overtrained ... So stay tuned!