WW3 Day 3: The Day Everything Went Wrong

Ok, so everything didn't go wrong.  My title is a bit dramatic.  I'll start this post off with a positive note and tell you what went right:

1.  We finished.

Now that that's over, let me tell you what went wrong in my third 6.2-mile run of the week.

A little motivation... all true about this run
except for the "early" part

1. As I was packing my stuff this morning, I was rushing a little bit.  That being said, this afternoon after work when I changed, I realized that I had grabbed my tights, two jackets, a compression shirt, socks, shoes, and a pair of compression shorts.  That pair of compression shorts though, I didn't need.  I don't wear compressions with my tights.  However, the reason I'm telling you this is because those compressions in my rushed morning preparations, I thought were my sports bra.  So, I didn't have a sports bra.  Runner chicks, you know how it is.  This piece of running attire is very important, regardless of chest size.  Running without the proper garment in that area is very difficult.  I didn't realize that it would bother me as much as it did.  Between the girls not being properly contained and it being cold and bothering my asthma, my chest was starting to get really tight and achy.  But enough about my boobs.
2. After realizing that I had forgotten my sports bra while changing before my run, I was confused about the amount of moisture on some of my clothes.  Apparently, my water bottle that I must run with at all times had been slowly leaking all day into my running bag.  Most of my clothes were slightly damp, which in the cold is really not the best idea, but I could deal.  The part that upset me was that my headband that covers my ears up and keeps them toasty warm that I have to wear in temperatures below 50 degrees was DRENCHED.  No possibility of drying it off.  Soaked.  Unwearable.  Bright side!  I had my ear buds that I stuffed into my ears which kept some of the bitter cold wind out of my ears.  But enough about my ears.
3. As I mentioned, my water bottle leaked.  It also got the strap soaked, so I couldn't carry my water bottle with me unless I wanted my hand to turn into a handsicle.  I always like to have my water bottle with me because I am a mouth breather, so having water to wet my whistle is important.  Also, I keep my inhaler in the little pocket.  So I was lost without it.  But enough about my unnatural attachment to my water bottle.
4. It was COLD.  That is all.

Enough about my drama.  Hubbs had his 15 mile run, and he headed out after work (he gets out an hour or so earlier than me), so he was out on the trail a little bit before me.  He was trying to be helpful after completing his run on his own, but he wanted to see me so he did 2 extra miles that caused him to feel like he was about to die.  He felt like he was going to freeze or starve, but he didn't know what would happen first.  He finally saw me with a half mile to go, and he limped all the way to his car to bundle up and relax!

Despite the problems, we did it.  And I guess we still love to run.  Or something like that.  3 down, 4 to go.  Almost halfway!

Mr: 15 miles, 1:54:43

Mrs: 6.21, 1:08:43

Overcoming Disappointment

This ridiculously long blog post has been a work in progress since last week's Rock and Roll Savannah.  I have been thinking about what I want to say in this post, and how I want to say it.  The different variations of the title have been "Disappointment," "Dealing with Disappointment," and "Falling Short of Expectations."  All of these sound seriously negative, which is why I settled on "Overcoming Disappointment," because that gives the negative a little bit of a positive spin.  But why all the negativity, you ask?  Let me tell you about my side of the RnRSav marathon last weekend.

I was thrilled about running my very first full marathon.  I had put in 6 months of training (18 of those weeks were official training using a beginner's marathon plan).  I was very committed to the training, and I had done most of the training correctly, besides a skipped run here or there, and combining a couple of runs into a longer run, and maybe taking a couple of breaks in my long runs.  I thought I did a fantastic job training.  Sure, I thought I could have done better with my cross-training days or my stretching/foam rolling days, but I overall decided that I did a good job for a beginner.

Besides my commitment to training, I made sure to do my long runs in the clothes I wanted to wear on race day, including the same socks and the same shoes obviously.  And I made sure that I trained with the nutrition I was going to use on race day, including Vespa, Huma, and GU.  All of this made me feel prepared for race day.  I had my apparel down to a perfect outfit, and my nutrition regimen down to a science.  Once again, I overall decided that I did a good job for a beginner.

When it came down to race week, I had been dealing with an on-again-off-again infection in my throat, which was related to a course of antibiotics I had taken over the summer and some of my asthma medication which was fairly new.  I finally went to the doctor in sheer desperadoes the Wednesday before the Saturday of the race, after another flare up.  He gave me some ideas to knock it  out until race day, without loading me up on different medicines, since I didn't want to risk it.  The infection finally went away, just in time for race day, which was perfect.  I didn't want anything to mess this up for me.

  

During the week before the race, I made sure to eat very healthy foods that my body was used to, so as to not challenge my digestive system in such an important time in my life.  I made sure to properly fuel up all week, and of course on race morning, it was oatmeal and a banana.  Once I hit the start line, I felt like I was sufficiently trained, well fueled, and overall prepared.

But I was wrong.

I was going strong for the first 8 miles.  Then, one of my toes started feeling weird.  But I kept on running.  I ran past a medical tent, and saw lots of people Vaseline-ing their toes and bandaging up their feet, when I got to thinking, "Do I need to do that?"  After about another mile or so, I decided that this weird feeling on my toe was indeed a blister starting up.  A blister?  After only 9ish miles?  Like ALL of my long runs were over 9 miles, and I have run 6 half marathons, and I have NEVER gotten a blister before.  I didn't understand how this was happening.  I kept pushing until I got the next medical tent, and took off my shoe and sock, and sure enough, I had a nice, big bubble popping up in between two of my toes.  I bandaged it up, and started up again.

From there, I kept a really nice pace going until mile 11.  I'll spare you gory details, but  I started experiencing some moderate to severe stomach discomfort.  I made a pit stop, and then carried on.  I couldn't understand why it was happening though.  I had trained with the same nutrition and hydration and everything!  Either way, my blister continued to bother me, and my stomach was still not feeling up to par, and I slowed down significantly after the half marathon mark.

Not only did my blister and my stomach slow me down, but of course, this affected my mental and emotional state.  I started to get really down on myself.  I was on target to finish at a great time.  I promised myself that I wouldn't focus on the time, but that became more and more difficult as I continued to slow down more and more.  I tried to keep running, but my running pace slowed from 11 minutes per mile, to 13 minutes per mile, to closer to 15 minutes per mile.  RUNNING!  So I somewhat gave up and just walked.  Not even quickly.  I slowed to a leisurely stroll.  All because I felt like things were falling apart for me.  I even considered just stopping.  But I didn't.  At this point, I was almost at the 20 mile mark.  So reluctantly, I pushed on.  I kept going, with the weight of disappointment dragging me down.  Between miles 20 and 25 I tried to keep running, but when I realized it was going to take me over 6 hours, I really gave up.  I dragged my feet to mile 26, then I picked up my feet and started really running again, despite my blister and my stomach, which were still bothering me.  It was just a bad run.  All runners have those days and those runs, and this was just one of those for me.  Despite it being a bad run, I managed to run and smile and get some good poses for the camera, but I was bummed.

And I still am.  I saw this picture on Pinterest while looking for some marathon motivation.  This saying was very powerful for me, because I was looking for something life-changing at this point.  And one of the reasons I am most bummed is that I didn't get that life-changing feeling that something this great should have brought me.  But that's why I called this post OVERCOMING disappointment.  Because I am going to get that life-changing feeling in my next marathon.  I am going to train harder, and hopefully next time, it'll be a better day.  And I'll hit a marathon PR, and my life will be changed for the better.

Smiling after my finish

Still smiling

Mr. and Mrs.

Setbacks

I realize that as runners, we will all experience some type of setback every now and then.  So often, runners will experience overuse injuries, sore muscles, tendinitis, and oh so much more, I'm sure.  I have been so lucky to not experience any major setback since I began running three years ago.  However, lately I have been really struggling with my breathing.  I stopped running a little bit over the past school year.  Yes, I admit I slacked off significantly.  However, when I bounced back and began running again, I was unable to get a good breath in while I was running.  My chest felt tight, and I had to "yawn" to get a deep breath, which wasn't really a yawn but rather it was more of a gasp for air.

Post run hot mess....
typical!

This began my adventure to find a diagnosis.  The doctors tried me out on some different medications for some different conditions.  After taking various medication for about six months with no relief related to my breathing and chest pain/tightness that after many visits and follow-ups, my doctor finally decided to try a PFT, which is a pulmonary function test, to see if there was any obstruction in my lungs.

That test was conclusive.  

I have asthma.

Despite my breathing issues, we both got new shoes!

I was very relieved to get this diagnosis, but I was also a little bummed.  Asthma means you can't breathe, and if you can't breathe, you can't run, right?!?!?!  Well, fortunately since I have been running with no issues previously and the onset of my asthma symptoms was so sudden, my doctor referred me to an allergist to do some tests.  Just this past Friday, I had my appointment with the allergist.  After tons of pricks and pokes of shots, he determined that I am highly, highly allergic to some very ordinary, everyday things, including dust mites and tons of different kinds of pollen.  Apparently, this season's pollen counts were higher than they have been, so the fact that I'm so highly allergic to most trees, weeds, and grass, caused me to develop allergic asthma.  Allergic asthma?  So my allergies got so bad they gave me asthma?  Whaaaaat?  Anyway, because this is allergic asthma, there are things I can try to hopefully reduce asthma symptoms or even maybe get rid of it altogether!  Allergy shots can lessen the effect that the allergens have on me, since I can't really avoid pollen and stuff while running, and dust mites are everywhere.  Yeah, I can do things to reduce my contact with these allergens, but I can't get rid of them all.  So allergy shots are worth a try.  Most allergy shots are given in a determined interval of time, like twice a week for the first round, then once a week, then up to once a month!  However, this process can take years.  Wah wah!  But wait- there's more!  My doctor then told me about a process called rush immunotherapy.  This type of immunotherapy is like the allergy shots, but (obviously) rushed.  So instead of getting shots over a lengthy period of time, I can get a lot in one day, every half hour.  So, that's exactly what I'm going to do!


So that's that, then.  For now, anyway.  I'm trying to work through it right now, back from square one, or at least it feels like it.  For the past three months now, I have been on two daily asthma medicines, and I also have a rescue inhaler for when I'm running.  I have been working through it, and I've been running a little slower than I used to, but I've been running nonetheless.  In fact, just yesterday, I did 7 miles!  Very very slowly, but I did it!  Hopefully after my immunotherapy will help... we'll see!

I really love this verse... it gives me motivation and hope!