Derby Mini 2015 Race Report

The Derby Mini/Marathon race is always a special race to me. It holds a special place in my heart because it was at the 2011 mini I cheered for Nathan when he ran his first 13.1. I was so amazed and proud of him and just couldn't comprehend running that many miles at once!!! I watched as so many people run and walk across the finish line and was inspired that I too could do that someday. The following year I trained for this race and was clueless about distance running...what a journey! Fast forward to the 2012 race. I remember the struggles along the course and how I thought I was insane for doing this...until I crossed that finish line for the very first time. 13.1 miles...unbelievable. I did it, I survived, and I LOVED it! After that first 13.1 I ran a couple more half marathons within the next year (Indy Women's 2012 and Derby Mini 2013). The Derby Mini 2014 didn't go as planned due to a nasty posterior tibial fracture and torn Achilles tendon the month before. I sold my race bib to my friend Alex  who recently moved to Louisville from Texas. The morning of the race I ate Oreo's and coffee while Nathan prepped. I rode with him and cheered for all my friends while in a soft cast and on crutches. It was depressing but it gave me a chance to look at things from a different perspective.

Now let's get to the Derby Mini this year!! Every year Nathan and I make this race part of our Anniversary celebration and I was looking forward to this race and training for it. My running this spring has been the best ever. Nathan and I ran the Triple Crown Series (5k, 10k, and 10 miler) and broke our previous records for each one. Everything was going great until I got sick a few weeks ago. I missed several runs including 2 long runs and just felt bad. Going into this race I wasn't sure how I would do. I forced myself to run 6 miles on the treadmill the week before and it was so hard. The week of the race I was so stressed out from everything and work I just didn't feel like doing much, but I did make myself run some Wednesday evening. It was the best run in a long time and I felt great...it must have been the steroids I was on! I felt better about the race on Saturday, but not the distance. I felt I was unprepared and I was worried about the rain too. 

I went to pick up my packet Thursday night and saw so many friends and had a great time just soaking in the atmosphere (and scoring some awesome freebies). A couple of my friends told me they would be out on the course cheering around mile 8 rain or shine and they would look for me. Leaving the expo I felt a little more excited about the race. Nathan and I went back on Friday to pick his packet up since they wouldn't let me get his the night before. That day I went from excited to nervous and almost sick. I finally just told myself to just run MY RACE and MY PACE. Don't worry about anything and just do what I can. I was still coughing from my ick and the rain wasn't going to help. I got my gear prepped the night before. This took forever because with the rain I had no idea how to dress. Rain jacket or not, long sleeve or short top, capris or tights? I guess I will just pack it all and have what I need with me along with a complete change of dry clothes. Why does figuring out what to wear has to be so complicated sometimes??  We got to bed early...4:30am wake up call comes early. 

Race morning I took several chances. I ate one serving of Cheerios with Protein for breakfast (never tried before a run) and got ready. Honestly, my number one concern that morning was going to the bathroom. I was seriously obsessed with that because I didn't want any GI probs on this race like the last one (PJ 10 miler). I grabbed my coffee and off we went. We parked in a garage so we would have some shelter from the rain before and after the race. While there we finished getting ready for the race. The people sitting in their cars stared at us as we slathered Vaseline EVERYWHERE. I applied some BodyGlide at home before leaving but it never hurts to be overly cautious. I snacked on a banana an hour before the race to top off my fuel and hoped it would help things move along. Nathan found his corral and wished me a great race and we determined a meet up spot. I went along my way to find my pal Connie for our pre race photo ritual. It was where the Landsharks were taking their group photo at Slugger Field. We chatted some and wished each other a great race. I was going to start off with her, but I decided to head back to the bathroom again (I wasn't kidding when I said I was obsessed). The race started and I was still in line and usually I would've freaked out but I didn't really care because the race was chip timed and better to wait now than later. I was supposed to start in corral D, but by the time I joined the race I was in F. The light drizzle rain started right as I crossed the mat to start my chip time. I'm so glad it held off while we were waiting for the race to start. 

I was off! I really like distance running because it always takes me a couple of miles to find my groove and get warmed up. I kept a steady pace and made sure I didn't take off too quickly like I always do. The first couple of miles I had to work out the kinks. The top of my left foot started aching right off the bat (like the first mile or less) but it wasn't anything that made me slow down or stop. The discomfort moved up to my left calf and as I was running I was thinking "okay so this is how this is gonna work, this will ache a bit then something else, but you're fine and just keep going" so I did. The twinge moved up to my left knee (why didn't I tape my left knee like I did the right one? The right one feels great). I focused on my form and trying to keep an even pace and take short walk breaks as needed. I planned to take my nutrition every couple of miles but instead I changed that plan. I took in some applesauce (little pouch I had attached to fuel belt) around mile 3 and some Skratch. My lid popped off my bottle and I ended up dropping the bottle and spilling about 2-3 oz of my nutrition. I really need to get new lids like Nathan has told me at least twice. I came up on mile 4 and 5 pretty quickly it surprised it, but what surprised me the most was how great I was feeling. I felt steady in my core (lead with the hips and knees is what I kept reminding myself), good breathing even with the rain, and I felt like I was holding a good steady pace and fairly even. I took in a little more applesauce around mile 6. I didn't feel like I needed it yet, but it kept hitting my arm and I wanted to toss the pouch soon. I sipped water at almost all aid stations which was plenty for me and I really didn't need the Skratch with me but I did take a few sips. I still had 10oz left after the race even after my spill early on.

 Mile 6, 7, 8 felt amazing and effortless. I was still being conservative with my pace and walking a little as my Garmin told me to, but I walked a little when I needed to and ran when I felt it. My friends were right where they said they'd be on the corner of Central before Churchill Downs. It was so awesome to see them and I ran over and hugged them both! Alexis commented on how great I looked and I remember telling her I felt like a badass and how great I felt. After a couple of hugs and some renewed energy I was off again. The rain really started pouring then, but it didn't bother me at all...actually I really liked running in the rain. I was worried about a blister but with as much Vaseline on my feet I should be safe. I finished off my applesauce pouch and tossed it. That was a risk I took with my nutrition since I never tried it while running but it actually worked in my favor. I felt great and I wasn't even tired. I don't even really remember mile 9, but I just listened to my tunes and be bopped along. I also made sure I ran as straight as possible and didn't weave around people- that helped conserve the energy along with protect my feet. I had bloody feet by mile 4 in the 2013 race due to weaving around people. I hit mile 10 and for a moment I got a little worried that I hadn't ran anything past 10 miles in my training. But I felt so good at that point that I didn't even feel like I just ran 10 miles and I just had 3 miles to go...that's an easy 5k. I didn't have any GI probs at all except one time (I think it was when I saw the 10 mile marker) my gut rumbled at bit...I just talked to myself and said you're fine keep going. Mile 11 is notorious for hip flexor failure for me. I was prepared for this and yes my hip was tired it didn't hurt like before. Coach Mike pounded core work into my head since last fall and it's paying off for sure this running season and thanks to my friend Alex for the Pilates training. I saw the marathon runners merging in with us and they just facinate me and they looked so strong! I checked my watch because I had no idea how long I had been on the course. I set my watch to ONLY show me my current lap so I only focused on one mile at a time (at times I wasn't even sure what mile I was on because I felt so great) and this worked well for me mentally. I was on course for a PR if I pick up the pace a little. I didn't plan to get a PR and just didn't care at the beginning of the race but I was this close so I'm going to go for it. I picked up my pace some but I could feel I was pushing more and was needed walk breaks more so I went back to my strategy. Run steady and strong- pace yourself! At mile 12 I knew I had my PR in the bag and just enjoyed the rest of the race. I still felt great and couldn't wait to find Nathan and get my chocolate milk. That was probably the easiest race and one of the best even with the rain!! 13.1 miles..BAM! I did it. 

Looking back and looking at my splits I know I could have pushed the pace a lot more, but I really enjoyed this and ran comfortable. I have time to work on my speed and strength before my next 13.1 (yep I want another one). I didn't get a PR by as much as I thought, but I did beat my previous best and that's still a PR! WooHoo. I was almost 30lbs lighter when I set that record so weight has nothing to do with it as Alexis says. I'm so much stronger now (I still want to take that 30 back off) and it really shows how far I've come in the last year. Nathan ran great and set a new PR for himself too!! WooHoo! I didn't need to stress and worry over this race I just needed to believe in my strength and determination. 

Resting Metabolic Rate and Metabolic Efficiency Testing Part 1

After working with a sports nutritionist, Anna Grout, I decided to take my quest for better nutrition and weight loss to the next level. I scheduled an appointment for metabolic testing at Fitness Rx. I've heard about these tests a few times, but I didn't really look into them much because I had a misunderstanding of how these tests worked. I thought you had to run for 50 minutes non stop and I can't didn't think I could even run 5 minutes non stop so I just filed this information in the back of my mind. It was during the Papa John's 10 miler when I had GI distress at mile 7 that I knew something must change. I am running faster and stronger than ever before yet I'm not where I could be. I messaged Dannielle at Fitness Rx and asked her about the metabolic tests and I was so happy to learn that I'm not running the entire 50 minutes or I can do a Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) test and get lots of data for my caloric needs. I decided to do both tests offered since it was cheaper to do both and  I got an additional discount from my coaching group.

Fitness Rx's website explains what each test is measuring and why it's important. I'm just going to copy some of the info from their website below because I can't explain it better than they do.

RMR or Resting Metabolic Rate, helps you know precisely how many calories you are burning at rest. Our state of the art ParvoMedics machine allows us to test your RMR and break down your calorie needs at rest into fat calories and carbohydrate calories. Why is this important? Let’s say you are wanting to lose weight and are burning 60 calories an hour at rest. If 40 % are carbs and 60% are fat calories…why do you want to replace those fat calories? Your body has 50,000-80,000 calories stored as fat at any time. There is no need while trying to lose weight to replace these. 

We then take your test a step further so you can see how much your metabolic needs go up with just minimal activity.  You will do light movement (walking) on a treadmill then we will bump you up just a bit more to assess what your calorie burn is with moderate intensity.  These numbers are broken down into your distribution of fat calories and carb calories as well. 

If you are working with a nutritionist, this information is vitally helpful in putting together your nutritional needs and it is specific to you, not derived from a formula based on national averages. 

The Metabolic Efficiency Test (MET) takes the above test above and beyond. You will go from walking briskly to easy running all the way to full out throttle running. This will give you more data about your needs at a higher intensity. You will remain at one level for 5 minutes, be shown a chart to point out what level of exertion you're feeling, then go up another level for 5 minutes. Below are some of the reasons to do a MET (below is from Fitness Rx's website directly)

• Get exact caloric needs for training and racing
• Get precise heart rate training zones
• Lower your risk of GI distress by avoiding over consumption of calories
• Establish % fat burned vs. % carbohydrates burned at each phase of effort
• Learn your unique “crossover point” where you convert from burning fat to burning carbohydrates

You have to fast for 12 hours prior to either test so schedule it early so you're not starving as much when you arrive. You cannot exercise 24 hours before this test so your body is well rested. That's really the only prepwork you have besides filling out the paperwork. I keep a food log using My Fitness Pal. I went ahead and printed out that weeks food log and turned it in with my other forms. That isn't a requirement, but it may help out. 

For more information on testing check out Fitness Rx's website here

Now for all the details of my experience!! 

You will be fitted with a snorkel like mouth piece with a hose connected to it. You cannot take this out of your mouth until the test is completely finished. The head gear looks crazy, but once you have it adjusted it's not bad. The worst part was the nose clip, but it's required so you're ONLY breathing through your mouth so you get an accurate reading. I was to lie there and relax as much as possible without falling asleep. Dannielle had my Garmin watch to monitor my heart rate (they will provide a HR monitor if you don't have one). The mouth piece was putting a lot of pressure on my front teeth in this position so I kept fidgeting with my lower jaw position. I tried to think relaxing thoughts, but everything I was thinking about made me feel anxious in one way or another. 

After about 20 minutes or so you sit up and get on the treadmill and begin walking at a very slow pace. You will be shown a chart with 1-10 on it and different levels of perceived exertion. Every 5 minutes you will be asking you point to a number. If you are doing the RMR test you will do a few minutes of walking getting up to a brisk or fast walk then you are finished with the test. If you are doing the MET then each 5 minute segment gets faster and faster. This is the part I was worried about and the reason why I didn't do this back in October. You must run nonstop for each 5 minute segment and you cannot rest or take a walk break between run segments. I am a run/walker so I usually run 3-5 minutes then take a 30 sec-1 min walk break. I am not used to running nonstop. You are still wearing that mask and nose clip. It wasn't as hard to breathe into as I expected, but you do salivate A LOT!! I could feel drool on my chest and even dripping on my shins here and there. 

bringing sexy back!! Hahaha!

I made it 35 minutes before the test ended. I did not get up to my full running speed because I was huffing and puffing so hard, and getting that twisted gut feeling and gagging here and there. I wanted a very short walk break badly but I kept on going and tried to focus on the music playing on my phone. I fizzed out pretty quick and I crossed over from being efficient to carb burning  quickly as well. Once Dannielle got all the data she needed  the treadmill was slowed down to walk to measure my recovery time. Dannielle was recording data the whole time and I tried to look at the computer a few times, but all the numbers didn't make any sense to me. I will get my charts and results within a week or so (another blog). Once you are recovered  (according to the computer) the mask, headgear, and nose clip is removed. Ahhhh fresh air!!! I can't say this test was a lot of fun, but it wasn't as bad as I expected and although I wish I could have pushed the pace maybe another 10 minutes or so I'm happy with my performance. I will retest at a later date to reevaluate my progress. In the meantime I will have lots to work on. I highly recommend RMR testing to anyone trying to lose weight and MET for any endurance athlete or anyone having GI issues. Thank you Dannielle for doing this test for me, being an awesome cheerleader when I needed it, and for taking some action shots. 

Follow the link here to checkout Fitness Rx and all they have to offer. They're a great group to work with! 

The Fourth Discipline

After years of "battling the bulge" and numerous weight loss attempts and fad diets,  I've finally decided to go the science route to becoming a healthier me. I was successful with Weight Watchers and lost almost 50 lbs but a lot of it was muscle. I had good results on the 21 Day Fix but I fell off that wagon last year.  I've tried many different products to help with  weightloss as well, but nothing has really worked long term. I do drink my Shakeology every morning for breakfast because it's easy and I get a lot of nutrition in, but I still have cravings for junk. I am currently researching protein options since I know I need to increase my protein intake. With so many products out there it's very difficult not to get sucked into multi-level marketing groups with promises of a healthier you. I'm not putting any group down and I think some of the direct sales companies have fabulous products. You can't just rely on a magic pill, cream, or drink to reach your fitness goals. It will take hard work, discipline, sweat, tears, time, and perhaps some swearing BUT YOU WILL GET THERE! It starts with the determination to change. I have lots of determination, just ask my Momma, husband, or my coach, but I have to work on my positivity and outlook. Nobody ever said this was going to be easy. 

Over the last year I've learned how to train smarter and trying to stay injury free. I've recently had several PR's (personal records) in my running, but I've also discovered another weakness...NUTRITION! I've had a lot of stomach issues and just feeling so fatigued and dragging along. When I'm having a difficult time during my training I joke about the struggle bus coming to pick me up. It's a state of mind where you're just ready to ditch your workout and be done. That struggle bus has been coming around a lot lately, but I just wave it by and keep going even if i'm at a snails pace...just keep moving forward!!!  I'm so sick of feeling blah, weak, and having a very negative body image. I look at my race photos and almost want to cry. I don't see a strong woman that just ran 10 miles and literally gutted out the last 3 miles for a PR... I see something else. I've also noticed now that my right knee and hip is starting to bother me since I've gained some weight. Finally, I REALLY want a Betty Designs tri kit to wear for my races but I can't fit into them yet (Hey! Whatever motivates you to make a positive change). I know things must change if I am going to continue to be an athlete and train for endurance distances. I'm making lots of progress, but my weight and nutrition is holding me back from my full potential.

 Nutrition is the fourth discipline of triathlon, but honestly it should be the first priority whether your an athlete (of any kind) or not.  Your body needs the proper fuel to burn and the grade of fuel you use makes a huge impact on your daily performance. After a referral from a friend I met with a local sports nutritionist back in February (Anna Grout, MS, RD, CSSD, LD) and got some great advice. The best advice was to drink lowfat chocolate milk and eat more! Anna is helping me fine tune my nutritional needs for weightloss and performance. Anna was very helpful with giving me a starting point for better nutrition and what I need to consume when running or biking. However, without scientific testing you can only guess what your caloric needs are based on the averages of thousands of people. This is where the metabolic testing comes into play. It is a scientific test that measures YOUR EXACT caloric needs along with lots of other cool data. These tests will give me my exact needs so I will know how much fuel I need and at what ratios. I am a tech/data geek and my type A personality wants to know everything so I', really looking forward to this test. 

If you would like more information about Anna you can click here for her website. I will post a 2 part blog about the metabolic testing and my results soon so check back! 

Papa John's 10 Miler Race Report 2015

Alexis... my blog has been inactive for 5 months now. I did this just for you my friend and I will work on updating this with some of the past 5 months. 

Today was the Papa John's 10 mile race and the final leg of the Triple Crown of Running.

I am going to say this was a great race although I am a little disappointed. I wanted a PR for this race and my goal was to run sub 2 hours. I was right on track all the way up to mile 6.5 even after going through the park and all the hills. I knew my pace would be slower in the park and I planned for that. I also planned for some discomfort from my knee and glute that has been bothering me for the past few weeks. Surprisingly my pace was pretty good through the park, I did walk more here to save my push for the back half, and my body felt good and strong. What I didn’t plan for was the awful GI issues just before mile 7. 

Nathan and I Pre-Race

My pal Connie and I. I wish I could have gotten a pic with  my other peeps too!

I followed my nutrition plan as I was supposed to (eat 1-2 chews every 15 min and sip on Skratch and/ water) and I practiced this last week without any problems other than getting my chews out of my pouch. I was out of Honey Stinger chews so I used PowerBar cola bites since I have used them before.  Pre-Race fuel was a bowl of oatmeal with some raisins and some Splenda brown sugar and some coffee to get things rollin (I had hoped) a couple of hours before the race. I sipped on a little water on the way to the race. As I type this report I’m thinking about hydration, and I think know I was dehydrated before the race and there’s no “catching up” on proper hydration. I didn’t drink enough fluids this week so I know that impacted this race for sure. I was super hydrated before the Rodes City 10k and took about 10 min off my previous time.  I still need to work on a better way of taking my (Honey Stinger ONLY) chews because digging them out of a hydration belt behind your back is complicated or look into all liquid options other than Infinit (the taste gags me now). The Powerbar chews didn’t appeal to my taste buds right from the get go either and It’s odd how your taste changes.

Nathan and I arrived very early to the race to avoid traffic, swap my shirt, TCB before the lines got too long, and of course pre-race photos. I felt a jittery as usual because I don’t believe in my capabilities even though I keep busting out PR’s and I was nervous I would get out there and have lots of pain…who cares (not about the pain- pain isn’t good) if I had to I could walk. No. I had it in my head I am running and walking ONLY when needed and getting that PR AND running sub 2.  I’m NOT running on a broken leg this year so I think I had myself so worked up because I was comparing myself to last year and I should easily PR…running is not easy for me and it never has been. I only put in one run in the last two weeks (9 miles the week before) and just had a rough two weeks with lousy  lack of training. I was happy to see my pal Connie before the race and drawl off some of her energy but I didn’t get to see my other peeps. Nathan went towards the front of the pack so he could avoid fighting the crowd since he was on a mission for a PR as well. IT’S GO TIME!!!

My first mile was just under 11 min and I felt great but I wanted to slow the pace just a bit to conserve energy. I should have just let my horses run the first three miles to get some cushion then back off, but it was a long run and pacing would be key. I would pick it up on the back half. Next couple miles were about a minute slower and were fine. I didn't feel pain anywhere, I felt strong in the core, and had great form.

Into the park we go and I noticed a guy in a blue shirt cutting across the grass to the road above and CHEATING! I didn’t see a bib number or I would have made sure he got a fat DQ by his name. I felt more badass because I knew I could go the distance so let him go, but I’m really surprised the runners at the top didn’t react to him. MAYBE they got his number and turned it in. The hills still sucked as they did last year, but due to my lack of running and hill training they worked me harder than I remembered from last year (would the hills ever end?) My pace stayed pretty good even with lots of walking uphill and I was still on track at mile 5. The crazy guy was out there cheering us on and that made me smile. I eased up on my sipping some because I was feeling the urge to pee but I was NOT going to wait in line for a porta potty. I seriously considered ducking behind a van that was there or just letting it go since I was wearing black dri-fit capris and compression sleeves. It was too chilly, I still had 4 miles to go, and Nathan may not let me back in the BMW to go home if I fessed up to peeing my pants. I held it and focused on something else. I picked out my person(s) I was gonna beat and just tried to keep them in my sights. Everything was going good and making up time on the downhill. I knew it was flat on the way back and I would be ready to take down that last long hill to the stadium. 

Out of the park I was picking up the pace and getting a groove. Mile 6.78 is when the GI problems hit. I don’t know any other way of putting this because GI distress is never fun or nice to hear about. I wasn’t sure if I was going to puke or crap my pants or knowing my luck both. I kept burping and feeling the discomfort (hell) upper stomach so I think those Powerbar chews were working against me. I started taking one chew every other mile in the park. I don’t know what went wrong other than lack of hydration this week. The last 3 miles were awful but my pace still stayed around 12:30 but I had to run a little, gag, walk a little, run some, gag and hold the projectile down, walk. I saw my pals Connie and Ericka run by and they looked so good! I tried to keep them in my sight because they gave me a little drive to keep pushing (thanks ladies) and I noticed the person(s) I picked out in the park ahead of me too. I tried to focus my mind on anything except my stomach but it was a challenge.

I was crunching numbers in my head and felt a little bummed that I had less than 10 minutes to hit my sub 2 goal and almost a mile and a half to go including the climb. I covered my watch at that point because my new goals were to finish without puking and just enjoy running. I planned my race but some things you just can’t control. Up the long climb I went and I peeked at my watch (I know!!) and realized I still could hit that PR but it was going to be very close. I passed up the people I was secretly racing and “Phoenix” by Fallout Boy (one of my favorite songs) came on my ipod as I was rounding the bin. I kicked it in gear and just focused on that finish line. No pain face here, only a please don’t puke face hopefully hidden by a smile.

I DID IT!! I completed the PJ10 race with my new record. It was only seconds faster but it’s STILL a PR. I got my medal and found Nathan. He ran an amazingly strong race and I’m so proud of him!

We gathered our goodies and headed out after a few selfies and a great laugh. Nathan cracks me up!! I love running races with him waiting for me at the finish line.

I’m still feeling a little icky on my stomach as I write this report so I will be working hard on figuring out the fueling part. I’ve come a long way with my running and I’m running much faster and stronger than ever. This was my first Triple Crown running series and I loved every race and not just because I set a PR at every race. Derby Half Marathon I’m coming for you next!!

Double PR!!!

Distance according to Garmin- 10.17 miles

Time- 2:04:27

Fastest mile- 10:57

Slowest mile- 13:22 (walked a lot that last long hill)

Average- 12:15

Pace last .17 driving it home to seal PR- 8:37—yeah baby!! 

Nathan was a super speedy 1:15:56- Wow.