Kentucky Derby Marathon Race Report part 1
April 29, 2017
My first marathon didn’t go as I had hoped. It really wasn’t
anything I did wrong, but circumstances beyond my control. I did learn a few
valuable lessons along the way and maybe would have helped me run a better
race. Overall, I am proud of myself for overcoming many obstacles, persevering,
and staying strong. The distance (26.2 miles) is a challenge in itself, but overcoming
the challenges is what really proved my strength.
I want to start back 3 weeks ago before the race. So much
that happened in that period really set the tone for this race. I missed a few
long training runs due to a lot of out of town travel, but I managed to run
pretty consistently and was remaining injury free. I attribute a lot of that to
doing strength training/Physical therapy sessions once a week with my PT, Zach,
and doing yoga. I also have been taking proper supplements, and listening to my
body.
3 weeks ago I did Ragnar which is an epic trail relay race
where you run 3 legs (15+ miles) over a period of time. I had a blast (except
the COLD TEMPS). After I finished my last run I was walking around the Ragnar
Village with some friends and my left knee popped VERY loudly. It freaked me
out, but didn’t hurt right away and I was fine. Less than 48 hours I couldn’t
walk well and my knee felt very unstable. Lots of kensiotape, Epsom salt soaks
with essential oils, 2 dry needling sessions, and a good massage took place
over the last few weeks trying to get my knee back to health. I felt fine as
long as I was up and moving, but if I sat more than 20 minutes it took me a bit
to get up and get going. This injury is better, but not healed all the way yet.
2 weeks before race and 1 week post Ragnar my pal Harmony
drove down so we could do our long run together that Saturday. She was
considering MAYBE switching to the full marathon. We planned to run 20 miles,
but it was already 82 degrees at 9 am. We made it 17…and it was brutal. My feet
swelled badly and I had blisters on top of blisters. I was dehydrated to the
point I was hallucinating and seeing rats (that’s when we pulled the plug and
once back at the car called it a day). I felt AWFUL during the run and all day
after. My nutrition had gone all wrong, my shorts chafed, and my feet hurt so
badly. The knee did okay with the tape, but the walking was uncomfortable. This
run put me into panic mode and I started freaking out about the marathon.
The following Tuesday, after my massage, and 11 days before
the marathon I went to Pacers and Racers for help. Maybe a pair of shoes with a
wider toe box? More cushioning? Anything!! I didn’t really like my Saucony
Omni’s I had been training in, but I didn’t dare switch new shoes a couple
months before a big race…nope…instead I wait 11 days. Rich talked with me,
thoroughly checked my feet and watched me jump, squat, run and walk. I’ve been
in the WRONG SHOES this whole time. I do have a past history of some nasty
injuries and I think the other store only focused on that rather than where I
was at now. Rich is very knowledgeable and was so helpful. I loved the first
pair of shoes he brought me. The New Balances with my usual insert felt amazing
from the get go and he said my running form was great. We talked intervals,
shoes, nutrition, and so much more. I left that store feeling much better. Once
I arrived home my shipment from Hello Fresh was waiting for me. That is a company
that sends you ingredients to prep healthy meals right to your doorstep. I knew
nutrition was important and I’ve learned several hard lessons in nutrition when
it comes to performance (training, racing, general life). I cut out fast food,
was mindful of added sugar, dropped caffeine, and cooked more at home. I’ve
lost a few pounds so far. I also have been drinking water like crazy…. HYDRATE,
HYDRATE, HTDRATE.
That following week (less than 2 weeks before marathon) I
also changed my race nutrition. I have been trying to figure something out for
the last 4 months at least!! Honey Stinger products and Huma Gels have been
doing so so with me. I got over the gagging with the gels, but trying to eat
one packet every 30 minutes sucked. Flat out pain in the ass, so much to carry,
and I didn’t drink enough when eating the gels. You need 10-12oz water with
them and I know I didn’t drink that at a time. The weather has been very cool
and mild so dehydration wasn’t an issue, only feeling slow and sluggish at
times or gut bombs. So, after some research I decided to give Tailwind another chance.
I had samples before and the flavor was mild and I liked it, however I wasn’t
using it properly and was mixing stuff with it (gels, food, candy) to
supplement calories, but not monitoring how much. I had some gut issues and
just started using only water and gels. ICK. I talked with the customer rep
about my problems and they expedited the shipping to me at no charge. I only
tested the Tailwind 3-4 times and all less than 5 miles (same with the new
shoes). Yep…. I’m insane and breaking the number one rule of racing, or at
least a top five rule.
I now have 1 week to go. The nerves are still on edge. I
have the taper crazies…that really does exist. I was putting my iPhone in the
fridge (happened only once), making messes, and just crying over nonsense (like
a cat video and another video on FB). I tried to get plenty of rest this week
too. As if new shoes and nutrition wasn’t enough I decided to buy new capris
from Lululemon to try. I have a Flipbelt I was planning to wear, but all my
runs I wore it on I had to pull it down so many times. It was annoying and just
something else to deal with. These new capris were awesome. They felt like
butter, had pockets on the sides and 5 pockets in the back that would carry my
fuel and phone. I only ran in them twice, but they felt great so depending on
weather they were an option.
My friends came down the weekend before to run and see my
little hometown. We ended up shopping, touring, getting fresh popsicles, and
visiting a winery so no running for us. I was planning to run 10 miles to test
my shoes, capris, and Tailwind nutrition that day, and ease some nerves.
Instead, I went out that evening for a test run of 3 or 4 miles. It was a good
run! I practiced my run walk ratio and what paces I needed to run. The rest of
this week went pretty smoothly for me, but not my friend Harmony. She got food
poisoning Sunday and was out of commission for a few days. I’m glad she didn’t
switch to the full marathon because midweek we weren’t even sure if she would
feel good enough to walk the half.
Midweek I had a brilliant idea that I would like to have a
custom shirt made. I didn’t think there would be time and I was okay with that,
but I contacted Dirty Tease and they made it for me the next day! I brought in
a tanktop I had been running in and used that to put the image on. Besides, how
many new things can a person try on race day?? We designed a Phoenix and the
bottom part shimmered in the light and looked like fire. The back read “Run
like you have wings”. It was so AWESOME that I teared up when the gals showed
it to me. It was really neat watching them do this and picking out what I
wanted. I’m so impressed and will definitely be back. I had forgotten my wallet
at work that day so I had to call my brother. I told him to give me his credit
card number now…he asked if everyhtting was okay then when I told him yes he
gave me the numbers. Ha! What a great brother!
2 days before I tried to do my errands so I wouldn’t be on
my feet more than I had to Friday. One errand was bra shopping. Yep. Something
else new before a race. My other running bras were either really tight, saggy,
or just bugged me. I sized down and found the perfect bra at Lululemon (I’m
glad I get a discount there). I wore it Friday to make sure it felt good, but
never ran in it. It was similar to what I was used to only a size smaller.
The day before Nathan and I both had the day off. We cooked
one of our Hello Fresh Meals (pasta option) and headed out for packet pickup
and a few errands. Packet pickup was at the Fairgrounds instead of downtown
this year which I think was easier. While we were out Nathan treated me to my
first Berry Twist ice cream. I opted for sherbet and a small cone to avoid too
much sugar before race day. We got back home fairly early and Nathan gave me a
BEAUTIFUL flower arrangement! Total surprise! Dinner was ribeye steak, mashed
sweet potato with honey cinnamon butter, and roasted broccoli. YUM! After
dinner we laid out our race gear and made sure we had everything we needed. I
had my food scale out measuring grams of Tailwind into little baggies. I looked
like a drug dealer!! I wanted to make sure I knew how many calories I was
taking in and to adjust for my water bottle size.
I taped my arches and left knee, updated playlist on ipod,
and double checked everything, then crawled into bed around 9:45pm. We planned
to be in bed by 9pm. Due to severe thunderstorms, nerves, and cats going bizerk
we didn’t sleep much or well at all. I woke up many times from the cats making
noise, and just race nerves I guess. The lightening was pretty fierce so I put
on my eye mask to help block the light. That night my Momma made several signs
and posted them on Facebook to cheer me on since she wouldn’t be at the finish
line. I LOVED IT!!! She has called me Top Gun for years and it still makes me
smile.
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