Onward and Upward: New Running Year

       I have written my opening blog for the year about 4 times and just filed it because I can’t seem to decide what I want to say. I was hoping by now to have run my birthday Cooper’s Test so I could report on that, but I’m sick with a wicked head cold so until I can breathe, I’ll put off a fitness test. In the meantime, I’m reflecting on my past running and looking forward to my future goals.


       I wish I could go back and talk to Beginning Runner Me. I would tell her first off to keep better records! I wish I knew what I was running at the start. I have vague memories of 2 mile run/walks, but have no idea what my time was, or heart rate, or feelings. I’ve logged so many miles now that runs I was sure I would never forget have faded into blurred memories. I started running in 2007, missed a lot of 2008 to surgery, and finally started keeping records in 2009. I know I didn’t run a lot those first couple of years, but being able to look back and see how we have grown is one of the greatest motivators so I wish I still had a window to those first months.

       With the records I have, I can see that in the last 3 years I have logged over 2,250 miles, about half of which have been barefoot. The miles show in my races, where times have gotten shorter, the efforts lighter, and the recoveries much easier! There is no doubt in my mind that I have increased in health, strength, and endurance, but I also know that I have great room for improvement.

       I have lots of great running plans for my future! Of course, I have the Great Wall of China Marathon in May, and will probably run a half marathon in March as part of my training plan. For the fall I want to work on my shorter distances and strength training. I need to keep an eye out for chip timed 5Ks (which are in short supply in Korea) and continue with my newest tangent, which is CrossFit. I have goals there too! I want to be able to handle the weights prescribed for women without having to scale down and I’d love to do even one hand-stand push up and a good pull up. I’ll even put out there that I want to lose 10-12 lbs before the GWC marathon just so I won’t have so much weight to haul up all those stairs, but weight lifting and marathon training do not lend themselves to significant weight loss so that isn’t a primary goal for now.

       So here I am, poised at the start of my 6th year running (WOW, that just hit me!) looking forward to another great year! Marathon training Starts Monday, Jan 16th

Onward and Upward!

Hi-Seoul Marathon 2011

       The weather was looking wonderful for my second ever marathon, first ever fully barefoot marathon, YAY! Low’s in the 50’s at the start and a predicted high in the low 70’s. I was up at 4am and out the door to catch the subway into Seoul by 5am. It was a long trip, first drive to base, then catch a cab to the train, then an hour and a half on the train to Seoul City Hall, thankfully there were no train changes!


       Arriving at the start, I decided it was warm enough that I didn’t need pants or socks/flip-flops to keep me warm until the gun went off so I stuffed them in my bag and headed to the bag check. I’ve read many times that Koreans can be very aggressive, but my interactions with them have always been delightfully pleasant with people standing in orderly lines to wait their turn, etc. I can’t say the same for bag check, it was like a piranha feeding frenzy! We are given plastic draw string bags and sent to stand in line for stickers so your bag has a number and you have a matching number to stick on your bib. All was fine until we got close to the start and they had run out of stickers. People were getting antsy and when some poor guy was sent out with a handful of stickers he was mobbed like something from an Argentinian Soccer game! In my attempt to get my hands on a sticker I was stepped all over (not the best time to be barefoot), shoved into a planter hard enough to leave bruises on my shins and almost had the stickers ripped out of my hands by other runners. I finally managed to get the stickers in the right places and realized I was never going to get near the truck to place my bag because of the angry mob trying to get stickers. About that time a bag went sailing over my head and into the truck so I thought, what the heck, and hurled mine over about 20 people with my fingers crossed that I would see it again at the end of the race.

       It was actually a very small marathon by Korean standards. There couldn’t have been more than a few hundred people for the full and probably less than 1,000 for the full, half, 10K and 5K combined. While waiting for the start I chatted with a few runners, including an Ironman wearing a shirt from the Gobi Desert Marathon, WOW!!! The news station covering the races came up to take shots of my feet. They panned from my face, to my bib, to my bare feet, asked me to move them up and down like I was running, and then wanted to see the bottoms, LOL.

       Finally they fired off the fireworks to signal the start and we all shuffled under the arch. Since it was a small marathon, staying at the back and not passing people didn’t give me as slow of a start as I had planned so I still ended up taking off too fast. There were no spectators or trash cans along the course so when I was finally ready to ditch my jacket, I handed it off to a very confused police man.

       My plan for gels was one every 30 minutes or so including one just before the start, for a total of 10 over the course of the marathon, but I only managed to gag down 8. It worked though, I never hit the wall as far as exhaustion or lack of glycogen. Mentally though I was feeling pretty over the whole thing by mile 20 and my hip flexors were bothering me from 15 on. I don’t know what I did wrong, but by the time I hit 20 I was in way worse shape than I was when I ran 19 or 20 for long runs and I was running slower. I suspect running slow and walking actually added to the impact and hurt me more than it helped.

       Over the 5 hours I was on the course, I talked to many people, American and Korean, and other than the debacle at the bag check I had a great time. Once the miles were into the teens I put in an ear bud and lost myself in my audio book and eventually switched over to music. At 20 miles I was feeling discouraged because I felt more tired and sore than I should have at that point. At 23 miles I was beginning to perk back up despite being about .4 over the markers for distance. That meant a 26.6 mile marathon and I was barely hanging onto my pace. By 25 I was digging deep and we were running down a freeway that was in total gridlock. Seriously, they ran us up an onramp and onto a freeway for the last mile!!! It was even packed with rush hour traffic so we were choking on exhaust fumes.


My Cheering crew, the Osan Bulgogi Hash House Harriers!


      As we exited the freeway and approached the entrance to the park where the race was to finish I began to hear cheers and whistles that meant one thing, the Hash House Harriers were waiting for me with beer!!! I’m not really a big beer drinker, but it is the best thing in the world at the end of a very long run when the thought of something sweet makes you gag and your mouth is stuck shut from breathing hard for 5 hours. They were about 100 yards before the finish line and it was close to the 5 hour cut off so I hugged a few people, downed my Dixie cup of beer and did my best to sprint for the finish line.


       My official chip time was 4:58:09, which wasn’t what I was hoping for, BUT I successfully finished before the course closed, ran the entire thing in bare feet, and as of today (Tuesday here in Korea) I am only the tiniest bit sore. So other than not setting a PR, I met the rest of my goals and will be ready to do it all again on Oct. 23rd!


Not sure why they were rearranging the mats at that moment




Epilogue: Following a marathon, the brain of a runner is not particularly sharp and decision making skills are not at their peak. Since my HHH friends were so wonderful to meet me at the finish, I decided to tag along with them to watch the start of the Hash event for the afternoon. Before I knew exactly what was going on, I was entered in a running event called The Beer Mile. Still wearing my race bib and medal, I proceeded to run one last mile on a ¼ mile track that included chugging a beer at the start of each lap. I finished the mile in 4th place (thanks to a friend that let me pass her,) and then threw up all the beer (THANK GOODNESS!) Taking tired to a whole new level, I finally managed to convince a few people that it was time to go so I could follow them back to Osan (I had no idea where I was in Seoul for the hash event.)

Marathon training week 2/18

       Things are still going well and I’m feeling good. The niggling issues of my piriformis is at least not getting worse, and may be getting better. In September, when my favorite massage therapist gets back from vacation, I’ll start getting regular deep tissue massages (every other week) and see how that works for improving things. I’m doing everything I can so maybe adding the massages will finally kick the issue.

       The big running tragedy this week is that my beloved Garmin gave up the ghost. Yes, I’ve tried everything, all the resets, all the tricks, it is truly dead. I believe the battery is shot and the mode button no longer works right so I ordered a new one and am anxiously awaiting its arrival! In the meantime, I’m using Map My Run and past experience to gauge my distances. I have a pretty good idea where each mile mark is around the flight line to keep a bead on my time and where to turn around, so it hasn’t been a total disaster. Also, if I haven’t received my new Garmin by Tuesday (which is pretty likely since the whole base stands down for 5 days to celebrate the 4th of July) I can borrow a heart rate monitor from the gym to help me stay in the right zone for my pace run.

So, for this week….

Mon: 3 easy miles. It was a touch colder and more windy following the tropical storm that blew by so not as comfortable running in the rain as I would have liked, but not totally miserable either.

Tuesday: 5 easy miles, which I turned into 6 because it is easier to just finish the circle around the flight line. I got a late start because hubby went in to work a little later so it was steaming hot. Also, without the Garmin, I pushed too hard and finished with an average pace of 9:30 mpm.

Wed: 3 easy miles again, but so humid! It was 75F with 100% humidity at 6:30 in the morning, like trying to run with a pillow over your face! Again, I ran it way too fast trying to get it over with. 9:20 mpm pace.

Thur: rest day! Which would have been great if I had taken it more seriously, but social obligations had me out way past my bed time and I had 2 drinks, which is more than usual for me so I was feeling pretty tired the next morning.

Fri: Long run, 9 miles. Tired and dehydrated from being out the night before made my 9 mile long run exhausting. I also need to work on my calorie consumption. I had my usual coffee with milk and banana, plus a handful of nuts, but after 30 minutes when I decided to have a gel, I realized I had left it in the car, UGH! By 5 miles I was starving and miserable, but I knew the only way to fix it was to get back to the car and the protein shake waiting for me. With a couple of walking breaks thrown in I finished in just under 1:30 so spot on for my 10 mpm planned pace. In the past I have had my long runs on the weekend and had time to rest afterwards, but on Fridays I don’t have that luxury. I was busy non-stop the rest of the day, ending with hanging out with friends for hours, drinking wine and staying out past midnight. This wouldn’t be so bad if I could sleep in Saturday morning, but I wake up at 5:30 no matter what I do. After once again exceeding my one glass norm, (by 3 glasses), Saturday morning was not pretty.

Sat: Hash run! I really debated this one. I was so tired from being out two nights in a row and it was so hot out! However, I really enjoy running with this group and as I’m the official blogger for it, I feel somewhat obligated to go. Fortunately, everyone was tired and dying of the heat so it wasn’t a heavy duty run. The one problem with this group is the tendency to share bottles. When someone stops and buys an ice cold bottle of water or beer and offers you a sip, it is hard to pass up. Unfortunately, I must knock this off because I am catching everyone’s colds and have spent more time sick in the last 2 months than I have in the previous 2 years. By Saturday morning I was coughing and am now miserable with another cold. It is very unusual for me to have so much going on in one weekend, so I’m sure this won’t be often repeated. Even so, I need to stay more focused on my health, make sure I get enough rest, and stop pushing so hard with everything else in my life. As much as I would like to deny it, I am neither 20 years old nor healthy; I cannot get away with burning the candle at both ends and expect to finish a marathon.

My Saturday running group, the Osan Bulgogi Hash House Harriers

Marathon training week 1/18

Time to get back to weekly blogging!!!


       I just completed week 1 of my 18 week marathon training program for the Chuncheon Marathon in South Korea. I will be following Hal Higdon’s Novice 2 program with the slight modification of shifting the days to meet my needs. Everything will be one day earlier so that my long run is on Friday, leaving me Saturday for cross training and Sunday free. My cross training will consist of the stationary bike and a few miles here and there with the local Hash House Harriers.

       Hash House Harriers is definitely not for everyone, but if you can get past the adolescent humor and beer consumption (or embrace it) the runs are tons of fun and consist more of walking and hiking than actually running (although groups can be vastly different). The best part is we run in a big chatty group so at least once a week I am not running alone.

       One other detail that I have made a goal is to run the marathon barefoot. The weather should be good enough on race day and I have all summer to get out the door at 6:30 before the pavement heats up, so I’m shooting for most, if not all of my training runs to also be barefoot. With the exception of the hash run, all miles were bare this week. Hashing barefoot is not an option!


Week 1

Mon: 3 easy miles. I typically HATE runs like this, but they definitely serve a purpose by knocking off the cobwebs created by the previous week’s pace and long runs and loosen me up for Tuesday’s effort.

Tues: 5 mile pace run. Since taking off at full speed is very hard on the body and not easy to do, I start by warming up with an easy 1 mile run and then step it up to my training pace for the assigned distance. This pace should be the pace you plan to run your marathon. The Chuncheon course includes a lot of hills and I am contemplating running a second marathon 2 weeks later to qualify for Marathon Maniacs so I am training as if I plan to run a 4 hour marathon, but will actually hope to end up running at a 4:30 pace on race day. For my pace run I had to push to keep the proper pace, but it was more of a mental issue than a physical one. As the temperatures rise and the distance increases, I’m sure it will get harder.

Wed: 3 easy miles. I did not mind 3 miles so much this time, LOL. I was tired from my run the day before and this was just to keep the rust from settling in. It had rained just before I ran so the air was like molasses. After getting cleaned up from my run I went for my first deep tissue massage. I hope to make this a regular part of my training plan as I definitely have a lot of knots to work out. I was sore the next day, but felt good!

Thurs: Rest day. I am so ready to run and train that it is hard to take a rest day. The first 3 days felt very easy and it was tempting to lengthen a run or two, but I know I need to build gradually and that the mileage will be more than enough very soon.

Fri: LONG RUN!! Once a month, I have managed to get in a run of 10 miles or more so only running 8 this week actually felt wimpy. It was my favorite kind of weather, 65F and pouring rain! I love stomping in puddles and feeling the rain on my skin. My hat keeps it out of my eyes and I was never too warm or too cool. I could definitely have gone longer, but decided to stick to the plan and headed into the gym for stretches and a little hip/core work. The Korean cleaning ladies were not amused with me dripping all over their floor.

Sat: Hash House Harrier run! We actually did a bit more running than usual, about 5 miles total on my feet and since we didn’t head up into the hills there were no hiking or steep climbs. We did do a lot of standing around and walking so it took a couple of hours to cover the distance, but it was fun and gave my muscles a break while still keeping me moving.

So there you have it, my first week done, 17 left to go!

MBC Adidas Marathon Seoul, South Korea

 My First Barefoot Race in Korea

       After all my frantic worries, I made it to the race area a little after 8am after almost 3 hours of travel time, ugh. I found my group, put on my bib, sorted my gear, and headed for the bathroom and gear bag check with about 35 minutes to go. The bathroom line, however, was half an hour long and I was really sweating it, but I was very glad I stopped because there were no potty stops on the race route! After the bathroom I dashed to the gear back check, and then to the start. Needless to say I did not get to warm up and reached the back of the crowd just at the gun went off. I wasn’t even sure I was in the right race start as I frantically looked around trying to find someone else with the same color combination on their bib. No one else had red numbers, but they all had pale yellow background so I joined the crowd and shuffled to the start line.


Standing in the shuttle line. Yes, there is such thing as too much sunscreen



       I didn’t mind that I was at the back of the pack. I was still fighting the dregs of a head cold and really just wanted to enjoy the race so, no hurry. My plan was to run with the crowd, not zigzagging to maintain a pace, and relax until I was fully warmed up (which generally takes about 3 miles.) As we got on our way, I met and chatted with several runners that were curious about my bare feet. Usually their first question was, have I done this before. Mostly I heard the exclamations of disbelief and surprise, as if I were on a unicycle juggling 50 tea cups. The only somewhat negative comment I heard was from a group of young American girls. I heard the usual, ‘”OMG, she isn’t wearing shoes!” finished with a heavy Valley Girl accented, “but, WHY would you do that?” Hhehehehe. The Koreans were totally supportive, giving smiles, fist pumps, thumbs up, and scattered English words of encouragement. All in all, the reactions weren’t really different from what I had in the US.

       By around the 5K mark I was feeling really comfortable and picked the pace up a touch. Since I started at the back of the pack, I had been steadily passing people for a while, but it was hard to do with the crowd so thick. I would speed up or slow down according to the bodies in front of me, not particularly concerned with my pace, but as the group started to thin out it was getting easier to move forward in a straight line. Everyone was in such high spirits! We trundled up and down over passes, and down and through underpasses, with the crowd hooting and hollering to enjoy the echoes. Every time I crested a hill, all I could see was a sea of lime green race shirts spreading out ahead of me like a river.


My pink shirt may have been more shocking than my bare feet



       After the first hour or so I went ahead and put on my headphones. I tend to get a little bored in the middle miles and since I couldn’t really strike up a conversation with a fellow runner, I turned on the tunes and retreated into my head. My music mix is very odd, but that makes me smile. The irony of going from Jonny Cash, to Pink, to Frank Sinatra keeps me pumped up and moving. I never know what will pop up next and A Boy Named Sue is always sure to lighten the mood.

       The weather was perfect! Somewhere in the mid 50’sF with a cloudy sky and slight breeze. Once or twice I felt a bit cool and worried that a drop in temp would be a problem, but it never got colder than that and I never felt hot. That was another God send since in my hurry to get to the start, I had neglected to Body Glide my usual chaffing spots. I had dabbed a bit of Aquaphor before I left the house under my heart rate monitor and where my waist band hits my belly button, but that was it. Thankfully I did not suffer for my neglect! Around 6 miles I thought I was getting a blister on my toe. That was BAD this early in the race, but it never seemed to get any worse. I made a point of stepping on white road lines every so often and glancing back to make sure I wasn’t leaving a blood trail, but I passed all the checks.

       I hate water stops in crowded races and didn’t want to deal with the bumping and jostling that goes on because I’m very likely to get my bare toes stomped on so I wore my hydration belt. It should have been enough water for the race, however, I was not well hydrated to begin with so by the 15K water stop my bottles were bone dry and I was starting to cramp. Thankfully, by then the crowd had thinned considerably so I stopped to get two bottles refilled and proceeded to push some fluids and down a pack of Sports Beans. It worked like a charm, my muscles stopped cramping and my energy picked up in time for a final push.

       With 10 miles behind me I was feeling really good and ready for a final 5K! I picked up the pace once again as many people were petering out and walking. Then, just after 12 miles I looked ahead and saw something NO runner wants to see on a race course. A hairpin turn onto a slope so steep I thought we would be running up stairs! It was our last climb up the river bank to street level and nearly everyone had slowed to a walk. I was determined to keep moving fast though. I managed to maintain a run, albeit a slow run, up the slope and back onto the road. From here it was a gentle uphill grade all the way back to the finish line UGH!

       As we came up to the crowd-lined finish chute I broke into a full sprint, flying past my running club to cheers of “Go Wendy!” and our standard waving! That was SO cool! I’ve never had my own cheering section before!! I crossed the line and hit my Garmin stop, glancing only enough to see 1:58:__ in the numbers, PR!!!


Jim Bates, my buddy from the Peninsula Track Club in VA.
So cool to have a familiar face at the race!

       I really hadn’t expected much from this race. Being under the weather I didn’t feel prepared and I haven’t had a lot of barefoot mileage in the last 8 months, but I think I have turned a corner. When I’m not worried about pace and just there to have fun, I believe the energy that had previously gone into worrying and feeling pressure to maintain my pace, now is going into my running and giving me very positive results.

       After a thorough cleaning and inspection of my feet I found no blisters or damage, YAY! Overall I’m much less sore than I was after my last 2 hour HM 17 months ago and this one was SO much easier. On the other hand, the RA flare that has been annoying me reared its ugly head. My hips were sore for the last 10 miles, not horribly or enough to change my gait, but enough that I worried they would cause me to DNF. They never got worse during the race, although it was pretty rough in the post-race hours and next morning, but they have settled down now and will not be the worse for wear.

       I am really happy with my splits. The first 3 miles were about a 9:20 pace, the next 7 were a steady 9:00 and the last 3+ miles where better than 8:45, including the wicked climb up the river bank! My last full mile was faster than the average pace for my 10K PR in Feb., and my Garmin says the .10 mile sprint across the finish line was at 6:21 mpm! These numbers blow my mind! I had no idea I had that in me, which is exactly why I race, to see what is hidden in my soul and soles.




Koreans really know how to picnic after a race,
 they are actually cooking the meat!

 

www.twitter.com/Barefeeties

Koguryo Marathon 10K, Seoul Olympic Stadium

I finally ran my first race in Korea!!!


        Searching the races for 2011 with the Seoul Flyers Running Club I decided to go for a 10K in the later part of February. I didn’t much care what the swag was, but I did want it to be somewhere that I could get to within a couple of hours. The Koguryo Marathon fit the bill so I signed up. I didn’t realize until we got there that all the races, Full, 32K, Half, and 10K would start and finish inside the Seoul Olympic Stadium! It was really awesome to be in such a great venue, even if the stands were pretty much empty.


The tiny yellow arch in the distance is the finish chute. This place is HUGE!


        After meeting up with two other runners (who’s collective ages barely exceed my own), we hopped a bus, then a train, and arrived at the stadium in time to pick up our packets from the tent set up for our running club. Everyone was milling around trying to stop their teeth from chattering with cold and laughing hysterically at the tiny shorts that came in our swag.

Yes, my friends, those shorts I’m holding are not for an infant, they are Korean women’s medium!

       The information simply said the race started at 10am. What everyone else knew, but I didn’t, was that by the time they got through all the waves for the marathon, 32K, and half, the 10K would be starting around 10:45. Needless to say I was not properly warmed up at all! Oh well, no matter, I was only running for fun and not expecting a PR. It was all about learning the ropes for Korea and meeting the Flyers.

       When they finally called for the 10K, we all crowded behind the start, but first, a little warm up. Of course, I couldn’t understand the words, but you pretty much get the idea when everyone around you puts their hands over their heads and stretches to the right, then left, then shoulder rolls, then everyone puts their arms out and gives a shoulder rub to the person in front of them. Then we all turn around and give shoulder rubs to the people behind us. I must say, the guy in front of me gave a great shoulder rub! Okay, all ready for the start horn.


Some of the Flyer ladies


       Talking to another American runner, it sounded like we were similarly paced so off we went. Leah was great. She was planning about an 8:40 pace, but if she felt good at 3 miles would pick it up. Cool! We chatted while we ran, her giving me tons of info on Korean racing, me prattling on about who knows what. I repeat, I had not warmed up properly, but I didn’t want to lose Leah and be alone the rest of the race so I struggled to keep up with her. We ran around the through the stadium, and then out along the Han River. It was mostly flat with only slight grades up and down along the river bank, but sunny and warm enough to be comfortable. By the time we approached the turn around to head back, I had to stop for water, and that was the end of having a buddy. Leah got ahead of me while I gulped/inhaled a mouthful of water and I was never able to catch her again, she was true to her statement about speeding up if she felt good at 3 miles. No worries, I was on a good pace, finally feeling warmed up, and ready to relax and enjoy my groove.

       Earlier I had set the virtual partner on my Garmin for a 54 minute finish to show another runner how to do it, but I didn’t really expect to run that fast. I had glanced at a few of half mile splits, but was more concerned with my heart rate and having a solid race. Between the part of the race that was through the stadium, and a cluster of huge freeway overpasses that we ran under, my Garmin had lost satellite a couple of times so I didn’t know if it was accurate anymore or not. Once again, I didn’t really care. I watched my heart rate and if it went down too far I stepped it up, but when my “Pace” was saying things like 14:23 and 6:02, I knew I couldn’t trust what I was reading.

        On the return, somewhere between the overpasses and the Stadium, the 10K runners were split off onto another path. It was a little weird because the path had lots of Sunday strollers who were walking 3 abreast with a child in the middle and not paying the least bit of attention to the fact that they were in the middle of a race course! I weaved and dodged, hopped over chunks of old packed snow, and tried to spot the stadium entrance. Finally they turned us right and into the cement arches and darkness. Around we went and then up a steep slope. As I crested the slope, I saw daylight again with a steep slope back down through the stands to the track and finish line. For a brief moment I was sure I was going to make my entrance in a head over heels tumble down the ramp, but I managed to keep my feet under me and even pulled a final kick (although it couldn’t really be called a sprint). I had definitely left it all on the course! The clocks were about 15 feet in front of the finish line. Yes, clocks, one on top of another, 4 clocks. I figured the little one on the bottom must be for the 10K, but I couldn’t believe my eyes, 53:20! Of course, it took me a while to remember to stop my Garmin, so I wasn’t sure what my chip time was, but I didn’t care, had to be a PR!

        Gasping for breath I stumbled up to Leah, who had finished about 3 minutes ahead of me, and another Flyer. They told me where to go to turn in my chip and get my medal and snacks. The snacks were weird, but not as weird as when I ran in Thailand. I cracked my drink to discover it was something like ginger Gatorade, which was awesome since I love anything ginger flavored! Then the pint sized banana, and last a pastry with a hot dog in the middle. Even though it was only a 10K race, it had been 5 hours since I ate breakfast so I inhaled everything! After my finish line Kodak moment, we wandered back over to the club tent.

hot dog danish anyone?

       Some of the Korean clubs were in full party mode with delicious smelling food wafting from the groups and drinks being passed around. Someone took pity on us and brought us a bottle of Mekgeolli, Korean rice wine. While rather different than the cold beer served to runners in America, it was quite refreshing and tasty. Everyone was really enjoying the sunshine. Down in the stadium, with the breeze blocked, the warmth was amazing and people were sprawled out on the track like starfish on a beach soaking up the rays.

Mekgeolli, Korean rice wine

       One of my traveling companions, who is only in Korea for a couple of weeks for a military exercise, won the 32K! The prize was a nice digital camera and very cool trophy.

       When it was coming up on 3pm, most everyone had finished their runs and people had been trickling away to head home for some time so our little group from Osan headed south. I was told my final chip time would be texted to me on my phone so it was long after I had tumbled through the front door that I got my final time. 53:10! I hadn’t realized it took me so long to get to the start line! My splits were a total mess. The first mile was way too fast, but the half miles before and after the turn around were my most consistent and average. Each mile after that was slower than the last. I definitely need to work on my pacing again and get a better feel for what I’m going for. I hadn’t practiced 10K pace and it showed. Leah’s finish time was also a PR, I wonder if staying slow the first half helped her.



Finisher's medal

       And once again, the Vibrams were a big hit. At one point I had to grab onto a friend to keep the Koreans that were lifting up my foot to examine my shoe from tossing me on my face, LOL.
      Next stop, half marathon, Apr 10 Adidas MBC Marathon

What I Teach My Beginning Runners

What I am teaching my beginners


     People are always telling me, “I can’t run” or “I hate to run.” These statements make me sad because the vast majority of the time the person is not only capable of running, but they can learn to enjoy it too. With my beginner group, my goal is to give them the tools to learn to run and love it.

     We start with form. Everyone that knows me knows I’m a huge proponent of barefoot running because it is gentle on your body and the fastest way to learn the posture and form that is the way our bodies were designed to run. The best time to learn this form is when you are starting out. There are many great websites out there to fill in all the details and ongoing questions but here are a few to get you started. The running barefoot, Barefoot Runners Society, and the barefoot forum on Runner’s World are great resources. If the idea of running barefoot is just too far out for you, you can achieve the same style through Chi Running, Pose Running, and Evolution Running. However you do it, it is important to learn proper body mechanics and most people are shocked to hear that landing on your heels is bad and that a good distance runner should NOT look like a Gazelle racing across a meadow. Distance running is definitely where Turtles can shine. Take a lesson from those turtles, they don’t bounce down the road!

     The next thing I teach is to learn to run SLOW! Running is running. If you always have one foot touching the ground, you are walking. When, for even the briefest of split seconds, you have both feet off the ground you are running. I don’t care if your forward motions amounts to less than 15 minutes per mile, if you leave the ground you are running. Allen Leigh, who is in his 70’s and still an avid runner, started his running career by learning to run in place in his living room before he ever ventured onto the road! Once you learn to run smoothly you can start adding minutes to your running and work on the next goal which is running increasing amounts of time. 30 minutes is a great goal! In that 30 minutes you can take a 1 minute walking break every 5, 10 or 15 minutes or however often you are confortable, but learning to be on your feet for 30 minutes and getting into the habit of doing so 3 or 4 times a week is an important goal.

     Running should not hurt! If running even a few steps makes you winded or sore, you need to back up and work on a walking program until this is no longer the case. When you can walk for half an hour, begin adding in a little running just for a minute or even 30 seconds at a time. Keep your pace to a conversational one. You should always have enough breath to talk, if not then take a walking break or slow down. Running at a speed that increases your fitness and makes you a healthier stronger person does not mean keeping pace with the local track star. Whatever pace gives you a good workout is the pace that is best for you. If everyone out there with you is passing you, that is okay, you are passing all the people that are at home in front of the TV! When my friend and I trained for our first half marathon in 2009, we chatted and blabbered through our weekend long runs that started at 5 miles and worked their way up to 10. Most of the time our pace was around 14 minutes per mile (mpm), roughly the same pace as a good brisk walk. This begs the question, “Why bother running if you can walk that fast?” That would kind of depend on your goal. My goal is fitness, and I know that as I get stronger, I will get faster and that I will need to go faster to maintain the heart rate that gives me a good work out. That 14 minute per mile pace evolved into an 11 mpm pace in less than a year.



     This takes me to the last thing I ask of my beginners. Sign up for a race. Local 5Ks are a real eye opener for new runners. The first time I ran a 5K was the first time I ran 3 miles without walking. The excitement of racing plus my competitive nature pushed me to a whole new level. The crowd made it fun! Running a race is not really about winning, it is about getting out there, meeting other runners, and having a really good time. You find out really quick that the skinny chick that looks fast may just be a recovering couch potato who barely eats and will have to walk half the distance to finish, and the person carrying a whole lot of extra weight may be an endurance power house that will finish, shower, and change clothes before the last person crosses the line because they have a strong heart and big muscles hiding under that extra weight. Sure, an overweight person has to work harder and so probably won’t win, but my point is that you can’t judge a book by its cover, especially in endurance racing. After my first marathon, I heard someone complaining that a “little old lady” was leading the 4:30 pace group (that means she was in charge of carrying a sign that indicates she will maintain a steady pace and cross the finish line in 4 hours and 30 minutes.) I pointed out that that I regularly get left in the dust by little old ladies and that particular little old lady finished almost a half hour before me without breaking a sweat!

     Last, but not least, the issue of weight loss. Most people start running with one major goal: to lose weight. I have to be honest with you, it will take you at least a year to build up enough speed and mileage to burn a really significant amount of calories during your weekly runs. HOWEVER, that is no reason to give up. The best way to do it is to look at running as part of a new lifestyle that incorporates cardio (stationary bike, elliptical, stepmill, rowing machine, aerobics, or walking), weight training, and diet changes along with your running. As you become a stronger runner, more of your time will shift to actually running, but the fastest way to lose weight is to alternate days with running and cardio. If you don’t have a reasonable way to get to the gym, you can always walk on your non-running days. Walking uses different muscles and will still give you a good dose of exercise without the risk of injury that comes with running every day when you are a beginner.

     My final thought is for people with Rheumatoid Arthritis or any other disease that slows you down. Nothing is impossible to overcome. You have to take advantage of the good days to make gains and those gains will help you though the bad days. I know runners with cancer, auto-immune diseases, heart problems, and even cerebral palsy. They enjoy their vigor and strength when they can find it and muddle through the weak days knowing there are better ones ahead. We start small with range of motion exercises, water jogging, walking, anything to get moving and keep going. I personally cannot find a middle ground, it is either keep pushing or curl up and die and I am definitely not ready

First Outdoor Run Following my Stress Fracture

Running again is so sweet!


The last time I saw my doc my foot was still sore and I had felt another pop. His suggestion was to continue with walking and going to the gym, but no running for another 6-8 weeks. I tried, I really did, but once I had gone a couple of weeks with no pain I had to try running. I was smart at least, I started on the treadmill so I could stop instantly and it wasn’t such a hard surface. First I ran ¼ mile, then ½, then one whole mile. Each attempt was followed by a day of rest and if my foot started to hurt I would back off. So far so good, next run 1.5, then 2 and finally 3. Once I could run 3 miles on the treadmill with increasing speed in small increments up to 7 mph, I decided to give the road a try.

It was a beautiful day. Following a long stretch of cold weather, the clear sunny day of 41F felt deliciously warm. I had been running in Vibram Five Fingers on the treadmill, or in socks, but I decided it was warm enough for a short barefoot run. We have a nice .75 mile rubber track on our base that is black so it soaks up the sun nicely. Being the wimp that I am, it would have been too cold to run far on asphalt or cement, but the rubber track was only cold in a few places where it was shaded or damp. To stay close to the gym and on the rubber track, I ran 2 out and backs for a total of 3 miles. It was utterly fantastic! Feeling the ground under my feet and the sun on my face was like coming out of a dark depression. I didn’t wear sunglasses, just let the beautiful rays stream into my eyes to lift my spirits and buoy my steps. I made sure I didn’t push my speed and stayed at a conversational pace so I was really surprised to find I had averaged 10 minute miles! I was thrilled to know all my gym time has paid off and have not lost too much ground. I felt strong and rested and flew over the ground like I hadn’t missed a day! It was really hard to stop at 3 miles, but I think I would lose my mind if I had to wait months to run again so the fear of reinjury kept me in check. Even worse what that the following day the temps were even warmer, but I knew my foot was not ready for running 2 days in a row and so I forced myself to wait.

After a day off, I only ran a very slow mile on the treadmill to warm up before doing a grand tour of the Nautilus machines. When I first explored the weight room here at Osan, I hadn’t lifted weights in longer than I care to admit so I was really struggling that first day. However, the weights have been my big stress relief. Lifting replaced running as a way to take out anger and frustration. That first day, I wrote down how much I could lift for three sets of 8-10 reps. Today, I brought that list with me to see how far I have come in the last few months. I was amazed to see that I have nearly doubled the weight on almost all of the machines! Granted, there was one that I couldn’t even use at first because my elbow would lock up painfully, but now I can push 40 lbs! I’m not going to win any contests, and the weights I’m lifting are still pretty pathetic, but improvement is improvement!

I still do not feel totally back in the game. It will take me at least a couple of months to get back to full speed and mileage, but I know I will get there and that I have picked up some new healthy habits to add to my routine. Weights will stay on my workout list, as will spin and my friend, the step mill. It really isn’t healthy to put on blinders and focus solely on one sport or form of exercise. Our bodies need variety as much as our brains. Now, to plan my next race!

The Long and Boring Road: Injury Recovery is the Pits!

"The function of the press in society is to inform, but its role in society is to make money."

A. J. Liebling



       Let me start by saying, everything is calm and normal here in South Korea. It appears the US news media is having a field day with doom and gloom over the exchange of live fire, but nothing has changed for us here since the initial alert last week.

       Running wise, I have had very little to blog about. The orthopedic surgeon said my foot is not yet healed so he wants me to give it 6-8 more weeks and see him again before I try running. He also told me to knock off hiking as there is too great a chance of re-injury if I step on a rock wrong or stumble on a rut. That was hard to hear as the last tolerable days of weather slip past me on our way into a dark and cold winter.

       My one bright note is that I have a group of beginners that I am working with. This past week 2 moms and a gaggle of kids joined me on the outdoor track to learn how to run and love it. I’m teaching them about form and how to run slowly and smoothly to develop good habits that can keep them running for a lifetime. It was a great experience and everyone left with a smile on their face. I can’t wait for their first spring 5K! With a little luck, I will get to run it with them.

Working Hard At Taking It Easy.

“Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits.” Thomas Alva Edison



       Following my MRI and visit with the orthopedic surgeon, the final diagnosis is better than I had feared. It is not a ligament rupture; it is a plain stress fracture of the Navicular and possibly also the cuboid, two of the chunky bones on the top of your foot at the ankle. It appears the main culprit was running down hills, something I will have to be very careful with in the future. I was surprised that I had cracked the chunky bone rather than the long thin metatarsals, but there are big ligaments that attach to the chunky ones and pull hard enough to fracture them when pulled over and over and over and over.

       So for the next 6 weeks (hopefully not extended to 8) I am sporting this lovely fashion statement.

       Now that I have the Boot, I am realizing what good company I am in. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t see someone else hobbling around the base in a matching appliance, and I am on a really small base. The hills here are steep and brutal luring many runners to injury.

       In Virginia, the only hills I had were those on the Noland Trail. One trip around the loop had a gain of over 2,000 ft. over the 5+ miles. I ran that trail 3 times in a row right before I left, (a total of a mile each of ascent and decent), so I thought I was ready for hills, but it consisted of dozens of small hills instead of long continuous ones, and it was a dirt trail which is way less stressful on your body than asphalt or concrete. In addition, I was exhausted with jetlag and stressed from the move, I added hills to every run while maintaining my mileage and pace, I was running on sidewalks instead of the road most of the time, and running both up and DOWN hills. And, of course, I’m an over 40 woman. By adding hills to every workout and not backing off on mileage or intensity, I totally exceeded the 10% rule!

       I was asked on my regular running forum, how I thought barefoot running plays into injuries like this my answer was: In the early stages of barefoot running, being actually barefoot (not in a minimal or "barefoot" shoe) protects you from TMTS (too much, too soon), but once your feet are conditioned for the miles, it is just as easy to overdo it in bare feet as in shoes. I think if I had tried to add speed work to every work out, the bottoms of me feet would have let me know before I got hurt, but hills did not add a challenge for the soles of my feet so I didn't have that warning. Plus I have learned to run on very old rough roads and the roads here on Osan Air Base are pristine. I could probably run a full marathon on them without my feet being tender or blistered. Being barefoot neither protected me from, nor caused my stress fractures. I simply exceeded my limits.

       I was also not listening to my body. I've always been opposed to running streaks because people will run no matter how horrible they feel, not wanting to break their streak. I see now that mileage goals are no better. My goal of 1,000 miles for the year is what blinded me to what I was doing to myself. I didn't want to fall behind on my mileage when I had already lost some ground in the previous week due to the move. Physically, I could easily have cut back on miles and still been gaining conditioning because of the hills, but I was so determined to keep my numbers pumped up that I ignored my better sense and kept going.

       I have never thought much about stress fractures, they were something that happened to other people who weren’t paying attention and pushing too hard. I’ve never broken a bone and always been strong so it simply was not something I was looking for and I had no warning. I did not feel tired on that run, I did not feel like my form was off. I had no soreness anywhere. Nothing physically told me I as over doing it. When I felt the pop in my foot, it felt like a spring "sprung," it really wasn't painful at all, just very strange. At that moment I stopped running and my foot began to feel a bit tender, but on a scale of 1-10 it was only a 2. After a minute or so of walking, I tried running again and it didn't feel any worse so I just slowly finished the last couple of minutes back to my hotel. The next day my foot was sore, but after another couple of days it was no longer tender to walk on and I could jog in circles around my house without pain so I went for a short run. Everything was fine for about 15 minutes and then it suddenly became VERY sore. It actually hurt worse to walk than to run so I turned around and ran back to my car. After that the level of soreness did not waiver. I could not walk, let alone run, so I knew I had really done something this time and went to see a doctor.

       I have been questioned about whether or not my rheumatoid arthritis was a factor in the fracture, but I am confident that if RA was to blame for my stress fracture it would have happened while I was marathon training, in the marathon, or for sure at the 24-Hour Relay. I cannot blame it on anything but my own lack of judgment. I have used some cortical steroids to treat RA, but rarely and not in high doses or for long periods of time. My bones do not show thinning and I have put them to the test before. This is not an RA related injury and in my life the benefits of running still vastly outweigh the risk of injury.

       What I'm hoping to really push is the fact that hills are much more stressful than running on flats so if someone moves from a flat to a hilly area, or goes on vacation from their flat city to the mountains, this is something they really need to watch out for. I knew hills were more stressful, but I hadn't really connected the dots on HOW much more strain they were putting on my body. If I had treated them with the 10% rule and considered 10% as no more than 10% of the running time up or down a hill and no more than 10% of my weekly time totals, instead of just thinking of them as not that much of the total distance, I would probably not be in a boot. I had never heard of anyone getting a stress fracture from running hills and thought I was taking it easy enough by doing some of my running in flat areas. Sometimes these things sneak up on us, but now everyone that has read this blog will hopefully tuck away this grain of information so that if they are ever faced with more hills than usual, it will pop up and remind them that somewhere they read about someone getting a stress fracture from running hills.

       The other lesson I want to stress here is: When something in your foot pops, STOP and do not proceed until you have seen a doctor that has experience diagnosing stress fractures. The general practitioner I saw at first was great, but he didn't know how to manipulate the foot to determine a stress fracture so I was walking around on a broken foot for 2 more weeks (yep, a total of a month walking around on a stress fracture, OUCH!)

       The good news is, I'm cleared for cardio in the gym as long as I can do it with the boot and AND it doesn’t hurt. Since it did hurt my foot to do spin class before, I have been holding back and not going to class, just sticking to the stationary bikes in the cardio room at the gym, but I did sneak in between classes and give it a whirl. I could stand to pedal with the boot on, but I think I need to at least give my foot a couple of weeks of peace before I push it that hard so I will wait a bit to resume spin class. Additionally, I have added to my supplements. I am not usually one to pop pills for nutrition, but some things we just can’t get enough of. I was already taking loads of Vit D, but I have now added calcium and magnesium to make sure I'm getting plenty to build new bone. I see the orthopedic surgeon again later next month and I will sign up for physical therapy to get started on a good and healthy track. The boot isn't so bad, it makes it much easier to walk (it has a rocker on the bottom like all the new power walking shoes, LOL) and keeps my foot from hurting. I am maintaining my goal of at least 5 hour of cardio a week plus some weights and I have actually lost weight, (although my pants are a bit more snug so I know I am losing muscle, not the fat I would like to lose). It is rather disconcerting to see that my right calf is already significantly smaller than my left, but I am definitely not the first person to have to rebuild a muscle after casting so I know it will be back to normal eventually.

       It is killing me to look out from my window and see hills that I know are full of hiking trails (Koreans are very into fitness) and not be able to run them while the weather is beautiful. Of course, I have already found a “Return to Running after Injury” training plan and cannot wait to get to it! Patience, patience, patience! Just 4 ½ more weeks…

Glass? What glass?

This is an article I wrote for the Barefoot Runner's Society

“There's nothing neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so.”

~William Shakespeare


       One of the first things a barefoot runner is asked by any shod runner they encounter is, “What about glass!?!” I admit, I was a bit worried about this myself when I decided to try barefoot running. In my first weeks of walking, I managed to pick up a tiny crumb of glass up near my toes. No big deal, my dad picked it out for me (yep, 40 years old with my foot in dad’s hands to have my boo-boo fixed, LOL). He gave me a raised eyebrow, “Are you sure this is a good idea?” look, but didn’t say much else. The next month, when I had kicked it up a notch and was running, I picked up another crumb of glass. Keep in mind, on both occasions it wasn’t a big enough piece to stop the run, and I definitely wasn’t bleeding. I was beginning to think this would be a monthly occurrence and began contemplating a shift to minimal shoes instead of barefoot. As the month rolled over, I was expecting my next piece of glass to follow me home. When I felt the expected prick, I hunted around with a needle and tweezers for days, but never found anything. Hmmm, phantom glass.

       I was holding onto the hope that the barefoot runners groups were right, and once I learned to step lightly, I wouldn’t exert enough pressure when contacting the ground to push glass through the skin. It seemed reasonable enough, since one can gingerly pick up bits of a broken glass from the kitchen floor without shedding blood, but the thought of my running lighter than the bone shattering heel stomp I grew up with left me a bit uncertain.

       The good news is, since then I have not picked up another piece of glass in my feet! I’ve never lacerated my foot on a shard, embedded a crumb, or slit a plantar artery. Glass has not been an issue. I have been poked pretty harshly by a stick buried in the grass (which is why I have an aversion to grass – I cannot see through it) and I have had a uncomfortable run-in with a sweet gum ball, but in over 350 barefoot miles, I’ve never had to limp home from an injury that would have been prevented by shoes. I occasionally feel a bit of a prick and pause to brush off my feet, but nothing goes through the rubbery, smooth skin that has developed on my soles.

       Fast forward to this past week. I was out running and thoroughly enjoying the warm pavement as my mind drifted through the bizarre month I had come through, when I suddenly noticed I was running through the remnants of a brown beer bottle. It didn't catch my attention right away as the glass was dark brown and in the shade, but glancing down I saw the tattered label with bits of glass stuck to it and realized I was surrounded by glass for 3 feet in every direction. Thankfully, I didn't stiffen or change my form when I realized it, or I probably would have hit the brakes and slammed my foot into the pavement. I simply stayed my course and waited apprehensively for the inevitable prick of pain heralding a crumb of glass breaking the skin barrier. Nothing happened.

       I have looked into the abyss and no longer fear the sharp teeth of glass. I can stand proud with my fellow barefoot runners and honestly say, the histrionic warnings of the shod are poppycock. Okay, I already knew that, but it is fun to say “poppycock.”

Bull Island 4 Miler

“There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self.” **Aldous Huxley**


          I have been waiting a year for the 2nd annual Bull Island 4 miler in my current home town of Poquoson, VA. In 2009, at the race’s inaugural event, I was just starting to feel good about racing. I had run my first sub 30 5K and had been working all winter on extending my endurance for my first half marathon. I was a brand new member of the Peninsula Track Club, who was timing the race, so I was also enjoying meeting the members and beginning to feel like part of the local running community.

         This year a few things were different. I’m a much more seasoned racer, I know tons of people at the local races, and I have given up traditional running shoes. On the other hand, unlike last year, it was blazing hot and the mosquitoes were out in force. Before the race even started people had given up, not even wanting to try in this heat. I was feeling like I had a slight edge in this case since I have been running mid-day for the last few weeks and am fairly acclimated to the heat.

          The road we were running on is one that has flooded recently and many houses are being repaired so I ran the route a few days ahead of the race to check out the viability of running in barefoot. The asphalt was good, but there were a lot of loose rocks and other debris. I was also worried about how hot the road would get since there was no shade and no grass on the edge of the road to retreat to if I felt like it was getting too hot. With all this in mind, I decided to wear my huaraches. The sole material I chose is very thin, flexible, light weight, and not impervious to rocks, but they did fine on the training run. Needless to say they got a lot of attention at the race start. “Are you running in THOSE?!” One guy yelled, “Cool huaraches!” He told me later he had planned on running in racing flats, but after seeing my huaraches, decided to go bare. It must have worked for him because he won 3rd place overall for the men. The best part of that was knowing I’m not longer the only barefoot runner in town! I hope to run with Elijah again soon!

          The race itself was miserable. I have to laugh at my complaints about the heat and humidity for last year’s race because we would all have killed to have those relatively cool, bug free temperatures again. Unfortunately, I feel like I have lost a lot of speed over the last few months while focusing on distance. I set a much too ambitious goal for my last 5K and burned out so I wanted to set a goal I could stick with and decided that 9 minute miles would be a good place to start under the conditions thinking, if I felt good after the first couple of miles, I could kick it up. I ran a one mile warm up, which served me well because I felt really sluggish at first and needed to get the blood moving in my muscles.

          I didn’t take off too fast, but it took a lot of will power to hold my pace in that heat. I had decided to carry my own drink so at the water stop I just dumped it over my head and kept running. My knee didn’t hurt at all, but I knew from the last couple of weeks that if I stopped and walked, it was going to stiffen up so I kept on running. I had started out pretty far back in the pack, but steadily passed overheated runners one by one. My final finishing time was 35:41, almost a full minute per mile faster than last year! This moved me up from 6th place last year to 2nd (once again missing first by a frustratingly small margin.)

          Just like last year, the best part of the race was beer and pancakes afterwards. Any other time that combination sounds revolting, but after a hard race it is the perfect recovery meal!

          Walking back to my car after the awards ceremony, I was stopped by a couple that said they had seen me running around town. Of course, they thought I was nuts at first, but after a few minutes of answering their questions, they were intrigued and ready to look into it more.

Slacking off

“Our nature consist in motion; complete rest is death.”


**Blaise Pascal**

       What a crazy month I have been through! So many changes. We have been adjusting to Hubby being home from Afghanistan, jumping through the many hoops it takes to transfer overseas, packed up all of our oldest child’s belongings and hauled them to her new apartment in Florida. Finished the arrangements and attended her wedding, and then beat feet back to Virginia to get our youngest to final rehearsals and performance for the end of the year in Orchestra. Needless to say, running has not been on the top of my list.

      Between recovering from the marathon in March, the ultra in April, and the wedding trip in May, my training miles have been way too limited and my miles per week average has slipped frustratingly low. The stumble, and plain old miles, at Sandy Bottom got to my knee which has also worked to limit my mileage. It has been wildly frustrating to actually have some time to run here and there, and desperately needing it mentally, only to get cut short by a sore knee. In 3 years of running, this is my first knee issue so I was starting from scratch with my research, having never paid attention to complaints about ITBS or runner’s knee.

       I bought a foam roller, which turned out to be one of the most painful exercises I have ever tried. Learned the appropriate yoga poses, added more stretches to my routine (and actually did them), iced, rested, and got back to doing squats. Nothing seemed to help at all. My knee stayed the same level of sore no matter what. Running or not running didn’t seem to matter much, although I did discover running fast was better than running slow, so I did intervals and fartleks. Once in a while my knee would feel a little unstable, like the tendons and ligaments were sloppy, so I played very close attention to form and made sure I didn’t get lax or lose focus.

      I don’t know what finally broke the dam, but I woke up Friday morning with no knee pain at all after running two days in a row through soreness, (not sharp pain, just tenderness.) I took a rest day and ran 7 miles on Saturday and 4 more on Sunday. Finally! A 20 mile week! My knee is so much better. I’m not sure if it is the foam roller, squats, stretches, or what, but I will keep doing them all! I have to admit, I had become very flaky about stretching and wanted very much to believe it didn’t make a difference to injury, but I know now that stretching is going to be a key part of my fitness routine. I suppose there are people out there that are naturally flexible and can get away with never stretching, but I’m definitely not one of them.

       Today is another rest day, but I am looking forward to tomorrow’s run. My goal is 5 miles, aerobic pace, and enjoyable. I think the break from running has been beneficial to me mentally. Although I craved running, I was a little burned out after the ultra and needed to find the joy in it again. If all goes as planned, I will start marathon training again in July for a November marathon in Korea. But then, nothing every goes off as planned in my life…..

Never give up!

          I had a fun run today. It was a fund raiser for the High School track team so lots and lots of teenagers. Warming up on the track, I had the usual funny looks and questions, “Are you racing barefoot??” YUP! Early in the race I got stuck behind about 6 teenage girls running shoulder to shoulder and asked to get through. They happily made room for me, apologizing and being very friendly. As I passed them I hear. "Hey! Look at that!" "Whoa, she isn't wearing shoes!" "She's barefoot!" "AND SHE'S PASSING US!!" Heard lots more whispers punctuated with the word barefoot, always funny. I was hoping for 8 minute mile max, but I’m not fully recovered from the 50 miler 2 weeks ago so I flamed out half way through the race. Once I had walked, my heart wasn’t in it and I slowed down more than I needed too, I would regret that.


        The course was through a housing area so the asphalt was great, but the path consisted of about 4 out and backs going up side streets, around a chair and back down. Coming up on the finishing chute I could hear someone on my heels and picked up the pace not to be passed. He picked it up too and we duked it out, but I stayed ahead of him and hit the chute first. I was moving so fast I couldn't slow down before crashing into the person in front of me, LOL. We laughed and thanked each other for the final kick. I didn't think I would win anything since the age groups were 10 year spans and I lost so much time in the second half, but I managed a 3rd place medal and got to walk to the front in my bare feet :-)

        I did have some questions and talked to a lady in a boot because she bought Newtons and gave herself a stress fracture over doing it and not transitioning properly (the folks that make those need to include an instruction book!). Someone asked to look at the bottoms of my feet, but unfortunately I have some mild calluses from running in shoes over the winter that are sloughing off so my feet don't look as pristine as they usually do.

        It felt great to run my first 5K in months, even though I wasn't really ready for it. I just looked at the results. The down side is the difference between my time and first place for my age group was 18 seconds, and second place for Women’s Masters was 26 seconds. I could have come in easily 30 seconds sooner if I hadn’t let my pace get to me and given up. Should have, would have, could have, isn’t what does it though and I simply didn’t bring it to the race mentally, my bad.

On the up side:

A) If the age groups had been 5 year groupings like they usually are, I would have had first place.

B) My third place was out of 25 runners in my age group!

C) The guy I sprinted frantically to stay ahead of and beat to the finishing chute was 24 years old, LOL. Hmmm, I wonder how he felt when he saw it was a 41 year old that whooped him, LOL

       So I don’t feel so bad about the time after all. I'll run a 4 miler next month and put my money where my mouth is!

OBX race report

The strongest of all warriors are these two — Time and Patience.” Leo Tolstoy


The Outer Banks Marathon weekend was amazing! Almost a year ago, I started planning this trip with some of my running friends. In that year, we connected across the states via facebook and became an amazing support group. The changes that happened through the year were astounding, but 6 of us made it to the start line, one for the 8K, 4 for the half marathon, and one for her first ever full marathon.

The weather was amazing, getting a little warmer each day until I woke up to warm, sultry beach air and knew I would run my half marathon barefoot. I had old socks and 99 cent flip flops to wear while standing around on the cold asphalt so my feet wouldn’t be numb at the start. My friend Cathy and I decided to do a quick warm up for about 10 minutes so I ran in my socks, adding nearly a mile before the start of the race.

They started us in waves with guns for the elites, 6 to 8 minute milers, 9 to 10, etc. so I located the 2:00 pacer and wormed my way to his area after dropping my socks and flip flops on the side lines. He confirmed we would be keeping a steady pace from start to finish, including the dreaded bridge to Maneto Island. I was nervous, but ready to get going.

The first 6 miles were a breeze. I was chatting away with other people in my pace group, cracking jokes and laughing without ever being out of breath. I loved how comfortable I was. I could see how easy it would be to run too fast at the start, but I stuck with the advice I have been given and stayed with my planned pace. A couple of miles in, a guy caught up to me and said, in a very curious voice, “I just noticed you aren’t wearing shoes.” We had a nice chat about barefoot running, benefits, where to find info, etc. and he continued on his way. Occasionally, I would hear comments behind me as people spotted my feet, but they weren’t as shocked or laughing as people were at the 10K, half marathon runners are much more serious. My one scary moment in the race came when someone tripped on my foot. I don’t know how it happened, if she was cutting behind me or I was trying to get past her, but suddenly I realized her foot was hooked on mine and she was headed for the asphalt. Without thinking I reached out, grabbed her arm, and pulled her back to her feet, asking if she was okay. She gave me a weird look, like “what the heck just happened,” but we never broke stride, both of us just kept running.

At one point we turned off to wind our way though some housing tracts. In these areas the asphalt was very rough and my feet were still cold, so they stung a bit and I was a little concerned about how I would keep up the 9:05 minute miles we were pulling if it didn’t smooth out, but eventually we turned back onto the main road and it got easy again. We could see the bridge and Manteo Island, which brought on the jokes about, “Look, there’s the finish!” while we were still many miles away. I was a little worried about the bridge, which I knew would be scored concrete like the twin bridges race back in June, but the bridge was very comfortable to my feet and the roads had been well swept of debris.

The bridge had been my biggest fear. By mile 10, things had started to be a bit more difficult. The easy relaxed pace of the first half had given way to having to push to keep up with the pacer. Conversation was trailing off and most of the people around me were concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. Looking up the bridge, it was an unbroken sea of people. I picked a song I used to sing to my kids at bed time and decided not to look up until I had run though all the verses, “Young Mr. Moon flew away in the night…” “…chanson pour toute le monde”, and there I was cresting the hill with the pace group, having lost no time. Down the other side we went, trying not to get carried away, but glad to have the hard part behind us. On the back side of the bridge I spotted my track club’s photographer, so cool to see a friend! We yelled hello, and on I went.

Somewhere at about 11 and a half miles, I hit a wall. Not a huge wall, but suddenly I was REALLY tired and wanted to quit in the worst way, but I kept telling myself, just 15 more minutes, just 10 more minutes, just 5 more minutes, and there it was! The finish line!! With the last bit of life left in me, I kicked it up and pulled a few feet ahead of the pacer. The Queen of England could have been high fiving the finishers in full regalia and I wouldn’t have noticed, all I knew was I crossed the timing mat.

Crossing the finish line meant coming to a sudden stop at the traffic jam of runners collecting medals, visors, water, Gatorade, and stampeding the food table. My head spun from the sudden halt and I was afraid I would pass out from not cooling down properly. Slowly, I walked through the gamut and made my way to the oranges and bananas. I downed both the water and the Gatorade is single swigs, realizing how dehydrated I was when my toes started curling with cramps. I hobbled over to the trash can to toss my orange peels and saw a runner in Vibrim Five Fingers talking to someone saying it was only bad once when he stepped on a rock. I had caught up with him near the finish line and laughingly told him to man up, referring to my bare feet, but he just picked up his pace and didn’t get the joke. When I pointed to my feet and said, “This is why I was saying ‘man up’” his eyes about popped out of his head, it was a cool moment.
It was a hard run, but the last couple of miles weren’t as hard at last week’s 10K so I knew I could talk myself through it. My feet fared well, one very small blister on the ball of one foot and one blistered toe, but they were dried up and fine by the next day. My friend that ran the full, on the other hand, had several huge blisters on her feet.

So now I have one more half marathon behind me, and one more ahead of me next month. My goal for the next couple of HMs is to continue to finish under 2 hours, but to be able to do it more comfortably and get more accustomed to the distance. I haven’t made any decisions about when I will start training for my first full, but it will be in the next 2 years, I’m sure. This weekend is dedicated to putting my yard back together after a strong Nor’easter, but next weekend I will return to my long runs.

Wicked 10K Race Report

With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable.
**Thomas Foxwell Buxton **



It has been a weird couple of weeks. After my calf injury, I didn’t run for a couple of days and then went back to my training plan and ran 5 miles on Saturday, three of them at HM race pace. After the run, my calf felt good and the next morning it felt the best it had since the injury so I knew I was better off to keep running carefully than to rest more. So Sunday I went ahead and ran my 12 mile long run. With all the progress I have made, I felt it was time to step up my long run speed and keep it at 11 minutes per mile. It worked out great! I finished my run in just under 2:12 and felt really good, not over tired or sore. The calf felt great too, a little tight, but not too bad. At that pace, I would still have a PR of 26 minutes better than last time!


A few minutes after I got home from the 12 mile run, my neighbor stopped by. She had her dog with her so while we talked, my puppy hopped and played around her very patient older dog. We do this all the time and Lucy stays with Kramer, showing no interest in anything else, until this time. I don’t know what got into her, but she saw a car coming and decided to catch it! Unfortunately, she did catch it, and in the process her foot was run over and crushed. It was beyond horrible! We got to the emergency vet clinic where we spent the next several hours before leaving her there for the night. In the end, she is okay and should have no problems after her 6-8 weeks in a splint/cast, but it was a really scary couple of days.


Needless to say, it was an extremely stressful few days. At first they thought her injury was much worse and the stress of worrying about her, the vet bills, and canceled plans, had me exhausted and not sleeping or eating well. By the time the day came for my 10K, I was still tired, had hardly run all week, and had lost 4 pounds from all the stress. My friends that were going to go with me to cheer me on had to cancel to fly home for a funeral so I headed out to the race alone and feeling defeated already.


There were 5,000 registered racers with friends in tow so the boardwalk was a mad house. This is not the first race put on by this company here in Virginia Beach so I was appalled at the lack of organization. There was nothing to give people an idea where to line up, so there were walkers, with strollers even, at the front and anyone trying to set a consistent pace spent the first mile or two dodging people and trying to break through groups walking 4 or 5 abreast. I managed to keep my tongue in check and didn’t yell the profanities that were popping up in my head, but a couple of people got a pretty good elbow.


After the first couple of miles, people thinned out a bit and it got easier to maintain my pace. I had my virtual partner set up on my Garmin so I could catch up to pace if I walked at a water stop or got stuck behind people. By mile 3, I was already feeling tired, but I knew I was prepared for this speed and distance so it was all in my head. My super-hero cape had also turned into a bit of a problem. Running against the wind, it created a lot of drag. Running with the wind it tangled up in my ankles and drove me nuts so I carried it draped over my arms for most of the run. I seriously considered ditching it in a trash can, but it would have taken too long to get all the safety pins undone to get it off.


When I reached the 4 mile water stop the conversation in my head started:

I can’t do this for two more miles!
Yes you can
It is a lot hotter than it was supposed to be
So what, you trained all summer
I’m tired; I haven’t had enough rest this week
Oh well
I’ve been under a lot of stress
Tough luck
This cape is heavy
You picked the costume
The wind is blowing hard
It will be blowing next weekend too
My calf is starting to hurt
Hold your form!
I’m really tired!
NO EXCUSES!!

I finished with a chip time of 54:08. My Garmin, set for the 10K distance, thought I was done 9 seconds before I crossed the line, which shows how much I lost dodging walkers at the start! That’s okay though, what I most wanted was the confidence to join the 2 hour pace group for the Outer Banks half next weekend and now I have it.

After the race, I picked up my free beer and waded into the cold ocean to cool my tight calf. It was so peaceful standing there with the waves lapping at my legs and carrying away the pain and strain. Later I talked to people that had seen me running barefoot and wanted to know more. It really was fun hearing the reactions as I ran. All my previous runs have been small local ones where most people either knew about my barefoot running, or saw me around the start. This race was huge though, with literally thousands of runners, each one I passed was shocked. I heard everything, surprise, horror, laughter, and the inevitable, “OMG, we just got passed by someone in bare feet!”

Although the costumes were a kick, the race wasn’t as much fun as I had hoped. My head really wasn’t in the game, it was home with my dog, or in Kabul with my husband, and the crowd was just too much. I’m okay with that many people for a half marathon or farther, but I think I like the smaller races for short distances. I was 31st out of 363 finishers, which just doesn’t have the same ring as 3rd out of 36, and there wasn’t a single familiar face at the finish line.


Next week OUTER BANKS!!

Acceptance

"Everything changed the day I understood that if I was to become a runner, I would have to run with the body I had." John Bingham, The Courage to Start

I read this quote in the blog of my friend Amy and it really struck me. I need to take it to heart and stop beating myself up every time I step on the scale. Amy will be part of my group at the Outer Banks in a couple of weeks running the full marathon, her very first! She inspires me. Amy learned to swim recently so she could compete in a triathlon and hasn’t let anything stop her. This is what I love about running, all the people overcoming their fears and getting out there even though they aren’t top athletes, even though they aren’t going to win, but just to be part of something and show they can do it.

We are all up against our own bodies. Maybe we carry a few extra pounds that slow us down, maybe we have nagging injuries, illnesses, or busy lives, but we get out there and run. Images like Paula Radcliffe sitting in the curb, head in hands, remind us this is not unique to amateurs, but we keep running. When we can’t run, we obsess about it.

I blew it last week. I’ve been doing too much speed work, desperate for the sub 54 10K that will give me the confidence to try to break 2 hours in the half marathon at OBX. “Desperate” is the problem. As I hurdled down the street, doing an 800 meter interval, I leaped off the curb and landed with a sickening pain in my calf. It was such a graceful leap. I was enjoying every moment of being airborne, planning to land with the precision of a ballet dancer in toe shoes, instead I nearly crumpled to the ground. 1 ½ weeks to the 10K, 2 ½ weeks to the half marathon, and I’m limping down the street trying to figure out who to call to pick me up. After a few minutes on the curb I started walking, bending my knees and finding a way to walk without pain. Once I got the walking down, and realized I still had over a mile to go, I tried a slow jog. I was able to very slowly plod home (turned out that jogging hurt less than walking) and won’t try running again until Saturday. If I can’t run Saturday, I won’t run at all for a week. It will be a long stressful week, but better a week than a month or a year.

So, I’m on a forced running vacation, but it won’t be forever.