Monday, January 19, 2009

P.F. Chang Rock n Roll 1/2 Marathon...

What is wrong with me???!!! Why haven't I posted ANYTHING for 23 days???!!!!

Some demons invaded my running again! Almost made me quit running. And I need to tell the story now because this is exactly the kind of thing that every one faces when they run for any extended period of time. So I want to share because someone out there is facing the same things.

So back to my post of Dec 14... that 20 mile run that I spoke of. Something weird began in my right knee on the last mile of that run. It didn't slow me to a walk, but I noticed it and put it out of mind and finished my 20 mile chore at hand.

And then... it came back on a 3 on a 4 on a 5 and forced me to walk even on short runs! I was sick about it. And then it was Christmas and off we went to Mom's house and interestingly, my short runs there had no knee pain... on pavement. Then we went to Mexico and in between extra rest days, I found 4, 5 and 6's to be pain free... on a hard packed dirt road.

Then I came home and ran a 5 with out pain and then attempted a 10 on my Mountain trail. At 3.4 the pain was back. But... I needed to get my mileage in, so I said, "ok self... we will walk/run but we WILL do 10". So I walked until the pain subsided and ran until it came back and repeated all of that many times over until mile 5.5 where I could only walk... and by mile 8 I was hobbling... all the way home.

And I was SICK! I had the PF Chang 1/2 coming up in one week! And 4 weeks later, the Lost Dutchman Full and here I am, can't even go 10! Can you feel my heartbreak???!

I rested again. Then I tried a 4 on pavement. No pain. Then a 6 on pavement, no pain. Then I quit running because the PF Chang run was in 3 days. And I concluded (with the help of my chiropractor), that running on trails was doing something to my knee. Lot's of uneven terrain, lots of changes of direction. Pavement is not forgiving, but it is steady and consistent and it was not hurting my knee.

Torment... should I drop out? I was talking this over with my sister and she said to me, "you could always just walk it". Then it dawned on me. Of course! I would not allow this setback to ruin everything I have worked for. I would attempt the PF Chang 1/2 and if I had to drop back to a walk, so be it. That is what training is all about. You DEAL with your set backs, you don't give up.

So I made my mind up. I would run the PF Chang 1/2 on Sunday for as long as I could and then I would walk. Done deal.

Then on Friday... I felt weird. Some nervy feeling in my gut. Race jitters? Maybe. But no, by afternoon, I knew exactly what it was. This may be too much info for some, but I am an honest chick, so I will just tell you. I realized I had a bladder infection. Haven't had one in many years, but no mistaking the discomfort and urgency to use the bathroom. Now not only was I mentally sick, but I was physically sick!

I got started on Macrodantin that afternoon and by Saturday evening, the pain and discomfort were gone. Still taking the antibiotic (not wishing it to come back), I went to sleep Saturday ready to go run a 1/2 Marathon - for as far as my knee would let me!

Sunday - 4:45 am. Race day. I have my routine laid out. I get out of bed and SURPRISE! I must have slept wrong! My lower back was twinging like it was about to go out! Another ailment I have not had affect me in many years! I could barely hobble to the bathroom from the bed! This was crazy! Affliction number 3!!! Was something telling me not to run this race?

Race Morning Glamor shot with many reflectors.

My husband said, "Come back to bed. forget this race, you are not in any condition to run". I said, "Well, I am going to try. I will stretch when I get there." Packed my gear, got dressed, ate my bagel and peanut butter and out the door I went.

I am not a fan of giant crowds and this PF Chang run is one GIANT crowd. I got to the start line early but had to use the porta potty due to coffee and gatorade. I am not lying, I stood in line for FORTY MINUTES to get my turn! This was almost not acceptable. I was sweating and doubled over by the time my turn came and that was even after 3 nice ladies looked at me and gave me there position in line because it was apparent, I was in a very uncomfortable position. Let me just say this... for a $100 entry fee, these promoters could have had a few more porta-potties!

I pee'd, I went to get in my corral for the start and there was no way! The crowds were too big for me to make my way up! I was scheduled for corral 12 and ended up in corral 15. What the hell, I figured, it's a timing chip race, so who cares where I start. Plus... in the back of my mind I knew I would probably have to walk... and all of the sudden I am starting the race without any stretching except what I could do right there in the middle of the crowd. I was doomed...

Zoom forward to the rest of the story...

I ran the fastest 1/2 Marathon of my running career to date. I had a nice day, no knee pain, the back never bothered me once I started running and I averaged 11 minute miles! Yea for me! 2:28! Ran the entire race and enjoyed it.

Moral of the story: Demons will always be there in some form or another. Some will absolutely make you stop in your tracks, but some... some can be beat down. I beat back three demons - any one could have made me drop out of that run. But I told myself I would do what I could - I have been training for 6 months - let's see what we can do.

And I had a surprise ending.

This running thing is crazy. It pushes you out of your comfort zone. It makes you do things you know better than to do. And no matter what the ending is... you are proud. Because you go further than you have ever gone before.

Thanks for waiting on me to come back to my senses. I'm back. Now... I just have to decide if I have enough miles under me to do the Lost Dutchman Full on Feb 15. It might make sense to drop back to the 1/2... but I have 4 weeks to figure it out. This weekend will be the decider. If I can run a long run this weekend, I just may be able to do the full marathon... we shall see!

6 comments:

Pat said...

congrats on getting a PR. We ran about the same race. However, I did some walking.

Sometimes you don't know how it'll be until your out there.

Richard Hefner said...

Way to go CJ! By the way, some of us think it's fine to walk. When I first started running in September 2008 I thought I had to run all the time, and I did, but after reading Jeff Galloway's book I started adding frequent walk breaks and it was liberating to know I could walk anytime I want to. Now I plan to walk before I get to the race, but if I feel like it I just keep going the whole race. The walking breaks don't seem to affect my time negatively at all because I'm refreshed when I start running again. I ran my first half marathon last month (Thunder Road) in 2:01:05 and walked anytime I felt like walking, and I'm pretty sure I felt better after the race because of the walk breaks.

CJ Miller said...

Thanks Pat - we do pace fairly close to each other - looking forward to running with you one day!

Richard - some time back I read an article on Galloways theory of walking and it sure made sense to me at the time. Especially at my age! Somehow I forgot about it and am really glad you reminded me. I may just go re-read that and maybe that will be my ticket to my marathon on Feb 15... I like that you finished so fast with walk breaks. It makes perfect sense and a 9 minute mile average is something to be extremely proud of. Congrats to you on that!!!! Tell me... did you walk through out or in the 2nd half, or what was your experience? Really looking forward to hearing more about it! Thank you!

Richard Hefner said...

CJ... Most of my walk breaks were in the last 5 miles but I was prepared to walk anytime I felt like it. I just wasn't too tired until then. Galloway recommends that you walk before you're so exhausted that you HAVE to walk (you know that feeling?) and I just sort of go with how I feel at the time. Jeff Galloway is in his 60s now and says he's never had any injuries using the run/walk method. I'll be 57 next month and other than a little bit of knee pain a month or so after I started (I think it was in October) I haven't had any problems at all. I believe the older a person is, the more helpful the walk breaks are.

Tanya said...

You have no idea how much your post means to me today. I haven't been able to run for DAYS because of a nasty bug and I couldn't even complete 2.frickin.miles. yesterday. You've given me hope that all is not lost. Thanks and congratulations on the race!

Anonymous said...

HI Ceej-

I'm so happy for you! A personal best and coming back from some issues! You said it best, this is what its all about.....See you next week. Can't wait.