Bring on the challenge!

Okay, so I haven't blogged on here for awhile.  I think about it, but then get busy with other things.  Time to start getting back into it :)

 So, this race was seriously amazing for me.  I've been training for awhile and really kicked it in at the first of the year.  I started eating right, lost 10 lbs, and really felt great for this race. I planned on a PR.  Then, Wednesday before the race, for our last training run, my husband and I were out jogging and my foot caught an uneven part of the sidewalk, and down I went.  I couldn't believe it!   How many times had I run those paths and never had a problem?  I got up, brushed myself off, and we continued, but before we had finished, I had to stop because my knee was bothering me.  When I fell, I came down hard on my knee.  I came home to scrapes and a swollen knee.  Of all the luck!  The knee stayed swollen and quite painful for the next 2 days.  I wasn't sure I would even be able to run on Saturday.  We went to the expo Friday and with all the race excitement in the air, I knew I just had to do it.  Even if I had to crawl across the finish line.  So, Saturday came, I taped up the knee, and off we went to the race.  

Aside from the wind, the weather was great for running.  Nice cool temps.  The race started, I started running, and every step I took, I could feel the bruise on my knee cap.  This was going to be a long 26 miles.  So, I just settled into a comfortable pace, not pushing it, resigned to the fact that the PR was not going to happen today, and just wanting to finish the race.  Once I hit the halfway mark, my knee stopped hurting.  Maybe it was numb, I don't know.  However, at this point, my other leg started to hurt because I was favoring my hurt side.  I started imaging lopsided muscles as one was being worked harder than the other ;)  My half time was actually pretty good and I was surprised that, even with the injury, I was able to maintain a decent pace.  Thoughts of "maybe a PR could happen" started to enter my mind, but I had to push them away because it was still too early.  I hit the 20 mile mark and noticed that I was 2 minutes ahead of the 4:00 pace.  And, I still felt GOOD!!  I wasn't out of energy at all.  At this point, the PR thoughts really started to come.  Every mile I would check my time and I was still on target.  By the last mile, I had 12 minutes to spare to get to the finish line.  I picked it up, not wanting to regret missing out by only a few seconds.  I crossed the finish line in 3:59:37, in amazement.  I had hoped for that on a healthy body, not a broken one!  Imagine what I could have done if I wasn't injured!  Although, I have to wonder. . .could having the injury and running conservatively in the beginning have helped me?  My last 1/4 split time actually improved, whereas most people peter out of energy.  I was actually passing people instead of them passing me!  I know I would have run a lot faster in the beginning had my knee not been hurt, but would I have also run out of energy sooner?   I can only wonder. . .

So, I'm totally stoked about my new PR!  I don't regret running on a sore knee, although I'm still paying for it.  It's been a week since the fall now and I'm still sore.  I want to get out and run again, but know I need to heal first.  It's killing me because I don't want to lose anything I've gained with all my training.  Hopefully, it will be better soon and I can get out running again!

Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:34

Mile 2 - 9:31 (I swear this mile was marked inaccurately)

Mile 3 - 8:06

Mile 4- 8:48

Mile 5 - 8:54

Mile 6 - 8:11

Mile 7 - 8:43

Mile 8 - 8:24

Mile 9 - 9:29

Mile 10 - 8:49

Mile 11/12 - 17:42 (missed the marker somewhere)

Mile 13 - 9:22

Mile 14 - 8:29

Mile 15 - 10:16

Mile 16 - 9:25

Mile 17 - 9:56

Mile 18 - 10:22

Mile 19 - 9:09

Mile 20 - 9:22

Mile 21 -9:11

Mile 22 - 9:15

Mile 23 - 9:34

Mile 24 - 9:26

Mile 25 - 8:58

Mile 26 - 9:46

.2 - 1:45

I also did something different this race.  I carried my own water and food.  I trained like that so I thought I'd keep it the same.  I don't usually carry anything when I run and just rely on the aid stations, but I think it made a huge difference to bring my own stuff.  And, I didn't have to stop at every aid station (since I hated that they were every 1 1/2 miles instead of every 2), and could stop when I needed to. 

I'm a little slow getting this logged, but here goes.

So, I was stoked to get out of the Houston heat and humidity to run this race.  I thought cooler temps sounded great!  HOWEVER, I was NOT planning on FREEZING!  I went from one extreme to the other!  30 degrees and a strong wind at the start was not fun.  Thankfully we didn't have to wait around too long for the start because, despite our best intentions, we were on the VERY LAST BUS.  I don't know if this happens a lot, but it almost seemed like they hadn't planned on enough busses.  We had arrived in plenty of time to catch a bus and they were filled before we could get on.  But, it all worked out in the end.

When the race started, my toes were numb for the first 3 miles.  Made it to Veyo hill and began the trek up.  Now, I haven't had much practice on hills lately, so I was hoping I wouldn't die on this one.  Made it to the top and was ready to pat myself on the back, and noticed there were still more inclines ahead. . .I guess I had forgotten these.  I had only really remembered 2 big hills in this race.  So, the extra uphill was a little difficult.  However, it wasn't the uphill that got me this race.  It was the downhill.  Normally, I LOVE downhill.  But, when you haven't been training on hills, it's funny how those muscles don't appreciate them much anymore.  Or not funny.  By mile 10, my quads were REALLY starting to hurt.  I couldn't believe it.  It was only 10 miles!  I kept hoping it would just go away, but by mile 15/16, I stopped at the aid station and had them rub icy hot on me.  That felt a little better, although they were still hurting.  I actually starting dreading the downhill.  It was terrible.  Around mile 22 I stopped again for some more.  It was that bad.  At mile 23, a friend I used to run with surprised me on the sidelines.  I was starting to fade at this point, so that was a nice boost.  The last 3 miles were really quite a struggle and there were moments I wasn't sure if I was gonna pass out or keep going.  I had nothing left at the end.  But, I was super excited as I had been watching the clock saw where I was coming in at.  My goal was to finish with a new PR and I did.  By 5 minutes.  Hubby also PR'd and was there to greet me at the finish line.  After about an hour of recuping I felt better, although it was a week before I ran again.  I haven't been that sore after a marathon for a long time, and I know it was the hills.  Looking forward to my next one in 6 months, here, where it is mostly flat :)

My splits:

1 - 8:26

2 - 8:27

3 - 7:44

4 - 7:50

5 - 8:06

6 - 7:54

7 - 7:36

8 - 9:04

9 - 9:01

10 - 9:02

11 - 9:02

12 - 9:00

13  - 8:32

14 - 9:20

15 - 8:32

16 - 9:40

17 - 8:16

18 - 8:54

19 - 10:08

20 - 9:12

21 - 9:47

22 - 9:03

23 - 9:25

24 - 8:46

25 - 9:24

26 - 9:25

.2 (okay, my watch GPS said .51.  My miles were off of theirs) - 4:47