September Recap

Yup, it's Fall! or at least it was in Texas for about a week. And now sadly, the heat and humidity have crept back into our weather pattern. There is hope I hear rumor of a "cold front" coming in for the weekend. I mention it because this weekend is also the official start of my Fall racing season. Some how for October I have 4 races on the books. Two half's, one 10k and 1 Halloween themed 5k that I will do with my daughters (so it really doesn't count). I have even signed up to volunteer at the bag drop of the Houston Half. I am really looking forward to a full and productive running month. By the end of the month marathon training will take me to the 15-16 mile range and right now I couldn't be more excited about running distances further than I have ever trained past before. The next 3 months are it, this seems so much closer than when I started this marathon journey in June. This marathon thing is really going to happen. That being said I need some goals to help work my way to it.

My first sub 2:30 half. My PR is 2:31 and change and that was in Beaumont in May in the heat so I am thinking I may be able to pull off something more like a 2:25 finish by the end of the winter season.   My first under 30 minute 5k. I've been real close a few times and even tho I don't have a 5k set to "race" until February I am hoping any speed I pick up over longer distances translates to a better 5k or even 10k time. So for 10k I am going to try for a 1:05. I think the Bayou City Classic is going to be the best race to try for that goal. 

Nutrition wise I am still going strong using Tailwind. Last fall I was a GU sucker every 4 miles but since the switch to Tailwind I have managed to work my way down to no GU up to 13 miles. Not that I didn't supplement with a little sugar, 5-6 sport beans and a honey packet but they are a far cry from the 3 GU's I normally would have eaten. After a long run I haven't been getting runger as bad either. In fact I am have actually lost a few pounds in the past month. Another testament to proper fueling.

So September wasn't my month. 55.67 total miles. I have finally managed to get back on track. I even finished the month with 1 minute repeats with my fastest being at a 7:43 pace. Not to shabby for a back of the pack runner.

Toughest 10k Kemah

Buttcrack of dawn at the Kemah Boardwalk

I have been down. I have been injured. I have been contemplating not running any more and then this happens. I headed to the Galveston Bay, more specifically Kemah to run the Toughest 10k. Oh my what a morning. It had been raining in Houston darn near all week and this dawn was a BEAUTIFUL way to break all that grey. There is just something very magical about listening to the water, feeling the salted breeze hug you as you watch the dawn of another gift of a day. Even more so magical when you are about to put your toes on the line and release everything you've got to run up and down a bridge 4 times with nearly 2000 other runners.

Now you know I am not one to repeat races often. There are a few I do annually just because there are no other races (August races I am looking at you) to do that time of year but there is something to be said for coming back to a race that has challenged you in the past. I found the series when I was not selected in the lottery for the Houston Aramco Half Marathon and thinking I was ready to run a half, I thought the By the Bay half would be a good fit for me. Well, runners logic also told me that I should not just do the last race in the series, I had to do all three. The first year I ran the The Bridge Series, I was a total nube! I had been racing maybe 2 5k's a month and the occasional 10k for almost a year. "Hill work" wasn't even part of my vocabulary. That race morning I saw the bridge and thought WTF have I done, this is really going to be tough, they didn't not lie when naming this race. It was the most difficult thing I had done running so far. I lost my shit half way up the first pass. I struggled to run up the second. The third pass I walked, by the fourth time across the bridge, I was done, forget it. Coming off the bridge, less than a mile to go, someone said "c'mon Mrs. Wallace you can do it!" sometimes when running that is enough. I shuffled to the finish and crossed in 1:20. Honestly that's really not that bad of a race time but there was something else inside me that nagged at me, that somehow I could have done it better. 

Startline arch 

Today I had something to prove, not to anyone else but just to me. This year, I started out in the middle and waited for the road to thin out a bit before was going to go for it. Only it was really crowded this year. I ran on to the first mile, still waiting for it to thin out. Made the u-turn at the end of the street and headed to the first water station where it was crowded and things sort of thinned a little (water stations are always the best place to lose those running around you who are distracting) but once on the bridge and people started walking up the incline it became clear running. The best was at the top of each pass of the bridge the breeze was cool and really did a lot for keeping the days' heat a bay. I think the best is just how fantastic it felt to be running again after the past two tough weeks I had been having. There is really something powerful that comes with running. On my last 3 minutes uphill on my last pass over the bridge I was even able to push it a bit. I hit the downhill and started passing people. One by one to the finish line. This year I crossed in 1:16:38 not a course record by any means but that's almost a full minute per mile improvement on my part and over "hills" no less.

So now here's the reasons to do this race. On the streets leading up to the bridge, on the undersides of the bridge and along the streets leading back to the finish line are the most AMAZING, cheerful, loud and encouraging group of people you could ever want to have cheering a race on. Not just people cheering on those they know but actually reading the names on people's bibs and shouting out encouragement to everyone who passed them. From the front of the pack to the back of the back. Most races only announce the winners as they cross the finish but at RAS races all finishers get to hear their names announced. Another reason to run this series is the medals. They are GREAT and among Houston races they can't be beat for style and quality. This years 3 races fit together to make one large medal and then there is a fourth for doing all 3 races. The party at the finish is also another reason to sign up. Tons of food, fantastic music (Other Brother was dj'ing), and runners who are in the best of moods.

What is even better than running a good race? Is that it is motivating me to get back on track. I actually went out this morning for my scheduled training run. I had thought I made it over the bridge unscathed, that was until my first walk break this morning and my calves started screaming at me. Oh well, they had better get use to it again. 

Injuries

It's been a tough few weeks of marathon training. Just when I committed to myself that I was going to get back to my scheduled weekday runs - life happens. First I miss my 10 mile long run and then before I could make it up I get in a minor car wreck. As I stood in the street waiting for the Sheriff's to show, I notice I have a good sized seat-belt burn on the side of my neck and my neck is starting to stiffen to the point I could barely turn it side to side. CRAP! I started thinking back to my last wreck and the 6 months of physical therapy and 3 spinal injections it took for me to get to the point where walking wasn't an issue. I went to the ER and as I sat there in the room I started to cry. 18 weeks out from race day and I maybe sidelined until next season. The doctor came in and as she examined me, I asked about running. She gave me that knowing look only another running could and said that if I wanted to run again I would wait and see what this really is and give it time to heal before getting back at it. Thankfully after a few days the swelling and pain subsided. By weeks end I was ready to get out for a few test miles. By Saturdays long run I was ready and amped up for 12. And I did them with no issues. Come Sunday morning I rolled out of bed for yoga and arms. I laid out my mat, grabbed my 3 pound hand weights and 3 minutes in pull the feck out of my lower back. Yea me. 

Now I don't know about you but when something is happening in my life my facebook feed seems to pop up with articles about it. As I sorted thru the ones about "getting back at it" after injury I found one that listed the different injury types and when you know you're ready to start up. It said for back injury that if you can hop and balance on one foot and then the other you should be ready to run. Monday - nope not happening, Tuesday left side no issue, right side forget it, Wednesday so much better, Thursday morning YES! I laced up, grabbed a water bottle and went outside, it was raining, I went back in determined and grabbed a visor only to come back out to it being torrential downpour. I turned on my Garmin, low battery, RATS, ok all signs lead to try again tomorrow. I stretched, it was ok but it's not running. 

There are upsides. I am well rested. Today starts packet pick up for the first race in the Texas Bridge Series, the Toughest 10k Kemah. I am going 6 for 6 with Running Alliance Sport this year and am so looking forward to it. Saturday is race day and even if I walk more than I get to run I should finish without too much pain. There is a 2 hours time limit so it's kind of walker friendly. 

Marathon Training wise this week is 10 so I'll probably do 8-9 with warm up and cool down. Next week we get back to 13 and then the first week of October cut back to 9. I have taken advantage of our cut back week to skip group training and run my first fall half. I signed up for the Buffalo Stampede put on my the Brazos Valley Museum of natural History. They say it's fast (don't they all) and relatively flat (this has to be some sort of euphemism they use to trick people to forget about hills) but the last 2 miles are on the down hill. And it was cost effective, $50 for a half is a great price these days. It will also be the first of four races for October. Next comes the Toughest 10k Galveston followed by the Raintree Village Trick or Trot 5k (my daughters are running it with me) and the day after it the first race of the Chevron Houston Marathon warm up series the Houston Half. I am hoping that last one has better weather this year compare to last year but even running in the rain is no really turn off.

I think, no I hope, that I am getting all my injuries out of the way and am able to get back on track by the end of September. October and November a crucial training months as mileage ramps to the 15 to 18 to 20 mile range.

I should have pictures and a race recap for you all on Monday. Until then Happy Running!

September

September 2nd and I already have a race recap for you all. I ran the Alaina Dixon 5 miler put on by the Runner's High Club. I have briefly mentioned this race in a previous post but I don't think I really did it much justice. Most important thing about this race is really it's back story. Alaina Dixon is a local runner who in 2011 collapsed a few feet from finishing the Chevron Houston Marathon. In the years since this race had been created to raise funds for various running related emergency medical issues. I may be wrong but last year I believe it was raising funds directly for the medical team for the Chevron Houston Marathon and this year it is to benefit IIRM - the International Institute for Race Medicine. This is one of those races that will surprise you. It is very well put on, something I have learn to expect from RHC, from easy early morning packet pick up to the balance of port-a-potties. Everything you would want from a race is included. Up beat pre-race music, timely announcements, pre-race "prayer", singing of our National Anthem, and most importantly an on time start.

Last year the race shirts were tank-top tech shirts with some really awesome mesh panels on the sides. This year they were female/male cuts in a super soft tech weave in a fantastic neon yellow. The route takes you thru the Uptown Park area along Post Oak and into the Tanglewood area neighborhood. The neighborhood streets are pretty well fully lined with old growth oak trees that make the most magnificent shade for what would otherwise be a really nasty hot run. The course water station is placed at the entrance of the neighborhood at just before the 1 1/2 mile mark you also hit it again on your way back just under the 4 mile mark. I did see a few people cut the course in this area, one said he missed the turn around for the 2 mile walk (which was the mile 1 marker but yes, there is just a walk option with this race too) but he was 4-5 blocks past the 2 mile marker (not sure who he thought he was fooling) and I saw another lady just plain give up a few blocks from the mid-race timing mats (she did at least rip her timing tag off her bib as she turned around). I had been passed early on by two ladies that had also run the Houston Wellness Project's free 5k in George Bush Park (if you're in the area and haven't checked them out yet, you need to) the day before, and I only remembered them because one of the was wearing full makeup (make-up while running is a subject for another blog), including lipstick on Sunday, as she was for this race, but I mention them because I decided I would use them as my race rabbits. We had been pretty evenly paced the day before and they were still a few block ahead of me so they seems like a safe bet to have something to go after but before I knew it around the 3 mile mark I was passing them. From there it became all about catching the next group of runners. Which I did. It is easy to see who has been out and running in the heat and who hasn't. I think for most runners 3 miles in a bit of heat and humidity is one thing but pushing beyond that is something entirely different, even for myself mile 4-5 wasn't easy and I have been out in it all summer. As I crossed the finish there was some cheering, this is also one of the few smaller races where the front of the pack actually stays and cheers for back of the pack. Not much for food options, granola bars and such but there is plenty to choose from in the way of liquids. There was some offerings from No Label Brewery as well as Mickey Ultra and also the assorted Muscle Milks and sodas. Finishing left me spent but in a very good way. 

This race was the ending of my Labor Day weekend tri-runs. I started with 9 with Cy-fit on Saturday, met a running buddy for 2.5 miles before the HWP 5k and then we added another 2.5 miles back to our cars after the race for a total of 8 for Sunday and then these 5 gave me 22 running for the 3 day weekend.  Starting September off on a high note!

Coming up this month I am running the first of the three races that make up the Bridge Series, the Toughest 10k Kemah. Of the three races this one I think is the hardest. Up and over four times. This month in MARATHON training we ramp back up to familiar territory to the 13-14 mile range. To celebrate this the Half Fanatic (#6208) in me signed up for the Buffalo Stampede in Byran TX October 4th. It will be my first half of the Fall season. Here's hoping to early fall weather and fingers crossed by year's end my first under 2:30 half.