February so far...

So the month has been crazy!

Starting with the Sugarland Marathon and now 2 weeks later I am have run 2 more races.

The first one was the Katy 5k. It was put on in conjunction with the Katy Half Marathon put on my

ONUR Mark. They are a very well know race group in the Houston area. And as I  always say if you want more local races you have to come out and support and for me that meant not only running but volunteering prerace.Yep if you were there that was me along with two other girls manning the volunteer check in/let's fix your issue tent. Which honestly was a lot of fun. You get to be at the race site extra early, 4:00 am, you get the best parking, because there aren't too many people there yet and you get to see all the behind the scenes action. Well I would have gotten to see all the behind the scenes stuff if it weren't for the fog. It started out slightly foggy and before the Half started you could no longer see the start line arch from the 100 feet away from it our tent was. At one point you could barely see the lights that were at the startline, it turned out to be a crazy foggy day, in fact it cause about a 10 minute delay to the start. It was a good morning, I managed to PR my 5k time so no complaints. 

My 3rd race for the month was more of an impromptu decision to run. I needed 15 last weekend and am training for the San Felipe Shootout (5k, 10k, and 13.1 all in the same day) so I decided to run 2 miles and then run the Rhythm & Blues Half Marathon. Ok. So I ran the 5k of this race the first year it race, that was 4 years ago so I figured they may not be so disorganized this go round. I was kind of wrong. The Pros A) there was a bonus medal option and I happened to qualify, B) 2 loops this year instead of it's previous 3 C) the on course cheering groups and bands were FANFRECKINTASTIC!

The Cons A) It's a double looped course on the worst part of Allen Pkwy, the dreaded "underpasses" which meant hills not just out and back but out and back and out and back again. B) late start I know it's February but an 8:30 start for a half marathon is kind of crazy any time of year in Houston C) it was more humid than normal for February and the finishline ran out of water and so did the beer distributor D) the food was at the bottom of the hill (which after that hilly mess was dreadful) and all that was left for us back-of-the-packers was warm water, bananas, and stale mini bagels. I got dizzy so I left. Always. ALWAYS bring what you need to any race.

Would I do them again, Katy Half next year HECK YA! Rhythm & Blues, Nope.

Coming up Little Rock Marathon is 2 weeks away.

USA FIT Sugarland Marathon

Yes that's right marathon #2 for 2015 already!

First off after training with USA Fit Cypress for most of 2014 I have to be honest and say that signing up for this race was a no brainier. Seriously. Everything you are about to read is totally bias.

Since I just ran the Louisiana Marathon 2 weeks ago I decided to not shoot myself in the foot time wise and switched to the early start for this race. How early is early? How about 4:30 am early. But since I was looking at a 6 hour finish it was warranted. I expected a no frills start and I didn't expect as many people there as there was, maybe around 100. We got the full start line treatment, National Anthem and all! 

Having read previous reviews of the race I knew we were on our own until about 6 miles in. Which was ok for the first loop. The sun was still hours away and it was warm than usual but we had a real funky fog keeping things cool so by the time I got to the first set up water stop at mile 4.5 I was still ok. I would like to give a big shout out here to the crew at this stop, these were my peoples. So many runners and family members of the USA Fit Cypress group came out and put together a really AWESOME aid station. They seriously had the best energy and much needed encouragement, not just for me but for all the runners out there. My hats off to them. Volunteers really can make or break (as I will get to later) a race and this group, as well as the others out there really did amazing! So a HUGE THANK YOU to all the volunteers out there on Sunday.

The first loop up until I ran into the 5k turn around was great. I don't think the 5k group realized that they might encounter marathon runners while they were on the course. Those who did get in my way seemed quite startled by not only me but the few runners I was grouped up with. At this point had I known what had happened to the 1st water station I would have stocked up on water before I came to the end of my first loop but I didn't so....So miles 12 1/2 to about 16 were without support. The thing is someone put the supplies out for the aid station but the group that was manning it never set it up so as things were getting hotter and the sun came up there was a long stretch without any water. Next thing I knew I was out of water but still had my Tailwind but at mile 15 I needed to GU and for me it doesn't mix well with Tailwind so here is where my day went to shit. 

I was still doing better that day than I was in Louisiana. I hit 15 miles in 3:15 and still had no leg cramps. As I continued I finally reached an aid station refilled all my bottles. About mile 17 is when the problems started. My legs began to cramp, I popped two Motrin and continued on...on to rumblings of Tailwind and GU hitting my stomach. It's all a blur from there. I tried to hit some port-a-potties but another thing this race lacked was toilet paper. I had to skip two set because there was no toilet paper in either of them. I stuck the mantra "Don't poop your pants" in my head and kept at a  good pace until I hit the last set of port-a-potties. I think I lost about 4 minutes there. I did  manage to make it to the 25 mile marker and then ran in short bursts to the finish. Finishing my second marathon in 5:54:57. 

Injuries, other than my pride, I now have 2 hurt toes. My little toe on the right foot has a huge blister on top of the blister it got in Baton Rouge. And the toe next to it, which I call my mushy toe since I mangled it in Seabrook last March, the same one I thought I broke when I dropped a 3lb weight on it a few months ago, is back to being nothing more than a mushy hurt mess. Other than that so far so good. The 2015 goal of making it to the end of March on two feet is still in the works.

Things I learn this go round. Don't take GU's with Tailwind. I already knew this lesson and should have stuck to it. Stick to the plan, as in the reason I run with water and Tailwind is so I don't take GU's with the Tailwind. I am not sure if the Morin at mile 17 worked or if my GI issues kept my mind off how my legs felt but it is something I am going to keep in my race pouch for Little Rock, that and some chewable pepto. I am thinking about switching to PowerGels since I have had better luck with them mixing with Tailwind. I am going to use February training to see if this works.

Up next just a few races for February, the Katy 5k (I am also volunteering at) 2/7/15 and the Rhythm and Blues Half 2/15/15. This will be my first half marathon for the year. Then of course 2 weeks after that is the Little Rock Marathon.

And to top my weekend off I am anxiously awaiting my Marathon Maniac number. 2 races in 15 days. I am proudly adding Maniac/Fanatic Double Agent to my running resume.