Little Rock Marathon

A few months back I won entry into the Little Rock Marathon via a Twitter trivia contest. Before that Little Rock was just another bucket list race for me. And now I am happy to say I have crossed it off my list. I am so glad I made the journey to run it.

First off the weather. I would be driving up from Houston where it was cold and drizzly but still extremely tolerable. Unfortunately a storm was heading south and I was driving up into the storms drive line where not only was it in the 20's but there was a good chance of frozen rain or some sort of rainy icy mix.  I made good time, making the 450 miles in 6 1/2 hours. I was lucky there was snow on the ground in some spots but the roads for the most part were clear and I was able to drive fast enough to keep ahead of it.

Bib, shirt and swag

My first stop, of course, was the expo. No issues getting my bib, checking my chip and switching to the early start. Houston's expo is my gauge (only because it's my home town) so I would say that Little Rock's expo is about half it's size with about the same number of speakers. Later in the day as the weather became a bigger issue for runners traveling in, the RD's made the decision to keep packet pick up open to 10 pm and then worked things out for those who still wouldn't get in by then. I love when races make these last minute concessions. It shows that they really care for their runners and want everyone to have the best experience possible.

In the morning, I was lucky that my hotel was only 1/2 mile walk to the start. It was fantastically cold

Flat Joules, all the gear 

and drizzly out and warmer than it would be later in the race. We started with Bart Yasso on the mic and a recording of the National Anthem. It was a bigger crowd than I expected for an early start. The race wound snake like thru the Little Rock downtown area before branching out towards the Governors mansion and then on to Central High and then just after mile 11 we ran back into downtown into the crowd of regular start runners who were on their way to mile 3. The first time thru here I read the signs, right to mile 3 straight ahead to mile 12, it was an unfortunate split for at least one guy who asked somewhere on the way mile 13 which mile I was on when he realized he missed his turn and was only at about 4 1/2. This is the point where the route takes the major up hill climb. My feet were beginning to burn due to a combination of cold and rain soaked socks so I ducked into a bus stop and changed them out with some dry ones. That was better for the time being. 

The course up to this point has been rather boring but on the back side of the hill it turned into a small street that wound down along a bayou on one side and interesting old houses on the other. The lead runners began to pass us along this point. We headed to the a long stretch that would be 3 or so miles out and then back. As part of the rules for the early start crowd we not allowed to go any faster than the 6:00 pacers but at this point in the course with regular start runners coming passed us they were allowed to let those who wanted to run ahead of them go. So I went. These miles from 16-23 were really nice, it was along side the water in a park setting and probably the best part of the course. When we popped back out of here the course once again became an up hill battle and my feet once again began to revolt on me. On the last up hill around mile 25 I swapped out my intervals and instead of running 1:1 I ran 1:3 so I more or less walked the last mile until the final turn where I could see the finish. I was able to run to the finish where once again Bart Yasso was on the mic and giving high 5's to runners as they finished. Officially 5:57:47. 

Highlights from the race. The course was fully open for the early start crowd, some races don't have support for the early crowd until the regular runners start. The course aid stations were fantastic, this seems silly but there were more than 2 port-a-potties (more like 6-8) at every other aid station. The support from spectators in between the aid stations made it really no more than a 1/2 mile with out a cheer section. There are a few more notable in between spots on the course, such as the couch potato mile, the runners blessings and the lollipop stop. The full medical tent at mile 20 which was covered and dry. Also the super (no longer secret) secret hush hush boozy aid station handing out bloody mary's and "adult" fruit and moon pies. The lipstick spot on the way to the finish is something new for me too. 

Replica medal

This is not a race I would do for the Half distance. Unlike the Louisiana Marathon just running the Half distance would be worth doing, on this course I think you would miss so much just running the Half. The course doesn't really get interesting until that 3 mile/12 mile split and the part before there is really nondescript. I am giving this race an 'A'. I am not even really disappointed with the replacement medal. Sure the real medal would have been great but the fact the weeks before the race we were notified it wouldn't be there and the CIC's got the medal company to come up with something was really better than nothing. In all honesty it's better than some race medal I have earned. 

Coming up a few the Bayou City Classic, Law Week 8k and the San Felipe Shootout.

I should have updated this months ago. I did finally receive my actual Little Rock Marathon medal and it was all they had promised. 3 pounds of I can't wear this thing around my neck for very long. As you can see it dwarfs every other medal I have earned this year.

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.

The Louisiana Marathon

This race was so much different than any other I have ran. Why? 

First off it would have been easy for this experience to have gone the same way as my first half marathon. What a fiasco that was. In the past few years I have learn a lot from it. Like over training is bad and tapering even if just for 2 weeks is good. And sometimes going at things alone isn't the best idea. 

A year ago when I set my goal to run a marathon in place I knew it wasn't going to be easy but in the end it was a lot of fun. I am really grateful for the coaches at USAFit Cypress for their support and just general "you can do it" attitudes. 

So the race: 

The expo had a good amount of vendors and the packet pick up was very smooth. Being a Half Fanatic, our group packet pick up was held by the Marathon Manics/Half Fanatic pace team. These guys are amazing and if you every get a chance to run with their pacers DO IT!

Front & back of the 5k medal

I ran the 5k the day before the bigger races. I am so glad I did. The route to the finish is the same both days so I got a preview of what I needed to have left in the tank for the marathon finish. The last 1 1/2 included one serious up hill via highway overpass and then some smaller rolling hills to the turn for the downhill finish.

But let's go back to the start. We started on time with a rolling wave start, every 3 minutes or so. I hung back behind the 5:30 pace group. The first 1/2 mile was a bit unfortunate since the roads were torn up but the announcer was really good and letting us know about it. The first turn to the left lead us up our biggest hill for the day and then some gentle rolling hills on tree shaded roads that lead to the highway over pass at mile 2 (the downside of the finish hill). I noticed right at the top the 25 mile marker. This point of reference became a good visual on my way back.

The course continues on to the LSU campus, thru the Greek Houses, around Tiger Stadium, passed Mike the Tiger and then around the lakes, still on tree shaded roads. As the course ran the winding road I was able to keep the 5:30 pace group in sight helping keep me on task to my goal of an under 6 hour finish. In this area you got a real glimpse of what is to come. Every few house there were people out cheering on the racers, offering water, fruit, beer, tequila, whiskey, bloody marys, all kind of stuff. The locals are really what made this race. Music blasting from house to house, signs everywhere. Some towns (BCS) treat runners more like we are a nuisance, but Baton Rouge really turned on the Southern Hospitality. This kind of support lasted the entire race! AND it was on top of the truly amazing aid stations the race had put together. All of them full stocked and manned.

I was rally enjoying the race until about 18.5 miles in when my hip began to give me a bit of an issues. I kept on. About the 19 mile mark I switched from running 3:1 to 1:1. I was still able to maintain about the same pace during my run portions and truth is the walking parts began to hurt more than the running ones. At mile 20 I took my last GU and a pair of Motrin. By the time I hit mile 22 and it kicked in I was back running 3:1. As the miles ticked to 23 I started to really get into it. 5k to go. I made a right had turn and I knew that down at the end of that road was the left that would lead me straight up that overpass to mile 25. I went for it. 

At 25 on the way down I caught myself ready to let loose with still more than a mile to go. I wasn't ready I told myself you still need some in the tank. It's mostly up hill at this point until the last right turn, the finish line is then right in front of you, as is the Louisiana State Capital building. Still about 1/2 mile to go. Time to give it a little speed. Block by block the crowds came back. The shouts, the "YOU GOT THIS", I start to be able to see the clock. My eyes welled up and just as the clocked clicked the 6 hour mark I crossed the finish line of my first marathon!

OH MY!

The Green ribbon is 5k medal
The Purple is the Marathon Medal
The Blue and Gold is my Half Fanatic Medal
And the Crawfish platter is for running a race on both days

Immediately after I crossed and I was out of the photographers view I was scooped up by this guy at the finish line. The race had "finish line angels" as I like to call them. He grabbed me and then I really let loose. The tears, oh my how they flowed. "Is this your first?" he asked, all I could do is nod. He put his arms around me and let me have my moment in his shoulder. He walked with me the 100 feet or so to get my medal, asking me all those important questions, are you hurt?, do you need medical attention? are you here alone? and then "You did fantastic" and they put that medal around my neck and as quickly as he came to me he was gone, long gone before I could thank him. I have never seen that kind of after care at any race I have run. 

The finish party was good too. Jazz playing, happy runners everywhere, tons of food. If I had run the Houston Marathon I would have been treated to soggy eggs and sausage but not here. Their was so many different food options, I wish I was in a better condition to actually eat something at that point. 

In the end it took 4 Gu's, 40 ounces of Tailwind and 40 ounces of water, along with 7 months of hard work and dedication to get me across that finish line. My new marathon PR time 5:50:41.

If you get a change to put The Louisiana Marathon, Half Marathon, Quarter Marathon or 5k on your schedule DO IT! You will not be sorry. 

Up next for me USAFit Sugarland Marathon and Marathon Maniac status.

Sugarland FLS 30k

WOO HOOO!! The marathon training train runs on as I run the Sugarland Finish Line Sports 30k.

Sugarland City hall

The race docs say to be there by 5:30 or risk not being able to get parked before the start. So naturally I got there at 5 am. Yep that was me, wondering around taking random pictures of the start and finish areas. By 5:30 I was back in my car and set a timer for 6 and fell back to sleep. Normally race morning has me keyed up that just plain relaxing wouldn't happen. When I woke I went out for a quick 1/2 mile warm up.

December is unseasonably warm this year. It was 58 with 93% humidity at start time, which itself was a good 30 minutes before sun up. Things only got worse as the morning went on.

I think I did pretty good for this being the first time I have "raced" at this longer distance. I stuck more or less to my plan. Hydration-wise I brought 1 bottle of ready to drink Tailwind, 1 bottle of Tailwind in concentrated form (2 scoops in a 8 oz bottle) so that I could mix on the course as I go, and 1 bottle of just plain water. The plain water I have found is a must when taking Gu's. And yes I know the theory of using the Tailwind is that you don't necessarily need the Gu's but that is not the case for me. I don't need to Gu nearly as often as I previously did. I use to need them every 4 miles but now I use them every 6. I was able to stick to that for this race. 

In total I went thru 4 bottles (32 oz.) of Tailwind (5 if you count me absentmindedly chugging the last 2 oz of premix when I was cleaning out my FuelBelt), not sure how much water but I would bet a good 12 ounces, 2 Gu's and one honey packet.

Now as far as my race plan went, I didn't really have one, only to try and finish under 4 hours. The first mile was a little fast. The second mile I settled down keep pace behind a guy walking the course. By the time the sun came up I was a good 2-2 1/2 miles in when I began noticing GU packets. Just random full GU packets on the ground. This became a theme that got me thru what was coming ahead. I think I managed to pick up every other one I came across.  The 3rd mile as it came into the loops I had to remind myself to keep things settled, it is really easy for me to get hyped up and over-exert. By mile 4 I was were I wanted to be, nicely settled in easy going pace 13 m/m while running 3:1.  The looped part of the course is marked miles 4-16. 2 miles up and 2 miles back for 3 loops. 3 not so dramatic loops. So the first loop I spent time looking for GU's, I picked up 2 more and left 2 more. 

The second loop I spent looking for the Gu's I left the first loop, both stomped on and squirted across the road in perfect run over ketchup packet fashion. When I came around to my potty break somewhere between miles 6 and 7 the pace announcers had me at a 12:47 pace, perfect. I took my break and then started moving a bit quicker to catch up with my walker. I finally caught him around mile 9 and passed him at the water stop at mile 10 with another loop and a half to go. 

Finisher shirt and medal

The 3rd loop, well... the 3rd loop I spent reading road and business signs. The race is held in First Colony so really I spent the time dropping the "y" off of colony and seeing what the business would be named then. The two best I came up with were "First Colon Eye Care" and "First Colon Self Storage." Stupid and childish but the name of the game was keeping the mind busy at this point. 

The hardest part of the race however, had to be once you finish the loops. You still have 2 1/2 miles to go to the finish but it feels like the finish should be right there. As I made my way to the finish the air temp began to heat up which made for miserable running. I spent the final mile or so running 1:1 but maintained a 12m/m pace.

I came across the finish line just as the clock ticked 4:00:01. That meant I made my 4 hours goal. My chip time came in at 3:58:53. I could not have been happier. 

Up next:

21 miles of course. Longest run before taper is this coming Saturday. Can't wait!

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.

Tailwind

Tailwind, have you heard of them? There are just as many hydration products out there in the market as there are shoe makers it seems these days. Over the past few weeks the new name I have heard tossed around is Tailwind. From Half Fanatic boards to my MRTT group. One of the bad ass MRTT ladies just came back from Miowk offering up her old mixes, stating that Tailwind is what she was going to be using from here on out. So when someone tough enough to tackle a 100k talks about this stuff I try to listen. First off they have a few flavor options so I went with a 4 pack of assorted flavors. I ordered on a Wednesday and was hoping it would arrive  not for my long run that week but the week after. Well I was WRONG. I got it that Friday, as in 2 days later. Only Amazon could have been any quicker (and no it's not available on Amazon). I also was able to grab a 15% discount by "liking" their FB page, so if you're going to give them a try start there.

Before we start, a little about what I was doing. I have been using Cytomax. Which is a low sugar electrolyte. I came to it quite by accident when I won a can of it in a raffle after a flash mob race. I have about a 1/4 of a can left so I will continue to use it during my mid-week runs. On a normal long run I typically take 1 bottle of water (10oz), 1 bottle of Cytomax (also 10oz) and 2 GU's (every 4 miles) and a pack of honey (for my cool down), that normally gets me to 12-13 miles.  To compare the two I noticed right off that the sugar content is different, or is it. Cytomax labels its carbs (22g) as an "advanced carb system" that has 12gs of sugar, no fancy name for the carbs on the Tailwind just 25gs that come from 25g of sugar. Seems simpler. My next concern is the sodium content, but use Sodium Citrate at about the same level (115 mg - 120mg)  but Tailwind also lists sea salt under its sodium content at 188mg. That means Tailwind has more than twice the sodium, 303mg total. For those of you who think sea salt is better for you because it has less sodium, you're wrong. Salt is salt. The notion that sea salt is better comes from the fact that sea salt grains are larger so when you measure out the same amount of sea salt vs table salt you get less sea salt so yes, you get less sodium but if they are ground to the same grain size, they are the same. It is however better for you because it is nothing but pure evaporated sea water. Sorry about that, where was I going with this? Oh yeah... the main thing I am wanting to accomplish by changing hydration is that at the end of a hot long run I am still sweating and am not left chugging that horrible gateraid stuff or sipping Nuun for the rest of the day to make up for what I just depleted by body of. 

The test. Mother's Day. It's a relative easy long run 5-8 miles, only 73 out with 94% humidity at 6 am. (UGH! but these are the conditions I am going to be running in until November) I chose to try the berry flavor and followed the directions on the website to measure out for my 20oz bottle, packed a GU (just in case) and a honey packet (cuz you never know) and $5, in case I have to loop my run to anyone of the convenience stores along my route. I started with my normal intake schedule at 2 miles and then every mile after wards. It didn't have that strong of a taste and it didn't leave a funky aftertaste or feel in my mouth. I did feel a little stomach girggling about 2 1/2 but pushed on, my body was noticing the difference in sugar. When I got to 4, I normally would have needed the GU but I held off, still feeling pretty good. At mile 5 I was still debating how far I was going to run, I took the GU, thinking I might go for 2 more miles. I was having luck that the sun hadn't broken the clouds and there was a good breeze out but as I ran to 6 the clouds parted and the sun broke so I headed home, finishing just under 6 1/2 miles for the day. First thing I noticed as I took my cool down walk was that  I wasn't dying, I didn't need to suck down my honey as I usually would and I still have sweat dripping off my elbows. I did finish off what was left in my bottle as I waited for breakfast.

The aftermath...even taking in account that this run was the shortest long run I have taken in the past few weeks adding the fact that it really was the first "summer" type run for the year, I didn't feel completely spent and it didn't take the rest of the day until I felt "normal" again. So that is success enough to try it again on my 9 miler next week. The only problem and I'm not sure if I should blame the Tailwind or the meatballs from Saturday's dinner but for the rest of the day I got to enjoy quite the game of "let's just blame that smell on the dog." 

UP next, still training, Texas City 10k 5/31, Coasting the Coast Galveston Half Marathon 6/7, No Label 5k 6/14, Baytown Heatwave 5 miler 7/4, Xterra Magnolia Hills 7/12. Also looking to hook up with the USA Fit Cypress group in June to start marathon training.