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.

MERRY NEW YEAR!!!

I know we are bit into the New Year but I have finally found the time to reconcile how well I did on my running resolutions for 2014 and set some goals for 2015.

So how did I do?

I think I did well. My main goal of getting out and being more social of runner was very successful. I ended the year with 2 really good running partners. Both have rather busy lives but I know when time permits for all of us I can message them and they will be willing to run with me. Having company really makes the miles go faster.

I also cracked open my runner's shell by joining a running group. The USAFit Cypress group has done some much for me. It really gave me something to look forward to besides just adding on more miles as I trained for my #4 goal for 2014. And how about that marathon goal...I not only have 1 on tap for 2015 but 3. By the time the beginning of March rolls around I will have qualified for the big leagues, the Marathon Maniacs.

My goal to get my family involved was a bit more challenging. I did get my eldest daughter out for 3 5ks. And I have roped my husband into running the Advocate 5k, as part of my first marathon weekend.Yes, my first marathon. YEA! I am running the Louisiana Marathon on Jan 18th. A week and a half from now I will be a marathon runner.

So now what, going forward in 2015.

#1 I am going to volunteer more. I have already signed up to help out with the Bayou City Classic. (look for this race to go on sale Houston Marathon weekend, Jan 16th-18th use code BCCEXPO during those days to roll the price back to the early bird pricing.)

I am also looking into helping out with the Green 6.2 or the 4 the Park races in April. I loved helping out at the Houston Half in 2014 so much I will do it again in 2015.

#2 I'm going to stick with the Cyfit group thru the winter 2015 season. I am not sure what I am going to be running yet in the fall/winter but I think I would really like to get to know this group better. I have learned so much from them and I know there is so much more for me to learn.

#3 this one is simple a sub 2:30 half marathon. I mean if I can get to 2:31 in Beaumont in May...

Here's the line up so far for 2015:

Jan 17 Advocate 5k, Baton Rouge La
Jan 18 Louisiana Marathon, Baton Rouge La

Feb 1 USAFit Marathon, Sugarland Tx
Feb 7 Katy 5k

March 1st Little Rock AR Marathon
March 14th Bayou City Classic 10k, also volunteering in some manner
March 28th San Felipe Shoot Out, 5k, 10k, Half Marathon all on the same day, some state park in TX.

April ? volunteering for either the Green 6.2 or the 4 the Park race.
April 25th Brazos Bend 25k? (new course, same medal as last year only w/a different ribbon)

What are your goals for 2015?

Limbo

I find myself in an odd runner's limbo.

As races are opening registration for 2015 I am finding it hard to decide on what my next move is. I am not sure if I want to keep training to run at the Marathon distance level or scale back to the old comfy 6-8-10 Half marathon routine.

I know I should wait until I the 3 marathons I have on tap have been run but I sort of feel the need to begin looking beyond that to a the winter goal for the 2015-16 winter season.

I would LOVE to go back and run BCS again but not sure what distance. I would also like to add the Kingwood Marathon to my list of accomplishments. And now that the lottery has been removed from the Chevron Houston Marathon decisions about it have to be made pretty much on race day 2015.

As always I am also struggling with finding new races to run. We all have our handful of go to's but I really am looking for races that have me running where I haven't run before.

So far 2015 looks like this:

Jan 17 Advocate 5k (part of the Louisiana Marathon weekend)
Jan 18 Louisiana Marathon
Feb  1 Usa Fit Marathon
Feb  7 Katy 5k
Feb 28 The Woodlands Half   (although I may defer to 2016 due to having to get to LR before the Expo closes)
March 1 Little Rock Marathon
March 14 Bayou City Classic 10k
March 28 The San Felipe Shootout

In April I am looking to take a break and am hoping to volunteer for the Green 6.2 and then maybe do the 25k out at Brazos Bend again.

May - August become all about the 5k and 10k, with maybe a trail run of a bit longer distance. These are the months in Houston that are hot and humid and if you can make it through them without giving up you can come out on the other side in mid-December feeling like a champ.

UGHH what is a runner to do?

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!

Holidays

It's been awhile...a long while.

When last I was with you I was gearing up for the Wild Hare 25k. I can report that it went horribly. That's right, it was BAD. I am not sure what happened but I finally hit a road block (ok a trail block) and had my first DNF. I am really still not sure how I feel about it. In fact up until now I have pretty much blocked it out of my mind. The race itself was good. The trails were fantastic! The course was nice and the weather was not so bad. It was a little muddy but nothing too terrible. The Tejas Trail group put on a well organized race, good support, not a thing I could complain about. It just wasn't my day. After the first lap I fell apart and just plainly dropped myself from the race. 

How do you come back from that? I did what came naturally...I signed up for the Katy YMCA's Turkey Dash. Why not, I mean I had to get back at it. The inconsistency in my training had finally caught up to me. Running on Thanksgiving is/has always been a hard thing for me to do. Every year I'm the one who makes dinner. In fact this is the only holiday that I normally am in the kitchen from breakfast until dessert. I normally spend the entire day running a cooking marathon. Well this year, I tried to turn that marathon into a sprint and got bitten on the ass for it BUT... I PR'd my 10k time. LOL! Turkey dinner be damned. The Y's race is the 2nd biggest turkey day 10k in the Houston area. This year it was around 6000 people for all events.

 

I ran into a runner friend right before the start and we hit the parking lot for a lap to warm up a bit. And by warm up I mean it was 45 degrees out, chilly for Houston. I needed a 30 minute tempo run so I kept my intervals to average about 12m/m for the first few miles. When I came up to the 5k flag I decided to go to 3 1/2 then, 4 and then before I knew it, I was 5 miles in and feeling really fierce. My 3 minute interval times had dropped to 9:45-10 m/m and I couldn't believe how good I felt. My last interval time before the finish was at 8:34. Not too freaking shabby for this 12m/m runner. I crossed the finish line with a 1:36 PR. It was a good day, it was the run I needed to get back on track. 

 Sometimes you have to hit bottom before you can see how good the good things are.

I ran my furthest training run yet this past weekend, 19 miles. No issues. 6 weeks to GEAUX! 

Coming up:

FLS Sugarland 30k 12/14.

KatyFit Cookie run 21 miles 12/20.

And then one last long run just to see how far I can go before I start tapering.

LaPorte By the Bay Half Marathon

This was not a new race for me. In fact two years ago this race was my very first half marathon. Yep, this is the one that started it all. Sort of. If you've ever read or heard me speak about my first half you know that it was the race that made me think of quitting running. I am hardly the girl to let one bad experience make me throw in the towel. It was such a mentally exhausting run for me that by the time I got back to the hotel room I looked a ghost, just a shell of myself as my husband put it. In fact that moment was the very first time my husband was supported of anything that had to do with me running, he liked the idea that I was quitting. I think to him he was thankful that this phase had run it's course and things could get back to normal. He could get his fat wife back, the one who was more than willing to spend the weekends baking him cakes and cookies until we both weighed 2000lbs.

I have thought back and gone over that race in my head 100's of times. I think my training was solid. Other than not really knowing how to run hills I had followed my training plan at least 90%. I had run the other two races in the series, which I thought had given me a glimpse of that bridge running was about. I had practiced my nutrition and hydration and kept to my plan for the entire race. So what went wrong. I wasn't dressed right. It had been cooler the week leading up to the race, this is December after all it should be cold. So I geared up with and long sleeve and capris. What I didn't plan on was that it was near 80 at start time. 

LaPorte medal circa 2012

I was way overdressed and bound to failure from the start before the the other things happened. I started with a great 10k. Problem with that is that I had expended all I had before the bridge and just getting up that first side of it.  By the time I had made the turn around and was heading back up the bridge it took everything I had left. I was bargaining with myself. Running light post to light post to just keep going. When I came off the bridge I was maybe 2:10 in and I lost my mental game. I thought based upon my 10k times I should be able to finish in about 2:36, well that number was out and as I started walking everything else about me deflated. I was going to fail. That was the only thought in my head. I was going to finish but I was failing. Game over. I finally crossed the finish line at 3:00:54. And I cried.

For about a week I couldn't get that out of my head. Another week later I set off trying to wipe that time off my half marathon stat. 2 years later here I was going back to LaPorte again, giving myself a rerun on a race that has haunted me. 

Only today was completely different. Once again the weather had been colder the week coming up to race but I spent the Saturday before the race with my eye on the weather. First 55 and rain, then 60 and clear. So I packed every possible combination.

My only goal for the day was to come in under that 3:00:54. It was not destined to be my faster half. No way with the Fred Hartman bridge on the course was I going to run under 2:30.

I spent the first few miles listening to the crowd around me. I got the biggest chuckle when a few ladies behind me, who may have been talking to themselves out loud or maybe not, said really LOUDLY "go ahead and pass us we'll pass you back on the bridge." Honestly that pretty much sums up the best way to run this race, easy to the bridge and then full throttle on the way back.

Fred Hartman Bridge

I kept it easy to mile 5 and then hit the bridge. The best thing happened as I hit the top of the bridge around mile 6, it started to rain. It was cold and it was perfect and it helped me haul ass to the backside of the bridge. Mile 7 and 8 were back on flat ground which was fantastic. At mile 9 I passed a local hero who carries the American Flag, running for team RWB, at every race and for the first time ever it looked like I might finish ahead of him. That. Never. Happens. I pushed my butt back up that bridge.

Mile 10 coming  back down the bridge I let it all out. After I downloaded my watch I learn I had actually managed a 3 minute interval under a 9 minute pace. I felt great. I had tackled the bridge without any extra walk breaks and the finish line was dead ahead of me. After a quick pit stop. I crossed the finishline at 2:45:23, a good minute per mile faster than my first half. WINNING!!

So now why you should run this race?

#1 this race and really all of Running Alliance Sport's 6 races are the most organized races EVER! Smooth easy packet pick ups, even on race morning, clear, easy to follow race directions and always, something they pride themselves on, an on-time start (What happened in Galveston was a fluke and I am sure it won't ever happen again.)

LaPorte 2014 Swag

#2 if you're into swag they have it. Hats and gloves and shirts and ice packs, personalized bibs, the works!
#3 on course support. Every few miles tables of water and gateraid and lots of enthusiastic volunteers cheering you on and port-a-potties. I have run half's where there are potties on the course at certain aid stations, here they were at every aid station.
#4 There is something magical about hearing your name announced as you cross the finishline. It's a tough thing to do with close to 2000 runners but they manage it. If you have never heard you name as you cross the finish, it's amazing.

#5 After race party. The music keeps on playing and the party keeps on going. There is never a shortage of food or drinks not just for you but for your entire support crew. This year there was sausage, fresh made hot soup (perfect for the cold weather), pizza, fruit and beer, sodas, water, what ever your pleasure.

#6 Most races would make you walk back to the start-line where your car is (oh, parking, tons of close parking near the start-line) not here RAS has a number of vans shuttling runners back to either the parking lot at the beach or the lots at the high school.

All 3 race medals

Half Marathon Medal

#7 for all you bling whores, the medals. LaPorte is also part of the Texas Bridge Series (2 10k's and this half) and if you run all 3 races you get a 4th medal for completing the challenge. This year it was a spinner and the 3 medals from the series fit together to form a star and they all have some sort of moving part to them.

Series Medal

Little Rock Marathon

I had been looking for a March race. I was flipping from one race calendar to another looking for something that would fit in my schedule. Then I flipped to Twitter to see what was going on. Then Little Rock Marathon tweeted a trivia question, winner gets free entry. I googled quick and I answered and then waited and then... I WON!!! I'm going back (see my Feb 2014 recap) to Arkansas in March to run the Little Rock Marathon.  Thank you @LRMARATHON!

Now the problem. I already have The Woodlands Half in place for the day before. Going to be one hell of a rollercoaster running weekend!! 

I am still training for  my first marathon and I am already registered for THREE in 2015.