10 Miles of Pain or the NH 10 Miler

Let me just start by saying I have plantar fasciitis. I won't go into what it is now, you can find more information HERE, other than to say it causes an incredible amount of pain in your heels.  To find relief, I have tried all of the conservative methods of treatment (rest, ice and compression to name a few).  I've also been seen by a podiatrist who gave me 2 cortisone shots, one for each foot, an acupuncturist and a chiropractor.

I'm still in a fair amount of pain.

So being the smahty pants that I am, I decided I would be fine to run the New Hampshire 10 Miler, one of the hilliest races around.  If you remember I did a practice run with my Mom's Run This Town group and thought it was great, tough, but doable.  It helped that it was a relatively cool morning.  I really felt like this practice run gave me my mojo back.  What I didn't like is that it brought me down this crazy road of foot problems with no relief in sight.

Sigh.

Onwards and upwards, right?  After doing everything I could this month to ease my foot pain, I spent the week before this race prepping just like I would, hydrating and eating the right foods.  I woke up at 6:45 am on the morning of the race feeling calm, cool and collected.  The nice part about going into a race with an injury is your expectations are really, really low.  I wasn't going to PR.  My goal #1 was to just get it done.  Goal #2 was to avoid further injury.

I succeeded in both those goals.

I started out feeling great.  I was trying to keep to an 11 mm even though I knew I could have cranked it up a notch.  I had to keep some energy for those killer hills and I didn't want to risk injury early on.  I was afraid if I really pushed my speed, my Achilles would give out.  It was definitely aching by the end.

 I made sure to wave a friendly "hello" to every face I recognized from my running group and gave out words of encouragement when I saw one struggling.  For most of the race, I was able to get in the zone and just enjoy the ride as I like to describe it.  It's a beautiful thing to just enjoy running.

Then the hills hit.  The worst is at mile 4.  I didn't even try to run it.  I just walked.  My body and my foot needed it.  My game plan was to hit every water stop and dump it on my head.  It was hot at the 9 am start, 72 degrees and climbed to 80 by the time I was done.  Thankfully, the humidity was low so I wasn't miserably uncomfortable.

I hit the 5 mile split at 1:02:21 and was pleased with my time.  My best 5 miler time was 54 minutes at the Boston's Run to Remember which was flat and I just had fun with.  All things considered, being 8 minutes behind that wasn't terrible.

Thankfully, most of the second half of the race was in the shade.  The hard part for me at this point was my body felt great, I had fueled properly and I was hydrated, but my foot was starting to scream in pain.  By mile 7, I was overjoyed that I just had a 5K left, but I was really having to slow down because the pain was only getting worse.  There was a nice downhill around this time too that I would have loved to sprint down, but my foot wasn't having it.  It was a fight all the way down.  Last time I ran this, I lost my left hip and quad.  I didn't want to suffer that pain again as it through out my back in the process.

Like I mentioned, it was a burning hot day, with low humidity thankfully.  As always, I packed my hydration pack backpack which holds 2 liters of water.  It was so hot and the course was so hilly that this was the first time I'd ever drained it!  I still can't believe I drank 2 liters of water that day!

The last 2 miles were in the sun, up a hill and there was a crazy amount of traffic going by including about 100 motorcycles.  The race traffic got so tight that if the person in front of you was walking then you were too because there was no room to pass.  I ran most of the last mile and even turned on my Facebook Live to stream myself going over the finish line.


I wanted to take the opportunity to thank everyone who supported me in the last few weeks while trying to heal myself.  I feel like it was a group effort to get me across it so I wanted everyone to experience that finish with me.  Getting all the extra encouragement floating across my stream while I ran was great too and lead me to a strong finish.

My daughter waiting to cheer me on.

I was especially thankful to my husband who insisted on driving me there because he was afraid I wouldn't be able to drive myself home with my injured foot.  As always, I love seeing him and my daughter at the finish line.  It is something that I look forward to the whole race.  My 3 year old even gave me a butterfly tattoo that morning so I could think of her while I ran.  It brought a smile to my face when I looked at it.  I'm sure I looked like a loon to the other runners.

Overall, this wasn't the worst race that I've ever run.  I'm proud for getting it done even though, in retrospect, I shouldn't have done since it will set me back in my recovery process.  But I'm a stubborn Irish woman who makes a commitment and sees it through.  As usual, I'm trying not to beat myself up over the fact that the rest of my body felt great and just wanted to RUN.  My mind and body HATED having to walk, but I had to play it smart and safe to get it done.  Besides, I got a really sweet medal at the end.

10 Miles of Hills For Breakfast!

As I mentioned before, I've been really slacking lately on my half marathon training.  Well, October 2 is going to be here before I know it - just over 2 months to go - and I need to get serious.

Part of the reason I've been slacking is it is summer and there are just so many more fun things to do than running in the heat and humidity.  When a 2 mile run is a struggle to push through, you know it is HOT.  Plus, with all of these fun activities comes beer and yummy, but oh so unhealthy food.  Sigh.  It's almost August though and I have 2 big races on the books so it's time to find my mojo and get serious about this.

Side note:  I'm running the Sun Run and Dual Challenge on Sunday, August 7 and the NH 10 Miler on Saturday, August 27.


So when my Moms Run This Town running group had a training run for the NH 10 Miler which is billed as hard and hilly I immediately signed up.  Then I almost immediately regretted it.  In fact, the night before I had to convince myself to go no matter how impossible the task of running 10 miles of hills sounded.  Side note:  I haven't run that far since my half marathon almost 2.5 months ago!

I shocked myself when I actually rolled out of bed at 5:15 am on a SATURDAY to get to the starting line for 6:30 am.  What was I thinking?  I had an irrational fear of being left out on the course by myself, getting lost and then *gasp* having to call my husband, who undoubtedly would still be in bed, to come find me.

Luckily, none of my fears came true.

What is truly wonderful about my running group is that you can easily find a few women who have the same fears and the same pace as you.  About 20 women showed up and I went out with the last group to leave so there were 6 of us.  I put in my headphones and told myself to keep the pace slow to start with, but not so slow that I'd get left behind (irrational fear, remember?)

My first 3 miles were great!  My legs felt fast and strong.  I easily passed a group of 5 women that had started out a few minutes before us.  That was before we hit the hill at mile 4 which was a monster!

I had no delusions of grandeur here.  I told myself if I needed to that I could run/walk up the hill which is exactly what I did.  At this point I lost one of the women in our original group.  I was OK with that since I knew a few other women were behind me so I wasn't going to be the last on the course - irrational fear here, remember?

I made it over that monster slower than I know I can do, but still at a damn good pace for me:  11:16.
At mile 5, I refueled using my sports beans and walked.  The walk break I think really helped me conserve energy for the rest of the hills.

At mile 7, I just started to hurt.  My left heel throbbed with every step (eff you plantar fasciitis)  and my right hip was screaming in pain.  I had lower back pain the previous weekend that I think actually originated in my hips.  While I rubbed my right hip and quad, I made a mental note to visit my chiropractor sooner rather than later.

There were more hills and I continued to use the run/walk method on them.  I kept telling myself to not race my long run.  This was a test.  Get the feel for the course.  I wasn't going to get a prize for going whole hog and possibly injuring myself in the process.

Mile 8 had a good sized downhill that I thought I could make up some time on.  Wrong.  I just hurt.  My upper right leg was screaming.  I've never experienced that on a downhill before.  It hurt worse than the uphill did!

Super excited that I hit a 6 mm pace in the beginning! But holy hills! 

By the time I reached mile 9 and I saw the last hill I let out an audible, "Oh my God!"  It wasn't huge, but I couldn't believe we had another one.  I was so happy to get up and over it because it was smooth sailing from there.  It helped that I knew I'd be seeing my car soon which meant I could go home.

I made it back to the start line at mile 9.5 and realized I had missed a side street that I was supposed to take to make up the last half mile.

I went out for a 10 mile run so I was determined to get 10 miles done.

I ran around the parking lot like a nutcase until my Garmin read 10 miles.

My final time was 1:54.  Not bad.  My PR is 1:47 and it was a virtually flat course.

Overall, I couldn't have been happier with this run.  I was only off my PR by 7 minutes and there were a whole lot more hills.  My legs were happy, I felt like I was fueled right and my lungs and stomach were content.  The best part?  Little to no humidity.

Two more weeks and we go out for another practice run.

I'm excited!

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How I Found Joy While Running My First 10 Mile Race

Sunday, August 24 was a pretty special day for me. No, it wasn't the day my daughter was born or even the day I married my best friend.

But still, it was important to me.

It was the day of my first ever 10 mile race, a truly monumental day for me in my young running journey. Prior to this race, I had only run 10 miles three times in my life. There was a part of me that felt like I had no business running a race of this length yet, having just started running 8 months prior, but I placed all of my trust in my training so I knew running this race was exactly what I was supposed to be doing.

Probably the smartest thing I did was to mentally prepare a plan for how I was going to run it which calmed my type-A personality. Miles 1-5 I was going to stay as close to an 11 minute mile pace as I could even though I knew I could run a 10:35mm and still make out ok.  Since I was running this without my training buddy and the best runner I know, I wanted to make sure I was safe and I could finish it STRONG.   At mile 5, I planned on grabbing Gatorade from the water station that I was going to walk (gasp!) through and then take off running again while quickly chomping down my Honeystinger gummies.  After that I was free to pick up the pace as much as I could with the goal of making my last mile my fastest.

It helped that my music was perfectly timed to either slow me down or speed me up based on what mile I was on. Knowing this really allowed me to enjoy the run.

Yes, you read that right. I ENJOYED running a 10 mile race!  Even with Queen, Prince and Guns and Roses blaring over my headphones I was able to take in the coastal scenery as well as the beauty of what my body is capable of doing.

Miles 1-4 were truly peaceful. My mind was at ease with the task at hand. I knew I had awhile to go before I would be done so why not relax and let my legs take over?   I had plenty of time to think about how my running has changed both the shape of my body and my overall health. I no longer struggle from terrible stomach pains (hello, leaky gut), migraines and neck/shoulder pain on a daily basis. My last blood test results showed the inflammation that was tearing my body apart over a year ago was almost all gone. Not to mention my wonderfully high triglyceride level that my doctor was genuinely amazed by. "See that number?" he questioned at my last visit,  "That's what all your running has done."  

Miles 5-7 were spent thinking about my mom and how she can barely walk. She long ago chose to not take care of herself full well knowing our family history of heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Knowing I don't want to suffer like she is with her many ailments, pushed me to keep running even when the little voice in my head snarked, "You know, when you run your half marathon in 3 weeks you won't even be halfway done yet."  Ugh, shut it, girlfriend.  

One of the many reasons why I've learned to love running is because I can set goals and test my limits. I've slowly learned how to be alright with being uncomfortable. On the flip side, I believe running has a meditative quality to it. If you can get in that peaceful zone then you feel like you can run forever and that is a beautiful thing for your mind and body to be so connected. You forget about that uncomfortable feeling.  You do what our bodies were designed to do - to move, breathe deeply and sweat. It's very freeing and empowering to get to that point in your running when the endorphins take over and you're just happy. 

That brings us to miles 8-10. I was still in a good mood, flying by everyone at the remaining 2 water stops. I knew I'd see my family soon which gave the little boost to push harder.  At that point, I was also dreaming of a cold beer and a cheeseburger. Mile 9 included a hill which was rough on my tired legs, but the view at the top of the Massachusetts coast was worth it. When I hit the final quarter mile Queen's "I Want It All" came blaring over my headphones.  It was my cue that this race was nearing the finish line. I gave myself a cheer and a fistpump, because, let's be honest, if you can't do one for yourself who is going to do it for you?  I was overjoyed to see my family waiting for me at the finish line and to hear my 3 year old yell, "Go Mommy!"  

The best part was I felt great!  I could have kept going if I needed to, but I was thankful to be done. 

I started, ran and completed that race with a smile on my face and a mind and heart full of joy.

I'm ready for my first half marathon now.  I know my mind and body can handle another 3.1 miles because really, after you've run ten miles 3.1 is only a 5K.


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Race Night Rituals

 ***UPDATE******

I've since run this race finishing it in 1:47.  I couldn't have enjoyed it more!  You can read my write up of it HERE.  

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In less than 13 hours I'll be standing at the starting line of my longest race to date  - the North Shore 10 Miler in Ipswich, MA.  My training plan calls for 11-12 so I'll be hitting the treadmill nice and early so I can get a solid mile in at minimum before I leave for the coast.

Although my goal race isn't for another 3 weeks, a lot of preparation has gone into this race as well.  I started my Half Marathon training back on February 1 keeping in mind that I would be training for this race in the process.  This 10 miler is a "training race" for me.  It will allow me to test my pre-fuel, fueling and recovery process.  Also, I will be running in new shoes so it will allow me to test those as well.  Not to mention the new calf sleeves (for compression), socks that prevent blisters and my new sparkle skirt although I don't think it will be warm enough to test out that one.  Boo.

In the week leading up to this race I've been working hard to make sure my nutrition is on point, lots of water, a New Nuun Active: Hydrating Electrolyte Tablets, Citrus Berry Mix, Box of 4 Tubes  every day and tons of protein and veggies.  The 2 days prior I bumped up my carb intake too even though my body isn't a fan and doesn't always like to absorb it.  I eat the healthier carbs like quinoa.

Cardio the day before the race. For me not my dog.

Since this race is on the coast and cell reception is likely to be spotty I got some assistance from my wonderful husband to download songs for a new playlist.  I'm hoping 2 hours is long enough.  Let's face it if it's not than I'll just listen to myself cry my way to the finish line.  I'd really like to finish around 1:45.

In case you are curious, my run will start with the song "Misirlou" from the Pulp Fiction Soundtrack and will continue to be fun but low key for the first 45 minutes.  Then halfway through around mile 5 Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now."  Yes, I think of Shaun of the Dead every time I hear it which makes me laugh.  Finally, a little GNR to get me through the last push with "Welcome to the Jungle."  I'll know I am taking too long if I hear Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire."  Here's hoping this extra mental motivation will work!

My pre-race fuel and my recovery drink are both from Vega Sport Pre-Workout Energizer, Acai Berry, Tub, 19oz   I'll be fueling up around mile 5 with my gummy Honey Stinger Organic Energy Chews, Fruit Smoothie, 1.8 Ounce (Pack of 12)  and Nuun will be in my hydration pack.

As you can see, I like to be prepared.  Here's hoping all of these pre-race rituals will pay off!

Good night!