Race Recap: Des Moines Marathon 2009

So I was a little bit nervous for the big Number Three. I had been feeling tired and sluggish all week. I was so tired that I kind of didn't do...well...anything. Ryan and I met for a midweek swim...and after about 15 minutes of acutal swimming, we headed to the deep end to goof off. That's it. No taper runs. No recovery runs. SHIT training at its finest.

We headed to Des Moines on Friday, and Erin's friend Sudhish made us homemeade Indian food. SUPER YUM (and I checked #9 off the list).

Mom and Dad have never seen me run a real race before so they joined me for the regular pre-race stuff on Saturday...picking up my packet, carb loading, drinking wine. Because all great marathoners drink wine before they race.

Emily and Chuck were also in town for the half marathon. Em and I decided to run the first two miles together - before the courses split. The plan was to meet at the 2:20 pace sign.

Finally, it was race morning. Ryan dropped me off at the start about 20 minutes before the race would start. I immediately got in line for the biffys...I had some business that needed to be attended to. Ahem.

Imagine my nervousness when 15 minutes had passed and I was STILL IN LINE. The masses were lined up to start the race and I was still in line, wearing my sweats. GAH.

So I asked the dude ahead of me, who was wearing JEANS (and clearly not running the marathon), if there was any way I could cut the line. He agreed, I did my business, and went off in search of the sweats drop.

I cut across the mass at the start (and randomly ran into Ragnar Chick Kristyn), sprinted across Nollen Plaza, threw my sweats bag to the volunteers and headed back to the start. The gun went off as I was heading back...at least the race is chip timed. I weaved between the spectators, hopped the fence, and crossed the starting line just steps behind the 2:20 pace group. Whew. This was going to work.

Except Emily was no where to be seen. The 2:20 pace group was speeding up and I didn't want to blow all my energy in the first mile, so I resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't going to be able to catch Emily. I backed off on the pace (I'd been running a 10-minute pace) and focused on running my own race.

And I felt good. My legs felt normal and not too tired. NICE.

So I just ran it like I felt it.

Mom, Dad and Ryan were at mile 2 with signs and cowbells.


Where's Waldo?

I rounded the corner and the half and full courses split. We were on our own.

And just in time for the first hill. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other...making forward progress. The hills ended at about mile 8 - just in time for me to see my family.



You wouldn't not even believe how cute they were. Mom had a different sign every time I saw her. Dad was snapping pictures and handing out fruit and candy. Ryan was cheering at the top of his lungs and making lacivious comments (Note to Ryan: MY PARENTS ARE RIGHT THERE. NO I DON'T WANT YOU TO SHOW ME YOUR ASS RIGHT NOW).


Cutest Mom Ever

I looped around a mile and they were still there...new sign, still cheering. It was so great to have them there.

Part of the course are out-and-back-ish - it loops around but comes back to the same streets. So it was "fun" to see the lead pack when I was less than half way through the race. But it was more fun to see other Marathon Maniacs out on the course - every single maniac that I saw waved or shouted. It's fun being part of a group.

The course turned onto Kingman and I spotted Erin and Ryan cheering. We headed up to Drake and did a lap around the track. SUPER FUN.





And I hit the half way mark. My half marathon split was 2:28 - so I was on pace for a 4:56 marathon. Except not really, because there was not a chance in hell I was negative splitting this race. It was my THIRD MARATHON in three weeks, for Pete's sake.

But I was amazed at how good I was feeling.


Cutest Dad Ever

The good happy feelings persisted until about mile 18. I had taken a gu at 17.5 when I realized that I had only had one gu, some candy and some fruit to that point. Which is clearly not enough calories to get me through 26.2. Mile 18 was the beginning of my bonk.

I fought the fatigue through mile 19 and was feeling good again by mile 20. Probably because I looked at my Garmin and realized that if I kept my pace to 12-minute miles, I could very possibly beat my time from Twin Cities two weeks earlier.

DUDE. REALLY.

But when mile 24 rolled around, I was ready to peace out this bitch. I was tired and just wanted to be done. I didn't care if I beat Twin Cities. I didn't care if I beat Whistlestop. I just wanted to STOP RUNNING, GAH.

But of course I didn't stop running. Instead I ate some PowerGel Blasts, growled at my peeps (including Mom's boss, sorry!) and grumbled my way to mile 25.

Where I looked at my watch and realized that at "trifecta PR" was still possible, but only if I busted my ass.

So I sucked it up and pushed it. I was focused and repeating mantras and pulling out every last trick in my bag to keep pushing...and it worked.

I crossed the line in 5:03:10. 47 glorious seconds faster than Twin Cities.



Three marathons. Three weeks. Three states. And the last marathon was the fastest of the three. I'm feeling pretty badass right about now.

For those keeping track at home...

My progress on the 26.2 food to eat after the marathons:

1. Ice cream
2. Reeses Pieces
3. Caramels
4. "Gravel Gertie" donut
5. Nachos
6. Punch Pizza
7. Apple Crisp
8. Caramel Apple
9. Indian Food
10. Pumpkin pie
11. Homemade Bread with garlic butter
12. Puppy Chow
13. Chocolate Milk
14. Homemade Pasta
15. Rice Krispie Bars
16. Butternut Squash Lasagna
17. Candy Corn
18. Fried Ice Cream
19. Doritos
20. Sushi
21. Sweet Potato Fries
22. Brownie Batter
23. Margaritas
24. Onion Rings
25. Brie and Apples
26. Cookie Dough
26.2. One Starburst

Ryan and I are heading to Chicago for the weekend...I think I'll be able to finish of the list before Monday. :)

Des Moines race report is coming soon!

Race Recap: Whistlestop Marathon 2009

Whistlestop Marathon? CHECK.

Two down, one to go. I've once again attained Bronze "Marathon Maniac" status.

I was able to foam roll my TC Marathon aches and pains away and felt tired, but good when Saturday morning rolled around. I knew it was going to be another slow marathon.

My expectations were low. My "official" goal was to finish. My "secret" goal was to Not PW (Current PW: 5:16:14).

We awoke to a winter wonderland. Snow covering the ground. Snow! In October!

Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

And it was cold. The thermometer read 30, but with the 20mph winds, it felt like 18. Eighteen!

Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

:)

So we layered up, and then put on more layers, and headed to the start.

Luckily it's a small race so we were able to wear our warmups until two minutes before the gun went off.



We started on a paved road. Because of the snow it was slick and I lost my footing a few times. But after a mile, it turned onto a trail, which lasted for the next 24 miles. Whew. Jen and I were ready to get in the zone.

The first miles were uneventful.

At mile 9, I discovered that my headphones didn't work. Crap.

At mile 18, they had Nutter Butter cookies at the water stop. Holy shit, they were GOOD. Why didn't someone tell me that Nutter Butters are SO FREAKING DELICIOUS?? Or maybe it was just the crazy marathon hunger talking. :)

At mile 20, we decided that we were going to pull a "Jeff Galloway." One minute walk breaks at every mile marker. I just needed a way to break up the run into smaller, more manageable chunks. I was tiiiired, yo.

Because you know what is tiring? RUNNING BACK TO BACK MARATHONS. Also, Talking in ALL CAPS. Which explains why I'm eating a Snickerdoodle cookie cupcake while writing this post. I've got to keep my energy up. :)

At mile 26, we saw our posse. Mary snapped some photos as we ran by, giving high 5's to the team.



I think this is a good time to mention my invention: GAITERS. Okay, so I didn't invent gaiters, but I did make my own gaiters for this race. Ally Gaiters. :) Last year I got a ridiculous amount of sand and rocks in my shoes, so I decided that I needed to prevent it this year. Cut the bottom off some cute argyle socks, safety pin them to the back and sides of shoes, and presto! Gaiters. That are business casual. You know, in case I ever need to run into the office on a rocky trail.



ANYWAY. Where was I? Oh yes, finishing the marathon.


Nice hair!

I looked down at my watch in the home stretch and saw "5:14" I knew it was time to HUSTLE if I wanted to beat my Personal Worst. I announced to Jen that we were NOT going to PW and that it was time to get a move on. SPEEEEEEED! We need it! So we hightailed it to the finish, crossing at 5:15:07.

That was damn close...we only had 67 seconds to spare.

Marathon #7? In the bank.



And to continue the Trifecta of Pain? Des Moines Marathon. Five Days. I am cautiously optimistic.

Race Recap: Twin Cities Marathon 2009

One down, two to go.

The weather was perfect for a marathon. Cool and crisp, 42 degrees, overcast, not windy. We couldn't ask for a better day.

Ryan and I crossed the start together and parted immediately. He was off to achieve a sub-4 marathon and I was shooting for something closer to 5.

The first 12 miles were good. I felt good, my pace was right on, and I felt strong.

But the wheels started wobbling at mile 13. I was starting to get tired and I wasn't as focused, so I popped in my earbuds and started jamming out to the iPod. I normally don't like to race with music but I didn't want the race to spiral into a death march. The music helped, but I felt guilty that I was "ignoring" the fans. So I alternated - little bit of music love...little bit of fan love (including some fan love from Melissa at about mile 16).

I kept putting one foot ahead of the other and set small goals. Just gotta make it to Nokomis...Just gotta make it to the river...Just gotta make it to Summit... I could feel that I was getting slower with every mile, but didn't want to look at my Garmin to confirm it. So I didn't. I only looked at Garmina to see what my distance and heart rate was.

I finally got to Summit - mile 22. There was no giving up at this point. First I spotted Emily's husband and parents (who were superfans - I spotted them about 5 different times on the course). Then Team Roseville, gave me oranges and pretzels. Then Jim's band (Toast!) was playing at the mile marker. Then I spotted some girlfriends. Bam, bam, bam. So much support...so much love.

But I still had 4 miles to go. Ugh.

At mile 25, I saw JD and she gave me candy corn. :)

At mile 26, I saw Steve and Matt, dressed as a chicken and a cow, and Pharmie, dressed as a kick-ass marathoner. :) As I ran by, Matt shouted out "Just think - only two more marathons after this!" And I promptly punched him in the udder. Just kidding about the udder punch. But you know I was thinking about doing it. :)

By this time, I could see the finish...the beautiful downhill finish. I kicked it up a notch and found a secret pocket of energy that I didn't even know I had...speeding up and cruising across the finish line...



...while doing the "power maker" with my arms.



Finish time: 5:03:57

Not a PW. I'll save the PW for next weekend. :)

The highlight of this race was, hands down, the fans. There were SO MANY people out cheering. So people playing music, holding signs, ringing cowbells. The fans were amazing.

And even though I started feeling the effect of undertraining around mile 13, I chugged through this marathon, only walking through water stops. I was tired but determined, and was able to run with a smile.



And I got some shiny bling to boot.

Speaking of chugging...Next up: Whistlestop marathon. Five days and counting. Yikes.

Race Report: Grandma's Marathon 2009

Had a great drive up to Duluth with my favorite girlies.



Brought Dashboard Jesus with us.



Had good times at the Expo.

Ate pop tarts in bed.

Slept like a rock.

I woke up on race morning and looked out the window. There was a bank in view - flashing the temperature. 64 degrees.

Yeah, this might be a hot one.

Grandma’s Marathon follows the American College of Sports Medicine color-coded flag system.

When the race started, the flag was red.

RED FLAG (High Risk): All runners should slow their pace and those with previous heat stress problems or heart disease should consider not running.

Yeah, this might be a hot one.

But whatever. We were at the starting line, 26.2 miles from Duluth...we might as well start heading back. So I lined up with my favorite girls - JD, Ruth and CJ - and we started running. It was JD and CJ's First Marathon Ever.

We were off. Annnnnd this is where my defense mechanism kicks in. Details? I don't have any.


We still look good at mile 3! Ruth, CJ, JD, Ally

I felt like crap. I couldn't get into the happy runner groove. The sun was beating down on us with no shade in sight.

The next time I saw the heat advisory flag, it was BLACK.

BLACK FLAG (Extremely High Risk): All runners should slow their pace, drink extra fluids and those with previous heat stress problems or heat stress problems or heat disease should consider not running.

Faaaaaaaak.

No wonder I felt like crap.

At the half mark, the girls stopped to use the Biffys. I still hadn't found my groove, so instead of soldiering on and running my own race, I waited for them. And wondered where in the hell I was going to pull out the strength to run 13 more miles.

We trudged on...putting ice in our bras, under our hats, in our hands, in our mouths. We dumped water on our heads. We took electrolyte strips, salt tabs, gus.

It was hottttt.

I wasn't having fun.

At mile 21, JD need to use the Biffy. I stopped with her, and CJ and Ruth kept on trucking. Ruth asked if "I had JD". Do I have JD??? Pffffffffttt. JD HAS ME. I would NOT have been able to make it this far if I didn't have that girl at my side.

Somewhere around mile 22-23, I spoke the words that I never say. "JD, I'm sorry, but I Need To Walk."

I was walking during a marathon. Not during a water stop. It hurt my soul to walk, but it hurt even more to run. This sucks, yo.

The brightest spot of the marathon was seeing fellow runner Kate at mile 25, who came up from Roseville just to cheer for us. She spotted us and started jumping and screaming. It was like JD and I were Hannah Montana and Kate was a 12-year-old girl. Seriously, I have never heard such an exuberant ruckus, and it made me smile, laugh and cry...all at once. Kate, YOU ROCK.

We rounded a corner and ran by our hotel - and I saw the bank thermometer from that morning. Guess what it said?

91.

NINETY. FUCKING. ONE.

Degrees. Fahrenheit.

I picked my jaw up off the pavement and kept running...closer and closer to the finish line.

And then finally, with a few steps to go, JD and I held hands and crossed the finish line together.



5:16:14.

We hugged. We cried.

JD was happy that she had finished her first marathon. I was happy that the hellacious marathon was finally OVER.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Fast forward 10 days.

I haven't seen my running shoes since the marathon.

I have no desire to run. In fact, I think I'm going to become a professional swimmer.

I think I've learned my lesson.

Lesson: DON'T RUN MARATHONS.

I kid. I can't stay mad at the marathon. But I can be mad at myself. Yes, the conditions were atrocious, but I was completely undertrained. I did the Stillwater marathon as a training run and then cut my running mileage and intensity too severely.

We always like to say that during a hard workout, we "put a deposit in the pain bank." Well, at Grandma's marathon, I took a withdrawal from the pain bank. Hell, I OVERDREW from the pain bank.

So every time I do a workout and it starts to get challenging, I am allowed to quit. Sorry, nothing left in the pain bank. :)

But I better start making some deposits soon...the Chisago Half Ironman is only 25 days away. Why do I keep doing this to myself??

Three Words

Three words to describe Grandma's Marathon 2009?

Whirlwind. Of. Pain.

Fun facts:
Humidity at the start: 85%
Temperature at the start: 64 degrees
Temperature at the finish: 91 degrees
Percentage of runners that dropped out during the race: 10%
My finish time: 5:16:14

For all of you keeping track at home, that's a PW by about 25 minutes. Twenty. Five. Minutes. That's about a minute per mile.

That sound you just heard? Was my soul being destroyed. Ouch.

More later. I'm off to take some Prozac. :)

Race Report: Stillwater Marathon 2009

The race started innocently enough. Hot air balloons overhead. Sunny but cool.

There were four different distances - 12k, half marathon, 20 mile and marathon. They all started together, so I got to start the race with all of my girls - three doing the half, three the 12k...I was the loner, the only one doing the marathon. I'm doing Grandma's marathon in June as my "real" race, so I was doing Stillwater as my long training run. People do marathons for training runs all the time? Right? Right? Bueller? Bueller??

Anyway.

I started the race with JD and CJ - who were running the half. We had a great time. There were some hills...but nothing we couldn't handle. Ryan was on his bike, leapfrogging us so we got to see him several times along the half marathon course. He ran with us for a few minutes at around mile 5 - hoofing it in his bike shoes. Very cute.

We loved the water stop near the Stillwater Prison - the volunteers were dressed in stripes and the trash bins were decorated as prison cells. Hilarious!

I bid my girls farewell at mile 12 where they went on to finish strong. I had 14 miles ahead.

My first challenge without the girls? A Big Ass hill. Crap in a hat, this thing was brutal. With Ryan riding on the path next to the road, I made it up the hill without walking. Whew. Ryan rode ahead and continued leapfrogging me. It was so nice to see a familiar face every mile.

At mile 15, I was coming down a hill towards a boisterous group of girls...and as I got closer to the group they started to chant.

"ALLY! ALLY! ALLY! ALLY!"

Holy crap! I am famous!! These people LOVE ME!

Or else Ryan told them I was coming and asked for a little favor.

But probably the former. I mean, c'mon...I am famous among DOZENS. :)

After this point, things started to get a little blurry. The miles started to run together (no pun intended). I had conquered some major hills...hoping (praying!) that the worst was behind me and I was starting to wonder, "really...how much worse can this marathon get??"

Silly Allison...don't you know to never ask that question??

Because it can always get worse.

The course turned off into a residential neighborhood. Have I ever mentioned that I hate running in neighborhoods? No? Well. I hate running in neighborhoods. It was especially bad because it was at the point of the day where it was starting to get hot. I was started to feel the effects of the earlier hills. The race thinned out when the half and full courses split and I was starting to feel alone.

It was a Godsend that Ryan was on the course. He rode with me through part of surburbia - he commented that things must not be going well since I was only giving him one word answers (he was right...I wasn't in a happy place). But he kept encouraging me...saying my form looked great and I looked strong and all of those things that you need to hear in the tough parts of a marathon, even though you know they are lies.

But as Coach Rudi always says - there are always rough patches in races and you just have to run through it.

The goal in my mind was to reach mile 20. I just had to get to mile 20. The last six miles of the marathon were downhill, so I just had to make it to 20 and I could practically coast my way to the finish. The miles slowly ticked away, up a hill, down a hill, up a hill, down a hill...haven't these people heard of FLAT?? My secret-ish goal was to only walk through water stops, but one of the hills near mile 19 was too much for me to take. I gave up and walked it. Sad face.

At this point, I had only taken two gels - one at mile 7 and one at 14 - and the idea of taking another one was making me a little nauseous. But I knew I needed the calories so I forced one down at mile 19 or 20 - along with some orange slices. I felt the effect within a few minutes and it perked me right up.

I was feeling strong at mile 22 as I turned onto Highway 95 - the home stretch. Four miles to the finish. Four miles of heavy traffic, running on the shoulder of the road, and heat radiating from the pavement. At mile 24, the volunteers were warning runners that it was 80 degrees and that we needed to pour water on ourselves. EIGHTY DEGREES?? Faaaak. No wonder this feels so hard.

At the mile 24 water stop, I made friends with a runner that I had been chasing since mile 18 - he was always in my sights but I could never catch him. Until now. We ran together for almost a mile - cranking out a 10:30 pace for much of it. We hit one last uphill (Dammit, Stillwater!) and I dropped him when he decided to walk it. He told me to keep up the pace and to finish strong.

But I couldn't. The heat was getting to me. Ryan couldn't ride beside me because there was too much traffic. I slowed to an 11:30 pace...wishing the race was over. I was hot and tired. My legs were shot. I didn't have anything left.

I slogged through the next mile and a half and was passed by two Galloway runners that I'd been playing leapfrog with for the second half of the marathon. I wanted to beat them. I wanted to pass them. I wanted to WIN, even though they didn't know that we were competing.

As I neared the 26-mile mark, I heard a familiar voice. "GOOOO ALLLLYY!!!!" It was Coach Rudi.

With a burst of energy that I didn't even know I had, I sprinted the last .4 miles, feeling like I was flying, and finished strong.

4:53:51.

Not bad for a training run.

Distance: 26.4 miles (according to Garmina)
Average Pace: 11:08
Average HR: 166

Three words to describe this run: Hilly, Hot, Challenging

The nitty gritty:
Mile 1: 11:15
Mile 2: 10:53
Mile 3: 10:43
Mile 4: 10:59
Mile 5: 10:51
Mile 6: 10:44
Mile 7: 10:30
Mile 8: 10:46
Mile 9: 10:33
Mile 10: 11:18
Mile 11: 10:50
Mile 12: 11:07
Mile 13: 11:19
Mile 14: 11:14
Mile 15: 11:14
Mile 16: 11:10
Mile 17: 11:27
Mile 18: 11:52
Mile 19: 11:57
Mile 20: 13:07 (stupid walk break)
Mile 21: 11:40
Mile 22: 11:04
Mile 23: 10:55
Mile 24: 10:28
Mile 25: 11:26
Mile 26: 10:55
Mile 26.4: 3:26 (8:37 pace!)

So What, I'm Still a Rock Star

Stillwater Marathon.

4:53:51.

A Personal Worst by 96 seconds.

On the Hardest Course Ever.

I'm happy with my time. I'm still a rock star. I've got my rock moves. :)

Race recap coming shortly.

Let's Take A Poll

Tell me, Internet, Am I Crazy?

I'm doing a half ironman on June 13. Liberty. I haven't signed up yet.

I'm doing a marathon the next weekend - June 20. Grandma's. Love, love, love this race. Can't wait to do it again.

And to finish off the "spring" season, I'm going to do the Chisago Half Ironman on July 26. The only reason I'm doing this race? The medal. The Liberty Tri doesn't give a medal to the half ironman finishers. WTF?? I'm expected to haul ass for 70.3 miles, and all I get at the end is a bagel?? No. If I'm going to be a real triathlete, I need a medal.

Here is where the crazy comes in. I want to do the Stillwater Marathon. The INAUGURAL Stillwater Marathon. May 24. But not as a race, as an LSD.

I've always wanted to be a part of a marathon from the beginning. I want to be at the starting line in 20 years and be able to say, "This is the 20th year I've run this marathon. I have been a part of this EVERY year it has existed."

But how many races can I put on my calendar before my body surrenders and falls into a crumbling heap??

Back to the present. Here's what the last few weeks of training would look like...

May 24 - Stillwater Marathon
May 30 - 10-13 miles
June 6 - 6-8 miles
June 13 - Liberty Tri
June 20 - Grandma's Marathon

Sounds like a decent taper, yes?

I think if I truly run Stillwater as an LSD, I won't have any problems.

But I've been having another thought: What If I Don't Do Liberty?

If I'm going to do two marathons, do I really need to do Liberty? Do I really need my FIRST half ironman to fall between two marathons??

Can I just scrap Liberty, and have Chisago be "my" half ironman?

The only reason I hesitate to pull the plug on Liberty is because in my mind, it was going to be my first half. I've been talking about Liberty. Talking about how my first half is the week before a marathon.

Will people think I'm a pansy if I don't do it??

My guess is that, no, they won't. They'll probably think I'm smart for not sticking a third endurance race in a five-week period.

My gut is saying that Liberty should get the boot and I should run Stillwater.

What do YOU think, Internet?

She's a maniac, maaaaaniac!

It's official.

I am a maniac. A marathon maniac.

Marathon Maniac #1285

My back-to-back marathon extravaganza in October qualified me at the "bronze" level. If I'd like to qualify for the highest "Titanium" level...I only have to run 52 marathons in a year. Maybe that will be a goal for 2010. ;)

Bronze is good enough for me.