Lulu's Challenge... rise from the ashes

4.15 miles. Negative splits. My body is going crazy from inactivity. My head is telling me to eat food that is bad for me. My body hurts in places it has never hurt. I feel a bit better after this morning's run. But, I am going to run some more tonight to see if I can get myself straightened out. Last week's mileage was pathetic even for a taper. Now I am just trying to see if I can get my body back on track. The fitness has been deposited and is in the bank. Now I need to remind my body that it is in shape to run a marathon. I am going to run a bit higher mileage than I planned until Thursday and then back off. I think that should fix the problem.

The weather in Chicago is predicted to go from a high of 85 on Saturday to a low in the 40's on Sunday (race day). Crazy. It seems like it will likely be windy. Fortunately, I am small enough to tuck in behind someone and draft (does that happen in running?). I am very good at drafting in cycling, so some of those skills should translate. I am not worried about it being warm on race day. I have trained in hot, humid conditions, so I am ready for that. I do very well running in cold weather, so I am ready for that too. I'll bring clothes for both scenarios.

Ran just over 4 tonight with the running group I have been running with for years. I didn't run with them this summer most of the time as I wanted to run alone and get more mentally strong for my marathon. I think my body is remembering it is marathon fit. Weird. This has never happened in a taper before. However, usually by this time, I really need to heal. This time, I started the taper with no aches or little pains. Yea!

Ran with Bubbles this evening. We had a great time. I love running with her even though it is more of an effort. I feel strong when I have to push her, and I know she enjoys the runs. She was climbing into the Chariot yesterday as I was getting ready to go.

I ran into my coach; so that was nice to see her. I actually ran with her yesterday, but anytime I get to talk to her, I enjoy it. Chiro had to pop my sacrum today and yesterday. I feel better tonight but I am about to hit the Jacuzzi tub and then ice it just to be sure.

Alright if anyone is reading this, I have an announcement to make:

I have created a special e-mail account so that I can communicate directly with anyone reading this blog. It is:

fastrunninglulu@gmail.com

Why? Because I feel like I may be perceived as a snot for not posting times and other potentially identifiable information. If you are active on the blog and send me an e-mail, I will reply and answer questions. I just ask that you never identify me, where I live, my times, or what I do for a living on this blog. I need to continue to have an anonymous presence here. I've posted this before but the reason is that I have someone in my life that pays an inordinate and inappropriate amount of attention to me, and I cannot underestimate his level of psychosis. Also, I don't need anyone else filling that role in my life either. 

I realized this morning that I am supposed to run a marathon in 2 days, 21 hours, 20 minutes!! I leave for Chicago tomorrow! I lost track of days this week and now it is Thursday. I'm off to get Bubbles packed and to pack for myself. Fortunately, my husband can pack his own stuff!

Both Bubbles and my husband have the Crud! I am praying I don't get it. Sasha has his garlic that he hits hard; I have my grapefruit seed extract!

I just received a weather advisory e-mail from the folks at Chicago marathon. It is going to be HOT and humid! I imagine that other entrants are in a dither. Well, this good ol' girl from Louisiana isn't sweating. I've been training in warm soup all summer. Their idea of hot and humid is relatively cool for me. I prefer it to be 40-50 at race start, but I only anticipate adjusting my pace 5 seconds per mile or so (if you want to know what that pace is email me at fastrunninglulu@gmail.com). I certainly know my hydration technique as I have practiced it over and over throughout this summer. Actually, I am almost giddy about how hot it is going to be because I know what to expect from my body.

Will post more about the run this afternoon with Bubbles.

Six miles with Bubbles and a friend who is running Chicago also. We didn't train together because I am faster than he is. We are going to meet at the start line hopefully. Ran with my running group and got lots of well-wishes. Several people have called tonight or emailed to wish me well. My plan is to run negative splits but not go for the gusto. I got into Houston for January so I will continue the training.

Good luck to all the folks running St. George! I will be thinking of you. Good luck to the few Bloggers who are doing Chicago! This is my last post until I come home. I expect to read race reports with many OT qualifying times!

Marathon pace. (Since I am writing this on Monday -- Yeah, RIGHT!)

CRAZINESS! I've done some crazy backwoods, disorganized races. This one takes the cake for survivorship mentality and overall unbelievableness (is that a word?). 

I am not even sure where to start on this story; I hope I can make it make sense. This is by far, the most bizarre marathon experience I have ever had! If you want to read the experience of other runners, check out the comments on www.marathonguide.com.

For my faithful readers, you know that I trained in super-hot, humid conditions this summer to get ready for the Chicago Marathon. I learned a lot through that training. It turns out what I thought I was learning, mental toughness etc, wasn’t as important as some very important knowledge of my own physiology that I gained when I wasn’t paying particularly close attention to those things.

A week before the marathon, the weather was predicted to be warm. The Thursday before the marathon we received an e-mail with a weather advisory. I was not particularly concerned about the weather and decided to adjust my pace to be 5-10 sec per mile slower than I had originally planned on running, especially since I planned to run slower than I believed my current fitness allowed.

I ran about a half mile to warm up and waited at the start line. It was warm and seemed warmer because of all the bodies. Within the first mile of the race, we ran through a long tunnel that felt like an oven! I really felt like I was running slowly, but was only 5 sec slower than revised pace. It turns out, that would be my fastest mile of the day. By mile two, I was completely soaked with sweat and listening to my body, I slowed down.

I skipped the first two water stops because I was wearing a Camel-Bak with Sustained Energy, a couple of Hammer Gels, and Endurolytes in it. I couldn’t figure out why people were leaving the course in Lincoln Park. I realized later that they were getting water from the fountains! There was no water at the water stations. After mile six, I had to start walking through the water stations because there were so many slippery, waxy cups on the ground. My pace slowed even more whenever we lost the shade from the buildings and were in full sunlight. The wonderful spectators had their hoses out spraying runners. I got the chills at mile 8 and started working on that problem by eating one Sport Bean and drinking more water. I stopped looking at my watch and the course clocks before mile 10. Just after mile 10, I saw a friend at a water station, and he and I ran walked together. We saw a bank (completely in the shade of buildings) that had a temp reading of 80 degrees and it wasn’t even 10 am yet! He and I ran and walked through the water stations so we didn’t slip. I let him go at the half marathon point because I slowed to call my husband who was to meet me at mile 23 with Bubbles, a cousin, and cousin’s wife. I told him it was going slow, very slow. I was listening to my body and consuming a lot of water (and Sport Beans). At this point, I stopped counting ambulances taking people from the course at 25 ambulances!

At the water stations after mile 14 and 16 the fun began! At first of these two water stations, there were two tables that still had water, each with one 2.5 gallon water container. Volunteers were pouring it into cups that runners had. There was not one clean cup in sight. I opened my bladder on my Camel-Bak for a little splash and came up to one of the tables. A woman was just standing there yelling at the two volunteers with the water “only half way, fill those cups only half way!!” The volunteers were not listening; they were filling cups as fast as they could. When I put the bladder over the table for a bit of water saying “just a couple splashes”, she said “no way!” I said, “Why don’t you SHUT UP and go find some more water” as the volunteers added some water to my pack! Shortly after this, I saw an American Red Cross Disaster Services vehicle. I thought, “Hhhmmm, I haven’t seen one of those since Katrina.” This was not boding well.

At mile 16, there was no water to be seen. The spectators had gotten cases of water and handing them out – they were getting mobbed by grateful runners. Spectators had also bought bags of ice and were handing those out. I grabbed some ice and stuffed it down my bra-top and showed a few other women what to do. It really helped cool my core as I was really over-heated at this point. Many of those women thanked me a couple of miles later, remarking how much better they felt. While the ice melted, I fished small pieces out and ate them. At some point, a woman was handing out cold apples. I took one and ate it! It tasted phenomenal! The spectators turned out to be the heroes of this marathon!

Every few miles, I was able to replenish my ice cache thanks to thoughtful spectators. At this point, I formed an alliance with a woman named Stacy. She and I helped each other procure water, ice, cold grapes etc. We also watched out for each other and made sure the other person was ok. At mile 18 Stacy and I were told by numerous police officers and race officials that we had to walk. We were mostly walking anyway, but we found that request bizarre! In fact, when we did start running, we got screamed at over the bullhorn by the cops.

Now what I am about to write, I would not believe if it didn’t happen to me! At mile 19, I began to hear announcements that the race had been CANCELLED! WHAT?!!? I laughed. I have never been part of an event where they just cancelled it in the middle of everything. Between 19 and 20, the scene was just too bizarre. A cop stood in front of us and told a big group of us that we had to stop. WHAT? We were all doing just fine (thanks to the spectators and a little teamwork). The cop said, “Go down this side road (pointing) and buses will pick you up.” I said, “Really? I don’t see any buses. Do you see any buses?” The people around me said “what buses?” The cop said “They will come and get you.” I told him “Sir, with all due respect, but this Louisiana Girl is not going down that street and getting on a bus that she can’t see!” He looked at me strangely. I said one word “Katrina.” He motioned in the direction of the course and said “onward.” We all moved forward on the course.

There were no buses at that point, but I was soon about to see a bus in a big way. I called my husband and told him that we had been told to walk and also what happened with the cop. He said, “Of course there are no buses there. They are all right here. They are lined up and drivers are in them.” I get off the phone with him to see a bus -- a bus pulling across the course blocking the road. I couldn’t believe it! They blocked the course with a yellow school bus! I decided I was not getting on that bus (which turned out to be a good decision – more later) and that I was going around it. Then the CFD turned on a water cannon. No lie. This was not a spray in an arch over the road as I saw on other parts of the course.  This was a very large stream of water about 2 or 3 feet off the ground designed to be a road block. If I had gone through that water I would have been knocked off my feet! I scurried around the water before it got going full blast and around the bus! Then I turned and saw that Stacy had followed me. I told her, “I am finishing this thing!” Really in my mind I was thinking “Louisiana runner gets arrested trying to finish Chicago Marathon.” I think this happened around mile 20. The next couple miles were relatively quiet except for the cops on the bullhorns telling us to walk and that the race was cancelled. I think I had been smiling for 3 or 4 miles – I was having a great time! What an adventure! However, it was sad to see all the people lying on the side of the road, cramping, vomiting, and crying. Also, when we did see buses again people were being stuffed into them and hanging out of the windows. Someone told me later they were on a bus where two people had seizures because it was so hot. You couldn’t have paid me to get on an un-air-conditioned bus with all those hot people.

I couldn’t wait to see my husband and Bubbles. He told me they were waiting (and waiting and waiting) at mile 23. It turns out he was in mile 24. He was on a portion of the course where it turned. I could see him in the distance holding Bubbles above his head. She was smiling and waving like crazy at all the runners! He had her onesie pulled down to her waist and the first thing I thought was “my child is naked in public!” I didn’t say anything – He’s an extremely good dad and he knew just what to do to keep her comfortable. I was so happy to see all of them. I was happy to see Bubbles having such a great time. I quickly kissed and hugged everyone (cousin, wife, husband and Bubbles), but Bubbles hugged me so hard she wouldn’t let go! I didn’t want to go.

When I left them, all I wanted to do was run and run fast. I was so pumped. Also, at this point it felt much better to run than to walk as I had trained to run the distance – not walk. Stacy and I found a HUGE chunk of ice in the road. I picked it up and gave it to her and she stuffed it in her shirt. She looked like she had a giant tumor. We decided to run for a bit. She had to hold the ice block while she ran. After a while she gave it to me and I stuffed it and held it. We traded this ice back and forth for a mile or so. We were a sight to see! We were able to run most of the last 2.2 miles. I finished the race more than 1.5 hours later than I had planned! It is a Personal Worst (PW), but one I will savor. I saw the city in a new light, and I believe the citizens of Chicago are some of the best people anywhere.

At the finish line people were still dropping like flies. AND, there was tons of WATER! No ice, but lots of water. The race director did not lie when he told the press that the race had plenty of water. It simply wasn’t distributed correctly. I walked through the finishing chute, found my husband, and we walked about 1 mile to the car where his cousin picked us up. Bubbles couldn’t stop touching me. I couldn’t stop smiling and laughing at the whole thing!

Some final thoughts:

Many of the “finishers” (24,000 of the original 45,000 signed up) were people who were brought back to the finish line but didn’t do the whole course. Somewhere around mile 22 race officials were telling people if they got on a bus, they would be brought to the finish and still get a medal. I wouldn’t have taken the medal, but do not fault the people who did.

Someone I know (who is faster than me) got taken off the course at the halfway point and told to make her way to the finish. She estimates she covered 20-22 miles because she never saw a bus and had to walk back to Grant Park. She DNFed. I am very sad for her.

I thought about DNFing at mile 10. At this point I still had the chills. I thought, “This isn’t worth the physiological stress and the wear on my legs.” Then I realized I could keep ignoring the clock and see the city, make the most of the situation, and be smart about it and maybe learn something. I got rid of the chills soon after and was set on finishing even though I knew it was going to be a PW. I learned a lot that day about managing my physiology and correcting those problems. I am proud to say that I “participated in” and completed the 2007 Chicago Marathon!

Shake out miles after my "little race" on Sunday. I intended to walk much of it, but running in the first mile hurt less than walking so I ran. Picked up the pace the last 3.5 miles and they were like a normal easy training run. Now I feel great. I am not surprised that it was easier to run than walk since I unintentionally walked so much on Sunday. That walking I was not trained for. Maybe I should have run yesterday too.

with Bubbles :-)

With Bubbles :-)

Needed to get some stress out from my job so I ran hard tonight. It felt great.

Tempo run with my running group. It is good to be back among friends.

Metric century bike ride today. My glutes definitely felt the hills. I am extremely tired. I was supposed to ride with a women's team but it got split up, and I ended up expending 30% more energy than planned as I didn't draft off anyone. Very tough ride, especially since I would have rather been home with Honey (my husband) and Bubbles. My heart wasn't in it today. I said I would show up so I did. Now I can go back to running!

with Bubbles.

I hate to write a goose egg in the miles square! I was set to go, and right before I went out the door, I called my sister-in-law about photos we had taken of Bubbles. It was good I called her. I found out she just went through her second miscarriage. We talked a long time. She and I have always been very close and have gotten closer since we have both had miscarriages. She draws a lot of comfort from me. We talked until after 10pm. There was NO WAY I was going to tell her I had to get off the phone so I could run. That, I don't feel guilty about.

We talked about how often when horrible stuff happens God has a reason but we often don't get to find out why. In her case, we don't know why. In mine, I know some of the reasons which is very comforting. One is that I have been able to comfort many people who have since had miscarriages. Another is I was driven to visit "my peeps" (family) afterwards, and I got to say goodbye to a terminally ill family member before they died. I also learned that people say really, really idiotic things to people when they are suffering. But I also learned to recognize that they don't realize it and that they really love and care for me and don't realize what they say hurts. Enough of this depressing stuff; I am going to bed.

Wow, these miles were hard. I am not sure if it is because I didn't run yesterday or residual from the marathon. This run sucked. I had to force myself to complete even those miles. I wanted to do more, but didn't have it in me. Tomorrow will be better. I called my sister-in-law to find out about her day. We had a great talk. She had a rough day; tomorrow will be better we decided.

With Bubbles. It took me 3.5 miles to get into my rhythm. It is hot again so I think that's why the running this week has been a struggle. It is supposed to cool down tomorrow.

Breakfast run at my house. About 50 runners descended on my house this morning. We ran then had breakfast afterward. I wonder what my neighbors thought when they woke up to a street full of cars and people spilling out of my house.

Nike+ Women's Virtual Half Marathon. 9:15 pace for the run. I am pretty happy with that since I ran it as a workout and it is two weeks post-Chicago debacle. In 6 weeks I hope to be running 45 sec faster pace.

Ran in the rain tonight. I had to wait until Bubbles was in bed to get outside. I LOVE to run in the rain. In the middle of the run it started raining very hard; the water was pouring off the front of my hat in a sheet. It hurt a bit when it hit my shoulders. The streets were flooded so my feet were soaked and heavy. My husband calls me a duck because sometimes I wait until it is really raining hard to go run. I had to run a bit faster tonight than I wanted as the wind came up about 2 miles into the run, and I ran faster so I wouldn't get cold. So I would call these miles somewhere between easy and marathon pace. After a couple of weeks of warm weather, this storm is supposed to bring in a cold front (low 47 deg on Friday, you people from the frozen Nawth don't laugh). I always get speedier when it cools down. I run much better in cold weather.

Windy, but fun.

AAAHHHH! Something is happening to me! It is Sasha's and the rest of you bloggers' fault. Including you, Jeff! I came home from today's run, and it was business as usual. EXCEPT normally I am single-minded about getting my recovery drink in me for any run over 6 miles. Today, I didn't even think about it until now, which is several hours later! Same thing happened with last night's 7+ mile run, and I didn't die today. Since when is an 8 mile run NO BIG DEAL?!?!? Apparently now. So I have achieved enough fitness that I can run long one day and run again the next. I can run 8 miles without thinking I am going to die after unless I have my carb/protein drink!!

Thank you, all.

With Bubbles. I dressed Bubbles as Tigger, and we ran over to a place where businesses and organizations were having a Trick or Treat. They close the road, and there are tons of kids. I thought she might like to see all the kids in their costumes; there were a lot of very cool ones. I had a course planned that was three miles there and then three home again. Well she slept through her first Trick or Treat. She was extremely tired. We didn't want any candy anyway since nobody in my house really eats it. It is definitely an event we will go to next year when this craziness means more to her.

It was extremely windy. This run was supposed to be an "easy" run but I was really struggling to push the Chariot at some points and then really struggling to stay with the Chariot when the wind was at my back.

Ran with my running group and Bubbles. I didn't have to push her the entire time as a couple of people tried pushing her. They quickly learned that it requires some hamstring strength! I have no idea what my pace was since I haven't downloaded the data yet. It felt easy.

with Bubbles.

Set out to do an easy six miles. Felt light on my feet and ran just over 7. Latest run I've done in a while. Bubbles went to bed pretty late so I started running at 9:30pm! I was tired when I started and just felt better and better.

Three mile warm up PMP+45sec. Three mile tempo run PMP-45sec. Two mile cool down. I am very happy with the run. I really had to push the last mile of the tempo. I was quite thirsty the last 1.5 miles. It is back in the 80s again.

Easy run at PMP +1:30. Got to go. Bubbles woke up.