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St George Marathon

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Location:

Saint George,UT,USA

Member Since:

Dec 23, 2009

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

Mount Charleston Marathon 2016 - 3:17:51

Snow Canyon Half 2012 - 1:33:30

Spectrum 10K 2012 - 43:41

Short-Term Running Goals:

Run a destination marathon.

Complete a half Ironman.

Long-Term Running Goals:

Know when to hold 'em

Know when to fold 'em

Know when to walk away

Know when to run....

Personal:

Surrounded by the people I love. Life is good.

Passionate about my family, the University of Utah -- GO UTES, almond M&Ms, mountain biking, comfy t-shirts, Survivor, friends, and (of course) running.

Physical therapist at The Health and Performance Center at Dixie Regional Medical Center. I LOVE what I do. Seriously, living the dream!

Click to donate

to Ukraine's Armed Forces

Miles:	This week:	0.00	Month:	0.00	Year:	0.00

Sat, Oct 04, 2014

Race: St George Marathon (26.2 Miles) 03:31:08

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Crosstraining miles	Total Miles
0.00	26.20	0.00	0.00	0.00	26.20

In the most simple terms:

First 17 miles: EPIC (didn't even feel like I was racing until after I crossed the halfway point)

Next 3 miles: Intentionally scaling back to try and hold the cramping at bay.

Last 6.2: EPIC FAIL

In a nutshell: I felt very much the same way one feels when they put a quarter in a candy machine and only get three small M&Ms (but on a much larger scale)! :-)

My last three marathons I have suffered some pretty severe cramps, but nothing like the ones I suffered yesterday. The last 6.2 miles I could only run roughly 800 - 1200 meters at a time before one would seize. When I finally crossed the finish line and I got to the grass where I could stop for a second to see my family my entire lower body seized up to the point that I literally and I mean LITERALLY fell to the ground and rolled around like a crazy lady screaming. Ryan, Rylee and Sophia were trying desperately to release the many different cramps that were seizing my legs that felt as if they were going to snap at any moment from the force of the muscle contractions. The pain was insane. Ryan finally got me up and I had to stomp and slap my legs for the duration of the car ride home. Once home I began to cry like a baby - but I'm not sure why. I wasn't crying because of sadness or pain, my body just wouldn't stop crying. Per Lowell's suggestion I immediately engulfed a bacon burger (which I hate) and some fries. The crying and cramping stopped shortly after.

That's it!

I truly believed that I was prepared (and was going) to run a sub 3:20. First world problem, I'm not going to dwell on it.

- Worked 46.5 hours M-F evening and tried to keep hydrated but nutrition and sleep were far from adequate.

- Horrible night sweats for the past several months.

- One of my best training seasons ever.

Splits:

7:20, 7:44, 7:17, 7:24, 7:20, 7:15, 7:18, 8:32, 7:55, 8:05, 8:08, 8:04, 7:28, 7:55, 7:13, 7:27, 7:26, 8:24, 9:09, 8:01, 8:34, 9:09, 8:35, 8:43, 9:13, 9:10, 2:06

With that said, had a GREAT weekend with Smooth, Lowell, Christine and Ben!!!! :-) :-) :-)

Sketchers Go Run 2: Green Miles: 26.20

Comments

From Rhett on Sun, Oct 05, 2014 at 13:27:46 from 199.117.154.54

Well Ms Teena. I love your attitude. You will overcome this and run that 3:20 soon. If you figure out what's going on, share with us so we can learn from you.

And 3:31 is still a great time!

From jtshad on Sun, Oct 05, 2014 at 19:10:18 from 69.20.183.178

Sorry about the tough race and the way your body reacted. Other better races to come.

From Tara on Sun, Oct 05, 2014 at 20:56:41 from 70.208.14.146

Oh my goodness! That sounds like a nightmare! I once had my right calf seize up and I was desperate to chop it off. I can't imagine my entire body convulsing! I'm so sorry. That must be so frustrating considering all the hard work you've put into this training cycle. You'll get it, keep on truckin'!:)

From Maynard on Mon, Oct 06, 2014 at 06:30:16 from 199.190.170.28

Awesome sauce! Way to go, Teena!

From Smooth on Mon, Oct 06, 2014 at 17:38:41 from 67.2.102.76

I'm so sorry for the scary and painful cramps. I feel your pain. I have had many of those post-race vice-grip charlie horse attacks! Once you're down on the ground, you're at the mercy of someone to help you up and stretch those muscles out for you passively.

3:31 is nothing to sneeze at especially when you had to push through the ensuing cramps for the last 10Ks. You are one tough cookie, incredibly strong and resilient. You are a great runner! I am so proud of all your accomplishments. Recover well, my sweet friend! Thanks for spending time with me this weekend. I love you!!! :)

From Tom Slick on Mon, Oct 06, 2014 at 23:12:04 from 69.171.160.155

Wow, what a race!!!! Glad you made it! Get recovered and figure out those cramps!Congrats on bringing this one to the finish line...

By any chance, are you aiming yourself at the 2016 Boston marathon????

From MarcE on Tue, Oct 07, 2014 at 12:52:46 from 74.221.106.4

I looked for you before, during, and after the race. You did a good job avoiding me! :) I saw a few fast women who resembled you -- but realized they weren't you after I slapped them. Ooops.. Awesome 20 miler! You are speedy.

From Matt Schreiber on Tue, Oct 07, 2014 at 20:44:59 from 66.17.102.175

Oh, cramping.. I'm sorry Teena. I can somewhat relate with a 4:12 I ran last fall due to cramping. I do know all too well the crazy pretzel shape a calf can take on mid cramp. I do not, however, know about the lower body seizing up. It sounds like you really muscled through it. Your training was there Teena. You had a lot of miles going into this one. You still pulled off a 3:31?!? Awesome stuff. Quite a coincidence I engulfed a big 'ol bacon burger this weekend and for some reason put a picture of it on my blog!

The night sweats have to be related somehow. I've related my cramping to 2 things in the past - lack of looonnnngggg runs and dehydration/lack of salt. Sure seems like a bunch of sweating would be related somehow. Keep up the awesome training! You've got the 3:20. :)

From Teena Marie on Mon, Oct 13, 2014 at 22:13:17 from 24.49.99.147

Thanks, All!

That cramping I experienced did some major havoc on my legs. They both felt ripped to shreds until a couple of d ays ago when I finally noticed I wasn't thinking about them 100% of the time that I was weight bearing!!!! It was like someone had poured poison into them. I never have before experienced anything like it. I do believe that it may have to do with the "girly" changes I am presently going through as a result of my hysterectomy at an early age (runners can share things like that, right?). I have no proof, just a gut instinct. I have since gone on some over the counter pills that are meant to reduce night sweats. The change I am feeling internally throughout the day and the lack of night sweats I have had since I started them is substantial.

All my really fast long runs were done in the wee hours before sunrise, starting at 4:30ish in the morning. I did not sweat near the amount and that may have saved me. Such was not the case during the marathon.

Who really knows though. All I know is that I was prepared. I had one of my very best training seasons ever. I truly believed it was to be my day!

With that said, as previously mentioned, the extreme cramping throughout both of my legs did a number on me. The pain I felt for several days was pretty intense and I am only now beginning to feel recovered. I am cross-training at this point but not ready to run. Be it fear or something else I am not quite sure. But I'm not ready.

And, most importantly ... Marc, your comment cracked me up!!! Did you really give whomever a good slap??? Laughing hysterically if it is true!!!! :-)

From Teena Marie on Mon, Oct 13, 2014 at 22:13:42 from 24.49.99.147

Oh and Slick ...

Yes, I'm planning on Boston 2015 and 2016! :-)

From MarcE on Thu, Oct 23, 2014 at 11:29:29 from 74.221.106.4

Sorry, Teena -- I have this fear of being punched in the nose for assaulting someone during the marathon. If I had seen you I would have said "Hi TEEEEENA". My legs were a mess too -- but for totally different reasons. I started training at the end of August, with a single 20 miler. I was on pace for 3:30 until about mile 20 - then my legs were so tight, I could barely jog/walk. I'll be looking for you next time -- I'm really thinking of Utah Valley in June!

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