Foot Update and Runner's Envy

I went to the podiatrist yesterday to get my right foot checked out. As soon as I made the appointment, my foot started feeling a little bit better. Of course! I decided to go in anyway to get an x-ray, make sure nothing was fractured and to get checked for tendonitis. Based on where I was feeling pain, the doc dismissed tendonitis right away. After the x-ray came back, he said there was no sign of any major stress fracture. His diagnosis was that I sprained the bottom side bone of my foot. I had no idea that was even possible! I remember pretty distinctly knowing something happened around mile 22, but now it is so hard for me to remember what the pain felt like. He wrapped my foot in basically an attached orthotic that I need to keep on for 3-4 days. I didn't get a timeline for when I can workout again, but I am thinking next week looks good for at least some tennis and maybe biking.

My lovely orthotic

The pain is right below the white tape

I live across the street from a big park so every morning I see lots of runners out and about. Today was the very first time I felt serious runner's envy. I work fairly early so morning runs are tought for me to squeeze in. I am always a little bit jealous of the people who have schedules that allow them to run at 7:30 in the morning, but today was different. I was seriously pissed as I watched so many people enjoying their leisurely run when I can't run. I don't know how those of you that have had injuries that prevent you from running weeks and even months do it. I don't even think I actually need to run right now. It just sucks knowing that I can't!

San Francisco Marathon Race Report

We're home!! Hubs and I flew home late Thursday night from San Francisco. Unfortunately, we had a hectic Friday with work and a wedding to attend so this post is a little late. This race report was very difficult to write. It was one of the most memorable moments of my life and also one of the hardest. I'm going to do a separate post on the vacation aspects of our trip, including our two days in Napa! But first, the race report. Warning, this post is going to be ridiculously long. So if you want the short version...I qualified for Boston!!!!

Thursday - Saturday

After flying into San Fran on Thursday night, Hubs,my best friend Pam and I checked into our hotel and did some sightseeing on Friday. The rest of our group flew in on Friday night, and we all went to a nice dinner. On Saturday, we headed over to the expo to pick up our bibs and chips and walk around. The expo was really nice, and much larger than most of the expos in Denver. I wish I would have bought another marathon shirt since the shirt they gave out are white and definitely see through. Hubs and I hit the LaraBar booth a few too many times, but we needed to replenish our stock of the minis because they are the perfect size!

Lunch on Saturday was at a cute little Italian cafe a few blocks from our hotel. I had some delicious gnocchi and half a pesto zucchini sandwich. The rest of the afternoon was spent napping and resting our feet. The biggest mistake I made before the marathon was going to see Alcatraz on Friday. I think we did a little too much walking and the backs of my knees were very sore. I tried not to think about them and I iced as much as possible.

For Dinner, we headed to Whole Foods so I could "sort of" recreate what I usually eat before a long run. My go to meal has been a tofu and broccoli stir fry with brown rice. At Whole Foods, I got all three ingredients but the tofu was pretty gross and the broccoli wasn't cooked. Oh well, I tried! I took half a Tylenol PM at 7:30 hoping I would be out by 10:00. I did fall asleep around 10:30, but at 1:00 I woke up freaking out that I forgot my running shoes (which I had worn on the plane and in San Fran). I knew I was screwed for getting much more sleep that night. I slept maybe another hour and half before the alarm went off at 3:30.


The Big Day

I woke up with lots of butterflies in my stomach Sunday morning. I downed my oatmeal with peanut butter and chocolate chips as best I could that early in the morning, and started getting ready. Pam's wave started an hour after mine so we said our goodbyes. Andrew, Dave and Dave's brother Pauly walked down to the start together. Dave and I jumped in the porti-potty line and started to stretch. Jess met up with us a few minutes later. We took our pre-race photos and then headed toward the Wave 2 corral.

At the expo, I decided to sign up for the 3:40 pace group. I know most people say for your first marathon your goal should be to finish and not to worry about a time. I thought about doing that, but I just don't think it is my personality to not set goals for each race. I decided to make multiple goals so that at the end of the race I would feel accomplished no matter the time. My goals were:


1. Finish the Marathon and Have Fun!
2. Finish Under 4:30
3. Finish Under 4:00
4. Finish Under 3:40 and Boston Qualify



Based off my last half marathon time of 1:46, McMillian said that I could run a marathon in 3:45. My choice to go with the 3:40 pace group instead of the 3:50 definitely made me nervous. I decided to stay with the 3:40 for at least 6 or 7 miles and if it felt too fast, I would slow down and conserve my energy. Jess also ran with the 3:40 pace group so I was very excited we would be together!

After the gun went off, we crossed the start line very quickly and with minimal pushing. One thing I thought was odd was that the 3:30 pace group lined up behind the 3:40, and after 1/2 mile they proceeded to pass us. Is that normal? The first few miles were blurry. It was still very dark. Jess and I thought the pace felt unusually comfortable, but sure enough by mile 3 we had picked up the pace. We were running under an 8:00 for almost two miles. Our pace leader told us it was to make up for time lost going up the hills to the bridge. As we made our way up the biggest hill of the course, things definitely started to get difficult. I had prepared myself for this being the hardest hill of the course, but it surprisingly wasn't that bad!

Running over the bridge was by far my favorite part of the course. The wind was calm and it was really foggy, but it was such a cool experience (even though we couldn't see anything!) On the way back across the bridge there were two other runners wearing the exact same blue and black outfit that Jess was wearing. We got to talking and I chatted with a guy named David who was also running his first marathon. We talked for probably two miles and it was a really nice distraction.

After crossing the bridge, we entered the Presidio. We had another big hill to climb and fairly substantial downhill. This was one was definitely a surprise. Apparently, I had missed it on the elevation map!?!? The view of the Pacific was spectacular from this area. A few miles later we split from the half marathoners and the full marathoners continued through Golden Gate Park. This park is absolutely an oasis. It was very quiet and peaceful, and I can see why so many people would want to run here. My only complain about this section was that it felt like we were climbing hills the whole time. Looking at the elevation map, we were climbing hills the whole time.

Andrew and Zach (Jess' boyfriend) found us one their bikes around mile 15. It was so great to see them and very nice to unload the jacket I had been wearing for the first half. Around mile 18, Jess said she was starting to struggle keeping up with the 3:40 pace group. I think I was feeling the same exact thing. We had hit our first mini-wall. I hoped with all this climbing we would start to go back downhill eventually. I was very happy to exit the park around mile 19.

Somewhere between mile 19 and 20 we had lost our pace group leader behind us. Another chic from our group and a guy from Colorado Springs proceeded down the steep hill on Haight Street. Jess and the other girl sprinted down the hill, while the guy and I held back. Downhill is not my friend, and I didn't want to do something now that hurt later when we got to 23 or 24. Jess and I had talked about finishing together, but she was feeling much stronger at this point. I hoped I would be able to catch up to her some time later.

Around mile 22, is when things started to get really tough. I felt something twinge in my right foot, and I started praying that it wasn't a stress fracture. I hobbled on for a another 20 yards and the pain started to subside. This part of the race was very boring. It goes through a very industrial area with zero crowd support. My stomach had started acting up around mile 18, but every time we passed a porti-potty it started to feel better.

I had taken a peppermint pill at 4:00 in the morning, and at mile 24 it was starting to do its job. I felt like I was burping peppermint with each step. At the last water stop, I knew water would not help my situation but I was soooo thirsty. I took two cups and immediately regretted it. My body wanted to puke the water back up, but I was so dehydrated so nothing happened. I had caught up to Jess at this point, and I told her to keep running strong. She said she could see our pace leader behind me, but he was still pretty far behind us. At mile 24.5, I walked for the first time. The second I put my arms down my muscles burned like crazy. I knew if I started walking now it would be hard to get going again, but I had to due to my stomach pain. I decided to take 10-15 steps and then run again. I did that three times and I slowly made my way to the Giant's stadium.

Around mile 25, Andrew showed up on his bike at the exact perfect moment and motivated me to keep going to the finish line. It is crazy how close I was to Boston qualifying, and yet I was so ready to give up. I started to pick up my pace because the 3:40 pace leader was just a few steps behind me. I knew we were close to being done so I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. About 40 yards from the finish line, the pace leader started screaming ladies we are going to Boston, and right then I knew I had done it.

(My I am never going to walk again face!)

I crossed the finish line with the biggest smile I could muster and proceeded to completely loose it. I cried because I was happy, in so much pain, and so proud all at the same time. I gave Jess a big hug and we cried in celebration that we both had completed our goal of qualifying for Boston together. What an awesome experience!

(Boston Qualifiers!)

After grabbing water and food, Andrew and I sat on the side of the course and I continued to cry. I was in a LOT of pain at this point. I couldn't walk or put weight on my right foot. My stomach was also still queasy. As time passed, things started to feel a little more bearable, but my right foot was still bothering me. Jess and I sat down and rooted for Dave and Pam at the finish line.

Final stats were 3:39:20 (8:22 pace)

Before running San Fran, I knew I wanted to run another marathon. I signed up for NYCM this year and got in! I didn't expect to Boston qualify the first time out so I definitely have some decision to make about whether I want to run NY this year or pay another $180 to run it in 2010. I think my only option for Boston is running the 2010 marathon. So some big decisions will be made fairly soon. First, I need to heal my right foot. I don't think it was a stress fracture, but it could possibly be peroneus longus tendonitis. It is a dull pain that I feel all the time on the side of my foot. It probably didn't help that we were still walking quite a bit on our vacation. I thought the pain was normal after a marathon, but my body actually feels fine now expect for the foot. I am heading to the doctor today to get it checked out.

Look for the vacation post soon. If you are still reading this, thanks! :)

Chi-Town and Updates

I'm back!!! I can't believe it is already the middle of July. Where did the summer go? Hubs and I have had a jam packed schedule since we got back from Chicago, and I am just now starting to feel like I have a handle on things. Does everyone else struggle getting back into the real world after vacation? I always feel like it takes me at least a week to get caught up.

Before we left for Chicago, I did my long run on Thursday morning. This is the first time I have ever done a long run in the middle of the week, and it was my last long run before the marathon. My legs were definitely tired for this run since I had done a 14 mile trail run on Sunday and I had a make-up tennis match on Wednesday night that lasted over 3 hours!!! Not exactly an ideal situation, but running 20 miles during my vacation in Chicago didn't sound like a smart idea. Good thing since I didn't even manage to run my 10 mile run I had scheduled.

Even with tired legs, this run was pretty uneventful. My friend Jess joined me out on the highline canal again and the miles ticked away fast since we were talking so much. During training, the long runs have always been my favorite. It is the mid-long runs (9-12) during the week that I haven't really enjoyed.

After we finished, I hurried home to shower, pack and head to the airport. Chicago was absolutely fantastic. I can see why so many young professionals choose to live in Chicago. I could never live there because of the miserable winters and I would miss the mountains too much. I never realized how FLAT Chicago is. Since pictures are much more fun I will let them tell the story of our trip! :)

Dinner and drinks at Moe's in Wrigleyville

Cubs Game (They won in the 10th inning!)

Watching the fireworks at Navy Pier

The top floor of the Hancock building after shopping on Michigan Ave.

Dinner at Japonais on the Chicago River

I'm in Chicago!

At the Bean in Millennium Park

North St. Beach

At the beach with the Chicago skyline

Architectural Boat Cruise

Sears Tower

My two favorite buildings are the ones on the right

Grant Park

We definitely had a great trip, and can't wait to plan another visit to Chicago. I still can't believe how much we did in 3 1/2 days. I think we got a good feel of the city. Another part of the trip that I really enjoyed was walking around Bucktown. It has a bunch of cute boutiques and restaurants and I thought it was a really cool part of the city. Less than two weeks till our next vacation....San Fran!!!

Peak Week and Long Run Sunday

This weekend wrapped up peak week for my San Francisco training schedule. I finished the weekend with over 47 miles total and a long run of 20 miles. I was very happy to get in all my runs this week. It feels so great to have a new record for mileage in one week. I still have one 20 miler to go the week of the 4th of July.

For this long run, I headed back to Highline Canal with my friend Pam. After the Rocky Mountain 1/2 Marathon Race, I had some pain in my shin splints and joints from pounding the roads and concrete. My plan is to do my next 20 miler on concrete so I get used to the pounding, but for this one soft gravel felt absolutely fantastic!

With the temps expected to be in the mid 80's, we decided a 6:30-7:00 start was necessary. I think I officially get up earlier on the weekends than I do during the week for work. I'm very glad we got started early because it did get very hot towards the end. Everything went really well on this run. Pam only had to do 19 and we run different paces, but we were able to get in around eight miles together which was really nice. i drank around seven waterbottles (re-filled 1/2 way) and ate a whole sleeve of Cherry Shot Blocks with Caffeine.

I wrapped up the weekend, with some much needed pool time and then a BBQ at my parent's house where we got to meet my newest nephew! He is only a 4 days old!

The Hubs is passed out in the background!

Rocky Mountain Half Marathon Race Report

On Sunday, I ran the fifth annual Rocky Mountain Half Marathon. This was my very first half marathon race so it is very special to me, and a race I hope to run every year. I was really skeptical Saturday night about my ability to really run fast at this race. Andrew's Grandparents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on Friday and Saturday night so we had been going non-stop all weekend and of course, eating really delicious food (aka not good for running).

I woke up Sunday morning still feeling apprehensive. I went through my usual pre-race routine (oatmeal, water, check the weather, stretch, peppermint pill, etc.) Dave, Pam and I met at 6:30 to walk over to the race start. We made a few porti-poty stops and did a lot of stretching and warming up. Finally, the race was ready to begin. We lined up in our corrals, and then proceeded to stand for another ten minutes! The race was suppose to start at 7:30, but the gun didn't go off until after 7:35.

I went out way too fast, but this was part of my strategy. I knew the latter miles were going to be really HOT and really HILLY so I decided to make up some time in the beginning while it was still cool. Dave and I stuck together for the first 3-4 miles. We tackled the first big hill and then winded our way back through Downtown Denver and onto the Cherry Creek Bike Path. After about mile 5, I knew I was starting to slow down into a more comfortable race pace. The weather was very hot for racing and I think I stopped at 8 out of the 10 water stations. Usually, I run right through them but this race I decided to let myself stop and walk to really get a lot of water down. I took some Cherry Blossom Honey Stinger Chews at mile 5 and again at mile 10. The worst hill of this race is between mile 5 and 6. I try to train here regularly, but it still gets me every time!!!

Andrew found me a few times between miles 7 through 10 and then again at 12.5. This year they changed the course around so the last 3/4 of a mile is ALL uphill! I knew I was close so I charged as fast as I could up that damn hill.

With the finish line in sight, the clock was at 1:46:30 so I sprinted to get in under 1:47. Final stats are:

1:46:41/AP 8:08
196/1497 Overall
51/912 Overall Women
6/111 Age Division

Pam, Me

Me, Andrew

I can't believe I was sixth in my age division! This is closest I have ever been to receiving an award! What is even more exciting for me is I was able to shave 17 minutes off my time last year which was 2:03:30. It is absolutely amazing what your body can do with a lot of hard work in a short amount of time.

My mom and Pam's mom joined us at the finish line to cheer us on. It it always so great to have their support! After loading up on samples of Granola and Lara Bars, we headed to Dixon's for a post-race breakfast celebration. I ordered the Eggs Mazatlan( Three scrambled eggs and guacamole rolled into a warm flour tortilla. Topped with green chile and white cheddar cheese. I changed it up a little by adding in spinach.)

Pam and I also ordered a peach blossom (champagne, peach schnapps and orange juice).

Pam, Dave, Me, Andrew

This was such a fantastic race for me. It still had some challenging parts and it really made me question how I should approach "racing" San Fran.

Long Run Sunday - 20 miles

Last Sunday was the longest distance I have run to date...20 miles. Dave and I had planned on meeting at 7:30 to drive down to the Highline Canal in Denver. As I was heading down to meet Dave out front, I get a text message "Just locked keys in car." My building has a five minute loading zone circle that people can use, and sure enough Dave's car is there with his house and car keys locked in. Lucky for us, his building is next door so we walked over to see if his neighbor was home. Nope, no neighbor. We asked the front office attendant if we could leave the car for a few hours. Nope, they suggested we pay $60 for a locksmith to come out and open it. I asked the hubby if he had any suggestions, and he said what about using the ladder.

We hauled our little 4 foot ladder over to Dave's place and both of the guys were able to jump to the balcony from the ladder. Fun stuff, but no way was I going to give it a try!! I would need a little more upper body strength for that trick. Needless to say, our 8:00 start became a 10:00 start. I was really nervous and wanted to bail on the run, but Dave suggested we just knock it out.

I knew the weather would be a big factor for this run, so we parked in the middle of the trail. We ran the first 12 miles out and back one direction. Re-filled our water bottles at 12 and headed out the opposite direction for the last 8. The weather was definitely a factor, but we took things slow and miles started to go by faster. The hardest part of this run for me was between 14-16. It felt like those last 6 would take forever. I pushed through, and mile 19 and 20 were actually my fastest miles of the run. By mile 18, I felt like I had mentally checked out from my body which was nice, but a feeling I had never experienced before.


By the time we got done, it was almost 80 degrees out. I am very happy to be DONE with my first 20 miler. Only two more to go till San Fran!!

Race Report: Bolder Boulder 10K

This past Monday, I ran the 31st annual Bolder Boulder 10k. This race is a lot of fun because it is the largest 10k in the country. 50-60,000 people run it every year.

The only negative about this race is that it is the Monday after a holiday weekend. To recap this race, let's start with Saturday and Sundays events. Saturday I had a 12 mile run scheduled for marathon training. I decided to stick with the number even though I would be racing on Monday. Saturday night I got talked into going out with some friends and danced the night away at a bar downtown. After waking up Sunday very hungover and dehydrated, I had to get ready for a make-up tennis match. Normally, my tennis league plays Thursday nights but we got rained out this week. My match was really fun and very tough. Even though I didn't win, I knew my legs would be hurting the next morning.

Brandon, Dave, Jess, Zach, Me, Hubby

When I woke up Monday, my legs felt like they weighed 100 pounds each. I knew I would be sore, but not THIS SORE! Apparently, I can run 17 miles without any pain, but a 2 hour tennis match and my legs throw in the towel. I decided to take the race easy, and not have a real goal in mind. Ultimately, I did want to come in under 50 minutes.

Dave and Brandon were also running the race with me, so hubby dropped us off at the start line and wished me luck! We jogged a warm up mile to the start of the race. Due to our procrastination and our desire for more sleep, we decided to start in the VERY last running wave. When the gun went off, Dave and Brand sprinted ahead as I waved goodbye. I took the first few miles a little too fast, and my legs screamed in pain. I allowed myself to stop and walk when they really started to ache. Because we started so late, it was really difficult to pass people.


I focused on the crowd support and listened to the bands playing along the streets. I knew I would hit my goal if I kept my mind off the pain. Soon enough, I started the last hill climb into Folsom Stadium. I tried my best to sprint the last 1/4 mile inside the stadium.

Final Time

6.2/49:08/AP 7:54

I was ECSTASTIC about achieving my goal. My time for this race last year was 59:15. I shaved over 10 minutes off my 10k PR in one year, SWEET!

Rain, Rain Go Away

When you live in Colorado, you get used to the crazy weather. However, Coloradoans are not use to it raining all day for three days straight. We start to get a little stir crazy without a few hours of sunshine. So this weekend when I woke up to do my 16 miler, I was little bummed to find more clouds and more rain. I started the pre-run rituals of eating peanut butter oatmeal, drinking water and lots of stretching. Of course this Sunday we had Mother’s Day brunch plans at 10:30, which meant I needed to be home by at least 9:30…

Running buddy Dave met me at 7:00, and yes we were already running late. We drove over to Berkley Park a few miles from my house to try out a new trail (Clear Creek). I was very excited about the trail because it winds through the city I grew up in. We planned an 8 mile out and back to reach our 16 miles.

For those of you that don’t know, I am an i-pod addict when it comes to running. I always get nervous that I will sign up for a race that doesn’t allow i-pods by accident. For some reason today I didn’t need my i-pod. Granted Dave can hold a conversation for multiple hours, so it was like having my personal i-pod minus the singing. It definitely made me feel strong that I didn't need my i-pod to keep me distracted.

The rain started to come down so hard that I put my i-pod in a pocket before it died on me. To keep myself dry, I wore my Danskin pullover that Bobbi from NHerShoes reviewed a few months back. It was the perfect layer to keep me dry!








Our run started off easy. We both have a tendency to want to run our long runs too fast, so we agreed on a nice 9:30ish pace. Due to the inclimate weather, there were very few people out on the trail with us. I think we saw five people in 16 miles. At mile six, we took some shot blocks and water. Part of this run went through a wetlands preserve which was really neat. It was nice because the trail turned to gravel around that area giving our legs a much needed break from all the concrete pounding.

The entire run I was really nervous about the pain in my calf I had been experiencing all week. It definitely started to bother me towards the end of the run, and it didn’t help that Dave was also having pain in his left foot. We hobbled along for the last few miles, taking some more shot blocks at mile 12. What I didn’t remember was that the last mile back to the park was up and down hills the ENTIRE way. I couldn’t believe I didn’t notice this on the way out. I guess that’s the difference between what you remember at mile 1 and mile 16.


Our stats were:
16 miles/2:32/9:31AP


By the time we got back to the car, it was already 10:00. I had exactly 15 minutes to get ready including stretching and a shower. Not exactly ideal, but we made it brunch only a few minutes late. My family has promised to not schedule early events on long run days!