Houston - We have a problem!

Yesterday morning I ran my second Houston Marathon and my 39th marathon. I ran my first marathon in 2006 so this year kicks off the 20-year anniversary of me running marathons. I can hardly believe it.

Background
I ran the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon nine weeks ago and the race did not go well for me. Starting very early in the race (mile 9-10) both of my upper hamstrings seized up at the same time for no apparent reason. After much analysis, I chalked it up to being "stale" from taking two weeks off before the race due to a mild calf strain. My finish time was 3:32 and it didn't take too much out of me. Just four weeks later I ran within a minute of my 10K PR in 41:39. 

My approach between marathons was to maintain my fitness. No big workouts except for the 10K, and two long runs:17.5 and 18.0. The workouts I did were primarily for maintenance and on the shorter side, like 4 x 1000m cruise intervals. During the three weeks leading up to the race, my high hamstring and hip started to bug me so I backed off the mileage slightly, doing about 2/3 of what I originally had planned. But thankfully a few trips to my physical therapist cleared it up. I have so much endurance built up from my Indianapolis training cycle that running 17-18 miles doesn't take much out of me at my easy pace, even if I throw in some marathon pace work.

Abbie and me at Rice University

Race Weekend
We flew to Houston on Friday and our niece, Abbie picked us up. Abbie is Greg's sister's daughter and she's in her second year at Rice University. She got into running in high school (casually - not as part of an organized sport) and has stuck with it. For her birthday last summer, Greg and I gifted her a registration to the Houston Half marathon. This was one of the reasons I chose Houston: the race course goes through Rice and it was a great opportunity to visit her.

Abbie showed us around Rice University and then we went to dinner. I recognized it from the 2023 marathon because that is where Greg was cheering for me and taking pictures. He planned to go to the same spot this year.

The next morning I went for a 20 minute shakeout run with strides. I noticed that at the slower paces, I could feel my hamstring irritation, but once I got into a groove at a slightly faster pace, it was silent. I wasn't sure how it hold up for the race, but I've had issues like this in the past that have completely disappeared when it was time to race. I think part of it was in my head, constantly analyzing every little sensation. Then Greg and I met up with my friend Lindsey, who I knew from Instagram, for breakfast. I loaded up on pancakes.

My friend Lindsey!

I relaxed in the hotel for a bit and then went to meet up with another friend who works in marketing for Tracksmith near the expo. I've been following the brand since it launched in 2014 and have been intrigued by their unique marketing approach. It's an excellent case study in brand building, so as a marketer myself, I was fascinated.

Then Abbie came to meet us to get our race bibs. As this was her first half marathon, I had a lot of tips for her. One of the main ones was that she should have some form of fuel during the race. We bought her two packs of energy chews because I think chews are the best introduction to fuel. My main pieces of advice to her were that she needed to fuel during the race and she should use the porta potty right before the start. These things are super obvious to me, but not obvious to someone completely new to distance running.

After walking around the expo for a bit, we headed back to the hotel to meet Greg’s sister and her daughter, Emily, who had just arrived from Fort Worth, about four hours north of Houston. They made the drive to visit and watch Abbie run. While we were together, Greg, his sister, and Abbie sorted out spectating plans and how Abbie would get to the start line on race morning. Road closures made everything complicated, but they figured it out. 

Finally, it was time for dinner. I had my standard chicken parm with no cheese, and Abbie ordered the same, along with plenty of bread. We went to bed around 8:00. I slept solidly until about 2:30, was awake for a bit, then fell back asleep until my alarm went off at 4:30. 

Before the Race
Race morning went smoothly. I had my pre-race breakfast (banana, Maurten Solid, Almond butter filled pretzels), rolled around on a lacrosse ball to get my glutes ready to fire, put on my race outfit, and organized my fuel. My glove situation was somewhat of a puzzle because I planned to wear cheap convertible knit mittens from Amazon, but they did not arrive in time. I bought them again and had them delivered to the hotel, but the hotel never received the package, even though Amazon said they were delivered. Struck out twice on them! So I wore two pairs of thin gloves instead of my preferred convertible mittens which would have given me better access to bare fingers for getting the gels out of my pockets. 

Our hotel was literally steps away from the entrance to my coral, which prevented me from having to wait in the cold for too long. Greg's sister stayed near Abbie in the Rice University area, so she drove Abbie to our hotel and picked up Greg. (This was all part of the logistical puzzle they figured out on Saturday). She then drove Greg back to the Rice University area where they picked up our other niece Emily to spectate at mile 7. I left the hotel for the corral, and Abbie stayed in the hotel a bit longer because her start time was about 30 minutes after mine.

Once I got to the corral, I took my UCAN gel and kept my legs warm by running in place. I also chatted with a few other runners who recognized me from Instagram. I like taking UCAN about 20 minutes before the race starts because it's a slow release energy that doesn't spike your blood sugar immediately. I like to save that for during the race!

Mentally I was feeling REALLY positive about this race. I had plenty of energy, my stomach was cooperating, the weather would be great, and I had every reason to believe that I could achieve my "A" Goal.

A Goal: PR (sub 3:14:42)
B Goal: Under 3:20
C Goal: Course PR (beat 3:26:48 from 2023)
D Goal: Qualify for Boston (sub 3:45)
E Goal: Finish healthy

Of course my main purpose was to have fun and run the best possible race I had in me, which is something I was in complete control of. 

Weather
The weather was much better than it was in 2023. In 2023 it was warm and humid, and I ended up in the medical tent with dehydration. Yesterday it was 43 degrees at the start, 52 at the finish, clouds giving way to sun, and winds sustained at 8-10 mph. I give this a 9 out of 10 on my personal weather scale. Ideal conditions would be a little less windy and a few degrees cooler. But this weather was pretty close to the ideal which is amazing for Houston, which is always hit or miss. 

Race Plan
My plan was to start out at a pace of around 7:30 for the first 3-6 miles and then gradually speed up to 7:20 by the halfway point. If I was feeling good, I would have run sub 7:20 for the second half of the race. Based on my recent 10K time of 41:39 and the fact that I had a huge endurance base, this seemed realistic. 

Miles 1-6
The race started and I felt good. My goals were to establish a comfortable rhythm, to avoid weaving and to keep the pace conservative. Due to crowding, I ended up running the first mile slower than planned in 7:54, but I was totally okay with that. Better too slow than too fast.

The streets were much wider than Indianapolis, so it felt less crowded. There were a few times when I had to dramatically slow down because of bottlenecks from a narrowing road, but it was mostly fine. The annoying thing was getting caught up in a large pace group. I try to avoid pace groups when I race because they typically go out too fast, and I like to run my own race. 

Mile 6, photo by Mark Wright

I ran with the 3:20 pace group for the fist 6-7 miles, not because I wanted to, but because they were running the same pace as me. A 3:20 marathon is a 7:38 pace, and I was running around 7:25-7:30. The pacers were going about 10 seconds per mile too fast. My issue with pace groups is that you aren't establishing your own rhythm and you are subject to the slight slow downs and speed ups of the group. 

These miles felt very controlled and restrained. 7:25 felt "easy" so I knew it was going to be an amazing day. I chatted with a few other runners who recognized me from social media. 

Garmin splits:

Mile 1: 7:54
Mile 2: 7:30
Mile 3: 7:24
Mile 4: 7:25
Mile 5: 7:22
Mile 6: 7:23

Miles 7-13
I felt really strong and I knew I would see Greg, his sister, and our niece Emily at around the mile 7 mark. I saw them right when I expected to and I told Greg that I was feeling really strong. I was so excited because when I had seen him at mile 10 of Indianapolis I told him that I was not feeling good. I was also happy to see that their spectating plan worked, given they had to navigate multiple road closures with their car. This is when I surged to finally pass the 3:20 group. I ran ahead of them so Greg would be able to get unobstructed photos. At this point my average pace was around 7:28, and a 3:20 marathon is a pace of 7:38, so why was the pace group still with me? 

Mile 7

The marathon and half marathon split apart and it was nice to have more room to run. Houston is a large race, though, so it never got lonely. I saw my three cheerleaders again at mile 10. I still felt great! Unfortunately, I knew I wouldn't see them again until the finish so I didn't have any more check points to look forward to. 

The 11th mile was when things got weird. I looked down on my watch and noticed my pace had slowed for the same effort level, into the 7:40s. I still felt energized and I still felt like I was being controlled with my pacing. I could have sped up to maintain the pace, but I wasn't quite ready to surge. And I only let my watch dictate so much. 

By the 12th mile it was deja vu. Almost the exact same thing happened to me that happened to me during Indianapolis at around mile 9. Both legs started to feel tight and heavy at the exact same time, mostly in the upper hamstrings. In Indianapolis I thought this was because I was "stale", but I certainly was not stale yesterday. I told myself it would pass and my legs would work themselves out and I would get my pace down after the big hill at the halfway point. I allowed myself to relax until then, but after that hill I planned to pick it back up. 

Mile 7: 7:21
Mile 8: 7:23
Mile 9: 7:27
Mile 10: 7:28
Mile 11: 7:39
Mile 12: 7:39
Mile 13: 7:48

Miles 14-20
Unfortunately, my legs felt super heavy. They weren't as bad as they had been in Indy - no need to stop and stretch. It's just wild because this hasn't happened on any of my training runs - only my two goal marathons! I kept telling myself that things could turn around and I could get my legs back to normal. I tried to settle into the 7:40s but that didn't last very long. 

Everything else was going according to plan. My nutrition was on point with no digestive distress. By this point I had consumed a 24 ounce bottle of Skratch Labs hydration + energy mix, 3 honey stinger chews, 2 Maurten gels and a UCAN gel. My energy level was high and I felt like I had a lot to give. But my upper hamstrings were like bricks.

This was different from the hamstring issue I mentioned earlier - the one that was bugging me during the three weeks prior to the race. That had gone away completely, confirming the fact that I was hyper-focusing on it and it was more mental than anything. 

I knew that my chances of a PR were gone, and getting my "B" goal of sub 3:20 would be a stretch. 

I had 38 marathons under my belt, and many of them had been bonks where I had hit the wall. But this experience—and my race in Indianapolis—were not like hitting a wall. When I’ve hit the wall in the past, it usually starts around miles 18 to 20: my energy drops sharply, and it feels like I’m literally crashing into a wall. Both yesterday and in Indy, my energy level was high and I felt great overall. The only problem was leg speed.

At this point, I was fighting for a course PR. I knew my Garmin average pace had to be below 7:49 for that to happen. I couldn't believe that on a perfect weather day, I was so plagued by my legs, but when I ran it on a crappy weather day, my legs totally cooperated. I tried not to go there mentally and I had to keep pulling myself back to positivity. I knew I would be very disappointed if I didn't get a new course PR, so I focused on trying to stay around that magical 7:49 as much as I could.

Mile 14: 7:43
Mile 15: 7:51
Mile 16: 8:09
Mile 17: 7:54
Mile 18: 7:54
Mile 19: 7:57
Mile 20: 7:46

Miles 21- Finish
My 7:46 mile was very encouraging and I kept thinking my legs would snap out of it and I would be able to run really fast to the finish. I had so much energy and I felt so great otherwise! After all, I had run the last 10K of Indy faster than miles 13-20. I was so determined to get my "C" goal of a course PR and I dug really deep to get those legs moving faster. 

Photo by Mark Wright

Somewhere around this point, the 3:20 pacer caught back up to me. I was praying I wouldn't see 3:25! I figured the 3:20 pacer would blaze past me but instead he ran fairly close to me for the final miles of the race and finished really close to me. The course started to get hilly too. I didn't remember that from 2023 but there were quite a few underpasses around bridges and hills were not my friend at this point. It had also warmed up by about 10 degrees since the start line. The sun was out in full force, even though the forecast had been for mostly cloudy skies all day. Thankfully I wore sunglasses. I had them on top of my head for the first half of the race and then wore them for the second half. 

A lot of runners were passing me and I tried not to get discouraged. I wanted to get to the finish line so badly. Thankfully my stomach continued to tolerate all of the fuel. I'm fairly positive that my digestive distress in marathons is due to me running actual marathon pace (low zone 4) and trying to digest stuff at the same time. It's easier when you are running in a lower heart rate zone to digest everything. 

As I approached the end of the race, they had a "fake" finish line: two big arches that looked like they were the finish line from afar. So I rallied and sprinted to the best of my ability. As I approached, there was a sign that read "400m to go" and so I made myself continue to hold that fast pace. I guess this was a good thing because I started my final kick earlier than I otherwise would have and I maintained it. Once again, evidence that I was not bonking. When I ran CIM, I had absolutely nothing left for the final finish line kick because I was totally gassed.

I looked for Greg but I didn't see him. We talked about him being on the side of the course near the finish, but he was nowhere to be seen. In 2023, he had been on the half marathon side of the course so this year he was trying to get on the marathon side, but I later learned he couldn't get there from where he was coming from. 

Mile 21: 8:02
Mile 22: 7:56
Mile 23: 8:09
Mile 24: 8:17 (all the hills)
Mile 25: 8:10
Mile 26: 7:51
Last 0.45 according to my Garmin: 7:20 pace

The Finish and Beyond
My official finish time was 3:24:43, exactly 10 minutes slower than my PR of 3:14:42. To have been plagued by dead legs early in the race and run within 10 minutes of a PR is pretty decent, so I'm taking it
as a win, given the cards I was dealt. It was 8 minutes faster than Indianapolis, so a bit of redemption was had! 

I then embarked on my long journey through the finish line corral to get my medal, my water, my chocolate milk, my photo taken, my finisher's shirt, etc. The marathon and the half marathon have the same finish line so it was very crowded and it took a long time to walk all the way through the convention center to finally meet up with Greg. He was alone this time, as the rest of the cheering squad did not come downtown for the finish.

Abbie at mile 7 

My niece Abbie finished the half marathon in a time of 2:14:10, with a negative split! She placed 103 out of 240 in her age group (16-19). An amazing job on her first half marathon! She said she really enjoyed it and is excited to do more of them in the future, and possibly a full marathon at some point. The challenge will be finding a race that fits with her schedule, because she is in school full time. Her boyfriend wants to run a half marathon too.

I really loved seeing the race through her eyes. I hadn't forgotten what it was like to be a new runner, but watching her experience everything for the first time was exciting: the people cheering for you, getting a medal, crossing the finish line, running with a big group, etc. Greg and I don't have children of our own, so this is as close as we get to influencing younger family members. One of my sister's daughters recently took up piano, and I have helped her with that a little bit. Speaking of pianos, a woman approached me at the start line and told me that I inspired her to learn how to play the piano! How cool!

Post Race Reflections
Greg and I headed back to the hotel where I took a very long bath. We started to discuss why my legs seized up the way they did in my past two marathons. What was different about these two marathons for a whole new problem to emerge? This had never happened in the past! As I mentioned above, I’ve experienced “bonks” before, but never like this—leg tightness early in the race that forces me to slow down, yet still allows me to run somewhere between marathon pace and easy pace while maintaining high energy levels.

The most logical explanation was the shoes - the Nike Alphafly. I switched from the adidas Adios Pro 2 to these shoes because they stopped making the adios Pro 2 (newer versions don't fit properly) and my stash had run out. I had worn them for a 20-miler and an 18 miler in training and my legs were totally fine. I wasn't in love with the ride or the comfort, but the fit was decent and I felt like they made me run faster. Unfortunately, training runs at an easy effort with some marathon pace miles are not the same as 26.2 miles at marathon pace. 

Photo by Mark Wright

I posted on Instagram that I suspected the shoes, and the comments validated my theory! Several runners commented that they can only wear the Alphafly for 10-12 miles before their legs get trashed. Sounds familiar! Others commented that the Alphafly had ruined marathons for them. One of my friends told me that the Alphafly is not a good shoe for runners who "glide" (like me). I think it has to do with the shoe forcing certain muscles to activate that I don't normally use as much in training, so they get trashed early on. Or it changes where my body absorbs the shock. 

Mystery solved! At least I think. If you have been reading my blog for a while you know how analytical I am. This has only happened to me in the two marathons that I ran the Alphafly in, and the early onset of leg issues points to it not being a bonk, but something else. Add in all the comments of people saying that the Alphafly trashes their legs after 10 miles and has ruined marathons for them - I think it has to be the answer. The Houston marathon course is concrete as opposed to asphalt, so that wasn't helping matters either.

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
On the one hand I don't want to blame the shoes and use them as an "excuse", but on the other hand, I don't have any other explanation. I have to admit I am pretty bummed about this. I had the opportunity to run a really fast race yesterday. My fitness was at or close to it's peak, the course was fast, and the weather was ideal. I showed up to the start line feeling relaxed, healthy and strong. If I had only worn another pair of shoes I feel like this would have gone totally different for me. In 2023, I ran the second half of this marathon faster when the temperature was in the upper 60s and I was dehydrated and my fitness wasn't as strong. 

There are far more positives than negatives here. Even if you just look at my time, it's a BQ by over 20 minutes, it's a course PR by over 2 minutes, and it's faster than I would have ever imagined 10 years ago. All at the age of 47! Zooming out even further, I am so grateful that my body allows to train at the level needed to run marathons. I was mentally very strong and I didn't give up even when my A and B goals were no longer in sight. I ran the best race I had in me given the circumstances, and that mental strength is a good muscle to exercise.

Every race teaches me something, and this race taught me that just because I think a shoe is "fast" doesn't mean it's the right shoe for me. I need to do more workouts in my race shoes and figure out what works for my stride. It's true that I wore the ASICS Metaspeed Sky Paris in Boston without training in them, and sometimes I can get away with it. But it's not always the case. 

Part of me also worries that I'll never have an opportunity like this again. Peak fitness. Fast course, Ideal weather. Healthy and uninjured. I might need major eye surgery at some point this year and recovery from that would take me out of running for 8 weeks if not longer. I'm 47 and I am starting to wonder how much longer I have to set lifetime PRs. Maybe it's irrational, but I feel like my PR days could end any minute and I really need to maximize every opportunity I can before they are gone. 

"Missed opportunity" is a common feeling you get when you are in your mid-40s. You want to do everything you can ASAP before the window closes. I'm fully prepared to accept that the day will come when I am getting slower instead of faster, but I'm not ready yet. This is what underlies my feelings about the mistake I made with the shoes and why it stings more than it probably should. 

Overall I feel grateful for my health and for the opportunity to run marathons at this speed at my age. So I can't complain. I'm mostly focused on the big picture, which is overwhelmingly positive. A loving family, the opportunity to share running with my niece, a supportive running community, hearing from other runners that my blog/book/social media has inspired them in some way. 

I'm already starting to get comments from naysayers that I'm too old to be running high mileage, I shouldn't expect to be running a PR at my age (even though I set one less than a year ago), and that I overtrained. Overtraining = burnout, lack of motivation, increased resting heart rate, sluggishness and many other things. I have none of these symptoms, thankfully!  I've spent the past 20 years of my life adapting to the stresses of training for endurance, and I am grateful that it's paid off. I know I am doing a lot of things right because I feel good, I'm healthy and I'm running strong. That's what matters most.

Marathon 39 wasn't easy, but I made the most of it, and I'm looking forward to #40: BOSTON!

Jingle Bell Rock & Run 10K

I ran the Ringing in Hope Jingle Bell Rock & Run 10K on Saturday morning. The last time I ran this race, the lead pack took a wrong turn, resulting in a nearly 7.4-mile 10K. This was back in 2023, and my average pace was 6:41. I had been extremely pleased with my ability to hold that pace for longer than a 10K!

This year my goal was to run a sub 6:45 pace, which, in retrospect, was probably too soft. My Turkey Trot pace from just two weeks prior had been 6:34 and I ran that very hard, at 100% effort. The course profile was similar, too. So that's where my sub 6:45 goal pace was coming from. 

Before the Race
The race started at 9:00, which is later than I am used to running. I had about 5 almond butter-filled pretzels two hours pre-race and a packet of UCAN energy powder an hour before the race. My original plan was to wear a tank top and arm sleeves, but then the forecast was looking to be just a few degrees colder, which was my tipping point for short sleeves and arm sleeves. I almost never wear long sleeves because I feel like that doesn't allow enough air into my core. I once ran a half marathon in 29 degree temps in long sleeves and ended up rolling up the sleeves because I got too warm!

Greg and I arrived at 8:00 and met up with my friend Stephanie. I drank my UCAN upon arrival and then we went to get our race bibs. We were able to go inside a church to pin our bibs on and use the bathroom. Stephanie and I warmed up together for just over 2 miles. I always prefer to warm up with a friend because it takes my mind off the race and prevents me from getting too anxious! She would be running the race as a workout and I suggested that she run alternating kilometers at 10K effort and marathon pace effort. I've done that before during a 10K race and it's fun. I had a Maurten caffeinated gel during the warm up, around 15 minutes before race start.

After the warm up, we went back to our cars and I ditched my jacket. Even though the forecast had called for cloudy skies, the sun was shining brightly which once again made me question if I should have worn a tank top. But I liked my "ugly sweater" look. For shoes, I opted for the Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 PB. Other contenders were the adidas Adios Pro 2 (I still have one pair left) and the New Balance SC Pacer 2. I felt like the Brooks had the most "pop" and I think that the 10K might be their sweet spot for me. I used them on a long run once and I felt like they were too stiff/firm once I got past 10 miles. They performed well in the Firecracker 5K and the Donut Dash, although I might have preferred more ground feel for a 5K. 

Weather
It was 30 degrees, rising to about 33 by the end of the race. Almost no wind, and partly sunny. It became more cloudy as we ran. I give this a 10 out of 10 on my personal race scale. Not comfortable before and after the race, but ideal for a fast time. The following morning would bring snow and bitter cold temps, so we lucked out!

Miles 1-2
The race started and I went out at a pace that felt hard but sustainable. I wasn't worried about taking a wrong turn this time because they had a lead biker for the runners to follow. I knew that Greg would be taking photos about half a mile into the race. I looked around me and I realized that I was in second place and not far behind first. Since there was a potential for me to break tape, I yelled out to Greg to take the
next set of photos at the finish line (as opposed to our original plan which was before the final turn). 

I had studied the course elevation profile and I knew that the first mile was net downhill. I had run a sub 6:30 mile here in 2023 so I knew not to freak out by a fast start. 

I settled into my race pace during the second mile. The course was rolling hills but none of them were terribly steep - just long. And because I recently moved to a hillier neighborhood and was accustomed to hills, they seemed much more manageable than they had two years back. I also credit Pilates for glute and hamstring strength. 

I was in second place and my pace felt appropriate for a 10K. The leading woman was about 5-6 seconds ahead of me, and I figured I wouldn't try to pass her until the last mile. At that point, I felt like I could have surged and run alongside her, but I was fine letting her lead. It was early and I didn't want to wear myself out just yet!

Mile 1: 6:29
Mile 2: 6:40

Miles 3-4
I felt really strong. I wouldn't say "energized" but I was running faster than goal pace and it felt manageable. It was one of those races where I didn't feel super peppy, but I felt like the pace I was running was appropriate, and I could tolerate the discomfort for a while. I think this is the big difference between a pace of 6:30 and 6:40 for me. 6:40 is uncomfortable but it's something I can tolerate for a long time. 6:30 feels like I am redlining the whole time.

I continued to focus on my form and getting to whatever the next landmark was, like the top of the hill, the street sign, etc. I occasionally glanced down at my Garmin, thinking my pace was faster than my perceived effort, which is a good thing! 

I knew that miles 4-5 would be the hardest of the race with the most climbing. I continued to run based on effort. Unfortunately, I was not closing the gap with the woman ahead of me.  I think the closest I may have gotten to her was 3 seconds, but she continued to be about 5 seconds ahead of me. 

Mile 3: 6:39
Mile 4: 6:44

Miles 5-6
With just over two miles to go, I knew I would beat my sub 6:45 pace goal. Because that goal was likely too soft, I wasn't motivated to push much harder. I do think I had more to give during these final miles, but I was already uncomfortable and I had no desire to go deeper in the pain cave. If I had set a more aggressive goal then I would have had more motivation, but my mindset was "just keep doing this- you are fine" instead of "empty the tank and give it everything you've got". 

When I finished the 5th mile, I knew it would be smooth sailing and a mostly downhill finish. This is when the woman ahead of me widened the gap. I started to run faster, but so did she. Unfortunately, I am not a quiet or stealth runner. I make grunting noises so other runners definitely know if I am coming up behind them. No doubt she knew I was there. 

The more she widened the gap, the less motivation I had to catch her. I admittedly did not try as hard as I could have because I didn't feel 100% energized. I felt strong running at the effort level I had been running at for the first 5 miles, but I didn't have that extra gear. 

Mile 5: 6:41
Mile 6: 6:34

Weaving through 5K runners

The Finish
The way the finish was set up was not ideal. I like to be able to see the finish from far away, but in this case we ran around a curve to get to it. The road narrowed substantially and as it narrowed, the 10K race joined up with the 5K race. The 5K had started 10 minutes after the 10K so I was running with 31-minute 5K runners, which is a very popular time! I had to weave around many other runners, several of them children who were not running in a straight line. The road was curved and narrow, and I was weaving through 5K runners, making this finish very chaotic. 

The last 0.3 according to my watch was a 6:21 pace, and I do think I could have run it faster without all the obstacles. 

My official time was 41:39, and I was the second overall female finisher. The winner was 18 seconds ahead of me. 

After I crossed the finish line, I met up with Greg and we waited to watch Stephanie finish. She was the 4th female finisher, even though she was using it as a workout and not racing full out!

Stephanie and I cooled down for about a mile and a half and then waited for the awards. It was a fun morning!

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
This was my 4th fastest lifetime 10K, which I am very pleased with. I wish I had known going into the race that I was in close-to-PR shape, because I would have tried harder to be closer to 41:00, and maybe I could have won with the right motivation and mindset. Unlike the Turkey Trot, I was not dry heaving at the end, and I still felt energized during the cool down.

It's odd that my 6:34 Turkey Trot pace felt twice as hard as this 6:38 average pace. It's probably because I had a true lack of speed work leading up to the 5K, and it was a shock to my system. As I said above, the course profiles and weather for both races were similar. Unless running in below freezing temperatures really is my super power! 

I am a little bummed that I didn't have it in me to push harder at the end and try to win the race, but you can't always bring 100% to every race. I think I ran this race at maybe 93-94%. Plus, it had been nearly two years since I ran my last 10K!

On the plus side, I know that my Indianapolis marathon training is still benefiting me, and I can continue to build on it. 

Thankful for Trotting

Every year that I run a Turkey Trot is a year that I am thankful for! I recently ran my 20th Turkey Trot, and my 16th "Virginia Run" Turkey Trot. I'm a few weeks late in blogging about it because I have been having trouble seeing words my computer monitor. (That's another post coming at some point).

At three weeks post marathon, I wasn't too optimistic about this race. Add on the two weeks of zero running prior to the marathon and it felt like forever since I had run under a 7:00 pace. I didn't have a goal time, but I knew I wanted to give it everything I had.

Before the Race
We used to live about 10 minutes away from the race but we have since moved farther. There are several Turkey Trots closer to our new home, but I like the tradition that comes with this particular Turkey Trot. I have run it every year since 2006 except for 2019-2022 when they briefly stopping hosting the race. To be 100% accurate, the race came back in 2022 but I was unaware of it.

We gave ourselves about 30 minutes to drive to the race. I had retrieved my bib the day before so I wouldn't have to worry about it on race morning. I got out of the car, made my way to the porta potty, and then resumed the warm up. 

It was 38 degrees, partly sunny, and 4-5 mph winds. On my personal weather scale I give this a 10 out of 10. Ideal! The Turkey Trot is the only race of the year which almost always has predictably good weather. Summer races are out. Early fall is hit or miss. Spring is hit or miss. Late fall is relatively stable. I wore shorts, a tank top, arm sleeves and the New Balance SC Pacer 2. This shoe is one of my favorites for the 5K distance.

During my warm up, I had a caffeinated Maurten gel 15 minutes before race start. I gave my jacket to Greg at around that same time and he walked to his first viewing point for photos. I miss the days when we both ran this race, but his long-term injury has prevented him from running as much as he used to.

I lined up about 4 rows back and felt ready to go. My plan was to not look at my watch very much and just run HARD.

Mile 1: 6:28
I would have predicted a first mile time of around 6:28, only it looks better on paper than it actually was. Based on the granular data from my watch, and also on how I felt, I ran this more like a 6:10 half mile followed by a 6:50 half mile! I got pulled out WAY too fast. I was focused on my leg turnover and I started moving them way too quickly out of the gate. By the time I reached the first mile marker I was the 2nd or 3rd female. I don't quite remember!

Mile 2: 6:43
This mile contains a notable hill, so it's not that much of a drop-off, but I felt like I was running much harder than a 6:43 average. One woman passed me during this mile, which motivated me to keep up. I don't remember much else about this mile other than a spectator telling me that I had great form. 

Mile 3: 6:35
Once again we have a mile that looks good on paper, but there was a net elevation loss, so I would have hoped to run around 6:25. I kept trying to catch the woman ahead of me who wasn't all that far ahead, but to no avail. I am sure it didn't help that I was panting so loudly that she knew I was trailing her closely. I'm not exactly a stealth runner. 

Final Kick: 5:54 pace
I didn't have much left in my legs and this was a true battle, but I was happy to find another gear. After crossing the finish line I began dry heaving. So there's no doubt I gave 100% effort.

Official Finish time: 20:29.  

I won my age group (out of 47 runners) and was the 4th overall female. I was 4 seconds slower than last year. This was my 4th fastest Virginia Run Turkey Trot, with 2018, 2017, and 2024 being 1st - 3rd. 

Afterwards, I chatted briefly with the 3rd place woman who ran 4 seconds faster than me. I knew her sister, who was also at the race.

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
I'm pleased with my performance because I know I worked very hard and gave 100% effort. I wish had paced it better at the beginning and hadn't decided to ignore my watch entirely. As I said at the beginning, I am always thankful to show up to these turkey trots healthy and able to run at a high intensity. 

Here is a graph of my times at this race over the years. I wonder if I will ever break 20:00 again on this course. I was thrilled when I did it at the age of 40, and would love to experience that again.

From Zero to Marathon: Indy Monumental Marathon Recap

I chose the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon as my fall goal race because it is a fast course with
historically good weather. At the age of 46 (almost 47) I believe that I am “peaking” in my running career, so I want to run fast courses to see what kind of lifetime marathon personal best I can achieve.

I had run the Indianapolis Monumental half marathon twice, setting a PR there in 2019. I ran the marathon in 2017, and had a monumental bonk. I was registered for this race last fall, too, but I had to take four weeks off of training due to Covid, so I wasn’t ready in time.

I knew this course had huge PR potential, and I wanted to get revenge on the 2017 race.

Training Cycle

This was going to be my year to finally break 3:10. My training cycle went extremely well, and I set multiple training PRs. My weekly mileage averaged around 65, topping out at 70 with multiple weeks between 65-70. Here are the workouts that made me believe I was capable of running a 3:10 marathon: 

Speed: 6 x 800m in 3:15, 3:12, 3:09, 3:05, 3:03, 3:04 (400m recovery jogs) 2 x 400m in 1:29: 1:31. It took the legs a few reps to get warmed up, but once they were, I was able to run the 800m reps very quickly. 

Lactate Threshold: 3 x 5K with 4 minute recovery jogs: 21:41 (6:58 pace), 21:26 (6:54 pace), 21:13 (6:49 pace). These would be good 5K race times, and the fact that I ran three of them in a row with only 4 minutes recovery jog gave me so much confidence. 

Finishing a 22-miler

Endurance/Marathon pace: 20 miles with 13.1 averaging 7:06 pace, non stop. That’s a 1:33:15 half marathon in training, as part of a 20 miler. The full 20 mileages averaged a pace of 7:30 These were some key workouts. I also ran a 19-miler with 10 marathon pace miles, an easy 20 miler and an easy 22 miler. I was very confident in my fitness. Throughout all of this, I didn’t have any aches, pains or niggles. My body was absorbing the work beautifully.

The Paris Trip

And then I went to Paris. I wrote about this in my previous blog. I ran my 20 miles with 13.1 at 7:06 pace on a Friday morning, and then I flew to Paris the following Sunday evening. It was a work trip. It was not mandatory, but I had been asked to present my company’s global marketing strategy to other marketing leaders and I didn’t want to turn that down.

I was able to squeeze in two runs on this trip, but also took three rest days. This was quite the interruption to my normal flow of training and my main focus was to avoid getting sick. The last time I traveled internationally I ended up with Covid (see above reason for not running Indy last fall) and I was dreading a repeat.

While I managed to not get sick, I was thrown out of the rhythm of my training. I went from 50 days of daily running to three days off in a week plus two long flights. When I came back, that’s when I strained my calf, and from then on, I only ran twice in the remaining 13 days. Both runs were about two miles each. When race day arrived, It had been nearly three weeks since I was on my “normal” running routine. I believed that my fitness was still intact, but I don’t think my legs were prepared to make the sudden leap from 0 to marathon.

As for calf rehab, my physical therapist dry-needled the calf on the Monday before the race and that seemed to help with the final bit of healing. I went back to him on Wednesday and he said he thought the calf would be fine for the marathon.

Race Weekend
The Sunday before the race, Greg and I decided to cancel our flights and drive to Indianapolis instead. I wasn’t 100% sure I would do the race, given my calf wasn’t healed by that point. Driving offered more flexibility and Greg prefers driving to flying. Plus, a lot of flights were being cancelled or delayed with the air traffic control situation. The drive is about 8.5 hours, but we stopped a lot to stretch our legs and eat, so it took 10.5 hours.

I did not do a shakeout run on Saturday because I wanted to allow my calf every possible minute of healing. Instead we did a good bit of walking around the expo and to get lunch and dinner. In retrospect I think this was a mistake. Shakeout runs serve a purpose which is to keep the legs loose and prepare them to run. I can’t say for sure that doing a shakeout run would have made a difference, but if I had it to do over again, I would not have skipped the shakeout run.

At the expo, it was really cool meeting so many runners who recognized me from social media. I purchased a short sleeved shirt and a half zip running top. Part of me is always afraid to buy too much expo merch in case the race doesn’t go well or I don’t finish, but I was determined that I was going to have a great day no matter what, so I bought the merch with that mindset. Side note: I did once buy a half-zip for a marathon that I DNF’ed and I never ended up wearing it.

As for eating, I like to document my food so I can remember in future races what worked and what didn’t. My digestive system behaved itself nicely so it’s worth detailing my food intake. Breakfast was pumpkin spiced waffles, a small serving of berries, and an apple cider doughnut. A banana nut muffin for a snack. Lunch was a turkey wrap with lettuce, tomato and mayo. Pretzels for a snack. Dinner was chicken parm with bread and pasta. I drank about 75 ounces of water, including a packet of Skratch labs hydration mix. 

Before the race
I woke up at 4:00am naturally. I slept solidly from 8:45 to 1:00. I was awake until about 1:30 and then asleep again until 4:00am. I had recently discovered that magnesium glycinate helps with sleep, and I had been taking it all week long. This resulted in high quality sleep all week so I felt very well rested.

I had my typical race breakfast of a banana + almond butter filled pretzels along with 18 ounces of water mixed with Skratch labs hydration. I foam rolled my calves, used a lacrosse ball to massage my glutes (which helps activate them) and did some dynamic stretching for my hip flexors.

We hung out in the hotel lobby for about 15 minutes where I used the bathroom for the final time, and then went outside at 7:30 for the 8:00am start. I did some light jogging back and forth on one of the side streets and everything felt great, including my calf. Not even a slight hint of any problems. We then walked to the corral where Greg dropped me off.

Greg’s plan was to use one of “Pacers Bike Share” bikes to cheer for me at various places along the course. The race website had instructions on exactly how to do this. Greg couldn’t be 100% sure that a bike would be available so his back up plan was to use one of the electric scooters that were located all throughout the city.

Inside the corral, my first order of business was to have my UCAN gel. I like to take a UCAN about 20 minutes before the start because it’s a slow-release energy that gradually activates over an extended period of time. Inside the corral, I was recognized by a bunch of people who follow me on social media. It was really cool to talk to everyone and a great distraction from the fact that the marathon was just minutes away from starting.

Weather and outfit
The weather at the start was 43 degrees and sunny with 4 mph winds. Throughout the race the temperature rose to about 53 degrees, but cloud cover quickly came with it. I give this a 10 out of 10 on my personal race weather scale. IDEAL! That said, I did get warm early in the race before the clouds rolled in and I poured water over my head to stay cool. If it weren’t for the cloud cover, I might have downgraded this to an 8 or 9. 

I decided against wearing sunglasses because I knew that the majority of the race would be cloudy. I wore Zensah calf compression sleeves for added calf support. I opted for the Nike Alphafly because they had worked well in training. They were horrible for the track 5K I ran over the summer, but I ran two long runs with marathon pace miles in them during training and they felt great. My favorite all-time carbon fiber racing shoe is the adidas adios Pro 2, but they are now on version 4 which unfortunately doesn’t fit my feet.

I wore a necklace for the first time ever! I recently had a thin delicate necklace made from small stones in my grandmother’s wedding ring. I’ve seen other runners race in jewelry and I’ve admired it.

Miles 1-6
I wasn’t quite sure where to position myself within the corral. I didn’t want to get caught up in a large pace group because the course is crowded for the first 8 miles until the half marathon splits off. I also remembered from previous years that there were a lot of sudden turns and potholes and you really had to be careful where you were stepping.

About a mile into the race I found myself behind the 3:15 pacer. That pacer had gone out way too fast, as pacers tend to do, so I didn’t mind being behind that group. I also planned to negative split my way to 3:10 and I wanted to start at a pace that would yield around 3:15. In a perfect world, I would pace the first 10K at around 7:20 and then gradually speed up to 7:10 or faster by the end. All of my marathon pace workouts had my marathon pace at 7:06-7:08. So it felt super conservative starting at 7:20.

Mile 5

I relaxed into the race and I didn’t even think about my calf. I focused on making sure I didn’t run too fast and that I didn’t trip on a pothole. Admittedly, the road conditions here were much better than I remembered them. Perhaps they fixed the potholes or maybe I just remembered it worse than it was. I had read my 2017 blog the day before and I had stated that I was really frustrated during the first five miles with all of the crowding and the road conditions.

Things went much smoother for me yesterday. In terms of hydration and nutrition, I carried a 24 ounce bottle of water mixed with Skratch Labs hydration, which has both electrolytes and sugars. I drank from it every 12-15 minutes which allowed me to skip the water stations in the first half of the race. My plan was to take a Maurten gel every 40 minutes and use the Skratch Labs hydration and honey stinger chews intermittently. I had two of the chews 20 minutes into the race.

Greg had written “Elizabeth Clor” on my back which resulted in many runners on course saying “I follow you Instagram” or “I love your content” or “I’m a huge fan” as they passed me. I got to meet so many runners along the way and it perked me up whenever someone cheered for me by name. The name on my bib was “Zebra” so anyone cheering for Elizabeth likely knew me from social media.

Mile 1: 7:22
Mile 2: 7:28
Mile 3: 7:09 (not accurate after running under a bridge)
MIle 4: 7:20
Mile 5: 7:18
Mile 6: 7:17

Miles 7-13
My plan was to start increasing the pace after the first 10K. But instead of doing that, I found myself continuing to run around 7:20. Not the end of the world. I would have been fine holding 7:20 for the first

Around mile 8

10 miles if that’s what felt right. I still had the 3:15 pace group in my sights and by my math, they were on target for somewhere in the 3:13s. I seriously need to retire from competitive running so I can be a pacer!

I expected the crowd to really thin out when the half marathon runners split off during the 8th mile, but it did not. It wasn’t overly crowded, but there were still a lot of runners around me. It was somewhere during the 8th mile when I started to realize that my legs were already starting to tire. I was supposed to be speeding up, but instead I found it difficult to maintain my 7:20 pace. I had to work harder than expected. After having run 37 marathons, I know what the effort level should feel like at mile 8, and you absolutely should still be in control of the pace at that point. It shouldn’t feel strained.

During the 9th mile I realized something was wrong. I had executed according to my plan, taken my gels and chews and hydration mix. Paced it conservatively, but my legs started to feel tight and achey. Specifically, it was my high hamstrings on both legs. Was it from sitting in the car for 9 hours two days before? I wouldn’t think so. I didn’t want to do it, but I thought that if I stopped for just a few seconds to stretch my hamstrings, maybe I could get some pep back. But no. It did feel good to stretch them, but it didn’t seem to help matters. 

It was also my upper calves (gastroc) that felt tight. I had strained my soleus muscle, which is the lower calf, and that felt 100% fine. I kept running with the realization that I would not be able to speed up, and instead I was being forced to slow down. The immediate urge was to start analyzing the heck out of it, but I quickly shut that down and told myself that I didn’t need to figure it out. I just needed to deal with it the best I could.

I knew that I would see Greg at mile 11 and I wanted to look strong for him. But I also knew he would see the 3:15 pace group ahead of me and wonder why I wasn’t ahead of them by that point. When I saw him I smiled and waved. He said, “feel good?” as I passed and then I yelled back “no!”. I had to be honest with him. I was not feeling good, but I was going to still try my best. A nearby runner said “don’t believe it!” which was good advice. You can’t run a successful race if you are focused on how bad you feel. And I wasn’t focused on it - I was just being honest. I was determined to keep pushing along even though I had to stop at several points to stretch.

Mile 7: 7:17

Mile 8: 7:17
Mile 9: 8:19 (stopped to stretch)
Mile 10: 7:30
Mile 11: 7:39
Mile 12: 8:03 (stopped to stretch)
Mile 13: 7:56 (stopped to stretch)

Miles 14-20
My official half marathon split was 1:39:36 which is the equivalent of a 3:19 marathon. I had ruled out a sub 3:20 a few miles back, it was now just a matter of if I could beat my time from 2017. That was my next goal. In 2017 I ran a disappointing 3:43 on a goal of 3:18. If I could set a course PR, that would feel good.

Another benefit of my name being written on my back was that I didn’t want to be seen walking. I was supposed to inspire people, right!? Once when I was stretching, someone asked me - “oh no, is it your calf?” I replied, “no, it’s everything else!”

It’s kind of surreal when so many of the runners know your life story. At one point, multiple runners said to me, “Hey- I recognize you!” This led to another runner asking me if I was famous. I told her no, but that I had a lot of social media followers.

Miles 12 through 18 were the hardest miles of the race. I had to stop about once each mile to stretch. Greg was cheering at me in the 17th mile and I stopped and talked to him for about 30 seconds. I told him I was having a really hard time, but that I would finish. Miles 16-19 were also net uphill. The course is mainly flat, but this section was an exception. I struggled my way through it, keeping a positive mindset throughout.

When I reached mile 18, there was an aid station labeled “Vaseline, Ibuprofen, and Sunscreen.” I had never taken pain killers before or during a race, but I knew that Ibuprofen was a muscle relaxer and that could potentially help. After all, I had nothing to lose at this point, so I might as well try it. The woman at the aid station handed me a cup with two ibuprofen and another small cup of water. I swallowed them quickly and hoped for the best.

Shortly after, a runner came up from behind me and told me she followed me on Instagram. Her name was Jill. Jill was my savior during this race. She told me that she had been running with the 3:25 pace group, but that they had gone out too fast and so she couldn’t keep up with them. She seemed content to run at the same pace as me, so we chatted on and off. I totally would have stopped more if it weren’t for her. I felt like I was holding her back, but she said she was running the pace she wanted. Chatting with her was such a great distraction from how I was feeling. And my goal was just to keep on moving forward with her.

Mile 14: 7:57
Mile 15: 8:59
Mile 16: 8:47
Mile 17: 9:41 (stopped to talk to Greg)
Mile 18: 8:56
Mile 19: 8:26
Mile 20: 8:22 (Thank you, Jill)

Miles 21- Finish
After about two miles, Jill said she needed to stop. I told her I was starting to feel better so I kept going. My legs started to feel much looser and I am guessing this is from the ibuprofen kicking in. We were also past the uphill section and I had two miles with a new friend to distract me.

From then on, I miraculously did not have to stop and stretch anymore. I could run straight to the finish. Back at the halfway point, I had envisioned myself walking it in, but that’s where my training came into play. Even though my legs failed me so early in the race, I was still able to keep running. Sure, I wasn’t going to get the 3:10 I wanted from my training, but it didn’t go to waste. It enabled me to still run strong during the final 10K.

I was running faster than I had been during the middle 20K! It’s probably rare to have the first 10K be the fastest, the last 10K be the second fastest, and the middle 20K to be the slowest, but that is how I ran this race. It’s the best I could do with the legs I had!

I really perked up during these final miles and I finally felt like I was racing the marathon. No more stopping and stretching. I did get a cramp in my foot during the 25th mile, but I just ignored it and kept going. The crowd got bigger and bigger as I approached the finish line. I looked around for Greg but I did not see him.

It almost felt as amazing as the Boston Marathon finish line. The crowd was going wild and I felt like a rock star. I was so proud of myself for making it there and getting a second wind! My official finish time was 3:32:28, which honestly feels like a miracle. If you would have told me I would run that time at the halfway point, I would not have believed you. Based on how I felt, I was thinking that I would be lucky to run under 4 hours. I ran over 10 minutes faster than my previous Indianapolis Monumental marathon from 2017. I qualified for Boston by over 12 minutes! A huge victory!

Mile 21: 8:33
Mile 22: 8:13
Mile 23: 8:11
Mile 24: 8:15
Mile 25: 8:25
Mile 26: 8:27
Last 0.41 on my Garmin: 7:45 pace

After the Race
No vomiting for me this time. That only happens when I run at max effort and my legs didn’t allow that to happen during this race. In fact, I think I set a PR for the most fuel ever consumed in a marathon.
Everything went down smoothly - 5 gels, 10 honey stinger chews, and 1 serving of Skratch labs hydration.

Our hotel was literally right at the finish line so the walk took maybe two minutes. I met up with Greg and I was so happy to see him. His biking plan worked out perfectly. He was at the finish line taking photos, but I did not see hi in the crowd. I was eager to start relaxing, so I didn’t hang out at the finish line. We went straight to the hotel room.

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
I’m not sure if I would call this a bonk or not. I didn’t hit “the wall” - my legs just failed me early on in the race and I kept having to stop to stretch. I guess speeding up for the final 10K means I didn’t actually bonk. I just had a 13-mile rough patch in the middle of the race.

I didn’t do much walking and my Garmin data supports this. I have only 29 seconds of walking time for the whole race but about 90 seconds worth of “idle” time - which is stretching or talking to Greg. Strava has me at 3:30:25 for moving time. For some reason, if you stop moving, Strava stops the clock! If you look at my Strava splits, they are different from what's in the blog because Strava removed all of my stopping in the splits and only included the walking. The data in the blog is directly from my blog and includes all the stops.

This obviously wasn’t the race I wanted. I would say “this wasn’t the race I trained for” - but it actually WAS the race I trained for. If I hadn’t done all of those workouts, I would not have been able to run so strong on dead legs. Even after they loosened up, they were still very fatigued. You don’t just train for a particular time, you train to be able to handle whatever the race throws at you.

I was determined to finish strong and stay positive, and that’s exactly what I did. I think this race was a win for me, even though it wasn’t what I was hoping for. Nobody hopes for dead legs.

As for why this happened, it could be a million different things. I’ll never really know for sure. My best theory is that the Paris trip three weeks before the race got me out of my groove, and then I strained my calf after having a few extra days off. Not running for 13 days made running feel stale. Even though my fitness was intact, my legs were shocked by the task and they didn’t want to cooperate. That’s my best guess.

If I had to do anything differently, I might have run longer on the anti-gravity treadmill on the Wednesday before the race and done a shakeout run on Saturday. I would have spent more time foam rolling and stretching the day before. Would I have turned down the Paris trip? Maybe. But there was no way to know that the Paris trip was going to be such a disruption. I knew there was a risk of getting sick, and I went anyway. Running is a big part of my life, but my life doesn’t revolve around running. I was invited to speak at a marketing event, and I saw that as an honor. While I do think the Paris trip set off the chain of events that led to my race day issues, I don’t regret it.

My biggest takeaway is that I truly enjoyed the marathon and it was surreal to have been recognized by so many people. And not only to have been recognized, but to have so many people tell me that my book inspired them, or that they appreciate my posts. I pour a lot of my time, energy and soul into my social media, and experiences like this show that it’s really making a difference to people. A BQ by over 12 minutes and a course PR by over 10 minutes is not too shabby given everything that happened in the three weeks leading up to the race.

Thankfully my soleus strain is 100% recovered and I don’t have to worry about it anymore. I can recover “normally” from this marathon and look forward to winter training. 

Leg Wounds, Paris, Calf, Eyes

I may have just set a PR for longest time away from my blog. And it's not a good PR. Life has been rather hectic lately, so I will give the highlights of my last two months. 

Leg Wounds
In mid-August, I scraped my leg on a moving box shortly before my long run. It hurt briefly but I quickly forgot about it. On my run, lost my HOVER Air self-flying camera in thick brush near a trail. I tried to

retrieve it, but quickly realized it would not be possible after stepping into the brush. The next day, I noticed a dark scab on my lower right calf. I figured it was from scraping my leg on the box. 

12 days later, the scab began to puff up and get red. It started to slightly throb. I wondered if it was infected. The next day, it was much larger with yellow pus. I went to urgent care and started taking a mild antibiotic. Over the weekend the wound got bigger and redder and new areas of redness showed up. By Monday, I had four areas of concern and I was back in urgent care. I was given a stronger antibiotic. The doctor assumed it was a staph infection. 

Two days later I had a biopsy at the dermatologist. They suspected it might be a reaction from a poisonous plant or an insect bite. So we had two theories: scraped on a box and got infected OR contact with poisonous plant or insect. I had to take three days off from running because the leg kept oozing pus and I wanted all my body's resources to go towards healing. These wounds were not painful or itchy. They felt tingly here and there but that was it. Maybe a 1 out of 10 on the pain scale.

Day 1 through Day 18

Meanwhile, the Internet was blowing up with theories about my leg. I was getting 30-40 DMs a day from
dermatologists, doctors, nurses, and people with personal experiences. Everyone had an opinion! I resumed running, using compressive bandages to keep the wound covered and prevent pus from dripping everywhere. I bought these bandages in multiple colors, matched them to my outfit, and they became an instant fashion statement.

It took over a week to get the results of the biopsy and everything came back negative. No infection. No autoimmune disorder. They said it was most likely contact dermatitis, which is an allergic reaction to a plant. But it seems suspect to me that it would take 12 days after walking in the brush to appear. I had that scab for nearly two weeks and it acted like a normal scab!

Finally, after about two weeks, the wounds started getting smaller. 

Paris
I did my last long run for the marathon on Friday, October 17 and then I flew to Paris on Sunday the 19th. The company I worked for is based in France, and this is the second time they have sent me to Paris. I had some meetings with colleagues and a full-day forum with marketing leaders from other companies that

Eiffel Tower Track

were backed by the same private equity firm as my company. I was even asked to present my company's global marketing strategy, which was a great career opportunity. 

From a running perspective I was successfully able to flee from the Louvre after obtaining some jewelry running around the picturesque exterior. I also ran on a track that sits right next to the Eiffel Tower. I was only able to fit two runs in during my trip, but I was fine with that because my taper had begun. I didn't fully adjust to the Paris time zone. I think my body landed somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic. I was there for five days, so it wasn't long enough to fully adjust, but it was too long to try and stay on my natural body clock.

On the flight home, I was paranoid about getting sick. The person in the seat next to me was coughing up a storm and ordering hot tea. I wore TWO masks, headphones, glasses, and my fleece hoodie for the entire flight. I had trained so hard and I was in the best shape of my life. I couldn't afford to get sick like I did last summer during my European vacation.

Calf
I was relieved to be home from Paris feeling strong and healthy. With just two weeks until race day, my top priority was not getting sick and recovering from all those weeks of hard training. I decided not to push it my first day home and I ran five miles at my easy pace. Everything felt good. I even added in some strides at the end to shake the legs out.

The next day, Sunday, I went out for a 16-miler. Typically I run 16-18 miles two weeks out from marathon day. I woke up feeling groggy and jet lagged, but after walking around my house for an hour, I felt normal. I started running, and within the first mile, I noticed some tightness in my left calf. I didn't think much of it. I stopped briefly to stretch it but that didn't seem to help. I continued running and stopped at a Whole Foods to use the restroom. I noticed that my calf was tight and sore, but it didn't seem to be anything major. I did, however, decide to turn around and head home just in case it worsened. And of course, it did worsen. Instead of calling Greg to pick me up, I figured I could run 4 miles home on it because it didn't really hurt. 

I arrived home and BAM - I knew something was wrong beyond tightness. I was shocked. After having such a strong training cycle with ZERO aches or pains, this calf issue comes out of nowhere - AFTER having a very low mileage week in Paris. Apparently when you do a long run streak, your body gets used to the daily pounding. And if you get out of that daily rhythm, the tissues settle. I should have done more of a warm up, apparently. Maybe this is just what happens as you get older. After all, I am almost 47 years old. I firmly believe that if I had just trained normally without the Paris training gap then this would not have happened. But it's actually impossible to know. An 8-hour flight can also cause tightness. 

I saw my physical therapist the following Tuesday and he said it was probably a mild strain, but that it would probably be fine for race day. I stopped running entirely except for Thursday when I did an 8-minute treadmill test, and Friday when I tested it again with 2 miles. Neither of those tests were probably a good idea, but I felt 100% walking around, so I wanted to see how running felt. I shut it down completely on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. I had dry needling done on Monday and that worked wonders. Today I tested it on an anti-gravity treadmill and I didn't have any pain. I ran at 80% of my body weight, with the machine removing 20% of the load. 

My physical therapist also tested for strength and I have 100% of my strength. He told me that I was cleared to run the marathon. He couldn't guarantee that it wouldn't be an issue, but he was confident that that it wouldn't flare up.

Eyes
In the midst of all of this, I have been having vision problems. When I am wearing my contacts, I see blurry spots on my iPhone screen and computer screen. I went to the eye doctor who told me that my astigmatism has worsened and I will need new prescription. But he wants me to wait four weeks to see if eye drops help and to ensure that the prescription stabilizes. Thankfully this has not impacted my running.

That was my long overdue update. I plan to blog again after my marathon on Saturday!

Donut Dash 5K

One might assume that a late August 5K in the Washington DC area would be warm and humid. But
amazingly, the Donut Dash last Sunday was 58 degrees with low humidity. It must have been among the coolest mornings this area has ever seen for August 31. 

The weather was so good, I'll start out with my personal weather scale. The race gets a 10 out of 10. There was almost no wind, and while I usually consider 58 warmer than ideal for racing, it was perfect for a shorter distance, especially since I was already acclimated to the heat. And the low humidity was hugely helpful too. 

Before the Race

I switched up my pre-race routine a bit and instead of having my normal almond butter-filled pretzels, I drank half a packet of UCAN energy drink. I figured the UCAN would sustain me longer. Before leaving the house, I laced up my New Balance SC Pacer shoes, which I had determined were my favorite shoes for the 5K. But then I looked in my closet and I saw that the Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 PB matched my shorts so perfectly. I had worn these shoes in the Firecracker 5K and they worked well there, so I figured I would swap them out because I simply could not turn down wearing a pair of perfectly coordinated shoes. 

Another point of coordination was my outfit. I wore leopard print shorts and I had a leopard print leg bandage to wrap. Why the bandage? That's a topic for a blog I plan to write soon. But as long as I needed to wear bandages around my lower right leg, I made sure to coordinate them to my outfit! So the leopard print bandage matched the print of my shorts, and the Brooks Hyperion Elite matched the color scheme. I was delighted by this!

Greg and I drove to the race, parked near the start and I picked up my bib. Everything went very smoothly. I saw a few friends at packet pickup and we chatted briefly. 

Then I warmed up on the course for 2.4 miles and I had a caffeinated Maurten gel 20 minutes before race start. 

Goals and Strategy
I am in the midst of training for the Indianapolis Monumental marathon, so this was not a goal race for
me. My purpose was to practice racing, have fun at the race, and get a solid speed workout in. Time-wise I wanted to set a course PR. The Donut Dash is run on the Fairfax Corner course, which is used in the Frosty 5K, the Veterans Day 5K, the Run Your Heart Out 5K and more! I had run this course in 8 different races over the years and my fastest time on it was 21:01 from last December at the Frosty 5K. My goal was to beat that time. 

I looked at my mile-by-mile splits from the Frosty 5K and my pacing strategy was to run slightly faster for each mile. Running under 21 minutes on this course would be a huge accomplishment because it's very hilly. 

Mile 1
I started out a little slower than most of the runners around me and then passed many of them during the first downhill. The race starts downhill and it's easy to go out way too fast. I felt strong and fast but kept the pace controlled. The time to beat was 6:33 and I did so in 6:31. That was only two seconds faster than December, so I didn't have a lot of room for error. 

In terms of placing, I wasn't exactly sure how many women were ahead of me, but I knew it was at least three. I wasn't running close to any women as the mile finished out and whatever place I was at that point would be the same place I finished in. Unfortunately my leg bandage slid down my leg during this mile which was a little annoying. It was fine to have the wounds uncovered because they had mostly scabbed over, but I wished I had made the bandage tighter. The main purpose was to keep them protected from the sun to prevent scarring.

Mile 2
This mile was hard but I focused on staying positive and mentally strong. I focused on my form and my rhythm. This mile is rolling hills-- never flat. It seems to go on forever and the hills feel way too long. I passed a few guys during this mile, but no women. My Frosty split was 6:39, so I was delighted to clock in at 6:35. I was now six seconds ahead of my December time. But I was by no means "safe".

Mile 3
This mile is killer. The final hill of the run feels long and steep and comes at a time when you are already exhausted. I expected this to be a huge struggle. However, I was pleasantly surprised! For the first time, this hill did not seem so massive or steep. I am not sure if it's because I live in a hillier area now or if the Pilates classes have made my legs stronger. It was definitely challenging but not quite as painful as I remember it from my previous 8 races. My December split was 6:52 and I clocked in at 6:45. A full seven seconds faster! 

The Finish
I gained another 2 seconds on Frosty in the final kick, and crossed the finish line in an official time of 20:46.

I beat my December time on this course by 15 seconds, setting a new course PR!

• I placed 1st in my age group (45-49) out of 54.
• I was the 5th overall female finisher out of 439.
• I placed 20th overall out of 790 runners.

After the Race
I was thrilled with my performance! I got my medal and then reunited with Greg and my friend Laura, who had come out to cheer for me. After a quick chat, I ran a cool down of just over a mile. Then it was time for donuts and the awards ceremony. They wouldn't have a "donut dash" without offering donuts as the finish line food! I won a gift certificate to my local running store, which covered about half of my race entry. 

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
This was a good speed check! The Frosty 5K was about 10 weeks before the One City Marathon and this Donut Dash was about 10 weeks before Indianapolis. I'm 15 seconds ahead, so I think a PR is realistic for me in November. Of course you can't base your marathon time on a 5K, but it's a good data point. I like to race regularly (once a month) to practice pushing hard and flexing my mental muscles. 

Most of my time savings came on the final hill, which shows my legs are stronger than they were in December. That could be from Pilates, from training on hilly terrain, or both. 

The Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 PB performed really well. They are a fast shoe and they are a contender for my marathon along with three other shoes. Most importantly, they matched my outfit perfectly!

The weather was gorgeous and this race was the perfect way to spend a morning outdoors.

It was awesome to spend time with my friend Laura post race and it meant a lot that she came to cheer for me. Greg, Laura and I enjoyed breakfast together at one of my favorite local spots.