Startline Racing Race Recap

I ran my Startline Racing half marathon today. If you remember, I won an entry to any race put on by them about 25 weeks ago while attending a Run Eat Tweet AZ event in the summer. I sat on that for a long time trying to decide what to do and finally settled on the Going the Distance full Marathon slated for April 4th. Then in Jan I lost three weeks of training and decided to down grade to the half marathon.

Packet Pick Up.  You get the medal right away!

Race discount!  Thanks Startline Racing and Run Eat Tweet AZ!

 

I knew going into this race I wasn't really physically ready to run it. Training wise I was, but with the pain in my hip/lower back and even pain in my shin, I knew I would struggle a little. Also with the Arizona heat already making an appearance, but I was determined to do this race.

At the Start.  What am I getting myself into!

Let me pause here for a minute and talk quickly about the race directors of Startline. I reached out to them to let them know about my sweet buddy Jaylee. Boy do I love bragging about her and sharing her story. She's such a special girl and inspires me so much. They gave me an extra medal to send to her! Can you believe that! Jeff sent me an email saying to find him at the race and he'd hook me up. He happened to be at the food station at the end refilling waters when I saw him, let him know who I was and he said, oh yeah! We've got one all ready for you! I believe he was genuinely happy to do it, and that made my whole day!

Yes I run with a Lego representation of my sweet buddy Jaylee!

Back to the race. I came prepared to run with fuel (Sunrype fruit strips) that works better for me and an electrolyte (Cocogo) that hasn't failed me yet that is so easy on my stomach. I was nervous my intestinal tract would react the same way as Phoenix, but it didn't and that was the best thing that could happen. I figured I'd keep the Cocogo flowing through my bottle and make stops at the water stations to get my water. That worked like a charm. Isn't it great when plans work out! I think I was still a bit dehydrated, but through no fault of Startline Racing. I felt as though they were prepared for the heat with water/Gatorade stops every couple of miles. They even refilled my water bottle for me! Thank you!

Flat Runner!

I of course went in with the strategy to start slow and work up my speed, but of course I went out way too fast. I had no problem slowing it down though! Ha! I slowed down a little every single mile, the opposite of my plan, but eh, it was alright, I figured I'd do it. The course is run along a trail system of a wash or canal. While it was filled with desert plants that are blooming and pretty right now, they're an allergists nightmare. By mile 8 asthma hit, and I had to make deliberate efforts to continue to breathe as deeply as I could and out all the way. The feeling passed and I was able to continue, though I had a few more bouts of that. The other problem I had was hip/sciatic pain. It didn't hurt right away, but by mile 5 I could feel it, and it was just hurting more as I went. I expected it, but had hoped I would be able to ignore it better than I did.

I was struggling through this race also. There is an almost 7 mile stretch of straightaway running, and then you turn around and run back 4 of those miles. I had heard this, but figured since most of my routes are repeats and I get bored on them, but can zone them out well, I figured this wouldn't be a problem. I was mistaken. I THINK that if I wasn't experiencing the pain, I may have handled it better, but it is what it is.

The route.  Don't be fooled by the blue, there is no water in there.

 At mile 8 when I started having a hard time breathing and running I texted my husband, almost in tears, that I was struggling. A few minutes later he texted me back with this! That pushed me over the edge and I cried for a minute. But of course it made it harder to breathe so I quickly composed myself and pressed on.

Man I'm lucky I have him!

I finally reached the turn around somewhere around mile 9 and was having a hard time with my get up and go. And then this sweet gal came up behind me and said, come on, you got this! Pace with me. And so I ran with her. We chatted a little, we swapped names, quickly talked about our goal for the race and then we ran side by side for I think almost a mile. She was convinced I could still get a PR, I was quite certain that was gone. She cheered me on in my suffering and was my voice of confidence when I didn't have one at that point, and then I had to walk. My hip was aching and my breathing was getting hard again. But I didn't let her out of my sight. I kept pushing.

I figured I wasn't grabbing a PR but I could try to get as close to my original time if I really tried hard. I picked up the pace. If this girl thought I could do it, then maybe I could. With 2 miles left I caught up to her and she flashed me the biggest smile and shouted something like "go get it!" I was delirious, so I'm not quite sure. I thanked her, as meaningfully as I could gasping for air and took off. It was still a run/walk, but at as quick a pace as I could muster. I passed the last water stop and I heard her shout again and it just made me smile! I passed another girl who I had had the privilege of chatting with the first couple miles of the race and gave her a thumbs up and good job and joked that I was dying and not a quiet runner (I was vocally suffering ;)). She laughed and told me I was a great runner, and that just helped push me a little more.

Official Results from Startline Racing website.

Now I come to my most favorite part ever. My sweet children have been homeschooling themselves on Harry Potter lately and each of them had a stick (wands) in their hands when I turned the corner to cross the finish line. They were shouting and laughing, but I couldn't understand what they were saying. Turns out they were shouting "expecto patronum" to help me go faster! Hahaha, bunch of little weirdos! 

My great boys the night before the race.

My sweet daughter the night before the race.

Most supportive husband the night before the race.

The boys' wands the night before the race.

I grabbed something to eat, went and sat with my family for a bit to stretch and rest and then got up to find these two gals who helped me so much on the course. I could not find them anywhere! I roamed through 3 times, but seemed to have missed them. I hope to follow their lead one day and am able to offer that kind of support to someone on the course one day who needs it. I am continually amazed at how wonderful complete strangers are to one another. It blesses my life each and every time I run into one of these givers.

Man it was HOT!! So glad that's done!

 

So, again, it wasn't quite the race I'd have liked to have, BUT it was still a good time. Each time I run, I learn new lessons. So today, I'll log away my lessons and remember them for next time. Would I do another Startline Racing event? Yeah, probably, just probably not on this course . Time to recover a little and get ready for my next race, the Run3rd 5k next week!

When Running Becomes a Struggle

What do you do when you find yourself in a funk?  I have been running consistently for over a year now and have loved to sometimes hate every minute of it.  But now I'm finding myself kind of just slumping around the roads.  It's been kind of frustrating.  Some of it I know is the small amount of pain I still have in my IT bands.  Most of the time they don't hurt, but every once in a while (longer runs, faster runs) I feel the tightness.  I'm babying them.  I'm preparing for two more races coming up.  One being the Going the Distance half marathon on April 4th being put on by Startline Racing (use code RET to get 10% off their races--excluding their 3rd party races), and the other one is the Run3rd 5K on April 11th (use code RUNEATTWEET to get 10% off and to be entered into a giveaway for a Sean Astin autographed DVD of Lord of the Rings happening April 1st).  I have to say, after these two races, I think I need to just have a little fun with my running.  I think I've realized I'm putting too much pressure on myself.

I didn't think I'd find myself in this place.  I've always been pretty realistic about my goals, and I still don't feel like I'm doing anything wrong.  I've just realized I'm loosing some of the fun of just running and enjoying it.  My eating has been off and I haven't been strength training since Nov and I also know that's taking a toll.  I've mentioned on Instagram that I've changed gyms and have decided to start swimming again (maybe a sprint triathlon in the future?).  I was a very good swimmer as a teen/young adult, so I'd like to gain some of that back.  I'm also trying to work out a plan to find good days to get back into the gym to lift as well as using the things I have here at home to rebuild my strength (tires, battleropes, core work, HIIT training).  My neighbors are used to watching me do weird things like taking selfies and garmin pics after running, I may as well go back to pushing around my big tire so they have more to talk about!  Hubz and I are also looking into starting the 21 day fix.  Everyone I follow on Instagram who's used it has loved it.  It's worth a try to get myself back on track eating right, and it'd be nice to have my husband join me.

We have a lot on our plate right now at home and it's stressing me out.  I'm really hoping that in a couple of weeks things start to calm back down as we start getting answers to some looming decisions.  In the meantime, I will be doing my best to keep myself on track, enjoy each day, and remember what the most important things are in this life. My husband, my children, Jaylee and my health.

Also, if you live in Arizona and need something to do on March 28th Run Eat Tweet AZ has a Nuun sponsored meetup going down that morning!  There will be different run distances available for the runners who need more mileage or the runners who'd like to start with something simpler.  The longer runs start at 7:00am and the shorter runs start at 8:00am.  There will be tons of giveaways, guest speakers and then head out for BREAKFAST after!  We are after all, a social run group right!  Hope to see you there!

So What's Next For Me?

When I first started running again I wanted to do the Warrior Dash. That was my key race. Then I decided I didn't really want to do a lot of mud runs, and kind of lost interest in the whole idea. Maybe one day. I switched my focus to the Phoenix half marathon hoping I'd be able to successfully complete the race. I did better than that, I hit one of three time goals, despite being ill most of the race and the last minute kinks that happened during the end of training.

I loved racing! It was like the culmination of all the time I put into training. I still want running to be fun, so I'll pick and choose what kind of races I'll do based on how I feel, but I want to continue to race a little. Ultimately running is still a way to escape, clear my mind, dedicate miles to sweet Jaylee, and take better care of my body, but having some fun goals in between, I think, helps to shake things up a little.

On April 4th I'll be running a half marathon with Startline Racing. I was originally going to run the full, in honor/to dedicate, of my friend. After all the kinks thrown into training in January, and the discomfort I still have, a full is off the table....for now. I'll chase that down another time. But it's still a goal of mine.

The week after that race I'll be running the Run3rd 5k with some other members of my run group Run Eat Tweet AZ. I'm so excited about it! It benefits the children in the school district I work in and my children attend school in, which makes it mean so much more to me. Sean Astin will be at the race! He's the guy from Goonies, Rudy, Lord of the Rings.... I'm hoping to snag a picture with him, how neat would that be! If you want to be entered in to win a DVD of Lord of the Rings AUTOGRAPHED by Sean Astin use code "RUNEATTWEET" which also saves you 10%! The first drawing already happened on March 1st and Goonies was won! The next drawing happens on April 1st, so don't miss out and get entered now! Virtual option available.

After that, things are kind of up in the air til Oct. I'm trying to decide on a course of action for training, cross training, and eating. All things have gotten off track, and I've started doing things that aren't working for me and picked back up some bad habits. That needs to change.

Another thing I'm working on is running fuel nutrition. What I used in the half marathon did NOT work for me. It wasn't the trigger for being sick, but it didn't help. Right now I'm leaning towards Cocogo for hydration, and Pocketfuel Naturals and Sunrype for nutrition. Natural fuels, natural foods. All three products are some of my favorites and I hope to one day be an ambassador and represent their companies! If anyone else has an idea please clue me in to what works for you, because I need a lot of help in this category. Either comment here or hit up my instagram and comment there. Any advice will be completely appreciated!

Thanks everyone for stopping by!