Monday, April 30, 2018

Eugene Half Marathon: 2018 Edition


I am STILL on a post-race high, so sit down, kick up your feet, and join me for a recap of a seriously great race!! 

Our story begins Saturday morning. I had to go to Eugene for the Eugene Marathon expo. It was quite small, and not really many vendors I was eager to check out. I did pick up some new compression socks for a great price, so that made it all a win. And, as always, I got my free Steve Prefontaine poster to add to the collection. If only I had more wall space available in "my room". The race shirt is alright, but the fit is very strange. It almost feels like a crop top, so I'm not sure how much I will run in it, but we will see. After the expo I hit up Buffalo Wild Wings for some hockey with my mac and cheese. Once back home I was getting things all set so that when my alarm went off at 4am I could easily roll out of bed, into my gear and out the door.

Well, I was up on my own at 3:51am, which is pretty normal before a race. I slept pretty alright considering the nerves and excitement flowing through my body. By 4:45am I was out the door and the only car on the freeway for the majority of my drive. I hit my cruise control to 75 and called it good. It was 55 degrees and dry at home. By the time I arrived in Eugene it was 45 degrees and just stopped raining. Seriously? But I was prepared! I was on edge, hoping I wouldn't miss out on my favorite parking spot. I got the very last one which required me to ... wait for it... parallel park. WHAT?!! Yes, me! And I did it!! Once parked I was able to braid my hair and do the finishing touches of race prep before walking to the race.


Bag check and the potty lines were pretty long, but I made plenty of conversations with the runners around me, so it wasn't that bad. Gear check? Why? I was prepared for a deluge during the run. I came equipped with a small towel and fresh, dry shirt for after. Would I need them? Nope! As per usual, the weather for this race ended up absolutely perfect! Clothing is kind of a big deal for a race this long. You need to think of comfort, function and weather. I opted for my standard compression socks and skirt, with my "I'm ready for rain" hat, arm sleeves for warmth and then a shirt combo I created.... a hot pink tank top under a see through light weight shirt. Odd? Well, the thought was maybe dual layers will keep me dryer if it rains, and also a tad warmer, but not too warm. This was probably my favorite race outfit so far, comfort wise. I felt perfect!

Alright, here we go...


I made my way to the corrals and was happy to be reunited with Tabitha, my teammate at Ragnar last year. We were total strangers, and immediately hit it off while living in a van for a weekend. And now here we were again. She's still super tall!

Before the race I said, "I'm definitely not going to PR or even come close. Or maybe I am really awesome and don't know it!" Obviously I had zero confidence, and I was just there for a enjoyable run and to see if I want to resume my life of running 13.1 miles for fun. We started the race together and that lasted for, oh, a couple tenths of a mile because of crowds. That beginning area is so narrow. Cars line both sides of the street, and some people are there to walk the race, not run. This makes for awful congestion every year. Tabitha was able to slip through some people and get out of the crowd faster than I was. I did see her again later thanks to her bright shirt and her height, but we wouldn't meet up again until the finish line. 

So there I was, on my own, trying to formulate a plan. Run the tangents. Focus only on myself. Take my Clif blocks periodically (2 at mile 3, 2 at mile 6, 2 at mile 9). Save my water bottle for the gels, use the water stops for thirst. Have a banana and not throw it up. Don't fizzle during the last 5K. 


My plan was good I guess, but I didn't end up following it all, but I have good reasons why, and his name is Bill. I first saw Bill right at the start. He was one of the marathon pacers. I decided at the first bit to stay ahead of Bill. I was pretty much in a zone right away. My body felt great. I was running the tangents as planned. I grabbed a quick sip of Gatorade and water at the stops, not letting my pace slow too much, and then went back on my way. I can hardly even tell you about the people around me because this race was only about ME and doing the best I could. I did take those first Clif blocks at mile 3, but never again. I ended up by another marathon pacer for a while. We hit the first big hill and I waved bye bye to that and allowed myself to walk quickly up the hill, saving my legs for the remainder of the race. At the top Bill came up behind me with his small group of people. 


I've never followed a pacer before so I figured why not see what that is all about. Holy cow, he ran so steady - and carrying a sign the whole time! I was impressed. Sometimes I tried to match his footsteps, but he clearly was a little taller and he didn't have to take as many steps as I did to go the same pace and distance. So I stopped doing that and just kept marveling at his abilities. Every time I looked at my Garmin he was the exact same pace as the prior checking. I then began wondering about him. How many tattoos are on his body, because I could see a lot. How old is this guy anyway? If he was running the marathon on his own, what would his pace be? All of these questions made the miles go by. Before I knew it I was passing him with a plan, and 3 more miles had gone by. 

What was the plan? Run a little faster than him so I could safely slow down at the water stop to grab a drink, and know he'd be catching up, and I'd rejoin him. I increased my pace a lot because before I knew it I was beyond mile 7 and running while eating a banana! After that was the steeper hill, and that is when I said farewell to Bill.... or so I thought. I got myself up that hill will some walking and running, and was so excited when I caught up to him yet again! 

That's when I started doing the math. How many miles do I have left? If I go at this pace the whole way, when will I finish? What is my current PR? Can I get a new one? What?? Am I running well enough to even be wondering this?? I realized two things. 1. I didn't know my current PR. 2. No matter what I did at this point I was going to finish way faster than my predicted finish time. 

Around mile 10 I got the courage to run along side Bill and thank him for helping me out and possibly getting me a new PR. I was sad to have to part ways, since the marathon and half marathon courses split from each other. It was all on me now. My least favorite part of the course where my mind always gives out on me, and I was now in charge of keeping the pace by myself. Not gonna lie, it got harder. I knew it was all mental and I kept fighting it. So then I kept pushing. I have no idea where all of this came from. Its like my body was just going along with whatever I told it to do. Around Autzen stadium I tossed my water bottle - I wanted to finish the race with empty hands to grab my medal!


Near mile 12 the marathon course was right next to us again. I started doing major number crunching and realizing that I could not PR because I forgot just how fast my best time was, but I still knew I could pull off a miracle. I was deep in mathematical thought when I heard someone yell "Go Ronda!" That felt pretty awesome. My name is on my bib, did a random stranger choose ME to cheer for out of all these other people? Did she know I really did need it at that moment?? I smiled as I kept going and it wasn't until way after the race I learned it was in fact a friend who was there as an official photographer. Cool!

That last mile may have been my hardest. I wanted to just push it. But I knew I had to keep it under control a little while longer. I didn't want to repeat Prefontaine's Olympics and kick too early and then not get the finish line victory. (Yes, I really do think like that while I'm running. I know I am never going to be even a fraction of the runner he was!)  I ran down the final stretch, seeing the spectators lining the street as I approached the entrance to Hayward Field. This would be my last time entering the Prefontaine era of Hayward Field. I completely tuned out the entire crowd, had a chat with Pre as I really focused ahead and stared at those gates. I CAN DO THIS I said out loud and I charged forward. I stared at that track, enjoying every step and the feeling of it under my feet. I blew by another runner and had the final straight part to myself. I looked up, smiling. I was going to hit my new goal if I continue with this kick and amp it up a bit. I heard my name over the loud speakers and flew through over the finish line.

The new goal I created during the final 5K, I achieved it! You guys, with all this gap of non-serious running because of IVF and pregnancy and a baby ... I still ran my 3rd fastest half marathon! The other two that are faster are from the year I was marathon training. I feel so freaking satisfied. I know there is no way I could have run any better than I did at this race. My mind and body were in sync. I have zero regrets. This was an absolutely incredible race. It wasn't my fastest, BUT I think it was my strongest performance of any half marathon I have done. I don't know what happened!! I hope it happens again!!

Knowing Hayward Field is changing this summer, I was determined to get my photo while I was still on the track, and so I did! Tabitha was just a few paces away from me, recovering from her race, which made meeting up again pretty easy! As we left the track area we were given swag bags with food and a water bottle. I also found free grilled cheese sandwich bites!! Yeah, I totally went through that line 3 or 4 times, grabbing a cookie each time, too. I knew my baby at home would be happy to get her own cookie!

After saying good bye to my friend I wandered around a little more, getting some photos of Hayward Field as it exists now, including the statue of Bill Bowerman. I also became the photographer for some people from Alabama that came just to do this race. They said the trip was definitely worth it!

And for me, this was all definitely worth it. I learned I might love 13.1 miles now more than ever! I look forward to getting back to training, long runs, and picking out the next half marathon to prepare for.

WAIT! I have one thing that I would change and have learned a lesson from. Yeah, so I use Mission 5-Hour Anti-Chafe cream when I do long runs. It goes on my toes (I never blister!), where my shorts hit my inner thighs... and then up higher near an unmentionable area. Where did I forget to put it? Near that unmentionable area. All was fine until I got home, took everything off and got in the shower. OMG! Feel the sting. I could have cried! Lesson learned. So next time I will definitely NOT forget that!

















Sunday, April 22, 2018

Eugene Half Training: Week 5

The hard work is done! This might be the last recap blog before the Eugene Half Marathon. I plan on some more easy running between now and then, but would it be worthy of writing about? I guess we will find out together. So let's get this going. I have a lot to talk about today!

I needed some running motivation BAD after having some difficulties with running because of my good ol' Meniere's Disease. Unexpectedly joining a Ragnar team seemed to do the trick! (Remember Ragnar? That crazy relay I did last year in Washington and a few years ago in California? You'll hear more.. trust me!) For my first run I was busy daydreaming about prior relays and the upcoming one. Who would be in my van? Will they like me? Hate me? Will we have a cool, fun name and be one of those awesome teams the other teams wish they could be like?? Name idea floated through my head, with coordinating van decorations and race attire. But we still had one issue... we needed one more person. I asked a friend from high school, and she was thinking it over.... and that's when I had the idea to do my own promposal, er, Ragnarposal. I'm kind of happy with how well I made the Ragnar logo in the ground. Back up - I started at one of my favorite locations and was repeating the 5 mile run down to a park by the river through farm land, and back. I did this at the turn around down near the river. It was a beautiful run. I was actually too hot! I have been carrying around a bag of clothes to run in for a few days, but it had always been cold. So when I opened my bag to get changed I found I only had knee high compression socks and full pants. So yeah, it was toasty!

That first run was really what I needed. It got me back to feeling like myself again. My friend wasn't able to join me this year for Ragnar (but I'm not giving up for future races!), but I was able to get creative and fill the open spot... with my husband! HA! He hasn't been running much, but I know he can handle what he was to run. Plus he is awesome at driving those big vans around, so that will be handy I imagine. So we are going to discuss Ragnar a little bit because it sets up the last two runs and the future of my running. Check out this photo below. See those hills? Those are only SOME of my hills from my first leg of Ragnar last year. *Fellow future teammate running leg 3, yeah, enjoy!


Okay, so we saw what I did last year - and let me tell you, these photos don't do the hills justice. I remember at one point I called my mom and we just chatted while I chugged my way up. BUT also important to remember is that I had 5 days warning that I was doing Ragnar and this was the leg I was assigned. I hadn't been running really AT ALL. So I had 8 miles uphill without any prep. What does that have to do with now?

The new Ragnar team was officially established and registered and we need to all finish signing up and selecting which runner number we would be. I was browsing the 5 available spots in our van (we have 6 runners in each van - Shawn and I are in van 2). Runner 8 gets to run along the water a lot on the second leg (we all run 3 times). I didn't really get any water views last year except for the very beginning of my final leg. So I thought hey, I can do that. I looked at the other legs and the distances didn't frighten me. I have plenty of time to train. The first leg does have quite the elevation change, but the picture on the app seemed doable. Look at the photo above. The first box is the picture in the app. It says 225 for elevation. That's it? No problem. So I want to be runner 8. Good views, doable hills, longer distances that I can handle yet will still feel challenged. I'm all in! Well THEN I was looking at more things because it is all I think about right now... and I saw the big elevation chart along the bottom. That says 750? WHAT?!?! Yeah, so I did the conversion and on some of the maps they use meters, while the detailed one is in feet. So that 225 is meters. Now, let's go to the top right square in this collage. See that first peak at 112 meters? That was me last year. Now, see the tallest crazy spike all by itself there? Yeah... that is yours truly this year! WHO USES METERS AND FEET?? Pick one and stick with it, Ragnar!! Challenge accepted!

That brings us to my long run. I tweaked my training plan and did my long run a day early. It was such a nice day. I never felt scared for my safety, so that's always a plus! I stuck to paths that I know well, and just set off to enjoy myself. My legs felt awesome. The time was flying by. And on this run I had a new goal.... I did not walk up any incline. Every hill I encountered I ran up. It was the sole focus of my run... hills. I even chose my route just to make sure I would hit some hills - and be able to refill my water along the way. As I was nearly 6 miles a couple of women on their bikes came toward me on the path. They totally cheered me on and seriously made me smile and feel like I wasn't sucking. I loved it! That's something you only get during a race, so it was kind of a nice preview for next weekend! In the end I ran and felt so happy with how everything went. I feel ready for Eugene, and ready for the new challenge of hill training!


During a relay you live in a van, you run 3 times, and you pretty much don't get to sleep. Sure, you try, but do you get quality sleep? If you can, go you!! I could have called yesterday's double digit run (my longest run since before IVF and having a baby!!) enough and been done for this week, but I deliberately did it a day early so I could run again today. I wanted to run again to get my legs ready for the back to back work we will do at the relay. Again, I felt awesome! The only issue I had was some Meniere's stuff around mile 2. I'm starting to wonder if it is all the crazy shadows at that spot, because this is maybe the 3rd time in a row that I have had trouble in that same spot. I going to keep monitoring that for future runs. Also I didn't let myself walk during any incline - I hope to keep this going and keep searching out new places where I can do hill training between now and July.



I'm ending this blog with photos of my mini me. This was right before my 10 miler, and this was a big motivator during that run. I was excited to finish so I could go spend more time with her... because 20 hours a day with her every day isn't enough??


So perhaps the next time we meet to discuss running it will be the race recap. My 31st half marathon, but the first since pre-IVF and baby life. I'm so ready to be back!!

Race Countdown:  6 days 13 hours 49 minutes

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Eugene Half Training: Week 4

Huh. Did I really only run twice?? I looked back at my photos for reference and I only see two. Dang!


Well... this was a hard week. Again the terrible ergonomics of my tiny work corner have gotten to my body. By the end of the week my arm tingles and loses feeling and my leg. Well my leg is hurting. I can hardly get off my chair by the time my work week is over. So imagine adding running to this. This must be why I didn't get in as many as I thought. I mean really, I can hardly remember much of the week. It's all a blur.

I had a run at home. The weather was really nice. I had to pause at one point because the whole Meniere's thing (that you're probably sick of hearing about) was getting to me. I stared at a patch of clovers while I got myself steadied. I thought I found a 5 leaf clover at one point. I was wrong. After that pause I was able to knock out the rest with no problem and I actually felt great. I was able to miss the bus drop off time, so those little jerks couldn't blatantly laugh at me and kill my self esteem. So there!

I feel like I had planned to run after work, but YES! Yes! I remember! Okay, I grabbed my gear and planned to run from my mom's house after work, then take my baby home. I didn't check the weather and so I had a skirt and short sleeves with me. It was dang cold and very rainy! So I planned to delay the run to a little later after my husband was awake and could watch the Turtle - and I could get in weather appropriate attire. Well, I just never did it. It never got nice and I lacked motivation. 

Yesterday I went to Wizard World in Portland. Me, and a bunch of other people - many of which were in costumes, many of which were giving off MAJOR body odor - seeing celebrities and crazy things for sale. I seriously wish I would have bought the Period Panties. They were hilarious! Let me see if they have a webpage to link you to. Here you go! Check out the front and back. I was so tempted and am kicking myself now for passing it up. I did get a Hannibal Lecture Funko doll to add to my collection, so that was a major win for me! Anyway - point is, I did all that, so I didn't run that day.

And that brings us to today and my "long" run. HA!!! I repeat... HA! This Sunday five years ago I was in Boston, setting a PR at the Boston 5K, crossing THE best finish line ever! So as inspiration I wore that shirt, and some new Pro Compression socks I just got in the mail. It took me forever to leave the house. I was so dizzy that I had to have a mental talk to myself and at least just go TRY. So TRY is what I did. I parked in my normal spot, did my normal warm up hill routine and was starting to venture out of that neighborhood to get in all the big miles. But my body was arguing with me a lot. Well, my legs were great. The run was awesome. The vertigo? Not so much. I was leaning against a wall -- hence the photo of my feet just standing there -- trying to get myself going again. I had to come to the realization that it just wasn't going to smart or safe. I had to make myself turn around and call this a fail.

But is it a fail? Huey Lewis just shared the News (see what I did there?) that he's been diagnosed with Meniere's Disease and has to cancel all of his concerts. His career is halted because of our shared disease. So is it that horrible to have to admit to myself that I can't do as much as I used to be able to and as much as I want sometimes because of this stupid disease? I just have to accept it and keep on trying. I certainly won't give up!

So tomorrow I will attempt the long run again. And now I have extra motivation since I see I completely forgot to do one of my runs this week. Oops!

Race Countdown: 13 days 12 hours 3 minutes


Monday, April 9, 2018

Eugene Half Training: Week 3


I need to order more compression socks. Someone remind me of that later when you read this, pretty please. I have the screen open - but I'm also home alone with a toddler who is very busy - so I am prone to forget things.


This 3rd week was hard. Not because of the running, but real life stuff going on that I may or may not blog about later. It definitely made this week a challenge, but I feel like I am pretty happy with how it all went - even though I did skip a planned run.

First, let's do some exciting things and some venting! The exciting thing... my training partner is growing up. Sure, she turned 2 a couple of months ago, but we weren't in any rush to flip her around. But she decided to get tall, resulting in her car seat turning around and now I have a co-pilot when running AND driving! Isn't she adorable? Yes, yes she is!

And now the venting. Remember last week I think it was and my leg was hurting really bad and I could hardly walk? Well .... I think I may have found part of the reason why. I'm not sharing a photo of my leg because who wants to see that? I can tell you that my right leg is covered in bruises. I counted five at one point. Work is having a remodel of our floor, meaning 4 of us are sharing an office the size that one person would use anywhere else. Two of us share this tiny corner desk. It is so not ergonomically correct. I can barely move by the end of my short 4 hour work day. You may notice that if I ever want to actually do work with papers I have to move my keyboard away so I have some surface other than my lap - because yes, I do use my lap a lot, too. I have no options. To get out of this desk I have to back up, turn the chair and try to not bump into anyone or anything in the process. I took two days off of work and my leg felt so much better! After 4 hours today? Yeah, it wasn't super happy. So perhaps my thought of this disaster of a work situation creating my problem isn't so far off. If you have met me in person you know I am not tall, but apparently my short legs are too long for this corner.


So my first run happened, and I was hurting. Why? See that whole paragraph and photo above! But I wanted to do my best and maybe run it off. Yeah, well, it was alright. I really can't even remember how far I ran at this point. I know it was nice weather, I was in my favorite shoes - Adidas Boost - they feel like running on marshmallows! And I had my best running buddy with me. Because she stayed awake for our entire run through a school neighborhood she was rewarded with time at the playground. She felt pretty darn special, so that made it all worth it!



The next run was quite spontaneous. Doing it wasn't spontaneous, but I left the house with my water, my partner and a stroller, without really knowing where I was going and how far I would run. I ended up parking at a church and I noticed a sign directing me to a park I've never visited. So I figured why not check it out?

The run took me through some vineyards, farm land, flowers, and by tons of animals. Horses, goats, sheep, dogs, chickens, cats, birds... it was awesome! And my co-pilot would have loved it if she didn't fall asleep before we had even gone a mile! I made it to the park, which also had a small playground that she missed out on. It was along the South Umpqua River, so I did pull over to take a gander and enjoy all the peace and quiet. I hope to have more fun, unplanned runs like this. It was so nice to have a change of scenery!

And then the final run - the long run. I was mentally and physically exhausted. I was so stressed and tired at points that I nearly deleted my entire Facebook and blog. I just didn't want anything to do with anything. I just wanted sleep. And dark. And quiet. So when it was my turn to run I wasn't sure I had any energy at all to pull it off.

I started at my now normal neighborhood grade school location. I have a nice mile warm up route where I start out hard with hills. I like to just hit that and be done! I cranked up Jesus Christ Superstar from the live show, hoping it would give me a jolt. Ha, yeah, it didn't. So back to my play list I went and I just kept trying. I wasn't even sure I'd make it a mile. But then I was running down a hill and saw River, my dog friend, and I am pretty sure she smiled at me. That was apparently the boost I needed! From then on I was determined to enjoy my run. I covered two different neighborhoods on opposite sides of the river - the river that triggers my vertigo every time. This also took me to two different grade schools... and going to my old one is always fun, plus it has water fountains! Eight miles later I was done and rejuvenated. I came home to good news and it was like all the stress was washed away. Hallelujah!

So look at that, a dreaded run ended up too easy and enjoyable. WHAT?!?!

Okay, I'm going to go order those socks now. But still, if you made it this far, please remind me because I seriously can't be trusted to remember ANYTHING!

Race Countdown: 19 days 15 hours 46 minutes

Monday, April 2, 2018

Eugene Half Training: Week 2

This should be fast, unlike my training progress.

I ran ONCE.

Sadly this wasn't what I wanted. Basically Meniere's Disease really had its way with me. And to top it off, my right leg HATED me with a burning passion. Today at work I realized that over the weekend it started to feel okay again, and then once I was crammed back in my tiny work corner and having to always tweak to just fit at my desk it started giving out on me again. So perhaps I've figured out why the random pain in my leg appeared this week! I mean it was so bad that I could barely put pressure on it to get out of my chair, and then even walking out to the hall was painful enough to create a limp.

So then imagine taking that pain, add in some vertigo (versus just mild dizziness) and then try to run. Yeah, not happening!

It did happen one time, and it wasn't pretty. So let's just get to that and be done with this week.

Failed run moment
It was a stroller run at the park. I didn't even do my full intended distance. I made one loop and had to call it quits. The weather was ideal. I couldn't not try running when it was so lovely. People were out on bikes, with dogs, with children and strollers, and running. I loved it! Finally I didn't ever feel unsafe, too. That was nice! But it was just hard. When I could force a run I was happy, but the leg going out on me and vertigo won. At least I tried. Heck, I was dressed and ready to run a couple other times, but my body just said NO. So mostly this was a mentally very frustrating week, with regard to running and just living. It wasn't my best.

I decided it is okay though. I'm considering that to be a week to recharge and get my thinking back in training mode. The race is now just under a month away. I'm still confident I can do it. Absolutely. I am confident I won't PR, and that's a-okay, too! I just need to be back out there at my favorite distance of 13.1 miles! I've just finished making a new, completely random playlist to train to. Life is going to be hectic for the next couple of weeks, so I think I will have to tweak my penciled in training to work around things, but I will be back! (*knock on wood!!*)

Race countdown: 26 days 16 hours 23 minutes