Ouch!

The 2011 Cleveland Half Marathon was the most painful run I've ever done- during and now after! I have to laugh at myself as I yelp in pain upon sitting. It's especially painful to sit down and get back up from my toilet because it's so low. I'm definitely in this much pain because of the 2 week running (4 week long run) break. Six miles in, I was right on pace for my goal time (low 1:40s). But at six and half, my legs turned to stone. No matter what I did, they just wouldn't go any faster. And for the next 6.5 miles, I continued to slowly fade. I pondered dropping out but my ankle and shin weren't that painful enough to stop and hunt down a medic. I'd be more embarrassed of any medical attention. Nor did I see any if I wanted to be transported back to the finish line. So I just kept trotting along and each mile the pain in my muscles got worse. With less than 800 meters to go, I saw James and that lifted my spirits a little. All I could do was laugh. What was I thinking?

In all, I got a nice training run in, 1:47:58 (8:15 pace). And I made it out of there without a worse injury. It was interesting to push through pain for the last 6 miles. While I was going slow, I didn't throw the towel in when I had a ton of chances to. I'll take that lesson from this experience. Critiquing the event, I hated the course. It was very boring and crowd support was dull. However, my sour mood might have been due to my expo experience the day prior to the race. I basically paid $70 for a shirt too big because they ran out of the size I ordered. I also left goody bag-less because they ran out. It was poorly organized. I don't see myself doing this race again.

I do see myself recovering this week, a mix of rest and cross training, and then slowly building back up to 30-35 miles a week, focusing more on speed and shorter distances. I thought I might be ready to race a marathon this fall, but plans fell through again. I'm not too down because I know I will get there eventually. If I go back to the basics and learn how to run faster at the shorter stuff, I think it will make training for the longer stuff easier. The main goal continues to be patience.

Epic PR or epic DNF? My race goals for the Cleveland Half Marathon on May 15th

I am doing everything in my power to hold back from running right now! And why is there such a big need to NOT run? I'm not exactly sure. It's more of a gut feeling type of thing I guess. Eleven days ago I vowed to myself that I would take two weeks off from running in an effort to rid whatever was going on near my lower shin and ankle area. The first week went by fast and featured lots of cross training, 60-90 minutes at a time as well as one day off. This second week has seemed to drag. It might be due to the fact that the Cleveland Half Marathon is nearing as well as the opportunity to try running again.

I've tested running a handful of times (a 25 meter jog down the side walk and a run up my stairs) without any pain. All that those little experiments have done is make me incredibly excited for next Sunday! I've studied the course map and I am familiar with much of the route. My race plan is the following:

1. Treat the race as more of a training run. After all, my goal pace is most runners' training run pace. Likewise, when I've run 5ks as training runs, I've felt stronger during them and better at the finish.

2. Go out slightly behind the 3:30 marathon pace group. This group will be on pace for a 1:45 half, or 8:01 pace. They likely won't start at that pace and neither will I. I would like to stay behind them to start but have them in plain view for the first mile and a half or so.

3. Upon catching the 3:30 group, I plan to stay with them for miles 1.5 to 5. I should be able to easily settle into their pace and not feel too taxed. The goal is to feel fresh enough to begin to chase down the 3:20 group (1:40 half) around 5-6 miles.

4. I will make a slight move around 5.5 miles. At this point I will have to get in chase mode. Feeling mentally strong is key here. I don't want to be feeling taxed to the max just yet while I chase people down to get with the 3:20 group. It will be helpful to remember how I made huge strides in the Akron Half in 2009 to catch and eventually pass the 3:40 group. I never knew my exact pace then, I just kept going and going, feeling really good. This time around, there is a chance I could feel like crap because my training was not exactly how I had planned it. So this is where being positive will carry me where I need to be. I'll have to remember all the track workouts from last year where I was easily able to hit 7:50s, 7:40s, and sometimes 7:35s. While I didn't get many opportunities to do such workouts this year, I have carried those paces on some runs and if I start out smart, they shouldn't be that hard. There is also the case that I could be feeling shin or ankle pain around these miles. If that happens, I will drop out in an effort to save myself from an even bigger injury. I do not think this will happen but I will admit a part of me is scared. I hope this adrenaline that is building inside will keep me positive and focused from now until then.

5. The plan is to catch the 3:20 group around 10 miles. By then, I may be having a side stitch or two. Or three. It might even happen before then. However, I truly believe if all the pieces come together next Sunday that I can stay with this group and make a move when they continue on and I head towards the half finish. The breakaway point is at 12 miles so I will have a mile to either maintain my pace, slow down, or speed up. The last "workout" I got in before my cross training experiment, I averaged 7:47 solo for four miles, with two miles recovery in between. When I switched gears after the recovery, I felt like I was working, but it was a good working feeling- not struggling but pushing myself to reach a new height. Mentally I struggled a bit but I think if I have people around me to work with that should help tremendously.

6. I hope to finish satisfied, happy, and pain-free-- injury pain free. A little "pushing myself" pain is fine ;)

In all, I am so pumped for this race. This is where I think the patience is a virtue and a blessing in disguise. My cross training has been quality, especially the long bike rides where I have stay strong mentally for two hours plus. I have to remember all the base work I have done leading up to the ankle/shin mishap. I got in quite a bit, including one long run at 1:44- roughly close to what I hope to run. When I get to the line, I'll remember all the runs I did during this ugly winter and soggy spring. I'll remember pool running for sixty minutes while crappy soft rock was playing. I'll remember the hour long swims and the two hour bike rides on a cheap mountain bike. I'll remember lifting, stretching, foam rolling, foot exercises, and icing. I've done a lot of work so far and I hope this race springs me forward to faster times thereafter.