Cowtown Half Marathon Race Report

Half marathon #7 is in the bag...Uranus is so close that I can taste it, or not depending on how much of a pervert you are!

I ran the 2012 Cowtown half marathon on Sunday and it was probably my most difficult race to date. The 7 am gun time (and over an hour away) made for an early morning wake up call of 4:30. I was tired, but ready to get started running. The temps were in the 40s, with a strong wind coming from whatever direction I was running in uphill! I was well prepared for the cold, and it wasn't nearly as brutal as the Hot Chocolate a few weeks ago.

This race was crowded, actually packed, for the first 2 miles. You couldn't pass anyone and had to jockey for space. The race started with the half, full and ultra marathoners at the same time. There were 5 corrals with close to 10,000 runners--too few corrals in my opinion. The traffic helped me take the first few miles slow; I finished the first mile in 11:30, instead of a too fast 10:30 for me. I also saw two women trip and fall in the crowd. Both went down hard. I hope they were OK to finish the race.

While I probably will not run this race again, it had some of the best spectators of all the races I've completed. There were people throughout most of the race to cheer us on. I saw some funny signs: Run like a Kenyan, Those shorts make your butt look fast, and (my personal fave) Worst Parade Ever! There were several places where traffic was stopped, probably for hours, and instead of hating the racers, some of the drivers opened their doors, got out, and cheered. I also had my own personal cheering squad of my husband and dog!

This race was a miserable one for me. Not because I wasn't prepared, but because I had severe foot pain hit me around mile 2. I'd been feeling a little pain in my right foot, on the top, when we were in San Diego, but it was bearable and stopped as soon as I stopped running. It came back with a vengeance during this race. Several times I contemplated quitting. There was a first aid station just before mile 10 and I was so close to stopping there. But I pushed on and stopped momentarily after mile 11 to attempt to stretch it. This, of course, did me no good. I somehow hobbled to the finish line, finishing with a disappointing 2:25:51. After making a PR on every race so far this year, slipping backwards sucks. Also, I was passed at mile 13 by the 2nd place finisher of the marathon (he ended up winning because the 1st place finisher was disqualified). There is nothing more demoralizing than seeing someone smoke you after they've run 26 miles already! He was awesome, don't get me wrong, but I was laboring through every step while he appeared to be coasting into the finish line!

Me, struggling to the finish line.

The Cowtown was a well organized race, with foil blankets, medals and a runners-only food area. All finishers also got a finisher's tech shirt, which was a nice bonus.

Getting my medal (I'm in the white hat and foil blanket)                             With my race swag!

Miles logged: 13.1

Sunrise in San Diego

I had planned to go for a quick run on the treadmill before my conference started his morning, but the tiny gym at the hotel couldn't accommodate me. Of the whopping 2 treadmills in the gym, one was occupied and the other wasn't working. So I was forced out into the cold San Diego morning.

Instead if staring at a wall, I got to enjoy the sunrise over this beautiful city. I could really get used to this life. Unfortunately it is back to reality for me on wednesday.

Miles logged: 3

Running in San Diego

My husband and I decided to take an extra few days to enjoy San Diego on the front end of a business trip I am on. We arrived yesterday afternoon and spent a short time exploring before settling in for an early evening.

Since I have the Cowtown Half Marathon next weekend, I had to get on a long run while we were out of town. I actually left the planning of the run to my husband, as he is usually the event planner for when we take trips out of town. He had planned an 8 mile route through town and bay side.

But we ended up missing a turn and ended up spending some time in Balboa Park, which turned out to be a happy accident. We ran by the San Diego Zoo, beautiful gardens, downtown, the bay and the USS Midway. San Diego is a city with some hills, not completely flat, though it sits on the coast. I'm pretty sure the first mile to mile and a half was uphill. Slightly challenging and it worried me a bit that I might get tired early on in the run, but that was not the case at all. Both my husband and I felt great for the entire run, made good time despite stopping for pictures, and felt that we could have kept running. I could have easily run a half marathon distance today. I'm not sure if it was the fresh ocean air, or the sourdough I ate for breakfast, but whatever it was, I hope to feel it again!

Miles logged: 9.25

Happy Valentine's Run!

My normal gym schedule is to run on Tuesday and Thursday each week. Since Valentine's day fell on a Tuesday this year, I tried to convince my running partner to switch to Monday and Thursday, but no such luck.

So we, as she put it, went to the gym with all the other losers this evening. Good news, the gym was empty! We got our pick of treadmills and I had a great run. With no pain in my left hip and only minimal pain in the right one, I felt great and kicked up the speed. I wore shoes again, and it felt good. Not sure if I will keep up with them-I definitely feel guilty running in them, though I'm not sure why!

Miles logged: 3.5

Dallas Hot Chocolate 15k Race Report

It was an early morning today, as we prepared to run the Dallas Hot Chocolate 15k that began at 7:55am. I wanted to take DART (Dallas public transit) to the race with my husband to see how comfortable I would be taking it by myself for the Rock 'n' Roll Half in March. There was a double murder at the station right down the road from our house on Tuesday, so you can understand my trepidation.

We awoke to the coldest morning of the year and warnings from the race medical director. The first note was urging runners slower than a 12 min/mile pace to switch to the 5k to avoid prolonged exposure to the cold. The other was the Urgent Weather Update on the website--a whopping 28 degrees with a wind chill of 17! Eeek!

So we layered on the clothes (I had 6 leaving the house and ran in 5 of them!), covered all of our skin and jumped on the train.

I look more ready for skiing than running!

The train was easy and was the best option for this morning's race, despite the 15 minute wait outside in the cold for a train transfer. A friend of mine got stuck in traffic on the freeway for over 30 mins and missed the start of the race. We had planned to run together, but I waited as long as possible. My husband wasn't quite as cold, as he decided to run in his down parka!

The bag drop was thankfully inside and we waited in the semi-warm building as long as we could. There was a bathroom in there, so no port-o-potties for me this race! They didn't smell the best, but they had hand dryers that felt amazing!

The course took us through some very nice neighborhoods in Dallas, also through some not so nice neighborhoods where I was glad I was with a crowd of people! There were very few spectators along the course, which was kind of a surprise for a race so big. I'm sure the cold drove people away. I started off the race with numb feet and it was after the 3 mile marker before I had feeling back in both of them. Once I had both feet working, I got into a groove and felt like I was making good time. There were an inordinate amount of walkers, so I spent a lot of my time working my way around them.

At one point, the wind knocked my hat off and I had to turn around and grab it before it flew away. Also, one of the lenses on my cheapo sunglasses fell out mid race. Luckily I was able to jam it back into place after a few minutes of messing with it. Unfortunately, I was not able to clean them off, so they had this nasty film for the remainder of the race. Not sure how any of this affected my time. Since I tend to run faster the colder it is, I'm hoping to have finished around the 1hr 39min mark.

It was so cold that I forgot to take photos. I didn't have my photographer (he was running too) and my cheering squad was curled up in his bed at home. I snapped one at the start and one at the finish. None of the chocolate fondue (which was tasty, but probably not a good thing to eat post race) or hot chocolate.

Miles logged: 9.3

15k Tomorrow!

Tomorrow I will be running in the Hot Chocolate 15k here in Dallas and it is going to be a very cold run! The weather forecast is for a low of 26 degrees, eek! By the time we start the race it will likely be below 30 still. I'm such a primadonna now that I don't think I've ever run in temps this cold.

I should be well prepared for tomorrow, I have my race packet, my clothes picked out, my last acupuncture treatment done, and I've already crossed the finish line!

Miles logged: 0

I Ran in Shoes!!!

I tried something strange and foreign for my run today, something I haven't done in a long time. I ran in regular athletic shoes. And surprisingly it felt amazing! I felt like I was running on fluffy little clouds! The treadmill was so bouncy and soft. My hips hurt, but not terribly bad.

Miles logged: 3.25

Acupuncture Update

I had my second acupuncture treatment last night, and it was the same drill. Stab me with some needles, hook up the electrical current and leave me to cook for 25 minutes. I was less sensitive to the needles this time, but almost overdosed on electrical current! When the doctor was cranking it up, I had an involuntary reaction and my right leg kicked in the air. I never felt the electricity, but she had to turn it down!

I came home last night and hooked myself up to one of the at home TENS machines. It is basically a device that allows you to electrically stimulate your muscles in hopes of curing the pain. My grandmother owns one of these machines from an injury or surgery or something. I don't know what I'm supposed to do-the instructions tell me to place the electrodes according to my physician's orders. Since I don't have a physician, I just placed them haphazardly on my hips and cranked it on low, extra low.

I've definitely seen a improvement on my pain and and increase in range of motion. I would say that about 90% of my muscle pain is gone. What I have left is a deep hip pain, maybe muscular, maybe something else. I'm not yet done with this course of treatment, so I still have hope (I'm hooked up to the TENS machine again).

Miles logged: 0

1st Run Post Acupuncture

Today was my first run post acupuncture treatment. Though I was feeling a little less pain than last week, I still labored through the first two miles. I think it must be an issue with me and the treadmill. We hate each other and we are definitely out of sync. I might try a different pair of shoes later this week to see if it helps me get into my stride a little sooner in the run.

My second acupuncture treatment is tomorrow night. I'll update on the progress soon!

Miles logged: 3.25

Acupuncture

I've been battling hip pain for the last 4 months or so. Well, actually longer than that. About a year ago, I had nagging pain in my right hip. I had just finished my very first half marathon and I had pretty much quit running. The pain would get worse if I stood for a long time and I was due for a follow-up with my orthopedist (for IT band issues), so instead of cancelling the appointment, I went in with my list of complaints. Turns out the pain in my hip was due to cartilage damage and not a stress fracture as my doc originally thought. I wasn't willing to go for the second MRI to assess the extent of the damage, nor was I willing to commit to physical therapy. Instead, I put myself of a regimen on glucosamine and hoped for the best.

The new hip pain that struck me in October was an altogether different feel than that of the cartilage damage. This pain is more of a strained muscle pain. It hurts when I walk, run, stretch to one side or another. And it both hips hurt. I attempted to research it on the internet, but wasn't able to diagnose myself. I've tried massage, heat, ice, rest, nothing has helped alleviate the pain at all. And on Thursday, when I almost couldn't get out of the car after a short run at the gym, I was at my wit's end. My husband suggested acupuncture, and I agreed.

We found a doctor (PhD, not MD) that could get me in on Saturday morning. I had 12 or so needles placed in each hip with electrodes attached. I lay still for 25 minutes for the painless electro-shock therapy. And then I was done. It didn't hurt, but did feel a little weird. The insertion of the needles wasn't comfortable, but there was no pain. I can see most of the spots where the needles went in still today. I don't know if it was psychosomatic or if I really did have some relief, but yesterday I felt 30-40% less pain in my hips. Today, about 25%.

Supposedly acupuncture should be a series of treatments, so I will be going again on Tuesday and Friday to see if we can heal my hips once and for all! The Hot Chocolate 15k is on Saturday, so I am really hoping for a cure!

Miles: 10 on the elliptical, which doesn't actually count

Update to Texas Half Post

I logged into the Texas half website to see if the race pictures have been put up yet (they haven't) and found that they had updated the finish times...to now include the actual chip time! I finished the race with a 2:21:30!!!! Whoohoo!

Miles logged: 3.25