Friday, May 24, 2013

Windermere Marathon: What went right, what went wrong

Windermere was supposed to be my big goal race for the year. Even though I had doubted the intensity of my training plan I stuck through the 18 weeks. I was nervous going into race week because I felt like my training hadn’t gone as well as it had for Eugene. I never missed a workout, but had some frustrations and struggles which lead to a couple of DNF workouts.

I felt ready to race and was confident as I could be considering the circumstances. I had to formulate my own race strategy the day before because Matt wasn’t there, was busy, etc. By Saturday afternoon I felt confident enough to start out at an 8:00 min pace and then gradually get faster. Based on my previous long runs, I felt that this was a very realistic plan. At Eugene I started out at 7:45 pace, but I was in better shape. Given that, I felt that an 8:00 min pace to begin with was spot on. After eventually speaking to Matt later that night he told me to not sell myself short and that he thought I had a good race in me and that come race day I would surprise myself (trust me I surprised myself! just not in a positive way!).

The course for Windermere was changed for this year- instead of it being a true point to point race from Post Falls, ID to downtown Spokane, we had to run 7 miles around the city of Liberty Lake before heading towards the Centennial Trail. The first couple of miles I felt great and was telling myself to slow down. Just after the first mile we had nice downhill that I felt like I really had to pull on the brakes. My pace had dipped into the low 7:40 range which I knew was way too fast. I got passed by a lot of people on the downhill, but I wasn’t worried. My legs felt good. Just after mile 5 we had to run down a gravel road and then we had nice straight stretch that was close to a mile long. I stopped and grabbed water and took my first set of honey stinger chews. The straight stretch was tough because there was good headwind, but I still maintained my goal pace. I didn’t let the headwind bother me mentally which was huge for me!

As soon as we got to the trailhead I saw Mr. Healthy Diva for the first time. He handed me my Nuun and said I looked good and he would see me at the next aid station. I was still feeling physically and mentally in the right place. Somewhere between miles 9 & 10 everything fell apart. Both feet started to ache to the point where I was almost hobbling. I saw MHD again at the next aid station with my Nuun and some honey stinger chews. I told him I was done and I wanted him to take me home. He gave me a friendly push back out on the course and told me to keep running and he would see me at the next aid station which was at mile 14. I was having a hard time wrapping my mind around running 16 more miles with my feet feeling the way that they were. All of my positive energy was quickly fading as I was getting passed by a lot of people. I would run a ¼ of a mile to a ½ mile and then I would have to walk for 10-15 seconds because of my feet. I repeated this until I get to mile 14. I was envisioning what was left of the course and it seemed so far to run. I knew that I could handle the next 12 miles of the race, but it seemed daunting. Again MHD told me to keep running and he would see me in a couple of miles. Easy for him to say!

The last portion of the race is all on part of trail that runs along the road so MHD stopped at various points and told me to get my as* moving cheered for me and gave me my Nuun and honey stingers. I could not have survived Windermere without his support. Even though I was mad that he wouldn’t let me quit at mile 10.

I repeated my run/walk method for the rest of the race. Once I hit mile 10 I knew I would finish. Once I hit mile 8.5 I told myself I was almost to a Bloomsday distance (12K) and that I was going to finish even if I had to crawl across the finish line. Thankfully, I didn’t have to crawl across the finish line! Seeing the word FINISH was one of the most beautiful things I have seen!

My time is embarrassing to me (I realize that some people would be thrilled with my time) because it wasn’t indicative to my fitness level. Most of my long runs between 15-24 miles were at an average pace of 7:35-7:50. My weekly threshold workouts were tough- maintaining a 6:50-7:05 pace for 20 minutes at a time with the workout lasting well over 80-90 minutes. I ran a sub 22 minute 5K a day after I ran 24 miles for crying out loud.

I should not have run a 3:54 marathon at Windermere.

Do I think I was over trained? YES.

What I think went wrong:
I relied too heavily on my TM. My TM became my safety net after compartment syndrome. It was a controlled environment. It is typical of me to use it frequently during the early AM workouts or when the weather in the winter is bad, but I was using it more than that. I even did my long runs on it when training for Windermere.

My training plan was just too much too soon. The intensity of the workouts coming off of compartment syndrome were just plain tough.

My noggin was not in the right place. Due to my training struggles my mental game was put through the ringer.

I set to high of expectations on myself for Windermere. I wanted a PR badly. This might not have been realistic given how much running I missed between May and October this last year.

My feet. My poor freaking feet. I will know more about what is going on with them on Tuesday. I should have made an appointment with Dr. Anderson weeks ago.

What I think went right:
First and foremost I avoided a fasciotomoy. That deserves some type of recognition here.

My race day hydration was good. I didn’t experience any weird swelling or stomach issues. Thanks to my Nuun and honey stingers and MHD acting as water boy. Thank you MHD.

I got plenty of sleep all three nights before the race. I can’t say that I wasn’t well rested. I slept at least 8-9 hours from Thursday-Saturday.
I stuck to my training plan for the entire 18 weeks (minus a couple of DNF runs).

Farmgirlfit added another dimension to my cardio fitness that I think played a huge role in my strength and running improvement over the course of my Windermere training.

I finished my 6th marathon. That also deserves some type of recognition.

--Tasha

43 comments:

  1. Wow! I know you are disappointed and making some changes in your future training... you are right, there are plenty of us that are super impressed with what you accomplished.

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    1. Thanks Kim. I think that the changes I have made will be positive ones. At least I hope so! Will I see you at Helvetia?

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  2. Hi Tasha,

    I am a new reader. I am curious why you are trying to avoid a fasciotomoy. I had one on my right leg in November and then my left leg in April - for exertional compartment syndrome. My right leg feels 100% better and my leg leg is getting there. Just curious.

    Also, what is Farmgirllift?

    Thanks,
    Glenneth

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    1. Surgery shouldn't always be your option in my opinion. In my case I had left anterior compartment syndrome that my sports medicine physician felt was brought on because I was a really bad heel striker. There is a tons of research out there showing that if you can learn to not heel strike and land more on your mid foot you can avoid surgery. I do understand that not everyone will fall into this category, but I am young, healthy, and in pretty good shape. I took a risk of deciding not to do the surgery, but I had a very good support team to help me. I went to PT 2-3 times a week as well as seeing my chiropractor at least 2 days a week. I did ZERO running and then slowly incorporated new running drills to help me run more on my midfoot. It wasn't an easy process and is still something that I struggle with. Given my case, if I had opted for the surgery I would probably never run at the level that I aspire to run at. To be as young as I am that would have been very devastating. My decision to not have the surgery has paid off and I don't regret that decision that I made.

      Farmgirlfit is an all women's gym that I attend. The workouts are crossfit, but catered towards women.

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  3. You finished your 6th marathon! I think that is pretty awesome, minus that it wasn't prefect race, you know you have a PR in you and it will happen.

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    1. Who knew I would have run 6 marathons in the the last 5 years?! I swore off marathons when I ran my first one. I guess the joke was on me.

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  4. I'm glad you can find the positives in the experience, and that you can point to what went wrong. Take these lessons and apply them next time around. That said, I'm so sorry you had a bad day and that your feet were so painful. i know how much a disappointing marathon can hurt emotionally. Hugs!

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    1. I have learned so much about myself over this last year. I know that I can run a good marathon and I am not going to give up on the distance. I just want to take the time to enjoy other distances for a while. When you are always training for marathons you miss out on some of the smaller/fun races.

      I am looking forward to seeing what my sports med physician says about my feet tomorrow. Of course since I haven't been running much this last week they aren't bothering me. Go figure.

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  5. Great recap of both the good and the bad and your positive attitude at the end of it is a great thing to have!! I think as we go through life (running or whatever) we have to find new "normals" for ourselves and maybe realize that we might not be as fast or as good at something as we usually were. You are still an insanely fit, fast lady and I know you are going to find your very happy place with running again whether it be at a slower pace or crushing some smaller distances! XOXO!

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    1. Thanks for the kind words Lauren. I am really looking forward to crushing some smaller distances. I am going to run a 5K next weekend with my neighbor who is just getting into running. My marathon inspired him to start running which I think is awesome. I am still trying to talk his wife into going to Farmgirlfit with me. I think that I can be pretty convincing so I am keeping my fingers crossed I can at least get her to check it out!

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  6. I know you're not happy with your time but you did fabulous. Aside from the reasons why you felt your time should have been faster, I honestly feel you're just fatigued and tired girl - you been trainin' hard mama! I have been running on a TM more to help my asthma (pollen outside and Africa hot here in FL) and actually notice a more recovered feeling going into races. You did awesome, don't let that slip away!

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    1. Thanks Kat! I think I went into Windermere pretty broken down. That is why I love the RLRF philosophy. When I was using that program I felt like a rockstar and going into my marathon I wasn't tired at all. I am looking forward to seeing if the RLRF method really is right for me. I guess that only time will tell.

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  7. I love it that you wrote about what went right even when things didn't go as planned! Way to go! Don't worry about saying you were embarrassed by your time. Every runner knows (or should know) that success is relative, so it's okay that a "slow" time for your is a "fast" time for someone else! Honestly, all I want for runners is for them to find joy in running, and it sounds like that's what you're wanting these days!

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    1. Finding joy in running is really one of the most important things. Time and place in a race mean nothing if you are happy doing it. If you aren't happy then you shouldn't be running. In my case I absolutely love running, but have had some external factors that haven't been positive. I think starting over from scratch is going to be a good thing.

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  8. Thanks for being so open about your recap, the good and the bad. Sounds like these past 12 months have really been a blessing in learning more and more about yourself and what you know is good for you. How cool?!?! Can't wait to see where you go next with your training Tasha. AND so awesome that you got your fueling down...that is a huge celebration!

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    1. I have learned more about myself and running in the last year then I ever thought was possible. I hope that I can take what I learned and turn it into something positive.

      Getting my fueling down was a huge victory. It was something that I struggled with at Eugene last year. I was thankful that I had a good water boy at Windermere.

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  9. Oh Tasha! That is so crazy about your feet! What horrible timing. It's not every day you get to run a marathon and it's such a bummer when a race that it takes 18 weeks to train for doesn't go as planned. However, I do know it makes us stronger. Rest up and take care of those feet of yours!

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    1. It was the worst timing ever. The whole week leading up to the race I was pretty worried about my feet. I was hoping with the the tapering they would feel better on race day. Sadly, that was not the case. I am looking forward to seeing what my physician says tomorrow.

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  10. Thanks for letting us in to your experience Tasha - I imagine this was one of the toughest races of your life. As you say, at the end of it, you ran your sixth marathon. Nothing can take that away from you. To do it after compartment syndrome and without surgery - that is also an amazing achievement. At the same time, I obviously wish you could have had the race you'd hoped for. I believe you'll get there though, whether it be another marathon or returning to the halfs you enjoy move xo

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    1. It was pretty tough, but I am so glad that I didn't quit. I would have been pretty upset and disappointed in myself if I had given up. I am looking forward to this summer and tackling the shorter distances with no real training plan. I have a PR in me somewhere, I know it!

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  11. Wish i could give you a big hug and sit down and talk feet with you. I am very curious now as to what's going on with yours that they hurt at mile 10. I also was a little concerned about you running 26.2 so close to your goal marathon. Do you think that hurt you? I know your plan was to take that as an easier run..
    Just want you to know that there is going to be a good race coming out of you. We learn so much from these setbacks, but don't let this race define you.
    hugs, R

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    1. I don't think Wenatchee hurt my performance at Windermere. I didn't push it at that race and just followed my training plan. I think that there were a lot of factors leading up to Windermere that did hurt my race. I mostly think that my entire training plan was too much. If you think about it in that terms then Wenatchee should have been a no go. I don't think having all of the super long runs were beneficial to me. If I would have just ran a couple of 20 milers I think I would have been fine. The 22 and 24 milers were just plain tough. Last year they weren't, but I wasn't coming off of an injury either. I really am concerned about my feet enough that I made an appointment to see my sports medicine physician. Google and WebMD has me freaked out right now!

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    2. Let me know what you find out after the visit!

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  12. So sorry you had a bad race. You are still an amazing runner and your time was GREAT!! Definitely learn from what happened, that is all part of running. A constant learning curve with both great and not so great moments, yet we always love it!! Get some rest and I hope you find out what is going on with your feet.:(

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    1. It's okay, bad races have to eventually happen to all of us. It is just a bummer when you spend 18 weeks training to have everything fall apart on race day. I learned a lot at Windermere and even learned a lot in the weeks leading up to the race. Definitely learned more about what I should and should not do.

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  13. Thanks for sharing Tasha..:) I'm sorry you had such a tough time in part of the race. Running is such a mental game to me. I still think you did great and you definitely deserve a medal for running your 6th marathon!

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    1. Running is a huge mental game. My frame of mind has not been where it should be. I hope that the recent changes I have made will help that.

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  14. Ugh, Tasha, how disappointing!! You definitely had the fitness for an awesome race... it's so hard to know what will happen on marathon day. Even with the perfect training, anything can happen. Hope you're recovering well, and I'm curious to hear more about your feet. But yes, 6 marathons definitely deserves a huge congrats!!

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    1. I know that my fitness level was there which is so frustrating. Worst case scenario I thought I would finish with a 3:30. To finish in 3:54 after all of that hard work is hard to think about. Oh well, it is what it is. Time to move on and not dwell on the past.

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  15. Awwww man... I have so many thoughts because I know so supremely well what you mean. After starting to feel better I was amazed at what my body was doing and set some lofty goals. I attacked my workouts and by race day I'm pretty sure I was totally spent before i hit the starting line. the sports doc i'm working with confirmed this but said he knew there wasn't much way to hold me back from attempting it my way...now I'm revamping and figuring out the health piece...then the run.

    so sorry you didn't have the day that you trained for, but it sounds like you have it well within your grasp once you mentally feel ready to try again

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    1. I can totally relate to you Amanda. Even when I was tapering I felt exhausted from the previous weeks of running. I know that a lot of times people consider this to be the "taper crazies", but I honestly felt that in my case it wasn't. I was totally spent! When I was using run less, run faster I showed up on race day feeling refreshed and ready to run. I felt the exact opposite at Windermere.

      I hope that the changes I am implementing and going to back to run less, run faster will be positive changes in the long run.

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  16. I'm just now getting caught up on reading - I'm so sorry that your race didn't come out how you had hoped. Each race and training cycle has a whole buttload of lessons learned. I'm interested to see how you take on #7 ;)

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    1. It's okay. I am over my little pity party. Time to move on and learn from my training mistakes and look forward to my next race. Not sure when #7 will be. Definitely not this year and probably not next year either. Need time to have fun with other distances that you can't enjoy when you are training for a marathon.

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  17. I love that you kept going, even when you wanted to quit. You are one powerful lady and inspire me to keep reaching for the marathon goal! By the way what does "RLRF" mean? I saw you mention it in one of the comments. :)

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    1. Thanks Kate. RLRF is a training philosophy called "Run Less, Run Faster". It incorporates lower mileage with cross training. You should check it out since you are considering registering for another marathon. Look for the book on Amazon, it will be pretty cheap!

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  18. I've thought a lot about this post and first off, I'm so sorry this marathon didn't turn out the way you wanted or planned. I really admire your dedication and hard work and please know THIS is what inspires me and not the times you post for races. I like how you posted what went well and what didn't because I learn from this too. I'm so proud of you for finishing!

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    1. Thank you Amy, you are so sweet. I am glad that I can inspire you and other women out there to run. Running sometimes isn't perfect, but it can be so wonderful too.

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  19. Don't mind me- just getting caught up on blogs after some time away. I am SO sorry and bummed that you didn't have your dream marathon. I wish it had all gone better. You did run a freakin marathon though, and that alone isn't easy. Your time is one to be proud of, whether you PRed or not- I am sure you learned something from this race.

    Lots of love and hugs to you. Best of luck with this weekends half!

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    1. It's okay Christie! Bad races happen from time to time. I am excited to just have fun with running this summer. My half this weekend will just be for fun, but I hope to have an "A" race in July. Hope you and your precious family are doing well. :-)

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  20. i'm so sorry it wasn't your race-but i am proud of you for finishing. also really impressed with your attitude and recognizing what you what to change, need to change, etc. congrats on another marathon!

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    1. Thanks E! Definitely wasn't my day, but it was a race to remember for how far I have come in the last year. :-)

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