How (not) to take care of your feet

I posted on Facebook Tuesday night that I chose to have some elective surgery done on my feet. I also admitted that I performed the “procedure” myself. In my bathroom, with toenail clippers.

There have been lots of responses from friends (virtual and actual alike) that range from sympathetic, to worried, to mockery, to omg-running-is-bad-for-your-health. Everyone’s attention and curiosity about my feet is both amusing and heartwarming, as well as a bit embarrassing. But I guess that comes with being a social media addict.

Verdict: I am a genius. Let the following serve as a testament to why it’s a bad idea to allow panic to control your behavior.

For all the time I practice mindfulness and utilize impulse control for my job, when it comes to things that are running related, I fall apart.

Be warned that there will be some really gross content and a graphic photo as you scroll down. Feel free to not read this story, I am sharing because this is new territory for me and I want to know what other runners experience and what they do about it.

The good news is that this morning I regained to ability to spread my toes and they don’t seem swollen any more.

I have lost plenty of toenails, let me be clear that this is not my first rodeo.

I have never before had all but three toes be affected at once, however, and that freaks me out! I have also never had a toenail come off and then experience pain after. In the past it was always a relief.

Here’s what happened. Like most distance runners I have one toenail in particular that always seems to be discolored and misshapen to some degree. I  have just learned to monitor and mostly ignore it.

Just before the Boston marathon, though, that toe started to hurt after any run over 10 miles and after speed work sessions.

As you can see, shoe selection is not a problem as I have a pretty healthy collection (there is even a pair not pictured…the Adios 2):

So after Boston I started slowly chipping away at it. Literally. Because the thing was sticking up higher than my other nails by like a half centimeter. Which is a lot!

Things mostly maintained. Then I ran my best marathon to date last Sunday (read about it here). On Monday I noticed that several toes appeared a bit puffy and were tender to the touch.

And here’s where the action starts (gross alert); on Tuesday evening I was getting into bed and I jammed my toes (the foot with the aforementioned nasty overgrow/under construction toe).

It hurt like hell and when I looked down my toe had exploded. I swear there was a liter of really watered down blood on the floor and on my foot. (ok slight exaggeration there).

I hightailed it to the bathroom where I dumped peroxide over my toes and watched it sizzle. I did the same to some nail clippers and sat like a contortionist for god knows how long (long enough that my hip-flexors were pissed at the end of the whole ordeal).

I was in the zone, man. I couldn’t stop digging at my feet! I didn’t feel any pain until it was over. As I reflect on the experience I feel like I got a new insight into what it’s like for people who engage in SIB (self injurious behavior).

Eventually my dogs (who I had left stranded on the bed) started barking to get down and I looked at the two abused toes on my right foot. I was horrified and immediately pain set in.

I have only three toenails left that are fully intact, the rest display varying degrees of disintegration. Two are totally gone.

I drained under-nail blisters from  5 of the affected toes.

One of the toes (2nd toe…next to big toe) was certainly infected to some degree as it produced a lot of carnage…too gross to describe, and it sort of smelled.

I sat on my bed after pouring more peroxide on my feet and contemplated what to do next (which was to update my Facebook status of course). Then I took these pictures.

The “good” foot…still pretty gross:

The Zombie foot:

I am sorry to expose you all to this, but I need help.

Last night I stocked up on supplies I thought would help.

The Hello Kitty bandages are just to make me smile.

I attempted a soak in the Epsom Salt, but I only lasted about 90 seconds, it hurt all the way up my shins…which can’t be good.

After that I bandaged up for the night and things felt puffy and sore.

Fortunately I still have one pair of flats that are work appropriate with a roomy toebox that my dogs have not eaten, so I think I am mostly pulling off normalcy.

I am flying to Seatle in the morning for 5 days and my insurance plan doesn’t kick in until the first week of June (I think…I am not 100% certain…), so I am hoping to not need a podiatrist.

I have worked out for exactly 30 mintues since Sunday and I am starting to get pretty grumpy…need to run soon! Help!

*AB

WIAW: How to recover from a marathon PR

Otherwise known as totally sit on your ass and pig out, with the occasional healthy detail.

This is not anywhere close to an exhaustive showcase of all I have eaten in the two days following Sunday’s run. It’s more like the highlights.

I am embarking on a racing weight effort starting tomorrow, it will hopefully leave me a bit lighter, a bit healthier in the intestinal region, and faster on my feet by this fall.

When I got home on Sunday night I order a much-anticipated pizza for Jorge, his brother, and myself. We also had some really good beer. Unfortunately, I was totally crashing-tired and my stomach was pissed about the marathon, apparently, and I wasn’t really able to enjoy it. No photo….sorry.

24hrs post race. Amazing Grass Superfood and strawberry smoothie. A full pitchers worth.

34hrs post race: Whole Foods trip while Jorge was at a 16″ Softball game. Apple Pie (which was polished off by 60hrs post race), Salmon Sushi, Chicken pot-stickers, and 3 buck Chuck Pino Grigio…

After that super fancy dinner by myself, I went for a couple of beers with Jorge and another couple. He made my day by wearing the best shirt ever printed.

48hrs post race: I looooove this cereal. It’s on my list of things I cannot buy because I eat the entire package. That list is not in effect for 72hrs after a marathon. Other items on said list include: marshmallows, nutella, fudgsicles, lays original potato chips, chocolate chips, graham crackers….it’s a pathetically long list.

53hrs post race: My awesome co-worker treated me to lunch at my favorite near-work place….where there is free soft-serve ice cream (one of my top 5 favorite foods). I am not sure what possessed me to order a tuna melt…I don’t actually think that I have ever had one before. It was good. The chips were better.

Self-Serve-Soft-Serve. Look at that pull! I have many talents.

62hrs post race: Trader Joe’s Mandarine Orange Chicken, White Rice, and x2 on the beer. Yes, that is my portion size. Feel free to judge.

While I have been busy rapidly putting on a few pounds, the girls shed a few at the groomer.

And that is all. I have to admit I am really looking forward to working out tomorrow and eating clean.

*AB

The Qualifier Marathon: Race Report

So lighting struck twice, more or less, with this racing experience. Weather conditions were not similar to Boston just during the race, but also post-race. It is a perfect 57 degrees and overcast in Chicago right now. In Midland, MI where The Qualifier Marathon took place yesterday it is 60 and overcast, and in Green Bay where the marathon was actually shut down yesterday because of the 91 degree heat with 63% humidity, it is 68 and cloudy with far lower humidity.

Fortunately for “Team Boston Re-Bound Redemption”, the much smaller event that was The Qualifier, was not halted, and everyone finished looking strong and healthy.

Post race. Redemption achieved.

The best part of the experience yesterday was that because it was a small event, I was able to cross the finish line, shuffle over to the porta-potties, and then find a spot right up front along the last 400 meters of the course in under 5 minutes.  So I was able to cheer in all six of my friends as they finished their races!

But I digress, here’s how we got there.

Being a lazy blogger, I still haven’t gotten good a capturing the details in pictures (I’ll work on that, I promise!)…but anyway:

We met up at Fleet Feet on Saturday morning to pile into a rented mini-van. 5 runners and one amazing friend who came just to be the most supportive person ever! She drove, cheered, sprinted a quarter mile to give freezie pops and water to an extremely irrational and grumpy runner who shall not be named (definitely NOT me…ok, it was me), and paced for the last 10k only to immediately go coordinate cars and pickups. Amazing.

Our sixth runner and a second traveling amazing on-course support crewman, met up with us in Midland.

Once in Michigan we went to Shelly’s parent’s house where they fed us a perfect pre-race dinner of pasta, chicken, rice, garlic bread, salad, and beer! It’s amazing how much stress is reduced when you don’t have to worry about finding quality food!

After dinner the group shoved off to their rooms at The Residence Inn, one of our runners is a serious road warrior (hard worker, brilliant, beautiful, AND a stellar runner…) and was able to get free accommodations!

I stayed with Shelly at her folks place, and I actually got a full night’s sleep! This has NEVER happened before. Usually I average about 3hrs of sleep before a race, even if it’s a 5k, and even though I know I am not, like, in it to win. I just get excited, and terrified. Neither of which support sleeping.

On to race day:

I suspect this outfit lent itself to some “interesting” race photos. We shall see…

5am – 6:30: Typical pre-race prep…food, coffee, bathroom, pin bib 50 times.

6:30ish: the van pulled up and we were off to the start.

7:45: Race start. A few things were great about this start. Firstly that it was 3 hours earlier than the Boston start. I don’t know what the temperature was, but I would guess around 73-ish. It felt fine. the sun was still a bit low, so for the first few miles there was some shade. The other nice part was starting only several feet behind the line. I crossed the start 7 seconds after the gun.

Miles 1 – 3: I worked really hard to go out easy. Ideally, I wanted to run about 20 seconds slower than I did. But with a flat course, several early turns (which I find fun, and therefore tend to speed up), it was too stressful to put on the brakes.

Mile 1 – 7:30

Mile 2 – 7:40

Mile 3 – 7:45

Miles 4 – 6: My “plan” was to run really controlled and as relaxed as possible for the first 10k. In anticipation of the heat I already moved the 3:15 target to my fall marathon goal, but I wanted to stay calm with the thought of keeping a 3:20 finish within sight. I felt really good during miles 4 and 5, but tried to put on the breaks to a pace I knew I could maintain…like a 7:35…which proved tough to hover around. Yes, I looked at my watch about every 5 seconds the entire course.

Mile 4 – 7:26

Mile 5 – 7:25

Mile 6 – 7:34

 Miles 7 – 10: During this stretch the heat was building. I began mentally preparing myself early on for the long stretch of the course with no turns and no shade from around mile 12 to mile 21. Fortunately between mile 9 and 11 (I think) there were several little shady moments. And throughout the entire race there was a light breeze that really did help. I was actually glad that we didn’t have the predicted tailwind, it was better to feel the cooling effect, no matter how slight it was.

 Mile 7 – 7:36

Mile 8 – 7:28

Mile 9 – 7:30

Mile 10 – 7:35

 Miles 11 – 14: A lot of self talk was happening here. I could feel that I wouldn’t be able to hold 7:30′s, but I was really struggling to let go of trying to run a 3:20. I had spotted two men within the first mile who appeared to be running my pace, and they looked experienced (that is, they were chatting and relaxed, but talking about their splits). I hovered about 20 yards behind them from mile 1 to mile 16. Close enough that whenever I fell off pace I could keep them in sight and feel motivated to catch up, but far enough back that I wouldn’t be a creeper. Turns out they totally knew what I was up to and just before the 14 mile marker waved me up to run with them.

I learned a lot from the Boston 2012 experience. Two of those things were 1: I engage in a substantial amount of negative self-talk when I run and 2: when I am running with hard effort my upper body goes rigid…as noted by the 3 day headache and rock hard traps that followed Boston. So I filled my time trying to keep my shoulder girdle low and relaxed, and correct each negative thought with a positive one.

At the 5, 10, and 13.1 mile overall splits I was on-target to finish in 3:20 or under. I felt a lot of excitement about that, but talked myself out of trying to surge because I also felt like I was running in a furnace and I was really concentrating on my form, every step was deliberate.

Mile 11 – 7:39

Mile 12 – 7:31

Mile 13 – 7:28

Mile 14 – 7:34

Miles 15 – 17: I ran with the above mention men for about a mile. They were beginning to slow, and I felt like I was too, but still tried to hover around 7:30′s so I started slowly creeping ahead. The long straightaway  looks like it is actually downhill on the map…but it did not feel that way. It was rather grueling.

I was really looking forward to mile 18 where the half marathon course merges with the full. I was banking on them bringing some energy to boost myself through a few miles. I knew my pace was slipping, but I was really working at convincing myself that I could get it back, or maybe even speed up once we turned at mile 21. (spoiler alert: I was WAY wrong). I also was hoping to see Shelly at some point (she ran the half…and rocked it!).

Mile 15 – 7:45

Mile 16 – 7:40

Mile 17 – 7:44

 Miles 18 – 21: Oh boy. Here comes the great decline. Man, was I frustrated! That 7:45 in there, felt like the second mile in a 5k…you know the one, the one where you regret getting out of bed that morning and you can’t possibly imagine the race ever ending, but you’re pissed also because you know without a doubt that you can do better, but can’t figure out how to. I saw Shelly at mile 19 and something, I think, we exchange a few holy-shit-it’s-hot-we’re-nuts-you-look-strong-hug-awaits-at-the-finish sentiments and I started to wonder if I was ever going to see another water stop. There was supposedly one every other mile….but that’s not how it felt, or how I remember it.

Erin, our course support professional was somewhere within mile 20 (again, I think), and I was really scared I would never find water. I said as much (but in a not very nice way), and she went and grabbed a bottle of water and 2 freeze pops, then sprinted to catch me and I nearly cried for joy.

As it turns out, I was actually AT a water stop when she caught me. Figures. I am an A-hole.

Mile 18 – 7:51

Mile 19 – 7:45

Mile 20 – 7:52

Mile 21 – 7:51

Miles 22 – 26: I hit the wall, then laid down at it’s feet. I felt like I had a parachute tied around my waist. There were some great spectators along this last 4 miles of the course. But I did yell at someone for saying “A little over a mile to go!!” when we really had a little LESS than a mile to go. I feel really bad about that. About being a pissy and ungrateful runner…but if you’re not wearing a GPS that kind of mis-information can really kill you. I tore off my pace band at mile 23, I wasn’t sure I would even get in under the 3:35 mark for a BQ. I also have to admit that my ability to do any sort of simple math was gone. Obviously.

Also at mile 23 I decided to hit a running milestone. I had to pee at the start and it came and went throughout the race, at mile 23.5 the pressure was painful and I decided to go for it. I would totally just pee my pants (er…running skirt). I tried, and tried, and then swore, and tried again.

But I couldn’t do it! Maybe next time.

I began wondering and worrying about how the others were doing. I was a little frustrated during miles 22 to 24 because I knew I had been roughly in 4th place for females the whole race, and now, because we were mixed with the half-marathon runners I had no idea if I was “competing” with anyone I could see. By mile 24 any thoughts of trying to place were gone, because, well, all thoughts were gone. Period.

Mile 22 – 7:53

Mile 23 – 7:59

Mile 24 – 8:20

Mile 25 – 8:41

Mile 26 – 8:59

.2: I wanted so badly to sprint to the finish. I kept saying to myself 400 meters 400 meters  400 meters … then I saw that the finish line clock was still under 3 hrs 25 minutes, and even though most of my brain cells had gone into hibernation, obsession took over and I knew that if I could make it under 3:25 I would be able to submit my Boston 2013 registration in the second phase (the 10 minutes or more below the BQ standard), which is a huge anxiety relief… and was able to “kick” to a 7:45 pace…not exactly a sprint. But it go me over the finish line, so mission accomplished, more or less.

I was totally unable to figure out how to slow down, so I hit the stop button on my Garmin, and came to a 100% stop myself. Fortunately, as vertigo hit and I started to lean into a face plant, a man caught my shoulders and kept me upright. He asked if I was OK and I said “Yes, but can you please not move for a minute?”

He kindly stood with me for a bit, probably just 30 seconds or so, and I was able to walk again.

Annabelle Winters #482

Chicago, IL

Age: 30 Gender: F

Distance	MAR
Clock Time	3:24:15
Chip Time	3:24:08
Overall Place	30 / 470
Gender Place	6 / 185
Division Place	1 / 24
Divtotal	24
Sextotal	203
Pace	7:48

I chugged a bottle of water, hit the bathroom (peeing success this time!), and found an awesome spot to watch the finish.

Everyone in my group finish with great form, looking controlled and strong! It really is impressive that everyone finished with very respectable times (all in 4hrs on the button or under!!!) after the experience in Boston. To face conditions like that knowing how painful and scary it can be is a kind of mental toughness that I think we should all get a bonus medal for!

Overall I am thrilled with how this event went. There are plenty of places where I can improve, but the course was great (not including the heat, duh), I was in the best company imaginable, I captured a BQ by the new standards, and I feel ready to train hard this summer to aim for a 3:15 at Chicago!

I was blown away yesterday at how many people checked in to see how I did. Thank you  more than I can say without sounding ridiculous, for your support!!!

Silver for finishing, Gold for the BQ.

*AB

36hrs

In 36 hours The Qualifier marathon begins!

I did well following my taper plan and my meal plan (except for drinking, basically, a full bottle of wine last night…it happens). I feel out of shape, achy, and bloated….oh and I just got my period. So that’s cool.

And the weather forcast is for 90 degrees.

So, bascially, a perfect replication of Boston.

EXCEPT, that I am really well rested, I will be travelling with some awesome friends, and this race begin 3 hours earlier in the morning than Boston did…so it should be cooler.

I am actually feeling pretty positive…

…But also shocked and concerned over how very sore I am from doing yoga yesterday…I have lost ALL my muscle tone in the last 6 months. So I think you can guess where my initial goals will lie once I get back from Michigan.

So there you have it, not a very meaningful blog post…but I felt like putting something down.

Let’s goooooo!

*AB

Redemption Run 2012 = another marathon in a sauna?

The fact that Sunday’s marathon starts at 7:30am will be my saving grace and I can still run below a 3:30…right?

Ach! Now back to attempting to focus on what I can control…
*AB

Splits-topia … final countdown to Redemption Run 2012

Coming off reading Coach Jay’s take on training at race pace, (if you missed it go here)  and my already very firm buy-in to the practice the way you want to perform philosophy, I am both feeling encouraged, and disheartened by the week I have had.

I am certain that no one really wants to look over my training run mile splits, but it’s something I manage to sink a substantial amount of time into. And I really need to get out of my head this week, and just focus on staying confident and ready to murder The Qualifier Marathon. So, I am going to data dump my last three runs here, and move on. Enjoy! (or don’t, whatever, I’m trying to be more “breezy”)

Speedwork on Wednesday night , as seen below (yes, I warmed up…but didn’t have the Garmin on, also there were a bunch of strides at the end, would have been a hassle to start/stop/start/stop…) went quite well. Six  textbook 800′s. I am thrilled I was able to pull off such consistent  and slightly progressive splits.

I am completely freaked out, however, but how sore my calves were after (strike that, they still are)! I guess I know what I need to work on this summer.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	25:02.1	3.83	6:32
1	3:04.2	0.50	6:11
2	3:03.0	0.50	6:04
3	3:02.0	0.50	6:04
4	3:01.3	0.50	6:00
5	3:01.1	0.50	6:02
6	3:00.7	0.50	6:02
7	6:49.9	0.83	8:12

It’s unbelievable, my calves are STILL really tender today. I managed to run 6 miles with 4 around marathon goal pace (MGP) the following morning, but it was kind of a battle:

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	45:58.3	6.15	7:29
1	7:41.4	1.00	7:41
2	7:21.3	1.00	7:21
3	7:13.1	1.00	7:13
4	7:14.1	1.00	7:14
5	7:20.3	1.00	7:20
6	7:56.9	1.00	7:57
7	1:11.2	0.15	7:53

I didn’t run on Friday, and this morning ran with my friends who are going to the marathon in Midland, Michigan next weekend. I figure this was my last real workout before the race:

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	59:43.7	8.09	7:23
1	7:52.2	1.00	7:52
2	7:02.4	1.00	7:03
3	7:22.4	1.00	7:23
4	7:07.4	1.00	7:07
5	7:13.1	1.00	7:13
6	7:18.1	1.00	7:18
7	7:26.3	1.00	7:26
8	7:33.1	1.00	7:33
9	:48.7	0.10	8:24

I don’t have a solid plan for the next week, but I think it’s going to include minimal running, some yoga, lots of water, clean eating, and hopefully adequate sleep.

If you’ve read this far, I have to say…thanks for your support! Nerd.

*AB

Reality Based Training! Whooooot! Sharing Coach Jay’s Wisdom.

I highly recommend, that if you are a runner in any way concern with running faster, at any distance, you follow through and click the link at the bottom of this post. I couldn’t figure out how to just re-blog the content, and I don’t want to just copy and paste without permission.

I apologize, but you’ll have to expend one-millionth of a calorie and click on the link.

Coach Jay Johnson has a wonderful blog, he interviews a lot of coaches and I learn A TON from what they all have to say. He also is friend’s with one of my running buddies and she kindly let me steal several of the workouts he gave her during Boston training…and they rocked my world.

Anyway, I like this article because I am a HUGE advocate for behind honest about you goals and efforts, and about basing your plan on reality, and on where you are RIGHT NOW, not on what outcome you want (that is to say, where you WANT TO BE). You can read some of my thoughts on this here. (Oh No! Not more link clicking!!!)

Here is the much advertised link:

Wild Things, Honesty and Race Specificity | CoachJayJohnson.com.

Have a reality based day!

(ok that was just silly)

*AB

Boston Re-cap #2: Mile by Mile (ish)

This is so over-due that I question whether it is worth posting!

I wanted to spend time making a race re-cap that was entertaining and meaningful…but now I just want it down for record keeping, and as a learning experience. Mostly, I want to move on because I just want my BQ back!

Miles 1-3: Yes it was hot, and yes we were sweating in the start corrals and all the other things about the race start you’ve already heard/read a million times. Nothing about my starting miles was any different than anyone else’s reports.

It was exciting though, and I had a friend with me, which kept us both in check, and was great.

Two things stand out in my memory. 1) People who say that the Boston start is like being shoved off a cliff….are not kidding. And, 2) the starting line is really subtle…weird, right? (we nearly missed it)

Mile 4: I lost my friend, after testing out what my goal pace felt like. It took about a half mile for me to decide that I wouldn’t be going for my goal pace, and to accept that yes, just finishing was a fine goal, and enough motivation to keep running.

I literally did not try one iota to push my pace from here on out. I did force a slow down more than once however. (I don’t mean that to suggest I could run tons faster, but rather as the single reason I didn’t end up in a med tent, or with a DNF…moral of the story, YOU are in control of YOUR run. The weather isn’t in the drivers seat, the runner is)

Mile four is where I gave up on trying to keep my shoes dry. From here until the end of the race I went arms up, full steam ahead, into every hose, hydrant, and water tunnel I could find.

Mile 5: I have no memory of mile 5 other than thinking I should try to get a decent 10k split so that my father wouldn’t be worried. The technology actually does really do marvels for motivation, doesn’t it? Totally ups your sense of accountability.

Mile 6: Passed the 10k mark (and clock and timing mats). And I think I had my first popsicle. To the spectators handing out freeze-pops, I love you! You are brilliant, and the 5 pops I had between miles 6 and 23 were the best part of my run. Seriously.

Life saver

Right before Boston one of the coaches for the Boston Bound program gave the advice to take popsicles from spectators, that the cold, sugary water could only help. He is totally a genius. And his advice was basically on refrain in my mind as I scanned constantly for my next little tube of Heaven.

Mile 7 – 10: Uneventful. I kept waiting for the density of the running field to thin out. Never happened. During this stretch I really focused on trying to carefully regulated my exertion. This equated to a steadily slowing pace. Somewhere in mile 7 I felt water sloshing around in my stomach and forced myself to skip several water stops. But still opted (ravenously so) for ice whenever it was offered.

Mile 11 – 15: These miles are mostly a fog. But I do remember seeing the first of many red bibs. I also saw many runner stop and collapse abruptly. Many, many times I considered walking or bailing because the carnage was scary! It was really notable, however, how quickly spectators and fellow runners reacted to every single person that showed signs of struggle.

When I saw my half-marathon slip, I made the conscious decision not to look at my Garmin anymore. And I didn’t.

Mile 16: I think this is where I realized I wasn’t sweating. I got a bit annoyed by this fact because it was a no win situation. Take water, feel sloshy and nauseous, skip water, stop sweating, dump water over your head and it dries in 800 meters.

Miles 17-20: These miles weren’t so much rough because of the hills, they were hard because my ability to plan and problem solve was rapidly dwindling. I developed a strategy of jogging between water stops. Walk to drink a cup of water, dump another over my head, then jog to the next water stop. I think a lot of folks emplyed this strategy, it helped to reign in the frustration of not being able to perfom.

I walked a lot in mile 20. I didn’t have many goals left, but I wanted to be able to say I ran Heartbreak Hill from bottom to top. No walking, even if I walked the last 5 miles.

Heartbreak Hill: Totally overrated if you ask me. Of course, we got some decent practice on hills during the Boston Bound program, and also, I was running so conservatively that if you ask me again after Boston next year (I’ll be damned if I don’t get me re-match!), I might say “it’s the most terrible hill in the universe!” So take my arrogance with a grain of salt, please.

Mile 21: Top of the hill, my friends Ale and Greg were there. For future spectators, this is the perfect spot to be in! It’s amazingly reinforcing of the effort made to get up the hill, and totally gets you excited about the last 5 miles! I stopped for hugs (wherein I must have gotten them soaked), and a few pictures. It was great and totally lifted my spirits. I ran the rest of that mile at a faster pace. When I realized such (my breathing was super effortful), I walked a water stop and re-calibrated.

Mile 22: I was still cruising off seeing my friends. But the crazed search for ice to chomp on continued. I walked the water stop again.

Mile 23 – 24: These two miles were the hottest of the race for me. There weren’t the constant hoses and ice handouts anymore. Mostly a lot of drunk college kids. During mile 24 I was slowing down a lot (I think), and a man stepped on the course and stopped me, placing his hands on my shoulders. He then pushed a freezing cold yellow (yes, weird, I know, but it’s a shockingly vivid memory) sponge into the top of my head. It was an amazing feeling.

Mile 25: My heart gave a flutter (for real….I know…cheesey) when I saw the Citgo sign with an un-obstructed view.

Mile 25.75: I think it is important to note here, that even though I ran the 5k the day before, and visited the last two turns of the course on Saturday. AND USED TO F_ING WORK IN COPLEY SQUARE! I was convinced I wasn’t anywhere near the finish and stopped to stretch. A very kind and handsome young man in the crowd tried to urge me to keep going. He said something like, “No, really, you’re almost there, just walk a few steps, jog a little, and you’re at the finish.” I continued to argue. For like 2 minutes. I think I made a few really bad jokes too.

Mile 26: He was right, of course. I took a few steps, jogged, turned at Boylston and sprinted (I used the term loosely here) to the finish line.

I feel stupid doing the victory pose…so I compromised, because it was Boston. Normally my strategy it to pretend there isn’t a camera there. Yes, this was thought-out. Don’t lie, you plan your finish photos too!

Redemption Marathon 2012 will take place in 11 days!!! I have started (re-started?) tapering. My legs have felt heavy, my turnover slow, and my body very cumbersome since taper for Boston…so this will be interesting. I need to work on my mental toughness for the next few days.

A ton of bloggers, friends, training buddies, and various other runners have hit some impressive PR’s in the last month! Please share you’re experiences and how you minimize self-doubt and training frustrations!

*AB

A free book and awesome workouts!

Yes, it’s true, I still haven’t finish writing part 2 of my Boston re-cap. Frankly, I have been to busy obsessing over “Redemption Run 2012″ to blog at all.

I have been over-dosing on blog reading the last two weeks. I have read every Boston re-cap I can find…I have become quiet the internet creeper for sure.

Speaking of being creepy, Emily of “Sweat Once a Day” ran a 3:08.01 in Eugene this weekend! Her race report is great. This woman has such a great attitude (and no idea who I am…like I said, I am getting creepy in my obsession).

Another read I wanted to share is from Traci Mitchell. Who does actually know who I am. She’s here in Chicago and is a whiz a designing workouts! She has published an e-Book that has 20 killer workouts, most of which can been done with no equipment. I already claimed my copy, and have done several of her workouts as she posted them on her blog while working on the book. The circuits don’t disappoint!

Get it !

She is offering her e-book free today on Amazon. I already got my copy, I figured I would share because it’s always good to have workouts to reference when you aren’t feeling particularly inspired. Also, I think a lot of her workouts can be used as mini-fitness tests and a way to measure your progress over time!

Also, I am beginning to really appreciate ebooks for the accessibility.

Anyway, enjoy!

*AB