Last Chance Boston Qualifier (BQ2) Chicagoland {Race Recap}

Last Chance Boston Qualifier (BQ2) Chicagoland

Saturday, September 12, 2014

Geneva, IL

I actually wrote this race report a month ago after completing this race and shared it with my Often Running Racing teammates (part of our team responsibilities includes sharing race reports post-races). However, since Clint and I weren't yet officially publicly talking about the pregnancy...I held off on putting this report in my blog. Now that we've made our "announcement" (the first trimester will be over in two days!)....I'm ready to share this race report! Honestly, I had fun re-reading it this afternoon and re-living this amazing day :)...a reminder of why I like blogging/writing race reports (to remember things like this!).

As some of you know, a year or so ago I had set a goal for myself to qualify for the Boston Marathon in my "next" marathon, whenever/wherever that may be. Prior to 9/12/15, I had run 10 marathons (if you count the marathon in Ironman Wisconsin I completed in September 2013...which some people say I should count in my marathon tally and some say I shouldn't...for now I am counting it) and I haven't really been very close to my qualifying standard of 3:35 (for the female 18-34 age group). My PR prior to this fall was 3:49:46 which was set at the Quad Cities Marathon in 2011. While I hadn't run a marathon since November of 2013, marathoning was really my "first love" as far as running events go. However, I haven't ever really focused on "speed" and more just ran to finish.

Over the past year and a half I have worked harder on improving my running than I ever have before. This spring, after talking things through with Clint, I decided that this should be the year that I give my BQ race a valiant effort. I had big PR at the half distance in April at the U of I (1:35:43) and wanted to build off of that momentum. As it always seems to happen, though, I fought with an injury (plantar fasciitis in my right foot) off and on throughout the season. I wasn't sure what marathon to register for either because I wanted to choose something close to home that wouldn't require a lot of travel because Clint usually has to work either Saturday or Sunday each weekend (sometimes both) and I wanted to be sure that he could be with me at what could be a really big race for me (and really, for "us," seeing as he has been the one coaching me through!).

Sometime this summer, my friend and teammate Andy sent me an article about the best 10 Boston qualifying marathons. One race on the list intrigued me...the Last Chance Boston Qualifier BQ2. The timing was good (September!) and it was within 2 hours of home (Geneva, IL). However, the course seemed...interesting to say the least. The course consisted of 8 loops, each of approximately 3.22 miles. Oh dear...holy boredom!?!

We kept an eye on the website for the race and in July they posted something saying that there were just 30 spots left. I jumped on it and registered, without telling Clint (not feeling like my body was performing at 100% made me nervous...and the race was pretty expensive! I was worried it was too big of a gamble.). The next day he commented to me as we were on a walk in a park in Normal, "I saw that the BQ2 race has only 30 entries left. Maybe you should register." I just looked at him and he said, "You already did, didn't you?!" :)

My training for the rest of July and the month of August went pretty well and I was fairly happy with how things were going leading into September. I had a big PR at the Bix7 in late July...and then the wedding adventures happened :). Our Wells Wedding Run 13.1 was nowhere near a strong 13.1 for me, but I guess I should give myself a smidgen of grace considering the stressful and exciting nature of the day and the fact that my nutrition was less than ideal that day (half of a latte and a few pieces of fruit and bites of egg for the first 8 hours of a day probably aren't sufficient when running a HOT mid-day half marathon!). Once we got back from the honeymoon, I ran a strong 20 miler with Clint one weekend, ran a strong 15 miler with the middle 7 miles at goal pace (8:00), ran 5 loops of an area trail race called Painful Elimination for 21.25 total trail miles and had some great speed workouts in the middle of the week thanks to Clint/Thursday Night runs.

Then...(and here's where things get crazy...)...there was a little something else that changed in our lives in mid August. We found out that we are expecting an addition to the Wells household sometime in late April (?!?!). We have vacillated between stunned surprise and sheer excitement over these past few weeks. We have now known for four weeks (when I originally wrote this report in September :)) and have gone to the doctor twice and have seen our little bean via ultrasound...talk about surreal. 

Clearly that news complicated things :). It's funny how quickly (instantly!) ones priorities change...suddenly a BQ wasn't my #1 priority, but growing our healthy little one IS. That said, I knew that it was highly unlikely that I would be in my current state of fitness again for a very long time (if ever!). We decided that if I felt good...I would still run the race. I had already run one of my 20 milers while {unknowingly!} pregnant and it had gone well. We did ask our doctor about running at our appointment the Tuesday before the marathon and he talked with us about how he preaches "moderation in all things." He asked how far I was planning to run and he didn't tell me not to :). He did say to keep the heart rate below 150 and to listen to my body. Additionally, if I have ANY issues I am to see him the very day that issues begin. I've been scouring blogs and different forums, reading everything I can about running during pregnancy. As you can imagine, some of this information is great and some is not-so-great...some contradicts other, etc. Mostly, though, I am learning that balance, moderation, and listening to your body are the important pieces of knowledge.

Over the next few days, I made every effort to be as in-tune with my body as I could be and as the weekend approached it seemed like all systems were a "go." This isn't to say everything was perfect...I've definitely been dealing with nausea and exhaustion (and sometimes eating a TON due to extreme hunger while other times not eating anything at all due to nausea), but nothing too serious. Additionally, I've been dealing with...uhh...altered fit of sports bras which has been an interesting (and painful!) conundrum.

Friday night prior to the race, Clint was able to get off work a bit early (THANKS Mitch!!) and we headed to Chipotle together for dinner before heading out of town. We saw our friend and area fellow runner Briana Paris at Chipotle who wished us luck on our big racing weekend (Clint had an ultra on Sunday the day after my race!), finished our dinner, and were soon on our way to our hotel in Geneva. Big thanks to Clint for driving the 2 hours to the hotel...while I closed my eyes a bit off and on during the journey ;).

We got to our hotel around 9pm. Clint got things ready for breakfast in the morning and I prepped my race clothes. We got in bed around 10...with alarms set for 4:30am (SICK!!). I actually slept decently well, which was surprising. Usually I can't sleep much at all before a big race. Maybe those pregnancy hormones are good for something ;).

At 4:30am the alarm went off and Clint got right out of bed to get my breakfast ready (muesli, banana and almond milk). I rolled out after a few snooze-hits and got dressed and ate my yummy fuel. We gathered up all of our things and headed out a bit before 5:30. Our hotel was just 10 minutes from the race site and start was at 6:30am.

Clint had devised a nutrition plan for me that involved more calories than I'd ever consumed during a marathon. We have two small hand-held water bottles that he planned to fill with 2 Huma gels each (my favorite mild gels that don't ever upset my stomach...they're basically fruit puree and chia seeds) diluted with water to fill each small bottle. The plan was for me to bring one bottle with 2 gels and some water on each loop and consume each one (200 calories) during the course of a ~3.22 mile loop. I've used huma gels in the past with no issues. The Monday prior to the race, Clint mixed me up a sample water bottle with 2 gels mixed in to take on a 7-mile run and it worked out really well. Since the course involved the same loop run over and over, I would be able to see Clint at the end of each loop to make a water bottle switch.

We arrived at the park where the race was held around 5:40, parked, and made our way to packet pickup. The air was cool and crisp...I was glad Clint had advised me the day before to pack a blanket and walked around with it wrapped around me for a while as we found our way to the start.

The starting line!

We found an area by the finish (which was just a few yards behind where the start was in the loop) for Clint to set up camp. I visited the porta potty and then went out on a "warmup" that consisted of about a minute and a half of jogging and a few strides and then a few minutes of walking/stretching. Before long it was time to join the crowd in the starting area! With just around 300 entrants, it was manageable and not crowded at all. There were pacers at each of the different BQ times, but I made the decision not to run with a pace group. Running with random people I don't know and inevitably having to make small talk with someone who wants to chat during the run is sometimes stressful...and I would rather run by myself. I don't mind talking to people while running, but I like doing so without any expectation of keeping someone else's pace and being able to slow down (or speed up) if and when I so desire. My goal was to keep an 8:00/mile pace for the duration of the race. This would result in a 3:29 finish, which was a 6-minute "cushion" behind my needed time of 3:35.

I had planned to keep a long-sleeved top on for the first lap, but made a last-second decision to cast the shirt off to Clint and just wore my Often Running singlet and shorts. With a quick kiss, Clint left me in the start corral and headed to watch the start from across the line. A few seconds later...we were off! After the first few yards, we crossed by a parking lot area and I saw AP off to my right who had arrived right at the start to spectate/keep Clint company. Awesome!

I settled right into my stride, with one pace group not far ahead of me and another not far behind. I was happy with how things felt and excited to get started. I was chilly, but could tell that I would heat up fast and was glad I had decided to get rid of the long sleeves right away.

Mile 1- 7:50...a little faster than goal pace, but not far off, I tried to dial it back a bit for mile 2. I was successful because the second mile ticked off with the exact pace that I was shooting for.

Mile 2 - 8:00

Mile 3 - 7:53

Somewhere between mile 3 and 4, I completed the first loop and made the first water bottle hand-off with Clint. I smiled as we made the switch...things felt great!

My dear, sweet Clint waiting with a water bottle as I approached after one of the loops

Right at the start of each loop, there was a slight downhill that always felt great...like it was propelling me into the next loop. I was always careful to stay to the center as I started each loop as there was a water bottle table to the left (you could leave a water bottle for yourself here) and a water/Gatorade station to the right.

About a quarter mile into each loop, the path turned slightly to the right and went uphill just enough to get annoying as it got later into the race. After this, you had to run through a small construction zone with uneven pavement and some loose gravel...and then through a McDonald's parking lot with some rubber mats placed over curbs (that were actually pretty slippery the first 2 laps) for runners to run over. Following this, we had to cross a wooden bridge over the river...and the darn thing loved to move a whole lot as runners went across. Not gonna lie...the first few laps, this made my tummy a little nauseated! Right after crossing the bridge, we had a sharp left hand turn that also went up the most significant "hill" of the loop. This course is advertised as "fast and flat"...and it really is. However, the flatness of the rest of the course really made the two hilly spots stand out!

After that second {slight} hill, the course ran past the second water stop. Each time I passed this stop, I was sure to grab a cup of water and each time drank most or all of it. Sometimes when I grabbed cups, the individuals handing it out had even pre-folded the top a bit to make it easier to drink. Best volunteers ever!

After the water stop, the course went under a bridge where some people had camped out to cheer. Here you could also see across the river to the finish line area which was kind of fun. After running under the bridge, the course took runners through a wooded area (much of the course was nicely shaded) and then we had to take a left turn to head back over the river via another wooden bridge (though not nearly as shaky as the first one!). After crossing the bridge, the course curved to the right and then around to the left...and straight on through the start/finish area.

Mile 4 - 7:58 Spot on! I carried on through the second lap and held on tightly to my all-important 8:00 pace.

Mile 5 - 8:01 Happy!

Shortly after the 5th mile, a woman came up next to me and said, "Your pace is so steady! Are you keeping 8's?" I told her that I was and told her that I didn't always FEEL steady and felt like I was a little irregular with my pacing. We made some small talk and it turned out that her goal was to hold 8's as well. Her qualifying time was 3:45, but she wanted to finish well under that time. Turns out she had had a hysterectomy in the spring. Sheesh! I wasn't the only one running with extra challenges! :) We ended up sticking together for many miles and I came to think of her as "Pink" in my head because of her bright pink tank top. At each water stop (there was one at the start/finish and one about halfway through each loop) she stopped to take a gel and drink an entire cup of water...but most of the time ended up catching right back up to me.

A bit before the second loop ended, I crossed the 6 mile point...

Mile 6 - 7:51.  Nice!

Around 6.5 miles I saw Clint and received my third bottle and got rolling on my 3rd lap.

Mile 7 - 7:55  Sweet! I had started making it a game to see how many seconds under my goal pace I was as each mile ticked off. With my goal being even 8-minute miles, it made calculating what the goal total time for each mile marker was. I love thinking about numbers while I am running...probably because it's something to keep my brain detached from what is going on for a bit!

Mile 8 - 8:01

Mile 9 - 7:59 

Around mile 9.75 it was time for the next bottle switch and the start of lap 4. I found myself REALLY looking forward to seeing Clint at the conclusion of another loop. It helped break up the time and was a very welcome distraction. Additionally, the start/finish area was just a lot of fun. The crowd was the largest here, there was a fun DJ/announcer and I had two familiar faces (AP and Clint!) to cheer me on. The adrenaline surge as I started each lap was very helpful indeed!

Mile 10 - 7:55

Mile 11 - 7:56

Just prior to the irritating wooden bridge/McDonald's parking lot...a little boy (maybe 8-11 years old) held a variety of different signs. One time, he yelled (in a hilariously monotonous voice), "Run faster! I just broke the wind!" HA!!!! I don't think he knew how funny he was...or maybe it was just me. I thought he was hilarious ;).

Each time I crossed the annoying wooden bridge, I told myself, "Just FOUR more times over this bridge! Just THREE more times over this bridge! Just TWO..."etc. :)

Mile 12 - 8:03

Mile 13- 8:03

I was still just under my target 8:00 average pace when I crossed the 13.1 mile mark right before I saw Clint for the next bottle hand off. With some encouraging words from Clint, I powered through to lap 5. Halfway done...I felt STRONG!

Mile 14 - 8:01 Good!

Mile 15 - 8:04 Decent! It was somewhere around mile 15 that I realized my hands/fingers were pretty swollen. I looked down at my hands and bent my fingers back and forth, trying to assess the situation. I noted that my rings were stuck around my fingers as if they were fat little sausages. Here I did begin to worry and doubt the situation a little bit. I wondered if it was a "sign" that I needed to call it a day and quit..after all, I had run 15 miles at just under an 8-minute average pace (something I had NEVER done before!). It has already been a good day...and I didn't "need" to push it in my current state. I thought about things for a few strides and realized that I really was ok and soldiered on. I was perfectly content with calling it if I needed to (again, priorities are clearly different now!) but I also didn't want to make unnecessary excuses. Here I told myself that one of the big things I want to teach this child is that we are strong enough to do really hard things...and I really could finish this marathon. Somewhere here, during this post-15 mile inner conversation, I told myself that this was real...that I really was going to finish and I really was going to meet my goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon no matter how hard the next 11 miles got.

Mile 16 - 8:01

Just before mile 17, I saw Clint for the 5th bottle hand off and the start of lap 6. He smiled and told me, "You're spot-on!" Lap 6...just 3 total to go...6...7...8.  I could do it, right?! Here, the temp also started to heat up. I told Clint and AP later that I felt like my race really started at the beginning of lap 6. I'm not saying those first 5 laps were easy by any stretch of the imagination, but they also seemed comfortable. I never felt out-of-control. But man...those last 3 laps REALLY felt like WORK!

Mile 17 - 7:59

At mile 17 I was approximately 20 seconds under my goal of an 8-minute mile average and felt like I was fighting for each of those precious "cushion" seconds. It was also here....that my pace began to die. While I wish I could've held strong to my solid 8-minute miles, but I truly believe I did put it all out there and ran as hard as I could in my current state on that specific day.

Mile 18 - 8:12

I was a little disappointed in myself seeing those 12 seconds past the goal time and basically eating up a majority of the 20 second cushion I had held onto until mile 17. But, I also knew that a sub 3:35 was still well within my reach.

Mile 19 - 8:16

Mile 20 - 8:14

A bit after mile 20 clicked off, I saw Clint again as I ran through and swapped bottles. He gave me an encouraging, "this is your race! Keep it up!" and I headed out on my 7th lap. UGH...the start of each lap was SO HOT by this point! I made sure to grab water from the water stop to supplement the water/gel I had in my bottle (I was doing a pretty good job of finishing or nearly finishing my bottle each lap...sometimes I had to really remind myself to take drinks, or if someone around me took a drink it spurred me on to do the same).

Mile 21 - 8:21

Mile 22 - 8:24

Mile 23 - 8:29

As I went through our FINAL bottle exchange, Clint told me, "now go do work!" and I headed out on the final lap. This. Was. HARD. It was a constant mental fight...I told myself that I could do it, that I WOULD do it...if I just managed to keep my pace below 9-minute miles. Sometime during the final lap I passed my friend "Pink" for the final time and told her, "keep it up...we are almost there!"

Mile 24 - 8:39

Mile 25 - 8:45

As I crossed the second bridge of the loop (the LAST BRIDGE of the race!!!), my brain started to play tricks on me. For some reason, I thought I had grossly miscalculated things and that the finish line was a lot further away than it actually was and that I needed more than 5 minutes (my watch showed 3:30 at this point) to make it to the finish line. I started to panic a little bit, "I made it SO FAR and am SO CLOSE and I've messed it up!" Thankfully, my brain was just being weird ;).

Mile 26 - 8:33

As I crossed mile 26, I could see and hear the finish line ahead and smiled. I was doing it...I was really doing it! ;). I dug in with all I had left and finished the final bit (final 0.26 by my watch) in 1:57.9 in a 7:29 pace.

Total - clock time 3:33:16

BQ, baby! Literally! BQ...with a {teeny, tiny lentil-sized} baby!

I got my medal, was offered a mylar blanket which I refused (I WAS SO HOT!) but AP took for me knowing I would want it later (which I did!)...drank some coconut water {aka nectar of the gods} and plopped out on the ground. I had done it...I had run one of my best races ever and had PR'ed my marathon by 16 minutes and 30 seconds.

I DID it! Well...WE did it! :)

THANKS first and foremost to my sweet husband Clint. I couldn't have done this and wouldn't be here without you. Thank you for the perfect nutrition plan (I ended up consuming 1000 total calories during that marathon...which seemed to be just what I needed, even though I thought it sounded crazy!) and for taking care of not just me but of our Wells #3.

THANKS to AP for the great spectating support .... and for some super-awesome pics!!

THANKS to Mitch for the privilege of being on the Often Running Racing team (and for letting Clint leave work early Friday night! :)). Thanks to my Often Running and Challenge triathlon teammates for the support and camaraderie. Thanks to Adidas for the great, comfy (non-chafey!) gear (I think I'm gonna need to size up on my shorts soon, though ;)....post-race I discovered a little line traveling around my stomach from the waistband :).).

What's next?! Well...I will be crossing my fingers that my BQ time will be within the qualification window for 2017. They are releasing those dates soon (I already e-mailed to ask!). I won't be joining those of you who are going in 2016...because Clint and I will be beginning our own marathon in April :-). In April of 2017 our little one will be around 1 and it will maybe be a good comeback race for me (HA HA HA!). Until then...I plan on running as much as I can do in a healthy and safe manner. 

****Update (October 14, 2015). So, as it turns out, the qualifying window for the 2017 Boston Marathon starts on September 19, 2015. This is SO disappointing, seeing as I ran my qualifying time on September 12...one mere week too early (the qualifying window for Boston 2016 started Sat. Sept 13, 2015 so I was hopeful the weekend would stay the same for the subsequent year!). I turn 35 in 2017, so my qualifying time for that year is actually 3:40 instead of 3:35...and my time of 3:33:16 is a nice 6 minutes and 44 seconds under that time. SO...if I would've run this time just seven days later...I would very likely make it in to the 2017 race. BUT...it's not to be, not yet anyway. And that's ok. I still met my goal...I did run *below* my BQ time and I did PR in a big way. And...I did it all 7+ weeks pregnant!

So...we'll see how things go with this pregnancy and what running looks like next summer and maybe give qualifying a whirl again next September. I know I have NO idea what's in store for my body...but I am very encouraged by all of the strong, inspiring females in my life who have shown me what impressive things our bodies can do during and after pregnancy.

Stay tuned for my next report...marathon #12, Chicago 2015 ("run" at 11+ weeks pregnant :)). After this...marathoning is on HOLD until this baby is in our arms!

In the words of the great Paul Bliss, Runfaster :)

~Rachel

On disappointment

Last November I had one of the most memorable experiences of my life:  I ran the New York City Marathon.  In my opinion, this is one of those "add it to your bucket list" races.  Every moment of this experience is something I will always remember:  from dinner in Times Square the night before the race, sleeping (or TRYING to sleep at least ;-)) in an amazing hotel, riding a ferry past the Statue of Liberty on the journey to the start, and running through the streets of the most electric and exciting cities on Earth, it was all surreal.  The best part of the entire experience, though, was participating as a member of Team Believe. 

Me with JB, a Team Believe teammate and dear friend

Anyone who knows me...or who has glanced at this little blog just once...likely knows of my passion for children with disabilities.  I work as a pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist and recently had the privilege of combining my love of running with my love for children with disabilities as a member of Team Believe.  This team was created in 2013 and consists of marathon runners striving to further the mission of Easter Seals while raising money and awareness for children with disabilities who receive therapy services through Easter Seals of Central Illinois.  Last year's team consisted of ten runners who each ran the New York City Marathon.

 

The primary focus of my training efforts last year was to get to the finish line of Ironman Wisconsin in September, which was to be my first full-140.6-mile triathlon.  In August I started experiencing some aches and pains in my right leg that resulted in backing off a bit on my run training for about a month leading up to the race.  It wasn't too big of a deal, since it was basically time to taper training down prior to the race anyway.  After successfully completing Ironman Wisconsin, I gave my body a much-needed break...for a bit anyway.  Two weeks afterwards I ran a half marathon in the Quad Cities with my sister. After that, I didn't run much again until mid-October when I ran a 5k benefiting my sister's workplace and got second overall female (out of a very small field I must add :-)).  I do recall my leg feeling less than "good" during that race and wondering in the back of my head if it was a bad idea to run that race "hard" with the NYC Marathon just a few weeks away.

 

Though I was definitely feeling less than 100%, I made it to the start line of the NYC Marathon.  More importantly, I made it to the finish line of that race.  I ran the first eight miles of the race with my good friend Jen and after that let her carry on while I dropped back.  My leg had started bothering me, but not enough to stop me.  Crossing the finish line in 4:14:31 was an amazing feeling.  However, mere walking after that was NOT so amazing.  It's interesting how my body held it together just long enough to get me to the finish line.  The walk back to my hotel was pretty terrible. Walking around the city the day after the race was also awful.



Somewhere around mile 7-8 in NYC!

The Tuesday after returning home I went to visit a friend who is a physical therapist who suggested after doing a few tests that it seemed like I was presenting with a stress fracture in my tibia (knowing of course that we couldn't know for certain without imaging).  He suggests that I slap on a walking boot for 6 weeks or so and I didn't object.  For much of the winter months, I took it easy.  I did a teeny bit of swimming and I rode my bike on the indoor trainer a fair amount.  But, I gave running a good long break.

 

This spring I decided to commit to being a part of Team Believe for a second year.  This year, my plan was to run the Chicago Marathon.  Easter Seals had secured 10 charity spots in the NYC Marathon again for this year, as well as 5 spots in Chicago.  Not only was I excited to run for my Easter Seals kiddos again, but I was excited on a personal level as this event would be five years after the date of my very first marathon (which also happened to be in Chicago!) and it would be my eleventh marathon. 

 

My run training this spring and summer had been inconsistent at best.  I had the same lingering, nagging pain in my right leg that just wouldn't quit.  It seemed to become particularly intense after I ran a mile race in June.  I tried to push the pain sensations to the back of my mind for a while and carried on running in July.  I ran 14 miles on the 4th of July with Clint (one of my favorite summer memories, actually).  We ran a short warmup prior to a 5-mile race in our town, ran the 5 miles back to our car, ate some breakfast with friends and then ran an additional 3+ miles out on some trails not far from home.  The following week, I ran the Dog Days 5k for the first time (and won my age group with a time of 23:10) on July 12 and later that night ran the 4 mile Moonlight Chase in Eldridge, Iowa with Clint and my sister.  My last "hoorah" was the 7-mile Bix in Davenport at the end of July.  I ran the Bix in 56:46, identical to my time last year (so weird!) and just 4 seconds slower than my PR set in 2010.  After the Bix, it became brutally evident that my leg pain was not going anywhere anytime soon.

 

Enter August:  I finally decided to schedule some physical therapy appointments to get things taken care of.  It appeared as if I was presenting with posterior tibial tendinitis.  I learned some exercises and was fairly diligent with carryover.  I did exercises at work in my office and did exercises at home.  I received some kind of painful astym therapy that resulted in some crazy big bruises all over my leg (yet *hopefully* did some good as well).  I learned some techniques for improving my less-than-ideal running form from my therapist and from Clint.  

 

All throughout, I had my heart set on still running Chicago in October. I had my Easter Seals support letters written and ready to send out at the end of August, the deadline I had set for myself regarding making the decision whether or not I would be running.  I had it in my head that even thought I missed lots of training and all-important long runs this summer, I would still be able to mentally power through the race since I "know what running a marathon is like."  A number of people close to me made me realize that this was not in my best interest and was an irrational thought pattern.  Sure, I could probably get though the race.  But at what cost to my already injured body?

 

Last week I made the very difficult decision to remove myself from the Chicago Marathon.  I can't fittingly put into words how disappointed I was (and still am) to have to do this.  Not only was it stepping back from something I really wanted to do because I truly love marathoning, but it was letting down a team and a cause I feel strongly about and had committed myself to.  This is all very hard to swallow.

I'd be lying if I said I have handled this situation completely graciously.  I have had a few selfish pity-parties, including a cry on the couch moment (thanks, Clint, for not rolling your eyes at my dramatics ;-)).  But, I know it's NOT and it SHOULDN'T be about me.  In the midst of being wrapped up with my injury and my own disappointment, I was losing sight of the whole reason I had set out to run this marathon in the first place:  for the kids.

 

Regardless of if I run another step in my entire life, these kids are running races....Every.  Single. Day.  

 

They're pressing on, taking those first steps and saying those first words.  Easter Seals exists to help children facing challenges and to help their families learn how to overcome these challenges.  I'm honored to be but a small part of this organization and to have the ability to help change lives through speech therapy services and through my involvement with Team Believe. 

This weekend I will be attending one of our fundraising events, The Grape Soirée, with this little cutie and his sweet family.  I'm excited to hear them share their story and to talk about his challenges and ultimately his inspirational triumphs against some pretty big and scary obstacles.  For him...and for all of the other children who receive services through Easter Seals...it's important to keep spreading the word and raising support so more families can get the help they need.

What's next for my running?  Well, I have an X-ray scheduled for Thursday to get a possible peek at what might be going on inside my leg.  Obviously my plan moving forward depends on what is unearthed (if anything!) then.  If it's a stress fracture (which I do believe in my heart it is...though I'm definitely no doctor!), I'll be rocking a boot here for the next month and a half or so.  After that, I'm determined to get stronger.  I've  started working on my running form with "Coach Clint" (my accomplished boyfriend who happens to know a thing or two about running).  However, if I have a stress fracture and have to wear a boot...it means that this run-form rehab work must go on hiatus for a while...and frankly it kind of scares me to start back at square one in a few months.  But I'm definitely going to give it my best shot.

 

I'm learning that there's a lot of happiness to be found wherever you are.  Disappointment can be a catalyst for joy if you allow it to be.  I'm choosing to be grateful...grateful for the families brought into my life through Easter Seals, grateful for my supportive friends and family and boyfriend, and grateful for each new day for a chance to try again.

 

If you were considering supporting my fundraising efforts for Easter Seals this fall, consider instead a donation in honor of my dear friend Jen.  Check out her fundraising page HERE.  Jen is running the NYC Marathon this November for the second year!  If you want to read more about the "chance" beginning to our friendship, read this post where I write about our first marathon together.  Jen is an amazing woman doing amazing things for the kids of Easter Seals and I am honored to call her my friend.

 

Thank you...for reading and for considering supporting Easter Seals.  

 

Go out and have an amazing day...in spite of whatever disappointments may come your way, there's always something wonderful to be grateful for.

~Rachel

Sweet Summertime

Ahhhh.....Summer!!

Life has been busy, as usual (not complaining, and I know everyone can relate...just sayin' :)).  Again I find myself lamenting the fact that I don't blog/record details of my races and training as much as I would like.  C'est la vie...  Therefore, this post is going to just be a whole lot of word vomit as I do my best to record the highlights of my past few months.

The name of my game this year has been "having fun."  Last year was very structured as I trained from December 2012-September of 2013 for my first full 140.6.  Nearly each and every day revolved around training.  My afternoon kids at school were used to seeing me with wet hair, rings around my eyes from goggles and the aroma of chlorine emanating from my pores (this was in my pre-TriSwim product days!) because of my lunch-dates with the student rec center pool.  Every "spare" minute was spent uploading data into Training Peaks, packing workout attire bags, washing sinks full of water bottles, doing endless loads of stanky laundry, having a backseat and trunk full of miscellaneous tri gear items (wait...this is still the case!) and watching YouTube videos of swim drills (not to mention the actual acts of swim-bike-running...and somehow managing to run 5 marathons in like 53 weeks).  I don't regret a second of it...but it's not how I personally want to constantly structure my life.

After I finished IMWI in September, I crashed...hard.  After a few fall events (including the NYC Marathon) I was mentally done with the constant training-and-racing cycle.  I slowly got moving again in the spring, but vowed to let myself take it easy and just do what I felt like I wanted to do...without being super crazy-regimented about my training.  Obviously this means I won't be breaking any speed records or anything like that...but when all of "this" starts to become "work" and not "fun," what's the point?  I realize this means different things to different people...and the trick is finding your own personal happy place in it all.  I've been having a lot of fun this season so far...mission accomplished.

"Quick" re-cap of some highlights from this year thus far...

1.  Mother's Day weekend I was home in the Quad City area visiting my family, so I ran the half marathon at the Quad Cities Distance Classic on May 11 with my friend Aaron who ran the 5k at the same event.  Why?  Why not.  I hadn't run further than 7 or 8 miles since the fall, but felt like running a half.  So I did.  It was my first time getting to run a race with this newbie-runner!  Aaron is KILLING his training...as a first-time-EVER runner, he is regularly logging 5+ mile runs at an 8-8:30 pace.  I'm bragging for him, because he would never do it for himself.  I ran my 13.1 mile race in 1:57 or something (if I cared more, I would look it up)...totally satisfactory to me.

Me with Aaron prior to the race...hanging out in Carver and reminiscing about college days

2.  The weekend of May 16-19 I traveled to Knoxville, TN for my first Rev3 event of the season.  Last year, this event was my first-ever Rev3 event...and this year's event was my first Rev3 race as a member of Team Rev3.  It was awesome seeing some teammates I met in March at our Team Summit, as well as meeting some new faces. I LOVE this crazyawesome team!

I had a great time....

...At the Glow Run Friday night.....



yeah....this guy had glow sticks stuck into his epic beard...I couldn't resist snapping a pic (and I asked permission ;))

....Volunteering at the Kids Revvie Saturday morning....

Hanging out with Chuck and Esteban, serious as always, in the kids' transition area.

Giving our final finisher a Rev3-style welcome to the finish line!

....at the practice swim with Kelly....

....at the expo/setting up transition...

....in our amazing condo with fun friends Esteban, Chuck, Richelle and Colleen...

Esteban made us dinner the night before the race (including GF pasta for Richelle and me!)...he's quite the chef!

...during the race...

...and post-race!

Enjoying time in the sun with Kelly after a fun race

I completed the Olympic Distance, and in staying true to my current theme of just having fun...had no real time-related goals for myself other than finishing.  Here are my stats...
Swim:  35:36
T1:  3:32
Bike: 1:33.05
T2: 1:54
Run:  56:55.44
Total:  3:11:03

3.   Saturday, May 31 I completed my first-ever Tri-Shark Classic sprint-distance triathlon.  I did participate in this event last season, however it was changed last-minute to a duathlon (run-swim-run) to eliminate the swimming portion due to some awful levels of nasty crap in the water.  My good friends Dave and Chuck came to visit and completed the race with me...we had a great time!  Love the friends this sport has brought into my life. 

Chuck and Dave were great roomies-for-a-night...we had a great time at the race!

It's no secret that I slacked a lot this winter, so I didn't do as well as I would have liked...but I did get what I deserved :). 

Swim:  12:13.7
T1:  1:44.4
Bike:  40:45.7
T2:  1:22.5
Run:  25:30.7
7th/16 in my age group (F 30-34)

A few weeks after the event, I investigated the results and saw that I had gotten 17th out of 118 women.  So...maybe I am in better shape than I thought.  Encouraging!

My friend Kelly is quite the talented photographer...and gifts us with amazing photos at events she spectates.  She took the following picture:

I think this picture fits with my current goal of "having fun" and not taking this stuff too seriously

4. A week and a half ago I spent the weekend in the Wisconsin Dells with my family, with the Rev3 Dells event being the focus of our visit.  My sister, Megan, and I made plans months prior to complete the 70.3 distance triathlon at the event as a relay team:  I would swim and bike and she would run.

The morning prior to the event, I attended the practice swim with some of my Rev3 teammates.  We handed out samples of TriSlide, Foggies and TriSwim products and took turns making a few rounds around the practice course ourselves.  

Team Rev3 members ready to lube ya up!

I swam a leisurely sixth of a mile to calm my nerves....I hadn't been in the water for a week and a half (at a Wednesday Open Water Swim with my area tri club) and prior to that had been in the water only a handful of times this season. 

 

After the swim, I took my bike out for a bit to run through the gears and spin my legs out a bit...and I'm so grateful I did!  After only a few minutes it became apparent that my chain would not move from the front small ring to the large ring. After fighting with it for a few miles, I turned around and brought it to the bike repair tent at the expo. Some nice gentlemen looked it over and made some adjustments...things seemed better after that. I took it for a few parking lot laps and ran through the gears without issues.  Whew!  After I felt like everything was in working order, I got my transition area situated....love Rev3's personalized transition area tags!

I grabbed a nice solo lunch at Sprecher and then met up with my family who had just gotten into town. My sister had gotten us a condo not far from the area of town where the race was. It was great to have them there to share the race weekend, as well as some other vacation-y activities, with. I took Megan down to the expo and transition areas to show her where everything was. 

Of course we had to take one of the goofy Rev3 VIP pictures at the expo...

Saturday night we ate an early dinner and went back to the condo where Megan and I prepared for race morning before heading to bed relatively early.   

Race morning...we woke up before the sun and prepared for a day of fun. Side note...I find it interesting that on average days I hit snooze 6-7 times before rolling out. Race mornings...I can somehow manage to get up right away or after only 1-2 snoozes.  

We ate some breakfast and got our last-minute things in order. We had a little debacle with the application of race tattoos, but nothing a big black marker one of the staff members brought to the transition area couldn't fix later ;-).

We headed down to transition about 90 minutes before the start, made sure everything was just-so, and did our usual race-morning-porta-potty song and dance. We then walked down to the swim start. The swim at Rev3 Dells is held at the Tommy Bartlett Show area, which is pretty neat. It's very spectator-friendly, as there is stadium seating available...also nice for the time before the race start. 

My fav race buddy

I saw my friend Kelly who wasn't feeling very well. She had re-injured an old back injury and was stressing about her role as the swim leg of a relay team. She decided to go ahead and swim in spite of the injury/pain...and did really well. Spoiler alert:  her relay team got first!

Kelly with me before our swim start

The swim was a time-trial start. We lined up two-by-two within our assigned waves and they had swimmers start every few seconds by jumping off a small dock.  Kelly and I started toward the back of our wave due to her apprehensions regarding the status of her back. Shortly after we jumped in, I lost her as she swam off much more strongly than I am currently capable off. I sent her silent wishes for a strong and incident-free swim and settled into my own rhythm. 

I'm not a strong swimmer, I never have been. I'm very average and very okay with that. I was a bit fearful about the swim at Dells seeing as I hadn't swam anything at or near 1.2 miles since IMWI in November. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the way that I fairly quickly was able to find a rhythm and moved into my mental swimming zone. 

I kept things steady (and slow!) and had no issues. I didn't once feel the need to stop/grab a kayak/flip over/breaststroke...anything. I hung onto my slow and steady front crawl for those 1.2 miles and was astounded to exit the water to see "46" shining at me from my watch. Somehow I managed to swim in 46:09 (pace of 2:23/100s) This is not a "fast" time...but it's certainly decent, especially for someone who has swam only a handful of times in the past 7 months. I was expecting something more in the 50-minute range. I'll take it!  It was a definite confidence boost to be able to do a swim of that distance without any issues after very little recent preparation. 

I ran up a hilly paved area to the transition area where my sister was waiting. She helped strip my wetsuit...I have this uncanny ability to get the darn thing stuck on my ankles and have spent many minutes in transition areas fighting with it. I sat down and she grabbed ahold of it and tugged. Instead of it sliding off nicely, she managed to drag me 10 feet across the grass, still attached to my wetsuit. More TriSlide next time?!

Once that slippery beast was off of my body, I gathered my bike gear and slurped down a Black Raspberry Pear PowerBar Performance Energy Blend (YUM!). I felt great, mentally and physically, as I exited the transition area after 3:48 (clearly I wasn't in any sort of hurry...that's basically enough time to have a quick picnic!).

For the first few miles, I mentally prepared myself for what I knew awaited me on the bike course. This was my third time out on the course. I rode the course last year at the Rev3 Dells 2013 event. I participated in the run on a relay team on race day, however the day before the race I rode the 56 mile bike course solo for training. That was INTENSE. This course is no joke!  It's freaking HILLY!  I have no idea if this is perfectly accurate, so don't quite this as gospel or anything...but I've heard a number of people state that the course had more elevation gain in 56 miles than the entire 112-mile Ironman Wisconsin course (which is known for being hilly and terrible).  Regardless of what the numbers specifically say, the Rev3 Dells bike course is tough...ask anyone who has done it!  My second experience with the course had been just a few weeks prior on Memorial Day at our Rev3 course preview day...so the torturous hills were fresh in my mind.

The weather was pretty nice...not too hot at the beginning of the ride, which was helpful.  I ended up dropping my chain a total of four stinking times on the course.  The first was after only 5 miles or so.  After the second time, I became rather irritated.  After three times...I was borderline mad.  On the fourth time I may have yelled a choice word or two and flipped my bike over so quickly and carelessly that I ended up cutting the knuckle on my right thumb with the cassette.  OUCH!  I finished the course covered in bike grease and a bit of dried blood from that debacle.  (I ended up taking the bike in to a local bike shop immediately upon my return to town on Tuesday and discovered that the derailleur had almost come off of the bike.  Scary!  However, everything is now in excellent working order thanks to the lovely Adam at Vitesse Cycle Shop).

Other than the chain issue, I did enjoy the my time on the bike.  Well...as much as you can enjoy climbing your butt off I guess ;).  On what I consider to be the worst/most difficult portion of the course, I actually (very slowly!) passed three guys who were walking their bikes up the very steep ascent.  I was proud that I never got off the bike and walked on any of the crazy hills...but I would be lying if I said that it never went through my mind!

After 3 hours, 50 minutes and 48 seconds...I rolled into the transition area, more than happy to be done and ready to pass the timing chip to Megan.  However, it had started getting rather hot...so I was also feeling a little guilty about "making" her do her work through the hottest part of the day.

While she set off, I cleaned up my gear in the transition area.  I chatted with fellow Rev3 teammates Nicole, Ron, Tim and Jeff. 

After a bit, I made my way to the finish line where I met up with my parents, Megan's husband and my niece Macy.  We had planned to meet up in the finish chute area where Megan would be running by toward her big finish...and then Macy and I would join Megan and all finish together (one of the coolest things about Rev3 races is the fact that anyone you want can run across the finish with you...it's such a cool experience to watch families finishing together!).  Megan had estimated that she would finish in 1:50 or so, so we were ready to go at the finish about 1:45 after she had started running.

I started run/walking backwards on the course to meet up with her.  After a bit, it became apparent that the heat of the day had likely gotten to her because it took longer to meet up with her than estimated.  When I saw her, she did NOT look pleased.  In fact, she may have informed me that she hated me...or something along those lines ;).  I ran with her about a mile or so to the finish and tried to chat a bit to give her something other than her suffering to think about.

Soon, the finish line was in sight.  My mom handed Macy to me (Megan informed me that she was too worn out to hold her) and Macy immediately began freaking out.  As we made our way to the finish line, Macy's freaking out became a full-on wail.  After we crossed the finish line and got our medals (and awesome cold/wet towels!), it took a while to calm her down...poor thing!  I felt kind of mean for traumatizing her, but the whole experience made for a funny finisher photo:

 

Our final time was 6:51:36...and we ended up scoring sweet medals for getting 3rd in the relay division.  It was a really fun day...and I'm glad to have had the opportunity to share the experience of racing with my sister and family.

After spending some time at the post-race festivities, my family headed back to the condo. I stuck around to cheer on more finishers...including our awesome and inspirational 70-year-old final finisher. To add some excitement to the day, everyone left at the finish line helped to hurriedly tear down the expo as a big storm rolled in!

The rest of the day following the race, I layed low. We ate at Sprecher (again for me!) and I crashed early...then later woke up around 1am still wearing jeans and my contact lenses were disgustingly suction-cupped to my eyeballs. Nice.  However, I woke up in the morning the next day feeling fresh and great.  Basking in that post-race glow is a goooood feeling :).

Monday was spent participating in decidedly non-athletic endeavors with my family. We enjoyed some of the many cliche/touristy attractions the Dells area has to offer...Paul Bunyan's Lumberjack Meals was met by mixed reviews by our group (but was definitely a "won't forget" experience)...the Wisconsin Ducks ride was pretty awesome and offered beautiful views of the area...and Wizard Quest was a unique experience as well (an interactive mystery/game).

My mom, sister and I went on a late-night hunt for some ice cream to commemorate our last evening in the Dells

...and then Tuesday mid-morning we all headed to our respective homes.  It was a great trip!  It was so much fun to share my love of triathlon and Rev3 with my family, and to get some quality Macy Jo time in of course!  I'm thinking we should make Rev3 Dells a yearly family tradition...
 

5.  I had spoken to some friends about my curiosity regarding the Main Street Mile in Peoria, IL.  I decided to go and give it a whirl...why not?  I had NO idea what kind of pace I could hold for "just" a mile and had heard the course was mostly downhill and the event was fun and festive...this event definitely piqued my interest.

I seldom do any real speed work (seldom = never) was hoping to run in under 7 minutes.  My "pie in the sky" time was 6:40.  Somehow I managed to pound out a 6:17.  I was pretty astounded by myself....as were my legs.  I can safely say they've never moved that fast.  A few days later, my shins were still reminding me of my efforts.  Lots of foam rolling, massage and yoga have been the recipe for recovery this week!

Before the race, I saw a man in an Easter Seals shirt that I suspected was Mark Scott.  I decided to be gutsy and introduced myself...it turned out I was correct!  Mark Scott is currently on a mission to run 50 races in 50 weeks and raise $50,000 (though he is really on track to raise $100,000!) for Easter Seals to celebrate turning 50 years old!  Here I am with Mark after the race. What a great guy and a neat idea!

Sooo...what's in store for the rest of my summer?

LOTS!

1.  July 4th is just around the corner, bringing with it races in communities all over our country.  Past summers have brought me home to the Quad Cities and to Peoria for races, but this year I will be staying here in BloNo and participating in Park2Park, a fabulous 5 mile race between two parks in our town.

2.  The following weekend, Clint and I have the crazy idea to run three races...all on the same day (Saturday, July 12).  I'm not sure exactly how this idea was birthed...I think I suggested two, and he countered with three.  Makes sense.  Regardless of how the plan transpired, the agenda is:  8am- Fisher Fair 5k; 6pm- Dog Days 5k and 9pm Moonlight Chase 4 Mile.  This will be a first for me...I once ran two 5ks on the same day here in town (with start times about 2 hours apart or so) and ended up with a stress fracture after that....here's hoping this isn't a repeat of that glorious performance (pretty sure that mishap had more to do with my footwear...ahem vibram 5 fingers ahem....than the mileage ;)).  This hair-brained idea is going to require quite a bit of drama and driving, but is bound to be unforgettable...so I am looking forward to it.

3.  After that, on Saturday, July 19 I will be walking and volunteering at the Walk With Me event supporting Easter Seals of Central IL.  I'm looking forward to a fun day with co-workers (including fellow pediatric therapists) and many of the kiddos and families I have had the privilege of working with over the years. Apparently there's also a dunk tank slated to be present...and I may or may not personally know some of the pediatric therapists who will be "doing time" sitting in it...

4.  That brings us to Bix weekend!  The Bix 7 is hands-down my favorite event of the year.  This will be my eleventh consecutive year running in it...and it is the event that I credit with transmitting the running disease to me.  Love it!  Megan, Clint and Aaron will all be running this year...in addition to thousands of other crazies. Can't wait!

5.  August....is currently wide open.  I should probably think about adding a tri or two (three?) because I am doing the 70.3 at Rev3 Cedar Point on September 7 and I am bound and determined to finish in under 6 hours.  My last 70.3 was Ironman Racine in July last summer and I finished in 6:00:51.  I have no real reason to not finish under 6 hours (aside from slacking off, that is ;)).

6.  The week after that I will be joining my good friend Jillian in Iowa for her grand return to triathlon...we are doing an Olympic-distance race together at the Best Dam Triathlon on September 14 as her first triathlon post baby number two!  This race will be two years almost to the day that Jillian and I completed our first half-iron distance tris together.  I also did my first-ever triathlon with this girl back in May of 2011 (I just re-read my post regarding this experience, "Confessions of a First-Time 'Triathlete'," and was very entertained by the musings and reflections of my three-years-ago self).

7.  October brings my second-favorite race of the year:  Run the Woods.  This trail run offers 5k and 8k distances and is a gorgeous, well-run event.  Ok...truth be told, I am on the committee so I am a little biased ;).  But really...if you're close enough to check it out, do so.  Trail running is so much fun, and the pancake breakfast (boasting GF pancakes as well!) afterwards is stellar!  Ok...end shameless plug ;)!!

8.  My 'A'-Race...The Chicago Marathon.  I'll save the details for another post, but I have high-HIGH hopes for this race.  It is going to be my 11th marathon on the 5th anniversary of my first-ever marathon (which was also in Chicago...back in 2009).  I'm running for my Easter Seals kids again, much more on that later as well.  I think it's high-time for a marathon PR.  We'll see...

Anyway, as per usual I will likely throw in a race or two (or seven) more...but that's how my year is shaking out so far.  I'm excited to see how it all plays out.  Love me some summer...and lots of running (and biking...and occasional swimming ;)).

Happy training...ENJOY this beautiful summer!