• First Marathon in the Books!

    After more than five months of training, I finished my first marathon – the Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona on January 14, 2018. I had never been more nervous for a race.  I had calls with my coach the day before and morning of the race. His last piece of advice to me was, “Breathe.”

    Being around friendly fellow racers helped too. They all had words of encouragement when they heard it was my first complete marathon.

    My race bib, shirt, and medal

    Spectators Matter and Dogs!
    The spectators for this race are awesome. Seeing their faces and hearing them cheer makes a difference. Some set up extra water stations; handed out orange slices, bacon, and beer; and held up signs. Hat tip to the spectators who made multiple appearances along the route. I was happy to see so many people with their dogs along the race route. Each one made me smile.

    Your Backside Matters
    More racers need to understand that their backside is entertainment for the people running behind them. I want to see more shoulder and calf tattoos and shirts with interesting backs. Several racers during the last 7 miles complemented the back of my shirt as they passed me. One said it was “dirty lie” because we were only at Mile 19. I responded that my shirt doesn’t say, “Last Mile.”

    Watching so many people’s backs confirmed my idea of getting a variation of the Ignite Phoenix bird tattooed on my right shoulder blade and wearing t-back tank tops on race day.

    How do these People Know my Name?
    At several water stations, the volunteers cheered for me by name. I thought, “Do I know them? How do they know my name?” as I examined their faces for something familiar. And then I remembered, “Oh right, it’s on my bib.”

    Still smiling after 26.2 miles and walking home from the light rail. Those numbers of my hand reminded me of when to take my gels.

    “Coach, It Hurts.”
    By Mile 20, I was in pain, and seriously contemplating whether I could finish the race without walking. I was afraid if I started walking, I wouldn’t be able to start running again. A frequent thought that crossed my mind was, “Coach, it hurts.”

    During my training, I did a 23.8-mile run. Coach David said my body could handle the 26.2-mile distance, even if I had to walk the last miles.

    I didn’t want to walk, or entertain that possibility, so I flipped from thinking about the pain to distracting myself by mentally going through gymnastics routines. (I was a gymnast for 17 years. I’ve completed many challenging runs with this trick.)

    Mile 23 – 5K to go
    At 5K to go, there was no way I was going to walk. Even exhausted and in pain, I could run a 5K. At the water station at Mile 24, a volunteer cheered, “Looking strong Ruth!” I didn’t feel strong, but appreciated it.

    Mile 25 had the steepest hill on the course. I had some choice words for the organizers at that moment, and then I thought, “This is why I train on hills.”

    Finish Strong
    I had a good end of the race, coming down the hill at the end of the Mill Ave Bridge and turning the corner towards the finish line. I raised my arms and smiled as I crossed the finish line. Despite being in pain, I look happy in all my photos from the race.

    I started walking after I crossed the finish line. I didn’t want to stop moving because I knew more pain would set in.

    Post-Race Pain
    Oh, and did it hurt. I had pain in my hips, quads, knees, and feet. I had been dealing with a sore ankle for the last week and taped it with KT Tape for the race. It did remarkably well during the race; I felt no pain until I took the tape off post-race.

    I hurt so much after the race, I couldn’t get comfortable enough to nap after I got home and showered. Instead, I laid in bed for an hour and watched YouTube on my phone. I had Gatorade and chocolate milk after the race, and I didn’t want to eat for a few hours after the race.

    The next day I had substantially less pain than I expected. Most of pain was in my quads. Surprisingly, I’m not going to lose any toenails from the race. I only lost one during training.

    Got the Bug
    I’ve heard marathoners are one-and-done or get the marathon bug. Even before this race ended, I was thinking about my next race. My goal for this race was to just finish. Now, I want to see if I can improve my time and feel stronger.

    Here are my stats from this race:
    Finish Time: 4:44:37
    944/1852 Overall
    344/809 Gender (Women’s)
    63/141 Division

  • If you live in the Phoenix area, especially if you live near the race route for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon or Half Marathon this coming weekend, please come out and support the runners. It matters that you’re there.

    Photo by Tyler Hurst from Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Half Marathon 2012
    Photo by Tyler Hurst from Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Half Marathon 2012

    My sister came to Phoenix to do this race before I became a runner, and I drove her to the starting line, saw her start the race, cheered for her around Mile 8 and at the finish line. It was fun to be part of the excitement of the race and see all the fanfare, but I didn’t think it mattered that I was there.

    I didn’t understand until I became a runner myself how helpful and encouraging it is to have people cheering for you on the sidelines, even when they’re strangers. It’s even better when you see a familiar face in the crowd.

    When I did that half marathon in 2012, I knew my friends would be watching for me around Mile 8 and Mile 11. At Mile 4, I started counting down how far had to go before I would see my friends. It was so great to see my friend Tyler holding a sign that insulted me (per my request) as I ran by him and other friends. That kept my spirits lifted until Mile 11 when I saw my friend Barb who yelled, “Move your ass Bitch!” (I specifically asked my friends to insult me that year. It’s part of my masochistic nature.)

    One of my Favorite Race Day Signs Ever - Photo by Jeff Moriarty
    One of my Favorite Race Day Signs Ever – Photo by Jeff Moriarty

    Even when I don’t recognize the people who are watching us run, it means so much that they came out to support us. I love reading all the funny signs that people make and seeing the volunteers who dress up in funny outfits. It’s mutual people watching. It’s fun to watch runners who wear costumes or running shirts with clever sayings on them. Quite a few people put their name on their shirt so you can cheer for them by name if you want. This year we had the option to customize part of our race bibs. Mine says “First Marathon.”

    The 2015 Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona race routes will cross Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tempe. Wherever you live, you should be able to get to a portion of the race relatively easily. If you’re going to be on the marathon route and you want to make my race, make me a sign that says “Go Baby Duck!” Baby Duck was one of the nicknames my late coach called me. This will only be my second race since his passing. That would make me happier then having people insult me.

    To everyone who has ever driven a runner to their starting line, made a sign, or cheered them on along the way, thank you for your support. It makes a big difference having you there.

  • Marathon Training Week 15 Recap: The 20-Mile Run

    0015_1 by Andreas Cappell from Flickr
    0015_1 by Andreas Cappell from Flickr

    About a month ago, I started getting chest pains after my long runs. A few weeks ago, my cardiologist told me that I have 2 holes in my heart. These holes may or may not be related to my pain. My doctor needs to refer me to a surgeon who can further evaluate my situation and determine whether the holes in my heart should be patched. For the time being my doctor said I’m allowed to run as long as I can handle the pain and I don’t have a stroke.

    With his blessing (sort of), I’m back to running, and thank goodness for that because last week had my longest run of my training cycle – 20 miles. I did not want to walk that. Here’s how this week of training went.

    Monday: Rest Day.

    Tuesday: I had my first run in the real world since beginning to deal with my health issues. I ran 5 miles and it felt so awkward to run on pavement again. I felt like a baby deer just learning to walk, though it got better as I focused on my running posture. I had a touch of chest pain during mile 1. I worried it might continue throughout the run, but it seemed to settle down by the end of mile 2. I felt like I was running more slowly than before my running hiatus but I also felt like I could easily increase my mileage.

    Black Cherry GU Chomps
    Black Cherry GU Chomps

    Wednesday: I ran 10.5 miles – 2 laps around Tempe Town Lake. I wanted to get used to this route because I planned to run 4 laps for my 20-mile run on Saturday. I had a bit of chest pain during miles 1-2 and 8-10 but it wasn’t bad enough to make me stop. I also had some pain in my left leg during the second lap. I could definitely tell I was slowing down by the end. I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage 20 miles on Saturday.

    I also discovered my new favorite flavor of GU Chomps: black cherry. These things are caffeinated candy. They’re an awesome pick-me-up.

    Thursday: I ran 5 miles while listening to the Dr. Drew Podcast with guest lawyer-turned-comedian Paul Mecurio. I laughed out loud several times during my run. It was a good run but I had some calf pain because I hadn’t been as diligent about my post-run stretching earlier in the week.

    Friday: Rest Day.

    Saturday: I was reminded that I don’t like running in the cold. I ran 20.5 miles – 4 laps around Tempe Town Lake – starting at 7:45 am on Saturday. It was 35 degrees when I started, and I was dressed in shorts, shirt, hoodie because I knew it would get warmer by the end. One of the upsides of running laps around the lake is I get to stop at my car every lap to get water and a snack if I need it.

    My sweatshirt came off after first lap. It was still chilly in the shade but otherwise just a bit cold. During Lap 3, I refueled a bit with some strawberry GU Chomps and an apple pie Larabar. I kept myself entertained with an episode of the Dr. Drew Podcast during lap one and listened to my race day playlist the rest of the time. I finished my 20 miles in about 3.5 hours. I had some calf and quad pain in both legs by the end. It was definitely an act of masochism, but the pain was manageable.

    I think there were some other runners who were training for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon and running laps around the lake. Every time we passed, we’d smile and wave. It was nice to know I wasn’t the only one torturing themselves that day.

    Sunday: Rest Day. I was supposed to cross train today, but I’m freakishly tired. I’ll hit the elliptical at the gym tomorrow.

    Weekly Totals:
    Running: 41 miles