Hello all, in spite of my recent injury and anatomy blogs I decided to just
"wing it" and run the full 26.2 miles yesterday at the Lincoln Marathon.
Like they say "When in Rome..." I could not resist the temptation to pull
off at mile 12 and complete a solid half, no, no, no, instead I decided to
go ahead and do the full thing because I felt "O.K." With the rain coming
down, (sometimes pouring always drizzling), I was determined not to let
this Lincoln course get the best of me. I will say my tour of Lincoln took
me on some of my favorite bike paths and down my favorite street, Sheridan
Blvd. There is a new tournabout circle at 33rd and Sheridan that is both
aesthetically pleasing as well as much safer I imagine, (I used to dread
turning left from Sheridan onto 33rd, no one ever knew for sure who had the
right of way). All in all the rain was actually a good thing, it was cool
and there was no sun beating down. The combination of four hours of wet
squishy feet, miles of pounding, and gobs of Vaseline, have completely
exfoliated the skin on my feet, no need for a pumice stone here!!!
I must say one thing, although my time was not that great 3:58:00, I did
not plan on doing the full marathon, I did not really follow any training
program, I did not taper adequately in the weeks prior to the race, and did
not purposely carb load.....I probably carb load all the time without even
realizing it!! All of these things were probably not smart, but I do think
just doing it, (I sound like a Nike ad) helped me relax and took some of
the anxiety about a daunting task out of the equation. I think I was less
nervous and just ready for whatever my body would allow me to do and that
was the key. I would've stopped if I really hurt. I never hit a "wall" at
least I don't think I did. Orange slices and sports drink did help a great
deal. After each water station I really did feel more energized.
Amazingly, I felt worse after the 1/2 marathon last year than I did
yesterday!!!
That being said, I am in a world of pain today....yes sports fans, I cannot
walk down stairs. Kelly Bare gave me a good tip: walk downstairs
backwards. Kelly ran the San Diego Marathon last year in great time (way to
go Kel!), and had similar quad pain. Thanks for the advice, any similar
marathon war stories/remedies are appreciated!! I think there is a certain
point in the run when you no longer feel the pain, which is good at the
time but bad later.
I went to Peak Performance and talked to a running specialist who told me
it was perfectly normal to feel pain like I am experiencing. I sure hope
this is gone soon, I walk like an old woman!!! I had a massage today and
that seemed to help as well. Right now, ice and Ibuprofen are my friends,
later it may be vicodan and Vodka, (just a joke).
Talk to you all soon. Have a great week.
Jen
