Kalamazoo Half Marathon Recap: Take Aways, Things Not to Repeat and Future Plans

Hi All,

Below is my Race Recap for the Kalamazoo, Michigan, Borgess Half Marathon from yesterday morning.

Warm-Up: Truncated due to parking in an area, which was not recommended by the Expo, and then freaking out that I was going to miss the race. Yes, I did use the WIN (What's Important Now) technique from Nicole Detling to get back into a positive train of thought.

Miles 0-5: Battling cramps and an upset GI system. I was hoping to keep the 2:15 pace group in sight, but they got away and I could not hold the pace. That's ok. I figured it would happen and I was not going to waste the race by attempting it. The weather was hot and I was not great with hydrating along the way. By mile 5, I was doing ok, but I had to force myself into eating half of my first honey stinger waffle . The course markings were weird and I ended up glancing at my watch - noted the mile and the time only at 6k - to figure out where to fuel.

Miles 6-11: 6-8 - clouds replaced the heat and the wind picked up. Mile 9 was a legit hill. Miles 10-11 were kind of a steady incline, but I was waiting for a giant hill that never ever appeared. I studied the maps, spoke to volunteers, and still could not get a feel for how awful the hills would or would not be. After Mile 9 to the end, I was debating whether or not to exit, use the facilities, and rejoin the group.

Miles 12-13.1: The race had lots of crowd support at Mile 12 to the finish. I did not begin to push, because I was convinced the hill was just around the corner. I clued in with about .75 miles to go and really pushed for the final .25 miles or so.

I asked for a late checkout and oh did I feel better after a hot shower. My GI system was still annoyed and made itself known after the race ended, on my way back home, and after I got home. I am going to be nice to it and I know it will pass.

Takeaways from the race:

1) Volunteers, who give you information and/or mislead people, might get called nasty names in my head. This caused me some anxiety and frustration a few times at various points of the race.

2) My definition of a "hill" is different from the general population. I agree that Mile 9 was a hill. I completed the second hill and was sure, with the race support, that I still had more to do. OOPs - ah well, I can work on accelerating more next time. I don't think this means I did not put in sufficient effort, but it is giving me ideas for future races.

3)Strength training hurts. So does foam rolling. Do them any way - I recover better now, because I do it. If you are part of the Drew Watts and Tina Muir Strong Stars program, actually complete Day 3. I didn't and it made for sore glutes. Guess what I am reviewing and doing starting this week?!

Things not to repeat:

1) I will not Noodles & Company as a pre-race meal. It was salty and greasy. I was thirsty all the time and the weather went from hot, to cool and windy, rainy, and then back to hot.

2) It is totally fine to determine where to park and to avoid places recommended by the race. They recommended three places but did not indicate that I could park elsewhere. Fortunately, I parked behind someone else and discovered, post-race, that I had other options.

3) Dumping water on my head and not drinking enough led to a wet shirt, hat, and shorts. I thought it was going to stay hot and I probably ended up being a bit dehydrated. I was definitely thirsty and I only skipped one water station.

Below are some things I got a the expo and I am all excited about my Addaday stick. I hope it travels ok in a carry-on bag:

Not knowing the weather, I packed extra things and today was a 3 Season day (Hot, Cloudy + Windy, Rainy) and it ended with hot. I cannot thank Coach @runacious enough for her wisdom and support. I trained harder on hilly terrain only to discover that I was just fine. Yes, I noticed them, but I didn’t collapse. Thanks to @wattsstrength, @tinamuir88, and all the Running 4 Real Superstars. This is the first race, where I pulled podcast quotes and excerpts from Deena Kastor’s book to keep from going negative or questioning my sanity. This alone is a huge step forward. Also, getting a 2:16:28, when you wake up feeling awful and continue feeling not great for 5 miles, is not bad. Happy Sunday!

A post shared by Runningwithallergies (@runningwithallergies) on May 6, 2018 at 10:16am PDT

I decided to take off work today and I might also take off tomorrow. My "shakeout jog/walk" was indeed a hobblefest. After about a quarter mile of hoping and wishing time had passed, though, I loosened up enough to just plod along and work with it. I got my haircut and I am doing some non-pressing things for work. I will be doing lots of relaxing, stretching, foam rolling, and yoga in the next 2-3 weeks. I will restart strength training, once I can do it with proper form!

Future Plans:

I will not be running a marathon until Fall 2019 at the earliest. This summer, I will probably do some 5ks, 10ks, and plan for a Fall half marathon. After reading the training logs of experienced marathoners and even those just working on a marathon for the first time, I had pretty much come to this conclusion. Being me, I put my coach on the spot. She is in full agreement with this plan.

I loved going into the Kalamazoo Half with the knowledge that I could handle the distance and most of the weather. If at all possible, I hope to go into all future races with this mindset and I plan to work on the positive outlook in all areas - not just races - of my life.

Happy Monday, All!

Healthy & Kalamazoo Half Marathon Preview/Race Plan

Hi all,

On Wednesday, I got the news that I am healthy. My blood tests came back normal or excellent and I am feeling like me.

My allergy/migraine issues started in 2003, but they did not really kick off until 2009, when my other systems decided to join the fun. Fast forward to May 2017 (yes, that is last year!) and I learned that supplements work best for me. I do have to eat chocolate (I know, isn't life tough!) and/or bananas on a regular basis, but my body deals with it pretty well. I also learned not to mess around with the supplement dose or I will have issues. I am so happy to be healthier than I have been.

Tomorrow, I will run the Kalamazoo Half Marathon. I have trained hard and, for the first time in a long time, achieved 100 miles in March and April. Those also happen to be the months when work went insane, but I still managed to get out and do it. My goal became work, get in the training, and move on to the next day. This is the best I have felt going into a race. My coach gave some ideas for times to hit. I will review those a final time tonight and then use the nerves, which started appearing a bit yesterday and are in full force as I type this, to focus and give it my best tomorrow. This truly is my "redemption or come-back" race and it is fitting to be in a new place with hills at the end of the course. Why? I love hills and I grew up training with them. Now, I get to celebrate by propelling myself up them with a smile, because I could not have done this a year ago.

Per usual, I will use the #nowatchme approach. If the first mile is timed, excellent, but if not then, I will be fine. I might glance at my watch between miles 1-3 just to be sure I am not hitting a sub 10 minute pace. Beyond that, I will use mile markers to indicate only when I should eat my Honey Stinger waffles. I am packing extra, just in case I feel a crash coming, but I will like take them only at miles 2, 4, 6, 8. I eat half a waffle at each mile. Yep, it seems silly, but my body tolerates them amazingly well and this works so much better than my first attempt at fueling last fall, when I felt and sometimes got sick after every long run!

I am not expecting to beat my half marathon time of 2 hours set in 1998. Instead, I will enjoy every single mile and celebrate the times I can push. Never ever take your health for granted. For 9 years, I did not appreciate how much good health impacts how I view the world. Now that I am doing better, I plan to enjoy every little accomplishment and I will be working on reframing my view on the point in the race, which inevitably comes, and I question, "Why am I doing this?" Instead, I plan - at this stage - to say, "Look, I can do this now and I am enjoying it."

Starting now until post-race tomorrow, I will not be on social media much if at all. Why? I am taking the time to focus, relax, and get in the race mentality. I will be reading the Deena Kastor book, completing my pre-race shakeout run, and then foam rolling and using my spikey ball to keep loose.

To everyone racing in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati tomorrow, enjoy and give it your best. I will be asking the same of myself tomorrow and post-race I will be catching up on your accomplishments.

Happy Saturday!