Hydration, acclimation and too-small tech shirts

At the start, get in line.  Go.  Repeat.

Whew - it's 4 days post Unite 1/2 Marathon and I can officially say something's strange because I never got sore.  Maybe a teeny tiny bit in the quads, but not like anything that's ever happened before.  Usually a day to 2 days afterward I find it hard to bend down or walk down the stairs...but not ONCE did I feel like that this go-round.  Woohoo! 

So what was different?  I haven't the foggiest idea...however I have been kicking around a few ideas in my mind...like the focus on hydration the week & 1/2 leading up to the race...or that since this was my 8th half, maybe my body is acclimating to the distance?  I also forgot my Garmin at home, so I ran purely by how I felt, rather than depending on the watch to tell me how fast to go.  And it was liberating! 

Starting line fun!

Anyway, the good news was, despite the lack of regular training (hey, it's Iron-Man season in our house) - which consisted of 1-2 runs/week; varying in length and whether I wanted to push myself or not, and one long run on the weekend, I was only 20 +/- seconds behind my PR (which was accomplished during peak marathon training last year).  Not bad! 

Another bonus?  No headache...if you've been following my blog (thanks, by the way) you'll remember my headache issues - particularly post race or hard(er) training run.  I definitely think staying hydrated helped a lot, but around 4 that afternoon I felt the all too familiar "fuzzy pressure" mounting at the base of my skull...coincidentally I stopped for a cup of coffee at that point to wake up a bit and was pleasantly surprised when the headache disappeared soon thereafter.  I will most certainly grab a cuppa joe the next time I feel one coming on to further test my theory...

On another note, I just want to give a shout out to CGI Racing for organizing a very fun, well run event.  I will definitely be back, however would like to register my complaint about the sizing of the tech shirts....I LOVE the shirt...and my 10 year old loves it too; she's already worn it twice this week.  Next year, PLEASE order grown-up sizes...I'd like to wear my shirt with pride, rather than watch my kid pridefully wear it. 

Next up...

NJ Share Network 5k in New Providence on 6/10.  If you're local, we'd love for you to join Team Evan to honor and remember a sweet little angel who left us too soon, but lives on in the others who needed his help - you can make a donation or sign up to participate here.  It's a great race, a worthy cause and a fun day. 

It's Highly Scientific

It's 6 am on a Thursday...sun's just poking it's head over the horizon and the lone kid in the house is already busily playing legos (the other 2 are on "vacation" at Grandma's).  Yesterday I found myself in the same scenario, minus kid #3, AND without a car...so I ran the long way to work...and am pretty sure that experience will go down as one as the best mornings ever.  Ah, well...no repeat of that today.  Unless the boy rides piggy-back the whole way.  Ouch.  For both of us!

Anyway, back to the present...I've already downed 8oz water and a cuppa coffee - why, you may ask?  I'm on a mission of hydration.  Every day my goal is to be as fully hydrated as possible to see if I can get rid of the post-exercise headaches that plague me after a harder run.  I experimented with this concept when the headaches first started (about 3 years ago) - but didn't seem to have much luck...BUT I only concentrated on getting enough liquids in AFTER the workout...not BEFORE. 

A good race-day hydration strategy?

Once I started training using a heart rate monitor (keeping my bpm low), I was able to keep the headaches somewhat in check, but after races or a run where I just let go, I'd wind up with an awful headache a few hours later.  We tried to narrow down a cause....was it my form?  Was it my low Vitamin D level?  Probably not - so I'm back to hydration...and I'm measuring this by the most amazing scientific method - the color of my urine...colorless to nearly colorless...TMI? 


So I figure if I keep on it, by next weekend for the Rutgers Unite Half, I'll know if I've discovered the cause if I am headache-free after the race.  Here's to hoping!

Is something burning around here?

I've never been much of a fan of running as fast as I possibly can for any length of time.  From when I was a kid, whenever I exerted that much energy all at once my lungs would hurt like hell for hours after (hello, childhood asthma - or so I thought); I specifically remember racing round my backyard and having to take breaks to breathe shallowly until it stopped hurting a lot.  Yuck.

Well, it being track season and all (kid #1 is LOVING the track club she's a part of this spring), I somehow got it into my head that I really, really want to know how fast I can run a mile.  All out, no holds barred...run as fast as I can for a whole mile...after all, I've completed 26.2 a couple times, 13.1 a few more...done a few tempo runs, even some track work here and there...why not?  How bad could it be (sense a little foreshadowing here)?

So- after a few weeks with only a couple opportunities to get some exercise in...and a little bit of stress build-up (ok, A LOT), I decided I wanted (NEEDED) to get out and do something.  Only thing was that I had all 3 kids; Mike was out on a long bike ride and had a late meeting thereafter, so I was out of luck.  Then came my "A-HA!" moment - what about the HS track?!?!  It's all fenced in, and I would be able to see them at all times...PERFECT!  We'd head over after kid #2's soccer practice and I can already start to  feel those endorphins a-flowin'.  Only problem:  as we drive by the school, there's a LAX game on the turf...what's that saying about the "best laid plans"?  Alrighty, on to Plan B - the park down the street.  There is a paved pathway all around the park with a playground...Kid #1 could watch the other 2 while I do my little experimental time trial...

So off we go to the park, everything going according to plan.  Kids are happy, I'm giddy and the sun is shining.  I get them settled in - explain the rules to kid #1 (no fighting, no pushing, no leaving the area, no heckling mom as she runs by, etc.) and off I go - flying down the pathway.  All's well until about halfway...my achilles lungs start that awful "holy crap, I'm on fire" feeling...but I keep going thinking I might be able to just run through it.  Needless to say, I'm pretty sure that wasn't such a good idea because as I sit here now (3 days later) it still hurts to take a deep breath.  The result?  6:58 minute per mile pace.  Not as fast as I thought I could be, but ok.  For now.  Dun dun dunnnnnn....

So the take away from all this?
- Warming up might have been a good thing to do first (yes, heavy sarcasm from here on down - duh)
- If one hasn't been practicing sprinting, maybe that should be part of the training before sprinting for a length of time
- Long distance training may not be conducive to fast-paced short-distance running
- Pick a flat terrain venue.  Hills might slow you down a bit.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to a nice, sloooow long run this weekend.  Only a few weeks 'till Rutgers Unite Half!