Race Report: 2016 #runDonna Breast Cancer (Half) Marathon

I've been sitting on this race report for a week, trying to decide how best to write it.  Spoiler alert: it wasn't quite the "comeback" race that I'd planned but I finished and that was the main objective.

My midwinter break from school was nice enough to fall on Donna weekend again this year so I started making plans way back in September or October to fly down to Jacksonville and run it again.  It's a perfect excuse to find some warmer weather in February and see friends I only get to see once or twice a year.

There was one problem with my plan...I wasn't running yet.  I had been fighting achilles and shoulder problems for months and was heavy into PT.  But with my PT's (overly ambitious, IMO) blessing, I was told to start "training".  I couldn't run more than a couple minutes at a time until around the end of November so I worried I would never be able to get my mileage up enough to complete 13.1.  Every week from the 1st week of December until two weeks before the race I ramped up my long runs.  By the beginning of February, I'd been able to complete two 10-milers using a run/walk strategy so I figured I was good to go.  Then the week before the race hit me with horrible leg cramps at night and I was seeing the chiro and a massage therapist literally the day before I flew to Jax.

Not in the plan at all.  Add to this a 3 hour flight delay in Chicago and I was worried I wasn't even going to make it to the expo to register.  (Because weather in the Midwest in February is quite unpredictable, I didn't register in advance in case I couldn't make it there - I never anticipated multiple mechanical problems to ground us.)  Thankfully, I made it to the expo with about an hour to spare, rushed in and registered, and then headed to my hotel to chill before meeting friends for dinner.

Little did I know how prophetic this would be 

Just a few days before the Donna, I was chatting with my friend Krissy about the race.  She decided rather last minute to run the half marathon and we made plans to run together for as much as we could.  Krissy is a freaking ROCKSTAR for running a half only 9 weeks after having her adorable baby girl.  I think I was barely functioning at that point.

Requisite pre-race hotel selfie

I was up bright and early Sunday morning after just kind of throwing my gear out the night before.  I headed to the race in plenty of time to hit up the port-a-potties and meet up with Krissy.

Hanging in the ambassador tent with Krissy

It was pretty chilly race morning - in the high 30s - so I was very thankful for the cheap Walmart jacket and my daughter's old track sweatpants.  Those suckers stayed on until about 5 minutes before the start.  Krissy and I discussed race strategy as we hung out in the ambassador's tent.  We were both running Garmin-free but I was planning to call out our intervals (1/2 mile run / 45 second walks) as they played through my headphones.  Our goal was somewhere in the 2:30-2:40 range.  We both agreed if either wanted to change up this plan and do their own thing at some point, we were completely cool with this.  

Even with my lack of training, I was feeling pretty confident in my ability to complete the race using the intervals I'd set up.  My two 10 milers went well and our loose time goal should have been very attainable.  The race is self-seeded so after one last stop at the potties, we positioned ourselves toward the 2:40 pace group.  Krissy found a few other friends in the corrals so we chatted a bit before the start.  Off went the warm-up gear (it was in the 40s at this point) and off we went.  

The first few miles flew by as they typically do when you are having fun and chatting.  BRFs are awesome for that :)  We were keeping to our intervals and it wasn't too crowded, so moving to the side for walk breaks was pretty seamless.  I saw one of my friends around mile 5 and grabbed a quick swig of beer.  Yep, that's how I roll.  I was feeling pretty good although noting I was feeling a bit more winded than usual - probably because I was talking a lot and I rarely talk while I run.  (A peek back at my splits in runmeter also revealed we were averaging about an 11:15 pace with run segments in the low-10s through the first 7 miles or so, which was faster than I'd been training by about 30-45 seconds per mile).  Maybe this was the start of troubles to come.

I ducked into a port-a-potty at mile 6 to deal with a wardrobe malfunction (ie, chafing boobs are the devil but given the theme of this race, I'm thankful to still have them).  The wind from miles 5 to 7 was straight into our faces and it was really kicking my butt.  I was so thankful to hit the half/full split at mile 7 so we could have the wind at our backs for at least a couple miles.  We even got a hug from our friend, Marcia, who I didn't think we'd see.  Around mile 8 we ran into another one of Krissy's friends who was spectating and had the most delicious brownies.  We both enjoyed a brownie and continued on our way.

Having not run with my Garmin, it's hard to remember some of the "stops" except for when runmeter showed stopped time but I know it was around this point that I mentioned to Krissy how my calves and shins were starting to cramp up.  After the bad night cramps the week before, this was one fear going into the race that maybe I should have taken more seriously.  We saw my friend again at mile 9 and someone at the house gave me pickles and pickle juice.  Bless that sweet girl.  Side note - the neighborhoods go all out for this race and there were people grilling and cheering and having a 13.1 mile block party.  It's one of my favorite parts of this course.  The pickles helped a little with the cramping but I was definitely slowing down and starting to hurt.  Just before mile 10, Krissy was feeling amazing and I gave her a hug and sent her on her way.  (Girlfriend crushed her first postpartum half with about a 2:30 finish!)

Headed up the Butler Intercostal Bridge

The last 3 miles of this race are up and over the bridge on Butler Blvd.  With each attempt to run from about mile 10.5 on, my calves and shins cramped more and more.  I even stopped at another bathroom on the bridge because the pickle juice was not making my insides happy.  The wheels had fallen off the bus.  I talked to my friends to let them know what was wrong and that I was definitely not finishing in 2:30. I kept trying to run but it wasn't happening.  It was as if my legs had a mind of their own and at times I was running and walking on the sides of my feet or with my feet turned at a weird angle because the muscles were so cramped.  I had a bit of a cry at the top of the bridge (ok, it was full on sobbing) but at least the view was nice.  I also got to see the winners of the men's and women's races go by me so that was cool.

The Intercostal

I was so close to calling my friends to tell them I couldn't finish but I knew I didn't come 1200 miles in a plane and 12 miles on foot to quit with a mile to go.  I continued my 3 mile death march and when I saw the finish line, I told myself to run.  It' was a 10th of a mile, for God's sake! Surely I could suck it up for a 10th of a freaking mile.  Nope.  My legs didn't get the message.  It was the weirdest sensation ever and I must have looked like one of those deer who are just born and trying to make their legs work.  I stumbled and cramped and I almost fell within yards of the finish line.  Several times.  I've never had this happen before and I was in so much pain and really confused.  I saw my friends just past the finisher shoot and I'm very thankful for Wendy literally holding me up.  She kept telling me how proud she was of me as I hung on her and cried.  For the first time ever, I was put in a wheelchair and taken to medical.  I was a bit pissed my friends did that but it was probably for the best because I couldn't even stand much less walk.  The medical folks massaged and iced my calves and gave me some gatorade.  After I felt like I could walk again I met up with my friends and they took care of me (ie, found me beer).

Love my girl, Wendy

I'm still trying to figure out what happened and why my legs cramped like they did.  My friends suspect the weather may have had something to do with it.  It had probably moved up into the mid to high 50s by the end and with the winds I never felt hot or realized how much I was sweating.  Maybe I didn't drink enough or my calves were more injured from the cramping the week before.  It's a week later and I'm still having leg cramping issues so who knows.  Hopefully it doesn't continue.

Am I flipping off the camera?

While this was my worst road half ever (2:51:59 - a 13:08 ave pace) it was still a finish and a finish that 4 months prior I didn't think I'd even be able to start.  One of my friends called this "triumphant". I'm not sure I'd go that far but my view is a bit skewed still.  The best parts of this race were the sunshine, having my friends there and being able to run a solid 10 with Krissy before the shit hit the fan, all while supporting a great cause.  Any day you get to run in the sun with your best running friends is a good day in my book.

Next year is the 10th anniversary of the 26.2 with Donna so I'd LOVE to come back for a third time.  Heck, anniversary or not I want to come back.  Maybe if the stars align you'll see me in Jacksonville next February.  Want to join me?  Registration starts this spring :)
  

Let's Play #runDonna #teamsparkle Dress Up

You wanna know what's crazy?  Planning a half marathon in Florida only to find out it won't be much warmer than Michigan on race morning.  Where's the justice in that, my friends?!?!

Anyhoo....I thought I'd take a little survey to help me decide what to wear for the #runDonna Breast Cancer Half Marathon next Sunday.  As of right now, race morning will probably be high 30s to low 40s at the start with a finish in the high 40s.  Not too shabby running weather but totally sucks for beach time afterwards.

I have 2 tops chosen because they are the only ones I have that are pink - a  long-sleeve 1/2 zip from Nike and a Nike T that I'll probably pair with arm warmers that I can take off.  Black capris will go on the bottom and probably a black cap on top.

The question I need answered...which Sparkle Athletic skirt should I add?  I want my friends spectating to be able to find me to pass me some beer cheer me on :)

So what do you think? Turquoise, Lime Green or Purple?  I know which one is my favorite but I'd like a little input from you guys as well.

Race Recap: #runDonna Breast Cancer (Half) Marathon

As luck would have it, my mid-winter break from school happened to fall during runDonna weekend this year.  I have friends in Florida who run 26.2 with Donna nearly every year and speak very highly of the race.  Plus, any chance to get out of #purefrozenMichigan and head to sunny Florida to visit my friends works for me.

Jacksonville really goes all out for this race.  Starting at the airport it feels like a big Sea of Pink party.  There was this giant sign on the floor plus a staffed booth right outside the escalators down to baggage claim.  Very nice touches.

My flights down from Chicago went off without a hitch, which considering the weather in many parts of the country was a huge blessing.  I headed straight for the expo to meet up with a few friends and get my bib.  (You can read about my weekend meetups here if you missed it yesterday.)

What struck me at first was all the PINK.  There were the usual vendors plus a few geared directly towards breast cancer and breast cancer survivors.  I made a bee line for the packet pickup area and then wandered around for a bit after chatting with Beth.  The layout was great.  You could head straight back to the other room set up for bibs and shirts.  I absolutely HATE expos that make you "shop" first, so this was a nice touch.  The vendor area wasn't very crowded and it was fun to check out the booths.  I even stopped and chatted with Jeff Galloway for a bit.  I loved telling him about my Detroit Marathon PR using my own version of Galloway intervals.  He suggested I drop the run segments even further though and says I'll go faster.  Not sure I believe that. (To hit pace on Galloway, you basically have to run about :30 per mile faster than goal pace to sandbag time for the walk segments.)


After the expo I headed to my hotel to rest for a bit and then grabbed dinner at a local brewpub.  I've never been to BJ's Brewhouse before and it was a great choice.  I probably ate too much ;)

In the couple weeks prior to the race, I was stressing about the predicted cold temperatures.  You see, even though I live in Michigan and I'm supposed to be all winter-running hardy and shit, I've been running inside.  I've completely lost all my winter mojo.  The predicted temps were supposed to be in the low 30s but when I woke up Sunday morning, it was around 51*.  Shit.  I'm glad I packed multiple options for clothing and ended up with a tank, capris and a throw-away fleece that I ditched before we even started.

Beautiful sunrise in Ponte Vedra.

The race starts at some uber swanky golf resort and then heads north to Jacksonville Beach.  If you are running the full, you go even farther north before turning back around.  What hit me at the start and caused me to tear up were the number of women with "Survivor" pinned to their backs and the number of men in pink tutus with "running for..." on their backs.  While breast cancer has not affected me directly, it has affected my friends.

As for the run itself, the streets and many of the neighborhoods were so decked out it blew me away.  It was like a 13.1 mile (ok, maybe 11.5 mile since the last couple miles were just highway) street party.  I started straight running but at 2 miles switched to the 5/:30 intervals I used for Detroit.  I'm not sure what was wrong but I couldn't catch my breath and I wasn't even running very fast.  That was discouraging.  Even with my intervals, I passed a ton of people.  This is a very friendly walker and run/walker race (the marathon cut off is over 7 hours I believe) so I was constantly dodging people.

My favorite part?  I absolutely loved running on the beach even if my shins and ankles hated me for the next 4 days.  Three of my friends had a little aid station set up at about the midpoint of the beach so I got hugs and beer :)  Wendy even made a sign!  At 6.5 miles I was already feeling wiped out so seeing them was a great boost.


I ended up dressed perfectly!  I was a little chilly on the beach when the wind kicked up but the sun made it all better.  Seeing people dressed in jackets made me laugh a little.




Somewhere just before mile 9, the elite men marathoners passed me.  What an incredible sight!  They had a police escort of 6-7 motorcycles and a van clearing their path.  Watching them run by at about mile 22 for them, looking like they hadn't even broken a sweat, was unreal.

A little later, I saw this cheer section and I had to stop for a picture.  I really should have gotten a mammogram too.  Oh well, maybe next year.

As you can see, the weather was incredible and the cheer sections were, too.  And the pink. SO. MUCH. PINK.  Makes you think about the numbers of men, women and children affected by breast cancer every year.  Hopefully my little entrance fee does some good somewhere.

The last 2 miles of the race are on the highway, with a nice bridge to cross.  The bridge kicked my butt.  Luckily, what goes up must come down and I ran my fastest 1.1 miles at the end of the race.  After cresting the bridge, I didn't walk again and seeing the elite women pass me at mile 12.5 (with NO escort I might add - that bothered me) gave me incentive to kick it at the end.  (I ran about a 9:30 pace for the last 1/2 mile.) I got my medal and some pictures and made my way to the runner village.

Runner village was pretty awesome.  We got free soup and champagne and good beer (until the good beer ran out).  There were some very long lines for burgers and hot dogs which I chose not to stand in but there was also plenty of oranges, bananas and bagels.  I had planned on trying to stay to watch Krissy and Marcia finish the full but Deb's house was closer to runner village than the finish line and my legs were done running and walking and standing. Plus, I didn't think I'd ever find them in the crowd anyway.

Overall, it was a very good weekend and I love the medal.  It's hard to see in the picture but it has stained glass in the middle and dolphins jumping in the top of the heart.  The shirt, personalized bib and bag were also nice swag.

As for my results, I'm ok with them.  My time wasn't great at 2:30:50 (in fact, that's one of my worst half times), but considering I was undertrained, ran/walked, stopped for a few minutes on the beach and took pictures I really shouldn't have expected much better.  I finished in the top 50% of my age group and gender, so that makes me happy.  I knew going in that this race wasn't going to be about my finishing time, but posting an 11:30 average pace is a little embarrassing because I know if I'd tried I could have run much better. Mostly I'm feeling blessed I was able to run such a well supported race and spend the weekend with my friends.  Time to start saving for next year!

Thankful Thursday: #runDonna meet ups

So this past weekend while on Mid-Winter Break from school, I jetted off to not-so-warm-but-still-sunny Florida to run the 26.2 with Donna Breast Cancer Marathon.  Actually, "just" the half marathon because I'm not 26.2 miles of crazy right now.  I should really do some kind of race recap, and I'm sure I will, but first a little bit of why the weekend was so awesome.

I finally got to meet several friends In Real Life who I have know online for YEARS.  It's crazy, really, this whole blogging thing.  I've "met" some of the most incredible people EVER and when we get together for real, it really feels like we've been friends for eons. Or is that just me?

First up was meeting Donya. She's one of the original Shrinking Jeans gals and only lives about 2 hours from me, yet we had never met.  Even with a super busy kid and family night, she snuck away for a drink and selfie :)

MWAH!

The reason I got to meet Donya is because Nancy let me crash at her house on the way to Chicago.  I love Nancy, even without her proximity to Midway. She's such a sweetheart and even got up at the crack of dawn to make sure I had breakfast before my flight.

What an awesome group of hookers ;)

After arriving in Jacksonville, I made a beeline to the Donna Expo where I met up with Beth (aka Beth Bob aka Discom-BOB-ulated Running)!! Beth was working the Momentum Jewelry booth and we hung out and chatted races, triathlon (she's an IRONwoman!) and expo working.  Tres fun.  Hopefully I'll see this girl at more races in the future, or even up here since one of her BFFs lives not too terribly far from me.

Excuse my "I've been traveling and up for hours" look and focus on how cute Beth is.

Race morning, I was hoping to run into a couple other friends who had super fun race ambassador duties Saturday afternoon and night so I missed them at the expo.  As luck (and social media) would have it - I got a two-fer!

I finally got to meet Krissy! She is just as sweet and fun IRL as she is on her blog and Instagram.  We hung out and chatted for a bit before I had to run off to find the little girl's room one last time.  Krissy is your go-to girl if you need ideas for race costumes. Seriously - she's a pro.  And she always looks adorable in the process. Plus, she probably has the cutest dog on the entire internet.  Dug even has his own Insta I think ;)

Could Krissy be any cuter in her footie pjs?

It seems 3rd time's the charm when it comes to Marcia!  The Social Media Butterfly and I had planned to meet up at Jax Bank 2 years ago and again this year, but life and schedules got in the way.  This time, she found me chatting up Krissy and we hung out for a bit before she went off and CRUSHED her marathon.

We even got to celebrate Monday night with beers and pretzels the size of our heads.  

During the weekend, I also got to spend time with Jax DailyMile friends Deb, Joe, and Wendy, with them coming out to the beach and giving me beer mid race :)  Can't beat your own personal aide station!  If there is one thing I am most thankful for as a result of this Blogging, Facebooking, Twittering (totally words, shuddup) little gig I have, it's the friends I've had the pleasure to meet along the way.  

Now, if I can get my act together, I'll work on a race recap, because the Donna was so great on so many levels.  Until then, Cheers!

Training Tuesday: #runDonna race week!

I'm calling this "Training Tuesday" because when I was blogging regularly that's what I post on Tuesdays.  I've been training to not completely lose my running base but haven't really been training, if that makes any sense.  My longest run was a 12 miler a few weeks ago.  I did 8 last week and bagged my 10 the week before that.  13.1 might be painful on Sunday.

This weekend I'm running the 26.2 with Donna Breast Cancer (half) Marathon in Jacksonville.  I'm super excited to see my Floridian friends, but not super excited that it isn't going to be a whole lot warmer than Michigan down there.  Temp at race time on Sunday is only supposed to be in the 30s.  Maybe low 40s if I'm lucky.

I'm packing layers but also trying something new for this race since I don't really care about my finish time.  My fuel belt has been driving me nuts, so I'm bringing a handheld with the thought that I might toss it mid-race if it's bugging me or at the last minute, not carry it at all and just go with on-course hydration.  With temps that cool I should be fine not carrying my own water.  The problem is having no place to stash the rental car key.

I haven't decided if I'll write a race report, but knowing myself, I'm sure you'll see one sometime next week.

Now, where did I put that handy packing list I created for my last out-of-town race?