October 2018 Monthly Running Challenge

On Sunday I got to run 13.39 miles in the Mankato Marathon Half Marathon. It was a lovely day and a great race, and I’m really looking forward to dialing back the miles for a bit. I’m also having a real bear of a week and it’s barely past noon on Tuesday, so it’s nice having this accomplishment to hold onto even if everything else feels like it’s spinning out of control.

We got up at 5 and left just after 5:30. I wanted to stop at McDonald’s for a breakfast sandwich, but unfortunately we went to the only non-24 hour one in town. I told Chris not to worry about it and we headed out of town, but got turned around by bad detour signs so were running about 15 minutes behind. No big deal - I’d planned on getting there an hour before start for a reason.

The drive was uneventful other than my realization that I’d had a major brain fart when checking the weather and only looked at the high for the day, not the weather at 8 AM. I’d expected 55 and sunny and got low 30s to 40s instead (my watch logged 29 for the workout but I don’t believe that). Oh yeah, and windy. Luckily, my windbreaker was sitting back at home safe and sound where it wouldn’t get dirty or anything.

We got to Mankato and promptly ran into a roadblock. My husband had already been stressed about running late (even though we still had lots of time) and this stressed him out even more, but we got there with about a half hour to spare. He dropped me off and parked while I picked up my bib, and managed to meet back up just in time to rescue my bag from having to go in bag check. Whew!

Anyhow, it was cold and wet at the start (thank you random stranger for helping me tie my chip to my shoe laces because my fingers were way too cold), and in the absence of my lovely windbreaker I decided to hang onto my insulated jacket even though I hadn’t run it in yet this year and hope for the best. The race offered clothing drops at the first two aid stations, so I figured I’d see how I felt then, but I didn’t love the idea of dropping my most expensive piece of kit, and also the one I wear as street-gear more often than not.

As it turned out, the weather snafu worked out fine. I probably wouldn’t have chickened out of wearing shorts if I’d realized it would be under 40, and so far none of my capris or leggings are nearly as comfortable as the shorts. I got a couple of “way to be a badass” comments, which were fun, but honestly I’ve always had pretty muscular calves that don’t really get cold. As for my butt and thighs, I ended up tying my jacket around my waist and zipping it up so I had a nice makeshift skirt that was less distracting than I feared it would be, and still gave me nice pocket access as I put on and took off my gloves about 30,000 times over the two and a half hours. I think I might have to save up for one of these after all.

@7lenny7: I’m totally with you on arm-sleeves. I wore a pair under a long sleeve shirt and once I took off my jacket I was able to go from double layer, to rolled up shirt-sleeves, to tucked up sleeves, to no sleeves as I and the day warmed up. And all that with only a tiny roll of fabric to shove in my pocket and at $8, one I wouldn’t have blinked at throwing out, either.

I found the 2:30 pacer at the start and stuck to her for all but the last minute or so of the race. There were maybe 4-6 women with her the first half of the race, all around my age, and one guy who never spoke and looked miserable the whole time, but did finish with us, so good on him I suppose. It was a pretty chatty group, which turned out to be a change for most of us and made for a very laid back, fun day. I spent some time talking with one of the younger women until she dropped back “to find a friend” - I’m not sure if that was true or not, but she was breathing way too hard for midway through a half and it felt really strange to be able to tell that.

The route was really beautiful, a mix of rural highways, paved trail, and some neighborhood and city streets toward the end. There were aid stations every two miles like clockwork and organized cheer sections in between almost every aid station, many of them with snacks. I took a jolly rancher at one point but otherwise stuck to water and was fine. A better selection of food at the finish line than I’ve been used to seeing (why is chocolate milk not more common?), really beautiful medals, and great pre-race communication (other than lack of directions to the starting line) made for a really good experience all around.

We didn’t stick around for the after-party because I mainly just wanted a shower and to get off my feet, and I feel pretty self-conscious hanging out with people after running. I changed out of everything but my shorts in the parking garage, and then changed out of those at a McDonald’s bathroom about 20 minutes into the drive home. Heaven is clean, dry underpants!

My official time was a full minute slower than my half six weeks ago. I was a bit disappointed by that but to be honest, I don’t know that I’d have done anything different. I enjoyed running with the pace group, I finished more-or-less painlessly, and I had a good day. My first race I finished, just barely, with a good half hour of mental and physical struggle. This race I finished comfortably and had a nice morning in a beautiful location with friendly people. Maybe next year I try finishing faster. Maybe not.

It feels a little silly to pay money and do all that training not to push my pace, but I still get to say I ran a half marathon, I got the same medal as people who ran 10, 30, or 60 minutes faster, and I don’t know that I’d ever have run through Mankato otherwise. My instinct after the 10K a couple weeks ago was that I would enjoy pushing myself at that distance, with halfs as less frequent “destination” races, and I think that impulse was correct. I’ve already missed out on registration for the 2019 Grandma’s Half, but there are a lot of other races near and not so near we could do as a weekend trip with a little planning. I've already half-promised to run the Sioux Falls half with a friend next year, so that's nine races under consideration for 2019, hah!

Either way, I’m ready to switch my attention to the 10K for a while. I haven’t run for two days and my quads are still a little mad at me, but otherwise I feel good physically. Mentally I’m a bit of a wreck with various life things, but so it goes. I know I need to be moving around more than I am, but I'm letting myself wallow a little and trying at least to make some money.

@7lenny7: Congratulations, that sounds like it went great (other than your foot, which fingers crossed feels better soon). I don’t know that ultras are in my immediate future, but it would be fun to run a pace loop next year, assuming it’s not the day before a half marathon!

@garygse: It hadn’t occurred to me that the watches would work over your outerwear, but that makes sense! I might have to put a separate monitor back on my list sooner rather than later - I liked the look of the forearm models.




SWAG!

OCTOBER MILES:
10/1 Mo - rest
10/2 Tu - 1:11:20 - 6.54 meandering and cold
10/3 We - 0:20:06 - 1.94 zippy after lifting
10/4 Th - 0:45:37 - 4.33 medium effort
10/5 Fr - rest
10/6 Sa - Twin Cities Marathon Weekend 10K - Chip time: 1:05:14
10/7 Su - “rest” volunteering at TCM gear check
10/8 Mo - rest
10/9 Tu - 1:09:53 - 6.54 improving my cold weather game
10/10 We - 0:40:00 - 3.60 numbers approximate (workout accidentally turned off)
10/11 Th - rest
10/12 Fr - 0:56:36 - 5.20 medium effort sort of painful
10/13 Sa - rest
10/14 Su - 1:56:06 - 10.04
10/15 Mo - rest
10/16 Tu - 1:06:06 - 6.32
10/17 We - prehab, finally (if I’m going to neglect lifting I need to not neglect this!)
10/18 Th - 0:52:09 - 4.74
10/19 Fr - rest
10/20 Sa - rest
10/21 Su - Mankato Marathon Weekend Half Marathon - Chip time 2:29:25
10/22 Mo - rest
10/23 Tu - rest

October Total: 68.98/85 miles

Races! (italics under consideration)
July 4: Red, White and Boom! 5K Chip time: 0:32:20
August 25: Glo Run Night Race 5K Chip time: 0:30:40
September 8: Helen Gold 10K DNS - trip postponed
September 9: City of Lakes Half Marathon Net time: 2:28:25
October 6: Twin Cities Marathon Weekend 10K Chip time: 1:05:14
October 21: Mankato Half Marathon Chip time: 2:29:25
November 24: Mustache Run 10K
December 8: Reindeer Run 10K or 15K (leaning 15K)

2019 Races Under Consideration
January 5: Polar Dash 10K
January 26: Securian 10K
May 23 (est): ESTRS Lebanon 10K
June 13 (est): ESTRS French 5K
July 11 (est): ESTRS Lebanon 7MI
July 17: Torchlight 5K
August 1 (est): ESTRS Hyland 4MI
September 9 (est): Sioux Falls Half (and 5K?)
October 6 (est): TCM 10K

It's confirmed. The MRI shows I have a tear of my 2nd extensor digitorum brevis, one of the tendons on the top of my foot which extends my toe. I have a consultation with the surgeon tomorrow.

BruinsGal_91 wrote: »

@LaDispute57 That pipeline is badass! Kudos to you. And you'll ace it next year.

@MegaMooseEsq Great race, and that's some seriously nice bling!

Totally this! Way to represent!

Scott6255 wrote: »

@LaDispute57 total respect man! That was a killer course, nothing I could even imagine. You triumphed in all that adversity. The only thing you didn't do was cross that line. But you still are a winner for going through all that!

Also, they did not have to send a search and rescue out after you, so there is that. Though you might have gotten a flight on one of those fancy helicopters if they did. Something to consider next time?

PastorVincent wrote: »

Scott6255 wrote: »

@LaDispute57 total respect man! That was a killer course, nothing I could even imagine. You triumphed in all that adversity. The only thing you didn't do was cross that line. But you still are a winner for going through all that!

Also, they did not have to send a search and rescue out after you, so there is that. Though you might have gotten a flight on one of those fancy helicopters if they did. Something to consider next time?

Ive been looking at a half marathon out by Jackson Hole, where apparently if you get lost in the wilderness, you might get rescued by Harrison Ford. Might make having to eat your own shoes worth it...