Flashing Back

Over the past few months, I've not been so good about updating my blog.  Ok, let me frank - I have not been that good at all, despite my best intentions.  The last three races have been a struggle, earning me three of my worst finishes ever.  I am not at all confident about my ability to finish my June race.  On the dietary front, I will get on track for about five minutes and then cave to temptation.  Maybe if I did a better job of blogging, I would do a better job of being more accountable to myself?  Hmmm.  Time will tell.  For now, let's play catch-up.

In March we did the Run the Bluegrass Half Marathon in Lexington, KY.  When we originally signed on for this race, it was going to be part of the Rock & Roll race series.  For whatever reason, the decision was made that it would be best to keep it a locally managed race.  Since we had not yet done a race in Kentucky, we decided to go for it!  Kentucky is HILLY.  I mean REALLY HILLY.  I don't know that there was a flat section on the course.  Plus, the grades were pretty steep.  I felt great until about mile 9, when I took a potty break.  That brief pause convinced my body that it was done, and my performance reflected my body's decision for the remainder of the race.  

April seemed to be coming along with a much brighter outlook.  After recovering from Kentucky, my training was on track.  I was excited about heading to Nashville for the Country Music Marathon & Half Marathon, despite the IQ points that I was sure to lose from the music.  The day before the race, I turned the wrong way and threw my back out.  Riding in the car to Nashville did not help.  At one point, I could not even stoop down to get a PowerAde from the bottom shelf.  Good thing the Rock & Roll series races have big Expos.  At the Expo, there was a booth that featured a device that uses electrical impulses for massage therapy.  I was skeptical, but after about three minutes, my mobility was significantly improved.  I purchased a Magic Massage unit (I heartily endorse this product!) and used it the night before the race and the morning of.  It was enough to reduce my pain so that I could walk the race.  Considering that this was the start of back to back half marathon weekends, I decided not to push things and kept it to a walk. It was a long, wet, walk in continuous a downpour.  There was so much rain that I almost think I should get credit for a biathlon.  Regardless, my time was not too bad, considering.

This is MAY??? (Erin, Jeff, & Valsicle)

The very next weekend (I know - TOTALLY crazy, right?), we did our May 4th race, The New River Marathon & Half Marathon in Todd, NC.  During the week between races, I pampered my back with my Magic Massage, and it felt significantly better to start the race.  This was a small race in the foothills of Western North Carolina.  There were only three hills of any significance; however, they were of great significance (those three hills comprised close to half of the race).  As our friend Erin put it, they were mountain goat grade hills, meaning they were pretty steep going both up and down.  It was an unseasonably cold day.  Again, I started off well.  About mid-way through, the second major hill took the wind out of my sails.  I was just starting to recover when I got to the final hill.  Not sure if it was a protest to my Billy goat gruff impression or to the second race in a week, but my back decided it had had enough.  Oh, and at that point, it started RAINING!  Let me just say I am SO done with cold & rain this year.  Thank goodness that there were several walkers behind me.  If the sag wagon had caught up to me during those last couple of painful miles, I just may have hopped on.  

Bigfoot sighting near the finish

The Monday after the race, I woke to a lovely surprise in the form of a sore throat that quickly turned into some sort of respiratory infection that settled in my chest, which came with a heaping side of fatigue!  The running rule of thumb is above the neck, its okay to run, below the neck, take time off to recover.  Grrr!  I think I finally have the infection out of my system, but I still have little bit of a lingering cough and tightness in the chest.  The two workouts that I have been able to do have been slow and my energy wanes quickly.  
I have just under two weeks left until the Charity Chase on June 1st.  It is not looking good.  I may end up walking yet another race.  I may not be able to keep up with the pace requirement.  It's okay.  I know the way to the finish line.  The official finish line may be gone by the time I get there, but get there, I will.  

**Stay tuned for race reviews for:  Run the Bluegrass, Country Music Marathon & Half Marathon, & New River Marathon & Half Marathon**