Not a race review.

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I'm angry.

I'm angry at the flu, I'm angry at Winter, and I'm angry at myself. This post was supposed to be a recap for the Vancouver First 1/2 Half Marathon that occurred last Sunday, but the thing is, I didn't race.

I felt great on Saturday after the snowshoeing. Before I did that, I had worried I'd be really sore and it would effect my ability to run on Sunday. But as it turns out, it wouldn't even matter. I had organized all of my race stuff on Saturday evening, repacked my hydration pack etc. In fact, it's all still sitting there on the counter (as of Monday).

At about 11:00PM, I started to feel "off". By 12:00AM, all hell broke loose. All of the sudden, I found myself in the throws of the stomach flu. I was clammy all over and more nauseous than I have been in a really long time. All I could think was why is this happening now? The night before my 2nd race of the year. I took some Gravol and headed to bed hoping that something amazing would happen in the next 5 hours that would change how I felt.

Not surprisingly, 5:00AM came and went and I was no better than the night before. I had to make a decision even though I felt like it had already been made for me. I could go and end up sick on the sidelines most likely ending in a DNF or I could stay home and try to get through this in a more comfortable situation, the most comfortable you can possibly be when your body is emptying your insides in every way possible...

There were 3 local races that happened on Sunday. I did the First Half and Fort Langley Historic Half last year (they were on different days). My twitter and Facebook news feeds were full of shiny new PRs and amazing race stories. I tried my best not to feel sorry for myself because it's not like this doesn't happen to everyone at some point or another. You might remember that it has happened to me before. Frankly, when you plan 14 races or more per year, it is bound to happen, but that doesn't make it any less disappointing.

I'm trying to count my blessings, you know it's only the flu right? But I still wish I was there and that I ran an awesome race, instead of looking at my incredibly low mileage for last week and wondering what I could have done differently.

Maybe I could have been eating better and then I wouldn't have gotten the flu. Washed my hands more, been taking more vitamins... I don't know. Maybe I would have done all of those things, and still have gotten the flu.

All I can do is get healthy and move forward.

Has this happened to you? Would you have done the same thing or would you have attempted to race?

Square One

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My 1st week of training for my second marathon is in the books and I feel like I have started back at square one. Taking a month off took more of a toll than I anticipated.

Last Sunday in particular was really tough. I admittedly started off a lot faster than intended as I really wanted to run with a certain group of people but about 5 km in, I realized that there was no way I could continue at that pace nor was it very smart to have done so up until that point. They were doing 16km and I only had 10 on the schedule so I wasn't sure how long I'd stick it out. Thankfully I ran into a couple of other friends who had already been running for 20km so they were happy to only do another 5 or so kilometers and dragged me along beside them. In the end I clocked that run in at just over 14km and I felt wrecked. It was discouraging and humbling. During marathon training I had felt so strong, I took that for granted. In a way, I think it is a good thing, it has given me a different kind of motivation and my body felt really rested and ready to get going again.

This Sunday, I once again had 10km on the schedule. Seemingly overnight, I woke up Saturday morning sick. I had had a bit of sore throat on/off throughout the week, but I felt like it was going away. Then when Saturday hit, everything fell apart. My sinuses felt so full and my throat was extremely sore. I decided that I would run on Sunday morning anyway. It wasn't a race, I was just going to teeter along at my own pace. I've heard that if your sickness is from the neck up, then it is okay to run, but usually I just go by how I feel and I didn't feel like sitting at home. So this morning, off I went. I dressed, what I thought, was warmly, and then I went outside...

Oh my, did I ever wish I had washed my long pants after Friday night's run, it was freezing! My weather app lied, it was WAY colder than -2 at our house. I didn't feel great, but once we got running, my spirits started to lift. One of the great things about moving to a new area is that I am not yet familiar with all the running routes yet, so it is always interesting, especially on a beautiful day like today! I met some new people along my run too which was also nice, as I'm still pretty new to the local running scene here.

Starting over is tough especially because of the year I had last year, but today I felt some of that strength in my legs coming back, there is some memory there and it will all come back with some hard work! Now to get rid of this head cold... Off to bed!

Perhaps #17 was just 1 too many for 2013...

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This past Sunday I was all set to do the Try Events Vancouver Historic Half Marathon... rewind back to last Thursday and this happened:

Sick toddlers are no fun at all, and what's worse is that they are germ incubators and they touch EVERYTHING. It was pretty much inevitable that I would be next in line for the dreaded flu but after the previous week and being sick at Disney Wine & Dine, I was in denial. Come Saturday, with a horrible sore throat, sneezes, and even some tummy trouble thrown in, I still believed that come Sunday morning, I would magically feel ready to run. I was drinking lots of tea and hoping for the best.

Maybe if I hoped hard enough, I would wake up looking like my coffee mug!
 

The 1st time Nyquil made it into my pre-race checklist.

Not surprisingly, Sunday morning came very early at 5:45AM with a still-sick toddler and I decided that enough was enough. As sad as I was that I was done running half marathons for the year, it felt like it was time. I've run 16 half marathons this year, 1 full marathon, and few other races too. I feel like I've accomplished what I set out to do at the beginning of the year. I ran, I changed the way I look at running by running 100's and 100's of kilometres.

 

Sunday morning was a beautiful morning here and I spent it with my family. Griffin and I were even up early enough to catch the sunrise in our pajamas...

This time of year is pretty wonderful after all. I've spent the beginning of this week recovering from the dreaded sickness and decorating the house for the holidays. So even though I felt pretty down about missing the race on Sunday, I feel better now. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is the best thing to do.

Griffin is feeling better now too :)

Have you ever had to miss a race because of being sick?

WOW... I can't believe it's over.

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Yesterday I began my day by taking my 2nd taxi ever in New York City to central park making my way to my corral along with 18000 other runners. After a VERY chilly wait I began the race of a lifetime around Central Park, through Times Square, past the new World Trade Center, and through the Battery Park tunnel ending finally at the South Street Seaport.

There are so many things to say about this race and this trip and I just haven't had time to process it all just yet. I've been up for nearly 24 hours now and I need to go to sleep and digest everything that's happened. My race report will be up in the next couple days complete with some great photos!

Until then I will share a couple of things:

1. This was the coldest start to a race I've ever had.

2. I've never run while that sick and I'm STILL sick... seriously.

3. It was not a PR despite my best efforts. Not sure how I feel about this yet.

4. NYC was completely different than I imagined.

5. This could be the MOST memorable race I've ever done.

6. I have never been this sore post-race before.

7. I love Vancouver and I'm so happy I live here.

More to come. I hope everyone who ran on St. Patrick's Day had a great time, I look forward to reading about it but now I need to rest and recover.

Also, I have some more great reviews/giveaways coming up so stay tuned!

Something I never wanted to do.

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I can't believe I'm going to say this: I didn't run, I didn't go to my race. I still have a fever and I'm feeling absolutely disgusting. I had to make one of those decisions that you know is right but it feels so wrong.

Last nights pep talk was a total last ditch effort at convincing myself I would miraculously be better in 12 hours. I was only fooling myself.

So no race recap, no run, no anything. Just praying to be healthy for the NYC Half next Sunday.

I've never felt like this on the eve of a race day...

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I am sick... Fever, congestion, sore throat, the whole nine yards. I've been fighting with myself all day, do I skip the race or do I run? I'm thinking my fever will break before morning and then I'm just dealing with a head cold, I've run that way before, not in a race though. New York is now within reach, only 1 week away. I want to be healthy for that obviously, but the cold is going to run its course race or no race.

I plan on going to bed early, dressing warmly and fueling my body before and after the race. There will be no trying for a PR and no pushing myself out of my comfort zone, I will save it for NYC. Tomorrow will just be running for the sake of running. Because I'm signed up for 17 races this year and I'm going to run 17 races. I will not let my competitiveness get the better of me and I will listen to my body. There, I'm making myself that promise.

Now how will I complete a race/run with a head cold?
1. Get a good sleep = NyQuil
2. I will bring lots of Kleenex
3. I will drink water even though its the last thing I want to do
4. I will force myself to eat something in the morning and take something to keep the sniffling at bay
5. I WILL CAUSE I SAID I WOULD

My pep talk to myself is done now.