I have a case of the Lazy's

I've dropped out of The Pig. And I pretty much feel like a big fat loser about it. Unfortunately, I've not been able to hang on to what little mojo I had after The Columbus Distance Classic and have fallen pretty far off the wagon. I attribute it to several things...

• I'm burned out. I put so much energy and time into training for the marathon last year and I still don't feel like I've been able to recapture that spark.
• my job is sucking my will to live. Seriously, even with the fantastic weather we've been having here, I go straight home after work and resume my position on the couch.
• turns out the chest pain and heart palpitations I was having last year were anxiety after all. My doctor has prescribed some anti-anxiety medication which I was pretty hesitant to take, but whatever works, right? Problem is, I've lost a lot of motivation to do pretty much anything. She's still trying to find the right meds for me, so far this is the second one I've tried. Fun.
• been spending more and more time with the BT.

So there you have it. I'm a big fat failure at running. I've decided to cut myself some slack and focus on overall fitness and health, still trying to run twice a week. Hopefully, I'll resume my love affair with running soon.

When Pigs Fly

I've been trying to gear myself up for The Pig but I've just felt soooooo lllllaaaazzzzzzzyyyyy this week. We've had gorgeous weather here all week and I've managed to run a whopping THREE miles since the half marathon. I have gone to yoga twice but that doesn't really help my mileage totals. Now does it?!?! My good friend S and I are planning a girls weekend in Cincinnati for the race away from her dude and my Boy Toy. However, I have a feeling most of our conversations will be about the boys in our lives.

If you need a laugh check out my race photos from Saturday. My BIB # is 788. They are HILARIOUS. I don't think I could look more pissed off in all of them if I tried. I need to practice smiling while I run. Clearly.

Capital City Half Marathon

Having run this race as my first half marathon exactly one year ago, I knew what to expect of the challenges of the course and of the possible weather conditions. But clearly, I train on very very flat terrian. This is known as being a relitively flat course so why did I feel like I was running uphill the entire way?

It was a chilly 40F at the start and overcast - perfect racing conditions for me. I was well rested and carbed up so I knew I had a chance at meeting my time goal of 2:15 which would give me a PR by 14 minutes. We lined up according to pace per mile, me with the 10:00 group and my dad with the 11:00 group. We were 3,500 strong and pressed shoulder to shoulder. I prepared myself for a slow first mile so you can imagine my surprise when I clocked a 9:54. 10:15 was my goal. Pull back, I thought to myself, don't go out too fast.

The first waterstop was a mess, almost like the poor volunteers weren't quite ready for us yet. I decided to skip it. The next few miles passed in a blur while the crowd thinned out and we found our rhythm.

Mile 2: 9:30
Mile 3: 9:22
Mile 4: 9:26

At mile 5 I took my first gel and inhaled as much water as I could without choking or stopping. I knew it was early in the race but I thought if I could hold on to that pace, I would shatter my time goal.

Mile 5: 9:48
Mile 6: 9:44

At mile six, we started the long stretch up High Street and the entire thing felt like I was running in a wind tunnel. I swore and cursed the sky. Wind bites. But I decided no amount of wind was going to stop me. I made the wind my bitch and kept plugging away.

Mile 7 & 8: 20:51 (forgot to hit the lap button)

More uphill, more wind. more swearing. Somewhere around here I had to stop and walk for a minute and catch my breath. My heart rate had gotten too high and I needed to regroup.

Mile 9: 9:49
Mile 10: 10:42

Porta potty stop and a quick walk break at mile 10. Only 5k to go. People around me were talking about a 2:10 finish time. I knew I just had to hang on and that 2:10 would be mine. I wanted 2:10 more than I wanted a 2:15. Time to kick it into high gear.

Mile 11: 10:27
Mile 12: 9:22
Mile 13: 8:56!!!!

Finish: 2:10:42

I finished strong and gave hi-fives to little kids in the final stretch. I crossed the finish line knowing I'd given it everything I had and was completely spent. I sat down on a curb with a banana and waited until I was sure I wasn't going to throw up before I went back to the finish line to cheer my dad to his PR of 2:23.

When I ran this same race last year, the main goal was to finish. 13.1 miles was a distance I'd never covered before so no matter what I would be happy at the end. This year, I've done the distance (and then some) so it was all about the time. I woke up Saturday morning unsure if I would be able to hold a 10:15 pace for the entire race and ended up really surprising myself with what I was able to do out there. I know there are things I still need to work on (hills and endurance) but running a 2:10 is a 19 minute improvement in 1 year. Who knows what I'll be able to do one year from now!

Bikram

The top of my foot has been hurting for the last week. It's on the top so I'm worried it's a bone issue rather than a muscle issue, i.e. stress fracture. Could just be a bruise but it's not in my nature to think optimistically. Nevertheless, I've taken the last three days off from running to let it heal as much as possible. The half marathon is a week from Saturday and if I can be really careful with it until then, I think I will still be able to run it and run it well. That puts a huge damper on the Pig though but lets not get ahead of ourselves.

Tonight, instead of running on my tender foot, I went to my Bikram yoga class and sweated my tush off. I love love Love this class and every time I go, I wonder why I don't go more often and then I remember that it's sort of expensive and running is not. But seriously guys, I've mentioned before how awesome this class is so if you are ever looking for something new to try, give it a go. You'll feel relaxed and rejuvenated by the end in a way you might not have expected.