I've had a really good recovery period since Houston and has it really been over three weeks since the race? I still don't know what caused my body to fail starting at mile one of that marathon, but I'm so incredibly glad that I finished. Let's just say it builds tons of character to finish a marathon knowing something is wrong, off, or whatever and you feel horrible. I haven't been able to write down the words in this space (I certainly have plenty to say on Instagram) about how I felt that day, but this is the first step. One of the great things about running is that it for sure stings when you miss your goal (especially when you completely bomb your goal, missing anything close to it by a long shot), but we get to wake up and try again. No one promised that it would be easy. There are no guarantees that just because you work really hard and show your potential in training - that it automatically means you will have a dream race. I will say that I honestly felt like I had the flu that day, without any other symptoms except extreme fatigue and achiness. I kept thinking things would turn around (just get to the 5K mark and you will feel better) and unfortunately they never did. I could feel the pain with every step and I still shake my head (and cringe) thinking about it. By the way, I would absolutely go back and race in Houston. The course was fast and well organized, the weather was cool and perfect, even with the windy conditions, the volunteers were wonderful with fluid stations and overall it was a great race. I shared with you guys the other day on Insta about my quest to chase the Olympic Trials Qualifying Time for the marathon (known in the running world and at our dinner table as the OTQ). I did not start trying for the goal until October and that story is a long post for another day, but I went for it. Even though my race did not in any way reflect the fitness, I had such a blast training faster than I ever have in my life. The experience has made me a better, stronger, faster runner and this is the start of a really awesome journey.
Here is what my week of running looked like last week - I've getting back into a groove, figuring out what's next and excited about the possiblities.
Monday February 3rd - 7.05 miles
Tuesday February 4th - 3.41 miles
Wednesday February 5th - 10.01 miles (I picked up the pace a bit on this easy run and it felt great).
Thursday February 6th - 8.35 miles (with 2 strides at the end to get my legs moving)
Friday February 7th - 7.47 miles
Saturday February 8th - 8.24 miles (with a couple of pick ups thrown in)
Sunday February 9th - DAY OFF (It is so rare for me to take Sunday off, it felt very strange - but good :)
Total miles 44.53
After logging 70+ mile weeks for months, this felt pretty much like a breeze...
Also, I'm on a podcast that drops today!
The Hamilton Review: Where Kids And Culture Collide is a brand new podcast hosted by Dr. Robert Hamilton, a Santa Monica based pediciatrican that is really fantastic and very well know for THIS method to calm a crying baby.
Dr. Bob has been taking care of my kids since they were born and I couldn't love him more. We've been working together on a bunch of projects, which has been a lot of fun for me this past year (I get to work from home on this project and coaching runners - then the kids come home and its chaos). Anyway, I hope you give it a listen and let me know what you think! He has a lot of great guests coming up with a variety of topics about parenthood, kids and navigating through it all.
I hope you guys have a great run and never forget that if you want to achieve something, you absolutely can do it (it might take a while, but keep going!) - don't limit yourself.
Work hard, dream big.
Natalie
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