So from November's post, I decided to ditch my physical therapist for my anterior compartment syndrome. I felt like I knew more about how to heal it than he did. So I did more research online from people who have experienced what I did through running. I would do baby runs (1 to 2 miles) every few days. I would walk/run so I wouldn't overdue it. I would always go in the jacuzzi for about 20 minutes then ice afterwards to help with any inflammation. While in the jacuzzi, I would always massage my leg and rub upwards to help the blood to move away from the painful areas. This alone helped tremendously.
It wasn't until January that I was able to increase my distance...safely. Little by little, I would increase my running, and made sure to take my rest days seriously. If I felt any discomfort, I would stop and give it a day's rest. So from January 2 through the day before my race, I was able to increase my run to 6.2 miles on my long day. I'm sure you're thinking this is crazy, how can you run a half marathon when you've only trained up to half the distance...so here's how:
Originally when I gave myself the brilliant idea to do a half marathon, I gave myself 16 weeks to train, which is more than enough time. However, of those 16 weeks, 10 of those weeks was dealing with my injury and not being able to stick to my training plan. Two of those weeks were from the start of my training which caused my injury. Meaning only 4 weeks were actual training. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone!!! But I did it. I recorded the actual miles I did within these 16 weeks, and here's what it looked like (the graph is a little messed up, but you get the idea):
Monday
|
Tuesday
|
Wednesday
|
Thursday
|
Friday
|
Saturday
|
Sunday
|
Total
|
October 8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
|
5.19
|
Off
|
5.5
|
1.45
|
Off
|
3.16
|
4.17
|
19.47
|
15
|
16
|
17
|
18
|
19
|
20
|
21
|
|
Off
|
3.18
|
0
|
4.6 INJURY
|
2.24
|
0
|
0
|
10.02
|
22
|
23
|
24
|
25
|
26
|
27
|
28
|
|
Off
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Off
|
0
|
3.19
|
3.19
|
29
|
30
|
31
|
November 1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
|
Off
|
2.23
|
0
|
0
|
Off
|
0
|
0
|
2.23
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
|
Off
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Off
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
15
|
16
|
17
|
18
|
|
Off
|
0
|
1.52
|
1.76
|
Off
|
0
|
2.20
|
5.48
|
19
|
20
|
21
|
22
|
23
|
24
|
25
|
|
Off
|
1.97
|
0
|
0
|
Off
|
0
|
0
|
1.97
|
26
|
27
|
28
|
29
|
30
|
December 1
|
2
|
|
2.49
|
0
|
2.34
|
0
|
Off
|
2.56
|
0
|
7.39
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
|
2.02
|
2
|
0
|
2.85
|
Off
|
0
|
0
|
6.87
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
15
|
16
|
|
Off
|
2.8
|
0
|
0
|
Off
|
0
|
3.22
|
6.02
|
17
|
18
|
19
|
20
|
21
|
22
|
23
|
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
Off
|
3.16
|
0
|
6.13
|
24
|
25
|
26
|
27
|
28
|
29
|
30
|
|
Off
|
0
|
0
|
3.3
|
Off
|
0
|
0
|
3.3
|
31
|
January 1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
|
Off
|
0
|
4.23
|
0
|
Off
|
0
|
4.03
|
8.26
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13
|
|
Off
|
3.09
|
0
|
3.56
|
Off
|
2
|
5.56
|
14.21
|
14
|
15
|
16
|
17
|
18
|
19
|
20
|
|
Off
|
3.02
|
0
|
4.19
|
Off
|
3.62
|
6.19
|
17.02
|
21
|
22
|
23
|
24
|
25
|
26
|
27
|
|
Off
|
2.75
|
0
|
3.18
|
Off
|
2.91
|
RACE DAY!
|
21.94
|
Keep in mind that between the injury and the green weeks, were walking/running training and not training very hard because I couldn't. The green was when I felt confident enough to increase my mileage safely. In addition, during the green weeks, I made a point to not consume dairy (except yogurt), breads, sugary drinks, or alcohol. My main source of fuel was fruits, veggies, chicken, turkey, fish, beans, and tons of water. This not only helped with recovery days, but increased my energy, helped to take off a little weight, and encourage muscle growth/healing. Not to mention, my face cleared up and my body toned up tremendously.
So going into the race, I just wanted to finish and didn't care about the time. When I registered in October, my estimated finish was 2:30 since I'm a beginner. The race had a 19 minute/mile pace, so I knew I could finish regardless of what my final time would be. I did some research and found a great way to finish the half without killing yourself! Awesome right! So here's what I planned...run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute for the first 10 miles, then run the remaining 3.1. This would allow me to conserve energy and kick a** at the end. So this was going to be my strategy to finishing.
LAST TWO DAYS BEFORE RACE: The last two days before the race, I carbed up and drank about 100 oz, if not more, of water. The day before the race, here is what my meals looked like:
Breakfast: whole wheat bagel, avocado, sprouts, tomato (shown above)
Lunch: pasta salad (pasta, red and green peppers, pepperoncinis, black olives, olive oil)
Dinner: whole wheat bread with peanut butter and banana sandwich
I also walked 5 minutes ran 1 minute the day before the race to keep my muscles loose.
The night before, I made sure to layout everything I needed and had my gear bag with everything I needed. Here was my check list:
The night before, I made sure to layout everything I needed and had my gear bag with everything I needed. Here was my check list:
- running shirt, pants, socks, shoes
- gear bag
- blanket (in gear bag in case I need to keep extra warm while waiting)
- two plastic grocery bags (in case it rained and I could wear the bags around my shoes to keep dry)
- big trash bag (in case it rained and needed to keep dry at the start)
- chap stick (hate running when my lips are dry)
- hat (rain or shine)
- iphone holder/head phones
- watch
RACE DAY: I was STRESSING OUT!!! The forecast for the morning said it was supposed to rain. I was dreading it! I was worried about my feet getting wet and having to deal with blisters. Worried that my clothing wasn't "moisture wicking" enough. Blah blah blah. Then I told myself, "CHILL OUT! Wear what you always wear. It's too late to change anything up now." So that's what I did. I wore a top with a built in sports bra, tight fitted pants, my favorite socks, and my racing shoes.
For breakfast, I ate the same as the day before since it's what I was used to and knew it wouldn't upset my tummy. Since I hydrated for a couple days leading up to race day, I did not drink much with breakfast since I didn't want to have to pee before or during the race.
I also made sure to go to the bathroom before leaving the house. SMART MOVE! Once I got to the event, there were lines upon lines of people at the porter potties.
Once I got there, I warmed up, stretched, and tried to relax. I was nervous seeing so many people, and doing a race that I've never done was just plain nerve racking. I checked my gear and headed to the start line and lined up in my wave. Once I was there, I started feeling better because everyone else looked more nervous than me....AND IT WASN'T RAINING! The race began and I was feeling good. I kept telling myself to chill and stick to my plan (run 3 min /walk 1 min for first 10 miles). I wanted so badly to just go balls to the wall, but needed to conserve my energy for later.
For the first mile, I ran the whole thing and not sticking to my plan. I was sort of embarrassed to take a walk because it was so early on, but made myself and I'm glad I did. My plan worked out perfectly! I conserved energy and didn't feel the need to call it quits or give up. Plus breaking up the run into little runs made the miles fly right by. Once I got to mile 4, I picked up a gel that was being passed out, but held onto it until mile 7. It gave me a good little boost especially since around 1 hour I begin to get lightheaded since I get low blood sugar. But then, it hit.....mile 8! The road was a slant, and my right bad leg's foot got a sharp pain to where I was forced to walk...WONDERFUL! So, I relaxed and walked it out. Hoping that this wouldn't be the moment I'd have to quit, the pain slowly started easing up. Then I was off! I was determined to get through this race.
By mile 10, my plan was to run the remaining 3.1, and I tried my hardest to, but found myself walking a couple times but would only let myself walk for one minute. Then for the last 1.5 miles, I ran! Getting closer and closer to the finish line, spectators were lined up screaming and yelling and I went balls to the wall for that finish line. Seeing my boyfriend, dad, and friend there made me feel great! Then I passed the finish :)
I even had a beer waiting for me at the end! It was an amazing experience and to see how much you body can go through if you put your mind to it. I was injured, only trained up to 6.5 miles, and ran the half marathon with success and not killing or hurting myself. My overall time was 2:24...which was what I planned before I even got hurt! I did it!
The day after the race, I was hardly even sore! Amazing! I was so ecstatic that I signed up for a 10k race two weeks later and my next half marathon in La Jolla. Round 2!
For breakfast, I ate the same as the day before since it's what I was used to and knew it wouldn't upset my tummy. Since I hydrated for a couple days leading up to race day, I did not drink much with breakfast since I didn't want to have to pee before or during the race.
I also made sure to go to the bathroom before leaving the house. SMART MOVE! Once I got to the event, there were lines upon lines of people at the porter potties.
Once I got there, I warmed up, stretched, and tried to relax. I was nervous seeing so many people, and doing a race that I've never done was just plain nerve racking. I checked my gear and headed to the start line and lined up in my wave. Once I was there, I started feeling better because everyone else looked more nervous than me....AND IT WASN'T RAINING! The race began and I was feeling good. I kept telling myself to chill and stick to my plan (run 3 min /walk 1 min for first 10 miles). I wanted so badly to just go balls to the wall, but needed to conserve my energy for later.
For the first mile, I ran the whole thing and not sticking to my plan. I was sort of embarrassed to take a walk because it was so early on, but made myself and I'm glad I did. My plan worked out perfectly! I conserved energy and didn't feel the need to call it quits or give up. Plus breaking up the run into little runs made the miles fly right by. Once I got to mile 4, I picked up a gel that was being passed out, but held onto it until mile 7. It gave me a good little boost especially since around 1 hour I begin to get lightheaded since I get low blood sugar. But then, it hit.....mile 8! The road was a slant, and my right bad leg's foot got a sharp pain to where I was forced to walk...WONDERFUL! So, I relaxed and walked it out. Hoping that this wouldn't be the moment I'd have to quit, the pain slowly started easing up. Then I was off! I was determined to get through this race.
By mile 10, my plan was to run the remaining 3.1, and I tried my hardest to, but found myself walking a couple times but would only let myself walk for one minute. Then for the last 1.5 miles, I ran! Getting closer and closer to the finish line, spectators were lined up screaming and yelling and I went balls to the wall for that finish line. Seeing my boyfriend, dad, and friend there made me feel great! Then I passed the finish :)
I even had a beer waiting for me at the end! It was an amazing experience and to see how much you body can go through if you put your mind to it. I was injured, only trained up to 6.5 miles, and ran the half marathon with success and not killing or hurting myself. My overall time was 2:24...which was what I planned before I even got hurt! I did it!
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