One Bad Ass Runner

Today, I ran the South Florida Fair 5K.  I wanted to see whether I could race a 5K without albuterol (as my doctor believed).  Today's weather of 74F and 72 dewpoint (95% humidity or thereabouts) meant the answer was no.  For the first time since Las Vegas I had to use the inhaler mid race.  Still, although I came in at a slow (for me) 27:18, I wasted close to 3 minutes using the inhaler which means I'm still running strong (when I can, LOL). Too bad I never got to race last week.  If you didn't read about it, I was about to run the Jingle Bell Jog 5K in 43F and awesome dewpoint numbers to race with asthma when this girl tried to cut me off and ended up tripping me.  I fell so hard I had to DNF the race.  Here are the pics of my knee right after the race and one day later.  It is still black and blue but I will spare you additional pictures. Right after the race: A day later: This last race was not meant to be (as last week's race), but the year ha

Today, I ran the Parkland 5 Mile Holiday Run in Parkland, Florida.  This was to be a test of how well I am doing and whether I can race without albuterol.  I got to say this test was a success. I did no taper for this; in fact, I've run a lot of miles this week.  So, my legs were tired and so was I.  Still, I thought I could still PR.  After all, my PR of 44:50 is soft and from two years ago.  In April, I attempted a 5 miler race and had a huge asthma attack, coming in at a disappointing 46:33, which was the story of my first half of the year. But I knew I felt much better now and my runs have gone well, so I was ready to see how well I could do.  I've been doing multiple marathons so I also knew there is no way to get a huge PR in any of my races and the closer to my second maniac star, the tired I'm going to be.  So, this weekend worked perfectly. I woke up at 5am with a migraine.  Not as bad as others, but still a bother.  I drove to Parkland, which is aro

Today, I ran the Weston Half Marathon in Weston, FL.  This is a very nice local race that has a great post-race party, which I didn't attend this year, doh! Anyway, after a horrible marathon last week, my recovery has been going well.  I had to take off from exercise until Wednesday, mainly because my throat was still swollen after that anaphylaxis/asthma attack during the marathon.  So I ran well this week but I didn't push it for fear that the allergy attack would come back. I woke up at 4:40am to get to Weston by 5:30am so I could do race day packet pickup (which around here is a rare treat).  After packet pickup, I went back to the car, drank my coffee and used the restrooms.  Temps were already 73F and humidity was at 71 dewpoint (97% humidity).  At the finish, it was 76F and 93%.  Bah. Here is a picture of me and my running group friends before the race.  The one to my left finished second in his AG and my other friend was Top10 when I saw him last.

Last night, I completed the RnR Vegas Marathon.  It was hard for me to complete it.  I seriously wanted to quit since Mile 10 but I had nowhere to go but forward.  I finished it as my third worse.  In positive news, at least my quest for a second maniac star continues. The race started at 3pm.  Weather in Vegas has been really nice, until race day.  Temps were to be 65-59F which felt way colder, but the not so nice part was the wind that started Sunday morning.  We had at one point in time in the race 30mph headwinds. For me, that was not the issue.  It was windy but I didn't feel it by then.  It was the dust that came with it. Miles 1-6 - The first few miles went great.  I was running at MP and my HR was spot on to where it should be.  I actually kept looking at the pace and the HR and saying damn, everything is working out fine.  These miles started at the Mandalay Bay going South and then turning back to the Strip and going North all the way til the end.  Best part

Today, I ran the RnR Latin Music Miami Beach Half Marathon in Miami Beach, FL.  It's the second year for this race and last year, I did it for fun with Rich, Jenn (although Jenn DNS'd due to injury), Dana, June, and Shen.  We had tons of fun then and I knew this race is a great one. This year, the race changed dates and instead of December, it was this weekend, which worked better for me, as there is a HM in Weston, FL, I love to do but conflicted with this race.  So now, I can do both.  My next marathon is in two weeks (RnR Vegas) and have been wondering what pace to run for that race.  I think I am ready to attempt another PR, since I was sick during MCM and a PR was all but impossible then.  So, this HM was supposed to be a test of what I could be capable of in Vegas. Since MCM, I've been running a lot.  My team in the 2012 in 2012 game in RWOL is in the semi finals and I decided to do my part by running 50 miles two weeks post marathon and another set of go

Today, I ran the 13.1 Ft. Lauderdale.  This was my first HM in 2009 and it has a special place in my heart.  This year, they changed the course which made it tougher (with the first 5 miles full of bridges).  However, the weather was cooler than usual with a nice 20mph twister wind.  My plan was to run this workout as an MP run with 5-10 MP miles, depending on how I felt today.  The 5K effort on Friday really tired me out and when I went to bed last night, I was still sore from it. Woke up at 4:45am to head to Ft. Lauderdale at 5am.  Race starts at 6:35am and the last two years, I've spent the National Anthem inside the potta potty doing my business.  This time, with the change of course, I knew I had to get there early to be able to find parking and use the potties before the start, as I know the area and the amount of runners that would be there. Got there at 5:30am and by 6am I was parked (see what I mean about traffic?)  Got into the potta potty and went WTF?  No to

Waterford 5K: I hate 5Ks, let's start with that.  I've run many and 70% of them had me having asthma attacks.  So why in the world do I go to run to the park on Wednesday and a fellow member of the group (Pepe, it's your fault) tells me about this evening race and I go home and register?  WTF? Since I registered and I hate 5Ks and I don't think they are fun, I decided to give it a good PR effort.  So, I found my most bright clothes (red, of course), my lightest shoes (Ronins) and decided to go all out and see what I could do. Since I was off yesterday afternoon, I took advantage of that by relaxing, eating, and resting a lot.  At 5pm I left the house and proceeded to spend 1 hour in rush hour traffic to drive the 6 miles to the starting line.  By the time I got there, the cops had closed the entrance to the area and I had to park a mile away.  Ran a mile to pick my packet (almost didn't make it), then ran another mile to the car to leave my stuff and con

Today, I ran the Sun Capital Half Marathon in Boca Raton, FL, to benefit the Police Athletic League.  I had signed up for this race in 2011 but after being selected to do the NYCM via lottery, I had to DNS this race.  So, I was looking forward to running a very small and local HM in a not-flat area of Florida. Boca Raton is 45 minutes to an hour away, so my first concern was doing packet pickup and going back home and back there again the next day.  Fortunately, I was working in West Palm Beach on Wednesday so I picked my packet then.  And I didn't know that they had race day packet pickup so for next time, that is resolved. I ran the Marine Corps Marathon last weekend, so this was definitely not a race for me, but rather a run.  I've been dealing with cough, asthma, and now a funky knee for three weeks now.  I finally got an answer to the cough from the asthma doctor and an answer to the funky knee issue, so I'm all set. After the MCM, I went to the doctor for my ast

"You ran a marathon with a cold, on prednisone, coughing the whole way, and you came close to your best marathon time when your breathing is currently at 49%?  I do not know how to do it." Those were the words of my asthma doctor this morning.  And it summarizes the race in one paragraph.  I went, I ran, I conquered, I didn't PR.  But considering all of that, I think a 4:47 was great and that I did a'right. Long : Yesterday, I ran the Marine Corps Marathon in DC.  What an awesome race!  It's another big marathon and the Marines knows how to put on a great race. After Berlin, I was looking forward to see what I could do when not having asthma issues during a race.  Unfortunately, after I got back from vacation, my dad came for a visit sick as a dog.  Having just ran a HM in the rain the day I saw him, I caught his cold.  That was two weeks post marathon so I don't think the marathon and the subsequent reduction on my defenses had anything to do

Today, I ran the Livelong Livestrong Half Marathon in Hallandale, FL.  This was to be a training run with some speedwork between HMP and MP pace.  Forecast was very nice: 76-80F and 69 dewpoint.  That is Fall weather down here.  Except the forecast didn't say it would rain...hard...and that the wind would be 20mph...or more.  Oh, well.  I found out when I got there when one downpour started and it never abated much until after I had finished. I got back from Europe on Wednesday afternoon and my run that day sucked.  It was 90F and 74 dewpoint and after running while on vacation in 49F and 39 dewpoint, this sucked too much.  A lot.  The run on Thursday sucked less but my HR was still too high and the pace too slow.  Then, on Friday, as the same thing was happening, I had an epiphany, I am dehydrated from the 11 hour flight.  Doh, I'm a genius!  Not. Anyway, I knew the pace might suffer a bit because of how the runs have gone.  But I wanted to try to still do some HMP and

Yesterday, I ran the Berlin Marathon. This marathon idea started when I saw that registration was open and I knew I liked Germany and wanted to go back, so I had an "accident" and signed up. Then, I told my husband we had to go and he, after much huffing and puffing that he does not like to travel in September, agreed. :-) This was to be my 8th marathon and my goal marathon for the season. I still have 4 more marathons and an ultra in the next five months (I am searching for my second star on the Marathon Maniacs), so I knew a PR would be harder to achieve later in the season, when my legs are tired. As you remember, I was having bouts of severe asthma in April and May, 2012. My breathing capacity went down from 84% to 74% to 62%! I was taking 5 medications to keep my breathing afloat. I had many races with asthma attacks (mostly 5Ks and 10Ks). Because I needed to try something new to try to improve the asthma while training, I asked a friend of mine who is a coach, for h