One Bad Ass Runner

This weekend, I ran my 18th marathon, the 8th one for the year in my quest for another star on the Marathon Maniacs club.  This was planned as a fun run and it was that, especially after the Chicago DNF.  I considered earlier in the week to go for a PR but due to my lingering issues (explained in the  Chicago DNF RR ), I decided just to have fun and if I felt I could push, to do so, but not to concentrate on it at this time. Mr. Docket is training for his first HM and we have done most of his runs together.  In preparation for his HM, I registered him for the MCM 10K as a training run and a test of his progress.  That was before he got a bad case of shin splints after his test 5K in July.  He had his ups and downs during the Summer but he is up to 8 miles now with his first 9 miler in just a few days.  So, the 10K would be a nice fun run for him as well. Since we are taking a few days off for the NYCM this weekend, we arrived in DC late F...

I did not write an RR immediately after Chicago because I was not sure what to say. I didn't know the cause of my issue and I didn't have anything to say except to say I was disappointed but that I knew it was the right decision to make. Now that I have more answers, I can write this and confirm that the DNF was the right choice at the time. This was to be my goal race for the Fall and it would be my only chance of a PR, especially since I have 5 more marathons before the year ends and multiple marathons and PRs are sometimes impossible to do at the same time. My coach prepared a great training plan and since my asthma has been going great all year, he went crazy and did a very challenging plan. I gotta say that he knows me better than anyone and I loved every minute of the plan. This time around, I peaked at 75 miles, with a plan average of 56mpw. 90% of my LRs were paced runs with fast miles. I ended up missing two long runs (made it to 14 miles and 12 miles on each ...

Yesterday, I DNFd the Chicago Marathon at Mile 11.  It was one of those days where nothing goes right, everything goes wrong, and you either stop and live to fight another day or push through and get injured.  I know I chose well and lived to fight another day. I don't know what happened, except to say that by Mile 3, I started having more than usual psoas and ITB soreness, which turned to pain by Mile 8.  During those 5 miles, I debated whether to start walking and call it an easy marathon or just stop.  After noticing I was not having fun, I couldn't hit my pace, and I was in pain, I decided to stop.  I came to a full stop, got my iPhone out and called my husband to arrange a pick up place.  He thought I was kidding. I understand why he would.  I've done 17 marathons, one after having an anaphylactic asthma attack at mile 9 and finishing the next 17 miles at a walk.  I've done marathons where everything has gone wrong and where everythi...