Chicago Marathon DNF RR (Updating Prior Post)
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 instead of 22 and 16) but overall, I never faltered. I felt strongly through my peak week.
And then, the government shutdown happened. The first day of taper I went from preparing for a trial to sitting at home for the two weeks prior to the race. I couldn't run much and I was not working. I could only fret about the weather, the outfit, my time, when will I go back to work, whether they would cancel my vacation time if so, and whether I would even get paid. Not a good taper, I gotta say. And I don't want to repeat it.
We arrived in Chicago on Friday night and loved every minute of the trip. We loved it so much that it is one of the cities we are considering moving to if I can convince my husband to leave this hellhole. Going from 100F heat indexes as we still have to 50-70F was great. Overall, I felt prepared.
However, since the Thursday prior to the race, I started complaining to my husband that my psoas area felt tight. I also felt that leg very sore like there was some pain shooting down my leg. I didn't think much of it because it was not bad and it was not happening all the time. So, I prepared for my PR and I thought it would go well. Little did I know.
We started the race. I was in Corral E and got to meet workinprogress and RVD there. I had already met RVD at the expo and it was nice spending time with him and meeting workinprogress. She is very nice and I am very happy she got her PR that day. Off we go!
Mile 1-3 were my easy warmup as usual. Except, I felt weird. It took a bit more effort than my usual to run these three miles. My HR started peaking at above 150 (easy HR for me is 145-150) but I didn't think much about it. The leg was sore but OK. Miles 4-5 I did on pace. Mile 6-7 went OK except I stopped at the potty at Mile 5ish (never needed to before) but I was in and out in 1 minute (contrary to MCM which you will read about later). Then, after Mile 7, I started hurting. My psoas, adductors, quads, and all the way to the ITB. I didn't know why. The pain originated at the psoas area. I gave it one more mile and then I just stopped. I knew my PR was over but I stopped and tried to make a decision. I called my husband. I told him to be ready to pick me up in the next hour if I continued feeling like this. He thought I was kidding. I told him I would give it a couple more miles and decide. I made it Mile 11 and quit. I limped the whole day.
I went back home and thought it was a psoas issue. But the pain didn't get better for at least a week. I saw the chiro and he confirmed it was not the psoas. So, at this point, I was Confused.
TMI Alert: Please go on to the next paragraph if you don't want to read. On Friday, I was talking to crazyrunninglady about me thinking it was my fibroid issue. She then said, good thing you didn't have a burst cyst. And a light turned on my brain! I've had this before! The doctor confirmed it was a ruptured ovarian cyst. I have more tests coming up to rule out something worse but it makes sense: the sudden and lingering pain, the other muscles being inflamed because of it. Ugh.
I am still having pain from time to time. Now that they don't suspect anything with the psoas, I can still run and sometimes fast, and it's only about how can I handle the pain. So, the doctor OKd me for MCM and the craziness coming up but he warned me I might have to slow down if I cannot handle the pain. So, MCM was done very carefully and successfully, which is all I could ask for. As for the rest, I'll take one marathon at a 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 instead of 22 and 16) but overall, I never faltered. I felt strongly through my peak week.
And then, the government shutdown happened. The first day of taper I went from preparing for a trial to sitting at home for the two weeks prior to the race. I couldn't run much and I was not working. I could only fret about the weather, the outfit, my time, when will I go back to work, whether they would cancel my vacation time if so, and whether I would even get paid. Not a good taper, I gotta say. And I don't want to repeat it.
We arrived in Chicago on Friday night and loved every minute of the trip. We loved it so much that it is one of the cities we are considering moving to if I can convince my husband to leave this hellhole. Going from 100F heat indexes as we still have to 50-70F was great. Overall, I felt prepared.
However, since the Thursday prior to the race, I started complaining to my husband that my psoas area felt tight. I also felt that leg very sore like there was some pain shooting down my leg. I didn't think much of it because it was not bad and it was not happening all the time. So, I prepared for my PR and I thought it would go well. Little did I know.
We started the race. I was in Corral E and got to meet workinprogress and RVD there. I had already met RVD at the expo and it was nice spending time with him and meeting workinprogress. She is very nice and I am very happy she got her PR that day. Off we go!
Mile 1-3 were my easy warmup as usual. Except, I felt weird. It took a bit more effort than my usual to run these three miles. My HR started peaking at above 150 (easy HR for me is 145-150) but I didn't think much about it. The leg was sore but OK. Miles 4-5 I did on pace. Mile 6-7 went OK except I stopped at the potty at Mile 5ish (never needed to before) but I was in and out in 1 minute (contrary to MCM which you will read about later). Then, after Mile 7, I started hurting. My psoas, adductors, quads, and all the way to the ITB. I didn't know why. The pain originated at the psoas area. I gave it one more mile and then I just stopped. I knew my PR was over but I stopped and tried to make a decision. I called my husband. I told him to be ready to pick me up in the next hour if I continued feeling like this. He thought I was kidding. I told him I would give it a couple more miles and decide. I made it Mile 11 and quit. I limped the whole day.
I went back home and thought it was a psoas issue. But the pain didn't get better for at least a week. I saw the chiro and he confirmed it was not the psoas. So, at this point, I was Confused.
TMI Alert: Please go on to the next paragraph if you don't want to read. On Friday, I was talking to crazyrunninglady about me thinking it was my fibroid issue. She then said, good thing you didn't have a burst cyst. And a light turned on my brain! I've had this before! The doctor confirmed it was a ruptured ovarian cyst. I have more tests coming up to rule out something worse but it makes sense: the sudden and lingering pain, the other muscles being inflamed because of it. Ugh.
I am still having pain from time to time. Now that they don't suspect anything with the psoas, I can still run and sometimes fast, and it's only about how can I handle the pain. So, the doctor OKd me for MCM and the craziness coming up but he warned me I might have to slow down if I cannot handle the pain. So, MCM was done very carefully and successfully, which is all I could ask for. As for the rest, I'll take one marathon at a time.
Great post!
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