One Bad Ass Runner

This week has been great.  First, I had my six week post-surgery appointment and the doctor cleared me up for everything else, weights, kickboxing, LIFE.  I am back to where I was pre-surgery, all healed and not only that, pain free.  This week was a special week of sorts, not only because I was cleared but it was the first week of higher mileage since January.  I would dare to say, for the whole 2014. I did run one 50mpw in 2014, in January, the week of the Disney Marathon but I never felt the way I feel today after running 44 miles this week.  I am running slower than pre-surgery, yes, but I don't have that mechanical impediment nor my abs hurt after 1 hour of running. My next marathon is 17 weeks away.  2014 might not be a year for PRs and I understand and can live with that.  But it WILL be a year of no pain, easy runs, and enjoyment.  Something that has been lacking from my life since October. Bring it on!

Yesterday, I paced hubby at the 2014 Puerto Rico Half Marathon. If you remember, I ran the inaugural marathon last year and had a blast, even though the heat index was 100F and the dewpoint was 80F.  Since they moved the race to March this year, I registered myself for the marathon and hubby for the half and we hoped for better weather. Then, I chose my surgery date and I had to let at least three races and lost the registrations on those.  Having said that, now that I went through the surgery, I wonder why didn't I just do it in January and fuck all the races I didn't want to lose my registration on.  But, you live, you learn. I initially requested to defer the race and we expected not to go at all.  My husband had been dealing with shin splints since his last half marathon in December and there was no way I could run a marathon five weeks post surgery.  But, since I started running earlier than expected and running has been going great, well, rea...

Hello!  Long time no speak.  I've gone through so much since I last posted.  Surgery, recovery, back to running.  I have been meaning to write a quick post as to my whereabouts but I keep running out of time, so here it is (finally). Surgery was on Valentine's Day.  I had planned that date mainly because I wanted to finish three marathons before I had surgery.  It just never turned out the way I wanted to.  I did the Disney World Marathon with hardly any pain, but lots of breaks and walks, but then I got sick just before the Clearwater Marathon and it was a miracle I even finished the Half Marathon walking mostly the last four miles.  Then, I planned on doing the ING Miami Marathon (now called Lifetime Miami Marathon) and everything was so hard I quit at Mile 8.  By the time surgery week came, I couldn't even run.  I felt like I had gained 50lbs in this short period of time and running was so hard, it was no longer fun.  So, I ...

The week has arrived.  I have surgery on Friday and, at the doctor's recommendation, I won't be able to run for four weeks.  It is not running related but it has been affecting my ability to run ever since my failed attempt at a PR at the Chicago Marathon.  I've run several marathons since then but all in pain and slow.  It is time.  I am ready. After Disney, I attempted the Clearwater Marathon, only to wake up that morning with a severe chest congestion (later turned into severe asthma) and some fever.  I still started but talked to the RD and he let me switch to the half marathon instead.  I wasn't even able to complete that in any sort of running fashion but I got the medal and moved on.  It did not help that one of my kitties had died that week after an illness and it did not help that I was sick of work and life at the time.  I don't think I had ever been that meh about a race before.  Nothing to do with the event; it was just ...

After finishing 5 marathons in 4 weeks, and knowing you have another marathon five weeks from then, what do you do?  You recover and train for a couple of weeks, right?  You wouldn't not run for 3 weeks (or barely run), and do 11 milers as your long run, right?  Because that's what I did!  Ugh. Seriously, after Space Coast, I recovered from the multiple marathons and thought I would be able to pick the training up on Week 3, but I did not count on having two severely ill kitties that needed to be forced fed four times a day, and I did not count on working 70-80 hour weeks during the holidays.  The truth is, I really did not have much time to run and when I did, I was so exhausted I just did not have the mojo to run.  And then, all of a sudden, race week was here.  The nerve! Now that my kitties are doing better and that I have a surgery date, my mojo has returned and the last runs have gone great.  I just did not have time to run much and...

I have been debating whether to even bothered to write about how 2013 went.  To me, it was a wash between being a great running year and a sad running year.  At the beginning of the year, I had the following goals: A - 2500 miles B - 12 marathons earning me a third star on the maniacs C - No asthma attacks Although I basically succeeded in achieving goals B and C, the reason for me not achieving goal A is both sad and complicated. The first part of the year went really well, I finished the following marathons/ultras: Walt Disney World, ING Miami, A1A Ft. Lauderdale, Los Angeles, DT Endurance 50K, Puerto Rico, and San Francisco, a feat in and of itself.  I almost PRd at Disney and earned my current marathon PR at the A1A Ft. Lauderdale.  Overall, I was optimistic that training for the Chicago Marathon would bring me a new PR and the sub-4:30 I know I am capable of when the stars aligned. But they did not.  Training for Chicago went great and ...

This week Mr. Docket ran his first Half Marathon, not only breaking all expectations on it, but also PRing on Thursday at the Miami Turkey Trot 10K.  I paced hubby on the 10K and treated it as an easy/recovery run for me.  I did the Space Coast Marathon today and had a great time too.  More details below. Short: Miami Turkey Trot 10K - 1:11:06, 7+ minute PR for hubby Space Coast Half Marathon - 2:39:XX - 30 minutes below what we were expecting him to do. Space Coast Marathon - 5:10:XX - My fastest in the last month and I have run 5 marathons in 34 days, so awesome. Long Version: Miami Turkey Trot 10K The cold front arrived in Florida solely for 2-4 hours.  It was a cold 55F at the start of the race, 60F at the finish.  LOL.  Notwithstanding it was that warm, I saw people dressed with long sleeve JACKETS, HATS, TIGHTS, and GLOVES.  Da fuck? Our plan was to run at hubby's pace and using his strategy of 1 mile run, 0.10 walk.  ...