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| Which one ran the half? Ask us to stand up... |
The reason why I only write about marathons and not half marathons is because with the half marathon I tend to have very little to work with. As much as I enjoy running half marathons, the heart of the matter lies in the struggle, and things get way more interesting beyond 13.1 miles. Even a poorly executed half marathon ends without mortal reflection or a tapping into deep physical or mental reserves. For those that have never ran a marathon, it is NOT simply two half marathons. One may say it's more comparable to three half marathons, but I truly believe it is apples vs. oranges...or apples vs. some kind of fruit that tears you up from the inside out, yet leaves you euphoric and full of yourself.
I have ran three half marathons so far this year, and I have to say I did not miss the pre-marathon race week stress that accompanies the marathon. My version of taper madness has ranged from mild fretting to full on psychosomatic injury or self sabotage. I have had real afflictions, like a kidney stone that I passed fifteen minutes before race start. Talk about stress! I did not miss the crazy marathon dreams, where I found myself showing up late to the race wearing wooden clogs and carrying my purse. I slept pretty damn good the nights before these races!
The first two half marathons I ran this year were planned half marathons. My next full marathon was supposed to be the Coeur d' Alene marathon in Idaho, but...
Last year, as Covid took over our lives, I started having back troubles. The initial "blame game" was placed on becoming less mobile by Covid (no more job, gym, yoga...), then Toby's bike accident (hours in hospital chairs, etc), and then my sister's sudden death, the crushing final blow. The pain would start out as a general tightness, which would increase until it felt like someone jumped on my back. I finally went to a back doctor who revealed this:
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One of these is not like the other
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Strangely enough, I have a spine compression between my L1-L2 lumbars. It's a mystery. It could be from an accident in my past or even genetic, but surprisingly enough it is not due to running. In fact, let me brag on my other lumbars, as they look pretty good for someone who's ran 56 marathons. The bad news is the only real fix for this is spinal fusion, which is major back surgery reserved for incapacitation, not so I can continue to run marathons. Enter the rabbit hole of pain management, PT, gym work, stretches, blah blah blah...all I can say to those who fall into this hole is to open your mind. Call me Alice, but I have become a believer in so many therapies, gadgets, and stretches. It's been months of hard work with agonizingly slow progress, but I finally made my way back to my regular weekly runs, and able to run half marathons, which is way beyond where I thought I could ever be! I'm not sure if I will be able to move beyond this point, but I'm still working on it, slowly, so we shall see.
I've had interesting conversations with my pain specialist, and yes, the rabbit hole involves this too. He said he tells his patients to stop running at 60. I was 2 weeks shy of my 60th birthday when he said this. One has to imagine what type of 60 year olds he's used to seeing to make such a statement. As he went on to justify his stance I realized I was somewhat of a unicorn in his world. He needs to take a trip around White Rock Lake on a Saturday morning! We tried a couple of cortisone shots without any success so I've moved on, but I would like to go back and show him my progress and tell him how I got there, if for no other reason just so he'll know that it can be done.
It has been a long road back though, not going to lie. At its worst my back was described as "a piece of rippled cardboard" by one massage therapist who took ten sessions to work out most of the ripples, or knots in my back. My chiropractor was dry needling several muscles surrounding the compression that were more prone to spasms. What little running I was doing involved stopping as soon as the back started tightening up and walking it in. I started working on core strength by returning to the gym twice a week to lift weights, and I became more diligent about doing my "stretch routine", which is mostly moves I pilfered from yoga. Gaining mobility was key. I forced myself to go walking, which I hated with a passion, but I did it anyway. What's funny is after several months of all this my back started cracking and popping, which is something my back rarely ever did! I have never had this much back movement in my life.
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| Before I run. Oh how I miss just running out the door |
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| "Activate the core" before you run |
Oh yeah...I did come here to write about the half marathon! Well, there was no drama. I simply got out of the car and ran across the starting line whenever I felt like it, which was 6:15 AM, and proceeded to follow the arrows out of the park onto the course along the lake. I'd be running out and back on what was the second half of the full marathon course, and I timed it so I could catch Kelly and LSP (who were running the full) as they were heading out. (Around miles 11-12 for me). They chose a 5:30 start time, so they got there long before I did. They were supposed to meet me in the lobby so I could come down and wish them luck, but they were freaking out and left before I got down there! So much drama with the full!
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| The starting line is all mine! |
It was a pretty course, but not like level 10 Big Sur pretty. There was a waste water treatment facility and a section of housing construction, but the worst part was a long stretch of no shade on a black asphalt path. The sun was so high, even that early in the morning, that I felt like I was being baked. I told myself this would be the most challenging part of the marathon, especially after it warmed up. I did catch the two of them heading out like I planned, and told them it's all good! (No need to tell them it's going to suck in some parts). The last mile went back into the park, which was madness. People coming every which way, dogs, strollers, just a cluster, and it had one of those circular finishes that goes ALL THE WAY AROUND the finish to the actual line. This is probably one of my top ten pet peeves of a marathon. My back behaved, and I ran just a little bit faster than my last half, but mostly I was, again, just really grateful to be able to run this.
I was saying how unfair it was that the most beautiful stretch of this course was for the full marathon only until I saw how hilly it was!
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| Level 10 beauty |
It's still interesting to see how all these races have had so many different Covid precautions in place. All of them except for one had bottles instead of cups at the aid stations. All but one of them had rolling starts instead of mass starts. The packet pick ups have been outdoors, except Maryland, which had a drive through packet pick up! None of them had beer at the finish. One race actually checked our temperatures as we entered the corral, and one race made us show proof of vaccination or negative Covid tests before giving us our packets. Some races made us cross the starting line with masks on, and one race wouldn't let us pass through the post race finish "food tent" without a mask. Maddening, yes, but these were assurances of the safety of the race, which were necessary for the race to take place. Approvals were needed. Race directors had to attain certain comfort levels with certain officials. Finding these races was a challenge!
With the spring season over we look to the fall races. I'm feeling pretty confident that our quest for finding races is over, but what will the fall races look like? What Covid precautions will be in place and in what form? At what point will mass starts resume? When will the beer return? Will it ever be like it was? I'm thinking the answer is no, because we are forever changed.
I will return to write about my next race this fall, but at this point I have no idea if it will be a full or "just a half". Seriously people, stop saying that.
