Legs for Literacy 2013 race recap

Well thats my 7th half marathon (1st post Peyton) under my belt. I couldn't be happier with my time. No, it wasn't the time i trained for but great considering i was on the verge of a hip flexor injury and basically had to take the 3 weeks leading up to the Oct 27 off from running. I ran very slow easy runs about once a week but they didn't feel good so i really laid off and that was one of the smartest moves i could have done. My hip didn't hurt for the race and was only a little achy the rest of the day on Sunday. It did hurt to sleep on my left hip but last night it didn't which is a really good sign.  So while taking the break was a great thing for my body before the race there are a few lessons learned that will only help me become a stronger runner the next half marathon.

1. If you move your original goal race out by a month take it easy running wise for 3 weeks or so. I took it easy for a week then just kept up with the speed workouts and intense tempo runs. I had never changed my goal race before so i didn't really know how to change up my training but now i do.

2. NEVER EVER try something new in the night before or the day of the race. This is something i know but ignored. My lovely thoughtful friend gave me airbonne's icy hot for my hip (to use the night before) and some cooling cream (to use during the race to help me push through if needed). Well i should have read up on airbonne and headed her warning that her husband had to wash it off in the middle of the night because it was too much for him. Well i put it on in the afternoon with no issues and decided to put more on before bed. BIG MISTAKE. I woke up an hour and a half later with my legs on fire. I had not only put it on my hip but both hips, IT bands AND glutes. I quickly jumped in the shower trying to wash it off only having the heat activate it even more. I then ran downstairs to get help/advice from my husband. I was freaking out. It was 11:30pm and i had to be up for 5:45am (to nurse Peyton and have him up for a bit so he could get an hour or so nap before meeting me at the finish line. I began google-ing about airbonne and discovered less is more and you either love it or hate it. It was even taken off the market for awhile, for this reason i assume. So after my husband google-ing it we tried dabbing olive oil on and wiping it off (but that didn't work as it was already absorbed in to my skin). Next he found that mixing baking soda with water and making a paste and putting it on would neutralize the burn and it sure worked thank god! I washed it off after it dried and still felt it a little but barely. Then i found out that not only heat reactivates it but sweat as well so i opted for shorts for the run instead of pants just in case:)

Okay now to the race recap. I decided to run my first race ever without my fuel belt and water. There were a lot of water stations and i find the water weighs you down. I know lots of runners swear by not running with their fuel belts. I have a race bib belt with a stretchy pocket that held my honey stinger electrolyte chews, my fuel of choice for long runs and long distance races. I decided to stop at every water station to sip water. This may have been why the lactic acid built up so much at the end of the race. I walked the length of each water station. So while i loved running without a water belt i think that for the next race i won't stop i'll run and sip. I decided to start the first 5km slow since i hadn't really run the last 3 weeks and just to see how my hip was and then i was going to pick it up. I stayed between 5:19-5:24 min/km the first 4km and then ended up picking it up at km 5 to 5:10. For km 6-16 i was between 5:01 and 5:16 but then the lactic acid got more and more intense the last 5km and i just couldn't get my legs to go any faster. So i was between 5:20 and 5:37. Then for the last .32km i was able to pick it up somehow and sprinted at 4:31. Oddly enough the faster i ran the better my hip felt as well it was as if it was really being stretched out. I finished the race with a time of 1:51:56 beating my last PB 2 years ago at the same race, 1:55:27.

Now it's time to rest! As per my physio, Heidi, i am taking two weeks off total from running. This week i am only walking and doing easy yoga, stretching and foam rolling. It still hurts to walk down stairs so i am ok with this. Did anyone else race this past weekend? If so how'd you do?