In the Wake of Tragedy

     Running has always been a safe place for me, a way for me to relax, blow off steam, or just get lost in thought. I love the peacefulness of it and just being out in God’s creation. This week though that safe place was broken into and violated. Though I was not in Boston when the bombs went off, I still feel the effects. The images of runners and spectators laying on the ground in a bloody mess are burned in my mind. I am trying to wrap my mind around what it must’ve been like to in one instant experiencing the euphoria of crossing the finish line of a marathon, let alone the Boston marathon, and then in the next experiencing the chaos and terror of two explosions. 

       Three people dead and over 100 injured a senseless tragedy that will not soon be forgotten.  The people of Boston and those impacted by this will long be in our thoughts and prayers.  The pain runs deep, but there is a silver lining. Just as we saw a surge of patriotism in the days following the attacks of September 11^th, we have again seen people band together and reach out to help. As one person wrote, "there was one person who did bad, but thousands who we saw doing good."  There was a spreadsheet that began circulating hours after the blasts happened in which displaced runners could connect with local residents offering a place for them to stay. There are countless stories of those who helped the injured such as the stranger who carried a young girl who was severely maimed five blocks to safety or the countless people who heard the blasts and instead of running to safety, ran into harm's way so they could help whoever possible. The New York Yankees (Boston’s biggest rivals) even showed their support by playing one of Boston’s signature songs during a break in their game.

      What happened this past Monday was something we would never have expected to see and hope to never see again, but as with any crisis, it will not tear us apart, but only make us stronger. Some people may think twice before entering some of the bigger races, but I think for the most part, more people will be inspired to join the running community than will be turned away.  As for me, I plan to continue to enjoy my morning runs for as long as possible though maybe now a little more grateful and not taking them as much for granted.

Double Oaks Duathlon

This past Saturday I competed in the Double Oaks Duathlon at Oak Mountain State Park in Birmingham, AL. Believe it or not, it was my first time doing a duathlon (other than one triathlon where the swim was cancelled and turned into a short run). I was excited about doing it, but didn't think it would be too bad, after all it was a pretty short race, a 5k run, followed by a 20k bike, and then finishing with a 2.5k run, but I could have never been more mistaken. One thing I was a little nervous about going into it was I have been having some issues with some tightness in my peroneals and anterior tibialis muscles, but after a couple of appointments this past week with Dr. Jacobs in Gulf Breeze, I had no issues during the race.

Friday afternoon, me and mom drove from Pensacola over to Birmingham to check in and pick up our packets.  I had never been to Oak Mountain before, but as soon as we entered the park I knew it was going to be a great venue.  It is a beautiful area, it has miles and miles of trails, a big lake, and is just a peaceful place to be.  They hold a ton of races there from 5ks to triathlons to even a 50k race and if you ever have a chance to participate in one I would highly recommend it. After checking in we took a trip over to Whole Foods, a must when we visit a city that has one, and then went to grab a bite to eat. Once at our hotel, we did the last minute check over our bikes and applied our Tri Tats (race numbers).

After an off and on night of sleep, we got up and headed over to the race site. It was another cold morning, I think it was around 41degrees when we arrived, so I was just happy we weren't jumping into the nearby lake to swim. The race didn't start until 8am and once the sun came up it started warming up and conditions were just about perfect.

Never having even been there before, I really didn't know what to expect as far as the course. The gun went off to start and I started hard, knowing that it was "just a 5k." However, after the first hill which was about 200 yards into the run, I realized I may want to back off a little or it was going to be a long day.  That hill was definitely telling of what was to come.  The first two miles of the run was on a hilly paved trail through the woods and the last mile was on a snaking, single track mountain bike trail.  The mountain bike trail was very windy, the race director referred to it as "Mr Toad's wild adventure" and I was having a hard time because by then I was catching up to the guys who had started in the wave before us who did not want to let me pass. I know I lost some time on the trail and ended up running a little over 23:00, a little slow for me, but I figured I was in about 5th place with one girl chasing not far behind.

Mom coming off the bike

Once onto the bike, it didn't take long to realize it was going to be much like the run...hilly. One of the worst hills had to be close to a mile long. Every time I came around a corner, I expected to be at the top, but it just kept going up. Less than a mile into it, I was able to pass one of the girls that had beaten me on the run to move into 4th. I knew I was going to have to ride hard if I had any chance of seeing the other girls again. The bike course was out and back and the only complaint I had about it was that the roads were open and there were quite a few cars at the beginning which created a few potentially dangerous situations with us having to ride around them.

Starting the second run

I was passed by one girl right before the turn around, but was able to keep her in sight and not fall too far behind. Then with about three miles to go we were both able to pass the girl who had been in first after the 5k. Coming into T2 I was in 4th place, but not far behind the girl that had passed me on the bike who I figured I could catch since I had beat her on the first run.  I was excited to get off the bike and was ready to get after the last run, after all it was less than two miles. I was not prepared for how my legs would feel. I don't know if it was the hills or starting with a 5k run versus a swim or a combination of the two, but my legs just felt gassed. After about a quarter of a mile I was able to get in a little bit of a rhythm and started working on reeling in the girl who was in front of me. About half way though the run I caught her and was able to find a spot on the narrow trail to sling-shot around her. I knew I had to stay strong though so as not to give her the hope of passing me back up. We got on the paved trail for the last half mile which I was so glad about, but I couldn't wait to see the finish line. I kicked as much as I could over the last quarter mile and was able to finish about 15 or 20 seconds ahead her.

Mom coming down the final hill

I wasn't sure, but thought I had finished in 3rd maybe 4th if I had missed someone, but was excited when I saw the results and was listed as the 2nd place female finisher. I was a little confused though not knowing how I passed the 2nd place girl without realizing it, but after looking at the results a little more closely, I noticed that she had gotten a two minute penalty on the bike. So while she had technically beat me, once the penalty was applied, I bested her by a whopping six seconds.

Top three women

When I was through with my race, I barely had enough time to grab my camera and get some pics of my mom as she came in on the bike and started the second run. She had a great race too, tackling those hills like a champ.

Brushing Off the Cobwebs

Wow, I just noticed that I haven't posted since August, so I guess I can say I'm "brushing off cobwebs" in more ways than one. The other cobwebs I'm starting to brush off are getting back into racing again. Last year was a tough year for me. It started with a high note of running a PR at the Houston Marathon, but then quickly went downhill from there. I was diagnosed with a calcaneus stress fracture in the beginning of February which kept me from running through the end of March. Then, just as I was getting back into it, I ended up with an entrapped nerve in my calf in mid-July. After going through just about every treatment you can think of, and not seeing a whole lot of improvement, the doctor scheduled me for a nerve release surgery. Thankfully though, right before I was supposed to have the surgery, I started seeing a little bit of improvement and decided to push back the surgery to see if it would heal on its own. It did, i was able to avoid surgery, and started running again at the end of November.  So, all in all I was able to run for about 4 of the 12 months last year. Not fun! I learned a lot through the difficult experience, but it's something I would not want to go through again.

This weekend I race in my season opening race, the Red Hills Triathlon in Tallahassee, FL.  This was the third year I've done the race and as always, it was a fantastically run race. Last year when i did this race it was actually the first time I had run since being diagnosed with my stress fracture.


On race morning, we woke up to some pretty cold temperatures. The air temp was in the low 40's and the water temp was in the low 60's...brrr! I was definitely not looking forward to plunging into that water, but at least it ensured that the swim would be wetsuit legal. I was in the fifth wave with all the women 39 and under. When the gun went off we all took off, running through the knee deep water, then diving in once it got a little deeper (didn't take long). When my face hit that cold water it was shocking, so much so, I had a hard time catching my breath. I started to freak out a little bit, but after I took  few strokes on my back, I was able to get under control.

The only bad thing about wetsuit swims is trying to get out of them in T1. After a brief struggle, I peeled it off and headed out on the bike course. Once on the bike, it doesn't take long to figure out why the race is called Red HILLS. The course is only sixteen miles long, but you get your full money's worth, it is tough! It's a beautiful area and on mostly quiet roads, but the hills are no joke. It was still pretty chilly, so I was more than happy to get off the bike and start running.

Upon arriving in T2, I realized that I could feel my feet or hands much at all which made it a little difficult to get my helmet off and my running shoes on. After fumbling through transition, I was off on the last leg. The run course is 5k and split between running on pavement and trail. My legs felt pretty good, the only problem was I couldn't feel my feet. I felt like I was running on wooden blocks until about 2.5 miles into the run when I started getting feeling back.



It was fun to be out there again competing with everyone and dusting some of those cobwebs off. I have alot of work yet to do, but I'm looking forward to the upcoming (hopefully injury free) season. One thing I am continuing to learn is even if I don't feel like I'm in the shape I'd like to be in and I'm not necessarily competing at the level I would like to, just being out there working hard and enjoying the sport is enough.