I remember my very last race before this past weekend, well a race I had to DNS (Did Not Start) very well. It was the Run for Red Pocono Marathon, in Pennsylvania, mid May 2017. I planned to make it a mini vacation out of the race weekend because my family lives so very close by. It was to be my 12th Full Marathon, even though I've ran over 40 Ultra Marathons I was super excited to add on one more Marathon to my finishes. My training was going rather well and I was expecting to either PR (sub 3:02) or possibly even go sub 3 hours on a good day, this race is a pretty fast course and I remember from running it years prior that if you are smart on the down hills the inclines can be very forgiving.
Well I did not get to even run this marathon, the day before I was suppose to take my flight to Scranton, Pa. I was at work and feeling very light headed, dizzy and almost about to collapse. I was dealing with Hypertension issues for a few months now and on meds to control it, but the meds were obviously was not doing their job. I went to the ER, turned out my Blood Pressure was 180/120 and I was at risk for having a stroke. The ER doctor was demanding that I do not fly, and I do not run a Marathon the very next day, that I could stroke out! Scary hearing that, 31 years at the time, able to run 50-100 mile races with no problem, to now being told not to even get on a plane and to not run again until my blood pressure is taken care of. Let's just say I listened to the ER Doctor and followed up with my regular Physican.
I don't want to go into all the drama and trouble I had to deal with with my insurance company and the time it took to actually get the RIGHT referrals and documents sent to me, to my doctor and to find out WHY I was having severe hypertension. So long story short here,..
•I had a Ultrasound down of my Kidneys, turned out I had narrowing in my left Renal Artery, Renal Artery Stenosis.
(As all this was going on, I was having severe hip pain)
•Xray and MRI showed I had Spondylolisthesis, 2 Herniated Discs, and tears along my Spine. (POSSIBILY nerve pain causing hip pain).
After months (8+ months) of tests, blood work, etc. They cleared me to run again.i need to take meds everyday to control my Blood Pressure for now. I will have to deal with nerve pain that comes from my Spondy but I've found that seeing a Chiropractor as well as cutting heavy lifting from my fitness regimen has helped ease pain.
So 8 months later, in 2.5 years I've dealt with 1 fractured Femur, 1 fractured Pelvis, Hypertensions, Renal Artery Stenosis, Spondylolsthesis, Nerve Pain, and finally my Plantar Fasciitis... PLANTAR FU...iitis!!! I've had to deal with that off and on for 3 years and finally after trying everything and I caved in for the Cortisone Injection. (Easiest thing and best choice I have made with any injury).
It's 2018 now, and I am determined to reach my goals this year. I am not 100% and doubt I will ever run completely pain free but I will never take running for granite, and I will cherish everyday that my body let's me to get out there and GRIND. I've made 2 big goal races for me this year
Ultra Race of Champions 100k
JFK 50 Mile
I do plan on running a few road Marathons and Trail 50 miles to train up for these events. Which leads me to this past weekends Marathon!
Jekyll Island Marathon
January 14th 2018
When I 1st heard about this race I got super excited because I spent most of my training ultras on this island. Jekyll has a gorgeous bike trail along the entire outer loop of the island, you can see most of the Ocean the entire way! The island is of course very flat and it would be a very fast course, So of course a PR here would be amazing and definitely possible, As well as being an easy 1st marathon for a beginner!
Of course I knew I would not be PR Considering my past injuries and health concerns and only starting to run again a couple months prior. I actually decided a week before the marathon that I would attempt to run in the race considering I hard to do a 25+ mile training run.
I really wasn't sure how I would attempt this race I knew there would be a couple fast local runners who would place a head of me, so winning wasn't what I was aiming for, after all I kept having to tell myself this is a training run, you are not in marathon shape, you weren't even running 2 months ago.
I kept strictly to my training plan that I am currently doing for UROC 100k, so I did not taper for this event, I had run 21 miles, 10 miles the weekend prior as well as kept up with my strength training.
I thought I could probably do between 3:20/3:30 and be completly happy with that as a marathon time and training run.
Weather was surprisingly cold for Southern Georgia, 30*. WINDY! I dressed in layers and stripped down as the miles went.
To shorten the race recap,
•1-13 I felt very strong and held a great pace, probably too fast considering my training, miles
•14-23 I was eating dirt.
•24-Finish tried to finish strong.
I won the Marathon for the Ladies and was 13th Overall. Even though it was my slowest marathon time I am very happy with the outcome considering it was a training run and coming off a 8 month injury. I cherish every day I can run, even with pain.
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