Monday, January 31, 2022

First "Race" of the Season

 Welcome to Medal Monday! This past Saturday, I did the F^3  Half Marathon. 

So, real feel temperature at the start was 0 degrees, but I was surprisingly okay after I started running. Remember, there is no bad clothing, but bad clothing options. I wanted to see how my training was going for the #UnitedAirlinesNYCHalfMarathon in March.

What really helped me was my $6 mittens from Walgreens and 2 sets of hand warmers. The reason for these is simple. I have very bad Reynauds in my hands primarily. My last long run before taper was supposed to be 12 miles but I aborted the run at 10k because I was soo cold. It wasn't the temperature of 9 degrees but it was more the wind that was affecting me.

*getting ready for the start*

I truly loved the course with the backdrop of the Chicago Skyline as well as being able to see Indiana on the Southern end of the course. The course went from Soldier Field to 63rd Street and back on the Lakefront Path. The path was clear and well salted-one of the things that I love about the City. Now, of course there were at least 5 guys wearing shorts! Not shorts over their running tights, but ACTUAL SHORTS! Umm, it was cold outside folks.

*the beautiful Chicago Skyline from the South


Now one of the things that I did not mention in my Instagram post was the fact that I bonked hard at mile 11. The reason for this is I did the one thing that I also tell my athletes not to do. I did not fuel . Not, I didn't have a gel or a waffle, but I DID NOT FUEL AT ALL from Friday until I returned home after the race. Here's a little quirk about me: When I am very stressed out, I do not eat at all, I work out excessively. The past week had me in a very bad tailspin and I recognize that I have very disordered eating but I seriously just can't eat. So, at mile 11, I got dizzy and I had to walk for a while and then I started back running. I recognize I need to try and get a handle on my stress and some causes of my stress is being addressed this week.

Now, as far as my results, I was fine with my official finish time of 2:59:28 for it being the first race of the season. What I was more impressed with was my heart rate. I stayed primarily in the Green Zone or 70-79% of my max Heart Rate. This week, I'm taking it easy, but I will be back to the grind by next week. Only 6 weeks to go.

*all that green was the F^3 Half Marathon*


That's about it, but if you donate $13.10 for my half marathon efforts (I'm running the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon for Team 2 End AIDS) between now and February 5th, you will be entered into a raffle for 2 Private Pilates Session either in person (if you are local) or remote (via the Zoom). 


*my poor shoes-all that salt




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