Marathoner's Torture Series: Race Day

October 12, 2009 by Tori

I finished the Royal Victoria Marathon yesterday with a chip time of 4:42:35.

It was unlike anything I’d ever done before. Uncharacteristically my legs stiffened up at the 25 k point, something they never did during long training runs. Until then I was on track for a 4:30 finish. After that, it was just pain.

And so it goes with racing. It wasn’t the worst I’ve felt during a race, but I certainly could have felt better. It was a humbling lesson in allowing myself to sink into the moment, as painful as it was. I was able to just let it be. The pain, the gorgeous day, my lovely daughter giving me fresh water bottles at 13 and 34 k. It was what is was, and it was good.

My baby daughter Sarah, the one who died in my arms, the one for whom I was running yesterday, was with me the last 2 or 3 k, pushing me along. I was quite emotional – grateful, sad, happy it was over, immensely proud of myself for coming such a long way. I found a kick I didn’t think was there in the last 800 metres. I can’t describe the feeling of seeing the finish line, it was just as I’d visualized. I was in tears.

The technical lesson learned was that I may have gone out too quickly. My team mates were doing 6:00/k at first, and my plan was to start out at 6:25/k. so I dropped back after 8 k. Too late maybe, perhaps contributing to the leg pain later.

My soul lesson was one I learned the evening before the race when I met Michael Lebowitz and we shared some of our writing with each other. I was privileged to read an as-yet-unpublished piece of his that really inspired me. Before I headed out the door I wrote a Twitter post paraphrasing part of it and scheduled it to go out as I was finishing the race:

“It’s not about the pain, or the training, or my pace. I’m letting it be. It’s about who I am in this moment.”

I dug deep into that wisdom when my legs were screaming at me.

I am very grateful for some other moments during the race:

A warm hug for a dear one, on Dallas Road at about the 10K mark. I felt those arms around me for miles and miles.
Bill Broughton, who was there every few kilometres taking pictures.
Suzy – running partner from the Vancouver Half Marathon this past May, urging me on just as I entered the Inner Harbour to the finish.
Tim, Cathy and my dear daughter Mary who were at the finish line cheering me on.
A secret swig from Tim’s flask to wash down my finish line bagel!
Superman. I beat Superman!
I also passed a clown and a guy in a lime green costume.
The excitement of the start line with my running group.
The exhilaration of seeing a sea of runners all around me filling up the downtown streets.
The gang from Frontrunners cheering everyone on.
The amazing volunteers without whom we could not race.
Martin from Los Angeles (who I ran with for about 1 k) who loves Victoria so much he wants to move here.

And of course, I am grateful to Caroline and Randy who fed us the most sumptuous Thanksgiving dinner later that day. I piled my plate high and ate the entire thing, then had two desserts. What a perfect way to celebrate 42.2!

Slug

August 27, 2009 by Tori

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I’m not going to lie to you. Marathon training is hard.

I wasn’t stiff after Saturday’s 2 hour 40 minute run, I felt great. Then I went for a run on Monday. I had some stress to peel off, so it turned out to be a tempo (faster pace) run rather than an easy recovery run. I’ve been tired ever since.

Tired. Cranky. Feeling yucky, always hungry it seems. Stiff during spin class Tuesday morning. Heavy legs during track workout last night. But still I went to run those mile repeats, knowing that at this stage of the game (45 days or so to go) I cannot miss a quality workout. Even if I feel like a slug.

Me, during hill repeats last night.

(Aside: Did you know in running there are “quality” miles and “junk” miles? I almost never run extra “junk” miles, my joints can’t take it any more. That’s why I only run 3-4 times a week, and bike, spin and swim other days).

This week is an “off” week, so I only have a 1:20 run on Saturday. Today – no spin class for me; Lisa (who I switch Thursdays with) kindly offered to take my place. I may get in the pool Friday morning to splash around the warm pool, but not do laps. Then it’s out to the lake for some camping and R&R with two other single-parent families for the weekend.

Then we build to a 3:30 run a month out from the race, but I’m not thinking about that right now.

Marathoner's torture: finding balance

August 14, 2009 by Tori

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Whose idea was it to move house in the middle of training for a marathon? Or try and begin a new relationship?

I’m moved, but still have no sofa, bed for my daughter, end tables, living room lamp or desk chair for this computer. Not only that but the new place (why didn’t I notice this before?) has no linen closet. I need trunks or some other storage solutions. It’s going to take a bit of fussing to get settled. No problem, right? Right.

Grin and bear it

Except for an increasingly punishing training schedule, looming deadlines and staffing shortages at work and a frustratingly ambiguous yet potentially very exciting love life at the moment. Oh yeah, and then there was the fall down the back stairs in the rain on Monday, from which I got a bruised tailbone and elbow. I still can’t quite sleep properly (I never realized how much I like to sleep on my back…)

A wise massage therapist once told me that once you’re running over 15 miles a week you’re not doing it for your health, you’re punishing your body. At that point you’re doing it for some other reason. Marathons are for fit people, for determined people, for people who perhaps have something to prove. But they’re not going to keep you healthy.

Well, I am kinda crazy and determined to reach my goal, so I push on, trying to fuel up, get enough sleep and resist the urge to freak out when some new surprise in my new place, my new neighbourhood and my new sorta-relationship comes up. (Um, ok, so I have freaked out. Once. After tempo run/hill repeats this week. So sue me, I’m not a saint.)

I saw a counsellor/coach yesterday who taught me a relaxation-meditation exercise that seemed to work instantly – in her office anyway. The trick will be to use it when the stress response starts to kick in. I’ll try it after the next set of hill repeats.

Marathoner's Torture Series #3 – 3 lame – and 4 great – sacrifices of a marathon runner

February 16, 2009 by Tori

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Marathon training is consistent, disciplined and only for the truly motivated, or bat s**t crazy. I haven’t decided which camp I’m in. Here are some lame and not-so-lame things marathon runners give up in their quest for the finisher’s medal:

✘ A social life. Who can stay up past ten when they do five or more hard workouts a week lasting an hour or more each? Parents of small children beg off parties at midnight, laughing about how they magically turn back into moms and dads at the stroke of 12. Marathoners start yawning at 9 pm. “I just hate to go, but I’ve got a 15 K with two 5 K -pace pick-ups tomorrow morning,” while their orphaned friends say “huh” and pour another drink. Speaking of drink –

✘ Fine wine and spirits. They’re dehydrating. More than one and you’re headachy and your run the next day sucks (if you’re a lightweight like me that is). They contain too much sugar and your body needs good calories. Stay away if you know what’s “good” for you dammit! Speaking of which —

✘ Feeling full. Crikey! Are all marathoners hungry all the time? I once worked with an economist who was an ultra-triathlete. That means he did two or three Ironman-distance triathlons – back-to-back, all at once. Now that’s definitely in the category of bats**t crazy. If anyone brought any food – be it donuts, cookies, rice cakes, carob-coated seaweed clusters, thawed out frozen hamburger patties that had been sitting in the freezer too long and microwaved to soggy goodness, I mean anything – he’d literally leap over his desk and be first in line. I’m not that bad. I bring 3 healthy mini-meals to work every day, otherwise every two hours I’d be heading to Timmy’s across the street for a crueler. Which leads me to —

✔ Excess weight. This only works if you watch your nutrition. There are many marathon runners of all shapes and sizes. I lost that extra ten pounds I’ve put on in the last three years by dedicating myself to bootcamp-style workouts with Megan for twelve weeks and sticking to good eating habits – that was mostly before I started training for the marathon.

✔ New friends! People are still flocking to sign up for training clinics at shoe stores everywhere. There is a huge community of runners out there who train together, socialize together and travel together to various races across the world. I did a Google search for “running tourism” and came up with over 10 pages of entries: I found a recent Canadian article on the subject.

✔ Feeling bloated, crappy and blah People who exercise regularly have more energy, better sex lives, yada yada. You’ve all heard it before, and it’s true – to a point. After a run that lasts more than 1.5 hours, I’m a write-off the rest of the day. Naps are my friend! Otherwise, I have fewer bouts of vague achies and sickies than I did as a less active person. That’s also due to another great loss –

✔ Stress. This is true to a point as well. While exercise makes you stronger, more relaxed, lowers blood pressure and helps get rid of the bad stress hormones plaguing your bloodstream – once the mileage piles up, the reverse can happen to a marathon runner. Or, as my massage therapist (Duane of Duane’s House of Pain infamy) once quipped:

“Once you cross the 15-or-20 mile a week threshold, you’re not running for your health anymore, you’re putting extra stress on your body you have to deal with.”

And with that, I must go ice my feet …

Marathoners’ Torture #2: 3 ways marathoners use other sport equipment.

February 11, 2009 by Tori

Marathoners’ Torture #1: 10-step guide for bathing in ice.

February 4, 2009 by Tori

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Running is torture on feet, so is wearing high-heeled shoes at work all day. I’ve been through months of recovery for plantar fasciitis and am determined not to go there again, but equally determined to keep running and to wear pretty shoes. I’m my podiatrist’s nightmare.

Here is my 10-step evening ritual designed to keep me on my feet.
What you’ll need:

hot tea,
your favourite comfy chair and blanket,
a fluffy towel,
your favourite TV show (or your mobile device or laptop),
a basin,
two trays of ice cubes,
a watch or timer,
fortitude.
Optional: a glass of wine, scotch or tequila.

What you’ll do:

Make tea and have it ready next to your comfy chair, blanket and timer.
Turn on your favourite TV show. Make sure it’s something absorbing like Battlestar Galactica or Dexter. Alternatively, get out your mobile device or laptop and log in to Twitter.
Fill the basin only to about 3-5 centimetres (1 to 1-and-a-half inches) of cold water.
Place basin, trays of ice cubes next to comfy chair.
Sit with feet bare and blanket over legs. Set stopwatch or timer for about 6 minutes. (You might want to start out with 2 or 3 minutes).
Take a deep breath.
Plunge feet into cold water.
Immediately dump the two trays of ice cubes into the water around your feet. Try not to howl, it will scare your family and pets.
Keep breathing! Keep your feet in there! Google your exes, Tweet your pain, fantasize about Michael C. Hall – but stay with it!
When your timer goes off, you may gratefully and with much drama take your feet out of the water and wrap them in the towel.
Optional: enjoy your wine, scotch or tequila.

Tips:

Do daily for injury prevention
To be enjoyed with a regular regimen of stretching and strength training.
Modification: do this with your legs in the bathtub (and more ice) after a 2+ hour training run or a race. Some races provide ice water barrels to jump in afterwards.

I’m not gonna lie to you, this is painful, but then so is running a marathon with injured feet. Embrace the suck. Besides, it feels so damn good when you take your feet out of that damn ice!

(With thanks to Duane Banman, the massage therapist who urged me to adopt this practice. His lair is otherwise known to marathoners and triathletes in Regina, SK as “Duane’s House of Pain.”)

tori klassen

creative communications

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