Congrats to Britta, Ydiez and Penny (It's a little late sorry) on your runs.  Hope to hear from Penny soon.

Thanks Debran and Mary Kay for your well wishes.  The ankle is ok.  I am going to run on a tread today for the first time in over a week.  I have a problem with setting my pace slower than I am used to, and I don't want to push my ankle to hard.  I am hoping for 4 miles at a maybe an 11 or 12 min pace, which is slow for me.  If it doesn't work out though, I have the elliptical and the bikes to get my cardio work out.  I am really anxious to get back to running, I am afraid I will lose some of my distances unless I get back out there.  I have another race coming up next month, not a long distance, but it is the anniversary of my first race and because it is so big (40,000 runners) I am stoked to have made a non open runners corral.  I really want to do better this year, so I feel like I need to be out there training.  Run safe, 

Debra, Nick and Mary Kay -  Thanks!!! I am very proud of myself and still very happy, I never ever would have dreamed that I could run such a good time during my first 10k!

Debra: Congrats at reaching 10miles! Wow!!! This must feel so good! And I know what you mean when you say you were stuck at 8 miles for such a long time! This is how it often feels to me, it seems I am stuck at a certain mileage for a long time. I guess I have to learn how to be patient with myself!

Nick: Hang in there! I know how hard it is to be patient when you have a goal... also I total understand how you feel about losing your distance... I have been there last November. I couldn't run for 2 weeks due to back problems and a cold and it felt like it threw me back a lot. It took a long time until I felt that I was back on the performance level and disance I used to be. I hope that you will soon be able to run again at the level and pace you are used to!

Mary Kay: You will reach 7 miles! I often feel a bit impatient with myself and/or can't imagine to push my mileage any further... but eventually there is always the day when I am able to do so. Let us know how the 7 miles went! I am hoping to push myself to over 8 miles soon (I am at 7.6 miles right now).

A good week and happy running to everybody!

Britta

Finally run/walked my first HM, almost did not meet the cutoff time of 3:30 hours.  I was running comfortably until mile 8 when I felt a sudden severe pain at the back of my right leg which literally pulled me down.  It felt like my right leg just gave out on me.  I was so grateful to the other runners who were trying to help me.  Somebody helped me get up and set me at the side of the road so as not to get run over by the other runners.  I stretched it out, massaged it, and rested for a few minutes.  I stood up, walked slowly, and decided to run to make for lost time.  I could still feel the pain crawling up and down at the back of my right leg.  After a few minutes, I had the worst muscle cramps in my left leg.  Again, I had to sit at the side of the road, stretched it and gave it a rubdown.  This was when I felt so discouraged and disappointed with myself.  I knew I trained for this, properly hydrated before and during the race and then the muscle cramps.  Never experienced muscle cramps  in any of my training runs or 10k races.  What gives?  I was ready to quit since I saw the first wave of the 16k runners pass by me.  Maybe I still have that stubbornness or just plain foolishness or stupidity that I decided to finish what I started even it takes me 5 hours and crawling on all fours.  I stopped the whining, dried up my tears, and brushed the dirt off my shorts.  I stood up wobbly and got my balance, and I carefully  placed one foot in front of the other.  I started to walk the last 4.8 miles.  To my surprise, I clocked in at 3:23 with the biggest smile on my face even if I was among the last group of HM runners to cross the finish line.  3:32 is far from the best HM times, but that would be my most memorable time since it literally took every ounce of will power and inner strength to finish my first HM.  Finally, I had my name and 3:23 engraved at the back of my first HM finisher's medal. 

Thanks everyone for your encouragement and advice.  You guys are the best cheerleaders, therapists, sports doctors, and running mentors all rolled into one.

Run safe and run fierce!

Penny, WOW. Your determination is inspiring! Congratulations!

All of you have been very inspiring. Makes me want to train harder and push past my mental blocks. I know physically I could do a lot more, but mentally I tell myself i can't. WHEN i finish my first HM, it will be a mental victory much more than a physical one for me. It helps to read how you have pushed past the pain and fatigue and finished the race and how good it feels. It doesn't have to be easy, you just have to want to do it bad enough.

Angie

Penny, your 'never give up' mentality will serve you well so keep it up and keep inspiring everyone around you.  Excellent job!

As for the cramping issue, I have a few suggestions that might help.  I don't know if you already use any of these but they're worth mentioning.  The most likely issue was that muscle was simply fatigued and let you know it wasn't happy.  If your training for the big race didn't allow for some rest it may have never fully recovered before the race.  For longer events I have no issues with stopping for a stretch break, usually at an aid station, because they help so much.  When you push  yourself to a new distance you find that it has a new set of challenges and getting used to handling the demands is one of biggest ones.  My first half caused a few issues that aren't such a problem now I've done more distance work and completed 3 HM's and a half ironman to count as my 4th.  Of course I walked a lot of the last one due to the 100 degree heat which also helps cause cramps, but I finished which was my only goal on the day.  That finishers medal is a big source of pride for me now just like your medal will be for you.

Something that helps prevent cramps is magnesium phosphate.  It comes in a small spray bottle or mini tablets and can usually be found at health food stores or specialty running/cycling shops.  That chemical is naturally produced when you're exercising but if you don't make enough then cramps are a likely side effect.  As we get older our ability to make it diminishes which doesn't help.  This is partly why bananas are a popular food on race day.  When I'm out on 100 mile bike rides it seems more riders have some than those who don't so it's tried and tested.  When I go for my first ultra 50k in May you can be certain I'll have some mp with me.

Overall I think you're doing great, and we all learn from every race we run so keep collecting the medals and we'll all enjoy hearing about your next success. 

Andy

Relentless Forward Motion

Penny -Congratulations, I am so happy for you.  You are an inspiration to so many here.  I hope that this is just the first of many for you.

My ankle has been getting better, ran 4 miles on the treadmill yesterday.  I am going to keep the mileage low for a month, and then start back up on my 1/2 marathon training.  I plan to use my 10 miler race as a tune up race, which is two weeks before my 1/2.

Thanks for all the positive feedback.  My legs were sore for almost 3 days and have been walking around the office with a funny gait,  but otherwise I have been feeling on top of the world.  Debra, the cupcakes did really help with the recovery.

Oshcat - cannot wear the medal at the office but I have it in my purse the whole time.

Angie - I agree with you that you really need to be mentally tough

Andy - for the magnesium phosphate spray, do I apply it before a workout or upon onset of cramps? Or better yet stock on the bananas. 

Nick - hope the ankle feels better and good luck on your tune up race.

Britta -  wish I have a beach that I could run on like your long runs.  Your 13.1 will happen for sure 100%.

Maybe still floating on runner's high, I am looking for my next half to train for.   I will try the Hal Higdon novice 2 HM program. Found one on May 6.  Is it too soon, too fast? 

Run safe and run fierce.

Penny, way to go on completing your first Half!! Such perserverence! So impressed. Had it been me, there would have been tears. No doubt. Glad you're enjoying the high. I can't believe you feel the need to *train* for another. It sounds like you're already ready. You may not be able to wear your medal at work but I plan on putting mine on the wall for a while, maybe permanently. Last summer during a meeting I mentioned to the Director of my org. that me and a couple of the younger guys (I named them) had a Mudathalon team (to see if he wanted us to wear any org. apparel). He couldn't believe his ears and actually looked annoyed, not about the apparel suggestion, about the thought that I might be running in that race being a female of a certain age and a professional and probably older than him. He operates with a good old boy network and I just stared him down thinking "ponder that on your golf outings." So last week he was sitting next to me at a meeting and mentioned how annoyed he was that it had started to rain just as soon as he went for his run. At first I thought *sure*. Then I thought, WTH, if I shamed him into running or even into lying about running, it's a good thing. Any medals I get this year are going on my office wall in a very noticable place.

Andy, thanks for the great MP advice! I've been struggling with minor cramping and am going to try and see if it helps. 

Debra, 10 miles on a track? That is kind of amazing! I don't know how you do it. I would need a sedative. And running in the cold? I just tried a 5k, that's a distance I was able to run inside when sick but in the cold I barely ran half of it. toward the end my legs and face felt like they had pins and needles stuck in them. Interestingly, my time wasn't much worse with all that walking than it was this summer with almost all running. 

Nick, how's it going?

On a related but unrelated note, is anyone experiencing changes in their digestion? I am having random rolling fart attacks and big changes in my trips to the bathroom. Sorry if that's too graphic but I'd love to blame this on running because it's the only change.

Everyon stay well and enjoy the high