“Dear legs, give me a great race today.” This was exactly what I told myself when my corral was moved up to the start line. This was going to be my 8th marathon attempt and 12th time at the start line of the Miami Marathon & Half Marathon. Even having experienced the Boston and New York City Marathon, Miami is still my favorite race. It has so much to do with the fact that it’s my hometown and I know the streets like the back of my hand, but even the non-locals say it’s great for its amazing scenery, flat and fast course, and pretty comfortable weather. You can’t go wrong with the events surrounding the race either—it truly gets you in the mood to join the running community!

It was 71 degrees, which was probably too warm for everyone else, but it was the perfect racing weather in my book. Although the body has to work harder to keep a proper core temperature and avoid overheating, I have been so used to running in the heat. I had my hydration and fueling plan down-packed and my salt tabs ready. Everyone asks me how I carry these along with an entire 8 gels without a waist belt or armband. I literally stuff 4 in my sports bra with the salt tabs and the others tucked in my running shorts waistband. It’s easy to grab and you get used to just getting chafed and dealing with it for a week or so.

I tried something new this time around—racing with a partner. I actually had two race buddies, Frank, who I had the pleasure of getting in important long runs with throughout my months of training, and Kevin who decided to join in a couple of days before the race. This was the best thing I could have done for myself. To be honest, I had been so nervous to race this time. Well, I am usually a nervous wreck before races, but this time was worse and it was because I stayed away from racing for almost a year because of the miserable bout I had at the end of 2018 and beginning of 2019. This was a mistake. I was fine physically, but without some practice runs leading up to the big day, it messed with me mentally.

My usual self usually throws all of the pacing strategies I spend time creating for myself out the window and goes out way to fast and struggles in that last 10k. The best thing about my partners at this race was that they were so good at pacing so I just stuck with them and I never felt better. Our goal was to start off and run the first 5k around 7:00 min/mile, which is about 10-15 second slower than our goal pace. This first part of the race is the hardest since it includes a pretty long and steep causeway followed by another smaller one, all with a headwind. We averaged the 5k at a 6:59 pace.

The next goal was to be in the 6:40s by the time we reached 10k. Unfortunately I lost Frank around mile 9 to an upset stomach. Thankfully he felt okay to stick it out and finish the half marathon with a decent time! I was determined to stick with Kevin for the entire race. After all I felt amazing hitting every single mile in the 6:40s, something I felt was going to be impossible to do these days. I was annoyed when my Garmin rang in mile 14 about 200 meters too soon, so from then on my watch was completely off—UGH!

We made the turn into Key Biscayne during mile 15, and had a strong headwind again. It’s only one mile in and back out, but it feels like forever. For the first half of the mile in I struggled to stay behind Kevin—he could have blocked the wind for me, so I began to separate further and further from him. I ended up speeding up to try to close the gap, but realized halfway that I was going to lose energy so I slowed down and planned on worrying about catching up to him after making the turn to run back with the tailwind. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to catch up, so my plan now was to keep him in sight. I was still averaging 6:49 when I reached mile 18, although my Garmin was inaccurate so I really started to lose track.

It was right before my watch rang for mile 20 that I felt a sharp pain in the left side of my right hamstring along with a snap. I sort of buckled but kept on trying to run. That lasted for only a few steps and I had to come to a complete stop, pull over on the side of the course and shake out my leg. This must have been at least a 30 second stop. Hoping it was just a cramp or something, I took a deep breath and went out again, to only last about 10 steps before the sharp pain was unbearable. It was at this time that I remembered that around mile 9 or 10 I felt a slight twinge in my hamstring, but it actually felt like my regular piriformis/glute nerve impingement-type pain I get most days. I even felt this in my left glute during my warm up but as always it went away and I was fine. I thought this hamstring issue was related, and I still do, so I ignored it at the time. I kept on feeling a twinge throughout the race once in a while, but it was minor and went away with a little adjustment in my posture and form.

The second time I had to stop was at least for another minute. At this point I had no idea if I was still on track, especially since my watch was completely useless. I eventually got back on the course and my mile 20 rang in at 7:47. From this point on the only way to avoid the unbearable pain was to take the shortest steps possible. I am a major over-strider so this felt so awkward for me but it was the only way to keep a decent pace. Mile 21 rang in at 7:01, so I felt there was hope to speed up again, but once I tried, the sharp pain came to life again. I was so frustrated, and still am, because overall my body felt super strong and able to run fast and the stupid pain just held me back. My endurance and non-existent fatigue felt great to keep with my plan of maintaining my 6:49 pace and speeding it up at the 35k point, but after 2 miles of struggling, I knew this plan was out the window.

Looking back at my paces now, I am impressed I was able to average 7:09 for the last 5 miles of the race, given the pain I was in. I ran well, raced the best I could have, and stayed positive the entire time. As upset as I was at the finish line that I did not reach that long-awaited sub-3 hour goal, I knew that I had it in me. I felt so strong at those paces for the first 19+ miles. It wasn’t a struggle at all to maintain the 6:40s for 2 hours, so that feeling alone has made me proud of the hard work I’ve done.

I’ve got 7 months until my next attempt, and the goal this time is not just to break 3 hours, but it’s going to be an even bigger goal! Chicago can be tricky with it’s ever-changing weather patterns, but the course is flat and I hear the crowds are super engaging so I believe it’s going to be a good one for me! Bring it on!

We all know that runners have a higher risk of injury than non-runners, just as do athletes of any other sport. Obviously this is true, as simply being more active means you are on your feet more often with a greater availability to trip over an object and fall, step on uneven surface and roll an ankle, or just overuse weak body parts. In my opinion this risk is better than being inactive and risking developing heart disease, diabetes, and other health issues that come from lack of exercise. Besides being cautious to avoid tripping and bumping into something, runners, and all other endurance athletes, should follow other steps to decrease their injury risk on a daily basis.

SLEEP & Rest

The first and most important method to help prevent injury is to make sure you are getting enough sleep. You may feel like your 4 or 5 hours of sleep every night is just fine to keep you going, but sleep does much more than help us get through our day. Most, if not all, of the muscle damage repair and growth occurs during sleep. Human growth hormone is released during certain stages of sleep that increase blood flow to our muscles so that they can repair from our workouts. Another stage of sleep, REM, is responsible for relaxing our muscles and reducing symptoms of chronic pain. Runners should aim for at least 7 hours of sleep each night, but research shows 9 or more hours gives the most benefit to competitive athletes.

Strength Training

A well-rounded exercise plan is always best when it comes to lowering your risk of overuse injuries. You’ve probably read that triathletes, even those who participate in Iron Man competitions, have a lower risk of injury than marathoners. That’s because triathletes train with a balanced mix of running, cycling, and swimming. As a distance runner, if all you are doing is running, then you are inching your way closer and closer to an injury every day. The best formula for runners is to incorporate a mix of running, weight lifting, and other cross training cardio exercises. Lack of time may be the reason most runners skip strength training, but you can highly benefit from a quick 20 to 30 minute session a few days per week. This should be a priority if your goal is to improve your performance and not get injured.

Pack on the Miles GRADUALLY

One of the quickest ways to get injured as a runner is to increase weekly mileage by a substantial amount—even if you’re feeling great. The rule of thumb is to never increase by more than 10% each week. This may even be too much for some runners. A safe method is to increase by a handful of miles each week for 3 to 4 weeks and then have one week as “recovery” where you drop your mileage by 20% to let your body rest. After this recovery week, you can safely start back from where you left off.

Rotate Your Shoes

Since the feet carry your entire body weight during all activities, it is beneficial to give this part of the body a break. One way to do this is to switch your shoes throughout the week. Most brands make running shoes for different types of workouts. Save your well-cushioned shoes for long runs and recovery runs, and your lighter pairs for speed and track sessions. The style of each shoe is different which means your foot muscles will work differently in each pair. Everything that happens down in the feet has an effect on the rest of the body—so shoe rotation lets different muscles all over the body work and rest all at different times.

Focus on Good Form

The constant pounding on the ground from running has an impact on the entire body. The ideal running form is one that lessens this impact and keeps all parts in sync and balanced. It is beneficial to add strides once or twice a week to focus on this. Run 5 sets of 20 to 30 seconds at a hard pace where you practice holding an upright posture with relaxed shoulders, taking quick steps, landing on the mid-foot, and a having a slightly forward lean—all aspects of proper form. Once you master good running mechanics, you will lower your risk of overusing any part of your body.

Stretch & Foam Roll

Just like weak muscles are prone to overuse injuries, tight muscles are more prone to tearing—which is an injury that can put you out for months! Runners can get tight all over, but hamstrings and calves/Achilles are the common areas that get torn. My advice is to make it a habit to stretch after EVERY SINGLE RUN for 10 minutes. A few sets of 20 second holds for the glutes, hamstrings, quads, and calves is enough. Foam rolling can be more tedious but is useful to tackle much deeper muscular tightness. It may also help improve range of motion that is limited by chronic muscle inflammation.

These steps may seem like a large load added onto your regular running routine, but they are necessary if you want to run for years without worrying about easily getting injured. These components will also help you become a more efficient and faster runner over time, so it’s a win-win if you ask me!

Sources

How Sleep Adds Muscle. The National Sleep Foundation. www.sleep.org. Nov 15, 2019.

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