Boston Marathon...Check

Just got home last night.  My body is in full on shut down mode.  Every available ounce of energy I had is out on the streets of Boston. 
Running a marathon is hard.  Running a marathon with the flu is really, really hard.  But I did it! Race report to follow....just as soon as I don't have to walk down steps backwards.

Packing Has Begun!

I've finally started packing.  And by packing I mean pulling out every possible outfit configuration I can think of.  This is my closet floor as of 10 minutes ago....in other words, will probably have more crap on it within the next 10 minutes:

Nice, eh?  And that's only Monday stuff.  Doesn't even account for the fact that I arrive in Boston Saturday morning and need to pack clothes for Sunday and Tuesday.  I have an outfit for every possible weather event known to man.  With the exception of an extreme blizzard.  Part of the problem with being sick right now is that I have little to no energy to do anything beyond lay on the couch with my laptop.  And you know what that means....weather watching.  Yup.  Non-stop weather watching/obsessing.  Not a good idea.  Have you seen the string on the Runner's World message board called "The Official 2011 Boston Marathon Obsession Weather Thread"?  Well I have.  That sucker is 12 pages long and growing.  Every time someone throws their two cents in, I throw another outfit on my closet floor. 

Along with packing and weather obsessing, I've been trying to eat.  I have zero appetite right now with this flu so it's actually been a real challenge.  I'm coughing a lot, have a sore throat and generally feel like a disaster so I've found smoothies are the only thing that brings me any real comfort.  I've been trying to load them up and include protein powder.  Yesterday, I had this fantastic concoction (please don't mind the chicken....it followed me home from Home Goods one day.  Just the kind of thing that makes my husband shake his head and mumble to himself):

1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1 banana, 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder, 1 tablespoon of cacao powder (I use Navitas) and 2 tablespoons of peanut butter.  Yum yum yum.  Crazy good and soothing on a sore throat.  I was hoping by now I'd have an appetite back and I'd notice a difference in my energy level but I haven't.  I'm trying not to to let it bring me down.  I'm trying to accept the fact that I'll be doing a bit of walking on Monday but it's hard.  Real hard.  So instead, I shall concentrate on the weather!  Speaking of which, I don't think I have a raincoat in the pile!

Pitty Party Done

Now that I've got my flu diagnosis and have cried, I'm ready to move on.  Accept it.  Get over it.  I refuse to let this bug ruin my one and only Boston experience!

So.  Lets move on, shall we?

I've been drinking water like a crazy person.  I will spare you the details of how many times I got up last night to pee.  Which I am taking as a good sign.  Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate....it's the advice I keep hearing and I am listening!  I'm starting to get my appetite back which is very good news because I need to start fueling.  One of the (many) things I did wrong before the Outer Banks Marathon was carb loading.  I don't normally eat a ton of carbs.  Instead of just slowly increasing the amount I do eat, I waited until 2 days before the marathon and then stuffed my face with a ton of processed (ie: pretzels, bars, crap crap crap) carbs.  By marathon morning, I felt like I had a bowling ball in my stomach.  Not pleasant.  But, lesson learned. 

I'm also starting to think about packing.  Yeah.  Haven't started.  Which is crazy odd for me because I'm very anal organized and like to have my bag packed well in advanced of leaving for a race.  I've got all my important documents (official bib pick up number card thingy, travel docs) ready but that's it.  I still need to get to the running store and pick up race day fuel.  Thought I'd wait on that for a few days on accounta it'd be rude to bring my fluy ass in a running store right now.  I also need to figure out what the heck I'm going to wear.  I over dress all the time.  On our Sunday morning group runs, I always wear tights, then, and this is because I don't like my butt on display, I wear another pair of baggier pants over top.  Then I typically wear a tank, long sleeve thick UA shirt over top then a fleece jacket.  I don't like to be cold.  Obviously.  This is most likely a bad plan for Boston.  Everyone keeps telling me to wear shorts and a tank (with a throw away jacket over top).  But here is my issue with that.  If I normally wear a ton of layers and am comfortable, wont I be uncomfortable in too little clothes?  So I'm thinking capri pants, short sleeve top and a throw away jacket.  Thoughts? 

I also need to think about what to bring with me to the start on Monday morning.  I know we are going to be waiting around for a long time so I'm thinking a Lara Bar, a banana, water and Gatorade.  Also, because it is supposed to rain the day before and as a result, will probably be muddy, I'm bringing a big trash bag to sit on. 

What am I forgetting??

Holy crap......it's almost here!!!!!!!

It's Officially Time to Cry

My "cold" just wasn't getting any better so I hauled my ass out of bed and went to see the doctor today.  I assumed I caught strep from my boys.  I had attempted to make up my last missed long run from Sunday yesterday but after a mile, I knew it wasn't going to happen.  My 10 mile long run turned into 5.5 miles and I honestly have no idea how I even got that much done.

Back to today.  When the nurse came in, she asked if I thought I had strep which I said, "No, I don't think, I know so can I please have some antibiotics because I have a marathon to run on Monday."  She tested me for strep then did a flu swab "just in case".  Ten minutes later, the doctor walked in with a mask on and another mask in his hand.  Not a good sign.  "You don't have strep." he said.  "But?" I asked.  "You have the flu.  I'm sorry."  So I decided to argue with him.  "No.  I can't have the flu.  I have to run a marathon on Monday.  The BOSTON MARATHON!!!"  Yeah, I'm pretty sure I got all hysterical on him.  He just shook his head and said, "I know.  I'm sorry but I think you are going to be doing more walking then running in Boston."

Even though it's been more than 48 hours since I started getting temps (that fun started Saturday night), he gave me a prescription for Tamiflu anyway.  He also gave me a prescription for a Z-Pack because, and these are his words, "You'll most likely develop either strep or bronchitis along with this because you are basically like an open wound to all kinds of bacteria."  So. Not. Helping.  How I didn't start crying right there in his office is beyond me.  I do recall saying, "This can't be happening." more than once.

Obviously none of my last minute schedule runs are going to happen this week.  My plan is to take the tamiflu, drink as many fluids as I can and stay in bed to try and reserve as much non-existent energy as I possibly can.  Hopefully by Monday, I'll not only feel better but I'll have enough energy to at least not walk the entire stinking marathon.  My 4 hour goal just changed to a 4:30.

Back Off Bug!

On Friday, I had a crazy long lunch with a good friend of mine for my birthday.  We went to my favorite restaurant at noon and ordered a pitcher of sangria.  Oh the sangria.  It was incredible.  We were laughing and talking and having a pretty fantastic time and one pitcher of sangria turned into a pitcher of wine and before you know it, we had to call my husband to come pick us up.  Hilarious and fun and a perfect birthday. 

Saturday morning, I woke up with a nice little reminder of our afternoon out - a throbbing headache.  Well, the headache didn't go away and eventually I started coughing and now, Sunday, I'm 3 doses in on my NyQuil and Tylenol and praying to the sick Gods to leave me alone.  Seriously.  I can't take it.  I knew it was possible that I'd get sick since both of my kids were sick but I was also thinking that I had made it through.  It's mostly in my head as in massive throbbing just want to close your eyes kind of headache but I've also got the cough and that's the part that worries me.  I need my lungs to be in tip top shape!!  I was supposed to do 10 miles today which obviously isn't happening.  I'm still holding out hope that this will be a quick 48 hour thing and I'll be able to get out there tomorrow.

I've been drinking crazy amounts of water to try and ward it off but that is getting boring so I decided to make a smoothie.  About a month ago, I bought a bag of frozen berries from Costco that I have yet to break into but today, frozen cold fruity berries on my sore throat sound just perfect. 

I used 1/2 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1 small banana and a cup of the berries.  Holy yummy goodness.  Look at that color!

It's a thing of beauty.  And, I'm convinced, a miracle drink.  I will undoubtedly be cured by tomorrow.

Achilies Issues

I was so overly pleased about my lack of back/hip pain during and after my 21 miler on last Monday that I chose to ignore the fact that my right Achilles has been acting up.  About three weeks ago, I felt a bit of a soreness during a run.  At the time, I thought my shoe was rubbing weird because I was wearing shorter socks than I normally do.  The next day, it was still bothering me, but not in a way that concerned me.  That day, I ran again and after the run, it got very puffy.  And red.  Like a dark almost bruised red.  Since then, it's been bugging me and after every run, it's the puffy, red nastiness for a day after.  Also, and this is really hard to explain, but it's tight.  Really, really tight.  Like if I move my foot up and down, I can actually feel a pulling.  It's pretty creepy actually.  I kicked around the idea of going back to the podiatrist but honestly, what's he going to say?  Rest it for a month.  Yeah.  Not an option.  Fortunately, I'm tapering so it has more time to heal and I'm hoping it will make a big difference.  On Monday, it hurt from step one during my 12-miler and I was hobbling around pretty good after.  Then on Wednesday, I went to a Yoga class - I know, I swore I wasn't going to do anything but run until after Boston but I honestly thought a good stretch out would do my mind and body some good - and holy crap did it make things worse!  I called the podiatrist and made an appointment for Monday.  Crap crap crap crap.  Hopefully, he will say it's tendinitis and with some down time AFTER the marathon, it will clear up.  I'm concerned he is going to tell me it's a partial tear or something crazy dramatic like that. 

In order to keep my mind off my Achilles, hips and sciatica, I have chosen to bake.  I found a really good gluten free brownie mix that is so incredibly fantastic, even my kids are eating it up. I know I should be working with gluten free flours and getting comfortable with baking with them but sometimes, you just want a brownie, like, now.  Pamela's Brownie Mix to the rescue!

I found this at Target and baked up a batch that very day.  Holy moly mother crap balls is it good!  Chewy, crazy chocolaty, with random chocolate chunks included good!  I can't rave about it enough.

Excuse the dark photo...I couldn't be bothered to take a proper photo apparently!

I really, really wish I had taken the time to take some decent pictures instead of stuffing my face because you really should see the moist, chocolate goodness that are these brownies.

There are several different prep options on the back of the package.  I chose the no egg, only oil (I used canola) and water method.  Also, the directions "1/2 cup chocolate chips optional"...um...ok!  I added mini chocolate chips and didn't regret it.  This will be a regular purchase for me!  Thank goodness for brownies or I'd be a big mess right about now.

Sick Kiddos....a Common Pre-Marathon Occurance

Last week, my oldest son was home from school on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with a hacking cough, slight congestion and on Tuesday, a low grade fever.  He seemed much better on Wednesday so I sent him back to school on Thursday.  He was, however, still coughing quite a bit.  On Friday, I pulled him out of school early to take him to the dr.  He has asthma so whenever he gets a bug that doesn't seem to leave his lungs, I get a bit worried.  I expected the dr. to give him a steroid for the cough and send us on our way.  On a whim, she decided to do a strep test.  And how surprised do you think I was when it came back positive?  He spent most of the weekend laying around coughing and fatigued - fortunately Monday was a day off for them so he was able to take it easy for even longer without worrying about school.  Tuesday I sent them both off to school happy that the bug was behind us and that I didn't get it (selfish, yes. But I have a bit of a race coming up people!)  On Wednesday, I went to a yoga class (more on that later...big mistake) then headed to the grocery store.  In the middle of shopping, I get a call from the school that my younger son is in the clinic with a temp of 102 and complaining of nausea.  What. The. Hell.  I run out - leaving a cart full of groceries - and get him from school.  He went straight to bed and when he woke up, his stomach was better but his throat hurt.  Awesome.  Back to the dr. yesterday for a strep test.  Sure enough, it was positive.  My fridge is just bursting with antibiotics.  He is home again today and while he doesn't have a fever anymore (knock wood), I'll keep him home again tomorrow just to be safe.

Before every marathon I've run, there has been some sort of major bug in my house.  And by major, I mean, missing school, needing antibiotics kind of bug.  Before my first marathon (Shamrock in VA Beach), my youngest got the flu.  I was in the doctor's office 4 days before leaving for Virginia Beach nearly in tears when we got the test result.  I was already so nervous about running the marathon but at that moment, all I could think about was the fact that this sick kid had been laying on me on the couch for several days coughing, sneezing and generally sharing oozy stuff with me.  The doctor (a runner herself) clearly saw that I was about to have a major meltdown so she gave me Tamiflu.  I took all of it and fortunately for me, made it through Shamrock without getting the flu although I did have a head cold and my right ear was so inflamed and sore that I couldn't hear out of it.  A visit to my doctor the day after the marathon proved I had a major ear infection that ended up taking two rounds of antibiotics to fully clear.

My older son was home from school for several days and on antibiotics and a nebulizer for a chest cold the week before I ran (I use the word run lightly since I pretty much fell apart and walked quite a bit) the Outer Banks Marathon.

One of them, I honestly can't remember which, was sick 2 weeks before I ran the Delaware Marathon.  That was particularly stressful because that was the race I was running with the one goal of qualifying for Boston.

And now here we are.  Days away from Boston and both kids are on antibiotics.  I have used more antibacterial wipes in the last 10 days than I have in years.  I have gone through an entire can of Lysol spray.  I am in full on panic mode.  Which, if I'm not careful, will be enough in it's self to get me sick.  I am begging my body to hang on.  Just hang on and I promise I wont run another marathon EVER.  

Oh, and please don't tell my body that my fingers were crossed when I made that promise.....