2021.. A Repeat of 2020

 I don't think I am alone when I said at the beginning of 2021, that this year was going to be great. Life would get back to normal. Racing would return in person. 

Of course, life has a funny way of breaking your heart.. Although, I don't think that my heart is broken after all.

After 2020 had postponed and cancelled all of my racing, my 2021 calendar was full. A 4 hour endurance race (read about that race here), a 6 hour endurance, an 8 hour endurance, three half marathons and one big ole 50k. I was a bit leery about them actually happening in person, which is the only way that I am going to be motivated to train. I ran the 4 hour endurance race in January. Such a blast! I hope they have that race again. The first of 3 half marathons was cancelled, and shortly after that, the second one cancelled. Luckily, I had the option to either run virtually or defer to 2022. I deferred for both of them. The third was never really scheduled, so that was pushed to 2022 as well. The 6 hour race did happen in person, but my goals did not align with the training time needed to hit those goals and I DNS'ed. Don't worry, I am perfectly happy with that choice! The 8 hour endurance race is running in person as well, but I went ahead and deferred that to 2022 as well. 

The big question now is if I can defer my 50k to 2022 as well. I am patiently waiting a response from the race director..

After planning out an extensive running year for 2021, I am sure glad that everything has been pushed to 2022. 2020 was probably my best running year in a long time. I was stronger, faster and more motivated than ever. Maybe I burned out, but 2021 has been a straight up struggle. I ran the 4 hour Freeze in January, but my running dropped off significantly after that. Once I knew that I wasn't racing this year, I slowed to a walk, but even that was a challenge, mentally. I am just now coming back from a 3 month break from all forms of fitness. No walking. No running. No strength. No cycling. Nothing. I have lost all motivation to move my body. 

Choices of that sort, not making my body a priority, are definitely showing on the scale. However, I do feel mentally sound right now. I think I've worked through some personal mental health struggles that have been plaguing me for a while. And to me, that trade off is worth it. 

The choice to come back and start running again was a bit of a forced decision. And maybe forced is the wrong word... Either way, you all know that my running has always been dedicated to my brother, Pat, who has Type 1 diabetes. I've been an advocate for diabetes for a long time and will do everything I can to help raise awareness to this disease. Pat has been diabetic for a while now. 15 years or so. He is not new to the game and he does a great job of managing his sugar. He has an insulin pump that has made the health management much more manageable. He was recently out of state on vacation with his family, and his pump failed. I don't know the full story, but he ended up in the emergency room with a blood sugar of 740. He was is DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis) when he arrived. They admitted him to the ICU, where he stayed for a day, until his sugars were back to normal. 

DKA is a serious condition that can lead to death. Talk about scary! For me, it all flashed back to the day that Pat told me about his diabetes diagnosis. Is it weird that I remember that day? I know where I was, what I was doing, how I felt. I think it affected me like it did because, as a hospital corpsman, I saw this play out in the sailors and marines that I took care of. I knew the struggle that he faced and I knew the consequences of the disease. On that day, years ago, I cried a lot. And just a couple of weeks ago, when I got the news that he was in the ICU, I cried again. 

#imrunningforpat came back in that moment. My running has to mean something again. I have to advocate for my brother again. I have to raise awareness. And money. And I have to show my brother that I am with him in this.. 

So, I'm back. It's going to be a slow return. I have no goals other than get out there and move. Whether that be a walk, or a run. October will be when things kick up a notch with training season. I do after all, have a huge running year next year. 

4 Hour Freeze- January

Rock n Roll Nashville- April

6 Hour Endurance- April

Indy Mini- May

Half Marathon TBD- June

8 Hour Endurance- July

Run Woodstock- September

Sponsors: Kea Peak, New Balance, Garmin, Nathan Hydration, Fabletics, Billabong, Skratch, Nuun (just kidding, you guys. I'm not sponsored. But if I were, this would be my list.)

Loops and Loops

 Alright, alright, alright. February has come and gone in the blink of an eye and I haven't even updated y'all on my January race! 

On January 16th 2021, I met about 200 other runners at the White River State Park in Indianapolis for a FOUR hour "group" run called the 4-Hour Freeze. I was so shocked when the race directors announced this race simply because Indianapolis is a hot spot for COVID infections and the city is basically still on lock down. It has been too long since I've ran a race that wasn't virtual, so it was a no brainer for me to sign up. 

Peep the drink and rolling stick. My pre-race traditions.

The morning of the race was cold. But I had been running in the cold all winter so it wasn't too shocking. The start of the race was a corral type start and promptly at 10 am, we began! This race was unique in the fact that it was a two mile loop around the White River State Park. There was a shoot out that could give you three miles also. The name of the game was how many miles can you get in four hours. It was completely up to you how many loops you did, of which distance. I know for a fact that in four hours, I can walk a half marathon. And that was my goal. Well, not to walk, but to get those 13.1 miles in total. This distance would require 5 short loops and 1 big loop. 

The first lap was basically a sight lap. Get to know the course and warm up. My first time around the sag stop was to shed some layers and have a drink. I probably started out too fast and was a little dry by the time I came around. But that is typical for the first mile of any race. 

The next short loop clicked off a little too easily. I was surprisingly shocked at how well I felt at the four mile mark. That sag included a salt tab and a chomp block. It was at this moment that the realization of possibly SIXTEEN miles hit me. I had ran the first four in decent time, around 56 minutes. If I stuck to that pace and kept my sags minimal, I could actually hit sixteen miles in the four hours.

The cool thing about this race is that the fast guys and gals keep running by. And everyone was so nice and encouraging! You start to make friends out there when you are running the same loop over and over. It was also very socially distant. The length of the loop and the amount of runners really allowed everyone to keep a safe distance. There were plenty of times when I was alone for a while. Just me and my running demons. 

Mile six was a quick stop to vaseline my feet. As you know if you follow my running journey, I struggle with blisters. I started to eat real food at this point also. Bacon mostly. I was still on pace for more miles than I had ever ran and was feeling unbelievably well. Mile eight was my fastest mile of the day! 

I think the wheels started to fall off around Mile ten. My nutrition was on point. I was hydrating and even had to make a pit stop. My mood was great and my legs were just fine. Until they weren't. And really, it was IT band that eventually took me down. The blisters were pretty awful and forced a sock and shoe change at Mile ten. My pace was still rocking though so I kept chugging along. Jenny (aka: the best crew ever) gave me a good pep talk at Mile twelve that went something like this:

Me- I dont think I can do this anymore. I might just get fourteen. 

Jenny- How about you start this loop and when you get to the shoot out for the long mile loop, make  decision then. If  you are feeling ok, take the extra bit to get to fifteen.  If not, take the short loop for fourteen. 

Me- Ugh. Fine. I'll text you when I am at that point to let you know.

And so that was the plan. I started Mile twelve. Hit Mile thirteen (almost a half marathon PR, by the way) and was on my way to Mile fourteen. I had started chatting with another lady who was on the same exact mile count as me, in the same predicament as me. Together, we decided to go for the long loop. To be honest, we were just walking at this time. The running was no longer. We were in survival mode. We hurt and the weather had turned on us. That was the longest three miles of my life, I think. 

But we finally did it. Fifteen. Point. One. Miles. Of course, I ran it in! 

So happy to be done!

The longest distance up to this point, that I've ran, was a half marathon. I went two extra miles! The weather was nasty, my legs were dead, feet blistered, but I did it! 

I ran one big loop and six short loops. 

Now what? I currently have 3 half marathons, a 6 hour, an 8 hour and a 50k on my plate for 2021. I obviously have a weird obsession with these timed endurance races. It's going to be a huge running year. One of the half marathons has already postponed because of COVID and I am keeping my fingers crossed that the rest of them will stay just as they are. Getting so close to my half PR during this race has me seeing stars and I am motivated to hit that PR this year. I honestly haven't felt this good in so many years.

2021 is going to be MY year of running. I'm in it to win it. 

Shoes: New Balance 1080v10- Best shoe I have ever put my foot in.

Buff: Kea Peak- Women owned and operated out of Reno. Original top knot nation trucker visors.

Vest: Menards- The one piece of gear that I absolutely will not run without. In the winter. Best $19 ever.

Garmin activity of the day.