The Stress Fracture Diary: Part One

Happy Friday!

I've decided to start a new series to talk about running injuries- "The Stress Fracture Diary." Right after my diagnosis, I googled a lot of different terms looking for other runners/bloggers who had gone through what I was about to go through. I found a few runners that blogged about it but much less than I thought I would. During a time when I felt so disconnected from the running community, I really wanted to read other's stories/experiences but I wasn't finding a lot of detail online. So, I'm going to do my best to document the next few weeks/months as best I can so that someday they may help a future injured runner AND help educate any runner about how to avoid this injury. And writing is helping me stay sane as I'm laid up :-)

Today's post will be all the basics: What is a stress fracture? What causes it? What are the symptoms? How is one diagnosed? What is the treatment? How can you prevent a stress fracture? I'll answer these questions with help from the internet and my own experience.

What is a stress fracture?
"Stress fractures are tiny cracks in a bone. Stress fractures are caused by the repetitive application of force, often by overuse- such as repeatedly jumping up and down or running long distances. Stress fractures can also arise from normal use of a bone that's been weakened by a condition such as osteoporosis. Stress fractures are most common in the weight-bearing bones of the lower leg and foot. "- Mayo Clinic

A pain in the ass. - Sarah

What causes a stress fracture?
"Stress fractures often are the result of increasing the amount or intensity of an activity too rapidly. They also can be caused by the impact of an unfamiliar surface (a tennis player who has switched surfaces from a soft clay court to a hard court); improper equipment (a runner using worn or less flexible shoes); and increased physical stress (a basketball player who has had a substantial increase in playing time)."- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

In my case, my doctor seems to think there are two reasons: bad running form and non-supportive shoes. Yup, that's right, my beloved Hoka One Ones may have caused my stress fracture. There is too much movement in my right foot during a running motion- I need a motion-control shoe to correct this biomechanical issue.
Fun fact- I wore Brooks Adrenalines for three years before making the switch to Hokas. It seems plausible that since I had no issue with the Brooks that switching shoes could have been the trigger to causing a stress fracture.

As for the "too much running" theory, I was only running 10- 15 miles a week when I was experiencing symptoms. I think it was just the total accumulation of miles in the Hokas that led to the fracture.

What are the symptoms?

"The symptoms of stress fractures can vary widely. However, the most common complaint is pain. The pain may develop gradually and often is relieved by rest. Pain usually becomes more intense with physical activity and can be associated with swelling. Swelling and tenderness may be present in the area of pain. It is rare to see bruising or discoloration."- American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society

One of the biggest reason it took so long to diagnose my stress fracture is that my symptoms were very atypical. I did not have a lot of pain. I would say I had some discomfort, but not true, real pain. I also had discomfort all over my foot- not just in one area. Most stress fractures have acute pain in a specific area- they site of the fracture. Most stress fractures can't pass the "single leg test"- hopping on the affected leg without pain. I had a little pain on the top of my foot, in my toes, my ankle, etc. Also, my pain did not become worse with activity- it got better! Which is what lead to the first diagnosis- tendinitis. With bone issues, the pain usually gets more intense the more you run- mine was the opposite which mimics a tendon/soft tissue issue. 

What concerned me the most- and what sent me to see the doctor the first time- was the swelling. My foot first started swelling in June. It cleared up through most of July and August but by late August, it was swelling after every run. That's what sent me back to the doctor in September. Below is a picture before diagnosis, after a week of diagnosis/treatment and today. You can really see how swollen it was before we knew it was a fracture. 

How is a stress fracture diagnosed?
"While doctors can sometimes diagnose a stress fracture from the medical history and physical exam alone, imaging tests are often needed to confirm the diagnosis.

• X-rays. In many cases, stress fractures aren't apparent on regular X-rays taken shortly after the time your signs and symptoms begin. It often takes several weeks — and sometimes longer than a month — for evidence of stress fractures to show up on X-rays.
• Bone scan. A few hours before a bone scan, you'll receive a small dose of radioactive material through an intravenous line. The radioactive substance accumulates most in areas where bones are being repaired — showing up on the scan image as a bright white spot. However, many types of bone problems look alike on bone scans, so the test isn't very specific for stress fractures.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI uses radio waves and a strong magnetic field to produce detailed images of your internal structures. MRI usually can visualize stress fractures within the first week of injury, and this type of test is better able to distinguish between stress fractures and soft tissue injuries."- Mayo Clinic

I first went to the orthopaedic doctor in June due to swelling. He took x-rays, manipulated my foot, and concluded that there was no way I had a stress fracture because I'd be in a lot of pain from where he was pressing and pushing on my foot. He told me to come back if the pain increased or the swelling continued.

In late August, I made another appointment (for September) because the swelling was back and the discomfort was slightly worse and was happening when I wasn't running. At this appointment, he manipulated my foot, watched me hop on it (thus passing the "single leg test" which most stress fractures can't), and again assured me I did not have a stress fracture. He scheduled an MRI for 9/17/ 2014 and  sent me on my way. He also told me to keep training- there was no reason for me to stop running. I ran the Divas Half Marathon that weekend.

The day after my MRI, a nurse called me to tell me that my foot was indeed fractured in the second metatarsal and that I needed to get off of it immediately. She also told me I'd be non-weight bearing for six weeks. The next time I visited the doctor, he showed me the MRI and explained that what they look for is inconsistency in the bone coloring on the MRI (i.e., cloudy white where it should be dark, dark spots where it should be light). And sure enough, you can see the fracture. The white dot you see on the outside of my foot is something the MRI people taped to my foot before the exam- they asked me where I felt the most pain- and damn if it doesn't line up perfectly with the stress fracture.

Cloudy white where it should be dark.

Dark where the bone should be white.

What is the treatment?
"Treatment will vary depending on the location of your stress fracture and its severity. The goal of any treatment is to help you return to all the activities you enjoy. Following your doctor's treatment plan will restore your abilities faster, and help you prevent further problems in the future.

• Rest. Take a break from the activity that caused the stress fracture. It typically takes 6 to 8 weeks for a stress fracture to heal. During that time, switch to aerobic activities that place less stress on your foot and leg. Swimming and cycling are good alternative activities. Remember, however, that you should not do any physical activity on the involved foot or ankle until you consult a doctor.
• Protective footwear. To reduce stress on your foot and leg, your doctor may recommend wearing protective footwear. This may be a stiff-soled shoe, a wooden-soled sandal, or a removable short-leg fracture brace shoe.
• Casts. Stress fractures in the fifth metatarsal bone (on the outer side of the foot) or in the navicular or talus bones take longer to heal. Your doctor may apply a cast to your foot to keep your bones in a fixed position and to remove the stress on your involved leg. Casts are a type of external fixation. To keep weight off your foot and leg, your doctor may recommend that you use crutches until the bone heals.

Surgical Treatment- Some stress fractures require surgery to heal properly. In most cases, this involves supporting the bones by inserting a type of fastener. This is called internal fixation. Pins, screws, and/or plates are most often used to hold the small bones of the foot and ankle together during the healing process."- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

In my case, my treatment is six weeks of non-weight bearing activity. This means no walking, standing, swimming, biking, etc. Basically a lot of sitting. Unfortunately, due to the placement of my fracture, my doctor is going with a very conservative treatment plan to avoid the bone completely breaking. If this bone were to break, there is no guarentee that I would ever be able to run again. Scary. 

I have an appointment with the ortho on October 22. If there are signs of healing, I may be able to bike or swim. But still no walking or running. Instead of crutches, I am using a knee scooter to get around. It is extremely inconvenient to not be able to move around or walk the way I want to but it beats the alternative- surgery or permanent mobility issues.

Once I'm off the scooter and out of the boot. I can slowly start walking again. It will probably be about 4 weeks post-boot that I will be able to start incorporating running back into my walking. I should be back at pre-injury level (distance, pace, etc) by January. 

Scooter Queen.

How can you prevent a stress fracture?

"These guidelines can help you prevent stress fractures.

• Maintain a healthful diet. Eat calcium and Vitamin D-rich foods to help build bone strength.
• Use proper sports equipment. Don't wear old or worn running shoes.
• Alternate your activities. For example, you can alternate jogging with swimming or cycling.
• Start any new sports activity slowly. Gradually increase time, speed, and distance; a 10% increase per week is fine.
• Strength training can help prevent early muscle fatigue and prevent the loss of bone density that comes with aging.
• If pain or swelling returns, stop the activity. Rest for a few days. If pain continues, see your doctor." - American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

If you're still reading, you get a gold star because this was a loooong post! But, I hope it helped shed light on the mysterious and challenging stress fracture! It's not really mysterious. But it is challenging- more on that in the next post :-)

Race Recap & Review: Akron Marathon Weekend

As you know, I did not run the Akron Marathon Relay a few weeks ago. But, I have a special treat for you today- a recap from Matthew! He has relayed his experience during the half marathon to me so I can share it with all of you. I'll throw in some spectator stories too so you can get the full experience. So, let's dive right in!

Saturday, September 27th started with a group photo in the lobby. The race started at 7 am and we wanted to get everybody corralled and ready to go before then. Nathan and Matthew were running the half; Steff was starting the marathon relay and running legs one and two. After dropping them off at the start, Lauren, Mark (Lauren's husband), Jeff, Chelsea and I headed to the VIP area to watch the start. 

We look pretty good for 6 am!

Matthew:

After they dropped us off, I tried to get into my corral- C. It was a confusing set-up and I eventually found my way to the port-a-potties and then settled into corral B. I couldn't get into corral C. 

The race started and I noticed that the volunteers holding the rope at the front of each corral weren't walking the group forward so people just started running a few blocks before the start. It was peculiar. 

Sarah:

Watching the race from the VIP area was AMAZING! It was elevated so we could see the entire street. Lauren was hilarious- she looked the like the mayor waving to people. It was adorable. 

Panoramic start view.

The mayor of #runchat, Lauren, waving to her people.

Matthew:

The first few miles of the race were pretty cool- we ran an out-and-back course over two bridges and there were tons of spectators out lining the streets. There was fantastic signage for the different races. Every few miles, there would be signs directing you to the marathon, half marathon, or relay course. And then about a half mile later, a sign would confirm what course you were on. The relay exchange areas were well-marked and well-organized. About a quarter of a mile before each water/medical station, there was a sign letting runners know it was coming up. 

Miles 4-7 went through the city of Akron, neighborhoods, and business areas. I knew I was keeping a great pace. My goal for this race was sub 2:05 and up to this point, I knew I was doing exactly what I needed to. I ran straight for 6.5 miles; after that, I walked for one minute at every mile marker. As I approached the second relay exchange point around mile 9, I knew to look for Jeff. I was able to see him and say a quick hello. I also tried to stay on the blue line- the line painted on the course that was the shortest route of the race- it ran along the tangents. 

Sarah:

After the start, Chelsea and Lauren headed back to the hotel and Jeff headed to his relay exchange point. Mark and I, after consulting the course map, tried to scope out some places to watch our runners. We settled into a location at mile three. We were able to see Nathan but couldn't find the others. Eventually, we found a Starbucks and we grabbed breakfast. I had planned on seeing Matthew at mile 10 but I missed him... again! I forgot how frustrating and stressful it is to try and find your runner in a sea of people!

Mark and I made our way down to about mile 12.5 and decided to stay there to see Nathan and Matthew finish. Nathan zoomed past us finishing in 1:30 something and after he finished, he walked back to us to cheer for Matthew. Once we saw him, I knew he was going to SHATTER 2:05 :-) He passed us and we made our way back into the stadium to the finish- I had my bib on the scooter and Mark had a VIP pass so we had no issues getting into the runner's only area. 

Chelsea and me plotting out spectator routes, Mark looking confused.
 Thanks to Lauren for this picture. 

Matthew:

After mile 9ish, we ran past the start line again and I knew we just had that same out-and-back (minus a block or two) to get to the end of the race. At mile 11, I looked at my watch- 1:42. I felt like I'd break 2:05. From miles 11-12 we ran back over a bridge and towards the stadium. At about mile 12.5, the spectators started lining the streets. As I usually do, I took out one earbud so I could experience the finish. I heard Steff yell out to me and then later saw Sarah, Mark, and Nathan cheering me on. 

I ran toward the stadium and then entered under the scoreboard. There was a weird fabric down on the field- it felt like running on a blanket; it was awkward. I crossed the finish line and checked out my time- 2:01:43. Awesome! I grabbed my medal and then went up into the stands to find the team. 

Matthew (in blue) headed towards the finish. Thanks to Chelsea for this picture!

Sarah:

Steff and Matthew met up with us in the stadium. We all relaxed while the runners went down on the field to get their food and beer. They each got a bag of food and two beers. We took some pics, goofed around, and waited for Jeff and Lauren to get shuttled back to the stadium. When we knew Chelsea was close, we all went down on the field to watch her finish. 

That's right, my team carried my scooter and helped me get down STADIUM STEPS to get onto the field. They are amazing :-)

We were able to get right up to the finish line and see Chelsea finish- it was a cool moment. Then Chelsea gave us all our medals and my team gave me the sweetest card. There were some tears :-)

Afterward, we headed back to the hotel to get cleaned up, traveled to Pittsburgh, and spent a good three hours in a Cracker Barrel off the PA Turnpike laughing at inappropriate jokes and offending lots of elderly folks. Fantastic day.

Rock. Star.

Waiting for our finishers! Notice Nathan in the heat blanket- he can't handle weather outside of Florida! :-)

Captain Chelsea bringing it home for Team #4PrincessesAndAFrog

Love these people.

Teammates for life.

Matthew:

Would I do this race again? Absolutely. It was very well-organized, it was a safe course, a well-supported community race, and I loved everything about the "blue line." If I can talk Sarah into it (yeah, right!), we'll be back in 2015. 

Sarah's Final Thoughts:

Seriously, the entire Akron Marathon team did such an impressive job with this event. Big thank you to Andrew and Panera for allowing us to be part of a great race weekend. Since I didn't get to run, I'm pretty sure it's a rule that I have to come back for 2015! Hope to see you there!

AM: 10/6/14, All Aboard the Struggle Bus!

Hello and welcome to the first Monday in October!

Today's Accountability Monday post is going to be a little different because I have been riding driving the struggle bus all weekend. I ate too much junk, drank too much wine, and today I'm home sick with a nasty sinus infection/sore throat/yuckiness. And I had a very depressing crying spell after looking at everyone's race pictures from the weekend. Ugh, this injury thing sucks. A LOT.

Emotionally, I feel like I'm just trying to tread water and not back slide into terrible habits, i.e. feeding my emotions with food- usually junk. It's been a little over two weeks since I have been able to walk or run and I feel like the next four weeks are going to go by so slowly. Everything becomes inconvenient and 10 times more difficult when you can't walk or get around on your own. And that is depressing. It's bad enough not being able to run/workout but when you couple that with not being able to just do what you want to do on your own- it's a recipe for crappy feelings and crappy eating.

This weekend we were home with my family. I went to two wineries, mom made lasagna for the football game, and I was in spaces I couldn't control (restaurants, other's homes) for three days. Weekends like this are where I really could use some activity points to balance out my eating. But I don't have any APs so I just have to try and regulate what I can splurge on- which is tough when everyone you're with is eating and drinking whatever they want. I feel like this sounds whiny- I'm not trying to be whiny; I'm just struggling with everything.

Wine, Wawa breakfast sandwich (6PPV), Multigrain Pancake Combo at IHOP (10PPV), and more wine.

I think the biggest part of the struggle is the lack of motivation. I don't have any fitness goals right now mainly because I can't predict what my walking/running will look like once I'm able to start again. All I know is that I'll be missing my favorite races of the year and that depresses the crap out of me.

I know that I can make other fitness goals but I have to be honest with you- non-weight bearing exercising is BORING. I'm already tired of lifting weights, leg lifts, sit-ups, planks, etc. I literally CANNOT WAIT until I get the go-ahead to start swimming and biking. It's just not fun to be so limited in workouts.

Also, my right calf is already shrinking. I was prepared for this but seeing it actually happen really makes me sad. It's... deflating. It's hard to motivate yourself to workout when there's no foreseeable goals and no way to stop your muscles from atrophying. For someone who's finally started to love the way her body looks, this is an incredible blow to my self-confidence/motivation to keep going.

My sad little right calf.

In weight-loss news, I stayed the exact same as last week: 152.6 pounds. I am thrilled that I didn't gain. I would like to work out a little more this week- at least four days. I did my 30 minute circuit three times this past week and I don't feel like it's enough to combat the lack of normal activity I've been missing.

So there you have it- I'm jumping off the struggle bus at the next stop- I've got to get my mind right so I can deal with these next four weeks successfully and get on the road to recovery.

Committing this to memory.

Spectator Report: Akron Marathon Weekend, The Expo

About eight months ago, I got an email from a group of #runchat friends- some of whom I hadn't even met yet- about participating in the Akron Marathon Relay on September 27th. There would be five of us and we'd each take a leg of the race. I would start the race, then hand off to Steff who would hand off to Jeff who would hand off to Lauren who would hand off to Chelsea who would finish the race.

We trained all summer for speed. We kept each other updated on our progress. We all participated in races during Pittsburgh Marathon Weekend and bonded like crazy. We counted down the days until we'd be reunited in Akron.

Jeff, Steff, Matthew, Chelsea, Lauren, and me after the Pittsburgh Half/Full Marathon.

Then I got diagnosed with a stress fracture nine days before the race. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. 

But, the race would go on. Steff agreed to pick up my leg and last Friday, we all started making our way out to Akron, OH. 

In addition to our team, we had some other guests make the trip. Matthew ran the half, our friend Nathan ran the half, and Lauren's husband Mark came along to cheer for everyone. 

Matthew and I started our five hour trek to Ohio at o'dark thirty (aka 5:00 am) because we wanted to meet Joan Benoit Samuelson at the expo at 10 am. If you don't know who this bad ass is, just click here. Anyway, so as soon as we crossed into Ohio, we stopped at a rest stop. As we were getting back into the car, I heard someone call my name. I don't know anyone in Ohio so imagine my surprise as I turned around and saw Jeff aka Coach Frog, parked RIGHT FREAKING NEXT TO US! Insane!

After exchanging quick hellos, we got back in the car to get to Akron by 10 am. Once there, we were quickly parked and meeting with Joan Benoit Samuelson. She gave me kudos for listening to the doctor and not running on a broken foot- she wasn't sure if she would have followed his advice :-) She also told Matthew to have a great race, signed a picture for us, and took a few photos. Pretty cool.

After that, we waited for the expo to open at 11 am. Akron did something that I thought was brilliant- in the big room just before the expo, they had all the bib numbers listed for each person along with little sticky notes that said "My bib number is ______." This way, everyone would have their bib number before waiting in line for packet pick-up. Genius!

When the expo opened, we were one of the first 100 people there. Packet pick-up was a breeze. We easily picked up Matthew's half marathon bib and my whole teams' bibs, shirts, Team Panera shirts, and... VIP BADGES!!! I feel like a real blogger now!

Then we headed to the social media booth to finally meet Andrew- Akron's social media guy- who'd we'd been emailing for months. He was absolutely great in person and so helpful and enthusiastic. Then we checked out the vendors. I loved how organized Akron's expo was- lots of vendors, lots of space, and you picked up race shirts at the very end of the expo- cutting down on massive lines usually found at packet pick-up.

Andrew!

After a great lunch with Jeff and Nathan, we headed to our hotel to rest up. Another great thing about Akron- our hotel, start line, finish line, and expo were all within about a mile. Easy to walk and easy to get to- it made the whole weekend so much nicer and less stressful.

Matthew napped at the hotel while I met up with Lauren and Steff to give them their packets. Then they headed off to a late afternoon volunteer shift while Matthew, Jeff, Nathan and I checked out the finish line area. I may have scooted down the blue line just for fun.

Matthew and Jeff standing in the STILL OPEN ROAD to grab a picture at the start line. 

Lauren and Mark joined us for dinner that night which was a whole lot of laughs and maybe a few tears. My team bought me a whole bunch of princess stuff to decorate my scooter and myself for the race the next day. It was so unbelievably touching. They truly are the greatest people I've ever known and I can't ever repay my gratitude for the wonderful things they did for me.

ANOTHER PRINCESS CROWN!!!! 

One for me, one for the scooter.

Me, Captain Chelsea, and Steff. The best friends a girl could ask for :-)

After dinner, we all made our way back to the hotel- we all stayed at the Akron City Center Hotel. We made a plan to meet in the lobby at 6:15 the next morning to walk to the start. Matthew and I laid our clothes out, I dressed up the scooter, and we were sound asleep by 10:30. Marathon morning was just around the corner :-)

Chelsea, Matthew, Jeff, Steff, and Nathan

Ready.

ENELL and Breast Cancer Awareness: The Power of Support

Happy Wednesday!

I just got an awesome email from the folks at ENELL and I just had to share it with all of you:

"As you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. What you may not know is that ENELL donates 10% of all HOPE (pink) proceeds from both the SPORT and LITE bras throughout the entire year to a charity related to the awareness, prevention, and/or treatment of breast cancer. In the past, we've partnered a single charity, but this year, we want to hear directly from our customers where they want us to donate this money. 

We are asking people to nominate their favorite related charity from October 1-14. October 15-31, all the eligible charities nominated will be available for voting. The top 3 vote-getters get a portion of the 2014 HOPE proceeds: First place receives 50%, second place receives 30%, and third place receives 20%.

The only requirements for nomination is that it is a non-profit, 501(c)3, related to awareness, prevention, and/or treatment of breast cancer.

An email is going out to customers Wednesday to promote this process AND a free gift with purchase offer on HOPE bras for this month (while supplies last) - an ENELL makeup bag.

Full details on the nomination process can be found on the ENELL site here: http://www.enell.com/support-in-a-big-way.

The entry form for sharing on social media can be accessed directly here: http://woobox.com/w5zje4."

So, you can nominate your favorite charity, help donate money to a worthwhile cause, and get a sweet make-up bag along with a beautiful HOPE bra? Sign me up! :-)

AM: 9/29/14

Welcome to another Monday! I hope you had a fabulous weekend filled with all the stuff and people you love. If you follow me on social media, you know I flooded your feed with tons of Akron Marathon and Great Race love with all my favorite running friends. I'll be blogging lots more about the whole experience this week but let me just say that I am so blessed to have friends that have become family. My Akron Marathon relay team and all our running friends in Pittsburgh really made this weekend incredible and unforgettable. Despite all the sadness and depression this injury has brought into my life, I was able to forget all about it this weekend and spend time with the most wonderful people. Thank you, friends. You are so beyond loved.

My heart.

Let's get right into some accountability!


Training:
Monday- Rest day
Tuesday- Rest day
Wednesday- Rest day
Thursday- 30 minute circuit of strength training
Friday- Lots of walking scootering around Akron and the expo
Saturday- More scootering around and cheering
Sunday- Cheering for the Great Race, crawling up and down stairs, and scootering around Pittsburgh

There are lots of insane pictures from this weekend of me using unconventional methods to get around- look for them in the Akron posts later this week :-)


Nutrition:
As we were out of town three days (and I've been wallowing a little in sad feelings), it was hard to stay on track with my eating while going to restaurants for each meal of the day. Luckily, the Weight Watchers app is loaded with good suggestions on low point alternatives at a variety of restaurants. Every time we went out, I tried to pick the most nutritious and low-point option available. I think it worked pretty well. I cut into some of my weekly allowance points but there is still a good amount of them left. We'll see what the scale says on Wednesday when I weigh-in but overall, I'm proud of not eating my feelings this week and tracking every bite I took.

Beets and goat cheese might be my favorite combination OF ALL TIME.

Weight-loss:
152.6 as of 9/24/14 weigh-in.
-1.2 since last week.
-37.8 since January 2013.
-49 since heaviest; 202 in 2005.

I LOST A POUND WITHOUT ANY ACTIVITY!!!!!!

I was SO surprised when I stepped on the scale and was down 1.2 after a full week of no workouts! I don't know if this trend will continue but I feel much more confident in my ability to manage these next five weeks and not back-slide into old habits/thought patterns.  I'm actually looking forward to the challenge of eating better and being more diligent about what I'm eating over the next few weeks. Imagine that :-)


QOTD: What was the biggest challenge you faced this week? How did you overcome it?

Race Recap & Review: Divas Half Marathon DC

Ok, enough sad talk with my stress fracture, let's do something fun! Let's recap my 15th half marathon, the Divas Half Marathon in Wine Country, DC. It was actually in Leesburg, VA NOT in DC, but that's another post entirely. :-)

As you know from the expo post, this race would be Jen's first half marathon and I'd be representing Enell on the course. We were both a mix of excited and nervous- Jen because she'd never done this before, and me because my foot was acting up and I was thinking about wearing brand new shoes for the race.

We tried to get a good night's sleep (ha!) and woke up bright and early Saturday morning- 5 am. The race started at 7:30 am but our VIP parking lot closed at 7 so we wanted to get there nice and early. From scouring other blogger's recaps from last year, I knew parking would be challenging. In fact, we'd heard that last year the event started TWO HOURS late because parking was all backed up. With the race starting at a rural vineyard with only one road in and one road out, traffic was a nightmare and caused the race start to be late.

We left the hotel around 6 am for our 20 minute drive to the race site. We grabbed breakfast at Starbucks on the way and were happily following the directions until.... a police officer directed us to go another way! Now, try to imagine this- we are in a looooong line of vehicles, it's 6:45 am, and we have NO IDEA where we're going as the way we were told to go was now being redirected. After a few minutes and some wrong turns, we finally approached the VIP parking lot a little after 7. This didn't leave us much time to get ready or give me much time on what shoes to wear. After a long internal debate, I decided to wear my hokas. I didn't feel comfortable changing shoes at the last minute and knew that I could run 13.1 in the hokas.

Once we left the car, we had probably a half mile walk to the start line. So we got to the start with only about 15 minutes to spare. The lines for the port-o-potties was insanely long so we skipped the bathroom and hoped we'd find one on the course. I wanted to check in with two people at this race- Sid Busch and my friend Rhonda. You may remember that I've met both of these folks before during the Dopey Challenge. Rhonda is a dear friend and Sid is just a legend- he's run nearly 200 marathons! It was great catching up with both of these friends as we waited for the race to start.

Sid and me and Rhonda!

She looks ready!

Somehow, Jen and I managed to be in wave two out of four. At a little past 7:30, we were off! We raced through a bit of the vineyard and then were on paved roads the rest of the race. The course itself wasn't that great- lots of out-and-back sections (that can mess with your head!) and little to no spectators. We ran through many housing developments; some of which were still being built! There were some great views of the mountains and some breathtaking flower fields. All in all, it was just an ok course. I did try to entertain us by counting the men on the course (around 20) and we were able to see Donna (who I ran into at the expo) and Sid a few times and wave hello- that's the good thing about those out-and-back sections.

What you can't see on that map is the HILLS! Oh Lord, was this thing hilly! I felt bad for Jen- usually your first half marathon should be nice and flat! We were doing well through the first 10 miles- keeping a nice and easy pace somewhere between 12- 13 minute miles. I promised Jen we would pick up the pace at mile 10 if we felt good. And guess what? We felt GREAT at mile 10 and picked it up like crazy! Our last three mile splits were something like 11:45, 11:30, 11:06- it was fantastic!

Some pictures from the along the course.

As we were racing towards the finish, we were both so pumped and talked about how THIS is why we take walk breaks- so we can pass people like crazy at the end and finish feeling strong. I can't put into words how proud I was of Jen- she had worked her butt off all winter, spring, and summer to do this half marathon- and she was KILLING it! The feeling as we came back into the vineyard, knowing the finish was less than a mile away, was just amazing. It's the reason I run.

In less than five minutes, Jen would be a half marathoner!!!!!

As we got close to the finish, there were cheerleaders handing out pink boas and tiaras to finish the race with. We both grabbed them and kept pushing towards the finish. As we crossed the announcer shouted out both of our names- so freaking cool.

Jen did it. She was a half-marathoner! (PS- I'm crying as I type this, I can't help it!)

We went through the finish chute, got our crazy blinged out medal from some very beefy (and VERY young!) men, got a glass of sparkling cider (no champagne due to VA liquor laws), and waited in line to get an official finisher picture.

Look at this rock star! What a finish!

Wow. Just wow. Photo credit: Kathy Peraza

We went back to the car to grab a jacket (it was a little chilly and had started to drizzle) and our free wine tasting ticket. After waiting in another looooong line for free wine, we finally had our chance to taste Tarara Winery's Boneyard line- two reds and two whites. Lucky for me, Jen is allergic to red wine and the other ladies beside us didn't like red wine so I got almost two full glasses of red when they shared their samples with me!

I bought a few bottles of wine and then we made the long trek back to the car to head home. There was a finisher party back at Lansdowne Resort from 2-4 pm but we were pretty wiped out from the race so we decided to head back home.

Would I do this race again? Probably not. It was a hilly, lonely, not very pretty course. And the waiting for the wine at the end of the race was not fun. I wish there had been more of an after-party at the actual finish line rather than having it at a second location 20 minutes away.

What worked well for me in this race: My new Enell bra was AMAZING! Seriously, I hadn't noticed how unsupportive my old one was until I had a newer, smaller size on. Ladies, replace your Enell at least once a year- if not once every six months. You can really notice the difference when you're in a correct size and newer bra. It was heavenly to run in! :-)

I'm glad I did Divas but I don't think the "DC" race will be on my list in the future.

Happy finishers.

QOTD: Have you ever run any of the Divas races? What did you think of them?


Disclaimer: My registration fee for this race was paid for by Enell as part of their Ambassador Program. I received no other form of monetary compensation. As always, all opinions are my own.