Overheating in a Tank Top ... in February (or, Race Recap: Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon)

A few months ago I woke up with a stabbing pain in my left heel. I figured I had a bruised heel and it would go away. After consulting with my friend RoadBunner (a totally certifiable running consultant in my book), she warned me that it sounded like a classic case of plantar fasciitis. I rolled it on a tennis ball, bought some orthotics for my shoes, iced it every night, and continued to run 6 days a week.

Two weeks ago, I was riding the bus to work and got a charley horse in my right quad while just sitting there reading my book. I thought the months of hobbling on my left heel was getting to my "overcompensating" leg. Only the pain didn't go away, and I sometimes had a hard time putting weight on it altogether. My quad never hurt to the touch -- it only hurt when I stepped on that side. I massaged it, iced it 4 times daily, and continued to run on the days it wasn't totally unbearable.

I asked a physical therapist about my leg and the result: It's my right IT band. It's weak because my right leg is about an inch longer than my left leg, and all the running on pavement is jarring it in weird ways. My right sartorius muscle knotted up because it was tired of making up for my weak IT band. His suggestion: Take a few weeks off of running, roll my sartorius and IT band on a foam roller, and stick to running on trails for a while when I get back into it.
This morning was the Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon & 5K here in the City. I registered for the half a while ago thinking that if I didn't make my sub-1:50 goal in L.A., I'd try again here since my training was up and the two races were close to one another. I ended up making my goal in L.A., and a promising 10-mile race two weekends ago lead me to think I might even be able to squeak out a sub-1:45 half marathon. Then my satorius bonked, and I had to re-think my goals for today's race.I woke up and the pain in my heel was pretty noticeable. I rolled it on a tennis ball before getting my body out of bed, made breakfast, hobbled outside to gauge the weather (my computer said 63 degrees at 6:00am!?!), and changed my mind from wearing my black Punk Rock Racing shirt into my yellow, yet-to-be-christened-at-a-race Marathon Maniacs tank. It was going to be a warm day, and I didn't want to have a repeat of feeling too hot, like I did when I ran the 13.1 Marathon in L.A.

I ran to the starting line of the KP Half, noticing only some minor twinges in my right quad, but appreciating the warm-up miles. I lined up with the 1:45 pacer (an ambitious goal I was more than willing to back out of), had my best half marathon to date, and then ran home.

The starting line near the De Young Museum.

Yes, I wanted to at least go for it.

I can't remember the 1:45 pacer's name, but we chatted briefly as I asked him about the course tangents. He ended up playing a pretty cool role for me late in the game.

Mile 1 (8:00), Mile 2 (7:33), Mile 3 (7:59), Mile 4 (7:44)

Usually I start races out too quickly and after "banking" time on the first few miles of the 13.1 Marathon - L.A., I figured I'd go for that strategy again. But when my Garmin beeped 8:00 at mile 1, I needed to pick it up to bank anything -- my goal for the race was to run 8-minute miles, and I already cut it too close right off the bat. Luckily by mile 2, the crowd thinned out and we had a nice little downhill, so I was able to bank some time as we squared around Panhandle Park.

Mile 5 (7:52, first gel), Mile 6 (7:31), Mile 7 (7:43), Mile 8 (7:57)

After a relieving downhill stretch in Golden Gate Park we hit the Great Highway, where the out-and-back portion was seriously brutal. While there was at least some shade in Golden Gate Park, there was nothing along the highway -- no wind, no clouds, nothing but the hot pavement glaring up at us. I slowed down at a few water stops to swig some cold water (the Citrus Nuun I had in my bottle was warm and disappearing quickly), and dump the rest of the water on my head. It seemed to help in cooling me down. I couldn't get the thought out of my mind that I was overheating, in a tank top, in the first week of February, in San Francisco!

Mile 9 (8:03), Mile 10 (8:02, second gel), Mile 11 (7:56), Mile 12 (8:06)

I struggled a lot on the Great Highway. The footing wasn't the best in places, and the stiff heat made the miles seem like they were dragging on forever. At mile 11 the 1:45 pacer passed by me. "Oh no you di'int!", I exclaimed, hoping he'd recognize me from the short chat we had earlier in the morning. I was feeling a bit nauseous, and told myself I'd let him stay in front of me until mile 12, allowing myself to watch his steps, let him pace me, and not think about the race elements for a few minutes. I listened to my music and counted to 8 with the beat, and concentrated on his footing. For a while the pacer was a good 20 feet ahead of me, but I never let him get any further than that. After the mile 12 marker, I made a break for it.

Mile 13 (7:48) and .24 (1:53)

Right as I passed by the pacer, he said, "You will have 45 seconds in the bank! Go!" -- this guy was on his game! My watch showed that I wasn't doing the best job with tangents, but he knew exactly what I had left based on the remaining course and his watch's reading. While I didn't need him to push me during the first 11 miles of the race, he was watching my back the whole time. When I needed his consistency, he was right on par. And when I was ready to leave him, he was so supportive! I cranked it on the last uphill through Golden Gate Park, gagged about 10 times on the final stretch, and finally let my guts go after crossing the finish line.

It was perfect.

There was no bling for this race; but my Garmin reading is satisfying enough. :)

Official Time: 1:44:11 -- a 3:33 PR; three half PRs in three months' time

Average Pace: 7:57 min/mile (7.5 mph)

Overall Place: 946 out of 5,923

Gender Place: 211 out of 3,161

Division Place: 53 out of 650

Air Temp: 74F, sunny

13.24-mile splits (7:52 min/mile, 7.6 mph)

1: 8:00 / 7.5 mph

2: 7:33 / 7.9 mph

3: 7:59 / 7.5 mph

4: 7:44 / 7.8 mph

5: 7:52 / 7.6 mph

6: 7:31 / 8.0 mph

7: 7:43 / 7.8 mph

8: 7:57 / 7.5 mph

9: 8:03 / 7.4 mph

10: 8:02 / 7.5 mph

11: 7:56 / 7.6 mph

12: 8:06 / 7.4 mph

13: 7:48 / 7.7 mph

.24: 1:53 / 7.6 mph

Even though it appears I'm running better while injured, I'm not totally stupid. I'm going to take a week or two off of running, buy myself a foam roller, and I'm going to do some yoga, hiking, and biking while working on these issues and easing myself back onto the trails. I'd like to think I know how to read my body's signals (even though my race times are telling me differently), and it's time for a break.