The NEMO U007 conference wrapped up on Friday, October 1st and as others made their way home via road, rail or air, I was settling in for another few days in Portland. The rest of the Chadwick clan weren't far behind. James and Summit, my parents, my brother Curt, his wife Mandy, their two kids Andrew and Aubrey and their dog Jax all found their way up to Maine for a weekend of family fun.
We settled into a cute rental in South Portland, right near Willard Beach. The house was perfect for us - with six adults, two children and two dogs, I'm not sure we would have fit anywhere else!
On Saturday, we got up early and made breakfast then headed out to explore Portland. We walked the streets of the Old Port, experienced the islands of Casco Bay by boat, chowed on some "lobsta" at the Portland Lobster Company and made our way up to Freeport to the L.L.Bean metropolis (and ran into Dr. McDreamy from Grey's Anatomy in the process).
It was a spectacular day, the weather couldn't have been nicer. We spent the evening at Willard Beach where the dogs spent a blissful hour romping in the sand, meeting new doggie friends and taking in some salty sea water. Saturday night we cooked up a big spaghetti dinner so that dad and I could carbo-load for the next morning...because we would be running the Maine Marathon (me) and Half Marathon (dad)!
My mom dropped Dad and I off at the start and from the very beginning I wasn't really into the task at hand. Usually for big races like a marathon, I spend months preparing and weeks in advance thinking about race strategy. Considering I decided to run this race three weeks prior to the event, there wasn't much time for prepping and given my busy schedule at work, there wasn't much thought that went into the race either. It just snuck up on me and before I could think about a strategy, my legs were running and my mind was still on Summit.
Race Report
Dad did great in his first half marathon and I think he really enjoyed himself! I was so proud. I think a marathon may be in his future. My race finished up fine, despite my general disinterest in the task (yes, this is totally unlike me). I ended up running 11 minutes faster than my last marathon, but still much slower overall than I was hoping for. It may have had a lot to do with the fact that I didn't train properly for it. I suffered a little in the last few miles, but overall the race was pain-free. The amazing thing is that I was ready to run again three days after the race! In the past, that would have never happened. Besides the normal aches, pains and post-race hobble, I was perfectly fine! No knee pain, no back pain, no foot pain. I attribute all of that to these. My running life has been turned completely around by these funny looking shoes. As you can see in the photo below, I didn't wear them in the marathon (I wore racing flats which are just a step up from VFFs) because I thought maybe I needed a little more protection over 26.2 miles, but in the end, I think I should have just worn them. The flats didn't do much for me (except make me lose a toenail) and I think my feet/calves/legs were ready for the challenge. Now all I have to do is figure out how to keep my feet warm during my winter runs!!
Summit Report
The four hour car ride home was uncomfortable for both me and Summit but I think it was worse for her. As I mentioned above, when we left the house for the race she was is complete distress. She couldn't sit down or lay down and whimpered every time you went near her. After some online research we discovered that she had an overuse injury often referred to as "broken tail" or "dead tail." We went to the vet to confirm the injury and indeed Summit's pain was directly related to the fact that she wagged it too much. Seriously!! The vet gave us some medication for her and within a week she (and her usually perky tail) were back to normal. Phew, what a relief!
I assure you, that is NOT her normal tail!
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