Bleh. That is all I have to say about this race. It went horribly, for the most part, with none of the "isn't it so great to be out running" feeling I had the weekend before.
I tried to follow my lessons learned from the last two half marathons, but things aren't cooperating with me! For instance I wanted to not skip any more runs, but it poured last Wednesday, and snowed on Thursday, so one five mile run was skipped and my 8 mile was pushed to Friday. I also had a Christmas party Friday, so I didn't eat that well. Saturday I was good on the eating, no alcohol, hydrating, but worked a double (tired legs!) and then when I was about to get in bed to at least get 7.5 hours, Will told me he messed with my ipod. Our computer was running so slow, so it took forever to fix my songs, and THEN his friend (who's been away in the army) knocked on the door (with two of their other friends) at 10:45. Needless to say, they stayed til midnight and I probably didn't fall asleep until 12:30....with a 6:15 alarm. So yes, I was tired again. I also didn't get in any core stuff last week, and just felt warn out in general.
I got down to the race start about a half hour before. I had drank a HUGE coffee on the way (which would later prove to be a mistake). I had oatmeal and a banana about an hour before, and brought two gels. I hit the bathroom and lined up at the start. It was really warm, and we were running on a paved running path, so not too much to look at. I just felt kind of indifferent right from the start.
We headed out, and right away I felt no energy whatsoever. Eeach mile was a struggle, but I finally started to get into a groove at mile 4. Right then I had to hit the port-o-potty. The path follows a ridge, so the potties had to be placed WAY down the slope. Huge bummer...you are already losing major time to get to them, and then after you have to run up a hill to get back! I lost two minutes there, and all hopes of doing well for this 15.5 miles.
I tried to catch the people who had passed me while I was in there, and managed to get back in the swing of things. I took the first gel at the bathroom stop, and it kicked in and I was feeling pretty good. Things continued looking up until the turn-around at 7.75. At which point I realized that the reason I'd been feeling so good was because of a crazy tailwind. That was now a headwind. By 9 miles I suddenly was stricken with regret for the gatorade and the coffee. Why do I continue to do this? I realized a while back that I have no toleration for gatorade (or really caffeine) during races. While they both help me performance/endurance wise, both irritate my stomach REALLY BADLY. So then I went into panic mode, trying to remember which water stop would have a bathroom. Of course it wasn't until 11.5, so I had to suffer through 2.5 miles of this. I had to walk a few times and it was SOOO annoying because it wasn't my legs or my lungs but my stupid stomach! And of course I get to the rest room and there wasn't much in the way of results. I was like, "that's it??? " and then you wonder if you will have another attack...so another two minutes lost (at the same stupid port-o-potty!) and I was back on my way. I took the last gel here, and hoped it wouldn't mess with me :( I caught up to the couple of people who had passed me while I was in there, just kept thinking "please let people be around before I collapse". (I get this weird feeling sometimes like I'm going to have a heart attack or faint...scary, I know). Finally I finished. I was so disappointed in the whole thing that I just left. Normally I at least try to get my money's worth of free chips, bananas, beer and jambalaya. This time I grabbed a water and moped over to the car. My legs were killing me too! My time was 2:39 something...I didn't stop the garmin in time, but that was the time on the clock and I only started about 20 seconds after the gun. I had hoped for 2:25 :(
Anway...enough whining! At least I finished it. And I will do better this week on my 17 mile run. Yeah right! It will be a miracle if I really do it. I'm going to Florida for my best friend's wedding shower, and I'm sure there will be a lot of celebrating (she's also graduating college Saturday...something that's been long in the coming...). But I fly in friday and hope to get it in from 8-11 Friday morning. I HAVE TO because I know I won't get much running in next week over Christmas. So fingers crossed I'll do it!!
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13 comments:
Oy! I count races like that as huge learning experiences. I wouldn't know what not to do until I've tried something just to have it backfire.
But in spite of all that, you finished! Congrats!!
Aw, Brooke, that doesn't sound like a good time at all. I can relate to your stomach issues, tho. They are the worst. Maybe you should write off coffee before a long run??
what is your favorite distance?? you're racking up the miles!! i wonder if you'd like shorter races more?
Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear that this wasn't a great race experience! It sounds like you are running and racing really hard, and on your feet a lot. Don't be afraid to take a couple of rest days or cut back the pace to give your legs a bit of a break. You don't want to risk burning out before you get to your marathon.
I jsut can't do GU, it messes with me so badly.. it's not worth it!!
As far as HBBC points, I'm goingto have people send them in for a 1/2 check in a week, but other wise it's just random reporting right now.
you poor thing :( stomach issues are NOT fun! but at least you are figuring them out now so hopefully they wont affect you come marathon day! CONGRATS though for finishing even though its not the time you were hoping for.
Not a bad performance at all, sister, considering what you were up against. Those extra minutes can all be pretty solidly attributed to factors that you can probably change for your next race.
So as joyRuN says, it was a learning experience, right?
You don't gotta problem with learning, do you?
I cried just a little when you said you walked away from free beer. Don't take it out on the beer. The beer was THERE for you. Beer is dependable.
Eek, sorry you weren't feeling great for your race. Congrats on finishing though!
Stomach issues are the WORST! I'm like you in that I can deal with legs or lung, but I get so mad when my stomach hurts.
25k is still pretty impressive. Good luck with your next race!
It sounds like you learned some lessons on this race. The lessons learned are what make you a better runner! At least you finished, congrats!
Crossing my fingers! Sorry your race was kinda blah. But you did do it, without dying. Go you!
Crossing my fingers! Sorry your race was kinda blah. But you did do it, without dying. Go you!
Sorry your race wasn't as good as you'd hoped, but you still did a nice job battling though it. Good luck getting in your runs over the next couple weeks.
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