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| At the start |
The night before the race, I was in my office making a
playlist of songs. I was getting it
ready so I would have some songs to listen to after mile 10. Andy and the kids came into the room and
presented me with a bag full of goodies.
At the top, there was a card wishing me all the best. I kept looking in the bag and found a Boston
Crème Pie, a Boston Magnet, Red Socks (again, Boston), Tea (Boston tea party), a lobster magnet and
some crab cakes. Indeed they were
excited for me!!! Yes, the theme was
Boston – lol! Loved it!! They knew what my goal was, they had seen all
my training, and supported me throughout it.
It was really cool!
4:00 am Sunday came early with my alarm singing “Crazy” by
Gnarls Barkley. I was sound asleep and
it startled me. I had woken up earlier
to see 2:30 on the clock, dozed off and now was the time to get up n get movin! I got my things together, and grabbed some
breakfast. I woke up the kids at 4:30
and somehow we all made it to the Jeep around 5:00. The drive was not bad. Hit the toll road and drove right to the
start. I paid extra to have the VIP parking
pass so we could be right at the start area, as to not have to deal with the
busses. Also, the family was planning on
driving around meeting me at different stops along the way.
We arrived a bit after 5:30.
My nerves were pretty frazzled.
This was a big day and I was doing my best to stay chill. I hit the “real restrooms” that were at the
parking lot, then we went to the NCRC tent to wait on Joey and many other NCRC
folks who I knew would be there. We sat
around talked, laughed and waited on the start.
Before long I was shedding my hoodie and heading to the line
with Joey. If you have been following my
training or my blog posts, you already know that this race was the BQ race that
we have been training for. Our
goal? 3:40. We had put in hours of training - hill
repeats, sprint workouts, intervals and
getting the mileage up has all lead to this one race. We were ready and excited for the
possibilities of this day. I snapped a
picture of us at the start, and within minutes we were off!
We settled in to a nice easy pace for the first mile. I did not need to be reminded to hold back, I
knew it was going to be a long race, so I wanted to follow the plan. Mile 1 8:50.
Joey was using a watch and hit the lap with each split like
he did at MB. I was using a Garmin, and
as per usual, I would beep just before the mile marker. My splits were consistent, but not as
accurate. (by the time I finished it
would record 26.56 miles, instead of 26.2).
We settled into a good pace early on. It didn’t feel like we were pushing it, but
by mile 2 I was sweating. I ended up
shedding my tank and tucking it in my belt.
We ran without talking much.
I think we knew that this was more business than it was time to chat so
we both were in our own thoughts with the passing miles. I think it was about mile 4 or 5 that Joey
was starting to pull away from me just a little. I was able to keep him in my sights, but I
figured he was feeling good and was well on his way to a 3:40. I was doing well and hitting the splits, but
didn’t want to burn out too fast. I could still make it with a 3:45 so I was
not worried…
About mile 4 I realized I needed to ‘go’ already…. I started looking for a spot. Let’s just say that along the American
Tobacco Trail, there is not much cover, and not many places to ‘go’. I searched for 2 miles before finding a hedge
of sorts a few yards off the trail. I
ran off the trail, watered the grass, then got back at it. Lost about 30 seconds, but still, not too
bad.
After that I did not see Joey except at the
turnarounds. I was on my own. I put my music on early at mile 8.5 instead
of mile 10, but I was feeling like I needed some motivation.
I saw my family at one of the crossovers. Passed them my sweaty tank top and waved. Love the sound of the cowbells!! They gave me some encouragement and I kept
going.
Now here is where things get tough. Somewhere around mile 16 I realize that
things are not going well. My legs felt
tired. I am getting a side stitch –
really??? I NEVER get those when I run! What is the matter today? I did some deep breathing trying to correct
the issue, and it did fade some, but only after I slowed my pace… I start to have a breakdown of sorts and the
tears started. I was mad. I did what I could to hold it together, but
knew that these next miles would be tough.
It was not long after that Theoden – the pace group leader
for the 3:45 group, caught up with me. We
chatted for a little while and I told him that I was going to do my best to
stay with him. I did for a little while,
but then they slowly started drifting ahead.
I was watching that 3:45 flag and kept thinking that if I got a second
wind, that I would be able to catch back up… that second wind never came. It was heart wrenching to watch that flag get
further and further away, and with it, my dream of BQ’ing. The tears started again… I was so
frustrated. I couldn’t figure out why it
was not coming together. Why could I not
keep the pace? I trained for this,
right? What was I doing wrong? Did I not taper enough?
My stomach was a mess.
The gu’s I took were not sitting well.
I felt nauseous. At a couple
points I thought I was going to lose it, but it passed. Part of me thought that if I did puke, that I
would feel a lot better! It didn’t
happen though. I had to tough through
it….
At one of the aid stations there was a sign that read “drop
out area”. There was a small part of me
that was so tempted to drop. Kinda like
a war inside me similar to Gollum/Smeagol in Lord of the Rings:
Gollum - “we wants to stop”
Smeagol – “NO we don’t wants to stop, keep going!”
Gollum - “Just stop, it would be easier and we wouldn’t
hurt anymore!”
Smeagol - “NOOO we are going to keep going and finish this
thing no matter how much it hurts! We
can do it!! We are not a quitter!!”
The war in my head continued til I passed the aid station
and the sign was out of sight. Couldn’t
see the sign anymore so I couldn’t quit, right?
Besides, it was never an option….
Not sure that quitting is in my DNA…
Saw my family again in the last 5 miles. They could see I was hurting and was
upset. I switched out water bottles with
Kayla, and took another gu. Told them I
was going to finish sub 4:00.
Ok, new goal. Stay in
front of the 4:00 group. I kept checking
over my shoulder. Nope, no 4:00 flag
yet… I kept checking my Garmin, trying
to do some simple math and realizing that it would not be long at all before
they would catch up to where I was.
There was one point around mile 23 that I knew they had to be close. Sure enough, I turned and looked and they
were RIGHT THERE… OH NO!!!! PANIC MODE! There was NO WAY I could let them pass. I would tough this out as much as I
could. I picked up my pace for those
last 2 miles. I was in pain, I was
digging deep to keep up the “new” pace that they were setting. Eric, the pace team leader, was awesome. He encouraged me when he knew I was struggling. He called out our time and distance. He said “anyone who is in front of me has a
sub 4:00 in the bag”. As stubborn as I was, I stayed right in
front of him. ;)
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| Almost to the finish! |
I was never so happy to see the finish line. I saw 3:59 something and gave it all I had before
that timer turned over to 4:00. I
received my medal then saw Joey standing there waiting. I burst into tears and we hugged and cried
for a long while. The first thing I
asked him was if he made it, and he said no.
We both had a rough go of it. We
limped over to a grassy area, sat down, and tried to take it all in. We knew that going into this that anything
could happen. I was not quite prepared
for feeling like this. I was thankful
for the PR of a sub 4:00. It was a
secondary goal set more than half way into the race. Still felt like a very ugly PR… A PR after blowing up? A PR that included four mile splits of 10:00+? Not
quite what I had in mind…
I didn’t even feel like pizza or beer afterwards… My stomach was too messed up. I managed to keep down some chocolate milk
and headed to the Jeep. I went home,
showered, and rested the afternoon away with my laptop, looking at my times,
posting pictures, and seeing how other friends did at this and other
races.
I have had a couple days to think things over. Could I have done anything different? I think the training was spot on. Granted it was only 4 months worth of
training. Longer training time perhaps?
Should I have taken my taper more seriously?
Should I have just run only a couple times the week before and nothing
too hard? More longer training runs of
20+ miles?? Maybe… I think the biggest mistake I may have made,
was not drinking enough. I think by the
time I got to the second half of the race, I was dehydrated. I was so well hydrated before the race, but I
did not keep hydrating well enough along the way. I was not cramping, but the legs felt
horrible. I was sweating early on from
the effort, even though it was not super warm out. It seemed humid though.
Its tough going from such an epic event where everything went perfect at Myrtle Beach, to this where it did not seem to go right... Going into it it seemed like it would work, and work well, but something about carrying out that full 26.2 distance and pushing that pace for so long, anything can happen.
Looking over my data, my heart rate was fine. It never went over 171 with an average of
only 156. There was a disconnect between
the strength of my cardio system and the lack of response of my muscles. It was just a tough day. I kept moving and did not walk. I had no real injuries other than I will lose one toenail and some chafing where my heart rate monitor was.
If you are interested in my splits they can be seen here. Please note that I forgot to stop my Garmin at the finish.... so it goes....
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| Smilin once again after we finished |
At this time, Joey and I are researching other BQ marathon
races within driving distance. We are
going to give this another go, and certainly not give up! Sunday’s race was tougher than I imagined it
would be with a far slower time than I had hoped. I am walking away with more experience and a
better grasp on what it will take to get there.
Not sure if we will attempt it again this spring, or wait til fall or
next spring, but we will give it another go!
I am very encouraged by so many of you who took the time to
e-mail me or call me with your words of encouragement. It means a lot to have your support. Many of you have been right where I am at
now, and have an idea of what I am going through. It meant a lot to hear from you that you
understand the disappointment. You all
have said that I am a tough runner and it gave me the motivation over the past
few days to pick up the pieces and move forward.
Well I need to get going… I still have 50 more miles to
cover to make the 401K challenge by the end of this month…
amosmotor
