I am walking away from today so thankful for the ability to run and to be surrounded by so many amazing people that can push their bodies to unbelievable limits! I am thankful for what I accomplished today though it's not what i wanted. I only finished today with the Lord's help, that's for sure.
Great parts of my day include
1. I was able to place overall even on an off day.
2. I was able to finish without ending up in the med tent (lol)
3. I think I've finally figured out how to fuel my body (no runner's stomach today)
I woke up at 3:30, took a quick shower, and ate 1/2 a banana and 1/2 a bagel. I don't normally eat before i run, but I also always seem to have problems taking gu on an empty stomach - It seemed to work for me today. I got to ride up to the top with Ash and Renee (2 of my favorite ladies in the world)and it really seemed to ease any nervousness that i had.
Got to warm up with steve and jeff at the beginning, and noticed that i could feel the elevation a little. I really wanted to make sure that i didn't go out too hard and get wiped out for the rest of the race. I was aiming for a 2:56, but would settle for sub 3 and i knew i could do it
I took 4 anti - fatiques and 2 s-caps to start. here's my race
1- 6:59 - uphill and was already a little breathy - ugh
2 - 6:35 - forgot to take gel at beginning - took one here
3 - 6:42
4 - 6:38
5 - 6:42
Miles 2 - 6 were around where i wanted to be. I actually did feel relaxed and great at the pace. i was in 4th at this point, but it was pretty spread out.I think i've learned that i'm more motivated by chasing my competitiion - Next time I will try to stay with their pace. I did have 1 guy who ran by me for a while that was telling me if i wanted to run sub 3 hour i needed to slow down - It was messing with my head. So I feel like if i had gone a tad bit faster i would have been fine (and had some seconds to spare at the end - oh well - i'm still learning).
6 -6:42 - gel
7 - 6:41 - 2 s-caps and 1 anti-fatigue
8 -7:06
9 -7:20
10 - 6:45
Miles 6-10 - still feeling fine - the hills were a little more taxing than i expected (elevation?)
11 -6:43 - This is where I started to have problems. My ab/rib/back/nerve problem came back out of no where - The nerve in my back that comes around makes my abs tightens and cramps up under my rib cage and hard to breathe - usually it comes on slow, but it hit me hard here. It was pretty discouraging as it didn't let up for 9 miles. I was saying plenty of prayers that i would just be able to finish now. I saw Michelle l. running up the canyon and it was great to see a friendly face for 1 min or so.
12 -7:01 - - 1 potty break - girl #4 passed me while i was in.- took a gel
13 - 6:56 - half marathon was 1:29 on my watch - but running time as i passed said 1:30 - def not where i wanted to be at this point. It messed with my head as i probably could've finished sub 3 hour still if my ab thing wasn't killing me.
14 - 7:19
15- 6:37
16- 7:06
17- 7:08
18 -6:52
19 -6:55
20 -7:06 Major loss of motivation at this point. My abs finally started letting up as we got off of the steeper hills around 18- but i felt like even sub 3 was gone (i just couldn't add in my head at this point). I was at 2:17:52 - if i could've kept it 6:40s i would have done it. 21 -6:52 22 -7:07
23 -7:07
24 -7:26
25- 7:12
26 -7:16 21-26 I honestly was feeling ok at this point but had it in my head that a good time was gone. Legs were tired but ok. I was just holding onto 5th place. I didn't realize that my competition was only 1 min ahead of me, and if i would've kicked my pace up, i might have caught her. I think "Never Give Up" will be my motto for next race. I'm proud of myself for sticking throught the pain, hopefully things will work out better next time. grateful for the $200 today:) My girl team - Renee, Ash, and Liz - got 1st for the women's div - Yay! | 