Scroll down for newer details. Details to follow. Most important a huge SGM PR. Got a nice 8th place plaque from my age division (places go to 8th) and most exciting of my goals was to be in the top 10 for Master Women and I was 10th!!!!!!!! I think I can definitely get close to 3 hours, I felt horrible the whole race. I got the stomach flu- body aches and throwing up the night before and ran to the store at 3:45am to buy some zantac. All my joints were achy so I just had to keep pulling out rabbits. Can't say I EVER felt good but I knew I was trained enough for a 3:10 to 3:15 so I just forced myself to do it. Got the HUGEST blister I have ever had on my foot filled with blood. Started at mile 5. Stopped at mile 12 to put vaseline on it. Did not help. I tried to land just on my toes and it just burned the remainder of the race--going to lose two toe nails. My own fault for wearing cheapo socks and my sneakers with nearly 2,000 miles on them. Pretty much no tread and holes in them. I was afraid of my new shoes cause they gave me a lot of calf pain after runs. So I paid the price in my feet. But my calves are happy :D. I was so on for a 3:10 but lost it at the last 2 miles, again. The pain in my feet and back spasms were weighing on me that I just was fine with 3:11. Someday I will stay tough to the bitter end. Loved the cold cloths soaked in ice water and the sprayers at the end. Will write mile paces later. I fought the fight, I am so ready to enjoy the fall weather now and find that dayshift job. Next year I want to get a 3:02 at SGM : DDDDDDD Okay more boring details, splits below: Drove to SG by myself around 1130am. Got there at 3:15pm. Was having stomach issues. Thought it was just nerves. Tried to eat because looking back I realized I ate under 1200 calories/day the last two days before. I had no appetite. Started to get one Friday morning so kept eating and eating. Well I was like the hungry child after the flu, eating foods that wouldn't go over well even though not unhealthy they just compounded the problem. I figured I had 16 hours to get over this no problem. Kim tried to get me to buy some socks at the expo but I was too over-stimulated that I just couldn't decide. I figured if I wear my old shoes (I brought both) I might aswell wear my cheapo socks with them. Big error. Oh well. I don't have a time machine. So I slept for three hours from 1030pm to 130am. Couldn't fall back to sleep and started having lots of indigestion, nausea. Fingers and toes and eyelashes started to hurt, like when you get the flu. I had sweated off something in the night after taking some ibuprofen at 9pm. Crud-ola. I am not a wimp so -blank- or high water I was doing this thing. Drove to Maverick's down the street and bought some zantac. By the time it was time to leave I was ready to fall asleep. Dang. Kim and Melanie were balls of energy and I felt like, well like I had the flu. I was shivering and my knuckles hurt and I tried to eat. We got to be in the elite section, weird. Lots of room in that corral. Suddenly we hear what we thought was an announcement but it really was the start of the race at 6:42 according to my watch. It took us 26 seconds to cross the start because we didn't realize it started. The herd of runners behind us were so ready they gained on us before we crossed the pad. Kim wanted me to run the 3:05 paces with her but with how I was feeling I knew that wasn't going to happen. I was thinking I would be watching the 3:15 balloon fly by me. Now for the play by play: 1-- 7:17 I just don't feel good. I don't want to run even this fast yet. So going to slow down. 2--7:27- Okay that hurt every bit as much. Whatever. 3--7:04 No, no. I don't want to go fast but I am losing sight of Kim and Melanie. 4-- 6:56 Close to the pace chart but I really don't care I am not going for a 3:05. 5--7:10 Can't any of these miles feel good yet? I am freezing having thrown off my ear warmers and gloves. Starting to feel a blister coming on on my left foot big toe region.
6--6:45-- I tried to slow it down on the hill cause I was thinking of Veyo coming up soon. Must conserve. Cool thing was looking over at Veyo and seeing the leading truck with all the lights on the top runners. 7--6:53--Here comes Veyo and I want out. I sound like the biggest wimp. 8--VEYO 7:45 Not good. Too fast. But I wanted to fight the demon so it slowed me for the next mile. 9--7:43 See. 10--7:25. Blister really hurting. I change my footing and nothing is helping. I put my shirt back on over my arms about two to three times. I was still shivering. Praying for help and I was told to turn off my iPod. I had a conversation that went like this "really? is music so bad while I am about to crash? I know I know I like to converse, what If I can't get thru and have nothing left? I will just take it off at the aid stations so I can be social and thankful to all the volunteers". Remember I used to run without an iPod then when noone talked back (because they couldn't hear me with their music on) I decided to try one.
11--7:48 I am losing ground from the cold. Where is the sun? The light is there behind the hills but no sun. I guess when you run faster it takes more miles before it fully rises. And now I realize I got to stop. My blister is a huge thorn in my side. Takes 24 seconds to take off shoe and sock, gob on some vaseline and replace sock and shoe. Tried to get back on pace. The vaseline didn't help one moment. It seemed to hurt more. Tried all different ways to land with my toes/forefoot off to the side. Eventually I zoned it out until the final three miles. 12--7:27 13--6:59 The halfway split on my watch read 1:36:17. The clock 26 seconds ahead. I love chips. Double that and that is a 3:12:34!!
14--7:14 Hoping mile 15 will bring some sort of high to me.
15--6:57 No such luck....yet. Still hoping.
16 &17-- 13:43 (6:52 avg for both) 18--7:04 Okay with these times but body aches not muscle cramps are just getting ridiculous. I can't believe my muscles don't feel very crampy. 19--7:27 With a slight uphill I was pleased with this mile. 20&21--14:24 (7:12 average), only 5.2 to go and my iPod is now almost completely going. Mainly my earphones are staticky in one ear and fading in and out in the other. I told myself to toss the thing out at mile 22 but the annoyance and time waster (I kept having to jiggle the wire to hear the songs) wasn't worth the 100 dollar iPod. I wish I thought to just throw out the earphones. 22--7:35 Kept taking out my 3:10 cliff pace wristband and realized if I could hold out I could be just at 3:10. Stayed on pace until the last mile. The 3:10 pace guy passed me with his group before the first mile. They were running under a 3:10 pace. Kim said they came in just after she crossed the finish line at 3:06.
23--7:20 Still on track for a 3:10 but mentally and physically losing ground. 24--7:16 If only. When three women pass me I lose the edge. They looked strong. I felt so weak. The REAL 25.2 mark-- 1.2 miles in 9:04 (7:30 pace). Because of the two 25.2 markers I lost the will power even though I knew the first one wasn't right. I was just hoping. Love the cold towels, took two and drenched myself. Really sad I never got to my Chariots of Fire song on my iPod. I forgot to reload the changes I made to myTunes on to my iPod. For sure with that song I would have booked it in like a true blue 80s runner girl.
26.2 THE LAST MILE-- 8:25 dragging my feet, didn't even want to push it in. Didn't want to feel anymore achy then I did. Just wanted to be there and since I was already at a big PR I had no drive. Heard my name announced and eagerly got under the cool mist sprayers, AHHHHHHH. A whopping 54 second negative split. Should have been better. I will wait for the stars to align for me. No worries. I will be back in finer form.
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