I ran the US Marathon Championships yesterday in crappy conditions. I will not beat around the bush. The weather was so much fun to run in. Can you sense the sarcasm :) Very disappointed but you can't change the elements. The race started off with cool temperatures and then the rain and wind came a coming not even 4 miles into the race. I wasn't worried about pace because I just wanted to run with a pack and see what would happen.
I felt good through mile 8 and then up to about mile 12 where I was running with Dennis Simonatis and Tracy Lokken (both top 3 masters winners) and a couple other guys in a group. They picked up the pace and my legs didn't respond. I hit the half at 1:11 something and felt okay. I was cold and the legs felt alright but I was running solo at this point. I ran the entire rest of the rest all by my lonesome self.
My legs were dead just after the half. I couldn't feel my legs and hands. Everything was numb. I tried to stay relaxed and focus on keeping everything intact. I hit 20 miles at 1:53ish and was quite surprised. Now the real fun begins. The last 10K was a living nightmare. Crosswinds picked up and I was trying to drag my behind uphill for the last 6 or so miles of the race. I had nothing left in the tank. I was dragging. I kept telling myself I needed to finish. Every ounce of my body was like, "Is this really worth it?" I got to the top of the hill just after 25 miles and knew I was almost done. The last 3/4 at the end were downhill but I didn't feel that great. I crossed the finish line and knew I was done.
I needed a wheelchair at this point. I was fine but decided what the heck. I got a free, first class ticket to the medical tent where I was fed bread, bananas and drank chicken broth with some powerade. I had my vitals checked and they were low. I am typing this up so don't worry. I didn't die! I had 3 nurses wrap warm towels around me in order to try and get my vitals back up. My entire body is still numb. Remember, I am fine but could care less what they want to help me out with. One of the nurses started rolling me over with a huge thermometer in her hand. She states, "We need to get a rectal thermometer reading." I exclaim, "I am fine and you don't need to stick that thing anywhere!" She was fine with that and then I slowly started to warm up. They wrapped towels around me and wanted me to take my wet clothes off so I could put some dry clothes on. I told them my wife would not approve of this! They laughed and but it really did feel good to get some dry clothes on. After a while, I was feeling okay and decided to get up and walk around. I appreciate the help they gave me.
I staggered around and found Seth and Jeff to head back to the hotel. What a day!
I look back at this race and this year and feel slightly disappointed. I trained well this year and don't really have a decent race to show for any of it. It was nice seeing Seth and Jeff run so well. I enjoyed spending time with them this weekend (including Megan, Seth's wife). Now it is time to take a little break and reevaluate why I run and set some goals for the next little while. I know I want to go and get that Olympic Qualifer but I need to just vedge for a bit and then look and see what will work best for the next race. I need to spend more time with Katey and do more things she wants to do. She supports me through everything and I am so grateful to have her in my life. She wants me to get back out there but I know I need to have a break. I may retire from running and try and get into something else. Rowing sounds like fun if anyone wants to join me. Happy trails to all of you! | 