I absolutely love UVM! This marathon makes me happy, happy, happy.:) I knew going into the race that:
A: My race performance has kind of sucked all year.
B: My feet are worse than ever. Really I need to deal with these mortons neuromas or quit marathoning.
C: My Amenorrhea/fatigue/low iron & hormone levels have been effecting me.
That said I am completely okay with the way I responded to my body throughout the race and my time of 3:08. Sure most people would look at that time as disappointing and a setback for me but I had accepted the scenario before the race even started so it wasn't too hard for me to swallow. I'm proud of myself for not being stupid and running through the pain I normally would. The beauty of it all is that I was able to walk after the race which was so not the case in 2013. My only regret is not just starting in my Altra Olympus shoes. It was really quite dumb of me to think I could wear the Virata as bad as my feet have been this year.
Drove up to the start with Rebecca, Josse, and Janae. Laughed my butt off on the ride up. Josse couldn't believe I was just eating a stale slice of kneaders bread for breakfast that I stole the night before from dinner.:) Next I attempted to calm Rebecca down by giving her a heartfelt heart to heart about running and told her don't worry time on the clock is monetary (meant to say arbitrary) and that had us all laughing so hard I don't think we'll ever forget it. Onto the race!
Mile 1: 6:33 Started out a little behind Rebecca & Josse
Mile 2: 6:38 Huh, I guess I'm going to run 26 miles today. That's probably going to be kind of awful.
Mile 3: 6:43
Mile 4: 6:41 The writing on the roads in Wallsburg were really funny. "Get out of our town", "We didn't want you here anyway." All I was thinking is I wish I could hide in one of the pretty red barns and stay.
Mile 5: 6:43 Trying to run on the gravel on the left side of the road because my feet are already hurting. huh
Mile 6: 6:46 I'm kind of bored...I guess maybe I'll eat a GU. Citrus flavor...it made me really crave a pina colada slurpee.
Mile 7: 6:44 "Sally the camel has 3 humps, you got this!"
Mile 8: 7:05 "Sally the camel has 2 humps."
Mile 9: 7:11 "Sally the camel has 1 hump." Hi Steve! Nice surprise to see Steve at the aid station and stopped singing for a moment to run over and high five him.
Mile 10: 6:40 "Everything is awesome!" Lego movie...."Everything is awesome!" I bet I am going to totally PR today. Oh wait.....the downhill absolutely killed my feet. Ouchie Momma....maybe I'm totally going to die today. huh
Mile 11: 6:37 Oh yeah the feet really hurt. Don't touch the pavement, don't touch the pavement. "F" bomb! ScottC bike miles...got a few sips of water.
Mile 12: 6:58 Ran into Seth. Chatted with him this whole mile and told him there was just no way I was keeping up. My plan was to stop at the halfway point and wait for Melissa. I didn't think she would be too far behind and couldn't fathom the thought of running alone with this pain.
Mile 13: 6:56 Gosh I feel kind of awesome, so much better than last year. I'm barely breathing or sweating but my feet are in so much pain I'm pretty sure if I move any faster they are going to light on fire.
Mile 14: 7:14 I need to really slow down if I'm ever going to finish this race with two feet attached. Scott caught me on the bike and I handed him my bag of pills. Can you please dig out my Ibuprofen 800....2 salt pills, 1 caffeine pill. I forgot to pack the ibuprofen 800. Damnm it!
Mile 15: 7:21 Running on the outsides of my shoes.
Mile 16: 7:51 Steve was at the aid station and I told him I needed him to drive to his house and bring me my Olympus as fast as humanely possible. So thankful he was there. No longer racing....just jog it on in at get your BQ Rachelle. Saw Aubrey Running up she told me "You look great". Yes! At least my hair was still in place.
Mile 17: 8:23 Tears! Complete melt down. Jogging hurts so bad...crying while running is so hard I guess I'll just walk. When I walk my feet hurt more and it does not help. Walking, crying wow complete and utter melt down. You are supposed to be an elite runner and you are walking and crying really? I mean really? I am assuming the headwind effected me here as well but to be completely honest I was so consumed with my feet I didn't notice it. I also quit drinking, fueling, and doing anything right really. I thought I was the worst runner in the century of ever and I was probably going to take last place in the race. only semi-dramatic...:) Saw Mack running up and asked her where my lortab was.
Mile 18: 7:30 Where's Cam? :(!
Mile 19: 7:15 Amber found me on the bike. I immediately asked her for a ibuprofen 800 and a gun... She handed me a salt pill....I need a ibuprofen 800...she handed me another salt pill....finally she found the ibuprofen in the fanny pack.
Mile 20: 7:48 More crying more walking. Crying and running is really tough you guys! Saw Janice at this mile.
Mile 21: 7:46 Stopped at the aid station to hug my Mom and tell her I was completely fine. Really physically I was fine I just could not push through the pain my feet were in. My parents do not care what time I run but my running causes them anxiety because they know I normally have no fear. I needed them both to understand that I was okay I just couldn't race through the foot pain.
Mile 22: 7:41 Shoe change. Hallelujah! I wanted to chuck both of my Virata's at that girl that had passed me but I refrained.
Mile 23: 7:28 Finally drank something for the first time since mile 11. I told Amber to tell me a story.....Amber: "Yesterday I ran 1 mile from my house and you know what? Me: What? Amber: 1 mile is so dang far...it was so hard!" Me: Awesome because I still have 3 left...don't you have any better stories? Amber: Oh....I think they have creamies at the finish!
Mile 24: 7:24 Nothing exciting...just planning my nephews Dinosaur birthday party.
Mile 25: 7:13 Wanted to stop at 7-11 for my slurpee but Amber told me I needed to finish. This mile really is gradually downhill.
Mile 26: 6:56 I want to take my shoes off. "Keep fighting, don't give up, never give up." Yo Gabba Gabba
.4: 6:30 Pretty elated to be done....threw my hands in the air with my timing chip in them.
Since I had to take my timing chip off with the shoe change I ran with it in my hand. For the chip to register at the finish line it needs to be within one foot of the mat. So I spent the next 15 minutes working with the timing company to make sure my time was registered. They were actually really nice and got me in the system just fine. I did not really care to have my time recorded but I did really need my BQ. Heaven forbid I run another marathon to get that.
Ripped my shoes off and my feet cramped up pretty bad but not nearly as bad as last year. Hopped on Amber's bike and road back to my friends that were finishing the marathon. I was not upset about my race but I just needed to get out of there and I really enjoyed riding in with my friend Lindsay and seeing Jen, Timothy and others out on the course. Probably my favorite part of the day. And at last I did finally get that creamy!:)
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