Today I ran my 13th marathon! There were a few reasons why I ran this race. Yes, I did want to go faster than I did, but I feel good about my overall performance today. This race gave me a gauge on the races and goals that I have for next year's running season. Event Schedule:
Eve of the Marathon: Drive to Mesquite Get to the white tent with empty tables in it. AKA registration. Eat dinner at a pasta joint. I actually ate pizza. Adventure in the Casino: Did you know that slot machines don't take change? I don't gamble much, actually not at all. For some reason my friend (Jaimie) and I decided that we needed to play the slots while staying in Mesquite. It took us a LONG time to realize we needed to either put cash or credit into the slot. There were a lot of strange stares coming our direction in the casino that night. HMMM. To make a long story short, I hope we didn't break the slot machine.
Toss and turn trying to sleep. Morning of the race: WIDE awake at 4:00 am ready to BURN 4,000 calories Bus situation: Wait for Walter as the 3 luxury buses are being loaded to give him his race packet. Buses are pulling away and still NO Walter. Chase the buses down. Get on the bus and see Walter! Sit in the ONE remaining seat on the bus. Get off the bus and line up for the POP. Get back on the bus to use the bathroom on the bus. Get kicked off the bus because the bus has to leave BEFORE using the POP. Stand in line once again. Everyone is lining up at the start and I still have not gone. Go behind the POP PRAYING no one will go behind the POP. Throw my garb in the back of a truck. Already warm. RACE: Race starts. I start running. Running is a typical thing I do in races. I see Josse, I run with her for about 6 miles. Pace is about 6:30. Felt great. Nice conversation. I am Josse FAN. About mile 7 I start backing off to CONSERVE energy. In the meantime I hit a 20:10 5k time, 43 minute something 10k. 1:33 half marathon time. Flattens out at about 7-10. The climb starts at about mile 13. By mile 14 I was ready to be loaded in, no joke! I had hit some major wall that came out of nowhere. Pretty sure the "wall" was due to the huge wall-hill I was climbing. Course flattens, I start walking. Orange shirt lady passes me, then Boston shirt girl, then some other chick. BLAH. Mental break down. Pace was beginning to fall apart. Suddenly I wished I was somewhere else. The course was now ugly, on a fast highway, and the aid stations were not supervised. There were cups filled with water and gatorade, but no one to man them. I looked across the street and the person that was suppose to be there was in their car. Nice. 16 big hill. Climbed that hill and actually felt pretty good. Took a rest at the top. Ran down a quarter of a mile and saw another LAME hill. This hill came after a bridge. As I ran over the bridge I looked down. I almost wanted to jump. I wandered what would hurt more, to finish the race, or to jump? I had to force myself to stop thinking crazy thoughts. But I gave this bridge a nickname, "Suicide Bridge." Rolling hills for awhile after that. 20 came and I just wanted to finish. I kept my body moving at an 8 minute mile. I stopped at every aid station and took a drink. I noticed how difficult it was for me to stop and then start again.
The last mile was triumphant. As I turned the corner a large PIT BULL came barking and jumping out at me. Luckily the dog was fenced. He gave me a real scare and I screamed out loud in fright. I felt silly as I yelled at the dog, but no one was around to hear me, thank goodness. The finish line was lame. I leaned over a fence and just hung there. I was exhausted! It was fun to meet fellow bloggers: Burt, Josse, Mary Ann, Dane, Walter, Jose, and Lisa.
My friend Jaimie came down to Mesquite with me and ran her first 10k. She was 2nd place in her division, I was very proud! The best part of this trip was spending time with her.
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