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acoralsea's Recent Blog Entries
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Monday, November 16, 2009
My trepidation about this marathon proved itself out. I wasn't feeling 100% all week, and certainly not while waiting in the starting pen. A warm, humid morning with forecast into the 80's didn't help, either.
My daughter and I started into a slow shuffle, hers much slower than mine, for the first mile. We were with a couple of friends who had made the trip to San Antonio with us, and they had moved ahead a few yards. I got DD into a steady pace and we eventually caught up with them. By mile 2, however, my "shuffle" was getting a bit faster than theirs and I kept pulling further ahead, evn though I was trying to keep my pace at a comfortble 12/M (5mph) for the first 13 miles.
But, things started going very wrong around mile 9. My Garmin told me I was ahead of the mile marker, but a little behind "schedule." My stomach started cramping and I thought I was going to be sick on the road. I also started feeling chilled - with the temps in mid-70's - and could not cool down. I did not skip a hydration station, and was carrying a water bottle for between stations, so I thought I was staying well hydrated.
Come mile 10, I realized I had seriously fallen behind and was feeling dizzy. At that point, I knew I wasn't going to make it another 16. So, I made the really tough decision to cut my marathon in half. I saw another running buddy on the route and she said she was waiting for someone on her team so that she could make her take the half marathon cutoff, as well, as she was going through similar issues. She said to me, "There's always next year."
I thought to myself that I should not feel so badly, after all, I've already done 2 marathons this year.
As I made the turn, I saw another running friend, an elite Olympian, shouting encouragement to the runners through a bull horn. He held out his hand for me to slap as I passed by in the full marathon lane, telling me to keep going and stay strong. Little did he know what I was feeling!
It's disheartening to know you have to cut your event in half. But, I knew that, if I didn't, I would have serious trouble in the second half. As it was, I was looking at finishing the HM in over 3 hrs, and that was not good, considering I had recently done a 15 miler in just under that time.
I came in and noticed several others wearing the same color bib who had also decided to come in at the half. While that was encouraging, it really didn't make me feel much better. This is a personal challenge, after all, and I felt as though I had failed. I called my mom, who had waited in the spectator section for one of my other buddies to come in (she was only doing the half) and said they were waiting for everyone together. I was trying to figure out where my buddy had passed me on the route, since I had been so far ahead. Must have been when I stopped at a porta potty, LOL!
But, that didn't matter. I was dizzy and reeling, and knew I was becoming disoriented. My mom was trying to tell me where she was standing, but I told her I needed to stay put. So, she sent my buddy to find me, and she took me to the med tent.
"Dehydration is the problem for you," the doctor said. That and the fluid provided on the route (I train with Powerade, not Cytomax, because that's what we have at the Austin). My stomach was cramping terribly and my head spinning. I was also not cooling down at all, they said I was very hot.
It turned out that the heat and humidity got the best of a lot of marathoners and there were a lot of us who cut our paths short. Whenever I passed by one, we'd give each other a "knowing" look, one mixed with acknowledgement and disappointment.
Well, I have a medal, anyway. Not the one I had in mind, but better than a DNF.
My daughter and other buddy finished the marathon, very sore, tired and slowly, but they did it. I'm so proud of DD for hanging in there.
Meanwhile, I'm not happy with myself and have to figure out what more I need to do about beating this combination of heat exhaustion and dehydration that has been making my events hellish. And, I have to make a decision about the next marathon in February that I've already registered for.
TBD
P.S. I just read my Chinese horoscope for yesterday:
" You'll probably need to be patient today. Today's changes won't seem to be in your favor, but they could end up looking better tomorrow. Rely on the advice and moral support of friends to get you through the day. There may be so much going on at home that it upsets your calm nature, so take time for quiet reflection. "
Weirdly accurate!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Since the end of June, following the Seattle RNR Marathon, my daughter and I have been preparing for the San Antonio. Even though we've been working with a Personal Trainer since May, I just don't feel as strong as I think I should, or as prepared.
My office mate, also a running buddy, is doing the HM. There are about 10 others from our office going to the SA RNR, along with around 28 of their buddies. A small group of us gathered for a send off lunch on Thursday, some of them doing their very first HM or full marathon.
You'd think my anxiety would be more from excitement, not trepidation. One of the fellows in our office group said he's just going out there to finish (this is not his first marathon).
Yep, that's also what I keep telling myself, even though I've been working out whether or not I can keep up a particular pace for 26.2 miles - or >4 hours (whichever way you look at it). At this point, it's a mind-over-muscle game, for me. (sigh)
We're going to have fun, nonetheless. I know I'll feel the excitement when I get to the Expo and pick up my race packet!
Thursday, November 05, 2009
My next marathon is 10 days away, and I'm not feeling as ready as I should. Sure, I've done my long miles, but not as well as for my last marathon. Sure, I'm a "seasoned" marathoner with a few under my waistpack, already; but, I'm going into this one with all the anxiety of facing my very first one. I'm feeling only as ready as I'm going to be.
Maybe that will be enough. We'll see. It will be enough to finish, but how well, that's TBD.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
With my next marathon coming up in 4 weeks, yesterday was my last chance for a 20 mile, or so, run. The full teams were doing 10-12 miles (depending upon the pace group), and my HM team was doing 6 miles. So, I needed to get in as many miles as possible before taking out my own group, then finish up afterwards. This meant getting out to the route as early as reasonably possible - that meant before 5 am.
So, my alarm was set for 3:45, my daughter was due to arrive before 4:30 so that we'd be out on the route by 4:45. That would give us 2 hours before our group start out of the park. She could do 6-8 miles with time enough to get the group together, and I could do 10 and catch up with them.
All started well. DD kept a slow, steady jog (it was about my walk pace), while I went into my run/walk intervals. I move ahead a bit, then she'd eventually catch up when I went into a slow walk. At the water stop (at mile 3.6), she was to turn back. By then, I was well ahead of her and passed my Head Coach, telling her my daughter was nearing the turnaround. She warned me that it was ridiculously dark out on the country road we had to go on for a bit before entering the next neighborhood.
Yes, it was ridiculously dark. I passed what we refer to as "the horses," one of our little landmarks, and could barely see the road, even with my cap light. I heard dogs in the darkness (later learning they were actually coyotes) and turned into the next neighborhood for the long loop, hitting 5 miles in just under 60 minutes. For me, that's a good training pace; my Garmin told me I was doing between 10:34-11:34/M, with my walk breaks between 12:24-14:24/M. I wasn't paying much attention to when I took my walk breaks, just gauging how many light poles between them.
It was still dark when I caught up with my group. They had started around 6:45, as scheduled, and just passed their 1 mile turnaround as I was headed toward the turnaround. That put me between my mile 10-11. I was slightly behind schedule, but not too far. After hitting the turnaround, I took a slightly longer walk break to eat a mini Clif bar, then picked up the pace to eventually catch up with my group. My daughter was at the back, staying with our slowest member, and I walked with them a few minutes before forging ahead. I walked a bit with the next person forward, then forged ahead to their next turnaround at the (3.6 mile) water stop. Our HM run group was on their way back before I got there, so I was still pretty much on schedule. The full groups doing 10-12 miles were also just returning from their stop further out, and I joked with one of my buddies that I was looking for my medal, having passed the 13.1 mark.
Now daylight, the previously ridiculously dark road was now simply ridiculously iffy, as traffic had picked up around the short bend before entering the next neighborhood. One of the coaches, having finished earlier and going out to pick up the traffic cones we use to mark turnarounds, said he had already picked up the far cone and thought I was already done (thinking I was just doing 10 miles). Reminding him that I was doing 20 and still had a little more than 6 left to do, I continued on.
That's when my legs started feeling the pain, and when I realized I hadn't packed my ShotBloks or Gu, plus, I didn't have another mini Clif bar. All I had was my electrolyte fluid, absolutely no carbs. Not good.
Now, I had been telling my group about these refueling products since the program started, and that they need to start experimenting with them when they reach the 6-miler. So, what was I thinking by going out on a 20-miler without "reinforcement?"
On one hand, I was able to go further than I ever had before without feeling as though I needed the carbs. On the other hand, I still had short of 7 miles to go, and it was 5 miles back to my car.
That was a long 5 miles. My hips got tight, my legs were aching and my feet were tired. I kept looking ahead, thinking about how much closer I was to my car when I reached certain points, and my walk breaks became longer than my run intervals. I reached my car at a little over mile 18. My daughter, Head Coach, and a few other coaches were still hanging around talking about this and that. Guess what - I hadn't packed my carb products in my gear bag, either, and my daughter hadn't brought any extra. There was no way I could finish out the remaining 2 miles, I was sore, tired, hungry - and trying to decide how insane I was for forgetting to practice what I've done for the past few years: prepare!
My daughter joked with one of the fellows, who's always the last runner in, that he beat me in this time. Then again, he said I was doing twice the distance he was, and tried to be encouraging to me by saying that I only need 18 miles, reminding me that I already have a good "base." After all, I had already done 2 marathons and a couple of HMs, this year alone.
Yeh, well...I guess, but,
what was I thinking by going out unprepared?
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~julie
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