Pre-race:
I picked up Christie and we grabbed some Which Wich and hit the road. We got to the expo at around 4:00 and picked up our packets and bought some sweaty and bondi bands. We checked into the hotel (Clarion Suites on Meridian, about 5 miles away from downtown) and met some new friends (including Corina) for dinner at Zio's. My friend Melissa drove down from Tulsa too, so she met up with us for dinner and stayed with us at the Clarion.
Some dinner pics:
We woke up pretty early (4:10) on Sunday morning and easily found free parking near the start line. I had two sandwich rounds with peanut butter on one (about 400 calories) total for breakfast. As we got towards the start line at 5:40, it started pouring rain and they delayed the start from 6:30 to 7:00. We sought cover under a building, but Christie and I were cold (we both had our legs exposed). After we made a bathroom trip, we headed back to the car to enjoy the heater and we decided to put on pants. I also put a dry fit long-sleeve shirt on over my short-sleeve shirt and I put a sweatshirt over that. That was a great call, because the weather got even worse as the day went on. I also grabbed another sandwich round (for about 500 calories total), but I should have packed other food (like a banana or something) to get my calories from something other than wheat bread. Oh, well.
Christie and I (totally naive about what the weather gods could do to us):
What I can remember:
Wow, it seems a bit hazy looking back on it now. We tried to start off conservatively. It felt easy, any ways. There was a lot of congestion until the half marathons split off at around mile 7. I really dislike marathons with a "marathon relay" option. I know I should be positive about the opportunity for more people to enter the race, but it's a mental beat down when someone STARTS at mile 20 and jaunts by you with a bouncy pony tail.
I threw my sweatshirt off around mile 2. I ate a Gu at about mile 5 and a Gel at about mile 10. That was all of the gel gunk I could stomach. After that I ate some random food (pretzels and peanuts) and managed to get down the Sports Beans at mile 20. Of course my stomach started hating me around mile 17, which is typical. I felt quite barfy, especially around mile 24 or 25.
The run felt pretty consistent until I started to fade off at around mile 17 (which is typical when I don't train as much as I should). We desperately needed that potty break during mile 9, so it was worth the two minutes. The course was pretty nice. There were some GORGEOUS neighborhoods, and it was nice running along the lake (especially when the rain gave us a brief respite from miles 14-18). I started feeling pretty bad around mile 17, but I hung with Christie until about mile 22 and then she went ahead of me. Melissa was there cheering for me at around mile 22, and that was a much-needed boost.
The picture Melissa took (I did a great job of hiding my misery):
I started walking a bit around 22.5 or 23 miles. Around mile 24 or 25, I hit a low point, and then I got pelted in the head with hail. When it rains, it pours (haha). I managed to pick it up with about 3/4 of a mile to go and I jogged to the finish line and felt better.
Post-race:
If you run with a friend, ALWAYS have a plan where you will meet, or you both might die from hypothermia. Lesson learned. But damn, that Carl's Jr cheeseburger tasted good. That long walk to the car in the freezing cold rain and hail sure did me in though. Christie and I couldn't find each other, but luckily she came to the car about 10 minutes after I did. I think we both cried at some point.
Splits:
Mile 1 - 10:20
Mile 2 - 10:10
Mile 3 - 10:00
Mile 4 - 9:46
Mile 5 - 9:52
Mile 6 - 9:49
Mile 7 - 10:20
Mile 8 - 10:04
Mile 9 - 12:11 (bathroom break)
Mile 10 - 10:30
Mile 11 - 10:30
Mile 12 - 10:29
Mile 13 - 10:16
Mile 14 - 10:30
Mile 15 - 10:35
Mile 16 - 10:28
Mile 17 - 11:04
Mile 18 - 11:19
Mile 19 - 11:29
Mile 20 - 11:09
Mile 21 - 11:43
Mile 22 - 12:23
Mile 23 - 12:45
Mile 24 - 13:48
Mile 25 - 14:09
Mile 26 - 14:37
Remaining 0.55 miles - 6:30 (11:46/mile pace)
Garmin Time: 4:56:58
Garmin Distance: 26.55 miles
Garmin Average Pace per Mile: 11:11
Actual results:
Time: 4:56:54
Division Place: 120/205
Gender Place: 503/980
Half Marathon Splits: 2:16:31, 2:40:23
The future:
I joke about being fat, and I am not fishing for compliments. I'm about 13.5 pounds heavier than I was for the Vegas marathon in December. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that this translates into slower running. But the flip side is that my job is a lot more stressful now, and I like to "unwind" more and workout less. Right now I need a little break from marathons and organized races. I need to get back on the diet and exercise wagon, stay healthy, and get excited about running a sub-4-hour marathon (probably Vegas in December?). Considering I ate chicken fingers and tater tots for dinner and washed it down with Chardonnay (it was free at the hotel... don't judge me), I have a ways to go. So I just need to work on balancing life... my marriage, my job, my health... all that good stuff. Then when I'm ready, I need to go after a goal (which is a 3:50-3:59 marathon). That's the plan.
2 comments:
I love this post! All you crazies that finished the OKC marathon are AWESOME. I can't imagine having to deal with that on top of 26.2! Good luck with the getting healthy thing, it's a struggle I'm all too familiar with. On a side note, I haven't done a marathon relay .. but I DID cut my ponytail off recently ;)
This sounds so much like my race report! I too qualified for Maniacs with this race. Such a fitting race too! I can't believe how good that cheeseburger was at the finish! I seriously felt like a homeless man eating for the fist time in days as I huddled in my Mylar blanket looking for my car. Congratulations!
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