Very Long Version (sorry):
The Expo: I attended a full day of the race expo the day before, and had a super fun time and learned so much. I attended the Jeff Galloway running school from 10am to 1pm, and really learned a lot. Definitely worth my time and money. He's a very interesting guy. I sat in on the course overview with the race director and got some inside tips for the course. I watched the Running of the Sahara movie (running 4600 miles across the desert, see review), got a signed copy of the DVD, and then had the pleasure of having Charlie Engel (the main runner in the movie) sit right beside me at the pasta dinner. Wow, super awesome inspiration! And, I won a Fuel Belt handheld water bottle, and new pair of Adidas shoes! Neat!
The Race: Got up at 4 am, had a breakfast of bagel and peanut butter, a banana, and coffee, and packed and headed down to the race area very early. I literally parked 1/2 block from the starting line, that was nice! Sat in my car and mentally rehearsed the race since it was pretty chilly outside with temperatures in the lower 30s.
Met up with my Omaha running group to get a group picture, and before I knew it, we were off and running. What a glorious, beautiful day! Sunny blue skies, start temp around 32 degrees, but very windy toward the end of the run (running into a 20 mph headwind is not fun). The porta potty lines were long at the start line, but they were all empty when the gun went off. And, there weren't any lines any most of the porta pottys I passed, so I did take a restroom break around mile 10.
I wanted to start very conservatively to have enough in the tank to push through the wall that I knew I'd eventually reach. I had a 4:22 pace band for my goal, with a semi slow start, and a maximum fade at the end (based on my training runs).
No need to go into all the nitty gritty mile by mile (heck, I can't even remember some of it now), but the running was so much fun, the crowds were awesome, and the highlight was running around the Drake University track at mile 12, and seeing myself on their jumbotron TV screen was a kick. Everything was working with me, I was right on pace, all the way up to Mile 22. Unbelievable! And no knee pain at all! Another highlight was the table of mixed drinks at mile 15, screwdrivers, white russions, rum and cokes, whiskey and water, you name it, they had it. I politely passed it up, otherwise I may have thrown up, LOL. I got leighed around mile 21, since this was my virgin race (a group handing out Hawaiian leis), and that was fun. The water stops were phenomenal, great bunch of volunteers. Overall, no complaints about the race. It's a hidden gem.
The wheels really started coming off the bus at mile 23 though. I had reached that point known as hell, and I was definitely there. Mentally, it was very hard. Physically, my pace just really slowed but I kept moving. I hadn't hit my real wall yet, it was still coming. Right at mile 24, there was a water stop. I slowed to grab a Gatorade and a water (what I did at all of the last few water stops), and immediately, my left hamstring seized up without notice. I mean, I went from a 7 or 8 on the comfort scale, to 1 in the snap of a finger. Holy carp, I've never felt so much pain in my life! WTF? I literally could not make my left leg move, it hurt so much. I limped/hopped along on one leg (cursing, sorry about that to anyone that was within earshot), and the volunteers wanted to call someone for me, but I said, "NO." In about 1/2 mile, the severe cramp worked itself out and I was running again. Odd. I was back at level 8, cruising on all cylinders at mile 25, grinning from ear to ear. At mile 25.6, the same thing happened to my right hamstring, it seized immediately without notice. Bam, from a 7 or 8, to a 1, and I could barely walk. I was so damn close, and I was pi$ed. I did not want to hobble across the finish line. I had to turn a corner, and it was 5 blocks to the end. I turned the corner hobbling, and again, within a couple of blocks, I was running again as if nothing had ever happened. So, I was able to shuffle across the finish line, in an upright position, running, with a huge smile. I was done. I had just hit my wall (sort of), not once, but twice, for each leg, and managed to climb back out of it and finish strong (well, sort of).
I had 2 BBQ sandwich sliders at the end, a container of chocolate milk, a banana, and a bag of Jalapeno chips. Solid food never tasted so good. I immediately called my wife, and just had this overwhelming sense of satisfaction. I did it, I'm a marathoner.
What would I do differently: 1) Run my longer runs slower. 2) Go out even slower at the beginning of the race. 3) Do a training run longer than 21.6 miles. 4) Train harder.
Overall rating: 10/10 Even though I hit my wall, I battled back, and finished. I'm proud of that fact. It was my first race, and I'll take it. Now I have something to work on in the future for the next one. Yes, I think there will be more marathon races. I had a super fun time, I learned a ton, won some free prizes, met some running celebrities, and enjoyed every freakin' minute! And, I didn't die. Yes, I definitely rushed this, since I was not a runner on January 1 of this year. But, I pushed myself to a 4:28 marathon in 10 months. I know, nothing amazing about the time, but otherwise, to me, that's amazing.
Well, that's it sportsfans. I'm a marathoner. And damn proud of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment