Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Full Race Report...it's a long one folks...


Can I just start off with a W-O-W!!!! What a crazy experience!

Overall: This was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life! I am so proud of myself! I can't believe I did it. I am so happy I never gave up and I kept running, even when it hurt like hell... Go me!

PHOTOS: Still trying to figure out how to make a photo slideshow on my blog....will post as soon as I figure it out...

Here is my long novel/recap of race day (with what I can remember... and all the gory details!)

3:00am: Alarm goes off.
yes, 3am!...yes, that's REALLY early.
After 5 solid hours of sleep...thank you sleeping gods!... I proceeded to get dressed in the bathroom (as not to wake my sleeping boyfriend), bodyglide-ed what seemed like my entire body ( just in case!), sunscreen-ed and ate part of my usual pre-run breakfast. I also readjusted my bib # like 6 times...nervous energy to burn

Random side note: I turned on the TV before I left...after I woke Kyle up by spilling an entire bottle of water on the hotel bed...and soaking him in his sleep....and what did I watch at 3:30am on a Sunday...Scream 3!!!! Random! ( Scream is one of my all time fav movies!)

4:00am: Take hotel shuttle to start line.
Thank you Hampton Inn...that worked out perfectly! Jessica, a friend from my Saturday training group--who I run with every single Saturday--was staying in the same hotel with me. So we traveled together to the start line together! Strength in numbers!

4:20-5:45am: Sit and wait....and porta potty lines
Arrived at Balboa Park....pitch dark. Jessica and I laid out our "trash bag beach blankets" to sit on the damp grass/cement and sat and waited....and sat waited. We slowly ate the rest of our breakfasts---we still had over 2 hrs until the start.

The morning allowed for some serious people watching (a fav hobby!) People dressed in costumes. People looking terrified. Girls wearing FULL faces of make-up to run a marathon (seriously?? you are lame, that's all I have to say!)

Some ladies had "marathon virgin" written on their calves--a la triathlon style--why didn't I think of that....darn!

I also really regretted not having a camera...but honestly I was already carrying some much fuel I felt like a pack mule...must re-strategize for the next race.

Now, lets talk porta potties....I have never seen so many porta potties in my life. Crazy! Luckily I had no issues in this department (as I and many racers often do on race morning....ok...maybe TMI...) But I must say, I do find it rather funny, because you can always spot the people who are really "not feeling well"....they are the porta potty line Nazi's who yell at you to keep your eyes on the opening doors....they need to relax....but I can sympathize....

5:45am: Enter Corral
yes, I said "corral".... yes, they herd you like wild animals....with ropes!

I was assigned to Corral #29....how many corrals did they actually have, you ask....39. So needless to say, I was starting towards the back of the pack...which I am totally okay with. Jessica was originally placed in corral 27 but she moved back to be with me (so grateful!)

Now getting into your Corral, its just fancy speak for standing and MORE waiting, packed up close and personal with a bunch of strangers. Strangers who are farting (remember what I said about pre-race nerves???) Strangers who are yelling. Why are you yelling...you are 5.6 inches from your friend...I almost punched a lady in the face....seriously. It is a funny phenomenon, every anxiously wiggles around, almost like they are doing the I-have-to-pee dance.

6:10am National anthem and gun start

I have never heard 30,000 people be more quiet in my life than during that national anthem...crazy silence.

Gun start for Corral #1 started at 6:10...I will remind you, I am in Corral # 29....I had MORE waiting to do...

Approx 6:50am: Crossing the START line
I was ready to go. One foot in front of the other...took off after my foot hit the timing pad

Miles 1-6
These miles were good. Jessica and I kept a great pace. Unfortunately, my legs felt really shaky/wobbly, like the adrenaline was rushing through them, so I never got into "that groove" but it was ok since it was the start of the race and I was loving it. This part of the run was in downtown, Gaslamp area, near Petco Park. Early in the race I loved the fact that I was so intrigued by what was around the next corner, it seemed better than running the same paths at Griffith park week after week. The weather for the first hour or so was also perfect! Nice cloud cover, not too cold.

Miles 6-9ish
These miles were good, better than 1-6. My legs finally hit "that groove." Saw Kyle at mile 7...smiling and cheering me on!

Still great weather.We traveled from downtown out east. Don't remember much else from this part.

Miles 9ish-13.5ish: I will call these miles the "asphalt desert"
These miles were not so good AT ALL....quite bad in fact.

The asphalt dessert was the closed-down 163 freeway that we ran. A freeway that is slanted (ankles also hated this part!).

Upon entering the asphalt dessert, the weather also shifted....for the worse. Who knew SD could be so hot!!

I started to really over-heat being in the direct sun and probably from the reflection from the freeway's menacing black tar. ( Did I mention I am also as pale, as pale, can be...and us pale folk, DO NOT do well in sun!). Once I was over-heating, I started freaking out about my electrolytes and how much I was sweating and inadvertently started to OVER-hydrate. I didn't realize this until it was too late...about mile 13 I was pretty sure I was about to puke...water and Cytomax (a sad Gatorade wanna-be that I had been over-ingesting). That gross empty feeling of liquid jostling around in your belly in the heat, no bueno.

Side note: Highlight of slanted, asphalt desert...very cool tribal drummers. They were my fave race entertainment for sure!

On the 163 was were I also witnessed the marathon-only phenomenon of "Vaseline disbursement." Poor volunteers handing out plastic spoons and tongue-depressors covered in Vaseline to chaffing runners...gross and funny. People rubbing Vaseline on their armpits, inner thighs, men...their nipples....good times.

At the 1/2 marathon mark, Kyle greeted me at the top on a long hill. I told him I was going to puke. He encouraged me to keep going. After I passed him, I felt a wave of tears flood to my eyes....My first doubts entered my brain....Can I really do this? I feel sick! This sucks! It's so EFFING hot...I am only half way there!

I told Jessica I didn't feel good...and like any good friend and running partner, she slapped me back to reality and told me its all mental. She told me: You can do this! Don't think about it! We are half way there! And she instructed me to start dumping water on my head to cool off....duh?!?!

Why didn't I think of that? It's funny how you can get so consumed in what's going wrong, you forget your common sense. Running kind of makes you delirious.

( After mile 13, I dumped at least one cup of water on my head at every stop until the very end! Did I mention it was hot???)

My last observation for this section: After mile 10 there were A LOT more people walking than running. I was SO surprised. When I was feeling icky (and wanted to walk) I was almost jealous of these people, but I knew I had to keep on, keepin' on...and so the journey continued...

Miles 14-19
Don't remember much during this section either....maybe I blacked out from the heat.... :)

Of what I do remember, I got a new rush of positive thinking after taking my second Gu...and kept on pushing. Discarding my negative thoughts.

Saw my first race causality....girl laying on the ground with paramedics giving her oxygen....scary

I also remembering getting an delicious orange smiley at one of the water stops....an orange never tasted so good....yum! I ate it like a savage beast in one bite....probably scared the poor little girl who gave it to me...

Mile 19-20: Bathroom break
Okay at this point, I started getting these weird pains in my "sides/obliques"....took me a while to figure out...it was my bladder screaming at me.

You see, during the Great Hydration freak out on the 163...I overloaded on the liquids big time. I have never had to pee while training. Never. I sweat so much and lose so much salt this is never an issue for me.

Suddenly, I realized I gotta go! So I pulled over into a park restroom ( better than a porta potty!). How I got back up after sitting on the toilet, I will never know. My legs were not happy from the stop.

From this point on, everything below my sports bra...no joke...cramped up. I felt like I might fold into a Popple at any moment. (Don't remember what a Popple was? It was a stuffed animal that rolled into a ball) My lats connecting down to my glutes, connecting to my hamstrings, wrapping around to my quads, down to my calves....even to the bottom of my feet....and I still have almost 7 miles to go....more than an hour....oh dear....

After mile 19, Jessica and I employed a "walk through the water stations" strategy. This gave our legs a quick break every mile for the remaining 7. Good plan!

Miles 20-20.5: Fiesta Island
Not a fiesta at all my friends! Not a fiesta indeed!

Flash back to three months ago when I first reviewed the course....I was happy to see Mission Bay Park and Fiesta Island since I was familiar with this area from the triathlons I have done here before. I knew it was flat and I knew the layout.

Back to marathon day....I am a cramped, hot mess. Fiesta Island seemed liked FOREVER.

Looking at the race comments, I see a lot of people agreed. One girl even called it "Shutter Island" after that recent movie- thriller with Leo DiCaprio ( good movie, go see it!)

Anyways, it was plain awful. Since it was an island, there were no spectators. Still bands, but no cheer-ers. This is also the last leg of the race and more people are walking now than ever before. The race path is narrow ( I usually ride it on a bike in the triathlon, so I never noticed before)....but once you have to zig-zag in and out of packs of walkers, you get annoyed. You waste so much energy and they are just plain in your way. I get it, they hurt, but move over to the side or walk single file. I may not be running very fast at this point, but I am still running and you are in the way!

At this time, since I was psychotically checking my Garmin watch about every 2 min, I discovered after 5 hours, that my mileage was about .25 ahead of the course....so every time my watch chimed that I completed another mile....I still hadn't reached the official mile marker...so ultimately my Garmin tells me I ran near 26.5 miles that day....take that.... ha ha :)

Coming off the island, there is a tan, little man with a megaphone yelling " only .75 miles left, congratulations you are a marathoner, bring it home, finish strong." And while I was happy to hear this .75 never looked so far away...

Miles 21.5-26
Off the island. I see what "appears" to be the final white tent....oh sweet, sweet finish line....wrong....that is the mile 26 tent....remember I said you get delirious....

OH HELL NO! Is what I said inside my head...in my best Real Housewives of Atlanta voice...

I looked over at Jessica....where did she go? She took off sprinting...

Ok, I guess we are sprinting to the finish....here goes nothing, come on body....let's do this....

Mile 26 to Mile 26.2
My sore, cramping, hot, achy body took off...I honestly could not feel my legs....I passed people left and right, saw Kyle right before I crossed the finish line....cheering me on those last few seconds....and then I crossed that timing pad....I was done...I was a marathon finisher....

Post Race Corral: the "Secure Zone"
After I crossed the line, I felt woozy for sure....but suddenly so happy! Forgetting that my body was trying to collapse and fold up like a poolside lounge-chair....I had to keep moving.

First was the medal...yes!

Next...My hands were shaking so bad when they handing me my water bottle....which I think I drank in two gulps...

Next, the race people were passing out wet towels, dipped in ice water....wonderful!

Then the post-race medal photo. ( It turned out good! Promise to upload soon!)

Next, they whisked you past medical. There was a person asking: do you need medical attention? I wanted to reply: is the Pope Catholic? But I thought too much energy to speak, just shake head and keep walking to the food.

I grabbed a banana and some snacks and then finally met up Kyle ( outside of the "secure zone") and got a post race kiss and hug....happy ending indeed! He also became my human crutch...I could barely walk...

THE END!

Happy Running... well, in my case...happy resting and recovery! :)
~Lauren

5 comments:

  1. Way to go!!!! It is incredible what you can make your body do. I think a half is as far as I'll ever go. Keep up the great work.

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  2. Nice job! Tough day with the heat and humidity. We did the relay, but in a full Elvis rig...it was tough.

    Congrats again!

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  3. woo-hoo, Lauren! I am so proud of you! What an accomplishment!

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  4. Right on girl!!! Great race recap! SO so stoked for you!

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  5. Yay you did it!!! How awesome! Ok, and from your fellow writer over here, I was dying at your descriptions...hysterical! I mean who doesn't love a popple?

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