Skip to main content

VA Beach Rock N Roll Half Marathon Round Up

Wow, humid would be a great word to describe this race.

Since I was worried about stomach issues, I got up early to give myself time to eat and hydrate. I got up at 3:00am, sat on the balcony, listened to the ocean and chewed my bagel slowly. Wow it was humid out at 3:00am!

I went down to the lobby a little before 6. I was nervous, but more just ready to run this and get it done. We walked down to the starting line. The lines for the portapotty were insane. In fact, they weren't even moving. After standing in line for awhile, we realized that we weren't going to make it. So we headed off to our corrals. My friends were in 6. I was in 9.

Standing in the corral, I realized being short had it's disadvantages. I was smashed in between people, couldn't see anything but backs and butts. The heat was stifling. Finally the race started and the first corral was released. Little by little we made our way to the start line. Finally it was my turn.

I crossed the mat, started my garmin, tried to keep my nerves in check and found my rhythm. Even with the wave start, there were still lots of bottle necks. People trying to pass. People walking already that should be at the right side instead of the middle of the road. Then I got hit by this kid. Yep, this kid ran right into me. I didn't think much of it other than to turn around and make sure he was ok. He was. He zig zagged into other people almost knocking them down before he went on his way. I believe he was running the 5K.

Anyway, it was humid.... way humid.. but I think I already mentioned that. At around 2.5 miles or so, I felt goosebumps and I had chills. I reached for my water bottle.. say what????? It was gone. Yep, apparently when the kid ran into me, he knocked my hydration bottle out of my hydration belt. I felt myself panic, but quickly calmed down. I would just have to rely on the water stops. I knew there were several. I had pretzels as fuel. There was no way I was getting pretzels down without water.

At each water stop, I took 2 sometimes 3 cups of the lukewarm water. I tried to eat and drink as fast as I could, but I knew I was wasting a lot of time. But without my hydration bottle, I had to get my fuel and water at the water stops only.

I got a little nervous as I started seeing the people on the side of the road being worked on by medics. I knew that I wasn't dizzy, but I did have chills. I kept hydrating and eating at each water stop. Occasionally we'd hear and see the ambulances speeding away with their latest victim of this race.

Even though I was using a lot of time at the water breaks, overall my pace was pretty good. I was on track for a PR.... and then it happened. IT being the massive calf cramps. I felt the first spasm and mentally yelled NOOOOOO... I'm too close. I'm less than 3 miles away. You can not do this to me now. Not now....

I reached for my shot blocks at the next water stop. But by mile 11-12 it was too late. My calves were totally locked at some point. It's very frustrating not to be able to control your own body. My calf was so cramped that my foot was pointed and I couldn't flex my foot. I watched as several that I had passed earlier were now passing me. I was less than a half mile from the finish, and I was limping/walking/shuffling... I was able to run/walk/shuffle the last quarter mile. I picked up the pace at the end, just to try to get done with this race when both legs locked. Yep, I hobbled on my toes across the finish. This guy ran over to me to get me to the medical tent. I said no thanks I'd be fine. Two others tried to herd me over to the medics. I declined. I just wanted out of there, and back to my room.

Half way back to the motel, I was wishing I'd stopped at the medic tent. I really wasn't sure if I was going to make it. Somehow I wobbled back to my room.

I fought for every mile of that run. It wasn't a PR. It wasn't my best race, but every step was mine. I fought to finish and I did ~ 2:27:55.

20120904-145041.jpg

Comments

  1. You're my hero!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congrats on finishing despite the hurdles you had to jump over.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks.. it was a tough one!

    ReplyDelete
  4. :) Thanks Hazel. Come see me sometime!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Self Care Is Not Selfish It's Necessary

It's not selfish to take care of yourself. It's not selfish to take care of yourself. It's not selfish to take care of yourself. And I'll say it just one more time in case you didn't hear me. It's not selfish to take care of yourself. I have found through experience that when I'm not taking care of myself, not only do I suffer but my family suffers. So ditch the mom guilt and take the time that you need! I have a tendency to keep pushing my needs aside until I reach a breaking point. We've had a very busy fun summer so far. However, I've struggled to get some quality ' me ' time to decompress. I'll spare you the meltdown that ensued. But the reality check that followed prompted me to take action.

Running My Life

Wow, has it really been 2 years since my last post? I suppose that I allowed life to get in the way. For any faithful blog readers, I apologize. Although, I'm not sure how many people actually read blogs anymore. I think most people use other social media platforms.  (By the way, drop by and say hi on Insta. )  But for some reason, each year when I pay for my google domain, I can't seem to let it go. As silly as it sounds, this little space is mine. And lately I've been struggling with ownership and acceptance. And my domain renewal was a not so gentle reminder that I have a voice .  Seriously, you'd think by 48 that I'd have this figured out - nope - apparently not. However, I am wise enough to know that we have a choice to allow situations to harms us or make us stronger. I'm choosing to let this mid-life quandary make me stronger. And because of this, I'm setting goals, taking charge, and reexamining priorities.  Movin' on... 

When The Planner In You Must Be Flexible

In case you haven’t figured this out by now, I’m a planner. I know - shocker right?!? :) So although I love substitute teaching, it’s making the planner in me anxious. And it’s been reeking havoc on my workouts. Basically the morning of or maybe the night before, I find out if I’m working. So my day ( that I thought I had planned ) can be turned upside down in an instant. But, truthfully, isn’t that really the same with everyone?