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| I stumbled upon some friends at the expo! [Dani, Marion, ME, Jackie, Jeanne] |
Needless to say, I'm in a bit of a rough patch. LOL. Oh man. I titled this blog "honest mother runner," so I suppose I need to do what I claim and spill my guts in these moments.
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I was supposed to run the full today. A couple of weeks ago, my friend, Debbie, decided not to run and we were able to get the bib transferred to my name even though it was after the transfer date (THANK YOU COLUMBUS MARATHON!). I was so incredibly excited to run this race! I really needed a redemption Columbus race since I freaking bombed the 2012 marathon (5:03:??).
Here was my plan:
Amanda is the one who gave me the idea to try out this pace strategy. I ordered the pace band for the Columbus course based on a conservative start and negative split for a 3:36 goal time.
Going into the race, everyone was aware that the weather would likely not be ideal (it was about 70 degrees and high humidity). I definitely felt it from the start, but I didn't intend on letting it stop me. [insert eye roll]
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| Always a beautiful start at this race. |
I saw most of my friends at the start and had the pleasure of hanging out with my church friend, Lindsey, who freaking killed her first marathon. So amazing.
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| Start line smiles! [ME, Lindsey] |
I forget the exact mile Amanda met up with me, but she was waiting on the side of Broad Street until she saw me. We ran together until mile 7 or so. That's about when my body started feeling funky. I was definitely lightheaded at moments. I have no idea why! I have been drinking water like crazy all week/all morning/the whole race. Mile 7 was ten seconds slower than intended [8:35]. It was the end of this mile when shit hit the fan...pun intended.
I had to go to the bathroom BAD. I NEVER have to use the restroom during races. I felt so sick! As much as I hated the thought, I knew I'd have to stop at the next Port-a-pot...I just hoped I would make it there before crapping my shorts. I finally made it to a bathroom at 8.25 miles. Mile 8 was [8:44]. Eek.
After going to the bathroom, I felt awful. I was feeling lightheaded, nauseous, etc. WTF. I kept thinking "I can't quit another marathon...I just can't." I started walking and called my husband to tell him I felt like crap. He said all the right things in the moment, but I still didn't know if I wanted to actually stop at the half or continue to go for it. I then started texting my friend, Rachel, who was visiting from Louisville. She was going to be cheering me on after the half. I wasn't sure I would actually make it to that point.
After texting her, I called Amanda. I knew she had her phone and would likely answer it. I wanted her to know I was struggling. After talking to all of my people and seeing some of my friends on the course, I decided I would stop at the half. This mile, with all of the decision making, was [12:11]. Amanda was about a mile ahead of me and decided to turn back around to join me. Now that's a good friend! LOL.
At this point, we just rolled with it and tried to enjoy it as much as we could. Personally, I was hating life. I walked A LOT. I kept apologizing to Amanda, but she said she didn't care. I was so happy that she didn't cuz neither did I...I was over it! UGH. Because we intervaled the next three miles, they were [10:39, 10:47, 10:10]. We just enjoyed the crowd, conversation, and all of my bitching.
Little did we know, we would experience some drama the last mile. Some time in mile 13, a gentleman collapsed in front of us. It was the scariest thing I've witnessed. It appeared that he was seizing. Other runners and spectators were performing CPR, calling 911, etc. Amanda ran to get the nearest police officer. Long story short, it took way too long for the appropriate people to address the situation. After finding an AED and performing more CPR, the man was revived. All I could do was pray for this man. When he started breathing again, Amanda and I headed towards the finish. Due to this fiasco, mile 13 was [14:09]. I'm not sure what others got for the mileage, but I am sure that my Garmin was probably over the distance due to the bathroom break and mile 13 drama.
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My official time was:
2:08:05.
I found out after the finish that I wasn't alone in my situation. A couple of my other friends made the same decision to stop at the half. It made me feel a little better that I wasn't making up my complaints. It also made me realize how hard core the marathoners were on this day. Brutal.
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I've had a few hours to think over this situation. Just like with Erie, I'm not sad that I didn't finish the full. At least I had the option of the half. Not sure if this is technically a DNF! I'm just annoyed. I'm annoyed that I'm training so well and crap out on race day. I have no excuse for Erie. I honestly don't know what happened. My only logical explanation is that maybe I had a little virus. Today was different in that the weather was a huge factor in some of my symptoms. The pooping?! I have no idea what that was about.
I made the goal at the beginning of the year to run three marathons this year. I had two good ones in the spring, and have yet to finish one this fall. I am registered for Indy, and that will be my last chance. I have no choice but to finish that one. After that I'm taking a break from the marathon. I think it's something I just need to do. I LOVE training for them, but I feel like I've put this pressure of BQing on myself that simply isn't necessary.
The truth is, I will be in the same age group for the next 4 years. I have plenty of time to make this happen. My goal after a BQ was to try to PR a half. I really feel I should not run a full in the spring so that I can focus on the half marathon. It will give me a mental break from my idea of a BQ and hopefully revive my excitement to attempt my ultimate goal of running in Boston. I know it's going to be SO HARD to stick to this because I LOVE marathon training, but I feel it's what I need to do.
I am so incredibly impressed by everyone who ran today. You marathoners in particular are freaking amazing. So, here I go again. Another three weeks of not knowing what the hell I should run followed by trying to actually finish a marathon.
When race time comes, I don't need any sweet messages. I need you to tell me to suck it up and get my ass to the finish line. I'm serious.
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Special shout out to my sweet friend, Rachel. She was one of my besties from PT school. She was in town for a conference this weekend. We were able to meet up for dinner Friday night and see each other throughout the weekend since I was downtown a lot. She made me this amazing sign that I didn't get to see while running since I stopped at the half. I'm honored she let me keep it!
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| Dinner at Bakersfield. [Rachel, ME] |
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| This is special. "Lisa want some Pizza." |
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