The Cleveland Rite Aid Half
Marathon kicked my butt. Prior to that, I was having a great weekend courtesy
of the Cleveland Rite Aid Marathon.
I attended the reception on
Friday night with my son, J1, as my date. We arrived a little late as we both
had other engagements prior to this. When we arrived, we were able to hear some
of the speakers and chat with a few of the other bloggers (Joe, Brian and
Stephanie). We were also able to eat and J1 seemed pretty pleased with the
selection!! We had a great time and he was a great date.
On Saturday, I went to the Expo
alone. I was able to leisurely peruse any table that interested me without any
one complaining that we were taking too long. It was awesome. I bought cute compression
socks from runningskirts.com, a snazzy 13.1 tee, Jelly Belly sport beans and
some Nuun sport drink tablets. I also visited a table for the Detroit Free
Press Marathon and I’m almost convinced that I should run it!!!
So…the race… I was very worried
about my tummy issues this race. When I ran my long training runs, I had
serious stomach issues. My stomach was very sad for almost 2 days after the 10
mile run. My time was great and on pace for the race but my stomach was
troubled. I talked to the dietician at my job who suggested that I try the BRAT
(banana, rice, applesauce and toast) diet for a couple days before the race. I
decided that maybe Saturday was enough time for the change. I was pretty sure
that this was gonna work well. While at the expo, I purchased Nuun and was
convinced that race day would be a great day to try something other than water
in my CamelBak. I have NEVER had anything other than water during a race or a run.
For some reason, this sounded like a good plan to me. I prepared the night
before. Everything was laid out and I pre-made my banana and rice milk smoothie
and popped it in the fridge. In the morning, I jumped up, got dressed (in a super
cute running skirt and matching socks!), blended my smoothie and was on my way.
I was feeling very confident. I started my run with my cousin, J.
We ran our
first 3 miles under race pace. I was feeling great. I was feeling great until
about mile 2.5, that is. I saw someone run into what looked like a hotel and I
joked “I wonder would they let me use their restroom?”(I wasn’t joking) At mile
three, I stopped at the porta-potty and my downfall began. I have NEVER used a
porta potty during a race. NEVER! My first
poo-stop turned mile 4 into a 16 minute mile. The next stop registered an 18
minute mile. (The lines were long and the issues were troubling).
Miles 6,7,and
8 were under race pace but then mile 9 happened. My stomach was gurgling like a
tiny geyser. I made my last stop (during the race). As I sat in that tiny
little stink pot, I realized that I would not be making my goal. At all… Mile 9
was a whooping 21:38!!! I told my cousin J that he could leave me, but he stuck
around for all 4 potty stops. (I stopped once and didn’t go because I thought
that I could make it without going). After the mile 9 debacle, I tried to jog a
little but my stomach was not having it. I walked and ran the last 4 miles.
Cousin J finished his first half marathon in 3.06. He left me at mile 12. I
finished in 3:10. I was super excited to see my own cheerleader J2 at the
finish line.
I am not happy at all with this
time. I would calculate that I spent about 25 minutes in line for the porta
potty or inside the porta potty. I actually want to scream!!! I, of course,
cannot take this defeat. I have to redeem myself. I have to get a better time
than my first half (2:49). I have to run another half!!!And sooner rather than
later…
The highlight to the weekend for
me was my little cousin Victoria Bankhead finishing her first marathon. She is
a rockstar and an excellent example of hard work paying off!!! Congrats
Vickie!!
Congrats you ran a great half marathon. You should be very proud of yourself. Hope you do it again next year................
ReplyDeleteThanks! I plan to!!!
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