1/2 marathon of disappointment

I am disappointed in myself, my poor pinky toe is blistered and bloody, and recovering from dehydration is no fun.  I had high hopes for myself to finish this 1/2 marathon in a goal time of 2 hours and 15 minutes.  That goal slipped away during the race.  I felt prepared and confident.  I was not going to let the Alien 13.1 beat me! Well it did.

Here is the race recap:

I am glad Dean and I decided to leave when we did.  Parking was tight.  We parked about a 1/2 mile from the start.  So basically we walked a mile and a half before the race started.  We picked up our numbers and went back to the car for final race preparations.  It was a warm start- about 82 degrees.  I was already sweaty before it started.  I grabbed a bottle of water before we got to the start line and I am so glad I did.  I had my race plan in my head.  It was the same strategy I used last Saturday on my 10 mile training run- run 8 minutes and then walk and recover for 2 minutes.  I ended up running the first 2 miles without any recovery breaks and then started from there with my plan.  It was hot.  We passed a water station for mile 4 that looked like it had Gatorade/Powerade.  So I was really looking forward to that.  I did my first 3 miles at about 28 minutes and felt great.  Well when I got to that water station....the water was slim and it was not Gatorade or Powerade...it was some energy water that was not mixed and tasted horrible.  I was happy I still had my water bottle.

I kept on going and felt fine.  The temperature was dropping but when you are all sweaty that makes you cold.  Every water station was packed...they were running out of cups and water.  At mile 10 I wasn't that far off my last Saturday's 10 miles- 1 hour 50 minutes, I was at 1 hour and 54 minutes.  And then it rained....I mean just a brief rain but I was soaked.  The water station at mile 10 ran out of water.  I think I got the last bit in my water bottle and then the volunteer said they were out of water.  At this point my pinky toes started hurting, I figured either I was over pronating or it was from my socks being wet- from both the rain and sweat.  At this point I was doing more walking then running.  I felt wave after wave of nausea...I didn't want to drink anymore water.  I felt like I was over watered at this point.  So at this point I just decided to walk...why risk getting more injured.

So I walked the last 3 miles.  It got dark and it was hard to see the paved trail we were on.  At mile 12 there was one last water station...they had no cups and they were literally pouring water into peoples' hands.  I had my trusty bottle...as beat up as it was at this point and they filled it.  I tried to drink it...but nope...my body didn't want it.  A couple of dry heaves later...kept walking.  Finally the finish was in sight and I just walked across it. 

I got my sticker and my medal and the search for recovery foods and drinks was my mission.  Guess what?? No recovery food except apples and warm water in snow cone cups.  I tried a couple of the vendor booths with no luck.  One vendor gave me a sparkling water...gross.  I found Dean and sat on a bench that was in view of the medical tent.  Dean came back with his swag bag and I looked at Dean and said, "I don't feel so well...I think I am going to the medical tent." I think we were both surprised with that since we always try to give it our all each race.  I went to the medical tent and explained how I felt and that all I wanted was something cold and not water.  The first attendant said they didn't have any Gatorade or Powerade.  He gave me some ice to put on my back and forhead.  He gave me some cold water that I just swished in my mouth.  Not nay better.  At this point Dean joined me in the tent with lots of other people.  A second medic stopped to check on me and voila! he appeared with Gatorade! My hero.  I took some small sips.  Then I really didn't feel well.  Just an FYI ...the next part is not so pretty.  I threw up...and threw up...and threw up.  That poor medic sat there with me and let me puke and just stayed with me.  I told him, "Thankfully you don't have to hold my hair!" He at least laughed.  Dean and I stayed until we felt better.  At one point I think we were both worried about who was going to drive home! We felt well enough to get back to the car and star driving.  I ended up stopping to get a Ginger Ale to help settle my stomach.  But I was so happy to get home.  I ate some crackers, showered, and went to bed. 

I was tired, disappointed in myself, and so happy to be home. Would I do the race again?  Maybe... if it is not in Mid-August.  I don't know how else to prevent the dehydration....I had hydrated for days.  Am I disappointed in myself yes and no.  There are some things that you can't prevent while running...like the people running out of water or not having Gatorade or Powerade or even blisters on your pinky toes.  I guess I need to train differently for Athens, but I felt my training was good and last Saturday I felt great with my 10 miles.  Next time my goal is to finish strong!

At least I got a cool shirt and medal.