Mesmerized
It's not that you're bleeding, but you through it now, so you run -- Seal, Amazing
Sunday's Run for the Ranch Half Marathon in Springfield was a lackluster performance for me (rslight). It was my first race to use my Garmin Forerunner, and I got mesmerized watching the mileage rack up. I hit 5 miles in 40 minutes, 10K in 50 minutes and mile 7 in about an hour.
I really wanted to beat my PR of 1:52:57, but I developed a seriously upset stomach on the third of four laps. I suspect I made a diet error. Normally I have Pop Tarts and water before a morning race, and experience no problems. However, on Sunday I had a large breakfast (eggs, sausage, orange juice) and expected it to be nice and digested before the 2:30 p.m. race.
Things got progressively worse. My stomach churned like it had that creature from Alien in it. I slowed a bit. Pam Sailors flew past me like she routinely does (if she's not already way ahead.)
I finished the third lap as MS completed his final one. He encouraged me to "dig deep," although I feared that would just make me throw up.
The final lap presented a new problem. I had to find a restroom. There was a significant stretch of neighborhood that didn't feature restroom opportunities.
I grew increasingly desperate. One restroom by a tennis court was locked. I finally discovered a portable restroom by that water station out in the boondocks. I lost two minutes waiting for a woman to get out. The stop of momentum affected my pace, and I was a bit wobbly on the final mile. bl approached me when I was at my most frazzled and thoughtfully helped pace me on the last half-mile to a 1:58 finish. Then it was cookie time.
Would you believe me if I said it was a lot of fun? I always look forward to taking a shot at a PR, even when I fall way short.
Now that I've accomplished my goal of completing four half marathons in two months with times all under 2 hours, I can fully concentrate on my second marathon: Little Rock Marathon on March 2.
Gratuitous side note: I wonder if any other Garmin users found the course a little long. My Forerunner said 13.2 miles. Where did the 0.1 come from? Did I turn corners poorly? I know the portable restroom wasn't 0.1 away. My math skills aren't that poor.
Sunday's Run for the Ranch Half Marathon in Springfield was a lackluster performance for me (rslight). It was my first race to use my Garmin Forerunner, and I got mesmerized watching the mileage rack up. I hit 5 miles in 40 minutes, 10K in 50 minutes and mile 7 in about an hour.
I really wanted to beat my PR of 1:52:57, but I developed a seriously upset stomach on the third of four laps. I suspect I made a diet error. Normally I have Pop Tarts and water before a morning race, and experience no problems. However, on Sunday I had a large breakfast (eggs, sausage, orange juice) and expected it to be nice and digested before the 2:30 p.m. race.
Things got progressively worse. My stomach churned like it had that creature from Alien in it. I slowed a bit. Pam Sailors flew past me like she routinely does (if she's not already way ahead.)
I finished the third lap as MS completed his final one. He encouraged me to "dig deep," although I feared that would just make me throw up.
The final lap presented a new problem. I had to find a restroom. There was a significant stretch of neighborhood that didn't feature restroom opportunities.
I grew increasingly desperate. One restroom by a tennis court was locked. I finally discovered a portable restroom by that water station out in the boondocks. I lost two minutes waiting for a woman to get out. The stop of momentum affected my pace, and I was a bit wobbly on the final mile. bl approached me when I was at my most frazzled and thoughtfully helped pace me on the last half-mile to a 1:58 finish. Then it was cookie time.
Would you believe me if I said it was a lot of fun? I always look forward to taking a shot at a PR, even when I fall way short.
Now that I've accomplished my goal of completing four half marathons in two months with times all under 2 hours, I can fully concentrate on my second marathon: Little Rock Marathon on March 2.
Gratuitous side note: I wonder if any other Garmin users found the course a little long. My Forerunner said 13.2 miles. Where did the 0.1 come from? Did I turn corners poorly? I know the portable restroom wasn't 0.1 away. My math skills aren't that poor.
posted by rslight at 6:27 pm
4 Comments:
At the risk of too much information, a couple scares like that on long runs are the reason I take immodium prior to any race longer than a 10K.
I managed to hit "stop/start" instead of "lap" one of my turns around the cone during the race, so according to my Garmin I only ran 10.1 miles or so. I don't think the course was THAT short!
I came up with 26.36 for the marathon.
Every certified course I race is longer than the stated distance. The Las Vegas Half was 13.17 by my G205.
I understand that the course must be a little long to be certified.
The Dorell Hanks 5K came in at 3.08. If you figure 5 sec. per hundredth on a 5K those slight differences add up. A hilly 3.18 can take a minute and a half longer than a flat 3.08.
I had 13.34 miles for Sunday's race. Jim's right--if it's certified, the mileage will show long on the Garmin. It's practically impossible to run the tangents exactly.
The reason I had to pass rslight during the race was that I started so much slower than he did. My 10K split was 52:00.
The immodium seems like a wise MS tip.
Although I usually feel fine, I'll pack some on my next marathon trip.
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