Training, at least the first half of it, went very well. This was the first distance race I've trained for completely solo, which was a bit scary. But even with a hectic travel schedule, I still managed to get in all my long runs. I kept up a good weekday training schedule as well, though I didn't focus nearly enough on the speed and tempo workouts. All the runs up to 18 miles were fantastic. I felt good, nothing was hurting and truly enjoyed logging the miles. Then it went downhill. IT band pain combined with two falls thanks to having the grace of a toddler makes for a crappy last month of training.
Fast forward to the week of the marathon, and I was finally feeling better. The first 13.1 went great, and I even got to run it with my fabulous assistant, Kristin. Around mile 14, sh** got bad. My legs started cramping up and it never went away. I collapsed three times and pretty much had to walk the entire second half. I had pumped myself full of potassium, was well hydrated the entire week leading up to the race and even carried Powerade the day of, and didn't drink a sip of alcohol that week (that was probably my big mistake). Anyway, despite sobbing through the last five miles, I managed to
Whether it was an electrolyte issue, dehydration, the heat, pushing too hard the first half or just a bad day, I'll never know. What I do know is that I'll do another full. Can't go out like that. ;)
Feeling good
Kristin and me
Trying to keep pushing
And, I'm spent...
