Well....I bonked at 8 miles!! All was going okay....I got there early, met up with my friends at the RoadRunner tent, even bumped into two bloggers, Denise and Josh!! (I stole this pic from her site---thanks Denise!!)
But I should have realized the day was going to be an "off" one when I took my digital camera but left the battery in the charger on the wall!! I used my phone's camera, but I don't know how to get those pics on here (geeks out there help!! I think that's Travis for sure) AND---I lost my garmin 305!! That made me real anxious as this pace was a bit faster than I run naturally, so I was concerned about keeping pace (not a good thing for a pacer!!). Two strikes for me already!!
The pacers lined up and I was asked lots of questions by the runners. This year they used different colors for the race numbers--white if this was your first time doing this race, blue if you're an old-timer. So it was helpful in answering questions, Soooo many first-timers!!! The race this year had 2000 more runners!! The marathon has 5000 more runners!! This sport is going wild!!
A man came by with a camera, saying he was from AP, and took our pics. He said he'd email them to me, but I have yet to see them.
Many of the runners I trained for this race were sticking with me. I was excited to have them around as I really wanted to see them come in on time. I found a girl with a nike whachamacallit that keeps the pace, and asked if she'd run right next to me. She was happy to do so (She'd probably regret it later as you'll see).
We took off and I had a large crowd around me. It was already in the mid 60's and I warned everyone to keep hydrated throughout the race. The first few miles went real well, and then we hit Lake Shore Drive, which is an 8 mile loop in the steaming sun. Haight met me at the 4 mile mark with a new water bottle filled with Succeed Ultra, but I forgot to tell him to give me the extra S!Caps, which may have really cost me.
As we neared 7 miles, I started to get a little lightheaded. That's when I realized I didn't have the extra salt tablets. Damn!! I drank a lot but I just got more dizzy and then the chills started. That's where I draw the line, so by mile 8, I gave my pacer stick to the sweet girl with the Nike thingamajig and told her to just keep going! Her look was priceless!!!
I went over to the side and put my head down. Meanwhile in the background there was the sirens from emergency vehicles for the past 10 minutes blaring at us. I was hoping I wouldn't need an IV, so I paid close attention to my symptoms. When I felt a bit better, I started walking.
I met up with one of my runners I trained who was having bad IT problems and we walked in. His partner was on the sidelines around 9 1/2 miles and I left when I finally found my Mom and Haight. Mom was very worried, but she was counting on the fact that I never do anything that would endanger me (as far as she knew!!) and was hoping if I didn't feel good I would have just stopped.
I walked back to the Roadrunners tent, deciding not to finish the race. I was actually very okay with what happened to me, I was just worried that my pace group wouldn't make it in.
BUT THEY DID!! They bonded together and kept each other going. I waited for everyone to get to the tent and I was beaming at all of them! They were just so proud of themselves--it was great to see!!!
The next morning I woke up with a sore throat, so I may have been running with a slight fever, as I was sweating like crazy.
I emailed Coach Lisa and she recommended new salt tablets and electrolytes just to make sure. I'm waiting for them to come in the mail.
The Chicago Marathon is in 4 weeks, so I'll work on getting my act together before then. Today is a 1:20 run with speed surges. I'll see how that goes.
In the meantime, I have to order a new Garmin!! Damn it, Janet!! (do you know what show that's from?)
's going to be a long week! Gotta get in lots of carbs. Here's my marathon group at breakfast after our last run together. They're all focusing hard on the menu. I think the restaurant is still getting over our visit!
