Now what??

I finished…that’s about all I can say about the Whistle Stop 1/2 Marathon.

My time SUCKED, the last 3 miles were hell..but I finished.

Where did I go wrong..did I start out too strong? Was I not prepared? Did the turf eat me up and chew me out? I think it might be a combination of all these things. But in the end I finished.

The night before the race I went to bed early and got a decent nights sleep. I got up at 6 am and was out the door by 6:35. I made a few game day decisions.

• I swapped my running capris for shorts (this was a good decision)

• I wore a tank under my long sleeve dri fit (check another good decision)

• I wore a hat vs. visor (in hind sight, I would have wore the visor but it really didn’t make that much of a difference)

• I stuck with my Mizunos. (I really do not like these shoes. They fit my foot bed much better than my Nike’s but I just don’t get the flex in the foot that I like..I think they are slowing me down too)

• I took my phone and wore a spi belt (check, good choice except it did not look so hot..the belt kept cutting into my fat giving me an extra fat roll..SEXY)
• I brought blocks and left the GU at home (check good choice, I wish I could have found sports beans and had them but blocks were just as good at mile 7)
• I brought extra quench gum (triple check..I chewed about 4 pieces)

I felt prepared. Before leaving the house I had some coffee and a 1/2 English muffin and peanut butter. I grabbed a bottle of G2 lime for the road and was off. It was dark when I left.. I was up with the farmers who were milking he cows!

When I got to Ashland I hit the bathroom and got on a bus. 25 minutes later we arrived at the race start. I got my Chip (technology circa 1980) when I arrived …TIC TOC…I was there at 8:05 and had over an hour to kill…IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. I was happy about my decision to take a garbage bag and towel. I sat on the bag and wrapped the towel around me( It was a brisk 43 degrees. ). I finished my G2 and ate my banana and eavesdropped on conversations.

Two guys were talking about shoes..One of them was saying how he needs a new pair of running shoes because he has over 900 miles on his. Some other people were sharing war stories. All typical pre-race banter.

15 minutes to race time I hit the port-o-potties, threw my bag in the back of a trailer (they assured me it would be at gear check when I finished and walked to the start line. I should have left earlier and gotten up closer.

The race started on time and I was off……….with a zillion WALKER. WFT…MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!!!! Nothing pisses me off then my slow ass passing a walker!

The start of the race was really picturesque. The trees were in full colors the road was wonderfully paved..it was awesome.

At Mile 1.5 ish we turned on to the trail (for the next 10 miles I would be running on a trail).

It rained the night before so the ground was soft in some spots and down right wet and loose in other spots. I checked my pace at the first aid station…I was at 28 mins..AWESOME!

Here are my splits times that I can remember…(My iPod lost my run…don’t even get me started)

1. 2.5 – 28 minutes
2. 4.5 – 56 minutes
3. 6- 1 hour 14 minutes
4. 8 – 1 hour 40 minutes
5. 10- 2 hours 5 minutes

And then it happened…or shall I say it did not happen. At mile 10 I was done..I had nothing left. My legs hurt, my feet hurt, my lungs hurt…and I COULD NOT BREATHE. My lungs where whistling. The trees on the trails were closing in on me. I would try to run but start to walk, the people that I passed all along the way were passing me. What was going . I felt like I was having and asthma attack if I knew what having an asthma attack felt like. I wanted to cry. I think I cried, I wanted it to be over. Apparently, I passed a whole bunch of signs cheering people on but

I don’t remember taking the picture.

So I walked…and walked and walked. I tried to run, but I had to walk. I hated the trail, I hated the dirt, I hated the rocks. I wanted to see pavement. I prayed for pavement. I hated the fact that there were people walking the 1/2 wearing jeans and I prayed that they would not pass me.

And then there it was…..PAVEMENT!

THANK THE BABY JEEBUS…Pavement. I pulled over to the side of the course and took off my shoes and shook them out. I had about 50 pebbles in them. And I tried to run again. I saw my mom…waved, ran for about another minute, then walked. Finally…finally I saw cones and heard the announcer. I started to run. I ended the race running though the finish line..they called my name…..Delanie (grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr) from Chicago, Idaho?

Um okay..my name is DELANE and I’m from Chicago ILLINOIS!

I got de-chipped..got my medal! I had no one at the finish line so I headed for food..

Poweraide anyone?

Yeah that kind grossed me out..I hope the buckets were new!

The food was eh…apparently we were not worthy of a whole banana. I did grab a pudding and some apple sauce.

I then went and got my finishers medal in the festival tent. The High School band was playing (oh my…horns need some work..yikes)

I met my mom by my car…and I was done. It felt good to sit, I was salty and upset. My time sucked, the last 3 miles blew my whole race.

So what happened.

• Well in hind sight..I slacked on the last 4 weeks of training. Getting a puppy and trying to run and getting all my work stuff done to take time off just did not gel.

• Ike happened, the effects we had from him in the Midwest flooded all of the tails and I only trained on pavement.

• When I got home and looked at my feet I was grossed out.. I did not have ordinary blisters I had two blood blisters on my toes. I had multiple blisters under my callouses and on my heels. (all are almost healed up), no wonder my feet hurt.

But I finished. I guess in the long run (no pun intended) that is all that matters.

So now what, what is in store for Delane.

Well I’m going to run the Trick or Treat Trot this weekend. The 5K. It is my friend Nicole’s fist race in many years. She rocked the C25K program and is now on OHR (one hour runner).

November I’ll probably do the Turkey Trot. I’m on the fence about outdoor running December-April. My gym has a track and I’ll probably work on pace training all winter.

I have not selected the short races that I want to do next year but I have selected my long races.

1. Soldier Field 10 Miler
2. Rockford Half (possible)
3. Chicago Half
4. Brikebiner Half
5. Whistlestop Half

Who wants to join me?