Worst. Race. Ever. :-)
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Cliff Notes version of TOU 2012. It sucked. Or more accurately, I sucked.
I suppose I could write a little more than that, but I'll try to keep it brief as there really isn't much to say. No idea what I did to bring it on, but I had major stomach issues Thursday PM through Sunday night as I write this. Many many many trips to the bathroom and no ability to eat as it made me nauseous. Dinner on Thursday? Carrot sticks. Awesome. Friday breakfast and lunch? 1/2 cup oatmeal and half a sandwich. I tried to force myself to eat and it just wasn't happening. Felt nauseous and if it didn't come out that end, it inevitably came out the other... Not my finest moment and not ideal carbo-loading.
Friday night I started to feel better and put down some pancakes and a banana, but Saturday morning I felt sick again and forced down some oatmeal and a little banana. I can count on one hand how many times I've thrown up in my life (4, if your curious, and the second time it was because I was choking on a Gobstopper but I'll save that for another entry). On the bus ride to the start, I thought I was going to vomit for sure. My stomach was jacked and even water was causing me issues. It wasn't nerves--that's not how my body reacts to pre-race jitters. Anyway, suffice it to say, I wasn't feeling 100%.
So what did I do? Lined up to start the race thinking everything would be fine. Figured I could work through it and eventually I'd get on track. Not so much. I struggled from the first mile and my stomach never cooperated. I caught Sasha about mile 8 and we ran together in 7-8 place until mile 18 when he left me. I hit 13.1 in 1:14:10, so a little slower than last year, but I hadn't been able to drink more than a sip or two and I'd taken in zero carbs. Combo that with my lack of eating on Thursday/Friday and that spells disaster in a marathon. The wall presented itself with authority at mile 18.5. Honestly, I was surprised it took so long...
Lots of jogging, walking, even slower walking, and watching people pass me again and again. Highlight of the run was when my dad jumped along side me and pulled me along from miles 21-24. It was everything I could do to keep up with him as we set the street of Logan on fire, cruising along at 8:30/mile pace. And I'm serious--prior to him running with me I ran a couple in the 9:00/mile range. He really helped out or else I would have dropped to the 11-12:00/mile pace for sure. It sucked. But on the bright side, I loved the company and I wouldn't want help from anyone else. We talked Utah football and how if the BYU was to beat Utah tonight and if In N Out screwed up my order (if I could handle eating any time soon) this weekend would be a TOTAL bust.
I hit main street and told myself to run the rest of the way. That lasted about 3 city blocks. 2 more guys passed me. Then the lead motorcycles with the 1st place female approached. I ran again and tried to hang with her. That lasted about 10 meters (probably more like 4-5) and then she was off. The last mile was rough.
But....all good things come to an end. Bad things too. I finished. I crossed the line and drank some chocolate milk. Nearly threw up. Everything hurt and it was my 2nd slowest marathon ever. Nice. I quickly grabbed my gear and headed for the exits so I could go shower and puke in privacy (if needed).
About 2pm I went to In N Out Burger and forced down a cheeseburger and fries just to show my body who was boss. Then after a quick nap, I went to one of my favorite places on earth--Rice Eccles Stadium, and screamed for four straight hours. All those false starts by BYU right before halftime that pushed them back into their own endzone? That was b/c of me and the rest of that section. Loudest I've ever heard that stadium. That atmosphere was incredible. So, moral of the story; don't run a marathon on an empty tank, In N Out is delicious even when you feel like puking, the holy war shouldn't die, and the drive from Utah to Oregon is painfully long. If there is a next year, I'm flying for sure.
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