•6:44 PM
Finally have some time to sit down and finish up my race report. I was wanting to wait until I had some pictures to add and the time to comment on them.
The timing of the race was harder for me then I thought. I hadn't really gotten the breakfast I wanted but had instead had a kolache and a do-nut. Yes, that made my stomach upset before I even started. It wasn't my usually stomach issues but just an unsettled feeling in my stomach. I think I battled this feeling for 3 hours. My mom and aunt went to the start with me to get some pictures. Then they settled in at camp. My aunt said she probably wasn't as sore as she thought she would be mainly because she had to hop up every time I came around the loop. Sometimes they would be sitting at camp when they saw me and other times they would walk towards me on the loop. They were always ready with something I had told them I might need or want. Because of the stomach issues, I couldn't really get my food intake going as soon as I wanted. Just felt nauseous. It's fun to look at the splits and try to remember if I stopped at the tent and what I had. They had water, diet coke, candy, ginger, pretzels, and powerade for me.
I told them I wanted to be seeing them every 12 minutes or less. When I came around the first time closer to 9, they were really worried. What I hadn't told them was that I was going to run my first lap and then start my run/walk laps. I had about 5-6 good miles even with the stomach bothering me. Then I ran into some mental issues around mile 15. Nothing hurt and I wasn't having any trouble running. I was just having some mental/emotional issue. Who knows why or what it was about? I cried a little and then got up and got going again. They told me another girl I had been running near was also crying at that point so maybe it wasn't as unusual as it felt.
It was a different kind of race then I have ever done. People weren't racing each other, they were racing themselves. It was a hard thing but everyone was in it together. Except for a few serious record breakers, everyone else was run/walking. So chances are when you walked you came up on someone else or someone caught up to you. It was fun hearing their stories and their goals. Since it was a mile loop, you meet up several times and were able to check in with each other's progress and pain. My goal was 20 miles so once I got my 20 miles, I stopped at the tent to put on dry socks and change shoes. I lost 6 minutes on that lap! I walked the last 1 1/2 hours just to see how far I could get. I really think this helped prevent soreness because I really just wanted to sit down in the tent and never move again.
As the race crew monitored your progress they handed you a flag when you came through the tent on what they thought would be your last lap. I was able to make it all the way around and through the tent again with my flag. I crossed the timing mat at 5:58 and then walked what I guess to be about 1/4 of a mile more. At 6 hours, a shotgun went off in the air and we staked our flags at our stopping point so we could get credit for partial laps in the event of a tie. I ended up 5th because another girl also got 24 miles but crossed the mat at 5:56. Looking at our splits today, I was way ahead of her the entire race but she ran her last mile and passed me at some point on the last lap. Maybe I shouldn't have changed shoes!
Right as the race finished the rain clouds opened up and we had to quickly pack up the tent and get everything to the car before the storm got worse.
It was a great race. I really had a good time and am thankful to have had the support I did for my "20" mile training run.
I was going to do my pictures on here but I think I will do a second post with pictures.
The timing of the race was harder for me then I thought. I hadn't really gotten the breakfast I wanted but had instead had a kolache and a do-nut. Yes, that made my stomach upset before I even started. It wasn't my usually stomach issues but just an unsettled feeling in my stomach. I think I battled this feeling for 3 hours. My mom and aunt went to the start with me to get some pictures. Then they settled in at camp. My aunt said she probably wasn't as sore as she thought she would be mainly because she had to hop up every time I came around the loop. Sometimes they would be sitting at camp when they saw me and other times they would walk towards me on the loop. They were always ready with something I had told them I might need or want. Because of the stomach issues, I couldn't really get my food intake going as soon as I wanted. Just felt nauseous. It's fun to look at the splits and try to remember if I stopped at the tent and what I had. They had water, diet coke, candy, ginger, pretzels, and powerade for me.
I told them I wanted to be seeing them every 12 minutes or less. When I came around the first time closer to 9, they were really worried. What I hadn't told them was that I was going to run my first lap and then start my run/walk laps. I had about 5-6 good miles even with the stomach bothering me. Then I ran into some mental issues around mile 15. Nothing hurt and I wasn't having any trouble running. I was just having some mental/emotional issue. Who knows why or what it was about? I cried a little and then got up and got going again. They told me another girl I had been running near was also crying at that point so maybe it wasn't as unusual as it felt.
It was a different kind of race then I have ever done. People weren't racing each other, they were racing themselves. It was a hard thing but everyone was in it together. Except for a few serious record breakers, everyone else was run/walking. So chances are when you walked you came up on someone else or someone caught up to you. It was fun hearing their stories and their goals. Since it was a mile loop, you meet up several times and were able to check in with each other's progress and pain. My goal was 20 miles so once I got my 20 miles, I stopped at the tent to put on dry socks and change shoes. I lost 6 minutes on that lap! I walked the last 1 1/2 hours just to see how far I could get. I really think this helped prevent soreness because I really just wanted to sit down in the tent and never move again.
As the race crew monitored your progress they handed you a flag when you came through the tent on what they thought would be your last lap. I was able to make it all the way around and through the tent again with my flag. I crossed the timing mat at 5:58 and then walked what I guess to be about 1/4 of a mile more. At 6 hours, a shotgun went off in the air and we staked our flags at our stopping point so we could get credit for partial laps in the event of a tie. I ended up 5th because another girl also got 24 miles but crossed the mat at 5:56. Looking at our splits today, I was way ahead of her the entire race but she ran her last mile and passed me at some point on the last lap. Maybe I shouldn't have changed shoes!
Right as the race finished the rain clouds opened up and we had to quickly pack up the tent and get everything to the car before the storm got worse.
It was a great race. I really had a good time and am thankful to have had the support I did for my "20" mile training run.
I was going to do my pictures on here but I think I will do a second post with pictures.
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