Well, after having the worst running/racing day of any kind in the history of my fitness effort, I decided to pick back up here at the blog so I can pick up the pieces and get back on track. I ran Des News last Thursday and got my a** handed to me. Nothing went right that day for me - but I sort of had it coming. After having a great year thus far:
New PR in half marathon
Ran first Ultra (Moab Red Hot)
New PR in 10k
Great day at Boston Marathon
Squaw Peak 50 miler
New PR in 5k
Almost every event I have done this year has been great, then I did the Ragnar Relay. Something happened after my 2nd leg (6.4 miles starting at Echo Res @ 4:00am) and I injured my right hip. I didn't think anything of it. But it didn't go away and over the 4 weeks leading up to Des News, I ran only 3 or 4 times no more than 9 miles. And at the start of the Marathon, my hip was still bothering my just a little bit - that and the nagging thought that I was probably undertrained.
Well, the race started and after 2 miles, my hip wasn't bothering me at all and I really felt great. I didn't even feel like I was pounding the crap out of my legs although that is exactly what I was doing (5:51 & 5:43 1st & 2nd miles). I thought I'd take some medicine so I slowed down to just under 7 minute miles in the hopes of not ruining my race too early. Anyway, long story short, my legs did pretty well but after coming out of emigration and feeling a little nauseous, I started dry heaving at 18 and then just vomiting at around 19. I'm starting to think this may have had something to do with what I ate the night before since my wife got sick too after a run she went on Weds evening after we had dinner. But I think I was more dehydrated that I realized at the time.
Was I the only one who thought this was an exceptionally hot race - even in the morning?
I'm from SLC so this weather is not by any means new to me, I've even run Des News before albeit only once. But I recall coming down emigration - 1 to 1.5 hours into the race - and there was sweat dripping off the brim of my hat. I know I had not been dumping water on my head at that point, but I did notice every couple hundred yards a drip or two off the brim of my hat. Given the conditions at that point - you've been running in complete shade, it is only about 7am and you're running downhill, not exerting an unusual amount of energy - to be sweating enough to be soaking my hat seems like it was probably hotter than I thought.
Anyway, this race will go down as a "lesson learned" experience. By the end, I was badly blistered having made a poor choice in shoe selection, legs felt like Jell-O with rebar inside, and I was laying on the grass in Liberty Park trying not to get any of my own bile on me! I think I'll wear this Des News t-shirt on every run between now & SG to remind me to prepare better this time (now that Des News finally got a cool shirt).
Now I just need to get all healed up and get back out there. The only positive from the race was that my hip is not bothering me, I think it is fully recovered. Now it's time to start gearing up for St. George and the Ironman after that in November!
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