I didn't get a whole lot of training in over the summer. My "healthy" lifestyle took a little bit of a nose dive. It was just so hot and so humid, all you could do was be lazy. I couldn't even enjoy the gym because it wasn't air conditioned "enough". As an aside, I'm hyperthyroid, so I'm really heat sensitive. The temperature has been turned down a good 10 degrees, so I'm looking forward to getting back on track.
I did manage to get 68 kilometres run in July, 49 in August as as of this writing, I'm already 63 for September. My longest runs in July and August were a 12.7k and a 15k.
With the Maritime Race looming, I knew I had to get my butt in gear. I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to finish the 21 kilometres with the little training that I did have. I had to run a 21 before my race to know that I could still run it. I ran it on September 6th. 3 hours and 10 minutes I think. So I was going to be ok for the race. But I did manage to hurt my IT band on the left side. And it seems I had pinched a nerve in my right foot that was hurting my middle toe. That's an odd injury. So I iced and stretched my IT band and I heated and iced my foot.
The days leading up to the race, I managed 2 5k's and a 10k. I was feeling pretty good.
Physically, I was still having some ITB issues and that pinched nerve actually only really bothered me if I hit a rock the wrong way. I did a lot of RICEing. And stretching and taping.
Nutritionally, I kept my fiber and fat content really low for the two days prior to the race. I think that actually helped with the stomach issues.
Emotionally, it was a terrible week. I wasn't sleeping well, I had a family emergency on Thursday. Friday night I had less than 4 hours sleep and had a full out mental breakdown at 4 am. Not pretty at all.
But Race day came and I hit the road about 6:30am. It was a nice day. Some clouds. A little cool. Perfect for a run.
Lots of people around.
When I got there I headed for the mile long line for the porta potties. ( they definitely need more of these next year)
About 2 minutes before the gun I decided to take my chances, and headed for the start line.
I was actually surprised at how fast we got out of the gate.
The first 5k was actually pretty rough. My foot started hurting pretty bad. After that though, I guess my foot went numb.
The next 11 km went really well. Haha! I scared a runner with my heavy breathing at the bottom of that crazy hill at about 11 k. I was actually passing people through these 11 km, that kept me pretty motivated.
The last 4 were also kinda crappy. That's when my ITB started acting up. My pace got way slower and I started getting passed. It was pretty painful. A lot of walking. However I did manage the last 2.5 k pretty well. I pushed and passed the two ladies again and managed to catch one more. And even though I was in pain I actually finished it running. And I had absolutely ZERO tummy troubles. ZERO! At one point I thought I was going to but I switched from the Gatorade back to water and didn't eat anymore gu.
And oh boy did it ever get hot by the time I finished. I started the race in my swag long sleeved tshirt and ended in my sports bra. Really sexy. NOT!
Oh yea. And then I proceeded to change my clothes under a towel. I think I only flashed a little. *eyeroll*
All in all it was a good race.
A couple of disappointments. I mentioned the lack of enough ports potties. Also the drivers in the Passage were way too fast. And had zero patience for the event that was happening in their community.
I was also really disappointed in the huge disproportion of goodies in the swag bags between events. I know it's not just about the swag, but it was kind of insulting, if you ONLY ran a half or a full marathon.
Gotta add some good. The organizers and volunteers did a great job. Every water station had at least one person that called you by name. That is huge. For a premier event there were quite a few spectators along the route. The route itself was really nice. I'm glad I live close enough to run it again.
I think I've posted enough of this race.
Start.
Finish.
