ODDyssey Half Marathon

This morning I ran the ODDyssey Half Marathon for the third time.  In 2011 I ran a 2:07 and last year I ran a 2:06.  This has always been a really fun race because of a)the course, b)the costumes (that I don't wear but enjoy looking at), and c)the beer garden!  I signed up to be an "Ambassador" which meant that we would have our own tent, porta-potty, and VIP access to the Beer Garden.  How's that for a win-win-win?

 We potty in style!

I have to admit, I was a *little* disappointed with the Ambassador thing.  It really wasn't as special or exclusive as we'd hoped, since it seemed a little unorganized and the afore-mentioned porta-potty ended up being used by anyone who climbed over the plastic barrier.  Maybe next year I'll put a little more effort into pimping out our VIP area.  Maybe.

Anyway, I felt pretty good going into this race.  Since I'd run it before I knew what to expect (ahem, huge hill at mile 12) and the weather was MUCH more conducive to running than last year's heat & humidity.  I realized on the way to the race that I'd forgotten my Garmin, but I was okay with running naked.  No biggie.  We lined up in our "corral" and were ready to race!

All smiles!  Do you like my new running skirt?  I do!  Why don't I run in compression socks or sleeves?  Seems like everyone else does.

I decided to run with my homegirl Mary, with whom I ran the Trenton Half in November.  She knows I don't talk during races and tells me she's okay with that.  She forgot her ipod so maybe she would've liked to listen to my nonsensical chatter?  Regardless, miles 1-4 were pretty uneventful--straight and downhill. The course changed this year (a notification that was probably in the emails that I didn't read) which meant that at mile 4 we were greeted by an awesome NEW hill.  My pace slowed down considerably but I still felt good.  The course was 99% shaded and it was fun to see all the runners in costumes.  

A guy wearing this costume passed us at mile 2.  I kid you not.  Joe had a beer AND his picture taken with him after the race!  Lucky!

Enter mile 8... My stomach started to feel a little "off".  In my mind I'm thinking "Okay, you only have 5 miles left.  That's not so bad.  You can totally do this." but the "off" feeling got worse and worse until I realized I couldn't power through.  I told Mary at mile 9 that I was making a porta-potty stop.  I was really annoyed that my stomach was so uncooperative but I knew it was my only option.  

After that awesome pit-stop I ran faster than I wanted to catch up with Mary. We ran the rest of the race together, but miles 10-13 were rough.  The ginormous hill at mile 12 sucked so much I walked up it.  By that point I really, truly thought I was going to puke.  Ugh--I HATE feeling so sick and I HATE walking during races even more.  I shuffled my sorry ass across the finish line in 1:59:40--happy to finish under 2:00 but not happy that I wanted to vomit.

You KNOW you're feeling super-craptastic when you SKIP THE BEER GARDEN.  Yes, hell froze over when I passed up free post-race beer.  I just couldn't do it.  I am disappointed in myself for being such a wuss--what if that beer was medicinal and could've healed my stomach ailment?  I say that in hindsight, but in the moment a beer was the LAST thing I wanted.  

Post-race side plank!  On the outside I'm smiling, but on the inside I'm crying because I had to skip the free beer.

Overall this was a fun race.  The new course (minus the new hill) and costumes were awesome, and the free beer (when I'm not on the verge of yakking) is always a plus.  Will I run it next year?  Of course!  AND I'm going to punch my stomach issue in the face!

Thumbs up, private porta-potty!  Thumbs down, stomach issues!

Run the Gates 5-Miler

Yesterday I ran one of my favorite races, the Run the Gates 5-Miler.  This is the fifth time I've run this race.  Here are my results from those races:
2008: 46:43
2010: 51:58 (I'm chalking this up the fact that Shane was only a year old)
2011: 44:14
2012: 41:33 (3rd in my age group!)
And in 2013: 41:33--good enough for FIRST PLACE in my old-lady age group!  SO EXCITED.

Despite the fact that I'd already run this race FOUR times, my dumb brain didn't think to bring a hand-held water bottle with me.  It was HOT.  And considering the weather had been so inconsistent over the past few weeks, my body hadn't adjusted to the warm temperatures yet.  Despite the 120+ ounces of water I'd consumed on Saturday, I felt thirsty and dehydrated by Mile 1.  Multiply that thirst and dehydration by a million billion and that's how I felt at Miles 2, 3, 4, and 5.  Between miles 3-4 there was NO WATER, not even any friendly neighborhood folk spraying their hoses at us like the usually do.  I was grunting and heaving and swearing so loudly I'm surprised the medics didn't come for me.  As I'm dragging my tongue on the ground the jerk guy in front of me had the audacity to dump his water bottle over his head.  What the heck?!?! 

Despite the fact that it was a VERY uncomfortable race, my legs felt like lead, and I wanted to stop and walk numerous times, I think I impressed my kids by sprinting across the finish line.   They'd been playing on the playground all morning and were exhausted and cranky so we left before the awards ceremony.  Any honestly, I felt like my run was so crappy that there was NO WAY I could've placed.  (I felt AWESOME last year and placed third)  SUPER-SURPRISED to find out this morning that I placed first in my age group!  So what if I was the only 34-39 year-old who ran?  I'm thrilled!  (Kidding.)

I'm not smiling because I'm actually happy.  I'm smiling because the race is OVER.

LESSON(S) LEARNED:
1) Self-talk is really powerful.  I was screaming at myself to "DIG DEEP!" without caring who heard!
2) Encouraging others helps YOU.  By telling fellow runners to "Keep going!" and "You got this!" I started to believe it myself.  Go figure.
3) When in doubt, carry water.
4) Don't skip town before the awards.