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!