prairieman: run
i felt like i was given a second chance at this race coming into T2, somehow recovering from my rookie mistake earlier on. and i felt that i couldn't blow this opportunity before me. i strapped on my glasses, sun runner, and camelbak, and set off. k wished me well as i took to the roads.
with temps in the low 90s and no cloud nor tree in sight, i had no choice but to go out easy. i knew from training that i was no heat warrior. i set out to reach mile one in 10 minutes, and see how it felt. certainly that pace is a large departure from the norm, but given the circumstances it seemed right. besides, i already learned my lesson about going out to fast two hours ago.
mile one came by around 11 minutes. i stopped at the aid station, and figured the best that i could do here was to ice down. ice in the hat, ice down the singlet. my tucked singlet enabled a belt of ice to form around my waist, making me feel downright chill. i figured that if i was feeling chilly, i must be doing something right. that, or i was suffering from heatstroke. given that i could easily do arithmetic in my head, i figured it wasn't the latter.
nature called before mile two, and i came to discover that the liquid diet that i had been on for the past 4 hours had consequences. i would suffer from minor diarrhea throughout the next 24 hours, but it wasn't anything that would keep me from running (save the occassional stop).
mile two came by on schedule. so did mile three. at this stage of the race, the course goes out-and-back on joe pool dam. there are no spectators out here. the only sights out here are the participants, race staff and a road that stretches out straight ahead until it disappears from view.
many warned of the mentally brutal nature of this run. i can't explain it, but this WORKED for me. i felt so good, so strong out there. i encouraged people along, clapped as people on the return trip came by. joked with the volunteers. walked with participants having a tougher time. every time i got to a mile i would stop, ice up, take a pulse check and think "one more mile? you bet your life i'm making it to the next mile."
it felt AWESOME to turn around at mile 7. there weren't too many runners to see on the return, for i was certainly near the back of the pack. it got quiet--quiet to the point where if i would have dropped from exhaustion, it might have been another 5-10 minutes before another person would come by. but i loved it. me, the sun, and the road. with my hat keeping me shaded and camelbak keeping me hydrated, i tucked the brim low and aimed at the vanishing point. every mile just slipped away in an instant. i thought about those folks at badwater, wondered how they do this in much hotter temps for much (MUCH) longer distances. maybe someday. heh.
with k, kim and jt at the finish, i was pumped to get back home and finish. a massive two-leg cramp at stop #12 kept me humble for the last mile, but didn't worry too much about it once it loosened up.
i was certainly whipped at the post-race. the finisher's shirts were stored in a cooler of ice water, which i appreciated more than any medal that they could have given out. rushes of joy, satisfaction and utter disbelief flashed over the course of the next hour. even today, flashes of disbelief occur every now and then.
2:24:35 (1102/mi)
=======
0854
1006
0815
1346
1142
1206
1125
1127
1133
1008
1159
1305
0927
0042
6:49:07 overall finish time
===========================
167th of 215 overall
18th of 19 30-34 males
Post a Comment