Learning Experiences

Yesterday we officially ran our first ‘real’ race – 13.1 miles of pure bliss. Actually, I break it into one and two mile increments to carry me through. The competitive spirit I am, I told Little B on Friday night that I wanted to finish in two hours flat. Whoa! Who knew two hours could be so hard. Who also knew that our Nike Plus things would end up being two full miles off by the end of the race. Seriously, this is B.S.! Now I’m wondering if we have ever really been running as fast or as far as we thought? Nonetheless, all is well. Looking back on the race, here are the little tidbits (chalk ‘em up as learning experiences) that I took away:

1-Don’t try to run too fast. We ran our first mile at 8:40. I thought we were on pace to hit our new target (which would include us running a 9 minute average), but little did I know that it wasn’t going to happen. Instead, as the miles piled on I was being lapped by older and far chubbier women than me. In fact, I think I got passed by one of the members of the Orlando Walking Club. I found myself fixating on runners ahead of me and trying to keep up with the pace they were setting. When I would lose my pacesetter I would just find a new person to fixate on. I guess that kind of defeats the purpose of having a pacesetter, but whatever. At one point I heard a runner shout out about finding a certain song on her iPod. It was my friend, Ingrid. She’s got long legs and only weighs five pounds, so she trotted on past me. About five miles later while I was running alongside little B, Ingrid passed us again. I looked at Mandy with ‘wtf’ written all over my round red face and she tells me that Ingrid stopped to go to the potty. JUST GREAT – Ingrid stopped to pee and then lapped us again. This sport sucks for a highly competitive, type-A novice!

2- Do not spit outside the course boundaries. Some runners spit while some do not. Little B and I happen to be spitters. I prefer to spit directly onto the ground in front of me. In fact, I often find myself leaning forward to spit. I do this so that I don’t accidently spit on anybody else and so that I can control the velocity at which the spit smacks the ground. Just that little bit of control gives me a sense of empowerment – like I can get through yet another mile. Around mile 8 or 9, I was running alongside Mandy (I always run on her right side) when she decided it was time to get rid of the phlegm. At the exact moment she tilted her head slightly back and to the left and as the phlegm was leaving her mouth, an Orlando Police Officer rolled up aside her on his Harley Davidson motorcycle. To avoid the projectile the officer had to slam on his brakes. It was a close call and a huge conversation point for the runners behind us. I ran a few feet in front of Mandy for the next few miles.

3- Do not watch other people throw up! Mile 11 or so I noticed runners starting to drop. First I saw a man that had taken a tanker on the uneven brick pavement. His face had blood on it and he was resting alongside the curb awaiting paramedics. Mile 12 there was a younger woman (looked perfectly fit to me) lying on the side of the road projectile vomiting everywhere! She was crying and they were putting an IV into her arm. I had to turn my head. The thought of it nearly put me over the edge. When I finally came across the finish line (2hrs 18min) I didn’t notice any additional vomit BUT as we were walking to the beer tent I saw it – people just throwing up as they cross the finish line. There are actually people there to put sand on the puke so that other runners don’t step on it. Seriously folks, this is only the half marathon. If this is what is happening now, what’s it gonna be like when we do the full 26.2? Holy Cow!!

4- Be careful in the beer tent. Apparently your body absorbs alcohol a little different after a big run. Straight to my head it went!

So there are only 30 or so days left until the BIG day. This weekend is a reindeer 5K on Saturday and then a 20 miler with the team on Sunday. Next weekend Little B and I may go to Jacksonville for another Half. Then it’s the holidays and our big race. I’m a little tender in the muscles today, so I cannot imagine what it is going to feel like come the day after the full 26.2. I actually got up this morning and got into the pool (62 degrees) to see if I could calm my muscles.