Monday, June 22, 2009

Race Report - Garry Bjorklund 1/2 Marathon

Alternate Title: Grandma's Still Hates Me
Alternate Title #2: The Time You Spend in the Porta Potties Still Counts

After getting to bed at 8:30 Friday night, I woke up to my 2:30 a.m. alarm feeling pretty well-rested. I had packed everything Friday night, so all I had to do was get dressed and get myself out the door. I was at my friend Cheryl's by 3:30 and we were off. Once we got to Duluth, we had no problem finding parking, finding the bathroom, and finding the lines for the buses to the start. I felt really good and even had some moments of wishing I was running the full instead of the half.

Sidenote: I decided to go with Outfit #2, the bright pink Addidas tennis skirt and white Nike tank. This was an excellent, trampy choice. But definitely not as trampy as the girl who was wearing a short gray cotton skirt (like the one's you get a Victoria's Secret) that said "Daddy's Girl" across the ass and a matching gray cotton teensy tiny bra. With tramp stamp on full display. This? Was not an attractive look, especially when drenched with sweat. Unless of course this girl reads my blog, in which case, I think your outfit was really cute.

So where were we? Oh yes, the race. We started off and I felt strong and had no problem locking into my 9:00/mile pace. It was warm, but not unreasonable. There were tons of people, but I didn't feel like the dodging was taking too much out of me. At about mile 2, my stomach started complaining. I was able to maintain my pace, but by mile 4 I had to stop at the porta potties RIGHT NOW. With waiting in line and, um, going, my break was just under 4 minutes. But I felt much better and got right back into my groove. I kept telling myself that I would have no problem making up those few minutes.

At mile 6, I took my first Gu. Almost immediately, my stomach started making itself known again. I kept telling myself to just ignore it and keeping running. This became impossible by mile 8, when again I had to stop at the porta potties. This time, my break was nearly 8 minutes. And I felt worse after than I did before. I struggled to get back on pace. By this time, it was also starting to get much warmer, which didn't help.

During mile 9, my stomach started to feel a little better. I had one more Gu with me that I had been planning on taking at mile 10. I spent much of mile 9 debating whether I should take that Gu. I felt like I needed it, but did not want to make any more porta potty stops. Finally, I decided to just take it. With a total of 12 minutes so far in the porta potty, I knew that my time was shot. After the Gu, I was able to finish the race without any further toilet breaks. My last three miles were all under 9:00 miles. Because I was now running in a slower pack, it felt like I would just get into a groove and then hit a wall of people. The dodging took a lot out of me and felt much worse than it did at the start of the race.

About half a mile from the finish, I ran around a corner and had some girls yell, "Cute skirt." Then I heard some people yelling, "Go Heather!" I looked and had no clue who they were. So maybe they were cheering for another Heather. Whatever. I waved and smiled. I'll take what I can get.

I turned the final corner and felt a mini-rush from all the people cheering on both sides of the road. But mostly I felt disappointment because I was so far from my goal. I crossed the line in 2:14:48. Not a personal worst, but close. Fourteen minutes and forty-nine seconds worse than my goal. The part of me that knows I am capable of a sub-2:00 half was very disappointed. But for the most part, I have come to accept that I did the best I could given the crappy (literally) circumstances. And now I've got to work my ass off to get that sub-2:00 in Mora in August.

The best part of the race? Coming home to find Sophie down for a nap. I had time to shower and lay down and take a half hour nap myself!

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had an unpleasant 25K several years back that was brought on by some ill-mixed Gatorade at the first water stop.

I think the good news is that first you are a trooper and second, based on your report and especially your bathroom breaks, a sub-two hour marathon is right around the corner.

tfh said...

Congratulations on finishing, even if the time was disappointing-- those crappycrappy days happen, and I'm sorry yours coincided with the race. However, if you did that well despite tummy issues/breaks, I think a sub 2 in August is in the cards!

Marlene said...

Toilet troubles suck! Sorry that your tummy totally foiled your sub-2:00 plans. Sometimes sh*it happens. :p

Congrats on hanging in there and completing the race!

Anonymous said...

Doesn't sound like you had a fun race at all. Your time still rocked considering the circumstances. Stomach issues are the worst since they sneak up on you. You'll get your sub 2.

Sarah said...

Stomach issues during races just stink. :) I had issues like that with my run on Sunday...yuck!

I can't even imagine that girl's crazy outfit...very strange. I wonder what her time was. :) I a, sure you looked cute in your trampy one. :)

Running Through Life said...

Good for you for finishing with those unfortunate circumstances. It sounds like you had difficulty beyond your control. I am sure you will get the sub 2:00 the next time.

I Run for Fun said...

You are such a tough one, to keep going. Congrats on finishing and getting another 1/2 under your belt. I would have given up, no question about that. I hate it when toilet issues get in the way.

joyRuN said...

GAH! Unfortunate potty time :(

Don't worry though. If you felt comfy with the pace, that sub-2 will be yours next time!

RunMommyRun said...

Aren't unexpected naps the best??

Sorry you didn't go sub-2. Potty stops suck! I keep wondering when Grandma's will have decent weather again. 4 years running now...heat and humidity! Yuck.

I bet you will kick major ass at Mora! And glad you ran in outfit #2 - trampy, but less trampy than Victoria McTrampy. :)

Jeri said...

Hey now, I was Daddy's Little Girl!!!! jk Hahah. Sorry for the crappy (literally) race. :( At least you know that by August (assuming no bathroom issues) you should break 2 hours for SURE. All that extra training and hard work will pay off.

Aron said...

lol at the daddys girl skirt - gray cotton is the WORST possible thing to wear running.

sorry your stomach was acting up, that is never fun :( you still did great and pushed through to the finish. you definitely have a 2 hour half in you!!

Ali said...

stomach issues are the worst. I've had them many times, so I literally feel your pain. It's still a great time. You'll break 2hrs in August!

Erika said...

Sorry your body didn't cooperate. I know a race like that is in my future. ;o)

Good job doing as well as you did, under the circumstances.

MCM Mama

Mel-2nd Chances said...

yuk, sorry to hear your body had alternate plans, but congrats on finishing!! Seems like this is a tough race for many! So happy you got a quick nap afterwards though :)

Anonymous said...

Nice job on finishing, and with a decent time to boot. GU-related stomach issues are just the worst. You are definitely going sub-2:00 with your next attempt.

M2Marathon said...

Great job finishing it out...at the first sign of tummy trouble, I pretty much head for the hills! And I SO hate that porta-pottie time counts; I think it should be subtracted because, hey, you're not actually running (unless, you are "running" if you know what I mean and in that case you should DEFINITELY get to subtract it) when you're in there.

I know how it feels to want to hit sub 2:00 and not quite get there...but you will, I just know it!