Friday, I woke up late afternoon and cooked my usual spaghetti dish which I brought to work to have several small meals throughout the night. I was working a 13 hour shift from 6pm-7am. I also brought several choices of clothing to choose from, but had forgotten my WFPS shirt. It didn't matter, since it would have been covered up by my jacket. On my lunch break, I attempted to nap, but managed maybe only 15 min of shut eye, if that.
Morning came and I changed into my running gear before leaving work. I parked on a side street and made my way to the University. It was still dark and pretty chilly out, so I followed the crowd to the gym where the bag drop off was stationed. There, I ran into Janelle who was running a 10k. I left and made my way down the long hall where runners waited to escape the cold. Near the entrance at the end of the long hall, was where I met up with Bryan and Kyle. I wasn't quite sleepy just yet, but knew I was going to have difficulties in this race. 10 min prior to the race arriving and we decided to make our way to the starting line. The sky started to lighten up a bit, as the sun was rising behind the cloudy skies. We met up with Ed, but was unable to find Steph amongst the crowd. The guys lined up in the 2:00 and under block and just prior to the race, I dropped back somewhere in the 2:15-2:30 block. That was being overly ambitious as I just hoped to get under 3:00.
The race started and I got into a decent pace. I could feel myself tiring quickly and took my first rest walk at 15 min. I then attempted to do 5 and 1's, which lasted only 2 cycles and exhaustion started to set in. It was time to throw that strategy out the window and walk as I needed to. As I ran, I noticed Steph running on my left, slowly over taking me. I called her name and I think I ran faster for a bit to run with her. Maybe she slowed down, I don't recall, but we chatted for a short bit before feeling tired again and letting her run back at her own pace. It was a cold day and even rained a bit. I could have used a hoodie under my jacket as well as a second pair of gloves. My finger tips were freezing and often made a fist within the gloves to warm them up a bit. By mile 7, only one third of the way through, exhaustion started hitting me harder and found myself walking a lot more.
In a Facebook discussion with Ed earlier that week, he informed me that they would hand out gel packs at mile 7. I was bringing two of my own. I strategized that I would likely consume that one then and then my two at mile 12 and 17. I know, I know, it's only a 13 mile race, but my mind was thinking in kilometers. So some time in the 10th km, I was wondering where the gel station was and decided to consume one of my own. Shortly after, I arrived at the 7th mile and the gel station was right there as Ed told me. That's when I realized my mistake. I decided to save it for the 10th mile. Throughout the race, several pace bunnies past me, which included the 2:15 and 2:30 bunnies. I was running, in sorts, with several women. I'd pass them while they walked and in turn, they'd pass me while I walked. I decided to consume my gel prior to the 10 mile marker and downed it with some water. I finally reached the 10th mile, but could feel my calf muscles cramping, so I stopped at a tree and stretched them both out. Further ahead, was a water station with port-a-potties. I raced straight to one as I needed to go badly at that point. This was the first time I've had to during a race. Possibly because it was my first colder weather half and in warmer weather I sweat buckets.
I continued to do my run for a bit, walk for a bit routine while catching up on some of the runners that left me behind while I using the facilities. I finally reached the 12th mile marker and took a quick pic. The end was finally nearing. If I hurried, I could probably still make it under 3:00. I picked up the pace a bit and then walked some more In this final stretch, I was able to pass a few more people, including some guy, but found myself walking a lot still. While in a jog, I reached the 13th mile marker and there was 100m left at the turn into the University. I began to run at this point. I looked up at the clock and it was beyond 3:00 by a few minutes. I sprinted anyways (or what felt like a sprint at that point). I think I tried to smile as volunteers cheered me on and camera's took pictures. As I crossed, I received many congratulations and someone placed a medal over my head. I had finally finished.
While trying to catch my breath, I made my way to the post race refreshments tent and bumped into Janelle again. She was amazed that I completed a 13 mile race after having workd 13 hours. At the tent, I got myself a Subway sandwich, chocolate milk, juice, granola and sat down to recover. Probably a mistake, because when I rose, I felt my legs ache. Upon exiting, I grabbed another chocolate milk and the volunteer offered me a 2nd sandwich. I got my picture taken in front of the fire truck and finish line and slowly made my way back to my car. I just wanted to get home and sleep, but there was no way I could move very fast at that point.
At home, I peeled off my layers and had a long, hot shower. My knees were so sore, a soreness that I've never experienced before from running. I could barely bend over to pick up my clothes. It was definitely a struggle. I went to bed, but only slept 2 and a half hours, from 12:30-3pm. When I woke up, at my second sandwich and iced my knees while watching TV. I also did some laundry, which is downstairs and very difficult in my condition, but needed to be done. Some unofficial results were posted and my time was 3:02:37. Confirmed that I didn't finish under 3:00. A bit disappointing, but at least I finished. I was feeling tired, so I iced my knees again in bed and slept from about 7-midnight. Again I woke up feeling a bit better, but iced again. I had 2 ball hockey games the next day and was unsure I'd be able to participate. I slept a 3rd time from 4am-11am. When I got up, I could feel soreness, but nothing really hurt. I was good to go. We won the first game in OT 5-4. I iced between games and tied the 2nd game 2-2 against one of the better teams in the league.
I'm going to take a week off running to recover, but I'm going to try and get back to a regular routine of running going forward. One run a week isn't enough to sustain my running shape. With my shift work and schedule changes, I'm unable to sign up for races until it's closer to the event. As of right now, I'm off for the Santa Shuffle (5k) in December, but will be working during the Hypo Half in Feb. My goal is to prepare for the Hypo Half, in case something changes and I'm able to participate. If not, there will be many options come spring for races.
