Tuesday, January 15, 2008

26.2 times 7

It's OVER I finished. I finished my 7th marathon, my fifth Houston one. But it was not pretty. If you want to know how to have a crappy race, then here's the formula. NOTE** My damn desktop won't let me upload pics to this blog..so I have no photos to share..shit shit shit shit.... Pinkgurugal's Anti-Marathon Recipe 1) don't train 2) suffer a terrible chest cold the week leading up to the race 3) eat late (like at 9pm) the night before the race 4) roll out of bed 25 minutes before the race 5) eat 3 bites of oatmeal and 3 sips of coffee heading to the race 6) and ... SKIP that all important "Number 2 bathroom break" This was the least prepared I've ever been. Being sick didn't help. Neither did being burned out from the 2007 race season. Oh yes, and I quit my job and fell in love. I think the latter played a part, but I'll take that over all of this. Pinkgurugal's Play by play Why did I get up so late? Well.... it was cold and the bed was felt so good. I'm not a morning person. But when I finally rolled out of bed, I realized... I cant eat a whole bowl of oatmeal so close to the race start. After Rob dropped me off at 7:00am (when the gun went off), I managed to start with the second marathon wave at 7:10. Things were going fine, I stayed with the 4:15 pack for the first 15 miles. Then it went downhill from there. For the next 11 miles, I went from a 9:36 pace to ultimately, a 10:30 minute pace. I was tired, my legs were soooo heavy, and my knees felt so numb. Thankfully, I literally ran into a friend who was running at my increasingly slowing pace. By mile 21-22, I was so tired. In years past, I always had some reserve left in my tank, and I could usually step up the pace. Not this year. It took everything in me to run it in. Memorable Marathon Moments 1) I high fived with President George Bush and Babs, who were watching the marathoners go by in front of their church. 2) Thank God for Joe Martin who kept me company while I was dying out there. 3) Saw the Chelly (my best friend Kelly) smoke by me (she did a "training" half marathon in 1:34!) 4) I Saw Rob, his son John and Trigreyhound at mile 7. It's always fun to see people you know 5) TriRyguy took some pics at mile 22. I can't download them for some reason 6) The belly dancers were at their usual mile 20. (I like seeing them) 7) The weather was PERFECT 8) The finishers shirts were cool. Accolades Congrats to everyone who raced, including my good friend Joe Philips, blog nemesis Red Allez Guy (who bought a race entry and was Neil Cheng) Sugar Daddy Philip Shama, and lastly, Ironbabe Jane for finishing her FIRST marathon. You go Jane! Cheers and happy training! "Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen." --Mark Twain

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

The belly dancers creeped me out...

What I'm having??? a boy??? or did you mean insecure deep thoughts??

You did well considering... Congrats on #7...

Tarabay said...

Oh, thats not anonymous.. BTW

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear that you are feeling somewhat better AND completed. Congrats. I had an ice hockey game. While you do need to be in shape for that I could never run 26miles. Good for you! Nice to see you had your support cast out there for you. Anonymous: Sorry I creeped you out with my belly dancing. John (JP)

KCWoodhead said...

It was good to see you during the race! Thanks for the encouraging words...they helped me on my way to a 42 minute pr.

Anonymous said...

Don't forget Sugar Daddy Philip Shama. He raced and looked marvelous in his matching black garb. I hear he has the same trainer as "The Rocket".

greyhound said...

Gee, you looked great at mile 7.

But then, there were those other 19 or so miles I guess.

Anonymous said...

Congrats. You did great,You had a goal and you accomplished it. i know you think you had a shit day but just think, You were one of only a few thousand who had /has what it takes to enter and finish the marathon. there were 250,00 people who lined the streets just to see you,another 2 million watching on tv. You go gurl. i leave you with this, paste it to your address bar and listen. it is you all over....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGCy0Hb4Pmg

The Stretch Doc said...

wow what a race experience..
I was out there with my TNT group..
ran the first 9.5, then doubled back on the half course to the 11/24 mile marker and cheered my peeps on!! then ran in with a special gal!! then I ended up running about 17 and then had to fly out that night!! What a trip!!

rockon`

pinkgurugal said...

Thanks for the nice words! Maybe next year I will train ... Or maybe not! guys. for

Jessica, a Austin Runner AND triathlete said...

congrats on finishing...onwards to tri training...once we both get to feeling better:)

damn girl i need to link to your blogspot!