Nutri-Run 20k recap

First off, thank you for those of you who have left me positive comments the last week or two.  I have made some major improvements as far as where I am mentally and emotionally.  It's definitely not something that I can say I have totally resolved, but I am getting better.

Saturday I had my dreaded 20k.  I say dreaded because it was a relatively small race that didn't have any port-a-potties along the route.  I am a runner who finds comfort knowing there are bathrooms along the way just in case.   During 2 of my 3 half marathons I have stopped twice, so a 12.4 miles with no options was a bit scary.  Add to that the weather/time considerations and I was a basket case. The race was at 11 am, which is 3-4 hours later than I typically do my long runs and with our unseasonably warm weather I had no clue what to expect. 

I woke up Saturday morning with a massive headache.  Luckily, a dose of tylenol did a good job keeping it under wraps when I was running.  The weather, while warm, wasn't too unbearable and the rain held off so I was pretty excited about that.  I don't have a mile by mile breakdown of this race as I just wasn't into it mentally.  I tried to just enjoy the run the best that I could, but it was just not my day. I know I ran pretty strong the first 3-4 miles, probably TOO strong.  Then I started having some real pain in my foot.   I took a few walk breaks and it sort of screwed up my rhythm.  

I chose not to take any sort of fuel because I was worried about my stomach causing me problems. I also severely limited my Gatorade and even water intake.  For the whole race I think I took in about 4 oz of Gatorade and 8 oz of water.   Somewhere towards the middle of the race I started to have cramping in my stomach so I would run until I couldn't anymore and then walk.  Unfortunately walking actually hurt my foot worse, so I spent the last 5-6 miles of the race deciding whether to run dealing with stomach cramps or walking with pain so intense it brought tears to my eyes.  I tried my best to stay positive but it was REALLY hard.

That being said, I wasn't terribly disappointed in my time.  It wasn't quite what I was hoping for, I had told my hubby I wanted to finish in 1:55 and I ended up finishing in 1:56 and some change.  So, VERY close, especially given the conditions I was dealing with.

I am actually quite embarrassed by how inconsistent these splits are.  I really need to work on pacing myself better.  I think I would have settled in to about a 8:50 mile if it hadn't been for the foot and stomach issue.  Ah well, there's always next time.  **note:  I forgot to stop my watch, the last split time should be about 90 seconds less.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	1:57:40.1	12.42	9:28
1	8:10.2	1.00	8:10
2	8:31.6	1.00	8:32
3	8:31.0	1.00	8:31
4	8:42.8	1.00	8:43
5	9:17.0	1.00	9:17
6	9:38.7	1.00	9:39
7	9:09.0	1.00	9:09
8	8:46.6	1.00	8:47
9	10:36.6	1.00	10:37
10	9:37.1	1.00	9:37
11	10:15.6	1.00	10:16
12	11:04.4	1.00	11:05
13	5:19.6	0.43	12:29

Overall, it was a fun race experience.  The first 300 finishers got a loaf of Panera bread and a commemorative glass that we could fill with smoothies inside.  The age group winners were awarded pineapples, too bad I wasn't even close this race!  My one disappointment was that it felt like the majority of the runners were FAST.  Typically I finish about middle of the road at worst, and at this race I was near the bottom.  It doesn't really matter, I am only competing against myself.  BUT, at the same time it felt weird. 

My official time was 1:56:11.2  and overall I came in 6th of 7 in my age group and I think 114 of 139 overall.  Not overly impressive, but I will take it.  I am proud that I didn't give up even when I thought I couldn't move another inch.   And, it was great to see my running buddies!  

Last but not least, a few pictures! :)