My official time for the marathon yesterday is in, and according to the website I managed to scrape through in 4:46:02. While this didn’t top my goal of sub-4:45, it’s still a personal best and I’m not going to be disappointed about it. I managed it, never hit the wall, and while I took several short walk breaks (of no more than a minute at a time) I’m going to stick to my guns and tell the world with no misgivings that I ran that bitch. I RAN the shit out of that bitch.
The first thirteen or so kilometres of the run were easier than I’d hoped, and even verging on fun. This is for one reason: Distraction. I had my best running buddy along for the ride, running her first half-marathon. It’s amazing how much more awesome things can be with an awesome running buddy to annoy. I feel bad that I fucked up the first couple of minutes of her race with my garmin mishaps, but I’m so proud that she managed to finish her first half in the time she wanted. Two thumbs up, you awesome lady, you!
Yeah, garmin mishaps. So now I’m going to bitch and whine about my reliance on technology and how I’d love to be one of those runners who can just strap on shoes (or not even that, barefoot runners are pretty hardcore) and run out the door of a morning, but I know that any such thing would be at least semi-bullshit. I need my time, my heart rate, my pace. Without that, I’m blind and even stupider than usual. So when we started the race, and my garmin still hadn’t found the freaking satellite, I had no other option (in my mind, at least) than to stop and wait for the little bastard to get a signal. Maybe lost a minute. No big deal, but I freaked the fuck out. And I didn’t get an accurate time for the race. It doesn’t really matter. But in any case, sorry ‘bout that, Dina.
After the half-marathon turn-around point, I plugged in my headphones, cranked some Flock of Seagulls and tried not to focus on the fact that I was already in a bit of pain. My knees weren’t too bad, my right leg had been giving me issues for a couple of days but it wasn’t too bad, however I was still a bit hurty and I can’t put my finger on how. I chugged my first gel at about twelve kms, did a second at about the 20k mark. Don’t recall where I hit the third, but I know I did four in total. Ended up coming home with four gels in my bumbag, and only two of them were ones I’d brought with me.
Here I am, at the halfway point. I love this sign.
Best thing about this whole escapade is that when I hit 31 kms, I was expecting that it was only a matter of time before I fizzled out. But the marker passed, and the next, and the next, and I was still running. Even at the end, I hadn’t walked more than four or five times. I did go blind at one point, at least temporarily. Glycogen depletion is a bitch. My vision greyed out, and my brain wouldn’t interpret the things I was seeing. Things went a little migraine-y. I felt dizzy, drunk. Does this mean that I bonked and don’t even want to acknowledge it? I don’t think so, but some of these symptoms match up with hypoglycaemia, so maybe I did. But I was still running.
The end hurt. My back, my hips. The last two kilometres were pure hell, and I kept wanting to walk it in, maybe dash the last hundred metres, but people who ran by me kept on pushing me forward. Saying that I’d be cheating myself. Come on, you can do it. I ran, even though I was sobbing with pain and the anticipation of relief. I ran, and I finished.
Had to take today off work because when I tried to get out of bed this morning, I just couldn’t. A day of diligent, painful stretching has led to legs that are somewhat functional (although sitting down and standing up still means a little bit of yelping) but my hips are still painful, and my back is a minefield of agony. Those stretchy bandages are a wonder though, for my legs. I wish they had stuff like that for my back.
Maybe I need a massage. I can’t really afford a massage.
Moral to this story: I am an idiot who deserves everything she gets. But hell, I’m an idiot who has run two marathons. So screw you, sensible person!
No problemo! I had such an awesome time. I'm thinking of doing the SMH half on the 20th of May, the day before I fly out to London... I want a better time!
ReplyDelete