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Monday, December 03, 2007

Crappy Run...Literally

My second attempt at the Las Vegas Marathon was Sunday. Vowing to never do a full again, I did the half. 13.1 miles; still a lengthly distance and still difficult. But when you see the 6 mile marker, you're almost half-way done. So it's a good mental boost.

I knew I'd be on my own since Justin is faster than me and has done maybe three training runs at my pace. And my other partner injured herself as did her husband (who was to run with Justin) so they stayed back and took it easy. So we were on our own.

A few things I did differently with this run that cost me:

1. I didn't take the two nights before it seriously like I did with long distance runs while training for the full marathon. Nothing greasy, no beer, lots of water, sleep and stretching. I just thought, "eh, I've done 10 milers with no prep, I'll be fine!"

2. No headphones. I thought, "eh, I'm running in a big crowd, I don't need them!" The most boring part of the race was the second half. Why is that?

3. Not taking any precautionary meds with me. When I did the full, I had a few Advil and some Immodium in my pocket for emergencies. I didn't even have pockets this time! Stopping 4 times at the scarce port-o-potties was not fun or time saving.

4. Only hitting the restroom once before the race. See above.

Things I did differently this time that was rewarding:

1. Since my husband ran and we've got connections, he was able to put the medal on me when I crossed the finish line. That was sweet.

2. I wore pants not shorts. So I didn't freeze.

3. I had the endurance to run from water station to water station. Or from port-o-potty to port-o-potty. However you look at it. On the full, I was done at mile 20. And when I was done I mean done, I didn't want to take another step.

4. I didn't sleep the day away. I slept maybe 30 minutes and hung out the rest of the day. And I came into work today!

Do I have a sense of accomplishment? Maybe. I'm not really sure because it was a crappy run and I know I could have done better. But I finished. I guess there will be other runs out there, but I won't let people talk me into them either. I love the idea of doing races like that, but it's the training that I feel takes over my life for 6 months or longer. I'd rather casually train for something longer than 6 months so it doesn't seem so daunting.

Yesterday, when we got home, we watched the recording of the event, Justin asked, "I don't know how you did the full."

Honestly, I'm surprised too.

6 comments:

Michael said...

In any event, it's impressive that you made it all the way through. I'm surprised that headphones were even an option for you. I hear that most races (Twin Cities, included) have outlawed them.

Jessi said...

Thanks. Ya it seems tons of marathons don't allow them. I understand why. But you know Las Vegas, we let people pee in our streets on a daily basis and on marathon routes.

Which reminds me... about the 4 mile mark, men were peeing everywhere. No shame. Nothing shocking really but when I saw a woman squat with nothing covering her (not even the little shrub could help her) I had seen it all.

I didn't stick around to see what the outcome was.

Writinggal said...

Congrats, Jessi! I think it's awesome that you did it without headphones.

In fact, here is an interesting article on the subject.

Jessi said...

It's funny you mention the gels. During the full I was told we'd have gels at mile 13. When I got there they were out. I of course took a banana.

It doesn't require water to make it go down.

GeeeeK said...

I find it funny that a mix of timing plus some information from you lead me to the Road Runners and the idea of running the LV Marathon. Then, in the end, it was me that talked you, Justin, Chris, Nita and I think even Matthew in to doing the race.

I learned quite a lot during yesterday's run (uh, walk).
- getting injured during the final lead-up to the race sucks!
- running in a very, very large group is a lot of fun.
- when one leg is injured, your other leg will try to make up the difference, even when just walking.

With my first half-marathon behind me, I can no longer say that I'm blissfully ignorant to the experience. WHEN I sign up for the Road Runners next year, I will know full well what I am getting myself in to. And, next time I will have an actual goal OTHER than just finishing the race. I want to run it in less that 2:30:00. We shall see how that goes.

Congrats Jessi.

Tony, the Restless Foodie said...

Hey-Runny Girl! I'm so proud of you for training and running! I know I would have died after the 1st potty stop! You so ROCK!