Tuesday, April 19, 2011

the oz half. i should change my name.

Based on history and races where I want to do really well, I should really change my name. To Crappy Weather Runner. Seriously. The weather was awful on Saturday morning. Before I ramble on, I will say I did PR at the Oz Half. But not by much, not by enough. I felt like I worked harder and trained for a faster race than what I pulled off on Saturday.

Results:
Official Time: 1:52:48
Garmin Time: 1:52:09 (i had to make a pit stop and forgot to take my watch off of auto pause before the race, but now i know how long it takes me to pee during a race... in a porta-potty covered in explosive diarrhea. not mine mind you.)
7/107 AG
34/516 F
132/836 OA

The thing is that I can make a lot of excuses, the 25 mph+ winds and 26 degree wind chill. Lack of sleep. Stress. Not enough long runs. What have you. But I'm not going to make excuses, as badly as I want to. The truth is, I thought I could do it and I couldn't. I just didn't have it in me on Saturday. I loved the temps Saturday morning, but the wind, while it's something I was prepared for, sucked the life out of me by mile 7. At mile 5 I started having stomach issues for the first time EVER while running. I never have stomach problems, but Saturday oh my. I did. It just wasn't my day. And that's okay, I had a feeling deep down that it wouldn't be my day. It happens. It's called racing. You can't always do what you planned.

I'll share a lot more about the race in my next post. For now I'll just say I finished out the race feeling numb, from my arms and hands to my insides. I was so cold and so out of it after I finished that I couldn't stop shivering for a good hour, and that was after putting on a dry shirt and some sweats. It was awful. I couldn't think straight, during or right after the race. In fact, I still feel cold! And I'm pretty sure I made an incoherent call to the Edder after to prove to myself I wouldn't die. WHAT? I am nothing less than dramatic, people.


So. It wasn't my day, the race didn't go as planned. But. Per usual, I'm going to scrape myself up off the ground (i'm feeling better already in fact), pick myself up and move on to plan B. The Wichita Half marathon. I haven't done it in years, and my fire has been fueled to go and give it a what's what in two weeks. But now I'm doubting my training, doubting my stamina and doubting my ability to run faster. Period. I won't lie, it's rough. I chose to do half marathons this spring thinking it would help me get faster when I return to do a full, and here it is five months after my last half mari PR and it didn't seem to work. Again, I thought I trained harder than what I pulled off. My training didn't work. At least this time. It's a bit depressing.

I'm going to give myself a few days to wallow and then it's back at it. Because if there is one thing I can't do, it's accept defeat in running. Clearly it's a problem with me. Maybe this is a sign I should just stop beating my head against the brick running wall? Nah. The Wichita Half it is my friends. Wish me luck.

15 comments:

Brie @ Brie Fit said...

Sounds like we had the same race on Saturday!

I PRed by 5 seconds. But god, that weather was crappy. I have no doubt that the wind was a huge factor and I could have had a much bigger PR on a better weather day. And yeah, that weather took it out of me bigtime...I had to take a sick day from work Monday!

Great job, anyway!

Pretend this is real said...

Oh no! But here's the thing... sometimes the stars are simply not aligned. Yet, if your BAD race involves a PR, just think what you could do when everything goes right. Don't lose faith. You've got a great race in ya just waiting to come out.

Runshorts said...

I am quite certain a loo filled with explosive poop would significantly reduce my pee time.

Indi said...

You did great!! I have no doubt Wichita Half is in for a butt kicking!!

Marlene said...

One "bad" race does not mean your training didn't work! Suck it up and try again, girl!!

RunToTheFinish said...

the weather has just been a real bear lately.. i'm so sorry for that

Tricia said...

totally feel ya. Same for my 1/2 on saturday. When it came down to it, I just wasnt mentally prepared. It wasnt my day.I'm sucking it up and moving on :)

Lindsay said...

i'm sorry it didn't go well... the blowout porta potty sure didn't help (at least it wasn't yours?).

pick up the pieces and give wichita a beating!

2 Slow 4 Boston said...

First of all, I believe getting your ass kicked at Oz will only serve to harden you and make you better for the ICT half.

Second, running a PR under those unfavorable conditions is a silver lining you should be proud of.

P.S. After doing your business in that diarrhea infested porta-potty, maybe the showers at the YMCA don't sound as bad. :-)

bob said...

Hey, really great blog post… I've enjoyed reading through your blog because of the great style and energy you put into each post. I actually run AceHealth.org, a blog of my personal research and experiences. If you're interested, I would love to have you on as a guest blogger. Please send me an e-mail: bob.mauer65(at)gmail(dot)com, and I can give you more information. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Angie said...

I have to agree about the weather... It was pretty darn windy that day!! Congrats on your PR though!!! Oh and in reponse to your comment on my blog - I LOVE the RTP shirts!!! I mostly love that it's black so I can spill gatorade and water all over myself and not look silly in race pics! Haha :) Are you doing Hospital Hill?

Irene said...

The weather? Meh. What's going on with that???? It looks like the weather conditions should be factored into your time, sort of like a wind chill factor for running.

I'm glad you're already looking ahead. I hope Wichita will be your redemption.

Take care.

Big Daddy Diesel said...

Congrats on the race, I just ran in the same conditions and loved it.

bob said...

Hey, really great blog post… I've enjoyed reading through your blog because of the great style and energy you put into each post. I actually run AceHealth.org, a blog of my personal research and experiences. If you're interested, I would love to have you on as a guest blogger. Please send me an e-mail: bob.mauer65(at)gmail(dot)com, and I can give you more information. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anonymous said...

You are too funny!!! i am glad to hear, that despite it all, you did PR. I am still WAY FAR BEHIND on blogs so forgive me on my belated comments!