Tough Race Moments
I don't race a lot, but I used to race more often than I do now! I have many great memories that I wouldn't trade for anything. I wouldn't even want to trade the tough moments because they are the things that prepared me for the NEXT tough moment- which will always happen! Today, I'd like to share some of the TOUGHEST moments I have experienced out on the race course.
My First Marathon
Harrisburg, 2006
4:26:54
I was so excited to run this race! Even though it pretty much poured the entire time, I was still excited to run my FIRST FREAKING MARATHON!
Toughest Part: Miles 20-26. Every single muscle in my legs hurt. At one point, I found myself all alone by Italian Lake and I started crying. I thought to myself, "I could just keel over and die right now and no one would even notice because no one is around!" Yes, I get very dramatic when I am in that much pain! The last several miles of the race are along the Susquehanna River and my mother-in-law told me to just keep my eye on the bridge. That's the finish line. Well, it was so rainy and foggy that I couldn't see the bridge until I was practically on it. That really messed with my mind.
Running along the river... wishing I could see the bridge!
Yah, that's a cotton jacket. I didn't know what I was doing back then.
My First BQ
Philadelphia, 2008
3:38:56
What a day! There is nothing like your first BQ! Especially when you had to work really hard for it. I'm not a "wake up and BQ" type of person. I have to be in the best shape of my life to hit that mark.
Toughest Part: The last 4 miles. I really didn't think I was going to make it. There was so much lactic acid built up in my quads. I could feel my calves twitching and it freaked me out. I had to stop and walk several times during the last 4 miles. Even as I got closer and closer to the finish, it seemed like it was farther and farther away. This was the most I ever hurt during a race. After I crossed the finish line, I was shaking and several strangers came over to make sure I was okay.
I looked like hell but I was sooooo happy!
My First Ultra
Phunt 50k
Somewhere in Maryland and Delaware
6:35:00 (ish... not sure exactly)
After running several marathons, I thought, what the hell, I may as well do a 50k. All my friends were doing it! However, the course was covered in snow and mud, and the temperatures were freezing!
Toughest Part: Going off course somewhere around Mile 20 and having to back track a bit. It was so disheartening. I was cold, tired, and just wanted to be done! I was so happy to see the finish line, but was extremely surprised that there was literally no one there cheering on the finishers. Everyone was more worried about getting warm and eating. After this race, I learned to not expect to have anyone cheer for you when you finish an ultra!
That's me bundled up in the sunglasses with some of my friends. We posed by the port o john because we sponsored it. Hahaha!
My First Relay
Laurel Highlands
Western PA
I ran the last two sections of the 70 mile relay. My part equaled just over 24 miles. I was properly fueled, had my flashlight for when it got dark, and was ready to rock and roll! I was so excited because I heard my sections of the course were going to be beautiful! Physically, I felt fabulous during this race!
Toughest Part: Realizing around Mile 2 that I was going to have to entertain myself for about four and a half hours. You see, I envisioned making friends with people on the trail and chatting with them. However, by this point in the race, all of the runners were very thinned out and the only time I saw someone was when I was passing them or they were passing me. 90% of the time, I was all alone. I didn't bring my mp3 player with me because I wasn't expecting that.
My beautiful section of trail at Laurel.
Tell me about one of your toughest race moments!
Did you ever get lost on a course?
Ever finish a race and no one nearby cared? Haha!
Ugh that 90 degree half sounds very challenging and borderline dangerous!
ReplyDeleteThese are some awesome accomplishments! The Houston marathon was tough for me because it was pouring rain the whole time. Also Baltimore was though, I hit the wall at mile 15 and struggled the rest of the way.
ReplyDeleteUgh that is a long time to go past the wall! I have been there though!
DeleteYou are awesome!
ReplyDeleteYou are too kind!
DeleteThank you for posting this! As I gear up for Chicago it is SO helpful to read about other people's tough races. I've been searching out race recaps where people just felt like hell so that if/when I get to that point in Chicago I have some ammunition to keep pushing.
ReplyDeleteToo bad we couldn't dial into you Garmin and send you voice messages!
DeleteMy Garmin displays text messages! I remember towards the end of Portland I was receiving encouraging texts but I didn't see them until the end bc during the last few miles I couldn't exert enough energy to take my phone out and look at it. This year I'll be able to just glance down and look at my Garmin! ;)
DeleteYou ran Portland?! I am doing that in 9 days (so says the email). Any tips?
DeleteWell then if you are comfortable emailing me your number before the race I could text you some encouragements!
DeleteKristina, msg me your number and I will send you encouragement. I would love to cheer you on :)
DeleteOMG I love you guys! I will msg both of you my number!
Delete@Kim The second half of Portland was pretty rough for me. It ended up being a hot day (82 degrees) and I wasn't prepared for the hills. If you're from Portland you're probably like "what hills?" but coming from Florida I felt them!
I would say after you cross St John's be prepared for a few boring miles. I think miles 18 - 21 were probably the worst for me because there was little crowd support and nothing to look at. Once you get back into the city it's much better and your energy will pick back up!
Running over St John's is pretty awesome, the view is spectacular! That was definitely my favorite part of the race!
Toughest race moment? I think it was when I ran a marathon along the beach, and it was SO WINDY that I could barely move. It's hard not to take wind in the face personally. It feels like a personal attack.
ReplyDeleteUgh that sounds brutal! Did you get to turn around at all and have the wind at your back?
DeleteI loved this!
ReplyDelete20 mile training run for Marine Corps 2005. I was running the York rail trail with TNT and Coach Mike was at the finish. Coach Larry was running with me. I boinked hard. I don't know what else to call my sudden onset of vertigo that sends my world flapping like an unhooked film reel and makes me barf for a good 24-48 hours. I also call them "episodes" because it sounds very ladylike when it is anything but.
That also happened at mile 10 of the Runner's World Half and at mile 2 of my leg of a Ragnar Relay in AZ. Those are my toughest moments because I have to stop and I usually end up in an ER and I have to quit. I hate quitting.
Aside from those? Marine Corps 2014 was tough. Miles 20-26.2 were a very real struggle. I only trained up to 18 miles. I was eating too much protein and not enough carbs. I was a hot mess. My legs became lead and I hit the wall hard.
My hardest race, though, was this year's Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon. Hands down. First, my garmin tells me that it was almost 2 miles over in distance. I expect it to be off, but it has NEVER been that off. I wasn't the only one, either. Their FB page was flooded with people who got the exact same reading that I did. Second, I fell at mile 10. Hard. I ripped a hole in my knee and still have a scar. I skidded into mile 11, my garmin beeped, and a man hurdled me. He did yell over his shoulder to see if I was ok. That was kind of him. I hit 2 med tents during that race to stop the bleeding. Ha! Then there were the hills. Seattle is all hills. Then there was the floating bridge. Floating effing bridge. You run across it, through a tunnel and onto an island. Then you turn around, run through the tunnel, and back over the bridge. Miles 16ish to 22. All tunnels and bridges and hell. Pure hell.
At the end of that race, I could barely walk. I had to force myself to walk and not stop. I was done. My legs were done. They were tight and hurt like nothing I've ever felt. I couldn't contract my muscles. I was a MESS. I ended up alternating running - doing slow as hell fartleks - with another wear blue member who was also hurting (and peeing blood). So you know where I was at, physically.
God. I have had a run of really shitty runs. Why am I doing this?!? Now I'm panicking about my marathon in 2 weeks!
Dang Kim I can't believe all of this! From your "episodes" to cutting your knee... I home my friend Kristina reads this because she is looking for some race recaps from people who had it ROUGH.
DeleteHa! And yet . . . I keep coming back for more. I am really really hoping that Portland isn't like some of these. I am such a crap shoot.
DeleteFunny thing you mention people not caring at the finish line. My son 12 was waiting at every finish line this summer and never saw me. He was interested in the younger girls with perky boobs that he never saw me.. Oh well. I have pondered my existence on earth a few times while running and then getting lost. Great post
ReplyDeletebakingrunner.blogspot.com
lol @ pondering your existence. Isn't it funny what running long can make you do???
DeleteYou stopped to walk several times and STILL got a BQ??? Dang, girl! It always amazes me when I hear people say they got really fast times or BQs after having to walk/stop/etc during a race. They must have been FLYING for the rest of it, apparently!
ReplyDeleteI guess my toughest race was the Green Bay Half this year. It was hot and humid out, and I started too fast, and I had just fallen apart by mile 5. I had to stop a porta potty at that point (first and only time I've ever had to do that in a race), I walked through several water stations, and I was just miserable. The mile I stopped to go potty wasn't even my slowest mile. Or my second slowest. I just did everything wrong that day. I've never been so happy to be done with a race.
Well I BQ'ed by just over a minute so I almost shit the bed on that one!
DeleteYour half sounds tough! I have started too fast too and it never ends well!
I'm starting to think it's the nature of the marathon that the last 4 miles or so feel like the longest trek EVER. I really loved reading about this! I may steal your idea for a post! :)
ReplyDeleteSteal away :) I am sure I subconsciously stole it from 100 other people!
DeleteI think running in the freezing cold would be the worst! I have run in rain before but it wasn't a cold rain so it wasn't that bad.
ReplyDeleteIt was pretty bad! 30+ miles is way too much to run in the freezing.
DeleteLoved this post! I should have read it before my last marathon so I would have reminded myself that a lot of people have struggles. Seems like everyone I race with are cruising to the end, no problems! I have had similar race experiences. Especially the one where no one was around you - I could have keeled over dead in one my races and no one would have found me for hours I think! Yes, there were sad little tears then for me too :) I completely get it!
ReplyDeletelol I am sorry you had one of those "if I died now no one would notice" moments! I guess the moral of the story is we need to run BIGGER races?
DeleteDang girl! You've been through some tough moments in race world. My toughest moment was during my very first marathon (Houston Marathon) when I was clueless about how my GI system would hold up... and had to run into someone's house at mile 13 to avoid pooping in front of a crowd of cheering people. It was crazy!!!
ReplyDeletelol! I am sorry to laugh, that situation sounds like my worst nightmare!!!!
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