PF Chang's Rock N' Roll Marathon Race Report
First of all, thanks to everyone who helped me reach my fundraising goal!
I ran the PF Chang's Rock N' Roll Marathon in Phoenix two weeks ago Sunday. We left Lexington early Friday morning. It was pretty fun traveling as a team, and we got to stay at a nice hotel in Phoenix. We spent the afternoon at the expo and registration, then went for a short easy run in some seedy neighborhoods. After the run we showered and ate dinner at a nice Greek restaurant. I had a big plate of pasta and some spanikopita which wasn't nearly as good as my aunt Jane's. By the time we got back to the hotel it was about 12:30 Lexington time and since we were up at 3:30 that morning we crashed and I was grateful to be able to sleep in Saturday morning.
Jeannie arrived Saturday morning and we headed to the Team in Training pasta party. We had quite an entrance thanks to the TNT coaches and staff. It was pretty amazing actually, and we got to hear John Bingham speak. All in all it was a pretty relaxing day.
Sunday morning I woke up and started drinking a Boost Plus like I always do. Halfway through my delicious beverage I began to feel nauseous...then sweaty... I was laying in bed thinking how on earth I was going to run when I feel like this. I kept thinking about all the people who had supported me to get to this point. I lay there for about 15 minutes willing the mystery sickness away and it actually worked! I blew it off as nerves or maybe some bad Boost. I felt fine the rest of the morning. Jeannie and I lined up at the start having lost the rest of the team and Gary as soon as we got off the shuttle. I knew I probably wouldn't see Gary until after the race, so I was a little sad, but I knew he had a lot on his hands. I was excited Jeannie was there. it would be a lot of fun to run a marathon with her. If I could keep up :)
We ran the first 10 miles at what felt like an easy to moderate pace. I felt pretty confident that I could keep it up, but then again it is a marathon and one never knows what the last bit could feel like. I will say this probably a million times in this blog, but I was so glad Jeannie was there. Running with good friends always makes the miles go by a lot quicker.
13.1 and still feeling good. I was able to eat and drink plenty at the aid stations and I didn't even think about my strange nausea from the morning. We were well under 2 hours at the halfway point which was better than I thought I would do considering my lack of training for this event. The course was very straight and flat. Camelback Mountain was in the distance and visible for a lot of the race which was pretty, but the course itself was pretty unexciting. I did enjoy the bands and the constant encouragement from TNT members, coaches, and fans. You really do feel different in that purple jersey.
Mile 17. Starting to get tired. Starting to complain a little. Very glad Jeannie was there. Usually during a marathon there is something, a spot or area, that starts aching or tiring but I couldn't explain my fatigue. My legs felt fine, stomach felt good, breathing felt good; I was just tired. Despite the numerous encouraging words from Jeannie I just kept fading and fading. I finally convinced her, at mile 20, to go ahead and finish her race and I would be right behind her. I watched her purple jersey get smaller and smaller until she was swallowed up in the crowds ahead. Part of me was sad to see her go because that meant I had 6 miles by myself, but part of me was a bit grateful that I could slow down a bit. And slow down I did. I was fine with slowing down, and without having a specific goal time in mind I was glad I was still moving well. I knew I would finish fine.
Mile 22. Have you ever had a dead foot? I don't know how else to explain it than that. My right foot started going numb so much so that I had to watch it because I was afraid of dragging it on the ground and tripping. It seemed to be working fine as I watched it but it was like it wasn't even a part of my body. Luckily it went away after a few minutes.
I finished the race in 4:07:35. It is my slowest open road marathon time yet, but I was still very pleased. When I looked over my training for the past few months I saw that I had trained on only 20-30 miles/week. So 4:07 looked even better to me. I found Jeannie right away, and she finished in 3:57! I was so happy for her, and so glad that was able to have a good finish. What a rock star.
As soon as I came through the lines of finisher's medals, food, gear, etc., we sat down for a bit. Then the nausea reappeared. We were talking to two of our other TNT teammates when I really felt it come on. Thank goodness there was a giant trash can right behind me. (Queasy stomachs stop reading here) Orange-mango Accelrade does not taste as good coming up as it does going down. Some kind runner tried to comfort me and tell me that I needed to get some fluids in me or I was going to pass out. Just let me puke, dude. My sweet Jeannie took me to the medical tent where I had a nice talk with the medical staff. I guess IVs are only a triathlon thing? And I definitely felt good enough that I did not need an ambulance ride. I really thought that was the last of it.
We made our way to the TNT tent and buses. I found another trash can, and another medical tent. This time I ate a salt packet in the tent which was really gross even though I was pretty confident that it wasn't hyponatremia I obliged anyway. Since we had run from Phoenix to Tempe we needed to be shuttled back to our hotel in Phoenix. The ride was alright but as soon as we got back in the room I made friends with the toilet. I guess I shouldn't have blown off the nausea from the morning. Poor Jeannie. She's really a good friend.
I missed the Team victory party that night and Gary and Jeannie were kind enough to stay in and keep me company, also. My superman of a husband coached the entire team to their first marathon or half marathon finish. I think he ended up running around 35 miles. I don't know how he does it!
All in all I am glad I was able to do the marathon. Next up, Chicago in October!
I ran the PF Chang's Rock N' Roll Marathon in Phoenix two weeks ago Sunday. We left Lexington early Friday morning. It was pretty fun traveling as a team, and we got to stay at a nice hotel in Phoenix. We spent the afternoon at the expo and registration, then went for a short easy run in some seedy neighborhoods. After the run we showered and ate dinner at a nice Greek restaurant. I had a big plate of pasta and some spanikopita which wasn't nearly as good as my aunt Jane's. By the time we got back to the hotel it was about 12:30 Lexington time and since we were up at 3:30 that morning we crashed and I was grateful to be able to sleep in Saturday morning.
Jeannie arrived Saturday morning and we headed to the Team in Training pasta party. We had quite an entrance thanks to the TNT coaches and staff. It was pretty amazing actually, and we got to hear John Bingham speak. All in all it was a pretty relaxing day.
Sunday morning I woke up and started drinking a Boost Plus like I always do. Halfway through my delicious beverage I began to feel nauseous...then sweaty... I was laying in bed thinking how on earth I was going to run when I feel like this. I kept thinking about all the people who had supported me to get to this point. I lay there for about 15 minutes willing the mystery sickness away and it actually worked! I blew it off as nerves or maybe some bad Boost. I felt fine the rest of the morning. Jeannie and I lined up at the start having lost the rest of the team and Gary as soon as we got off the shuttle. I knew I probably wouldn't see Gary until after the race, so I was a little sad, but I knew he had a lot on his hands. I was excited Jeannie was there. it would be a lot of fun to run a marathon with her. If I could keep up :)
We ran the first 10 miles at what felt like an easy to moderate pace. I felt pretty confident that I could keep it up, but then again it is a marathon and one never knows what the last bit could feel like. I will say this probably a million times in this blog, but I was so glad Jeannie was there. Running with good friends always makes the miles go by a lot quicker.
13.1 and still feeling good. I was able to eat and drink plenty at the aid stations and I didn't even think about my strange nausea from the morning. We were well under 2 hours at the halfway point which was better than I thought I would do considering my lack of training for this event. The course was very straight and flat. Camelback Mountain was in the distance and visible for a lot of the race which was pretty, but the course itself was pretty unexciting. I did enjoy the bands and the constant encouragement from TNT members, coaches, and fans. You really do feel different in that purple jersey.
Mile 17. Starting to get tired. Starting to complain a little. Very glad Jeannie was there. Usually during a marathon there is something, a spot or area, that starts aching or tiring but I couldn't explain my fatigue. My legs felt fine, stomach felt good, breathing felt good; I was just tired. Despite the numerous encouraging words from Jeannie I just kept fading and fading. I finally convinced her, at mile 20, to go ahead and finish her race and I would be right behind her. I watched her purple jersey get smaller and smaller until she was swallowed up in the crowds ahead. Part of me was sad to see her go because that meant I had 6 miles by myself, but part of me was a bit grateful that I could slow down a bit. And slow down I did. I was fine with slowing down, and without having a specific goal time in mind I was glad I was still moving well. I knew I would finish fine.
Mile 22. Have you ever had a dead foot? I don't know how else to explain it than that. My right foot started going numb so much so that I had to watch it because I was afraid of dragging it on the ground and tripping. It seemed to be working fine as I watched it but it was like it wasn't even a part of my body. Luckily it went away after a few minutes.
I finished the race in 4:07:35. It is my slowest open road marathon time yet, but I was still very pleased. When I looked over my training for the past few months I saw that I had trained on only 20-30 miles/week. So 4:07 looked even better to me. I found Jeannie right away, and she finished in 3:57! I was so happy for her, and so glad that was able to have a good finish. What a rock star.
As soon as I came through the lines of finisher's medals, food, gear, etc., we sat down for a bit. Then the nausea reappeared. We were talking to two of our other TNT teammates when I really felt it come on. Thank goodness there was a giant trash can right behind me. (Queasy stomachs stop reading here) Orange-mango Accelrade does not taste as good coming up as it does going down. Some kind runner tried to comfort me and tell me that I needed to get some fluids in me or I was going to pass out. Just let me puke, dude. My sweet Jeannie took me to the medical tent where I had a nice talk with the medical staff. I guess IVs are only a triathlon thing? And I definitely felt good enough that I did not need an ambulance ride. I really thought that was the last of it.
We made our way to the TNT tent and buses. I found another trash can, and another medical tent. This time I ate a salt packet in the tent which was really gross even though I was pretty confident that it wasn't hyponatremia I obliged anyway. Since we had run from Phoenix to Tempe we needed to be shuttled back to our hotel in Phoenix. The ride was alright but as soon as we got back in the room I made friends with the toilet. I guess I shouldn't have blown off the nausea from the morning. Poor Jeannie. She's really a good friend.
I missed the Team victory party that night and Gary and Jeannie were kind enough to stay in and keep me company, also. My superman of a husband coached the entire team to their first marathon or half marathon finish. I think he ended up running around 35 miles. I don't know how he does it!
All in all I am glad I was able to do the marathon. Next up, Chicago in October!
posted by nikki at 2:44 PM
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