So I only made it 23 miles.. but also I MADE IT 23 MILES!!

I had signed up for this race awhile back at the same time as Newport as part of my get-well-soon present. While Newport just wasn’t my day, I tried to get a little training in this time in hopes it would help and picked up a “How to Train for a Marathon in a Month” training schedule I found online. It definitely struck me as kind of an odd schedule (with a lot of 2 milers), but what do I know about actual training plans, so I went with it as much as my life allowed (my Master’s project needed work again so that’s where the 26, 27, 30, and 1st went).

I switched most of the two’s to three’s

I felt a bit better after managing 11 miles at 8:27 pace in crazy wind and rain. And then I felt a bit worse after being able to complete 16 miles at 8:35 but feeling pretty darn crappy towards the end. I tried to focus on the fact I made it 16 miles on the first hot day (REALLY HOT, I got burnt pretty bad) of the year when I prefer running in the cold.

The morning of the marathon I woke up with my stomach feeling awful, but I recognized it as nerves and my boyfriend reminded me I had already completed a marathon through the freaking desert. Also while stretching before the race Marathon Panda Maurice found me! It was awesome to actually meet him in person and his super positive vibes definitely helped to calm my nerves further. By the time I was lining up I was back to feeling pretty good.

The gun went off and I started trying to keep with the 4 hour pacer, but they seemed to be going significantly slower than pace. Looking at Garmin connect now though I was faster even in the first mile so I’m not sure if something was up with my Garmin at the time or I was just completely impatient and ditched way too early 😅 Also looking back the start of the course was far more hilly than later so they may have been going for even effort. I probably should have known the pacers knew what they were doing and just stayed with them, but I was also feeling really good so I went with it. Miles 1-20 FLEW by. I found a few new and old friends to talk to at different points, zoomed (or felt like I was 😂) up hills, and cruised along the long, flat wooded back roads and bike path.

I was trying to make sure I at least took a few sips of water at every water stop and after the half started eating a Honey Stinger chew every 2ish miles. Even so started feeling kind of off during mile 21. I slowed down in hopes that slower might ease my nausea, but it was only getting worse. By mile 22 I felt like I was dying of thirst (on top of the nausea) even though I had been drinking a decent amount and it seemed like the next water stop would never come. My mantra became, “Just get to the next water stop”. I thought maybe I could manage that, until I hit a short but rather steep hill. As soon as I started up the incline, the slightly hunched position it put me in pushed my stomach over the edge. I had to stop and step off the side in an attempt to be sick but I had nothing in me to get out. After battling back the nausea the last few miles, coming to a complete stop seemed to open the flood gates and I was hit with all the awful feeling at once. Every time I took a step I had to dry heave. I don’t remember actually moving but I definitely managed to make it a bit further in this state because the hill wasn’t where I ultimately stopped, but it was awful and I knew there was no way I was making it 3 more miles like this. Tons of runners saw me and offered me things to help. The cop stationed at the turn I stopped at was amazed at how many people stopped mid marathon to try and help me. (Love my running community!!) I ended up accepting some of a kind strangers water, with I think Nuun, but it seemed to be too late for anything to help. After 20 minutes of being unable to move without being sick I took the cop up on his offer to have someone come get me. Little did I know he meant an ambulance.. (In my out-of-it state I totally had thought he meant another cop to just bring me back to the finish.) so I accidentally got carted off the course in an ambulance 😂

Overall it was a really fun day and I’m really happy my legs (and everything else besides my stomach) felt great and definitely could have made it the full marathon! After talking to some friends, I think it may have been a salt issue and I’m mildly kicking myself for not taking a salt tablet someone offered to me. Now just to get in more long training runs to test some more hydration and nutrition before my next attempt!

Cheesin it hardcore because I LOVE RUNNING!!!