Halloween Half = Fail

Well folks, I finished up the year of 2012 with five Half Marathons. I was hoping to end on a high note, but unfortunately this was my worst race of all!

The thing I love about running is you are always having to prove yourself. You can run 10 miles and feel great, and the next day you can run 3 miles and it is the worst 3 miles of all time. You appreciate the good runs so much, because you know that there is a good chance you could have a bad run any given day. 

So here's why I hated the race: 

My Mistakes: 

• Two weeks ago, I was running some serious training miles. Once I started my new job, things got pretty hectic and I didn't have time to run any more. Along with all the craziness, I actually forgot I was even racing this weekend, until 2 days before the race when I got an email saying where to pick up my bib. So obviously I wasn't very prepared.
• Since I wasn't prepared, I didn't do the normal week of carb loading to increase my glycogen storage to give me more fuel for the race. 
• I forgot to bring food to eat for fuel right before the race, which resulted in the worst stomach cramps I have ever ran with. The stomach cramps were so bad, I started getting extreme pains shooting in my heart. It got to the point where it was super unbearable. I actually decided to quit. I stopped at mile 8, took a break to check all my texts and emails, and then called my mom to come get me cause I wasn't going to finish....5 minutes later, I convinced myself I couldn't allow myself to quit and did my very best for the last 5 miles even though I didn't feel good at all. 

The Race's Mistakes: 

• The race started at 9 am. For some reason, they made you get on the bus to go up there three hours before it started. So for three hours, I was freezing my butt off up at Sundance, until my whole body was totally frozen. Not a good way to start a race. That also meant that I ate breakfast 5 hours before I started the race...starting the race on an empty stomach and no water for five hours before- hence major stomach cramps. 
• The race was marked completely wrong. Mile 4 was labeled Mile 5. If that's not frustrating, I don't know what is!
• There was no gels or food for fuel during the race. So not only was I running on empty with major stomach pains, I couldn't even attempt to fuel at the aid stations. My only saving grace was downing as much gatorade as possible every chance I got to use for fuel to help me. 

So overall, I was just very frustrated with how the race was run. For the money you pay to run that race, it should be ran much better in my opinion. I have decided I most likely won't be running that one again. 

Pictures:

The race was the day of Byron's birthday. I have worn this wristband ever since he died. Yesterday in particular, he was on my mind the majority of the race. 

Waiting in the "refugee tent" for 3 hours was SOOO crowded and long. 

Freezing at Sundace. Another awesome thing was the bus drivers dropped us off at the resort, and then we had to walk up a huge hill to the second parking lot to the start. I love hiking up a hill right before I run 13 miles!

I hate freezing. It takes me back to the days of living in Logan. Woof. 

On a positive note, the medals and shirts were cool. 

So in spite of stomach cramps and stopping quite a bit (that five minutes I stopped to call my mom + like every mile), I ended up getting 21 in my division out of 377. Not a bad placement, but not the time I wanted, especially on such a downhill course. 

The good news is, failure is a relative term. Even though I consider my time and my performance a failure, in the grand scheme of things, I really didn't do too bad!

My quads are SO sore from the major downhill running. Luckily, I got a massage that night to help a little bit. More to come on the massage- let's just say there was a lot of butt rubbing involved! Stay tuned- you won't wanna miss that story!