The 26th Annual CIM 2008 -- Race Report
The day did not get off to a good start! My alarm went off for the first time at 3am. Got up, drank a serving of Perpetuem and went back to bed. Went off the second time at 4am. Got up for real this time. Got everything situated and headed over to the hotel for bus pickup. Arrived at 5am. Waited 'til 5:15am and was informed that the bus was full and we'd have to wait for a second pickup. Waited 'til after 6am -- I could have slept another hour! Got on the bus and we had to make two more pickup stops, get through race-day traffic, and up to the start before 7am -- HAH! The busdriver let us off one mile downhill from the race start at a little after 6:50am. We ran all the way, lugging our stuff with us. Got up there just as the horn blew . . . but, wait! I was still holding my race bag! Had to whip off my sweats, get my sunglasses out of their case and on my face, get my water belt on and into the race before they closed it down at 7:05am. So, ended up losing my sweats, iPod, sunglasses case, and sunscreen on the side of the road. :( Got across the start. Still fumbling with my water belt and gel flask holder . . . couldn't get them on with my gloves, so ripped those off and threw them to the side of the road -- not smart. Okay, so it wasn't cold compared to those of you who live in the snow, but to me 38 degrees and foggy is darned cold!
Couldn't find my pace group (3:45), so kept running in hopes of finding them. Looking over my mile splits, turns out I went out way too fast . . . but, I did find my pace group and ended up right about where I should have been at the 1/2 with an average of 8:40 min./mile at mile 13.1. At mile 16 things started to go downhill (figuratively -- this course is rolling and mile 16 is right before a nice (hah!) incline). Well, my water belt velcro closure had been flapping around since the start, but it was staying on . . . 'til said mile 16. It came off and fell to the ground. For a split second I thought of leaving it, but my cell phone and ID's were in there in addition to my water and gel (didn't want to chance the racecourse stuff with my tricky tummy). So, turned around and went back to retrieve it and then to the side of the course to get everything situated again. That mile ended up taking over 11 minutes and I never found my pacegroup again . . . Not having a pacegroup or my iPod it was very difficult for me to gauge my pace.
Getting started again was difficult as my muscles had tightened in the cold (I'd estimate it was a little over 40 degrees by this time -- the sun never came out, it remained foggy, and the high for the day only reached 45 degrees). It was a bit painful, but as I picked up the pace I felt better. At mile 18 I started to feel sick to my stomach. Thankfully no potty stops necessary, but I did have to slow down and stop taking gel or water. Around mile 21 and I started to feel some rubbing in my left shoe. I have run in these very same shoes and socks several times before and never had a problem with them. I wanted to stop and straighten things out, but knew if I stopped I'd never start again. By mile 24 I knew I'd be losing a toenail or two and had to start alternating walking and jogging. I was grimacing that whole final mile and it took me the longest to complete.
I crossed the finish line at 4 hours 7 minutes. Bleh. That's a 9:31 avg pace, almost a minute per mile slower than I wanted. And I lost it all in the second 1/2 (except for mile 14, which I ran in a scary 8:01).
As soon as I crossed that finish line I ripped off my shoe and sock and was greeted with a nasty surprise -- looks like I'll be losing three toenails! I'll spare you the gory details. I was freezing, but didn't have my sweats at the finish like the people who had gotten there early and had their stuff shuttled to the finish. Grrrr. I called dh and he couldn't find a parking place anywhere close by due to road closures. He met me 1/2 way (I didn't want to sit or stand and wait as I was so cold and knew my muscles would lock up). He let me wear his nice new heavy ski jacket -- bliss!!! But, we still had to walk quite a ways to the car. My toes were screaming at me!
But, hey, I finished, right? And this was only my first marathon -- I learned A LOT! I'm still disappointed though.
Well, off to eat AGAIN! :) My stomach remained uninterested in any food or drink for about 2 hours after the race, but then it said FEED ME in no uncertain terms. Hail to all that leftover turkey! :)
I'm looking forward to getting back on my sorely missed bike in the new year.
Anyone who really read this whole thing deserves a finisher's medal of your own! :)
