Notes
I spent four hours the day before in the hot sun at a track meet. I felt like absolute crap, felt dizzy, had a headache and my eyes were really achey. I figured it was due to being outside all afternoon, so I took a Claritin before bed. My pre-race dinner was a cheeseburger, bag of chips, a few Gatorades at the track meet along with some Slim-Jims and Cracker Jacks. At Scott's house, I had a plate of some lemon cream pasta, with some chicken and then had a beer when he went out for dinner. Breakfast the next morning was a Lemon Zest Luna bar, and my hippy organic Mom's Best Cinnamon Squares and some organic apple-cinnamon pop tart.
I was out by 9:15, which is way early for me and I woke up and stayed awake from about 1:00-2:45, with a 4:30 alarm. I didn't take my usual morning coffee, but took a caffeine pill about an hour before the race. This is probably way too much detail, but I guess it's info I'll check back on later. Now for my race report that I'm too lazy to completely type out again, so I'll just copy and paste from the one I wrote earlier:
First 5k=16:29: 5:20?, 5:10?, 5:22. I missed the first mile marker but I think I heard someone say 5:20. I also missed the two mile marker but the guy I was beside said it was about 10:30. The first two miles were a slight downhill and I was in a pack of several guys with a Colombian guy way out in front.
10k=32:59 with 4-6 being 5:22, 5:25, 5:12. I was getting really nervous because we were rolling so soon but the effort felt very easy and relaxed. The Kenyan, who eventually won, took off during this segment and I was in 4th with another guy several seconds ahead of me. A little after four miles, I took my first Gu water bottle.
10 mile split=53:12. Miles 7-10 were 5:18, 5:24, 5:19, 5:20. I was falling farther behind the guy ahead of me, who said he was gunning for 2:40. I got passed by the 2nd fastest Colombian guy in this mile. I debated going with him, but I was running too fast, so I made myself be patient and let him go. I took another Gu water a little after the 9th mile.
13.1 miles was a new pr of 70:10 with splits of 5:20, 5:33, 5:30. I was really happy with the pr because it felt so easy at this point but I was concerned I was burning up too many carbs. The Colombian guy who passed me stopped and grabbed his calf, so I went by him and the guy in 4th was about 15s or so ahead of me.
20 mile split=1:48:21 with 14-20 being 5:28, 5:54, 5:17, 5:29, 5:37, 5:37, 5:25. Shortly after 14, I took my 4th Gu water. I was slowly gaining on the guy ahead of me, even with the 5:54, which was uphill and had a headwind most of the way. I decided to go ahead and make the pass in the 15th mile, but I guess I got too excited, which resulted in the 5:17. After I passed him, I didn't see anyone at all until the 24th mile. At 17-18, I made myself relax some because I could tell I was starting to run low on gas, and I was so far ahead of pace, I needed to play it smart. In the 18th mile, I started getting a stomach cramp and when I hit 20, I saw I just had to run 5:40s to break 2:24, so I tried to slow down and save for a final two mile push.
Final Time=2:24:10 with my last few miles being 5:37, 5:41, 5:46, 5:50, 5:45, 6:00, 70. I tried taking another Gu water shortly after 20, but after a couple of sips, I felt like I was going to puke, so I just threw it on the ground. After 21, I really started to get tired and could tell my body was starting to shut down. With a little over 3 miles to go, I could see the Colombian guy who took off (67:47 at 13.1)and someone told me I was about 75s back. I consciously tried to focus on him and see if I could reel him in but my quads were starting to give out. With two miles to go, he was 35s ahead, so I tried to try and catch him because he was fading fast. With a little under 1.5 miles to go, he was only about 10s ahead of me, so I tried to push again. I had a few dry heaves, and about 10s later, I started puking. I threw up about 7 or 8 times, and freaked out some high school girls. When I was puking, I really felt like walking but I also wanted to catch the guy. About a minute later, I felt much better and when I passed the Colombian, I tried to continue to push to break him. I checked over my shoulder a lot the last mile and I could tell I had 2nd locked in. I hit 26 miles at 2:23 flat, so I tried to sprint and break 2:24. It felt like I was flying but I guess I wasn't because I ran that segment around 6:00 pace.
I was absolutely trashed after the race. I walked around/laid down for a bit, then laid down in the medical tent. It was insanely painful to walk and it felt like my quads were ripping with every step. I'm glad I hit the wall though so I can know what to expect next time.