This is at the expo, the day before the race. I got to spin and win. I won a timer, but I was so excited about possibly winning the brown rice box, that they gave me that too! Here are my two Minute Maid rice friends!
Also here is Lucy, who kept trying to follow this Dog, "awh, awh, Doggie, awh"
I love the guy who is on the ground trying to take a picture, looks like he take it seriously, he's willing to risk being trampled!
The GU, the bannanas, the Powerade
So, as much as I tried to stuff my face before the race, practice runs have taught me that my body runs better when I eat 30 minutes before I run. So I held off eating until then.
But I guess I got race nerves and my appetite was gone. I, of course, tried to force food down my throat. This takes longer to do. Time ran out and I had hoped to eat more by start. But I'll remember that for next time.
I got in my Corral, and slurpped GU (a sports gel, that is basically food in gel form so you can easily eat it on the run, literally).
I stretched as much as I could while waiting for my start. I knew my hip was probably the first muscle that will hurt so i needed it as ready as possible.
There is one stretch where you swing your leg back and forth. I found an open area to do this.
I still ended up kicking some poor runner in the rear.
Puts a whole knew spin on "kicking someone's rear in gear" . Hope he ran well.
Anyway,
I had a GU in each hand and one in my pocket. I had just finished eating two of them. They are going to pass more out in the last part of the race.
So around mile 8 I decide I needed a Gu, I devoured it.
Later I go for Gu #2, I eat half of it.
Why only half you say?
Because my massive grip squeezed the rest out into the air like fireworks, and landed all up my arm.
Was I going to let that stop me?
No.... well.. sorta no,
I wanted those caleries too much, so I did what any other self respecting runner would do, and I tried to lick it off my arm.
What a site I was to on-lookers.
AT around mile 18, I had those hunger pains that you get when you don't eat for 8 hours.
OH BLESSED BANNANAS, THAT ARE PRE-CHOPPED AND READY TO STUFF IN EVERY CREVICE OF MY CHEEKS!
That's right, I took a page from my daughter, Lucy's book, and took two hand fulls of chopped bananas shoved them in and swallowed in one gulp.
She would have been so proud.
At the beginning of the race I only took Powerade, not the water, but by mile 19 and up, I took two powerades and a water to drink, and a water to dump on my head.
The drinking stations were awesome. They were great cheerleaders.
When everyone was more spread out, I passed through a water station alone.
That didn't stop their enthusiasm, plus when I dumped the water on my head, they were overjoyed... weird!
they were like,
"Yeah, wahoo, dump it, we got MORE!"
Speaking of MORE, yes.... there is even more to share about the day's events, so I'll post more tomorrow along with more photos.
The amazing cheer squad, or at least some of them. More on them later!
So if my arms look funny in this pic, it's because I just finished seeing mile marker 21 a while back and I was waving at my family, with Four and a half fingers (for how many miles I had left.)
2 comments:
Ha ha! I love your marathon stories, I get such a kick out of them. I wish I could have seen you trying to lick gel off your arms!
That was a ton of people in that video, and I can't believe that guy was lying on the ground, what was he thinking?!
Can't wait to hear more.
The funny thing about the video you posted is that there were 5 more groups that big just in the marathon race. They had to split the starting groups up so that there would be greater safety for the runners on the course.
Post a Comment