This past Saturday, I had the honor and the privilege of kicking off 2017's racing season by heading out to Ashville, North Carolina to attempt BOTH the Half Marathon on Saturday, and then come back and attempt the Full Marathon on Sunday. Today, I will re-cap the Half on Saturday.
Going into this race, I knew I had to hold back. If I was too aggressive with this race, then I would cook my goose for Sunday. So , I had to come out and save as much as I could while making the time split and being able to complete the race. I really wanted to jump into like a 305 or 310 pace group and help pace, as when I run a half, that's what I get the most reward out of doing, is helping others. But, the slowest group they had was 245 and I knew that was too quick, so I decided just to do my thing and let it happen.
Arriving at Biltmore , it was chilly. Fortuantley, we were able to find a good warm place to get off our feet for an hour or so before the race. Surprisingly, I was absolutely in a complete zen state. A first for me, since normally I am jumping up and down to go. I was so relaxed. As I got ready, I reached for my headphones. They had dissapeared, (or so I thought, more on that later) . I was like great. Gonna use the speaker on the phone, and just make this happen.
So we launch. Of course, what does this old boy do? Out way too fast. Rats. So, I slow it down. Now, my uniform I was wearing , I had my Wear Blue jacket on. One of the girls on the course hollered at me because I had my wear blue jacket on . We instantly started talking about soldiers and who we were running for. Before you knew it, we had linked up , and were on our way. We really hit it off just talking about life, etc.
She started off setting the tempo, and I would follow her, but once she tired, I picked up the slack and kept us nice and steady. It was really turning into a beautiful run . It just felt good.
Before you knew it, we had reached The Biltmore House and Gardens, and then made the time cut. As we got closer through mile 10, the road became trail. Gravel and dirt trails. The road at mile 10.5 became a 1 lane dirt road that was very congested. We began to have to walk as it was very hard to run on. At this point, I could tell my friend was tired. I said to her "are you still with me" . Her reply: "Absolutley"
As we headed back towards the head of the trail, we were finally able to start discussing the finish. How we wanted to come across. She then informed me that this would be a PR for her after she had barely trained and almost NO - Showed. I couldn't believe that. I had to fight back tears. Seriously.
She stated that she wanted to come in running, so that's exactly what we did. Once we finished the final hill, we set sail. We crossed the finish in 3:09. She would then inform me that this was a 15 Min PR for her. Unreal. I was so proud of her. So so proud. We got pictures, and then I headed to get my finishers pictures made and get stretched out at the tent in prep for Sunday.
What happened next is something that in my wildest dreams, I would never have seen coming. I wandered over to the area setup next to the finishers area to get stretched and make sure I started Recovery Immediately. They had me start with some calf stretches and some foam rolling. As I was foam rolling, the wind blew really hard. It blew the finishers picture Sign backwards and right twoards me. Sensing the impending doom, i threw my arm out.
The thing hit me full force in the head. Everything got really light . Then it came back. Honestly, it about knocked me out. It put about a quarter inch gash in my head that was bleeding. I was like crud. So, I had it looked at by medics. They said I wouldn't need stitches. Probably wouldn't have gone anyways honestly. I then went ahead and got on the bus and went back to the room.
I was mad. Irate. What a freaking place to have this tent on a windy day. Just so many wrongs. But, I was going to use this anger to fuel me. I got back, had my friend look at my head to make sure it was OK. I then did some yoga, and got in the shower before a nap. I was still mad , but was trying to use it to fuel the next race.
When I woke up, I was still pretty upset. But knew I needed to use my anger for good fuel. I also still had a headache. I took a couple aleve , and got ready to go down for dinner with my friend who had also come to run this race with me.
After dinner, we both got ready to call it a night. It was time change night, and I had just been through a whole mix of emotions, from start to finish. From the highest of highs, to the lowest of lows in moments, it had just happend. I needed a decent nights sleep to have a chance at Sunday.
...... To be continued...... Maybe......
