Race day morning we were a little tired from the previous night driving back from a wedding in Georgetown. The temperature was 72 degrees and increasing with high humidity. We arrive an hour before gun time to loosen up and get ready for a warm race. The plan was:
Miles 1 - 6.2, 6:45 pace
Miles 6.2 - 10, 6:30 pace
Miles 10 - 13.1, 6:30-6:15 pace
Adrianna and I dropped off our stuff at the bag check and said goodbye to line up in our corrals. Waiting for the start, I realized I forgot my gels and freak out. (I only use orange mandarin gels because it's the one flavor that doesn't upset my stomach.) Luckily, I got a peanut butter GU from a volunteer and I hoped for the best.
Miles 1 - 3 (6:37) (6:41) (6:40)
Gun goes off, super crowded! Weaving in and out of people, I realize I am running 6:05 for the first quarter mile. I slow way down and start coasting to a respectable pace feeling good. Legs feel fresh and heart rate low through the first 3 miles.
Miles 4 - 6 (6:38) (6:48) (6:43)
Passed the Alamo followed by a slight increase in elevation. I was expected to slow the pace down and planned on running faster after mile 6.5 on the downhills of San Pedro and Main Ave. Chatted with a runner who planned on finishing around 1:26 and I felt relieved because this is the group of runners I needed to be with.
Mile 7 (6:56)
I cross the 10k mat at 41:47 and felt awesome. Confidence kept growing and I was on pace even though I took the first 5k faster than planned. This is when the heat came and I decided to take the peanut butter GU with halfway left. It tasted awful but I forced it down in hoping to give me that boost I needed and to leave me with enough energy to kick it to the end.
Miles 8 - 10 (6:49) (6:56) (7:07)
Mile 8 the sun was shining, temperatures increasing, and a slight breeze at times. I caught up to David who organizes a running group in San Antonio and we talked for a minute. He planned to finish 1:30 but I wanted to finish faster so I slowly drifted past. At mile 9.5 I saw Staci which was a relief but I was hurting. I tried to crack a smile but something didn't feel right. My energy and glycogen levels remained low and legs heavy. The GU did nothing for me. At the next water station, I slowed down to make sure to get some gatorade. At this moment, I realized beating my PR is gone and I would be happy with under 1:30.
Mile 11 (7:59)
This is the time I felt sick to my stomach. I never felt this feeling ever in the previous 3 half's before. I started wishing I had my own gels as planned. I tried to not let this bother me but at the water station I had to stop running and grab some water to sip for minute and cool down. David and others passed me, so 1:30 was out of reach. I decided to take the rest easy without giving up at the same time.
Miles 12 - 13 (7:36) (7:47)
I was feeling horrible with less than 1.5 miles to run and way worse than my marathon in April at the wall. I couldn't believe it. The Alamodome was in sight and the crowd was growing in size as I neared the finish but I couldn't run faster. My pace suffered and more runners were passing me as time went by. I thought back to my previous half's where I was flying the last 2 miles feeding off the adrenaline and crowd support. Anytime I tried to pick up the pace though, my stomach was making noises and felt sick.
And the last .1 (14:25)
As I turned the corner with the finish line less than 125 yards away, I couldn't hold it in and threw up...twice. I'm not going into detail, but I knew it was the lack of gels, heat, and over hydration. As I stood there for 20 seconds with my hands on my knees I was in shock and tearing. The past 14 weeks of training seemed useless and my Boston qualifying marathon in 4 weeks seemed out the window. The medic rushed over and he helped me walk to and across the finish. I felt depleted and drained. I finished 1:33:03, a great time but slowest of the 4 I've ran.
After the race, I realized I needed to be more realistic than optimistic. What's crazy is that these are the exact words Rod Dixon spoke 2 days before at the Expo. I should of planned for a hot race and slowed my pace down accordingly without forgetting my gels. I always harp to others and teach them to never do anything different on race day because you do not know the outcome. Well, I tried a new gel which killed my stomach, add the heat, and this all ruined the last 5k for me. We are never running this race again even though next year they pushed it back a week because of the conditions. Now it's time to focus the next 4 weeks for the Dallas Marathon.
Overall: 153 out of 16372
Age Group: 19 out of 719
