Needing an IV in the Worst Way

So Saturday's race.. how to describe it...

Start:                 Middle:           End:
-Cold                                -Lonely                       -Exciting
-Sunny                              -Painful                        -Long
-Crowded                         -Hot                            -Confusing
-Enjoyable!                       -Sunny                         -Cloudy

Finish time?? A disappointing 1:50. What happened, you ask? Gluten, a bad pre-race dinner, a poor night's rest, and a lack of electrolytes happened.

Gluten: I have been having stomach issues for a while now, and not eating bread seemed to clear it up. The carbo-loading I did on Thursday and Friday completely tore up my stomach, leaving me queasy, cramped, tired, and bloated.
Lack of rest: I only got around 7 hours Thursday night, and much less Friday night. Our hotel room was quite hot, and there were a lot of people outside the room, which was on the ground-floor facing outside, who made noise into the wee hours of the morning... well, morning for me, aka 12 am.
Bad Pre-Race dinner: I had wanted some pasta or other carbolicious Italian food, and so we called a friend of ours that owns a house in OC and frequents all the local restaurants. The "Italian" place she told us to go to had no Italian food... and gave me the most disgusting sandwich I have ever eaten. I basically just ate sweet potato fries, chips (for the salt), a crab quesadilla, and some yogurt and fruit. Not the greatest pre-race meal....
Lack of electrolytes: During the school day, I always have my water right in front of me, so I automatically drink out of it every couple of mintues. When I am off of school or traveling? Not so much.

Basically, the first 3 miles were complete bliss; I was running consistent, pain-free 7:45 minute miles, but at mile 4, my stomach cramped and I had to make an emergency pit-stop. From then on, my pace vacillated between 8:00 and 8:15, but within a few miles I was feeling the dehydration creep into my inner thighs and I watched in horror as my pace decreased to 8:30. There was nothing I could do, and though I seriously contemplated a DNF, I knew that I just had to make it to the finish and then I could cry all I wanted and collapse into my parents' arms (yeah, I was having that rough of a time). At mile 8, I saw an race-affiliated ambulance and thought of dropping out and getting an IV; I was so thirsty that every minute I wondered where the water station was. I started chugging Gatorade at each aid station, and turned up my music even louder and just tried to enjoy the scenery, abandoning my goal of 1:45 and going instead with anything under 1:50. The last mile brought the only hill of the race, and while I tried my best to power through it, my legs were D.E.A.D.

Legendary Yellow Baller Shades.

 The course ended up being a little longer than 13.1, which left me literally searching for the finish once my Garmin hit that number. That extra .1 was the least enjoyable finish I have ever experienced, but once again my AWESOME parents were right near the finish line audibly cheering me on. I got compliments on my yellow sunglasses that come with me to every race, the race director shook my head, and I put the race behind me.

  What did OC teach me?
-That with every race, I grow a little. Each mile brings new challenges, both mental and physical, and with the end comes the realization that I have once again become a little healthier, a little stronger, a little more experienced, and a little closer to reaching my ultimate goal: 1:15.
-That the half-marathon is truly my favorite race. The mileage is perfect: broken up into 3s, the race is really just 4 drops in the bucket plus an extra mile, and once I hit mile 4, the miles tick off quickly
-That even when I have been injured, have only run 5 miles during the taper, and have taken a 2-minute BR break, I can still hit a respectable time... and if you subtract my potty time, I got a 1:48, so 8:16ish pace.. not bad all things considered!
-That 8 minutes is a comfortably hard pace that I think, hopefully, I can sustain for a longer distance, perhaps even 26.2
-That I really don't need more than one GU or Hammer Gel per race
-That Chocolate Milk is absolutely the most perfect post-race recovery drink
-That an omelette is way better than pancakes when calories need to be replenished
-That every run is a gift, and when the time starts to slip and the pain sets in, thinking about my family, my friends, my future, and my surroundings really can be my saving grace


Did I beat myself up a little bit? Yeah. Did I also let it go and enjoy the day with the fam.? HECK yeah. And...Did I go gluten-free? Duh.