12.2 Very Very Really Long Miles

Today was the 20K race. I can't believe I woke up at 4:30 am. It was dawn when the race started. I felt good for the beginning of the race. It went fairly smoothly. Lots of people kept passing me, but I didn't care, I was more concerned about just finishing. There was a man at the 1 mile mark calling out the time. I was running at a 12 1/2 minute mile pace. That was about right for my past experiences. Luckily there were water/gatorade stations about every 2 miles. It gave me something to aim for until the next walking rest period. The first half of the race was not so bad, it was very difficult but I managed. I tried out a Power Bar Gel packet. It was chocolate flavored. It tasted like Hershey's syrup. Around mile 5 in the first lap, I saw a blur out of the corner of my eye. It was Jonathon on his second lap. He was almost done. I couldn't believe how fast he was going, I don't think I sprint that fast. I later found out he won the race with a time of approximately 1 hour 15 minutes. I was so excited to see the halfway point. It was time to go around again in another loop. It was getting harder and harder to get back to running after a little rest period. At mile 10 I just couldn't continue running. I had taken another Gel packet but it had little effect on me. By the 11th mile, I had tried to run again. This lasted for another 1/2 mile or so, but it was stop and go until the finish. When I saw the finish line, I found the energy to run towards it. We finished in just about 3 hours. I'm just so happy I made it through the entire race and finished. I stretched a little before getting in the car, but still felt so tired. When I got home, I was completely exhuasted. I knew I needed some food. It took all my strength to make and eat a piece of toast. After the toast and more stretching, I felt a little better. I laid down for a nap and rest of my fatigued body. Everytime I started to drift off to sleep, I felt like I was going to die. I felt like if I fell asleep, I would not awake. I did get a little bit of sleep and then tried very hard to eat some pizza. I wasn't sleepy after lunch, but couldn't stay upright. I laid back down for another few hours. By dinner time, I was able to at least sit up straight. Weight: 119 pounds Breakfast: 1/2 power bar, 1 piece of toast, 2 Gel packs, lots of water and gatorade Lunch: leftover piece of pizza Dinner: Buffalo chicken, potatoe, salad, chocolate cake