"Don't Stop Me Now...." - Half Marathon Race Day!

"I'm having such a good time, I'm having a ball." I was so sleepy this morning and wasn't enthusiastic about running the race. I was so scared that I had lost my interest in running. I ate an entire power bar and some water and a fizzy Emergen-C drink. It was pouring out which did not help my enthusiasm. By the time we parked the car, it had slowed down to a light drizzle with lots of puddles around. It was so dark and so cold, I was glum. The rain stopped at the start of the race, but I unfortunately had to make a pit stop at the ladies room. It put us behind all the other people, but it was necessary. Then as I tried to re-establish my proper pace, I felt all out of rythmn. I almost felt like I was going too fast. But, it got me back with the pack of people at my pace. After conqering the two big hills of Diamondhead Road, my spirits picked up. It was a very comfortable weather and I felt like I had lots of energy. I felt so wonderful, I didn't want to stop!! :):):):) As the sun started to rise (behind the clouds) I started to cheer up. I felt great. I felt like I was going a lot faster than usual (which I was). When we reached the gas station aide stop, I ingested a "Lava passion flavor" gel. It tasted disgusting. But, it gave me the energy to keep going on the highway. People were already coming back when we started on the highway. It made me feel more a part of the race with everyone around me. I felt strong on the way out and it didn't seem so far before we hit the turn around point. I was so happy it was halfway and we were making good time. On the way back on the highway, my neck started to tense up and I started to slow down a little bit. I made it back to the gas station aide stop and luckily there was still water left. After ingesting another gel, I still felt really good and knew I had the energy to make it to the end. Yes, it was still tough to get over the hills of Diamondhead, but once I was on the way down, I felt so energized. The last 1/2 mile to the finish line, I really pushed myself. There were too females in front of me that for some reason, I wanted to beat to the finish line. I pushed as hard as I could and went full force for the last 1/4 mile. I felt so great going so fast. It was exhuasting, but it felt so good when the people were cheering us on at the finish line. I was so happy! :) I felt good still too. Exhuasted, but good. It ends up I was running at a 13 1/2 minute miles. Which, sadly, is a big improvement from my usual pace. My stomach immediately started to rumble after the race. I took a piece of banana and fruit juice to go and started home. After I washed, I felt faintly hungry. I felt like I was sick again and would faint if I did not get food immediately. We went out to a diner and I ordered banana pancakes and an egg. I just couldn't even sit up straight. I felt so awful. I think I still had some of the bug left in my system. Once my food arrived I inhaled the egg in a few seconds and started on the pancakes. It all tasted so good, but I didn't feel much better. I drank some orange juice and water and finished most of my pancakes. I felt a little better, still not great. I just needed to give the food time to digest in my system and then I was feeling back to normal. Just really physically tired. We went to see a movie, so I ate a ton of buttered popcorn. It tasted so good, I just kept eating. I think I ended up eating half or more of the tub of popcorn. But, I was feeling great after the movie, I felt alive again. For the rest of the day, I didn't do much. I took a nap and watched more TV. I felt pretty good. My legs were a little tired and it was tiring to sit up straight, but I didn't feel terrible. I am now in a happy mood about running. I don't know why I felt so down about it. It could have been that nasty stomach bug that spent so much time in my system and made me feel bad about everything. Now I feel so energized and enthusiastic about the marathon. I'm so scared of how long we will be running. Probably about 6 hours! That's going to be such a long time. Weight: 117 pounds Pre-Race: 1 power bar, Emergen-C drink, water During Race: water, gatorade, 2 gel packs After Race: 1/4 banana, orange drink, banana pancakes, 1 scrambled egg, orange juice Lunch: Buttered Popcorn Dinner: Spicy Chicken frozen pizza, chocolate chip cookies w/ ice cream