Carb Loading, Going Nude, and a Runner’s Game

Saturday night was how every night before a race should go down. Teammate, Lauren, had a bunch of us over for dinner.  We feasted on spaghetti, salad, bread, and seltzer water — an idyllic pre-race diner (although, Brian did sneak in some sangria).

I don’t buy bread for myself, or at least really good bread. But Rachel and I both brought fresh loaves and they were amazing. It’s a good thing I have manners or I might have made a meal simply of that.

As if dinner wasn’t enough, Lauren whipped up an amazing chocolate cake.

It was heaven. I’m not even a chocolate cake kind of person but I took a (second) piece of this home without regret.

All the carbohydrates definitely put me in a sleepy daze but I took a half shot of Nyquil to help settle me into bed (and breath — still fighting the cold). I also had another 36 ozs of water on top of the 38 I had before I went to dinner, which means I definitely woke up more than once. But rather that than hydrate in the morning and have to stop in the middle of the race!

It’s probably best that races start early in the morning. It’s better weather and less street and road traffic. But at 4:30 this morning, when my alarm went off, those things were hardly convincing enough. Brian and I headed up to the Bronx at around 5:30 and made it there with just enough time to use the porta-potties. My Team in Training mentor had warned me about the bathroom lines before our first race (the Achilles Hope & Possibility 5-mile), but I hardly had to wait there. In the Bronx, I was on line until two minutes before the race started.

We met up with Rachel and Lauren, both of whom weren’t sporting their fuel belts. I had debated wearing mine or not. During races, opposed to our long runs, there are hydration stations throughout, so the belts aren’t a necessity. But I’ve become accustomed to it. Plus, I didn’t have any pockets for my jelly beans and gummies. (Did I tell you about jelly beans or gummies? Basically they are runner’s snacks. An extra shot of the right kind of energy.) They convinced me that I didn’t need mine and that my snacks could easily be stored in my sports bra, so I left mine with my things at bag check. I likened it to  skinny dipping. No more extra layers!

I took a salt shot right before the race and ended up taking two more throughout. Between that, the 6 or so hydration stations, jelly beans, and gummies, I had a six course meal. But I think I played it smart because I didn’t crash once during the run. And I have to say, it felt good to go nude! That belt makes it hard to feel your own body. (Am I pulling in my core or did I pull the velcro too tight?)

I stayed with Lauren and Rachel all the way to the mile 8 hydration station. I took the first half easy because I still wasn’t feeling 100% and I’d rather leave more for the second half anyway. By mile 8, I knew I had enough to get me through to the end at a higher pace. I bid farewell to my teammates and took on the rest by my self.

I was worried about running the race by myself but those last five miles weren’t bad. In fact, they were really fun. On our ride up, Brian taught me a game he likes to play — we’ll call it “I’m Faster Than That Guy.” Brian picks out a person who is running ahead of him and tells himself, I’m faster than him! Then he runs past them and continues this way through out the race. I started playing this game around mile 9 and I’m pretty damn good at it! In fact, I can probably count the number of people who passed me all the way to the end on just two hands. All the people who unknowingly participated in the “I’m Faster Than That Guy” had gone out much stronger than I did. They probably looked like rock stars then. But at mile 11, 12, 13, they ate my dust! It was awesome, to say the least.

The tricky thing about the last mile or so is that everyone on the side line says, “you’re almost there.” And you want to believe them. But “almost” is too relative when you’re running on a limited tank of gas. I get my hopes up and push a little further each time, thinking the end will be right there, just like they said, but it’s not. It’s steps and steps and steps and steps and steps away. But finally, I saw Brian and my other Team in Training friends who already finished. They were eating bagels and bananas and telling me, “you got this!” which made me smile because that was what I had been saying to myself since mile 10. I got this.

I finished strong and even though my time is nothing to brag about, I’m pretty proud. I finished my first half-marathon in 2 hours and 24 minutes with a stuffy nose and, yes, of course, achy knees.

I ate a bagel, had some chocolate milk, wiped the dried salt from my face. My body was more tired and creeky than it’s ever been before. Brian drove us home and I tried to keep awake for the ride as best I could. I took a cool shower once I got in and then put ice on my knee during my long-awaited power-nap that turned into 2.5 hours (which could have easily turned into 5 hours but I forced myself to get out of bed).

Now that we’ve done the Bronx Half-Marathon, we’ll have to settle the series and do all the boroughs, don’t you think?

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