I want to cry real bad.
Here's how she went down...The first half felt really good. As in really, really good. I felt strong and steady and was holding back a ton. A TON!! The goal, as always, is to negative split so I was really trying to just run a pace that I was confident I could run for all day. I had glanced down at Garmin just a couple of times and he was telling me we were doing awesome. I felt good.
Then:
I hit the half way mark at about 55 minutes. And still feeling really good. I was in a rythm and running along and was actually excited about the second half!! Then I got to about the 12km mark...a fierce wave of dizzyness washed over me...as in my eyes clouded over and I stopped short to walk for a few steps, I even swerved off of the path. What the F* was that? I was drinking and had had a gel, it was cool out and I was doing everything I normally do??? So I walked for about a minute and started running again...no luck...a couple of minutes later, the same swoosh of my head feeling super light and my eyes clouding over...I have NEVER had this happen before EVER so I got a little scared as I was out in the middle of no where with all these runners. The two hour pace bunny passed me and I just mentally was done. Done.
Started running a third time. This time I ran a little farther and much much slower but I could start to feel the dizzyness come so I stopped again. Threw my goal time out the window, turned off my music and just walked/ran, mostly walked the last 6-7 km.
I was super upset. I still am. On the verge of tears everytime I think about it...which is every minute so far today. Tried to make a "fun" morning out of the experience...stopped and visited with a couple of friends I have not seen for awhile. Stopped at the beer station for a cool one. Stopped at a house offering up coffee and had a few sips and visited with these complete strangers for a few minutes. Ran with a guy named Adam who was doing his very first half...he was really struggling so I ran with him the last 2 km...got him up radio hill and talked him in the last km. Saw Jenn and Chuck cheering me on at the finish and put on a brave face but nearly started bawling...glad I did not see them after because that would have been embarrassing!!
It is too early to come up with a "what I have learned" paragraph. I still feel dizzy so obviously something is going on. I just wished it would have waited until tomorrow!!!
5 comments:
Hey Kel, Very impressive that you finished with a smile with that much going on, and even better that you were able to help a newbie thru his struggles at the same time. True spririt of sportsmanship!!
Jen and I were starting to become concerned and happy to see you coming at us to the finish!!
Oh Kel, I'm so sorry about your race! Also a little scared for you as to what might have been going on with your bod. I hope you find an answer.
Granted your race did not go as plan, but can I just tell you how wonderfully amazingly awesome you are??? Your race goals went out the window, you felt like crap, and yet you took the time to run with a dude who was doing his 1st half and struggling. YOU ARE A ROCKSTAR!!!!!
You may never know what an impact you had on Adam, but I bet it was huge. I'm sure he is thanking you from wherever he is because of you were so kind and thoughtful to help him out.
Cry for the race you wanted, and then smile for the day you gave Adam!!
Big hugs to ya!
That's too bad! To have things start well, then fall apart is really hard. However, if you're still feeling dizzy, this is something you need to get checked out. You can hurt yourself quite badly just falling down when you're standing, and you don't want to think about getting such a thing happen when you're on your bike.
That sounds brutal! Hopefully you aren't coming down with something, it sounds like your blood pressure or blood sugar were low?
You need a re-do! Any chance you can come to GP this weekend and do the half? You can stay with me!
I am sorry to hear it didn't go so well. You are a hero in my book for persevering and finishing with a smile! Maybe you didn't eat enough before the race? I don't know. Humf. What I do know is these races are meant to teach us and to truly enjoy the good ones. Again I am sorry but I'm still proud of you.
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