Monday, May 19, 2008

Finishing what I started

Yeah, the marathon did not go at all as planned.

I was targetting 3:30 and was pretty to pace through 11. Then I lost some time in the with a bathroom stop and was already starting to feel a little off. I so wanted to just turn at the half course and call it a day!

When Elizabeth and Aimee picked me up at the half (~1:51), I changed my plan to target 3:40 as I was just not feeling very good.

As I approached mile 14, I glanced down at my HRM my HR was starting to really sky rocket. After reaching 180 I started walking and proceeded to wheez uncontrollably. It took forever to catch my breath and about this time, I decided my goals were out the window and I would have to take finishing as an accomplishment.

I mean if I was not going to PR or BQ, what is the difference of finishing in 4 hours vs. 4:30?

The rest of the day continued in this matter. It seemed any period of prolonged running resulted in HRs ranging from 170-185 when I would have to walk again. Thank goodness for Aimee and Elizabeth as they kept me going with fun chit chat while we pretended that I felt good for camera men!

I felt terrible. My stomach felt binded up and I thought I might hurl at any moment and my chest ached from the heart working so hard. I can't seem to put my finger on the problem.

Here is what I do know-

Contrary to my normal routine, I had taken two Excedrin pills which contain caffeine and two Immodium pills prior to my run. The week prior was insanely busy and stressful and I had not had a good nights sleep in 5 days. Plus I felt off on Saturday.

I feel pretty blah today and it seriously feels like my chest is still sore. At this point I am just looking forward to a couple weeks of downtime.

In the grand scheme of things I am obviously disappointed that I was so far from my goal, but in life things don't always go as planned. I will take some small comfort that I finished while feeling so crappy and heck at least I got in some extra girl time with my ladies! I am now just ready for some R&R the next 2 weeks or so!

17 comments:

The Salty One said...

Oh, J!! I am so sorry things didn't go as planned. I am glad you took care of yourself--hr's that high just don't sound right! You are one tough cookie to finish under those conditions and I give you tons of credit. You're definitely one of the toughest chicas I know! And you have the coolest arm warmers I have ever seen, to boot :)

See you on a recovery run soon, I hope!

Mnowac said...

Sorry the race didn't go as planned. Finishing is always an accomplishment. Enjoy your downtime, you work so hard, you deserve some real rest.

Kim said...

aw sweetie, im sorry you werent feeling so well during the race :( you crossed that finish line though, and i give you mad props. now put your feet up, grab that cold beer, and rest!

duchossois said...

That was a hard day, and you toughed it out. Now that I've read this and I understand what you were going through, I really feel awful about saying you may need to put in more miles. That was stupid. I am an ass.

Papa Louie said...

Janet, you are one brave soul! You hung in there despite feeling crummy and finished a marathon. Good for you. The marathon is a difficult process and I don't think we'll ever graduate from learning all we can. I'm sure next time will bring you better experiences. Enjoy your recovery time.

TriShannon said...

Hey - sorry it didn't go as planned. I was thinking about you while I was out on the course. Hoping you were having a better day than me. Great job finishing!

It was awesome seeing you! Cannot wait to plan our next meet-up!

Brian said...

You're going to run a lot of sub-3:30 marathons when it's all said and done. Yesterday was a fluke and you'll learn from it.

solarsquirrel said...

I cannot believe you still wanted to run after going through all of that!!! You are crazy! You still finished - I am just glad you are ok - your heart rate was scaring me. Now you know for next time - no pills before the race - esp. one's with caffeine!!!

Brian said...

At least you're not hobbling around today like me. That's a high hr. I'd go get a stress test just to be on the safe side.

I should have just hung with you guys. It would have been more fun then the rest of my run. Although bridget did run with me but I was too tired to make conversation back with her.

Trisaratops said...

Hey girl--so sorry to hear that the day didn't go as planned. I hope you feel better today--rest up and the fact that you even finished says a lot about what a tough cookie you are!

Jodi said...

That just sucks, I'm so sorry! Give your body some time to recover. You'll be back at it again in no time! I you're looking for your next BQ, meet me in Vegas in December!

:-)

Jodi

JenC said...

Wow, that sounds kind of scary. Way to tough it out buddy. Enjoy the R&R.

triguyjt said...

Janet...

enjoy the down time..as you really battled. wow, that had to be very tough for you...

sorry it didn't work out for you but, you really gutted it out and thats highly commendable..

GP said...

Goals or no goals, you still finished the race and managed to make a good time with your girls out of a blah situation. It's races like this one, however, that will make future outings that much better.

On a related note: my chest kicked up with the same pain and wheeziness mid-race, and it's been bothering me for the past several days. The past several weeks have been stressful on me as well... so, maybe we have some communicable stress-related running pneumonia of something.

I hope you're feeling better and that you get some rest and stress relief.

E-Speed said...

hey girlie hope you are kicking back this week. You definitely scared me out there. You are tough and don't let yourself think otherwise. You were just dealt a crap hand on Sunday. Next time you will get that 3:30!

ramblings of a runnner said...

sometimes it's your day - and sometime's it's not - it takes a truly dedicated person to finish what you started even when it's not your day. Congratulations on sticking it out!

allanjel said...

That determination that got you to the finish on Sunday is gonna get you that 3:30 next time!