Twin Cities Marathon - RunMarathon

It was pretty crowded at first, so I had to do a lot of bobbing and weaving through the crowd. I was stoked to be running. Even though I knew the weather wouldn't help, I still thought I had a chance to run a PR. I had been expecting some unpleasant miles and mentally prepared myself to run through pain.
The first couple miles were uneventful. I was soooaking wet by mile 3. It was hard to find a rhythm will so many people, and around the lakes the roads narrowed as they turned, which made clogs pretty common. Some people were real assholes about moving over to let me pass.
After 6 miles or so it thinned out enough that there weren't any problems.
I had already planned to stop at every water station to be on the safe side, but I realized that in that heat it wasn't an option. I would HAVE to stop and drink a few cups at each water station.
While we were running around Lake of the Isles, Calhoun, and Harriet, we were pretty well shaded. It was still early in the day that it hadn't really heated up much, it was just humid. I felt good, but warm. I was sweating pretty bad.
Scott had stationed himself along the Parkway around mile 9. I would have run right by him if he didn't shout my name, there were so many people there cheering! My stomach had started cramping but if I rubbed the area with my fingers it would go away. Seeing him was a big boost. He rode along on his bike for a bit then said he'd see me in a couple miles.
As we came out alongside Nokomis, I took notice of my head. It felt like there were 25 gallons of blood inside, thumping up against my skull. My stomach cramps were intermittent but not too bad. My legs felt GREAT and I was still on pace for a BQ so I kept up with where I was at.
The wheels started to fall off a bit as we rounded around Nokomis. I thought my stomach cramps were from not drinking enough so I made the decision to walk slowwwwllly through the next stop and have a couple extra cups of water. Around mile 13 there was a water stop so I did exactly that: Slowed to a walk, grabbed a couple cups and downed them. All of a sudden I got extremely nauseaous and my stomach said "hellll no!" and up came a whole bunch of water and slightly chewed-up sports beans from mile 10. It got all over the legs of a guy in front of me. A medic that saw me throw up pulled me off the road and sat me down. I couldn't believe it. I started to hyperventilate, thinking that I wouldn't get a chance to keep running. I was so embarrassed to have thrown up, and ON someone! The EMS lady kept asking me questions, but I was so upset that all I could say was: I'm fine I'm fine, I just drank too much. She held me there for a bit before I convinced her that I really was okay and could run. Which was true, but that's where I made the decision to slow down and not be stupid. Clearly I wasn't going to be able to hold the pace without really getting f*cked up. So I headed off again, and a mile or so down the road I saw Scott. He looked kind of confused, later he said it was because I was pale as a ghost. I didn't feel like even saying anything to him, I just jogged by.
I started a jog/walk strategy as I approached the west side of the river. Whenever I started to think about the BQ time getting further and further away, my throat started to close up and it was hard to breath, and I'd have to walk. I really struggled for awhile to accept that it wasn't going to happen for me. I saw people all over the place needing medical attention, and that was a pretty convincing argument to take it easy.
At mile 17 I saw a bunch of my friends, who started screaming and going NUTS when they saw me. It was a mental boost that I really needed. They were GREAT. The loudest, most obnoxious fans out there! Really, everyone at the race was great. I know that some of the slower runners had issues with water stations running out, but every table I went to was fully stocked and the volunteers were great. I can't tell you how many spectators said things like "you're amazing!" Everyone out there was awesome.
Crossing the bridge onto the east side of the river I saw Scott waiting there with a soda. I jogged over to him, and kind of lost it for a bit. I still hadn't really come to terms with the no-BQ thing. So I stood there trying to drink down some coke and explain to him what happened back at Nokomis, and I almost started crying. I stood there for awhile b/c I needed the break to just calm down and collect myself (this is where I had the 14 minute mile). After I felt better I told him I'd see him at the finish, and started moving again. After the 20 mile mark is when I started to see people in REALLY bad shape. I saw people's legs give out on them, people on the side of the road throwing up, people as pale as sheets. That was scary. A girl that looked about my age was running alongside me as we passed a guy that the medics had rolled onto his side who was heaving violently and she said "god, I'm glad that's not me." We started talking and I found out this was her 3rd TCM, but this was the hardest marathon b/c of the weather. I said "Yeah, before this race I was hoping to BQ today, but not anymore." She said, "Me too! But I don't think anyone will be PRing today, now I'm just trying to finish in one piece." That made me feel SO much better, that I wasn't the only one. After that, I accepted the situation and just tried to enjoy the rest of the race. The last 6 miles I walked some, jogged most of it, and it went by pretty quickly. My legs felt great and I was going slow enough that my head wasn't pounding. The uphills weren't bad. The crowds along Summit were awesome. And before I knew it, I saw the capitol building ahead! Despite all the problems, the race seemed to go by so quickly!
With about a quarter mile to go, a woman right next to me's legs locked up and she fell over. That was frightening. Me & another guy ran over to help her up and got her back on her feet. Another male runnner came over and took her from me, and the two guys each had an arm around their shoulders and helped her shuffle along towards the finish. That was pretty emotional to see, and the crowd went CRAZY for it. They were screaming their hearts out. I got going again, and the next thing you know I was crossing the finish line!

Change the weather.

I had no appetite, but tried to eat a banana. It made me gag so I settled for just a bottle of water. All this delicious food around and I wanted none of it! A travesty.
My legs felt pretty good. I stretched out on the lawn for a bit before spotting Scott. I insisted on walking back to the car to help stretch my legs out. We didn't really hang around... I was anxious to get home b/c I wanted to shower and ice. I couldn't think about anything except getting in a tub full of ice.
Spent the rest of the day bumming around. I perked up after getting home and cleaning off. Spent most of the afternoon on the couch reading my book and watching poker on tv (Scott's choice. I couldn't believe it but I actually was intrigued. maybe my brain had gotten fried during the run). Didn't get my appetite back until the evening, and then ordered delicious chinese food that tasted like heaven.


The heat, humidity, having my period might have been a bit of the culprit with the stomach cramps.


This race was definitely humbling for me. I am happy that I recognized that I needed to back off in order to stay in the race. In hindsight, not making my goal time was one of the least traumatic things that could have happened in conditions like that. Volunteers and spectators were great. The course itself was beautiful and fun, and I hope I get a chance to redeem myself in cooler weather next year!