The Big Race!!

Race day!!! I was a nervous wreck the day before. I was having a bit of pain in my foot still, so was not sure if it would hold up for the race. I decided that I would try no matter what, and drop out if it was too painful. We picked up our shirts and numbers at the expo the day before. It was so exciting!!

Here is a map of the run. It loops around Central Park, then comes out at 7th ave, turns on 42nd street, then goes along the Hudson river to Battery Park. It seemed to be an easy course given the huge hills I am used to running at home.
I woke up at 5 am on Sunday for the race. There was an incredible thunder and lightening storm outside. We had an awesome view from the 59th floor apartment. I loaded up on motrin, had Pete tape up my arch, put on my arch compression socks and got dressed. We could hear the rain outside. The starting line was about 1.5 miles away, so we decided to walk.

Pete and I went to our seperate corrals (based on estimated time of finish). The race started at 7 am. The rain stopped right before the run started. It was about 75 degrees out and 90% humidity. I had no idea what that was like to run in. It was like running in a sauna. I felt like I was suffocating the entire time. My foot was really hurting the first mile, but I wanted to give it a bit more time, so kept going. It actually got better after that, and remained as a dull ache the rest of the run. I struggled more with the weather than anything!

This was the view coming out of the park onto 7th avenue. There really are no words to describe the feeling of running through the streets of New York. It was incredible! We went through Times square, then onto 42 nd st.

I actually had to break down and walk a couple of times between miles 11 and 13. When I saw the 800 yards sign I seriously wondered if I was going to make it. But I did. My official time was 2 hour 8min 34 sec. Not bad considering my foot, and I had to stop and wait 5 minutes for the bathroom at mile 5. I found Pete at the finish and found out he struggled with the weather as much as I had. His time was 1 hr 37 min. Apparently he crossed the finish, then laid down and was unable to get up for 20 min.

Here we are right after I finished. We don't look too bad here.

Then we both fell apart. I ran to the porta potty with the worst stomach cramps and diarrhea. Then Pete did. Then it was my turn again. And so on, back and forth. We were basically stuck there for an hour, too sick to get on the subway and head back. We finally stumbled to the station and made it back home. We spent the next few hours too sick to do anything. After a few hours I started feeling a bit better, but Pete still looked awful. We needed to hop in a cab and get to the airport, but we were not sure if we could. Do we go home? Go to the ER? That was the sickest I have ever seen him and I was getting scared. We decided to head home, and if he was still sick when we touched down, he would go straight to the ER at home. Thankfully he came around a bit in the airport and was able to eat a little. Our plane was delayed in NY, which made us miss our connection in Utah. We had to stay overnight in Utah, and finally made it home the next day.

Things I learned from this experience:

1. Drink more water!! I tend to get side aches when I drink, so will have to work around that.

2. Consider Immodium before my marathon. For me the diarrhea started before the run, and I even had to stop at mile 5 for it.

3. If traveling for a run, give ourselves the day to recover before hopping on a plane.

4. No connecting flights!!!

5. It really is the humidity, not the heat.

6. And finally, if you have diarrhea so bad that it makes your butt bleed, thong underwear is not comfortable!! Pack regular undies next time!!

Despite this experience, Pete has signed up to do the San Jose Rock-n-Roll half-marathon in October. You go Pete!!