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November 21, 2004
The Expo, Race, and Rest of Weekend
Wow, this has been one busy weekend. Saturday afternoon I headed to the expo. I usually do not enjoy going to expos; in fact, if someone else can pick up the stuff, I usually pawn it off onto them. No such luck for this race. Actually found a free parking place not that far from the Art Museum. I was supposed to meet Jessie at some point while there. I try to not buy things from expos because I would rather support my local running store, but I found a pair of Nike Zoom Milers that were samples in my size for $25 so I did buy them. I figure that even if I hate them, they can be lifting shoes or just hang out in sneaks.
I met Jessie and a bunch or her clubmates from DC. I was apprehensive about even mentioning to meet at first because this is my "secret" place. I put a lot of things out here that I would not tell to most people, so meeting someone who knows some of that stuff was kind of weird. She was really nice, as were all of her clubmates. After hanging out and looking at all of the vendors (most of the same vendors that are at every race) and eating Philly soft pretzels, Jessie and her friends went off to see some sight-seeing of Old City. They invited me along, but we are moving my grandmother from one nursing home to another this weekend and I had to help some.
I got up this morning and my body was not feeling so hot. Found a parking lot that was not too far away from the start finish area, not free, but at least there was some form of security. I did a pretty long warm-up, about 35 minutes. I knew then that today was not going to be my day. As always, I got a little bit lost finding my car and started to panic that I would miss the start (which would not have been a bad thing all things considered). I must say that I was apprehensive about racing because the last time I raced was the day I fell. I saw some people from that race and they all asked how I was feeling and did remind me that there really are not any pebbles on this course to trip me up.
One of the problems with this race is that everyone goes out really fast. Not just fast, but obscenely fast. I really tried to stay in control and not go with the flow. The clock was not running yet at the mile marker, so I took a peek. 5:55, right where I wanted to be. The second mile was not too bad either. I hit the 2 mile point just over 11:50. I thought, hey I might be able to salvage this. Something started to happen in the third mile. I went through there in just over 18. Uh oh. Usually around this point on the course are a bunch of pro-lifers with graphic photos, but they were not out there this year. By the time I got to the turn around I knew that there was no way to save this race. Three out of four wheels had fallen off and the last one was coming off fast. The fourth mile was really ugly. However, the last mile was the worst. I was barely hanging on. My form was way off. As I came up the hill to the Art Museum I was passed by about three women, and I could not do anything about it. I had to let them go. M was on the sideline telling me to relax and he knew that I was hurting, but to push through it. I finished in 31:01.
Jessie looked great and like she had a lot of fun. I saw her finishing as I was talking to M. He said that when he saw me around 2 miles he knew that I was not having a great day. My form looked off and I didn't look like I could get comfortable in the race. Some guy I don't even know told me that I did not look too good heading into the finish.
I met up with Jessie and her clubmates at the baggage check. She and I warmed down for about 20 minutes and cheered on the leaders of the race. She's considering doing some more of the big races in Philly now, including PDR, which I highly recommend.
After we warmed down, I headed back to my car to put on some warm clothes. I walked back and watched some of the marathoners finish. I started to feel pretty queasy so I headed home early. My stomach was not feeling so hot and still is not right. I was supposed to hang out at one of the bars with some folks who ran today, but I didn't think that would be a good idea. Alcohol just was not a good idea.
Instead I went shopping with my friend S. She bought a ton of electronic equipment for her house. I had to tease her that she isn't really a girl anymore after she got all of the stuff she was buying.
My grandmother is spending the night here tonight since her room in the new nursing home is not available until tomorrow.
Posted by Blondie at November 21, 2004 07:32 PM
Comments
I know what you mean about this being your "secret" place...I feel the same. When a co-worker told me he found the link to my blog I felt extremely vulnerable.
Posted by: Leilani at November 21, 2004 10:10 PM
Sorry to hear you weren't extremely pleased with your pace. Ugh. But, I'm glad that you got to meet and hang out with Jessie. I'm jealous of all of you over on the east coast! Take care and recover well! Meghan
Posted by: Meghan at November 22, 2004 01:14 AM