Fat Girl Running

After last weekend's 10 miles, I was feeling good about myself & was ready to do the Houston 20K race this weekend. However, I was worried about the supposed 2:40 time limit on the race. I knew there was no way I could do 12.4 miles in only 2:40 & I didn't want to get pulled off the course, but at practice yesterday I was told that they really don't close the course until much later. So after practice (I didn't run... it was my week to man a water station) I went to Luke's Locker & signed up for the race. I went to bed at 9:30 last night & was up at 4:30 to get ready for the race. (I needed time for things to "move along"... if you know what I mean. I did not want to have to stop at a port-a-potty during the race.)

I met up w/ some of my teammates (including 2 of my mentees) & we walked to the start line together. One of the girls & I made a quick pre-race pit stop at the Doubletree Hotel then tried to catch up w/ the rest of the gang, but we'd lost them. We went toward the back of the starting line because we knew we were slow & didn't want to get trampled when the gun went off. I ran into some other people randomly (it always amazes me how I'll find people in a crowd of 1000's) & before we knew it, the gun went off.

However, it was quite a while before we actually started to move. The starting line was on a small street & there was a big bottleneck. Finally we started moving veeeeerrrrrryyy slowly & eventually made it to the actual starting line. As soon as we crossed the line, we were able to run. I quickly glanced at my watch. The time was 7:08 am. In the crowd I couldn't start the split timer on my watch, so I just ran.

And ran & ran & ran. NO walking.

I was so caught up in all the excitement & the crowd that I just kept up with them. I couldn't believe it! After a few minutes, the sides of my calves started to burn & I realized I needed to walk. But even as I was walking, I knew I was going MUCH faster than I usually do. I just couldn't get myself to slow down. Even with the pain in my legs! The crowd had really thinned out so I was able to start my interval timer on my watch. It wasn't long before I was at the 1st mile marker. The clock at the mile marker said 17:10, but I looked at my watch. It was 7:21 am.

I got to the starting line at 7:08.

That means I did the 1st mile in 13 minutes!!!!

I thought "that can't be right!" But I re-did the math in my head (I tend to lose all ability for simple math when I run). It was true. I did a 13 minute mile. Are you f'ing kidding me?!?!?! Last week I averaged a 21 minute mile. This was un-fucking-believable!

As great as that knowledge felt, I also knew it was WAY too fast for me. I had to slow it down. I still kept up with my 3:1 intervals, but tried to slow it down a bit. At mile 2, the clock time was 32:02, which meant I did the 2nd mile in 14:52. Better (& again I was amazed!) but I knew I couldn't keep that pace going the whole way, so I slowed down a bit more. By mile 3 I was at 15:06, mile 4 was 15:31, & mile 5 was 15:37. The runners passing me on their 2nd & 3rd loops of the race were patting me on the back, saying how great I was doing, telling me how good I looked. People on the side of the road were cheering me on. One onlooker (who I saw 3 times during the race) pointed at me as I was passing her the 2nd time & said "I am SO proud of you girl! You are FABULOUS! YOU GO GIRL!!!" I was getting goose bumps.

Who the hell took over my body??? This isn't me! I don't do this well! I don't go this fast! What. the. hell??? My legs felt fabulous! There wasn't even a twinge of pain in my knee. The only problem I had up until then was I felt a teeny bit nauseous.

Then it happened.

Somewhere between mile 5 & 6 I started to get a sharp pain in my right side. I was cramping up. Bad. I was pretty sure it was from too much water/Gatorade & it pissed me the fuck off. Why? Why was this happening now? This can't happen! This was going to be the run of my life! I can't stop now! I slowed to a walk (& not a fast one, either). I couldn't run any more. Every time I tried, the pain would get too bad & I'd have to go back to walking. One of my coaches (who was on her 3rd loop) caught up to me & asked how I was doing. I told her what had happened & I knew I wouldn't be able to do the 3rd loop. She said that was fine & that the "finish" was just over 2 miles away. She told me to take it easy & as she ran on, she said she'd come back for me after she finished. She was true to her word & got back to me just after I passed the mile 7 marker. She walked with me the rest of the way to the finish line. I forced myself to run again & by the time I crossed the finish line, I was doubling over in pain. Every single breath hurt like a sonofabitch. I was pissed that I couldn't do the 3rd loop, but at the same time, I was still SO proud of what I was able to do.

Now that I know I can go that fast, I'm determined to work harder & see just how fast & how far I can go. I figure if I really keep up with my training (including training during the week again) then I should be in great shape (in more ways than one) for the San Diego marathon next June. However, my 1st goal is to lose more weight. I'm hoping to lose at least 40 lbs. by my 35th birthday (April 1). If I can do that, imagine how much faster I can run then!

We'll see what happens.