This was a great race - it was humid in the morning, but not too hot and cloudy, otherwise the sun would've killed me... It was pretty hilly but nothing too bad. Beautiful countryside, in the farmland of Maryland, starting at the C&O canal by Poolesville. I felt pretty good at the start, but apparentlly I started off too quickly because a lot of people kept passing me... I rarely passed anybody the entire race. Drove out there with my ultrarunner friend Bryon and his girlfriend Lindsay, we had a nice conversation on the way there. The miles weren't marked, as this is a very small race, but there were plenty of water/gatorade stops throughout with such nice volunteers! I was feeling pretty good, and at around 45 minutes Bryon came the other way looking strong and he gave me a hi-5. I hit the turnaround point at 53:50, still feeling good. Then ten minutes later I felt I was bonking... I had taken some gatorade but had decided up until then not to do gels, to do gatorade instead, but I'm not sure that was a good idea. My friend John saw me at around mile 9 and yelled out my name, that was nice and made me smile!
Then a few minutes later this beautiful girl looks at me and smiles, and I knew it was Jill! She looked great, but just coming out of a big hill, so she looked like she needed a hug - forgetting that I was completely drenched, I hugged her and kept going. She probably thinks I'm a nutcase, hahaha! Jill, if you're reading this, I must say your pictures don't do you justice! you looked amazing out there! And sorry I didn't see you cross the finish like, I was carpooling and couldn't miss my ride back home...
At the next aid station, around 1:10 I had one of my gus and some water. I still can't seem to get the fluids/gels thing right... I didn't want to drink too much, but yet my mouth was always dry. I had part of my second gel at 1:30 to see if it helped me feel a bit better. Had some cramps the last 2 miles or so, but nothing too bad. Lindsay and Bryon were cheering for me by the finish line, and I was done!
I have to say I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't finish any faster than my previous PR (1:48:40), especially considering I hadn't really trained much before that one, but the hills were much larger this time, and the lonely countryside was a bit challenging mentally at times. But considering I didn't really taper or made this race a priority, and the fact that I haven't been sleeping well this past week, it was a good run. It's nice to know where I stand on my training. And I still have time to get faster, and I will!
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Results are up: I was 17th girl out of 201, and 3rd out of 33 in my division!!! Not too shabby for me! | 