At the risk of sounding like I am repeating myself, I couldn't get to sleep and I couldn't stay asleep. I always have pre-race jitters! Once we got to our hotel, I made sure I didn't forget anything:
. It was very nice, very clean - and even though they do a great deal of business with the casinos, noise levels were also fine!
I think I wound up sleeping a total of 5 and 1/2 hours. Not what I planned, but I couldn't stop thinking...Beat 1:40, Beat 1:40, Beat 1:40. That was the time I was shooting for because Coach told me on Wednesday, "Beat 1 hour and 40 minutes! Your strong. You can do it!"
Finally, got out of bed , got dressed and went to the lobby area where they served breakfast.
Wing-man and I both had oatmeal. I also had some fresh fruit. The Marriott served Starbucks. I should have bought a cappuccino - I don't really like Starbucks regular coffee. It's too strong.
Wing-man and I are DD fans! Thank goodness there was a DD truck at the half!
Anyone else on the same page with us, here?
The Niantic Bay area was beautiful:
The run was very scenic:
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| Rocky Neck State Park |
And the people of Niantic came out in droves. They were cheering and waving everyone on - it was so nice! All you saw throughout the entire race was hundreds of people working together to make sure runners were hydrated and safe. The community outreach was beautiful! (Even though there was no National Anthem at the start of the race - you all know how much I love to sing the National Anthem at the beginning of a race!)
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| The Pavillion at the Start of the Race |
My only other pet peeve, besides no National Anthem, was that after we walked a few hundred feet to the Pavillion, we all noticed there were no Port-O-Johns! Aaagh! Everyone was doin' a Jay-Wow in the woods!
In their defense - there were portable toilets on the race - something I don't ever remember seeing before. And the race was really well-run and very organized.
Well, after my own Jay-Wow experience, I was feeling so Jersey Shore...
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| C'mon honey, make a nice face... |
OKAY....
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| Ready to break that 1hour and 40 minute ceiling!!!! |
On your mark, get set, go....
The start of the race was a bit hectic, as everyone tried to funnel into Rocky Neck State Park and onto the footpath. About 1/2 mile in, it got a little better.
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| At the start! |
I kept a 7:30 pace for the first seven miles, then, the heat and humidity started to take its toll. My pace dropped down to a 7:40. I even dropped to 7:50 during mile 8...and I was really pushing myself. I kept praying that I would find the strength to finish strong and finish fast!
Whatever I did, I had to catch this woman:
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| Andy! |
I introduced myself to her after the race, of course making a fool out of myself, "Do you remember me? I was yelling at you about how great you look!"
She smiled. I asked her if I could interview her - she was great - and agreed. I totally screwed up my ipad (I'm new at this). All I got was:
I am so very sorry. I so wanted to share with everyone what great shape Andy was in - and what a total inspiration she was to me during the race. I tried to catch her throughout the race - I just had to catch this woman who's body was that of an olympic athlete! Of course, during the race I did not know she was
ten years older than me! WOW!
All I knew was that she ran her ass off, her form was great and I was going to keep up with her! Congratulations Andy for placing in your age group - I am so sorry I screwed up the ipad Interview :,(
After screaming to Andy how great she looked, I focussed on cutting more time off my race. I really pushed.
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| Wing-Man was screaming, "Your close, you can do this!" |
I was close to breaking that 1 hour and 40 minute goal!
I sprinted so hard during that last 1/10th of a mile that I was foaming at the mouth when I crossed the finish line. And what did I see: 1:40:XX.
I kept jogging for another 50 yard and then I lost it. I broke down and cried. I was sobbing like a little baby! I gave it my all...and I couldn't break 1hour and 40minutes! Aaaagh! How utterly humbling!
Aaah. Sixth in my age group with all I had! Wing-man and I decided to walk around while I drank my EnduroxR4 recovery drink. I am sure glad I brought the powder in the mixer because my hamstring and my calves started to cramp up on me. I just added some water and I was good to go exploring more of the park.
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| Rocky Neck State Park Picnic Area |
Since my bib time got messed up, my time couldn't be recorded accurately - but The Granite State Race Services employees wrote down the top 20 females - and, I was one of them, so at least my finish was recorded - It wasn't the time I saw crossing the finish, but at least I got credit for the race!
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| Thanks Guys! |
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