I learned two things when I ran the Jamestown half marathon on Saturday morning, one the mind is one powerful thing, and that I'm a much happier person when I workout. Going in to the half marathon I thought that I would finish around the two hour and thirty minute mark. I had been running but I don't count once a week as training. After a nice five mile run on Wednesday I had a little bit of confidence. My body is not where it needs to be but my mind is stronger than ever. When you start to experience real life and real pain, running is as easy as tying your shoes. I was so focused on Saturday that I could have ran for days, I had some help staying hydrated by using Skratch Hyper Hydration, Skratch helped so much, I was finally hydrated and stayed hydrated the whole race. Being hydrated helped me focus on running and being mentally strong.
Before talking about the race, I must apologize to anyone that saw me at the race. I was so focused on the task at hand that I ignored a lot of people. I found that out today while at work when a good friend said "A bunch of people said they saw you Saturday but were scared to talk to you because you looked so intense." I also got, "Why'd you ignore so and so, they saw you at the race and said hi but you didn't even recognize them." Trust me I did not do this intentionally, I was focused on the task at hand, I ran a quarter mile with an old high school friend and had a nice chat but other than that I didn't converse with anyone and I'm sorry that I missed a lot of people.
As the race began I was very focused on listening to my body, if my body couldn't do it I would have dropped out, but when you get goosebumps a half mile in and your body feels amazing you know it is going to be a good day. After finishing the first 5k in 27 minutes I was very happy and knew that I could pick it up a little while taking in everything around me. I enjoyed the scenery and kept a good pace as approached mile 7, then I had to find a spot in the woods to use the bathroom. This was a first, I've never been so hydrated that I had to pee mid run. Back to the run, a rolling hills course was not what I expected as I hit mile ten, my body felt good and I wanted to finish the final 5k in 22 minute to try and finish around 1:50:00. A few hills and my body feeling tired had me finish with a time of 1:57:39. As I finished I had a huge smile on my face, I was happy that I finished but I was happy because running is my escape. When I run or ride the bike I find my happy place, I think a lot about life and how lucky I am to be where I am. I say it a lot but after getting knocked down so much getting up and enjoying that you're up and fighting makes life great. I still have a chip on my shoulder from the doctor telling me I should be dead and that I wouldn't do anything. I need to find this doctor and drop my A1C records for the past five years and give him a pile of medals that I have earned. He pissed me off but guess what it worked and at the end of the day as bad as his bed side manner was, he did his job.
As far as the diabetes goes, I couldn't have asked for better blood sugars while racing. I started just below 190, I suspended my pump just before the start and would not resume it until mile 10. I got as low as 99 but a couple packets of GU would have me around 170 at the finish. I'm not sure if it was the early start time but I love how well I did blood sugar wise. This race was just what I needed, I have been bitten by that bug again and I expect to be running a 1:40:00 half marathon in September when i race in the very flat Surftown half marathon in September.
Before talking about the race, I must apologize to anyone that saw me at the race. I was so focused on the task at hand that I ignored a lot of people. I found that out today while at work when a good friend said "A bunch of people said they saw you Saturday but were scared to talk to you because you looked so intense." I also got, "Why'd you ignore so and so, they saw you at the race and said hi but you didn't even recognize them." Trust me I did not do this intentionally, I was focused on the task at hand, I ran a quarter mile with an old high school friend and had a nice chat but other than that I didn't converse with anyone and I'm sorry that I missed a lot of people.
As the race began I was very focused on listening to my body, if my body couldn't do it I would have dropped out, but when you get goosebumps a half mile in and your body feels amazing you know it is going to be a good day. After finishing the first 5k in 27 minutes I was very happy and knew that I could pick it up a little while taking in everything around me. I enjoyed the scenery and kept a good pace as approached mile 7, then I had to find a spot in the woods to use the bathroom. This was a first, I've never been so hydrated that I had to pee mid run. Back to the run, a rolling hills course was not what I expected as I hit mile ten, my body felt good and I wanted to finish the final 5k in 22 minute to try and finish around 1:50:00. A few hills and my body feeling tired had me finish with a time of 1:57:39. As I finished I had a huge smile on my face, I was happy that I finished but I was happy because running is my escape. When I run or ride the bike I find my happy place, I think a lot about life and how lucky I am to be where I am. I say it a lot but after getting knocked down so much getting up and enjoying that you're up and fighting makes life great. I still have a chip on my shoulder from the doctor telling me I should be dead and that I wouldn't do anything. I need to find this doctor and drop my A1C records for the past five years and give him a pile of medals that I have earned. He pissed me off but guess what it worked and at the end of the day as bad as his bed side manner was, he did his job.
As far as the diabetes goes, I couldn't have asked for better blood sugars while racing. I started just below 190, I suspended my pump just before the start and would not resume it until mile 10. I got as low as 99 but a couple packets of GU would have me around 170 at the finish. I'm not sure if it was the early start time but I love how well I did blood sugar wise. This race was just what I needed, I have been bitten by that bug again and I expect to be running a 1:40:00 half marathon in September when i race in the very flat Surftown half marathon in September.
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