Race Update

Before I post my race report, I want to say I don't think I have compartmental syndrom anymore. I think something is wrong with my calf, but I think it's more like a strained or torn muscle.

Now that that's out of the way.... This is going to be long, but I want to include everything. I had such an emotional week going into the race- I want to remember everything.

I decided to stop running the week before the half to rest my calf. It really hurt. I also decided not to mess with it for the first few days to completely rest it. I was not encouraged driving down to Florida. It was still sore to the touch.

We arrived Wednesday afternoon and unpacked and swam. My kids had the flu and one of my daughters threw up in the car on the way. Not fun! Friday morning I went for a 3 mile run and it was terrible. My calf started hurting at 1 mile and I was just about in tears when I was done. How was I going to run 10 more? We went to the expo at noon and my emotions were all over the place. On a happy note- I bought a great running skirt and broke all the rules and wore it for the race. It felt great. I was planning on getting a "Stick" and the guy at the booth massaged my calf out for me. He said he could feel the knot in my calf and told me to keep working on it until the race. It actually felt better when he was done. I felt a little more encouraged after that. My mom also gave me some arthritis cream to put on it. At that point I was willing to try anything.

Friday night was the worst. I couldn't sleep because I was so anxious. My leg was throbbing even when I did nothing. I think I got a few hours of sleep at the maximum. We left the house at 6 for the 5K and kids races. They were at Epcot in the same place as the half would be. I saw the stands and finish line where I would be the next day. It made me super nervous. At the start of the 5K I had tears in my eyes. I think it was mostly because of my fear for the next day.

Everyone did great in the 5K and kids races. My two youngest daughters had the flu full force and the little one didn't want to run. I told her she wouldn't get a medal if I had to carry her and luckily, she agreed to run while holding my hand. It was sweet. We went back to my parents and swam and rested.

I got all my stuff together Saturday night and went to bed. My leg was feeling pretty good. The knot was still there, but barely. I started having hopes that I could finish. My husband was planning to taking all the girls to the race, but we decided to leave the little two home because they had fevers. It turned out they all stayed home because the big two were too tired to get up at 4:45 AM! My youngest woke up 4 times coughing that night. I tried very hard not to get mad at my husband who slept through it all.

Race day- I woke up at 4:15 and ate some summer oatmeal with peanut butter. I decided to skip my normal coffee. I got my bag and my husbands bag together and off we went. (I loaded my husband down with everything I might need- Body Glide, Body Glide Heat, BioFreeze, arthritis cream- I told him to be prepared to hand me anything at a seconds notice!). We got to Epcot around 5:45 and walked around a little. I realized I forgot to put Body Glide on my toes so off came the shoes and socks. He headed to the monorail after that and I started the long walk to the start line.

I met two frinds from sparkpeople there and it was great to talk to them. It really took my mind off the race. My strategy was to start out slow and see how it felt. I approached the race in three parts- two 5 milers and a 5K. If I was feeling good after 10 miles I would push the last 5K. It was dark and cold (relatively) outside and weird to start running in the dark.

My first mile was effortless. I had to weave around some people (walking at mile 1?). I forgot to press the split button on my watch, but I think it was around a 10+ minute mile. I felt good all the way to mile 9 when my calf cramped a little. By this time it was hot and sunny and I was facing the only hills on the course. (They're actually road ramps but they were pretty steep.) By mile 10 I knew I couldn't push the last 3 miles. I wasn't hurting, but I was content to keep the same pace. I saw that I could possibly finish in under 2 hours but I would have to run each mile at under a 9 minute pace. I had a hard time figuring out the last mile. It was twisty and I couldn't tell where the finish was. When I finally spotted it I sprinted. I was just shy of the 2 hour mark at 2:00:23.

At first I was disappointed, but then I realized what a miracle it was that I finished. I got teary when they put my medal round my neck- realizing how close I came to not making it. This was such an emotional race experience for me. I've had some time to reflect on the whole experience, but that wil have to be another post.