Thousand Miles to Salamanca

Buda, Oh Buda!

Distance: 18.6 miles (30K)
Time: 2:38.12

Right now, I don't have much feeling in either of my feet. My legs hurt, and I'm quite exhausted. To start out, I didn't register for the event until this morning and as my alarm clock went off I was considering sleeping in and not going. I considered that for at least a split second.

So we got there around 7:00AM, registered, and froze. It was probably around 30 degrees at the Buda High School track. That's where we started. It was a RunTex Distance Challenge event, so there was a lot of people from Austin. I put three layers on, packed three packets of goo and had my running pants on. With my new shoes and socks laced up, I was off to the freezing cold starting line. It was cool that the race started on the track, inside the football stadium. It was pretty nice.

The run start hectic, people everywhere, cutting each other off, blabbing, stumbling over people. Finally, I saw the mile 1 marker.

Mile 1: 8:26.12

Mile two was a steady downhill and I still was tight as hell. My feet still hurt, would not warm up either. Still cold.

Mile 2: 8:20.93

Had to go to the bathroom. Too much water this morning. Threw my gloves into the clothing drop-off, turned a corner and spotted some port-a-poties. Had to wait for someone, go, and play catch-up.

Finally, after losing about 45 seconds to 1 minute, I was on my way. But as I was getting back out there, I passed the Governor of Texas: Rick Perry. He had on a Motorola Marathon windbreaker and a dark hat. It was kind of cool. That's the last I saw of him. I think I beat him, again.

Mile 3: 9:05.25

Nothing comes to mind.

Mile 4: 8:23.25

So I figured I'd listen to people, smart people, who've given me advice on nutrition during the race. I decided to take water at *every* water stop and to walk through them, drinking the whole cup. I did it this stop, and at the two-mile stop.

Mile 5: 8:26.32

Nothing too memorable here. Not that I can think of now.

Mile 6: 8:00.69

This mile was interesting. It was out in the country, on a very quiet road. I heard each footstep, and that of others. I kind of slipped into a little trance, until the water stop.

Mile 7: 8:32.43

Walked through the mile six water stop. Felt like I drank too much water at that point. Apparently I was just being a bit of a camel. I didn't go. But felt like I had to for a brief moment.

Mile 8: 8:16.90

At this mile marker, I ripped open my first goo, sucked it down, and washed it down with gag--gatorade. I meant to grab water, but I waited too long. Big burst of sugar, but I lived.

Mile 9: 8:20.88

Ran well through on the roads. Feeling a little burst from the water stop and the sugar.

Mile 10: 8:38.32

Still in the neighborhood. I was really excited to have so many people cheering. It meant lots.

Mile 11: 8:29.19

I knew I was over the half way point. Facing seven miles to go, I wasn't thinking about it too much. My feet still hurt. But I started counting my steps again, and I at least didn't think about it too much.

Mile 12: (missed the split)-- probably an 8:30ish

Hit the water stop, drank some gatorade, walked through it, and moved on. Feeling good.

Mile 13: (missed the split)-- probably an 8:30ish

Feeling relatively well. I was buoyed by the crowds and the cheering. This one was a fast one.

Mile 14: 8:02.94

Still feeling good, I know there's only two roads to go.

Mile 15: 8:07.60

Going along well, starting to get into a nice trance again.

Mile 16: 7:53.09

Last mile was great. I was going fast. It was my fastest mile of the run. But I knew I'd pay for having such a good race thus far. And I started to on this mile.

Mile 17: 9:03.68

Woah! What happened? My feet were THROBBING! Each foot struck down with pain. I was avoiding any gravel I saw on the road. My breathing was fine, and my endurance was fine. Everything felt good but my feet. Weird.

I thought I would never see the mile 18 marker. It took forever, longer than any other mile marker I've seen so far. Slowest mile of the run.

Mile 18: 9:41.36

I never thought I'd see this marker. But I could see the stadium now, that's where we finished.

Last .6 mile: 5:29.43

Slow again, I presume. Probably slower than 18. But I knew it would be over soon. I was having a good race. I could hear the announcer calling out names through the loudspeaker. I entered the track, and was happy, for a number of reasons. With a three-hundred meter stretch to go, I knew I would be done soon. As I rounded the last stretch on the track, I heard my name called out by the announcer. "Number 1075, Erine Gray." Music to my ears, I was done.

Time: 2:38.12 Not a bad race.

posted by Gray @ 7:30 PM