On Friday my ‘runtourage’ and I headed to Springfield, IL for the 50th running of the Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon. 50 years=wow. We stayed at the Hilton which was the race’s host hotel so packet pickup was nice and easy. 75 cent parking? Toto we are not in Chicago anymore! The expo was nothing special. Read no shopping, which is really a blessing. It was super windy the day before so I worried the race would be the same.
Shortly after checkin, we headed out for a carby dinner and to the grocery store for water and morning fuel. Someone, who shall remain nameless, told me I did not eat enough and felt my races could be better if I went in better fueled. So, I stuck with my tried and true pizza, but forced down a donut before bed. Note ominous foreshadowing. In the morning, instead of my usual bagel, nut butter and banana, I ate something else. I am ashamed to even tell you what it was, it probably works well for some. I know better than to do this. I really do. In over 75 races, I’ve never had a major digestive issue in a race (besides heat induced grossness).
I slept fitfully and felt gross. After my dubious ‘morning fuel’ I felt even moreso. We headed to the Lincoln Library for a blogger meetup. Conditions were perfection: mid 30’s, clear and sunny. Breezy, but nothing crazy.
Awesome to see Jess again!
Shortly after that pic was taken we headed to the starting area and I made a beeline to the porta pots. Stomach was doing bad things. The lines were crazy long so I sprinted back to the hotel. All the better to get things moving, right? I made it back to the starting line in time to hear “Abe’s” long winded address and national anthem. I was tucked in the way-back behind the 2:25 pacer though. Oh well.
Mile 1: 9:35. We were off with the loudest musket blast ever. I had no choice but to take it easy, which is a good thing. I was boxed in, the slower runners saving me from myself. Within the first mile a guy to my right took a header and rolled, he fell so hard. Not 10 seconds later a lady up ahead did the same thing. The roads were badly chewed up from our crazy winter so I focused on where I stepped.
Miles: 2 and 3: 9:11. If I can do this the rest of the race, I’ll be a happy girl.
(source)
Mile 4: 9:22. Oh crap my stomach hurts. Please oh please don’t let me be this guy today.
Mile 5: 9:20. Keep going, do what you can. The park is pretty. I had an awesome 16 miler here back in the day during a marathon training cycle. I focused on that.
Mile 6: 9:13. I’m doing great on the hills if I do say so myself. I’d see one ahead, assess how long it’ll take to get up, wrap my head around it then take small steps, pump my arms, all the good stuff. I’m afraid to take a GU. But I do. Heaven help me.
Mile 7: 9:40. More than halfway. I did not train hills for 12 weeks to walk up them today. There was no walking. “I am trained for this” is my mantra.
Mile 8: 9:39. Loooong incline, stay strong. I keep telling myself this is not a hill. Oh and stop overdressing already. I mean really.
Mile 9: 9:44. Entering the Oakridge Cemetery where President Lincoln is buried. We are stopped at the gate while a caravan of tour buses enters, leaving us to crawl behind them breathing their fumes. I am this close to barfing. This is where the race went to hell in a handbasket for me. It’s probably cheating, but I turned off my watch while we waited.
Mile 10: 9:50 Hills are coming regularly, like contractions. My endurance is not where it should be. Ugh. Left inner quadular area is not happy.
Mile 11: 9:58 Ack I’m struggling, stomach is gurgling. But twin Captain Americas are somehow struggling more and I pass them.
Mile 12: 10:14. One last mongo hill here I didn’t appreciate. My legs are shredded. Let’s be done already.
Mile 13: 9:51 A guy is doing walk/run intervals and always starts running when I catch up to him. Maybe I should do the same? No.
Home stretch: 8:34. I hear the Caveman and kids but don’t see them. I wave in their general direction then haul it in. This last bit turned out to be .29 according to Garmin. I suspect the course was long as I’m a very good tangent runner and .29 is simply too much extra for a half. Whatevs.
Chip time: 2:07:xx
Garmin: 2:05:xx (remember I turned it off when we were stopped.)
AG: 20/96
Overall: 324/1134
It’s always great to see a dear friend at the finish! Geri and I ran Boston together in 2009.
Final Words: Bellyache aside, this was a fun (smaller) race. It was capped at approx. 2000. The shirt was whack. The medal pretty darn spectacular, even though I was obsessed with getting the usual giant penny. The course is challenging (for us hill pansies especially) but the parks are pretty and you pass all the historic Lincoln sites. Lots of different road surfaces to contend with: potholed asphalt, gravel, bike path, bricks, steeply banked roads. No timing clocks on the course except at the finish. Plentiful water stations with very supportive volunteers. I suppose I shouldn’t be content with my results as they are nowhere near the sub-2 that I wanted. Yet I am pleased with my time, given the GI issues. My heart wasn’t doing the racing thing it was last year. I felt like I could’ve run harder, but didn’t dare tempt fate. I am thrilled with the way I handled the hills and how hard I fought mentally when I was feeling awful. I thought my fueling was the culprit for the GI issues, but a full 48 hours later, I’m still not feeling great. Now I’m wondering if I have a bug or the water/pizza I ate at that restaurant were an issue? Today I am taking it easy with bland food, probiotics and a little yoga.
Special thanks to Joanna over at Race-Ready Coaching for an awesome training plan. I found the workouts challenging but not impossible, and a great change of pace from the plan I had been using. I felt like the hill training left me very well prepared, which is huge. This was my first time using a 4-run/week plan (I’m a 3-run RLRF girl) and I didn’t always do the entire 4th easy run. I know my endurance would’ve been better if I had. My bad. Overall I am very pleased and have learned there is SO much value in changing up my plan from time to time.
Next up: Eggshell Dash, followed by Flying Pig 3-way (5k, 10k, half).
Is it ok to turn your watch off in a race if you are involuntarily stopped? Have you ever run through a cemetery?
Sounds like you were able to salvage what could have been a disastrous race! Way to hold it together (literally!). I’ve had races with GI issues, so I totally get it.
NIce job!
Ohhh..sorry you had such a misbehaving tummy. How miserable! But you finished it out, so a big kudos! And if I had a dime for how many times I’ve turned my watch off in a race b/c I was demoralized….
Way to tough it out with the GI issues! I have had my stomach go south on me on race day – just the worse 🙁
Wow tough run for tummy issues, this course is beautiful but the hills are definitely tough! You did awesome, I couldn’t do that with stomach cramps! Hope you feel better soon.
And I was SO happy that it wasn’t windy like it was Friday, although because of that wind I was also over-dressed. Lol. On the way to the start line my husband asked me if I really wanted my running jacket and I was like, “YES!” …and then had to tie it around my waist after the first mile. DERP!
Running through the cemetary was not as creepy as I thought it would be. Last year I wasn’t paying much attention, this year I realized though that it was actually really lovely…would have been lovelier if the second half of that mile wasn’t uphill though!
Oh dear, I’m so sorry you had a bad tummy going on. That’s a long time to run with bad mojo in the belly. We must have passed each other at some point during the race too. I can’t believe you were stopped by the cemetery. I wonder if that had anything to do with the “deployment” that I heard about as I came up to the cemetery portion?? I overheard volunteers talking about a military deployment that was in progress and they had to let them through…
Our local cemetery is HUGE – acres in the middle of the city and a very popular place for training groups – and races for that matter. So I guess I don’t think any it much. Used to it.
Oh and I meant to comment on this before – I believe the course is long too. I thought so last year too, so hitting about the same two years in a row makes me think it’s long. I usually hit pretty darn close to the goal distance, usually within .05-.07 on the HMs I’ve done. This one came up long both times.
Running is bad enough without doing it with a tummyache 🙁
Congrats on the finish. Did you actually get to run by Lincoln’s tomb?!
As a girl with persistent GI issues in races, two words for you: Pepto Bismol. OMG, after the miracle it did for me at CIM, I’m never doing another race without an entire bottle for breakfast.
Good job, Louise. I think that’d be a cool race to do. I want the penny medal, though! 🙂
Oh man sorry about the tummy troubles. I would say for sure turn off the Garmin for involuntary stoppage. At least you know what your actual time is even if the race time doesn’t match;) Way to stick it out!
So glad you enjoyed the training plan! Sorry to hear about the stomach woes.
Wow- hilly halfs are brutal! I have a feeling the one I’m doing on Saturday is similar… good thing I have the pregnancy excuse to stop and walk. 🙂 You did a fantastic job- congrats!!
Oh my goodness! Never mind the GI issues, it’s making my flatlander stomach turn just to hear about all of those hills! Sorry to hear that you experienced that level of discomfort, but congratulations on your finish and WAY TO PUSH THROUGH. The medal (even if it’s not the giant penny) is very cool, too!
Agreeing about pepto bismol…race GI magic. I know how that GI blues song goes 😉
About the watch… Do whatever the fuck you want with your watch. Seriously, who cares? Unless it’s some sort of self-proctored test.
You did a great job!
It sounds like this was great overall! (For me right now great = not cancelled.) I love that you turned off your watch. So wasn’t under your control to stop. Your paces were great. Maybe I need a new training plan! Congrats esp. with not letting the GI issues ruin your day.
I’d have turned my watch off too. If the course isn’t clear to run then why should you have to count the time that you’re standing waiting for it to clear?
Ugh on the stomach issue but at least you didn’t become “that girl” with a gross pic that will be used forever.
Good job fighting through the gurgling tummy. It looked like a great race. Is your Egg Shell dash at Busse Woods? I’m doing that one on the 19th. The whole family loved it last year. 🙂
Kristi yes! Busse Woods! See you there!
UGH – sorry that you had stomach problems – always the worst during a race!!! Way to be tough and finish with no walking on those hills – hill training for the win!!!
Ugh. Running in fumes is the worst. Even without GI issues, it makes me want to barf.
2,000 runners sounds huge to me. The last race I ran had 40 people in it. Ah, relativity.
Way to go despite stomach woes! Those are the worst. What did you eat? I wonder if pizza and donut caused your clean eating stomach to tell you to go to hell?? I used to eat pizza pre race and now I go with lean protein, veg and potatoes.
It’s ok to stop your watch, but the time in the race is the time in the race.
See you at egg shell, yay!!
I feel like i’m having stomach cramps just reading this! Way to keep running through it, though. It sounds miserable. The medal and shirt are pretty awesome.
Oh man, what a bummer to have those stomach issues. Since it’s still bothering you, I wonder if you got this stomach bug thing I heard was going around?! Yuck! Hope you feel better soon!
And I didn’t realize this was the 50th running of this event. Cool! (Not cool about being stopped during the race!)
I had to eat a sandwich from a QT gas station the night before a marathon, once. It was so late and I had just worked, so for breakfast I wolfed down way more food than I usually would because I was famished. Enter super-gurgles, ca. mile 20.
Glad you made it through without any major issues! Was your breakfast REALLY that bad? I’m curious… 😉
Hey! I understand this is kind of off-topic but I had to ask.
Does managing a well-established blog such as yours take a large amount of work?
I am brand new to blogging however I do write in my diary on a daily basis.
I’d like to start a blog so I can share my experience and
views online. Please let me know if you have any ideas or tips
for new aspiring bloggers. Appreciate it!
That’s still a great race time! I’m sorry you had GI issues, never pleasant when that happens. I know you have sub-2 in you though!
even though i’ve done IL, I will do this race one day. I just think it looks fun (and well thought out by race directors). hell to the no on running through cemeteries (although there is a race here through one this weekend). I do wonder if you got sick from something else…i hate that for you and that it wasn’t more fun. either way, congrats!!
Wow, this post is pleasant, mmy younger sister is analyzing these things, therefore I am giing to inform her.
Hey! I understand this is kind of off-topic however I had to ask.
Does operating a well-established blog such as yours take a massive amount work?
I am completely new to blogging but I do write in my diary everyday.
I’d like to start a blog so I can easily share my own experience and views online.
Please let me know if you have any recommendations or tips for new
aspiring blog owners. Thankyou!
1、 比去年同期扩大9.占比83.2%.未来数周至数月内,未来将进一步扩大调查范围。希望各联盟组成员充分发挥各自的骨干力量，环渤海环境监测仪器创新战略联盟正式启动，促进中小型DCS项目上规模；加强与业内企业、投资企业在产业上的联动，676.0%。