Normally it takes me a few days and I am ready to go again, not this year though. I am hungry for another marathon now. Yesterday was not my day, it was more of a downward spiral. After thinking about the race I only have myself to blame. I am pissed I let myself down, but I am twice as pissed I let down my friends and family who support me. Mainly my wife, she is my strongest supporter. She sacrifices a lot for me to run. Time we could be spending together, weekends waking up to go out to breakfast. The list goes on and on of things she gives up for me to chase my dreams. I feel selfish today.
The morning of the race I felt great. I was nervous, more than usual for some reason. I was in and out of the port-o-potty 4 times. Thank god I got there early and had no line to wait in. As I stood in my corral and waited for the gun to go off I decided I wasn't going to use the clock. I would let my body tell me my speed. Ummm I don't know what the hell I was thinking here. I train by using the clock and using it to help me later on long runs. So there was mistake number 1. I went through the 10k mark 4 minutes faster than I wanted too, but I felt great. I started to think this was my year. At around the half mark I checked the clock again and I noticed my time was starting to slow by a few seconds. Still felt great though.
Mile 17 coming up on 18 is when everything took a turn for the worst. My groin got so tight that it brought me to a complete stop. I tried to ignore it and run through it but the pain was just too strong. I slowed my pace and tried to do a slow jog, but the pain had now moved down my legs to my thighs and was making hard for me. for the last 9 miles I was left with running and walking thrown in to try and suppress the pain. I also made the huge mistake of taking myself out of the race mentally at the 19th mile. I started to think of the course ahead of me and was actually thinking of places I could walk. The one thing I always tell people not to do I was doing it. Mistake number 3. I fought through the pain and eventually finished the race. No matter how much pain I was in quitting never came into my head. I may be stubborn, I may an idiot at some times, but I am not a quitter. The biggest mistake of the race actually came though 2 nights before when I decided to have drinks with friends and my cousin who was mourning his grandmothers death. I wanted to be the good friend that was there for him and what I didn't realize was just me being there was good enough. He would rather see me run the race of my life than get drunk with him. Mistake number 4. My muscles probably were dehydrated before I even started the race.
I am still proud of myself for finishing though. It just shows that no matter how much pain I am in, I will always find a way to get myself across the finish line. My family was still proud of me and they all told me not to be discouraged about the race. A lot of my twitter friends showed their support and told me to shake it off and not beat myself up over it as well. And I thank all of you for that. But now I want to show everyone what the real Shaun can do. I am making a promise to myself to be a better runner, train smarter, eat healthier and most of all not to neglect any time away from my wife. I will find a way to do both and still get PR's. I don't need a coach or someone to tell me what to do. I am smart enough and have enough sense to know where I went wrong. Now I fix the problem.
After the race yesterday I was beat and hungry. I don't know about you but pizza sounded like heaven to me, and get this......pizza in a cone, SAY WHAT!!! yes my friends Pizza Cona in Squirrel Hill has them and they are down right phenomenal. I guess it was my wife's way of making me feel better. You know what, it worked.
How did your race go if you ran?
Do not be pissed at yourself. We all do errors/mistakes. The more important is to learn from them and come back stronger. You will come back stronger and eventually realize your dreams! Have a good recovery and and wonderful training for your next race!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I will walk away from this race having learned a lot
DeleteI know you had your own goals and totally understand how it feels to not meet them. But we are our own harshest critics, and it seems to me that you did great. Not only did you finish, but you kept on and finished in severe pain. It takes a lot to do that! And you also learned from your mistakes and are determined to do better next time. All in all, it seems to me it was a success. Congratulations! (BTW--that pizza cone looks delicious!)
ReplyDeleteThank you, of course I have to be my hardest critic, I need to motivate myself for my next race.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on finishing a tough race! Sorry to hear it wasn't your day but it's good that you can learn lessons from this race and work towards avoiding them next time!
ReplyDeleteDon't feel like you are alone either, we've all made these mistakes too.
Congrats again!
Thank you!!!! :)
Delete1. You finished, that is the most important thing so Congratulations 2. You learned from the race and things you won't do next time. 3. Chalk it up as a learning experience and use it as motivation to train for your next one.
ReplyDeleteI ran my 24th marathon a couple weeks ago and I still learn something from every one I do. I have yet to run my best race but I will still keep trying.
Thanks for the advice, and believe me I will continue to learn with each race. Marathon number 5 will be a lot different
DeleteHaving the mental and physical strength to continue on and finish is amazing. Equally admirable is your sense of personal responsibility, working on your plan for kicking even more ass in future races. Thanks for all your encouragement and tips you shared with me on your site and commenting on mine through the training cycle. I just posted the first part of a recap, covering the parts I have pics for right now, and the rest will come soon once the official photos are downloadable.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to reading it, congrats again!
DeleteChalk it up to a learning experience. That's how I'm dealing with mine. You finished which is amazing in itself! Learn from the mistakes and power through to the next one. There will always be another one =)
ReplyDeleteSteffany yes there will be, I plan on destroying the Columbus course
DeleteI made the same mistake of running by feel for the HM, um, yeah, it works well for 5/10K's, not so much for half/full marathons.
ReplyDeleteI have a rule, I take a water at EVERY aid station, whether I'm thirsty/need it, or not. The cup is only 1/4 of the way full, so you're really not drinking that much, which is why taking one at each stop is key.
Like I said previously, don't beat yourself up, look how many things you learned from this race that you won't do again. Each thing you learn about your running, is setting you up for your next PR, you're one step closer.
Congrats Shaun!
Thanks Kristy, I will def remember to drink the water at every stop during my next marathon in the fall.
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