Timpanogos Half Marathon

Almost titled this post "S*** Happens"...but decided that this race was better than that. The race itself, well, yes...but pre-race and post-race hanging out with friends, the views during the race (beautiful!), and the weather (perfect!) made me glad I did the race despite the problems.

Had to get up at 2:45 am (!) to drive to the bus loading, which was from 3:35-3:55 (for us - we drew early tickets). We went up the canyon and arrived at the race start around 4:30 am, 90 min before the race. Sarah was doing 20 miles today, so she went off to do 4 miles before the race started. Meanwhile, I hung out with Nancy (from the Wasatch Walkers), Cindie, and Jen before the race. It was quite chilly, which was welcome after the hot summer we've been having. Of course, at 1955m of elevation, you'd expect that. The stars were beautiful, the reservoir was lovely, and it was a good time. I sort of didn't want to race! But after a quick warm-up, I was excited to go.

I did well for the first 10km. Things felt fantastic, and with the amazing amount of downhill I was cruising - got to 10km in 56:07 (a PR!) but was well within myself with HR in the low 150s. And then...the wheels fell off. Major GI distress ensued, and I had to stop at the porta potty at mile 7 (~11.25km). I was lucky to make it...and then had to wait SIX MINUTES because there were 2 porta-johns and about 10 people in line :(. By the time I was on the road again, it was 8 minutes after I'd stopped. Ughhhhhh. For obvious reasons, my legs did not work so well after that. I was really hurting. I had to stop again at 15km but at least there was no waiting this time. My goal changed from racing to finishing. I did finish, but it was ugly. Very ugly. I had to just casual walk a few times in the next few miles, as my legs were toast. I managed to pick it up a little at the end, keeping a 6:37/km pace for the last 1.1 miles; before that, I'd been doing low 7/km. Ouch.

I'm proud to say I finished. That's all that can be said about this one.

Total time: 2:19:44 (hey, it was faster than my first half marathon...and if you subtract 10 min for potty stops it wasn't too bad at 2:09:44; beats my PR from 2010 anyway. Ave HR = who knows? My HR monitor went nutso. It was probably about 140, if that. I wasn't working very hard even though I felt awful.

Analysis: I'm trying to figure out dietary reasons for the GI distress. Jim sent me a list of foods that contribute to runner's trots, and it's helpful. However, I was not sure if gluten the day before a race was a problem, and it seems maybe it is. I had a large turkey sandwich for dinner last night with a delicious roll (white bread - low in fiber, chosen on purpose). Seemed like a safe choice. I'm thinking NOT. Chalk this one up to a learning experience. Some runners who do not have Celiac's disease still have problems with gluten prior to a long run or race, and it appears I may have this problem. It's hard to be so careful about my diet, but obviously I need to figure this out a bit more. Good thing I have a few more long days before the 40K.

Post-race: I accompanied Sarah for 3 more miles --- but I rode my bike :) which I'd brought specifically for that purpose. Then we went for a lovely breakfast at Johanna's Kitchen in Sandy. I highly recommend that restaurant! Great food, great service, and though it was crowded there was no wait at 10am on a Saturday.

I'd love to do this race again, because of the huge PR potential. Maybe next year...but meanwhile, well, I have to work on the GI problems.

Garmin data here.