so i PRd yesterday at the Broad Street Run. but only by about 2 minutes. this is because I did not eat enough the day before.
race day morning arrives. alarm goes off at 5AM... holy hell i feel like death. strangely enough, dad had not a single speck of coffee in the house, so i put my contacts in, and schlepped to WAWA in my PJs. disclaimer: i have a very strong policy to NEVER be seen in public (i.e. anywhere besides my bedroom or hospital) wearing sweatpants, slippers, or anything that could be classified as lounging attire... there is just no excuse to look like a welfare recipient or fat college girl even if you are one. but seeing as i've never had high regard for the citizens of deptford, i didn't care how lax i was and time was of the essence.
i procured a box of motrin and a 16 ounce coffee and hastily consumed both in their entirety. for those of you who know me at all, you know that i never do anything half scale.
back at the ranch, i proceeded with my pre-race rituals. tom and adam arrived early- adam brought a dayquil, and i supplemented my pill consumption with an additional 4 dayquil, and we were off.
something told me to park in FDR- 40,000 runners and their cheering entourages make for a regular circus at the finish. i put the car inside the lot adjacent to the boathouse- no coincidence there. very much acknowledging the old finish of the BSR. this is when i decide to eat my breakfast. which... did not exist because in perfectly consistent Gigi fashion, i left it at home. idiot.
so we hopped on the subway and booked it to Broad & Olney with plenty of time to spare. Adam & I went to Our Lady of Hope to use the bathrooms... i was extremely frantic that I had not taken my morning dump, nor felt one impending. running is a candid profession and we are not shy to openly discuss bodily functions as casually as we speak about the weather or current events. me being me, I am never happy nor can i begin my day until i have performed both number one and number two to the best of my ability. racing efficiency depends on there being no stow-aways and i like clean intestines.
Mass was going on so I dipped in for the Gospel and communion- making that the only solid matter i had ingested before the race. Wawa coffee and a communion wafer. the stereotypical pre-race breakfast of an italian runner from NJ if ever there was one. i said my prayers for a safe race and headed to my gate.
there are seven gates at the start of the race. three small fast gates, and four large slow ones. i was in the second fast gate. your gate rating is based on your times in previous races.
the race itself was no sweat. by mile seven i was running 7:32 however started to feel the ill effects of hypoglycemia and starting to wish i had consumed my chia energy snacks for breakfast. anyone who has hit the wall at mile 22 knows this annoying and unwelcome sensation. i have a feeling this may be a common mistake for overly experienced runners who put in excesses of 40 mile weeks... 40, 50, 60... where ten miles may be our short run, so why prep? afterall, it's only ten miles so I end up taking it not so seriously and then slog through the actual race with a time that I am not so pleased with.
overall, i was somewhat disappointed with my time. during marathon training, i will run 55 mile weeks. on one such week, between monday and saturday, i had amassed 45 miles. on a whim, i registered for a ten miler and ran it in an hour and 20 minutes on a cold windy day in massachusetts on the hilliest most ass kicking course i have EVER encountered. (way worse than central park)... and i only beat that time by a minute. all things considered, kind of embarrassing.
my time was 1:18:48 when all was said and done. next year, i will probably eat more nutritiously the day before the race and not skip breakfast... or not. i never learn. ;-)
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