Silver Falls Half Marathon 2013

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The last couple of weeks since the Runaway Pumpkin Half Marathon have been rough.  I have been extremely tired and have had a really hard time pushing through the tired to do anything beyond work and homework.  It really sucks.  All my motivation has just flown out the window.  Between the Runaway Pumpkin and the Silver Falls Half I only ran one time (a 5K) and I did no cross training at all.  

My friends Josh and Wendie picked me up that way Joe could just head straight to the park after he got off work and wouldn't have to spend time picking me up.  We had a fun time laughing and talking on the way to Silver Falls State Park.  Joe arrived not long after that and we got ready to hit the trail.

The rain had arrived during the night so any thoughts of a cool, dry run were washed away.  Good thing we are Oregon runners and a little rain didn't worry us.  

I felt pretty good to begin with.  The course was beautiful.  I love Silver Falls State Park.  I have so many memories of coming to this park as a kid, as a young couple with my boyfriend (who became my husband) and lots of picnics and hikes with my own growing family.  Every season is different and every season is worth coming to visit.  

I kept up with my friend Wendie for about the first five miles and then she took off when I stopped to get a picture at the lower North Falls.  I ended up taking a picture for a couple and then they took one of me.  

North Falls in the background.

I was feeling good until I got to the stairs.  The stairs are at about mile 10 and the go on and on.  Then it flattens out some again and then you have to go behind the South Falls and then up a switchback trail to the top.  Ugh!  I was so slow!  I made it to the top but still had another 2.5 miles to go.  There was a water station at the top of the South Falls and this very nice woman handed me a water and told me in her most encouraging voice "You're almost done, only one more little hill."  Ha!  I've done this run before and that last "little" hill is a doozy!  My plan was to run the next two miles and then walk up the hill and finish strong.  That did not happen.  I was done, used up, had no energy left.  I felt like I was dragging each step.  I just wanted to quit.  But I kept going.   At this point all thoughts of finishing with a great time or a big improvement over the last time I did this race were gone.  I just was trying to finish.  

It was beautiful!

I trudged up that last hill and then tried to not fall on my ass on the way down the other side.  It was steep and the trail was muck by the time I got there.  I ran the last little bit and finished with a time of 3:28:42.  I only improved my time from two years ago by 3'12".  Not the improvement I was looking for.  I was hoping to be done in the 3:15 range.  Missed that by a long shot.  

On the good side, Joe and my friends were waiting for me at the finish with high fives and cheers.  Hard to be down too much when you have all that support.  

Once I got done I was a bit dizzy so Joe walked me over to the medic tent to have them check my blood sugar and my blood pressure.  Everything was normal so I changed my clothes to get warmed up and then went and got some food.  That helped a ton!  Love having peanut butter after a race.  

Because it was the day before my birthday, my goofy friends made me stand all by myself while they lined up in front of me and sang Happy Birthday. lol  Wendie pointed out that my face was the same color as my shirt.  :)  Then we had a group hug.  

I have great friends and I love getting new ones to add to my life!  :-)

Official consensus is that I'm pooping out at the end of my long runs and races because I'm not fueling up properly before and during the run or race.  So I have some things to figure out before the Tinkerbell Half Marathon.  It's hard because some foods just sit in my gut and feel awful while I run and others make me nauseous.  Also, I need to figure out what to carry with me that will keep me from running out of gas during the run.  Sigh.  I guess this is all part of the process but it was a bummer.  I admit it.  I am terribly disappointed with how my race went and how badly I feel I did.  

I went to the doctor today and we talked more about my energy levels being in the tank daily.  He is running some more blood tests.  This time we are looking at food allergies, insulin intolerance and hormones.  We shall see.  Hoping something pings soon.  Having no energy all the time sucks!  

I have things to work on, attitudes to adjust and things to overcome.  Glad I have such wonderful people around me to lift me up or kick my butt depending on what is needed.  

To all of my friends who lifted me up in prayer today for my doctor's appointment, thank you.  I'll let you know if anything comes from the blood tests.  

I have come a long way since last Christmas but I still have so far to go.  Trying hard to keep my successes in the forefront and not focus on the discouragements.  Some days that is harder than others.  

Next run is the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning.  Hopefully that will be more successful.  Gotta figure out how to get my runs in even with the tiredness.  :(  

Sorry this one wasn't as positive as other posts.  It's been a tough couple of weeks and my performance on the trial run didn't help my attitude much.  I will work on my attitude this week.  :-)