I finished in 7th in 1:48:04, literally my slowest 20K race time in years. I did slow down the second half, but I didn't get passed. I went into the race with four goals. First: finish (did that). Second: finish top 12 to get the travel stipend (did that). Third: finish top seven to get prize money (did that). Fourth: if feeling amazing really hammer it and see what I could do! (didn't quite make that one....)
I was really glad they changed the start time from 10:30 to 9:00. Right about 13K I thought, man, it's getting a little warm, glad we're not starting around now.... For me the race was fairly uneventful, it was mostly just trying to keep my legs moving. After talking with some health care professionals they pointed out that all my dizzy spells and getting light headed when I sit/stand up is probably from the anemia and also why my chest has been aching a bit. Basically I'm just not getting oxygen like I should. I was going along great at about 5:18-5:21 per K then bam! I started going 5:30 per K. Never felt like it changed, never really slowed down from that, it just hit me. I'll come back to this point....
After the race we went to the physios that were there to help take care of us. They were amazing! We learned so much. They worked on Dave and gave him some great advice. That's one of the awesome things of big events like this, getting to pick the brains of awesome people that really work on athletes all the time. That was a total added benefit.
It was of course amazing to see so many friends. It's always nice to come back to Oregon, where I grew up, and lots of people remember me from when I was a kid :) They announced that Erin Gray was the only Oregonian, but I am too! :)
After the trials we had signed up for the firecracker triple, three marathons in three days on July 2, 3, and 4. We thought it'd be a great kick off for 100 mile/50K training. With the anemia issue I thought it would be much smarter to just listen to my body and go on how I felt.
The first two marathons were small, cozy affairs. The races (5K, half and full marathon) had an overall limit of 100 people. The first day was in Cook Park and was 6 laps for the full. There were some yucky hills and some trail sections, so a course that was not built for race walking or fast times. I got through the half feeling okay, but then pretty suddenly started getting dizzy and my pace just crashed. so I stopped after 4 of the 6 laps. I ate a ton and when I got back to our friend's house I took a bunch of iron supplements. Dave did awesome and finished the marathon!
The second day was a different park and it was 8 laps for the marathon. I got through the half seven minutes faster than the day before, felt good, but then bam, started getting dizzy again. So I did 5 of the 8 laps. Dave again finished the marathon, and faster than the previous day!
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| before the traitor's day marathon (as my NZ friend calls the fourth of July) |
The last day was a full out event on Sauvie Island between Oregon and Washington and basically all farm land. It was basically flat with some rolls. Started off with Dave. Since this course was basically a big loop there wasn't the option for me to just stop at some point. And since the half marathon started after the full, I couldn't just cut off during the race. So I decided to go for the full, but if I really wasn't feeling good I'd stop and have them pick me up. We started off and we were talking with a guy and this girl runs up and says, I've been watching you two for the past two days, I'd love to talk to you! yippie! So we started talking. And talking... And talking :) Without realizing it we had pulled away from Dave, but we were feeling good.
Ends up Sarah is 13 weeks pregnant! She is still in the morning sickness phase so she needed a few walking breaks. I would stop with her, but I was feeling really good, so the thought went through my head, next time she walks I may just keep going. But we got going again and she said, "can I run with you the whole time?" and I was like, this is so fun, we're having such a great time, I'm so happy to be out here, absolutely! So we worked through all her rough patches where little peanut was being obnoxious. We told tons of random stories and that was probably the fastest 42K worth of time I've ever had. And, to top it all off, we managed to get her through an 8 minute course PR! At one of the water stations Sarah stopped to use the restroom Dave passed us and he stayed super strong and finished his last marathon his fastest! He's so awesome!
I am so happy that I didn't get dizzy during the marathon. Wasn't my fastest time at all, but it was solid and I had so much fun. And the best part, I feel really good. I actually felt better after the marathon than after the half marathons in some ways. Today I feel great and am thinking of going for a small workout. I can't wait to go see the hematologist. I've been taking waaaaay above the recommended dosage of iron for the past few days, and it's not something I want to continue to do until I know for sure it's okay. Then hopefully we'll figure out what's going on, get the iron levels back up and feel like myself and start training again!
In the meantime, head to my athletebiz store and head to Running Warehouse to see if there's anything you need for your training. I get a percentage of what you spend, so you'll be helping me while getting awesome stuff for yourself.
https://www.athletebiz.us/athletes/erin-taylor-talcott/store
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