Heart Run and Walk 2011: 30K

March 5th, 2011 was the annual Heart Run and Walk event in Utica, NY.  Money raised: close to $350,000. All in the name of a good cause.

I have walked and run every event, making that an official claim as of today.  I ran the 30K, 18.6 miles (although my Garmin only registered 18.34???).

It wasn’t an easy run by any means.  Still struggling with a whooping cough from the flu, stomach feeling queasy, and general lower energy than usual, I did manage to run my goal miles of 22.4 today. 

How it all began:

Last night, dinner at Chesterfields with a wonderful Red Zinfandel

A bland dinner of baked haddock, broccoli and a little plain pasta.  All good.

Saturday:

The day began at 5:30 am with a 2.86 mile warm up with Shane.  At 6:45 am, Ted drove me to Vans Tavern in Barneveld where the 30K start was to take place. I saw Jenn and Jolene, the gals I ran with over the summer but would be very hard pressed to keep up with at this point.  I saw Coach Mike, the great guy who is guiding me through my Boston Training.  Richard Cohen offering concern about my aches and pains.  It was a good crowd.

I ran with a fuel belt:  2 small bottles of water, 1 gel pak, Sports Beans, and a 5-Hour Energy.  A banana with 1/2 TBS of peanut butter eaten 2 hours prior to my run plus 2/3 of a Power Energy Bar washed down with water fueled the first 5 miles of my run.  At which point I had the gel (GU Mocha).  An awful whooping cough fit struck me at 5 miles.  It was tough going at that point but I had no way to quit so jogged on.   Five Sports Beans offered a nice sweet chew around 10 miles and the 5 Hour Energy (3/4 of the bottle) was a necessary kick in the pants at 15 miles. 

By the way, I did NOT enjoy running with the fuel belt. It was too loose on me and was bouncing all over the place. That can be most annoying for 19 plus miles.

The tissue was a must for me today. I had some pretty awesome gushers along the way and would have been in quite a mess without my tissue.

Even though the weather was mild, 35 degrees at the start and luckily, the rain held off, my hands were so cold I had a heck of a time working the zipper on my jacket anytime I needed a tissue or fuel.  There were some areas where the wind was gusting but only for minutes at a time. In the end, it wasn’t a bad day at all for a group run.

Split times were slow, averaging 9:38 pace.  I think it was actually a little bit faster because when I got to the finish, I stopped, walked, tried to look for Ted before continuing on to McDonalds, a mile down the road where we were to meet.  Fastest mile was 8:42. Slowest mile was :10:11.  Considering the way I felt, I’m not unhappy with the results.

The course: A small uphill at the start. Plenty of down hill for a few miles thereafter.  Passing the prison in Marcy is always fun because the inmates shout and hoot and holler.  I came up to the 10 milers just as the gun went off. There was one guy who kept passing me, then I’d pass him because he stopped to chat with all the firemen making the road safe for our run.  I ended up having a great conversation with him (at the 16 mile point – when I could talk again and NOT COUGH!) about Boston. 

As I came down the hill, the 5 mile buses were just turning onto 291, taking the 5 milers to the start at Taylor Rentals in Whitesboro.  That’s where Ted and Teddy were starting from.  I tried hard to speed it up but just didn’t have it so I never did get to run with them.  At that point, I was really ready for the run to be over.  But only 5 miles to go so I pressed on.  Finally the turn up Heart Break Hill.  It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.  That’s probably because there is only a mile to go at that point.  Ah! The finish line. So welcome but…. where are the Porta Potties?! Oh Nuts! I’d have to wait until I ran to McDonalds (my pick up point for Ted and Teddy). 

The wind was gusting along Burrstone Road towards McDonalds. That was pretty tough going but when you only have a few yards to go, somehow you make it through.  Total miles today:  22.4. My first of 4 long runs. DONE!

As for the rest of the day, it was SO NOT A JOANNE DAY!   I recover from any run immediately and never require additional sleep.  But today, I was wiped out completely. 

Ted, Teddy and I went for breakfast right after the run to my favorite breakfast nook, Creekside Café for my favorite breakfast omelet:  Giambotte

But it didn’t go down well. I felt nauseous and couldn’t finish the breakfast. 

Grocery shopping was tough. Good thing Ted was with me because I wouldn’t have made it round the store. 

Guess this goes to show, never try to run until you have fully recovered from a nasty bout with “THE BUG!”.

I had to rest for 3 hours in the afternoon before sitting with Ted to plan our summer getaway. AFTER Boston of course.

So….what did YOU do today? A marathon? Take it easy? Bake some goodies? Do tell!