2012 Darkside 8 Hour Race - Peachtree City, Georgia
5/12/2012
Distance: 38.76mi
Time: 7:58:20
Overall: 15/38
Males: 10/17
PreRace - Peachtree City is far, far away. I had to wake up at 5am to give myself enough time to get out the door and be at the prerace meeting by 645am. I opted for some yummy salad and espresso for breakfast.
What I packed:
- 10 Honey Stinger Waffles (Honey and Vanilla)
- 14 GU Gels (5 Espresso, 5 Peanut Butter, 4 Lemon Lime)
- 9 Salt Stick Tabs
- 6 12oz bottles of GU Electrolyte Brew Drink - Blueberry Pomegranate
- BodyGlide
- 3 Shorts and 2 Shirts
- Sunscreen
Anyway, I got to the meeting and met my lap counter...nice guy, so I pleaded with him to count by 2's but he laughed and said yeah right Todd.
Race - On your marks, get set, ladies go...men wait for five minutes. Five minutes felt like an eternity and because the loop was only like .432 miles around, the women were already on their second lap before we started.
About an hour into it I really started to feel good. Then the rains came. It was actually quite perfect. The light drizzle kept the day cool but all I could really think about was what would happen if the sun broke through the clouds. Man, I bet is would get super steamy.
At around 1030ish, my wife showed up to watch me. Although it was still raining and the chairs I set out by my stuff were soaked, she still hung out for a bit to cheer me on. I would run past her and steal a sip of her Dunkin Donuts coffee...yum! I was moving along well and actually a bit faster than I would have hoped but I felt good so I just kept on going.
Here comes the sun. Finally at high noon the sun came out. My original shirt was blackish gray so when the sun came out I switched to white, to reflect it...smart thinking right? After rubbing on some BodyGlide, I put the new shirt on and continued.
It must have been about 1245ish and my wife showed up, again. This time she came to help me out. She threw on her running shoes and walked a lap with me but only after I ran between 2-4 on my own. We did this for about an hour or so. Her assistance was nice and very much appreciated. Plus, earlier in the day I asked her upon her return to bring me a tall latte and a double espresso drink from Starbucks. After sipping on the latte while we walked, I found some much needed energy.
*On a side note, due to some chaffing I needed to change my shorts. Glad I brought a different pair. Additionally these new shorts had like a boxer brief lining which was actually fantastic and totally prevented further chaffing. Small win for me!
At about 130p I chugged the double espresso shot my wife brought. After leaving my tummy upset for like 4 minutes, it too helped provide me some energy. I was humming for a bit and kinda got my third wind for the day.
Soon I passed my previous distance PR of 35.02 miles. Hooray, but I wanted more. Could I get to 40? That was the question. Doing the math in my mind I determined it was nearly impossible to get there. Needed about 25 laps and my pace was falling off.
With about 15 minutes left I found my fifth gear and my forth wind for the day. I must have pounded out the least 4 laps in about 18 or so minutes...according to my Garmin, these were 2 of my fastest 38 miles. Funny it happens at the end of the day, right? On my last lap I absolutely flew past a bunch of super tired people and then stopped and thought I was going to spew. But after spitting I determined I was not going to throw up and continued my blistering pace towards the finish line.
TF
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