I’m not exactly sure why I signed up for the Davis Moo-nlight Half Marathon. I swore last year that I would never run in Davis, California ever again. Yet maybe it was because of the fact that last year they screwed up and offered us close to 75% off to come back and run again that I signed up to run it again. Most likely it was the fact that my husband signed up to run that I went ahead and signed up right along with him. I’m not sure, but I should’ve listened to my gut and just bagged the entire race because it sucked.
The weekend was actually a great weekend. I took off on Thursday afternoon with my boy, Nathan, and my friend, Becky, to Southern California to experience the CrossFit Games in Carson, California, and to support our trainer from CrossFit 209 Sport, Gabe Subry, who ended up placing 18th overall! I had worked on Wednesday and thought I’d be able to sleep in the car on the way up, but really, I got about 2 hours total. We arrived in Long Beach at my friend, Torie’s house, at about 8:00pm and headed off to dinner. I was able to fall asleep quickly after arriving back to the house and slept solidly until the morning but it was early when we started off to the games.
The games were amazing! AMAZING! It was an experience like no other. To be in a venue where almost the ENTIRE audience was completely fit was awesome! Most who attended, probably roughly 98%, were all CrossFitters, we do the same workouts and exercises that the contenders performed. We were able to watch almost all of the events and hit up most of the vendors. Like I said, it was amazing to be surrounded by these incredible, fit, and happy people. I really had a great time. I met some really great people. I left the games motivated and inspired and ready to work harder than I ever have before.
The drive home was pretty uneventful. Nathan drove for the first couple hours, then I took over the wheel for the last 4 hours. I had a great time conversing with my friend Becky who really gave me a lot of insight and inspiration. It was fun to talk to her and get to know her better. We finally got home around 0200 or so, and after a little winding down, I settled in for some much needed sleep.
Saturday was a normal standard day. Woke up late to take Nathan camping with the Mother-In-Law. I was so tired I could barely function, so I was thankful that Chris could take him to where he needed to be. I got up, made an attempt to fix a decent carb loading lunch, and rest a little longer. Again, my gut said … “Don’t do it. You’re not prepared.” But … I was gonna try.
We got to Davis fairly late – 6:15 or so. We parked by the grocery store, walked a little ways to the venue, then hit up packet pick up. We found some of our friends, looked for others, but really found none. Mac said she was sick … So I was hoofin’ it alone. I did luck out though for a minute at the start when I saw a girl who was taking pictures of the start line as I was, who looked vaguely familiar. I wasn’t going to say anything, but my curiosity got the best of me and I did go up to her to ask her if she was Mary Ann, my friend on Twitter. To my surprise, she was. We shared a hug, took a photo, then wished each other well.
It was HOT and humid when we started. If I had to guess, I’d say it was 84 degrees. Yeah … No bueno! It sucked, and I knew that it would be a slow run. Not only that but shortly after we started, I could really feel my right foot … it was crying, whimpering. I decided to ignore it for a bit. At mile 4 I switched out my ankle supporter to the left side. At mile 6 I could feel my fatigue set in. I could feel the lack of sleep finally catch up with me and I wanted to just lay down and sleep. At mile 7 I adjusted my ankle support again. By mile 9, I had had it with that thing so I just took it off and ran with it in hand. By this time, I could feel my lack of hydration hit me and I wanted to kick myself for not hydrating better, I took my salt tabs and Gu along with water faithfully to help combat my hydration and lack of energy issues. Also by this time, my foot was not only crying, but it was screaming LOUDLY. Poor thing was screaming at the top of it’s lungs to stop. Every step that I took was nothing except pure torture! T O R T U R E … I felt as if there was an ice pick jabbed up the bottom of my foot and every step that I took drove it in deeper. It hurt soooo BAD! At one point I wanted to cry, but I didn’t. There were a few times that I ran along side Tony, aka Endorphin Dude, and he encouraged me. Basically for the last 4 miles I toddled along – alternating walking and running, but mostly walking, running on fumes! This race was more mental for me than anything, but somehow, by the grace of God … I made it! I finished that damn race and I swore again that I would not run it again … and this time, I won’t.
What don’t I like about the Davis Moo-nlight half marathon? For one, it’s HOT and humid which makes for a very crappy run for me. Another reason is the fact that I don’t care for running in circles – up, down, over this over pass one way, back over it the other, then back over it again. I’m not a fan of seeing people ahead of me. Ugh. It just wasn’t fun for me at all! Next year I’ll just plan on finding another race or just chill out a home instead of wasting my Saturday in Davis!
Regardless of the Davis Half, I can still honestly say that I had a great weekend. I went to the CrossFit Games, and I met one of my virtual friends, and I was even to run with Tony the Endorphin Dude.
I shouldn’t complain about the Davis Moo-nlight Half. It was, after all, only $10 for me to run, and it was an opportunity to get some form of exercise in. It wasn’t the race’s fault that I did not sleep, fuel, or hydrate properly – that was my own fault. And, yes, the course was full of circles and ovepasses and tunnels, but it is what it is. I’ll just know better to not run it again. On the plus side, I did meet up with some really cool people, I got to run with my husband, and the medal was cool.
I know better, and when I know better I’ll do better. I have learned a lot about myself and my running over the last few years. I know what I need to do and I just have to do it and quit whining and moaning about what happened. So … I apologize to Davis, CA.
Until next time … Train Hard. Train Smart. Eat Well. And have FUN! It’s not worth it if it’s not fun!
Running Code 3 