This post is about two weeks late as this race took place on February 27th and today is the 17th of March. My last post referred to this weekend I spent up in Jefferson, GA.
This race was my last out of town trip before our baby gets here. The race was the Thrill in the Hills Marathon/ Half-Marathon in Winder, GA. I did the half and I'm quite glad that I did. This was my first xterra race since high school cross country and I'd forgotten how rough it was. This was especially rough due to the many hills in this section of Georgia.
It was a very cold morning (30 degrees) but I was dressed appropriately. You want to wear enough to keep you warm while you were not moving but not too much to overheat you during the race. You will inevitably shed some things during the race. I took off my gloves and thermal beanie 3 miles in to the race.
I thoroughly enjoyed this race. I loved everything about it from the adrenaline rush at the start to the separation from slower runners in the woods. Even when I got tired I truly had a good time and want to do more of these races in the future. Half way through the 13 mile race, I was still having fun but also realizing that I was beginning to get tired and dehydrated. I was drinking adequate fluids or so I thought. Your body can usually tell you if you are doing okay or not and after 9 miles, my body told me I was not doing well or getting enough fluids. From mile 10 until the finish I struggled. During the last 2 miles I was beginning to get delirious and could not wait to finish and get off the course. When I realized how close I was to the end during the last mile, I tried to suck it up and stay at a steady pace. The last mile wound around trees and ditches and you could hear the roar of the people at the finish line. I was so happy to see the red, inflatable finish line arch that I didn't care about trying to sprint it out and beat the guy just in front of me. I crossed the line at 2hrs and 11 minutes which was a surprise. It was such a hard race and I walked off and on during the last 3 miles. My thinking was that my time would be up over 2.5hrs. I felt more relief at being done than I did at my decent time.
The bad part of getting dehydrated and worn out while running is feeling the "burn". The burning came on during a large and steep hill around mile 7. I think that hill was uncalled for. Whose idea was that anyways? That hill was the beginning of the end and brought on my leg burn. It wasn't long after that where I had my first fall. I'd been seeing people fall from mile 1 and on due to the rocks and roots on the trail. I fell around mile 8 because I was tired and quit picking my feet up. I moved in to more of a shuffle and it was helping me survive. At the finish, you are herded through a chute to where someone removes your timing chip which was attached to your ankle with velcro. What a novel idea! They reached over and ripped it off and let you keep going. It beats standing there while some kid cuts the timing chip off your shoelace while you try to hold the vomit back that is climbing up your esophagus. I left the chute and hobbled over to the refreshment table which was packed with people talking and laughing. It was all I could do to get some gatorade and a banana and attempt to sit down. I remember thinking that if I had to get somewhere quickly, then it would not happen. My legs hurt too bad.
After resting for a bit , I took some of my stuff back to the car and got my own gatorade mix and began to feel better with some stretching. Kristen and Matt showed up shortly there after and took the pic you see above. The other pics they took of me are closer up and quite horrendous, thus they were destroyed.
One thing I learned about this race is that there is a completely different genre of runner out there. Most of the people in that race were full time trail runners. They didn't do road races like I had been doing over the past 10 years or so. They have specialized shoe brands that I had never heard of before and wearing different kinds of running clothes that would only benefit you on a trail run. My Adidas trail shoes held up well and I am now hooked on doing trail runs so I may be making an investment in some new ones. The down side to this and several other stories is that I live in Lee County (Albany practically) and there are no good places to run like this. If you are lucky enough to find an off-road trail to run on, there is a good chance it is short, flat, and loaded down with garbage because thats how Albany rolls. Yes, that is a reference to the river front trail in Albany near the not-so civic center.
There was one thing at the end of the race that made me feel better. At the last turn off to the finish line, there was someone there with a rope to separate the half-marathoners from the marathoners. I was so delighted to be diverted to the finish that I took time and joy to look back at those that had to do one more loop. Those that completed the full marathon that day have my full respect. The trail, full of rocks and roots with switchbacks, and the hills that beat you mercilessly made this a grueling race. To do one loop was tough for someone from south Georgia where there are few hills. To do two loops would be a real test in endurance of pain and suffering.
