It Was Pain Like I've Never Experienced

20090405 - 1245

First off a big THANK YOU to all my friends who were at this race supporting me...either pacing me or cheering or just thinking of me from afar. HUGE thanks to Bri who kept everyone updated all day. I couldn't have done this without you all.

Lap 7 was hard...Shaun and I tried to run as much as we could but I was getting MAJOR pain in my toes and the tops of my feet...like someone was putting nails in them. Shaun made me take in more nutrition and I kept eating those nasty disgusting gels (they were tasty for a while mind you, but after 14 them? ACK) when I needed to. We walked most of the back half of the lap because I just couldn't lift my feet anymore. My hip flexors were SHOT.

Lap 8 was almost a complete walk. I figured, I had 7 hours to complete 12.5 miles to finish in under 24 hours. That's what I was there to do...not to get an overall top 10 finish or get a place in my age group. I just wanted to finish this race in a respectable time so I could get that belt buckle. So Brian and I walked the first mile, ran the second and third, and then walked up the big hill between 4 and 5. That was the last of the running for the day. We walked the entire time between Mile 5 and 12.5...I just had no more energy to give. Nutrition was just not helping. I was tired...mumbling...slurring my speech...I wanted to just lie down and sleep on the trail. But I stayed up. I ran to the finish line at 21:13 elapsed. I felt great, but I was destroyed. This hurt more than anything I've ever done.