Terrapin Brewery 5K + 1 more Mile

So I don't remember what I blogged about last.

Easter weekend, D and I went to visit my dad, so he could meet my dogs. Well, he already knew Guinness, but hadn't seen her in 6 years and he had never met Porter. So off we went.

Sunday, while there we (D and I and Guinness) went for a 4 mile run. It was to make sure I could do 4 miles for my 5K + 1 more mile at Terrapin Brewery. I burned 1000 calories, but Guinness and I did it. So I was excited for my 5K+ 1 more mile (henceforth 4.1K).

So that was Saturday. My friend M and friend V were doing it with D and me. It was M's first race ever. So Friday, I tried to tell her to relax...
Things to do…
Wear the same clothes that you have been wearing to run in. No new socks, no new shoes, etc. no new foods (ie don’t listen to someone and eat a Clif Bar right before you start if you have not done that in the past).
Relax
Your only enemy is your brain. Tell it to shut up.
Walking is not your enemy. Running to the point that you need an IV is (this is where you have to fight your brain).
Have fun. Think of how much you have accomplished to get this far. No one can take that away from you.

The race didn't start until 4 and it was in Athens, GA. So I got ready for the race. As we were about to leave the house, I go to put lotion on my legs. The entire bottle explodes so I'm covered in lotion as is the entire bathroom. D searches for a clean shirt, and doesn't find one. So he finds the least offensive dirty shirt and I put that on. So D and I dropped the pups off at the kennel and left at 1. At 3:30 we finally found the place (77 miles). For a state that bitches about all roads in Atlanta named Peachtree, at least they are named Peachtree RD, Peachtree Terrace, Peachtree Battle, etc. All roads in Athens seemed to be named 78/29/10. So when we got to the brewery for the run, I was already ready for a beer. I didn't get one but noticed my mouth was extremely dry. I drank a Gatorade that D had brought. We got our race numbers, and tickets to the brewery, and waited for M and V, who knew I was in a bitchy mood. Luckily I had sent this to M who told her:
Oh don’t be shocked tomorrow (or pay it any attention)if I’m biatchy before the race. I get my mind focused on what I need to do, and start getting nervous if I can’t execute that.
So M knew to expect my bitchy normal self.

So we see our friends A and G. (G is in his new racing chair.).

The race starts and M and I are in the back. At about .3 miles, I feel like I'm keeping M back, so I tell her to go ahead, and she does. I pass G on a hill and ask him if he needs help. He says no. I hear him later ask someone for help. Then he rolls down the hill past me. I get to mile 1 and I have a PR of 12:20.

We turn off the main road, and there is this hill. Now my friends will tell you the hills I run in my 'hood are a bitch but this thing is monstrous. And there is G rolling backwards. So I push him up. We get to the top and he gives me some water, but I don't want to take it all because of course there will be a water station. He goes ahead and I'm feeling woozy. My heart is pounding in my head. I look at my HRM and it says 220. OMG! No way I can run. So I finally get to the water station and there is NO water. My HR is 190 so I continue walking. I can see G on the next hill and no one is helping him. I'm sure of all the runners out there, there is 1 or 2 that are not going to PR and know it and can help him. But no.

My HR is at 188. If I help him, I will be dead on the ground.

A woman who had been behind me passes me and helps him up the hill. He gets to the top and decides to just turn around. I pass D who helps G down the hill. So I get to the foreclosed subdivision, and start to run. HR flies back up, so a lot more walking. I finally cross mile 2. I finish the subdivision and go back to go down the hill. I'm still kind of scared, so I ask the volunteer about water. He tells me it is at the Brewery. I ask about a medic (this is how scared I am) and he says it is at the Brewery. So I FINALLY get my HR to 160s and jog. I get to mile 3, and start doing the 5 minute run/1 min walk. I am left alone with my head and I'm going nuts. I want to cry, but I have no tears. I want to spit but my mouth is glued shut. I'm wondering what has happened to humanity, and how I really hate people. Finally I see the mile 4 sign and see D. I toss him my keys, scream water and he tosses me a bottle. He runs back to tell M and V to not say anything. I cross the finish and trip over something (67 minutes).

M's face is bright red (she doesn't sweat), and I can tell she is probably as disoriented as I am. So D tells us to go to the car, and we'll get some gatorade. We turn on the AC full blast. After about 10 minutes my HR is down to 125. I tell myself to forget about the awful race and be glad for M. She did terrific.

D and V get our beer glasses, and we head for some beer. We all got some cute schwag too. I got a car magnet that says, "In my dreams, I'm a Kenyan." V and M got shirts that say "Run for Beer" and "This IS my race pace."

I did talk to the race director (no I didn't yell at him). I told him about the lack of water, and got the whole first race ever, blah, blah, blah. The medic thing, his eyes bulged out of his head, and he was very sorry. He also commended me for knowing that something was wrong and not to keep running.

G came up while we were looking at schwag and thanked me for the help. I felt kind of dumb, because in my mind it is what people do (help), but obviously not. So it goes out to ... I hate people.

V, M and I sat on the ground and listened to the band. D was texting someone. My favorite beer was the Terrapin Nut Brown, but I already knew this. After about an hour we headed towards Athens (on 78/29/10), cleaned up and had a few beers.

The trip was fun. I'm disappointed in the race, only because I wanted to know how on pace I was for my 10K at the end of May. Running with Guinness the week before I ran 4.28 in 69 minutes (69 heheheh). But running with her is no guage for me, as we stop and talk to weeds, wind, poop, etc. Especially since when I ran with her, I never had to walk. Oh well. Life goes on.

Next known race for me is Komen Race for the Cure, my least favorite race of all time...cause is good, the number of people is not.
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