Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Dam to Dam 20K

Saturday I did something completely ridiculous! I ran 12.4 miles without being prepared. I’m pretty sure I ran less than 10 times in the month of May and the longest run was 8 miles at the end of April. NOT SMART DARCI!!! 

But I finished, Kyle stuck with me the entire time, and I know I will never run that far without being prepared again! Here is a quick recap. But just as an FYI, the pictures are on the light side because it rained over half of the race. :(

We went down to Des Moines Friday evening to pick up our race packets. It was wonderfully organized and we were in & out of there in just a few minutes. IMG00062-20100604-1757

After packet pickup, we headed to Olive Garden for supper. We met Kyle’s cousins & their little 3 year old there. IMG00066-20100604-1829

I definitely got my carbs in, Kyle and I both ordered the tour of Italy…good stuff!!IMG00068-20100604-1908

With full tummies we headed downtown to check into our hotel for the evening. We had a great view!DSC07496

With butterflies in my stomach, I got my race gear ready. I knew I wasn’t prepared and there were major thunder storms headed our way. DSC07498

Kyle & I both were quite restless throughout the night. I kept waking up, worried that I missed the alarm. But 4:30am came & we both hopped out of bed and got ready. DSC07500

From 5am-5:45am 7,000 runners were bused from downtown Des Moines out to Saylorville Dam. The race began at 7am. So for over an hour we were standing in the wind & rain, no fun!

The gun went off and we didn’t cross the start line for about 15-20 minutes! I started out feeling pretty good, but not enjoying the rain.

Miles 1-6 went ok, we were keeping an 11 minute/mile pace, and it was raining the entire time. I was so glad Kyle decided to stick with me! I know he is the reason I was able to push through.

Between mile 6 & 7 I suddenly had the feeling I had to go #2! This may be TMI…but it was part of the race! It was too early to go pre-race! So we stopped along the way and had a potty break. We had to wait for the porta-potty for about 5-7 minutes. The entire time I could feel my legs getting tight.

It was rough to get back into my “groove” after the potty break. The rain had cleared, but now we were just soggy and I could feel my wet shorts rubbing on my legs with every stride.

I’m not sure what mile it was, but I did something to my knee. Nothing too bad that I couldn’t keep going, but it was fairly painful. We did a walk/run routine for the majority of the rest of the race.

We ran the last mile with all we had. I was ready to be done! I couldn’t have been more excited to see the finish line!finish line

I knew Kyle was disappointed in our performance, but he was so supportive the entire way even though he wasn’t feeling the best either. I LOVE my running partner. I know I wouldn’t have been able to finish without him by my side.

We took advantage of the free food & Powerade and met up with Kyle’s cousins to check out the downtown farmer’s market. The entire time our bodies were screaming at us that we had pushed them hard enough for the day!IMG00071-20100605-1121

I know it wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done and I’m pretty sure I didn’t do any long term damage to my body, but boy, oh boy am I hurting today! My knee is super stiff and I’m pretty sure muscles in my body are hurting that I didn’t even know I had.

With all of that said though, I’m proud that we finished, I’m so blessed to have a great husband who is so supportive, and I learned my lesson! ;)

17 comments:

Marisa @Loser for Life said...

Yay for Kyle!!! Darci, you should still be so proud of yourself for finishing it out even without being prepared! I don't know if I would have made it!

Unknown said...

Great job! Runners always amaze me- you go girl! Oh and Kyle! lol :)

Heather said...

I am very proud of u for sticking through it. Way to push yourself. The rain sucks though. That happened my last race.

Mrs. M said...

Wow, congrats! You guys are amazing! I would have died at mile 3!

Savannah said...

Good job sticking with it! How sweet of Kyle!

Tricia said...

great job!

Our Happy Married Life... said...

congrats on the race! I always say, all it matters what that you finished. This post reminds me of the 1/2 marathon I ran a weeeknd after returning from our honeymoon. I have no idea what I was thinking. I hadn't run in a month and then BAM ran a 1/2. Worst idea ever. Oh and worst time ever! ha!

Heidi said...

Awww, Darci, super congrats on finishing. Gotta wonder why we do these things to ourselves. But you are definitely not alone. I have SO done this, too many times.

Next time I'm sure you will be certain to get in the training you need. It's still a huge accomplishment to finish and you should be very proud. Obviously you have the mental side of running down pat. Being able to push through in all those conditions is quite the feat. Lots of people would have quite or not even started.

Ak said...

Congrats on finishing the race! I'm sure it was tough, but you pushed through it! Live and learn, right? :)

Cammy@TippyToeDiet said...

I'm proud of you too! Just sorry you had to learn an ugly lesson along the way.

Btw, I've heard that #2 thing is quite common for runners. Ick!

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