I don’t know if you will find these interesting or not, but on the off chance you do, here it is:
This half marathon was one I knew I was going to run a few months ago… but somehow, before Christmas, February seems like a really long way away. Turns out, February 6 is actually pretty close to the holidays! The extra time I thought I had turned out to not exist… and then I had a week of no running with the food poisoning… and whoops there it is: February 6, 2011!
This was a run I heard was really nice, and my friend’s running buddy was going to run it, so I convinced my friend she needed to run it, too. (Watch out if you’re my friend and you run; I will make you do things like this.) So we signed up and we were off.
There has been an odd early Spring this past week around here, which is odd but I’m not complaining. (I’m sneezing a lot, but not complaining.) I checked the weather prediction and it said the temperature near the start would be about 55 degrees for the start. It was a late start (8am) but I don’t really care about that kind of thing, especially since the run was in San Francisco, about 25 miles away. More sleep for me = a good thing.
I’m not kidding: we walked out of the house (my husband served as my Pit Crew on this one, which is always awesome) and the first words he said were: “this is a great morning for a run!” Easy to say when you’re the Pit Crew and not the Runner.
But it was a beautiful morning, and I felt good about my choice to run in shorts and a long sleeved shirt. I had my fuel belt all set, I had oatmeal to eat on the way to the run, I was ready. I mean, I was ready to start off on the right foot: I had little expectation of a record-setting run. I was just going for the scenery and the experience.
We waited at the start for the hour they want you to stand around, and we were off. I checked about 45 minutes before the run started and about 30 minutes after my oatmeal and was happy to be 186. Being over 175 when I have insulin on board before a run takes some of the nerves away for me. Phew.
Now this was a crowded run, and I’m amazed none of us stepped on each other. I’m also pleased to report I felt no elbow in my chin or nose (happens when I’m 5’2” and there are 6’2” runners next to me) and it was light enough to feel somewhat safe.
Two miles in, and I’m complaining already. MAN; IT IS HOT!!! I’m thinking: how on earth am I going to keep this up for eleven more miles?! It was so hot! My decision to wear a long sleeved shirt felt like a very bad choice.
I spent a little more than a mile trying to figure out (a) at what age is running in only a bra no longer acceptable (note: I have neither the correct age nor the correct figure to do this but again I remind you it was HOT), (b) would I want to see the race photos if I did take off my shirt, and (c) was it really that hot or was I doing something wrong?
Thankfully, we changed directions somewhere along in there and I was able to run again in a colder area of the route. I opted to eat a Gu at mile 3.5 rather than mile 4.0 because it was hot. I started to think about how glad I was that I have run so many years and had a sense what to do with the unusual temperatures. I extended my temporary basal rate beyond my initial plan and opted to start drinking my Gatorade early.
At mile 6.5 I thought it would be good to stop and check. 159. Yay. I called my husband, told him where I was, and kept going. I also opted for another Gu, since it is easier for me to run while high than it is for me to run while low.
(I have my CGM in my arm right now and I don’t know why I forgot this, but I don’t like running with it in my arm if I have on a long sleeved shirt. This sensor is more painful than usual, and the long sleeves ended up making it feel like it was going to dislodge and I’d be without the sensor for the remainder of the run.)
Awesome that the water stops started to include Gatorade at that point; I skipped that first one (mile 7 or so) but was happy to see I didn’t have to hoard my own supply, as it was HOT and hydration should be a concern in those temps.
Did I mention I was still running? At least we were on the Great Highway (Hwy 1) and I could run along the beautiful surf. No small thing, but we were now again facing the sun as we ran. Sigh; still hot.
Finally I got to the turnaround and knew there was another Gatorade spot coming up. I checked again at mile 10 or 11 and was 116. Lower than I would have liked to be with 2-3 miles left, so I downed my third (and final) Gu. I still had one more low food, but I usually would consume only one Gu by that point. Stopped and drank a Gatorade (maybe 6 ounces) and kept running.
So by the end of the run I was back to climbing since I had been at a low basal for three hours instead of my normal two hours (if I’m planning to run for 2 hours, I lower an hour before and the first hour of the run and see where I’m at) and my blood sugar was starting to climb once I stopped running.
All in all, a fine showing yesterday. I didn’t beat any records, but I stayed where I wanted to be as I ran despite the crazy heat wave. And I think most importantly, I kept my shirt on.
(Sorry for the length of this one!)
