Oak Barrel 1/2 Summary

With my standard pre-race sugar free redbull and my game face on, I was ready to head out to TN and do some running. And this was my first race as a Fleet Feet runner!!

Let me tell you that my mood definitely faded from there...

First of all I was driving Tyler's BMW Z4 to Lynchburg. Sweet ride right? Ha, hardly. This was my third time every driving stick shift and the first time I was doing it alone. Stress level through the roof!!! Absolutely not what I needed before the race.
Sigh.
But I got there with no visible damage done to the vehicle.
Of course as soon as I park, the sky darkened and the sounds of thunder rumbled fiercely. Minutes later, the down pour began. I was hoping to make this 13.1 miles more like an 18 miler with some warm-up and cool-down miles... but quickly ditched that idea when the rain began. Sigh again.
On to the start line... huddled together with the mass of runners not wanting to get soaked an early then we must. When the starting gun fired, I was off! I tried to stay with the front group, but my recent history of starting too quickly and dying later in the race came into mind, so I backed off a little. Wet, but running well the first few miles... until the hills began. Since most of my training was done is Florida, I have little concept of hills. A causeway is all I had for any incline training, and I was just fine with that. Flat, fast running was perfect! Ha, I was not prepared with what was to come at after mile 4... A mile long climb. At one point I just stopped. Only for a split second, but my legs did cease to move and I wondered if I could actually survive this 'hill'. But I took a big, deep breathe and kept on truckin'. It didn't feel much like running for the last quarter mile of that climb, more like I was on a stair machine. UGH. You can imagine how relieved I was to get to the top. Down never felt so good. The rest of the course was rolling hill with a short, steep hills to conquer. The worst part was my swamp feet. It was raining pretty hard at one point and my shoes were soaked. Every step was uncomfortable and squishy. It was my first time being jealous of the lone barefoot runner. The last 3 miles of the race were pretty flat which restored my joyful mood.

I crossed the finish at 1:37:32. Not a PR, but a definite accomplishment!! I ended up with second place OA Female. =)



This is the finisher's 'metal'. It's engraved on a piece of oak barrel!


The only thing cooler was this! My 2nd place OA Female reward... Half of an oak barrel lid!

Day Before Racing

I've decided to do the Oak Barrel 1/2 Marathon in Lynchburg, TN. This decision came just days before the actual race... so of course, I was going through a list of pre-race anxieties; Did I train enough? Did I really train at all?? Should I be doing such a hilly course? What should I eat today? How much should I run? and so on....
Well to answer a few of those nagging questions...

I ran an easy 6 miles this morning. I figured that should be enough to keep my legs loose without over doing it. Some core work also got done. Nothing crazy, just a mix of p90x and insanity moves.

As for the eating... Yum. Before a race, especially one of longer distances, it is really important to eat well the day before a race. Nothing greasy, too fatty, too light, too much dairy... oh the list goes on. And us poor celiac athletes... we have finicky stomachs which is only amplified by pre-race gitters.

I found a bag of Bobs Red Mill Pizza Dough in the pantry and whipped that up with a bit of skim ricotta, mozzarella, handful or canned tomatoes, basil, and caramelized onions.


The result was perfection. Just because we can't eat normal gluteny pizza, doesn't mean we can't have a delicious alternative!