Thursday, November 18, 2010

Three Things Thursday (J's Half Marathon Recap Edition) ...

1. As you know, J ran his second half marathon on Saturday. He trained for months and walked away with a 15 minute PR (2:42:10 in case you were wondering). I was lucky enough to run with him from mile 9 to the finish serving as motivator, pacer and race photographer. Here are a few shots that I got in those last few miles ...


2. Although J got a HUGE PR, he had a lot of stuff working against him. On Thursday night and Friday morning before the race, J got a severe case of food poisoning while traveling. He couldn't keep anything thing down, was suffering from body aches and had to fly home from Indianapolis on Friday afternoon. He called me and I could tell it was bad. I told him to try to stay hydrated and pray for the best.

Once he finally got home, he immediately went to bed for the remainder of the day. He slept straight through dinner, only waking for about two hours before going back to bed for the night. When he woke up on Saturday morning, he hadn't more than 400 calories in over 24 hours. He was weak and we didn't really know how he was going to hold up. But, being a "runner first, logical thinker second," he decided to run. Needless to say, he fought for that 15 minute PR.

3. When I picked up J at mile 9, he was hurting. I tried to be positive and he basically told me to "shove it." It was all good though. I've been there. I knew what he was going through. We were pretty silent over the next two miles, but then at mile 11.5, J told me his foot was really hurting - with every stride. So, we slowed a little, walking a tenth here and there. He muscled through and finished strong on the downhill. But once we finished, he took notice of how bad his foot really was. And now, he's rocking a boot.

After all of this, I'm not sure that I am going to be able to convince J to run another half marathon any time soon, but he definitely has the running bug. His plan for 2011 is to focus on 5Ks and 10Ks and work on his speed. And I think it's an excellent plan ...

30 comments:

Emz said...

Hey "shove it" ain't bad.....he probably was thinking something else. ;) YAY for [trying} to be his sunshine!

Huge YAY to J on the PR!!

Kurt @ Becoming An Ironman said...

Congrats to J for the PR and mostly for going ahead with the run despite what "normal" people would consider a perfectly logical excuse to bail. I very often tell people "Do as I say, not as I do." Apparently some of us are still 5 years old and think we're superman. haha

Hold in there J. The pain will go away. I was still losing toenails a month after my first half in early Oct. You'll come back stronger for sure!

Silly Girl Running said...

Congrats to J on the huuuge PR! So sorry he's rocking a boot now, but good to hear that he still has the running bug! :)

Teamarcia said...

Oh no a boot? Congrats to J for willing himself through. Sorry about the food poisoning...yuck.

the dawn said...

wow! what a hug accomplishment! and after all that crap leading up to it? that takes some serious commitment. glad that he's caught the running bug. some people would take that race as the opportunity to swear off running.

Pam @ herbieontherun.com said...

That's awesome! That's over a min/mile improvement... HUGE!

The Hungry Runner Girl said...

I am amazed he pr'd let alone did the race after food poisoning. I know that 'shove it' stage all to well. Tell him congrats on his new PR.

Marlene said...

J is lucky to have a live-in coach!!

Congrats to him on the huge PR... food poisoning before a long distance race has to be about the worst thing ever. He is a trooper!!

One Crazy Penguin said...

Congrats on the huge PR for J!

Way to be there for him :)

Shannon said...

Way to go, Jay! If you can do THAT with food poisoning, just think what you can do without it! :)

Amanda@runninghood said...

Great post. Congrats to J. Love the picture of you two. The part where you write about him telling you to "shove it" reminds me of the many birth stories I hear women tell about when their husbands try to encourage them during labor and they tell their hubbies to "shove it"...defnitely not the same thing but maybe that's how he felt. :)

Jen said...

Great coaching... especially when you "let him" walk a "10th"... why is he in the boot? Diagnosis?

Esther said...

It's all about catching the bug :)
There's a race for everybody...way to go!

Runners Fuel said...

Congrats on the PR!! Sorry about the boot!

Unknown said...

What a stud! I can't imagine the pain he was in!

track coach and adorable wife said...

Yay for J! Way to push through (to him) and way to help him (to you.) I think he'll have fun with the speed distances!

Jen said...

OUCH! Hopefully his foot won't be holding him up for long?? Congrats to J for a great PR even with so much working against him!

akjenniekt said...

Wow- great job J!!
Hope the foot is alright and that he's feeling better

Anonymous said...

Congrats J! I bet as soon as he heals he sneaks in there on another half marathon... just wait! Stinks that he got so sick right before.

Aimee said...

Wow...that's awesome that J got that PR even though he was sick and his foot was injured! Yay for him for pushing through and finishing strong!!

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

J's mental training really pulled him through that half with everything working against all his physically training! You must be one super proud wife/trainer of his accomplishment...and if anyone can, you can help him make that boot stylish!

Karen Seal said...

Congrats to J! That's awesome! Way to go!!! (Sorry about the stomach bug and the foot pain!)

Julie @ HotlegsRunner said...

congrats on the PR, J! I love your pink beanie =)

Lisa said...

15 minute PR AND being sicker than sick! That's amazing! My first half marathon featured a friend "showing up" to be at my side starting around the 11 mile mark . . . one word - PRICELESS!!!!!! Great job!

Unknown said...

Congrats to him! And that's a huge PR! Awesome! :)

Erika said...

I've said a lot meaner things than shove it:) Congrats on the PR J!

Zaneta @ Runner's Luck said...

YAY J!! Congrats on the PR!! wow... what a trooper! Hopefully he's feeling much better by now!

Indigo said...

Congrats to him! Do you know what the problem was with his foot? I had feet issues when I ran my long runs and then a half-marathon and it turned out I need shoes in a wide.

Katie A. said...

Congrats to J! He is a trooper! We have all been there - he will want his revenge! Just think, he got a huge PR while just coming off food poisoning - he's got it in him!
Sorry about the boot :( BOOO!

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