Atlanta Half Marathon 2008

I should have known better than to sign up for a half marathon with so little running completed during the past month. But I did it more out of resurrecting happy memories of running the race in years past. It's been quite a long time since I've participated in this event. I arrived at the starting line early and felt good. I chatted with a few women standing near me, sharing stories of running and Thanksgiving meal preparation. Around 7 miles I ate the jelly sports beans they were handing out. I had grabbed two packs and ate one. I loved the orange flavor and I thought it was exactly what I needed. Unfortunately, I started feeling nauseous a mile later. At 10 miles I ate the other pack in the hopes that it would make me feel better. But I started feeling even worse. At mile 11 I vomited and slowed to a combination of walking/jogging. I learned my lesson about not trying anything new on race day. I vomited again at mile 12 and barely made it to the finish line, in 2 hours and 43 minutes. I grabbed some cheese/peanut butter crackers at the finish chute and hoped they would settle my stomach. I still felt quesy walking to the MARTA station and prayed I wouldn't vomit on the train. Thankfully I kept things down for the rest of the day and began feeling better an hour or two later. What a major disappointment! I decided that even it I hadn't been sick, I've lost a lot of fitness over the past month and I'm nowhere near where I need to be physically to complete the Disney marathon in January. I'm going to postpone that race until 2010 when hopefully I'll be in better shape and a friend or relative will be able to go with me to babysit Kyra while I run. Happy Thanksgiving!