What are your 'duh' moments in a race?

[goofeygirl]

My memorable 'duh' moment was last year in Disney. I was running the Dopey Challenge last year and I cannot remember if it was the half or full....but it was still dark out...and it was already VERY warm...I mean warm before we even started the race.

So I stopped at a water station and took a cup and poured it over myself thinking it was water...but it wasn't. It was power aid . It not only stung my eyes but it left a wonderful sticky sensation all over me for the rest of the race! DUH

Lesson learned? Be 100% sure of what you are pouring over you. Esp in the darkness.

 

[bumbershoot]

Oh dear.

I was thinking "I don't have any", but I do have a sticky story. Running the Wine&Dine with my buddy, I borrowed her hydration belt. It was stretchy and velcro and wow did I hate it, but it seemed to do a decent job of keeping my small bottle of concentrated Clif electrolyte powder mix there, without me having to carry the bottle. I think we were coming around the Boardwalk/Swolphin-ish area and I went to drink some, and it was almost all gone. Weird. I do get spacey during long runs, so I chalked it up to that.

I had already noticed that one of my legs was sweatier/wetter than the other, which I thought was odd. After all, it was raining the entire time on us, you would think I would be equally drenched. But I kept feeling more rain on my left leg than seemed normal.

Not quite sure when I realized that the splashes of "rain" I kept feeling were actually splashes of electrolyte mix, squirting out of an unclosed bottle on my hip. But eventually I did get there.



Not my moment, and the people that did it don't even know...participated in the Seattle Half 11/30. It was about 23 degrees and even colder because the first 2 miles or so were in downtown, in the shade of the skyscrapers. Brr. At every water stop, the people who were all in front were being sloppy with the drinks.

Causing a total ice slick at Every Single Waterstop for those who were behind. The runners in front should be thinking "duh" because of the conditions they left for us. Cups are slippery enough (I always take the effort to put a cup in a trashbin), let alone actual ice and powerade ice!

 

[Ronda93]

Hard to imagine with this weekend's forecast, but the 2010 Disney full had ice slicks at the water stops.

For the half we were sleeted on in the corrals.

 

[Chiomaca]

My story is sticky, too. The first marathon I ran, I was so concerned about eating anything unusual that I didn't take the orange slices on the course at mile 10. The next year, I felt better, was better trained, and decided to take the orange slices. I spent the next 16.2 miles trying to unsticky myself at every water stop. Never again. I'll take the beer, the candy, the pretzels, but never again will I take anything that will leave my hands sticky.

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

During one of the Disney marathons I grabbed a gel. I ended up with chocolate, which I don't like. But I thought I might want it later so I put it in the waistband of my shorts.

After a mile, the thought came to me: 'Is it really a good idea to carry a 1/4 of a cup (the size of this gel has grown in my mind) of flimsily wrapped chocolate pudding in your shorts?'

I came to my senses and got rid of it before having a VERY embarrassing situation if it broke.

 

[FFigawi]

At my first half, I relied on the race to have gels. When I got to that aid station, they were out of my preferred flavor so I took what they had. Turned out to be double strength caffeine. I was shaking for the next four miles. Always have carried my own since then.

 

[goofeygirl]

We all have our 'duh' moments in a race.

I know we are really focused. I know from then on I will always make double sure I am dunking water over my head.

I didn't think of my sticky self for the rest of the race but when I got to the hotel room, I was glad to wash power aid off my face and hair. Ewe.

 

[Chiomaca]

We all have our 'duh' moments in a race.

I know we are really focused. I know from then on I will always make double sure I am dunking water over my head.

I didn't think of my sticky self for the rest of the race but when I got to the hotel room, I was glad to wash power aid off my face and hair. Ewe.

I told my mom we needed to find a real bathroom second after we found each other after my finish (she'd run the MCM 10k) and she laughed. Said when I was little if my hands got sticky, I'd just freeze and hold them out in front of me until someone un-stickied me. At least I've learned to function sticky, right?

 

[IamTrike]

My Duh moments tend to be around pacing. This year I went into the NY marathon on the undertrained side, but I still thought I might PR. Before the race they announced that their were 20 + mile an hour headwinds for the first 20 miles. Instead of adjusting my pace down, I wound up running the first 5 miles ahead of my original goal pace. I bonked really hard at mile 18 and it was my worst marathon experience to date. I'm putting this as a DUH moment because I had to re-learn the hard way 2 things I already new.


1. Always adjust your pace to the course conditions.

2. Trying to Bank time in the first couple miles of a marathon is a sure way to ensure a death march/jog for the last couple miles.

 

[IamTrike]

Not sure if this qualifies as a duh moment, but during this marathon weekend I video'd as I ran down mainstreet. When I shoved my phone back in my spi-belt I messed up spotify and set it to repeat. I listened to the same song on repeat for about the last 20 miles...

 

[BuckeyeBama]

My Duh moments tend to be around pacing. This year I went into the NY marathon on the undertrained side, but I still thought I might PR. Before the race they announced that their were 20 + mile an hour headwinds for the first 20 miles. Instead of adjusting my pace down, I wound up running the first 5 miles ahead of my original goal pace. I bonked really hard at mile 18 and it was my worst marathon experience to date. I'm putting this as a DUH moment because I had to re-learn the hard way 2 things I already new.


1. Always adjust your pace to the course conditions.

2. Trying to Bank time in the first couple miles of a marathon is a sure way to ensure a death march/jog for the last couple miles.

I have made the same mistake and would offer the same advice. Thanks for the reminder as we roll into the 2015 training season.

 

[FFigawi]

1. Always adjust your pace to the course conditions.

2. Trying to Bank time in the first couple miles of a marathon is a sure way to ensure a death march/jog for the last couple miles.

Totally agree with this. I find the best strategy for racing to a PR is to maintain a consistent pace as long as possible. My legs like to get into a steady rhythm, so I do better with hitting race pace as soon as possible and just going and going. As my coach always tells me, the first 13 miles should feel easy, at mile 18-20 you should start having to work hard, and from mile 20 on you need to focus, dig deep, and hang on for dear life.