{"id":600,"date":"2015-12-07T16:26:31","date_gmt":"2015-12-07T16:26:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allthingstonyj.com\/?p=600"},"modified":"2015-12-07T16:26:31","modified_gmt":"2015-12-07T16:26:31","slug":"agony-of-defeat-dizzy-50-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allthingstonyj.com\/?p=600","title":{"rendered":"Agony of Defeat – Dizzy 50 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"running<\/a>The Dizzy 50k, that’s 31 miles, ultra has come and gone for 2015! \u00a0It wasn’t pretty and I failed 50% of my goals!<\/p>\n

Goal 1 – Finish the race! \u00a0Always my number one goal.<\/p>\n

Goal 2 – Beat my time from last year.<\/p>\n

So here’s the short of it all. \u00a0It all ended in the agony of defeat as the old Wide World of Sports once said.<\/p>\n

My demise began on the Friday before the race. \u00a0I usually watch what I eat that close to\u00a0a race (I use the word race liberally). \u00a0Not this time. \u00a0I was hungry alright! \u00a0So Julie and I usually have a lunch date on Friday and Saturday. So, since I had to drive to Fleet Feet in Jones Valley, I decided to eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant – Little Rosie’s Cantina at Whitesberg and Airport road. \u00a0Ordered a chicken burrito smothered in cheese – awesome!<\/p>\n

After eating that wonderful meal we headed to Fleet Feet, picked up my race bib and headed back home. \u00a0Then dinner time rolled around. Got a hankering for Village Pizza. \u00a0You know, they say to carb up before race day!<\/p>\n

Went to bed feeling like a million bucks! \u00a0Had one of the best nights of sleep ever, before a race (again using this term liberally.) \u00a0Woke up at 4 am. as the race starts a little after 6:30 am. or so. \u00a0Packed the car – you’d be surprised what you need to carry for all the “what ifs”. \u00a0Left on time and arrived on time.<\/p>\n

Once again, all the skinny people have shown up! \u00a0When I run ultra’s apparently you weed out all those not really interested in running and mostly suffering. \u00a0I’m really just an ultra hack because I don’t appear to be as serious as some that show up.<\/p>\n

Today I will be running with Jonathan, a guy that is part of my church. \u00a0I enjoy running with him and I have convinced him to enter this race. \u00a0I have given him all my running secrets and he is ready to go.<\/p>\n

The starting gun mis-fires at the start but we start anyway – little did I know this was a sign of things to come.<\/p>\n

Jonathan, who is 20 years my junior, choses to run at my pace despite my protest. \u00a0He usually has a faster pace than I do. \u00a0But he insists! \u00a0So off we go running in the woods for what we know will be over 7 hours. \u00a0That’s right 7 hours.<\/p>\n

The first several miles I couldn’t feel any better. \u00a0I’m sucking down my GU gels (provides calories and caffeine) and chasing it down with Gatorade. \u00a0Then it happens around mile 15, keep in mind that’s just he halfway point. \u00a0I hear a rumbly in my tummy! \u00a0I’m getting nauseated. \u00a0I can now hear the Gatorade sloshing in my stomach. \u00a0It’s important to stay hydrated when you run long distances and I seem to have overdone it. \u00a0Now I’m in 2 races, one against trying to actually finish and the other against my stomach. \u00a0Eventually the inevitable happened. \u00a0Without getting too graphic, the volcano spewed. I was no longer carrying the bulk of the Gatorade inside me. \u00a0But you still have to stay hydrated so I had to replenish what I lost with more Gatorade, water, and gels, if I had any hope of completing my goal of finishing. \u00a0I had already written off the second goal. \u00a0It just wasn’t going to be my day.<\/p>\n

Ever tried to run 15 miles with an upset stomach. \u00a0If you haven’t let me tell you it isn’t pretty. The volcano erupted no less than 6 times that day. \u00a0But I eventually FINISHED, and let me tell you I was finished!<\/p>\n

While Jonathan finished with a great first ultra time (I eventually convinced him to leave me as I was sometimes having to walk to settle my stomach) I finished about 25 minutes slower than I had hoped.<\/p>\n

Oh well, maybe next year.<\/p>\n

But for now, that’s behind me and this weekend I’ll be running the Rocket City Marathon!<\/p>\n

Woohooo, \u00a0it’s only 26.2 miles and I get to run throughout downtown Huntsville while all the cars have to stop! \u00a0\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Dizzy 50k, that’s 31 miles, ultra has come and gone for 2015! \u00a0It wasn’t pretty and I failed 50% of my goals! Goal 1 – Finish the race! \u00a0Always my number one goal. Goal 2 – Beat my time from last year. So here’s the short of it all. \u00a0It all ended in the … <\/p>\n

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