On May 10 I participated in the Freiheitslauf, translated Freedom Run. This event was hosted by a local German church and the money raised went to fighting human trafficking. The course was a 2.1 kilometer loop that runners ran as many times as possible during a three-hour window, and before the race they had collected sponsors who pledged to give per loop completed. I, along with two of my running friends, was approached about running on behalf of our BFA community. At first I turned it down because I thought the loops would drive me insane but it turned out to be a really great experience and enjoyable despite the repeated scenery. It was a huge motivation to know that there would be cheerleaders every 2.1 km and that I wasn't going to go off and get lost in the woods somewhere. I ended up completing ten laps - my second half marathon!
After the race I felt extremely nauseous, more than I have ever felt after a long run. On the way home I had to ask my friend Katrina to pull over so that I could empty my stomach of its contents, which just turned out to be water. I think it was a combination of the heat and the German "gatorade" I had consumed during the run.
Two weeks later I ran in the Dreilaenderlauf, or Three Country Run. This is the event I ran last year as my first half marathon, and I decided that I would repeat it because it was so much fun. As the name implies, it's a half marathon that runs its course through three countries: beginning and ending in Switzerland while passing through France and Germany. It wasn't nearly as fun this time since none of my running friends could join me. A friend and parent of my students ran in the race but we had different paces so I only saw her at the beginning and the end. It was a huge struggle for me to finish this race completely alone, since I am significantly slower than the slowest European runner. I was alone on the race course for most of the second half of the race, with very little motivation to keep moving. Again, the sun beat down on me and I felt my body growing weary from exhaustion. I was hoping to beat my previous year's time and was very disappointed to find that I had actually done worse, by three whole minutes. I think the biggest disappointment was not that I ran slower, but that I was within three minutes of beating my time - I was so close that had I not walked just a teeny bit, I could have beat last year's time.
 |
| Running with some kids from church who came out to cheer! |
 |
| At the finish line with my friend Dawn |
Just like the last race, I found myself very sick to my stomach but made it almost all the way home before having to empty my stomach, again on the side of the road. This time it was in the middle of Kandern, just down the street from my home. I literally jumped out of the car and puked on somebody's hedges. As my body convulsed I registered the gutteral sounds of German speakers and braced myself for a lecture about puking in public but thankfully they kept their distance and let me suffer alone.
The next goal I'm working towards is one that has been on my agenda since December: the Rock'n'Roll half marathon in Chicago! It takes place July 20, so I have some time to recover from two basically back-to-back half marathons and still work back up to the high mileage runs. Now if only my body would start adjusting to the warmer weather...I'd really love NOT puking in Chicago...
Week 16: REST
Week 17:13.4 km
Week 18: 26.4 km
Week 19: 5.4
Week 20: 26
Week 21: REST
2014 Running Total, Week 21: 261.75 km
Week 17:13.4 km
Week 18: 26.4 km
Week 19: 5.4
Week 20: 26
Week 21: REST
2014 Running Total, Week 21: 261.75 km
No comments:
Post a Comment