Yeow!!!!! I stop completely (at mile 26 according to my watch - and about mile 25.75 according to the race) because I can't run or even walk. Any movement at all causes intense pain from the sudden cramp in my right quad. Three cops converge on me from different directions. They seem to want to get medical help. "Thanks," I say, "but I'll be okay." I want to finish. But I'm not okay. A nice lady appears and massages my leg. It helps a little. I thank her for being such an angel.
I try to walk a bit, but the cramp recurs. Then another angel appears from behind. It's Julie Boggs. She gives me her bag of Salt Stick electrolyte chewable tablets. She offers to help me walk in, but I tell her to go on and finish. Now I'm taking a handful of those tablets and drinking from her water bottle.
The effect is immediate. I'm able to walk and even jog a little. I am flabbergasted. I had no idea that the tablets would be so effective so soon. Not that I did well today. I cross the finish line with a time of 4:16, but until very recently, I'd thought that 4:10 was possible. After all this though, I suppose finishing at all is an accomplishment.
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| Just before the start: Julie Boggs, Theresa Wright, Laura Hutson, Dan, Ladd Clifford |
It was great to see all my friends before, during, and after the race. The Akron folks put on a wonderful show. And for a change, the weather cooperated and was quite nice today. Even though I wasn't as fit as I wanted to be, I had thought a sub-four-hour time was possible. It wasn't - not with the hills in the second half. And then the cramping.
For my next trick, I know what I have to do: get (more, much more) fit and also lose a couple of pounds. Yeah. That's the ticket.
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