The race got started around 7:50 to the west of assembly hall. We started at a really good pace, but began to slow down as the race progressed and we all kind of split up. The first 5 miles went by pretty quickly, but after I started to struggle a bit. At this point, I realized that I should slow down a bit and pace myself a little better. When I reached the first water table it was quite a relief. One of my favorite parts was dumping water on my head and throwing the cup on the ground, I felt like a real runner.
When I got to stony creek in Urbana ( about 6 miles in), I had to give in and walk a little bit. At the exit of stony creek came the first gatorade table which I was excited for. The gatorade was way too strong though. They mixed it up and used way too much powder which made the gatorade less than enjoyable. It did make me feel better than the water.
After that came the park which was easily my least favorite leg of the race. The path was very narrow and wound through a humid, uncovered forest preserve. On a normal day it might have been nice to run in, but there were tons of people on the tiny path, and the sun was beating down on us. At one point some girl elbowed me out of the way to pass me and I would have gone after her if she wasn't running so fast.
I was extremely relieved to get out of that place. At this point I was around mile 9 or 10, and I got a little more energy with the help of some more gatorade. The rest of the race was through the neighborhoods of Urbana and leading back to memorial stadium. I was extremely happy that I knew where I was again as I could gauge the distance until finish. I was running a lot slower now, but the wide streets of urbana coupled with the pack of people thinning out gave enough room to spread out.
One of the coolest parts of the race, I thought, was all of the people cheering you along the whole course. The people in this town really supported everyone and I didn't realize it but the places where there were more people watching, it was easier/more enjoyable to run.
When I made it to mile 12, I picked up the pace again for the final mile. I felt good about passing a lot of people as they were slowing down, and it felt great to cross the finish line at the 50 yard line in memorial stadium. Final time of 2 hours 16 minutes 4 seconds. My family was waiting there to drive me back home (thankfully) because my legs felt like they were rooted to the ground when I tried to walk. After taking a shower and short nap, (and getting those shoes off) I felt a lot better.
I said afterwards I would never do something like that again. But now that I've had some time to think about it, it was a really rewarding experience. If I train a little more, I can really decrease my time, and maybe one day I'll do a marathon (maybe next year).
Anyways, we ended up going to Black Dog bbq in Urbana for dinner (suggest by Swong). It was really good. It actually impressed my dad as the sides were better than his hometown favorite, smoque.
The day seemed really long (because I never wake up at 6:20), but it was a really awesome experience. And I got a pretty sweet medal.
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