Monday, August 17, 2015

SeaWheeze 2015

I've run the SeaWheeze every year since the inception back in 2012. I want to start by saying that I LOVE the SeaWheeze. I highly recommend it to all my runner friends, but this year just SUCKED for me.

I arrived to the SeaWheeze Showcase Store at 4:30 am Pacific time. This didn't seem that early to me since I get up at 6 am Central most days. 

Waiting in line...
I did feel a little crazy, but I met some really nice people in line. Also, my husband is a trooper for coming with me. I got into the store around 7:15 am, and there was still a lot of merchandise available. I grabbed what I "thought" I wanted and like everyone else, reevaluated my collection on the floor. 

SeaWheeze Showcase Store.
I got exactly what I wanted, the bug speed shorts and a couple swiftlys. I'm just so irritated with this "fear of missing out" mentality. I was literally more stressed about the SeaWheeze store experience than the half marathon. How is that even rational? I was only in the store for an hour, and had a hassle free check out. There was another small wait to pick up the race packet. It wasn't an issue for me.

My goodies!
There was hardly any wait to get the spray tattoo and my hair done, so I was able to do both this year! I haven't in the past since the lines were way too long. 

SeaWheeze fun!
I tried to join in on the nooner yoga, but I just couldn't get into it. What's wrong with me? I LOVE yoga. It was a bit chilly out, so I just didn't give it a chance. I packed up my mat and left. (I know, I sound like a Debbie Downer). I had intentions to go to the sunset yoga, but again, the weather was too chilly for me so I skipped. I'm used to 90 deg, high humidity weather...

Race morning came early (as always). The weather was calling for rain, so I left my phone at the hotel and took my nano. Therefore, I left my good music behind and listened to an old playlist (booooring). 

Race start.
The weather ended up being perfect. Amazing running weather.

Obligatory Photo. Cloudy, cool weather.
I started out way too fast, and felt good! I was thinking maybe this would be my fastest SeaWheeze, but then the wall hit. And it hit hard... at mile 6.5. So from there on, I ran/walked. This was sort of close to the hotel, and I really contemplated just stopping. Josh passed me up and he was looking good. I just felt like a big, fat loser. And then I started thinking about the Disney Dopey shitshow that will take place in January. I kept telling myself that there is NO WAY I will be able to do it. Thinking about that just made it worse for me. 

Ugggg. Pretty ugly.
I was so miserable running. SeaWheeze volunteers and crowd are just so amazing. I might not have looked like it, but I really did appreciate them. (Sorry if I seemed like an asshole, but my mind was not in a good place).

Anyways, maybe we need races like this? I had a pretty good fight with myself, and my husband made me super proud. I'm usually dragging him to the finish line, but he totally kicked my ass in this race. I felt like total shit at the finish. My heart was so sore, and I was exhausted. I checked my heart rate and I was in peak the majority of the race (1 hour, 5 minutes). This is not normal for me. The half marathon that I ran back in April (and kicked ass), my HR was in peak for only 15 minutes. I felt nauseous at the finish, so this is what my race finish photo looks like:

PATHETIC!
I don't even have a finish photo with my husband (boo)!!! The walk back to the hotel was pretty awful. I was puking and freezing. NOT COOL. I'm kicking myself now, but I didn't go to the Sunset Festival. I just didn't have the energy to get there. I've loved every Sunset Festy that I've been to, so I'm bummed that I didn't attend. 

Anyways, I'm not certain if I'll sign up for SeaWheeze 2016. Lululemon put on another awesome event, so it makes it hard to not go again. It really is one of my favorite running events. See, here I go again... fear of missing out...